Resolving the theory of planned behaviour's 'expectancy-value muddle' using dimensional salience.

Science.gov (United States)

Newton, Joshua D; Ewing, Michael T; Burney, Sue; Hay, Margaret

2012-01-01

The theory of planned behaviour is one of the most widely used models of decision-making in the health literature. Unfortunately, the primary method for assessing the theory's belief-based expectancy-value models results in statistically uninterpretable findings, giving rise to what has become known as the 'expectancy-value muddle'. Moreover, existing methods for resolving this muddle are associated with various conceptual or practical limitations. This study addresses these issues by identifying and evaluating a parsimonious method for resolving the expectancy-value muddle. Three hundred and nine Australian residents aged 18-24 years rated the expectancy and value of 18 beliefs about posthumous organ donation. Participants also nominated their five most salient beliefs using a dimensional salience approach. Salient beliefs were perceived as being more likely to eventuate than non-salient beliefs, indicating that salient beliefs could be used to signify the expectancy component. The expectancy-value term was therefore represented by summing the value ratings of salient beliefs, an approach that predicted attitude (adjusted R2 = 0.21) and intention (adjusted R2 = 0.21). These findings suggest that the dimensional salience approach is a useful method for overcoming the expectancy-value muddle in applied research settings.

On e-business strategy planning and performance evaluation: An adaptive algorithmic managerial approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra Lipitakis

2017-07-01

Full Text Available A new e-business strategy planning and performance evaluation scheme based on adaptive algorithmic modelling techniques is presented. The effect of financial and non-financial performance of organizations on e-business strategy planning is investigated. The relationships between the four strategic planning parameters are examined, the directions of these relationships are given and six additional basic components are also considered. The new conceptual model has been constructed for e-business strategic planning and performance evaluation and an adaptive algorithmic modelling approach is presented. The new adaptive algorithmic modelling scheme including eleven dynamic modules, can be optimized and used effectively in e-business strategic planning and strategic planning evaluation of various e-services in very large organizations and businesses. A synoptic statistical analysis and comparative numerical results for the case of UK and Greece are given. The proposed e-business models indicate how e-business strategic planning may affect financial and non-financial performance in business and organizations by exploring whether models which are used for strategy planning can be applied to e-business planning and whether these models would be valid in different environments. A conceptual model has been constructed and qualitative research methods have been used for testing a predetermined number of considered hypotheses. The proposed models have been tested in the UK and Greece and the conclusions including numerical results and statistical analyses indicated existing relationships between considered dependent and independent variables. The proposed e-business models are expected to contribute to e-business strategy planning of businesses and organizations and managers should consider applying these models to their e-business strategy planning to improve their companies’ performances. This research study brings together elements of e

Using Expectancy Theory to Explain Performance Appraisal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

pc

2018-03-05

Mar 5, 2018 ... appraisal conducting style, the relation between the performance appraisal system and task ... the article first explains the theory model which is based expectancy theory. II. ... which in return lead to rewards. According to [12],.

Continued usage of e-learning: Expectations and performance

OpenAIRE

Fernando Antonio de Melo Pereira; Anatália Saraiva Martins Ramos; Adrianne Paula Vieira de Andrade; Bruna Miyuki Kasuya de Oliveira

2015-01-01

The present study aims to investigate the determinants of satisfaction and the resulting continuance intention use in e-learning context. The constructs of decomposed expectancy disconfirmation theory (DEDT) are evaluated from the perspective of users of a virtual learning environment (VLE) in relation to expectations and perceived performance. An online survey collected responses from 197 students of a public management course in distance mode. Structural equation modeling was operationalize...

Productivity and Performance through Marketing Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian Morozan

2008-11-01

Full Text Available In the marketing area, planning might be defined as an anticipation process of those changes that affect the market and as an elaboration process of the corresponding action means. It will result in a marketing plan, which might be tactical (short-term period, spread on a period of time that might vary from six months to one year, or a strategic (long-term, spread on a period of time of three to ten years. Planning means building action programs in which the objectives, the set financing method or the steps of achieving it should be clearly defined. Marketing planning also proves to be important for its liaison between what the company can offer and the consumers’ needs and expectations.

The influence of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems' performance on earnings management

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Wen-Hsien; Lee, Kuen-Chang; Liu, Jau-Yang; Lin, Sin-Jin; Chou, Yu-Wei

2012-11-01

We analyse whether there is a linkage between performance measures of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and earnings management. We find that earnings management decreases with the higher performance of ERP systems. The empirical result is as expected. We further analyse how the dimension of the DeLone and McLean model of information systems success affects earnings management. We find that the relationship between the performance of ERP systems and earnings management depends on System Quality after ERP implementation. The more System Quality improves, the more earnings management is reduced.

Expectation of having consumed caffeine can improve performance and mood.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawkins, Lynne; Shahzad, Fatima-Zahra; Ahmed, Suada S; Edmonds, Caroline J

2011-12-01

We explored whether caffeine, and expectation of having consumed caffeine, affects attention, reward responsivity and mood using double-blinded methodology. 88 participants were randomly allocated to 'drink-type' (caffeinated/decaffeinated coffee) and 'expectancy' (told caffeinated/told decaffeinated coffee) manipulations. Both caffeine and expectation of having consumed caffeine improved attention and psychomotor speed. Expectation enhanced self-reported vigour and reward responsivity. Self-reported depression increased at post-drink for all participants, but less in those receiving or expecting caffeine. These results suggest caffeine expectation can affect mood and performance but do not support a synergistic effect. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High Performance Expectations: Concept and causes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Lotte Bøgh; Jacobsen, Christian Bøtcher

2017-01-01

literature research, HPE is defined as the degree to which leaders succeed in expressing ambitious expectations to their employees’ achievement of given performance criteria, and it is analyzed how leadership behavior affects employee-perceived HPE. This study applies a large-scale leadership field...... experiment with 3,730 employees nested in 471 organizations and finds that transformational leadership training as well as transactional and combined training of the leaders significantly increased employees’ HPE relative to a control group. Furthermore, transformational leadership and the use of pecuniary...... rewards seem to be important mechanisms. This implies that public leaders can actually affect HPE through their leadership and thus potentially organizational performance as well....

Performance measurement, expectancy and agency theory: An experimental study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sloof, R.; van Praag, C.M.

2008-01-01

Theoretical analyses of (optimal) performance measures are typically performed within the realm of the linear agency model. This model implies that, for a given compensation scheme, the agent’s optimal effort is unrelated to the amount of noise in the performance measure. In contrast, expectancy

Performance expectations in the new configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lallia, P.P.; Rebut, P.-H.

1989-01-01

The pumped divertor to be installed in JET should allow a control of the particles and of the impurities. The new hardware required into the vacuum vessel leads to a reduction of the plasma cross section. While a plasma current of 6 MA should still be possible, this will affect the confinement of the plasma. The JET performances in the New Configuration are estimated from the critical electron temperature gradient model by using a 1-D transport code. It has been shown in the past that this model gives a rather satisfactory description of the JET discharges. However it does not address the particle transport and density profiles have to be imposed. By comparison with numerical simulations of the present JET configuration, it is shown that the reduction in plasma size should be more than balanced by the lower impurity concentration expected to result from the divertor. In terms of thermonuclear Q th , a doubling is found relatively to the expectations in the present configuration (≅ .9 against .45). On the other hand Q th should be lowered to .3 if the impurity control is inefficient. In this case as presently observed in JET it is expected that no steady state will be achieved. (author)

Performance-based planning and programming guidebook.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-01

"Performance-based planning and programming (PBPP) refers to the application of performance management principles within the planning and programming processes of transportation agencies to achieve desired performance outcomes for the multimodal tran...

Evaluating Levels of Project Planning and their Effects on Performance in the Nigerian Construction Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Godwin Idoro

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This study compares the level of project planning on public andprivate sectors projects and its impact on performance. Thepurpose is to create awareness of the level and effectivenessof the planning done by public and private clients in the deliveryof construction projects. A questionnaire survey administeredto a sample of 130 client representatives selected by stratifi edrandom sampling from the population of public and private clientsin the Nigerian construction industry is used and analysed usingdescriptive statistics, the t-test and Spearman correlation test. Theresults show that the level of preconstruction planning on privatesector projects is higher than that of public sector projects whilethe level of contract planning done by the latter is higher thanthat of the former. Furthermore, the performance of private sectorprojects is higher than that of public sector projects in many of theparameters used. However, the level of preparation of life-cyclecharts that concern project delivery time in both public and privatesectors projects is low and the level of project planning in the twocategories of projects has a limited impact on project performance.The understanding of how public and private sectors projectsperform in planning and its impact are expected to assist publicand private clients to know the challenges ahead of them in theireffort to improve the planning and performance of their projects.

The Influence of Financial Literacy, Risk Aversion and Expectations on Retirement Planning and Portfolio Allocation in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nurul Shahnaz Mahdzan

2018-12-01

Full Text Available The two objectives of this paper are to examine the effect of financial literacy, risk aversion and expectations on retirement planning; and, to investigate the effect of these antecedents on the retire- ment portfolio allocation. Data was collected via a self-administered questionnaire from a sample of 270 working individuals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Logistic and ordered probit regressions were employed to analyse the first and second objective, respectively. The results from the logistic regression indicate that future expectations significantly influence the probability of planning for retirement. Meanwhile, individu- als with higher financial literacy and lower risk aversion are more likely to hold risky assets in their retirement portfolios. Subsequently, two-sample t-test and one-way ANOVA tests were conducted to further examine the differences in financial literacy, risk aversion and expectations, across demographic sub-groups. The study contributes to the literature by holistically incorporating the behavioural aspects that affect retirement planning and by exploring an uncharted issue of retirement planning—namely, the retirement portfolio allocation.

Revising superior planning performance in chess players: the impact of time restriction and motivation aspects.

Science.gov (United States)

Unterrainer, Josef Martin; Kaller, Christoph Philipp; Leonhart, Rainer; Rahm, Benjamin

2011-01-01

In a previous study (Unterrainer, Kaller, Halsband, & Rahm, 2006), chess players outperformed non-chess players in the Tower of London planning task but exhibited disproportionately longer processing times. This pattern of results raises the question of whether chess players' planning capabilities are superior or whether the results reflect differences in the speed-accuracy trade-off between the groups, possibly attributable to sports motivation. The present study was designed to disambiguate these alternative suggestions by implementing various constraints on planning time and by assessing self-reported motivation. In contrast to the previous study, chess players' performance was not superior, independently of whether problems had to be solved with (Experiment 1) or without (Experiment 2) time limits. As expected, chess players reported higher overall trait and state motivation scores across both experiments. These findings revise the notion of superior planning performance in chess players. In consequence, they do not conform with the assumption of a general transfer of chess-related planning expertise to other cognitive domains, instead suggesting that superior performance may be possible only under specific circumstances such as receiving competitive instructions.

Oncology fellows’ career plans, expectations, and well-being: do fellows know what they are getting into?

Science.gov (United States)

Shanafelt, Tait D; Raymond, Marilyn; Horn, Leora; Moynihan, Tim; Collichio, Frances; Chew, Helen; Kosty, Michael P; Satele, Daniel; Sloan, Jeff; Gradishar, William J

2014-09-20

To evaluate the career plans, professional expectations, and well-being of oncology fellows compared with actual experiences of practicing oncologists. US oncology fellows taking the 2013 Medical Oncology In-Training Examination (MedOnc ITE) were invited to participate in an optional postexamination survey. The survey evaluated fellows’ career plans and professional expectations and measured burnout, quality of life (QOL), fatigue, and satisfaction with work-life balance (WLB) using standardized instruments. Fellows’ professional expectations and well-being were compared with actual experiences of US oncologists assessed simultaneously. Of the 1,637 oncology fellows in the United States, 1,373 (83.9%) took the 2013 MedOnc ITE. Among these, 1,345 (97.9%) completed the postexamination survey. The frequency of burnout among fellows decreased from 43.3% in year 1 to 31.7% in year 2 and 28.1% in year 3 (P work hours were 5 to 6 hours per week fewer than oncologists’ actual reported work hours. Levels of burnout (P = .02) and educational debt (P career. Oncology fellows entering practice trade one set of challenges for another. Unrealized expectations regarding work hours may contribute to future professional dissatisfaction, burnout, and challenges with WLB.

Plan-for-Gov[IT] - Planning for Governance of IT Method: use of the Techniques of "Text Retrieval" for mapping the expected support needs from IT Area to serve of the Corporation's Core-Business expectations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Altino José Mentzingen De Moraes

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The IT - Information Technology, in accordance with the philosophy of the IT Governance (and also as defined by Authors listed as follows requires its integration to the process of Strategic Planning of its Corporation, with the intention to align its actions with the Core-Business aiming at to reach the expected results by the IT Area. The question is how the IT can, under a methodological and direct way, to know how to interpret the expectations expressed by the Strategic Planning (a component of the Corporative Governance, in actions that are addressed to its Area in a practical manner and with an adequate tool kit related to the Frameworks (Models focused to the implementation of the IT Governance, for posterior creation of the necessary Effectiveness Indicators for monitoring about success level of the actions of IT in alignment with the Business. The result of this work is the proposal of the Text Retrieval and its subsequent validation (as a plausible resource for actual use to try to help the Governance of IT in its primary task of assisting the Corporation Core-Business, which was named as Plan-for- Gov[IT] - Planning for Governance of IT Method, which can be automated by the use of resources of "word finding" in Word Processors or in another software products with also this purpose.

Environmental Measurements Laboratory 2002 Unit Performance Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2001-10-01

This EML Unit Performance Plan provides the key goals and performance measures for FY 2002 and continuing to FY 2003. The purpose of the Plan is to inform EML's stakeholders and customers of the Laboratory's products and services, and its accomplishments and future challenges. Also incorporated in the Unit Performance Plan is EML's Communication Plan for FY 2002.

Predicting Document Retrieval System Performance: An Expected Precision Measure.

Science.gov (United States)

Losee, Robert M., Jr.

1987-01-01

Describes an expected precision (EP) measure designed to predict document retrieval performance. Highlights include decision theoretic models; precision and recall as measures of system performance; EP graphs; relevance feedback; and computing the retrieval status value of a document for two models, the Binary Independent Model and the Two Poisson…

Linking melodic expectation to expressive performance timing and perceived musical tension.

Science.gov (United States)

Gingras, Bruno; Pearce, Marcus T; Goodchild, Meghan; Dean, Roger T; Wiggins, Geraint; McAdams, Stephen

2016-04-01

This research explored the relations between the predictability of musical structure, expressive timing in performance, and listeners' perceived musical tension. Studies analyzing the influence of expressive timing on listeners' affective responses have been constrained by the fact that, in most pieces, the notated durations limit performers' interpretive freedom. To circumvent this issue, we focused on the unmeasured prelude, a semi-improvisatory genre without notated durations. In Experiment 1, 12 professional harpsichordists recorded an unmeasured prelude on a harpsichord equipped with a MIDI console. Melodic expectation was assessed using a probabilistic model (IDyOM [Information Dynamics of Music]) whose expectations have been previously shown to match closely those of human listeners. Performance timing information was extracted from the MIDI data using a score-performance matching algorithm. Time-series analyses showed that, in a piece with unspecified note durations, the predictability of melodic structure measurably influenced tempo fluctuations in performance. In Experiment 2, another 10 harpsichordists, 20 nonharpsichordist musicians, and 20 nonmusicians listened to the recordings from Experiment 1 and rated the perceived tension continuously. Granger causality analyses were conducted to investigate predictive relations among melodic expectation, expressive timing, and perceived tension. Although melodic expectation, as modeled by IDyOM, modestly predicted perceived tension for all participant groups, neither of its components, information content or entropy, was Granger causal. In contrast, expressive timing was a strong predictor and was Granger causal. However, because melodic expectation was also predictive of expressive timing, our results outline a complete chain of influence from predictability of melodic structure via expressive performance timing to perceived musical tension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

CP violation in CMS expected performance

CERN Document Server

Stefanescu, J

1999-01-01

The CMS experiment can contribute significantly to the measurement of the CP violation asymmetries. A recent evaluation of the expected precision on the CP violation parameter sin 2 beta in the channel B /sub d//sup 0/ to J/ psi $9 K/sub s//sup 0/ has been performed using a simulation of the CMS tracker including full pattern recognition. CMS has also studied the possibility to observe CP violation in the decay channel B/sub s//sup 0/ to J/ psi phi . The $9 results of these studies are reviewed. (7 refs).

Strategic planning processes and hospital financial performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaissi, Amer A; Begun, James W

2008-01-01

Many common management practices in healthcare organizations, including the practice of strategic planning, have not been subject to widespread assessment through empirical research. If management practice is to be evidence-based, evaluations of such common practices need to be undertaken. The purpose of this research is to provide evidence on the extent of strategic planning practices and the association between hospital strategic planning processes and financial performance. In 2006, we surveyed a sample of 138 chief executive officers (CEOs) of hospitals in the state of Texas about strategic planning in their organizations and collected financial information on the hospitals for 2003. Among the sample hospitals, 87 percent reported having a strategic plan, and most reported that they followed a variety of common practices recommended for strategic planning-having a comprehensive plan, involving physicians, involving the board, and implementing the plan. About one-half of the hospitals assigned responsibility for the plan to the CEO. We tested the association between these planning characteristics in 2006 and two measures of financial performance for 2003. Three dimensions of the strategic planning process--having a strategic plan, assigning the CEO responsibility for the plan, and involving the board--are positively associated with earlier financial performance. Further longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate the cause-and-effect relationship between planning and performance.

Expected performance of the ATLAS experiment detector, trigger and physics

CERN Document Server

Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; Abdallah, J.; Abdelalim, A.A.; Abdesselam, A.; Abdinov, O.; Abi, B.; Abolins, M.; Abramowicz, H.; Acharya, Bobby Samir; Adams, D.L.; Addy, T.N.; Adorisio, C.; Adragna, P.; Adye, T.; Aguilar-Saavedra, J.A.; Aharrouche, M.; Ahlen, S.P.; Ahles, F.; Ahmad, A.; Ahmed, H.; Aielli, G.; Akdogan, T.; Akesson, T.P.A.; Akimoto, G.; Alam, M.S.; Alam, M.A.; Albert, J.; Albrand, S.; Aleksa, M.; Aleksandrov, I.N.; Alessandria, F.; Alexa, C.; Alexander, G.; Alexandre, G.; Alexopoulos, T.; Alhroob, M.; Alimonti, G.; Alison, J.; Aliyev, M.; Allport, P.P.; Allwood-Spiers, S.E.; Aloisio, A.; Alon, R.; Alonso, A.; Alonso, J.; Alviggi, M.G.; Amako, K.; Amaral, P.; Amelung, C.; Ammosov, V.V.; Amorim, A.; Amoros, G.; Amram, N.; Anastopoulos, C.; Anders, C.F.; Anderson, K.J.; Andreazza, A.; Andrei, V.; Andrieux, M-L.; Anduaga, X.S.; Anghinolfi, F.; Antonaki, A.; Antonelli, M.; Antonelli, S.; Antunovic, B.; Anulli, F.A.; Arabidze, G.; Aracena, I.; Arai, Y.; Arce, A.T.H.; Archambault, J.P.; Arfaoui, S.; Arguin, J-F.; Argyropoulos, T.; Arik, E.; Arik, M.; Armbruster, A.J.; Arnaez, O.; Arnault, C.; Artamonov, A.; Arutinov, D.; Asai, M.; Asai, S.; Ask, S.; Asman, B.; Asner, D.; Asquith, L.; Assamagan, K.; Astbury, A.; Astvatsatourov, A.; Atkinson, T.; Atoian, G.; Auerbach, B.; Auge, E.; Augsten, K.; Aurousseau, M.A.; Austin, N.; Avolio, G.; Avramidou, R.; Axen, A.; Ay, C.; Azuelos, G.; Azuma, Y.; Baak, M.A.; Baccaglioni, G.; Bacci, C.; Bachacou, H.; Bachas, K.; Backes, M.; Badescu, E.; Bagnaia, P.; Bai, Y.; Bailey, D.C.; Baines, J.T.; Baker, O.K.; Baltasar Dos Santos Pedrosa, F.; Banas, E.; Banerjee, S.; Banfi, D.; Bangert, A.; Bansal, V.; Baranov, S.P.; Baranov, S.; Barashkou, A.; Barber, T.B.; Barberio, E.L.; Barberis, D.; Barbero, M.B.; Bardin, D.Y.; Barillari, T.; Barisonzi, M.; Barklow, T.; Barlow, N.B.; Barnett, B.M.; Barnett, R.M.; Baron, S.; Baroncelli, A.; Barr, A.J.; Barreiro, F.; Barreiro Guimaraes da Costa, J.; Barrillon, P.; Bartoldus, R.; Bartsch, D.; Bastos, J.; Bates, R.L.; Batley, J.R.; Battaglia, A.; Battistin, M.; Bauer, F.; Bazalova, M.; Beare, B.; Beauchemin, P.H.; Beccherle, R.B.; Becerici, N.; Bechtle, P.; Beck, G.A.; Beck, H.P.; Beckingham, M.; Becks, K.H.; Bedajanek, I.; Beddall, A.J.; Beddall, A.; Bednar, P.; Bednyakov, V.A.; Bee, C.; Behar Harpaz, S.; Behera, P.K.; Beimforde, M.; Belanger-Champagne, C.; Bell, P.J.; Bell, W.H.; Bella, G.; Bellagamba, L.; Bellina, F.; Bellomo, M.; Belloni, A.; Belotskiy, K.; Beltramello, O.; Ben Ami, S.; Benary, O.; Benchekroun, D.; Bendel, M.; Benedict, B.H.; Benekos, N.; Benhammou, Y.; Benincasa, G.P.; Benjamin, D.P.; Benoit, M.; Bensinger, J.R.; Benslama, K.; Bentvelsen, S.; Beretta, M.; Berge, D.; Bergeaas Kuutmann, Elin; Berger, N.; Berghaus, F.; Berglund, E.; Beringer, J.; Bernardet, K.; Bernat, P.; Bernhard, R.; Bernius, C.; Berry, T.; Bertin, A.; Besson, N.; Bethke, S.; Bianchi, R.M.; Bianco, M.; Biebel, O.; Biesiada, Jed; Biglietti, M.; Bilokon, H.; Binet, S.; Bingul, A.; Bini, C.; Biscarat, C.; Bischofberger, M.; Bitenc, U.; Black, K.M.; Blair, R.E.; Blanchot, G.; Blocker, C.; Blocki, J.; Blondel, A.; Blum, W.; Blumenschein, U.; Boaretto, C.; Bobbink, G.J.; Bocci, A.; Bodine, B.; Boek, J.; Boelaert, N.; Boeser, Sebastian; Bogaerts, J.A.; Bogouch, A.; Bohm, C.; Bohm, J.; Boisvert, V.; Bold, T.; Boldea, V.; Bondarenko, V.G.; Bondioli, M.; Boonekamp, M.; Booth, C.N.; Booth, P.S.L.; Booth, J.R.A.; Borisov, A.; Borissov, G.; Borjanovic, I.; Borroni, S.; Bos, K.; Boscherini, D.; Bosman, M.; Bosteels, M.; Boterenbrood, H.; Bouchami, J.; Boudreau, J.; Bouhova-Thacker, E.V.; Boulahouache, C.; Bourdarios, C.; Boyd, J.; Boyko, I.R.; Braem, A.; Branchini, P.; Brandenburg, G.W.; Brandt, A.; Brandt, O.; Bratzler, U.; Brau, J.E.; Braun, H.M.; Brelier, B.; Bremer, J.; Brenner, R.; Bressler, S.; Breton, D.; Brett, N.D.; Britton, D.; Brochu, F.M.; Brock, I.; Brock, R.; Brodet, E.; Broggi, F.; Brooijmans, G.; Brooks, W.K.; Brubaker, E.; Bruckman de Renstrom, P.A.; Bruncko, D.; Bruneliere, R.; Brunet, S.; Bruni, A.; Bruni, G.; Bruschi, M.; Buanes, T.; Bucci, F.B.; Buchholz, P.; Buckley, A.G.; Budagov, I.A.; Buescher, Volker; Bugge, L.; Bujor, F.; Bulekov, O.; Bunse, M.; Buran, T.; Burckhart, H.; Burdin, S.; Burke, S.; Busato, E.; Buszello, C.P.; Butin, F.; Butler, B.; Butler, J.M.; Buttar, C.M.; Butterworth, J.M.; Byatt, T.; Cabrera Urban, S.; Caforio, D.; Cakir, O.; Calafiura, P.; Calderini, G.; Calkins, R.; Caloba, L.P.; Caloi, R.; Calvet, D.; Camarri, P.; Cambiaghi, M.; Cameron, D.; Campabadal Segura, F.; Campana, S.; Campanelli, M.; Canale, V.; Cantero, J.; Capeans Garrido, M.D.M.; Caprini, I.; Caprini, M.; Capua, M.; Caputo, R.; Caramarcu, C.; Cardarelli, R.; Carli, T.; Carlino, G.; Carminati, L.; Caron, B.; Caron, S.; Carron Montero, S.; Carter, A.A.; Carter, J.R.; Carvalho, J.; Casadei, D.; Casado, M.P.; Cascella, M.; Caso, C.; Castaneda Hernadez, A.M.; Castaneda Miranda, E.; Castillo Gimenez, V.; Castro, N.F.; Cataldi, G.; Catinaccio, A.; Catmore, J.R.; Cattai, A.; Cattani, G.; Caughron, S.; Cauz, D.; Cavalleri, P.; Cavalli, D.; Cavalli-Sforza, M.; Cavasinni, V.; Cazzato, A.; Ceradini, F.; Cerqueira, A.S.; Cerri, A.; Cerrito, L.; Cerutti, F.; Cetin, S.A.; Cevenini, F.; Chafaq, A.C.; Chakraborty, D.; Chapman, J.D.; Chapman, J.W.; Chareyre, E.C.; Charlton, D.G.; Chatterjii, S.C.; Cheatham, S.; Chekanov, S.; Chekulaev, S.V.; Chelkov, G.A.; Chen, H.; Chen, T.; Chen, X.; Cheng, S.; Cheng, T.L.; Cheplakov, A.; Chepurnov, V.F.; Cherkaoui El Moursli, R.; Tcherniatine, V.; Chesneanu, D.; Cheu, E.; Cheung, S.L.; Chevalier, L.; Chevallier, F.; Chiarella, V.; Chiefari, G.; Chikovani, L.; Childers, J.T.; Chilingarov, A.; Chiodini, G.; Chouridou, S.; Chren, D.; Christidi, I.A.; Christov, A.; Chromek-Burckhart, D.; Chu, M.L.; Chudoba, J.; Ciapetti, G.; Ciftci, A.K.; Ciftci, R.; Cindro, V.; Ciobotaru, M.D.; Ciocca, C.; Ciocio, A.; Cirilli, M.; Citterio, M.; Clark, A.; Cleland, W.; Clemens, J.C.; Clement, B.; Clement, C.; Clements, D.; Coadou, Y.; Cobal, M.; Coccaro, A.; Cochran, J.; Coelli, S.; Coggeshall, J.; Cogneras, E.; Cojocaru, C.D.; Colas, J.; Cole, B.; Colijn, A.P.; Collard, C.; Collins, N.J.; Collins-Tooth, C.; Collot, J.; Colon, G.; Coluccia, R.; Conde Muino, P.; Coniavitis, E.; Consonni, M.; Constantinescu, S.; Conta, C.; Conventi, F.; Cook, J.; Cooke, Mark S.; Cooper, B.D.; Cooper-Smith, N.J.; Copic, K.; Cornelissen, T.; Corradi, M.; Corriveau, F.C.; Corso-Radu, A.; Cortes-Gonzalez, A.; Costa, G.; Costa, M.J.; Costanzo, D.; Costin, T.; Cote, D.; Coura Torres, R.; Courneyea, L.; Cowan, G.; Cowden, C.C.; Cox, B.E.; Cranmer, K.; Cranshaw, J.; Cristinziani, M.; Crosetti, G.; Crupi, R.C.; Crepe-Renaudin, S.; Cuciuc, C.M.; Cuenca Almenar, C.; Curatolo, M.; Curtis, C.J.; Cwetanski, P.; Czyczula, Z.; D'Auria, S.; D'Onofrio, M.; D'Orazio, A.; Da Rocha Gesualdi Mello, A.; Da Silva, P.V.M.; Da Via, C.V.; Dabrowski, W.; Dai, T.; Dallapiccola, C.; Dallison, S.J.; Daly, C.H.; Dam, M.; Danielsson, H.O.; Dannheim, D.; Dao, V.; Darbo, G.; Davey, W.D.; Davidek, T.; Davidson, N.; 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Manabe, A.; Mandelli, L.; Mandic, I.; Maneira, J.; Mangeard, P.S.; Manjavidze, I.D.; Manousakis-Katsikakis, A.; Mansoulie, B.; Mapelli, A.; Mapelli, L.; March Ruiz, L.; Marchand, J.F.; Marchese, F.M.; Marcisovsky, M.; Marques, C.N.; Marroquim, F.; Marshall, R.; Marshall, Z.; Martens, F.K.; Marti i Garcia, S.; Martin, A.; Martin, A.J.; Martin, B.; Martin, F.F.; Martin, J.P.; Martinez Perez, M.; Martinez Outschoorn, V.; Martini, A.; Martynenko, V.; Martyniuk, A.C.; Maruyama, T.; Marzano, F.; Marzin, A.; Masetti, L.; Mashimo, T.; Mashinistov, R.; Masik, J.; Maslennikov, A.L.; Massaro, G.; Massol, N.; Mastroberardino, A.; Mathes, M.; Matricon, P.; Matsumoto, H.; Matsunaga, H.; Matsushita, T.; Maugain, J.M.; Maxfield, S.J.; May, E.N.; Mayne, A.; Mazini, R.; Mazzanti, M.; Mazzanti, P.; Mc Kee, S.P.; McCarthy, R.L.; McCormick, C.; McCubbin, N.A.; McFarlane, K.W.; McGarvie, S.; McGlone, H.; McLaren, R.A.; McMahon, S.J.; McMahon, T.R.; McPherson, R.A.; Mechnich, J.M.; Mechtel, M.; Meder-Marouelli, D.; Medinnis, M.; Meera-Lebbai, R.; Mehdiyev, R.; Mehlhase, S.; Mehta, A.; Meier, K.; Meirose, B.; Melamed-Katz, A.; Mellado Garcia, B.R.; Meng, Z.M.; Menke, S.; Meoni, E.; Merkl, D.; Mermod, P.; Merola, L.; Meroni, C.; Merritt, F.S.; Messina, A.M.; Messmer, I.; Metcalfe, J.; Mete, A.S.; Meyer, J-P.; Meyer, J.; Meyer, T.C.; Meyer, W.T.; Micu, L.; Middleton, R.; Migas, S.; Mijovic, L.; Mikenberg, G.; Mikuz, M.; Miller, D.W.; Miller, R.J.; Mills, B.M.; Mills, C.M.; Milosavljevic, M.; Milstead, D.A.; Mima, S.; Minaenko, A.A.; Minano, M.; Minashvili, I.A.; Mincer, A.I.; Mindur, B.; Mineev, M.; Mir, L.M.; Mirabelli, G.; Misawa, S.; Miscetti, S.; Misiejuk, A.; Mitrevski, J.M.; Mitsou, V.A.; Miyagawa, P.S.; Mjornmark, J.U.; Mladenov, D.; Moa, T.; Moch, M.; Mochizuki, A.; Mockett, P.; Modesto, P.; Moed, S.; Moeller, V.; Monig, Klaus; Moeser, N.; Mohn, B.; Mohr, W.; Mohrdieck-Moeck, S.; Moles-Valls, R.; Molina-Perez, J.; Moloney, G.; Monk, J.; Monnier, E.; Montesano, S.; Monticelli, F.; Moore, R.W.; Mora Herrera, C.M.; Moraes, A.; Morais, A.; Morel, J.; Moreno, D.; Moreno Llacer, M.; Morettini, P.; Morii, M.; Morin, J.; Morley, A.K.; Mornacchi, G.; Morozov, S.V.; Morris, J.D.; Moser, H.G.; Mosidze, M.; Moss, J.M.; Moszczynski, A.; Mountricha, E.; Mouraviev, S.V.; Moyse, E.J.W.; Mueller, J.; Mueller, K.; Mueller, T.A.; Muenstermann, D.M.; Muir, A.M.; Murillo Garcia, R.; Murray, W.J.; Musto, E.; Myagkov, A.G.; Myska, M.; Nadal, J.; Nagai, K.; Nagano, K.; Nagasaka, Y.; Nairz, A.M.; Nakano, I.; Nakatsuka, H.; Nanava, G.; Napier, A.; Nash, M.; Nation, N.R.; Naumann, T.; Navarro, G.; Nderitu, S.K.; Neal, H.A.; Nebot, E.; Nechaeva, P.; Negri, A.; Negri, G.; Nelson, A.; Nemecek, S.; Nemethy, P.; Nepomuceno, A.A.; Nessi, M.; Nesterov, S.Y.; Neubauer, M.S.; Neusiedl, A.; Neves, R.N.; Nevski, P.; Newcomer, F.M.; Ng, C.; Nicholson, C.; Nickerson, R.B.; Nicolaidou, R.; Nicoletti, G.; Nicquevert, B.; Nielsen, J.; Nikiforov, A.; Nikitin, N.; Nikolaev, K.; Nikolic-Audit, I.; Nikolopoulos, K.; Nilsen, H.; Nilsson, P.; Nisati, A.; Nisius, R.; Nodulman, L.J.; Nomachi, M.; Nomidis, I.; Nomoto, H.; Nordberg, M.; Notz, D.; Novakova, J.; Nozaki, M.; Nozicka, M.; Nuncio-Quiroz, A.E.; Nunes Hanninger, G.; Nunnemann, T.; O'Neale, S.W.; O'Neil, D.C.; O'Shea, V.; Oakham, F.G.; Oberlack, H.; Ochi, A.; Odaka, S.; Odino, G.A.; Ogren, H.; Oh, S.H.; Ohshima, T.; Ohshita, H.; Ohsugi, T.; Okada, S.; Okawa, H.; Okumura, Y.; Olcese, M.; Olchevski, A.G.; Oliveira, M.; Oliveira Damazio, D.; Oliver, J.; Oliver Garcia, E.O.; Olivito, D.; Olszewski, A.; Olszowska, J.; Omachi, C.; Onea, A.; Onofre, A.; Oram, C.J.; Ordonez, G.; Oreglia, M.J.; Oren, Y.; Orestano, D.; Orlov, I.O.; Orr, R.S.; Ortega, E.O.; Osculati, B.; Osuna, C.; Otec, R.; Ould-Saada, F.; Ouraou, A.; Ouyang, Q.; Oye, O.K.; Ozcan, V.E.; Ozone, K.; Ozturk, N.; Pacheco Pages, A.; Padhi, S.; Padilla Aranda, C.; Paganis, E.; Paige, F.; Pajchel, K.; Pal, A.; Palestini, S.; Palla, J.; Pallin, D.; Palma, A.; Pan, Y.B.; Panagiotopoulou, E.; Panes, B.; Panikashvili, N.; Panitkin, S.; Pantea, D.; Panuskova, M.; Paolone, V.; Papadopoulou, Th.D.; Park, W.; Parker, M.A.; Parker, S.; Parodi, F.; Parsons, J.A.; Parzefall, U.; Pasqualucci, E.; Passardi, G.; Passeri, A.; Pastore, F.; Pastore, Fr.; Pataraia, S.; Pater, J.R.; Patricelli, S.; Patwa, P.; Pauly, T.; Peak, L.S.; Pecsy, M.; Pedraza Morales, M.I.; Peleganchuk, S.V.; Peng, H.; Pengo, R.; Penwell, J.; Perantoni, M.; Pereira, A.; Perez, K.; Perez Codina, E.; Perez Reale, V.; Perini, L.; Pernegger, H.; Perrino, R.; Perrodo, P.; Perus, P.; Peshekhonov, V.D.; Petersen, B.A.; Petersen, J.; Petersen, T.C.; Petridou, C.; Petrolo, E.; Petrucci, F.; Petti, R.; Pezoa, R.; Pezzetti, M.; Pfeifer, B.; Phan, A.; Phillips, A.W.; Piacquadio, G.; Piccinini, M.; Piegaia, R.; Pier, S.; Pilcher, J.E.; Pilkington, A.D.; Pina, J.; Pinfold, J.L.; Ping, J.; Pinto, B.; Pirotte, O.; Pizio, C.; Placakyte, R.; Plamondon, M.; Plano, W.G.; Pleier, M.A.; Poblaguev, A.; Podlyski, F.; Poffenberger, P.; Poggioli, L.; Pohl, M.; Polci, F.; Polesello, G.; Policicchio, A.; Polini, A.; Poll, J.P.; Polychronakos, V.; Pomarede, D.M.; Pommes, K.; Pontecorvo, L.; Pope, B.G.; Popescu, R.; Popovic, D.S.; Poppleton, A.; Popule, J.; Portell Bueso, X.; Porter, R.; Pospelov, G.E.; Pospichal, P.; Pospisil, S.; Potekhin, M.; Potrap, I.N.; Potter, C.J.; Potter, C.T.; Potter, K.P.; Poulard, G.; Poveda, J.; Prabhu, R.; Pralavorio, P.; Prasad, S.; Pravahan, R.; Preda, T.; Pretzl, K.; Pribyl, L.; Price, D.; Price, L.E.; Price, M.J.; Prichard, P.M.; Prieur, D.; Primavera, M.; Prokofiev, Kirill; Prokoshin, F.; Protopopescu, S.; Proudfoot, J.; Przysiezniak, H.; Puigdengoles, C.; Purdham, J.; Purohit, M.; Puzo, P.; Pylypchenko, Y.; Perez Garcia-Estan, M.T.; Qi, M.; Qian, J.; Qian, W.; Qian, Z.; Qin, Z.; Qing, D.; Quadt, A.; Quarrie, D.R.; Quayle, W.B.; Quinonez, F.; Raas, M.; Radeka, V.; Radescu, V.; Radics, B.; Rador, T.; Ragusa, F.; Rahal, G.; Rahimi, A.M.; Rahm, D.; Rajagopalan, S.; Rajek, S.; Ratoff, P.N.; Rauscher, F.; Rauter, E.; Raymond, M.; Read, A.L.; Rebuzzi, D.M.; Redlinger, G.R.; Reece, R.; Reeves, K.; Reinherz-Aronis, E.; Reisinger, I.; Reljic, D.; Rembser, C.; Ren, Z.; Renkel, P.; Rescia, S.; Rescigno, M.; Resconi, S.; Resende, B.; Rezaie, E.; Reznicek, P.; Richards, A.; Richards, R.A.; Richter, R.; Richter-Was, E.; Ridel, M.; Rieke, S.; Rijpstra, M.; Rijssenbeek, M.; Rimoldi, A.; Rios, R.R.; Risler, C.; Riu, I.; Rivoltella, G.; Rizatdinova, F.; Roberts, K.; Robertson, S.H.; Robichaud-Veronneau, A.; Robinson, D.; Robson, A.; Rocha de Lima, J.G.; Roda, C.; Rodriguez, D.; Rodriguez, Y.; Roe, S.; Rohne, O.; Rojo, V.; Rolli, S.; Romaniouk, A.; Romanov, V.M.; Romeo, G.; Romero, D.; Roos, L.; Ros, E.; Rosati, S.; Rosenbaum, G.A.; Rosenberg, E.I.; Rosselet, L.; Rossi, L.P.; Rotaru, M.; Rothberg, J.; Rottlaender, I.; Rousseau, D.; Royon, C.R.; Rozanov, A.; Rozen, Y.; Ruckert, B.; Ruckstuhl, N.; Rud, V.I.; Rudolph, G.; Ruehr, F.; Ruggieri, F.; Ruiz-Martinez, A.; Rumiantsev, V.; Rumyantsev, L.; Rusakovich, N.A.; Rust, D.R.; Rutherfoord, J.P.; Ruwiedel, C.; Ruzicka, P.; Ryabov, Y.F.; Ryadovikov, V.; Ryan, P.; Rybin, A.M.; Rybkin, G.; Rzaeva, S.; Saavedra, A.F.; Sadrozinski, H.F-W.; Sadykov, R.; Sakamoto, H.; Salamanna, G.; Salamon, A.; Saleem, M.; Salihagic, D.; Salnikov, A.; Salt, J.; Salvachua Ferrando, B.M.; Salvatore, D.; Salvatore, F.; Salzburger, A.; Sampsonidis, D.; Samset, B.H.; Sanchis Lozano, M.A.; Sandaker, H.; Sander, H.G.; Sandhoff, M.; Sandvoss, S.; Sankey, D.P.C.; Sanny, B.; Sansoni, A.; Santamarina Rios, C.; Santi, L.; Santoni, C.; Santonico, R.; Santos, D.; Saraiva, J.G.; Sarangi, T.; Sarri, F.; Sasaki, O.; Sasaki, T.; Sasao, N.; Satsounkevitch, I.; Sauvage, G.; Savard, P.; Savine, A.Y.; Savinov, V.; Sawyer, L.; Saxon, D.H.; Says, L.P.; Sbarra, C.; Sbrizzi, A.; Scannicchio, D.A.; Schaarschmidt, J.; Schacht, P.; Schaefer, U.; Schaetzel, S.; Schaffer, A.C.; Schaile, D.; Schamberger, R.; Schamov, A.G.; Schegelsky, V.A.; Schernau, M.; Scherzer, M.I.; Schiavi, C.; Schieck, J.; Schioppa, M.; Schlenker, S.; Schlereth, J.L.; Schmid, P.; Schmidt, M.P.; Schmitt, C.; Schmitz, M.; Schott, M.; Schouten, D.; Schovancova, J.; Schram, M.; Schreiner, A.; Schroers, M.S.; Schuh, S.; Schuler, G.; Schultes, J.; Schultz-Coulon, H-C.; Schumacher, J.; Schumacher, M.; Schumm, B.S.; Schune, Ph.; Schwanenberger, C.S.; Schwartzman, A.; Schwemling, Ph.; Schwienhorst, R.; Schwierz, R.; Schwindling, J.; Scott, W.G.; Sedykh, E.; Segura, E.; Seidel, S.C.; Seiden, A.; Seifert, F.S.; Seixas, J.M.; Sekhniaidze, G.; Seliverstov, D.M.; Sellden, B.; Seman, M.; Semprini-Cesari, N.; Serfon, C.; Serin, L.; Seuster, R.; Severini, H.; Sevior, M.E.; Sfyrla, A.; Shan, L.; Shank, J.T.; Shapiro, M.; Shatalov, P.B.; Shaver, L.; Shaw, C.; Shaw, K.S.; Sherman, D.; Sherwood, P.; Shibata, A.; Shimojima, M.; Shin, T.; Shmeleva, A.; Shochet, M.J.; Shupe, M.A.; Sicho, P.; Sidoti, A.; Siebel, A.; Siebel, M.; Siegrist, J.; Sijacki, D.; Silbert, O.; Silva, J.; Silverstein, S.B.; Simak, V.; Simic, Lj.; Simion, S.; Simmons, B.; Simonyan, M.; Sinervo, P.; Sipica, V.; Siragusa, G.; Sisakyan, A.N.; Sivoklokov, S.Yu.; Sjolin, J.; Skubic, P.; Skvorodnev, N.; Slavicek, T.; Sliwa, K.; Sloper, J.; Sluka, T.; Smakhtin, V.; Smirnov, S.Yu.; Smirnov, Y.; Smirnova, L.N.; Smirnova, O.; Smith, B.C.; Smith, K.M.; Smizanska, M.; Smolek, K.; Snesarev, A.A.; Snow, S.W.; Snow, J.; Snuverink, J.; Snyder, S.; Soares, M.; Sobie, R.; Sodomka, J.; Soffer, A.; Solans, C.A.; Solar, M.; Solfaroli Camillocci, E.; Solodkov, A.A.; Solovyanov, O.V.; Soluk, R.; Sondericker, J.; Sopko, V.; Sopko, B.; Sosebee, M.; Sosnovtsev, V.V.; Sospedra Suay, L.; Soukharev, A.; Spagnolo, S.; Spano, F.; Speckmayer, P.; Spencer, E.; Spighi, R.; Spigo, G.; Spila, F.; Spiwoks, R.; Spogli, L.; Spousta, M.; Spreitzer, T.; Spurlock, B.; St. Denis, R.D.; Stahl, T.; Stamen, R.; Stancu, S.N.; Stanecka, E.; Stanek, R.W.; Stanescu, C.; Stapnes, S.; Starchenko, E.A.; Stark, J.; Staroba, P.; Stastny, J.; Staude, A.; Stavina, P.; Stavropoulos, G.; Steinbach, P.; Steinberg, P.; Stekl, I.; Stelzer, H.J.; Stenzel, H.; Stevenson, K.S.; Stewart, G.; Stewart, T.D.; Stockton, M.C.; Stoicea, G.; Stonjek, S.; Strachota, P.; Stradling, A.; Straessner, A.; Strandberg, J.; Strandberg, S.; Strandlie, A.; Strauss, M.; Strizenec, P.; Strohmer, R.; Strom, D.M.; Strong, J.A.; Stroynowski, R.; Stugu, B.; Stumer, I.; Su, D.; Subramania, S.; Suchkov, S.I.; Sugaya, Y.; Sugimoto, T.; Suhr, C.; Suk, M.; Sulin, V.V.; Sultansoy, S.; Sundermann, J.E.; Suruliz, K.; Sushkov, S.; Susinno, G.; Sutton, M.R.; Suzuki, T.; Sviridov, Yu.M.; Sykora, I.; Sykora, T.; Szczygiel, R.R.; Szymocha, T.; Sanchez, J.; Ta, D.; Taffard, A.T.; Tafirout, R.; Taga, A.; Takahashi, Y.; Takai, H.; Takashima, R.; Takeda, H.; Takeshita, T.; Talby, M.; Tali, B.; Talyshev, A.; Tamsett, M.C.; Tanaka, J.; Tanaka, R.; Tanaka, S.; Tappern, G.P.; Tapprogge, S.; Tarem, S.; Tarrade, F.; Tartarelli, G.F.; Tas, P.; Tasevsky, M.; Tassi, E.T.; Taylor, C.; Taylor, F.E.; Taylor, G.N.; Taylor, R.P.; Taylor, W.; Tegenfeldt, F.; Teixeira-Dias, P.; Ten Kate, H.; Teng, P.K.; Terada, S.; Terashi, K.; Terron, J.; Terwort, M.; Teuscher, R.J.; Tevlin, C.M.; Thadome, J.; Thananuwong, R.; Thioye, M.; Thomas, J.P.; Thomas, T.L.; Thompson, E.N.; Thompson, P.D.; Thompson, R.J.; Thompson, A.S.; Thomson, E.; Thun, R.P.; Tic, T.; Tikhomirov, V.O.; Tikhonov, Y.A.; Timmermans, C.J.W.P.; Tipton, P.; Tique Aires Viegas, F.J.; Tisserant, S.; Tobias, J.; Toczek, B.; Todorov, T.T.; Todorova-Nova, S.; Tojo, J.; Tokar, S.; Tokushuku, K.; Tomasek, L.; Tomasek, M.; Tomasz, F.; Tomoto, M.; Tompkins, D.; Tompkins, L.; Toms, K.; Tonazzo, A.; Tong, G.; Tonoyan, A.; Topfel, C.; Topilin, N.D.; Torrence, E.; Torro Pastor, E.; Toth, J.; Touchard, F.; Tovey, D.R.; Tovey, S.N.; Trefzger, T.; Tremblet, L.; Tricoli, A.; Trigger, I.M.; Trincaz-Duvoid, S.; Tripiana, M.F.; Triplett, N.; Trischuk, W.; Trivedi, A.; Trocme, B.; Troncon, C.; Tsarouchas, C.; Tseng, J.C-L.; Tsiafis, I.; Tsiakiris, M.; Tsiareshka, P.V.; Tsipolitis, G.; Tskhadadze, E.G.; Tsukerman, I.I.; Tsulaia, V.; Tsuno, S.; Turala, M.; Turecek, D.; Turk Cakir, I.; Turlay, E.; Tuts, P.M.; Twomey, M.S.; Tyndel, M.; Typaldos, D.; Tzanakos, G.; Ueda, I.; Uhrmacher, M.; Ukegawa, F.; Unal, G.; Underwood, D.G.; Undrus, A.; Unel, G.; Unno, Y.; Urkovsky, E.; Urquijo, P.; Urrejola, P.; Usai, G.; Vacavant, L.; Vacek, V.; Vachon, B.; Vahsen, S.; Valderanis, C.; Valenta, J.; Valente, P.; Valkar, S.; Valls Ferrer, J.A.; Van der Bij, H.; van der Graaf, H.; van der Kraaij, E.; van der Poel, E.; van Eldik, N.; van Gemmeren, P.; van Kesteren, Z.; van Vulpen, I.; VanBerg, R.; Vandelli, W.; Vandoni, G.; Vaniachine, A.; Vankov, P.; Vannucci, F.; Varela Rodriguez, F.; Vari, R.; Varnes, E.W.; Varouchas, D.; Vartapetian, A.; Varvell, K.E.; Vassilakopoulos, V.I.; Vassilieva, L.; Vataga, E.; Vazeille, F.; Vegni, G.; Veillet, J.J.; Vellidis, C.; Veloso, F.; Veness, R.; Veneziano, S.; Ventura, Andrea; Ventura, D.; Ventura, S.; Venturi, N.; Vercesi, V.; Verducci, M.; Verkerke, W.; Vermeulen, J.C.; Vetterli, M.C.; Vichou, I.; Vickey, T.; Viehhauser, G.H.A.; Villa, M.; Villani, E.G.; Villaplana Perez, M.; Vilucchi, E.; Vincter, M.G.; Vinogradov, V.B.; Virchaux, M.; Viret, S.; Virzi, J.; Vitale, A.; Vitells, O.V.; Vivarelli, I.; Vives, R.; Vives Vaques, F.; Vlachos, S.; Vlasak, M.; Vlasov, N.; Vogt, H.; Vokac, P.; Volpi, M.; Volpini, G.; von der Schmitt, H.; von Loeben, J.; von Toerne, E.; Vorobel, V.; Vorobiev, A.P.; Vorwerk, V.; Vos, M.; Voss, R.; Voss, T.T.; Vossebeld, J.H.; Vranjes, N.; Vrba, V.; Vreeswijk, M.; Vu Anh, T.; Vudragovic, M.; Vuillermet, R.; Vukotic, I.; Wagner, P.; Wahlen, H.; Walbersloh, J.; Walder, J.; Walker, R.; Walkowiak, W.; Wall, R.; Wang, C.; Wang, J.; Wang, J.C.; Wang, S.M.W.; Ward, C.P.; Warsinsky, M.; Watkins, P.M.; Watson, A.T.; Watts, G.; Watts, S.W.; Waugh, A.T.; Waugh, B.M.; Webel, M.; Weber, J.; Weber, M.; Weber, M.S.; Weber, P.; Weidberg, A.R.; Weingarten, J.; Weiser, C.; Wellenstein, H.; Wells, P.S.; Wen, M.; Wenaus, T.; Wendler, S.; Wengler, T.; Wenig, S.; Wermes, N.; Werner, M.; Werner, P.; Werthenbach, U.; Wessels, M.; Wheeler-Ellis, S.J.; Whitaker, S.P.; White, A.; White, M.J.; White, S.; Whiteson, D.; Whittington, D.; Wicek, F.; Wicke, D.; Wickens, F.J.; Wiedenmann, W.; Wielers, M.; Wienemann, P.; Wiglesworth, C.; Wildauer, A.; Wildt, M.A.; Wilhelm, I.; Wilkens, H.G.; Williams, H.H.; Willis, W.; Willocq, S.; Wilson, J.A.; Wilson, M.G.; Wilson, A.; Wingerter-Seez, I.; Winklmeier, F.W.; Winton, L.; Wittgen, M.; Wolter, M.W.; Wolters, H.; Wosiek, B.; Wotschack, J.; Woudstra, M.J.; Wraight, K.; Wright, C.; Wrona, B.; Wu, S.L.; Wu, X.; Xella, S.; Xie, S.; Xie, Y.; Xu, G.; Xu, N.; Yamamoto, A.; Yamamoto, S.; Yamamura, T.; Yamanaka, K.; Yamazaki, T.; Yamazaki, Y.; Yan, Z.; Yang, H.; Yang, U.K.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Z.; Yao, W-M.; Yao, Y.; Yasu, Y.; Ye, J.; Ye, S.; Yilmaz, M.; Yoosoofmiya, R.; Yorita, K.; Yoshida, R.; Young, C.; Youssef, S.P.; Yu, D.; Yu, J.; Yu, M.; Yu, X.; Yuan, J.; Yuan, L.; Yurkewicz, A.; Zaidan, R.; Zaitsev, A.M.; Zajacova, Z.; Zanello, L.; Zarzhitsky, P.; Zaytsev, A.; Zdrazil, M.; Zeitnitz, C.; Zeller, M.; Zema, P.F.; Zendler, C.; Zenin, A.V.; Zenis, T.; Zenonos, Z.; Zenz, S.; Zerwas, D.; Zhan, Z.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, Q.; Zheng, W.; Zhang, X.; Zhao, L.; Zhao, T.; Zhao, Z.; Zhelezko, A.; Zhemchugov, A.; Zheng, S.; Zhong, J.; Zhou, B.; Zhou, N.; Zhou, S.; Zhou, Y.; Zhu, C.G.; Zhu, H.; Zhu, Y.; Zhuang, X.A.; Zhuravlov, V.; Zilka, B.; Zimmermann, R.; Zimmermann, S.; Zinna, M.; Ziolkowski, M.; Zitoun, R.; Zivkovic, L.; Zmouchko, V.V.; Zobernig, G.; Zoccoli, A.; zur Nedden, M.; Zychacek, V.

