Fast and accurate methods of independent component analysis: A survey

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Tichavský, Petr; Koldovský, Zbyněk

2011-01-01

Roč. 47, č. 3 (2011), s. 426-438 ISSN 0023-5954 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1M0572; GA ČR GA102/09/1278 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Blind source separation * artifact removal * electroencephalogram * audio signal processing Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 0.454, year: 2011 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2011/SI/tichavsky-fast and accurate methods of independent component analysis a survey.pdf

Differences in contraceptive use between family planning providers and the U.S. population: results of a nationwide survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Stern, Lisa F; Simons, Hannah R; Kohn, Julia E; Debevec, Elie J; Morfesis, Johanna M; Patel, Ashlesha A

2015-06-01

To describe contraceptive use among U.S. female family planning providers and to compare their contraceptive choices to the general population. We surveyed a convenience sample of female family planning providers ages 25-44 years, including physicians and advanced practice clinicians, via an internet-based survey from April to May 2013. Family planning providers were compared to female respondents ages 25-44 years from the 2011-2013 National Survey of Family Growth. A total of 488 responses were eligible for analysis; 331 respondents (67.8%) were using a contraceptive method. Providers' contraceptive use differed markedly from that of the general population, with providers significantly more likely to use intrauterine contraception, an implant, and the vaginal ring. Providers were significantly less likely to use female sterilization and condoms. There were no significant differences between providers and the general population in use of partner vasectomy or the pill. Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) use was significantly higher among providers than in the general population (41.7% vs. 12.1%, pfamily planning providers differed significantly from the general population. These findings have implications for clinical practice, patient education, and health policy. Family planning providers report higher use of LARC than the general population. This may reflect differences in preferences and access. Providers might consider sharing these findings with patients, while maintaining patient choice and autonomy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Applied technology center business plan and market survey

Science.gov (United States)

Hodgin, Robert F.; Marchesini, Roberto

1990-01-01

Business plan and market survey for the Applied Technology Center (ATC), computer technology transfer and development non-profit corporation, is presented. The mission of the ATC is to stimulate innovation in state-of-the-art and leading edge computer based technology. The ATC encourages the practical utilization of late-breaking computer technologies by firms of all variety.

The Jamaica asthma and allergies national prevalence survey: rationale and methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edwards Nancy C

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Asthma is a significant public health problem in the Caribbean. Prevalence surveys using standardized measures of asthma provide valid prevalence estimates to facilitate regional and international comparisons and monitoring of trends. This paper describes methods used in the Jamaica Asthma and Allergies National Prevalence Survey, challenges associated with this survey and strategies used to overcome these challenges. Methods/Design An island wide, cross-sectional, community-based survey of asthma, asthma symptoms and allergies was done among adults and children using the European Community Respiratory Health Survey Questionnaire for adults and the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children. Stratified multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select 2, 163 adults aged 18 years and older and 2, 017 children aged 2-17 years for the survey. The Kish selection table was used to select one adult and one child per household. Data analysis accounted for sampling design and prevalence estimates were weighted to produce national estimates. Discussion The Jamaica Asthma and Allergies National Prevalence Survey is the first population- based survey in the Caribbean to determine the prevalence of asthma and allergies both in adults and children using standardized methods. With response rates exceeding 80% in both groups, this approach facilitated cost-effective gathering of high quality asthma prevalence data that will facilitate international and regional comparison and monitoring of asthma prevalence trends. Another unique feature of this study was the partnership with the Ministry of Health in Jamaica, which ensured the collection of data relevant for decision-making to facilitate the uptake of research evidence. The findings of this study will provide important data on the burden of asthma and allergies in Jamaica and contribute to evidence-informed planning of comprehensive asthma management and education programs.

Strategic Planning and NRC Decadal Survey Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Lautenbacher, C. C., Jr.

2015-12-01

Strategic planning exercises are routinely undertaken by a wide variety of organizations that span the private, public and academic sectors and with a wide variety of corporate goals. It is difficult to single out best procedures as the purposes of strategic planning are as varied as the organizations. As a former head of a governmental agency that requested such a NRC study, namely the first "Earth Sciences and Applications from Space" study, I will examine the process, provide my definitions and assessments of the good and the not-so-good, and compare to my experiences with other similar strategic planning exercises during my Navy, NOAA, and private sector careers. I find that there is always room for improvement, but there is no one process or procedure that can guarantee success. Overarching initial considerations that can position the effort for overall "success" will be defined and applied to the recent NSC Study: "Sea Change: 2015-2025 Decadal Survey of Ocean Science", for which I was neither an initiator nor a participant, but a very interested observer.

[Diffusion of clinical governance among the Italian Local Health Units (LHUs). Analysis of the Health Surveys, the Firm Acts and the Health Plans].

Science.gov (United States)

de Belvis, A G; Biasco, A; Pelone, F; Romaniello, A; De Micco, F; Volpe, M; Ricciardi, W

2009-01-01

The objective of our research is to report on the diffusion of Clinical Governance, as introduced with the National Health Plan 2006-2008, by analysing the planning instruments set up by each Region (Regional Health Plans and Emergency Plans in regions with budget deficit), the organizational frameworks (Atti Aziendali, firm acts), and the surveys on performance and quality of healthcare among the Italian Local Health Units (Health Surveys). Our research was realized on September-December 2007 and consisted of the collection of all retrieved documents available on the web and on the online public access catalog (OPAC SBN) of the National Library Service. Futhermore, each document has been classified and analysed according to Chambers' Clinical Governance definition. A descriptive statistical and inferential analysis by applying the Chi-2 Test was performed to test the correlation between the diffusion of such a classified documents and the geographical partition of each LHU. Our results show a scarce diffusion of Firm acts (43%) and Health Surveys (24.9% of the total). Any remind to Clinical Governance instruments and methods inside each document resulted even poorer among both the organizational and performance surveys and the regional health planning frameworks, respectively.

Family planning in conflict: results of cross-sectional baseline surveys in three African countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee-Jones Louise

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the serious consequences of conflict for reproductive health, populations affected by conflict and its aftermath face tremendous barriers to accessing reproductive health services, due to insecurity, inadequate numbers of trained personnel and lack of supplies. Family planning is often particularly neglected. Methods In six conflict-affected areas in Sudan, northern Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, household surveys of married or in-union women of reproductive age were conducted to determine baseline measures of family planning knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding contraception. Health facility assessments were carried out to assess baseline measures of family planning services availability. Data were double-entered into CSPro 3.2 and exported to SAS 9.2, which was used to calculate descriptive statistics. The studies' purposes were to guide program activities and to serve as a baseline against which program accomplishments could be measured. Results Knowledge of modern contraceptive methods was low relative to other sub-Saharan African countries, and use of modern methods was under 4% in four sites; in two sites with prior family planning services it was 12% and 16.2%. From 30% to 40% of women reported they did not want a child within two years, however, and an additional 12% to 35% wanted no additional children, suggesting a clear need for family planning services. The health facilities assessment showed that at most only one-third of the facilities mandated to provide family planning had the necessary staff, equipment and supplies to do so adequately; in some areas, none of the facilities were prepared to offer such services. Conclusions Family planning services are desired by women living in crisis situations when offered in a manner appropriate to their needs, yet services are rarely adequate to meet these needs. Refugee and internally displaced women must be included in national and donors

Comparison of attitudes related with family planning methods before and after effective family planning counseling.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esra Esim Büyükbayrak

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the effect of family planning counseling on the changeover of the family planning method and to determine level of knowledge of participants on family planning methods and their attitude towards changeover of the method after counseling. Setting: Kartal education and reseach hospital obstetrics and gynecology clinic, department of family planning. Patients. 500 consecutive women applying to family planning department for any reason. Interventions: Effective family planning counseling service was given to each participant then a questioner containin 14 questions was applied with face to face technique. Main Outcome Measures: Attitude towards family planning counseling, comparison of the preference of family planning method before and after family planning counseling service and influential sociodemographic parameters on method choise were studied. Results: 45,2% of the participants were not taken family planning counseling service before. knowledge on family planning methods was sufficient in 25,2% of the participants, insufficient in 56,8% of the participants and 18% of the participants reported that they have no idea. 57,8% of the participants change mind about family planning counseling. 52,2% of the participants changeover perious method after counseling. 99,4% of the participants said that family planning counseling service should be given to every women. Preference of family planning method before and after family planning counseling service was statistically significantly different (p<0.01. Educational level, income and age were found to be influential sociodemographic factors for method preference. Conclusions: Effective family planning counseling service is found to have favorable effect on attitude and knowledge about family planning methods. Modern method usage increase as educational level and income of the participants increase.

Family planning in conflict: results of cross-sectional baseline surveys in three African countries.

Science.gov (United States)

McGinn, Therese; Austin, Judy; Anfinson, Katherine; Amsalu, Ribka; Casey, Sara E; Fadulalmula, Shihab Ibrahim; Langston, Anne; Lee-Jones, Louise; Meyers, Janet; Mubiru, Frederick Kintu; Schlecht, Jennifer; Sharer, Melissa; Yetter, Mary

2011-07-13

Despite the serious consequences of conflict for reproductive health, populations affected by conflict and its aftermath face tremendous barriers to accessing reproductive health services, due to insecurity, inadequate numbers of trained personnel and lack of supplies. Family planning is often particularly neglected. In six conflict-affected areas in Sudan, northern Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, household surveys of married or in-union women of reproductive age were conducted to determine baseline measures of family planning knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding contraception. Health facility assessments were carried out to assess baseline measures of family planning services availability. Data were double-entered into CSPro 3.2 and exported to SAS 9.2, which was used to calculate descriptive statistics. The studies' purposes were to guide program activities and to serve as a baseline against which program accomplishments could be measured. Knowledge of modern contraceptive methods was low relative to other sub-Saharan African countries, and use of modern methods was under 4% in four sites; in two sites with prior family planning services it was 12% and 16.2%. From 30% to 40% of women reported they did not want a child within two years, however, and an additional 12% to 35% wanted no additional children, suggesting a clear need for family planning services. The health facilities assessment showed that at most only one-third of the facilities mandated to provide family planning had the necessary staff, equipment and supplies to do so adequately; in some areas, none of the facilities were prepared to offer such services. Family planning services are desired by women living in crisis situations when offered in a manner appropriate to their needs, yet services are rarely adequate to meet these needs. Refugee and internally displaced women must be included in national and donors' plans to improve family planning in Africa.

A geometrically based method for automated radiosurgery planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, Thomas H.; Yi Taeil; Meeks, Sanford L.; Bova, Francis J.; Brechner, Beverly L.; Chen Yunmei; Buatti, John M.; Friedman, William A.; Foote, Kelly D.; Bouchet, Lionel G.

2000-01-01

Purpose: A geometrically based method of multiple isocenter linear accelerator radiosurgery treatment planning optimization was developed, based on a target's solid shape. Methods and Materials: Our method uses an edge detection process to determine the optimal sphere packing arrangement with which to cover the planning target. The sphere packing arrangement is converted into a radiosurgery treatment plan by substituting the isocenter locations and collimator sizes for the spheres. Results: This method is demonstrated on a set of 5 irregularly shaped phantom targets, as well as a set of 10 clinical example cases ranging from simple to very complex in planning difficulty. Using a prototype implementation of the method and standard dosimetric radiosurgery treatment planning tools, feasible treatment plans were developed for each target. The treatment plans generated for the phantom targets showed excellent dose conformity and acceptable dose homogeneity within the target volume. The algorithm was able to generate a radiosurgery plan conforming to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) guidelines on radiosurgery for every clinical and phantom target examined. Conclusions: This automated planning method can serve as a valuable tool to assist treatment planners in rapidly and consistently designing conformal multiple isocenter radiosurgery treatment plans.

Comparison of Satellite Surveying to Traditional Surveying Methods for the Resources Industry

Science.gov (United States)

Osborne, B. P.; Osborne, V. J.; Kruger, M. L.

Modern ground-based survey methods involve detailed survey, which provides three-space co-ordinates for surveyed points, to a high level of accuracy. The instruments are operated by surveyors, who process the raw results to create survey location maps for the subject of the survey. Such surveys are conducted for a location or region and referenced to the earth global co- ordinate system with global positioning system (GPS) positioning. Due to this referencing the survey is only as accurate as the GPS reference system. Satellite survey remote sensing utilise satellite imagery which have been processed using commercial geographic information system software. Three-space co-ordinate maps are generated, with an accuracy determined by the datum position accuracy and optical resolution of the satellite platform.This paper presents a case study, which compares topographic surveying undertaken by traditional survey methods with satellite surveying, for the same location. The purpose of this study is to assess the viability of satellite remote sensing for surveying in the resources industry. The case study involves a topographic survey of a dune field for a prospective mining project area in Pakistan. This site has been surveyed using modern surveying techniques and the results are compared to a satellite survey performed on the same area.Analysis of the results from traditional survey and from the satellite survey involved a comparison of the derived spatial co- ordinates from each method. In addition, comparisons have been made of costs and turnaround time for both methods.The results of this application of remote sensing is of particular interest for survey in areas with remote and extreme environments, weather extremes, political unrest, poor travel links, which are commonly associated with mining projects. Such areas frequently suffer language barriers, poor onsite technical support and resources.

Reliability of a patient survey assessing cost-related changes in health care use among high deductible health plan enrollees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galbraith Alison A

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent increases in patient cost-sharing for health care have lent increasing importance to monitoring cost-related changes in health care use. Despite the widespread use of survey questions to measure changes in health care use and related behaviors, scant data exists on the reliability of such questions. Methods We administered a cross-sectional survey to a stratified random sample of families in a New England health plan's high deductible health plan (HDHP with ≥ $500 in annualized out-of-pocket expenditures. Enrollees were asked about their knowledge of their plan, information seeking, behavior change associated with having a deductible, experience of delay in care due in part to cost, and hypothetical delay in care due in part to cost. Initial respondents were mailed a follow-up survey within two weeks of each family returning the original survey. We computed several agreement statistics to measure the test-retest reliability for select questions. We also conducted continuity adjusted chi-square, and McNemar tests in both the original and follow-up samples to measure the degree to which our results could be reproduced. Analyses were stratified by self-reported income. Results The test-retest reliability was moderate for the majority of questions (0.41 - 0.60 and the level of test-retest reliability did not differ substantially across each of the broader domains of questions. The observed proportions of respondents with delayed or foregone pediatric, adult, or any family care were similar when comparing the original and follow-up surveys. In the original survey, respondents in the lower-income group were more likely to delay or forego pediatric care, adult care, or any family care. All of the tests comparing income groups in the follow-up survey produced the same result as in the original survey. Conclusions In this population of HDHP beneficiaries, we found that survey questions concerning plan knowledge, information

Survey of ANL organization plans for word processors, personal computers, workstations, and associated software. Revision 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fenske, K.R.

1991-11-01

The Computing and Telecommunications Division (CTD) has compiled this Survey of ANL Organization Plans for Word Processors, Personal Computers, Workstations, and Associated Software to provide DOE and Argonne with a record of recent growth in the acquisition and use of personal computers, microcomputers, and word processors at ANL. Laboratory planners, service providers, and people involved in office automation may find the Survey useful. It is for internal use only, and any unauthorized use is prohibited. Readers of the Survey should use it as a reference that documents the plans of each organization for office automation, identifies appropriate planners and other contact people in those organizations, and encourages the sharing of this information among those people making plans for organizations and decisions about office automation. The Survey supplements information in both the ANL Statement of Site Strategy for Computing Workstations and the ANL Site Response for the DOE Information Technology Resources Long-Range Plan.

Survey of ANL organization plans for word processors, personal computers, workstations, and associated software. Revision 4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fenske, K.R.; Rockwell, V.S.

1992-08-01

The Computing and Telecommunications Division (CTD) has compiled this Survey of ANL Organization plans for Word Processors, Personal Computers, Workstations, and Associated Software (ANL/TM, Revision 4) to provide DOE and Argonne with a record of recent growth in the acquisition and use of personal computers, microcomputers, and word processors at ANL. Laboratory planners, service providers, and people involved in office automation may find the Survey useful. It is for internal use only, and any unauthorized use is prohibited. Readers of the Survey should use it as a reference document that (1) documents the plans of each organization for office automation, (2) identifies appropriate planners and other contact people in those organizations and (3) encourages the sharing of this information among those people making plans for organizations and decisions about office automation. The Survey supplements information in both the ANL Statement of Site Strategy for Computing Workstations (ANL/TM 458) and the ANL Site Response for the DOE Information Technology Resources Long-Range Plan (ANL/TM 466).

AUDIT plan documenting method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cornecsu, M.

1995-01-01

The work describes a method of documenting the AUDIT plan upon the basis of two quantitative elements resulting from quality assurance program appraisal system function implementation degree as established from the latest AUDIT performed an system function weight in QAP, respectively, appraised by taking into account their significance for the activities that are to be performed in the period for which the AUDITs are planned. (Author) 3 Figs., 2 Refs

[The method of quality function deployment --QFD-- in nursing services planning].

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuda, L M; Evora, Y D; Boan, F S

2000-10-01

"Focus on the client" is the posture that must be adopted in order to offer quality products. Based on the Total Quality Management approach, the Quality Function Deployment method (QFD) is a tool to achieve this goal. The purpose of this study is to create a proposal for planning the nursing services following the steps and actions of this methodology. The basic procedure was to survey the necessity of 106 hospitalized patients. Data were deployed using the seventeen steps proposed. Results showed that the interaction is more important than the technique according to the clients and also that this method enables the implementation of quality in nursing care.

Walking path-planning method for multiple radiation areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yong-kuo; Li, Meng-kun; Peng, Min-jun; Xie, Chun-li; Yuan, Cheng-qian; Wang, Shuang-yu; Chao, Nan

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Radiation environment modeling method is designed. • Path-evaluating method and segmented path-planning method are proposed. • Path-planning simulation platform for radiation environment is built. • The method avoids to be misled by minimum dose path in single area. - Abstract: Based on minimum dose path-searching method, walking path-planning method for multiple radiation areas was designed to solve minimum dose path problem in single area and find minimum dose path in the whole space in this paper. Path-planning simulation platform was built using C# programming language and DirectX engine. The simulation platform was used in simulations dealing with virtual nuclear facilities. Simulation results indicated that the walking-path planning method is effective in providing safety for people walking in nuclear facilities.

Y-STR frequency surveying method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willuweit, Sascha; Caliebe, Amke; Andersen, Mikkel Meyer

2011-01-01

Reasonable formalized methods to estimate the frequencies of DNA profiles generated from lineage markers have been proposed in the past years and were discussed in the forensic community. Recently, collections of population data on the frequencies of variations in Y chromosomal STR profiles have...... reached a new quality with the establishment of the comprehensive neatly quality-controlled reference database YHRD. Grounded on such unrivalled empirical material from hundreds of populations studies the core assumption of the Haplotype Frequency Surveying Method originally described 10 years ago can...... be tested and improved. Here we provide new approaches to calculate the parameters used in the frequency surveying method: a maximum likelihood estimation of the regression parameters (r1, r2, s1 and s2) and a revised Frequency Surveying framework with variable binning and a database preprocessing to take...

Using Survey Data to Identify Opportunities to Reach Women with An Unmet Need for Family Planning: The Example of Madagascar.

Science.gov (United States)

Meekers, Dominique; Ratovonanahary, Raseliarison; Andrianantoandro, Tokinirina; Randrianarisoa, Hiangotiana

2016-01-01

In several African countries fertility levels have stagnated or increased slightly. However, many women still report an unmet need for family planning. Therefore achieving further fertility declines requires programs that increase demand for family planning, but that also address the existing unmet need. One way to improve contraceptive access in a cost-effective manner might be to integrate family planning services into other existing health services. This paper analyzes secondary data from the 2012-2013 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) survey in Madagascar to estimate the number of women with an unmet need for family planning that might benefit from integrating family planning services into other health services. In Madagascar, one third of the demand for family planning is not met; an estimated 820,000 women have an unmet need for family planning. A substantial portion of these women can be reached by integrating family planning services into existing maternal and child health services. Health providers are uniquely positioned to help address method-related reasons for non-use of family planning, such as concerns about health problems and side-effects. Given the large unmet need for family planning, programs should not exclusively focus on increasing the demand for family planning, but also seek new ways to address the existing unmet need. Our study illustrates that simple analyses of existing health survey data can be an important tool for informing the design of programs to tackle this unmet need.

SAGES climate survey: results and strategic planning for our future.

Science.gov (United States)

Telem, Dana A; Qureshi, Alia; Edwards, Michael; Jones, Daniel B

2018-03-30

While SAGES prides itself on diversity and inclusivity, we also recognize that as an organization we are not impervious to blind spots impacting equity within the membership. To address this, the We R Sages task force was formed to identify the barriers and facilitators to creating a diverse organization and develop a strategic plan for the implementation of programing and opportunities that promote diversity and inclusivity within our membership. As the first step in the process, a survey was administered to gauge the current organizational climate. In September of 2017, a validated climate survey was administered to 704 SAGES committee members via SurveyMonkey®. Climate was assessed on: overall SAGES experience, consideration of leaving the organization, mentorship within the organization, resources and opportunities within the organization, and attitudes and experiences within the organization. Additional free text responses were encouraged to generate qualitative themes. The survey response rate was 52.1% (n = 367). Respondent self-identified demographics were: male (73%), white (63%), heterosexual (95.5%), and non-disabled (98%). Average overall satisfaction was 8.1/10. 12.5% of respondents had considered leaving the organization and 74.4% had not identified a formal mentor within the organization. Average agreement with equitable distribution of resources and opportunities was 5.8/10. 93.6% of respondents had not experienced bias within the organization. Overall SAGES has a very positive climate; however, several key issues were identified from the quantitative survey as well as the free text responses. Strategic planning to address issues of membership recruitment, committee engagement, advancement transparency, diversity awareness, leadership development, and formal mentorship are being implemented.

Alternative methods for developing external travel survey data.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has a comprehensive on-going travel survey : program that supports the travel demand models being developed for transportation planning efforts in urban : areas throughout Texas. One component of the sur...

Predicting health plan member retention from satisfaction surveys: the moderating role of intention and complaint voicing.

Science.gov (United States)

Huppertz, John W

2008-01-01

Many health plans have tried to increase member retention by improving their scores on customer satisfaction surveys. However, prior research has demonstrated weak relationships between member satisfaction and retention, suggesting that other variables are needed to understand how satisfaction impacts member retention. In a longitudinal study 4,806 health plan members who completed satisfaction surveys were re-assessed three years later; we compared measures of satisfaction, intention, and complaining behavior from voluntary disenrollees and retained members. The relationship between satisfaction and retention was moderated by members' intentions to disenroll. The findings suggest that health plans can enhance the predictive validity of their satisfaction surveys by including measures of both satisfaction and intentions.

Method and apparatus for model construction within orthopaedic and traumatological operation planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brix, F.; Hebbinghaus, D.

1985-01-01

Orthopaedic and traumatological surgeons are increasingly faced with surgical problems which require an unusual amount of planning. Endoprothetic measures concerning very small joints or posttraumatic conditions will illustrate the underlying idea. The same applies to constitutionally false positions which are to be corrected, or to plastic operations following, for instance, tumour resection. Planning means and methods available to date do not suffice for meeting these problematic situations as a rule. Thus, survey radiographs in two planes, tomograms, distance and spot-film radiograms will supply no picture true to scale and but an incomplete three-dimensional image. It is quite obvious that surgical strategy should be determined by means of a model true to scale, in a ''dress rehearsal'', so to speak. (orig./WU) [de

Effectiveness of Family Planning Methods

Science.gov (United States)

... women in a year Effectiveness of Family Planning Methods Implant Reversible Intrauterine Device (IUD) Permanent Male Sterilization ... 0.5 % Diaphragm 12 % How to make your method most effective After procedure, little or nothing to ...

Collaborative survey of perinatal loss in planned and unplanned home births. Northern Region Perinatal Mortality Survey Coordinating Group.

OpenAIRE

1996-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To document the outcome of planned and unplanned births outside hospital. DESIGN: Confidential review of every pregnancy ending in stillbirth or neonatal death in which plans had been made for home delivery, irrespective of where delivery eventually occurred. The review was part of a sustained collaborative survey of all perinatal deaths. SETTING: Northern Regional Health Authority area. SUBJECTS: All 558,691 registered births to women normally resident in the former Northern Regio...

Using SysML for verification and validation planning on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)

Science.gov (United States)

Selvy, Brian M.; Claver, Charles; Angeli, George

2014-08-01

This paper provides an overview of the tool, language, and methodology used for Verification and Validation Planning on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Project. LSST has implemented a Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach as a means of defining all systems engineering planning and definition activities that have historically been captured in paper documents. Specifically, LSST has adopted the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) standard and is utilizing a software tool called Enterprise Architect, developed by Sparx Systems. Much of the historical use of SysML has focused on the early phases of the project life cycle. Our approach is to extend the advantages of MBSE into later stages of the construction project. This paper details the methodology employed to use the tool to document the verification planning phases, including the extension of the language to accommodate the project's needs. The process includes defining the Verification Plan for each requirement, which in turn consists of a Verification Requirement, Success Criteria, Verification Method(s), Verification Level, and Verification Owner. Each Verification Method for each Requirement is defined as a Verification Activity and mapped into Verification Events, which are collections of activities that can be executed concurrently in an efficient and complementary way. Verification Event dependency and sequences are modeled using Activity Diagrams. The methodology employed also ties in to the Project Management Control System (PMCS), which utilizes Primavera P6 software, mapping each Verification Activity as a step in a planned activity. This approach leads to full traceability from initial Requirement to scheduled, costed, and resource loaded PMCS task-based activities, ensuring all requirements will be verified.

Nonscalpel Vasectomy as Family Planning Method: A Battle Yet to Be Conquered

OpenAIRE

Garg, Pankaj Kumar; Jain, Bhupendra Kumar; Choudhary, Deepti; Chaurasia, Ashish; Pandey, Satya Deo

2013-01-01

Though nonscalpel vasectomy (NSV) technique was introduced in India in 1992 to increase male participation in family planning, it has failed to get adequate momentum and to achieve its goal. We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey to get insight into apathy of men towards NSV. The study included 428 respondents. Most of the respondents (97.4%) were aware of NSV as a method for permanent male sterilization. The majority of them (97.2%) knew that NSV is done without any charge...

Survey of Robot 3D Path Planning Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang Yang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Robot 3D (three-dimension path planning targets for finding an optimal and collision-free path in a 3D workspace while taking into account kinematic constraints (including geometric, physical, and temporal constraints. The purpose of path planning, unlike motion planning which must be taken into consideration of dynamics, is to find a kinematically optimal path with the least time as well as model the environment completely. We discuss the fundamentals of these most successful robot 3D path planning algorithms which have been developed in recent years and concentrate on universally applicable algorithms which can be implemented in aerial robots, ground robots, and underwater robots. This paper classifies all the methods into five categories based on their exploring mechanisms and proposes a category, called multifusion based algorithms. For all these algorithms, they are analyzed from a time efficiency and implementable area perspective. Furthermore a comprehensive applicable analysis for each kind of method is presented after considering their merits and weaknesses.

Transmission investment and planning in deregulated market environment : a literature survey (part 2)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wen, F.; Wu, F.F.

2005-01-01

This paper is the second half of a 2-part paper that provided details of a comprehensive survey of issues related to transmission investment and expansion planning in the electricity market. Results of the survey suggested that transmission regulation is needed to provide a fair playing field for competition and to ensure that transmission networks are optimally expanded while also meeting reliability constraints. Regulations will create further incentives for cost reduction while ensuring that regulated firms have assurance of cost recovery. Transmission planning should be controlled or monitored by a government organization or regulator. Legislation is needed to ensure that regulatory authorities can enforce reliability criteria. Mandatory reliability standards and metrics for reliability services should be implemented. The economic benefits of transmission expansion in a deregulated market should be modelled using non-deterministic approaches. It was concluded that transmission expansion plans should be able to meet future transmission capacity requirements, secure returns on investment, and ensure reliability levels for customers. Various international transmission expansion plans were also provided. 38 refs

Contingency planning for electronic health record-based care continuity: a survey of recommended practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Sittig, Dean F; Gonzalez, Daniel; Singh, Hardeep

2014-11-01

Reliable health information technology (HIT) in general, and electronic health record systems (EHRs) in particular are essential to a high-performing healthcare system. When the availability of EHRs are disrupted, alternative methods must be used to maintain the continuity of healthcare. We developed a survey to assess institutional practices to handle situations when EHRs were unavailable for use (downtime preparedness). We used literature reviews and expert opinion to develop items that assessed the implementation of potentially useful practices. We administered the survey to U.S.-based healthcare institutions that were members of a professional organization that focused on collaboration and sharing of HIT-related best practices among its members. All members were large integrated health systems. We received responses from 50 of the 59 (84%) member institutions. Nearly all (96%) institutions reported at least one unplanned downtime (of any length) in the last 3 years and 70% had at least one unplanned downtime greater than 8h in the last 3 years. Three institutions reported that one or more patients were injured as a result of either a planned or unplanned downtime. The majority of institutions (70-85%) had implemented a portion of the useful practices we identified, but very few practices were followed by all organizations. Unexpected downtimes related to EHRs appear to be fairly common among institutions in our survey. Most institutions had only partially implemented comprehensive contingency plans to maintain safe and effective healthcare during unexpected EHRs downtimes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010

Science.gov (United States)

,

2007-01-01

program to continue to meet the evolving needs of the conservation community for information on bird population change. By setting clear goals, strategies, and measures of success, this plan provides a cohesive framework and vision for maintenance and development of the BBS. The plan identifies two major goals for the BBS, with a number of strategies and objectives to achieve these goals. Over the next 5 years, progress made in addressing each long-term goal and its associated 5-year strategies and objectives will gage the plan's success. Specific actions, projected outcomes, and measures of success related to accomplishing these are outlined in Table 1, with a timeline in Table 2. The two main goals for the program, with a summary of the strategies to achieve them, are: Goal 1: Collect scientifically credible measures of the status and trends of North American bird populations at continental and regional scales. The North American Breeding Bird Survey will continue to support North American natural resource conservation through the collection of scientifically credible measures of the status and trends of continental bird populations. While doing this, the BBS will work to improve the science behind the program to better meet its mission and the changing needs of the avian conservation community. In partnership with collaborators, the BBS will address detection probability bias and habitat bias, improve analytical methods, and more fully assess and account for observer quality. Moreover, the BBS will improve the quality and breadth of avian population data through strategic increases in route density and the establishment of a Mexican BBS program. Goal 2: Ensure BBS data and analytical results are widely available and easily accessible for use by the avian conservation and management communities. At the heart of the BBS lies a four-million-record database containing more than 40 years of data on more than 600 bird species. These data are of no valu

Surveying Medical Students to Gauge Library Use and Plan for a New Medical Library.

Science.gov (United States)

Aronoff, Nell

2016-01-01

In spring 2015, a 45-question survey was e-mailed to 585 medical students at the University at Buffalo (UB) in order to gauge their use of library spaces, resources, equipment, and services at UB's Health Sciences Library and plan for a library space located within a new medical school building. Students' self-reported use of the library during the academic year is presented along with the features they would like to see in their ideal library space. The responses generated in the survey are a barometer of current use and will be used in the planning process.

Sickness absence associated with shared and open-plan offices - a national cross sectional questionnaire survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pejtersen, Jan; Feveile, H; Christensen, Karl Bang

2011-01-01

of office; the analysis was adjusted for age, gender, socioeconomic status, body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, and physical activity during leisure time. Results Sickness absence was significantly related to having a greater number of occupants in the office (P...Objective The aim of this study was to examine whether shared and open-plan offices are associated with more days of sickness absence than cellular offices. Methods The analysis was based on a national survey of Danish inhabitants between 18–59 years of age (response rate 62%), and the study...

Plane and geodetic surveying

CERN Document Server

Johnson, Aylmer

2014-01-01

IntroductionAim And ScopeClassification Of SurveysThe Structure Of This BookGeneral Principles Of SurveyingErrorsRedundancyStiffnessAdjustmentPlanning And Record KeepingPrincipal Surveying ActivitiesEstablishing Control NetworksMappingSetting OutResectioningDeformation MonitoringAngle MeasurementThe Surveyor's CompassThe ClinometerThe Total StationMaking ObservationsChecks On Permanent AdjustmentsDistance MeasurementGeneralTape MeasurementsOptical Methods (Tachymetry)Electromagnetic Distance Measurement (EDM)Ultrasonic MethodsGNSSLevellingTheoryThe InstrumentTechniqueBookingPermanent Adjustmen

A community-based, mixed-methods study of the attitudes and behaviors of men regarding modern family planning in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Akaba, Godwin; Ketare, Nathaniel; Tile, Wilfred

2016-10-01

To investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and extent of involvement of men in family planning in Nigeria, and to evaluate spousal communication regarding family planning. A community-based, mixed-methods study enrolled participants in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria between January 11 and June 30, 2012. Quantitative surveys including semi-structured interviews were used to collect information from married men regarding their knowledge and attitudes to modern family planning. The qualitative components constituted focus group discussion sessions and in-depth interviews that included married men, married women, religious leaders, community leaders, and family-planning providers. Quantitative surveys were completed by 152 men; 99 (65.1%) reported that they would accompany their wives to family-planning clinics in the future, 116 (76.3%) reported approving of the use of modern contraception by their wives, and 132 (86.8%) reported wanting to know more about family planning. Both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the study indicated that husbands were the major decision makers regarding family size, choice of contraceptive, and pregnancy timing. In terms of fertility goals and family planning, men were the primary decision makers; consequently, obtaining their support and commitment to family planning is of crucial importance in Nigeria. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Methods of the National Nutrition Survey 1999

OpenAIRE

Resano-Pérez, Elsa; Méndez-Ramírez, Ignacio; Shamah-Levy, Teresa; Rivera, Juan A; Sepúlveda-Amor, Jaime

2003-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To describe the methods and analyses of the 1999 National Nutrition Survey (NNS-99). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The 1999 National Nutrition Survey (NNS-99) is a probabilistic survey with nationwide representativity. The NNS-99 included four regions and urban and rural areas of Mexico. The last sampling units were households, selected through stratified cluster sampling. The study population consisted of children under five years of age, school-age children (6-11 years), and women of chi...

A Method for Automated Planning of FTTH Access Network Infrastructures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riaz, Muhammad Tahir; Pedersen, Jens Myrup; Madsen, Ole Brun

2005-01-01

In this paper a method for automated planning of Fiber to the Home (FTTH) access networks is proposed. We introduced a systematic approach for planning access network infrastructure. The GIS data and a set of algorithms were employed to make the planning process more automatic. The method explains...... method. The method, however, does not fully automate the planning but make the planning process significantly fast. The results and discussion are presented and conclusion is given in the end....

Spatial analysis methods and land-use planning models for rural areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrizia Tassinari

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The work presents a brief report of the main results of a study carried out by the Spatial Engineering Division of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Engineering of the University of Bologna, within a broader PRIN 2005 research project concerning landscape and economic analysis, planning and programming. In particular, the study focuses on the design of spatial analysis methods aimed at building knowledge frameworks of the various natural and anthropic resources of rural areas. The goal is to increase the level of spatial and information detail of common databases, thus allowing higher accuracy and effectiveness of the analyses needed to achieve the goals of new generation spatial and agriculture planning. Specific in-depth analyses allowed to define techniques useful in order to reduce the increase in survey costs. Moreover, the work reports the main results regarding a multicriteria model for the analysis of the countryside defined by the research. Such model is aimed to assess the various agricultural, environmental and landscape features, vocations, expressions and attitudes, and support the definition and implementation of specific and targeted planning and programming policies.

Evidence from cluster surveys on the association between home-based counseling and use of family planning in conflict-affected Darfur.