2009-01-01

A detailed study is presented of the expected performance of the ATLAS detector. The reconstruction of tracks, leptons, photons, missing energy and jets is investigated, together with the performance of b-tagging and the trigger. The physics potential for a variety of interesting physics processes, within the Standard Model and beyond, is examined. The study comprises a series of notes based on simulations of the detector and physics processes, with particular emphasis given to the data expected from the first years of operation of the LHC at CERN.

Failure-censored accelerated life test sampling plans for Weibull distribution under expected test time constraint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, D.S.; Chun, Y.R.; Kim, J.G.

1995-01-01

This paper considers the design of life-test sampling plans based on failure-censored accelerated life tests. The lifetime distribution of products is assumed to be Weibull with a scale parameter that is a log linear function of a (possibly transformed) stress. Two levels of stress higher than the use condition stress, high and low, are used. Sampling plans with equal expected test times at high and low test stresses which satisfy the producer's and consumer's risk requirements and minimize the asymptotic variance of the test statistic used to decide lot acceptability are obtained. The properties of the proposed life-test sampling plans are investigated

How Need for Cognition Affects the Formation of Performance Expectancies at School

Science.gov (United States)

Dickhauser, Oliver; Reinhard, Marc-Andre

2009-01-01

Individuals with low Need for Cognition (NFC) have been found to process information using a peripheral route compared to individuals higher in NFC. These differences affect the formation of performance expectancies. Based on previous work demonstrating that the formation of performance expectancies can be understood as an information processing…

Expectations, Performance, and Citizen Satisfaction with Urban Services

Science.gov (United States)

Van Ryzin, Gregg G.

2004-01-01

The expectancy disconfirmation model has dominated private-sector research on customer satisfaction for several decades, yet it has not been applied to citizen satisfaction with urban services. The model views satisfaction judgments as determined--not just by product or service performance--but by a process in which consumers compare performance…

Development of a business plan for women's health services, using Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Caramanica, L; Maxwell, S; Curry, S

2000-06-01

A new process for business planning at Hartford Hospital was needed to achieve critical business results. This article describes the Hospital's use of the Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Criteria as a way to standardize and improve business planning. Women's Health Services is one of Hartford Hospital's "centers for excellence" and one of the first to use these criteria to improve its service. Staff learned how to build their business plan upon a set of core values and concepts such as customer-driven quality, leadership that sets high expectations, continuous improvement and learning, valuing employees, faster response to market demands, management by fact, and a long-range view of the future.

Effect of employment planning with professional education on expectation and personal development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suat Aşkın

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In recent years in Turkey, it has been observed that workforce education programs within the active workforce marketing policies implemented by the Turkish Labour Institution especially towards the disadvantaged groups such as the women, the long term unemployed, the youth with low skill levels in the workforce market are increasingly gaining importance by the support of European Union. In today’s world, one of the most important points to be considered is the high-quality education. For a quality education, it is necessary to understand very well the expectations and perceptions of trainees who receive training services. Thus, expectations would be met and employment planning related to the vocational training services received would be increased. The main objective of this study is to increase the employment rate of the trainees who have received vocational training services and to be able to analyse its effect on their personal developments.

48 CFR 1252.216-72 - Performance evaluation plan.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Performance evaluation....216-72 Performance evaluation plan. As prescribed in (TAR) 48 CFR 1216.406(b), insert the following clause: Performance Evaluation Plan (OCT 1994) (a) A Performance Evaluation Plan shall be unilaterally...

Performance and development plans for the Inner Detector trigger algorithms at ATLAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin-Haugh, Stewart

2014-01-01

A description of the algorithms and the performance of the ATLAS Inner Detector trigger for LHC Run 1 are presented, as well as prospects for a redesign of the tracking algorithms in Run 2. The Inner Detector trigger algorithms are vital for many trigger signatures at ATLAS. The performance of the algorithms for electrons is presented. The ATLAS trigger software will be restructured from two software levels into a single stage which poses a big challenge for the trigger algorithms in terms of execution time and maintaining the physics performance. Expected future improvements in the timing and efficiencies of the Inner Detector triggers are discussed, utilising the planned merging of the current two stages of the ATLAS trigger.

Performance Measurement, Expectancy and Agency Theory: An Experimental Study

OpenAIRE

Randolph Sloof; Mirjam van Praag

2007-01-01

Theoretical analyses of (optimal) performance measures are typically performed within the realm of the linear agency model. An important implication of this model is that, for a given compensation scheme, the agent's optimal effort choice is unrelated to the amount of noise in the performance measure. In contrast, expectancy theory as developed by psychologists predicts that effort levels are increasing in the signal-to-noise ratio. We conduct a real effort laboratory experiment to assess the...

Planning for high performance project teams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reed, W.; Keeney, J.; Westney, R.

1997-01-01

Both industry-wide research and corporate benchmarking studies confirm the significant savings in cost and time that result from early planning of a project. Amoco's Team Planning Workshop combines long-term strategic project planning and short-term tactical planning with team building to provide the basis for high performing project teams, better project planning, and effective implementation of the Amoco Common Process for managing projects

Treating Chronically Ill Diabetic Patients with Limited Life Expectancy: Implications for Performance Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Woodard, LeChauncy D.; Landrum, Cassie R.; Urech, Tracy H.; Profit, Jochen; Virani, Salim S.; Petersen, Laura A.

2012-01-01

Background/Objectives To validly assess quality-of-care differences among providers, performance measurement programs must reliably identify and exclude patients for whom the quality indicator may not be desirable, including those with limited life expectancy. We developed an algorithm to identify patients with limited life expectancy and examined the impact of limited life expectancy on glycemic control and treatment intensification among diabetic patients. Design We identified diabetic patients with coexisting congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, end-stage liver disease, and/or primary/metastatic cancers with limited life expectancy. To validate our algorithm, we assessed 5-year mortality among patients identified as having limited life expectancy. We compared rates of meeting performance measures for glycemic control between patients with and without limited life expectancy. Among uncontrolled patients, we examined the impact of limited life expectancy on treatment intensification within 90 days. Setting 110 Veterans Administration facilities; October 2006 – September 2007 Participants 888,628 diabetic patients Measurements Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) Quality measurement and performance-based reimbursement systems should acknowledge the different needs of this population. PMID:22260627

Integration plan required by performance agreement SM 7.2.1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diediker, L.P.

1997-01-01

Fluor Daniel Hanford, Inc. and its major subcontractors are in agreement that environmental monitoring performed under the Project Hanford Management Contract is to be done in accordance with a single, integrated program. The purpose of this Integration Plan for Environmental Monitoring is to document the policies, systems, and processes being put in place to meet one key objective: manage and integrate a technically competent, multi-media ambient environmental monitoring program, in an efficient, cost effective manner. Fluor Daniel Hanford, Inc. and its major subcontractors also commit to conducting business in a manner consistent with the International Standards Organization 14000 Environmental Management System concepts. Because the integration of sitewide groundwater monitoring activities is managed by the Environmental Restoration Contractor, groundwater monitoring it is outside the scope of this document. Therefore, for the purpose of this Integration Plan for Environmental Monitoring, the Integrated Environmental Monitoring Program is defined as applicable to all environmental media except groundwater. This document provides recommendations on future activities to better integrate the overall environmental monitoring program, with emphasis on the near-field program. In addition, included is the Fluor Daniel Hanford, Inc. team review of the environmental monitoring activities on the Hanford Site, with concurrence of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Bechtel Hanford, Inc. (The narrative provided later in the Discussion Section describes the review and consideration given to each topic.) This document was developed to meet the requirements of the Project Hanford Management Contract performance agreement (SM7.2) and the tenets of the U.S. Department of Energy's Effluent and Environmental Monitoring Planning Process. This Plan is prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office, Environmental Assurance, Permits, and Policy Division

48 CFR 3052.216-72 - Performance evaluation plan.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Performance evaluation... CONTRACT CLAUSES Text of Provisions and Clauses 3052.216-72 Performance evaluation plan. As prescribed in... Evaluation Plan (DEC 2003) (a) A Performance Evaluation Plan shall be unilaterally established by the...

48 CFR 2452.216-73 - Performance evaluation plan.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Performance evaluation plan... 2452.216-73 Performance evaluation plan. As prescribed in 2416.406(e)(3), insert the following clause in all award fee contracts: Performance Evaluation Plan (AUG 1987) (a) The Government shall...

When daily planning improves employee performance: The importance of planning type, engagement, and interruptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Parke, Michael R; Weinhardt, Justin M; Brodsky, Andrew; Tangirala, Subrahmaniam; DeVoe, Sanford E

2018-03-01

Does planning for a particular workday help employees perform better than on other days they fail to plan? We investigate this question by identifying 2 distinct types of daily work planning to explain why and when planning improves employees' daily performance. The first type is time management planning (TMP)-creating task lists, prioritizing tasks, and determining how and when to perform them. We propose that TMP enhances employees' performance by increasing their work engagement, but that these positive effects are weakened when employees face many interruptions in their day. The second type is contingent planning (CP) in which employees anticipate possible interruptions in their work and plan for them. We propose that CP helps employees stay engaged and perform well despite frequent interruptions. We investigate these hypotheses using a 2-week experience-sampling study. Our findings indicate that TMP's positive effects are conditioned upon the amount of interruptions, but CP has positive effects that are not influenced by the level of interruptions. Through this study, we help inform workers of the different planning methods they can use to increase their daily motivation and performance in dynamic work environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Goal Setting and Expectancy Theory Predictions of Effort and Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Dossett, Dennis L.; Luce, Helen E.

Neither expectancy (VIE) theory nor goal setting alone are effective determinants of individual effort and task performance. To test the combined ability of VIE and goal setting to predict effort and performance, 44 real estate agents and their managers completed questionnaires. Quarterly income goals predicted managers' ratings of agents' effort,…

PLANNING AND ESTIMATION OF EXPECTED COMPETENCES LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR FSES HPE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. N. Vasilev

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The article deals with approach for planning and estimation of competences learning outcomes for Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Professional Education (FSES HPE in the framework of information and educational environment development of the higher education institution, based on the discipline content structuring for formation of the standard competences learning results and the principle of interdisciplinary training. Connection of FSES HPE competences learning outcomes with types and forms of students’ trainings, types and forms of their control in a discipline is analyzed. Techniques of estimation means development for the current, module and intermediate control of expected competences learning outcomes for FSES HPE are considered. Examples of the developed techniques application are given.

Academic performance profiles: The importance of family expectations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mónica Bravo Sanzana

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This study explored some of the factors that explain school performance. To attain this, Chilean students’ profiles of eighth year of primary school were identified and characterized (13.65 year old mean/ds 0.74. This was done according to their academic performance in the History, Ge­ography and Social Sciences test, and the context variables. The database was provided by the Sistema de Medición de la Calidad de la Educación de Chile (simce. The study was conducted by means of a predictive correlational quantitative design, using a classification and regression tree (cart. Parents’ high educational expectations are the most important distinguishing factor in school performance. The results are discussed in relation to previous research about these topics.

The benefit of expecting no conflict--Stronger influence of self-generated than cue-induced conflict expectations on Stroop performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemper, Maike; Gaschler, Robert; Schwager, Sabine; Schubert, Torsten

2016-01-01

The role of expectations in sequential adaptation to cognitive conflict has been debated controversially in prior studies. On the one hand, a sequential congruency effect (SCE) has been reported for trials in which participants expect a repetition of conflict level. On the other hand, conflict level expectations vs. the SCE have been shown to develop differentially across runs of trials with the same conflict level, arguing against the theory that the SCE is purely driven by expectation. The current verbal Stroop experiment addresses this controversy by two means. First, we tested which specific type of expectation (cue-induced expectations vs. self-generated predictions) might affect the SCE. Second, we assessed the impact of expectation on the SCE as well as the development of SCE and expectation with congruency level run length in one design. We observed a dissociation between expectations and SCE, demonstrating that the SCE is not exclusively driven by expectations. At the same time, we found evidence that (self-generated) expectations do have an impact on the SCE. Our data document especially high performance for one specific combination of task events: congruent trial accompanied by congruent prediction and conflict level repetition. Our results are in line with theories attributing conflict adaptation effects to the "adaption to the lack of conflict". We discuss our results in a broader context of theories about conflict monitoring. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Linking immigrant parents' educational expectations and aspirations to their children's school performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Areepattamannil, Shaljan; Lee, Daphnee H L

2014-01-01

The authors examined the relationships of parental expectations and aspirations for their children's educational attainment to children's academic performance in school among 783 immigrant-origin children aged 5-18 years in Canada. The results of hierarchical regression analyses, after accounting for student and family background characteristics, indicated that immigrant parents' expectations and aspirations for their children's educational attainment were positively linked to immigrant-origin children's academic performance in school. Implications of these findings are briefly discussed.

Succession Planning and Financial Performance: Does Competition Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Patidar, Nitish; Gupta, Shivani; Azbik, Ginger; Weech-Maldonado, Robert

2016-01-01

Succession planning has been defined as the process by which one or more successors are identified for key positions, development activities are planned for identified successors, or both. Limited research exists pertaining to the relationship between hospital succession planning and financial performance, particularly in the context of market competition. We used the resource-based view framework to analyze the differential effect of succession planning on hospitals' financial performance based on market competition. According to RBV, organizations can achieve higher performance by using their superior resources and capabilities. We used a panel design consisting of a national sample of hospitals in the United States for 2006-2010. We analyzed data using multivariate linear regression with facility random effects and year and state fixed effects. The sample included 22,717 hospital-year observations; more than one half of the hospitals (55.4%) had a succession planning program. The study found a positive relationship between the presence of succession planning and financial performance (β = 1.41, p planning programs on the basis of competition in their market.

Views on planning and expectations of SEA: the case of transport planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilden, Mikael; Furman, Eeva; Kaljonen, Minna

2004-01-01

This paper examines the effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in transport planning in the light of different views of planning: synoptic optimising planning, communicative planning and planning as a social struggle. The analysis uses empirical materials from 17 case studies collected by survey from Member Countries of the United Nation's Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) and further processed in a practitioners' workshop, and also a detailed case study carried out in Finland. The case studies and the workshop identified a set of necessary conditions and facilitating factors that contribute to the effectiveness of strategic environmental assessments in transport planning. Our findings suggest that transport planning can often best be characterised as a social struggle over problem definitions and future choices. Thus, the effectiveness of SEA will depend on how well the assessment fits into the planning context and on its actual contribution to debates on problem definitions. Specific procedural steps may improve the effectiveness but explicit requirements to recognise SEA in decision making are likely to be a key condition

Continued usage of e-learning: Expectations and performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Antonio de Melo Pereira

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The present study aims to investigate the determinants of satisfaction and the resulting continuance intention use in e-learning context. The constructs of decomposed expectancy disconfirmation theory (DEDT are evaluated from the perspective of users of a virtual learning environment (VLE in relation to expectations and perceived performance. An online survey collected responses from 197 students of a public management course in distance mode. Structural equation modeling was operationalized by the method of partial least squares in Smart PLS software. The results showed that there is a relationship between quality, usability, value and value disconfirmation with satisfaction. Likewise, satisfaction proved to be decisive for the continuance intention use. However, there were no significant relationships between quality disconfirmation and usability disconfirmation with satisfaction. Based on the results, is discussed the theoretical and practical implications of the structural model found by the search.

Three Performativities of Innovation in Public Transport Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lissandrello, Enza; Hrelja, Robert; Tennøy, Aud

2017-01-01

Focusing on planners’ own stories of innovation in public transport planning in three Nordic contexts (Denmark, Sweden and Norway), this article explores how individual planning professionals develop specific abilities that shape the possibilities of action and innovation in planning practices....... To illuminate how planning is dynamically renewed, revised and consolidated over time by the individual actions of planners, the article offers an interpretation of the performative qualities of planners by adapting Butler’s feminist critical theory on performativity to the public transport planning context...

Performance improvement plan in customer technical services

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lachambre, L.

1995-01-01

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

Health Plan Performance Measurement within Medicare Subvention.

Science.gov (United States)

1998-06-01

the causes of poor performance (Siren & Laffel, 1996). Although outcomes measures such as nosocomial infection rates, admission rates for select...defined. Traditional outcomes measures include infection rates, morbidity, and mortality. The problem with these traditional measures is... Maternal /Child Care Indicators Nursing Staffing Indicators Outcome Indicators Technical Outcomes Plan Performance Stability of Health Plan

14 CFR 136.13 - Helicopter performance plan and operations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Helicopter performance plan and operations... Helicopter performance plan and operations. (a) Each operator must complete a performance plan before each helicopter commercial air tour, or flight operated under 14 CFR 91.146 or 91.147. The pilot in command must...

Performance Assessment Strategy Plan for the Geologic Repository Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

Performance assessment is a major constituent of the program being conducted by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a geologic repository. Performance assessment is the set of activities needed for quantitative evaluations to assess compliance with the performance requirements in the regulations for a geologic repository and to support the development of the repository. The strategy for these evaluations has been documented in the Performance Assessment Strategy Plan (DOE, 1989). The implementation of the performance assessment strategy is defined in this document. This paper discusses the scope and objectives of the implementation plan, the relationship of the plan to other program plans, summarizes the performance assessment areas and the integrated strategy of the performance assessment program. 1 fig., 3 tabs

Building intentions with the Theory of Planned Behaviour: the mediating role of knowledge and expectations in implementing new pharmaceutical services in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Christine L; Gan, Vincent B; Saleem, Fahad; Hassali, Mohamed A

2016-01-01

Pharmacy value added services (PVAS) was introduced as a matter of public health policy by Malaysia's Ministry of Health to improve health outcomes through public healthcare services. For example, drive through pharmacy services is a major policy implementation of the Ministry. However, adoption rates are low and therefore hampering the achievement of national health policy goals. Our objective is to explore the key determinants and mediators of successful implementation of new public pharmaceutical services by investigating the cognitive perspectives of patients' intentions to adopt with the Theory of Planned Behavior as the theoretical framework. A two phase mixed methodology involving first a qualitative exploration and the second a quantitative phase was conducted in public health facilities in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Multiple regression and mediation analysis were performed. Subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, knowledge and expectations are found to be significant predictors of intentions to adopt PVAS. Knowledge and expectations are found to exert significant indirect effects on intentions. Overall, we suggest that patient knowledge be enhanced through appropriate channels and expectations of service quality be met to increase intentions.

5 CFR 430.206 - Planning performance.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Planning performance. 430.206 Section 430.206 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Performance Appraisal for General Schedule, Prevailing Rate, and Certain Other Employees § 430.206...

Communication training improves sense of performance expectancy of public health nurses engaged in long-term elderly prevention care program.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanabe, Motoko; Suzukamo, Yoshimi; Tsuji, Ichiro; Izumi, Sin-Ichi

2012-01-01

This study examines the effectiveness of a communication skill training based on a coaching theory for public health nurses (PHNs) who are engaged in Japan's long-term care prevention program. The participants in this study included 112 PHNs and 266 service users who met with these PHNs in order to create a customized care plan within one month after the PHNs' training. The participants were divided into three groups: a supervised group in which the PHNs attended the 1-day training seminar and the follow-up supervision; a seminar group attended only the 1-day training seminar; a control group. The PHNs' sense of performance expectancy, and user's satisfaction, user's spontaneous behavior were evaluated at the baseline (T1), at one month (T2), and at three months (T3) after the PHNs' training. At T3, the PHNs performed a recalled evaluation (RE) of their communication skills before the training. The PHNs' sense of performance expectancy increased significantly over time in the supervised group and the control group (F = 11.28, P < 0.001; F = 4.03, P < 0.05, resp.). The difference score between T3-RE was significantly higher in the supervised group than the control group (P < 0.01). No significant differences in the users' outcomes were found.

42 CFR 460.132 - Quality assessment and performance improvement plan.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Quality assessment and performance improvement plan... assessment and performance improvement plan. (a) Basic rule. A PACE organization must have a written quality assessment and performance improvement plan. (b) Annual review. The PACE governing body must review the plan...

The Genesis of a Trauma Performance Improvement Plan.

Science.gov (United States)

Pidgeon, Kristopher

2015-01-01

The purpose of this article is to assist the trauma medical and program director with developing a performance improvement and patients safety plan (PIPS), which is a required component of a successful trauma verification process by the American College of Surgeons. This article will review trauma quality standards and will describe in detail the required elements of a successful trauma center's performance improvement plan including a written comprehensive plan that outlines the mission and vision of the PIPS Program, authority of the PIPS Program, PIPS Program Committee reporting structure to the other hospital committees, list of required PIPS multidisciplinary team members, the operational components of the utilized data management system (trauma registry), list of indicators/audit filters, levels of review, peer determinations, corrective action plan with implementation, event resolution, and reevaluation. Strategies to develop a successful trauma performance improvement plan are presented.

College for some to college for all: social background, occupational expectations, and educational expectations over time.

Science.gov (United States)

Goyette, Kimberly A

2008-06-01

The educational expectations of 10th-graders have dramatically increased from 1980 to 2002. Their rise is attributable in part to the changing educational composition of students' parents and related to the educational profiles of their expected occupations. Students whose parents have gone to college are more likely to attend college themselves, and students expect occupations that are more prestigious in 2002 than in 1980. The educational requirements of particular occupation categories have risen only slightly. These analyses also reveal that educational expectations in recent cohorts are more loosely linked to social background and occupational plans than they were in 1980. The declining importance of parents' background and the decoupling of educational and occupational plans, in addition to a strong and significant effect of cohort on educational expectations, suggest that the expectation of four-year college attainment is indeed becoming the norm.

[An investigation of career choice, plans and expectations and practice preferences of male and female dental students

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Daalmans, M.T.; Vissia, M.S.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, A.M.; Lagro-Janssen, A.L.M.

2004-01-01

Aim of this study was to get more insight into the career choice, plans and expectations, and practice pattern preferences of male and female dental students in The Netherlands. A structured questionnaire was sent out to all 5th year dental students in The Netherlands in the academic year 2001/2002

Medicare Managed Care plan Performance, A Comparison...

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The study evaluates the performance of Medicare managed care, Medicare Advantage, Plans in comparison to Medicare fee-for-service Plans in three states with...

Expectancy of an open-book test decreases performance on a delayed closed-book test.

Science.gov (United States)

Agarwal, Pooja K; Roediger, Henry L

2011-11-01

Two experiments examined the influence of practice with, and the expectancy of, open-book tests (students viewed studied material while taking the test) versus closed-book tests (students completed the test without viewing the studied material) on delayed retention and transfer. Using GRE materials specifically designed for open-book testing, participants studied passages and then took initial open- or closed-book tests. Open-book testing led to better initial performance than closed-book testing, but on a delayed criterial (closed-book) test both types of testing produced similar retention after a two-day delay in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2 participants were informed in advance about the type of delayed criterial test to expect (open- or closed-book). Expecting an open-book test (relative to a closed-book test) decreased participants' time spent studying and their delayed test performance on closed-book comprehension and transfer tests, demonstrating that test expectancy can influence long-term learning. Expectancy of open-book tests may impair long-term retention and transfer compared to closed-book tests, despite superior initial performance on open-book tests and students' preference for open-book tests.

Evaluating Faculty Work: Expectations and Standards of Faculty Performance in Research Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Hardre, Patricia; Cox, Michelle

2009-01-01

Expectations and the way they are communicated can influence employees' motivation and performance. Previous research has demonstrated individual effects of workplace climate and individual differences on faculty productivity. The present study focused on the characteristics of institutional performance standards, evaluation processes and…

Performance expectations of measurement control programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammond, G.A.

1985-01-01

The principal index for designing and assessing the effectiveness of safeguards is the sensitivity and reliability of gauging the true status of material balances involving material flows, transfers, inventories, and process holdup. The measurement system must not only be capable of characterizing the material for gradation or intensity of protection, but also be responsive to needs for detection and localization of losses, provide confirmation that no diversion has occurred, and help meet requirements for process control, health and safety. Consequently, the judicious application of a measurement control and quality assurance program is vital to a complete understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the measurement system including systematic and random components of error for weight, volume, sampling, chemical, isotopic, and nondestructive determinations of material quantities in each material balance area. This paper describes performance expectations or criteria for a measurement control program in terms of ''what'' is desired and ''why'', relative to safeguards and security objectives

A fresh look at novice programmers' performance and their teachers' expectations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Utting, Ian; Tew, Allison Elliott; McCracken, Mike

2013-01-01

This paper describes the results of an ITiCSE working group convened in 2013 to review and revisit the influential ITiCSE 2001 McCracken working group that reported [18] on novice programmers' ability to solve a specified programming problem. Like that study, the one described here asked students...... to implement a simple program. Unlike the original study, students' in this study were given significant scaffolding for their efforts, including a test harness. Their knowledge of programming concepts was also assessed via a standard language-neutral survey. One of the significant findings of the original...... working group was that students were less successful at the programming task than their teachers expected, so in this study teachers' expectations were explicitly gathered and matched with students' performance. This study found a significant correlation between students' performance in the practical task...

Unfinished tasks foster rumination and impair sleeping - particularly if leaders have high performance expectations.

Science.gov (United States)

Syrek, Christine J; Antoni, Conny H

2014-10-01

This study examines the relationship between time pressure and unfinished tasks as work stressors on employee well-being. Relatively little is known about the effect of unfinished tasks on well-being. Specifically, excluding the impact of time pressure, we examined whether the feeling of not having finished the week's tasks fosters perseverative cognitions and impairs sleep. Additionally, we proposed that leader performance expectations moderate these relationships. In more detail, we expected the detrimental effect of unfinished tasks on both rumination and sleep would be enhanced if leader expectations were perceived to be high. In total, 89 employees filled out online diary surveys both before and after the weekend over a 5-week period. Multilevel growth modeling revealed that time pressure and unfinished tasks impacted rumination and sleep on the weekend. Further, our results supported our hypothesis that unfinished tasks explain unique variance in the dependent variables above and beyond the influence of time pressure. Moreover, we found the relationship between unfinished tasks and both rumination and sleep was moderated by leader performance expectations. Our results emphasize the importance of unfinished tasks as a stressor and highlight that leadership, specifically in the form of performance expectations, contributes significantly to the strength of this relationship.

Building intentions with the Theory of Planned Behaviour: the mediating role of knowledge and expectations in implementing new pharmaceutical services in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tan CL

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Pharmacy value added services (PVAS was introduced as a matter of public health policy by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health to improve health outcomes through public healthcare services. For example, drive through pharmacy services is a major policy implementation of the Ministry. However, adoption rates are low and therefore hampering the achievement of national health policy goals. Objective: Our objective is to explore the key determinants and mediators of successful implementation of new public pharmaceutical services by investigating the cognitive perspectives of patients’ intentions to adopt with the Theory of Planned Behavior as the theoretical framework. Methods: A two phase mixed methodology involving first a qualitative exploration and the second a quantitative phase was conducted in public health facilities in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Multiple regression and mediation analysis were performed. Results: Subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, knowledge and expectations are found to be significant predictors of intentions to adopt PVAS. Knowledge and expectations are found to exert significant indirect effects on intentions. Conclusion: Overall, we suggest that patient knowledge be enhanced through appropriate channels and expectations of service quality be met to increase intentions.

Expected asteroseismic performances with the space project PLATO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Goupil Mariejo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of star space project will observe about fifty percents of the sky with the main purpose of detecting, confirming and characterizing transiting exoplanets of (superEarth sizes in the habitable zone of solar-like stars. Determining masses, radii and ages of exoplanets require the knowledge the masses, radii and ages of the host stars. We give a brief presentation of the main features of the mission. We then discuss some expected seismic performances of PLATO for characterizing bright solar-like stars, focusing on the challenging determination of accurate/precise stellar ages.

Responding to hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestions: performance standards, imaginative suggestibility, and response expectancies.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Eric C; Lynn, Steven Jay

2011-07-01

This study examined the relative impact of hypnotic inductions and several other variables on hypnotic and nonhypnotic responsiveness to imaginative suggestions. The authors examined how imaginative suggestibility, response expectancies, motivation to respond to suggestions, and hypnotist-induced performance standards affected participants' responses to both hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestions and their suggestion-related experiences. Suggestions were administered to 5 groups of participants using a test-retest design: (a) stringent performance standards; (b) lenient performance standards; (c) hypnosis test-retest; (d) no-hypnosis test-retest; and (e) no-hypnosis/hypnosis control. The authors found no support for the influence of a hypnotic induction or performance standards on responding to suggestions but found considerable support for the role of imaginative suggestibility and response expectancies in predicting responses to both hypnotic and nonhypnotic suggestions.

Modeling the expected performance of the REgolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Inamdar, Niraj K.; Binzel, Richard P.; Hong, Jae Sub; Allen, Branden; Grindlay, Jonathan; Masterson, Rebecca A.

2014-09-01

OSIRIS-REx is the third spacecraft in the NASA New Frontiers Program and is planned for launch in 2016. OSIRIS-REx will orbit the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu, characterize it, and return a sample of the asteroid's regolith back to Earth. The Regolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) is an instrument on OSIRIS-REx designed and built by students at MIT and Harvard. The purpose of REXIS is to collect and image sun-induced fluorescent X-rays emitted by Bennu, thereby providing spectroscopic information related to the elemental makeup of the asteroid regolith and the distribution of features over its surface. Telescopic reflectance spectra suggest a CI or CM chondrite analog meteorite class for Bennu, where this primitive nature strongly motivates its study. A number of factors, however, will influence the generation, measurement, and interpretation of the X-ray spectra measured by REXIS. These include: the compositional nature and heterogeneity of Bennu, the time-variable solar state, X-ray detector characteristics, and geometric parameters for the observations. In this paper, we will explore how these variables influence the precision to which REXIS can measure Bennu's surface composition. By modeling the aforementioned factors, we place bounds on the expected performance of REXIS and its ability to ultimately place Bennu in an analog meteorite class.

Planning and scheduling - A schedule's performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitman, N.M.

1993-01-01

Planning and scheduling is a process whose time has come to PSI Energy. With an awareness of the challenges ahead, individuals must look for ways to enhance the corporate competitiveness. Working toward this goal means that each individual has to dedicate themselves to this more competitive corporate environment. Being competitive may be defined as the ability of each employee to add value to the corporation's economic well being. The timely and successful implementation of projects greatly enhances competitiveness. Those projects that do not do well often suffer from lack of proper execution - not for lack of talent or strategic vision. Projects are consumers of resources such as cash and people. They produce a return when completed and will generate a better return when properly completed utilizing proven project management techniques. Completing projects on time, within budget and meeting customer expectations is the way a corporation builds it's future. This paper offers suggestions on implementing planning and scheduling and provides a review of results in the form of management reports

Improved operational performance through the use of business planning tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoelscher, H.L.

1996-01-01

Improved operational performance at Point Beach Nuclear Plant is based on a focused business plan. Quantitative goals that compare past performance with the performance of potential competitors are the basis of the business plan. This establishes goals for the nuclear power business unit which support corporate goals. Strategies and objectives are then developed to meet the established goals. To continue support for these strategies and objectives, individual performance plans are developed for all management personnel. These performance management plans identify individual contributor actions to support the goals, and also provide periodic feedback for changes to better prioritize individual actions. Performance criteria are also established to measure progress toward achieving the goals. The author also has a program to provide incentives for improved performance based upon success of the organization in achieving established goals

Test planning and performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zola, Maurizio

2001-01-01

Testing plan should include Safety guide Q4 - Inspection and testing - A testing plan should be prepared including following information: General information (facility name, item or system reference, procurement document reference, document reference number and status, associated procedures and drawings); A sequential listing of all testing activities; Procedure, work instruction, specification or standard to be followed in respect of each operation and test; Acceptance criteria; Identification of who is performing tests; Identification of hold points; Type of records to be prepared for each test; Persons and organizations having authority for final acceptance. Proposed activities sequence is: visual, electrical and mechanical checks; environmental tests (thermal aging, vibrations aging, radioactive aging); performance evaluation in extreme conditions; dynamic tests with functional checks; final electrical and mechanical checks The planning of the tests should always be performed taking into account an interpretative model: a very tight cooperation is advisable between experimental people and numerical people dealing with the analysis of more or less complex models for the seismic assessment of structures and components. Preparatory phase should include the choice of the following items should be agreed upon with the final user of the tests: Excitation points, Excitation types, Excitation amplitude with respect to frequency, Measuring points. Data acquisition, recording and storage, should take into account the characteristics of the successive data processing: to much data can be cumbersome to be processed, but to few data can make unusable the experimental results. The parameters for time history acquisition should be chosen taking into account data processing: for Shock Response Spectrum calculation some special requirements should be met: frequency bounded signal, high frequency sampling, shock noise. For stationary random-like excitation, the sample length

'Action 2016': AREVA's strategic action plan to improve performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marie, Patricia; Floquet-Daubigeon, Fleur; Michaut, Maxime; De Scorbiac, Marie; Du Repaire, Philippine

2011-01-01

On December 12, 2011, Luc Oursel, Executive Officer of AREVA, and Pierre Aubouin, Chief Financial Executive Officer, presented the group's 'Action 2016' strategic action plan based on an in-depth analysis of the market's outlook. This document makes, first, a Detailed presentation of the 'Action 2016' plan and then presents the group's financial outlook: - Full-year 2011 immediate accounting consequences of the new market environment: operating losses expected in 2011; - 2012-2013 transition period Objective: self-finance capex in cumulative terms; - 2014-2016: safe growth and cash generation, free operating cash flow at break-even beginning in 2013, above euro 1 bn per year beginning in 2015

Financial Performance of Health Plans in Medicaid Mana...

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This study assesses the financial performance of health plans that enroll Medicaid members across the key plan traits, specifically Medicaid dominant, publicly...

The Prediction of College Student Academic Performance and Retention: Application of Expectancy and Goal Setting Theories

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Barry A.; Mandel, Rhonda G.

2010-01-01

Student retention and performance in higher education are important issues for educators, students, and the nation facing critical professional labor shortages. Expectancy and goal setting theories were used to predict academic performance and college student retention. Students' academic expectancy motivation at the start of the college…

Expected performance of tracking and vertexing with the HL-LHC ATLAS detector

CERN Document Server

Calace, Noemi; The ATLAS collaboration

2018-01-01

The High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) aims to increase the LHC data-set by an order of magnitude in order to increase its potential for discoveries. Starting from the middle of 2026, the HL-LHC is expected to reach the peak instantaneous luminosity of $7.5 \\cdot 10^{34} cm^{-2}s^{-1}$ which corresponds to about 200 inelastic proton-proton collisions per beam crossing. To cope with the large radiation doses and high pileup, the current ATLAS Inner Detector will be replaced with a new all-silicon Inner Tracker. In this talk the expected performance of tracking and vertexing with the HL-LHC tracker is presented. Comparison is made to the performance with the Run2 detector. Ongoing developments of the track reconstruction for the HL-LHC are also discussed.

Blatant Stereotype Threat and Women's Math Performance: Self-Handicapping as a Strategic Means To Cope with Obtrusive Negative Performance Expectations.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Johannes

2002-01-01

Examined the impact of increased salience of negative stereotypic expectations on math performance among high school students. Results indicated that female students in the condition of heightened salience of negative stereotypic expectations underperformed in comparison to their control group counterparts. The effect of blatant stereotype threat…

Training and plant performance: a strategic planning partnership

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coe, R.P.

1987-01-01

The nuclear industry as a whole, and specifically GPU Nuclear, is refocusing its attention on performance indicators. This standardized assessment of plant operational performance surfaces numerous examples of how performance-based training positively impacts plant performance. Numerous examples of high dollar savings range from scram reduction programs to reducing personnel rem exposures. The deeper the authors look the more they find that training is making a difference. The question now is, how long can they continue to afford the ever increasing demands of the pursuit of excellence. Early in 1985, the Training and Education Department at GPU Nuclear proactively began its strategic planning effort in order to address the increasing industry initiatives while facing flat or reduced commitments of resources. The Training Strategic Plan addresses detailed plans for each of the following areas: curriculum planning; program development; training and education organizational structure; training and education administrative procedures; training advisory structure and priority process; financial strategies. All of the above strategies are designed to assure training effectiveness. With the nuclear option under such strong public scrutiny, it is in the best interest of all of the nuclear utilities to assure the most cost effective approach to successful operation while achieving their standards of excellence

Expected Navigation Flight Performance for the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Corwin; Wright, Cinnamon; Long, Anne

2012-01-01

The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission consists of four formation-flying spacecraft placed in highly eccentric elliptical orbits about the Earth. The primary scientific mission objective is to study magnetic reconnection within the Earth s magnetosphere. The baseline navigation concept is the independent estimation of each spacecraft state using GPS pseudorange measurements (referenced to an onboard Ultra Stable Oscillator) and accelerometer measurements during maneuvers. State estimation for the MMS spacecraft is performed onboard each vehicle using the Goddard Enhanced Onboard Navigation System, which is embedded in the Navigator GPS receiver. This paper describes the latest efforts to characterize expected navigation flight performance using upgraded simulation models derived from recent analyses.

High performance computing and communications: FY 1997 implementation plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-01

The High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program was formally authorized by passage, with bipartisan support, of the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991, signed on December 9, 1991. The original Program, in which eight Federal agencies participated, has now grown to twelve agencies. This Plan provides a detailed description of the agencies` FY 1996 HPCC accomplishments and FY 1997 HPCC plans. Section 3 of this Plan provides an overview of the HPCC Program. Section 4 contains more detailed definitions of the Program Component Areas, with an emphasis on the overall directions and milestones planned for each PCA. Appendix A provides a detailed look at HPCC Program activities within each agency.

Strategic planning processes and financial performance among hospitals in Lebanon.

Science.gov (United States)

Saleh, Shadi; Kaissi, Amer; Semaan, Adele; Natafgi, Nabil Maher

2013-01-01

Strategic planning has been presented as a valuable management tool. However, evidence of its deployment in healthcare and its effect on organizational performance is limited in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). The study aimed to explore the use of strategic planning processes in Lebanese hospitals and to investigate its association with financial performance. The study comprised 79 hospitals and assessed occupancy rate (OR) and revenue-per-bed (RPB) as performance measures. The strategic planning process included six domains: having a plan, plan development, plan implementation, responsibility of planning activities, governing board involvement, and physicians' involvement. Approximately 90% of hospitals have strategic plans that are moderately developed (mean score of 4.9 on a 1-7 scale) and implemented (score of 4.8). In 46% of the hospitals, the CEO has the responsibility for the plan. The level of governing board involvement in the process is moderate to high (score of 5.1), whereas physician involvement is lower (score of 4.1). The OR and RPB amounted to respectively 70% and 59 304 among hospitals with a strategic plan as compared with 62% and 33 564 for those lacking such a plan. No statistical association between having a strategic plan and either of the two measures was detected. However, the findings revealed that among hospitals that had a strategic plan, higher implementation levels were associated with lower OR (p plans allow organizations to better cope with environmental turbulence. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PLAN FOR PERFORMANCE ADMINISTRATION IN PYRAMIDAL STRUCTURE ORGANIZATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domingo Alarcón Ortiz

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Performance administration has become a current strategy in evaluating management within organizations, but its implementation often lacks an action plan, resulting from the valuation of climate and leadership styles embedded in the culture of the organization. This paper proposes a model action plan for performance management, which has been implemented, executed and evaluated in pyramidal organizational structure organizations where a diagnosis of the cultural climate and leadership styles recurring in the organization have been previously made.

Planning Multitechnology Access Networks with Performance Constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Chamberland, Steven

Considering the number of access network technologies and the investment needed for the “last mile” of a solution, in today’s highly competitive markets, planning tools are crucial for the service providers to optimize the network costs and accelerate the planning process. In this paper, we propose to tackle the problem of planning access networks composed of four technologies/architectures: the digital subscriber line (xDSL) technologies deployed directly from the central office (CO), the fiber-to-the-node (FTTN), the fiber-to-the-micro-node (FTTn) and the fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP). A mathematical programming model is proposed for this planning problem that is solved using a commercial implementation of the branch-and-bound algorithm. Next, a detailed access network planning example is presented followed by a systematic set of experiments designed to assess the performance of the proposed approach.

The ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter--status and expected performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schacht, Peter

2004-01-01

For the ATLAS detector at the LHC, the liquid argon technique is exploited for the electromagnetic calorimetry in the central part and for the electromagnetic and hadronic calorimetry in the forward and backward regions. The construction of the calorimeter is well advanced with full cold tests of the barrel calorimeter and first endcap calorimeter only months away. The status of the project is discussed as well as the related results from beam test studies of the various calorimeter subdetectors. The results show that the expected performance meets the ATLAS requirements as specified in the ATLAS Technical Design Report

Evaluation of a performance appraisal framework for radiation therapists in planning and simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, Jillian, E-mail: jillian.becker@health.qld.gov.au [Radiation Oncology Mater Centre, South Brisbane, Queensland (Australia); Bridge, Pete [School of Clinical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland (Australia); Brown, Elizabeth; Lusk, Ryan; Ferrari-Anderson, Janet [Radiation Oncology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland (Australia); Radiation Oncology Mater Centre, South Brisbane, Queensland (Australia)

2015-06-15

Constantly evolving technology and techniques within radiation therapy require practitioners to maintain a continuous approach to professional development and training. Systems of performance appraisal and adoption of regular feedback mechanisms are vital to support this development yet frequently lack structure and rely on informal peer support. A Radiation Therapy Performance Appraisal Framework (RT-PAF) for radiation therapists in planning and simulation was developed to define expectations of practice and promote a supportive and objective culture of performance and skills appraisal. Evaluation of the framework was conducted via an anonymous online survey tool. Nine peer reviewers and fourteen recipients provided feedback on its effectiveness and the challenges and limitations of the approach. Findings from the evaluation were positive and suggested that both groups gained benefit from and expressed a strong interest in embedding the approach more routinely. Respondents identified common challenges related to the limited ability to implement suggested development strategies; this was strongly associated with time and rostering issues. This framework successfully defined expectations for practice and provided a fair and objective feedback process that focussed on skills development. It empowered staff to maintain their skills and reach their professional potential. Management support, particularly in regard to provision of protected time was highlighted as critical to the framework's ongoing success. The demonstrated benefits arising in terms of staff satisfaction and development highlight the importance of this commitment to the modern radiation therapy workforce.

Evaluation of a performance appraisal framework for radiation therapists in planning and simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, Jillian; Bridge, Pete; Brown, Elizabeth; Lusk, Ryan; Ferrari-Anderson, Janet

2015-01-01

Constantly evolving technology and techniques within radiation therapy require practitioners to maintain a continuous approach to professional development and training. Systems of performance appraisal and adoption of regular feedback mechanisms are vital to support this development yet frequently lack structure and rely on informal peer support. A Radiation Therapy Performance Appraisal Framework (RT-PAF) for radiation therapists in planning and simulation was developed to define expectations of practice and promote a supportive and objective culture of performance and skills appraisal. Evaluation of the framework was conducted via an anonymous online survey tool. Nine peer reviewers and fourteen recipients provided feedback on its effectiveness and the challenges and limitations of the approach. Findings from the evaluation were positive and suggested that both groups gained benefit from and expressed a strong interest in embedding the approach more routinely. Respondents identified common challenges related to the limited ability to implement suggested development strategies; this was strongly associated with time and rostering issues. This framework successfully defined expectations for practice and provided a fair and objective feedback process that focussed on skills development. It empowered staff to maintain their skills and reach their professional potential. Management support, particularly in regard to provision of protected time was highlighted as critical to the framework's ongoing success. The demonstrated benefits arising in terms of staff satisfaction and development highlight the importance of this commitment to the modern radiation therapy workforce

Train turn restrictions and line plan performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burggraeve, Sofie; Bull, Simon Henry; Lusby, Richard Martin

In this paper we study the impact of the `turn conditions' in end stations on the performance of a line plan. If trains have to turn on their platform in an end station, the yoccupy the platform for several minutes. A more preferred option, from a timetabling point of view, would be that a train...... in a exible and large enough shunt. Starting from a given line plan, we compare two timetables, one where trains have to turn on their platform and one where trains can turn in a shunt. We evaluate the impact on the performance of the line plan by its feasibility for timetabling,the minimum overall buffer...... disappears from the platform in its end station after dwelling and only appears again when departing for a subsequent trip. In this case, the train will not interfere with other trains that dwell on the platform during the time between these events. However, this option is only possible if the train can stay...

Unequal Expectations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karlson, Kristian Bernt

the role of causal inference in social science; and it discusses the potential of the findings of the dissertation to inform educational policy. In Chapters II and III, constituting the substantive contribution of the dissertation, I examine the process through which students form expectations...... of the relation between the self and educational prospects; evaluations that are socially bounded in that students take their family's social position into consideration when forming their educational expectations. One important consequence of this learning process is that equally talented students tend to make...... for their educational futures. Focusing on the causes rather than the consequences of educational expectations, I argue that students shape their expectations in response to the signals about their academic performance they receive from institutionalized performance indicators in schools. Chapter II considers...

SU-D-BRD-01: Cloud-Based Radiation Treatment Planning: Performance Evaluation of Dose Calculation and Plan Optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Na, Y; Kapp, D; Kim, Y; Xing, L; Suh, T

2014-01-01

Purpose: To report the first experience on the development of a cloud-based treatment planning system and investigate the performance improvement of dose calculation and treatment plan optimization of the cloud computing platform. Methods: A cloud computing-based radiation treatment planning system (cc-TPS) was developed for clinical treatment planning. Three de-identified clinical head and neck, lung, and prostate cases were used to evaluate the cloud computing platform. The de-identified clinical data were encrypted with 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm. VMAT and IMRT plans were generated for the three de-identified clinical cases to determine the quality of the treatment plans and computational efficiency. All plans generated from the cc-TPS were compared to those obtained with the PC-based TPS (pc-TPS). The performance evaluation of the cc-TPS was quantified as the speedup factors for Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculations and large-scale plan optimizations, as well as the performance ratios (PRs) of the amount of performance improvement compared to the pc-TPS. Results: Speedup factors were improved up to 14.0-fold dependent on the clinical cases and plan types. The computation times for VMAT and IMRT plans with the cc-TPS were reduced by 91.1% and 89.4%, respectively, on average of the clinical cases compared to those with pc-TPS. The PRs were mostly better for VMAT plans (1.0 ≤ PRs ≤ 10.6 for the head and neck case, 1.2 ≤ PRs ≤ 13.3 for lung case, and 1.0 ≤ PRs ≤ 10.3 for prostate cancer cases) than for IMRT plans. The isodose curves of plans on both cc-TPS and pc-TPS were identical for each of the clinical cases. Conclusion: A cloud-based treatment planning has been setup and our results demonstrate the computation efficiency of treatment planning with the cc-TPS can be dramatically improved while maintaining the same plan quality to that obtained with the pc-TPS. This work was supported in part by the National Cancer Institute (1

SU-D-BRD-01: Cloud-Based Radiation Treatment Planning: Performance Evaluation of Dose Calculation and Plan Optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Na, Y; Kapp, D; Kim, Y; Xing, L [Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (United States); Suh, T [Catholic UniversityMedical College, Seoul, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-06-01

Purpose: To report the first experience on the development of a cloud-based treatment planning system and investigate the performance improvement of dose calculation and treatment plan optimization of the cloud computing platform. Methods: A cloud computing-based radiation treatment planning system (cc-TPS) was developed for clinical treatment planning. Three de-identified clinical head and neck, lung, and prostate cases were used to evaluate the cloud computing platform. The de-identified clinical data were encrypted with 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm. VMAT and IMRT plans were generated for the three de-identified clinical cases to determine the quality of the treatment plans and computational efficiency. All plans generated from the cc-TPS were compared to those obtained with the PC-based TPS (pc-TPS). The performance evaluation of the cc-TPS was quantified as the speedup factors for Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculations and large-scale plan optimizations, as well as the performance ratios (PRs) of the amount of performance improvement compared to the pc-TPS. Results: Speedup factors were improved up to 14.0-fold dependent on the clinical cases and plan types. The computation times for VMAT and IMRT plans with the cc-TPS were reduced by 91.1% and 89.4%, respectively, on average of the clinical cases compared to those with pc-TPS. The PRs were mostly better for VMAT plans (1.0 ≤ PRs ≤ 10.6 for the head and neck case, 1.2 ≤ PRs ≤ 13.3 for lung case, and 1.0 ≤ PRs ≤ 10.3 for prostate cancer cases) than for IMRT plans. The isodose curves of plans on both cc-TPS and pc-TPS were identical for each of the clinical cases. Conclusion: A cloud-based treatment planning has been setup and our results demonstrate the computation efficiency of treatment planning with the cc-TPS can be dramatically improved while maintaining the same plan quality to that obtained with the pc-TPS. This work was supported in part by the National Cancer Institute (1

Effects of Manufacturing Firm’s Capacity Planning on Performance of the Firm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kifordu Anthony

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated capacity planning and performance in the manufacturing sector in the Southeastern States of Nigeria based on selected Brewing industries. The population of the study was 740 staff of the brewing industry in South-Eastearn Nigeria. The sample size of 509 was obtained using a Taro Yamani’s statistical formula. The study used questionnaire and oral interview guide for data gathering. A test- retest stood completed using Spearman’s rank correlation, giving a coefficient of 0.9. Findings revealed that capacity planning significantly enriched economic performance of the industry studied. There existed a strong affirmative relationship among capacity necessities planning and resources requirements planning. The paper suggested use of capacity planning as a technique to improve all performance factors. Similarly, performance advantage subsist from the correlation of volume requirements plans and resources requirements planning. The paper summarily held the position that volume preparation improved the economic performance in the industry under review. This inferred that goals achievement is possible. Likewise, the finding of substantial constructive association between volume supplies planning and resources supplies planning inferred an affirmative communication between the variables. This meant that resources supplies planning which was a method of organizing the detailed production plans could lead to an improvement of capacity supplies planning. That is to say, they are taking future decisions on the substances required for production capability of the brewing facility.

Long-term energy planning with uncertain environmental performance metrics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parkinson, Simon C.; Djilali, Ned

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Environmental performance uncertainty considered in a long-term energy planning model. • Application to electricity generation planning in British Columbia. • Interactions with climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy are assessed. • Performance risk-hedging impacts the technology investment strategy. • Sensitivity of results to model formulation is discussed. - Abstract: Environmental performance (EP) uncertainties span a number of energy technology options, and pose planning risk when the energy system is subject to environmental constraints. This paper presents two approaches to integrating EP uncertainty into the long-term energy planning framework. The methodologies consider stochastic EP metrics across multiple energy technology options, and produce a development strategy that hedges against the risk of exceeding environmental targets. Both methods are compared within a case study of emission-constrained electricity generation planning in British Columbia, Canada. The analysis provides important insight into model formulation and the interactions with concurrent environmental policy uncertainties. EP risk is found to be particularly important in situations where environmental constraints become increasingly stringent. Model results indicate allocation of a modest risk premium in these situations can provide valuable hedging against EP risk

Government Performance and Results Act: Performance plan FY 1999, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuches, J.L.

1998-02-01

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) strategic plan [NUREG-1614, Vol. 1, September 1997] establishes a strategic framework that will guide future decision-making and will help the NRC continue to meet its responsibility for protecting public health and safety, promoting the common defense and security, and protecting the environment. This performance plan complements the agency's strategic plan by setting annual goals with measurable target levels of performance for FY 1999, as required by the Government Performance and Results Act. No significant contribution was made to the preparation of the performance plan by any non-Federal entity. However, a contractor was used to help facilitate discussions and resolution of issues. Within six months after the close of FY 1999, the NRC will submit to the President and the Congress a report on program performance for FY 1999. This performance report will review the success of the agency in achieving the performance goals established for FY 1999. Where those goals have been achieved, the underlying assumptions and strategies will be examined to ensure that continued applicability is warranted in the future. If any of the FY 1999 performance goals are not met, the agency will conduct a thorough analysis of why it did not meet the goal and the actions necessary to meet-the goal in the future. One result of this analysis will be the documentation of plans and schedules for achieving the established performance goal. If the analysis should indicate that the performance goal is impractical or infeasible, the performance report will document why that is the case and what action is recommended

Performance of planning support systems: what is it, and how do we report on it?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

te Brömmelstroet, M.C.G.

2013-01-01

Planning Support Systems (PSSs) are a family of computer based instruments specifically designed to support actors in their complex tasks in the field of planning. There is a gap between the high expectations that PSS developers have about the usefulness of their instruments and the instruments’

Study on Flood Management Plan in Surabaya City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton Dharma Pusaka Mas

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The area alongside the Gunung Sari Channel has an important meaning to the development of Surabaya City. The rising development in this area which causes the increase of flood events induces negative impacts on the growth of Surabaya City. The flood management plan in Gunung Sari Channel has been conducted by Brantas Project since 1988. This planning was reviewed in 1993 and 1999. This research was conducted to analyze the performance of flood management plan by Brantas Project. It was constructively done by HEC-FDA Software which can develop risk analysis by including economic consideration. Hydro-Economy approach integrated with the HEC-FDA analysis can yield the indicator of flood management plan performance in the form of total cost and risk cost (Expected Annual Damage/EAD. The best total cost yielded from the analysis was Rp. 893,692,230, while the risk cost was Rp. 384,238,410/year. It is expected that this research result can used for achieving best performance for floods management in Gunung Sari Channel.

Expected Performance of the ATLAS Experiment - Detector, Trigger and Physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aad, G.; Abat, E.; Abbott, B.; Abdallah, J.; Abdelalim, A.A.; Abdesselam, A.; Abdinov, O.; Abi, B.; Abolins, M.; Abramowicz, H.; Acharya, Bobby Samir; Adams, D.L.; Addy, T.N.; Adorisio, C.; Adragna, P.; Adye, T.; Aguilar-Saavedra, J.A.; Aharrouche, M.; Ahlen, S.P.; Ahles, F.; Ahmad, A.; /SUNY, Albany /Alberta U. /Ankara U. /Annecy, LAPP /Argonne /Arizona U. /Texas U., Arlington /Athens U. /Natl. Tech. U., Athens /Baku, Inst. Phys. /Barcelona, IFAE /Belgrade U. /VINCA Inst. Nucl. Sci., Belgrade /Bergen U. /LBL, Berkeley /Humboldt U., Berlin /Bern U., LHEP /Birmingham U. /Bogazici U. /INFN, Bologna /Bologna U.

2011-11-28

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN promises a major step forward in the understanding of the fundamental nature of matter. The ATLAS experiment is a general-purpose detector for the LHC, whose design was guided by the need to accommodate the wide spectrum of possible physics signatures. The major remit of the ATLAS experiment is the exploration of the TeV mass scale where groundbreaking discoveries are expected. In the focus are the investigation of the electroweak symmetry breaking and linked to this the search for the Higgs boson as well as the search for Physics beyond the Standard Model. In this report a detailed examination of the expected performance of the ATLAS detector is provided, with a major aim being to investigate the experimental sensitivity to a wide range of measurements and potential observations of new physical processes. An earlier summary of the expected capabilities of ATLAS was compiled in 1999 [1]. A survey of physics capabilities of the CMS detector was published in [2]. The design of the ATLAS detector has now been finalised, and its construction and installation have been completed [3]. An extensive test-beam programme was undertaken. Furthermore, the simulation and reconstruction software code and frameworks have been completely rewritten. Revisions incorporated reflect improved detector modelling as well as major technical changes to the software technology. Greatly improved understanding of calibration and alignment techniques, and their practical impact on performance, is now in place. The studies reported here are based on full simulations of the ATLAS detector response. A variety of event generators were employed. The simulation and reconstruction of these large event samples thus provided an important operational test of the new ATLAS software system. In addition, the processing was distributed world-wide over the ATLAS Grid facilities and hence provided an important test of the ATLAS computing system - this is the origin of

Government Performance and Results Act: Performance plan FY 1999, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Volume 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuches, J.L.

1998-02-01

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s (NRC) strategic plan [NUREG-1614, Vol. 1, September 1997] establishes a strategic framework that will guide future decision-making and will help the NRC continue to meet its responsibility for protecting public health and safety, promoting the common defense and security, and protecting the environment. This performance plan complements the agency`s strategic plan by setting annual goals with measurable target levels of performance for FY 1999, as required by the Government Performance and Results Act. No significant contribution was made to the preparation of the performance plan by any non-Federal entity. However, a contractor was used to help facilitate discussions and resolution of issues. Within six months after the close of FY 1999, the NRC will submit to the President and the Congress a report on program performance for FY 1999. This performance report will review the success of the agency in achieving the performance goals established for FY 1999. Where those goals have been achieved, the underlying assumptions and strategies will be examined to ensure that continued applicability is warranted in the future. If any of the FY 1999 performance goals are not met, the agency will conduct a thorough analysis of why it did not meet the goal and the actions necessary to meet-the goal in the future. One result of this analysis will be the documentation of plans and schedules for achieving the established performance goal. If the analysis should indicate that the performance goal is impractical or infeasible, the performance report will document why that is the case and what action is recommended.

Expected Particle Fluences and Performance of the LHCb Trigger Tracker

CERN Document Server

Siegler, M; Needham, M; Steinkamp, O

2004-01-01

Monte Carlo simulations of the expected 1 MeV-neutron equivalent fluence in the Trigger Tracker (TT) station of the LHCb detector have been used to investigate the effect of radiation damage on the performance of the detector. The build-up of leakage currents and the corresponding increase in electronic noise has been investigated, as well as the effect of bulk damage on the full-depletion voltage of the sensors and the risk of thermal runaway due to the power generated due to the leakage currents.

Teacher Expectancy Related to Student Performance in Vocational Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Samuel M.; Pandya, Himanshu S.

1980-01-01

This experiment explored the effect of teacher expectations on vocational students' cognitive and psychomotor skills and on attitudes. Although teachers' expectations changed student attitudes toward teachers and subjects, neither expectations nor attitude change had an effect on student achievement. (SK)

Performance Evaluation for China’s Planned CO2-IPDA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ge Han

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Active remote sensing of atmospheric XCO2 has several advantages over existing passive remote sensors, including global coverage, a smaller footprint, improved penetration of aerosols, and night observation capabilities. China is planning to launch a multi-functional atmospheric observation satellite equipped with a CO2-IPDA (integrated path differential absorption Lidar to measure columnar concentrations of atmospheric CO2 globally. As space and power are limited on the satellite, compromises have been made to accommodate other passive sensors. In this study, we evaluated the sensitivity of the system’s retrieval accuracy and precision to some critical parameters to determine whether the current configuration is adequate to obtain the desired results and whether any further compromises are possible. We then mapped the distribution of random errors across China and surrounding regions using pseudo-observations to explore the performance of the planned CO2-IPDA over these regions. We found that random errors of less than 0.3% can be expected for most regions of our study area, which will allow the provision of valuable data that will help researchers gain a deeper insight into carbon cycle processes and accurately estimate carbon uptake and emissions. However, in the areas where major anthropogenic carbon sources are located, and in coastal seas, random errors as high as 0.5% are predicted. This is predominantly due to the high concentrations of aerosols, which cause serious attenuation of returned signals. Novel retrieving methods must, therefore, be developed in the future to suppress interference from low surface reflectance and high aerosol loading.

34 CFR 300.601 - State performance plans and data collection.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Monitoring, Technical Assistance, and Enforcement § 300.601 State performance plans and data collection. (a... 34 Education 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false State performance plans and data collection. 300.601... described in § 300.600(d). (b) Data collection. (1) Each State must collect valid and reliable information...

Who Are You More Likely to Help? The Effects of Expected Outcomes and Regulatory Focus on Prosocial Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Fengqiu; Zheng, Zhiwei; Zhang, Heyi; Xin, Ziqiang; Chen, Yinghe; Li, Yiwei

2016-01-01

Prosocial behavior refers to a broad category of actions that benefit other people or the society. Compared with other factors that affect prosocial performance, prosocial outcomes, consisting of prosocial gains and prosocial non-losses have received less attention up to now. In the current research, we explored the influences of different types of expected outcomes and regulatory focus on prosocial performance. Studies 1a and 1b examined the differences in prosocial performance elicited by prosocial gain (e.g., enhancing others’ access to clean water) and prosocial non-loss outcomes (e.g., protecting others from suffering dirty water). We found that the expected prosocial non-loss outcomes induced greater prosocial performance compared with the expected prosocial gain outcomes. Studies 2a and 2b examined the effects of dispositional and situational regulatory focus on prosocial loss aversion. We found that differences in prosocial performance between two expected prosocial outcomes were reduced when promotion focus was primed; whereas a primed prevention focus did not significantly increase this difference. Additionally, participants displayed a greater prosocial loss aversion in the prevention focus condition than in the promotion focus condition. The reason for the non-significant interaction between regulatory focus and expected prosocial outcome was discussed. PMID:27824909

Who Are You More Likely to Help? The Effects of Expected Outcomes and Regulatory Focus on Prosocial Performance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fengqiu Xiao

Full Text Available Prosocial behavior refers to a broad category of actions that benefit other people or the society. Compared with other factors that affect prosocial performance, prosocial outcomes, consisting of prosocial gains and prosocial non-losses have received less attention up to now. In the current research, we explored the influences of different types of expected outcomes and regulatory focus on prosocial performance. Studies 1a and 1b examined the differences in prosocial performance elicited by prosocial gain (e.g., enhancing others' access to clean water and prosocial non-loss outcomes (e.g., protecting others from suffering dirty water. We found that the expected prosocial non-loss outcomes induced greater prosocial performance compared with the expected prosocial gain outcomes. Studies 2a and 2b examined the effects of dispositional and situational regulatory focus on prosocial loss aversion. We found that differences in prosocial performance between two expected prosocial outcomes were reduced when promotion focus was primed; whereas a primed prevention focus did not significantly increase this difference. Additionally, participants displayed a greater prosocial loss aversion in the prevention focus condition than in the promotion focus condition. The reason for the non-significant interaction between regulatory focus and expected prosocial outcome was discussed.

Expectancy of Stress-Reducing Aromatherapy Effect and Performance on a Stress-Sensitive Cognitive Task

Science.gov (United States)

Chamine, Irina; Oken, Barry S.

2015-01-01

Objective. Stress-reducing therapies help maintain cognitive performance during stress. Aromatherapy is popular for stress reduction, but its effectiveness and mechanism are unclear. This study examined stress-reducing effects of aromatherapy on cognitive function using the go/no-go (GNG) task performance and event related potentials (ERP) components sensitive to stress. The study also assessed the importance of expectancy in aromatherapy actions. Methods. 81 adults were randomized to 3 aroma groups (active experimental, detectable, and undetectable placebo) and 2 prime subgroups (prime suggesting stress-reducing aroma effects or no-prime). GNG performance, ERPs, subjective expected aroma effects, and stress ratings were assessed at baseline and poststress. Results. No specific aroma effects on stress or cognition were observed. However, regardless of experienced aroma, people receiving a prime displayed faster poststress median reaction times than those receiving no prime. A significant interaction for N200 amplitude indicated divergent ERP patterns between baseline and poststress for go and no-go stimuli depending on the prime subgroup. Furthermore, trends for beneficial prime effects were shown on poststress no-go N200/P300 latencies and N200 amplitude. Conclusion. While there were no aroma-specific effects on stress or cognition, these results highlight the role of expectancy for poststress response inhibition and attention. PMID:25802539

Expectancy of Stress-Reducing Aromatherapy Effect and Performance on a Stress-Sensitive Cognitive Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina Chamine

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. Stress-reducing therapies help maintain cognitive performance during stress. Aromatherapy is popular for stress reduction, but its effectiveness and mechanism are unclear. This study examined stress-reducing effects of aromatherapy on cognitive function using the go/no-go (GNG task performance and event related potentials (ERP components sensitive to stress. The study also assessed the importance of expectancy in aromatherapy actions. Methods. 81 adults were randomized to 3 aroma groups (active experimental, detectable, and undetectable placebo and 2 prime subgroups (prime suggesting stress-reducing aroma effects or no-prime. GNG performance, ERPs, subjective expected aroma effects, and stress ratings were assessed at baseline and poststress. Results. No specific aroma effects on stress or cognition were observed. However, regardless of experienced aroma, people receiving a prime displayed faster poststress median reaction times than those receiving no prime. A significant interaction for N200 amplitude indicated divergent ERP patterns between baseline and poststress for go and no-go stimuli depending on the prime subgroup. Furthermore, trends for beneficial prime effects were shown on poststress no-go N200/P300 latencies and N200 amplitude. Conclusion. While there were no aroma-specific effects on stress or cognition, these results highlight the role of expectancy for poststress response inhibition and attention.

High performance computing and communications: FY 1996 implementation plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-05-16

The High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program was formally authorized by passage of the High Performance Computing Act of 1991, signed on December 9, 1991. Twelve federal agencies, in collaboration with scientists and managers from US industry, universities, and research laboratories, have developed the Program to meet the challenges of advancing computing and associated communications technologies and practices. This plan provides a detailed description of the agencies` HPCC implementation plans for FY 1995 and FY 1996. This Implementation Plan contains three additional sections. Section 3 provides an overview of the HPCC Program definition and organization. Section 4 contains a breakdown of the five major components of the HPCC Program, with an emphasis on the overall directions and milestones planned for each one. Section 5 provides a detailed look at HPCC Program activities within each agency.

Learning to improve path planning performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Pang C.

1995-04-01

In robotics, path planning refers to finding a short. collision-free path from an initial robot configuration to a desired configuratioin. It has to be fast to support real-time task-level robot programming. Unfortunately, current planning techniques are still too slow to be effective, as they often require several minutes, if not hours of computation. To remedy this situation, we present and analyze a learning algorithm that uses past experience to increase future performance. The algorithm relies on an existing path planner to provide solutions to difficult tasks. From these solutions, an evolving sparse network of useful robot configurations is learned to support faster planning. More generally, the algorithm provides a speedup-learning framework in which a slow but capable planner may be improved both cost-wise and capability-wise by a faster but less capable planner coupled with experience. The basic algorithm is suitable for stationary environments, and can be extended to accommodate changing environments with on-demand experience repair and object-attached experience abstraction. To analyze the algorithm, we characterize the situations in which the adaptive planner is useful, provide quantitative bounds to predict its behavior, and confirm our theoretical results with experiments in path planning of manipulators. Our algorithm and analysis are sufficiently, general that they may also be applied to other planning domains in which experience is useful

High performance computing and communications: FY 1995 implementation plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-04-01

The High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program was formally established following passage of the High Performance Computing Act of 1991 signed on December 9, 1991. Ten federal agencies in collaboration with scientists and managers from US industry, universities, and laboratories have developed the HPCC Program to meet the challenges of advancing computing and associated communications technologies and practices. This plan provides a detailed description of the agencies` HPCC implementation plans for FY 1994 and FY 1995. This Implementation Plan contains three additional sections. Section 3 provides an overview of the HPCC Program definition and organization. Section 4 contains a breakdown of the five major components of the HPCC Program, with an emphasis on the overall directions and milestones planned for each one. Section 5 provides a detailed look at HPCC Program activities within each agency. Although the Department of Education is an official HPCC agency, its current funding and reporting of crosscut activities goes through the Committee on Education and Health Resources, not the HPCC Program. For this reason the Implementation Plan covers nine HPCC agencies.

42 CFR 457.710 - State plan requirements: Strategic objectives and performance goals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

.... The State's strategic objectives, performance goals and performance measures must include a common... 42 Public Health 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false State plan requirements: Strategic objectives and...) ALLOTMENTS AND GRANTS TO STATES Strategic Planning, Reporting, and Evaluation § 457.710 State plan...

Mapping Expectancy Violations: Self-Reflection and Planning for Better Communication

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory, Lynn Dee

2013-01-01

Communication expectancies are an important part of intercultural understanding, and are defined as cultural guidelines for anticipating behavior (Burgoon, 1995). Burgoon's 1978 expectancy violations theory (EVT) explored nonverbal violations and their outcomes (Burgoon, 1995). The theory has been identified as one approach to the study of…

Strategic relevance and accountability expectations: new perspectives for health care information technology design.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, J K; Modrow, R E

1999-05-01

In this article, we discuss the traditional systems analysis perspective on end-user information requirements analysis and extend it to merge with the new accountability expectations perspective to guide the future planning and design of health organization information systems. Underlying the strategic relevance of health care information technology (HCIT) are three critical questions: (1) What is the ideal HCIT model for the health organization in terms of achieving strategic expertise and competitive advantage? Specifically, how does this model link industry performance standards with organizational performance and accountability expectations? (2) How should the limitations of past HCIT models be reconciled to the benefits presented by the superior arrangement of the ideal model in the context of changing accountability expectations? (3) How should alternative HCIT solutions be evaluated in light of evidence-based accountability and organizational performance benchmarking? Insights into these questions will ensure that health care managers, HCIT practitioners and researchers can continue to focus on the most critical issues in harnessing today's fast-paced changing technologies for evolving strategically relevant, performance-based health organization systems.

Stock Market Expectations of Dutch Households.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurd, Michael; van Rooij, Maarten; Winter, Joachim

2011-04-01

Despite its importance for the analysis of life-cycle behavior and, in particular, retirement planning, stock ownership by private households is poorly understood. Among other approaches to investigate this puzzle, recent research has started to elicit private households' expectations of stock market returns. This paper reports findings from a study that collected data over a two-year period both on households' stock market expectations (subjective probabilities of gains or losses) and on whether they own stocks. We document substantial heterogeneity in financial market expectations. Expectations are correlated with stock ownership. Over the two years of our data, stock market prices increased, and expectations of future stock market price changes also increased, lending support to the view that expectations are influenced by recent stock gains or losses.

'Action 2016': AREVA's strategic action plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marie, Patricia; Briand, Pauline; Floquet-Daubigeon, Fleur; Michaut, Maxime; De Scorbiac, Marie; Du Repaire, Philippine

2011-01-01

On December 13, 2011, Luc Oursel, CEO, and Pierre Aubouin, Chief Financial Officer presented the group's strategic plan for the period 2012-2016. The plan has been drawn up collectively and is based on a thorough-going analysis and a realistic assessment of perspectives for all group activities and associated resources. Development of nuclear and renewable energies: the fundamentals are unchanged. In this context, the German decision remains an isolated case and the great majority of nuclear programs around the world have been confirmed. More conservative in its projections than the International Energy Agency, the group expects growth of 2.2% annually, reaching 583 GW of installed nuclear capacity by 2030, against 378 GW today. However, the Fukushima accident will lead to delays in launching new programs. 'Action 2016' plan aims to consolidate AREVA's leadership in nuclear energy and become a leading player in renewable energy. The group's strategic action plan 'Action 2016' is based on the following strategic choices: - commercial priority given to value creation, - selectivity in investments, - strengthening of the financial structure. These demand an improvement in the group's performance by 2015. This plan makes nuclear safety a strategic priority for the industrial and commercial performance of the group. This ambitious performance plan for the period 2012-2016 will give the group the wherewithal to withstand a temporary slowdown in the market resulting from the Fukushima accident and to deliver safe and sustainable growth of the business. The plan sets out the strategic direction for the group's employees for the years ahead: taking advantage of the expected growth in nuclear and renewable energies, targeted investment programs, and return to self-financing as of 2014

Utility Expectations for Human Performance and Safety Culture in the Supplier Community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clewett, L. K.

2016-01-01

Canadian NPPs, like many others around the world, make use of suppliers for the design and execution of major projects, and to support on-going inspection and maintenance activities. The work performed by suppliers today represents a significant portion of the work performed at utility NPPs, and, at times, can even exceed the work performed by utility staff. It is imperative for both the utility and the supplier work forces to work in collaboration to ensure that the probability of consequential errors impacting plant safety or contributing to broader enterprise risk is kept very low. An important element for keeping the risk low is for utilities to work with their suppliers to develop a high degree of confidence that the supplier workforce is performing to the same standards of human performance and safety culture as its own staff. This paper will provide a senior utility executive’s expectations and perspective on achieving excellence in supplier human performance and safety culture. (author)

Workshop on system tuning, performance measurement and performance optimization of an RSX11M system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Downward, J.G.

1981-01-01

Topics discussed include thrashing in an RSX11M system - what to do; using solid state disk emulators as the swapping device - performance improvement, performance measurement techniques; capacity planning; bis buffering; and DECNET-11M optimization - performance that can be expected for real environments

Vis-A-Plan /visualize a plan/ management technique provides performance-time scale

Science.gov (United States)

Ranck, N. H.

1967-01-01

Vis-A-Plan is a bar-charting technique for representing and evaluating project activities on a performance-time basis. This rectilinear method presents the logic diagram of a project as a series of horizontal time bars. It may be used supplementary to PERT or independently.

Subjective and objective quantification of physician's workload and performance during radiation therapy planning tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazur, Lukasz M; Mosaly, Prithima R; Hoyle, Lesley M; Jones, Ellen L; Marks, Lawrence B

2013-01-01

To quantify, and compare, workload for several common physician-based treatment planning tasks using objective and subjective measures of workload. To assess the relationship between workload and performance to define workload levels where performance could be expected to decline. Nine physicians performed the same 3 tasks on each of 2 cases ("easy" vs "hard"). Workload was assessed objectively throughout the tasks (via monitoring of pupil size and blink rate), and subjectively at the end of each case (via National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index; NASA-TLX). NASA-TLX assesses the 6 dimensions (mental, physical, and temporal demands, frustration, effort, and performance); scores > or ≈ 50 are associated with reduced performance in other industries. Performance was measured using participants' stated willingness to approve the treatment plan. Differences in subjective and objective workload between cases, tasks, and experience were assessed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The correlation between subjective and objective workload measures were assessed via the Pearson correlation test. The relationships between workload and performance measures were assessed using the t test. Eighteen case-wise and 54 task-wise assessments were obtained. Subjective NASA-TLX scores (P .1), were significantly lower for the easy vs hard case. Most correlations between the subjective and objective measures were not significant, except between average blink rate and NASA-TLX scores (r = -0.34, P = .02), for task-wise assessments. Performance appeared to decline at NASA-TLX scores of ≥55. The NASA-TLX may provide a reasonable method to quantify subjective workload for broad activities, and objective physiologic eye-based measures may be useful to monitor workload for more granular tasks within activities. The subjective and objective measures, as herein quantified, do not necessarily track each other, and more work is needed to assess their utilities. From a

Auditory N1 reveals planning and monitoring processes during music performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathias, Brian; Gehring, William J; Palmer, Caroline

2017-02-01

The current study investigated the relationship between planning processes and feedback monitoring during music performance, a complex task in which performers prepare upcoming events while monitoring their sensory outcomes. Theories of action planning in auditory-motor production tasks propose that the planning of future events co-occurs with the perception of auditory feedback. This study investigated the neural correlates of planning and feedback monitoring by manipulating the contents of auditory feedback during music performance. Pianists memorized and performed melodies at a cued tempo in a synchronization-continuation task while the EEG was recorded. During performance, auditory feedback associated with single melody tones was occasionally substituted with tones corresponding to future (next), present (current), or past (previous) melody tones. Only future-oriented altered feedback disrupted behavior: Future-oriented feedback caused pianists to slow down on the subsequent tone more than past-oriented feedback, and amplitudes of the auditory N1 potential elicited by the tone immediately following the altered feedback were larger for future-oriented than for past-oriented or noncontextual (unrelated) altered feedback; larger N1 amplitudes were associated with greater slowing following altered feedback in the future condition only. Feedback-related negativities were elicited in all altered feedback conditions. In sum, behavioral and neural evidence suggests that future-oriented feedback disrupts performance more than past-oriented feedback, consistent with planning theories that posit similarity-based interference between feedback and planning contents. Neural sensory processing of auditory feedback, reflected in the N1 ERP, may serve as a marker for temporal disruption caused by altered auditory feedback in auditory-motor production tasks. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Environmental performance evaluation of Beijing's energy use planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Lei; Xu Linyu; Song Huimin

2011-01-01

In line with rapid economic development, urban energy consumption is increasing rapidly, resulting in environmental problems. After considering several methods to evaluate the environmental performance of energy use, including: energy ecological footprint, input-output analysis, emergy-exergy analysis, and multi-criteria decision-making, an environmental performance evaluation model is proposed, which combines the analytical hierarchy process, fuzzy extent analysis, and membership degree analysis. In the model, 18 sub-indicators of environmental performance from energy use planning are classified into four categories: structure of energy use and industry, technology and efficiency of energy use, environmental impacts caused by energy use, and the socio-economic benefits of energy use. Membership degree analysis is applied to each indicator. Three energy use scenarios which are, respectively, environment-friendly, technology-led, and economic policy-led are evaluated. The results show that the technology-led energy use planning is best. The sustainable energy use policies are proposed from three aspects, including optimizing the energy use and industrial structure, encouraging development of energy-saving and air pollution control technologies, and enhancing legislation on energy use management. The policies are helpful to optimize the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental protection in Beijing. - Highlights: → Our paper establishes a system of indicators according to the structure of urban energy use planning. → We have created a comprehensive environmental performance evaluation model in the research. → The model and results can serve as an important basis for decision-making to guide local government.

Expectancy-Value Models for the STEM Persistence Plans of Ninth-Grade, High-Ability Students: A Comparison between Black, Hispanic, and White Students

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Lori; Ward, Thomas J.

2014-01-01

Group differences in the effects of the expectancies and values that high-ability students have for science and mathematics on plans to persist in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) were investigated. A nationally representative sample of ninth-grade students, the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS: 2009; n =…

BC Hydro's business plan: a summary of BC Hydro's strategic business plan and performance measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-04-01

This document contains a summary of BC Hydro's Strategic Plan and performance measures. The plan has been prepared in response to the recommendations of the Budget Process Review Panel, convened by the BC Government, which recommended that each public body, crown corporation, and other agencies of government, prepare an annual three year business plan. The document reviews the utility's current situation, provides an outline of the company's vision of its role, its mission and values, its strategic objectives (effective governance, efficiency and productivity; service excellence and value-added solutions; market development ; strong and capable organization) and the tools to be utilized in measuring performance. Various strategic issues (financial resources, the need to protect and enhance the value of electricity trading; the impact of information technology; power technology development; environmental trends and 'green energy' initiatives; workforce training and development) are also highlighted

Adolescent pregnancy: do expectations affect intentions?

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens-Simon, Catherine; Sheeder, Jeanelle; Beach, Roberta; Harter, Susan

2005-09-01

To establish the relationship between expectations about the effects of childbearing on specific aspects of life and the strength of the desire to remain nonpregnant during adolescence. We hypothesized that the absence of negative childbearing expectations is associated with an increase in the odds that sexually active, inadequately contracepting teenage girls are cognitively susceptible to conception. A racially and ethnically diverse group of 351 nulligravida, inadequately contracepting teenagers was studied. Participants responded to 60 items that asked about their expectation about the effects of becoming pregnant and not doing so. Analyses were performed to determine the factorial structure of the childbearing expectations items and their relationship to cognitive susceptibility to conception, defined as the lack of desire to remain nonpregnant. The analysis yielded a 9-factor solution for the childbearing expectations items. All 9 sub-scales exhibited acceptable reliability coefficients, stable factor patterns, and correlated significantly with the desire to remain nonpregnant. A dose-dependent relationship suggestive of causality was also apparent. In stepwise regression the sub-scales that assessed the anticipated effect of childbearing on future plans, self-esteem, and boyfriend relations remained significant and accounted for 56% of the variance in the desire to remain nonpregnant. The lengthy research instrument was reduced to an 8-item screening tool without loss of psychometric integrity or explanatory power. Childbearing expectations reflect distinct concepts and account for a significant portion of the variance in the desire to remain nonpregnant during adolescence. Thus the 8-item screening tool we validated might be used to formulate a differential diagnosis for the enigmatic behavior of teens who say they do not "want" to become pregnant but do not "mind" doing so enough to try to avoid conceiving by default.

Performance assessment plans and methods for the Salt Repository Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-08-01

This document presents the preliminary plans and anticipated methods of the Salt Repository Project (SRP) for assessing the postclosure and radiological aspects of preclosure performance of a nuclear waste repository in salt. This plan is intended to be revised on an annual basis. The emphasis in this preliminary effort is on the method of conceptually dividing the system into three subsystems (the very near field, the near field, and the far field) and applying models to analyze the behavior of each subsystem and its individual components. The next revision will contain more detailed plans being developed as part of Site Characterization Plan (SCP) activities. After a brief system description, this plan presents the performance targets which have been established for nuclear waste repositories by regulatory agencies (Chapter 3). The SRP approach to modeling, including sensitivity and uncertainty techniques is then presented (Chapter 4). This is followed by a discussion of scenario analysis (Chapter 5), a presentation of preliminary data needs as anticipated by the SRP (Chapter 6), and a presentation of the SRP approach to postclosure assessment of the very near field, the near field, and the far field (Chapters 7, 8, and 9, respectively). Preclosure radiological assessment is discussed in Chapter 10. Chapter 11 presents the SRP approach to code verification and validation. Finally, the Appendix lists all computer codes anticipated for use in performance assessments. The list of codes will be updated as plans are revised

25 CFR 87.12 - Insuring the proper performance of approved plans.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Insuring the proper performance of approved plans. 87.12... DISTRIBUTION OF INDIAN JUDGMENT FUNDS § 87.12 Insuring the proper performance of approved plans. A timetable... regarding the maintenance of the timetable, a full accounting of any per capita distribution, and the...

The Impact of Students' Perceived Emotional Intelligence, Social Attitudes and Teacher Expectations on Academic Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Jimenez-Morales, M. Isabel; Lopez-Zafra, Esther

2013-01-01

Introduction: The aim of this study is to analyze the role that Perceived Emotional Intelligence and social competences have on academic performance. Furthermore, we analyze the role of teacher's expectancies on performance in secondary school students. Method: One hundred ninety three students (50.7% male and 49.3 % female) from the first and…

Does strategic planning enhance or impede innovation and firm performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Song, Michael; Im, Subin; van der Bijl, H.M.; Song, Lisa Z.

2011-01-01

Does strategic planning enhance or impede innovation and firm performance? The current literature provides contradictory views. This study extends the resource-advantage theory to examine the conditions in which strategic planning increases or decreases the number of new product development projects

Does strategic planning enhance or impede innovation and firm performance?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Song, Michael; Im, Subin; van der Bij, Hans; Song, Lisa Z.

Does strategic planning enhance or impede innovation and firm performance? The current literature provides contradictory views. This study extends the resource-advantage theory to examine the conditions in which strategic planning increases or decreases the number of new product development projects

Students' Perceived Parental School Behavior Expectations and Their Academic Performance: A Longitudinal Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, Gary L.; Hopson, Laura M.; Rose, Roderick A.; Glennie, Elizabeth J.

2012-01-01

Self-report data from 2,088 sixth-grade students in 11 middle schools in North Carolina were combined with administrative data on their eighth-grade end-of-the-year achievement scores in math and reading to examine the influence of students' perceived parental school behavior expectations on their academic performance. Through use of multilevel…

Planned early delivery versus expectant management for hypertensive disorders from 34 weeks gestation to term.

Science.gov (United States)

Cluver, Catherine; Novikova, Natalia; Koopmans, Corine M; West, Helen M

2017-01-15

Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are significant contributors to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. These disorders include well-controlled chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension (pregnancy-induced hypertension) and mild pre-eclampsia. The definitive treatment for these disorders is planned early delivery and the alternative is to manage the pregnancy expectantly if severe uncontrolled hypertension is not present, with close maternal and fetal monitoring. There are benefits and risks associated with both, so it is important to establish the safest option. To assess the benefits and risks of a policy of planned early delivery versus a policy of expectant management in pregnant women with hypertensive disorders, at or near term (from 34 weeks onwards). We searched Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Trials Register (12 January 2016) and reference lists of retrieved studies. Randomised trials of a policy of planned early delivery (by induction of labour or by caesarean section) compared with a policy of delayed delivery ("expectant management") for women with hypertensive disorders from 34 weeks' gestation. Cluster-randomised trials would have been eligible for inclusion in this review, but we found none.Studies using a quasi-randomised design are not eligible for inclusion in this review. Similarly, studies using a cross-over design are not eligible for inclusion, because they are not a suitable study design for investigating hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Two review authors independently assessed eligibility and risks of bias. Two review authors independently extracted data. Data were checked for accuracy. We included five studies (involving 1819 women) in this review.There was a lower risk of composite maternal mortality and severe morbidity for women randomised to receive planned early delivery (risk ratio (RR) 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57 to 0.83, two studies, 1459 women (evidence graded high)). There were no clear

Performance Demonstration Program Plan for the WIPP Experimental-Waste Characterization Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-02-01

The Performance Demonstration Program is designed to ensure that compliance with the Quality Assurance Objective, identified in the Quality Assurance Program Plan for the WIPP Experimental-Waste Characterization Program (QAPP), is achieved. This Program Plan is intended for use by the WPO to assess the laboratory support provided for the characterization of WIPP TRU waste by the storage/generator sites. Phase 0 of the Performance Demonstration Program encompasses the analysis of headspace gas samples for inorganic and organic components. The WPO will ensure the implementation of this plan by designating an independent organization to coordinate and provide technical oversight for the program (Program Coordinator). Initial program support, regarding the technical oversight and coordination functions, shall be provided by the USEPA-ORP. This plan identifies the criteria that will be used for the evaluation of laboratory performance, the responsibilities of the Program Coordinator, and the responsibilities of the participating laboratories. 5 tabs

Upgrade plans for hadron calorimeter in the CMS detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dugad, Shashikant R.

2010-01-01

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is expected to undergo upgrades in two phases in next decade. Luminosity at the completion of the second phase is expected to increase by an order of magnitude to 10 35 /cm 2 s. The upgrade of the CMS Hadron Calorimeter (HCAL) is being planned to sustain an increased dose of radiation and challenges arising from occupancy rate due to higher luminosity. Replacement of existing photo readout device by silicon photomultipliers is being planned for the HCAL. Detailed studies performed on this device are presented. Plans on the upgrade of the front-end electronics, DAQ, trigger, and the active elements in some part of the detector will be discussed in detail.

When sad groups expect to meet again : Interactive affective sharing and future interaction expectation as determinants of work groups' analytical and creative task performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klep, Annefloor H. M.; Wisse, Barbara; van der Flier, Henk

2013-01-01

The present study examines the moderating role of future interaction expectation in the relationship between affective sharing and work groups' task performance. We argue that group affect, a group defining characteristic, becomes more salient to its members when it is interactively shared, and that

Spatial planning procedures and property prices: The role of expectations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cotteleer, G.; Peerlings, J.

2011-01-01

The objective of this paper is to show if, and to what extent, spatial planning procedures affect residential property prices. To answer this question we used data on residential property prices from an area in the Netherlands called Midden-Delfland. In this area policy plans and decisions on the

Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Urban Plans based on Ecosystem Services

Science.gov (United States)

Menteşe, E. Y.; Tezer, A.

2017-12-01

Aiming at efficient and mindful use of natural resources while enabling social cohesion and economic development; sustainable development is one of the most emerging phenomenon in last decade. In this regard, role of urban development is critical by means of achieving sustainability since more than half of the world's population lives in cities. However, there is no solid and widely accepted approach for sustainability assessment in land use planning because there is not enough evidence on the relation between land use plans and environmental sustainability. With the basic aim of setting up relation between environmental sustainability and urban plans, this study utilizes ecosystem services phenomenon to define sustainability performance of a land use plan. Since ecosystem services can easily be related with land cover and land use they can be used as an efficient tool to act as indicators of sustainability. Meanwhile, while urban plans can provide ecosystem services and their level of service provision can be quantified, this is not solely enough for understanding its sustainability. Because it is also known that a land use plan mostly has negative impact on sustainability. Hence, this study embraces land use plans as a source of ecosystem services and environmental impacts. The difference between these entities are assumed to be the sustainability performance of a plan. The analysis relies on four parameters: ecosystem service capacity (environmental impact capacity), areal quantity of a land cover / use function, fragmantation level of the land use / cover and weight of ecosystem services / environmental impacts. Lastly, this approach is adopted for Istanbul's environmental master plan of 2009 and actual land cover of the same period. By calculating both data's environmental performance, the change of sustainability level sourced from environmental plan is analyzed.