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, Izzeldin F

2016-05-01

To examine the association between home counseling and awareness and use of modern family planning (FP) methods among women in internally displaced person (IDP) camps in conflict-affected West Darfur, Sudan. In a community-based cross-sectional study, two questionnaire-based surveys were performed in three camps. Home-based counseling had been introduced in March 2006. An initial survey (February 2007) and a follow-up survey (April 2009) targeted women of child-bearing age. A sample of 640 randomly selected women aged 15-49 years who had experienced pregnancy after joining the camp were interviewed for each survey. Overall, modern FP use increased from 10.9% (70/640) in 2007 to 21.6% (138/640) in 2009 (P<0.001). As compared with the initial survey, women in the follow-up survey were more likely to be aware of and to use any modern FP method (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 5.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.9-7.4; and aOR 2.8, 95% CI 2.0-4.1, respectively). Contraceptive pills were the most common modern method used. Home counseling and loss of a child under 5years were the most significant predictors of awareness and use of modern FP methods. After the introduction of home-based FP counseling for couples and FP services in clinics, women's awareness and use of modern FP methods increased in a conflict-affected setting. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study on Top-Down Estimation Method of Software Project Planning

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Jun-guang; L(U) Ting-jie; ZHAO Yu-mei

2006-01-01

This paper studies a new software project planning method under some actual project data in order to make software project plans more effective. From the perspective of system theory, our new method regards a software project plan as an associative unit for study. During a top-down estimation of a software project, Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) method and analogy method are combined to estimate its size, then effort estimation and specific schedules are obtained according to distributions of the phase effort. This allows a set of practical and feasible planning methods to be constructed. Actual data indicate that this set of methods can lead to effective software project planning.

Quality-assurance plan and field methods for quality-of-water activities, U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mann, L.J.

1996-10-01

Water-quality activities at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) Project Office are part of the US Geological Survey's (USGS) Water Resources Division (WRD) mission of appraising the quantity and quality of the Nation's water resources. The purpose of the Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) for water-quality activities performed by the INEL Project Office is to maintain and improve the quality of technical products, and to provide a formal standardization, documentation, and review of the activities that lead to these products. The principles of this plan are as follows: (1) water-quality programs will be planned in a competent manner and activities will be monitored for compliance with stated objectives and approaches; (2) field, laboratory, and office activities will be performed in a conscientious and professional manner in accordance with specified WRD practices and procedures by qualified and experienced employees who are well trained and supervised, if or when, WRD practices and procedures are inadequate, data will be collected in a manner that its quality will be documented; (3) all water-quality activities will be reviewed for completeness, reliability, credibility, and conformance to specified standards and guidelines; (4) a record of actions will be kept to document the activity and the assigned responsibility; (5) remedial action will be taken to correct activities that are deficient

Research Methods in Healthcare Epidemiology: Survey and Qualitative Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Safdar, Nasia; Abbo, Lilian M; Knobloch, Mary Jo; Seo, Susan K

2016-11-01

Surveys are one of the most frequently employed study designs in healthcare epidemiology research. Generally easier to undertake and less costly than many other study designs, surveys can be invaluable to gain insights into opinions and practices in large samples and may be descriptive and/or be used to test associations. In this context, qualitative research methods may complement this study design either at the survey development phase and/or at the interpretation/extension of results stage. This methods article focuses on key considerations for designing and deploying surveys in healthcare epidemiology and antibiotic stewardship, including identification of whether or not de novo survey development is necessary, ways to optimally lay out and display a survey, denominator measurement, discussion of biases to keep in mind particularly in research using surveys, and the role of qualitative research methods to complement surveys. We review examples of surveys in healthcare epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship and review the pros and cons of methods used. A checklist is provided to help aid design and deployment of surveys in healthcare epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1-6.

Demand for family planning satisfied with modern methods among sexually active women in low- and middle-income countries: who is lagging behind?

Science.gov (United States)

Ewerling, Fernanda; Victora, Cesar G; Raj, Anita; Coll, Carolina V N; Hellwig, Franciele; Barros, Aluisio J D

2018-03-06

Family planning is key for reducing unintended pregnancies and their health consequences and is also associated with improvements in economic outcomes. Our objective was to identify groups of sexually active women with extremely low demand for family planning satisfied with modern methods (mDFPS) in low- and middle-income countries, at national and subnational levels to inform the improvement and expansion of programmatic efforts to narrow the gaps in mDFPS coverage. Analyses were based on Demographic and Health Survey and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey data. The most recent surveys carried out since 2000 in 77 countries were included in the analysis. We estimated mDFPS among women aged 15-49 years. Subgroups with low coverage (mDFPS below 20%) were identified according to marital status, wealth, age, education, literacy, area of residence (urban or rural), geographic region and religion. Overall, only 52.9% of the women with a demand for family planning were using a modern contraceptive method, but coverage varied greatly. West & Central Africa showed the lowest coverage (32.9% mean mDFPS), whereas South Asia and Latin America & the Caribbean had the highest coverage (approximately 70% mean mDFPS). Some countries showed high reliance on traditional contraceptive methods, markedly those from Central and Eastern Europe, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE & CIS). Albania, Azerbaijan, Benin, Chad and Congo Democratic Republic presented low mDFPS coverage (planning method. Subgroups requiring special attention include women who are poor, uneducated/illiterate, young, and living in rural areas. Efforts to increase mDFPS must address not only the supply side but also tackle the need to change social norms that might inhibit uptake of contraception.

Estimating family planning coverage from contraceptive prevalence using national household surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Barros, Aluisio J D; Boerma, Ties; Hosseinpoor, Ahmad R; Restrepo-Méndez, María C; Wong, Kerry L M; Victora, Cesar G

2015-01-01

Contraception is one of the most important health interventions currently available and yet, many women and couples still do not have reliable access to modern contraceptives. The best indicator for monitoring family planning is the proportion of women using contraception among those who need it. This indicator is frequently called demand for family planning satisfied and we argue that it should be called family planning coverage (FPC). This indicator is complex to calculate and requires a considerable number of questions to be included in a household survey. We propose a model that can predict FPC from a much simpler indicator - contraceptive use prevalence - for situations where it cannot be derived directly. Using 197 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys and Demographic and Health Surveys from 82 countries, we explored least-squares regression models that could be used to predict FPC. Non-linearity was expected in this situation and we used a fractional polynomial approach to find the best fitting model. We also explored the effect of calendar time and of wealth on the models explored. Given the high correlation between the variables involved in FPC, we managed to derive a relatively simple model that depends only on contraceptive use prevalence but explains 95% of the variability of the outcome, with high precision for the estimated regression line. We also show that the relationship between the two variables has not changed with time. A concordance analysis showed agreement between observed and fitted results within a range of ±9 percentage points. We show that it is possible to obtain fairly good estimates of FPC using only contraceptive prevalence as a predictor, a strategy that is useful in situations where it is not possible to estimate FPC directly.

Synchronous method and engineering tool for the strategic factory planning

OpenAIRE

Abdul Rahman, O.; Jaeger, J.; Constantinescu, C.

2011-01-01

This paper presents the approach to combine two reference methods and engineering tools, for "Factory Performance and Investment Planning«as well as "Value Added Ideal Production Network Planning". The resulted synchronous method aims to support factories in the strategic planning as well as in the network planning. The corresponding engineering tool is employed for assessment planning, sales planning, capacity planning and production costs planning under the consideration of dynamic and stoc...

LAND SURVEY AND CADASTRAL MEASUREMENT MADE FOR AN PLOT PLAN COMPLEX

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madalina Marian

2012-12-01

Full Text Available According to Law no. 7/1996 of Cadastre and Real Estate Publicity, plan plot is a strip ground graphical representation containing strip ground limits and details of all the buildings that define stable land and cadastral division strip ground is technical administrative unit defined by fixed details, identifiable field that does not change over time, such as roads, water, dams, etc. This paper presents how to make a plot plan strip ground covering a 4 forest Ups (production unit and 108UAs (limits of forestry, land use is forest, pasture and village road. High surface is located extraurban limits Arefu in Arges County and has 28185443mp, that’ s equivalent to 2818,54ha. Forest cadastre specific limits are drawn in the work arrangement of forests and are represented by plot limit and the subparcels limit. This paper aims to presenting the main components of a modern surveying device used in our country, to carry out surveying works for forest cadastre. To use GPS technology (Global Position System in combination with the total station.

Minnesota urban partnership agreement national evaluation : surveys, interviews, and focus groups test plan.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-11-17

This report presents the test plan for developing, conducting, and analyzing surveys, interviews, and focus groups for evaluating the Minnesota Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) under the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) UPA Prog...

Survey Methods, Traditional, Public Opinion Polling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elmelund-Præstekær, Christian; Hopmann, David Nicolas; Pedersen, Rasmus Tue

2017-01-01

Traditional public opinion polls are surveys in which a random sample of a given population is asked questions about their attitudes, knowledge, or behavior. If conducted properly, the answers from such surveys are approximately representative of the entire population. Traditional public opinion...... polling is typically based on four different methods of data gathering, or combinations hereof: face-to-face, postal surveys, phone surveys, and web surveys. Given that opinion polls are based on a sample, we cannot be sure that the sample reflects public opinion perfectly, however—even if randomness...... is perfect. Moreover, responses may be highly dependent on the contextual information provided with the question. Also, it may be difficult to capture past or complex causes of attitudes or behavior. In short, surveys are a precise way of measuring public opinion, but they do not come without challenges....

The survey of American college students computer technology preferences & purchasing plans

CERN Document Server

2009-01-01

This report presents data from a survey of more than 400 American college students.  The report presents data on student computer ownership of both PCs and laptops, purchasing plans for PCs and laptops, as well as purchasing plans for cell phones and digital cameras.  The report also provides details on how student finance their computer purchases, how much money comes from parents or guardians, and how much from the student themselves, or from their parties.  In addition to data on PCs the report provides detailed info on use of popular word processing packages such as Word, WordPerfect and Open Office.

United States family planning providers' knowledge of and attitudes towards preexposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention: a national survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Seidman, Dominika; Carlson, Kimberly; Weber, Shannon; Witt, Jacki; Kelly, Patricia J

2016-05-01

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines HIV prevention as a core family planning service. The HIV community identified family planning visits as key encounters for women to access preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention. No studies explore US family planning providers' knowledge of and attitudes towards PrEP. We conducted a national survey of clinicians to understand barriers and facilitators to PrEP implementation in family planning. Family planning providers recruited via website postings, national meetings, and email completed an anonymous survey in 2015. Descriptive statistics were performed. Among 604 respondents, 495 were eligible for analysis and 342 were potential PrEP prescribers (physicians, nurse practitioners, midwives or physicians assistants). Among potential prescribers, 38% correctly defined PrEP [95% confidence interval (CI): 32.5-42.8], 37% correctly stated the efficacy of PrEP (95% CI: 32.0-42.4), and 36% chose the correct HIV test after a recent exposure (95% CI: 30.6-40.8). Characteristics of those who answered knowledge questions correctly included age less than 35 years, practicing in the Northeast or West, routinely offering HIV testing, providing rectal sexually transmitted infection screening or having seen any PrEP guidelines. Even among providers in the Northeast and West, the proportion of respondents answering questions correctly was less than 50%. Thirty-six percent of respondents had seen any PrEP guidelines. Providers identified lack of training as the main barrier to PrEP implementation; 87% wanted PrEP education. To offer comprehensive HIV prevention services, family planning providers urgently need training on PrEP and HIV testing. US family planning providers have limited knowledge about HIV PrEP and HIV testing, and report lack of provider training as the main barrier to PrEP provision. Provider education is needed to ensure that family planning clients access comprehensive HIV prevention methods

Geotechnical survey procedures for a repository mine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walther, C.

1993-01-01

The approach to the survey involves the operational realisation of an information process beginning with the definition of the survey programme and ending with the presentation of the survey results in the form of planning and assessment documents. - The survey methods must conform with the mine regulations, provide reliable predictions and produce the maximum possible salient information. The recording of large and varied amounts of data, and the complex interpretation procedures that follow require effective data and information management to allow the presentation of the results in accordance with the planning specifications. (orig.) [de

Path Planning Methods in an Environment with Obstacles (A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Liu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Planning the path is the most important task in the mobile robot navigation. This task involves basically three aspects. First, the planned path must run from a given starting point to a given endpoint. Secondly, it should ensure robot’s collision-free movement. Thirdly, among all the possible paths that meet the first two requirements it must be, in a certain sense, optimal.Methods of path planning can be classified according to different characteristics. In the context of using intelligent technologies, they can be divided into traditional methods and heuristic ones. By the nature of the environment, it is possible to divide planning methods into planning methods in a static environment and in a dynamic one (it should be noted, however, that a static environment is rare. Methods can also be divided according to the completeness of information about the environment, namely methods with complete information (in this case the issue is a global path planning and methods with incomplete information (usually, this refers to the situational awareness in the immediate vicinity of the robot, in this case it is a local path planning. Note that incomplete information about the environment can be a consequence of the changing environment, i.e. in a dynamic environment, there is, usually, a local path planning.Literature offers a great deal of methods for path planning where various heuristic techniques are used, which, as a rule, result from the denotative meaning of the problem being solved. This review discusses the main approaches to the problem solution. Here we can distinguish five classes of basic methods: graph-based methods, methods based on cell decomposition, use of potential fields, optimization methods, фтв methods based on intelligent technologies.Many methods of path planning, as a result, give a chain of reference points (waypoints connecting the beginning and end of the path. This should be seen as an intermediate result. The problem

METHODS IN THE POST-METHODS ERA. REPORT ON AN INTERNATIONAL SURVEY ON LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODS'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Liu

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Do methods still have a place in 21" century language teaching? To answer this question, an international survey was conducted in the surnmer of 1999. A sample of 800 language teachers world-wide randomly drawn from 17,800 TESOLers were each given a 2-page survey. The return rate was 58.5% with the actual usable data set of448, which was analyzed by using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Among the ten commonly recognized teaching methods surveyed, both the Communicative Language Teaching Approach and an eclectic method seem to have the highest rate in familiarity, preference, and use. But when multiple factors, such as teaching contexts, instructional settings, learners' proficiency levels, class size, teaching experience and educational backgrounds of the teachers, and the status of being a native or nonnative English speaking professional were taken into consideration, various patterns and themes emerged. One interesting finding is that Grammar Translation is still used in EFL contexts, in larger classes, and with learners at low proficiency levels, though the ratio between the actual use of this method and teachers' preference does not match. Based on the results of the survey, a new theoretical framework is proposed to conceptualize language teaching methods in the post-methods era.

On the effectiveness in implementing a waste-management-plan method in construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tam, Vivian W.Y.

2008-01-01

The increasing awareness of waste management concerns from construction and demolition waste has led to the development of waste management as an important function of construction project management. The Hong Kong government started employing the implementation of a waste-management-plan (WMP) method for all construction projects in 2003. During the trial period, the government received different version of feedback from the industry. It also came out that detailed descriptions of waste management procedures in the WMP method largely affect the productivity of companies. This paper investigates the effectiveness of the existing implementation of the WMP method in the Hong Kong construction industry. A questionnaire survey and structured interviews were conducted. The result showed that 'Propose methods for on-site reuse of materials' and 'Propose methods for reducing waste' are the main benefits gained from the implementation of the WMP method. However, 'Low financial incentive' and 'Increase in overhead cost' are considered as the major difficulties in the implementation. From that, 'Use of prefabricated building components' is considered as the major effective measure to encourage the implementation of the WMP method

CAREER PLANS OF GRADUATES OF A CANADIAN DENTAL SCHOOL: PRELIMINARY REPORT OF A 5-YEAR SURVEY.

Science.gov (United States)

Nassar, Usama; Fairbanks, Connor; Flores-Mir, Carlos; Kilistoff, Alan; Easton, Rick

2016-07-01

Comprehensive data on the characteristics and opinions of graduating dental students in Canada are lacking. Specifically, only minimal information is available on graduates' immediate career plans and factors that may influence their decisions regarding these plans. Our aim was to gather such data to allow better understanding of this issue and improve the design of future studies on this topic. The Career Development Committee at the school of dentistry, University of Alberta, designed a short survey to be administered to graduating students over 5 years to gain insight into their immediate career plans and opinions on career services at the school. Preliminary results from 2012-2014 are reported here. With a response rate of close to 90% (n = 99/111), the data reveal considerable differences in immediate career plans between the surveyed students and those in other schools in Canada and the United States. Of the students, 89% were planning to work in a general dental practice and only 9% were planning to enroll in advanced education, including general practice residency training. More research is needed to better understand the factors affecting career path decisions of students.

Suicide Ideation, Plan, and Attempt in the Mexican Adolescent Mental Health Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Borges, Guilherme; Benjet, Corina; Medina-Mora, Maria Elena; Orozco, Ricardo; Nock, Matthew

2008-01-01

The study examines data from the Mexican Adolescent Mental Health Survey to study the prevalence and risk factors for suicide ideation, plan, and attempt among Mexican adolescents. The results reveal patterns of the risk factors and suggest that intervention should focus on adolescents with mental disorders to effectively prevent suicides.

Assessing predictors of contraceptive use and demand for family planning services in underserved areas of Punjab province in Pakistan: results of a cross-sectional baseline survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Azmat, Syed Khurram; Ali, Moazzam; Ishaque, Muhammad; Mustafa, Ghulam; Hameed, Waqas; Khan, Omar Farooq; Abbas, Ghazunfer; Temmerman, Marleen; Munroe, Erik

2015-03-28

Although Pakistan was one of the first countries in Asia to launch national family planning programs, current modern contraceptive use stands at only 26% with a method mix skewed toward short-acting and permanent methods. As part of a multiyear operational research study, a baseline survey was conducted to understand the predictors of contraceptive use and demand for family planning services in underserved areas of Punjab province in Pakistan. This paper presents the baseline survey results; the outcomes of the intervention will be presented in a separate paper after the study has been completed. A cross-sectional baseline household survey was conducted with randomly selected 3,998 married women of reproductive age (MWRA) in the Chakwal, Mianwali, and Bhakkar districts of Punjab. The data were analyzed on SPSS 17.0 using simple descriptive and logistic regression. Most of the women had low socio-economic status and were younger than 30 years of age. Four-fifths of the women consulted private sector health facilities for reproductive health services; proximity, availability of services, and good reputation of the provider were the main predicators for choosing the facilities. Husbands were reported as the key decision maker regarding health-seeking and family planning uptake. Overall, the current contraceptive use ranged from 17% to 21% across the districts: condoms and female sterilization were widely used methods. Woman's age, husband's education, wealth quintiles, spousal communication, location of last delivery, and favorable attitude toward contraception have an association with current contraceptive use. Unmet need for contraception was 40.6%, 36.6%, and 31.9% in Chakwal, Mianwali, and Bhakkar, respectively. Notably, more than one fifth of the women across the districts expressed willingness to use quality, affordable long-term family planning services in the future. The baseline results highlight the need for quality, affordable long-term family planning

GPR survey, as one of the best geophysical methods for social and industrial needs

Science.gov (United States)

Chernov, Anatolii

2016-04-01

This paper is about ways and methods of applying non-invasive geophysical method - Ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey in different spheres of science, industry, social life and culture. Author would like to show that geological methods could be widely used for solving great variety of industrial, human safety and other problems. In that article, we take GPR survey as an example of such useful geophysical methods. It is a fact that investigation of near surface underground medium is important process, which influence on development of different spheres of science and social life: investigation of near surface geology (layering, spreading of rock types, identification of voids, etc.), hydrogeology (depth to water horizons, their thickness), preparation step for construction of roads and buildings (civil geology, engineering geology), investigation of cultural heritage (burial places, building remains,...), ecological investigations (land slides, variation in underground water level, etc.), glaciology. These tasks can be solved by geological methods, but as usual, geophysical survey takes a lot of time and energy (especially electric current and resistivity methods, seismic survey). Author claims that GPR survey can be performed faster than other geophysical surveys and results of GPR survey are informative enough to make proper conclusions. Some problems even cannot be solved without GPR. For example, identification of burial place (one of author's research objects): results of magnetic and electric resistivity tomography survey do not contain enough information to identify burial place, but according to anomalies on GPR survey radarograms, presence of burial place can be proven. Identification of voids and non-magnetic objects also hardly can be done by another non-invasive geophysics surveys and GPR is applicable for that purpose. GPR can be applied for monitoring of dangerous processes in geological medium under roads, buildings, parks and other places of human

Land management planning: a method of evaluating alternatives

Science.gov (United States)

Andres Weintraub; Richard Adams; Linda Yellin

1982-01-01

A method is described for developing and evaluating alternatives in land management planning. A structured set of 15 steps provides a framework for such an evaluation. when multiple objectives and uncertainty must be considered in the planning process. The method is consistent with other processes used in organizational evaluation, and allows for the interaction of...

Use of family planning methods in Kassala, Eastern Sudan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mamoun Mona

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Investigating use and determinants of family planning methods may be instructive in the design of interventions to improve reproductive health services. Findings Across sectional community-based study was conducted during the period February-April 2010 to investigate the use of family planning in Kassala, eastern Sudan. Structured questionnaires were used to gather socio-demographic data and use of family planning. The mean ± SD of the age and parity of 613 enrolled women was 31.1 ± 7 years and 3.4 ± 1.9, respectively. Only 44.0% of these women had previously or currently used one or more of the family planning methods. Combined pills (46.7% and progesterone injection (17.8% were the predominant method used by the investigated women. While age, residence were not associated with the use of family planning, parity (> five, couple education (≥ secondary level were significantly associated with the use of family planning. Husband objection and religious beliefs were the main reasons of non-use of family planning. Conclusion Education, encouragement of health education programs and involvement of the religious persons might promote family planning in eastern Sudan.

Results from a national survey on chronic care management by health plans.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattke, Soeren; Higgins, Aparna; Brook, Robert

2015-05-01

The growing burden of chronic disease necessitates innovative approaches to help patients and to ensure the sustainability of our healthcare system. Health plans have introduced chronic care management models, but systematic data on the type and prevalence of different approaches are lacking. Our goal was to conduct a systematic examination of chronic care management programs offered by health plans in the commercial market (ie, in products sold to employers and individuals. We undertook a national survey of a representative sample of health plans (70 plans, 36% response rate) and 6 case studies on health plans' programs to improve chronic care in the commercial market. The data underwent descriptive and bivariate analyses. All plans, regardless of size, location, and ownership, offer chronic care management programs, which identify eligible members from claims data and match them to interventions based on overall risk and specific care gaps. Plans then report information on care gaps to providers and offer self-management support to their members. While internal evaluations suggest that the interventions improve care and reduce cost, plans report difficulties in engaging members and providers. To overcome those obstacles, plans are integrating their programs into provider work flow, collaborating with providers on care redesign and leveraging patient support technologies. Our study shows that chronic care management programs have become a standard component of the overall approach used by health plans to manage the health of their members.

Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method, 4th Edition

Science.gov (United States)

Dillman, Don A.; Smyth, Jolene D.; Christian, Lean Melani

2014-01-01

For over two decades, Dillman's classic text on survey design has aided both students and professionals in effectively planning and conducting mail, telephone, and, more recently, Internet surveys. The new edition is thoroughly updated and revised, and covers all aspects of survey research. It features expanded coverage of mobile phones, tablets,…

Applying Mixed Methods Techniques in Strategic Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Voorhees, Richard A.

2008-01-01

In its most basic form, strategic planning is a process of anticipating change, identifying new opportunities, and executing strategy. The use of mixed methods, blending quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques and data, in the process of assembling a strategic plan can help to ensure a successful outcome. In this article, the author…

First impressions of 3D visual tools and dose volume histograms for plan evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rattray, G.; Simitcioglu, A.; Parkinson, M.; Biggs, J.

1999-01-01

Converting from 2D to 3D treatment planning offers numerous challenges. The practices that have evolved in the 2D environment may not be applicable when translated into the 3D environment. One such practice is the methods used to evaluate a plan. In 2D planning a plane by plane comparison method is generally practiced. This type of evaluation method would not be appropriate for plans produced by a 3D planning system. To this end 3D dose displays and Dose Volume Histograms (DVHs) have been developed to facilitate the evaluation of such plans. A survey was conducted to determine the impressions of Radiation Therapists as they used these tools for the first time. The survey involved comparing a number of plans for a small group of patients and selecting the best plan for each patient. Three evaluation methods were assessed. These included the traditional plane by plane, 3D dose display, and DVHs. Those surveyed found the DVH to be the easiest of the three methods to use, with the 3D display being the next easiest. Copyright (1999) Blackwell Science Pty Ltd

Moving beyond Traditional Methods of Survey Validation

Science.gov (United States)

Maul, Andrew

2017-01-01

In his focus article, "Rethinking Traditional Methods of Survey Validation," published in this issue of "Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives," Andrew Maul wrote that it is commonly believed that self-report, survey-based instruments can be used to measure a wide range of psychological attributes, such as…

Minimum dose method for walking-path planning of nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yong-kuo; Li, Meng-kun; Xie, Chun-li; Peng, Min-jun; Wang, Shuang-yu; Chao, Nan; Liu, Zhong-kun

2015-01-01

Highlights: • For radiation environment, the environment model is proposed. • For the least dose walking path problem, a path-planning method is designed. • The path-planning virtual–real mixed simulation program is developed. • The program can plan walking path and simulate. - Abstract: A minimum dose method based on staff walking road network model was proposed for the walking-path planning in nuclear facilities. A virtual–reality simulation program was developed using C# programming language and Direct X engine. The simulation program was used in simulations dealing with virtual nuclear facilities. Simulation results indicated that the walking-path planning method was effective in providing safety for people walking in nuclear facilities

Applying national survey results for strategic planning and program improvement: the National Diabetes Education Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffey, Susan; Piccinino, Linda; Gallivan, Joanne; Lotenberg, Lynne Doner; Tuncer, Diane

2015-02-01

Since the 1970s, the federal government has spearheaded major national education programs to reduce the burden of chronic diseases in the United States. These prevention and disease management programs communicate critical information to the public, those affected by the disease, and health care providers. The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), the leading federal program on diabetes sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), uses primary and secondary quantitative data and qualitative audience research to guide program planning and evaluation. Since 2006, the NDEP has filled the gaps in existing quantitative data sources by conducting its own population-based survey, the NDEP National Diabetes Survey (NNDS). The NNDS is conducted every 2–3 years and tracks changes in knowledge, attitudes and practice indicators in key target audiences. This article describes how the NDEP has used the NNDS as a key component of its evaluation framework and how it applies the survey results for strategic planning and program improvement. The NDEP's use of the NNDS illustrates how a program evaluation framework that includes periodic population-based surveys can serve as an evaluation model for similar national health education programs.

University Community Engagement and the Strategic Planning Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Newton Miller

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract  Objectives – To understand how university libraries are engaging with the university community (students, faculty, campus partners, and administration when working through the strategic planning process.  Methods – Literature review and exploratory open-ended survey to members of CAUL (Council of Australian University Librarians, CARL (Canadian Association of Research Libraries, CONZUL (Council of New Zealand University Librarians, and RLUK (Research Libraries UK who are most directly involved in the strategic planning process at their library.  Results – Out of a potential 113 participants from 4 countries, 31 people (27% replied to the survey. Libraries most often mentioned the use of regularly-scheduled surveys to inform their strategic planning, which helps to truncate the process for some respondents, as opposed to conducting user feedback specifically for the strategic planning process. Other quantitative methods include customer intelligence and library-produced data. Qualitative methods include the use of focus groups, interviews, and user experience/design techniques to help inform the strategic plan. The focus of questions to users tended to fall towards user-focused (with or without library lens, library-focused, trends and vision, and feedback on plan.  Conclusions – Combining both quantitative and qualitative methods can help give a fuller picture for librarians working on a strategic plan. Having the university community join the conversation on how the library moves forward is an important but difficult endeavour.  Regardless, the university library needs to be adaptive to the rapidly changing environment around it. Having a sense of how other libraries engage with the university community benefits others who are tasked with strategic planning.

Core competency model for the family planning public health nurse.

Science.gov (United States)

Hewitt, Caroline M; Roye, Carol; Gebbie, Kristine M

2014-01-01

A core competency model for family planning public health nurses has been developed, using a three stage Delphi Method with an expert panel of 40 family planning senior administrators, community/public health nursing faculty and seasoned family planning public health nurses. The initial survey was developed from the 2011 Title X Family Planning program priorities. The 32-item survey was distributed electronically via SurveyMonkey(®). Panelist attrition was low, and participation robust resulting in the final 28-item model, suggesting that the Delphi Method was a successful technique through which to achieve consensus. Competencies with at least 75% consensus were included in the model and those competencies were primarily related to education/counseling and administration of medications and contraceptives. The competencies identified have implications for education/training, certification and workplace performance. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Survey Research: Methods, Issues and the Future

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, Ernest W.; Torrisi-Steele, Geraldine; Wang, Victor C. X.

2015-01-01

Survey research is prevalent among many professional fields. Both cost effective and time efficient, this method of research is commonly used for the purposes of gaining insight into the attitudes, thoughts, and opinions of populations. Additionally, because there are several types of survey research designs and data collection instruments, the…

Improving of Business Planning Using the Method of Fuzzy Numbers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iryna Kosteteska

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Summarize the experience of using modern methods in the business plan with the application of economic and mathematical modeling. Methodology: Theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the basic principles of economic theory, agricultural economics and scientific research of leading home and foreign scholars on the theory of planning. Originality: This further justifies business planning processes in agriculture from the standpoint of raising economic protection of farmers. The methodology for assessing farm income for planned indicators through the application of fuzzy numbers method in business planning is improved.

OSM-ORIENTED METHOD OF MULTIMODAL ROUTE PLANNING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Li

2015-07-01

Full Text Available With the increasing pervasiveness of basic facilitate of transportation and information, the need of multimodal route planning is becoming more essential in the fields of communication and transportation, urban planning, logistics management, etc. This article mainly described an OSM-oriented method of multimodal route planning. Firstly, it introduced how to extract the information we need from OSM data and build proper network model and storage model; then it analysed the accustomed cost standard adopted by most travellers; finally, we used shortest path algorithm to calculate the best route with multiple traffic means.

Programmatic Environmental Scans: A Survey Based on Program Planning and Evaluation Concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donna J. Peterson

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Within Extension, environmental scans are most commonly used to assess community or organizational issues or for strategic planning purposes. However, Extension has expanded the use of environmental scans to systematically identify “what programs exist” on a given topic or focus area. Yet, despite recent attention to the topic of environmental scanning in Extension, survey instruments used to conduct environmental scans have not been published. Given the emphasis on implementation of evidence-based practices and programs, having a ready-made survey that can be used to identify programs on a specific topic and that could subsequently lead to an evaluability assessment of those programs would be a useful resource. To encourage the use of environmental scans to identify existing evidence-based programs, this article describes a survey instrument developed for the purpose of scanning for 4-H Healthy Living programs ready for rigorous outcome evaluation and/or national replication. It focuses on the rationale for survey items, as well as provides a summary and definition of those items. The survey tool can be easily adapted for future programmatic environmental scans both within and outside Extension.

Web-based survey design for unravelling semi-compensatory choice in transport and urban planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaplan, Sigal; Bekhor, Shlomo; Shiftan, Yoram

2012-01-01

The estimation of semi-compensatory models is gaining momentum in transport planning in recent years. However, traditional survey methodologies focus on collecting solely compensatory choice data, which leads to information loss when semi-compensatory models are estimated. The present study...

Family planning services quality as a determinant of use of IUD in Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Montana Livia

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Both availability and quality of family planning services are believed to have contributed to increasing contraceptive use and declining fertility rates in developing countries. Yet, there is limited empirical evidence to show the relationship between the quality of family planning services and the population based prevalence of contraceptive methods. This study examined the relationship between quality of family planning services and use of intrauterine devices (IUD in Egypt. Methods The analysis used data from the 2003 Egypt Interim Demographic and Health Survey (EIDHS that included 8,445 married women aged 15–49, and the 2002 Egypt Service Provision Assessment (ESPA survey that included 602 facilities offering family planning services. The EIDHS collected latitude and longitude coordinates of all sampled clusters, and the ESPA collected these coordinates for all sampled facilities. Using Geographic Information System (GIS methods, individual women were linked to a facility located within 10 km of their community. A facility-level index was constructed to reflect the quality of family planning services. Four dimensions of quality of care were examined: counseling, examination room, supply of contraceptive methods, and management. Effects of quality of family planning services on the use of IUD and other contraceptive methods were estimated using multinomial logistic regression. Results are presented as relative risk ratios (RRR with significance levels (p-values. Results IUD use among women who obtained their method from public sources was significantly positively associated with quality of family planning services (RRR = 1.36, p Conclusion This study is one among the few that used geographic information to link data from a population-based survey with an independently sampled health facility survey. The findings demonstrate that service quality is an important determinant of use of clinical contraceptive methods in Egypt

Sampling and Analysis Plan for Supplemental Environmental Project: Aquatic Life Surveys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berryhill, Jesse Tobias [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Gaukler, Shannon Marie [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-09-26

As part of a settlement agreement for nuclear waste incidents in 2014, several supplemental environment projects (SEPs) were initiated at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory) between the U.S. Department of Energy and the state of New Mexico. One SEP from this agreement consists of performing aquatic life surveys and will be used to assess the applicability of using generic ambient water-quality criteria (AWQC) for aquatic life. AWQC are generic criteria developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to cover a broad range of aquatic species and are not unique to a specific region or state. AWQC are established by a composition of toxicity data, called species sensitivity distributions (SSDs), and are determined by LC50 (lethal concentration of 50% of the organisms studied) acute toxicity experiments for chemicals of interest. It is of interest to determine whether aquatic species inhabiting waters on the Pajarito Plateau are adequately protected using the current generic AWQC. The focus of this study will determine which aquatic species are present in ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial waters within LANL boundaries and from reference waters adjacent to LANL. If the species identified from these waters do not generally represent species used in the SSDs, then SSDs may need to be modified and AWQC may need to be updated. This sampling and analysis plan details the sampling methodology, surveillance locations, temporal scheduling, and analytical approaches that will be used to complete aquatic life surveys. A significant portion of this sampling and analysis plan was formalized by referring to Appendix E: SEP Aquatic Life Surveys DQO (Data Quality Objectives).

Geothermal survey handbook

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1974-01-01

The objective of this handbook is to publicize widely the nature of geothermal surveys. It covers geothermal survey planning and measurement as well as measurement of thermal conductivity. Methods for the detection of eruptive areas, the measurement of radiative heat using snowfall, the measurement of surface temperature using infrared radiation and the measurement of thermal flow are described. The book also contains information on physical detection of geothermal reservoirs, the measurement of spring wells, thermographic measurement of surface heat, irregular layer surveying, air thermographics and aerial photography. Isotope measurement techniques are included.

The equivalence of multi-criteria methods for radiotherapy plan optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breedveld, Sebastiaan; Storchi, Pascal R M; Heijmen, Ben J M

2009-01-01

Several methods can be used to achieve multi-criteria optimization of radiation therapy treatment planning, which strive for Pareto-optimality. The property of the solution being Pareto optimal is desired, because it guarantees that no criteria can be improved without deteriorating another criteria. The most widely used methods are the weighted-sum method, in which the different treatment objectives are weighted, and constrained optimization methods, in which treatment goals are set and the algorithm has to find the best plan fulfilling these goals. The constrained method used in this paper, the 2pεc (2-phase ε-constraint) method is based on the ε-constraint method, which generates Pareto-optimal solutions. Both approaches are uniquely related to each other. In this paper, we will show that it is possible to switch from the constrained method to the weighted-sum method by using the Lagrange multipliers from the constrained optimization problem, and vice versa by setting the appropriate constraints. In general, the theory presented in this paper can be useful in cases where a new situation is slightly different from the original situation, e.g. in online treatment planning, with deformations of the volumes of interest, or in automated treatment planning, where changes to the automated plan have to be made. An example of the latter is given where the planner is not satisfied with the result from the constrained method and wishes to decrease the dose in a structure. By using the Lagrange multipliers, a weighted-sum optimization problem is constructed, which generates a Pareto-optimal solution in the neighbourhood of the original plan, but fulfills the new treatment objectives.