Safety Evaluation Report on Tennessee Valley Authority: Revised Corporate Nuclear Performance Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-07-01

The TVA Corporate Nuclear Performance Plan addresses those corporate concerns identified by the NRC staff. Because much of the TVA corporate plan is programmatic, its effectiveness depends on its implementation, and the NRC staff plans to closely monitor this implementation. The NRC staff will address site-specific concerns in subsequent SERs on each volume of the Nuclear Performance Plan. On the basis of its review, the NRC staff finds TVA's revised Corporate Nuclear Performance Plan (Revision 4) acceptable. The NRC staff concludes that the organization and staffing of TVA's Office of Nuclear Power and the programmatic improvements in place or under way are sufficient, if implemented properly, to resolve the problems at the corporate level that led to issuance of the 10 CFR 50.54(f) letter dated September 17, 1985, and to support continuing TVA nuclear activities, including plant operations. 19 refs., 3 figs

EHV AC undergrounding electrical power performance and planning

CERN Document Server

Benato, Roberto

2014-01-01

Analytical methods of cable performance in EHV AC electrical power are discussed in this comprehensive reference. Descriptions of energization, power quality, cable safety constraints and more, guide readers in cable planning and power network operations.

Patterns in income source expectations for retirement among preretirees.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitaker, Elizabeth A; Bokemeier, Janet

2014-07-01

Financial planning for retirement is a lifelong process constrained by financial literacy, resources, and competing demands for resources across the life course. Further, social structure shapes the availability of options for funding retirement. The social and economic frameworks surrounding retirement planning are changing, and policy makers and researchers question whether retirement expectations have adapted. To explore this question, this research used k-means cluster analysis of a 2010 survey data set to identify natural groupings of Michigan adult preretirees based on their expectations of income sources for retirement. The cluster analysis identified six distinct groups that hold very different expectations. Most had expectations that are not consistent with projected changes in social structure and resource availability and those that did were more likely to occupy traditionally privileged statuses including being White, male, and married. © The Author(s) 2013.

Vicarious and Persuasive Influences on Efficacy Expectations and Intentions To Perform Breast Self-Examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Ronald B.

2000-01-01

Tests the impact of symbolic modeling and persuasive efficacy information on self-efficacy beliefs and intentions to perform breast self-examinations among 147 undergraduate students. Assesses the effects of these modes of efficacy induction on fear arousal and response-outcome expectations. Finds symbolic modeling engendered greater efficacy…

Enhancing performance expectancies through visual illusions facilitates motor learning in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahmani, Moslem; Wulf, Gabriele; Ghadiri, Farhad; Karimi, Saeed; Lewthwaite, Rebecca

2017-10-01

In a recent study by Chauvel, Wulf, and Maquestiaux (2015), golf putting performance was found to be affected by the Ebbinghaus illusion. Specifically, adult participants demonstrated more effective learning when they practiced with a hole that was surrounded by small circles, making it look larger, than when the hole was surrounded by large circles, making it look smaller. The present study examined whether this learning advantage would generalize to children who are assumed to be less sensitive to the visual illusion. Two groups of 10-year olds practiced putting golf balls from a distance of 2m, with perceived larger or smaller holes resulting from the visual illusion. Self-efficacy was increased in the group with the perceived larger hole. The latter group also demonstrated more accurate putting performance during practice. Importantly, learning (i.e., delayed retention performance without the illusion) was enhanced in the group that practiced with the perceived larger hole. The findings replicate previous results with adult learners and are in line with the notion that enhanced performance expectancies are key to optimal motor learning (Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2016). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Polycentricity, Performance and Planning: Concepts, Evidence and Policy in Barcelona, Catalonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaume Masip-Tresserra

2017-11-01

this understanding of polycentric development, based on considering (or not the policy guidelines/recommendations that resulted from empirical evidence and aimed to improve the effectiveness and feasibility of spatial plans. How has polycentricity been conceptualized in research, and how can it inform planning practice? A better integration between the literatures on the conceptualization of polycentricity potentially informs spatial plans about the effectiveness and feasibility of polycentric development strategies. This integration revealed which method (empirical or non-empirical of identifying centers most accurately defines the polycentric model in the Barcelona metropolitan region, which is an essential step in empirically substantiating the link between polycentricity and performance in a metropolitan area because differences in the identification of centers could lead to different conclusions on the understanding of the costs and benefits of a polycentric metropolitan structure. The main advantage of the novel method of identifying centers that is proposed and tested here is that it considers the various pathways through which centers may emerge, namely, the decentralization and the incorporation-fusion trajectories. This method was better able to identify as centers those cities that have the highest level of agglomeration economies and cast the most severe agglomeration shadows over their surroundings. In addition, the incorporation of the functional and morphological dimensions of polycentricity—as traditionally coined by the inter-urban polycentricity literature—into the measurement of the degree of polycentricity on the intra-urban scale has contributed to building more sound arguments either for or against supporting a polycentric development strategy in a metropolitan area. Additionally, it has provided planners with valuable insights into not only how to address issues related to the understanding, governance implications, and expectations of

Are prescription drug insurance choices consistent with expected utility theory?

Science.gov (United States)

Bundorf, M Kate; Mata, Rui; Schoenbaum, Michael; Bhattacharya, Jay

2013-09-01

To determine the extent to which people make choices inconsistent with expected utility theory when choosing among prescription drug insurance plans and whether tabular or graphical presentation format influences the consistency of their choices. Members of an Internet-enabled panel chose between two Medicare prescription drug plans. The "low variance" plan required higher out-of-pocket payments for the drugs respondents usually took but lower out-of-pocket payments for the drugs they might need if they developed a new health condition than the "high variance" plan. The probability of a change in health varied within subjects and the presentation format (text vs. graphical) and the affective salience of the clinical condition (abstract vs. risk related to specific clinical condition) varied between subjects. Respondents were classified based on whether they consistently chose either the low or high variance plan. Logistic regression models were estimated to examine the relationship between decision outcomes and task characteristics. The majority of respondents consistently chose either the low or high variance plan, consistent with expected utility theory. Half of respondents consistently chose the low variance plan. Respondents were less likely to make discrepant choices when information was presented in graphical format. Many people, although not all, make choices consistent with expected utility theory when they have information on differences among plans in the variance of out-of-pocket spending. Medicare beneficiaries would benefit from information on the extent to which prescription drug plans provide risk protection. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Improve strategic supplier performance using DMAIC to develop a Quality Improvement Plan

Science.gov (United States)

Jardim, Kevin P.

Supplier performance that meets the requirements of the customer has long plagued quality professionals. Despite the vast efforts by organizations to improve supplier performance, little has been done to standardize the plan to improve performance. This project presents a guideline and problem-solving strategy using a Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) structured tool that will assist in the management and improvement of supplier performance. An analysis of benchmarked Quality Improvement Plans indicated that this topic needs more focus on how to accomplish improved supplier performance. This project is part of a growing body of supplier continuous improvement efforts. With the input of Zodiac Aerospace quality professionals this project's results provide a solution to Quality Improvement Plans and show objective evidence of its benefits. This project contributes to the future research on similar topics.

Expectation of having consumed caffeine can improve performance and mood

OpenAIRE

Dawkins, Lynne; Shahzad, Fatima-Zahra; Ahmed, Suada S.; Edmonds, Caroline J.

2011-01-01

We explored whether caffeine, and expectation of having consumed caffeine, affects attention, reward responsivity and mood using double-blinded methodology. 88 participants were randomly allocated to ‘drink-type’ (caffeinated/decaffeinated coffee) and ‘expectancy’ (told caffeinated/told decaffeinated coffee) manipulations. Both caffeine and expectation of having consumed caffeine improved attention and psychomotor speed. Expectation enhanced self-reported vigour and reward responsivity. Self-...

Expectations for a scientific collaboratory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sonnenwald, Diane H.

2003-01-01

In the past decade, a number of scientific collaboratories have emerged, yet adoption of scientific collaboratories remains limited. Meeting expectations is one factor that influences adoption of innovations, including scientific collaboratories. This paper investigates expectations scientists have...... with respect to scientific collaboratories. Interviews were conducted with 17 scientists who work in a variety of settings and have a range of experience conducting and managing scientific research. Results indicate that scientists expect a collaboratory to: support their strategic plans; facilitate management...... of the scientific process; have a positive or neutral impact on scientific outcomes; provide advantages and disadvantages for scientific task execution; and provide personal conveniences when collaborating across distances. These results both confirm existing knowledge and raise new issues for the design...

Aerocapacitor commercialization plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-09-12

The purpose of the Power-One Aerocapacitor Commercialization Plan is to communicate to members of management and to all employees the overall objectives of the corporation. Power-One, Inc., has participated in a US Federal Government Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP), entitled {open_quotes}Advanced Power Conversion based on the Aerocapacitor{close_quotes}: the project is a group effort, with Lawrence Livermore National Labs, GenCorp/Aerojet, PolyStor Corp. (a start-up company), and Power-One forming the consortium. The expected resulting technology is the {open_quotes}Aerocapacitor{close_quotes}, which possesses much higher performance levels than the usual capacitors on the market today. Power-One hopes to incorporate the Aerocapacitor into some of its products, hence enhancing their performance, as well as market privately-labeled aerocapacitors through its distribution channels. This document describes the details of Power-One`s plan to bring to market and commercialize the Aerocapacitor and Aerocapacitor-based products. This plan was formulated while Power-One was part of the Oerocap project. It has since pulled out of this project. What is presented in this plan is the work which was developed prior to the business decision to terminate this work.

Addendum to ''Test Plan: Small-Scale Seal Performance Tests (SSSPT)''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finley, R.E.

1992-01-01

This document describes activities that are intended to update the data base of fluid flow measurements made on expansive salt concrete (ESC) seals as part of the Small-Scale Seal Performance Tests (SSSPT). The original plans for the SSSPT experiments are described by Stormont (1985a and 1985b). These seals have previously been tested with brine and gas during the early stages (less than 450 days) after emplacement. The purpose of this Test Plan Addendum is to detail the activities necessary to, update the gas and brine measurements previously performed on the SSSPT Series A and Series B seals and to identify the key personnel responsible for implementing these activities. This addendum describes a limited undertaking and does NOT change the scope of the original test plan

Expected Science Performance of the Square Kilometre Array Phase 1 (SKA1)

Science.gov (United States)

Bourke, Tyler; Braun, Robert; Bonaldi, Anna; Garcia-Miro, Cristina; Keane, Evan; Wagg, Jeff; SKAO Science Team

2018-01-01

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the world’s largest radio telescope when Phase 1 (SKA1) is completed in the next decade. The past few years have seen great progress toward this goal, through extensive design activities, with construction to start before the end of this decade, and early operations anticipated to begin around 2026. This poster describes the SKA and presents the expected performance and capabilities of SKA1 based on the modelling and proto-typing to date.

Effect of open-plan office noise on occupant comfort and performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toftum, Jørn; Lund, Søren; Kristiansen, Jesper

This study investigated effects on comfort, symptoms, and office work performance of exposure to office noise. Forty-nine subjects who were employees working in open-plan offices participated in two full-day experiments simulating an ordinary work day; one day with and one day without exposure...... to pre-recorded office noise. Exposure to office noise affected negatively ratings of adverse perceptions, selected symptoms, and self-assessed performance, but not the performance of the simulated office tasks. Occupants who in their daily work were disturbed by open-plan office noise were less tolerant...

Post-Occupancy Evaluation Data Support for Planning and Management of Building Maintenance Plans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelson Bento Pereira

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to propose a post-occupancy evaluation (POE method focused on building maintenance and then to test it on two different sets of residential buildings. The paper’s three main goals are: to obtain useful data for optimizing the buildings’ maintenance plans; to search for any correlation between the occupants’ characteristics and their expectations toward the building; to study the occupants’ willingness to pay for maintenance procedures, as well as its correlation with the occupants’ perception of the elements source of maintenance (ESM. The proposed POE method for building maintenance performance evaluation (BMPE consists of six main stages, focusing on the occupants’ opinions and their correlation with the facility manager’s. The observed case studies allowed for a preliminary validation of the POE method for BMPE. Results generically endorsed the method as a valuable tool for the rapprochement between facility management and the building’s end-users. Such findings could allow facility managers to develop more efficient maintenance plans focusing on the occupants’ real needs and expectations, raising occupant satisfaction levels and contributing to the building’s general performance.

An investigation of the effect of changes of planning criteria on power system expansion planning with a case study of the Jordanian power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elkarmi, Fawwaz; Abu-Shikhah, Nazih; Abu-Zarour, Mohammad

2010-01-01

Many factors contribute to the planning process of power systems. In the context of expansion planning, focus is paid to selection criteria that enable the optimization of related factors that will result in the best performance. This is described as meeting demand whilst reducing costs and maintaining minimal risk in operation. In this paper, different criteria used in the planning of power system expansion studies are investigated with the objective of identifying their impact on the expansion plan. The results of these criteria on the expansion study of the Jordanian power system are presented. Results show good correspondence to the actual adopted solutions. The spinning reserve is the most influential planning criterion on the overall system expansion cost. This is followed by the peak load changes, and the forced outage rate of the candidate units used for capacity additions to meet future expected demand. Finally, the loss of load expectation and cost of energy not served have the least effect on the overall system expansion cost. These results highlight the importance to be placed on performing sensitivity analyses to determine the most cost effective and acceptable expansion plan of the electric power system. There is a need to continually update the planning criteria to cater for changes and developments in the power system and the economic situation. Finally, the methodology of this study can be generalized to other power systems.

An investigation of the effect of changes of planning criteria on power system expansion planning with a case study of the Jordanian power system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elkarmi, Fawwaz; Abu-Shikhah, Nazih [Al-Ahliyya Amman University, College of Engineering, AA University Post Office, Zip code 19328 (Jordan); Abu-Zarour, Mohammad [NEPCO, Department of Generation Planning, P.O. Box 2310, Amman 11194 (Jordan)

2010-10-15

Many factors contribute to the planning process of power systems. In the context of expansion planning, focus is paid to selection criteria that enable the optimization of related factors that will result in the best performance. This is described as meeting demand whilst reducing costs and maintaining minimal risk in operation. In this paper, different criteria used in the planning of power system expansion studies are investigated with the objective of identifying their impact on the expansion plan. The results of these criteria on the expansion study of the Jordanian power system are presented. Results show good correspondence to the actual adopted solutions. The spinning reserve is the most influential planning criterion on the overall system expansion cost. This is followed by the peak load changes, and the forced outage rate of the candidate units used for capacity additions to meet future expected demand. Finally, the loss of load expectation and cost of energy not served have the least effect on the overall system expansion cost. These results highlight the importance to be placed on performing sensitivity analyses to determine the most cost effective and acceptable expansion plan of the electric power system. There is a need to continually update the planning criteria to cater for changes and developments in the power system and the economic situation. Finally, the methodology of this study can be generalized to other power systems. (author)

Towards a new generation of mission planning systems: Flexibility and performance

Science.gov (United States)

Gasquet, A.; Parrod, Y.; Desaintvincent, A.

1994-01-01

This paper presents some new approaches which are required for a better adequacy of Mission Planning Systems. In particular, the performance flexibility and genericity issues are discussed based on experience acquired through various Mission Planning systems developed by Matra Marconi Space.

A model for calculating expected performance of the Apollo unified S-band (USB) communication system

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, N. W.

1971-01-01

A model for calculating the expected performance of the Apollo unified S-band (USB) communication system is presented. The general organization of the Apollo USB is described. The mathematical model is reviewed and the computer program for implementation of the calculations is included.

Development of methods of key performance indicators formation for corporate planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chebotarev, A.N.

2011-01-01

A theoretical proposition, a model of enterprise performance management and a concept of balanced key performance indicators as a method to control the enterprise strategy have been systematized and presented. An algorithm that increases the efficiency of action plans' formation has been developed and implemented. In particular, a set of criteria for the selection of events and parameters necessary for the formation of an action plan has been created. A method of control of the business processes, allowing the experts to establish the relationship between the business processes performance indicators and the enterprise's key indicators has been developed [ru

Performance monitoring in the anterior cingulate is not all error related: expectancy deviation and the representation of action-outcome associations.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Flavio T P; McDonald, John J; Goodman, David

2007-12-01

Several converging lines of evidence suggest that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is selectively involved in error detection or evaluation of poor performance. Here we challenge this notion by presenting event-related potential (ERP) evidence that the feedback-elicited error-related negativity, an ERP component attributed to the ACC, can be elicited by positive feedback when a person is expecting negative feedback and vice versa. These results suggest that performance monitoring in the ACC is not limited to error processing. We propose that the ACC acts as part of a more general performance-monitoring system that is activated by violations in expectancy. Further, we propose that the common observation of increased ACC activity elicited by negative events could be explained by an overoptimistic bias in generating expectations of performance. These results could shed light into neurobehavioral disorders, such as depression and mania, associated with alterations in performance monitoring and also in judgments of self-related events.

Citizen Expectations and Satisfaction Over Time

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjortskov, Morten

2018-01-01

Expectations are thought to affect how citizens form their attitudes and behavior toward public services. Such attitudes may include citizen satisfaction, where expectations play a fundamental role, and relevant behaviors include choice of services and the decision to voice opinions about them....... However, there are few investigations into what drives citizen expectations and even fewer that consider these relationships across time. This article tests whether prior expectations, perceived performance, and citizen satisfaction influence future expectations, using a unique dataset that follows...... individual citizens across two subsequent school satisfaction surveys from 2011 and 2013. The results show that prior expectations have a large and consistent influence on future expectations, as predicted by the literature, whereas the influence from prior perceived performance seems less consistent. Prior...

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN STRATEGIC PLANNING AND ECONOMIC MOROCCAN SME’s PERFORMANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hassan ABBAR

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Among management activities, the strategic function retains increasingly attention of authors being interested in SME's (small and medium-sized enterprise performance. Indeed, there are many authors who think that by following a strategy building formal process, SMEs can increase chances of success, while others consider that by trusting their manager’s intuition, SMEs can stimulate creativity and develop important competitive advantages at the same time. Further to these controversies, we aim through this communication to partake in this debate mattering to both researchers and managers by revising the relation between strategic planning and SMEs' economic performance. So as to handle this matter, we verify nearby 100 Moroccan SMEs, the degree of importance they grant to strategic planning. We also examine how SMEs strategic planning may or not be associated with their economic performance as measured by average variation sales over the last three years.

Motor planning flexibly optimizes performance under uncertainty about task goals.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Aaron L; Haith, Adrian M

2017-03-03

In an environment full of potential goals, how does the brain determine which movement to execute? Existing theories posit that the motor system prepares for all potential goals by generating several motor plans in parallel. One major line of evidence for such theories is that presenting two competing goals often results in a movement intermediate between them. These intermediate movements are thought to reflect an unintentional averaging of the competing plans. However, normative theories suggest instead that intermediate movements might actually be deliberate, generated because they improve task performance over a random guessing strategy. To test this hypothesis, we vary the benefit of making an intermediate movement by changing movement speed. We find that participants generate intermediate movements only at (slower) speeds where they measurably improve performance. Our findings support the normative view that the motor system selects only a single, flexible motor plan, optimized for uncertain goals.

Predicting Plan Failure by Monitoring Action Sequences and Duration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovani Parente FARIAS

2017-07-01

Full Text Available An agent can attempt to achieve multiple goals and each goal can be achieved by applying various different plans. Anticipating failures in agent plan execution is important to enable an agent to develop strategies to avoid or circumvent such failures, allowing the agent to achieve its goal. Plan recognition can be used to infer which plans are being executed from observations of sequences of activities being performed by an agent. Symbolic Plan Recognition is an algorithm that represents knowledge about the agents under observation in the form of a plan library. In this work, we use this symbolic algorithm to find out which plan the agent is performing and we develop a failure prediction system, based on information available in the plan library and in a simplified calendar which manages the goals the agent has to achieve. This failure predictor is able to monitor the sequence of agent actions and detects if an action is taking too long or does not match the plan that the agent was expected to be performing. We have successfully employed this approach in a health-care prototype system.

Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) Facility Stewardship Plan: Revision 2.1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torres, Juan [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Anderson, Art [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2018-01-02

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), has established the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and has designated it as a DOE user facility. This 182,500-ft2 research facility provides state-of-the-art laboratory and support infrastructure to optimize the design and performance of electrical, thermal, fuel, and information technologies and systems at scale. This Facility Stewardship Plan provides DOE and other decision makers with information about the existing and expected capabilities of the ESIF and the expected performance metrics to be applied to ESIF operations. This plan is a living document that will be updated and refined throughout the lifetime of the facility.

Communicating more than diversity: The effect of institutional diversity statements on expectations and performance as a function of race and gender.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilton, Leigh S; Good, Jessica J; Moss-Racusin, Corinne A; Sanchez, Diana T

2015-07-01

The present studies examined whether colorblind diversity messages, relative to multicultural diversity messages, serve as an identity threat that undermines performance-related outcomes for individuals at the intersections of race and gender. We exposed racial/ethnic majority and minority women and men to either a colorblind or multicultural diversity statement and then measured their expectations about overall diversity, anticipated bias, and group task performance (Study 1, N = 211), as well as their expectations about distinct race and gender diversity and their actual performance on a math test (Study 2, N = 328). Participants expected more bias (Study 1) and less race and gender diversity (Study 2) after exposure to a colorblind versus a multicultural message. However, the colorblind message was particularly damaging for women of color, prompting them to expect the least diversity overall and to perform worse (Study 1), as well as to actually perform worse on a math test (Study 2) than the multicultural message. White women demonstrated the opposite pattern, performing better on the math test in the colorblind versus the multicultural condition, whereas racial minority and majority men's performances were not affected by different messages about diversity. We discuss the importance of examining psychological processes that underscore performance-related outcomes at the junction of race and gender. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Performance Improvement in 503A Compounding Pharmacies: A PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND SUSTAINED SUCCESS.

Science.gov (United States)

Pritchett, Jon; Mixon, William; O'Connell, Kevin

2016-01-01

Performance improvement is the continual effort to objectively assess current performance and then restructure the practices that support it to more closely achieve desired performance. A plan for performance improvement, unlike other approaches to correcting problems in job fulfillment, is a systematic method used to first find the root causes of areas of concern and then apply corrections to remedy those deficits. Implementing a performance improvement plan that can be easily adapted to ensure compliance with evolving and increasingly complex state and federal regulations is crucial to a successful compounding practice. In this article, we discuss the need for performance improvement in 503A compounding pharmacies, list the steps necessary to develop such a plan, and present three case reports of performance improvement plans in differing compounding settings.

Great Expectations, Mixed Results: Standards and Performance in Denver's New Public Schools, 2007-2011

Science.gov (United States)

Ooms, Alexander

2012-01-01

In conjunction with the Denver Plan instituted in 2005, Denver Public Schools (DPS) has embarked upon a consistent strategy of opening new schools in an effort to improve overall academic performance. DPS has pursued this strategy under several different paths: an annual request for proposals from charter school applicants; allowing current…

Older adults' beliefs about physician-estimated life expectancy: a cross-sectional survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bynum Debra L

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Estimates of life expectancy assist physicians and patients in medical decision-making. The time-delayed benefits for many medical treatments make an older adult's life expectancy estimate particularly important for physicians. The purpose of this study is to assess older adults' beliefs about physician-estimated life expectancy. Methods We performed a mixed qualitative-quantitative cross-sectional study in which 116 healthy adults aged 70+ were recruited from two local retirement communities. We interviewed them regarding their beliefs about physician-estimated life expectancy in the context of a larger study on cancer screening beliefs. Semi-structured interviews of 80 minutes average duration were performed in private locations convenient to participants. Demographic characteristics as well as cancer screening beliefs and beliefs about life expectancy were measured. Two independent researchers reviewed the open-ended responses and recorded the most common themes. The research team resolved disagreements by consensus. Results This article reports the life-expectancy results portion of the larger study. The study group (n = 116 was comprised of healthy, well-educated older adults, with almost a third over 85 years old, and none meeting criteria for dementia. Sixty-four percent (n = 73 felt that their physicians could not correctly estimate their life expectancy. Sixty-six percent (n = 75 wanted their physicians to talk with them about their life expectancy. The themes that emerged from our study indicate that discussions of life expectancy could help older adults plan for the future, maintain open communication with their physicians, and provide them knowledge about their medical conditions. Conclusion The majority of the healthy older adults in this study were open to discussions about life expectancy in the context of discussing cancer screening tests, despite awareness that their physicians' estimates could be inaccurate

Joint Integration Test Facility (JITF) Engineering II Performance Measurement Plans

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Boucher, Joanne

2001-01-01

..., effectiveness, and accountability in federal programs and spending. The plan establishes six separate performance measurements, which correlate directly to customer satisfaction, Intelligence Mission Application (IMA...

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover: Examiner Expectancy Effects Predict Neuropsychological Performance for Individuals Judged as Chronic Cannabis Users.

Science.gov (United States)

Sodos, Louise M; Hirst, Rayna B; Watson, Jessica; Vaughn, Dylan

2018-01-12

The experimenter expectancy effect confound remains largely unexplored in neuropsychological research and has never been investigated among cannabis users. This study investigated whether examiner expectancies of cannabis user status affected examinees' neuropsychological performance. Participants included 41 cannabis users and 20 non-users. Before testing, examiners who were blind to participant user status privately rated whether they believed the examinee was a cannabis user or non-user. Examiners then administered a battery of neuropsychological and performance validity measures. Multiple regression analyses compared performance between examinees judged as cannabis users (n = 37) and those judged as non-users (n = 24). Examiners' judgments of cannabis users were 75% accurate; judgments of non-users were at chance. After controlling for age, gender, and actual user status, examiner judgments of cannabis user status predicted performance on two measures (California Verbal Learning Test-II, and Trail Making Test B; p users obtained lower scores than those judged as non-users. Examiners' judgments of cannabis user status predicted performance even after controlling for actual user status, indicating vulnerability to examiner expectancy effects. These findings have important implications for both research and clinical settings, as scores may partially reflect examiners' expectations regarding cannabis effects rather than participants' cognitive abilities. These results demonstrate the need for expectancy effect research in the neuropsychological assessment of all populations, not just cannabis users. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Inflation expectations in the Czech interbank market

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Fukač, Martin

-, č. 253 (2005), s. 1-30 ISSN 1211-3298 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503 Keywords : inflation expectations * nominal interest rate * Fisher rule Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/wp/Wp253.pdf

Nuclear material control and accountancy planning and performance testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mike Enhinger; Dennis Wilkey; Rod Martin; Ken Byers; Brian Smith

1999-01-01

An overview of performance testing as used at U.S. Department of Energy facilities is provided. Performance tests are performed on specific aspects of the regulations or site policy. The key issues in establishing a performance testing program are: identifying what needs to be tested; determining how to test; establishing criteria to evaluate test results. The program elements of performance testing program consist of: planning; coordination; conduct; evaluation. A performance test may be conducted of personnel or equipment. The DOE orders for nuclear material control and accountancy are divided into three functional areas: program administration, material accounting, and material control. Examples performance tests may be conducted on program administration, accounting, measurement and measurement control, inventory, and containment [ru

LHCb : Performance, radiation resistance, and expectations of the Outer Tracker straw

CERN Multimedia

Tuning, Niels

2015-01-01

The LHCb experiment is a single arm spectrometer, designed to study CP violation in B-decays at the LHC. It is crucial to accurately and efficiently detect the charged decay particles, in the high-density particle environment of the LHC. For this, the Outer Tracker (OT) was constructed, consisting of 54,000 straw tubes, covering in total an area of 360 m2 of double layers. The detector operated in 2011/2012 under large particle rates, up to 100 kHz/cm per straw in the region closest to the beam. The performance of the OT detector during Run-I of the LHC has been studied in detail, in terms of efficiency, resolution and noise rate. Particular attention is devoted to the radiation hardness of this sensitive gaseous detector, that has shown to suffer from gain loss after mild irradiation in laboratory conditions. During the shutdown period of the LHC, extensive studies have been performed on subtle spatial alignment effects, and real-time calibration procedures have been prepared for run-II. In addition, expect...

Savannah River Site plan for performing maintenance in Federal Facility Agreement areas (O and M Plan)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, D.R.

1996-01-01

The Savannah River Site was placed on the National Priority List (NPL) in December 1989 and became subject to comprehensive remediation in accordance with CERCLA. The FFA, effective August 16, 1993, establishes the requirements for Site investigation and remediation of releases and potential releases of hazardous substances, and interim status corrective action for releases of hazardous wastes or hazardous constituents. It was determined that further direction was needed for the Operating Departments regarding operation and maintenance activities within those areas listed in the FFA. The Plan for Performing Maintenance (O and M Plan) provides this additional direction. Section 4.0 addresses the operation and maintenance activities necessary for continued operation of the facilities in areas identified as RCRA/CERCLA Units or Site Evaluation Areas. Certain types of the O and M activity could be construed as a remedial or removal action. The intent of this Plan is to provide direction for conducting operation and maintenance activities that are not intended to be remedial or removal actions. The Plan identifies the locations of the units and areas, defines intrusive O and M activities, classifies the intrusive activity as either minor or major, and identifies the requirements, approvals, and documentation necessary to perform the activity in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment; and minimizes any potential impact to any future removal and remedial actions

The gamma-ray arc-minute imaging system (GRATIS) - Mechanical design and expected performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seiffert, M.; Lubin, P.; Hailey, C.J.; Ziock, K.P.; Harrison, F.A.

1989-01-01

A balloon experiment, GRATIS, is being constructed which will perform the first arcmin imaging of cosmic sources in the 30 - 200 keV energy band. Observations conducted with GRATIS can provide data relevant to several key problems in high energy astrophysics, including the physical processes responsible for the high energy tail observed in the soft gamma-ray spectra of clusters of galaxies and the origin of both the diffuse and point-source components of the gamma-ray emission from the Galactic Center. This paper discusses the scientific motivations in detail, outlines the experiment, discusses several aspects of the design and construction of hardware components, gives an overview of the stabilized platform, and shows the expected performance and sensitivity. 16 refs

Planning Public Transport

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jonas Lohmann Elkjær; Landex, Alex

2009-01-01

This good practice guide is composed for the master course 13120 Public Transport Planning held at the Department of Transport, Technical University of Denmark. It is intended to use as guide in the different planning aspects and assignments of the course. Since the course is about the planning...... of new public transport infrastructure this guide also focuses on the planning of new infrastructure. Furthermore, the new infrastructure in the course is expected to be a light rail and even though this guide aims at being general for public transport some of the issues evidently become more relevant...... will enable a capability for planning both bus and rail. The guide is build as a full sketch investigation of a new public transport project ranging chronological from project clarification to physical and timetable planning to traffic modeling and project appraisal. The same steps that are expected...

Succession planning in hospitals and the association with organizational performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Tae Hyun

2012-01-01

Effective succession planning is the heart of leadership development and an essential business strategy because it enhances the ability to achieve orderly transitions and maintain productivity levels. The results of this study are consistent with previous studies that exhibit a positive association of previous years' performance with internal succession planning. The key to successful succession planning lies in building a solid foundation of profitability. Having successors ready to fill key vacancies helps improve operational condition and the bottom line, and thus, gives a competitive edge in the market. Preparing successors for leadership may determine which organizations simply survive and which thrive and lead their markets down the road.

Development of performance measures for the assessment of rural planning organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-27

In order for the Transportation Planning Board to provide oversight and assistance to the 20 RPOs in the state, they : need effective evaluation criteria and performance measures. The existing measures, including the annual : performance report, do n...

Association of Academic Performance with Outcome Expectations and Its Domains in Nursing and Midwifery Students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sepideh Bakhtiari

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Outcome expectation is considered as a basic and significant variable in education. It is a cognitive-motivational component that takes the individual into account as an active and sensible decision-maker. The present study was conducted to investigate the correlation of outcome expectations with academic performance of students of nursing and midwifery in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the sample size included 218 nursing and midwifery students selected through convenient random sampling method. The instrument for data collection was the questionnaire of “outcome expectations of career decision-making and discovery targets”, which comprised of 13 questions in three domains of future orientation, job satisfaction and personal expectations. The questionnaires were coded after being completed and the obtained data were fed into SPSS-16 software and analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, Kolmogrov-Smirnov, ANOVA and Mann-Whitney tests. Results: The findings indicated no statistically significant difference between place of living (dormitory or home and outcome expectations along with its domains (39.4% and 60-6%. However, a significant correlation was reported between discipline, gender, admittance year and academic performance of the students (p0.05. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated a positively positive significant relationship between students’ academic performance and outcome expectations along with its domains.

An Integrated Radiance Throughput Model for Hypersonic Interceptor Seeker Performance Evaluation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Andrzejewski, J

1992-01-01

.... On board infrared seekers are planned for terminal guidance. It is desirable to perform seeker trade studies determining such things as expected S/N, tracking performance and optimum wavelength of operation...

Expectancy Theory Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

1982-08-01

accomplish the task, (2) the instrumentality of task performance for job outcomes, and (3) the instrumentality of outcomes for need satisfaction . We...in this discussion: effort, performance , outcomes, and needs. In order to present briefly the conventional approach to the Vroom models, another...Presumably, this is the final event in the sequence of effort, performance , outcome, and need satisfaction . The actual research reported in expectancy

THE EFFECT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP ORIENTATION, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, STRATEGIC PLANNING TO COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES WITH BUSINESS PERFORMANCE AS INTERVENING VARIABLES: EMPIRICAL STUDY FOOD PROCESSING SMES IN NORTH SULAWESI.

OpenAIRE

Billy Josef Anis; Budiman Christiananta; Lena Ellitan.

2018-01-01

This study aims to examine the influence of Entrepreneurship Orientation, Information Technology, Strategic Planning, to Business Performance and Competitive Advantage of micro and small entrepreneurs of food processing industry in North Sulawesi. In the case of the existence of micro and small entrepreneurs in this area, especially the processed food processing industry being studied, micro and small entrepreneurs are expected to build their ability to compete more and give quality value to ...

Using storyboards to make your performance improvement plan come alive.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfaadt, M

1998-01-01

The key to successfully using storyboarding within the PI plan is to create a storyboard for each activity as it is completed. Our agency waited until JCAHO was almost upon us. The historical preservation of activities as they occur will create an archive of activities for your PI committee and staff as well as for surveyors. The storyboard's second purpose is the communication of activities to the staff. Take the opportunity to use the boards as educational activities for the staff. Performance Improvement can many times be a frightening, or at best frustrating and uncomfortable activity for staff personnel. Bringing the PI plan alive through the use of storyboards accomplishes many goals as well as helps all staff see how Performance Improvement really makes a difference.

Basic database performance tuning - developer's perspective

CERN Document Server

Kwiatek, Michal

2008-01-01

This lecture discusses selected database performance issues from the developer's point of view: connection overhead, bind variables and SQL injection, making most of the optimizer with up-to-date statistics, reading execution plans. Prior knowledge of SQL is expected.

Achieving performance breakthroughs in an HMO business process through quality planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanan, K B

1993-01-01

Kaiser Permanente's Georgia Region commissioned a quality planning team to design a new process to improve payments to its suppliers and vendors. The result of the team's effort was a 73 percent reduction in cycle time. This team's experiences point to the advantages of process redesign as a quality planning model, as well as some general guidelines for its most effective use in teams. If quality planning project teams are carefully configured, sufficiently expert in the existing process, and properly supported by management, organizations can achieve potentially dramatic improvements in process performance using this approach.

Development of short Indonesian lesson plan to improve teacher performance

Science.gov (United States)

Yulianto, B.; Kamidjan; Ahmadi, A.; Asteria, P. V.

2018-01-01

The developmental research was motivated by the results of preliminary study through interviews, which revealed almost all of the teachers did not create lesson plan themselves. As a result of this load, the performance of the real learning in the classroom becomes inadequate. Moreover, when lesson plan was not made by teachers themselves, the learning process becomes ineffective. Therefore, this study designed to develop a prototype of the short lesson plan, in particular, Indonesian language teaching, and to investigate its effectiveness. The participants in the study were teachers who were trained through lesson study group to design short model’s lesson plan. Questionnaires and open-ended questions were used, and the quantitative and qualitative data obtained were analyzed accordingly. The analysis of the quantitative data, aided with SPSS, were frequency, percentage, and means, whereas the qualitative data were analyzed descriptively. The results showed that the teachers liked the model, and they were willing to design their own lesson plan. The observation data revealed that the classroom learning process became more interactive, and classroom atmosphere was more engaging and natural because the teachers did not stick to the lesson plan made by other teachers.

Exploring the Factors of an Enterprise Resource Planning System in a Local Government Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Bryan T.

2012-01-01

The enterprise resource planning (ERP) system industry accounts for $8.8 billion annually. Enterprise resource planning systems are not performing as expected due to implementation barriers, changes in job responsibilities, and access to information; 50% of all information technology failures are due to the implementation of ERP systems. Guided by…

River Protection Project waste feed delivery program technical performance measurement assessment plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'TOOLE, S.M.

1999-01-01

This plan establishes a formal technical performance-monitoring program. Technical performance is assessed by establishing requirements based performance goals at the beginning of a program and routinely evaluating progress in meeting these goals at predetermined milestones throughout the project life cycle

Beyond Expectations in Music Performance Modules in Higher Education: Rethinking Instrumental and Vocal Music Pedagogy for the Twenty-First Century

Science.gov (United States)

Simones, Lilian Lima

2017-01-01

Music performance in the higher educational context is shaped by a reciprocal chain of interactions between students, part-time tutors and full-time teaching staff, each with specific expectations about the teaching and learning process. Such expectations can provide valuable insights not only for designing and implementing meaningful educational…

Forecasting Spanish natural life expectancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Guillen, Montserrat; Vidiella-i-Anguera, Antoni

2005-10-01

Knowledge of trends in life expectancy is of major importance for policy planning. It is also a key indicator for assessing future development of life insurance products, substantiality of existing retirement schemes, and long-term care for the elderly. This article examines the feasibility of decomposing age-gender-specific accidental and natural mortality rates. We study this decomposition by using the Lee and Carter model. In particular, we fit the Poisson log-bilinear version of this model proposed by Wilmoth and Brouhns et al. to historical (1975-1998) Spanish mortality rates. In addition, by using the model introduced by Wilmoth and Valkonen we analyze mortality-gender differentials for accidental and natural rates. We present aggregated life expectancy forecasts compared with those constructed using nondecomposed mortality rates.

Effective energy planning for improving the enterprise’s energy performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Păunescu Carmen

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The global pressing need to protect the environment, save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide has prompted the enterprises to implementing both individual energy saving measures and a more systematic approach to improve the overall enterprise’s energy performance. Energy management is becoming a priority as enterprises strive to reduce energy costs, conform to regulatory requirements, and improve their corporate image. As such, enterprises are encouraged to manage their energy related matters in a systematic manner and a more harmonized way, to ensure continual improvement on their energy efficiency. Despite the increasing interest in energy management standards, a gap persists between energy management literature and current implementation practices. The release of the ISO 50001 international standard was meant to help the organizations develop sound energy management systems and effective process-based energy management structures that could be recognized through third-party certification. Building on the energy management literature and energy management standards, the current paper presents the essential steps the enterprises should take to practically design a sustainable energy management system. Also, by using multiple case studies of enterprises that have implemented an ISO 50001 energy management system, it introduces a structured approach that companies can use to effectively develop their energy planning and improve energy performance. The key components of the enterprise’s energy planning are discussed, as well as practical examples of energy objectives and performance indicators from various industries are offered. The paper shows that by establishing an effective energy planning system, this will efficiently meet demands for achieving energy performance indicators and international certification.

Context and meter enhance long-range planning in music performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian eMathias

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Neural responses demonstrate evidence of resonance, or oscillation, during the production of periodic auditory events. Music contains periodic auditory events that give rise to a sense of beat, which in turn generates a sense of meter on the basis of multiple periodicities. Metrical hierarchies may aid memory for music by facilitating similarity-based associations among sequence events at different periodic distances that unfold in longer contexts. A fundamental question is how metrical associations arising from a musical context influence memory during music performance. Longer contexts may facilitate metrical associations at higher hierarchical levels more than shorter contexts, a prediction of the range model, a formal model of planning processes in music performance (Palmer and Pfordresher, 2003; Pfordresher et al., 2007. Serial ordering errors, in which intended sequence events are produced in incorrect sequence positions, were measured as skilled pianists performed musical pieces that contained excerpts embedded in long or short musical contexts. Pitch errors arose from metrically similar positions and further sequential distances more often when the excerpt was embedded in long contexts compared to short contexts. Musicians’ keystroke intensities and error rates also revealed influences of metrical hierarchies, which differed for performances in long and short contexts. The range model accounted for contextual effects and provided better fits to empirical findings when metrical associations between sequence events were included. Longer sequence contexts may facilitate planning during sequence production by increasing conceptual similarity between hierarchically associated events. These findings are consistent with the notion that neural oscillations at multiple periodicities may strengthen metrical associations across sequence events during planning.

State Performance-Based Regulation Using Multiyear Rate Plans for U.S. Electric Utilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lowry, Mark Newton [Pacific Economics Group Research LLC (United States); Makos, Matt [Pacific Economics Group Research LLC (United States); Deason, Jeff [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Schwartz, Lisa [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2017-07-31

Electric utilities today must contain costs at a time when many need to modernize aging systems and all face major changes in technologies, customer preferences and competitive pressures.Most U.S. electric utility facilities are investor-owned, subject to rate and service regulation by state public utility commissions. Regulatory systems under which these utilities operate affect their performance and ability to meet these challenges. In this business environment, multiyear rate plans have some advantages over traditional rate regulation.The report focuses on key design issues and provides case studies of the multiyear rate plan approach, applicable to both vertically integrated and restructured states. Mark Newton Lowry and Matt Makos of Pacific Energy Group Research and Jeff Deason of Berkeley Lab authored the report; Lisa Schwartz, Berkeley Lab, was project manager and technical editor.The report is aimed primarily at state utility regulators and stakeholders in the state regulatory process. The multiyear rate approach also provides ideas on how to streamline oversight of public power utilities and rural electric cooperatives for their governing boards.Two key provisions of multiyear rate plans strengthen cost containment incentives and streamline regulation: 1. Reducing frequency of rate cases, typically to every four or five years 2. Using an attrition relief mechanism to escalate rates or revenue between rate cases to address cost pressures such as inflation and growth in number of customers, independently of the utility’s own cost Better utility performance can be achieved under well-designed multiyear rate plans while achieving lower regulatory costs. Benefits can be shared between utilities and their customers. But plans can be complex and involve significant changes in the regulatory system. Designing plans that stimulate utility performance without undue risk and share benefits fairly can be challenging.This report discusses the rationale for multiyear

Associations between Urban Sprawl and Life Expectancy in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shima Hamidi

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the United States has had a relatively poor performance with respect to life expectancy compared to the other developed nations. Urban sprawl is one of the potential causes of the high rate of mortality in the United States. This study investigated cross-sectional associations between sprawl and life expectancy for metropolitan counties in the United States in 2010. In this study, the measure of life expectancy in 2010 came from a recently released dataset of life expectancies by county. This study modeled average life expectancy with a structural equation model that included five mediators: annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT per household, average body mass index, crime rate, and air quality index as mediators of sprawl, as well as percentage of smokers as a mediator of socioeconomic status. After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, this study found that life expectancy was significantly higher in compact counties than in sprawling counties. Compactness affects mortality directly, but the causal mechanism is unclear. For example, it may be that sprawling areas have higher traffic speeds and longer emergency response times, lower quality and less accessible health care facilities, or less availability of healthy foods. Compactness affects mortality indirectly through vehicle miles traveled, which is a contributor to traffic fatalities, and through body mass index, which is a contributor to many chronic diseases. This study identified significant direct and indirect associations between urban sprawl and life expectancy. These findings support further research and practice aimed at identifying and implementing changes to urban planning designed to support health and healthy behaviors.

Associations between urban sprawl and life expectancy in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Hamidi, Shima; Ewing, Reid; Tatalovich, Zaria; Grace, James B.; Berrigan, David

2018-01-01

In recent years, the United States has had a relatively poor performance with respect to life expectancy compared to the other developed nations. Urban sprawl is one of the potential causes of the high rate of mortality in the United States. This study investigated cross-sectional associations between sprawl and life expectancy for metropolitan counties in the United States in 2010. In this study, the measure of life expectancy in 2010 came from a recently released dataset of life expectancies by county. This study modeled average life expectancy with a structural equation model that included five mediators: annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per household, average body mass index, crime rate, and air quality index as mediators of sprawl, as well as percentage of smokers as a mediator of socioeconomic status. After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, this study found that life expectancy was significantly higher in compact counties than in sprawling counties. Compactness affects mortality directly, but the causal mechanism is unclear. For example, it may be that sprawling areas have higher traffic speeds and longer emergency response times, lower quality and less accessible health care facilities, or less availability of healthy foods. Compactness affects mortality indirectly through vehicle miles traveled, which is a contributor to traffic fatalities, and through body mass index, which is a contributor to many chronic diseases. This study identified significant direct and indirect associations between urban sprawl and life expectancy. These findings support further research and practice aimed at identifying and implementing changes to urban planning designed to support health and healthy behaviors.

Associations between Urban Sprawl and Life Expectancy in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamidi, Shima; Ewing, Reid; Tatalovich, Zaria; Grace, James B; Berrigan, David

2018-04-26

In recent years, the United States has had a relatively poor performance with respect to life expectancy compared to the other developed nations. Urban sprawl is one of the potential causes of the high rate of mortality in the United States. This study investigated cross-sectional associations between sprawl and life expectancy for metropolitan counties in the United States in 2010. In this study, the measure of life expectancy in 2010 came from a recently released dataset of life expectancies by county. This study modeled average life expectancy with a structural equation model that included five mediators: annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per household, average body mass index, crime rate, and air quality index as mediators of sprawl, as well as percentage of smokers as a mediator of socioeconomic status. After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, this study found that life expectancy was significantly higher in compact counties than in sprawling counties. Compactness affects mortality directly, but the causal mechanism is unclear. For example, it may be that sprawling areas have higher traffic speeds and longer emergency response times, lower quality and less accessible health care facilities, or less availability of healthy foods. Compactness affects mortality indirectly through vehicle miles traveled, which is a contributor to traffic fatalities, and through body mass index, which is a contributor to many chronic diseases. This study identified significant direct and indirect associations between urban sprawl and life expectancy. These findings support further research and practice aimed at identifying and implementing changes to urban planning designed to support health and healthy behaviors.

Incentive payments are not related to expected health gain in the pay for performance scheme for UK primary care: cross-sectional analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fleetcroft Robert

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The General Medical Services primary care contract for the United Kingdom financially rewards performance in 19 clinical areas, through the Quality and Outcomes Framework. Little is known about how best to determine the size of financial incentives in pay for performance schemes. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that performance indicators with larger population health benefits receive larger financial incentives. Methods We performed cross sectional analyses to quantify associations between the size of financial incentives and expected health gain in the 2004 and 2006 versions of the Quality and Outcomes Framework. We used non-parametric two-sided Spearman rank correlation tests. Health gain was measured in expected lives saved in one year and in quality adjusted life years. For each quality indicator in an average sized general practice we tested for associations first, between the marginal increase in payment and the health gain resulting from a one percent point improvement in performance and second, between total payment and the health gain at the performance threshold for maximum payment. Results Evidence for lives saved or quality adjusted life years gained was found for 28 indicators accounting for 41% of the total incentive payments. No statistically significant associations were found between the expected health gain and incentive gained from a marginal 1% increase in performance in either the 2004 or 2006 version of the Quality and Outcomes Framework. In addition no associations were found between the size of financial payment for achievement of an indicator and the expected health gain at the performance threshold for maximum payment measured in lives saved or quality adjusted life years. Conclusions In this subgroup of indicators the financial incentives were not aligned to maximise health gain. This disconnection between incentive and expected health gain risks supporting clinical activities that are only

Parents' self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-reported task performance when managing atopic dermatitis in children: instrument reliability and validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Amy E; Fraser, Jennifer A

2011-02-01

Support and education for parents faced with managing a child with atopic dermatitis is crucial to the success of current treatments. Interventions aiming to improve parent management of this condition are promising. Unfortunately, evaluation is hampered by lack of precise research tools to measure change. To develop a suite of valid and reliable research instruments to appraise parents' self-efficacy for performing atopic dermatitis management tasks; outcome expectations of performing management tasks; and self-reported task performance in a community sample of parents of children with atopic dermatitis. The Parents' Eczema Management Scale (PEMS) and the Parents' Outcome Expectations of Eczema Management Scale (POEEMS) were developed from an existing self-efficacy scale, the Parental Self-Efficacy with Eczema Care Index (PASECI). Each scale was presented in a single self-administered questionnaire, to measure self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-reported task performance related to managing child atopic dermatitis. Each was tested with a community sample of parents of children with atopic dermatitis, and psychometric evaluation of the scales' reliability and validity was conducted. A community-based convenience sample of 120 parents of children with atopic dermatitis completed the self-administered questionnaire. Participants were recruited through schools across Australia. Satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability was demonstrated for all three scales. Construct validity was satisfactory, with positive relationships between self-efficacy for managing atopic dermatitis and general perceived self-efficacy; self-efficacy for managing atopic dermatitis and self-reported task performance; and self-efficacy for managing atopic dermatitis and outcome expectations. Factor analyses revealed two-factor structures for PEMS and PASECI alike, with both scales containing factors related to performing routine management tasks, and managing the

Observations on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Fiscal Year 1999 Performance Report and Fiscal Year 2001 Performance Plan

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2000-01-01

As you requested, we have reviewed the 24 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies' fiscal year 1999 performance reports and fiscal year 2001 performance plans required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA...

Clinical expectations: what facilitators expect from ESL students on clinical placement.

Science.gov (United States)

San Miguel, Caroline; Rogan, Fran

2012-03-01

Many nursing students for whom English is a second language (ESL) face challenges related to communication on clinical placement and although clinical facilitators are not usually trained language assessors, they are often in a position of needing to assess ESL students' clinical language performance. Little is known, however, about the particular areas of clinical performance facilitators focus on when they are assessing ESL students. This paper discusses the results of a study of facilitators' written assessment comments about the clinical performance of a small group of ESL nursing students over a two and a half year period. These comments were documented on students' clinical assessment forms at the end of each placement. The results provide a more detailed insight into facilitators' expectations of students' language performance and the particular challenges faced by ESL students and indicate that facilitators have clear expectations of ESL students regarding communication, learning styles and professional demeanour. These findings may help both ESL students and their facilitators better prepare for clinical placement. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance Demonstration Program Plan for RCRA Constituent Analysis of Solidified Wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

The Performance Demonstration Program (PDP) for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) constituents distributes test samples for analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and metals in solid matrices. Each distribution of test samples is termed a PDP cycle. These evaluation cycles provide an objective measure of the reliability of measurements performed for transuranic (TRU) waste characterization. The primary documents governing the conduct of the PDP are the Quality Assurance Program Document (QAPD; DOE/CBFO-94-1012) and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Waste Analysis Plan (WAP) contained in the Hazardous Waste Facility Permit (NM4890139088-TSDF) issued by the New Mexico Environment Department. The WAP requires participation in the PDP; the PDP must comply with the QAPD and the WAP. This plan implements the general requirements of the QAPD and the applicable requirements of the WAP for the RCRA PDP. Participating laboratories demonstrate acceptable performance by successfully analyzing single-blind performance evaluation samples (subsequently referred to as PDP samples) according to the criteria established in this plan. PDP samples are used as an independent means to assess laboratory performance regarding compliance with the WAP quality assurance objectives (QAOs). The concentrations of analytes in the PDP samples address levels of regulatory concern and encompass the range of concentrations anticipated in waste characterization samples. The WIPP requires analyses of homogeneous solid wastes to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements. These analyses must be performed by laboratories that demonstrate acceptable performance in this PDP. These analyses are referred to as WIPP analyses, and the samples on which they are performed are referred to as WIPP samples. Participating laboratories must analyze PDP samples using the same procedures used for WIPP samples.

Relative Effects of Forward and Backward Planning on Goal Pursuit.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jooyoung; Lu, Fang-Chi; Hedgcock, William M

2017-11-01

Considerable research has shown that planning plays an important role in goal pursuit. But how does the way people plan affect goal pursuit? Research on this question is scarce. In the current research, we examined how planning the steps required for goal attainment in chronological order (i.e., forward planning) and reverse chronological order (i.e., backward planning) influences individuals' motivation for and perceptions of goal pursuit. Compared with forward planning, backward planning not only led to greater motivation, higher goal expectancy, and less time pressure but also resulted in better goal-relevant performance. We further demonstrated that this motivational effect occurred because backward planning allowed people to think of tasks required to reach their goals more clearly, especially when goals were complex to plan. These findings suggest that the way people plan matters just as much as whether or not they plan.

The Linkage Between Work Unit Performance Perceptions of U.S. Federal Employees and Their Job Satisfaction: An Expectancy Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soyoung PARK

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Public organizations are interested in how to improve their performance. Performance in a work unit can also influence employee job satisfaction due to positive expectations based on higher performance. Thus, our study attempts to investigate if organizational performance has an impact on employee motivation under the premise that employees who perform better in a work unit expect greater professional recognition and rewards. By using data from the 2013 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS, we find that employees who perceive higher levels of performance in a work unit have a higher level of job satisfaction. This paper further shows that performance perception based on rewards is also positively related to job satisfaction.However, underrepresented groups (female and non-white, older employees and mid-level (work experience from 6 to 14 years employees are less satisfied with higher work unit performance. Finally, employees in the distributive agency category are more satisfied with work unit performance while those in the regulatory agency category are less satisfied with work unit performance. In conclusion, organizations should recognize particular characteristics of employees to develop the policies related to performance management, and effectively utilize these policies in order to attract and retain proficient workers.

Business plan writing for physicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohn, Kenneth H; Schwartz, Richard W

2002-08-01

Physicians are practicing in an era in which they are often expected to write business plans in order to acquire, develop, and implement new technology or programs. This task is yet another reminder of the importance of business principles in providing quality patient care amid allocation of increasingly scarce resources. Unfortunately, few physicians receive training during medical school, residencies, or fellowships in performing such tasks. The process of writing business plans follows an established format similar to writing a consultation, in which the risks, benefits, and alternatives to a treatment option are presented. Although administrative assistance may be available in compiling business plans, it is important for physicians to understand the rationale, process, and pitfalls of business planning. Writing a business plan will serve to focus, clarify, and justify a request for scarce resources, and thus, increase its chance of success, both in terms of funding and implementation. A well-written business plan offers a plausible, coherent story of an uncertain future. Therefore, a business plan is not merely an exercise to obtain funding but also a rationale for investment that can help physicians reestablish leadership in health care.

Energy-Performance as a driver for optimal production planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salahi, Niloofar; Jafari, Mohsen A.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A 2-dimensional Energy-Performance measure is proposed for energy aware production. • This is a novel approach integrates energy efficiency with production requirements. • This approach simultaneously incorporates machine and process related specifications. • The problem is solved as stochastic MILP with constraints addressing risk averseness. • The optimization is illustrated for 2 cases of single and serial machining operation. • Impact of various electricity pricing schemes on proposed production plan is analyzed. - Abstract: In this paper, we present energy-aware production planning using a two-dimensional “Energy-Performance” measure. With this measure, the production plan explicitly takes into account machine-level requirements, process control strategies, product types and demand patterns. The “Energy-Performance” measure is developed based on an existing concept, namely, “Specific Energy” at machine level. It is further expanded to an “Energy-Performance” profile for a production line. A production planning problem is formulated as a stochastic MILP with risk-averse constraints to account for manufacturer’s risk averseness. The objective is to attain an optimal production plan that minimizes the total loss distribution subject to system throughput targets, probabilistic risk constraints and constraints imposed by the underlying “Energy-Performance” pattern. Electricity price and demand per unit time are assumed to be stochastic. Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) of loss distributions is used as the manufacturer’s risk measure. Both single-machine and production lines are studied for different profiles and electricity pricing schemes. It is shown that the shape of “Energy-Performance” profile can change optimal plans.

The Effect of Manpower Planning and Development in Lagos State (Nigeria Civil Service Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chinyeaka J. Igbokwe-Ibeto

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The study examined effects of manpower planning and development in Lagos state civil service performance. Lagos state civil service is the greatest asset of the state in its quest for socio-economic development. The primary question that was explored is whether the nature of manpower planning and development curriculum in Lagos state civil service has effect on the service performance and the attainment of state objective. The study relied on primary and secondary data, and multiple stage sampling technique was used to select the sample population. The data collected was presented in frequency bar chart and simple percentage. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC statistical tool was used to test the hypotheses. Findings of the study show that the nature of manpower planning and development curriculum has a positive effect on the Lagos state civil performance. It also reveals that the manpower planning and development has a positive effect on the attainment of Lagos state objective. To achieve better performance in the service, it should among others, improve on the current manpower planning strategy and continue to update its manpower development curriculum in line with the global best practices. Given the pivotal role that technology plays in the 21st century, the service should avail itself the windows of opportunities that information technology provides in its drive to enhance employees’ skills, knowledge and abilities that will invariably improve the service performance. Yet, the service should imbibe the prescripts of New PublicManagement theory (NPM, and that goals and targets should be defined and measurable as indicators of organizational performance.

Gender differences and the definition of success: male and female veterinary students' career and work performance expectations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kogan, Lori R; McConnell, Sherry L; Schoenfeld-Tacher, Regina

2004-01-01

This article addresses the challenges that gender performance expectations create within the veterinary profession. An investigation of veterinary students' perceptions of the essential characteristics that define successful veterinarians and veterinary students, and the gender differences within these definitions, is described. Because previous research supports the premise that the standards required for success differ for males and females, it is likely that male and female veterinary students possess different career expectations and definitions of career success. The ramifications of these differences are explored, and proposed strategies to address this issue, in the form of student support services, are discussed.

Robustness via Run-Time Adaptation of Contingent Plans

Science.gov (United States)

Bresina, John L.; Washington, Richard; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

In this paper, we discuss our approach to making the behavior of planetary rovers more robust for the purpose of increased productivity. Due to the inherent uncertainty in rover exploration, the traditional approach to rover control is conservative, limiting the autonomous operation of the rover and sacrificing performance for safety. Our objective is to increase the science productivity possible within a single uplink by allowing the rover's behavior to be specified with flexible, contingent plans and by employing dynamic plan adaptation during execution. We have deployed a system exhibiting flexible, contingent execution; this paper concentrates on our ongoing efforts on plan adaptation, Plans can be revised in two ways: plan steps may be deleted, with execution continuing with the plan suffix; and the current plan may be merged with an "alternate plan" from an on-board library. The plan revision action is chosen to maximize the expected utility of the plan. Plan merging and action deletion constitute a more conservative general-purpose planning system; in return, our approach is more efficient and more easily verified, two important criteria for deployed rovers.

Chemotherapy and Hair Loss: What to Expect during Treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Chemotherapy and hair loss: What to expect during treatment Your doctor can tell you whether your particular chemotherapy treatment is likely to cause hair loss. This allows you to plan ahead for head ...

Health and safety plan for operations performed for the Environmental Restoration Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trippet, W.A. II (IT Corp., (United States)); Reneau, M.; Morton, S.L. (EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States))

1992-04-01

This document constitutes the generic health and safety plan for the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP). It addresses the health and safety requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA); Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.120 standard; and EG G Idaho, Inc. This plan is a guide to individuals who must complete a health and safety plan for a task performed for the EPR. It contains a task specific addendum that, when completed, specifically addresses task specific health and safety issues. This health and safety plan reduces the time it takes to write a task specific health and safety plan by providing discussions of requirements, guidance on where specific information is located, and specific topics in the Addendum that must be discussed at a task level. This format encourages a complete task specific health and safety plan and a standard for all health and safety plans written for ERP.

Health and safety plan for operations performed for the Environmental Restoration Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trippet, W.A. II; Reneau, M.; Morton, S.L.

1992-04-01

This document constitutes the generic health and safety plan for the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP). It addresses the health and safety requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA); Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.120 standard; and EG ampersand G Idaho, Inc. This plan is a guide to individuals who must complete a health and safety plan for a task performed for the EPR. It contains a task specific addendum that, when completed, specifically addresses task specific health and safety issues. This health and safety plan reduces the time it takes to write a task specific health and safety plan by providing discussions of requirements, guidance on where specific information is located, and specific topics in the Addendum that must be discussed at a task level. This format encourages a complete task specific health and safety plan and a standard for all health and safety plans written for ERP

Planned and reactive agility performance in semiprofessional and amateur basketball players.

Science.gov (United States)

Lockie, Robert G; Jeffriess, Matthew D; McGann, Tye S; Callaghan, Samuel J; Schultz, Adrian B

2014-09-01

Research indicates that planned and reactive agility are different athletic skills. These skills have not been adequately assessed in male basketball players. To define whether 10-m-sprint performance and planned and reactive agility measured by the Y-shaped agility test can discriminate between semiprofessional and amateur basketball players. Ten semiprofessional and 10 amateur basketball players completed 10-m sprints and planned- and reactive-agility tests. The Y-shaped agility test involved subjects sprinting 5 m through a trigger timing gate, followed by a 45° cut and 5-m sprint to the left or right through a target gate. In the planned condition, subjects knew the cut direction. For reactive trials, subjects visually scanned to find the illuminated gate. A 1-way analysis of variance (P basketball players; planned agility did not. To distinguish between male basketball players of different ability levels, agility tests should include a perceptual and decision-making component.

Trinidad's mismatched expectations. Planning and development review.

Science.gov (United States)

Conway, D

1984-11-01

In 1974 petrodollars helped to boost living standards for many of the population of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Yet, a failure to address the consequences of uncontrolled urbanization, especially in and around the capital, Port of Spain, threatens to undermine further improvements in the quality of Trinidadian life. Trinidad's urbanization has been associated with upward social mobility and a burgeoning middle class, such that social aspirations and spatial mobility tend to coincide. Thus, internal migration has involved a heterogeneous mixture of classes with the common denominator being a desire to improve one's standard of living. For most this means residence in or proximity to Port of Spain, the country's commercial, administrative, and cultural hub. Migration into and within Port of Spain and northwest corridors of West and East St. George County has contributed to several tricky problems, overwhelming regional planning efforts, inflating the costs of houses and land, and accelerating social alienation among urban Trinidadians. Problems could have been eased if government planning had given adequate recognition to spatial variations in societal organization, regional economic structures, and resource distribution. Trinidad changed markedly in the years 1974-81. New wealth has brought its own problems and old problems have worsened for lack of attention. The idea of decentralized growth poles at Sangre Grande, Point Fortin, La Brea, and Guayaguayare-Galeota now seems impossible to realize. The Capital region has for 10 years been absorbing a larger share of the population, now roughly half the total. It generates virtually all the island's employment opportunities and attracts the lion's share of private sector investment. Overcrowding in residences, unsanitary drainage, shortages of potable water, traffic congestion, and air pollution all have reduced the quality of life compared to 10 years ago. From 1974 onward the issue of economic development no

Incorporating organ movements in IMRT treatment planning for prostate cancer: Minimizing uncertainties in the inverse planning process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unkelbach, Jan; Oelfke, Uwe

2005-01-01

We investigate an off-line strategy to incorporate inter fraction organ movements in IMRT treatment planning. Nowadays, imaging modalities located in the treatment room allow for several CT scans of a patient during the course of treatment. These multiple CT scans can be used to estimate a probability distribution of possible patient geometries. This probability distribution can subsequently be used to calculate the expectation value of the delivered dose distribution. In order to incorporate organ movements into the treatment planning process, it was suggested that inverse planning could be based on that probability distribution of patient geometries instead of a single snapshot. However, it was shown that a straightforward optimization of the expectation value of the dose may be insufficient since the expected dose distribution is related to several uncertainties: first, this probability distribution has to be estimated from only a few images. And second, the distribution is only sparsely sampled over the treatment course due to a finite number of fractions. In order to obtain a robust treatment plan these uncertainties should be considered and minimized in the inverse planning process. In the current paper, we calculate a 3D variance distribution in addition to the expectation value of the dose distribution which are simultaniously optimized. The variance is used as a surrogate to quantify the associated risks of a treatment plan. The feasibility of this approach is demonstrated for clinical data of prostate patients. Different scenarios of dose expectation values and corresponding variances are discussed

Planning ATES systems under uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Jaxa-Rozen, Marc; Kwakkel, Jan; Bloemendal, Martin

2015-04-01

Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) can contribute to significant reductions in energy use within the built environment, by providing seasonal energy storage in aquifers for the heating and cooling of buildings. ATES systems have experienced a rapid uptake over the last two decades; however, despite successful experiments at the individual level, the overall performance of ATES systems remains below expectations - largely due to suboptimal practices for the planning and operation of systems in urban areas. The interaction between ATES systems and underground aquifers can be interpreted as a common-pool resource problem, in which thermal imbalances or interference could eventually degrade the storage potential of the subsurface. Current planning approaches for ATES systems thus typically follow the precautionary principle. For instance, the permitting process in the Netherlands is intended to minimize thermal interference between ATES systems. However, as shown in recent studies (Sommer et al., 2015; Bakr et al., 2013), a controlled amount of interference may benefit the collective performance of ATES systems. An overly restrictive approach to permitting is instead likely to create an artificial scarcity of available space, limiting the potential of the technology in urban areas. In response, master plans - which take into account the collective arrangement of multiple systems - have emerged as an increasingly popular alternative. However, permits and master plans both take a static, ex ante view of ATES governance, making it difficult to predict the effect of evolving ATES use or climactic conditions on overall performance. In particular, the adoption of new systems by building operators is likely to be driven by the available subsurface space and by the performance of existing systems; these outcomes are themselves a function of planning parameters. From this perspective, the interactions between planning authorities, ATES operators, and subsurface conditions

Maximizing value for planned maintenance and turnarounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crager, John [Asset Performance Canada, ULC (Canada)

2011-07-01

In this presentation, Asset Performance Canada elaborates on turnaround management, and provides insight into managing strategies and risks associated with turnaround processes. Value is created fast as turnarounds progress from the strategy and scope definition phases towards the planning and execution phases. Turnarounds employ best practice solutions through common processes proven effective by data, research, and experience, ensuring consistent value creation, performance tracking, and shared lesson-learning. Adherence to the turnaround work process by carefully selected planning team members with clearly defined responsibilities and expectations, as well as an effective process for scope collection and management, are crucial to turnaround success. Further to this, a formal risk management process, employing automated risk tracking software and a safety management plan for assessing risks and their severity is also invaluable in avoiding any additional costs and schedule delays. Finally, assessment of team readiness and alignment through use of the turnaround readiness index, and rapid management of discovery work, can aid in contingency management.

Study findings on evaluation of integrated family planning programme performance.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-01-01

In 1976 the United Nations's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific launched a comparative study on integrated family planning programs in a number of countries in the region. In November 1979 the study directors from the participating countries meet in Bangkok to discuss the current status of the studies in their countries. The Korean and Malaysian studies were completed, the Bangladesh study was in the data collecting phase, and the Pakistani research design phase was completed. The meeting participants focused their attention on the findings and policy implications of the 2 completed studies and also discussed a number of theorectical and methodological issues which grew out of their research experience. The Malaysian study indicated that group structure, financial resources, and the frequency and quality of worker-client contact were the most significant variables determining program effectiveness. In the Korean Study, leadership, financial resources, and the frequency and quality of contact between agencies were the key variables in determining program effectiveness. In the Malaysian study there was a positive correlation between maternal and child health service performance measures and family planning service performance measures. This finding supported the contention that these 2 types of service provision are not in conflict with each other but instead serve to reinforce each other. Policy implications of the Korean study were 1) family planning should be an integral part of all community activities; 2) family planning workers should be adequately supported by financial and supply allocations; and 3) adequate record keeping and information exchange procedures should be incorporated in the programs.

Analysis Of Influence Of Spatial Planning On Performance Of Regional Development At Waropen District. Papua Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suwandi

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The various problems in regional spatial planning in Waropen District Papua shows that the Spatial Planning RTRW of Waropen District Papua drafted in 2010 has not had a positive contribution to the settlement of spatial planning problems. This is most likely caused by the inconsistency in the spatial planning. This study tried to observe the consistency of spatial planning as well as its relation to the regional development performance. The method used to observe the consistency of the preparation of guided Spatial Planning RTRW is the analysis of comparative table followed by analysis of verbal logic. In order to determine if the preparation of Spatial Planning RTRW has already paid attention on the synergy with the surrounding regions Inter-Regional Context a map overlay was conducted followed by analysis of verbal logic. To determine the performance of the regional development a Principal Components Analysis PCA was done. The analysis results showed that inconsistencies in the spatial planning had caused a variety of problems that resulted in decreased performance of the regional development. The main problems that should receive more attention are infrastructure development growth economic growth transportation aspect and new properties.

Wilmington Area Planning Council, New Castle County, Delaware and Cecil County, Maryland : a performance-based approach to integrating congestion management into the metropolitan planning process

Science.gov (United States)

2009-04-01

The Wilmington Area Planning Council takes an objectives-driven, performance-based approach to its metropolitan transportation planning, including paying special attention to integrating its Congestion Management Process into its planning efforts. Th...

Performance Demonstration Program Plan for Analysis of Simulated Headspace Gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

The Performance Demonstration Program (PDP) for headspace gases distributes sample gases of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for analysis. Participating measurement facilities (i.e., fixed laboratories, mobile analysis systems, and on-line analytical systems) are located across the United States. Each sample distribution is termed a PDP cycle. These evaluation cycles provide an objective measure of the reliability of measurements performed for transuranic (TRU) waste characterization. The primary documents governing the conduct of the PDP are the Quality Assurance Program Document (QAPD) (DOE/CBFO-94-1012) and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Waste Analysis Plan (WAP) contained in the Hazardous Waste Facility Permit (NM4890139088-TSDF) issued by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). The WAP requires participation in the PDP; the PDP must comply with the QAPD and the WAP. This plan implements the general requirements of the QAPD and the applicable requirements of the WAP for the Headspace Gas (HSG) PDP. Participating measurement facilities analyze blind audit samples of simulated TRU waste package headspace gases according to the criteria set by this PDP Plan. Blind audit samples (hereafter referred to as PDP samples) are used as an independent means to assess each measurement facility's compliance with the WAP quality assurance objectives (QAOs). To the extent possible, the concentrations of VOC analytes in the PDP samples encompass the range of concentrations anticipated in actual TRU waste package headspace gas samples. Analyses of headspace gases are required by the WIPP to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements. These analyses must be performed by measurement facilities that have demonstrated acceptable performance in this PDP. These analyses are referred to as WIPP analyses and the TRU waste package headspace gas samples on which they are performed are referred to as WIPP samples in this document. Participating measurement

Performance Demonstration Program Plan for Analysis of Simulated Headspace Gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

The Performance Demonstration Program (PDP) for headspace gases distributes blind audit samples in a gas matrix for analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Participating measurement facilities (i.e., fixed laboratories, mobile analysis systems, and on-line analytical systems) are located across the United States. Each sample distribution is termed a PDP cycle. These evaluation cycles provide an objective measure of the reliability of measurements performed for transuranic (TRU) waste characterization. The primary documents governing the conduct of the PDP are the Quality Assurance Program Document (QAPD) (DOE/CBFO-94-1012) and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Waste Analysis Plan (WAP) contained in the Hazardous Waste Facility Permit (NM4890139088-TSDF) issued by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). The WAP requires participation in the PDP; the PDP must comply with the QAPD and the WAP. This plan implements the general requirements of the QAPD and the applicable requirements of the WAP for the Headspace Gas (HSG) PDP. Participating measurement facilities analyze blind audit samples of simulated TRU waste package headspace gases according to the criteria set by this PDP Plan. Blind audit samples (hereafter referred to as PDP samples) are used as an independent means to assess each measurement facility's compliance with the WAP quality assurance objectives (QAOs). To the extent possible, the concentrations of VOC analytes in the PDP samples encompass the range of concentrations anticipated in actual TRU waste package headspace gas samples. Analyses of headspace gases are required by the WIPP to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements. These analyses must be performed by measurement facilities that have demonstrated acceptable performance in this PDP. These analyses are referred to as WIPP analyses and the TRU waste package headspace gas samples on which they are performed are referred to as WIPP samples in this document

A Comparison of Expectations of Physicians and Patients with Chronic Pain for Pain Clinic Visits.

Science.gov (United States)

Calpin, Pádraig; Imran, Ather; Harmon, Dominic

2017-03-01

The patient-physician encounter forms the cornerstone of every health service. However, optimal medical outcomes are often confounded by inadequate patient-physician communication. Chronic pain is estimated to affect over 25% of the population. Its effects are multifaceted with patients at increased risk of experiencing emotional and functional disturbances. Therefore, it is crucial to address all components of the patient's pain experience, including beliefs and expectations. It is our understanding that no other study to date has evaluated the expectations of physicians and compared them to those of patients for pain clinic visits. We sought to describe and compare expectations of chronic pain patients and their physicians during a clinic consultation. We performed a retrospective review on patients attending the pain clinic for the first time who were enrolled and completed a questionnaire asking their expectations for their clinic visit as well as outcomes that would satisfy and disappoint them. Pain physicians were also included. We compared physicians' to patients' responses and evaluated relationships between patient responses and age, gender, pain location, Pain Self-Efficacy, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. One hundred chronic pain patients and 10 pain physicians were surveyed. Patients' clinical expectations for visits focused primarily on some pain relief (34%), education on the cause of pain (24%), and a definitive diagnosis (18%). Physician's expectations included formulation and communication of a management plan (70%), patient assessment for cause of pain (50%), and the education of patients on the cause of pain (40%) as important aims. Pain relief would satisfy the majority of patients (74%) and physicians (70%). No improvement would cause greatest dissatisfaction for patients (52%), but causing more harm would be disappointing to physicians (50%). Gender, age, pain location, and sleep quality all

Strategic Planning And Performance Of Commercial Banks In Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hope Ngozi Nzewi

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract This study explored the relationship between strategic planning and performance of commercial banks in Nigeria. Specifically it determined the nature of relationship that existed between total assets and profit after tax of the selected banks. Exploratory research design was employed.Secondary data were sourced from the Nigerian Exchange Fact Book 2011 to 2013. Linear regression and Pearson bivariate correlation analytical techniques were used. Findings revealed that there is a weak positive relationship between the total assets and profit after tax of the selected commercial banks. The policy implication is that any meaningful profitability of the commercial banks in Nigeria must ensure proper institution and comprehensive execution of the strategic planning processes by the various managers of the selected commercial banks.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration FY 02 Revised Final Annual Performance Plan

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) was passed by Congress and signed by the President in 1993. GPRA was enacted to improve the efficiency of all Federal agencies, with the following specific goals: (1) Improve Federal program management, effectiveness, and public accountability; (2) Improve Congressional decision making on where to commit the Nation's financial and human resources; and (3) Improve citizen confidence in government performance. GPRA directs Executive Branch agencies to develop a customer-focused strategic plan that aligns activities with concrete missions and goals. The Act directs agencies to manage and measure results to justify Congressional appropriations and authorizations. The Report Consolidation Act of 2000 directs agencies to provide a report on the degree of success in achieving the goals and performance measures defined in the strategic and performance plans one hundred and fifty days after the completion of the fiscal year.

[Expectations of hospital administrators about administrative functions of nurses].

Science.gov (United States)

Melo, M R; Fávero, N; Trevizan, M A; Hayashida, M

1996-01-01

The objective of the present study was to investigate hospital administrator's expectations about the administrative role played by nurses, utilizing functions proposed by the Neoclassical Theory of Administration: planning, organization, direction, and control as theoretical references. An instrument established in TREVIZAN (1989) was applied to 11 hospital administrators. The results showed they expect the four functions to be done by nurses. Therefore, the interaction between nurses and hospital administrators is critical to improve the patient's assistance.

Managing for Results Opportunities for Continued Improvements in Agencies' Performance Plans

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1999-01-01

.... As you requested, this report provides summary information based on our review and evaluation of the fiscal year 2000 performance plans of the 24 agencies covered by the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act...

Comparing solutions to the expectancy-value muddle in the theory of planned behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

O' Sullivan, B; McGee, H; Keegan, O

2008-11-01

The authors of the Theories of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Planned Behaviour (TPB) recommended a method for statistically analysing the relationship between the indirect belief-based measures and the direct measures of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control (PBC). However, there is a growing awareness that this yields statistically uninterpretable results. This study's objective was to compare two solutions to what has been called the 'expectancy-value muddle'. These solutions were (i) optimal scoring of modal beliefs and (ii) individual beliefs without multiplicative composites. Cross-sectional data were collected by telephone interview. Participants were 110 first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC), who were offered CRC screening in the study hospital (83% response rate). Participants were asked to rate the TPB constructs in relation to attending for CRC screening. There was no significant difference in the correlation between behavioural beliefs and attitude for rescaled modal and individual beliefs. This was also the case for control beliefs and PBC. By contrast, there was a large correlation between rescaled modal normative beliefs and subjective norm, whereas individual normative beliefs did not correlate with subjective norm. Using individual beliefs without multiplicative composites allows for a fairly unproblematic interpretation of the relationship between the indirect and direct TPB constructs (French & Hankins, 2003). Therefore, it is recommended that future studies consider using individual measures of behavioural and control beliefs without multiplicative composites and examine a different way of measuring individual normative beliefs without multiplicative composites to that used in this study.

Analysis of Work Performance of Family Planning Field Workers in Male Family Planning Program in Cilacap District

OpenAIRE

Suryani, Untari Fajar; Nurjazuli, Nurjazuli; Arso, Septo Pawelas

2013-01-01

Target of MDG's to reach maternal mortality rate of 102/100.000 live-births and infantmortality rate of 23/1000 live-births had been performed by improving maternal health throughincreasing contraceptive prevalence rate and decreasing unmet need. Percentage of male withpermanent birth control in Cilacap district was in the lowest rank, 0.16%. Success of familyplanning program could not be separated from work performance of PLKB (family planning field workers); assessment of PLKB work performa...

Patients' Preoperative Expectation and Outcome of Cataract Surgery ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

BACKGROUND: Patient's satisfaction for a given treatment is an important clinical outcome because a satisfied patient is more likely to comply with treatments, attend follow-ups and advocate the service to others. Therefore, knowing patients' expectations before a planned procedure or treatment and the actual level of ...

Strategic Planning and Business Performance of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skokan Karel

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with issues of strategic management, particularly strategic planning and its beneficial effect on the overall performance of businesses. It is based on empirical results of the original research study called Adaptability of Enterprises to Contemporary Economic Conditions in Years 2007-2012 performed via questionnaire survey in three rounds during years 2011, 2012 and 2013. The analyses presented in the paper were conducted on the second round sample of 677 organizations operating mostly in the SME sector in the Czech and Slovak Republic. The interdependence between the level of strategic planning (existence of strategy in the form of written document and its extent and enterprise performance criteria (turnover, costs, profit, EVA, investments, period of arranged contracts is examined with the use of four hypotheses. The results are commented and discussed. The outcome is the apparent positive impact of full strategic document on the performance criteria of the businesses.

Expectancy-Value Theory of Achievement Motivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wigfield; Eccles

2000-01-01

We discuss the expectancy-value theory of motivation, focusing on an expectancy-value model developed and researched by Eccles, Wigfield, and their colleagues. Definitions of crucial constructs in the model, including ability beliefs, expectancies for success, and the components of subjective task values, are provided. These definitions are compared to those of related constructs, including self-efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and interest. Research is reviewed dealing with two issues: (1) change in children's and adolescents' ability beliefs, expectancies for success, and subjective values, and (2) relations of children's and adolescents' ability-expectancy beliefs and subjective task values to their performance and choice of activities. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

The Groundwater Performance Assessment Project Quality Assurance Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luttrell, Stuart P.

2006-01-01

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has monitored groundwater on the Hanford Site since the 1940s to help determine what chemical and radiological contaminants have made their way into the groundwater. As regulatory requirements for monitoring increased in the 1980s, there began to be some overlap between various programs. DOE established the Groundwater Performance Assessment Project (groundwater project) in 1996 to ensure protection of the public and the environment while improving the efficiency of monitoring activities. The groundwater project is designed to support all groundwater monitoring needs at the site, eliminate redundant sampling and analysis, and establish a cost-effective hierarchy for groundwater monitoring activities. This document provides the quality assurance guidelines that will be followed by the groundwater project. This QA Plan is based on the QA requirements of DOE Order 414.1C, Quality Assurance, and 10 CFR 830, Subpart A--General Provisions/Quality Assurance Requirements as delineated in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Standards-Based Management System. In addition, the groundwater project is subject to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Requirements for Quality Assurance Project Plans (EPA/240/B-01/003, QA/R-5). The groundwater project has determined that the Hanford Analytical Services Quality Assurance Requirements Documents (HASQARD, DOE/RL-96-68) apply to portions of this project and to the subcontractors. HASQARD requirements are discussed within applicable sections of this plan

Novel methods and expected run II performance of ATLAS track reconstruction in dense environments

CERN Document Server

Jansky, Roland Wolfgang; The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

Detailed understanding and optimal track reconstruction performance of ATLAS in the core of high pT objects is paramount for a number of techniques such as jet energy and mass calibration, jet flavour tagging, and hadronic tau identification as well as measurements of physics quantities like jet fragmentation functions. These dense environments are characterized by charged particle separations on the order of the granularity of ATLAS’s inner detector. With the insertion of a new innermost layer in this tracking detector, which allows measurements closer to the interaction point, and an increase in the centre of mass energy, these difficult environments will become even more relevant in Run II, such as in searches for heavy resonances. Novel algorithmic developments to the ATLAS track reconstruction software targeting these topologies as well as the expected improved performance will be presented.

Use of Groundwater Lifetime Expectancy for the Performance Assessment of Deep Geologic Radioactive Waste Repositories.

Science.gov (United States)

Cornaton, F.; Park, Y.; Normani, S.; Sudicky, E.; Sykes, J.

2005-12-01

Long-term solutions for the disposal of toxic wastes usually involve isolation of the wastes in a deep subsurface geologic environment. In the case of spent nuclear fuel, the safety of the host repository depends on two main barriers: the engineered barrier and the natural geological barrier. If radionuclide leakage occurs from the engineered barrier, the geological medium represents the ultimate barrier that is relied upon to ensure safety. Consequently, an evaluation of radionuclide travel times from the repository to the biosphere is critically important in a performance assessment analysis. In this study, we develop a travel time framework based on the concept of groundwater lifetime expectancy as a safety indicator. Lifetime expectancy characterizes the time radionuclides will spend in the subsurface after their release from the repository and prior to discharging into the biosphere. The probability density function of lifetime expectancy is computed throughout the host rock by solving the backward-in-time solute transport equation subject to a properly posed set of boundary conditions. It can then be used to define optimal repository locations. In a second step, the risk associated with selected sites can be evaluated by simulating an appropriate contaminant release history. The proposed methodology is applied in the context of a typical Canadian Shield environment. Based on a statistically-generated three-dimension network of fracture zones embedded in the granitic host rock, the sensitivity and the uncertainty of lifetime expectancy to the hydraulic and dispersive properties of the fracture network, including the impact of conditioning via their surface expressions, is computed in order to demonstrate the utility of the methodology.

Expecting the Best: The Essential Lesson for Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Carl B.

2014-01-01

Carl Williams writes in this article that effective teachers possess a repertoire of critical skills associated with student achievement. As one might expect, these skills relate to planning, implementing, and evaluating instruction. However, there is one indispensable component that is not a skill in the traditional sense; nonetheless, it is an…

Department of Energy’s ARM Climate Research Facility External Data Center Operations Plan Located At Brookhaven National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cialella, A. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Gregory, L. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Lazar, K. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Liang, M. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Ma, L. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Tilp, A. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Wagener, R. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

2015-05-01

The External Data Center (XDC) Operations Plan describes the activities performed to manage the XDC, located at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), for the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility. It includes all ARM infrastructure activities performed by the Data Management and Software Engineering Group (DMSE) at BNL. This plan establishes a baseline of expectation within the ARM Operations Management for the group managing the XDC.

AI-guided parameter optimization in inverse treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan Hui; Yin Fangfang; Guan Huaiqun; Kim, Jae Ho

2003-01-01

An artificial intelligence (AI)-guided inverse planning system was developed to optimize the combination of parameters in the objective function for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). In this system, the empirical knowledge of inverse planning was formulated with fuzzy if-then rules, which then guide the parameter modification based on the on-line calculated dose. Three kinds of parameters (weighting factor, dose specification, and dose prescription) were automatically modified using the fuzzy inference system (FIS). The performance of the AI-guided inverse planning system (AIGIPS) was examined using the simulated and clinical examples. Preliminary results indicate that the expected dose distribution was automatically achieved using the AI-guided inverse planning system, with the complicated compromising between different parameters accomplished by the fuzzy inference technique. The AIGIPS provides a highly promising method to replace the current trial-and-error approach

Great expectations: large wind turbines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Vries, E.

2001-01-01

This article focuses on wind turbine product development, and traces the background to wind turbines from the first generation 1.5 MW machines in 1995-6, plans for the second generation 3-5 MW class turbines to meet the expected boom in offshore wind projects, to the anticipated installation of a 4.5 MW turbine, and offshore wind projects planned for 2000-2002. The switch by the market leader Vestas to variable speed operation in 2000, the new product development and marketing strategy taken by the German Pro + Pro consultancy in their design of a 1.5 MW variable speed pitch control concept, the possible limiting of the size of turbines due to logistical difficulties, opportunities offered by air ships for large turbines, and the commissioning of offshore wind farms are discussed. Details of some 2-5 MW offshore wind turbine design specifications are tabulated

Strategic planning: the first step in the planning process.

Science.gov (United States)

Gelinas, Marc A

2003-01-01

Strategic planning is a systematic process through which an organization builds commitment among key stakeholders to goals and priorities which are essential to its mission and vision, and responsive to the operating environment. Strategic planning is the first step in a comprehensive planning process that also includes business planning and implementation planning. If all three steps are carried out in sequence, strategic planning can be a very effective means of educating the stakeholders about where the cancer program is and where it is going, gaining support and commitment for the direction that the cancer program will take, and assuring that everyone's expectations can be managed effectively. Unfortunately, some organizations and cancer program leaders misunderstand the process. Too often, strategic planning is used as a stand-alone activity. This article will describe what strategic planning is, how it should smoothly lead into business planning and implementation planning, and how to avoid the pitfalls that sometimes arise during the strategic planning effort.

A comparative study of expectant parents ' childbirth expectations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kao, Bi-Chin; Gau, Meei-Ling; Wu, Shian-Feng; Kuo, Bih-Jaw; Lee, Tsorng-Yeh

2004-09-01

The purpose of this study was to understand childbirth expectations and differences in childbirth expectations among expectant parents. For convenience sampling, 200 couples willing to participate in this study were chosen from two hospitals in central Taiwan. Inclusion criteria were at least 36 weeks of gestation, aged 18 and above, no prenatal complications, and willing to consent to participate in this study. Instruments used to collect data included basic demographic data and the Childbirth Expectations Questionnaire. Findings of the study revealed that (1) five factors were identified by expectant parents regarding childbirth expectations including the caregiving environment, expectation of labor pain, spousal support, control and participation, and medical and nursing support; (2) no general differences were identified in the childbirth expectations between expectant fathers and expectant mothers; and (3) expectant fathers with a higher socioeconomic status and who had received prenatal (childbirth) education had higher childbirth expectations, whereas mothers displayed no differences in demographic characteristics. The study results may help clinical healthcare providers better understand differences in expectations during labor and birth and childbirth expectations by expectant parents in order to improve the medical and nursing system and promote positive childbirth experiences and satisfaction for expectant parents.

Workforce Planning in Complex Organizations

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2004-01-01

...) civilian acquisition workforces. The greater need for workforce planning is expected to arise from an unusually heavy workforce turnover, itself due to a large number of expected retirements among older employees in a workforce...

Weighing the Merits. Several States Are implementing Pay-for-Performance Plans

Science.gov (United States)

McCabe, Melissa

2005-01-01

Some 37.1 percent of education spending was earmarked for teachers in 2001-02, according to the American Federation of Teachers, and most of that money was paid out using traditional compensation systems. But as expectations for accountability increase, a handful of states are looking to pay-for-performance systems to attract quality…

Prediction Interval: What to Expect When You're Expecting … A Replication.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey R Spence

Full Text Available A challenge when interpreting replications is determining whether the results of a replication "successfully" replicate the original study. Looking for consistency between two studies is challenging because individual studies are susceptible to many sources of error that can cause study results to deviate from each other and the population effect in unpredictable directions and magnitudes. In the current paper, we derive methods to compute a prediction interval, a range of results that can be expected in a replication due to chance (i.e., sampling error, for means and commonly used indexes of effect size: correlations and d-values. The prediction interval is calculable based on objective study characteristics (i.e., effect size of the original study and sample sizes of the original study and planned replication even when sample sizes across studies are unequal. The prediction interval provides an a priori method for assessing if the difference between an original and replication result is consistent with what can be expected due to sample error alone. We provide open-source software tools that allow researchers, reviewers, replicators, and editors to easily calculate prediction intervals.

Evolution of the Birth Plan

OpenAIRE

Kaufman, Tamara

2007-01-01

Many birth professionals are discarding the birth plan as an outdated and ineffectual document. This column discusses the past limitations and present uses of the birth plan in an effort to enhance current teaching on how expectant parents can write and use this important document. Encouraging expectant parents to prepare two separate, but corresponding, birth plans—the “Discussion Birth Plan” and the “Hospital Birth Plan”—is proposed. Teaching suggestions and possible implications are explor...

Nuclear-piping-repair planning today needs skill, organization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Keefe, W.

1986-01-01

Nuclear power plant piping continues to experience failures and imminent threat of failure, despite a high level of care in design, analysis, fabrication, or installation. Continual inspection and surveillance and letter-by-letter following of procedures are not completely effective remedies, either. Both short-time-frame accidents and slowly progressing insidious complaints have caused loss of capacity, availability, and even confidence that the unit will work at close-to-expected performance. The fixes for nuclear-piping complaints cover a wide span, from mere carrying out of well-known repair procedures on either small scale or large, all the way to highly engineered solutions to a problem, with months of study and analysis followed by weighing of alternative methods. With some of the problems, little special planning is necessary. The repair is understood, and the time it needs is well within the envelope of a scheduled outage. Radiation exposure of personnel will not exceed expected moderate limits. And if the repair is a repeat performance of a recent similar one, little can go wrong. The planning for many other repairs, however, is so essential that even a minor failing in it will bring a debacle, with over-run, losses in revenue, and senseless expenditure of man-rems. Look at two types of planning for nuclear piping repair, as revealed at a recent American Welding Society conference on maintenance welding in nuclear power plants

Performance assessment calculational exercises

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnard, R.W.; Dockery, H.A.

1990-01-01

The Performance Assessment Calculational Exercises (PACE) are an ongoing effort coordinated by Yucca Mountain Project Office. The objectives of fiscal year 1990 work, termed PACE-90, as outlined in the Department of Energy Performance Assessment (PA) Implementation Plan were to develop PA capabilities among Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) participants by calculating performance of a Yucca Mountain (YM) repository under ''expected'' and also ''disturbed'' conditions, to identify critical elements and processes necessary to assess the performance of YM, and to perform sensitivity studies on key parameters. It was expected that the PACE problems would aid in development of conceptual models and eventual evaluation of site data. The PACE-90 participants calculated transport of a selected set of radionuclides through a portion of Yucca Mountain for a period of 100,000 years. Results include analyses of fluid-flow profiles, development of a source term for radionuclide release, and simulations of contaminant transport in the fluid-flow field. Later work included development of a problem definition for perturbations to the originally modeled conditions and for some parametric sensitivity studies. 3 refs

Performance of Ductless Personalized Ventilation in Open-Plan Office - Field Survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalewski, Mariusz; Ezzat Khalifa, H.; Melikov, Arsen Krikor

2013-01-01

A field survey was conducted in an architectural company located in Syracuse, USA. 54 employees who participated in the survey performed mostly design work. Large open-plan office and several single offices ventilated by displacement air distribution were included in the survey. Ductless...

Cupping Therapy Simulation Course; A Pilot Study Assessing Self Reporting of Confidence, Expectations/Satisfaction and Performance

OpenAIRE

Aboushanab, Tamer; Khalil, Mohammed; El-Olemy, Ahmed; Alsanad, Saud

2017-01-01

This paper aimed to assess self-reporting of confidence, expectations/satisfaction, and performance of medical students before and after the cupping therapy simulation training course and to validate cupping simulation training evaluation questionnaire (CSTEQ). It was a pilot study to evaluate cupping therapy simulation course provided by National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).  The number of participants was 29/41 (70.7%) (20 females and 9 males) before train...

Computational optimization techniques applied to microgrids planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gamarra, Carlos; Guerrero, Josep M.

2015-01-01

Microgrids are expected to become part of the next electric power system evolution, not only in rural and remote areas but also in urban communities. Since microgrids are expected to coexist with traditional power grids (such as district heating does with traditional heating systems......), their planning process must be addressed to economic feasibility, as a long-term stability guarantee. Planning a microgrid is a complex process due to existing alternatives, goals, constraints and uncertainties. Usually planning goals conflict each other and, as a consequence, different optimization problems...... appear along the planning process. In this context, technical literature about optimization techniques applied to microgrid planning have been reviewed and the guidelines for innovative planning methodologies focused on economic feasibility can be defined. Finally, some trending techniques and new...