Barriers to Use of Family Planning Methods Among Heterosexual Mexican Couples.

Science.gov (United States)

Arias, María Luisa Flores; Champion, Jane Dimmitt; Soto, Norma Elva Sáenz; Tovar, Marlene; Dávila, Sandra Paloma Esparza

2017-05-01

Family planning has become increasingly important as a fundamental component of sexual health and as such is offered via public health systems worldwide. Identification of barriers to use of family planning methods among heterosexual couples living in Mexico is indicated to facilitate access to family planning methods. Barriers to family planning methods were assessed among Mexican heterosexual, sexually active males and females of reproductive age, using a modified Spanish version of the Barriers to the Use of Family Planning Methods scale (Cronbach's alpha = .89, subscales ranging from .53 to .87). Participants were recruited via convenience sampling in ambulatory care clinics within a metropolitan area in Central Mexico. Participants included 52 heterosexual couples aged 18-35 years (N = 104). Sociodemographic comparisons by gender identified older age and higher education, income, and numbers of sexual partners among men than women. More men (50%) than women (25%) were currently using family planning methods; however, 80% overall indicated intentions for its use. Overall, male condoms were used and intended for use most often by men than women. Significant gender-specific differences were found, with men (71.15%) reporting no family planning barriers, whereas women (55.66%) reported barriers including low socioeconomic status, medical concerns, and stigma. The modified Spanish translation demonstrated usefulness for measuring barriers to family planning methods use in Mexico among heterosexual males and females of reproductive age. Barriers identified by Mexican women in this study may be addressed to reduce potential barriers to family planning among Mexican populations.

Does planning of births affect childhood undernutrition? Evidence from demographic and health surveys of selected South Asian countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Rana, Md Juel; Goli, Srinivas

2018-03-01

The prevalence of child undernutrition in South Asia is high, as is also the unmet need for family planning. In previous literature, the biodemographic relationship of family planning, particularly birth order and birth spacing, and nutritional status of children have been assessed separately. The aim of this study was to work on the hypothesis that the planning of births comprising timing, spacing, and number of births improves child undernutrition, especially in the areas with high prevalence of stunting and underweight. We used recent Demographic and Health Survey data from four selected South Asian countries. Binary logistic regression models were applied to estimate the adjusted percentage of stunting and underweight by identified independent factors. Findings suggested that after controlling for other socioeconomic factors, children in the first birth order with >24 mo of interval between marriage and first birth have a lower risk for stunting (20%; p planning of births. The probability of child undernutrition is lower among children born with >24 mo of birth spacing than its counterpart in all birth orders, but the significance of birth spacing reduces with increasing birth orders. Appropriate planning of births using family planning methods in countries with high birth rates has the potential to reduce childhood undernutrition. Thus, the planning of births emerges as an important biodemographic approach to eradicate childhood undernutrition especially in developing regions like South Asia and thereby to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Using model based systems engineering for the development of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope's operational plan

Science.gov (United States)

Selvy, Brian M.; Claver, Charles; Willman, Beth; Petravick, Don; Johnson, Margaret; Reil, Kevin; Marshall, Stuart; Thomas, Sandrine; Lotz, Paul; Schumacher, German; Lim, Kian-Tat; Jenness, Tim; Jacoby, Suzanne; Emmons, Ben; Axelrod, Tim

2016-08-01

We† provide an overview of the Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) language, tool, and methodology being used in our development of the Operational Plan for Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) operations. LSST's Systems Engineering (SE) team is using a model-based approach to operational plan development to: 1) capture the topdown stakeholders' needs and functional allocations defining the scope, required tasks, and personnel needed for operations, and 2) capture the bottom-up operations and maintenance activities required to conduct the LSST survey across its distributed operations sites for the full ten year survey duration. To accomplish these complimentary goals and ensure that they result in self-consistent results, we have developed a holistic approach using the Sparx Enterprise Architect modeling tool and Systems Modeling Language (SysML). This approach utilizes SysML Use Cases, Actors, associated relationships, and Activity Diagrams to document and refine all of the major operations and maintenance activities that will be required to successfully operate the observatory and meet stakeholder expectations. We have developed several customized extensions of the SysML language including the creation of a custom stereotyped Use Case element with unique tagged values, as well as unique association connectors and Actor stereotypes. We demonstrate this customized MBSE methodology enables us to define: 1) the rolls each human Actor must take on to successfully carry out the activities associated with the Use Cases; 2) the skills each Actor must possess; 3) the functional allocation of all required stakeholder activities and Use Cases to organizational entities tasked with carrying them out; and 4) the organization structure required to successfully execute the operational survey. Our approach allows for continual refinement utilizing the systems engineering spiral method to expose finer levels of detail as necessary. For example, the bottom-up, Use Case

Quality assurance program plan for the radiological survey activities program: Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramos, S.J.; Berven, B.A.; Little, C.A.

1986-08-01

The Radiological Survey Activities (RASA) program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is responsible for surveying designated sites in the vicinity of 24 inactive mill sites involved in the Department of Energy's (DOE) Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project (UMTRAP). The purpose of these surveys is to provide a recommendation to DOE whether to include or exclude the site from UMTRAP based on whether the onsite residual radioactive material (if any) originated from the former mill sites, and radiation levels onsite are in excess of appropriate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criteria. This report describes the quality assurance program plan for the RASA program in conducting all activities related to the UMTRA project. All quality assurance provisions given by the DOE, DOE/UMTRA, and ORNL organizations are integrated into this plan. Specifically, this report identifies the policies and procedures followed in accomplishing the RASA/UMTRAP QA program, identifies those organizational units involved in the implementation of these procedures, and outlines the respective responsibilities of those groups

Quality assurance program plan for the Radiological Survey Activities Program - Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramos, S.J.; Berven, B.A.; Little, C.A.

1986-01-01

The Radiological Survey Activities (RASA) program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is responsible for surveying designated sites in the vicinity of 24 inactive mill sites involved in the Department of Energy's (DOE) Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project (UMTRAP). The purpose of these surveys is to provide a recommendation to DOE whether to include or exclude the site from UMTRAP based on whether the onsite residual radioactive material (if any) originated from the former mill sites, and radiation levels onsite are in excess of appropriate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criteria. This report describes the quality assurance program plan for the RASA program in conducting all activities related to the UMTRA project. All quality assurance provisions given by the DOE, DOE/UMTRA, and ORNL organizations are integrated into this plan. Specifically, this report identifies the policies and procedures followed in accomplishing the RASA/UMTRAP QA program, identifies those organizational units involved in the implementation of these procedures, and outlines the respective responsibilities of those groups

State landscape in public health planning and quality improvement: results of the ASTHO survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Madamala, Kusuma; Sellers, Katie; Pearsol, Jim; Dickey, Michael; Jarris, Paul E

2010-01-01

Limited data exist on state public health agencies and their use of planning and quality improvement (QI) initiatives. Using the 2007 Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) State Public Health Survey, this article describes how state public health agencies perform tasks related to planning, performance management (PM), and QI. While 82 percent of respondents report having a QI process in place, only 9.8 percent have it fully implemented departmentwide. Seventy-six percent reported having a PM process in place, with 16 percent (n = 8) having it fully implemented departmentwide. A state health improvement plan was used by 80.4 percent of respondents, with 56.9 percent of respondents completing the plan more than 3 years ago. More than two-thirds (68.2%) of the respondents developed the plan by using results of their state health assessment. Analysis of state health department level planning, PM, and QI initiatives can inform states' efforts to ready themselves to meet the proposed national voluntary accreditation standards of the Public Health Accreditation Board.

Transmission investment and planning in deregulated market environment : a literature survey (part 1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wen, F.; Wu, F.F.

2005-01-01

This paper is the first half of a 2-part paper that provided details of a comprehensive survey of issues related to transmission investment and expansion planning in the electricity market. The lack of adequate transmission capacity has played an important role in recent power crises, and deregulation has had a significant impact on the investment and planning process of transmission systems. The main objective of transmission investment is to meet load demands as cheaply as possible. In a deregulated market, there is no longer centrally coordinated planning of new generation. Transmission planning is generally not coordinated with generation planning. There is considerable uncertainty with regard to transmission capacity requirements due to long lead times for transmission construction. Generating plants and transmission lines are built according to investor assessments and private interests, and current transmission systems were not designed to handle supply and demand patterns in competitive markets. It was recommended that new transmission plans should meet reliability requirements while minimizing expected unserved energy. It was concluded that reliability criteria must be redefined to account for the fact that transmission systems are more stressed under deregulation. Two popular financial transmission rights were also discussed, notably (1) point-to-point financial transmission rights (FTR); and (2) financial flowgate rights (FGR)

Strategic plan for science-U.S. Geological Survey, Ohio Water Science Center, 2010-15

Science.gov (United States)

,

2010-01-01

This Science Plan identifies specific scientific and technical programmatic issues of current importance to Ohio and the Nation. An examination of those issues yielded a set of five major focus areas with associated science goals and strategies that the Ohio Water Science Center will emphasize in its program during 2010-15. A primary goal of the Science Plan is to establish a relevant multidisciplinary scientific and technical program that generates high-quality products that meet or exceed the expectations of our partners while supporting the goals and initiatives of the U.S. Geological Survey. The Science Plan will be used to set the direction of new and existing programs and will influence future training and hiring decisions by the Ohio Water Science Center.

Some factors affecting acceptance of family planning in Manus.

Science.gov (United States)

Avue, B; Freeman, P

1991-12-01

This paper examines selected factors affecting the acceptance and delivery of modern family planning from health centres in Manus. A survey was carried out of mothers attending Maternal and Child Health clinics and a written questionnaire was given to health workers. The survey of mothers demonstrated the importance of the husband's approval for contraceptive practice and showed that knowledge about traditional methods of family planning is widespread. The health workers' questionnaire demonstrated a high level of dissatisfaction with the current family planning program delivered by health clinics: 45% found the program ineffective; 68% wrote that health workers' attitudes discouraged mothers from attending for family planning. The perceived and actual benefits and costs of children and the role of men should be assessed locally before planning future family planning programs. Widespread retraining and motivating of health workers is essential if improved coverage is to be achieved through health services. The efficacy of alternative methods of delivery of family planning such as local community-based and social marketing programs should also be investigated.

Methods of practice and guidelines for using survey-grade global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to establish vertical datum in the United States Geological Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Rydlund, Jr., Paul H.; Densmore, Brenda K.

2012-01-01

flexibility regarding efficiency and quality of data collection. Quality assurance of survey-grade global positioning is often overlooked or not understood and perceived uncertainties can be misleading. GNSS users can benefit from a blueprint of data collection standards used to ensure consistency among USGS mission areas. A classification of GNSS survey qualities provide the user with the ability to choose from the highest quality survey used to establish objective points with low uncertainties, identified as a Level I, to a GNSS survey for general topographic control without quality assurance, identified as a Level IV. A Level I survey is strictly limited to post-processed methods, whereas Level II, Level III, and Level IV surveys integrate variations of a RT approach. Among these classifications, techniques involving blunder checks and redundancy are important, and planning that involves the assessment of the overall satellite configuration, as well as terrestrial and space weather, are necessary to ensure an efficient and quality campaign. Although quality indicators and uncertainties are identified in post-processed methods using CORS, the accuracy of a GNSS survey is most effectively expressed as a comparison to a local benchmark that has a high degree of confidence. Real-time and post-processed methods should incorporate these "trusted" benchmarks as a check during any campaign. Global positioning surveys are expected to change rapidly in the future. The expansion of continuously operating reference stations, combined with newly available satellite signals, and enhancements to the conterminous geoid, are all sufficient indicators for substantial growth in real-time positioning and quality thereof.

Quality-assurance plan for water-quality activities in the U.S. Geological Survey Washington Water Science Center

Science.gov (United States)

Conn, Kathleen E.; Huffman, Raegan L.; Barton, Cynthia

2017-05-08

In accordance with guidelines set forth by the Office of Water Quality in the Water Mission Area of the U.S. Geological Survey, a quality-assurance plan has been created for use by the Washington Water Science Center (WAWSC) in conducting water-quality activities. This qualityassurance plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the WAWSC for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of water-quality data. The policies and procedures documented in this quality-assurance plan for water-quality activities complement the quality-assurance plans for surface-water and groundwater activities at the WAWSC.

Curvature-Continuous 3D Path-Planning Using QPMI Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seong-Ryong Chang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available It is impossible to achieve vertex movement and rapid velocity control in aerial robots and aerial vehicles because of momentum from the air. A continuous-curvature path ensures such robots and vehicles can fly with stable and continuous movements. General continuous path-planning methods use spline interpolation, for example B-spline and Bézier curves. However, these methods cannot be directly applied to continuous path planning in a 3D space. These methods use a subset of the waypoints to decide curvature and some waypoints are not included in the planned path. This paper proposes a method for constructing a curvature-continuous path in 3D space that includes every waypoint. The movements in each axis, x, y and z, are separated by the parameter u. Waypoint groups are formed, each with its own continuous path derived using quadratic polynomial interpolation. The membership function then combines each continuous path into one continuous path. The continuity of the path is verified and the curvature-continuous path is produced using the proposed method.

Distribution Route Planning of Clean Coal Based on Nearest Insertion Method

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yunrui

2018-01-01

Clean coal technology has made some achievements for several ten years, but the research in its distribution field is very small, the distribution efficiency would directly affect the comprehensive development of clean coal technology, it is the key to improve the efficiency of distribution by planning distribution route rationally. The object of this paper was a clean coal distribution system which be built in a county. Through the surveying of the customer demand and distribution route, distribution vehicle in previous years, it was found that the vehicle deployment was only distributed by experiences, and the number of vehicles which used each day changed, this resulted a waste of transport process and an increase in energy consumption. Thus, the mathematical model was established here in order to aim at shortest path as objective function, and the distribution route was re-planned by using nearest-insertion method which been improved. The results showed that the transportation distance saved 37 km and the number of vehicles used had also been decreased from the past average of 5 to fixed 4 every day, as well the real loading of vehicles increased by 16.25% while the current distribution volume staying same. It realized the efficient distribution of clean coal, achieved the purpose of saving energy and reducing consumption.

Prenotification, Incentives, and Survey Modality: An Experimental Test of Methods to Increase Survey Response Rates of School Principals

Science.gov (United States)

Jacob, Robin Tepper; Jacob, Brian

2012-01-01

Teacher and principal surveys are among the most common data collection techniques employed in education research. Yet there is remarkably little research on survey methods in education, or about the most cost-effective way to raise response rates among teachers and principals. In an effort to explore various methods for increasing survey response…

National health and nutrition examination survey: plan and operations, 1999-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Zipf, George; Chiappa, Michele; Porter, Kathryn S; Ostchega, Yechiam; Lewis, Brenda G; Dostal, Jennifer

2013-08-01

Background-Starting in 1999, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) became a continuous, ongoing annual survey of the noninstitutionalized civilian resident population of the United States. A continuous survey allowed content to change to meet emerging needs. Objective-This report describes how NHANES for 1999-2010 was designed and implemented. NHANES is a national survey designed to provide national estimates on various health-related topics. Methods-The survey used in-person face-to-face interviews and physical examinations for data collection. Approximately 5,000 people per year participated in NHANES. The 5,000 people surveyed each year are representative of the entire U.S. population. All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.

The method of planning the energy consumption for electricity market

Science.gov (United States)

Russkov, O. V.; Saradgishvili, S. E.

2017-10-01

The limitations of existing forecast models are defined. The offered method is based on game theory, probabilities theory and forecasting the energy prices relations. New method is the basis for planning the uneven energy consumption of industrial enterprise. Ecological side of the offered method is disclosed. The program module performed the algorithm of the method is described. Positive method tests at the industrial enterprise are shown. The offered method allows optimizing the difference between planned and factual consumption of energy every hour of a day. The conclusion about applicability of the method for addressing economic and ecological challenges is made.

Development of an Integrated GIS and Land Use Planning Course: Impacts of Hybrid Instructional Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Kamruzzaman, M.

2014-01-01

This study reports an action research undertaken at Queensland University of Technology. It evaluates the effectiveness of the integration of geographic information systems (GIS) within the substantive domains of an existing land use planning course in 2011. Using student performance, learning experience survey, and questionnaire survey data, it…

Hexographic Method of Complex Town-Planning Terrain Estimate

Science.gov (United States)

Khudyakov, A. Ju

2017-11-01

The article deals with the vital problem of a complex town-planning analysis based on the “hexographic” graphic analytic method, makes a comparison with conventional terrain estimate methods and contains the method application examples. It discloses a procedure of the author’s estimate of restrictions and building of a mathematical model which reflects not only conventional town-planning restrictions, but also social and aesthetic aspects of the analyzed territory. The method allows one to quickly get an idea of the territory potential. It is possible to use an unlimited number of estimated factors. The method can be used for the integrated assessment of urban areas. In addition, it is possible to use the methods of preliminary evaluation of the territory commercial attractiveness in the preparation of investment projects. The technique application results in simple informative graphics. Graphical interpretation is straightforward from the experts. A definite advantage is the free perception of the subject results as they are not prepared professionally. Thus, it is possible to build a dialogue between professionals and the public on a new level allowing to take into account the interests of various parties. At the moment, the method is used as a tool for the preparation of integrated urban development projects at the Department of Architecture in Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “South Ural State University (National Research University)”, FSAEIHE SUSU (NRU). The methodology is included in a course of lectures as the material on architectural and urban design for architecture students. The same methodology was successfully tested in the preparation of business strategies for the development of some territories in the Chelyabinsk region. This publication is the first in a series of planned activities developing and describing the methodology of hexographical analysis in urban and architectural practice. It is also

Biological variables for the site survey of surface ecosystems - existing data and survey methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kylaekorpi, Lasse; Berggren, Jens; Larsson, Mats; Liberg, Maria; Rydgren, Bernt

2000-06-01

In the process of selecting a safe and environmentally acceptable location for the deep level repository of nuclear waste, site surveys will be carried out. These site surveys will also include studies of the biota at the site, in order to assure that the chosen site will not conflict with important ecological interests, and to establish a thorough baseline for future impact assessments and monitoring programmes. As a preparation to the site survey programme, a review of the variables that need to be surveyed is conducted. This report contains the review for some of those variables. For each variable, existing data sources and their characteristics are listed. For those variables for which existing data sources are inadequate, suggestions are made for appropriate methods that will enable the establishment of an acceptable baseline. In this report the following variables are reviewed: Fishery, Landscape, Vegetation types, Key biotopes, Species (flora and fauna), Red-listed species (flora and fauna), Biomass (flora and fauna), Water level, water retention time (incl. water body and flow), Nutrients/toxins, Oxygen concentration, Layering, stratification, Light conditions/transparency, Temperature, Sediment transport, (Marine environments are excluded from this review). For a major part of the variables, the existing data coverage is most likely insufficient. Both the temporal and/or the geographical resolution is often limited, which means that complementary surveys must be performed during (or before) the site surveys. It is, however, in general difficult to make exact judgements on the extent of existing data, and also to give suggestions for relevant methods to use in the site surveys. This can be finally decided only when the locations for the sites are decided upon. The relevance of the different variables also depends on the environmental characteristics of the sites. Therefore, we suggest that when the survey sites are selected, an additional review is

Biological variables for the site survey of surface ecosystems - existing data and survey methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kylaekorpi, Lasse; Berggren, Jens; Larsson, Mats; Liberg, Maria; Rydgren, Bernt [SwedPower AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

2000-06-01

In the process of selecting a safe and environmentally acceptable location for the deep level repository of nuclear waste, site surveys will be carried out. These site surveys will also include studies of the biota at the site, in order to assure that the chosen site will not conflict with important ecological interests, and to establish a thorough baseline for future impact assessments and monitoring programmes. As a preparation to the site survey programme, a review of the variables that need to be surveyed is conducted. This report contains the review for some of those variables. For each variable, existing data sources and their characteristics are listed. For those variables for which existing data sources are inadequate, suggestions are made for appropriate methods that will enable the establishment of an acceptable baseline. In this report the following variables are reviewed: Fishery, Landscape, Vegetation types, Key biotopes, Species (flora and fauna), Red-listed species (flora and fauna), Biomass (flora and fauna), Water level, water retention time (incl. water body and flow), Nutrients/toxins, Oxygen concentration, Layering, stratification, Light conditions/transparency, Temperature, Sediment transport, (Marine environments are excluded from this review). For a major part of the variables, the existing data coverage is most likely insufficient. Both the temporal and/or the geographical resolution is often limited, which means that complementary surveys must be performed during (or before) the site surveys. It is, however, in general difficult to make exact judgements on the extent of existing data, and also to give suggestions for relevant methods to use in the site surveys. This can be finally decided only when the locations for the sites are decided upon. The relevance of the different variables also depends on the environmental characteristics of the sites. Therefore, we suggest that when the survey sites are selected, an additional review is

Methodical recommendations for power unit comprehensive engineering and radiation survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nosovskij, A.V.

2000-01-01

The article describes power unit radiation survey methods developed and applied during conduction of Ch NPP unit I Comprehensive Engineering Radiation Survey. Special requirements for units under decommissioning, main survey principals, criteria for definition of volume and the order of survey for various systems of a NPP Unit are included

Power generation planning: a survey from monopoly to competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kagiannas, A.G.; Askounis, D.T.; Psarras, J.

2004-01-01

During the last two decades electric power generation industry in many countries and regions around the world has undergone a significant transformation from being a centrally coordinated monopoly to a deregulated liberalized market. In the majority of those countries, competition has been introduced through the adoption of a competitive wholesale electricity spot market. Short-term efficiency of power generators under competitive environment has attracted considerable effort from researchers, while long-term investment performance has received less attention. In this context, the paper aims to serve as a comprehensive review basis for generation planning methods applied in a competitive electric power generation market. The traditional modeling techniques developed for generation expansion planning under monopoly are initially presented in an effort to assess the evolution of generation planning according to the evolution of the structure of the electric power market. (author)

Design and methodology of a mixed methods follow-up study to the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Staveteig, Sarah; Aryeetey, Richmond; Anie-Ansah, Michael; Ahiadeke, Clement; Ortiz, Ladys

2017-01-01

The intended meaning behind responses to standard questions posed in large-scale health surveys are not always well understood. Systematic follow-up studies, particularly those which pose a few repeated questions followed by open-ended discussions, are well positioned to gauge stability and consistency of data and to shed light on the intended meaning behind survey responses. Such follow-up studies require extensive coordination and face challenges in protecting respondent confidentiality during the process of recontacting and reinterviewing participants. We describe practical field strategies for undertaking a mixed methods follow-up study during a large-scale health survey. The study was designed as a mixed methods follow-up study embedded within the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). The study was implemented in 13 clusters. Android tablets were used to import reference data from the parent survey and to administer the questionnaire, which asked a mixture of closed- and open-ended questions on reproductive intentions, decision-making, and family planning. Despite a number of obstacles related to recontacting respondents and concern about respondent fatigue, over 92 percent of the selected sub-sample were successfully recontacted and reinterviewed; all consented to audio recording. A confidential linkage between GDHS data, follow-up tablet data, and audio transcripts was successfully created for the purpose of analysis. We summarize the challenges in follow-up study design, including ethical considerations, sample size, auditing, filtering, successful use of tablets, and share lessons learned for future such follow-up surveys.

SU-E-T-213: Comparison of Treatment Efficiency of Gamma Knife SRS Plans for Brain Metastases with Different Planning Methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng, Y [East Carolina Univ, Greenville, NC (United States); Huang, Z [East Carolina University, Greenville, NC (United States); Lo, S [Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (United States); Mayr, N; Yuh, W [University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: To improve Gamma Knife SRS treatment efficiency for brain metastases and compare the differences of treatment time and radiobiological effects between two different planning methods of automatic filling and manual placement of shots with inverse planning. Methods: T1-weighted MRI images with gadolinium contrast from five patients with a single brain metastatic-lesion were used in this retrospective study. Among them, two were from primary breast cancer, two from primary melanoma cancer and one from primary prostate cancer. For each patient, two plans were generated in Leksell GammaPlan10.1.1 for radiosurgical treatment with a Leksell GammaKnife Perfexion machine: one with automatic filling, automatic sector configuration and inverse optimization (Method1); and the other with manual placement of shots, manual setup of collimator sizes, manual setup of sector blocking and inverse optimization (Method2). Dosimetric quality of the plans was evaluated with parameters of Coverage, Selectivity, Gradient-Index and DVH. Beam-on Time, Number-of-Shots and Tumor Control Probability(TCP) were compared for the two plans while keeping their dosimetric quality very similar. Relative reduction of Beam-on Time and Number-of-Shots were calculated as the ratios among the two plans and used for quantitative analysis. Results: With very similar dosimetric and radiobiological plan quality, plans created with Method 2 had significantly reduced treatment time. Relative reduction of Beam-on Time ranged from 20% to 51 % (median:29%,p=0.001), and reduction of Number-of-Shots ranged from 5% to 67% (median:40%,p=0.0002), respectively. Time of plan creation for Method1 and Method2 was similar, approximately 20 minutes, excluding the time for tumor delineation. TCP calculated for the tumors from differential DVHs did not show significant difference between the two plans (p=0.35). Conclusion: The method of manual setup combined with inverse optimization in LGP for treatment of brain

SU-E-T-213: Comparison of Treatment Efficiency of Gamma Knife SRS Plans for Brain Metastases with Different Planning Methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Y; Huang, Z; Lo, S; Mayr, N; Yuh, W

2015-01-01

Purpose: To improve Gamma Knife SRS treatment efficiency for brain metastases and compare the differences of treatment time and radiobiological effects between two different planning methods of automatic filling and manual placement of shots with inverse planning. Methods: T1-weighted MRI images with gadolinium contrast from five patients with a single brain metastatic-lesion were used in this retrospective study. Among them, two were from primary breast cancer, two from primary melanoma cancer and one from primary prostate cancer. For each patient, two plans were generated in Leksell GammaPlan10.1.1 for radiosurgical treatment with a Leksell GammaKnife Perfexion machine: one with automatic filling, automatic sector configuration and inverse optimization (Method1); and the other with manual placement of shots, manual setup of collimator sizes, manual setup of sector blocking and inverse optimization (Method2). Dosimetric quality of the plans was evaluated with parameters of Coverage, Selectivity, Gradient-Index and DVH. Beam-on Time, Number-of-Shots and Tumor Control Probability(TCP) were compared for the two plans while keeping their dosimetric quality very similar. Relative reduction of Beam-on Time and Number-of-Shots were calculated as the ratios among the two plans and used for quantitative analysis. Results: With very similar dosimetric and radiobiological plan quality, plans created with Method 2 had significantly reduced treatment time. Relative reduction of Beam-on Time ranged from 20% to 51 % (median:29%,p=0.001), and reduction of Number-of-Shots ranged from 5% to 67% (median:40%,p=0.0002), respectively. Time of plan creation for Method1 and Method2 was similar, approximately 20 minutes, excluding the time for tumor delineation. TCP calculated for the tumors from differential DVHs did not show significant difference between the two plans (p=0.35). Conclusion: The method of manual setup combined with inverse optimization in LGP for treatment of brain

A multi-method high-resolution geophysical survey in the Machado de Castro museum, central Portugal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grangeia, Carlos; Matias, Manuel; Hermozilha, Hélder; Figueiredo, Fernando; Carvalho, Pedro; Silva, Ricardo

2011-01-01

Restoration of historical buildings is a delicate operation as they are often built over more ancient and important structures. The Machado de Castro Museum, Coimbra, Central Portugal, has suffered several interventions in historical times and lies over the ancient Roman forum of Coimbra. This building went through a restoration project. These works were preceded by an extensive geophysical survey that aimed at investigating subsurface stratigraphy, including archeological remains, and the internal structure of the actual walls. Owing to the needs of the project, geophysical data interpretation required not only integration but also high resolution. The study consisted of data acquisition over perpendicular planes and different levels that required detailed survey planning and integration of data from different locations that complement images of the surveyed area. Therefore a multi-method, resistivity imaging and a 3D ground probing radar (GPR), high-resolution geophysical survey was done inside the museum. Herein, radargrams are compared with the revealed stratigraphy so that signatures are interpreted, characterized and assigned to archeological structures. Although resistivity and GPR have different resolution capabilities, their data are overlapped and compared, bearing in mind the specific characteristics of this survey. It was also possible to unravel the inner structure of the actual walls, to establish connections between walls, foundations and to find older remains with the combined use and spatial integration of the GPR and resistivity imaging data

Individual account retirement plans: an analysis of the 2007 survey of consumer finances, with market adjustments to June 2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Copeland, Craig

2009-08-01

LATEST SCF DATA: This Issue Brief assesses the current status of Americans' savings for retirement by examining the incidence of individual account plans among families, as well as the average amount of assets accumulated in these accounts. The 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), the Federal Reserve Board's triennial survey of wealth, is the basis for this study, as it is a leading source of data on Americans' wealth, provides detailed information on retirement plan incidence and account balances among families, and is the latest available. ACCOUNTING FOR THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN: While 2007 SCF is the most comprehensive and current survey of Americans' finances, its timing was unfortunate due to the significant downturn in the economy in 2008 just after the survey was released. To account for that change, this analysis provides estimates of the changes in asset values from the end of 2007 to mid-June 2009 for individual account plan balances. The account balances of the defined contribution plans and IRAs are adjusted based on the asset allocation reported within the plans by using equity market returns and bond market returns from January 1, 2008, to June 19, 2009. MEDIAN ASSET LEVELS FOR DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLANS: Among all families with a defined contribution plan in 2007, the median (mid-point) plan balance was $31,800, up 16 percent from 2004. According to EBRI estimates, this dropped 16.4 percent (to $26,578) from year-end 2007 to mid-June 2009. Losses were higher for families with more than $100,000 a year in income (down 22 percent) or having a net worth in the top 10 percent (down 28 percent). MEDIAN ASSET LEVELS FOR IRA/KEOGH PLANS: Among all families with an IRA/Keogh plan, the median value of their plan was $34,000 in 2007, up 3 percent from 2004. EBRI estimates this median value dropped 15 percent (to $28,955) from year-end 2007 to mid-June 2009. LESS THAN HALF OF ALL FAMILIES HAVE A RETIREMENT PLAN THROUGH A CURRENT JOB: In 2007, 40.6 percent of

A social survey on the noise impact in open-plan working environments in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Mei; Kang, Jian; Jiao, Fenglei

2012-11-01

The aim of this study is to reveal noise impact in open-plan working environments in China, through a series of questionnaire surveys and acoustic measurements in typical open-plan working environments. It has been found that compared to other physical environmental factors in open-plan working environments, people are much less satisfied with the acoustic environment. The noise impact in the surveyed working environments is rather significant, in terms of sound level inside the office, understanding of colleagues' conversation, and the use of background music such as music players. About 30-50% of the interviewees think that various noise sources inside and outside offices are 'very disturbing' and 'disturbing', and the most annoying sounds include noises from outside, ventilation systems, office equipment, and keyboard typing. Using higher panels to separate work space, or working in enclosed offices, are regarded as effective improvement measures, whereas introducing natural sounds to mask unwanted sounds seems to be not preferable. There are significant correlations between the evaluation of acoustic environment and office symptoms, including hypersensitivity to loud sounds, easily getting tired and depression. There are also significant correlations between evaluation of various acoustics-related factors and certain statements relating to job satisfaction, including sensitivity to noise, as well as whether conversations could be heard by colleagues. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of planning methods for demand-side management (DSM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaerkkaeinen, S.; Kekkonen, V.; Rissanen, P.

1995-01-01

The interest of utilities and governmental agencies in Demand-side management (IDSM) and Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) has increased during recent years also in Finland. From the governmental point of view, the main reason for this has been concern about the environmental effects of electricity supply and consumption. Utilities are mainly interested in cost reductions in electricity supply and distribution caused by DSM. Also improved service to the customer due to DSM has increasing value to utilities. In this project, the main target has been to develop and assess methods for DSM planning from the utility point of view. The final goal is to integrate these methods into the strategic planning of electric utilities

Applying Recreation Survey Results to Recreation Planning for Water-Based Recreation Areas in California

Science.gov (United States)

Garrett Duncan; John Mintz; Douglas Rischbieter; John Baas

2004-01-01

This paper focuses on identifying applications of recreation survey results in the context of water-based recreation planning. Recreation researchers have sometimes been criticized for conducting research that is weak in applied value (Cordell 1999). The paper also focuses on the important, but sometimes forgotten role that private entities play (e.g., Pacific Gas and...

Distribution network planning method considering distributed generation for peak cutting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouyang Wu; Cheng Haozhong; Zhang Xiubin; Yao Liangzhong

2010-01-01

Conventional distribution planning method based on peak load brings about large investment, high risk and low utilization efficiency. A distribution network planning method considering distributed generation (DG) for peak cutting is proposed in this paper. The new integrated distribution network planning method with DG implementation aims to minimize the sum of feeder investments, DG investments, energy loss cost and the additional cost of DG for peak cutting. Using the solution techniques combining genetic algorithm (GA) with the heuristic approach, the proposed model determines the optimal planning scheme including the feeder network and the siting and sizing of DG. The strategy for the site and size of DG, which is based on the radial structure characteristics of distribution network, reduces the complexity degree of solving the optimization model and eases the computational burden substantially. Furthermore, the operation schedule of DG at the different load level is also provided.

Optimal power flow: a bibliographic survey I. Formulations and deterministic methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frank, Stephen [Colorado School of Mines, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Golden, CO (United States); Steponavice, Ingrida [University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Mathematical Information Technology, Agora (Finland); Rebennack, Steffen [Colorado School of Mines, Division of Economics and Business, Golden, CO (United States)

2012-09-15

Over the past half-century, optimal power flow (OPF) has become one of the most important and widely studied nonlinear optimization problems. In general, OPF seeks to optimize the operation of electric power generation, transmission, and distribution networks subject to system constraints and control limits. Within this framework, however, there is an extremely wide variety of OPF formulations and solution methods. Moreover, the nature of OPF continues to evolve due to modern electricity markets and renewable resource integration. In this two-part survey, we survey both the classical and recent OPF literature in order to provide a sound context for the state of the art in OPF formulation and solution methods. The survey contributes a comprehensive discussion of specific optimization techniques that have been applied to OPF, with an emphasis on the advantages, disadvantages, and computational characteristics of each. Part I of the survey (this article) provides an introduction and surveys the deterministic optimization methods that have been applied to OPF. Part II of the survey examines the recent trend towards stochastic, or non-deterministic, search techniques and hybrid methods for OPF. (orig.)

LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) — The survey's science plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Licai; Liu Chao; Chen Yuqin; Li Jing; Newberg Heidi Jo; Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Beers, Timothy C.; Chen Li; Hou Jinliang; Christlieb, Norbert; Grillmair, Carl J.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Han Zhanwen; Wang Bo; Lee, Hsu-Tai; Lépine, Sébastien; Liu Xiaowei; Pan Kaike; Sellwood, J. A.; Wang Hongchi

2012-01-01

We describe the current plans for a spectroscopic survey of millions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy using the Guo Shou Jing Telescope (GSJT, formerly called the Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope — LAMOST). The survey will obtain spectra for 2.5 million stars brighter than r < 19 during dark/grey time, and 5 million stars brighter than r < 17 or J < 16 on nights that are moonlit or have low transparency. The survey will begin in the fall of 2012, and will run for at least four years. The telescope's design constrains the optimal declination range for observations to 10° < δ < 50°, and site conditions lead to an emphasis on stars in the direction of the Galactic anticenter. The survey is divided into three parts with different target selection strategies: disk, anticenter, and spheroid. The resulting dataset will be used to study the merger history of the Milky Way, the substructure and evolution of the disks, the nature of the first generation of stars through identification of the lowest metallicity stars, and star formation through study of open clusters and OB associations. Detailed design of the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) survey will be completed in summer 2012, after a review of the results of the pilot survey.