Safety evaluation report on Tennessee Valley Authority: Watts Bar Nuclear Performance Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

This safety evaluation report on the information submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority in its Nuclear Performance Plan for the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant and in supporting documents has been prepared by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff. The plan addresses the plant-specific corrective actions as part of the recovery program for licensing of Unit 1. The staff will be monitoring and inspecting the implementation of the programs. The plan does not address all licensing matters that will be required for fuel load and operation of Unit 1. Those remaining licensing matters have been addressed in previous safety evaluations or will be addressed in accordance with routing NRC licensing practices. 97 refs

Challenges of Measuring Performance of the Sales and Operations Planning Process

OpenAIRE

Hulthén, Hana; Näslund, Dag; Norrman, Andreas

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to identify and structure challenges of measuring performance of the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process. A multiple case study methodology was applied. Qualitative data was collected via 22 structured interviews with managers from six case companies in various industries. A process oriented framework was proposed by structuring the challenges based on two key areas of process performance (effectiveness and efficiency) and different maturity levels of the...

7 CFR Appendix D to Subpart E of... - Alcohol Production Facilities Planning, Performing, Development and Project Control

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 14 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Alcohol Production Facilities Planning, Performing... of Part 1980—Alcohol Production Facilities Planning, Performing, Development and Project Control (I..., without recourse to the Government, for the settlement and satisfaction of all contractual and...

Observations on the U.S. Agency for International Development's Fiscal Year 1999 Performance Report and Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 Performance Plans

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

2000-01-01

As you requested, we have reviewed the 24 Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act agencies' fiscal year 1999 performance reports and fiscal year 2001 performance plans required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA...

Performance Evaluation of Balanced Pension Plans

NARCIS (Netherlands)

L. Andreu (Laura); L.A.P. Swinkels (Laurens)

2009-01-01

textabstractThis paper examines the ability of balanced pension plan managers to successfully time the equity and bond market and select the appropriate assets within these markets. In order to evaluate both market timing abilities in these balanced pension plans, we extend the traditional equity

When planners deal with change: Stories of Performativity in the politics of urban planning in two Scandinavian cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lissandrello, Enza

planning professionals become carriers of specific abilities that shape the possibilities of action and innovation in urban planning practice. It also argues that planning is performed by a plurality of actors, discourses, stages and politics but that in addition, urban planning proceeds by the acts...... the terrain of changing structural conditions altering current urban planning practice in two Scandinavian cities. Inspired by John Forester, their stories are here as lessons about what planning practitioners do in practice when facing challenges in their work. The aim is to explore an interpretation...... within a set of meanings and forms of legitimation. Across this analytic approach, some dimensions of transitions in urban planning include new institutional conditions and the actions of public planners, their performativity and their role in establishing innovative policy-making and planning practices...

Academic Performance in Human Anatomy and Physiology Classes: A 2-Yr Study of Academic Motivation and Grade Expectation

Science.gov (United States)

Sturges, Diana; Maurer, Trent W.; Allen, Deborah; Gatch, Delena Bell; Shankar, Padmini

2016-01-01

This project used a nonexperimental design with a convenience sample and studied the relationship between academic motivation, grade expectation, and academic performance in 1,210 students enrolled in undergraduate human anatomy and physiology (HAP) classes over a 2-yr period. A 42-item survey that included 28 items of the adapted academic…

Undergraduate student nurses' expectations and their self-reported preparedness for the graduate year role.

Science.gov (United States)

Heslop, L; McIntyre, M; Ives, G

2001-12-01

The study identifies third-year nurses' expectations of the graduate nurse role and ascertains how prepared they feel to fulfil this role. The literature substantiates that the university-workplace transition is marked by differences between students' expectations of the graduate year and the realities of practice they encounter in the workforce setting. Nursing professionals and health service employers continue to debate the expectations required of the new nurse graduate. Yet there is little assessment of graduate nurses' expectations of the workplace. This study describes student nurses' expectations of the graduate year and the extent to which they regard themselves as well- or ill-prepared. Third-year student nurses (n=105) from a 3-year Bachelor of Nursing (BN) course at a large Metropolitan University in Australia were surveyed. A group of nursing academics and their senior colleagues in the clinical setting designed a questionnaire in light of common themes derived from literature on the graduate year role. Responses were examined and analysed using descriptive statistics. Responses revealed that student nurses tended to favour large public hospitals, and sought a good graduate programme with associated opportunities for guidance and support. Most expected to achieve good working relationships with both professional colleagues and patients. Final year students expressed some apprehension about meeting the performance expectations of the workplace, given their self-perceived lack of clinical experience. When asked about their initial expectations of the workplace, third year student nurses expressed little apprehension and reported high levels on scales of organizational commitment and professionalism. The research literature suggests that divisions exist between students' expectations of the graduate year and the actual work experience. The expectations of the graduate year described in this study offer a student-centred perspective that contributes to

The expected availability of biomass in 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koppejan, J.; De Boer-Meulman, P.D.M.

2005-11-01

The aim of the Dutch government is to produce 5% of the energy consumption in the Netherlands from renewable energy sources in the year 2010. According to the Plan of Activities for Biomass bio-energy could contribute 75-87 PJ. In this study attention is paid to the expected availability of biomass in order to meet the targets, taking into account biomass sources in the Netherlands and abroad [nl

Experiments on Expectations in Macroeconomics and Finance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Assenza, Tiziana; Bao, Te; Hommes, Cars; Massaro, Domenico; Duffy, John

Expectations play a crucial role in finance, macroeconomics, monetary economics, and fiscal policy. In the last decade a rapidly increasing number of laboratory experiments have been performed to study individual expectation formation, the interactions of individual forecasting rules, and the

"Giving us hope": Parent and neonatal staff views and expectations of a planned family-centred discharge process (Train-to-Home).

Science.gov (United States)

Ingram, Jenny; Redshaw, Maggie; Manns, Sarah; Beasant, Lucy; Johnson, Debbie; Fleming, Peter; Pontin, David

2017-08-01

Preparing families and preterm infants for discharge is relatively unstructured in many UK neonatal units (NNUs). Family-centred neonatal care and discharge planning are recommended but variable. Qualitative interviews with 37 parents of infants in NNUs, and 18 nursing staff and 5 neonatal consultants explored their views of discharge planning and perceptions of a planned family-centred discharge process (Train-to-Home). Train-to-Home facilitates communication between staff and parents throughout the neonatal stay, using a laminated train and parent booklets. Parents were overwhelmingly positive about Train-to-Home. They described being given hope, feeling in control and having something visual to show their baby's progress. They reported positive involvement of fathers and families, how predicted discharge dates helped them prepare for home and ways staff engaged with Train-to-Home when communicating with them. Nursing staff reactions were mixed-some were uncertain about when to use it, but found the visual images powerful. Medical staff in all NNUs were positive about the intervention recognizing that it helped in communicating better with parents. Using a parent-centred approach to communication and informing parents about the needs and progress of their preterm infant in hospital is welcomed by parents and many staff. This approach meets the recommended prioritization of family-centred care for such families. Predicted discharge dates helped parents prepare for home, and the ways staff engaged with Train-to-Home when communicating with them helped them feel more confident as well as having something visual to show their baby's progress. © 2016 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Generic Reliability-Based Inspection Planning for Fatigue Sensitive Details

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Straub, Daniel; Faber, Michael Havbro

2005-01-01

of fatigue sensitive details in fixed offshore steel jacket platforms and FPSO ship structures. Inspection and maintenance activities are planned such that code based requirements to the safety of personnel and environment for the considered structure are fulfilled and at the same time such that the overall......The generic approach for planning of in-service NDT inspections is extended to cover the case where the fatigue load is modified during the design lifetime of the structure. Generic reliability-based inspection planning has been developed as a practical approach to perform inspection planning...... expected costs for design, inspections, repairs and failures are minimized. The method is based on the assumption of “no-finds” of cracks during inspections. Each fatigue sensitive detail is categorized according to their type of details (SN curves), FDF values, RSR values, inspection, repair and failure...

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

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-01

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

What is the influence of self-image and perceived parenting role expectations on adolescent fathers' perceived role performance?

Science.gov (United States)

Jones

2000-05-01

Background: "Adolescent pregnancy is one of the most pressing, persistent, and poignant problems facing society" (Yoos, 1987, p. 247). Manitoba's teen pregnancy rates are among the highest in Canada. Yet, little is known about adolescent fathers and their parenting involvement. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to explore variables which may influence teen fathers' participation in parenting.Methods: A convenience sample of 30 adolescent fathers, whose partners were attending an Adolescent Prenatal Clinic, completed two questionnaires: Offer Self-Image-Revised, and Perceived Parenting Role Performance. Guided by family role theory, four hypotheses were examined utilizing a quantitative research method.Results: Data analysis revealed that 30% of these respondents had a low to very low self-image. Pearson's correlation coefficient, which facilitated hypotheses testing, failed to validate a relationship between teen fathers' perceived role performance and self-image, and perceived parenting role expectations. Nevertheless, a moderate negative correlation was noted between teen fathers' self-image and their perceived parenting role expectations (r = -.35, p adolescence with the responsibilities of fatherhood increase their vulnerability to parenting failure.

Antares facility for inertial-fusion experiments: status and plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldstone, P.D.; Allen, G.; Jansen, H.; Saxman, A.; Singer, S.; Thuot, M.

1982-01-01

Antares is a large, 30 to 40 kJ CO 2 laser system which will provide a base for experiments to determine the efficiency with which 10 μm light can be used to drive target implosions while maintaining an acceptable level of preheat. Construction of the facility is in the final stages and diagnostics for initial experiments are being designed and constructed with operations scheduled to begin early in FY-84. After an initial shakedown period, we expect to perform a series of measurements to determine the energy scaling of hot electron temperature and target coupling efficiency in selected set of targets including simple spheres. We also expect to continue experiments, now planned for Helios, to determine whether CO 2 -produced ions are appropriate for driving inertial fusion targets with acceptable efficiency (Helios experiments have demonstrated that as much as 40% of the incident light can be converted to fast ions). Details of these experiments, as well as plans for further experiments, are still being defined

Automatic planning of head and neck treatment plans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hazell, Irene; Bzdusek, Karl; Kumar, Prashant

2016-01-01

radiation dose planning (dosimetrist) and potentially improve the overall plan quality. This study evaluates the performance of the Auto-Planning module that has recently become clinically available in the Pinnacle3 radiation therapy treatment planning system. Twenty-six clinically delivered head and neck...... as the previously delivered clinical plans. For all patients, the Auto-Planning tool produced clinically acceptable head and neck treatment plans without any manual intervention, except for the initial target and OAR delineations. The main benefit of the method is the likely improvement in the overall treatment......Treatment planning is time-consuming and the outcome depends on the person performing the optimization. A system that automates treatment planning could potentially reduce the manual time required for optimization and could also pro-vide a method to reduce the variation between persons performing...

Making gender matter: the role of gender-based expectancies and gender identification on women's and men's math performance in Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, Kimmo; Lindholm, Torun

2007-08-01

It is well established that an emphasis on gender differences may have a negative effect on women's math performance in USA, Germany and the Netherlands. It has further been found that an individual's identification with the stereotyped group may moderate effects of negative stereotypes. The present study investigated how gender-based expectancies affected the math performance of women and men in Sweden, a nation with a smaller gender gap than in other countries, and a strong cultural emphasis on gender equality. Participants, 112 female and 74 male undergraduate math students from Swedish universities, completed a difficult math test in which their gender was either linked to their test performance or not. Men performed better than women when gender was made relevant among participants who did not see their gender as an important aspect of their identity, while participants high in gender identification were unaffected by gender identity relevance. Moreover, the gender relevance manipulation affected men's performance more than women's. The results deviate from findings on US samples, indicating that the role of group identification as a moderator of stereotype-based expectancy effects is complex, and that factors in the cultural context may interact with individual differences in identification to determine the impact of negative stereotypes.

Systematic Layout Planning of a Radiology Reporting Area to Optimize Radiologists' Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Benitez, Guilherme Brittes; Fogliatto, Flavio Sanson; Cardoso, Ricardo Bertoglio; Torres, Felipe Soares; Faccin, Carlo Sasso; Dora, José Miguel

2018-04-01

Optimizing radiologists' performance is a major priority for managers of health services/systems, since the radiologists' reporting activity imposes a severe constraint on radiology productivity. Despite that, methods to optimize radiologists' reporting workplace layout are scarce in the literature. This study was performed in the Radiology Division (RD) of an 850-bed University-based general hospital. The analysis of the reporting workplace layout was carried out using the systematic layout planning (SLP) method, in association with cluster analysis as a complementary tool in early stages of SLP. Radiologists, architects, and hospital managers were the stakeholders consulted for the completion of different stages of the layout planning process. A step-by-step description of the proposed methodology to plan an RD reporting layout is presented. Clusters of radiologists were defined using types of exams reported and their frequency of occurrence as clustering variables. Sectors with high degree of interaction were placed in proximity in the new RD layout, with separation of noisy and quiet areas. Four reporting cells were positioned in the quiet area, grouping radiologists by subspecialty, as follows: cluster 1-abdomen; cluster 2-musculoskeletal; cluster 3-neurological, vascular and head & neck; cluster 4-thoracic and cardiac. The creation of reporting cells has the potential to limit unplanned interruptions and enhance the exchange of knowledge and information within cells, joining radiologists with the same expertise. That should lead to improvements in productivity, allowing managers to more easily monitor radiologists' performance.

Diverging expectations in buyer-seller relationships

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Poul Houman; Christensen, Poul Rind; Damgaard, Torben

2009-01-01

Many firms assume that outsourcing partnerships may allow them to strengthen their overall competitiveness. Lured by its intuitive appeal, several enter into such partnerships, only to realize that they represent a marginal rather than a magical solution to their quest for increasing market...... SMEs. We discuss four relational expectations derived from the B2B literature on relational norms for addressing these divergences: Quality, frequency and scope of communication, role specifications and coordination of work nature of planning horizons, and trustworthiness and link these to relationship...

The rational expectations equilibrium inventory model theory and applications

CERN Document Server

1989-01-01

This volume consists of six essays that develop and/or apply "rational expectations equilibrium inventory models" to study the time series behavior of production, sales, prices, and inventories at the industry level. By "rational expectations equilibrium inventory model" I mean the extension of the inventory model of Holt, Modigliani, Muth, and Simon (1960) to account for: (i) discounting, (ii) infinite horizon planning, (iii) observed and unobserved by the "econometrician" stochastic shocks in the production, factor adjustment, storage, and backorders management processes of firms, as well as in the demand they face for their products; and (iv) rational expectations. As is well known according to the Holt et al. model firms hold inventories in order to: (a) smooth production, (b) smooth production changes, and (c) avoid stockouts. Following the work of Zabel (1972), Maccini (1976), Reagan (1982), and Reagan and Weitzman (1982), Blinder (1982) laid the foundations of the rational expectations equilibrium inve...

Competing expectations. The case of the hydrogen car

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bakker, S.

2011-04-15

Firms and governments can support only a limited number of emerging technologies. Some emerging technologies receive support for further development while others are discarded. But how do decision makers in firms and governments assess which of the options earns their support? Straightforward assessments of prices and performance levels can not be sufficient as emerging technologies are, by definition, in an early stage of development and have not reached their maximum levels of performance yet. It is therefore not so much of interest which of the options performs best at any point in time, but rather which of the options will eventually perform best in the future. As a consequence, this competition is based on expectations about future price and performance levels. It is studied how both the relevant decision makers and the technology developers deal with these expectations about the different options. The development of the hydrogen car takes up a central position in this thesis. The hydrogen car is one of the contenders in the race towards 'the car of the future'. While the hydrogen car is indeed in competition with the other contenders there is also competition between different configurations of the hydrogen car. Expectations with regard to the different options are measured through patents, prototype cars, and statements from scientists and car manufacturers. From the research it shows that technology developers, the enactors, do not only try to shape positive expectations about their own option, but also negative expectations about their competitors. Technology selectors assess the credibility of the diverse expectations mainly on the basis of past progress and the possible paths forward towards higher levels of performance and lower prices. The roles of enactor and selector are interrelated and so is the process of enaction and selection. A main conclusion to this thesis is that selectors tend to narrow their portfolios in times of low general

Outage preparation milestones - A tool to improve planned outage performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laplatney, Jere; Hwang, Euiyoub

2006-01-01

Sustainable development of Nuclear Energy depends heavily on excellent performance of the existing fleet which in turn depend heavily on the performance of planned outages. Nuclear Power Plants who have successfully undertaken outage optimization projects have demonstrated than an effective Outage Preparation Milestone program is a key component of their improvement programs. This paper will provide background into the field of 'Outage Optimization' including the philosophy, general approach, and results obtained in the U. S. industry. The significant safety improvements afforded by properly implementing outage improvement programs will be explained. Some specific examples of outage improvements will be given including the adoption of a strong Outage Preparation Milestone Program. The paper will then describe the attributes of an effective Outage Preparation Milestone Program and list a set of specific key milestones. The key milestones are defined and the reasons for each are explained. Suggested due dates for each key milestone relative to the outage start date are provided. Successful implementation of an Outage Preparation Milestone program depends heavily upon the management tools and methods used to assure that the organization meets the milestones on time and in a quality fashion. These include methods to handle cases where milestones are not met - either partially or fully. KHNP is investigating implementing an improved Outage Preparation Milestone program for its fleet of reactors as part of its overall program to improve its performance of planned outages

STRATEGIC PLANNING AND HIGH PERFORMANCE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN PAKISTANI SMES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul RAZIQ

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This study is concerned with the relationship between Strategic Planning and High Performance Human Resource Management Practices (HPHRMP. The study was conducted in the context of Small & Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs in the service and manufacturing sector in Pakistani. The primary data was collected through a survey of HPHRMP and as such the study is quantitative in nature. The target population of the study consisted of SMEs operating in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. Stratified random sampling method was applied to collect data from 357 SMEs. An independent-sample t-test test was employed to see whether group means of Strategic Planning are significantly different in relation to prevalence of HPHRMP. The overall results were mixed and partially supportive of a positive relationship between Strategic Planning and the adoption of HPHRMP.

Holistic Performance Measurement to Achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage

OpenAIRE

Keni Keni

2013-01-01

In the past, companies used balanced scorecard to measure its performance. Now, balanced scorecard as a performance measurement tool is no longer sufficient because business has been affected by changes to the natural environment and developing social expectations. In order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, companies are beginning to address the risks and opportunities associated with these changes in their longer-term business planning. To turn risks into opportunities, companies...

Plan, Save, Succeed! Financial Literacy Poster/Teaching Guide. Expect the Unexpected with Math[R

Science.gov (United States)

Actuarial Foundation, 2013

2013-01-01

"Plan, Save, Succeed!" is a new program aligned with Jumpstart Coalition National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards, and Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice. "Plan, Save, Succeed!" is designed to help students understand key financial literacy topics including…

Macro Expectations, Aggregate Uncertainty, and Expected Term Premia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dick, Christian D.; Schmeling, Maik; Schrimpf, Andreas

Based on individual expectations from the Survey of Professional Forecasters, we construct a realtime proxy for expected term premium changes on long-term bonds. We empirically investigate the relation of these bond term premium expectations with expectations about key macroeconomic variables as ...

Behavior, Expectations and Status

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, Jr, Murray; Rashotte, Lisa Slattery

2010-01-01

We predict effects of behavior patterns and status on performance expectations and group inequality using an integrated theory developed by Fisek, Berger and Norman (1991). We next test those predictions using new experimental techniques we developed to control behavior patterns as independent variables. In a 10-condition experiment, predictions…

TU-D-201-06: HDR Plan Prechecks Using Eclipse Scripting API

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palaniswaamy, G; Morrow, A; Kim, S; Rangaraj, D [Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, TX (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Automate brachytherapy treatment plan quality check using Eclipse v13.6 scripting API based on pre-configured rules to minimize human error and maximize efficiency. Methods: The HDR Precheck system is developed based on a rules-driven approach using Eclipse scripting API. This system checks for critical plan parameters like channel length, first source position, source step size and channel mapping. The planned treatment time is verified independently based on analytical methods. For interstitial or SAVI APBI treatment plans, a Patterson-Parker system calculation is performed to verify the planned treatment time. For endobronchial treatments, an analytical formula from TG-59 is used. Acceptable tolerances were defined based on clinical experiences in our department. The system was designed to show PASS/FAIL status levels. Additional information, if necessary, is indicated appropriately in a separate comments field in the user interface. Results: The HDR Precheck system has been developed and tested to verify the treatment plan parameters that are routinely checked by the clinical physicist. The report also serves as a reminder or checklist for the planner to perform any additional critical checks such as applicator digitization or scenarios where the channel mapping was intentionally changed. It is expected to reduce the current manual plan check time from 15 minutes to <1 minute. Conclusion: Automating brachytherapy plan prechecks significantly reduces treatment plan precheck time and reduces human errors. When fully developed, this system will be able to perform TG-43 based second check of the treatment planning system’s dose calculation using random points in the target and critical structures. A histogram will be generated along with tabulated mean and standard deviation values for each structure. A knowledge database will also be developed for Brachyvision plans which will then be used for knowledge-based plan quality checks to further reduce

Performance demonstration program plan for analysis of simulated headspace gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-06-01

The Performance Demonstration Program (PDP) for analysis of headspace gases will consist of regular distribution and analyses of test standards to evaluate the capability for analyzing VOCs, hydrogen, and methane in the headspace of transuranic (TRU) waste throughout the Department of Energy (DOE) complex. Each distribution is termed a PDP cycle. These evaluation cycles will provide an objective measure of the reliability of measurements performed for TRU waste characterization. Laboratory performance will be demonstrated by the successful analysis of blind audit samples of simulated TRU waste drum headspace gases according to the criteria set within the text of this Program Plan. Blind audit samples (hereinafter referred to as PDP samples) will be used as an independent means to assess laboratory performance regarding compliance with the QAPP QAOs. The concentration of analytes in the PDP samples will encompass the range of concentrations anticipated in actual waste characterization gas samples. Analyses which are required by the WIPP to demonstrate compliance with various regulatory requirements and which are included in the PDP must be performed by laboratories which have demonstrated acceptable performance in the PDP

[Expectations and patient satisfaction in hospitals: construction and application of an expectation-based experience typology and its use in the management of quality and expectations].

Science.gov (United States)

Gehrlach, Christoph; Güntert, Bernhard

2015-01-01

Patient satisfaction (PS) surveys are frequently used evaluation methods to show performance from the customer's view. This approach has some fundamental deficits, especially with respect to theory, methodology and usage. Because of the significant theoretical value of the expectation confirmation/disconfirmation concept in the development of PS, an expectation-based experience typology has been developed and tested to check whether this approach could be a theoretical and practical alternative to the survey of PS. Due to the mainly cognitive-rational process of comparison between expectations and expectation fulfilment, it is easier to make changes in this stage of the process than in the subsequent stage of the development of PS that is mainly based on emotional-affective processes. The paper contains a literature review of the common concept of PS and its causal and influencing factors. Based on the theoretical part of this study, an expectation-based experience typology was developed. In the next step, the typology was subjected to exploratory testing, based on two patient surveys. In some parts of the tested typology explorative differences could be found between hospitals. Despite this rather more complex and unusual approach to expectation-based experience typology, this concept offers the chance to change conditions not only retrospectively (based on data), but also in a prospective way in terms of a "management of expectations". Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Performance Demonstration Program Plan for Nondestructive Assay of Drummed Wastes for the TRU Waste Characterization Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DOE Carlsbad Field Office

2001-01-01

The Performance Demonstration Program (PDP) for nondestructive assay (NDA) consists of a series of tests to evaluate the capability for NDA of transuranic (TRU) waste throughout the Department of Energy (DOE) complex. Each test is termed a PDP cycle. These evaluation cycles provide an objective measure of the reliability of measurements obtained from NDA systems used to characterize the radiological constituents of TRU waste. The primary documents governing the conduct of the PDP are the Waste Acceptance Criteria for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WAC; DOE 1999a) and the Quality Assurance Program Document (QAPD; DOE 1999b). The WAC requires participation in the PDP; the PDP must comply with the QAPD and the WAC. The WAC contains technical and quality requirements for acceptable NDA. This plan implements the general requirements of the QAPD and applicable requirements of the WAC for the NDA PDP. Measurement facilities demonstrate acceptable performance by the successful testing of simulated waste containers according to the criteria set by this PDP Plan. Comparison among DOE measurement groups and commercial assay services is achieved by comparing the results of measurements on similar simulated waste containers reported by the different measurement facilities. These tests are used as an independent means to assess the performance of measurement groups regarding compliance with established quality assurance objectives (QAO's). Measurement facilities must analyze the simulated waste containers using the same procedures used for normal waste characterization activities. For the drummed waste PDP, a simulated waste container consists of a 55-gallon matrix drum emplaced with radioactive standards and fabricated matrix inserts. These PDP sample components are distributed to the participating measurement facilities that have been designated and authorized by the Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO). The NDA Drum PDP materials are stored at these sites under secure conditions to

Individual versus interprofessional team performance in formulating care transition plans: A randomised study of trainees from five professional groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, Timothy W; Supiano, Katherine P; Wong, Bob; Luptak, Marilyn K; Luther, Brenda; Andersen, Troy C; Wilson, Rebecca; Wilby, Frances; Yang, Rumei; Pepper, Ginette A; Brunker, Cherie P

2018-05-01

Health professions trainees' performance in teams is rarely evaluated, but increasingly important as the healthcare delivery systems in which they will practice move towards team-based care. Effective management of care transitions is an important aspect of interprofessional teamwork. This mixed-methods study used a crossover design to randomise health professions trainees to work as individuals and as teams to formulate written care transition plans. Experienced external raters assessed the quality of the written care transition plans as well as both the quality of team process and overall team performance. Written care transition plan quality did not vary between individuals and teams (21.8 vs. 24.4, respectively, p = 0.42). The quality of team process did not correlate with the quality of the team-generated written care transition plans (r = -0.172, p = 0.659). However, there was a significant correlation between the quality of team process and overall team performance (r = 0.692, p = 0.039). Teams with highly engaged recorders, performing an internal team debrief, had higher-quality care transition plans. These results suggest that high-quality interprofessional care transition plans may require advance instruction as well as teamwork in finalising the plan.

Confronting Regulatory Cost and Quality Expectations. An Exploration of Technical Change in Minimum Efficiency Performance Standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, Margaret [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Spurlock, C. Anna [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Yang, Hung-Chia [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2015-09-21

The dual purpose of this project was to contribute to basic knowledge about the interaction between regulation and innovation and to inform the cost and benefit expectations related to technical change which are embedded in the rulemaking process of an important area of national regulation. The area of regulation focused on here is minimum efficiency performance standards (MEPS) for appliances and other energy-using products. Relevant both to U.S. climate policy and energy policy for buildings, MEPS remove certain product models from the market that do not meet specified efficiency thresholds.

Medicare managed care plan performance: a comparison across hospitalization types.

Science.gov (United States)

Basu, Jayasree; Mobley, Lee Rivers

2012-01-01

The study evaluates the performance of Medicare managed care (Medicare Advantage [MA]) Plans in comparison to Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) Plans in three states with historically high Medicare managed care penetration (New York, California, Florida), in terms of lowering the risks of preventable or ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) hospital admissions and providing increased referrals for admissions for specialty procedures. Using 2004 hospital discharge files from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP-SID) of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, ACSC admissions are compared with 'marker' admissions and 'referral-sensitive' admissions, using a multinomial logistic regression approach. The year 2004 represents a strategic time to test the impact of MA on preventable hospitalizations, because the HMOs dominated the market composition in that time period. MA enrollees in California experienced 22% lower relative risk (RRR= 0.78, p<0.01), those in Florida experienced 16% lower relative risk (RRR= 0.84, p<0.01), while those in New York experienced 9% lower relative risk (RRR=0.91, p<0.01) of preventable (versus marker) admissions compared to their FFS counterparts. MA enrollees in New York experienced 37% higher relative risk (RRR=1.37, p<0.01) and those in Florida had 41% higher relative risk (RRR=1.41, p<0.01)-while MA enrollees in California had 13% lower relative risk (RRR=0.87, p<0.01)-of referral-sensitive (versus marker) admissions compared to their FFS counterparts. While MA plans were associated with reductions in preventable hospitalizations in all three states, the effects on referral-sensitive admissions varied, with California experiencing lower relative risk of referral-sensitive admissions for MA plan enrollees. The lower relative risk of preventable admissions for MA plan enrollees in New York and Florida became more pronounced after accounting for selection bias.

Managing heterogeneous and unanchored expectations: a monetary policy analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hommes, C.; Lustenhouwer, J.

2016-01-01

We study monetary policy in a New Keynesian model with heterogeneity in expectations. Agents may choose from a continuum of forecasting rules and adjust their expectations based on relative past performance. The extent to which expectations are anchored to the fundamentals of the economy turns out

Unvented Drum Handling Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MCDONALD, K.M.

2000-01-01

This drum-handling plan proposes a method to deal with unvented transuranic drums encountered during retrieval of drums. Finding unvented drums during retrieval activities was expected, as identified in the Transuranic (TRU) Phase I Retrieval Plan (HNF-4781). However, significant numbers of unvented drums were not expected until excavation of buried drums began. This plan represents accelerated planning for management of unvented drums. A plan is proposed that manages unvented drums differently based on three categories. The first category of drums is any that visually appear to be pressurized. These will be vented immediately, using either the Hanford Fire Department Hazardous Materials (Haz. Mat.) team, if such are encountered before the facilities' capabilities are established, or using internal capabilities, once established. To date, no drums have been retrieved that showed signs of pressurization. The second category consists of drums that contain a minimal amount of Pu isotopes. This minimal amount is typically less than 1 gram of Pu, but may be waste-stream dependent. Drums in this category are assayed to determine if they are low-level waste (LLW). LLW drums are typically disposed of without venting. Any unvented drums that assay as TRU will be staged for a future venting campaign, using appropriate safety precautions in their handling. The third category of drums is those for which records show larger amounts of Pu isotopes (typically greater than or equal to 1 gram of Pu). These are assumed to be TRU and are not assayed at this point, but are staged for a future venting campaign. Any of these drums that do not have a visible venting device will be staged awaiting venting, and will be managed under appropriate controls, including covering the drums to protect from direct solar exposure, minimizing of container movement, and placement of a barrier to restrict vehicle access. There are a number of equipment options available to perform the venting. The

Prior expectations facilitate metacognition for perceptual decision.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherman, M T; Seth, A K; Barrett, A B; Kanai, R

2015-09-01

The influential framework of 'predictive processing' suggests that prior probabilistic expectations influence, or even constitute, perceptual contents. This notion is evidenced by the facilitation of low-level perceptual processing by expectations. However, whether expectations can facilitate high-level components of perception remains unclear. We addressed this question by considering the influence of expectations on perceptual metacognition. To isolate the effects of expectation from those of attention we used a novel factorial design: expectation was manipulated by changing the probability that a Gabor target would be presented; attention was manipulated by instructing participants to perform or ignore a concurrent visual search task. We found that, independently of attention, metacognition improved when yes/no responses were congruent with expectations of target presence/absence. Results were modeled under a novel Bayesian signal detection theoretic framework which integrates bottom-up signal propagation with top-down influences, to provide a unified description of the mechanisms underlying perceptual decision and metacognition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of an in-built monitoring system on family planning performance in rural Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashraf Ali

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background During 1982–1992, the Maternal and Child Health Family Planning (MCH-FP Extension Project (Rural of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB, implemented a series of interventions in Sirajganj Sadar sub-district of Sirajganj district. These interventions were aimed at improving the planning mechanisms and for reviewing the problem-solving processes to build an effective monitoring system of the interventions at the local level of the overall system of the MOHFW, GoB. Methods The interventions included development and testing of innovative solutions in service-delivery, provision of door-step injectables, and strengthening of the management information system (MIS. The impact of an in-built monitoring system on the overall performance was assessed during the period from June 1995 to December 1996, after the withdrawal of the interventions in 1992. Results The results of the assessment showed that Family Welfare Assistants (FWAs increased household-visits within the last two months, and there was a higher use of service-delivery points even after the withdrawal of the interventions. The results of the cluster surveys, conducted in 1996, showed that the selected indicators of health and family-planning services were higher than those reported by the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS 1996–1997. During June 1995-December, 1996, the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR increased by 13 percentage points (i.e. from 40% to 53%. Compared to the national CPR (49%, this increase was statistically significant (p Conclusion The in-built monitoring systems, including effective MIS, accompanied by rapid assessments and review of performance by the programme managers, have potentials to improve family planning performance in low-performing areas.

Life expectancy living with HIV: recent estimates and future implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawa, Fumiyo; May, Margaret; Phillips, Andrew

2013-02-01

The life expectancy of people living with HIV has dramatically increased since effective antiretroviral therapy has been available, and still continues to improve. Here, we review the latest literature on estimates of life expectancy and consider the implications for future research. With timely diagnosis, access to a variety of current drugs and good lifelong adherence, people with recently acquired infections can expect to have a life expectancy which is nearly the same as that of HIV-negative individuals. Modelling studies suggest that life expectancy could improve further if there were increased uptake of HIV testing, better antiretroviral regimens and treatment strategies, and the adoption of healthier lifestyles by those living with HIV. In particular, earlier diagnosis is one of the most important factors associated with better life expectancy. A consequence of improved survival is the increasing number of people with HIV who are aged over 50 years old, and further research into the impact of ageing on HIV-positive people will therefore become crucial. The development of age-specific HIV treatment and management guidelines is now called for. Analyses on cohort studies and mathematical modelling studies have been used to estimate life expectancy of those with HIV, providing useful insights of importance to individuals and healthcare planning.

Educational expectation trajectories and attainment in the transition to adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick; Reynolds, John R

2013-05-01

How consequential is family socioeconomic status for maintaining plans to get a bachelor's degree during the transition to adulthood? This article examines persistence and change in educational expectations, focusing on the extent to which family socioeconomic status shapes overtime trajectories of bachelor's degree expectations, how the influence involves the timing of family formation and full-time work vs. college attendance, and how persistence in expectations is consequential for getting a 4-year degree. The findings, based on the high school senior classes of 1987-1990, demonstrate that adolescents from higher socioeconomic status families are much more likely to hold onto their expectations to earn 4-year degrees, both in the early years after high school and, for those who do not earn degrees within that period, on through their 20s. These more persistent expectations in young adulthood, more so than adolescent expectations, help explain the greater success of young people from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds in earning a 4-year degree. Persistence of expectations to earn a bachelor's degree in the years after high school is shaped by stratified pathways of school, work, and family roles in the transition to adulthood. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A framework for operationalization of strategic plans and metrics for corporate performance measurement in transportation asset management

Science.gov (United States)

Mteri, Hassan H.

This thesis investigated the business processes required to translate corporate-level strategic plans into tactical and operational plans in the context of transportation asset management. The study also developed a framework for effective performance measure for departments of transportation. The thesis was based on a case study of transportation agencies in the U.S.A. and Canada. The scope is therefore limited or more directly applicable to transportation assets such as pavement, bridges and culverts. The goal was to address the problem of translating or managing strategic plans, especially in the context of the public sector responsible for operating transportation infrastructure. It was observed that many agencies have been successful in formulating good strategic plans but they have performed relatively poorly in translating such corporate-level strategic plans into operational activities. A questionnaire survey was designed and targeted about 30 state agencies that are currently active in transportation asset management. Twenty one (21) transportation agencies in the USA and Canada responded to the questionnaire. The analysis of the questionnaire data showed that there is a lack of a standard approach to managing corporate strategic plans in transportation agencies. The results also indicated that most transportation agencies operate in three organizational levels but there was no systematic approach of translating goal and objectives from high level to lower levels. Approaches in performance measurement were found to vary from agency to agency. A number of limitations were identified in the existing practice on performance measurements. Key weaknesses include the large number of measures in use (as many as 25 or more), and the disconnection between the measures used and the corporate goals and objectives. Lessons from the private sector were thoroughly reviewed in order to build the groundwork for adapting existing tools to the public sector. The existing

Test plan for evaluating the performance of the in-tank fluidic sampling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BOGER, R.M.

1999-01-01

The PHMC will provide Low Activity Wastes (LAW) tank wastes for final treatment by a privatization contractor from double-shell feed tanks, 241-AP-102 and 241-AP-104, Concerns about the inability of the baseline ''grab'' sampling to provide large volume samples within time constraints has led to the development of a conceptual sampling system that would be deployed in a feed tank riser, This sampling system will provide large volume, representative samples without the environmental, radiation exposure, and sample volume impacts of the current base-line ''grab'' sampling method. This test plan identifies ''proof-of-principle'' cold tests for the conceptual sampling system using simulant materials. The need for additional testing was identified as a result of completing tests described in the revision test plan document, Revision 1 outlines tests that will evaluate the performance and ability to provide samples that are representative of a tanks' content within a 95 percent confidence interval, to recovery from plugging, to sample supernatant wastes with over 25 wt% solids content, and to evaluate the impact of sampling at different heights within the feed tank. The test plan also identifies operating parameters that will optimize the performance of the sampling system

Integration of Family Planning Counselling to Mass Screening Campaign for Cervical Cancer: Experience from Guinea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. W. A. Leno

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. To assess feasibility of integrating family planning counselling into mass screening for cervical cancer in Guinea. Methodology. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted over a month in Guinea regional capital cities. The targeted population comprised women aged 15 to 49 years. Nearly 4000 women were expected for the screening campaigns that utilized VIA and VIL methods with confirmation of positive tests through biopsy. A local treatment was immediately performed when the patient was eligible. Results. Overall 5673 women aged 15 to 60 years were received, a surplus of 42% of the expected population. 92.3% of women were aged 15–49 years and 90.1% were 25–49 years. Long-acting methods were the most utilized (89.2% of family planning users. 154 precancerous and cancerous lesions were screened, a global positivity rate of 2.7%. Conclusion. Integration of counselling and family planning services provision during cervical cancer mass screening is a feasible strategy. A cost-effective analysis of this approach would help a better planning of future campaigns and its replication in other contexts.

Designing and Implementing Performance-Based Career Ladder Plans.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawley, Willis D.

1985-01-01

Reviews the factors that any teacher motivation plan must incorporate to be effective and outlines 11 principles that should be followed in designing career ladder plans to meet teacher needs, increase teacher competence, and facilitate effective instruction. Warns against potential pitfalls in career ladder plans. (PGD)

5 CFR 9901.410 - Addressing performance that does not meet expectations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... expectations. 9901.410 Section 9901.410 Administrative Personnel DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND LABOR RELATIONS SYSTEMS (DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE-OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT) DEPARTMENT OF..., improvement periods, reassignment, oral warnings, letters of counseling, written reprimands, or adverse action...

Career expectations and influences among dental students in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Che Musa, Muhd Firdaus; Bernabé, Eduardo; Gallagher, Jennifer E

2016-08-01

It is important to understand career expectations of emerging dental graduates if human resources are to be harnessed in support of oral health. The aims of this study were to explore students' career expectations and their perceived influences, and to examine variation according to student and school characteristics. All final-year students registered for 2013/2014 across 11 dental schools in Malaysia were invited to participate in a self-administered questionnaire (n = 530). The instrument explored short- and long-term career expectations, influences and students' background using a mix of open- and closed-ended questions. The chi-square test was used for comparison according to student and school characteristics. Three-hundred and fifty-six (83%) students, across eight schools, completed the questionnaire. In the short term, undertaking specialist training (46%) was the most commonly cited career goal, and achieving financial stability (79%) was the greatest influence. In the long term, 59% planned to specialise (with a significant difference found according to ethnic group), and 67% considered working full-time, with men significantly more likely to do so than women (P = 0.036). More Malay students (90%) ranked childcare commitments as an important influence on the number of sessions they planned to work per week compared with Chinese students (75%) and Others (74%; P = 0.001). Work-life balance (95%) and high income/financial security (95%) were the main influences on respondents' long-term goals. There was a high level of interest in specialisation and a desire to achieve financial stability and work-life balance in the group of dental students who responded to the survey. Long-term career expectations varied according to student but not according to school characteristics. © 2016 FDI World Dental Federation.

Health Workforce Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Sawai, Abdulaziz; Al-Shishtawy, Moeness M.

2015-01-01

In most countries, the lack of explicit health workforce planning has resulted in imbalances that threaten the capacity of healthcare systems to attain their objectives. This has directed attention towards the prospect of developing healthcare systems that are more responsive to the needs and expectations of the population by providing health planners with a systematic method to effectively manage human resources in this sector. This review analyses various approaches to health workforce planning and presents the Six-Step Methodology to Integrated Workforce Planning which highlights essential elements in workforce planning to ensure the quality of services. The purpose, scope and ownership of the approach is defined. Furthermore, developing an action plan for managing a health workforce is emphasised and a reviewing and monitoring process to guide corrective actions is suggested. PMID:25685381

The Probability Model of Expectation Disconfirmation Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui-Hsin HUANG

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a probability model to explore the dynamic process of customer’s satisfaction. Bases on expectation disconfirmation theory, the satisfaction is constructed with customer’s expectation before buying behavior and the perceived performance after purchase. The experiment method is designed to measure expectation disconfirmation effects and we also use the collection data to estimate the overall satisfaction and model calibration. The results show good fitness between the model and the real data. This model has application for business marketing areas in order to manage relationship satisfaction.

Academic performance in human anatomy and physiology classes: a 2-yr study of academic motivation and grade expectation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sturges, Diana; Maurer, Trent W; Allen, Deborah; Gatch, Delena Bell; Shankar, Padmini

2016-03-01

This project used a nonexperimental design with a convenience sample and studied the relationship between academic motivation, grade expectation, and academic performance in 1,210 students enrolled in undergraduate human anatomy and physiology (HAP) classes over a 2-yr period. A 42-item survey that included 28 items of the adapted academic motivation scale for HAP based on self-determination theory was administered in class during the first 3 wk of each semester. Students with higher grade point averages, who studied for longer hours and reported to be more motivated to succeed, did better academically in these classes. There was a significant relationship between students' scores on the adapted academic motivation scale and performance. Students were more extrinsically motivated to succeed in HAP courses than intrinsically motivated to succeed, and the analyses revealed that the most significant predictor of final grade was within the extrinsic scale (introjected and external types). Students' motivations remained stable throughout the course sequence. The data showed a significant relationship between HAP students' expected grade and their final grade in class. Finally, 65.5% of students overestimated their final grade, with 29% of students overestimating by two to four letter grades. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

Aspirations, Expectations, and Influences on the Post-Secondary Plans of Rural Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Corra, Jennifer Lynn

2015-01-01

This study examines the influences that high school seniors considered when making their plans for after graduation. Bourdieu's theory of habitus and Coleman's social capital theory inform the conceptual framework. Qualitative interviews were conducted with students and school counselors from four rural Kentucky school districts. Family, peers and…

Planning abilities and chess: a comparison of chess and non-chess players on the Tower of London task.

Science.gov (United States)

Unterrainer, J M; Kaller, C P; Halsband, U; Rahm, B

2006-08-01

Playing chess requires problem-solving capacities in order to search through the chess problem space in an effective manner. Chess should thus require planning abilities for calculating many moves ahead. Therefore, we asked whether chess players are better problem solvers than non-chess players in a complex planning task. We compared planning performance between chess ( N=25) and non-chess players ( N=25) using a standard psychometric planning task, the Tower of London (ToL) test. We also assessed fluid intelligence (Raven Test), as well as verbal and visuospatial working memory. As expected, chess players showed better planning performance than non-chess players, an effect most strongly expressed in difficult problems. On the other hand, they showed longer planning and movement execution times, especially for incorrectly solved trials. No differences in fluid intelligence and verbal/visuospatial working memory were found between both groups. These findings indicate that better performance in chess players is associated with disproportionally longer solution times, although it remains to be investigated whether motivational or strategic differences account for this result.

Strategic plan for the development of IAEA safeguards equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khlebnikov, N.

2001-01-01

Full text: The need for a top-down Safeguards Strategy to focus departmental objectives was recognized by the Programme Performance Appraisal System (PPAS) performed on the Equipment Development Project in 1999. The Department of Safeguards prepared at the end of 2000 a 5-year Strategic Plan to identify the changes and improvements expected to take place over the 2001-2005 period. Those Strategic Objectives were supposed to be used to properly plan IAEA Safeguards activities and define appropriate and coherent R and D programmes. The present paper describes the strategic directions that the IAEA will follow in the area of equipment development in order to meet the Safeguards Department long-term objectives for 2001-2005. The paper, which is derived from the IAEA Strategic Equipment Development Plan, prepared by the Division of Technical Support, includes two parts: general principles and policies applicable to all equipment development tasks; specific strategic guidance. The paper will not describe the detailed plans which are prepared based on the strategic plan on a biannual basis. Equipment development activities have been divided in five major projects (NDA, Seals, Surveillance, Unattended Monitoring and Remote Monitoring). Strategic directions for each of these projects will be described in the paper. Separate sections will deal with equipment development strategic guidance in the area of additional protocol inspections, JNFL projects, illicit trafficking and Trilateral Initiative. (author)

Teacher Performance Evaluation Plan: A Personalized Approach to Supervision, Staff Development, and Evaluation. An Implementation Guide. Revised Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Jeanne; And Others

This guide provides assistance to New Mexico school districts in implementing a state-sponsored teacher performance evaluation plan (Provision III of the New Mexico Staff Accountability Plan, adopted by the State Board of Education). This plan involves five basic procedures: (1) determine specific definitions of the six essential teaching…

Planning performance in schizophrenia patients: a meta-analysis of the influence of task difficulty and clinical and sociodemographic variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Knapp, F; Viechtbauer, W; Leonhart, R; Nitschke, K; Kaller, C P

2017-08-01

Despite a large body of research on planning performance in adult schizophrenia patients, results of individual studies are equivocal, suggesting either no, moderate or severe planning deficits. This meta-analysis therefore aimed to quantify planning deficits in schizophrenia and to examine potential sources of the heterogeneity seen in the literature. The meta-analysis comprised outcomes of planning accuracy of 1377 schizophrenia patients and 1477 healthy controls from 31 different studies which assessed planning performance using tower tasks such as the Tower of London, the Tower of Hanoi and the Stockings of Cambridge. A meta-regression analysis was applied to assess the influence of potential moderator variables (i.e. sociodemographic and clinical variables as well as task difficulty). The findings indeed demonstrated a planning deficit in schizophrenia patients (mean effect size: ; 95% confidence interval 0.56-0.78) that was moderated by task difficulty in terms of the minimum number of moves required for a solution. The results did not reveal any significant relationship between the extent of planning deficits and sociodemographic or clinical variables. The current results provide first meta-analytic evidence for the commonly assumed impairments of planning performance in schizophrenia. Deficits are more likely to become manifest in problem items with higher demands on planning ahead, which may at least partly explain the heterogeneity of previous findings. As only a small fraction of studies reported coherent information on sample characteristics, future meta-analyses would benefit from more systematic reports on those variables.

29 CFR 4231.6 - Plan solvency tests.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

.... The actuary may select as the amortization period either— (i) The first 25 plan years beginning on or... determined under the funding method and assumptions expected to be used by the plan actuary for purposes of...

Financial planning and control in very small start-up companies: antecedents and effects on company performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mengel, S.; Wouters, M.