Survey report: Eastern Caribbean.

Science.gov (United States)

Yinger, N

1991-01-01

Over 1 million people live on 8 small islands in the Eastern Caribbean: St. Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Grenada, St. Vincent, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, and Dominica. Starting in 1985 the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Western Hemisphere Region has carried out a series of contraceptive prevalence surveys in these countries. Current information is provided by these surveys in the areas of fertility levels and preferences, contraceptive knowledge and use. Also, socioeconomic, historical and demographic background and analysis such as fertility patterns, desire for additional children, and breastfeeding data; contraceptive awareness including family planning methods and sources; contraceptive use by method, source, and timing, satisfaction, and male attitudes are provided in the surveys, but not in the report abstracted here. The total fertility rate (TFR) and the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) for the 8 islands are as follows: St. Kitts-Nevis (1984) 2.9 TFR, 40.6 CPR; St. Vincent (1988) 2.9 TFR, 58.3 CPR; Antigua (1988) 1.8 TFR, 52.6 CPR; Barbados (1988) not given, 55.0 CPR; St. Lucia (1988) 3.2 TFR, 47.3 CPR; Dominica (1987) 3.2 TFR, 49.8 CPR. The islands have unusual demographic patterns related to extensive out-migration.

Report on Saginaw Bay Area Environmental Policy, Planning and Management survey. Final report, April 1991-March 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, C.; Zhao, W.; Edens, T.C.

1992-04-01

An environmental policy, planning, and management survey was conducted in the Saginaw Bay area in the Fall of 1991. The survey identified unemployment, factory closure and environmental quality degradation as the major economic and environmental problems in the area. Surface water contamination, excessive nutrients and zebra mussel infestation were the most serious problems affecting water quality. Soil erosion, excessive fertilization and pesticide applications were the most important non-point sources of water pollution. Toxic chemicals, phosphorus, suspended solids, heavy metals were the major water pollutants in the area. Pollution cleanup, land use planning, and control of zebra mussels were identified as the top implementation priorities for the area. Recommendations made by the respondents for improving environmental quality are summarized in the report.

The evolving role and care management approaches of safety-net medicaid managed care plans

OpenAIRE

Gusmano, Michael K.; Sparer, Michael S.; Brown, Lawrence D.; Rowe, Catherine; Gray, Bradford

2002-01-01

This article provides new empirical data about the viability and the care management activities of Medicaid managed-care plans sponsored by provider organizations that serve Medicaid and other low-income populations. Using survey and case study methods we studied these “safety-net” health plans in 1998 and 2000. Although the number of safety-net plans declined over this period, the surviving plans were larger and enjoying greater financial success than the plans we surveyed in 1998. We also f...

Underwater photography - A visual survey method

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sharma, R.

Content-Type text/plain; charset=UTF-8 173 Underwater photography - A visual survey method Rahul Sharma National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa-403004 rsharma@nio.org Introduction “Photography as a means of observing...-sea photographs were those made by Maurice Ewing and his co-workers during cruises on Atlantis in 1940-48. Their subject was the seafloor and their method of clicking was to trigger the camera mechanically when its mounting struck bottom. This is the only...

29 CFR 4281.16 - Benefit valuation methods-plans closing out.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

..., as determined under this subpart. (b) Valuation rule. The present value of nonforfeitable benefits... 4281(b) of ERISA, the plan sponsor shall value the plan's benefits in accordance with paragraph (b) of... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Benefit valuation methods-plans closing out. 4281.16...

Does the Underground Sidewall Station Survey Method Meet MHSA ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Grobler, Hendrik

The underground survey network in a deep level platinum mine in ... The time duration for peg installation during the initial phase of learning the method was ..... changes to the survey “hardware” including prisms, stems and attachment points ...

A New Method of Global Path Planning for AGV

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SHI En-xiu; HUANG Yu-mei

2006-01-01

Path planning is important in the research of a mobile robot (MR). Methods for it have been used in different applications. An automated guided vehicle(AGV), which is a kind of MR, is used in a flexible manufacturing system(FMS). Path planning for it is essential to improve the efficiency of FMS. A new method was proposed with known obstacle space FMS in this paper. FMS is described by the Augmented Pos Matrix of a Machine (APMM) and Relative Pos Matrix of Machines (RPMM), which is smaller. The optimum path can be obtained according to the probability of the path and the maximal probability path. The suggested algorithm of path planning was good performance through simulation result: simplicity, saving time and reliability.

Utilizing Strategic and Operational Methods for Whole-Community Disaster Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Franks, Stevee; Seaton, Ellen

2017-12-01

Analysis of response and recovery efforts to disasters over the past 2 decades has identified a consistent gap that plagues the nation in regard to persons with access and functional needs. This gap can be highlighted by Hurricane Katrina, where the majority of those killed were a part of the access and functional needs population. After a disaster, many individuals with access and functional needs require assistance recovering but often have difficulty accessing services and resources. These difficulties are due to a combination of issues, such as health problems and the disruption of community support services. We sought to help bridge this gap by focusing on strategic and operational methods used while planning for the whole community. This article highlights the many partnerships that must be fostered for successful whole-community planning. These partnerships include, but are not limited to, local government departments, health agencies, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, and other volunteer organizations. We showcase these methods by using a developmental Post-Disaster Canvassing Plan to highlight planning methods that may aid jurisdictions across the United States in disaster planning for the whole community. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:741-746).

Gresham’s Law of Surveys and Quality Standards in Survey Research

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Krejčí, Jindřich

2010-01-01

Roč. 8, 7-8 (2010), s. 3-6 ISSN 1214-1720 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LA09010 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70280505 Keywords : cross-national comparative research * social survey methods Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography http://www.socioweb.cz/upl/editorial/download/181_pdf%202010%2007%2008.pdf

Marketing plan for online surfing magazine

OpenAIRE

Michna, Jakub

2017-01-01

Název: Marketing plan for online surfing magazine Cíle: The main aim of this thesis is to design a marketing plan for launching new online surfing magazine. This project would emerge from present online media Freeride.cz/Water, which adverse situation is going to be analyzed. Metody: Author used interviewing and personal survey as methods. Secondary data collection, PEST analysis and Google Analytics tool served as framework for resulting SWOT analysis. Výsledky: The marketing plan for one ye...

Assessing risk of draft survey by AHP method

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Guangcheng; Zhao, Kuimin; Zuo, Zhaoying; Liu, Gang; Jian, Binguo; Lin, Yan; Fan, Yukun; Wang, Fei

2018-04-01

The paper assesses the risks of vessel floating in the seawater for draft survey by using the analytic hierarchy process. On this basis, the paper established draft survey risk index from the view of draft reading, ballast water, fresh water, and calculation process and so on. Then the paper proposes the method to deal with risk assessment using one concrete sample.

Methodical approaches in the Norwegian Master Plan for Water Resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowitz, Einar

1997-01-01

The Norwegian Master Plan for Water Resources instructs the management not to consider applications for concession to develop hydroelectric projects in the so called category II of the plan. These are the environmentally most controversial projects or the most expensive projects. This report discusses the methods used in this Master Plan to classify the projects. The question whether the assessments of the environmental disadvantages of hydropower development are reasonable is approached in two ways: (1) Compare the environmental costs imbedded in the Plan with direct assessments, and (2) Discuss the appropriateness of the methodology used for environmental evaluations in the Plan. The report concludes that (1) the environmental costs that can be derived from the ranking in the Plan are significantly greater than those following from direct evaluations, (2) the differences are generally so great that one may ask whether the methods used in the Plan overestimate the real environmental costs, (3) it seems to have been difficult to make a unified assessment of the environmental disadvantages, (4) the Plan has considered the economic impact on agriculture and forestry very roughly and indirectly, which may have contributed to overestimated environmental costs of hydropower development. 20 refs., 6 figs., 7 tabs

Geochemical drainage surveys for uranium: sampling and analytical methods based on trial surveys in Pennsylvania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rose, A.W.; Keith, M.L.; Suhr, N.H.

1976-01-01

Geochemical surveys near sandstone-type uranium prospects in northeastern and north-central Pennsylvania show that the deposits can be detected by carefully planned stream sediment surveys, but not by stream water surveys. Stream waters at single sites changed in U content by x10 to 50 during the 18 months of our studies, and even near known prospects, contain less than 0.2 ppB U most of the time. Uranium extractable from stream sediment by acetic acid--H 2 O 2 provides useful contrast between mineralized and nonmineralized drainages of a square mile or less; total U in sediment does not. High organic material results in increased U content of sediments and must be corrected. Changes in U content of sediment with time reach a maximum of x3 and appear to be of short duration. A sediment of about 200 mi 2 near Jim Thorpe detects anomalies extending over several square miles near known occurrences and a second anomaly about two miles northeast of Penn Haven Jct. A similar survey in Lycoming-Sullivan Counties shows anomalous zones near known prospects of the Beaver Lake area and northwest of Muncy Creek. As, Mn, Pb, and V are enriched in the mineralized zones, and perhaps in surrounding halo zones, but do not appear to be pathfinder elements useful for reconnaissance exploration

A human-machine cooperation route planning method based on improved A* algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhengsheng; Cai, Chao

2011-12-01

To avoid the limitation of common route planning method to blindly pursue higher Machine Intelligence and autoimmunization, this paper presents a human-machine cooperation route planning method. The proposed method includes a new A* path searing strategy based on dynamic heuristic searching and a human cooperated decision strategy to prune searching area. It can overcome the shortage of A* algorithm to fall into a local long term searching. Experiments showed that this method can quickly plan a feasible route to meet the macro-policy thinking.

Field Methods and Quality-Assurance Plan for Quality-of-Water Activities, U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Knobel, LeRoy L.; Tucker, Betty J.; Rousseau, Joseph P.

2008-01-01

Water-quality activities conducted by the staff of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Project Office coincide with the USGS mission of appraising the quantity and quality of the Nation's water resources. The activities are conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Idaho Operations Office. Results of the water-quality investigations are presented in various USGS publications or in refereed scientific journals. The results of the studies are highly regarded, and they are used with confidence by researchers, regulatory and managerial agencies, and interested civic groups. In its broadest sense, quality assurance refers to doing the job right the first time. It includes the functions of planning for products, review and acceptance of the products, and an audit designed to evaluate the system that produces the products. Quality control and quality assurance differ in that quality control ensures that things are done correctly given the 'state-of-the-art' technology, and quality assurance ensures that quality control is maintained within specified limits.

Survey, Hbim and Conservation Plan of a Monumental Building Damaged by Earthquake

Science.gov (United States)

Oreni, D.; Brumana, R.; Della Torre, S.; Banfi, F.

2017-05-01

. In the two years knowledge investigation steps (geometric survey, historical and stratigraphic analysis, materials investigation, structures and soils examination, in situ tests and numerical elaborations) was involved an interdisciplinary group of researchers from various Italian universities, Politecnico di Milano, Università La Sapienza in Rome and the University of L'Aquila, called to provide a scientific advice to the Soprintendenza ai Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici per l'Abruzzo, project manager of the restoration step. In early 2016 the yard of restoration was opened and it is still on-going. The geometrical survey of the basilica was aim to investigate, measure and represent the exact geometry of the damaged structures and their three-dimensional complexity; the survey was planned choosing the tools and methods most appropriate in relation with the accessibility and safety of the structures, the operating ranges of acquisition and the level of detail required by the analysis and the project. This meant to integrate global and local surveying techniques, in order to cross relate data derived by different tools and to make the graphical restitution of the entire monumental complex: topography, laser scanning, photogrammetry, but also hands on instruments, at a scale of representation from 1 : 1 to 1 : 50. The laser scanner survey, registered in the accurate geomatics network, responded to the need to punctually investigate and interpret the geometrical configuration of different spaces of the Basilica, as well as its structural articulation, enabling a series of horizontal and vertical profiles, as requested by various experts involved in the diagnostic steps. HBIM model (Historical Building Information Modeling) of the entire basilica was primarily intended as a tool for stereotomic description of the building and its parts, following the constructive logic of each structural element; then it was used as a support tool for the restoration

SURVEY, HBIM AND CONSERVATION PLAN OF A MONUMENTAL BUILDING DAMAGED BY EARTHQUAKE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Oreni

2017-05-01

to a safe and full use. In the two years knowledge investigation steps (geometric survey, historical and stratigraphic analysis, materials investigation, structures and soils examination, in situ tests and numerical elaborations was involved an interdisciplinary group of researchers from various Italian universities, Politecnico di Milano, Università La Sapienza in Rome and the University of L'Aquila, called to provide a scientific advice to the Soprintendenza ai Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici per l’Abruzzo, project manager of the restoration step. In early 2016 the yard of restoration was opened and it is still on-going. The geometrical survey of the basilica was aim to investigate, measure and represent the exact geometry of the damaged structures and their three-dimensional complexity; the survey was planned choosing the tools and methods most appropriate in relation with the accessibility and safety of the structures, the operating ranges of acquisition and the level of detail required by the analysis and the project. This meant to integrate global and local surveying techniques, in order to cross relate data derived by different tools and to make the graphical restitution of the entire monumental complex: topography, laser scanning, photogrammetry, but also hands on instruments, at a scale of representation from 1 : 1 to 1 : 50. The laser scanner survey, registered in the accurate geomatics network, responded to the need to punctually investigate and interpret the geometrical configuration of different spaces of the Basilica, as well as its structural articulation, enabling a series of horizontal and vertical profiles, as requested by various experts involved in the diagnostic steps. HBIM model (Historical Building Information Modeling of the entire basilica was primarily intended as a tool for stereotomic description of the building and its parts, following the constructive logic of each structural element; then it was used as a support tool for

Survey method for radiological surveys of 300 FF-1 Operable Unit soil and materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greif, A.A.

1997-06-01

This technical basis document is to be used to survey soils at the 300-FF-1 Operable Unit during remediation of the site. Its purpose is to provide a basis for the survey methods to be employed by the Radiological Control Technician to determine if excavated areas require continued remediation in accordance with the Record of Decision for the operable unit

Reasons for using traditional methods and role of nurses in family planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Yurdakul, Mine; Vural, Gülsen

2002-05-01

The withdrawal method and other traditional methods of contraception are still used in Turkey. Ninety-eight percent of women in Turkey know about modern family planning methods and where to find contraceptives. In fact, only one in every three women uses an effective method. The aim of this descriptive and experimental study was to investigate reasons for using traditional methods and the role of nurses in family planning. The women included in the sample were visited in their homes by nurses and educated for family planning in four sessions. Overall, 53.3% of women were using an effective method. However, 54.3% of women living in the Sirintepe district and 41.6% of women living in the Yenikent district were still using the traditional methods they used before. After the education sessions, the most widely used method was found to be intrauterine device (22.8%) in Sirintepe and condom (25%) in Yenikent. There was a significant difference in family planning methods between these two districts (p < 0.001).

BUDGET PLANNING IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nataliya Melnichuk

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to determine the nature, targets, functions, principles and methods of budget planning and development of classifications due to its types. The essence of budget planning presented by various authors, is own interpretation (the process of developing a plan of formation, distribution and redistribution of financial funds according to budget system units during the reporting period based on budgetary purposes and targets defined by socio-economic development strategy is proposed. Methodology. The following methods such as cognition, induction, deduction, analysis and synthesis have been used in the process of survey. Results of the survey proves that budget planning plays an essential role in the financial management. On condition business environment changing even the best management system can become obsolete. The immediate reaction to the new trends in the financial system as a whole, in the industry is possible with budget planning as well. It also allows to make appropriate adjustments to the plans. Adjustment of long-term, medium-term and short-term plans makes it possible, without changing goals, to change ways of their achievement and thus to raise the level of efficiency of budget funds formation and use. It is necessary to revise the whole system plans, including their mission and goals in the case of global changes in the external and internal environment. Practical implications. The proposed approach to the classification of budget planning types allows to cope with the shortcomings of modern planning in the public sector (the development of the targets according to the state budget expenditures in Ukraine remains a formality and it rarely complies with realities. Value/originality is specified in the proposed interpretation which differs from existing ones that provides clarification of budget planning purpose in financial management; classification of budget planning principles, which differs from previous

Introductory study of super survey (next generation underground exploration technology); Super survey (jisedai chika tansa gijutsu) no sendo kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

An investigational study was conducted on the R and D trend of innovative technology aiming at high-accuracy/high-efficiency next generation underground exploration technology (super survey technology). Paying attention to the seismic survey and electromagnetic survey, the study was made on technical characteristics, the utilization status and the needs at sites, the R and D trend, etc. As to the present R and D, the development is proceeded with of the time domain method in the electromagnetic survey, the effective quantity data processing/analysis method and the indication method using the reflection method in the elastic survey. As new technology to be noticed, the following are cited: SQUID magnetometer, underground analysis using magnetic deviation data, electromagnetic migration, ACROSS, rotating seismometer, laser Doppler vibrator, etc. Concerning the course of the next generation underground survey technology, a system of the integrated underground exploration theory is considered which is based on a combination of the electromagnetic survey and seismic exploration. In the study, a plan is worked out for research/development of a technology of analyzing the different data obtained. 49 figs., 13 tabs.

Quality-assurance plan for water-resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Packard, F.A.

1996-01-01

To ensure continued confidence in its products, the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey implemented a policy that all its scientific work be performed in accordance with a centrally managed quality-assurance program. This report establishes and documents a formal policy for current (1995) quality assurance within the Idaho District of the U.S. Geological Survey. Quality assurance is formalized by describing district organization and operational responsibilities, documenting the district quality-assurance policies, and describing district functions. The districts conducts its work through offices in Boise, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Sandpoint, and at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Data-collection programs and interpretive studies are conducted by two operating units, and operational and technical assistance is provided by three support units: (1) Administrative Services advisors provide guidance on various personnel issues and budget functions, (2) computer and reports advisors provide guidance in their fields, and (3) discipline specialists provide technical advice and assistance to the district and to chiefs of various projects. The district's quality-assurance plan is based on an overall policy that provides a framework for defining the precision and accuracy of collected data. The plan is supported by a series of quality-assurance policy statements that describe responsibilities for specific operations in the district's program. The operations are program planning; project planning; project implementation; review and remediation; data collection; equipment calibration and maintenance; data processing and storage; data analysis, synthesis, and interpretation; report preparation and processing; and training. Activities of the district are systematically conducted under a hierarchy of supervision an management that is designed to ensure conformance with Water Resources Division goals quality assurance. The district quality

Knowledge attitude to modern family planning methods in Abraka ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective:. To assess the level of regard and misconceptions of modern family planning methods in Abraka communities. Methods: The interviewer\\'s administered questionnaire method was used to gather the required information from 657 respondents randomly chosen from PO, Ajalomi, Erho, Oria, Otorho, Umeghe, ...

ORGANIZATIONAL AND METHODIC SUPPORT TO COMMERCIAL BANK STRATEGIC PLANNING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. G. Korostyliov

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Organizational and methodic support to bank activity strategic planning comprises making prospects for main bank finance activity indices, their correction and examination as well as control over their dynamics. There are specific features of organization of bank strategic planning at present stage of development of Russian economics. Main stages of this process and principles on which this study should be based are discussed. Banking environment information level should be taken into account, feasibility testing of organizational planning systems having to be undertaken in practice.

Survey of shark fisheries and preparation of a National Plan of Action (NPOA) for conservation and management of shark resources in Bangladesh

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

The report presents; terms of reference; work progress; surveys of shark fishers and traders; shark biodiversity survey; and a National Plan of Action (NPOA) for conservation and management of shark resources in Bangladesh.

Interest of LQAS method in a survey of HTLV-I infection in Benin (West Africa).

Science.gov (United States)

Houinato, Dismand; Preux, Pierre-Marie; Charriere, Bénédicte; Massit, Bruno; Avodé, Gilbert; Denis, François; Dumas, Michel; Boutros-Toni, Fernand; Salamon, Roger

2002-02-01

HTLV-I is heterogeneously distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa. Traditional survey methods as cluster sampling could provide information for a country or region of interest. However, they cannot identify small areas with higher prevalences of infection to help in the health policy planning. Identification of such areas could be done by a Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) method, which is currently used in industry to identify a poor performance in assembly lines. The LQAS method was used in Atacora (Northern Benin) between March and May 1998 to identify areas with a HTLV-I seroprevalence higher than 4%. Sixty-five subjects were randomly selected in each of 36 communes (lots) of this department. Lots were classified as unacceptable when the sample contained at least one positive subject. The LQAS method identified 25 (69.4 %) communes with a prevalence higher than 4%. Using stratified sampling theory, the overall HTLV-I seroprevalence was 4.5% (95% CI: 3.6-5.4%). These data show the interest of LQAS method application under field conditions to detect clusters of infection.

Optimal power flow: a bibliographic survey II. Non-deterministic and hybrid methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frank, Stephen [Colorado School of Mines, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Golden, CO (United States); Steponavice, Ingrida [Univ. of Jyvaskyla, Dept. of Mathematical Information Technology, Agora (Finland); Rebennack, Steffen [Colorado School of Mines, Division of Economics and Business, Golden, CO (United States)

2012-09-15

Over the past half-century, optimal power flow (OPF) has become one of the most important and widely studied nonlinear optimization problems. In general, OPF seeks to optimize the operation of electric power generation, transmission, and distribution networks subject to system constraints and control limits. Within this framework, however, there is an extremely wide variety of OPF formulations and solution methods. Moreover, the nature of OPF continues to evolve due to modern electricity markets and renewable resource integration. In this two-part survey, we survey both the classical and recent OPF literature in order to provide a sound context for the state of the art in OPF formulation and solution methods. The survey contributes a comprehensive discussion of specific optimization techniques that have been applied to OPF, with an emphasis on the advantages, disadvantages, and computational characteristics of each. Part I of the survey provides an introduction and surveys the deterministic optimization methods that have been applied to OPF. Part II of the survey (this article) examines the recent trend towards stochastic, or non-deterministic, search techniques and hybrid methods for OPF. (orig.)

An assembly sequence planning method based on composite algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enfu LIU

2016-02-01

Full Text Available To solve the combination explosion problem and the blind searching problem in assembly sequence planning of complex products, an assembly sequence planning method based on composite algorithm is proposed. In the composite algorithm, a sufficient number of feasible assembly sequences are generated using formalization reasoning algorithm as the initial population of genetic algorithm. Then fuzzy knowledge of assembly is integrated into the planning process of genetic algorithm and ant algorithm to get the accurate solution. At last, an example is conducted to verify the feasibility of composite algorithm.

Laser Scanning in Engineering Surveying: Methods of Measurement and Modeling of Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lenda Grzegorz

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The study is devoted to the uses of laser scanning in the field of engineering surveying. It is currently one of the main trends of research which is developed at the Department of Engineering Surveying and Civil Engineering at the Faculty of Mining Surveying and Environmental Engineering of AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow. They mainly relate to the issues associated with tower and shell structures, infrastructure of rail routes, or development of digital elevation models for a wide range of applications. These issues often require the use of a variety of scanning techniques (stationary, mobile, but the differences also regard the planning of measurement stations and methods of merging point clouds. Significant differences appear during the analysis of point clouds, especially when modeling objects. Analysis of the selected parameters is already possible basing on ad hoc measurements carried out on a point cloud. However, only the construction of three-dimensional models provides complete information about the shape of structures, allows to perform the analysis in any place and reduces the amount of the stored data. Some structures can be modeled in the form of simple axes, sections, or solids, for others it becomes necessary to create sophisticated models of surfaces, depicting local deformations. The examples selected for the study allow to assess the scope of measurement and office work for a variety of uses related to the issue set forth in the title of this study. Additionally, the latest, forward-looking technology was presented - laser scanning performed from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones. Currently, it is basically in the prototype phase, but it might be expected to make a significant progress in numerous applications in the field of engineering surveying.

RANGE RAM: a long-term planning method for managing grazing lands

Science.gov (United States)

Henricus C. Jansen

1976-01-01

Range RAM (Resource Allocation Method) is a computerized planning method designed to assist range managers in developing and selecting alternatives in spatial and temporal allocation of resources. The technique is applicable at the frest or district management levels, or their equivalents. Range RAM can help formulate plans that maximize the production of range outputs...

Using gEUD based plan analysis method to evaluate proton vs. photon plans for lung cancer radiation therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Zhiyan; Zou, Wei J; Chen, Ting; Yue, Ning J; Jabbour, Salma K; Parikh, Rahul; Zhang, Miao

2018-03-01

The goal of this study was to exam the efficacy of current DVH based clinical guidelines draw from photon experience for lung cancer radiation therapy on proton therapy. Comparison proton plans and IMRT plans were generated for 10 lung patients treated in our proton facility. A gEUD based plan evaluation method was developed for plan evaluation. This evaluation method used normal lung gEUD(a) curve in which the model parameter "a" was sampled from the literature reported value. For all patients, the proton plans delivered lower normal lung V 5 Gy with similar V 20 Gy and similar target coverage. Based on current clinical guidelines, proton plans were ranked superior to IMRT plans for all 10 patients. However, the proton and IMRT normal lung gEUD(a) curves crossed for 8 patients within the tested range of "a", which means there was a possibility that proton plan would be worse than IMRT plan for lung sparing. A concept of deficiency index (DI) was introduced to quantify the probability of proton plans doing worse than IMRT plans. By applying threshold on DI, four patients' proton plan was ranked inferior to the IMRT plan. Meanwhile if a threshold to the location of curve crossing was applied, 6 patients' proton plan was ranked inferior to the IMRT plan. The contradictory ranking results between the current clinical guidelines and the gEUD(a) curve analysis demonstrated there is potential pitfalls by applying photon experience directly to the proton world. A comprehensive plan evaluation based on radio-biological models should be carried out to decide if a lung patient would really be benefit from proton therapy. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Does the underground sidewall station survey method meet MHSA ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The question is asked whether or not this method of sur-veying will meet the MHSA standards of accuracy that was developed for typical hangingwall traverse type networks. Results obtained from a survey closure using a network of clusters of four sidewall stations demonstrates that under the described circumstances it will ...

The Search Conference as a Method in Planning Community Health Promotion Actions

Science.gov (United States)

Magnus, Eva; Knudtsen, Margunn Skjei; Wist, Guri; Weiss, Daniel; Lillefjell, Monica

2016-01-01

Aims: The aim of this article is to describe and discuss how the search conference can be used as a method for planning health promotion actions in local communities. Design and methods: The article draws on experiences with using the method for an innovative project in health promotion in three Norwegian municipalities. The method is described both in general and how it was specifically adopted for the project. Results and conclusions: The search conference as a method was used to develop evidence-based health promotion action plans. With its use of both bottom-up and top-down approaches, this method is a relevant strategy for involving a community in the planning stages of health promotion actions in line with political expectations of participation, ownership, and evidence-based initiatives. Significance for public health This article describe and discuss how the Search conference can be used as a method when working with knowledge based health promotion actions in local communities. The article describe the sequences of the conference and shows how this have been adapted when planning and prioritizing health promotion actions in three Norwegian municipalities. The significance of the article is that it shows how central elements in the planning of health promotion actions, as participation and involvements as well as evidence was a fundamental thinking in how the conference were accomplished. The article continue discussing how the method function as both a top-down and a bottom-up strategy, and in what way working evidence based can be in conflict with a bottom-up strategy. The experiences described can be used as guidance planning knowledge based health promotion actions in communities. PMID:27747199

Survey Shows Variation in Ph.D. Methods Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Steeves, Leslie; And Others

1983-01-01

Reports on a 1982 survey of journalism graduate studies indicating considerable variation in research methods requirements and emphases in 23 universities offering doctoral degrees in mass communication. (HOD)

Improving of Business Planning Using the Method of Fuzzy Numbers

OpenAIRE

Iryna Kosteteska

2016-01-01

Purpose: Summarize the experience of using modern methods in the business plan with the application of economic and mathematical modeling. Methodology: Theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the basic principles of economic theory, agricultural economics and scientific research of leading home and foreign scholars on the theory of planning. Originality: This further justifies business planning processes in agriculture from the standpoint of raising economic protection of farmers...

Surveying immigrants without sampling frames - evaluating the success of alternative field methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Reichel, David; Morales, Laura

2017-01-01

This paper evaluates the sampling methods of an international survey, the Immigrant Citizens Survey, which aimed at surveying immigrants from outside the European Union (EU) in 15 cities in seven EU countries. In five countries, no sample frame was available for the target population. Consequently, alternative ways to obtain a representative sample had to be found. In three countries 'location sampling' was employed, while in two countries traditional methods were used with adaptations to reach the target population. The paper assesses the main methodological challenges of carrying out a survey among a group of immigrants for whom no sampling frame exists. The samples of the survey in these five countries are compared to results of official statistics in order to assess the accuracy of the samples obtained through the different sampling methods. It can be shown that alternative sampling methods can provide meaningful results in terms of core demographic characteristics although some estimates differ to some extent from the census results.

Concept and Method of Asset-Based Community Development Planning: A Case Study on Minlecun Community in Chongqing’s Yuzhong District

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Huang; Ling; Liu; Yang; Xu; Jianfeng

2015-01-01

With the transformation of the Chinese economy from an extensive growth to intensive development, city development is also gradually turning from incremental construction to stock management. Community, as a basic unit of human settlements, is an important platform to build and improve the social governance capability. In 2013, Shiyoulu Jiedao Offi ce of Yuzhong District led the 1st urban community development planning, which was a milestone of Chongqing’s city regeneration and governance innovation. This paper focuses on two key issues: how to understand the community values and make the community development planning based on the above, and how to integrate with the local forces so that the community development planning can be integrated into the action plan. Combined with the practice of Minlecun Community Development Planning, using the concept of asset-based community development, a comprehensive survey is conducted on community assets(including three aspects of physical, human, and social capital), and a community comprehensive planning strategy is formulated which covers two parts: the optimization of community spaces and the upgrading of community governance. The paper explores the local-based community planning theories and methods from such aspects as value attitude, public participation, role transformation of urban planners, and others.

Exploring misinformation of family planning practices and methods among deaf people in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Mprah, Wisdom Kwadwo; Anafi, Patricia; Addai Yeaboah, Paul Yaw

2017-05-01

Having a good knowledge of family planning methods is vital for reducing maternal morbidity and mortality resulting from unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. In this paper, we highlight deaf people's ability to discern various misconceptions about pregnancy, with the aim of assessing their level of knowledge on pregnancy prevention methods. The article is derived from a sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs assessment involving participants residing in two cities and a senior high school in Ghana. The needs assessment involved three focus groups with 26 participants, a survey with 152 respondents, and an interview with one health professional. Apart from the health professional, all the remaining participants were deaf people. Findings from the study indicated that more than half the participants lacked familiarity with pregnancy prevention methods. The findings of this study confirm other studies that there is a general lack of knowledge on SRH issues among deaf people in Ghana. Thus, although this study focused on prevention of unwanted pregnancy, which is just one component of SRH issues, the study provides insights into the broader SRH needs of the deaf community and calls for making these issues visible for policy-making.

Collaborative survey of perinatal loss in planned and unplanned home births. Northern Region Perinatal Mortality Survey Coordinating Group.

Science.gov (United States)

1996-11-23

To document the outcome of planned and unplanned births outside hospital. Confidential review of every pregnancy ending in stillbirth or neonatal death in which plans had been made for home delivery, irrespective of where delivery eventually occurred. The review was part of a sustained collaborative survey of all perinatal deaths. Northern Regional Health Authority area. All 558,691 registered births to women normally resident in the former Northern Regional Health Authority area during 1981-94. Perinatal death. The estimated perinatal mortality during 1981-94 among women booked for a home birth was 14 deaths in 2888 births. This was less than half that among all women in the region. Only three of the 14 women delivered outside hospital. Independent review suggested that two of the 14 deaths might have been averted by different management. Both births occurred in hospital, and in only one was management before admission of the mother judged inappropriate. Perinatal loss to the 64 women who booked for hospital delivery but delivered outside and to the 67 women who delivered outside hospital without ever making arrangements to receive professional care during labour accounted for the high perinatal mortality (134 deaths in 3466 deliveries) among all births outside hospital. The perinatal hazard associated with planned home birth in the few women who exercised this option (unplanned delivery outside hospital.

Data and records management plan for the White Wing Scrap Yard (Waste Area Grouping 11) geophysical survey at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-04-01

A geophysical survey is being conducted across the Waste Area Grouping (WAG) 11 site to locate buried nonindigenous materials. The survey team will collect data manually in field logbooks and on field forms using two types of instrumentation. This Data and Records Management Plan will describe the process necessary to record and track the geophysical data in a manner that will comply with the data quality objectives (DQOs) described in the WAG 11 Geophysical Survey Work Plan and with Environmental Restoration (ER) regulations concerning project records. This plan provides guidance on handling documentation within CDM Federal Programs Corporation (CDM Federal) and by the survey team in the field. An initial (Phase 1) survey will be performed in established areas (referred to as known target areas) using both 10-ft and 20-ft grid spacing. The results of the Phase 1 survey will be evaluated to determine the appropriate grid spacing to be used for the subsequent survey phase. The second phase (Phase 2) will then cover the remainder of the WAG 11 area using the grid spacing determined in Phase 1. The objective of the Phase 2 survey will be to estimate the horizontal and vertical extent of nonindigenous materials in the subsurface that are man-made, ferrous, highly resistive, and/or possess conductivity above background, based on the survey grid established in Phase 1

The search conference as a method in planning community health promotion actions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Magnus

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Aims: The aim of this article is to describe and discuss how the search conference can be used as a method for planning health promotion actions in local communities. Design and methods: The article draws on experiences with using the method for an innovative project in health promotion in three Norwegian municipalities. The method is described both in general and how it was specifically adopted for the project. Results and conclusions: The search conference as a method was used to develop evidence-based health promotion action plans. With its use of both bottom-up and top-down approaches, this method is a relevant strategy for involving a community in the planning stages of health promotion actions in line with political expectations of participation, ownership, and evidence-based initiatives.

A Survey of Formal Methods in Software Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørner, Dines

2012-01-01

The use of formal methods and formal techniques in industry is steadily growing. In this survey we shall characterise what we mean by software development and by a formal method; briefly overview a history of formal specification languages - some of which are: VDM (Vienna Development Method, 1974...... need for multi-language formalisation (Petri Nets, MSC, StateChart, Temporal Logics); the sociology of university and industry acceptance of formal methods; the inevitability of the use of formal software development methods; while referring to seminal monographs and textbooks on formal methods....

An investigation into positron emission tomography contouring methods across two treatment planning systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, Tony; Som, Seu; Sathiakumar, Chithradevi; Holloway, Lois

2013-01-01

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has been used to provide additional information regarding patient tumor location, size, and staging for radiotherapy treatment planning purposes. This additional information reduces interobserver variability and produces more consistent contouring. It is well recognized that different contouring methodology for PET data results in different contoured volumes. The goal of this study was to compare the difference in PET contouring methods for 2 different treatment planning systems using a phantom dataset and a series of patient datasets. Contouring methodology was compared on the ADAC Pinnacle Treatment Planning System and the CMS XiO Treatment Planning System. Contours were completed on the phantom and patient datasets using a number of PET contouring methods—the standardized uptake value 2.5 method, 30%, 40%, and 50% of the maximum uptake method and the signal to background ratio method. Differences of >15% were observed for PET-contoured volumes between the different treatment planning systems for the same data and the same PET contouring methodology. Contoured volume differences between treatment planning systems were caused by differences in data formatting and display and the different contouring tools available. Differences in treatment planning system as well as contouring methodology should be considered carefully in dose-volume contouring and reporting, especially between centers that may use different treatment planning systems or those that have several different treatment planning systems

Survey of electronic payment methods and systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Havinga, Paul J.M.; Smit, Gerardus Johannes Maria; Helme, A.; Verbraeck, A.

1996-01-01

In this paper an overview of electronic payment methods and systems is given. This survey is done as part of the Moby Dick project. Electronic payment systems can be grouped into three broad classes: traditional money transactions, digital currency and creditdebit payments. Such payment systems have

Estimating health expectancies from two cross-sectional surveys: The intercensal method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michel Guillot

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Health expectancies are key indicators for monitoring the health of populations, as well as for informing debates about compression or expansion of morbidity. However, current methodologies for estimating them are not entirely satisfactory. They are either of limited applicability because of high data requirements (the multistate method or based on questionable assumptions (the Sullivan method. This paper proposes a new method, called the "intercensal" method, which relies on the multistate framework but uses widely available data. The method uses age-specific proportions "healthy" at two successive, independent cross-sectional health surveys, and, together with information on general mortality, solves for the set of transition probabilities that produces the observed sequence of proportions healthy. The system is solved by making realistic parametric assumptions about the age patterns of transition probabilities. Using data from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS and from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS, the method is tested against both the multistate method and the Sullivan method. We conclude that the intercensal approach is a promising framework for the indirect estimation of health expectancies.

A scalable method for parallelizing sampling-based motion planning algorithms

KAUST Repository

Jacobs, Sam Ade; Manavi, Kasra; Burgos, Juan; Denny, Jory; Thomas, Shawna; Amato, Nancy M.

2012-01-01

This paper describes a scalable method for parallelizing sampling-based motion planning algorithms. It subdivides configuration space (C-space) into (possibly overlapping) regions and independently, in parallel, uses standard (sequential) sampling-based planners to construct roadmaps in each region. Next, in parallel, regional roadmaps in adjacent regions are connected to form a global roadmap. By subdividing the space and restricting the locality of connection attempts, we reduce the work and inter-processor communication associated with nearest neighbor calculation, a critical bottleneck for scalability in existing parallel motion planning methods. We show that our method is general enough to handle a variety of planning schemes, including the widely used Probabilistic Roadmap (PRM) and Rapidly-exploring Random Trees (RRT) algorithms. We compare our approach to two other existing parallel algorithms and demonstrate that our approach achieves better and more scalable performance. Our approach achieves almost linear scalability on a 2400 core LINUX cluster and on a 153,216 core Cray XE6 petascale machine. © 2012 IEEE.

A scalable method for parallelizing sampling-based motion planning algorithms

KAUST Repository

Jacobs, Sam Ade

2012-05-01

This paper describes a scalable method for parallelizing sampling-based motion planning algorithms. It subdivides configuration space (C-space) into (possibly overlapping) regions and independently, in parallel, uses standard (sequential) sampling-based planners to construct roadmaps in each region. Next, in parallel, regional roadmaps in adjacent regions are connected to form a global roadmap. By subdividing the space and restricting the locality of connection attempts, we reduce the work and inter-processor communication associated with nearest neighbor calculation, a critical bottleneck for scalability in existing parallel motion planning methods. We show that our method is general enough to handle a variety of planning schemes, including the widely used Probabilistic Roadmap (PRM) and Rapidly-exploring Random Trees (RRT) algorithms. We compare our approach to two other existing parallel algorithms and demonstrate that our approach achieves better and more scalable performance. Our approach achieves almost linear scalability on a 2400 core LINUX cluster and on a 153,216 core Cray XE6 petascale machine. © 2012 IEEE.

New model of enterprises resource planning implementation planning process in manufacturing enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirjana Misita

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This article presents new model of enterprises resource planning implementation planning process in manufacturing enterprises based on assessment of risk sources. This assessment was performed by applying analytic hierarchy process. Analytic hierarchy process method allows variation of relative importance of specific risk sources dependent on the section from which the risk source originates (organizational environment, technical issues, people issues, adoption process management, and external support. Survey was conducted on 85 manufacturing enterprises involved with an enterprises resource planning solution. Ranking of risk sources assessments returns most frequent risks of enterprises resource planning implementation success in manufacturing enterprises, and representative factors were isolated through factor analysis by risk source origin. Finally, results indicate that there are hidden causes of failed implementation, for example, risk source “top management training and education,” from risk origin “adoption process management.”

District nursing workforce planning: a review of the methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Bernie; Kane, Kay; Curran, Carol

2008-11-01

District nursing services in Northern Ireland face increasing demands and challenges which may be responded to by effective and efficient workforce planning and development. The aim of this paper is to critically analyse district nursing workforce planning and development methods, in an attempt to find a suitable method for Northern Ireland. A systematic analysis of the literature reveals four methods: professional judgement; population-based health needs; caseload analysis and dependency-acuity. Each method has strengths and weaknesses. Professional judgement offers a 'belt and braces' approach but lacks sensitivity to fluctuating patient numbers. Population-based health needs methods develop staffing algorithms that reflect deprivation and geographical spread, but are poorly understood by district nurses. Caseload analysis promotes equitable workloads but poorly performing district nursing localities may continue if benchmarking processes only consider local data. Dependency-acuity methods provide a means of equalizing and prioritizing workload but are prone to district nurses overstating factors in patient dependency or understating carers' capability. In summary a mixed method approach is advocated to evaluate and adjust the size and mix of district nursing teams using empirically determined patient dependency and activity-based variables based on the population's health needs.

A complex method of equipment replacement planning. An advanced plan for the replacement of medical equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

Dondelinger, Robert M

2004-01-01

This complex method of equipment replacement planning is a methodology; it is a means to an end, a process that focuses on equipment most in need of replacement, rather than the end itself. It uses data available from the maintenance management database, and attempts to quantify those subjective items important [figure: see text] in making equipment replacement decisions. Like the simple method of the last issue, it is a starting point--albeit an advanced starting point--which the user can modify to fit their particular organization, but the complex method leaves room for expansion. It is based on sound logic, documented facts, and is fully defensible during the decision-making process and will serve your organization well as provide a structure for your equipment replacement planning decisions.

Quality Assurance Program Plan for the radiological survey activities program --- Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knott, R.R.; Little, C.A.

1991-08-01

The Pollutant Assessments Group (PAG) at the Grand Junction Office (GJO), Colorado, of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is responsible for surveying designated sites in the vicinity of 24 inactive mill sites involved in the Department of Energy's (DOE) Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project (UMTRAP). The purpose of these surveys is to provide a recommendation to DOE whether to include or exclude these sites from UMTRAP based on whether the on-site residual radioactive material (if any) originated from the former mill sites, and radiation levels on-site are in excess of appropriate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criteria. This report describes the Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) for the PAG in conducting all activities related to UMTRAP. All quality assurance provisions given by the DOE, DOE/UMTRA and ORNL organizations are integrated into this plan. Specifically, this report identifies the policies and procedures followed in accomplishing the PAG/UMTRA QA program, identifies those organizational units involved in the implementation of these procedures, and outlines the respective responsibilities of those groups. 11 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs

Comparing two survey methods for estimating maternal and perinatal mortality in rural Cambodia.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandy, Hoeuy; Heng, Yang Van; Samol, Ha; Husum, Hans

2008-03-01

We need solid estimates of maternal mortality rates (MMR) to monitor the impact of maternal care programs. Cambodian health authorities and WHO report the MMR in Cambodia at 450 per 100,000 live births. The figure is drawn from surveys where information is obtained by interviewing respondents about the survival of all their adult sisters (sisterhood method). The estimate is statistically imprecise, 95% confidence intervals ranging from 260 to 620/100,000. The MMR estimate is also uncertain due to under-reporting; where 80-90% of women deliver at home maternal fatalities may go undetected especially where mortality is highest, in remote rural areas. The aim of this study was to attain more reliable MMR estimates by using survey methods other than the sisterhood method prior to an intervention targeting obstetric rural emergencies. The study was carried out in rural Northwestern Cambodia where access to health services is poor and poverty, endemic diseases, and land mines are endemic. Two survey methods were applied in two separate sectors: a community-based survey gathering data from public sources and a household survey gathering data direct from primary sources. There was no statistically significant difference between the two survey results for maternal deaths, both types of survey reported mortality rates around the public figure. The household survey reported a significantly higher perinatal mortality rate as compared to the community-based survey, 8.6% versus 5.0%. Also the household survey gave qualitative data important for a better understanding of the many problems faced by mothers giving birth in the remote villages. There are detection failures in both surveys; the failure rate may be as high as 30-40%. PRINCIPLE CONCLUSION: Both survey methods are inaccurate, therefore inappropriate for evaluation of short-term changes of mortality rates. Surveys based on primary informants yield qualitative information about mothers' hardships important for the design

Vision and Control for UAVs: A Survey of General Methods andof Inexpensive Platforms for Infrastructure Inspection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koppány Máthé

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs have gained significant attention in recent years. Low-cost platforms using inexpensive sensor payloads have been shown to provide satisfactory flight and navigation capabilities. In this report, we survey vision and control methods that can be applied to low-cost UAVs, and we list some popular inexpensive platforms and application fields where they are useful. We also highlight the sensor suites used where this information is available. We overview, among others, feature detection and tracking, optical flow and visual servoing, low-level stabilization and high-level planning methods. We then list popular low-cost UAVs, selecting mainly quadrotors. We discuss applications, restricting our focus to the field of infrastructure inspection. Finally, as an example, we formulate two use-cases for railway inspection, a less explored application field, and illustrate the usage of the vision and control techniques reviewed by selecting appropriate ones to tackle these use-cases. To select vision methods, we run a thorough set of experimental evaluations.

SU-F-T-504: Non-Divergent Planning Method for Craniospinal Irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sperling, N; Bogue, J; Parsai, E [University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Traditional Craniospinal Irradiation (CSI) planning techniques require careful field placement to allow optimal divergence and field overlap at depth, and measurement of skin gap. The result of this is a necessary field overlap resulting in dose heterogeneity in the spinal canal. A novel, nondivergent field matching method has been developed to allow simple treatment planning and delivery without the need to measure skin gap. Methods: The CSI patient was simulated in the prone, and a plan was developed. Bilateral cranial fields were designed with couch and collimator rotation to eliminate divergence with the upper spine field and minimize anterior divergence into the lenses. Spinal posterior-to-anterior fields were designed with the couch rotated to 90 degrees to allow gantry rotation to eliminate divergence at the match line, and the collimator rotated to 90 degrees to allow appropriate field blocking with the MLCs. A match line for the two spinal fields was placed and the gantry rotated to equal angles in opposite directions about the match line. Jaw positions were then defined to allow 1mm overlap at the match line to avoid cold spots. A traditional CSI plan was generated using diverging spinal fields, and a comparison between the two techniques was generated. Results: The non-divergent treatment plan was able to deliver a highly uniform dose to the spinal cord with a cold spot of only 95% and maximum point dose of 115.8%, as compared to traditional plan cold spots of 87% and hot spots of 132% of the prescription dose. Conclusion: A non-divergent method for planning CSI patients has been developed and clinically implemented. Planning requires some geometric manipulation in order to achieve an adequate dose distribution, however, it can help to manage cold spots and simplify the shifts needed between spinal fields.

SU-F-T-504: Non-Divergent Planning Method for Craniospinal Irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sperling, N; Bogue, J; Parsai, E

2016-01-01

Purpose: Traditional Craniospinal Irradiation (CSI) planning techniques require careful field placement to allow optimal divergence and field overlap at depth, and measurement of skin gap. The result of this is a necessary field overlap resulting in dose heterogeneity in the spinal canal. A novel, nondivergent field matching method has been developed to allow simple treatment planning and delivery without the need to measure skin gap. Methods: The CSI patient was simulated in the prone, and a plan was developed. Bilateral cranial fields were designed with couch and collimator rotation to eliminate divergence with the upper spine field and minimize anterior divergence into the lenses. Spinal posterior-to-anterior fields were designed with the couch rotated to 90 degrees to allow gantry rotation to eliminate divergence at the match line, and the collimator rotated to 90 degrees to allow appropriate field blocking with the MLCs. A match line for the two spinal fields was placed and the gantry rotated to equal angles in opposite directions about the match line. Jaw positions were then defined to allow 1mm overlap at the match line to avoid cold spots. A traditional CSI plan was generated using diverging spinal fields, and a comparison between the two techniques was generated. Results: The non-divergent treatment plan was able to deliver a highly uniform dose to the spinal cord with a cold spot of only 95% and maximum point dose of 115.8%, as compared to traditional plan cold spots of 87% and hot spots of 132% of the prescription dose. Conclusion: A non-divergent method for planning CSI patients has been developed and clinically implemented. Planning requires some geometric manipulation in order to achieve an adequate dose distribution, however, it can help to manage cold spots and simplify the shifts needed between spinal fields.

Strategic plan for the National Mapping Divison of the U.S. Geological Survey

Science.gov (United States)

,

1997-01-01

The National Mapping Division (NMD) has developed this comprehensive strategic plan to chart its course over the next decade. To meet the challenge of the future, the NMD is changing its program emphasis, methods of responding to customer need and business practices. The NMD Strategic Plan identifies the new direction for the Division through a series of goals and actions for managers to use in formulating plans, establishing program emphasis, and determining resource needs and allocations into the next century.

Sampling and analysis plan for the preoperational environmental survey for the immobilized low activity waste (ILAW) project W-465

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchell, R.M.

1998-01-01

This document provides a detailed description of the Sampling and Analysis Plan for the Preoperational Survey to be conducted at the Immobilized Low Activity Waste (ILAW) Project Site in the 200 East Area

Strategic Planning and Values in Secondary School

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damjana Gruden

2012-06-01

Full Text Available RQ: Which factors have a decisive influence on a school’s strategic development?Purpose: The purpose of this research is the improvement of school development and the goal of this research study was to prepare a draft for strategic planning.Method: Qualitative method is used in the first phase of the research study. An annual interview was conducted with secondary technical and vocational school teaching staff. In the second phase of this research study, a survey with one question was distributed to the teaching staff. The question on the survey referred to teachersvalues that stemmed from the interviews. The directed question was on the values that that should be emphasized in assisting the school to prepare a strategic development plan.Results: The results of this research study showed that strategic development of the school is based on values and activities that provide for quality education,professional and practical knowledge, strengthen and develop interpersonal relations and provide good connections between schools, craftsmen, and the economy.Organization: By defining the school’s priorities, it will become easier for the staff to prepare the school’s development strategy and action plans for individual tasks.Society: Awareness and developing values through activities at school provides support to adolescents and young adults in developing their life style. Values lead the behavior of individuals and consequently,are very important for society.Originality: Through the research study the school obtained thebasic values that will be used in drafting a development plan. This will be the first such document for the school. Up until now planning has been performed only in terms of short-term planning within the annual work plan.Limitations: The survey was conducted among the staff of one vocational and technical secondary school. Further research would be required to include parents and students and to start introducing evaluation and

The demographic impact and development benefits of meeting demand for family planning with modern contraceptive methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodkind, Daniel; Lollock, Lisa; Choi, Yoonjoung; McDevitt, Thomas; West, Loraine

2018-01-01

Meeting demand for family planning can facilitate progress towards all major themes of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. Many policymakers have embraced a benchmark goal that at least 75% of the demand for family planning in all countries be satisfied with modern contraceptive methods by the year 2030. This study examines the demographic impact (and development implications) of achieving the 75% benchmark in 13 developing countries that are expected to be the furthest from achieving that benchmark. Estimation of the demographic impact of achieving the 75% benchmark requires three steps in each country: 1) translate contraceptive prevalence assumptions (with and without intervention) into future fertility levels based on biometric models, 2) incorporate each pair of fertility assumptions into separate population projections, and 3) compare the demographic differences between the two population projections. Data are drawn from the United Nations, the US Census Bureau, and Demographic and Health Surveys. The demographic impact of meeting the 75% benchmark is examined via projected differences in fertility rates (average expected births per woman's reproductive lifetime), total population, growth rates, age structure, and youth dependency. On average, meeting the benchmark would imply a 16 percentage point increase in modern contraceptive prevalence by 2030 and a 20% decline in youth dependency, which portends a potential demographic dividend to spur economic growth. Improvements in meeting the demand for family planning with modern contraceptive methods can bring substantial benefits to developing countries. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show formally how such improvements can alter population size and age structure. Declines in youth dependency portend a demographic dividend, an added bonus to the already well-known benefits of meeting existing demands for family planning.

Interior design. Mastering the master plan.

Science.gov (United States)

Mesbah, C E

1995-10-01

Reflecting on the results of the survey, this proposed interior design master planning process addresses the concerns and issues of both CEOs and facility managers in ways that focus on problem-solving strategies and methods. Use of the interior design master plan process further promotes the goals and outcomes expressed in the survey by both groups. These include enhanced facility image, the efficient selection of finishes and furnishings, continuity despite staff changes, and overall savings in both costs and time. The interior design master plan allows administrators and facility managers to anticipate changes resulting from the restructuring of health care delivery. The administrators and facility managers are then able to respond in ways that manage those changes in the flexible and cost-effective manner they are striving for. This framework permits staff members to concentrate their time and energy on the care of their patients--which is, after all, what it's all about.

Evaluation of methods to calibrate radiation survey meters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robinson, R.C.; Arbeau, N.D.

1987-04-01

Calibration requirements for radiation survey meters used in industrial radiography have been reviewed. Information obtained from a literature search, discussions with CSLD inspectors and firms performing calibrations has been considered. Based on this review a set of minimum calibration requirements was generated which, when met, will determine that the survey meter is suited for measurements described in the current AEC Regulations that apply to industrial radiography equipment. These requirements are presented in this report and may be used as guidelines for evaluating calibration methods proposed or in use in industry. 39 refs

Gamma-ray surveys in uranium exploration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

This report is intended to provide newcomers to uranium exploration with an up-to-date statement of the principal factors to be considered in planning and using gamma-ray surveys. Since the report incorporates the results of recent research, and since its preparation was influenced by the cumulative experience of its contributors, it should also be useful to those who already have some knowledge of radioactivity surveys and methods. The intention is that the information and explanations given in the report will make it possible for gamma-ray surveys to be used in the most efficient way for a given exploration task

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

Mission Planning for Unmanned Aircraft with Genetic Algorithms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Karl Damkjær

unmanned aircraft are used for aerial surveying of the crops. The farmer takes the role of the analyst above, who does not necessarily have any specific interest in remote controlled aircraft but needs the outcome of the survey. The recurring method in the study is the genetic algorithm; a flexible...... contributions are made in the area of the genetic algorithms. One is a method to decide on the right time to stop the computation of the plan, when the right balance is stricken between using the time planning and using the time flying. The other contribution is a characterization of the evolutionary operators...... used in the genetic algorithm. The result is a measure based on entropy to evaluate and control the diversity of the population of the genetic algorithm, which is an important factor its effectiveness....

29 CFR 4211.35 - Direct attribution method for withdrawals after the initial plan year.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... WITHDRAWING EMPLOYERS Allocation Methods for Merged Multiemployer Plans § 4211.35 Direct attribution method for withdrawals after the initial plan year. The allocation method under this section is the... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Direct attribution method for withdrawals after the initial...

Supply chain planning and management method:the fruit purchasing company case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julio Kyosen Nakatani

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract On the world stage, Brazil is the third largest world fruit producer. However, purchasing fruit companies are suffering from the effects of fluctuations in production and demand, inefficiency in production and information trade, lack of understanding of the dynamics of supply and reduction in profitability for all members of the fruit production chain. The supply chain management has been touted as one of the ways to reduce this volatility and improve outcomes for all involved with the supply chain. However, results of recent researches do not relate it directly to the fruit industry. To solve this problem, the present research aimed to analyze the planning and management of the supply chain of a fruit purchasing company and identify contributions and improvements to the theories and methods related to supply chain management to propose a method for planning and management the supply chain of fruit purchasing companies. It was conducted a case study from a mango fruit purchasing company using interviews with industry experts to assess the applicability, functionality and usefulness from the managerial point of view of the proposed method. Data analysis was done through the cross analysis of the methods of the supply chain management and the description of the case. The results of the study allowed the development of a method for planning and management the supply chain of fruit purchasing company. With the proposition of this method is expected to contribute with a sequence of steps to assist in planning and management of supply chain managers and specialists from a fruit purchasing company.

A Hybrid 3D Path Planning Method for UAVs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ortiz-Arroyo, Daniel

2015-01-01

This paper presents a hybrid method for path planning in 3D spaces. We propose an improvement to a near-optimal 2D off-line algorithm and a flexible normalized on-line fuzzy controller to find shortest paths. Our method, targeted to low altitude domains, is simple and efficient. Our preliminary resu...

Rationale and operational plan for a U.S. high-altitude magnetic survey

Science.gov (United States)

Hildenbrand, Thomas G.; Acuna, Mario; Bracken, Robert E.; Hardwick, Doug; Hinze, William J.; Keller, Gordon R.; Phillips, Jeff; Roest, Walter

2002-01-01

On August 8, 2002, twenty-one scientists from the federal, private and academic sectors met at a workshop in Denver, Co., to discuss the feasibility of collecting magnetic anomaly data on a Canberra aircraft (Figure 1). The need for this 1-day workshop arose because of an exciting and cost-effective opportunity to collect invaluable magnetic anomaly data during a Canberra mission over the U.S. in 2003 and 2004. High Altitude Mapping Missions (HAMM) is currently planning a mission to collect Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) imagery at an altitude of about 15 km and with a flight-line spacing of about 18 km over the conterminous U.S. and Alaska. The additional collection of total and vector magnetic field data would represent a secondary mission objective (i.e., a "piggy-back" magnetometer system). Because HAMM would fund the main flight costs of the mission, the geomagnetic community would obtain invaluable magnetic data at a nominal cost. These unique data would provide new insights on fundamental tectonic and thermal processes and give a new view of the structural and lithologic framework of the crust and possibly the upper mantle. This document highlights: (1) the reasons to conduct this national survey and (2) a preliminary operational plan to collect high-altitude magnetic data of a desired quality and for the expected resources. Although some operational plan issues remain to be resolved, the important conclusions of the workshop are that the Canberra is a very suitable platform to measure the magnetic field and that the planned mission will result in quality high-altitude magnetic data to greatly expand the utility of our national magnetic database.

Contraception coverage and methods used among women in South Africa: A national household survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M F Chersich

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Background. Globally, family planning services are being strengthened and the range of contraceptive choices expanded. Data on contraceptive coverage and service gaps could help to shape these initiatives. Objective. To assess contraception coverage in South Africa (SA and identify underserved populations and aspects of programming that require strengthening. Methods. Data from a 2012 SA household survey assessed contraception coverage among 6 296 women aged 15 - 49 years and identified underserved populations. Results. Two-thirds had an unintended pregnancy in the past 5 years, a quarter of which were contraceptive failures. Most knew of injectable (92.0% and oral contraception (89.9%, but fewer of intrauterine devices (56.1% and emergency contraception (47.3%. Contraceptive prevalence was 49.1%, and 41.8% women used modern non-barrier methods. About half had ever used injectable contraception. Contraception was lower in black Africans and younger women, who used a limited range of methods. Conclusion. Contraception coverage is higher than many previous estimates. Rates of unintended pregnancy, contraceptive failure and knowledge gaps, however, demonstrate high levels of unmet need, especially among black Africans and young women.

The influence of contraception, abortion, and natural family planning on divorce rates as found in the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Fehring, Richard J

2015-08-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of contraception, abortion, and natural family planning (NFP) on divorce rates of US women of reproductive age. The variables of importance of religion and frequency of church attendance were also included in the analysis. The study involved 5,530 reproductive age women in the (2006-2010) National Survey of Family Growth who indicate that they were ever married. Among the women who ever used NFP only 9.6 percent were currently divorced compared with the 14.4 percent who were currently divorced among the women who never used NFP (x (2) = 5.34, P sterilization, and/or methods of contraception increased the likelihood of divorce - up to two times. Frequency of church attendance decreased the risk of divorce. Although there is less divorce among NFP users the reason might be due to their religiosity. Lay summary: Providers of natural family planning (NFP) frequently mention that couples who practice NFP have fewer divorces compared to couples who use contraception. Evidence for this comment is weak. This study utilized a large data set of 5,530 reproductive age women to determine the influence that contraception, sterilization, abortion, and NFP has on divorce rates. Among the women participants who ever used NFP only 9.6 percent were currently divorced compared with the 14.4 percent who used methods of contraception, sterilization or abortion as a family planning method. Frequency of church attendance also reduced the likelihood of divorce.

A hybrid Planning Method for Transmission Network in a Deregulated Enviroment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Zhao; Dong, Zhaoyang; Poulsen, Kit

2006-01-01

The reconstruction of power industries has brought fundamental changes to both power system operation and planning. This paper presents a new planning method using a multi-objective optimization (MOOP) technique, as well as human knowledge, to expand the transmission network in open-access scheme...

The IMACS Cluster Building Survey. I. Description of the Survey and Analysis Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Oemler Jr., Augustus; Dressler, Alan; Gladders, Michael G.; Rigby, Jane R.; Bai, Lei; Kelson, Daniel; Villanueva, Edward; Fritz, Jacopo; Rieke, George; Poggianti, Bianca M.;

THE IMACS CLUSTER BUILDING SURVEY. I. DESCRIPTION OF THE SURVEY AND ANALYSIS METHODS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oemler, Augustus Jr.; Dressler, Alan; Kelson, Daniel; Villanueva, Edward [Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara St., Pasadena, CA 91101-1292 (United States); Gladders, Michael G. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Rigby, Jane R. [Observational Cosmology Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Bai Lei [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H4 (Canada); Fritz, Jacopo [Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Universiteit Gent, Krijgslaan 281 S9, B-9000 Gent (Belgium); Rieke, George [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 8572 (United States); Poggianti, Bianca M.; Vulcani, Benedetta, E-mail: oemler@obs.carnegiescience.edu [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell' Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova (Italy)

2013-06-10

The IMACS Cluster Building Survey uses the wide field spectroscopic capabilities of the IMACS spectrograph on the 6.5 m Baade Telescope to survey the large-scale environment surrounding rich intermediate-redshift clusters of galaxies. The goal is to understand the processes which may be transforming star-forming field galaxies into quiescent cluster members as groups and individual galaxies fall into the cluster from the surrounding supercluster. This first paper describes the survey: the data taking and reduction methods. We provide new calibrations of star formation rates (SFRs) derived from optical and infrared spectroscopy and photometry. We demonstrate that there is a tight relation between the observed SFR per unit B luminosity, and the ratio of the extinctions of the stellar continuum and the optical emission lines. With this, we can obtain accurate extinction-corrected colors of galaxies. Using these colors as well as other spectral measures, we determine new criteria for the existence of ongoing and recent starbursts in galaxies.

MULTI-CRITERIA PROGRAMMING METHODS AND PRODUCTION PLAN OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM SOLVING IN METAL INDUSTRY

OpenAIRE

Tunjo Perić; Željko Mandić

2017-01-01

This paper presents the production plan optimization in the metal industry considered as a multi-criteria programming problem. We first provided the definition of the multi-criteria programming problem and classification of the multicriteria programming methods. Then we applied two multi-criteria programming methods (the STEM method and the PROMETHEE method) in solving a problem of multi-criteria optimization production plan in a company from the metal industry. The obtained resul...

Reported planning before and after quitting and quit success: retrospective data from the ITC 4-Country Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Balmford, James; Swift, Elena; Borland, Ron

2014-09-01

Planning before quitting smoking is widely believed to be beneficial and is usually recommended in cessation counseling, but there is little evidence on the efficacy of specific planning activities. Using data from 1140 respondents who reported quit attempts at Wave 8 of the ITC 4-Country Survey, we analyzed use of 8 specific planning strategies before (5) and after (3) implementation of a quit attempt, in relation to cessation outcomes, delay in implementation of the attempt, and recent quitting history. Most participants reported some planning both before and after quitting, even among those reporting quitting 'spontaneously.' Younger smokers, those who cut down before quitting, and users of stop-smoking medication were more likely to report planning. Those who planned prequit were also more likely to plan postquit. Unexpectedly, we found no clear benefit of planning on short-term (1 month) cessation outcomes, whereas one prequit strategy (practicing not smoking) was negatively related to outcome. There was evidence for a predicted moderating effect of recent quitting experience on planning for the prequit task 'practice replacement strategies.' This predicted quit success among those with multiple quit attempts in the past year, but failure among those without. This finding suggests that the quality of planning may be critical. More research, particularly on the moderating effect of quit experience, and where measures of planning are collected before outcomes become evident, is needed before clear recommendations can be made on the utility of various forms of planning for the success of quit attempts.

Sample size methods for estimating HIV incidence from cross-sectional surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Konikoff, Jacob; Brookmeyer, Ron

2015-12-01

Understanding HIV incidence, the rate at which new infections occur in populations, is critical for tracking and surveillance of the epidemic. In this article, we derive methods for determining sample sizes for cross-sectional surveys to estimate incidence with sufficient precision. We further show how to specify sample sizes for two successive cross-sectional surveys to detect changes in incidence with adequate power. In these surveys biomarkers such as CD4 cell count, viral load, and recently developed serological assays are used to determine which individuals are in an early disease stage of infection. The total number of individuals in this stage, divided by the number of people who are uninfected, is used to approximate the incidence rate. Our methods account for uncertainty in the durations of time spent in the biomarker defined early disease stage. We find that failure to account for this uncertainty when designing surveys can lead to imprecise estimates of incidence and underpowered studies. We evaluated our sample size methods in simulations and found that they performed well in a variety of underlying epidemics. Code for implementing our methods in R is available with this article at the Biometrics website on Wiley Online Library. © 2015, The International Biometric Society.

COMPARISON OF TWO METHODS OF OPERATING THEATRE PLANNING: APPLICATION IN BELGIAN HOSPITAL

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Sondes CHAABANE; Nadine MESKENS; Alain GUINET; Marius LAURENT

2008-01-01

Operating Theatre is the centre of the hospital management's efforts. It constitutes the most expensive sector with more than 10% of the intended operating budget of the hospital. To reduce the costs while maintaining a good quality of care, one of the solutions is to improve the existent planning and scheduling methods by improving the services and surgical specialty coordination or finding the best estimation of surgical case durations. The other solution is to construct an effective surgical case plan and schedule. The operating theatre planning and scheduling is the two important steps, which aim to make a surgical case programming with an objective of obtaining a realizable and efficient surgical case schedule. This paper focuses on the first step, the operating theatre planning problem. Two planning methods are introduced and compared. Real data of a Belgian university hospital "Tivoli" are used for the experiments.

Practical methods for radiation survey in nuclear installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shweikani, R.

2001-12-01

This study is placed to those who are responsible to perform radiation survey in the nuclear installations, especially the beginners. Therefore, it gives a comprehensive view to all-important aspects related to their work starting from the structure of atoms to the practical steps for radiation survey works. So, it clarify how to perform personal monitoring, methods for monitoring surface contamination, methods for measuring radioactivity of gases and radioactive aerosols in air, monitoring radiation doses, measuring radiation influences in workplaces and finally measuring internal exposure of radiation workers in nuclear installations. Finally, The study shows some cases of breaches of radiation protection rules in some American nuclear installations and describes the final results of these breaches. The aim of this is to assure that any breach or ignore to radiation protection principles may produce bad results, and there is no leniency in implementing environmental radiation protection principles. (author)

29 CFR 4206.7 - Amount of credit in plans using the direct attribution method.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... TO A PARTIAL WITHDRAWAL § 4206.7 Amount of credit in plans using the direct attribution method. In a plan that uses the direct attribution allocation method described in section 4211(c)(4) of ERISA, the... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Amount of credit in plans using the direct attribution...

An efficient inverse radiotherapy planning method for VMAT using quadratic programming optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoegele, W; Loeschel, R; Merkle, N; Zygmanski, P

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility of an inverse planning optimization approach for the Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) based on quadratic programming and the projection method. The performance of this method is evaluated against a reference commercial planning system (eclipse(TM) for rapidarc(TM)) for clinically relevant cases. The inverse problem is posed in terms of a linear combination of basis functions representing arclet dose contributions and their respective linear coefficients as degrees of freedom. MLC motion is decomposed into basic motion patterns in an intuitive manner leading to a system of equations with a relatively small number of equations and unknowns. These equations are solved using quadratic programming under certain limiting physical conditions for the solution, such as the avoidance of negative dose during optimization and Monitor Unit reduction. The modeling by the projection method assures a unique treatment plan with beneficial properties, such as the explicit relation between organ weightings and the final dose distribution. Clinical cases studied include prostate and spine treatments. The optimized plans are evaluated by comparing isodose lines, DVH profiles for target and normal organs, and Monitor Units to those obtained by the clinical treatment planning system eclipse(TM). The resulting dose distributions for a prostate (with rectum and bladder as organs at risk), and for a spine case (with kidneys, liver, lung and heart as organs at risk) are presented. Overall, the results indicate that similar plan qualities for quadratic programming (QP) and rapidarc(TM) could be achieved at significantly more efficient computational and planning effort using QP. Additionally, results for the quasimodo phantom [Bohsung et al., "IMRT treatment planning: A comparative inter-system and inter-centre planning exercise of the estro quasimodo group," Radiother. Oncol. 76(3), 354-361 (2005)] are presented as an example

Clinical treatment planning optimization by Powell's method for gamma unit treatment system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan Yulong; Shu Huazhong; Bao Xudong; Luo Limin; Bai Yi

1997-01-01

Purpose: This article presents a new optimization method for stereotactic radiosurgery treatment planning for gamma unit treatment system. Methods and Materials: The gamma unit has been utilized in stereotactic radiosurgery for about 30 years, but the usual procedure for a physician-physicist team to design a treatment plan is a trial-and-error approach. Isodose curves are viewed on two-dimensional computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) image planes, which is not only time consuming but also seldom achieves the optimal treatment plan, especially when the isocenter weights are regarded. We developed a treatment-planning system on a computer workstation in which Powell's optimization method is realized. The optimization process starts with the initial parameters (the number of iso centers as well as corresponding 3D iso centers' coordinates, collimator sizes, and weight factors) roughly determined by the physician-physicist team. The objective function can be changed to consider protection of sensitive tissues. Results: We use the plan parameters given by a well-trained physician-physicist team, or ones that the author give roughly as the initial parameters for the optimization procedure. Dosimetric results of optimization show a better high dose-volume conformation to the target volume compared to the doctor's plan. Conclusion: This method converges quickly and is not sensitive to the initial parameters. It achieves an excellent conformation of the estimated isodose curves with the contours of the target volume. If the initial parameters are varied, there will be a little difference in parameters' configuration, but the dosimetric results proved almost to be the same

Methods for Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage planning; The hidden side of cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaxa-Rozen, M.; Bloemendal, M.; Theo, O.