2015-01-01

This study motivates and tests hypotheses about the antecedents of the use of financial planning and control systems in very small and young start-up firms, and, in turn, the effect of this on firm performance. This setting is of particular interest since theory on financial planning and control in

Action plans can interact to hinder or facilitate reach performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Fournier, Lisa R; Wiediger, Matthew D; Taddese, Ezana F

2015-11-01

Executing a reach action can be delayed while retaining another action in working memory (WM) if the two action plans partly overlap rather than do not overlap. This delay (partial repetition cost) occurs when reach responses are under cognitive control. In this study, we investigated whether facilitation (a partial repetition benefit) occurs when reach responses are automatic. We also examined whether the hemisphere controlling the limb or selection of the preferred limb (based on a free-reach task) influences reach performance when the actions partly overlap. Left- and right-handers reached to different stimulus locations to the left and right of body midline with their ipsilateral hand while maintaining an action plan in WM that required the same or the different hand. The results showed a partial repetition benefit for spatially compatible reaches to left and right stimulus locations far from the body midline, but not for those near the body midline. Also, no partial repetition cost was found at any of the stimulus-reach locations. This indicates that automatic reach responses that partly overlap with an action plan maintained in WM are not delayed, but instead can be facilitated (partial repetition benefit). The roles of hemisphere and reach-hand preference in action control and the importance of the degree of feature overlap in obtaining a partial repetition benefit (and cost) are discussed.

Macro Expectations, Aggregate Uncertainty, and Expected Term Premia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dick, Christian D.; Schmeling, Maik; Schrimpf, Andreas

2013-01-01

as well as aggregate macroeconomic uncertainty at the level of individual forecasters. We find that expected term premia are (i) time-varying and reasonably persistent, (ii) strongly related to expectations about future output growth, and (iii) positively affected by uncertainty about future output growth...... and in ation rates. Expectations about real macroeconomic variables seem to matter more than expectations about nominal factors. Additional findings on term structure factors suggest that the level and slope factor capture information related to uncertainty about real and nominal macroeconomic prospects...

Ethical issues and societal expectations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metlay, D.

2010-01-01

Daniel Metlay (NWTRB) declared that institutions had always recognised an ethical obligation to manage high- level radioactive waste in unprecedented ways. This obligation has not only endured, but has become more explicit and multidimensional and it now subsumed under a more general rubric of 'societal expectations'. D. Metlay directed attention toward the proceedings of previous RWMC-RF workshop ', which contains five essays, authored by Kjell Andersson, Andrew Blowers, Carl-Reinhold Braakenhielm, Francois Dermange, and Patricia Fleming, that are relevant to the question of ethical issues and societal expectations. D. Metlay observed that 'societal expectations' are hard to define and thus very hard to measure. They may vary considerably with time and from country to country. As an illustration he referred to an inquiry performed by a task group 30 years ago in a document entitled 'Proposed Goals for Radioactive Waste Management' (NUREG-0300) on behalf of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Conclusions from D. Metlay are that, for the most part, societal expectations in the United States appear to be quite stable over a period of more than 30 years. In two areas, however, there are clear differences in emphasis between expectations articulated in the last few years and those recorded in 1978. (1) While then there was emphasis on the operational reliability of organisations and institutions. In particular, much care was taken to discuss the inherent limitations on bureaucratic error-correction in the future. The focus is nowadays more on bureaucratic behaviours associated with carrying out decision-making processes in the present. (2) While there is current emphasis on the importance of trust, transparency, and accountability, the NRC document may cast some doubt on the reliability of a stepwise decision-making process. In the domain of radioactive waste management, error signals are notoriously unclear, and strong disagreements over objectives and value trade

Safety evaluation report on Tennessee Valley Authority: Browns Ferry nuclear performance plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-10-01

This safety evaluation report (SER) on the information submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in its Nuclear Performance Plan, through Revision 2, for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant and in supporting documents has been prepared by the US Nuclear Regulatory commission staff. The Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant consists of three boiling-water reactors at a site in Limestone County, Alabama. The plan addresses the plant-specific concerns requiring resolution before the startup of Unit 2. The staff will inspect implementation of those TVA programs that address these concerns. Where systems are common to Units 1 and 2 or to Units 2 and 3, the staff safety evaluations of those systems are included herein. 85 refs

Physical treatment planning by several approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burger, G.; Morhart, A.; Wittmann, A.

1985-01-01

Neutron isodose planning may be performed by commercial treatment planning systems for photons, providing that certain modifications are applied. All geometry-related corrections such as for nonregular surfaces and oblique incidence remain unchanged. The main modifications concern the tissue-air-ratio, containing essentially the attenuation correction function. We have as a first step applied this modified commercial system to a few regular exposure situations in a homogenious water phantom and compared the generated isodose charts with those derived by direct Monte Carlo calculations of the neutron transport for the corresponding fields. As expected the commercial methods do not incorporate the necessary corrections for the change of scatter conditions in case of oblique incidence or wedged fields. For this reason we developed another approach, based upon the numerical superposition of dose matrices for pencil beams. These matrices were again Monte Carlo calculated. From it build-up functions can be derived by partial radial integration. The isodose charts generated by superposition of pencil beam dose distributions agree much better with directly Monte Carlo calculated ones, than those from the commercial treatment planning system. Based upon these results the method was finally applied to real patients cross sections, as derived from CT or MR-tomography. In the latter case one can even perform a pixelwise attenuation correction, if spin density images are available

Performance-based ratemaking for electric utilities: Review of plans and analysis of economic and resource-planning issues. Volume 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Comnes, G.A.; Stoft, S.; Greene, N. [Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States). Energy and Environment Div.; Hill, L.J. [Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States). Energy and Environment Div.]|[Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Energy Div.

1995-11-01

Performance-Based Ratemaking (PBR) is a form of utility regulation that strengthens the financial incentives to lower rates, lower costs, or improve nonprice performance relative traditional regulation, which the authors call cost-of-service, rate-of-return (COS/ROR) regulation. Although the electric utility industry has considerable experience with incentive mechanisms that target specific areas of performance, implementation of mechanisms that cover a comprehensive set of utility costs or services is relatively rare. In recent years, interest in PBR has increased as a result of growing dissatisfaction with COS/ROR and as a result of economic and technological trends that are leading to more competition in certain segments of the electricity industry. In addition, incentive regulation has been used with some success in other public utility industries, most notably telecommunications in the US and telecommunications, energy, and water in the United Kingdom. In this report, the authors analyze comprehensive PBR mechanisms for electric utilities in four ways: (1) they describe different types of PBR mechanisms, (2) they review a sample of actual PBR plans, (3) they consider the interaction of PBR and utility-funded energy efficiency programs, and (4) they examine how PBR interacts with electric utility resource planning and industry restructuring. The report should be of interest to technical staff of utilities and regulatory commissions that are actively considering or designing PBR mechanisms. 16 figs., 17 tabs.

Using survey data on inflation expectations in the estimation of learning and rational expectations models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ormeño, A.

2012-01-01

Do survey data on inflation expectations contain useful information for estimating macroeconomic models? I address this question by using survey data in the New Keynesian model by Smets and Wouters (2007) to estimate and compare its performance when solved under the assumptions of Rational

Predicting problem behaviors with multiple expectancies: expanding expectancy-value theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Borders, Ashley; Earleywine, Mitchell; Huey, Stanley J

2004-01-01

Expectancy-value theory emphasizes the importance of outcome expectancies for behavioral decisions, but most tests of the theory focus on a single behavior and a single expectancy. However, the matching law suggests that individuals consider expected outcomes for both the target behavior and alternative behaviors when making decisions. In this study, we expanded expectancy-value theory to evaluate the contributions of two competing expectancies to adolescent behavior problems. One hundred twenty-one high school students completed measures of behavior problems, expectancies for both acting out and academic effort, and perceived academic competence. Students' self-reported behavior problems covaried mostly with perceived competence and academic expectancies and only nominally with problem behavior expectancies. We suggest that behavior problems may result from students perceiving a lack of valued or feasible alternative behaviors, such as studying. We discuss implications for interventions and suggest that future research continue to investigate the contribution of alternative expectancies to behavioral decisions.

Improving environmental performance through mine closure planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKee, W.; McKenna, G.

1998-01-01

Syncrude has been investigating landscape redevelopment concepts since 1995 after a two-year tailings technology selection study resulted in a major shift in their long-term tailings disposal strategy. The change from fluid disposal to solid disposal of tailings leads to a different landscape, incorporating a new water material type, new landforms and a new schedule of reclamation activity. A multidisciplinary approach was needed to assess, design and develop the final landscape. Planning approach in progress at Syncrude Canada was described, and the basic concepts and tools of closure planning discovered to date were outlined. The economic impacts of closure planning on mining and tailings operations in general, were discussed. 14 refs

Performance Demonstration Program Plan for Nondestructive Assay of Boxed Wastes for the TRU Waste Characterization Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

The Performance Demonstration Program (PDP) for nondestructive assay (NDA) consists of a series of tests to evaluate the capability for NDA of transuranic (TRU) waste throughout the Department of Energy (DOE) complex. Each test is termed a PDP cycle. These evaluation cycles provide an objective measure of the reliability of measurements obtained from NDA systems used to characterize the radiological constituents of TRU waste. The primary documents governing the conduct of the PDP are the Waste Acceptance Criteria for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WAC; DOE 1999a) and the Quality Assurance Program Document (QAPD; DOE 1999b). The WAC requires participation in the PDP; the PDP must comply with the QAPD and the WAC. The WAC contains technical and quality requirements for acceptable NDA. This plan implements the general requirements of the QAPD and applicable requirements of the WAC for the NDA PDP for boxed waste assay systems. Measurement facilities demonstrate acceptable performance by the successful testing of simulated waste containers according to the criteria set by this PDP Plan. Comparison among DOE measurement groups and commercial assay services is achieved by comparing the results of measurements on similar simulated waste containers reported by the different measurement facilities. These tests are used as an independent means to assess the performance of measurement groups regarding compliance with established quality assurance objectives (QAO's). Measurement facilities must analyze the simulated waste containers using the same procedures used for normal waste characterization activities. For the boxed waste PDP, a simulated waste container consists of a modified standard waste box (SWB) emplaced with radioactive standards and fabricated matrix inserts. An SWB is a waste box with ends designed specifically to fit the TRUPACT-II shipping container. SWB's will be used to package a substantial volume of the TRU waste for disposal. These PDP sample components

How Planful Is Routine Behavior? A Selective-Attention Model of Performance in the Tower of Hanoi

Science.gov (United States)

Patsenko, Elena G.; Altmann, Erik M.

2010-01-01

Routine human behavior has often been attributed to plans--mental representations of sequences goals and actions--but can also be attributed to more opportunistic interactions of mind and a structured environment. This study asks whether performance on a task traditionally analyzed in terms of plans can be better understood from a "situated" (or…

33 CFR 238.5 - Comprehensive planning.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... characteristics of the watershed. Hydrologic changes must be projected for the period of analysis. In this effort... changes in watershed conditions, and help to avoid short-sighted plans serving only localized situations. This planning is particularly important in areas where significant portions of a watershed are expected...

Great Expectations? Variation in Educational Plans of Students in Post-Socialist Eastern Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Chykina, Volha; Chung, Hee Jin; Bodovski, Katerina

2016-01-01

Using all available waves of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) from 1995 to 2011, this study examines the factors influencing educational expectations of students in five Eastern European countries (Hungary, Lithuania, the Russian Federation, Romania, and Slovenia). We consistently find across countries and waves…

Ultimate disposal: a plan for achievement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartlett, J.W.

1975-01-01

Four major topics relevant to R and D plans for disposal were: functions of planning, plans development procedures, R and D program procedures, and R and D plans content. Comments on these topics emphasize four major points: plans and their results support decisions on disposal methods; decisions will winnow options on the basis of comprehensive assessments; the R and D plan for disposal will be comprehensive and maintain options; time frame for the R and D program may be about 20 years. Prior and on-going work has provided a good foundation for this planning effort and the content of the plans. The R and D plans are expected to be developed this year and updated periodically

Safety Evaluation report on Tennessee Valley Authority: Sequoyah nuclear performance plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-05-01

This Safety Evaluation Report (SER) on the information submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in its Sequoyah Nuclear Performance Plan, through Revision 2, and supporting documents has been prepared by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff. The plan addresses the plant-specific concerns requiring resolution before startup of either of the Sequoyah units. In particular, the SER addresses required actions for Unit 2 restart. In many cases, the programmatic aspects for Unit 1 are identical to those for Unit 2; the staff will conduct inspections of implementation of those programs. Where the Unit 1 program is different, the staff evaluation will be provided in a supplement to this SER. On the basis of its review, the staff concludes that Sequoyah-specific issues have been resolved to the extent that would support restart of Sequoyah Unit 2

An empirical examination of negotiated goals and performance-to-goal following the introduction of an incentive bonus plan with participative goal setting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Anderson, S.W.; Dekker, H.C.; Sedatole, K.L.

2010-01-01

Prior research documents performance improvements following the implementation of pay-for-performance (PFP) bonus plans. However, bonus plans typically pay for performance relative to a goal, and the manager whose performance is to be evaluated often participates in setting the goal. In these

¿Y ahora qué? Anticipated immigration status barriers and Latina/o high school students' future expectations.

Science.gov (United States)

McWhirter, Ellen Hawley; Ramos, Karina; Medina, Cynthia

2013-07-01

Latina/o high school students without documentation face a challenging situation when they graduate from high school, with pathways to work and postsecondary education stymied by their immigration status. We examined the effects of anticipated barriers associated with immigration status, age, and sex on the dependent variables of vocational outcome expectations, anticipated external and internal barriers, and postsecondary schooling plans in a sample of 475 Latina/o high school students. Findings include that students anticipating immigration status problems had lower vocational outcome expectations and anticipated more external barriers to pursuing their postsecondary plans. Latina girls and older high school students anticipating immigration status problems were more likely to plan to attend 2-year rather than 4-year colleges, and less likely to plan on postsecondary education, respectively. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Attention directed by expectations enhances receptive fields in cortical area MT.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghose, Geoffrey M; Bearl, David W

2010-02-22

Expectations, especially those formed on the basis of extensive training, can substantially enhance visual performance. However, it is not clear that the physiological mechanisms underlying this enhancement are identical to those examined by experiments in which attention is directed by explicit instructions rather than strong expectations. To study the changes in visual representations associated with strong expectations, we trained animals to detect a brief motion pulse that was embedded in noise. Because the nature of the pulse and the statistics of its appearance were well known to the animals, they formed strong expectations which determined their behavioral performance. We used white-noise methods to infer the receptive field structure of single neurons in area MT while they were performing this task. Incorporating non-linearities, we compared receptive fields during periods of time when the animals were expecting the motion pulse with periods of time when they were not. We found receptive field changes consistent with an increased reliability in signaling pulse occurrence. Moreover, these changes were not consistent with a simple gain modulation. The results suggest that strong expectations can create very specific changes in the visual representations at a cellular level to enhance performance. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diverging expectations in buyer-seller relationships

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Poul Houman; Christensen, Poul Rind; Damgaard, Torben

2009-01-01

Many firms assume that outsourcing partnerships may allow them to strengthen their overall competitiveness. Lured by its intuitive appeal, several enter into such partnerships, only to realize that they represent a marginal rather than a magical solution to their quest for increasing market...... performance. We explore the proposed impact of diverging relationship norms on relationship expectations using data from an ongoing field study of Danish buyers and Chinese suppliers. We link these diverging expectations to the business practices of Danish buyers and Chinese and their institutional contexts...

Journalism Students' Motivations and Expectations of Their Work in Comparative Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Hanusch, Folker; Mellado, Claudia; Boshoff, Priscilla; Humanes, María Luisa; de León, Salvador; Pereira, Fabio; Márquez Ramírez, Mireya; Roses, Sergio; Subervi, Federico; Wyss, Vinzenz; Yez, Lyuba

2015-01-01

Based on a survey of 4,393 journalism students in Australia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States, this study provides much-needed comparative evidence about students' motivations for becoming journalists, their future job plans, and expectations. Findings show not only an almost universal decline in…

PACTEL OECD project planning (PACO). PACTEL OECD project planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kouhia, V.; Purhonen, H. [Lappeenranta University of Technology (Finland)

2004-07-01

OECD launched the SETH project to investigate issues relevant for accident prevention and management and to ensure the existence of integral thermal hydraulic test facilities. The facilities included in the SETH project are PKL from Germany and PANDA from Switzerland. At the early stages of the SETH project an idea was raised to exploit the PACTEL facility in a similar OECD project. Without any external funding the analytical work in the required extent would not be possible within Lappeenranta University of Technology, the party responsible of operating PACTEL. This fact directed the PACO project proposal to be conducted for the SAFIR programme. The aim of the PACO project is to prepare a project proposal to OECD of a PACTEL related project. To attain this objective some preliminary analyses have to be performed to ensure the relevancy of the proposed topic. The low power situation, i.e. midloop state was chosen to be the topic in the PACO studies and project planning basis. The plan is to use PACTEL to examine vertical steam generator behaviour during the midloop operation and the following loss of residual heat removal system transient. Such a possibility is acknowledged with special alterations to PACTEL. The APROS code version 5.04.07 was selected as a tool for the preanalyses. The virtual simulation of the chosen experimental situation would give a preconception on the phenomena to be expected and the progression of the transient. Originally the PACO project was planned to continue only for a few months, ending up with the project proposal to OECD during the summer time 2004. During the pre-calculation process it became obvious that the time expected was not enough to establish good pre-calculation results. The reasons for this relates to time used to learn and adapt the use of the chosen code, improvements and corrections in modelling as well as the code ability to manage the special conditions defined for the project topic. Another aspect on completing a

Acute social stress before the planning phase improves memory performance in a complex real life-related prospective memory task.

Science.gov (United States)

Glienke, Katharina; Piefke, Martina

2016-09-01

Successful execution of intentions, but also the failure to recall are common phenomena in everyday life. The planning, retention, and realization of intentions are often framed as the scientific concept of prospective memory. The current study aimed to examine the influence of acute stress on key dimensions of complex "real life" prospective memory. To this end, we applied a prospective memory task that involved the planning, retention, and performance of intentions during a fictional holiday week. Forty healthy males participated in the study. Half of the subjects were stressed with the Socially Evaluated Cold Pressor Test (SECPT) before the planning of intentions, and the other half of the participants underwent a control procedure at the same time. Salivary cortisol was used to measure the effectiveness of the SECPT stress induction. Stressed participants did not differ from controls in planning accuracy. However, when we compared stressed participants with controls during prospective memory retrieval, we found statistically significant differences in PM across the performance phase. Participants treated with the SECPT procedure before the planning phase showed improved prospective memory retrieval over time, while performance of controls declined. Particularly, there was a significant difference between the stress and control group for the last two days of the holiday week. Interestingly, control participants showed significantly better performance for early than later learned items, which could be an indicator of a primacy effect. This differential effect of stress on performance was also found in time- and event-dependent prospective memory. Our results demonstrate for the first time, that acute stress induced before the planning phase may improve prospective memory over the time course of the performance phase in time- and event-dependent prospective memory. Our data thus indicate that prospective memory can be enhanced by acute stress. Copyright © 2016

A Mission Planning Approach for Precision Farming Systems Based on Multi-Objective Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhaoyu Zhai

2018-06-01

Full Text Available As the demand for food grows continuously, intelligent agriculture has drawn much attention due to its capability of producing great quantities of food efficiently. The main purpose of intelligent agriculture is to plan agricultural missions properly and use limited resources reasonably with minor human intervention. This paper proposes a Precision Farming System (PFS as a Multi-Agent System (MAS. Components of PFS are treated as agents with different functionalities. These agents could form several coalitions to complete the complex agricultural missions cooperatively. In PFS, mission planning should consider several criteria, like expected benefit, energy consumption or equipment loss. Hence, mission planning could be treated as a Multi-objective Optimization Problem (MOP. In order to solve MOP, an improved algorithm, MP-PSOGA, is proposed, taking advantages of the Genetic Algorithms and Particle Swarm Optimization. A simulation, called precise pesticide spraying mission, is performed to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed approach works properly. This approach enables the PFS to plan missions and allocate scarce resources efficiently. The theoretical analysis and simulation is a good foundation for the future study. Once the proposed approach is applied to a real scenario, it is expected to bring significant economic improvement.

Corporate Plan (for the National Radiological Protection Board) 1988/89 to 1992/93

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-04-01

The Cabinet Office (Management and Personnel Office), when setting down guidelines, recommended that all Non-Departmental Public Bodies such as the Board should prepare Corporate Plans against which the performance of the organisation and the relevance of the activities to contemporary requirements could be better measured. To that end, the Board now prepares a Corporate Plan annually. This year's plan is for the financial period 1988/89 through to 1992/93, both years inclusive. The document indicates the broad programme areas in which the Board intends to concentrate its efforts, and the trends it expects over the planning period. The Board's overall strategy is to cover a wide range of relevant radiological protection matters, but with most emphasis on those likely to become major points of public or governmental concern in the near future. Major issues are expected to be: new estimates of the risks associated with radiation exposure and subsequent international and national recommendations on dose limitation; public exposures and aspects of radiation in the environment; and increasing awareness of non-ionising radiation. The Board is partly dependent upon receipts from its commercial activities and must, therefore, also look at the provision of services and prepare to meet the demands likely to arise in the 1990s. (author)

Portability, Salary and Asset Price Risk: A Continuous-Time Expected Utility Comparison of DB and DC Pension Plans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

An Chen

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper compares two different types of private retirement plans from the perspective of a representative beneficiary: a defined benefit (DB and a defined contribution (DC plan. While salary risk is the main common risk factor in DB and DC pension plans, one of the key differences is that DB plans carry portability risks, whereas DC plans bear asset price risk. We model these tradeoffs explicitly in this paper and compare these two plans in a utility-based framework. Our numerical analysis focuses on answering the question of when the beneficiary is indifferent between the DB and DC plan. Most of our results confirm the findings in the existing literature, among which, e.g., portability losses considerably reduce the relative attractiveness of the DB plan. However, we also find that the attractiveness of the DB plan can decrease in the level of risk aversion, which is inconsistent with the existing literature.

Test expectancy affects metacomprehension accuracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiede, Keith W; Wiley, Jennifer; Griffin, Thomas D

2011-06-01

Theory suggests that the accuracy of metacognitive monitoring is affected by the cues used to judge learning. Researchers have improved monitoring accuracy by directing attention to more appropriate cues; however, this is the first study to more directly point students to more appropriate cues using instructions regarding tests and practice tests. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the accuracy metacognitive monitoring was affected by the nature of the test expected. Students (N= 59) were randomly assigned to one of two test expectancy groups (memory vs. inference). Then after reading texts, judging learning, completed both memory and inference tests. Test performance and monitoring accuracy were superior when students received the kind of test they had been led to expect rather than the unexpected test. Tests influence students' perceptions of what constitutes learning. Our findings suggest that this could affect how students prepare for tests and how they monitoring their own learning. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

CMS: Present status, limitations, and upgrade plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheung, H.W.K.

2011-01-01

An overview of the CMS upgrade plans will be presented. A brief status of the CMS detector will be given, covering some of the issues we have so far experienced. This will be followed by an overview of the various CMS upgrades planned, covering the main motivations for them, and the various R and D efforts for the possibilities under study. The CMS detector has been working extremely well since the start of data-taking at the LHC as is evidenced by the numerous excellent results published by CMS and presented at this workshop and recent conferences. Less well documented are the various issues that have been encountered with the detector. In the spirit of this workshop I will cover some of these issues with particular emphasis on problems that motivate some of the upgrades to the CMS detector for this decade of data-taking. Though the CMS detector has been working extremely well and expectations are great for making the most of the LHC luminosity, there have been a number of issues encountered so far. Some of these have been described and while none currently presents a problem for physics performance, some of them are expected to become more problematic, especially at the highest Phase 1 luminosities for which the majority of the integrated luminosity will be collected. These motivate upgrades for various parts of the CMS detector so that the current excellent physics performance can be maintained or even surpassed in the realm of the highest Phase 1 luminosities.

Patient performance–based plan parameter optimization for prostate cancer in tomotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cao, Yuan Jie; Lee, Suk, E-mail: sukmp@korea.ac.kr; Chang, Kyung Hwan; Shim, Jang Bo; Kim, Kwang Hyeon; Park, Young Je; Kim, Chul Yong

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of treatment-planning parameters on the quality of treatment plans in tomotherapy and to find the optimized planning parameter combinations when treating patients with prostate cancer under different performances. A total of 3 patients with prostate cancer with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 2 or 3 were included in this study. For each patient, 27 treatment plans were created using a combination of planning parameters (field width of 1, 2.5, and 5 cm; pitch of 0.172, 0.287, and 0.43; and modulation factor of 1.8, 3, and 3.5). Then, plans were analyzed using several dosimetrical indices: the prescription isodose to target volume (PITV) ratio, homogeneity index (HI), conformity index (CI), target coverage index (TCI), modified dose HI (MHI), conformity number (CN), and quality factor (QF). Furthermore, dose-volume histogram of critical structures and critical organ scoring index (COSI) were used to analyze organs at risk (OAR) sparing. Interestingly, treatment plans with a field width of 1 cm showed more favorable results than others in the planning target volume (PTV) and OAR indices. However, the treatment time of the 1-cm field width was 3 times longer than that of plans with a field width of 5 cm. There was no substantial decrease in treatment time when the pitch was increased from 0.172 to 0.43, but the PTV indices were slightly compromised. As expected, field width had the most significant influence on all of the indices including PTV, OAR, and treatment time. For the patients with good performance who can tolerate a longer treatment time, we suggest a field width of 1 cm, pitch of 0.172, and modulation factor of 1.8; for the patients with poor performance status, field width of 5 cm, pitch of 0.287, and a modulation factor of 3.5 should be considered.

Hyperthermia treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lagendijk, J.J.W.

2000-01-01

The development of hyperthermia, the treatment of tumours with elevated temperatures in the range of 40-44 deg. C with treatment times over 30 min, greatly benefits from the development of hyperthermia treatment planning. This review briefly describes the state of the art in hyperthermia technology, followed by an overview of the developments in hyperthermia treatment planning. It particularly highlights the significant problems encountered with heating realistic tissue volumes and shows how treatment planning can help in designing better heating technology. Hyperthermia treatment planning will ultimately provide information about the actual temperature distributions obtained and thus the tumour control probabilities to be expected. This will improve our understanding of the present clinical results of thermoradiotherapy and thermochemotherapy, and will greatly help both in optimizing clinical heating technology and in designing optimal clinical trials. (author)

Motivation and Expectations in Choosing Elementary Teaching Education Studies. A Study of Three Classes of First-Year Mexican Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José María García Garduño

2006-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to identify changes in the type of motivation involved in three generations of teacher-trainees. Participants were students of a Mexican public teaching school of different curriculum programs: 144 students of Plan 75, 140 of Plan 84, 116 of Plan 97. The students were asked to complete a questionnaire for entering the school in order to identify their motivations and expectations that they had after finishing school. The results indicate that almost half of the population chose the teaching profession because of extrinsic reasons. About 40% of the students had the expectation to pursue college studies not related to the teaching profession. There were differences among the classes. Plan 97 had less students who chose teaching for extrinsic motives. The results are discussed.

Expected Business Conditions and Bond Risk Premia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, Jonas Nygaard

This paper studies the predictability of bond risk premia by means of expectations to future business conditions using survey forecasts from the Survey of Professional Forecasters. We show that expected business conditions consistently affect excess bond returns and that the inclusion of expected...... business conditions in standard predictive regressions improve forecast performance relative to models using information derived from the current term structure or macroeconomic variables. The results are confirmed in a real-time out-of-sample exercise, where the predictive accuracy of the models...... is evaluated both statistically and from the perspective of a mean-variance investor that trades in the bond market....

Organization development and performance improvement planning: a case study of STFA ENERCOM

OpenAIRE

Düzgün, Alev

1991-01-01

Ankara : The Department of Management and the Graduate School of Business Administration of Bilkent Univ., 1991. Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1991. Includes bibliographical references. Organization Development is a guidance of the Performance Improvement Planning Method, which is widely used to operationalize organizational change. The fundemental assumption of this study is that the Process Consultation Technique is an effective means to facilitate organiz...

Phlebotomy skills expected of career entry CLS/CLT graduates: a Missouri hospital perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Millstead, C

2000-01-01

To determine how much, what type, and what proficiency of phlebotomy experience CLS/CLT students should have during the training program to be prepared to meet the needs of the majority of Missouri hospital employers. Survey to determine the role healthcare professionals, inside and outside the laboratory, play in today's blood collection patterns and phlebotomy management. The Missouri Organization of Clinical Laboratory Science mailed 204 surveys to the Missouri Hospital Association member laboratories. MAIN OUTCOMES/CONCLUSIONS: This research examined the need for modifying phlebotomy skills of clinical laboratory science students. Data gathered from employers support the premise that entry-level competencies of CLS/CLT graduates will vary according to clinical facility size. CLS/CLT programs may use data from this study to plan phlebotomy practicums. It can be extrapolated that Missouri employers who are most likely to employ career entry graduates expect them to draw blood from 9.3 patients within one hour. Fifty-three percent of 40 to 400 bed hospitals expect graduates to perform difficult draws in at least eight types of hospital units. Laboratories are the major managers of hospital wide phlebotomy services; thus, CLS/CLT curricula should include phlebotomy management methods.

Incorporating organ movements in inverse planning: assessing dose uncertainties by Bayesian inference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unkelbach, J; Oelfke, U

2005-01-01

We present a method to calculate dose uncertainties due to inter-fraction organ movements in fractionated radiotherapy, i.e. in addition to the expectation value of the dose distribution a variance distribution is calculated. To calculate the expectation value of the dose distribution in the presence of organ movements, one estimates a probability distribution of possible patient geometries. The respective variance of the expected dose distribution arises for two reasons: first, the patient is irradiated with a finite number of fractions only and second, the probability distribution of patient geometries has to be estimated from a small number of images and is therefore not exactly known. To quantify the total dose variance, we propose a method that is based on the principle of Bayesian inference. The method is of particular interest when organ motion is incorporated in inverse IMRT planning by means of inverse planning performed on a probability distribution of patient geometries. In order to make this a robust approach, it turns out that the dose variance should be considered (and minimized) in the optimization process. As an application of the presented concept of Bayesian inference, we compare three approaches to inverse planning based on probability distributions that account for an increasing degree of uncertainty. The Bayes theorem further provides a concept to interpolate between patient specific data and population-based knowledge on organ motion which is relevant since the number of CT images of a patient is typically small

Expected dose for the early failure scenario classes in the 2008 performance assessment for the proposed high-level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helton, J.C.; Hansen, C.W.; Sallaberry, C.J.

2014-01-01

Extensive work has been carried out by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in the development of a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada, for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. In support of this development and an associated license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the DOE completed an extensive performance assessment (PA) for the proposed YM repository in 2008. This presentation describes the determination of expected dose to the reasonably maximally exposed individual (RMEI) specified in the NRC regulations for the YM repository for the early waste package (WP) failure scenario class and the early drip shield (DS) failure scenario class in the 2008 YM PA. The following topics are addressed: (i) properties of the early failure scenario classes and the determination of dose and expected dose the RMEI, (ii) expected dose and uncertainty in expected dose to the RMEI from the early WP failure scenario class, (iii) expected dose and uncertainty in expected dose to the RMEI from the early DS failure scenario class, (iv) expected dose and uncertainty in expected dose to the RMEI from the combined early WP and early DS failure scenario class with and without the inclusion of failures resulting from nominal processes, and (v) uncertainty in the occurrence of early failure scenario classes. The present article is part of a special issue of Reliability Engineering and System Safety devoted to the 2008 YM PA; additional articles in the issue describe other aspects of the 2008 YM PA. - Highlights: • Extensive work has been carried out by the U.S. DOE in the development of a proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada, for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. • Properties of the early failure scenario classes (i.e. early waste package failure and early drip shield failure) in the 2008 YM performance assessment are described. • Determination of dose, expected dose and expected (mean

Feedback associated with expectation for larger-reward improves visuospatial working memory performances in children with ADHD.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammer, Rubi; Tennekoon, Michael; Cooke, Gillian E; Gayda, Jessica; Stein, Mark A; Booth, James R

2015-08-01

We tested the interactive effect of feedback and reward on visuospatial working memory in children with ADHD. Seventeen boys with ADHD and 17 Normal Control (NC) boys underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing four visuospatial 2-back tasks that required monitoring the spatial location of letters presented on a display. Tasks varied in reward size (large; small) and feedback availability (no-feedback; feedback). While the performance of NC boys was high in all conditions, boys with ADHD exhibited higher performance (similar to those of NC boys) only when they received feedback associated with large-reward. Performance pattern in both groups was mirrored by neural activity in an executive function neural network comprised of few distinct frontal brain regions. Specifically, neural activity in the left and right middle frontal gyri of boys with ADHD became normal-like only when feedback was available, mainly when feedback was associated with large-reward. When feedback was associated with small-reward, or when large-reward was expected but feedback was not available, boys with ADHD exhibited altered neural activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and anterior insula. This suggests that contextual support normalizes activity in executive brain regions in children with ADHD, which results in improved working memory. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Productive and Economic Performance of Broiler Chickens Subjected to Different Nutritional Plans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JMS Martins

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of nutritional plans on the productive and economic performance of Hubbard Flex broiler chickens. A completely randomized experimental design was applied, consisting of five treatments. Treatments consisted of five different nutritional plans: a basal diet containing the nutrient and energy levels recommended by literature and designated reference diet; two diets containing 1.5% and 3% lower levels than the reference diet; and two diets containing 1.5% and 3% higher levels than the reference diet (-3%, -1.5%, reference plan, +1.5% and +3%. Feed intake (FI, body weight (BW, feed conversion rate (FCR, livability (L and productive efficient index (PEI were determined when broilers were 42 days old. Broilers were processed, and carcass and parts (breast fillet, leg, and wings yields were determined. The economic viablility of the nutitional plans was evaluated as a function of feed cost/kg live and carcass weights, economic efficiency index (EEI, and cost index (CI. Feed intake and the feed conversion rate decreased as dietary nutrient and energy levels increased. Feed cost/kg live weight, economic efficiency index, and cost index cost increased as dietary nutrient and energy levels increased. Feed intake, feed conversion ratio, production efficiency index, and breast yield improved with increasing nutritional and energy levels. However, worse economic results were obtained with higher nutritional and energy levels.

Predicting Problem Behaviors with Multiple Expectancies: Expanding Expectancy-Value Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Borders, Ashley; Earleywine, Mitchell; Huey, Stanley J.

2004-01-01

Expectancy-value theory emphasizes the importance of outcome expectancies for behavioral decisions, but most tests of the theory focus on a single behavior and a single expectancy. However, the matching law suggests that individuals consider expected outcomes for both the target behavior and alternative behaviors when making decisions. In this…

EU Soft Power and the Capability-Expectations Gap

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Kristian L.

2013-01-01

The European Union has in the past ten years frequently emphasised its soft power as its primary currency in international affairs. Yet a systematic analysis of the EU’s foreign policy performance, through the prism of the classic ‘capability-expectations gap’, suggests that soft power in itself...... the gap between the expectations and the capabilities. Rather, soft power, when it is present, widens that gap even further by adding to expectations, thus leading to even greater eventual disillusionment when the EU’s hard power capabilities do not match....

Illusory expectations can affect retrieval-monitoring accuracy.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonough, Ian M; Gallo, David A

2012-03-01

The present study investigated how expectations, even when illusory, can affect the accuracy of memory decisions. Participants studied words presented in large or small font for subsequent memory tests. Replicating prior work, judgments of learning indicated that participants expected to remember large words better than small words, even though memory for these words was equivalent on a standard test of recognition memory and subjective judgments. Critically, we also included tests that instructed participants to selectively search memory for either large or small words, thereby allowing different memorial expectations to contribute to performance. On these tests we found reduced false recognition when searching memory for large words relative to small words, such that the size illusion paradoxically affected accuracy measures (d' scores) in the absence of actual memory differences. Additional evidence for the role of illusory expectations was that (a) the accuracy effect was obtained only when participants searched memory for the aspect of the stimuli corresponding to illusory expectations (size instead of color) and (b) the accuracy effect was eliminated on a forced-choice test that prevented the influence of memorial expectations. These findings demonstrate the critical role of memorial expectations in the retrieval-monitoring process. 2012 APA, all rights reserved

Job Satisfaction, Effort, and Performance: A Reasoned Action Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Icek Ajzen

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In this article the author takes issue with the recurrent reliance on job satisfaction to explain job-related effort and performance.  The disappointing findings in this tradition are explained by lack of compatibility between job satisfaction–-a very broad attitude–-and the more specific effort and performance criteria.  Moreover, attempts to apply the expectancy-value model of attitude to explore the determinants of effort and performance suffer from reliance on unrepresentative sets of beliefs about the likely consequences of these behaviors.  The theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991, 2012, with its emphasis on the proximal antecedents of job effort and performance, is offered as an alternative.  According to the theory, intentions to exert effort and to attain a certain performance level are determined by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceptions of control in relation to these behaviors; and these variables, in turn, are a function of readily accessible beliefs about the likely outcomes of effort and performance, about the normative expectations of important others, and about factors that facilitate or hinder effective performance.

From theory to application: using performance measures for contraceptive care in the Title X family planning program.

Science.gov (United States)

Loyola Briceno, Ana Carolina; Kawatu, Jennifer; Saul, Katie; DeAngelis, Katie; Frederiksen, Brittni; Moskosky, Susan B; Gavin, Lorrie

2017-09-01

The objective was to describe a Performance Measure Learning Collaborative (PMLC) designed to help Title X family planning grantees use new clinical performance measures for contraceptive care. Twelve Title X grantee-service site teams participated in an 8-month PMLC from November 2015 to June 2016; baseline was assessed in October 2015. Each team documented their selected best practices and strategies to improve performance, and calculated the contraceptive care performance measures at baseline and for each of the subsequent 8 months. PMLC sites implemented a mix of best practices: (a) ensuring access to a broad range of methods (n=7 sites), (b) supporting women through client-centered counseling and reproductive life planning (n=8 sites), (c) developing systems for same-day provision of all methods (n=10 sites) and (d) utilizing diverse payment options to reduce cost as a barrier (n=4 sites). Ten sites (83%) observed an increase in the clinical performance measures focused on most and moderately effective methods (MME), with a median percent change of 6% for MME (from a median of 73% at baseline to 77% post-PMLC). Evidence suggests that the PMLC model is an approach that can be used to improve the quality of contraceptive care offered to clients in some settings. Further replication of the PMLC among other groups and beyond the Title X network will help strengthen the current model through lessons learned. Using the performance measures in the context of a learning collaborative may be a useful strategy for other programs (e.g., Federally Qualified Health Centers, Medicaid, private health plans) that provide contraceptive care. Expanded use of the measures may help increase access to contraceptive care to achieve national goals for family planning. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Future Plans of the ATLAS Collaboration for the HL-LHC

CERN Document Server

Hristova, Ivana; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

With the already outstanding LHC luminosity performance, and planned LHC upgrades in the upcoming shutdowns, it is expected that within a short time-scale, the general purpose LHC experiments will have to cope with luminosities beyond their original design. In order to maintain detector performance and sensitivity to expected and new physics processes, ATLAS has defined a continuous upgrade programme which foresees staged enhancements during the next 10 years of operation, and then more widespread changes before the transition to the highest luminosities after 2024. This talk will describe several components of the ATLAS upgrade, focusing in particular on the systems for acquiring large samples of data for the study of benchmark physics processes. The detector systems face two challenges in the higher luminosity environment: high particle occupancies and increased radiation dose. These will be addressed by a complete replacement of the inner detector and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon det...

Optimal Joint Expected Delay Forwarding in Delay Tolerant Networks

OpenAIRE

Jia Xu; Xin Feng; Wen Jun Yang; Ru Chuan Wang; Bing Qing Han

2013-01-01

Multicopy forwarding schemes have been employed in delay tolerant network (DTN) to improve the delivery delay and delivery rate. Much effort has been focused on reducing the routing cost while retaining high performance. This paper aims to provide an optimal joint expected delay forwarding (OJEDF) protocol which minimizes the expected delay while satisfying a certain constant on the number of forwardings per message. We propose a comprehensive forwarding metric called joint expected delay (JE...

Hospital evacuation; planning, assessment, performance and evaluation

OpenAIRE

Nero C Wabo; P Örtenwall; A Khorram-Manesh

2012-01-01

Objective: Malfunction in hospitals' complex internal systems, or extern threats, may result in a hospital evacuation. Factors contributing to such evacuation must be identified, analyzed and action plans should be prepared. Our aims in this study were 1) to evaluate the use of risk and vulnerability analysis as a basis for hospital evacuation plan, 2) to identify risks/hazards triggering an evacuation and evaluate the respond needed and 3) to propose a template with main key points for plann...

Strategic plan: Fiscal year 1997-Fiscal Year 2002

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-09-01

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has established a clear strategic direction that will enable the NRC to carry out its mission and achieve the results expected by its primary customers, the collective interests of the American public. The Commission believes that this mission must be the foundation for making decisions about what activities the agency should perform. Thus, the Commission's programmatic decisions will not be fee-driven but will be based on their contributions to public health and safety. This strategic plan establishes a strategic framework that will guide future decision-making and will help the NRC continue to meet its responsibility for protecting public health and safety, promoting the common defense and security, and protecting the environment. Meeting these responsibilities requires the collective efforts of the NRC and its licensees, since the regulatory oversight of licensees is the responsibility of the NRC and the safe and secure use of nuclear materials for civilian purposes is the responsibility of NRC licensees. Finally, the development and implementation of the strategic plan will meet the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act

Site study plan for regional hydrologic sampling and monitoring: Preliminary draft

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutton, A.R.

1987-01-01

The purpose of the Regional Hydrologic Studies Plan is to describe those field activities required for completion of the objectives of hydrologic activities. Many of these activities are regional in scope and are designed to provide a framework for understanding the hydrologic setting of the site and the hydrologic processes that influence site characteristics. Site Study Plans (SSPs) define activates at and in the immediate vicinity of the site. The activities specified in the Regional Hydrologic Studies Plan are performed beyond the confines of the site because the hydrologic systems extend beyond the site boundaries, because pertinent data that bear on site suitability are available outside of the site, and because natural analogues exist outside of the site that allow analysis of processes that are expected to operate within the site. 15 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab

Expected Evaluation, Goals, and Performance: Mood as Input.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanna, Lawrence J.; And Others

1996-01-01

Research indicates effortful performances are reduced when participants cannot be evaluated. Hypothesized mood interacts with goals to attenuate such reduction in performance. As predicted, when participants' tried to do as much as they could, those in negative moods put forth more effort and persisted longer than those in positive moods,…

Opposing effects of expectancy and somatic focus on pain.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalie E Johnston

Full Text Available High-pain expectancy increases pain and pain-related brain activity, creating a cycle of psychologically maintained pain. Though these effects are robust, little is known about how expectancy works and what psychological processes either support or mitigate its effects. To address this, we independently manipulated pain expectancy and "top-down" attention to the body, and examined their effects on both a performance-based measure of body-focus and heat-induced pain. Multi-level mediation analyses showed that high-pain expectancy substantially increased pain, replicating previous work. However, attention to the body reduced pain, partially suppressing the effects of expectancy. Furthermore, increased body-focus had larger pain-reducing effects when pain expectancy was high, suggesting that attempts to focus on external distractors are counterproductive in this situation. Overall, the results show that attention to the body cannot explain pain-enhancing expectancy effects, and that focusing on sensory/discriminative aspects of pain might be a useful pain-regulation strategy when severe pain is expected.

Opposing Effects of Expectancy and Somatic Focus on Pain

Science.gov (United States)

Wager, Tor D.

2012-01-01

High-pain expectancy increases pain and pain-related brain activity, creating a cycle of psychologically maintained pain. Though these effects are robust, little is known about how expectancy works and what psychological processes either support or mitigate its effects. To address this, we independently manipulated pain expectancy and “top-down” attention to the body, and examined their effects on both a performance-based measure of body-focus and heat-induced pain. Multi-level mediation analyses showed that high-pain expectancy substantially increased pain, replicating previous work. However, attention to the body reduced pain, partially suppressing the effects of expectancy. Furthermore, increased body-focus had larger pain-reducing effects when pain expectancy was high, suggesting that attempts to focus on external distractors are counterproductive in this situation. Overall, the results show that attention to the body cannot explain pain-enhancing expectancy effects, and that focusing on sensory/discriminative aspects of pain might be a useful pain-regulation strategy when severe pain is expected. PMID:22723896

Effect of Test-Expectancy and Word Bank Availability on Test Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Glass, Laura A.; Clause, Christopher B.; Kreiner, David S.

2007-01-01

We examined test-expectancy as it applies to fill-in-the-blank tests. We randomly assigned 60 college students to take a fill-in-the-blank vocabulary test in one of three conditions. Two groups took the test with a word bank available; we told one group but not the other that they would have a word bank. The third group took the test with no word…

Hypnotic responsiveness: expectancy, attitudes, fantasy proneness, absorption, and gender.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Joseph P; Lynn, Steven Jay

2011-01-01

This study examines the effect of providing information linking participants' attitudes toward hypnosis with later hypnotic performance. Using total scale scores from McConkey's Opinions About Hypnosis scale, as well as subscale scores, the authors found a weak association between attitudes and performance among 460 student participants; however, the correlation was unaffected by prehypnotic information specifically connecting attitudes and performance. A brief, 3-item measure of hypnotic expectancies generated the strongest correlation with hypnotic responsiveness. The authors also found that the association between fantasy proneness and hypnotizability was unaffected by the order of scale administration. Finally, the study highlighted gender differences across measures of fantasy proneness, absorption, expectancy, and hypnotizability.

Plan 2000. The electricity companies plan for electricity conservation in the millennium; Plan 2000. Elselskabernes plan for elbesparelser i det nye aartusinde

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-12-01

Plan 2000 presents an account of the activities in the years 1997 and 1998 and a budget for the year 2000 and forwards. The report includes all 82 electricity companies in Denmark. Furthermore a number of particular analyses of relevance to electricity conservation are presented. All electricity companies work to promote electricity conservation. All consumption sizes and sections are covered. The activities in the individual companies are supported by a number of common campaigns. In Plan 2000 those activities are presented and the economics is analysed. The activities in the first year of the plan are expected to result in conservation corresponding 4% of the present electricity consumption. 80% of the conservation comes from activities, which are measurable. Technical counselling of trade customers is one of the essential activities. Others are e.g. telephone counselling, theme arrangements and teaching of pupils. (EHS)

Why Do Children Worry about Their Academic Achievement? An Expectancy-Value Perspective on Elementary Students' Worries about Their Mathematics and Reading Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Lauermann, Fani; Eccles, Jacquelynne S.; Pekrun, Reinhard

2017-01-01

Children's worrying about their academic performance has profound implications for their learning and wellbeing in school. Understanding the contextual and psychological antecedents of students' worry thus represents an important area of research. Drawing on Eccles and colleagues' expectancy-value theory and Pekrun's control-value theory and using…

A Comprehensive Expectancy Motivation Model: Implications for Adult Education and Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Kenneth W.