2017-12-01

Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) systems reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas, by supplying heating and cooling to buildings with a heat pump combined with seasonal heat storage in aquifers. The climactic and geohydrological conditions required for this technology can be found in many temperate regions around the world; In The Netherlands there are currently approximately 2,200 active systems. Despite this modest adoption level, many urban areas in the Netherlands already struggle to accommodate the subsurface claims needed to further develop ATES under current planning regulations. To identify best practices for ATES planning and maximize the technology's future potential, this work first reviews a set of 24 ATES-plans which were used for the spatial layout of ATES in various urban areas in The Netherlands and the method used to make those plans. This analysis revealed that three crucial elements are found to be missing in current ATES planning: i) a consistent assessment framework which can be used to compare the performance of different planning strategies; ii) a systematic adjustment of ATES design parameters to suit local conditions; iii) the identification and use of aquifer allocation thresholds to guide the choice of a planning strategy. All three steps are elaborated and added to the method. For the latter, these thresholds are identified by exploratory numerical modelling, using a coupled agent-based/geohydrological (MODFLOW) simulation to explore a broad range of scenarios for ATES design and layout parameters. The results give insight in how technical ATES-well design choices affect optimal use of subsurface space and in the trade-of between individual efficiency and overall emission reductions. The improved ATES-planning method now fosters planning and design rules ensuring optimal and sustainable use of subsurface space, i.e. maximizing energy saving by accommodating as much ATES systems as possible while maintaining

The attitudes and activities of pastors and faith leaders in Zimbabwe on the use of family planning methods among their members

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moses Alikali

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Faith leaders are important gatekeepers in disseminating reproductive health messages and influencing positive behaviour change within communities. Faith leaders are seen as the most powerful, visible, and reachable form of authority, even trusted more than governments or non-profit organizations. In addition to providing counsel and advice aimed at enhancing health and wellbeing of the worshippers, faith leaders also play an important role in advocating and influencing what is taught in schools and what services are provided in healthcare facilities. Because of this influence, faith leaders often have an unparalleled opportunity—indeed, a moral obligation—to prioritize conversations about family planning, advocating, and closing the contraception gap.The overall objective of this study was to ascertain the attitude and activities of pastors and faith leaders in Zimbabwe on the use of family planning methods among their members. The result revealed that some faith leaders believed that spreading information about family planning education was the responsibility of the government and tended to avoid such responsibility. However, through training on family planning advocacy, much can be achieved. Methods: Qualitative study methods were used to better understand the attitude and activities of pastors and faith leaders in Zimbabwe on the use of family planning methods among their members. The participants of this survey were drawn from 8 of 10 provinces in Zimbabwe, which include: Bulawayo, Harare, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, and Matabeleland North.Paper-based questionnaires were answered by 24 pastors and 26 faith leaders in Zimbabwe (Table 1 through personal face-to-face meetings, while interviews were conducted with a select few pastors and faith leaders. The samples were drawn from randomly selected churches in Zimbabwe. Data was analysed using Epi info 7 and Microsoft Excel

[Patient safety culture in hospitals: experiences in planning, organising and conducting a survey among hospital staff].

Science.gov (United States)

van Vegten, Amanda; Pfeiffer, Yvonne; Giuliani, Francesca; Manser, Tanja

2011-01-01

This article presents the first hospital-wide survey on patient safety climate, involving all staff (medical and non-medical), in the German-speaking area. Its aim is to share our experiences with planning, organising and conducting this survey. The study was performed at the university hospital in Zurich and had a response rate of 46.8% (2,897 valid questionnaires). The survey instrument ("Patientensicherheitsklimainventar") was based on the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (AHRQ). Primarily it allowed for assessing the current patient safety climate as well as identifying specific areas for improvement and creating a hospital-wide awareness and acceptance for patient safety issues and interventions (e.g., the introduction of a Critical Incident Reporting System [CIRS]). We discuss the basic principles and the feedback concept guiding the organisation of the overall project. Critical to the success of this project were the guaranteed anonymity of the respondents, adequate communication through well-established channels within the organisation and the commitment of the management across all project phases. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Proper project planning helps minimize overruns and delays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donnelly, G.; Cooney, D.J.

1994-01-01

This paper describes planning methods to help minimize cost overruns during the construction of oil and gas pipelines. These steps include background data collection methods, field surveys, determining preliminary pipeline routes, regulatory agency pre-application meetings, and preliminary engineering. Methods for planning also include preliminary aerial mapping, biological assessments, cultural resources investigations, wetlands delineation, geotechnical investigations, and environmental audits. Identification of potential problems can allow for rerouting of the pipeline or remediation processes before they are raised during the permitting process. By coordinating these events from the very beginning, significant cost savings will result that prevent having to rebudget for them after the permitting process starts

A new plan-scoring method using normal tissue complication probability for personalized treatment plan decisions in prostate cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kwang Hyeon; Lee, Suk; Shim, Jang Bo; Yang, Dae Sik; Yoon, Won Sup; Park, Young Je; Kim, Chul Yong; Cao, Yuan Jie; Chang, Kyung Hwan

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to derive a new plan-scoring index using normal tissue complication probabilities to verify different plans in the selection of personalized treatment. Plans for 12 patients treated with tomotherapy were used to compare scoring for ranking. Dosimetric and biological indexes were analyzed for the plans for a clearly distinguishable group ( n = 7) and a similar group ( n = 12), using treatment plan verification software that we developed. The quality factor ( QF) of our support software for treatment decisions was consistent with the final treatment plan for the clearly distinguishable group (average QF = 1.202, 100% match rate, n = 7) and the similar group (average QF = 1.058, 33% match rate, n = 12). Therefore, we propose a normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) based on the plan scoring index for verification of different plans for personalized treatment-plan selection. Scoring using the new QF showed a 100% match rate (average NTCP QF = 1.0420). The NTCP-based new QF scoring method was adequate for obtaining biological verification quality and organ risk saving using the treatment-planning decision-support software we developed for prostate cancer.

Survey Method for Radiological Surveys of 300-FF-1 Operable Unit Soils and Material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brehm, D.M.

1998-06-01

This technical basis is to be used to survey soils at the 300-FF-1 Operable Unit during remediation of the site. Its purpose is to provide a basis for the survey methods to be employed by radiological control technician (RCTs) to guide the excavation effort in accordance with the 300-FF-1 waste site Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD for the 300-FF-1 Operable Unit requires selective excavation, removal, and disposal of contaminated soil above 350 pCi/g total uranium activity. Soil above this level will be disposed of as radioactive waste. The remaining soil will remain onsite

Resolution and optimization methods for tour planning problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasserot, Jean-Pierre

1976-12-01

The aim of this study is to describe computerized methods for the resolution of the computer supported tour planning problem. After a presentation of this problem in operational research, the different existing methods of resolution are reviewed with the different approaches which have led to their elaboration. Different critics and comparisons are made on these methods and some improvements and new procedures are proposed, some of them allowing to solve more general problems. Finally, the structure of such a program, made at the CII to solve this kind of problem under multiple constraints is analysed [fr

Knowledge and Perception about Family Planning Among Women ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROMOTING ACCESS TO AFRICAN RESEARCH ... African Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues ... The study adopted a qualitative and quantitative approach which included a survey of 136 randomly ... of awareness were many, very few women had adequate knowledge about family planning methods.

Obstetric care and method of delivery in Mexico: results from the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ileana Heredia-Pi

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To identify the current clinical, socio-demographic and obstetric factors associated with the various types of delivery strategies in Mexico. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study based on the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT of 6,736 women aged 12 to 49 years. Delivery types discussed in this paper include vaginal delivery, emergency cesarean section and planned cesarean section. Using bivariate analyses, sub-population group differences were identified. Logistic regression models were applied, including both binary and multinomial outcome variables from the survey. The logistic regression results identify those covariates associated with the type of delivery. RESULTS: 53.1% of institutional births in the period 2006 through 2012 were vaginal deliveries, 46.9% were either a planned or emergency cesarean sections. The highest rates of this procedure were among women who reported a complication during delivery (OR: 4.21; 95%CI: 3.66-4.84, between the ages of 35 and 49 at the time of their last child birth (OR: 2.54; 95%CI: 2.02-3.20 and women receiving care through private healthcare providers during delivery (OR: 2.36; 95%CI: 1.84-3.03. CONCLUSIONS: The existence of different socio-demographic and obstetric profiles among women who receive care for vaginal or cesarean delivery, are supported by the findings of the present study. The frequency of vaginal delivery is higher in indigenous women, when the care provider is public and, in women with two or more children at time of the most recent child birth. Planned cesarean deliveries are positively associated with years of schooling, a higher socioeconomic level, and higher age. The occurrence of emergency cesarean sections is elevated in women with a diagnosis of a health issue during pregnancy or delivery, and it is reduced in highly marginalized settings.

Measuring fertility through mobile‒phone based household surveys: Methods, data quality, and lessons learned from PMA2020 surveys

OpenAIRE

Yoonjoung Choi; Qingfeng Li; Blake Zachary

2018-01-01

Background: PMA2020 is a survey platform with resident enumerators using mobile phones. Instead of collecting full birth history, total fertility rates (TFR) have been measured with a limited number of questions on recent births. Employing new approaches provides opportunities to test and advance survey methods. Objective: This study aims to assess the quality of fertility data in PMA2020 surveys, focusing on bias introduced from the questionnaire and completeness and distribution of birth...

Women's experiences after Planned Parenthood's exclusion from a family planning program in Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

Woo, C Junda; Alamgir, Hasanat; Potter, Joseph E

2016-04-01

We assessed the impact on depot medroxyprogesterone continuation when a large care provider was banned from a state-funded family planning program. We used three methods to assess the effect of the ban: (a) In a records review, we compared how many state program participants returned to two Planned Parenthood affiliates for a scheduled dose of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) immediately after the ban; (b) We conducted phone interviews with 224 former Planned Parenthood patients about DMPA use and access to contraception immediately after the ban; (c) We compared current contraceptive method of our interviewees to that of comparable DMPA users in the National Survey of Family Growth 2006-2010 (NSFG). (a) Fewer program clients returned for DMPA at a large urban Planned Parenthood, compared to a remotely located affiliate (14.4%, vs. 64.8%), reflecting different levels of access to alternative providers in the two cities. (b) Among program participants who went elsewhere for the injection, only 56.8% obtained it at no cost and on time. More than one in five women missed a dose because of barriers, most commonly due to difficulty finding a provider. (c) Compared to NSFG participants, our interviewees used less effective methods of contraception, even more than a year after the ban went into effect. Injectable contraception use was disrupted during the rollout of the state-funded family planning program. Women living in a remote area of Texas encountered more barriers. Requiring low-income family planning patients to switch healthcare providers has adverse consequences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MULTI-CRITERIA PROGRAMMING METHODS AND PRODUCTION PLAN OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM SOLVING IN METAL INDUSTRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tunjo Perić

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the production plan optimization in the metal industry considered as a multi-criteria programming problem. We first provided the definition of the multi-criteria programming problem and classification of the multicriteria programming methods. Then we applied two multi-criteria programming methods (the STEM method and the PROMETHEE method in solving a problem of multi-criteria optimization production plan in a company from the metal industry. The obtained results indicate a high efficiency of the applied methods in solving the problem.

Study on State Transition Method Applied to Motion Planning for a Humanoid Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuyang Wang

2008-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an approach of motion planning for a humanoid robot using a state transition method. In this method, motion planning is simplified by introducing a state-space to describe the whole motion series. And each state in the state-space corresponds to a contact state specified during the motion. The continuous motion is represented by a sequence of discrete states. The concept of the transition between two neighboring states, that is the state transition, can be realized by using some traditional path planning methods. Considering the dynamical stability of the robot, a state transition method based on search strategy is proposed. Different sets of trajectories are generated by using a variable 5th-order polynomial interpolation method. After quantifying the stabilities of these trajectories, the trajectories with the largest stability margin are selected as the final state transition trajectories. Rising motion process is exemplified to validate the method and the simulation results show the proposed method to be feasible and effective.

Econometric methods for energy planning and policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhatia, R.

1989-01-01

The paper reports on the following: econometric models are often used in energy planning and policy for energy demand analysis at the macro and sectorial levels; estimating income and price elasticities of demand which can be used to analyze effects of growth and price changes; assessing interfuel and interfactor substitutions; forecasting energy demand; and estimating cost functions and forecasting supply. The illustrations in the paper are confined to single equation systems estimated by least squares method as used in analyzing changes in aggregate energy demand and sectorial energy demand. The use of econometric methods is illustrated with the help of empirical studies from a few countries (notably India). 2 tabs

Comparing Traditional and Crowdsourcing Methods for Pretesting Survey Questions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Edgar

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Cognitive interviewing is a common method used to evaluate survey questions. This study compares traditional cognitive interviewing methods with crowdsourcing, or “tapping into the collective intelligence of the public to complete a task.” Crowdsourcing may provide researchers with access to a diverse pool of potential participants in a very timely and cost-efficient way. Exploratory work found that crowdsourcing participants, with self-administered data collection, may be a viable alternative, or addition, to traditional pretesting methods. Using three crowdsourcing designs (TryMyUI, Amazon Mechanical Turk, and Facebook, we compared the participant characteristics, costs, and quantity and quality of data with traditional laboratory-based cognitive interviews. Results suggest that crowdsourcing and self-administered protocols may be a viable way to collect survey pretesting information, as participants were able to complete the tasks and provide useful information; however, complex tasks may require the skills of an interviewer to administer unscripted probes.

Awareness and use of and barriers to family planning services ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Methods. In a quantitative descriptive survey, 360 female undergraduate students ... Access to services was good. ... Levels of awareness and utilisation of family planning services are high among female students at the University of Lesotho.

IRP methods for Environmental Impact Statements of utility expansion plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cavallo, J.D.; Hemphill, R.C.; Veselka, T.D.

1992-01-01

Most large electric utilities and a growing number of gas utilities in the United States are using a planning method -- Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) - which incorporates demand-side management (DSM) programs whenever the marginal cost of the DSM programs are lower than the marginal cost of supply-side expansion options. Argonne National Laboratory has applied the IRP method in its socio-economic analysis of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of power marketing for a system of electric utilities in the mountain and western regions of the United States. Applying the IRP methods provides valuable information to the participants in an EIS process involving capacity expansion of an electric or gas utility. The major challenges of applying the IRP method within an EIS are the time consuming and costly task of developing a least cost expansion path for each altemative, the detailed quantification of environmental damages associated with capacity expansion, and the explicit inclusion of societal-impacts to the region

Radiological decontamination, survey, and statistical release method for vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodwill, M.E.; Lively, J.W.; Morris, R.L.

1996-06-01

Earth-moving vehicles (e.g., dump trucks, belly dumps) commonly haul radiologically contaminated materials from a site being remediated to a disposal site. Traditionally, each vehicle must be surveyed before being released. The logistical difficulties of implementing the traditional approach on a large scale demand that an alternative be devised. A statistical method for assessing product quality from a continuous process was adapted to the vehicle decontamination process. This method produced a sampling scheme that automatically compensates and accommodates fluctuating batch sizes and changing conditions without the need to modify or rectify the sampling scheme in the field. Vehicles are randomly selected (sampled) upon completion of the decontamination process to be surveyed for residual radioactive surface contamination. The frequency of sampling is based on the expected number of vehicles passing through the decontamination process in a given period and the confidence level desired. This process has been successfully used for 1 year at the former uranium millsite in Monticello, Utah (a cleanup site regulated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act). The method forces improvement in the quality of the decontamination process and results in a lower likelihood that vehicles exceeding the surface contamination standards are offered for survey. Implementation of this statistical sampling method on Monticello projects has resulted in more efficient processing of vehicles through decontamination and radiological release, saved hundreds of hours of processing time, provided a high level of confidence that release limits are met, and improved the radiological cleanliness of vehicles leaving the controlled site

Efficient Kinect Sensor-Based Reactive Path Planning Method for Autonomous Mobile Robots in Dynamic Environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tuvshinjargal, Doopalam; Lee, Deok Jin [Kunsan National University, Gunsan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-06-15

In this paper, an efficient dynamic reactive motion planning method for an autonomous vehicle in a dynamic environment is proposed. The purpose of the proposed method is to improve the robustness of autonomous robot motion planning capabilities within dynamic, uncertain environments by integrating a virtual plane-based reactive motion planning technique with a sensor fusion-based obstacle detection approach. The dynamic reactive motion planning method assumes a local observer in the virtual plane, which allows the effective transformation of complex dynamic planning problems into simple stationary ones proving the speed and orientation information between the robot and obstacles. In addition, the sensor fusion-based obstacle detection technique allows the pose estimation of moving obstacles using a Kinect sensor and sonar sensors, thus improving the accuracy and robustness of the reactive motion planning approach. The performance of the proposed method was demonstrated through not only simulation studies but also field experiments using multiple moving obstacles in hostile dynamic environments.

Efficient Kinect Sensor-Based Reactive Path Planning Method for Autonomous Mobile Robots in Dynamic Environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuvshinjargal, Doopalam; Lee, Deok Jin

2015-01-01

In this paper, an efficient dynamic reactive motion planning method for an autonomous vehicle in a dynamic environment is proposed. The purpose of the proposed method is to improve the robustness of autonomous robot motion planning capabilities within dynamic, uncertain environments by integrating a virtual plane-based reactive motion planning technique with a sensor fusion-based obstacle detection approach. The dynamic reactive motion planning method assumes a local observer in the virtual plane, which allows the effective transformation of complex dynamic planning problems into simple stationary ones proving the speed and orientation information between the robot and obstacles. In addition, the sensor fusion-based obstacle detection technique allows the pose estimation of moving obstacles using a Kinect sensor and sonar sensors, thus improving the accuracy and robustness of the reactive motion planning approach. The performance of the proposed method was demonstrated through not only simulation studies but also field experiments using multiple moving obstacles in hostile dynamic environments

A Survey of Various Object Oriented Requirement Engineering Methods

OpenAIRE

Anandi Mahajan; Dr. Anurag Dixit

2013-01-01

In current years many industries have been moving to the use of object-oriented methods for the development of large scale information systems The requirement of Object Oriented approach in the development of software systems is increasing day by day. This paper is basically a survey paper on various Object-oriented requirement engineering methods. This paper contains a summary of the available Object-oriented requirement engineering methods with their relative advantages and disadvantages...

Optimization in radiotherapy treatment planning thanks to a fast dose calculation method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Mingchao

2014-01-01

This thesis deals with the radiotherapy treatments planning issue which need a fast and reliable treatment planning system (TPS). The TPS is composed of a dose calculation algorithm and an optimization method. The objective is to design a plan to deliver the dose to the tumor while preserving the surrounding healthy and sensitive tissues. The treatment planning aims to determine the best suited radiation parameters for each patient's treatment. In this thesis, the parameters of treatment with IMRT (Intensity modulated radiation therapy) are the beam angle and the beam intensity. The objective function is multi-criteria with linear constraints. The main objective of this thesis is to demonstrate the feasibility of a treatment planning optimization method based on a fast dose-calculation technique developed by (Blanpain, 2009). This technique proposes to compute the dose by segmenting the patient's phantom into homogeneous meshes. The dose computation is divided into two steps. The first step impacts the meshes: projections and weights are set according to physical and geometrical criteria. The second step impacts the voxels: the dose is computed by evaluating the functions previously associated to their mesh. A reformulation of this technique makes possible to solve the optimization problem by the gradient descent algorithm. The main advantage of this method is that the beam angle parameters could be optimized continuously in 3 dimensions. The obtained results in this thesis offer many opportunities in the field of radiotherapy treatment planning optimization. (author) [fr

Using mark-recapture distance sampling methods on line transect surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, Louise M.; Borchers, David L.; Jenkins, Kurt J.; Marques, Tigao A

2014-01-01

Mark–recapture distance sampling (MRDS) methods are widely used for density and abundance estimation when the conventional DS assumption of certain detection at distance zero fails, as they allow detection at distance zero to be estimated and incorporated into the overall probability of detection to better estimate density and abundance. However, incorporating MR data in DS models raises survey and analysis issues not present in conventional DS. Conversely, incorporating DS assumptions in MR models raises issues not present in conventional MR. As a result, being familiar with either conventional DS methods or conventional MR methods does not on its own put practitioners in good a position to apply MRDS methods appropriately. This study explains the sometimes subtly different varieties of MRDS survey methods and the associated concepts underlying MRDS models. This is done as far as possible without giving mathematical details – in the hope that this will make the key concepts underlying the methods accessible to a wider audience than if we were to present the concepts via equations.

Traditional Methods Used in Family Planning and Conception in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... knowledge and incorporate it into the national health care delivery service. Researchers should document the available indigenous knowledge before they are forgotten while ascertaining the validity of some of the methods. Keywords: Maternal health, family planning, pregnancy management, homebased health care.

Sci-Fri PM: Radiation Therapy, Planning, Imaging, and Special Techniques - 10: Results from Canada Wide Survey on Total Body Irradiation Practice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Studinski, Ryan; Fraser, Danielle; Samant, Rajiv; MacPherson, Miller [The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre (Canada)

2016-08-15

Purpose: Total Body Irradiation (TBI) is delivered to a relatively small number of patients with a variety of techniques; it has been a challenge to develop consensus studies for best practice. This survey was created to assess the current state of TBI in Canada. Methods: The survey was created with questions focusing on the radiation prescription, delivery technique and resources involved. The survey was circulated electronically to the heads of every clinical medical physics department in Canada. Responses were gathered and collated, and centres that were known to deliver TBI were urged to respond. Results: Responses from 20 centres were received, including 12 from centres that perform TBI. Although a variety of TBI dose prescriptions were reported, 12 Gy in 6 fractions was used in 11 centres while 5 centres use unique prescriptions. For dose rate, a range of 9 to 51 cGy/min was reported. Most centres use an extended SSD technique, with the patient standing or lying down against a wall. The rest use either a “sweeping” technique or a more complicated multi-field technique. All centres but one indicated that they shield the lungs, and only a minority shield other organs. The survey also showed that considerable resources are used for TBI including extra staffing, extended planning and treatment times and the use of locally developed hardware or software. Conclusions: This survey highlights that both similarities and important discrepancies exist between TBI techniques across the country, and is an opportunity to prompt more collaboration between centres.

Climate Change: Implications for the Assumptions, Goals and Methods of Urban Environmental Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristina Hill

2016-12-01

Full Text Available As a result of increasing awareness of the implications of global climate change, shifts are becoming necessary and apparent in the assumptions, concepts, goals and methods of urban environmental planning. This review will present the argument that these changes represent a genuine paradigm shift in urban environmental planning. Reflection and action to develop this paradigm shift is critical now and in the next decades, because environmental planning for cities will only become more urgent as we enter a new climate period. The concepts, methods and assumptions that urban environmental planners have relied on in previous decades to protect people, ecosystems and physical structures are inadequate if they do not explicitly account for a rapidly changing regional climate context, specifically from a hydrological and ecological perspective. The over-arching concept of spatial suitability that guided planning in most of the 20th century has already given way to concepts that address sustainability, recognizing the importance of temporality. Quite rapidly, the concept of sustainability has been replaced in many planning contexts by the priority of establishing resilience in the face of extreme disturbance events. Now even this concept of resilience is being incorporated into a novel concept of urban planning as a process of adaptation to permanent, incremental environmental changes. This adaptation concept recognizes the necessity for continued resilience to extreme events, while acknowledging that permanent changes are also occurring as a result of trends that have a clear direction over time, such as rising sea levels. Similarly, the methods of urban environmental planning have relied on statistical data about hydrological and ecological systems that will not adequately describe these systems under a new climate regime. These methods are beginning to be replaced by methods that make use of early warning systems for regime shifts, and process

Family planning among women in urban and rural areas in Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antić Ljiljana

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Family planning is an important aspect of population policy at the state level, because the demographic trends in Serbia are very unfavorable. Objective. The objective of this study was to examine the differences in family planning between the women in rural and urban areas of Serbia. Methods. This study represents the secondary analysis of the National Health Survey of the population in Serbia from 2006, which was conducted as a cross sectional study, on a representative sample of the population. Results. The respondents who used condoms as a method of contraception, were often younger, better educated, had better financial status, lived in Vojvodina, and had no children. Conclusion. Our study showed that there were differences in terms of family planning between the women of urban and rural areas, however, these differences could be explained by differences in age and education. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 175025: National Health Survey of the Population of Serbia

Combining Internet-Based and Postal Survey Methods in a Survey among Gynecologists: Results of a Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Ernst, Sinja Alexandra; Brand, Tilman; Lhachimi, Stefan K; Zeeb, Hajo

2018-04-01

To assess whether a combination of Internet-based and postal survey methods (mixed-mode) compared to postal-only survey methods (postal-only) leads to improved response rates in a physician survey, and to compare the cost implications of the different recruitment strategies. All primary care gynecologists in Bremen and Lower Saxony, Germany, were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey from January to July 2014. The sample was divided into two strata (A; B) depending on availability of an email address. Within each stratum, potential participants were randomly assigned to mixed-mode or postal-only group. In Stratum A, the mixed-mode group had a lower response rate compared to the postal-only group (12.5 vs. 20.2 percent; RR = 0.61, 95 percent CI: 0.44-0.87). In stratum B, no significant differences were found (15.6 vs. 16.2 percent; RR = 0.95, 95 percent CI: 0.62-1.44). Total costs (in €) per valid questionnaire returned (Stratum A: 399.72 vs. 248.85; Stratum B: 496.37 vs. 455.15) and per percentage point of response (Stratum A: 1,379.02 vs. 861.02; Stratum B 1,116.82 vs. 1,024.09) were higher, whereas variable costs were lower in mixed-mode compared to the respective postal-only groups (Stratum A cost ratio: 0.47, Stratum B cost ratio: 0.71). In this study, primary care gynecologists were more likely to participate by traditional postal-only than by mixed-mode survey methods that first offered an Internet option. However, the lower response rate for the mixed-mode method may be partly due to the older age structure of the responding gynecologists. Variable costs per returned questionnaire were substantially lower in mixed-mode groups and indicate the potential for cost savings if the sample population is sufficiently large. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Measuring fertility through mobile‒phone based household surveys: Methods, data quality, and lessons learned from PMA2020 surveys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoonjoung Choi

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Background: PMA2020 is a survey platform with resident enumerators using mobile phones. Instead of collecting full birth history, total fertility rates (TFR have been measured with a limited number of questions on recent births. Employing new approaches provides opportunities to test and advance survey methods. Objective: This study aims to assess the quality of fertility data in PMA2020 surveys, focusing on bias introduced from the questionnaire and completeness and distribution of birth month and year, and to estimate TFR adjusted for identified data quality issues. Methods: To assess underestimation from the questionnaire, we simulated births that would be counted using the PMA2020 questionnaires compared to births identified from full birth history. We analyzed the latest Demographic and Health Surveys in ten countries where PMA2020 surveys have been implemented. We assessed the level of reporting completeness for birth month and year and heaping of birth month, analyzing 39 PMA2020 surveys. Finally, TFR were calculated and adjusted for biases introduced from the questionnaire and heaping in birth month. Results: Simple questions introduced minor bias from undercounting multiple births, which was expected and correctable. Meanwhile, incomplete reporting of birth month was relatively high, and the default value of January in data collection software systematically moved births with missing months out of the reference period. On average across the 39 surveys, TFR increased by 1.6Š and 2.4Š, adjusted for undercounted multiple births and heaping on January, respectively. Contribution: This study emphasizes the importance of enumerator training and provides critical insight in software programming in surveys using mobile technologies.

HOW DO YOUNG PEOPLE SELECT INFORMATION TO PLAN A TRIP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana ŢUGULEA

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the research is to reveal the young tourists preferences in the process of planning a trip. Sources of information used, the utility of Internet/travel agencies in planning travel trip activities, preferred means of transportation and types of accommodation are investigated. As research methods, there used both qualitative and quantitative methods: focus group and survey. Internet is more used by young tourists in planning trips than travel agencies are. Internet is considered more useful in the documentation stage and when buying airline tickets. Young tourists are more influenced by friends when planning a trip. Young tourists prefer cars and planes as means of transportation for a trip and hotels and guesthouses as accommodation when traveling.

SU-F-T-447: The Impact of Treatment Planning Methods On RapidPlan Modeling for Rectum Cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, S; Peng, J; Li, K; Wang, J; Hu, W [Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, Shanghai (China)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To investigate the dose volume histogram (DVH) prediction varieties based on intensity modulate radiotherapy (IMRT) plan or volume arc modulate radiotherapy (VMAT) plan models on the RapidPlan. Methods: Two DVH prediction models were generated in this study, including an IMRT model trained from 83 IMRT rectum plans and a VMAT model trained from 60 VMAT rectum plans. In the internal validation, 20 plans from each training database were selected to verify the clinical feasibility of the model. Then, 10 IMRT plans (PIMRT-by-IMRT-model) generated from IMRT model and 10 IMRT plans generated from VMAT model (PIMRT-by-VMAT-model) were compared on the dose to organs at risk (OAR), which included bladder, left and right femoral heads. The similar comparison was also performed on the VMAT plans generated from IMRT model (PVMAT-by-IMRT-model) and VMAT plans generated from VMAT (PVMAT-by-VMAT-model) model. Results: For the internal validation, all plans from IMRT or VMAT model shows significantly improvement on OAR sparing compared with the corresponded clinical ones. Compared to the PIMRT-by-VMAT-model, the PIMRT-by-IMRT-model has a reduction of 6.90±3.87%(p<0.001) on V40 6.63±3.62%(p<0.001) on V45 and 4.74±2.26%(p<0.001) on V50 in bladder; and a mean dose reduction of 2.12±1.75Gy(p=0.004) and 2.84±1.53Gy(p<0.001) in right and left femoral head, respectively. There was no significant difference on OAR sparing between PVMAT-by-IMRT-model and PVMAT-by-VMAT-model. Conclusion: The IMRT model for the rectal cancer in the RapidPlan can be applied to for VMAT planning. However, the VMAT model is not suggested to use in the IMRT planning. Cautions should be taken that the planning model based on some technique may not feasible to other planning techniques.

Does e-pain plan improve management of sickle cell disease associated vaso-occlusive pain crisis? a mixed methods evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kato-Lin, Yi-Chin; Krishnamurti, Lakshmanan; Padman, Rema; Seltman, Howard J

2014-11-01

There is limited application and evaluation of health information systems in the management of vaso-occlusive pain crises in sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. This study evaluates the impact of digitization of paper-based individualized pain plans on process efficiency and care quality by examining both objective patient data and subjective clinician insights. Retrospective, before and after, mixed methods evaluation of digitization of paper documents in Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Subjective perceptions are analyzed using surveys completed by 115 clinicians in emergency department (ED) and inpatient units (IP). Objective effects are evaluated using mixed models with data on 1089 ED visits collected via electronic chart review 28 months before and 22 months after the digitization. Surveys indicate that all clinicians perceived the digitization to improve the efficiency and quality of pain management. Physicians overwhelmingly preferred using the digitized plans, but only 44% of the nurses had the same response. Analysis of patient records indicates that adjusted time from analgesic order to administration was significantly reduced from 35.50 to 26.77 min (pmanagement. This study highlights the important role of health information technology (HIT) on vaso-occlusive pain management for pediatric patients with sickle cell disease and the critical challenges in accommodating human factor considerations in implementing and evaluating HIT effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An integrated approach for facilities planning by ELECTRE method

Science.gov (United States)

Elbishari, E. M. Y.; Hazza, M. H. F. Al; Adesta, E. Y. T.; Rahman, Nur Salihah Binti Abdul

2018-01-01

Facility planning is concerned with the design, layout, and accommodation of people, machines and activities of a system. Most of the researchers try to investigate the production area layout and the related facilities. However, few of them try to investigate the relationship between the production space and its relationship with service departments. The aim of this research to is to integrate different approaches in order to evaluate, analyse and select the best facilities planning method that able to explain the relationship between the production area and other supporting departments and its effect on human efforts. To achieve the objective of this research two different approaches have been integrated: Apple’s layout procedure as one of the effective tools in planning factories, ELECTRE method as one of the Multi Criteria Decision Making methods (MCDM) to minimize the risk of getting poor facilities planning. Dalia industries have been selected as a case study to implement our integration the factory have been divided two main different area: the whole facility (layout A), and the manufacturing area (layout B). This article will be concerned with the manufacturing area layout (Layout B). After analysing the data gathered, the manufacturing area was divided into 10 activities. There are five factors that the alternative were compared upon which are: Inter department satisfactory level, total distance travelled for workers, total distance travelled for the product, total time travelled for the workers, and total time travelled for the product. Three different layout alternatives have been developed in addition to the original layouts. Apple’s layout procedure was used to study and evaluate the different alternatives layouts, the study and evaluation of the layouts was done by calculating scores for each of the factors. After obtaining the scores from evaluating the layouts, ELECTRE method was used to compare the proposed alternatives with each other and with

A Survey of Functional Behavior Assessment Methods Used by Behavior Analysts in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Oliver, Anthony C.; Pratt, Leigh A.; Normand, Matthew P.

2015-01-01

To gather information about the functional behavior assessment (FBA) methods behavior analysts use in practice, we sent a web-based survey to 12,431 behavior analysts certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Ultimately, 724 surveys were returned, with the results suggesting that most respondents regularly use FBA methods, especially…

Site study plan for EDBH [Engineering Design Boreholes] seismic surveys, Deaf Smith County site, Texas: Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hume, H.

1987-12-01

This site study plan describes seismic reflection surveys to run north-south and east-west across the Deaf Smith County site, and intersecting near the Engineering Design Boreholes (EDBH). Both conventional and shallow high-resolution surveys will be run. The field program has been designed to acquire subsurface geologic and stratigraphic data to address information/data needs resulting from Federal and State regulations and Repository program requirements. The data acquired by the conventional surveys will be common-depth- point, seismic reflection data optimized for reflection events that indicate geologic structure near the repository horizon. The data will also resolve the basement structure and shallow reflection events up to about the top of the evaporite sequence. Field acquisition includes a testing phase to check/select parameters and a production phase. The field data will be subjected immediately to conventional data processing and interpretation to determine if there are any anamolous structural for stratigraphic conditions that could affect the choice of the EDBH sites. After the EDBH's have been drilled and logged, including vertical seismic profiling, the data will be reprocessed and reinterpreted for detailed structural and stratigraphic information to guide shaft development. The shallow high-resulition seismic reflection lines will be run along the same alignments, but the lines will be shorter and limited to immediate vicinity of the EDBH sites. These lines are planned to detect faults or thick channel sands that may be present at the EDBH sites. 23 refs. , 7 figs., 5 tabs

Consensus Treatment Plans for New-Onset Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Science.gov (United States)

DeWitt, Esi Morgan; Kimura, Yukiko; Beukelman, Timothy; Nigrovic, Peter A.; Onel, Karen; Prahalad, Sampath; Schneider, Rayfel; Stoll, Matthew L.; Angeles-Han, Sheila; Milojevic, Diana; Schikler, Kenneth N.; Vehe, Richard K.; Weiss, Jennifer E.; Weiss, Pamela; Ilowite, Norman T.; Wallace, Carol A.

2012-01-01

Objective There is wide variation in therapeutic approaches to systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) among North American rheumatologists. Understanding the comparative effectiveness of the diverse therapeutic options available for treatment of sJIA can result in better health outcomes. The Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) developed consensus treatment plans and standardized assessment schedules for use in clinical practice to facilitate such studies. Methods Case-based surveys were administered to CARRA members to identify prevailing treatments for new-onset sJIA. A 2-day consensus conference in April 2010 employed modified nominal group technique to formulate preliminary treatment plans and determine important data elements for collection. Follow-up surveys were employed to refine the plans and assess clinical acceptability. Results The initial case-based survey identified significant variability among current treatment approaches for new onset sJIA, underscoring the utility of standardized plans to evaluate comparative effectiveness. We developed four consensus treatment plans for the first 9 months of therapy, as well as case definitions and clinical and laboratory monitoring schedules. The four treatment regimens included glucocorticoids only, or therapy with methotrexate, anakinra or tocilizumab, with or without glucocorticoids. This approach was approved by >78% of CARRA membership. Conclusion Four standardized treatment plans were developed for new-onset sJIA. Coupled with data collection at defined intervals, use of these treatment plans will create the opportunity to evaluate comparative effectiveness in an observational setting to optimize initial management of sJIA. PMID:22290637

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

Proper survey methods for research of aquatic plant ecology and management

Science.gov (United States)

Proper survey methods are essential for objective, quantitative assessment of the distribution and abundance of aquatic plants as part of research and demonstration efforts. For research, the use of the appropriate method is an essential part of the scientific method, to ensure that the experimenta...

Method of radiation therapy treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hodes, L.

1976-01-01

A technique of radiation therapy treatment planning designed to allow the assignment of dosage limits directly to chosen points in the computer-displayed cross-section of the patient. These dosage limits are used as constraints in a linear programming attempt to solve for beam strengths, minimizing integral dosage. If a feasible plan exists, the optimized plan will be displayed for approval as an isodose pattern. If there is no feasible plan, the operator/therapist can designate some of the point dosage constraints as ''relaxed.'' Linear programming will then optimize for minimum deviation at the relaxed points. This process can be iterated and new points selected until an acceptable plan is realized. In this manner the plan is optimized for uniformity as well as overall low dosage. 6 claims, 6 drawing figures

Survey of consumer attitudes and awareness of the metric conversion of distilled spirits containers: A policy and planning evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, J. A.; Barsby, S. L.

1981-12-01

The survey was conducted as part of a policy and planning evaluation study. The overall study was an examination of a completed private sector conversion to the metric system, in the light of the US Metric Board's planning guidelines and procedures. The conversion of distilled spirits containers took place prior to the establishment of the USMB. The study's objective was to use the completed version to determine if the guidelines and related procedures were adequate to help the conversion process. If they were not, the study was designed to provide suggestions for improvement.

Research and application of soil-mercury-surveys method for locating uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

You Yunfei; Lu Shili; Jiao Zongrun

1995-06-01

Soil-Hg-Surveys method for locating uranium ore was presented. Soil-sampler of drilling bottom, the ability of surveying the deep uranium orebodies was raised by using this method. Application of minicomputer technology to pyrolytic-Hg-analysis raises the degree of automation and precision of the analysis. Application condition of optimum is Hg content of orebodies >1 x 10 -6 . Locating deep is about 100 m. The forecast of uranium orebodies achieved success in two unknown section that are 534 and 510 mining area, therefore two little size deposits expanded into middle size deposits. This method is as well applicable to locating gold, silver, copper, lead zinc and oil-gas natural resource and so on. (8 figs., 3 tabs.)

A Method of Generating Indoor Map Spatial Data Automatically from Architectural Plans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SUN Weixin

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Taking architectural plans as data source, we proposed a method which can automatically generate indoor map spatial data. Firstly, referring to the spatial data demands of indoor map, we analyzed the basic characteristics of architectural plans, and introduced concepts of wall segment, adjoining node and adjoining wall segment, based on which basic flow of indoor map spatial data automatic generation was further established. Then, according to the adjoining relation between wall lines at the intersection with column, we constructed a repair method for wall connectivity in relation to the column. Utilizing the method of gradual expansibility and graphic reasoning to judge wall symbol local feature type at both sides of door or window, through update the enclosing rectangle of door or window, we developed a repair method for wall connectivity in relation to the door or window and a method for transform door or window into indoor map point feature. Finally, on the basis of geometric relation between adjoining wall segment median lines, a wall center-line extraction algorithm was presented. Taking one exhibition hall's architectural plan as example, we performed experiment and results show that the proposed methods have preferable applicability to deal with various complex situations, and realized indoor map spatial data automatic extraction effectively.

Offering the full range of contraceptive options: a survey of interest in vasectomy training in the US family planning community.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Brian T; Jochim, Andrea L; Shih, Grace H

2017-05-01

To assess current practices regarding female and male sterilization counseling and provision, as well as determine interest in providing vasectomy among family planning specialists. Members of the US-based network of family planning fellowship physicians (current fellows, graduates and faculty) received a Web-based survey from November 2015 through January 2016 regarding current sterilization preferences and practices, as well as interest in obtaining training in vasectomy counseling and procedure. Nearly 60% (n=178/302) of family planning fellowship providers responded to the survey. While 62% (111/178) of respondents reported counseling their patients about vasectomy at least most of the time and 57% (102/178) recommended vasectomy over female sterilization, few (8/178; 4 trained in family medicine and 4 trained in obstetrics and gynecology) had performed a vasectomy in the last year. Nearly 90% (158/178) of respondents were somewhat or very interested in receiving training on vasectomy counseling; 58% (103/178) desired procedural training. Desire for training was associated with being male and receiving residency training in family medicine. Few family planning fellowship physicians provide vasectomy, and the majority expressed being at least somewhat interested in receiving further training. Vasectomy is more effective, safer and less expensive than female sterilization but is less common than female sterilization. One barrier to vasectomy access is the low number of vasectomy providers. Creating a structured vasectomy training program through the family planning fellowship may help to increase the number of vasectomy providers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: national youth fitness survey plan, operations, and analysis, 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Borrud, Lori; Chiappa, Michele M; Burt, Vicki L; Gahche, Jaime; Zipf, George; Johnson, Clifford L; Dohrmann, Sylvia M

2014-04-01

In October 2008, the federal government issued its first-ever Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans to provide science-based guidance on the types and amounts of physical activity that provide substantial health benefits for Americans (1). Guidelines for children and adolescents recommend 60 minutes or more of aerobic, muscle-strengthening, or bone-strengthening physical activity daily (1). While the number of children in the United States who meet the recommendations in the Physical Activity Guidelines is unknown, the percentage that is physically active in the United States may be declining. No recent national data exist on the fitness levels of children and adolescents. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey's (NHANES) National Youth Fitness Survey (NNYFS) was conducted in 2012 and collected data on physical activity and fitness levels for U.S. children and adolescents aged 3-15 years. The objective of NNYFS was to provide national-level estimates of the physical activity and fitness levels of children, based on interview and physical examination data. Results from the survey are intended to contribute to the development of policies and programs to improve youth fitness nationally. The data also may be used in the development of national reference standards for measures of fitness and physical activity. Methods The NNYFS survey design used the design for NHANES, which is a multistage probability sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized resident population of the United States. NNYFS consisted of a household interview and a physical activity and fitness examination in a mobile examination center. A total of 1,640 children and adolescents aged 3-15 were interviewed, and 1,576 were examined. All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.

2009 Canadian Radiation Oncology Resident Survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Debenham, Brock; Banerjee, Robyn; Fairchild, Alysa; Dundas, George; Trotter, Theresa; Yee, Don

2012-01-01

Purpose: Statistics from the Canadian post-MD education registry show that numbers of Canadian radiation oncology (RO) trainees have risen from 62 in 1999 to approximately 150 per year between 2003 and 2009, contributing to the current perceived downturn in employment opportunities for radiation oncologists in Canada. When last surveyed in 2003, Canadian RO residents identified job availability as their main concern. Our objective was to survey current Canadian RO residents on their training and career plans. Methods and Materials: Trainees from the 13 Canadian residency programs using the national matching service were sought. Potential respondents were identified through individual program directors or chief resident and were e-mailed a secure link to an online survey. Descriptive statistics were used to report responses. Results: The eligible response rate was 53% (83/156). Similar to the 2003 survey, respondents generally expressed high satisfaction with their programs and specialty. The most frequently expressed perceived weakness in their training differed from 2003, with 46.5% of current respondents feeling unprepared to enter the job market. 72% plan on pursuing a postresidency fellowship. Most respondents intend to practice in Canada. Fewer than 20% of respondents believe that there is a strong demand for radiation oncologists in Canada. Conclusions: Respondents to the current survey expressed significant satisfaction with their career choice and training program. However, differences exist compared with the 2003 survey, including the current perceived lack of demand for radiation oncologists in Canada.

2009 Canadian Radiation Oncology Resident Survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Debenham, Brock, E-mail: debenham@ualberta.net [Department of Radiation Oncology, Cross Cancer Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada); Banerjee, Robyn [Department of Radiation Oncology, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta (Canada); Fairchild, Alysa; Dundas, George [Department of Radiation Oncology, Cross Cancer Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada); Trotter, Theresa [Department of Radiation Oncology, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta (Canada); Yee, Don [Department of Radiation Oncology, Cross Cancer Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)

2012-03-15

Purpose: Statistics from the Canadian post-MD education registry show that numbers of Canadian radiation oncology (RO) trainees have risen from 62 in 1999 to approximately 150 per year between 2003 and 2009, contributing to the current perceived downturn in employment opportunities for radiation oncologists in Canada. When last surveyed in 2003, Canadian RO residents identified job availability as their main concern. Our objective was to survey current Canadian RO residents on their training and career plans. Methods and Materials: Trainees from the 13 Canadian residency programs using the national matching service were sought. Potential respondents were identified through individual program directors or chief resident and were e-mailed a secure link to an online survey. Descriptive statistics were used to report responses. Results: The eligible response rate was 53% (83/156). Similar to the 2003 survey, respondents generally expressed high satisfaction with their programs and specialty. The most frequently expressed perceived weakness in their training differed from 2003, with 46.5% of current respondents feeling unprepared to enter the job market. 72% plan on pursuing a postresidency fellowship. Most respondents intend to practice in Canada. Fewer than 20% of respondents believe that there is a strong demand for radiation oncologists in Canada. Conclusions: Respondents to the current survey expressed significant satisfaction with their career choice and training program. However, differences exist compared with the 2003 survey, including the current perceived lack of demand for radiation oncologists in Canada.

Fear, opposition, ambivalence, and omission: Results from a follow-up study on unmet need for family planning in Ghana

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

Introduction Despite a relatively strong family planning program and regionally modest levels of fertility, Ghana recorded one of the highest levels of unmet need for family planning on the African continent in 2008. Unmet need for family planning is a composite measure based on apparent contradictions between women’s reproductive preferences and practices. Women who want to space or limit births but are not using contraception are considered to have an unmet need for family planning. The study sought to understand the reasons behind high levels of unmet need for family planning in Ghana. Methods A mixed methods follow-up study was embedded within the stratified, two-stage cluster sample of the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). Women in 13 survey clusters who were identified as having unmet need, along with a reference group of current family planning users, were approached to be reinterviewed within an average of three weeks from their GDHS interview. Follow-up respondents were asked a combination of closed- and open-ended questions about fertility preferences and contraceptive use. Closed-ended responses were compared against the original survey; transcripts were thematically coded and analyzed using qualitative analysis software. Results Among fecund women identified by the 2014 GDHS as having unmet need, follow-up interviews revealed substantial underreporting of method use, particularly traditional methods. Complete postpartum abstinence was sometimes the intended method of family planning but was overlooked during questions about method use. Other respondents classified as having unmet need had ambivalent fertility preferences. In several cases, respondents expressed revised fertility preferences upon follow-up that would have made them ineligible for inclusion in the unmet need category. The reference group of family planning users also expressed unstable fertility preferences. Aversion to modern method use was generally more substantial

Telephony user survey

CERN Multimedia

IT Department

2016-01-01

Let us know your needs to better plan the transition to a new CERN telephony system.   CERN is planning to upgrade its telephony network and replace the system with a new and modern VoIP infrastructure. We strive to make this transition as beneficial and smooth as possible for you. Please let us know more about your current working environment, expectations and suggestions by responding to this survey: https://cern.ch/tel-survey. The more answers we get, the better the new system will serve everyone in the future. The survey will take you about five minutes to complete; we are counting on your feedback!

Crisis-Management Plans Are Untested, Survey Says

Science.gov (United States)

June, Audrey Williams

2007-01-01

Newly released survey results reveal that many colleges are focusing more than ever on preparing for a crisis since the massacre at Virginia Tech, but that they may not be well equipped to handle one. The online survey was conducted by SimpsonScarborough, a consulting firm that focuses on colleges and universities. It invited 546 people who are…

Women’s experiences after Planned Parenthood’s exclusion from a family planning program in Texas☆

Science.gov (United States)

Woo, C. Junda; Alamgir, Hasanat; Potter, Joseph E.

2016-01-01

Objective We assessed the impact on depot medroxyprogesterone continuation when a large care provider was banned from a state-funded family planning program. Study Design We used three methods to assess the effect of the ban: (a) In a records review, we compared how many state program participants returned to two Planned Parenthood affiliates for a scheduled dose of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) immediately after the ban; (b) We conducted phone interviews with 224 former Planned Parenthood patients about DMPA use and access to contraception immediately after the ban; (c) We compared current contraceptive method of our interviewees to that of comparable DMPA users in the National Survey of Family Growth 2006–2010 (NSFG). Results (a) Fewer program clients returned for DMPA at a large urban Planned Parenthood, compared to a remotely located affiliate (14.4%, vs. 64.8%), reflecting different levels of access to alternative providers in the two cities. (b) Among program participants who went elsewhere for the injection, only 56.8% obtained it at no cost and on time. More than one in five women missed a dose because of barriers, most commonly due to difficulty finding a provider. (c) Compared to NSFG participants, our interviewees used less effective methods of contraception, even more than a year after the ban went into effect. Conclusions Injectable contraception use was disrupted during the rollout of the state-funded family planning program. Women living in a remote area of Texas encountered more barriers. Implications Requiring low-income family planning patients to switch healthcare providers has adverse consequences. PMID:26680757

Critical path method as the criterion for optimization of business planning process

OpenAIRE

Butsenko Elena V.

2016-01-01

In today's economy the task of improving business planning is considered a necessary component of any enterprise management process and is precisely the solution drawn from that task which determines the financial policy and economic structure. The development of technologies based on the optimization of business planning is a very urgent scientific challenge. In this paper we propose to use the methods of network planning and management as a tool for economic and mathematical modeling to...

Survey of Technetium Analytical Production Methods Supporting Hanford Nuclear Materials Processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

TROYER, G.L.

1999-01-01

This document provides a historical survey of analytical methods used for measuring 99 Tc in nuclear fuel reprocessing materials and wastes at Hanford. Method challenges including special sludge matrices tested are discussed. Special problems and recommendations are presented

National conference on integrated resource planning: Proceedings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-12-31

Until recently, state regulators have focused most of their attention on the development of least-cost or integrated resource planning (IRP) processes for electric utilities. A number of commissions are beginning to scrutinize the planning processes of local gas distribution companies (LDCs) because of the increased control that LDCs have over their purchased gas costs (as well as the associated risks) and because of questions surrounding the role and potential of gas end-use efficiency options. Traditionally, resource planning (LDCs) has concentrated on options for purchasing and storing gas. Integrated resource planning involves the creation of a process in which supply-side and demand-side options are integrated to create a resource mix that reliably satisfies customers` short-term and long-term energy service needs at the lowest cost. As applied to gas utilities, an integrated resource plan seeks to balance cost and reliability, and should not be interpreted simply as the search for lowest commodity costs. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners` (NARUC) Energy Conservation committee asked Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) to survey state PUCs to determine the extent to which they have undertaken least cost planning for gas utilities. The survey included the following topics: status of state PUC least-cost planning regulations and practices for gas utilities; type and scope of natural gas DSM programs in effect, including fuel substitution; economic tests and analysis methods used to evaluate DSM programs; relationship between prudency reviews of gas utility purchasing practices and integrated resource planning; key regulatory issued facing gas utilities during the next five years.

National conference on integrated resource planning: Proceedings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-01-01

Until recently, state regulators have focused most of their attention on the development of least-cost or integrated resource planning (IRP) processes for electric utilities. A number of commissions are beginning to scrutinize the planning processes of local gas distribution companies (LDCs) because of the increased control that LDCs have over their purchased gas costs (as well as the associated risks) and because of questions surrounding the role and potential of gas end-use efficiency options. Traditionally, resource planning (LDCs) has concentrated on options for purchasing and storing gas. Integrated resource planning involves the creation of a process in which supply-side and demand-side options are integrated to create a resource mix that reliably satisfies customers' short-term and long-term energy service needs at the lowest cost. As applied to gas utilities, an integrated resource plan seeks to balance cost and reliability, and should not be interpreted simply as the search for lowest commodity costs. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners' (NARUC) Energy Conservation committee asked Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) to survey state PUCs to determine the extent to which they have undertaken least cost planning for gas utilities. The survey included the following topics: status of state PUC least-cost planning regulations and practices for gas utilities; type and scope of natural gas DSM programs in effect, including fuel substitution; economic tests and analysis methods used to evaluate DSM programs; relationship between prudency reviews of gas utility purchasing practices and integrated resource planning; key regulatory issued facing gas utilities during the next five years.

[Data validation methods and discussion on Chinese materia medica resource survey].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yue; Ma, Wei-Feng; Zhang, Xiao-Bo; Zhu, Shou-Dong; Guo, Lan-Ping; Wang, Xing-Xing

2013-07-01

From the beginning of the fourth national survey of the Chinese materia medica resources, there were 22 provinces have conducted pilots. The survey teams have reported immense data, it put forward the very high request to the database system construction. In order to ensure the quality, it is necessary to check and validate the data in database system. Data validation is important methods to ensure the validity, integrity and accuracy of census data. This paper comprehensively introduce the data validation system of the fourth national survey of the Chinese materia medica resources database system, and further improve the design idea and programs of data validation. The purpose of this study is to promote the survey work smoothly.

Analytical methods manual for the Mineral Resource Surveys Program, U.S. Geological Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Arbogast, Belinda F.

1996-01-01

The analytical methods validated by the Mineral Resource Surveys Program, Geologic Division, is the subject of this manual. This edition replaces the methods portion of Open-File Report 90-668 published in 1990. Newer methods may be used which have been approved by the quality assurance (QA) project and are on file with the QA coordinator.This manual is intended primarily for use by laboratory scientists; this manual can also assist laboratory users to evaluate the data they receive. The analytical methods are written in a step by step approach so that they may be used as a training tool and provide detailed documentation of the procedures for quality assurance. A "Catalog of Services" is available for customer (submitter) use with brief listings of:the element(s)/species determined,method of determination,reference to cite,contact person,summary of the technique,and analyte concentration range.For a copy please contact the Branch office at (303) 236-1800 or fax (303) 236-3200.

A multi-stage stochastic transmission expansion planning method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akbari, Tohid; Rahimikian, Ashkan; Kazemi, Ahad

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We model a multi-stage stochastic transmission expansion planning problem. → We include available transfer capability (ATC) in our model. → Involving this criterion will increase the ATC between source and sink points. → Power system reliability will be increased and more money can be saved. - Abstract: This paper presents a multi-stage stochastic model for short-term transmission expansion planning considering the available transfer capability (ATC). The ATC can have a huge impact on the power market outcomes and the power system reliability. The transmission expansion planning (TEP) studies deal with many uncertainties, such as system load uncertainties that are considered in this paper. The Monte Carlo simulation method has been applied for generating different scenarios. A scenario reduction technique is used for reducing the number of scenarios. The objective is to minimize the sum of investment costs (IC) and the expected operation costs (OC). The solution technique is based on the benders decomposition algorithm. The N-1 contingency analysis is also done for the TEP problem. The proposed model is applied to the IEEE 24 bus reliability test system and the results are efficient and promising.

Planning for seven generations: Energy planning of American Indian tribes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brookshire, Daniel; Kaza, Nikhil

2013-01-01

The prevalence of energy resources on American Indian lands, the links between energy management and tribal sovereignty, and recent federal government incentives make tribal energy planning an interesting case study for community energy planning in the US. This paper studies the strategic energy planning efforts, energy resource development, and energy efficiency policies established by tribes within the continental US. The paper analyzes the results of a survey of various tribes′ energy resource development and planning efforts and supplements the responses with publicly available information on resources, economics, and demographics. We find that incentives and advisory services from the federal government are key to developing the capacity of the tribes to pursue energy planning and energy resource development. These incentives largely avoid the misdeeds of past federal policy by promoting tribal control over energy planning and energy resource development efforts. Tribes with formal energy plans or visions are more likely to develop energy resources than tribes without them and are engaged in a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to energy resource development and energy efficiency. - Highlights: • American Indian tribal energy planning is an understudied topic. • Tribal energy planning is interconnected with tribal sovereignty and sustainability. • We report the results of a survey of energy planning and development efforts. • Federal Government assistance is critical to the efforts of the tribes. • Tribes with energy plans take a more comprehensive approach to energy resource development

Improving productivity levels: family planning services for factory workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Darmokusumo, H V

1989-10-01

In May 1984, the Minister of Manpower in Indonesia, the Chairman of the BKKBN, and representatives of the employers' and workers' organizations of Indonesia issued a joint decree pledging that they would work together to enhance the implementation of the family planning program among workers in the organized sector. 1 objective of the decree is to improve workers' productivity and the standard of living of workers and their families by implementing a family planning program. 1 baseline survey and a clinic-based survey in 5 provinces revealed that 90% of women workers are between 21-40, or are of reproductive age, and are sexually active. Only about 50% are practicing family planning; the other 50% are afraid to practice family planning due to potential side effects of various methods. This fear was most often caused by negative rumors spread by unsatisfied family planning clients. Placing materials for family planning promotion such as instructional posters and video programs advertising contraceptive services in the work setting may increase knowledge and help alleviate some of this fear. Other studies of family planning services show that employees prefer female medical doctors or midwives as service providers, employees are willing to pay for services (but can only afford a small fee), and family planning service points should be near employees' work sites.

A critical evaluation of worst case optimization methods for robust intensity-modulated proton therapy planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fredriksson, Albin; Bokrantz, Rasmus

2014-01-01

Purpose: To critically evaluate and compare three worst case optimization methods that have been previously employed to generate intensity-modulated proton therapy treatment plans that are robust against systematic errors. The goal of the evaluation is to identify circumstances when the methods behave differently and to describe the mechanism behind the differences when they occur. Methods: The worst case methods optimize plans to perform as well as possible under the worst case scenario that can physically occur (composite worst case), the combination of the worst case scenarios for each objective constituent considered independently (objectivewise worst case), and the combination of the worst case scenarios for each voxel considered independently (voxelwise worst case). These three methods were assessed with respect to treatment planning for prostate under systematic setup uncertainty. An equivalence with probabilistic optimization was used to identify the scenarios that determine the outcome of the optimization. Results: If the conflict between target coverage and normal tissue sparing is small and no dose-volume histogram (DVH) constraints are present, then all three methods yield robust plans. Otherwise, they all have their shortcomings: Composite worst case led to unnecessarily low plan quality in boundary scenarios that were less difficult than the worst case ones. Objectivewise worst case generally led to nonrobust plans. Voxelwise worst case led to overly conservative plans with respect to DVH constraints, which resulted in excessive dose to normal tissue, and less sharp dose fall-off than the other two methods. Conclusions: The three worst case methods have clearly different behaviors. These behaviors can be understood from which scenarios that are active in the optimization. No particular method is superior to the others under all circumstances: composite worst case is suitable if the conflicts are not very severe or there are DVH constraints whereas

2000 LEPC Survey

Science.gov (United States)

This is the summary report of the 1999 nationwide Local Emergency Planning Committee survey, released in May 2000. It measured their levels of compliance and proactivity, roles in prevention and counter-terrorism, communication, and response plans.

Student-Faculty Interactions about Disappointing Grades: Application of the Goals-Plans-Actions Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Henningsen, Mary Lynn Miller; Valde, Kathleen S.; Russell, Gregory A.; Russell, Gregory R.

2011-01-01

The goals-plans-actions model and the theory of planned behavior were used to predict what lead to students having a conversation about a disappointing grade with a faculty member. Participants (N = 130) completed two surveys. In the first survey, participants completed measures of primary and secondary goals, planning, decision to engage,…

Analysis Methods for Extracting Knowledge from Large-Scale WiFi Monitoring to Inform Building Facility Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ruiz-Ruiz, Antonio; Blunck, Henrik; Prentow, Thor Siiger

2014-01-01

realistic data to inform facility planning. In this paper, we propose analysis methods to extract knowledge from large sets of network collected WiFi traces to better inform facility management and planning in large building complexes. The analysis methods, which build on a rich set of temporal and spatial......The optimization of logistics in large building com- plexes with many resources, such as hospitals, require realistic facility management and planning. Current planning practices rely foremost on manual observations or coarse unverified as- sumptions and therefore do not properly scale or provide....... Spatio-temporal visualization tools built on top of these methods enable planners to inspect and explore extracted information to inform facility-planning activities. To evaluate the methods, we present results for a large hospital complex covering more than 10 hectares. The evaluation is based on Wi...

A model for effective planning of SME support services.

Science.gov (United States)

Rakićević, Zoran; Omerbegović-Bijelović, Jasmina; Lečić-Cvetković, Danica

2016-02-01

This paper presents a model for effective planning of support services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The idea is to scrutinize and measure the suitability of support services in order to give recommendations for the improvement of a support planning process. We examined the applied support services and matched them with the problems and needs of SMEs, based on the survey conducted in 2013 on a sample of 336 SMEs in Serbia. We defined and analysed the five research questions that refer to support services, their consistency with the SMEs' problems and needs, and the relation between the given support and SMEs' success. The survey results have shown a statistically significant connection between them. Based on this result, we proposed an eight-phase model as a method for the improvement of support service planning for SMEs. This model helps SMEs to plan better their requirements in terms of support; government and administration bodies at all levels and organizations that provide support services to understand better SMEs' problems and needs for support. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Studying Cannabis Use Behaviors With Facebook and Web Surveys: Methods and Insights

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

The rapid and wide-reaching expansion of internet access and digital technologies offers epidemiologists numerous opportunities to study health behaviors. One particularly promising new data collection strategy is the use of Facebook’s advertising platform in conjunction with Web-based surveys. Our research team at the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health has used this quick and cost-efficient method to recruit large samples and address unique scientific questions related to cannabis use. In conducting this research, we have gleaned several insights for using this sampling method effectively and have begun to document the characteristics of the resulting data. We believe this information could be useful to other researchers attempting to study cannabis use or, potentially, other health behaviors. The first aim of this paper is to describe case examples of procedures for using Facebook as a survey sampling method for studying cannabis use. We then present several distinctive features of the data produced using this method. Finally, we discuss the utility of this sampling method for addressing specific types of epidemiological research questions. Overall, we believe that sampling with Facebook advertisements and Web surveys is best conceptualized as a targeted, nonprobability-based method for oversampling cannabis users across the United States. PMID:29720366

LNG Safety Assessment Evaluation Methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muna, Alice Baca [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); LaFleur, Angela Christine [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-05-01

Sandia National Laboratories evaluated published safety assessment methods across a variety of industries including Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), hydrogen, land and marine transportation, as well as the US Department of Defense (DOD). All the methods were evaluated for their potential applicability for use in the LNG railroad application. After reviewing the documents included in this report, as well as others not included because of repetition, the Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Safety Plan Checklist is most suitable to be adapted to the LNG railroad application. This report was developed to survey industries related to rail transportation for methodologies and tools that can be used by the FRA to review and evaluate safety assessments submitted by the railroad industry as a part of their implementation plans for liquefied or compressed natural gas storage ( on-board or tender) and engine fueling delivery systems. The main sections of this report provide an overview of various methods found during this survey. In most cases, the reference document is quoted directly. The final section provides discussion and a recommendation for the most appropriate methodology that will allow efficient and consistent evaluations to be made. The DOE Hydrogen Safety Plan Checklist was then revised to adapt it as a methodology for the Federal Railroad Administration’s use in evaluating safety plans submitted by the railroad industry.

A New Method for Local Energy Planning in Developing Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Beeck, N.

2001-01-01

Energy planning is an essential tool in the economic development of industrialized as well as developing countries. Energy planning in this paper is restricted to the selection of new energy systems for the production of proper energy forms in order to meet increased energy demand. This demand is actually the desire for certain energy services, which are the starting point of the new decision support method for local energy planning presented in this paper. In the decision making process concerning energy planning at the local level it is important to include context-related issues because the context determines for a large part the viability of the technologies or systems used. The context, in turn, is represented by the aims of the relevant actors, which are translated into measurable indicators to compare the different options. The impact assessment must allow for inclusion of all the indicators, either quantitative or qualitative in order to find the most appropriate technology for a region rather than the technically best or economically most optimal one. Appropriateness is defined by the context and is thus case specific, but the framework described in this paper is generally applicable within the given limitations. Note that the new method described in this paper is a decision support tool, implying that it does not decide for the energy planner which actions to take. The ultimate decision must be made by the planners themselves

Proposing water balance method for water availability estimation in Indonesian regional spatial planning

Science.gov (United States)

Juniati, A. T.; Sutjiningsih, D.; Soeryantono, H.; Kusratmoko, E.

2018-01-01

The water availability (WA) of a region is one of important consideration in both the formulation of spatial plans and the evaluation of the effectiveness of actual land use in providing sustainable water resources. Information on land-water needs vis-a-vis their availability in a region determines the state of the surplus or deficit to inform effective land use utilization. How to calculate water availability have been described in the Guideline in Determining the Carrying Capacity of the Environment in Regional Spatial Planning. However, the method of determining the supply and demand of water on these guidelines is debatable since the determination of WA in this guideline used a rational method. The rational method is developed the basis for storm drain design practice and it is essentially a peak discharge method peak discharge calculation method. This paper review the literature in methods of water availability estimation which is described descriptively, and present arguments to claim that water balance method is a more fundamental and appropriate tool in water availability estimation. A better water availability estimation method would serve to improve the practice in preparing formulations of Regional Spatial Plan (RSP) as well as evaluating land use capacity in providing sustainable water resources.

Application of the Monte Carlo method to the problem of expensive experiment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aleksandrov, V.M.; Sanina, S.B.

1989-01-01

Numerical method for determination of the optimal experiment plan by the criterion of maximizing the information worth is suggested. The method is based on statistical mathematical simulation of possible outcomes of the experiment and on the analysis of efficiency of subsequent solutions. It is shown that results of conducted statistical simulation contain the data, enabling to determine the direction of plan correction, which provides the increase of its efficiency. A major advantages of the method are that it enables to interpret evidently all its stages and can be used in many-dimensional problems

An empirical survey to investigate quality of men's clothing market using QFD method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samira Golshan

2012-08-01

Full Text Available One of the most important techniques on improving customer satisfaction in clothing and textile industry is to increase the quality of goods and services. There are literally different methods for detecting important items influencing clothing products and the proposed model of this paper uses quality function deployment (QFD. The proposed model of this paper designs and distributes a questionnaire among some experts to detect necessary factors and using house of quality we determine the most important factors impacting the customer's clothing selection. The proposed study of this paper focuses men who are 15 to 45 years old living in Yazd/Iran. The brand we do the investigation sells the products in three shopping centers located in this city. We have distributed 100 questionnaires and collected 65 properly filled ones. Based on the results of our survey, suitable design, printing and packaging specifications, necessary requirements, optimization of production planning and appropriate sewing machine setting are considered as the most important characteristics influencing the purchase of a clothing products.

Barriers to utilization of modern methods of family planning amongst ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Barriers to utilization of modern methods of family planning amongst women in a ... is recognized by the world health organization (WHO) as a universal human right. ... Conclusion: The study finds numerous barriers to utilization of family ...

Fear, opposition, ambivalence, and omission: Results from a follow-up study on unmet need for family planning in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Staveteig, Sarah

2017-01-01

Despite a relatively strong family planning program and regionally modest levels of fertility, Ghana recorded one of the highest levels of unmet need for family planning on the African continent in 2008. Unmet need for family planning is a composite measure based on apparent contradictions between women's reproductive preferences and practices. Women who want to space or limit births but are not using contraception are considered to have an unmet need for family planning. The study sought to understand the reasons behind high levels of unmet need for family planning in Ghana. A mixed methods follow-up study was embedded within the stratified, two-stage cluster sample of the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). Women in 13 survey clusters who were identified as having unmet need, along with a reference group of current family planning users, were approached to be reinterviewed within an average of three weeks from their GDHS interview. Follow-up respondents were asked a combination of closed- and open-ended questions about fertility preferences and contraceptive use. Closed-ended responses were compared against the original survey; transcripts were thematically coded and analyzed using qualitative analysis software. Among fecund women identified by the 2014 GDHS as having unmet need, follow-up interviews revealed substantial underreporting of method use, particularly traditional methods. Complete postpartum abstinence was sometimes the intended method of family planning but was overlooked during questions about method use. Other respondents classified as having unmet need had ambivalent fertility preferences. In several cases, respondents expressed revised fertility preferences upon follow-up that would have made them ineligible for inclusion in the unmet need category. The reference group of family planning users also expressed unstable fertility preferences. Aversion to modern method use was generally more substantial than reported in the GDHS

Fear, opposition, ambivalence, and omission: Results from a follow-up study on unmet need for family planning in Ghana.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Staveteig

Full Text Available Despite a relatively strong family planning program and regionally modest levels of fertility, Ghana recorded one of the highest levels of unmet need for family planning on the African continent in 2008. Unmet need for family planning is a composite measure based on apparent contradictions between women's reproductive preferences and practices. Women who want to space or limit births but are not using contraception are considered to have an unmet need for family planning. The study sought to understand the reasons behind high levels of unmet need for family planning in Ghana.A mixed methods follow-up study was embedded within the stratified, two-stage cluster sample of the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS. Women in 13 survey clusters who were identified as having unmet need, along with a reference group of current family planning users, were approached to be reinterviewed within an average of three weeks from their GDHS interview. Follow-up respondents were asked a combination of closed- and open-ended questions about fertility preferences and contraceptive use. Closed-ended responses were compared against the original survey; transcripts were thematically coded and analyzed using qualitative analysis software.Among fecund women identified by the 2014 GDHS as having unmet need, follow-up interviews revealed substantial underreporting of method use, particularly traditional methods. Complete postpartum abstinence was sometimes the intended method of family planning but was overlooked during questions about method use. Other respondents classified as having unmet need had ambivalent fertility preferences. In several cases, respondents expressed revised fertility preferences upon follow-up that would have made them ineligible for inclusion in the unmet need category. The reference group of family planning users also expressed unstable fertility preferences. Aversion to modern method use was generally more substantial than reported in

Current advance care planning practice in the Australian community: an online survey of home care package case managers and service managers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sellars, Marcus; Detering, Karen M; Silvester, William

2015-04-23

Advance care planning (ACP) is the process of planning for future healthcare that is facilitated by a trained healthcare professional, whereby a person's values, beliefs and treatment preferences are made known to guide clinical decision-making at a future time when they cannot communicate their decisions. Despite the potential benefits of ACP for community aged care clients the availability of ACP is unknown, but likely to be low. In Australia many of these clients receive services through Home Care Package (HCP) programs. This study aimed to explore current attitudes, knowledge and practice of advance care planning among HCP service managers and case managers. An invitation to take part in a cross-sectional online survey was distributed by email to all HCP services across Australia in November 2012. Descriptive analyses were used to examine overall patterns of responses to each survey item in the full sample. 120 (response rate 25%) service managers and 178 (response rate 18%) case managers completed the survey. Only 34% of services had written ACP policies and procedures in place and 48% of case managers had previously completed any ACP training. In addition, although most case managers (70%) had initiated an ACP discussion in the past 12 months and viewed ACP as part of their role, the majority of the conversations (80%) did not result in documentation of the client's wishes and most (85%) of the case managers who responded did not believe ACP was done well within their service. This survey shows low organisational ACP systems and support for case managers and a lack of a normative approach to ACP across Australian HCP services. As HCPs become more prevalent it is essential that a model of ACP is developed and evaluated in this setting, so that clients have the opportunity to discuss and document their future healthcare wishes if they choose to.