1989-01-01

The Comprehensive Expectancy Motivation Model is based on valence-instrumentality-expectancy theory. It describes expectancy motivation as part of a larger process that includes past experience, motivation, effort, performance, reward, and need satisfaction. The model has significant implications for the design, marketing, and delivery of adult…

Nuclear power plant thermal-hydraulic performance research program plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-07-01

The purpose of this program plan is to present a more detailed description of the thermal-hydraulic research program than that provided in the NRC Five-Year Plan so that the research plan and objectives can be better understood and evaluated by the offices concerned. The plan is prepared by the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) with input from the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) and updated periodically. The plan covers the research sponsored by the Reactor and Plant Systems Branch and defines the major issues (related to thermal-hydraulic behavior in nuclear power plants) the NRC is seeking to resolve and provides plans for their resolution; relates the proposed research to these issues; defines the products needed to resolve these issues; provides a context that shows both the historical perspective and the relationship of individual projects to the overall objectives; and defines major interfaces with other disciplines (e.g., structural, risk, human factors, accident management, severe accident) needed for total resolution of some issues. This plan addresses the types of thermal-hydraulic transients that are normally considered in the regulatory process of licensing the current generation of light water reactors. This process is influenced by the regulatory requirements imposed by NRC and the consequent need for technical information that is supplied by RES through its contractors. Thus, most contractor programmatic work is administered by RES. Regulatory requirements involve the normal review of industry analyses of design basis accidents, as well as the understanding of abnormal occurrences in operating reactors. Since such transients often involve complex thermal-hydraulic interactions, a well-planned thermal-hydraulic research plan is needed

Differences in Receipt of Three Preventive Health Care Services by Race/Ethnicity in Medicare Advantage Plans: Tracking the Impact of Pay for Performance, 2010 and 2013

Science.gov (United States)

Palta, Mari; Smith, Maureen; Oliver, Thomas R.; DuGoff, Eva H.

2016-01-01

Introduction In 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the Quality Bonus Payment Demonstration, a pay-for-performance (P4P) program, into Medicare Advantage plans. Previous studies documented racial/ethnic disparities in receipt of care among participants in these plans. The objective of this study was to determine whether P4P incentives have affected these disparities in Medicare Advantage plans. Methods We studied 411 Medicare Advantage health plans that participated in the Medicare Health Outcome Survey in 2010 and 2013. Preventive health care was defined as self-reported receipt of health care provider communication or treatment to reduce risk of falling, improve bladder control, and monitor physical activity among individuals reporting these problems. Logistic regression stratified by health care plan was used to examine racial/ethnic disparities in receipt of preventive health care before and after the introduction of the P4P program in 2012. Results We found similar racial/ethnic differences in receipt of preventive health care before and after the introduction of P4P. Blacks and Asians were less likely than whites to receive advice to improve bladder control and more likely to receive advice to reduce risk of falling and improve physical activity. Hispanics were more likely to report receiving advice about all 3 health issues than whites. After the introduction of P4P, the gap decreased between Hispanics and whites for improving bladder control and monitoring physical activity and increased between blacks and whites for monitoring physical activity. Conclusion Racial/ethnic differences in receipt of preventive health care are not always in the expected direction. CMS should consider developing a separate measure of equity in preventive health care services to encourage health plans to reduce gaps among racial/ethnic groups in receiving preventive care services. PMID:27609303

Test plan for Fauske and Associates to perform tube propagation experiments with simulated Hanford tank wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, C.D.; Babad, H.

1996-05-01

This test plan, prepared at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for Westinghouse Hanford Company, provides guidance for performing tube propagation experiments on simulated Hanford tank wastes and on actual tank waste samples. Simulant compositions are defined and an experimental logic tree is provided for Fauske and Associates (FAI) to perform the experiments. From this guidance, methods and equipment for small-scale tube propagation experiments to be performed at the Hanford Site on actual tank samples will be developed. Propagation behavior of wastes will directly support the safety analysis (SARR) for the organic tanks. Tube propagation may be the definitive tool for determining the relative reactivity of the wastes contained in the Hanford tanks. FAI have performed tube propagation studies previously on simple two- and three-component surrogate mixtures. The simulant defined in this test plan more closely represents actual tank composition. Data will be used to support preparation of criteria for determining the relative safety of the organic bearing wastes

Performance Assessment Monitoring Plan for the Hanford Site Low-Level Waste Burial Grounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SONNICHSEN, J.C.

2000-01-01

As directed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL), Fluor Hanford, Inc. will implement the requirements of DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management, as the requirements relate to the continued operation of the low-level waste disposal facilities on the Hanford Site. DOE Order 435.1 requires a disposal authorization statement authorizing operation (or continued operation) of a low-level waste disposal facility. The objective of this Order is to ensure that all DOE radioactive waste is managed in a manner that protects the environment and personnel and public health and safety. The manual (DOE Order 435.1 Manual) implementing the Order states that a disposal authorization statement shall be issued based on a review of the facility's performance assessment and composite analysis or appropriate Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 documentation. The disposal authorization shall specify the limits and conditions on construction, design, operations, and closure of the low-level waste facility. Failure to obtain a disposal authorization statement shall result in shutdown of an operational disposal facility. In fulfillment of the requirements of DOE Order 435.1, a disposal authorization statement was issued on October 25, 1999, authorizing the Hanford Site to transfer, receive, possess, and dispose of low-level radioactive waste at the 200 East Area and the 200 West Area Low-Level Burial Grounds. The disposal authorization statement constitutes approval of the performance assessment and composite analysis, authorizes operation of the facility, and includes conditions that the disposal facility must meet. One of the conditions is that monitoring plans for the 200 East Area and 200 West Area Low-Level Burial Grounds be written and approved by the DOE-RL. The monitoring plan is to be updated and implemented within 1 year following issuance of the disposal authorization statement to

Corporate plan 1990/91 to 1994/95

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-04-01

The Cabinet Office (Management and Personnel Office), when setting down guidelines, recommended that all Non-Departmental Public Bodies such as the Board should prepare Corporate Plans against which the performance of the organisation and the relevance of the activities to contemporary requirements could be better measured. The National Radiological Protection Board prepares a Corporate Plan annually. This year's plan is for the financial period 1990/91 through to 1994/95, both years inclusive. The document indicates the broad programme areas in which the Board intends to concentrate its efforts, and the trends it expects over the planning period. The Board's overall strategy is to cover a wide range of relevant radiological protection matters, but with most emphasis on those likely to become major points of public or governmental concern in the near future. Current major issues are the new draft recommendations from the International Commission on Radiological Protection for control of exposure, and subsequent national recommendations on dose limitation: public exposures and aspects of radiation in the environment, particularly radon; and increasing awareness of non-ionising radiation. The Board is partly dependent upon receipts from its commercial activities and must, therefore, also look at the provision of services and prepare to meet the demands likely to arise in the 1990s. (author)

Identification of coordination factors affecting building projects performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wesam Salah Alaloul

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Construction projects performance requires improvement to fulfil the complexity of the stakeholders’ needs and expectations. Coordination process is proposed as an efficient solution for weak performance of construction projects. Therefore, coordination factors are vital in ensuring a successful implementation of all project phases. This study aimed to identify and prioritise coordination factors that influence the performance of building projects in Malaysian context. A vast body of literature on coordination process was reviewed and resulted in 53 coordination factor. Three rounds of Delphi technique were conducted. The most effective coordination factors were ranked based on the Relative Importance Index (RII such as Scheduling (RII = 0.97, Quality assurance plan (RII = 0.93, and all parties’ participation in plans (RII = 0.89. These coordination factors have fulfilled the research gap and provided better management and higher performance for project parties. The results offer insightful perspectives to define the most effective coordination factors, for addressing the dependency between project tasks and the parties to enhance project performance.

Planning oral narrative tasks: optimizing strategic planning condition through strategy instruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Luís Specht

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This article presents the results of a master thesis, which aimed at investigating the impact of strategic planning instruction on the speech performance of 6 L2 Brazilian learners. The participants, Letras-Inglês students, performed three now-and-there picture-cued narrative tasks under three different conditions: (1 no planning, (2 planning before instruction, and (3 planning after instruction. In addition, the participants filled in post-task questionnaires after the performance of each task, aiming at understanding their opinion on the conditions and tasks. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted in order to examine participants’ oral production and perception, respectively. In general, there was no statistical evidence supporting the impact of instruction on participants’ oral planned performance; however, some statistical results approached significance, which may suggest some positive effects. Qualitative analyses provided positive evidence of the impact of strategic planning instruction on participant perception and their use of strategies during planning time. Moreover, the results of this study can contribute to the fields of Second Language Acquisition and Language Pegadogy.

Harmonic Cavity Performance for NSLS-II

CERN Document Server

Blednykh, Alexei; Podobedov, Boris; Rose, James; Towne, Nathan A; Wang, Jiunn-Ming

2005-01-01

NSLS-II is a 3 GeV ultra-high brightness storage ring that is planned to succeed the present NSLS rings at Brookhaven. Ultra-low emittance bunch combined with a short bunch length results in the Touschek lifetime of only a few hours, which strongly advocates including harmonic RF in the baseline design of NSLS-II. This paper describes the required harmonic RF parameters, trade-offs between the possible choices and the expected system performance, including the implications on lifetime and instabilities.

A High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)-Based Running Plan Improves Athletic Performance by Improving Muscle Power.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Pinillos, Felipe; Cámara-Pérez, Jose C; Soto-Hermoso, Víctor M; Latorre-Román, Pedro Á

2017-01-01

García-Pinillos, F, Cámara-Pérez, JC, Soto-Hermoso, VM, and Latorre-Román, PÁ. A High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)-based running plan improves athletic performance by improving muscle power. J Strength Cond Res 31(1): 146-153, 2017-This study aimed to examine the effect of a 5-week high-intensity intermittent training (HIIT)-based running plan on athletic performance and to compare the physiological and neuromuscular responses during a sprint-distance triathlon before and after the HIIT period. Thirteen triathletes were matched into 2 groups: the experimental group (EG) and the control group (CG). The CG was asked to maintain their normal training routines, whereas the EG maintained only their swimming and cycling routines and modified their running routine. Participants completed a sprint-distance triathlon before (pretest) and after (posttest) the intervention period. In both pretest and posttest, the participants performed 4 jumping tests: before the race (baseline), postswim, postcycling, and postrun. Additionally, heart rate was monitored (HRmean), whereas rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and blood lactate accumulation (BLa) were registered after the race. No significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) between groups were found before HIIT intervention (at pretest). Significant group-by-training interactions were found in vertical jumping ability and athletic performance: the EG improved jumping performance (∼6-9%, p ≤ 0.05, effect size (ES) > 0.7), swimming performance (p = 0.013, ES = 0.438), and running time (p = 0.001, ES = 0.667) during the competition, whereas the CG remained unchanged (p ≥ 0.05, ES HIIT-based running plan combined with the high training volumes of these triathletes in swimming and cycling improved athletic performance during a sprint-distance triathlon. This improvement may be due to improved neuromuscular characteristics that were transferred into improved muscle power and work economy.

Human applications of the INEL patient treatment planning system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wheeler, F.; Wessol, D.; Atkinson, C.; Nigg, D.

1995-01-01

During the past few years, murine and large animal research, as well as human studies have provided data to the point where human clinical trials have been initiated at the BMRR using BPA-F for gliomas and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reactor (MITR) using BPA for melanomas of the extremeties. It is expected that glioma trials using BSH will proceed soon at the Petten High Flux Reactor (HFR) in the Netherlands. The first human glioma epithermal boron neutron capture therapy application was performed at the BMRR in the fall of 1994. This was a collaborative effort by BNL, Beth Israel Manhattan hospital, and INEL. The INEL planning system was chosen to perform dose predictions for this application

Operating the EOSDIS at the land processes DAAC managing expectations, requirements, and performance across agencies, missions, instruments, systems, and user communities

Science.gov (United States)

Kalvelage, T.A.; ,

2002-01-01

NASA developed the Earth Observing System (EOS) during the 1990'S. At the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), located at the USGS EROS Data Center, the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is required to support heritage missions as well as Landsat 7, Terra, and Aqua. The original system concept of the early 1990'S changed as each community had its say - first the managers, then engineers, scientists, developers, operators, and then finally the general public. The systems at the LP DAAC - particularly the largest single system, the EOSDIS Core System (ECS) - are changing as experience accumulates, technology changes, and each user group gains influence. The LP DAAC has adapted as contingencies were planned for, requirements and therefore plans were modified, and expectations changed faster than requirements could hope to be satisfied. Although not responsible for Quality Assurance of the science data, the LP DAAC works to ensure the data are accessible and useable by influencing systems, capabilities, and data formats where possible, and providing tools and user support as necessary. While supporting multiple missions and instruments, the LP DAAC also works with and learns from multiple management and oversight groups as they review mission requirements, system capabilities, and the overall operation of the LP DAAC. Stakeholders, including the Land Science community, are consulted regularly to ensure that the LP DAAC remains cognizant and responsive to the evolving needs of the user community. Today, the systems do not look or function as originally planned, but they do work, and they allow customers to search and order of an impressive amount of diverse data.

The Effect of Task Type and Pre-task Planning Condition on the Accuracy of Intermediate EFL Learners' Writing Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyeed Mohammad Alavi

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Task-based language teaching, which requires learners to transact tasks resembling their real life language needs, demands language learners to perform planning at different stages of their learning. Since various types of tasks can be used in task-based instruction, the present study examined the effect of task types and various participatory structures during pre-task planning on the quality of learners' writing performance, (i.e., accuracy. Towards this end, 120 intermediate EFL students were randomly assigned to 3 experimental groups and one control group. While the experimental groups were subjected to different pre-task planning conditions, (i.e., individual, pair, and group, the control group performed tasks without any planning. During the treatment, they experienced task modeling, presentation and completion. A factorial design was followed in the present study, and the collected data were analyzed through ANOVAs that revealed task type and pre-task planning condition influenced the writing accuracy of the participants in a way that resulted in greater accuracy in the decision-making task in the experimental groups, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of the treatment in mitigating the long-standing problem of EFL learners in achieving higher levels of accuracy when a specific task type is concerned.

A study on the planning for the research and development of nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noh, Byong Chull; Won, B. C.; Bang, J. K.; Jung, Y. H.; Kim, M. R.; Cho, C. Y.; Lee, H. S.; Kim, J. U.; Yeo, J. W.; Hong, Y. P.; Kim, I. C.; Rha, K. H.; Yoon, Y. S.; Park, J. H.; Ko, Y. S.; Kim, S. S.; Kang, W. J.; Lee, Y. H.; Shim, H. W.

1997-01-01

This study has performed aiming to provide the government with the basic input to establish 'the comprehensive promotion plan for utilization, research and development of nuclear energy' and 'the mid- and long-term nuclear research and development program', thus the government set it up as a national plan after endorsement of Atomic Energy Commission. Next, the feasibility study of the proton accelerators construction which is expected to use for nuclear research and development and industry. And a systematic and integrated research and development management system for the large-scale projects has been studied considering the inherent uncertainty and high risk of research and development. (author). 24 tabs., 6 figs

Tool for evaluation compliance standards and expectations in occupational risk prevention by collaborating companies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duran Perez, A.; Gomez Pardo, M. A.; Cao Tejero, R.; Millan Verdejo, J. A.; Blas Perez, P.

2013-01-01

Within the framework of a single security in ANAV, in our Action Plan on prevention, we consider it essential to include workers from ECCE working for and by ANAV in compliance with standards and expectations both in the accounts of the incidents. With this system is intended to standardize a set of observed deviations report and a tool for measuring the degree of compliance, allowing to monitor the evolution of each company and the effectiveness of prevention plan.

Foundation for the Future. 2013-2015 Strategic Plan. FY13 Organizational Performance Plan

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ( SWOT ) Analysis 192013–2015 Strategic Plan tr t ic l The Planning, Policy, and Leadership Support (PPLS...and public cloud mix Conduct government/private market survey to determine future cloud strategy Implement future cloud strategy  Thin Client...Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, National Security Strategy , and the Digital Government Strategy • Department of Defense, as set forth in the

Longitudinal analyses of adoptive parents' expectations and depressive symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Foli, Karen J; Lim, Eunjung; South, Susan C

2017-12-01

Grounded in a theoretical model specific to adoptive parents, we examined the relationship between parental expectations and depressive symptoms across time. Assessments of 129 adoptive parents of 64 children were performed at three time points before and after placement of an adopted child with the family: 4-6 weeks pre-placement and 4-6 weeks and 5-6 months post-placement. Expectations were assessed in four dimensions: expectations of self as parents, of the child, of family and friends, and of society. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale. Associations between parental expectations and depressive symptoms were analyzed, and longitudinal multilevel modeling was conducted to explore influences on expectations over time. Parental expectations changed from pre- to post-placement. With the exception of expectations of self as parent, adoptive parents' pre-adoption expectations were affirmed in the post-adoption time periods. In each expectation dimension, higher affirmation of expectations was correlated with decreased depressive symptoms before and after placement of a child. While parental expectations are not unique to adoptive parents, the essence and characteristics of certain expectations are unique to these parents. When working with adoptive parents, nurses who care for families should assess expectations both pre- and post-placement with awareness of their relationship to depressive symptoms. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

WIPP [Waste Isolation Pilot Plant] test phase plan: Performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-04-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for managing the disposition of transuranic (TRU) wastes resulting from nuclear weapons production activities of the United States. These wastes are currently stored nationwide at several of the DOE's waste generating/storage sites. The goal is to eliminate interim waste storage and achieve environmentally and institutionally acceptable permanent disposal of these TRU wastes. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico is being considered as a disposal facility for these TRU wastes. This document describes the first of the following two major programs planned for the Test Phase of WIPP: Performance Assessment -- determination of the long-term performance of the WIPP disposal system in accordance with the requirements of the EPA Standard; and Operations Demonstration -- evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of the DOE TRU waste management system's ability to emplace design throughput quantities of TRU waste in the WIPP underground facility. 120 refs., 19 figs., 8 tabs

Quality of family planning services in Northwest Ethiopia | Fantahun ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The unmet need for family planning services in Ethiopia is believed to be high (36%) while the already available services do not appear to be optimally used by potential clients. It is thus expected that an assessment and improvement of the quality of family planning services could enhance family planning ...

Expectations impact short-term memory through changes in connectivity between attention- and task-related brain regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinke, Christopher; Forkmann, Katarina; Schmidt, Katharina; Wiech, Katja; Bingel, Ulrike

2016-05-01

Over the recent years, neuroimaging studies have investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the influence of expectations on perception. However, it seems equally reasonable to assume that expectations impact cognitive functions. Here we used fMRI to explore the role of expectations on task performance and its underlying neural mechanisms. 43 healthy participants were randomly assigned to two groups. Using verbal instructions, group 1 was led to believe that pain enhances task performance while group 2 was instructed that pain hampers their performance. All participants performed a Rapid-Serial-Visual-Presentation (RSVP) Task (target detection and short-term memory component) with or without concomitant painful heat stimulation during 3T fMRI scanning. As hypothesized, short-term memory performance showed an interaction between painful stimulation and expectation. Positive expectations induced stronger neural activation in the right inferior parietal cortex (IPC) during painful stimulation than negative expectation. Moreover, IPC displayed differential functional coupling with the left inferior occipital cortex under pain as a function of expectancy. Our data show that an individual's expectation can influence cognitive performance in a visual short-term memory task which is associated with activity and connectivity changes in brain areas implicated in attentional processing and task performance. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Strategic Planning And Its Relationship With Business Performance Among Small And Medium Enterprises In South Africa

OpenAIRE

Maxwell Sandada; David Pooe; Manilall Dhurup

2014-01-01

Strategic planning is a business tool that small and medium businesses need in todays dynamic and highly competitive business environment. It has a potential to cushion these enterprises from such unpredictable harsh business conditions. The purpose of this paper was to establish the relationship between strategic planning practices and business performance among SMEs in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Data were analysed from 200 useable questionnaires that were distributed to SME owner...

Evolutionary Expectations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nash, Ulrik William

2014-01-01

, they are correlated among people who share environments because these individuals satisfice within their cognitive bounds by using cues in order of validity, as opposed to using cues arbitrarily. Any difference in expectations thereby arise from differences in cognitive ability, because two individuals with identical...... cognitive bounds will perceive business opportunities identically. In addition, because cues provide information about latent causal structures of the environment, changes in causality must be accompanied by changes in cognitive representations if adaptation is to be maintained. The concept of evolutionary......The concept of evolutionary expectations descends from cue learning psychology, synthesizing ideas on rational expectations with ideas on bounded rationality, to provide support for these ideas simultaneously. Evolutionary expectations are rational, but within cognitive bounds. Moreover...

Expectations on Track? High School Tracking and Adolescent Educational Expectations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karlson, Kristian Bernt

2015-01-01

This paper examines the role of adaptation in expectation formation processes by analyzing how educational tracking in high schools affects adolescents' educational expectations. I argue that adolescents view track placement as a signal about their academic abilities and respond to it in terms...... of modifying their educational expectations. Applying a difference-in-differences approach to the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, I find that being placed in an advanced or honors class in high school positively affects adolescents’ expectations, particularly if placement is consistent across...... subjects and if placement contradicts tracking experiences in middle school. My findings support the hypothesis that adolescents adapt their educational expectations to ability signals sent by schools....

Reliability criteria selection for integrated resource planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruiu, D.; Ye, C.; Billinton, R.; Lakhanpal, D.

1993-01-01

A study was conducted on the selection of a generating system reliability criterion that ensures a reasonable continuity of supply while minimizing the total costs to utility customers. The study was conducted using the Institute for Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) reliability test system as the study system. The study inputs and results for conditions and load forecast data, new supply resources data, demand-side management resource data, resource planning criterion, criterion value selection, supply side development, integrated resource development, and best criterion values, are tabulated and discussed. Preliminary conclusions are drawn as follows. In the case of integrated resource planning, the selection of the best value for a given type of reliability criterion can be done using methods similar to those used for supply side planning. The reliability criteria values previously used for supply side planning may not be economically justified when integrated resource planning is used. Utilities may have to revise and adopt new, and perhaps lower supply reliability criteria for integrated resource planning. More complex reliability criteria, such as energy related indices, which take into account the magnitude, frequency and duration of the expected interruptions are better adapted than the simpler capacity-based reliability criteria such as loss of load expectation. 7 refs., 5 figs., 10 tabs

Longterm Performance Trends Analysis and ManagingExpectation for Active Value1 (Case Study: PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa, Tbk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perdana Wahyu Santosa

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This research used financial ratio and managing expectations for active value about performance of PT IndocementTunggal Prakarsa, Tbk (INTP as one of largest cement company with a strong brand image at Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX. Unlike traditional corporate-performance metric, this study use growth value of matrix. INTP is well placed to meet Indonesia’s growing per capita of cement consumption. The financial data sources for this research are the audited annual reports of INTP2002-2008. The analysis focused on compounds annual growth rate (CAGR,  profitability, total assets turnover, cost of capital, market value added & market risk and market perception map. This research also used growth value matrix to analysis the market perception of INTP in 2008 that combined current performance with future growth opportunity. The result of market perception mapping for 2008-2009 shows that INTP was just on market average of current performance index but the future growth opportunity was above the market average level. The conclusion explains that INTP has very good long-term fundamental performance’s trend and the company is indicated has strong capabilityto be excellent value manager in the future.

Assessment of Residents Readiness to Perform Lumbar Puncture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Mikael Johannes Vuokko; Wienecke, Troels; Thagesen, Helle

2017-01-01

and 18 novices performing the procedure in a simulated, ward-like setting with a standardized patient. Procedural performance was assessed by three content experts. We used generalizability theory to explore reliability. The discriminative ability of the tool was explored by comparing performance scores......Background: Lumbar puncture is a common procedure in many specialties. The procedure serves to diagnose life-threatening conditions, often requiring rapid performance. However, junior doctors possess uncertainties regarding performing the procedure and frequently perform below expectations. Hence...... between the two groups. The contrasting groups method was used to set a pass/fail standard and the consequences of this was explored. Key results: The interviews identified that in addition to the technical aspects of the procedure, non-technical elements involving planning and conducting the procedure...

Performance measurement, expectancy and agency theory: An experimental study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sloof, R.; van Praag, C.M.

2005-01-01

Theoretical analyses of (optimal) performance measures are typically performed within the realm of the linear agency model. An important implication of this model is that, for a given compensation scheme, the agent's optimal effort choice is unrelated to the amount of noise in the performance

Social gradient in life expectancy and health expectancy in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brønnum-Hansen, Henrik; Andersen, Otto; Kjøller, Mette

2004-01-01

Health status of a population can be evaluated by health expectancy expressed as average lifetime in various states of health. The purpose of the study was to compare health expectancy in population groups at high, medium and low educational levels.......Health status of a population can be evaluated by health expectancy expressed as average lifetime in various states of health. The purpose of the study was to compare health expectancy in population groups at high, medium and low educational levels....

Plans for characterization of the potential geologic repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dobson, D.C.; Blanchard, M.B.; Voegele, M.D.; Younker, J.L.

1990-01-01

Site investigations in the vicinity of the potential repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, have occurred for many years. Although information from previous site investigations was adequate to support preliminary evaluations by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in the Environmental Assessment and to develop conceptual repository and waste package designs, this information is insufficient to proceed to the advanced designs and performance assessments required for the license application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Therefore, intensive site characterization is planned, as described in the December 1988 Site Characterization Plan (SCP). The data acquisition activities described in the SCP are focused on obtaining information to allow evaluations of the natural and engineered barriers considered potentially relevant to repository performance. The site data base must be adequate to allow predictions of the range of expected variation in geologic conditions over the next 10,000 years, as well as predictions of the probabilities for catastrophic geologic events that could affect repository performance. 4 refs., 4 figs

Expecting the unexpected

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mcneill, Ilona M.; Dunlop, Patrick D.; Heath, Jonathan B.

2013-01-01

People who live in wildfire-prone communities tend to form their own hazard-related expectations, which may influence their willingness to prepare for a fire. Past research has already identified two important expectancy-based factors associated with people's intentions to prepare for a natural......) and measured actual rather than intended preparedness. In addition, we tested the relation between preparedness and two additional threat-related expectations: the expectation that one can rely on an official warning and the expectation of encountering obstacles (e.g., the loss of utilities) during a fire...

Test plan for evaluating the operational performance of the prototype nested, fixed-depth fluidic sampler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

REICH, F.R.

1999-01-01

The PHMC will provide Low Activity Wastes (LAW) tank wastes for final treatment by a privatization contractor from two double-shell feed tanks, 241-AP-102 and 241-AP-104. Concerns about the inability of the baseline ''grab'' sampling to provide large volume samples within time constraints has led to the development of a nested, fixed-depth sampling system. This sampling system will provide large volume, representative samples without the environmental, radiation exposure, and sample volume impacts of the current base-line ''grab'' sampling method. A plan has been developed for the cold testing of this nested, fixed-depth sampling system with simulant materials. The sampling system will fill the 500-ml bottles and provide inner packaging to interface with the Hanford Sites cask shipping systems (PAS-1 and/or ''safe-send''). The sampling system will provide a waste stream that will be used for on-line, real-time measurements with an at-tank analysis system. The cold tests evaluate the performance and ability to provide samples that are representative of the tanks' content within a 95 percent confidence interval, to sample while mixing pumps are operating, to provide large sample volumes (1-15 liters) within a short time interval, to sample supernatant wastes with over 25 wt% solids content, to recover from precipitation- and settling-based plugging, and the potential to operate over the 20-year expected time span of the privatization contract

The Influence of Subjective Life Expectancy on Retirement Transition and Planning: A Longitudinal Study

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Barbara; Hesketh, Beryl; Loh, Vanessa

2012-01-01

This study examines the construct of subjective life expectancy (SLE), or the estimation of one's probable age of death. Drawing on the tenets of socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, Isaacowitz, & Charles, 1999), we propose that SLE provides individuals with their own unique mental model of remaining time that is likely to affect their…

Project Rulison: post-shot plans and evaluations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1969-12-01

Project Rulison post-shot plans and evaluations are discussed and include physical characteristics of the Rulison cavity; pressure and temperature expected in the cavity; amount, nature, and distribution of radioactivity in the cavity; reentry plan; radioactive species which may be encountered during reentry; public safety considerations arising from release of radioactivity; procedures to assure public safety; and the radiological safety plan. Maximum hypothetical accidents and ecological considerations are discussed in the appendices.

Making planned paths look more human-like in humanoid robot manipulation planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zacharias, F.; Schlette, C.; Schmidt, F.

2011-01-01

It contradicts the human's expectations when humanoid robots move awkwardly during manipulation tasks. The unnatural motion may be caused by awkward start or goal configurations or by probabilistic path planning processes that are often used. This paper shows that the choice of an arm's target...... for the robot arm....

Proposal of performance indicators/model for Operational Readiness Verification (ORV) at restart after a planned shutdown

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollnagel, Erik; Nygren, Magnus

2005-12-01

The objectives of the study reported here were to propose a model that can be used in the analysis of possible future ORV-related events and to outline a set of performance indicators that can be used by the inspectorate to assess a utility's level of readiness if an ORV-event should take place. Together the two objectives serve to improve the inspectorate's ability to ensure that the utilities maintain an adequate capability to respond. The background for the current study is the nine ORV events that occurred in Sweden between 1995- 1998, as well as the findings of a previous study of safety during outage and restart of nuclear power plants project. This study found that the three levels or types of tests that occur in ORV were used according to need rather than according to a predefined arrangement or procedure, and that tasks were adapted relative to the different types of embedding and the degree of correspondence between nominal and actual ORV. The organisation's coping with the complexity of ORV was discussed by the relation between expectations and surprises, how planning was used as control, attention to details, and the practices of shift changes. It is a truism that accidents are analysed and interpreted relative to a commonly accepted understanding of their nature. This understanding is, however, relative rather than absolute, and has changed significantly during the last decade. In the 1990s, accidents were analysed step by step, and explanations and recommendations therefore emphasised specific rather than generic solutions. The present study illustrates this by going through the responses to the nine ORV events. Following that, the nine events are analysed anew using a contemporary understanding of accidents (a systemic model), which emphasises that incidents more often arise from context induced performance variability than from failures of people. The alternative interpretation provided by a systemic model is illustrated by a detailed analysis of

Presenting a comprehensive market oriented model and evaluating its impact on organization performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Taqi Amini

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Like other innovative strategies, companies have paid more attention to market oriented strategies in recent years. This has been focused by organizations for improved effectiveness and the organization performance accelerated a lot in business competition. In responding to this fact, organizations are trying to formulate many of the issues familiar to large organizations, which have involved with market oriented strategy planning. This paper reviews key elements in market-oriented strategy planning with regard to competitiveness and performance in large organizations and outlines a comprehensive model for strategy planning in profit organizations. These elements include environment, top management, organization structure and market oriented strategy. Professional question of this study has a particularly important role in formulating relations of this model. These elements are well positioned to evaluate the impact of market-oriented strategy planning on organizations and their expected impacts on organization performance. A well-organized questionnaire to help organizations with their planning is proposed in this survey. Based on the proposed questionnaire, data obtained from Tehran food industry experts and analyzed by using SEM method. Results accepted eight hypotheses and rejected one.

Used Nuclear Fuel Loading and Structural Performance Under Normal Conditions of Transport - Modeling, Simulation and Experimental Integration RD&D Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adkins, Harold E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2013-04-01

Under current U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulation, it is not sufficient for used nuclear fuel (UNF) to simply maintain its integrity during the storage period, it must maintain its integrity in such a way that it can withstand the physical forces of handling and transportation associated with restaging the fuel and moving it to treatment or recycling facilities, or a geologic repository. Hence it is necessary to understand the performance characteristics of aged UNF cladding and ancillary components under loadings stemming from transport initiatives. Researchers would like to demonstrate that enough information, including experimental support and modeling and simulation capabilities, exists to establish a preliminary determination of UNF structural performance under normal conditions of transport (NCT). This research, development and demonstration (RD&D) plan describes a methodology, including development and use of analytical models, to evaluate loading and associated mechanical responses of UNF rods and key structural components. This methodology will be used to provide a preliminary assessment of the performance characteristics of UNF cladding and ancillary components under rail-related NCT loading. The methodology couples modeling and simulation and experimental efforts currently under way within the Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC). The methodology will involve limited uncertainty quantification in the form of sensitivity evaluations focused around available fuel and ancillary fuel structure properties exclusively. The work includes collecting information via literature review, soliciting input/guidance from subject matter experts, performing computational analyses, planning experimental measurement and possible execution (depending on timing), and preparing a variety of supporting documents that will feed into and provide the basis for future initiatives. The methodology demonstration will focus on structural performance evaluation of

Liquidity management through financial planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kameníková Katarína

2001-12-01

Full Text Available One of the basic goals of financial management is to provide financial property and capital for running of the firm, as well as for its development, that means provide optimal firm´s liquidity.To improve liquidity is possible provide through various ways. In present time there is increasing importance of financial planning., where planning of liquidity presents one of its integral part. Therefore I deal in presented paper with possible liquidity improvement through calculation of financial planning in chosen slovac magnesite firm, exploitating and elaborating magnesite raw material.For creating of financial plann of liquidity I chosed to use one of the practical methods - method of financial indexes. Such method presents process of planning optimal liquidity with providing of required rentability. Such plann must provide balance between income and outcome, as well as secure achievment of expected profit.I used tools of financial planning for calculation of possible liquidity improvement in mentioned firm, where present financial situation is characterised by law liquidity, but high rentability. Such position presents transitive crisis situation, therefore firm must create new financial property or decrease liabilities, in order to overcome negative state of liquidity.Performed calculation showed, that change in balance sheet due to the growth of financial property will improve liquidity, rentability will be maintained, therefore firm will be able to transit from crisis situation.Providing of liquidity will present one of possible way how to care for financial health of firm. But such process is not simple, it must be done with connection to the changes of internal and external conditions of the firm.

Space for Convenience Planning and Academic Performance of Secondary School Students in Oyo State, Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Yakubu, Suleman

2017-01-01

Every secondary school leaver is expected to be able to seek and gain admission into institutions of higher learning, both locally and internationally. However, this has become unattainable as a result of the poor academic performance seen in senior secondary school examinations; the quintessential example being the West African Senior School…

Inspection maintenance and planning of shutdown in thermal electric generating plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dezordi, W.L.; Correa, D.A.; Kina, M.

1984-01-01

The schedule shutdown of an industrial plant and, more specifically, of an electrical generating station, is becoming increasingly important. The major parameters to be taken into account for the planning of such a shutdown are basically of economic-financial nature such as costs of the related services (materials, equipment, manpower, etc), loss of revenue caused by the station's shutdown as well as by the station availability, and other requirements expected from it by the Load Dispatch and consumers. Improving the equipment's performances and the station's availability are the fundamental objectives to be strived for. The authors present in this paper, in an abridged form, the planning tools used for thermal electric generating plants shutdowns for inspections, maintenance and design changes implementation. (Author) [pt

National Waste Terminal Storage Program: planning and control plan. Volume II. Plan description

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-05-01

Objective of the NWTS program planning and control plan is to provide the information necessary for timely and effective OWI management decisions. Purpose is to describe the concepts and techniques that will be utilized by OWI to establish structured, completely planned and controlled technical, cost, and schedule NWTS baselines from which performance or progress can be accurately measured

Safety evaluation report on Tennessee Valley Authority: Browns Ferry Nuclear Performance Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

This safety evaluation report (SER) was prepared by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff and represents the second and last supplement (SSER 2) to the staff's original SER published as Volume 3 of NUREG-1232 in April 1989. Supplement 1 of Volume 3 of NUREG-1232 (SSER 1) was published in October 1989. Like its predecessors, SSER 2 is composed of numerous safety evaluations by the staff regarding specific elements contained in the Browns Ferry Nuclear Performance Plan (BFNPP), Volume 3 (up to and including Revision 2), submitted by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN). The Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant consists of three boiling-water reactors (BWRs) at a site in Limestone County, Alabama. The BFNPP describes the corrective action plans and commitments made by TVA to resolve deficiencies with its nuclear programs before the startup of Unit 2. The staff has inspected and will continue to inspect TVA's implementation of these BFNPP corrective action plans that address staff concerns about TVA's nuclear program. SSER 2 documents the NRC staff's safety evaluations and conclusions for those elements of the BFNPP that were not previously addressed by the staff or that remained open as a result of unresolved issues identified by the staff in previous SERs and inspections

A Weakest Pre-Expectation Semantics for Mixed-Sign Expectations

OpenAIRE

Kaminski, Benjamin Lucien; Katoen, Joost-Pieter

2017-01-01

We present a weakest-precondition-style calculus for reasoning about the expected values (pre-expectations) of \\emph{mixed-sign unbounded} random variables after execution of a probabilistic program. The semantics of a while-loop is well-defined as the limit of iteratively applying a functional to a zero-element just as in the traditional weakest pre-expectation calculus, even though a standard least fixed point argument is not applicable in this context. A striking feature of our semantics i...

[Patient expectations about decision-making for various health problems].

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado, Ana; López-Fernández, Luis Andrés; de Dios Luna, Juan; Saletti Cuesta, Lorena; Gil Garrido, Natalia; Puga González, Almudena

2010-01-01

To identify patient expectations of clinical decision-making at consultations with their general practitioners for distinct health problems and to determine the patient and general practitioner characteristics related to these expectations, with special focus on gender. We performed a multicenter cross-sectional study in 360 patients who were interviewed at home. Data on patients' sociodemographic, clinical characteristics and satisfaction were gathered. General practitioners supplied information on their gender and postgraduate training in family medicine. A questionnaire was used to collect data on patients' expectations that their general practitioner account of their opinion and on expectations of clinical decision making> at consultations with their general practitioner for five problems or hypothetical clinical scenarios (strong chest pain/cold with fever/abnormal discharge/depression or sadness/severe family problem). Patients were asked to indicate their preference that decisions on diagnosis and treatment be taken by: a) the general practitioner alone; b) the general practitioner, taking account of the patient's opinion; c) the patient, taking account of the general practitioner's opinion and d) the patient alone. A logistic regression was performed for clinical decision-making. The response rate was 90%. The mean age was 47.3 + or - 16.5 years and 51% were female. Patients' expectations that their general practitioner listen, explain and take account of their opinions were higher than their expectations of participating in decision-making, depending on the problem in question: 32% wished to participate in chest pain and 49% in family problems. Women had lower expectations of participating in depression and family problems. Patients with female general practitioners had higher expectations of participating in family problems and colds. Most patients wished to be listened to, informed and taken into account by their general practitioners and, to a lesser

Approval Plans in ARL Libraries. Kit 83.

Science.gov (United States)

Leonhardt, Thomas W.

Materials in this collection were submitted by respondents to a survey which sought specific data on the numbers and types of approval plans in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) libraries, whether such plans are meeting expectations, their relative importance in the library, who makes the key decisions, and the kind of thought and study that…

Planning and task management in Parkinson's disease: differential emphasis in dual-task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Bialystok, Ellen; Craik, Fergus I M; Stefurak, Taresa

2008-03-01

Seventeen patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease completed a complex computer-based task that involved planning and management while also performing an attention-demanding secondary task. The tasks were performed concurrently, but it was necessary to switch from one to the other. Performance was compared to a group of healthy age-matched control participants and a group of young participants. Parkinson's patients performed better than the age-matched controls on almost all measures and as well as the young controls in many cases. However, the Parkinson's patients achieved this by paying relatively less attention to the secondary task and focusing attention more on the primary task. Thus, Parkinson's patients can apparently improve their performance on some aspects of a multidimensional task by simplifying task demands. This benefit may occur as a consequence of their inflexible exaggerated attention to some aspects of a complex task to the relative neglect of other aspects.

NIF conventional facilities construction health and safety plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benjamin, D W

1998-01-01

The purpose of this Plan is to outline the minimum health and safety requirements to which all participating Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and non-LLNL employees (excluding National Ignition Facility [NIF] specific contractors and subcontractors covered under the construction subcontract packages (e.g., CSP-9)-see Construction Safety Program for the National Ignition Facility [CSP] Section I.B. ''NIF Construction Contractors and Subcontractors'' for specifics) shall adhere to for preventing job-related injuries and illnesses during Conventional Facilities construction activities at the NIF Project. For the purpose of this Plan, the term ''LLNL and non-LLNL employees'' includes LLNL employees, LLNL Plant Operations staff and their contractors, supplemental labor, contract labor, labor-only contractors, vendors, DOE representatives, personnel matrixed/assigned from other National Laboratories, participating guests, and others such as visitors, students, consultants etc., performing on-site work or services in support of the NIF Project. Based upon an activity level determination explained in Section 1.2.18, in this document, these organizations or individuals may be required by site management to prepare their own NIF site-specific safety plan. LLNL employees will normally not be expected to prepare a site-specific safety plan. This Plan also outlines job-specific exposures and construction site safety activities with which LLNL and non-LLNL employees shall comply

Vocational reintegration following spinal cord injury: expectations, participation and interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Schönherr, M C; Groothoff, J W; Mulder, G A; Schoppen, T; Eisma, W H

2004-03-01

Survey. To explore the process of reintegration in paid work following a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), including the role of early expectations of individual patients regarding return to work, indicators of success of job reintegration and a description of reintegration interventions and barriers. Dutch rehabilitation centre with special department for patients with spinal cord injuries. Descriptive analysis of data gathered by a mailed questionnaire, which was returned by 57 persons (response 83%) with traumatic SCI, aged 18-60 years, and data of earlier expectations reported by the individual patients during the rehabilitation admission following SCI from 1990 to 1998. Of 49 respondents who were employed at the moment of the SCI, 45% expected to be able to resume work. These positive expectations were associated with a higher educational level. In 67%, return to work was successful. The chance to reintegrate successfully was better if the patient expected to resume work. Logistic regression analysis did not reveal other significant indicators. About one-third of the 49 respondents working preinjury followed vocational retraining, which was successful for most of them so far. In the majority of work situations modifications have been made, such as job adaptations and reduction of working hours. Several unmet needs regarding reintegration interventions were also reported. Positive expectations regarding resumption of work after a SCI are an important indicator of successful reintegration in work. An active role of the rehabilitation team is recommended in drawing up a vocational reintegration plan to prepare the patient, the employer and professionals involved in the reintegration process.

Speeding up Online POMDP planning - unification of observation branches by belief-state compression via expected feature values

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Rens, G

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A novel algorithm to speed up online planning in partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) is introduced. I propose a method for compressing nodes in belief-decision-trees while planning occurs. Whereas belief-decision-trees branch...

STAKEHOLDERS’ OPINIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE GLOBAL FUND AND THEIR POTENTIAL ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS

Science.gov (United States)

Galárraga, Omar; Bertozzi, Stefano M.

2009-01-01

Objective To analyze stakeholder opinions and expectations of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and to discuss their potential economic and financial implications. Design The Global Fund commissioned an independent study, the “360° Stakeholder Assessment,” to canvas feedback on the organization’s reputation and performance with an on-line survey of 909 respondents representing major stakeholders worldwide. We created a proxy for expectations based on categorical responses for specific Global Fund attributes’ importance to the stakeholders, and current perceived performance. Methods Using multivariate regression, we analyzed 23 unfulfilled expectations related to: resource mobilization; impact measurement; harmonization and inclusion; effectiveness of the Global Fund partner environment; and portfolio characteristics. The independent variables are personal- and regional-level characteristics that affect expectations. Results The largest unfulfilled expectations relate to: mobilization of private sector resources; efficiency in disbursing funds; and assurance that people affected by the three diseases are reached. Stakeholders involved with the Fund through the Country Coordinating Mechanisms, those working in multilateral organizations, and persons living with HIV are more likely to have unfulfilled expectations. In contrast, higher levels of involvement with the Fund correlate with fulfilled expectations. Stakeholders living in sub-Saharan Africa were less likely to have their expectations met. Conclusions Stakeholders unfulfilled expectations result largely from factors external to them, but also from factors over which they have influence. In particular, attributes related to partnership score poorly even though stakeholders have influence in that area. Joint efforts to address perceived performance gaps may improve future performance, and positively influence investment levels and economic viability. PMID:18664957

Radioactive waste isolation in salt: peer review of the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation's plans for repository performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harrison, W.

1984-05-01

In the peer review of the preliminary performance assessment plan, suggestions to improve the presentation are given, technical issues are addressed, a page-by-page commentary is included, and recommendations are summarized. In the peer review of the verification and validation plan, the following are addressed: suggestions to improve presentation; key activities that have been overlooked; improving the technical content of the plan; and degree to which code documents support the plan. Comments on other supporting code documents, page-by-page commentary, and summary of recommendations are included

Study of community leaders in a nuclear host community: local issues, expectations and support and opposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bronfman, B.H.

1977-08-01

A study of community leaders was undertaken in Hartsville, Tennessee, site of the TVA Hartsville Nuclear Power Plant currently under construction. Leaders were found to be extremely supportive of the plant and of TVA's efforts to mitigate impacts expected to result from construction. Like their citizen counterparts, leaders expect economic benefits and some growth-related disruption to occur as a result of the plant, while environmental impacts are seen as extremely unlikely to occur. Plant-related issues, such as housing availability and traffic congestion, dominate leaders' thinking about current issues. These issues are expected to continue to be important in the future, and new issues dealing with growth and planning, employment and taxation are expected to arise

Plan selection in Medicare Part D: Evidence from administrative data

Science.gov (United States)

Heiss, Florian; Leive, Adam; McFadden, Daniel; Winter, Joachim

2014-01-01

We study the Medicare Part D prescription drug insurance program as a bellwether for designs of private, non-mandatory health insurance markets, focusing on the ability of consumers to evaluate and optimize their choices of plans. Our analysis of administrative data on medical claims in Medicare Part D suggests that fewer than 25 percent of individuals enroll in plans that are ex ante as good as the least cost plan specified by the Plan Finder tool made available to seniors by the Medicare administration, and that consumers on average have expected excess spending of about $300 per year, or about 15 percent of expected total out-of-pocket cost for drugs and Part D insurance. These numbers are hard to reconcile with decision costs alone; it appears that unless a sizeable fraction of consumers place large values on plan features other than cost, they are not optimizing effectively. PMID:24308882

Multilevel survival analysis of health inequalities in life expectancy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Merlo Juan

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The health status of individuals is determined by multiple factors operating at both micro and macro levels and the interactive effects of them. Measures of health inequalities should reflect such determinants explicitly through sources of levels and combining mean differences at group levels and the variation of individuals, for the benefits of decision making and intervention planning. Measures derived recently from marginal models such as beta-binomial and frailty survival, address this issue to some extent, but are limited in handling data with complex structures. Beta-binomial models were also limited in relation to measuring inequalities of life expectancy (LE directly. Methods We propose a multilevel survival model analysis that estimates life expectancy based on survival time with censored data. The model explicitly disentangles total health inequalities in terms of variance components of life expectancy compared to the source of variation at the level of individuals in households and parishes and so on, and estimates group differences of inequalities at the same time. Adjusted distributions of life expectancy by gender and by household socioeconomic level are calculated. Relative and absolute health inequality indices are derived based on model estimates. The model based analysis is illustrated on a large Swedish cohort of 22,680 men and 26,474 women aged 65–69 in 1970 and followed up for 30 years. Model based inequality measures are compared to the conventional calculations. Results Much variation of life expectancy is observed at individual and household levels. Contextual effects at Parish and Municipality level are negligible. Women have longer life expectancy than men and lower inequality. There is marked inequality by the level of household socioeconomic status measured by the median life expectancy in each socio-economic group and the variation in life expectancy within each group. Conclusion Multilevel

Psychological impacts from expectation of worsening conditions and obstacles to life planning are affected by glycemic control, self-reported symptoms, and drug therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.