Next Generation Nuclear Plant Methods Technical Program Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Richard R. Schultz; Abderrafi M. Ougouag; David W. Nigg; Hans D. Gougar; Richard W. Johnson; William K. Terry; Chang H. Oh; Donald W. McEligot; Gary W. Johnsen; Glenn E. McCreery; Woo Y. Yoon; James W. Sterbentz; J. Steve Herring; Temitope A. Taiwo; Thomas Y. C. Wei; William D. Pointer; Won S. Yang; Michael T. Farmer; Hussein S. Khalil; Madeline A. Feltus

2010-12-01

One of the great challenges of designing and licensing the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) is to confirm that the intended VHTR analysis tools can be used confidently to make decisions and to assure all that the reactor systems are safe and meet the performance objectives of the Generation IV Program. The research and development (R&D) projects defined in the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Design Methods Development and Validation Program will ensure that the tools used to perform the required calculations and analyses can be trusted. The Methods R&D tasks are designed to ensure that the calculational envelope of the tools used to analyze the VHTR reactor systems encompasses, or is larger than, the operational and transient envelope of the VHTR itself. The Methods R&D focuses on the development of tools to assess the neutronic and thermal fluid behavior of the plant. The fuel behavior and fission product transport models are discussed in the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program plan. Various stress analysis and mechanical design tools will also need to be developed and validated and will ultimately also be included in the Methods R&D Program Plan. The calculational envelope of the neutronics and thermal-fluids software tools intended to be used on the NGNP is defined by the scenarios and phenomena that these tools can calculate with confidence. The software tools can only be used confidently when the results they produce have been shown to be in reasonable agreement with first-principle results, thought-problems, and data that describe the “highly ranked” phenomena inherent in all operational conditions and important accident scenarios for the VHTR.

29 CFR 2520.104-4 - Alternative method of compliance for certain successor pension plans.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... pension plans. 2520.104-4 Section 2520.104-4 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EMPLOYEE... certain successor pension plans. (a) General. Under the authority of section 110 of the Act, this section sets forth an alternative method of compliance for certain successor pension plans in which some...

Optimising cluster survey design for planning schistosomiasis preventive chemotherapy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah C L Knowles

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The cornerstone of current schistosomiasis control programmes is delivery of praziquantel to at-risk populations. Such preventive chemotherapy requires accurate information on the geographic distribution of infection, yet the performance of alternative survey designs for estimating prevalence and converting this into treatment decisions has not been thoroughly evaluated.We used baseline schistosomiasis mapping surveys from three countries (Malawi, Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia to generate spatially realistic gold standard datasets, against which we tested alternative two-stage cluster survey designs. We assessed how sampling different numbers of schools per district (2-20 and children per school (10-50 influences the accuracy of prevalence estimates and treatment class assignment, and we compared survey cost-efficiency using data from Malawi. Due to the focal nature of schistosomiasis, up to 53% simulated surveys involving 2-5 schools per district failed to detect schistosomiasis in low endemicity areas (1-10% prevalence. Increasing the number of schools surveyed per district improved treatment class assignment far more than increasing the number of children sampled per school. For Malawi, surveys of 15 schools per district and 20-30 children per school reliably detected endemic schistosomiasis and maximised cost-efficiency. In sensitivity analyses where treatment costs and the country considered were varied, optimal survey size was remarkably consistent, with cost-efficiency maximised at 15-20 schools per district.Among two-stage cluster surveys for schistosomiasis, our simulations indicated that surveying 15-20 schools per district and 20-30 children per school optimised cost-efficiency and minimised the risk of under-treatment, with surveys involving more schools of greater cost-efficiency as treatment costs rose.

Protecting rare, old-growth, forest-associated species under the Survey and Manage program guidelines of the northwest forest plan.

Science.gov (United States)

Randy Molina; Bruce G. Marcot; Robin. Lesher

2006-01-01

The Survey and Manage Program of the Northwest Forest Plan (MFP) represents an unparalleled attempt to protect rare, little-known species associated with late-successional and old-growth forests on more than 7.7 million ha of federal lands. Approximately 400 species of amphibians, bryophytes, fungi, lichens, mollusks, vascular plants, arthropod functional groups, and...

The expert's guide to mealtime interventions - A Delphi method survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Conchin, Simone; Carey, Sharon

2017-09-27

Prevalence of malnutrition and a myriad of barriers to adequate oral diet in hospitalised patients warrants further investment to improve the patient mealtime experience. The aim of this study was to explore barriers and enablers to implementing effective mealtime interventions and develop a process framework to guide clinicians and researchers in the area. Potential experts in the area of hospital mealtime intervention were identified as having published in this field of work within the Australasian setting. Further information was sought by email and telephone communication on professional background; research experience; interest; and capacity to participate. Recruited participants were surveyed using a modified Delphi method to establish opinion and experience in the area of mealtime interventions. Results were collated and content was coded using a thematic analysis approach by the primary researcher and two additional reviewers. Thirty-two Australian authors in the area of mealtime interventions within the hospital environment were identified from publication. Twenty-one participants were able to be contacted and nineteen of these consented to enrol in the study. Participants included those from a dietetic (n = 14), nursing (n = 4) and medical (n = 1) background. Participants were deemed to have expert knowledge if they had significant involvement in the published research and demonstrated a deep level of understanding of hospital mealtime interventions. All participants provided key insights into barriers to oral intake in the hospital environment and suggestions for interventions to address these barriers. From the survey, an eight step framework to guide mealtime interventions was developed. Hospital mealtime interventions are complex processes. Interventions should be implemented after careful consideration of the local context and baseline data; and tailored to address barriers. Roles and responsibilities for nutrition care should be clear and

Field methods and quality-assurance plan for water-quality activities and water-level measurements, U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Bartholomay, Roy C.; Maimer, Neil V.; Wehnke, Amy J.

2014-01-01

Water-quality activities and water-level measurements by the personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Project Office coincide with the USGS mission of appraising the quantity and quality of the Nation’s water resources. The activities are carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho Operations Office. Results of the water-quality and hydraulic head investigations are presented in various USGS publications or in refereed scientific journals and the data are stored in the National Water Information System (NWIS) database. The results of the studies are used by researchers, regulatory and managerial agencies, and interested civic groups. In the broadest sense, quality assurance refers to doing the job right the first time. It includes the functions of planning for products, review and acceptance of the products, and an audit designed to evaluate the system that produces the products. Quality control and quality assurance differ in that quality control ensures that things are done correctly given the “state-of-the-art” technology, and quality assurance ensures that quality control is maintained within specified limits.

SVC Planning in Large–scale Power Systems via a Hybrid Optimization Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Guang ya; Majumder, Rajat; Xu, Zhao

2009-01-01

The research on allocation of FACTS devices has attracted quite a lot interests from various aspects. In this paper, a hybrid model is proposed to optimise the number, location as well as the parameter settings of static Var compensator (SVC) deployed in large–scale power systems. The model...... utilises the result of vulnerability assessment for determining the candidate locations. A hybrid optimisation method including two stages is proposed to find out the optimal solution of SVC in large– scale planning problem. In the first stage, a conventional genetic algorithm (GA) is exploited to generate...... a candidate solution pool. Then in the second stage, the candidates are presented to a linear planning model to investigate the system optimal loadability, hence the optimal solution for SVC planning can be achieved. The method is presented to IEEE 300–bus system....

A Survey of Methods for Gas-Lift Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kashif Rashid

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a survey of methods and techniques developed for the solution of the continuous gas-lift optimization problem over the last two decades. These range from isolated single-well analysis all the way to real-time multivariate optimization schemes encompassing all wells in a field. While some methods are clearly limited due to their neglect of treating the effects of inter-dependent wells with common flow lines, other methods are limited due to the efficacy and quality of the solution obtained when dealing with large-scale networks comprising hundreds of difficult to produce wells. The aim of this paper is to provide an insight into the approaches developed and to highlight the challenges that remain.

Strategic planning in hospitals in two Australian states: an exploratory study of its practice using planning documentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jayasuriya, R; Sim, A B

1998-01-01

Hospitals are under pressure to respond to new challenges and competition. Many hospitals have used strategic planning to respond to these environmental changes. This exploratory study examines the extent of strategic planning in hospitals in two Australian States, New South Wales and Victoria, using a sample survey. Based on planning documentation, the study indicated that 47% of the hospitals surveyed did not have a strategic or business plan. A significant difference was found in the comprehensiveness of the plans between the two States. Plans from Victorian hospitals had more documented evidence of external/internal analysis, competitor orientation and customer orientation compared with plans from New South Wales hospitals. The paper discusses the limitations of the study and directions for future research.

Nursing home manager's knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about advance care planning for people with dementia in long-term care settings: a cross-sectional survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Esther-Ruth; McIlfatrick, Sonja; Hasson, Felicity; Leavey, Gerry

2017-09-01

To examine nursing home managers' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and current practice regarding advance care planning for people with dementia in long-term care settings informed by the theory of planned behaviour. Internationally, advance care planning is advocated for people with dementia. However, evidence suggests that discussions with people with dementia are rare, particularly in long-term care settings. Whilst nursing home managers can be considered central to implementation in this setting, there is a dearth of research that has examined their perspective. This study reports on their role with regard to advance care planning and the perceived factors which influence this. A cross-sectional postal survey was carried out as part of a larger scale sequential explanatory mixed-methods study between January-March 2015. Nursing home managers in a region in the UK (n = 178). A response rate of 66% (n = 116) was achieved. Nursing home managers demonstrated a lack of knowledge of advance care planning, with negative attitudes underpinned by concerns regarding the capacity and lack of perceived benefits to the person with dementia. Currently, they do not view advance care planning as part of their role, with lack of ownership impacting upon current practice behaviours. Whilst nursing home managers recognise the potential benefits of advance care planning, barriers and challenges create a reluctance to facilitate. Targeted training to address the knowledge deficit is required, with the wider components of advance care planning promoted. There is a need for greater role clarification to ensure nurses in long-term care settings identify with the process in the future. A gap between rhetoric and reality of implementation is evident; therefore, long-term care settings must critically examine system, organisational and individual factors for failure to implement advance care planning for people with dementia. Increased cognisance of the context in which advance care

A STUDY ON FAMILY PLANNING PRACTICES AND METHODS AMONG WOMEN OF URBAN SLUMS OF LUCKNOW CITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arjit Kumar

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Utilization of family planning methods, their side effects and the factors influencing their uses. Aims: To study the family planning practices/methods among the married women of reproductive age (15- 45yrs. Study Design: Community-based study. Study Subjects: The Women of reproductive age groups (15-45yrs adopting family planning methods & those residing in urban slums of, Lucknow. Sample size: 540, Study Period : July 2009 to July 2011. Sampling Technique: thirty cluster sampling. Result: The acceptance of family planning methods both temporary and permanent methods increased with level of literacy of women. About 53.40 % adopted I.U.C.D, 38.83% O.C pills & only 7.77% of their partners used condoms. 66.6% have undergone laparoscopic & 33.4% mini-lap sterilization. Vasectomy was not done for even a single partner. More number of illiterate and primary educated accepted permanent method after 3 or more children than higher educated who accepted it after 1 or 2 children. Among acceptors of permanent methods, total 70.27 % were experiencing side effects and among temporary method users, it accounted 23.30%. Conclusions: Acceptance in family planning is associated with increasing age, nuclear family & level of literacy. IUCD is the most accepted one among all the temporary methods. Vasectomy and newer contraceptives were not at all used.

Studying Cannabis Use Behaviors With Facebook and Web Surveys: Methods and Insights.

Science.gov (United States)

Borodovsky, Jacob T; Marsch, Lisa A; Budney, Alan J

2018-05-02

The rapid and wide-reaching expansion of internet access and digital technologies offers epidemiologists numerous opportunities to study health behaviors. One particularly promising new data collection strategy is the use of Facebook's advertising platform in conjunction with Web-based surveys. Our research team at the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health has used this quick and cost-efficient method to recruit large samples and address unique scientific questions related to cannabis use. In conducting this research, we have gleaned several insights for using this sampling method effectively and have begun to document the characteristics of the resulting data. We believe this information could be useful to other researchers attempting to study cannabis use or, potentially, other health behaviors. The first aim of this paper is to describe case examples of procedures for using Facebook as a survey sampling method for studying cannabis use. We then present several distinctive features of the data produced using this method. Finally, we discuss the utility of this sampling method for addressing specific types of epidemiological research questions. Overall, we believe that sampling with Facebook advertisements and Web surveys is best conceptualized as a targeted, nonprobability-based method for oversampling cannabis users across the United States. ©Jacob T Borodovsky, Lisa A Marsch, Alan J Budney. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 02.05.2018.

An automated radiological survey method for performing site remediation and decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Handy, R.G.; Bolch, W.E.; Harder, G.F.; Tolaymat, T.M.

1994-01-01

A portable, computer-based method of performing environmental monitoring and assessment for site remediation and decommissioning has been developed. The integrated system has been developed to provide for survey time reductions and real-time data analysis. The technique utilizes a notebook 486 computer with the necessary hardware and software components that makes it possible to be used in an almost unlimited number of environmental monitoring and assessment scenarios. The results from a pilot, open-quotes hide-and-seekclose quotes gamma survey and an actual alpha decontamination survey were elucidated. It was found that a open-quotes hide-and-seekclose quotes survey could come up with timely and accurate conclusions about the position of the source. The use of the automated system in a Th-232 alpha survey resulted in a reduction in the standard time necessary to do a radiological survey. In addition, the ability to analyze the data on-site allowed for identification and location of areas which needed further decontamination. Finally, a discussion on possible future improvements and field conclusions was made

The evolving role and care management approaches of safety-net Medicaid managed care plans.

Science.gov (United States)

Gusmano, Michael K; Sparer, Michael S; Brown, Lawrence D; Rowe, Catherine; Gray, Bradford

2002-12-01

This article provides new empirical data about the viability and the care management activities of Medicaid managed-care plans sponsored by provider organizations that serve Medicaid and other low-income populations. Using survey and case study methods, we studied these "safety-net" health plans in 1998 and 2000. Although the number of safety-net plans declined over this period, the surviving plans were larger and enjoying greater financial success than the plans we surveyed in 1998. We also found that, based on a partnership with providers, safety-net plans are moving toward more sophisticated efforts to manage the care of their enrollees. Our study suggests that, with supportive state policies, safety-net plans are capable of remaining viable. Contracting with safety-net plans may not be an efficient mechanism for enabling Medicaid recipients to "enter the mainstream of American health care," but it may provide states with an effective way to manage and coordinate the care of Medicaid recipients, while helping to maintain the health care safety-net for the uninsured.

Quality-assurance plan for groundwater activities, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Water Science Center

Science.gov (United States)

Kozar, Mark D.; Kahle, Sue C.

2013-01-01

This report documents the standard procedures, policies, and field methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Washington Water Science Center staff for activities related to the collection, processing, analysis, storage, and publication of groundwater data. This groundwater quality-assurance plan changes through time to accommodate new methods and requirements developed by the Washington Water Science Center and the USGS Office of Groundwater. The plan is based largely on requirements and guidelines provided by the USGS Office of Groundwater, or the USGS Water Mission Area. Regular updates to this plan represent an integral part of the quality-assurance process. Because numerous policy memoranda have been issued by the Office of Groundwater since the previous groundwater quality assurance plan was written, this report is a substantial revision of the previous report, supplants it, and contains significant additional policies not covered in the previous report. This updated plan includes information related to the organization and responsibilities of USGS Washington Water Science Center staff, training, safety, project proposal development, project review procedures, data collection activities, data processing activities, report review procedures, and archiving of field data and interpretative information pertaining to groundwater flow models, borehole aquifer tests, and aquifer tests. Important updates from the previous groundwater quality assurance plan include: (1) procedures for documenting and archiving of groundwater flow models; (2) revisions to procedures and policies for the creation of sites in the Groundwater Site Inventory database; (3) adoption of new water-level forms to be used within the USGS Washington Water Science Center; (4) procedures for future creation of borehole geophysics, surface geophysics, and aquifer-test archives; and (5) use of the USGS Multi Optional Network Key Entry System software for entry of routine water-level data

Markov chain Monte Carlo methods in radiotherapy treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hugtenburg, R.P.

2001-01-01

The Markov chain method can be used to incorporate measured data in Monte Carlo based radiotherapy treatment planning. This paper shows that convergence to the measured data, within the target precision, is achievable. Relative output factors for blocked fields and oblique beams are shown to compare well with independent measurements according to the same criterion. (orig.)

Is pregnancy termination being used as a family planning method in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: This study determined the profile of women seeking termination of pregnancy (TOP) in the Free State and whether TOP was used as a family planning method. Methods: Seven hundred and fifty women (15-47 years old) seeking TOP at the Reproductive Health Unit of the National Hospital in Bloemfontein were ...

Research on 3-D terrain correction methods of airborne gamma-ray spectrometry survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Yanyang; Liu Qingcheng; Zhang Zhiyong

2008-01-01

The general method of height correction is not effectual in complex terrain during the process of explaining airborne gamma-ray spectrometry data, and the 2-D terrain correction method researched in recent years is just available for correction of section measured. A new method of 3-D sector terrain correction is studied. The ground radiator is divided into many small sector radiators by the method, then the irradiation rate is calculated in certain survey distance, and the total value of all small radiate sources is regarded as the irradiation rate of the ground radiator at certain point of aero- survey, and the correction coefficients of every point are calculated which then applied to correct to airborne gamma-ray spectrometry data. The method can achieve the forward calculation, inversion calculation and terrain correction for airborne gamma-ray spectrometry survey in complex topography by dividing the ground radiator into many small sectors. Other factors are considered such as the un- saturated degree of measure scope, uneven-radiator content on ground, and so on. The results of for- ward model and an example analysis show that the 3-D terrain correction method is proper and effectual. (authors)

Men's knowledge and spousal communication about modern family planning methods in Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Berhane, Adugnaw; Biadgilign, Sibhatu; Amberbir, Alemayehu; Morankar, Sudhakar; Berhane, Alemayehu; Deribe, Kebede

2011-12-01

This study attempted to determine knowledge, approval and communication about family planning methods among married men in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among a representative sample of 738 married males in Amhara Region. All 738 (100%) of the respondents had heard of family planning. About 558 (75.6%) mentioned the importance of using contraceptives for birth spacing and 457 (61.9%) to limit birth. Four hundred and forty-five (60.3%) of participants had ever discussed family planning with their wives. Thirty-three (33.0%) of the respondents reported that they were the sole decision makers in their families. About 597 (80.9%) approved the use of contraceptives. However, some participants did not discuss and approve family planning with their partner. This recalled an intensive effort has been taken by the concerned body to reach the country's targeted family planning coverage by involving men in reproductive health endeavor to enhance the discussion and agreement about family planning usage.

Reliability and risk analysis methods research plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-10-01

This document presents a plan for reliability and risk analysis methods research to be performed mainly by the Reactor Risk Branch (RRB), Division of Risk Analysis and Operations (DRAO), Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. It includes those activities of other DRAO branches which are very closely related to those of the RRB. Related or interfacing programs of other divisions, offices and organizations are merely indicated. The primary use of this document is envisioned as an NRC working document, covering about a 3-year period, to foster better coordination in reliability and risk analysis methods development between the offices of Nuclear Regulatory Research and Nuclear Reactor Regulation. It will also serve as an information source for contractors and others to more clearly understand the objectives, needs, programmatic activities and interfaces together with the overall logical structure of the program

The Impact of Employer Attitude to Green Commuting Plans on Reducing Car Driving: A Mixed Method Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuan Ding

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Reducing car trips and promoting green commuting modes are generally considered important solutions to reduce the increase of energy consumption and transportation CO2 emissions. One potential solution for alleviating transportation CO2 emissions has been to identify a role for the employer through green commuter programs. This paper offers an approach to assess the effects of employer attitudes towards green commuting plans on commuter mode choice and the intermediary role car ownership plays in the mode choice decision process. A mixed method which extends the traditional discrete choice model by incorporating latent variables and mediating variables with a structure equation model was used to better understand the commuter mode choice behaviour. The empirical data were selected from Washington-Baltimore Regional Household Travel Survey in 2007-2008, including all the trips from home to workplace during the morning hours. The model parameters were estimated using the simultaneous estimation approach and the integrated model turns out to be superior to the traditional multinomial logit (MNL model accounting for the impact of employer attitudes towards green commuting. The direct and indirect effects of socio-demographic attributes and employer attitudes towards green commuting were estimated. Through the structural equation modelling with mediating variable, this approach confirmed the intermediary nature of car ownership in the choice process. The results found in this paper provide helpful information for transportation and planning policymakers to test the transportation and planning policies effects and encourage green commuting reducing transportation CO2 emissions.

Comparison of Survey Data Collection Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

VIDAL DÍAZ DE RADA

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of a mixed-mode survey of the general population using a combination of postal, telephone, and Internet survey protocols. Potential respondents were invited to participate by ordinary mail and were allowed to choose their preferred response mode. The paper focuses on response quality (taking non-responses into consideration, fieldwork time and data collection cost. The results reveal that the Internet survey produces the lowest rate of non-responses and requires significantly less fieldwork time, although it is slightly more costly than the postal survey. However, when differences in cost structure are taken into account, we find that the same number of completed questionnaires could have been obtained through the Internet alone at a cost that is 18.2% lower than the mixed-mode survey.

Google Street View as an alternative method to car surveys in large-scale vegetation assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Deus, Ernesto; Silva, Joaquim S; Catry, Filipe X; Rocha, Miguel; Moreira, Francisco

2015-10-01

Car surveys (CS) are a common method for assessing the distribution of alien invasive plants. Google Street View (GSV), a free-access web technology where users may experience a virtual travel along roads, has been suggested as a cost-effective alternative to car surveys. We tested if we could replicate the results from a countrywide survey conducted by car in Portugal using GSV as a remote sensing tool, aiming at assessing the distribution of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. wildlings on roadsides adjacent to eucalypt stands. Georeferenced points gathered along CS were used to create road transects visible as lines overlapping the road in GSV environment, allowing surveying the same sampling areas using both methods. This paper presents the results of the comparison between the two methods. Both methods produced similar models of plant abundance, selecting the same explanatory variables, in the same hierarchical order of importance and depicting a similar influence on plant abundance. Even though the GSV model had a lower performance and the GSV survey detected fewer plants, additional variables collected exclusively with GSV improved model performance and provided a new insight into additional factors influencing plant abundance. The survey using GSV required ca. 9 % of the funds and 62 % of the time needed to accomplish the CS. We conclude that GSV may be a cost-effective alternative to CS. We discuss some advantages and limitations of GSV as a survey method. We forecast that GSV may become a widespread tool in road ecology, particularly in large-scale vegetation assessments.

Malaysia family-planning centers strive to maintain gains won in 15-year period.

Science.gov (United States)

Roemer, R

1968-09-12

Family planning in Malaysia is discussed. Family planning began in Malaysia about 15 years ago through the efforts of voluntary family Planning Associations in the various Malay states. In 1966 the Malaysian Parliament passed the National Family Planning Act setting up the National FAmily Planning Board to formulate policies and methods for the promotion and spread of family planning knowledge and practice on the grounds of health of mothers and children and welfare of the family. In 1967, the board set a target of 40,000 new acceptors of family planning and 90% of the target was reached. This represents 3% of the child-bearing married women aged 15-49. The target for 1968 of 65,000 new acceptors is being achieved. A survey of acceptors is to be carried out from December 1968 to April 1969 to ascertain how many women who accepted family planning continue to practice it. Malaysia's crude birth rate declined from 46.2 in 1957 to 37.3 in 1966 before the government program was instituted. Abortion attempts have been frequent. The main method of contraception used is oral contraceptives. According to a 1957 survey, 31% of the married women in the metropolitan areas and 2% of rural women were using contraception. Presently, in Malaysia there is a need to: 1) train personnel to provide services, 2) inform and motivate families to accept family planning, 3) continue a broad educational program, 4) reform Malaysia's antiquated abortion law, and 5) integrate family planning services more fully into the general health services of the country.

Science Planning for the Solar Probe Plus NASA Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Kusterer, M. B.; Fox, N. J.; Turner, F. S.; Vandegriff, J. D.

2015-12-01

With a planned launch in 2018, there are a number of challenges for the Science Planning Team (SPT) of the Solar Probe Plus mission. The geometry of the celestial bodies and the spacecraft during some of the Solar Probe Plus mission orbits cause limited uplink and downlink opportunities. The payload teams must manage the volume of data that they write to the spacecraft solid-state recorders (SSR) for their individual instruments for downlink to the ground. The aim is to write the instrument data to the spacecraft SSR for downlink before a set of data downlink opportunities large enough to get the data to the ground and before the start of another data collection cycle. The SPT also intend to coordinate observations with other spacecraft and ground based systems. To add further complexity, two of the spacecraft payloads have the capability to write a large volumes of data to their internal payload SSR while sending a smaller "survey" portion of the data to the spacecraft SSR for downlink. The instrument scientists would then view the survey data on the ground, determine the most interesting data from their payload SSR, send commands to transfer that data from their payload SSR to the spacecraft SSR for downlink. The timing required for downlink and analysis of the survey data, identifying uplink opportunities for commanding data transfers, and downlink opportunities big enough for the selected data within the data collection period is critical. To solve these challenges, the Solar Probe Plus Science Working Group has designed a orbit-type optimized data file priority downlink scheme to downlink high priority survey data quickly. This file priority scheme would maximize the reaction time that the payload teams have to perform the survey and selected data method on orbits where the downlink and uplink availability will support using this method. An interactive display and analysis science planning tool is being designed for the SPT to use as an aid to planning. The

TU-AB-BRB-02: Stochastic Programming Methods for Handling Uncertainty and Motion in IMRT Planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unkelbach, J. [Massachusetts General Hospital (United States)

2015-06-15

The accepted clinical method to accommodate targeting uncertainties inherent in fractionated external beam radiation therapy is to utilize GTV-to-CTV and CTV-to-PTV margins during the planning process to design a PTV-conformal static dose distribution on the planning image set. Ideally, margins are selected to ensure a high (e.g. >95%) target coverage probability (CP) in spite of inherent inter- and intra-fractional positional variations, tissue motions, and initial contouring uncertainties. Robust optimization techniques, also known as probabilistic treatment planning techniques, explicitly incorporate the dosimetric consequences of targeting uncertainties by including CP evaluation into the planning optimization process along with coverage-based planning objectives. The treatment planner no longer needs to use PTV and/or PRV margins; instead robust optimization utilizes probability distributions of the underlying uncertainties in conjunction with CP-evaluation for the underlying CTVs and OARs to design an optimal treated volume. This symposium will describe CP-evaluation methods as well as various robust planning techniques including use of probability-weighted dose distributions, probability-weighted objective functions, and coverage optimized planning. Methods to compute and display the effect of uncertainties on dose distributions will be presented. The use of robust planning to accommodate inter-fractional setup uncertainties, organ deformation, and contouring uncertainties will be examined as will its use to accommodate intra-fractional organ motion. Clinical examples will be used to inter-compare robust and margin-based planning, highlighting advantages of robust-plans in terms of target and normal tissue coverage. Robust-planning limitations as uncertainties approach zero and as the number of treatment fractions becomes small will be presented, as well as the factors limiting clinical implementation of robust planning. Learning Objectives: To understand

Medical Students' Knowledge of Fertility Awareness-Based Methods of Family Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Danis, Peter G; Kurz, Sally A; Covert, Laura M

2017-01-01

Traditional medical school curricula have not addressed fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) of family planning. The objective of this study was to assess (1) 3-year medical students' knowledge of FABMs of family planning, (2) their confidence in utilizing that knowledge in patient care, and (3) to implement focused education on FABMs to improve knowledge and confidence. Third-year medical students at one institution in the United States were given a 10-question assessment at the beginning of their OB-GYN rotation. Two lectures about FABMs and their clinical applications were given during the rotation. Students were given the same questions at the end of the rotation. Each questionnaire consisted of eight questions to assess a student's knowledge of FABMs and two questions to assess the student's confidence in sharing and utilizing that information in a clinical setting. McNemar's test was used to analyze the data. Two hundred seventy-seven students completed a pretest questionnaire and 196 students completed the posttest questionnaire. Medical knowledge improved from an initial test score of 38.99% to final test score of 53.57% ( p  Medical schools may not include FABMs in OB-GYN curriculum; however, to patients, these methods remain a sought after and valid form of family planning. This study shows that brief, focused education can increase medical students' knowledge of and confidence with FABMs of family planning.

Methods and apparatus for graphical display and editing of flight plans

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbs, Michael J. (Inventor); Adams, Jr., Mike B. (Inventor); Chase, Karl L. (Inventor); Lewis, Daniel E. (Inventor); McCrobie, Daniel E. (Inventor); Omen, Debi Van (Inventor)

2002-01-01

Systems and methods are provided for an integrated graphical user interface which facilitates the display and editing of aircraft flight-plan data. A user (e.g., a pilot) located within the aircraft provides input to a processor through a cursor control device and receives visual feedback via a display produced by a monitor. The display includes various graphical elements associated with the lateral position, vertical position, flight-plan and/or other indicia of the aircraft's operational state as determined from avionics data and/or various data sources. Through use of the cursor control device, the user may modify the flight-plan and/or other such indicia graphically in accordance with feedback provided by the display. In one embodiment, the display includes a lateral view, a vertical profile view, and a hot-map view configured to simplify the display and editing of the aircraft's flight-plan data.

Verification study on technology for site investigation for geological disposal. Confirmation of the applicability of survey methods through establishing site descriptive models in accordance with stepwise investigation approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondo, Hirofumi; Suzuki, Koichi; Hasegawa, Takuma; Hamada, Takaomi; Yoshimura, Kimitaka

2014-01-01

The Yokosuka Demonstration and Validation Project, which uses the Yokosuka Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) site, a Neogene sedimentary and coastal environment, has been conducted since the 2006 fiscal year as a cooperative research project between NUMO (Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan) and CRIEPI. The objectives of this project were to examine and refine the basic methodology of the investigation and assessment in accordance with the conditions of geological environment at each stage of investigations from the surface (Preliminary Investigation and the first half of Detailed Investigation conducted by NUMO) for high level radioactive waste geological disposal. Within investigation technologies at these early stages, a borehole survey is an important means of directly obtaining various properties of the deep geological environment. On the other hand, surface geophysical prospecting data provide information about the geological and resistivity structures at depth for planning borehole surveys. During the 2006-2009 fiscal years, a series of on-site surveys and tests, including borehole surveys of YDP-1 (depth: 350 m) and YDP-2 (depth: 500 m), were conducted in this test site. Furthermore, seismic surveys (including seismic reflection method) and electromagnetic surveys (including magnetotelluric method) were conducted within the expanded CRIEPI site in the 2010 fiscal year to obtain information about the geological structure, and the resistivity structure reflecting the distribution of the salt water/fresh water boundary, respectively, to a depth of over several hundred meters. The validity of existing survey and testing methods for stepwise investigations (from surface to borehole surveys) for obtaining properties of the geological environment (in various conditions relating to differences in the properties of the Miura and the Hayama Groups at this site) was confirmed through establishing site descriptive models based on

Survey on hydraulic power resources. Survey plan (draft) (For clean energy of the future generations); Chikyu kibo suiryoku shigen chosa chosa keikakusho (an). Mirai no sedai ni clean energy wo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1990-03-01

Promotion of development of hydraulic power and others as fossil fuel alternative energy sources is one of the most important measures for solving the global environmental problems. This draft plan proposes, first of all, to conduct surveys on hydraulic power resources on a global scale, to collect the basic data for development of the energy sources. It is estimated that developed hydraulic power resources account for approximately 14% of the total developable resources, the remainder being left untouched. By region, these percentages rise to approximately 55 and 45% in North America and Europe, respectively. These percentages in Asia, Africa, Latin America and FSU are significantly lower, and their undeveloped resources are estimated to total approximately 6 times as large as those already developed worldwide. It is expected that the hydraulic power resources are surveyed on a 10-year plan (1991 to 2000) with a total budget of 30 billion yen, to collect the data and establish the databases in cooperation with international organizations, e.g., UN organizations, regional organizations (e.g., ASEAN organizations) and newly founded organizations. (NEDO)

A Delphi Method Analysis to Create an Emergency Medicine Educational Patient Satisfaction Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kory S. London

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Feedback on patient satisfaction (PS as a means to monitor and improve performance in patient communication is lacking in residency training. A physician’s promotion, compensation and job satisfaction may be impacted by his individual PS scores, once he is in practice. Many communication and satisfaction surveys exist but none focus on the emergency department setting for educational purposes. The goal of this project was to create an emergency medicine-based educational PS survey with strong evidence for content validity. Methods: We used the Delphi Method (DM to obtain expert opinion via an iterative process of surveying. Questions were mined from four PS surveys as well as from group suggestion. The DM analysis determined the structure, content and appropriate use of the tool. The group used four-point Likert-type scales and Lynn’s criteria for content validity to determine relevant questions from the stated goals. Results: Twelve recruited experts participated in a series of seven surveys to achieve consensus. A 10-question, single-page survey with an additional page of qualitative questions and demographic questions was selected. Thirty one questions were judged to be relevant from an original 48-question list. Of these, the final 10 questions were chosen. Response rates for individual survey items was 99.5%. Conclusion: The DM produced a consensus survey with content validity evidence. Future work will be needed to obtain evidence for response process, internal structure and construct validity.

Mining survey data for SWOT analysis

OpenAIRE

Phadermrod, Boonyarat

2016-01-01

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis is one of the most important tools for strategic planning. The traditional method of conducting SWOT analysis does not prioritize and is likely to hold subjective views that may result in an improper strategic action. Accordingly, this research exploits Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA), a technique for measuring customers’ satisfaction based on survey data, to systematically generate prioritized SWOT factors based on custom...

Preparing investigation of methods for surveying tree seed demands among farmers in Tanzania

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aabæk, Anders

Insufficient seed supplies is often a major constraint on tree planting activities in developing countries. A central problem is to assess the actual demands for tree seed. This report shall, as a part of a PhD-study, prepare an investigation of different methods for surveying tree seed demands...... and preferences among private farmers in Tanzania. A framework for investigating seed demand and supply is outlined. The role of a national tree seed project in a seed supply sector is discussed and data requirements for strategy on seed procurement and tree improvement are outlined. Earlier surveys on seed...... demand pattern in Tanzania, Uganda and Nicaragua are discussed and a choice of strategy for an extensive survey of seed demand and supply in Tanzania is made. Different data collection methods and tools, e.g. quantitative and qualitative surveys and rapid rural appraisals, are described in detail...

Transferring 2001 National Household Travel Survey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Patricia S [ORNL; Reuscher, Tim [ORNL; Schmoyer, Richard L [ORNL; Chin, Shih-Miao [ORNL

2007-05-01

England, Middle Atlantic, and Pacific), MSA size, and the availability of rail. Extrapolating NHTS data within small geographic areas could risk developing and subsequently using unreliable estimates. For example, if a planning agency in City X of State Y estimates travel rates and other travel characteristics based on survey data collected from NHTS sample households that were located in City X of State Y, then the agency could risk developing and using unreliable estimates for their planning process. Typically, this limitation significantly increases as the size of an area decreases. That said, the NHTS contains a wealth of information that could allow statistical inferences about small geographic areas, with a pre-determined level of statistical certainty. The question then becomes whether a method can be developed that integrates the NHTS data and other data to estimate key travel characteristics for small geographic areas such as Census tract and transportation analysis zone, and whether this method can outperform other, competing methods.

Suicidal ideations, plans and attempts in primary care: cross ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Introduction: the aim of the study is to estimate the prevalence of suicidal ideation among Moroccan consultants in primary health care system. Methods: we conducted a cross sectional survey in three health care centers in two cities of Morocco to estimate the prevalence of suicidal ideation, plan and suicide attempts among ...

Proposal of Constraints Analysis Method Based on Network Model for Task Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Tomiyama, Tomoe; Sato, Tatsuhiro; Morita, Toyohisa; Sasaki, Toshiro

Deregulation has been accelerating several activities toward reengineering business processes, such as railway through service and modal shift in logistics. Making those activities successful, business entities have to regulate new business rules or know-how (we call them ‘constraints’). According to the new constraints, they need to manage business resources such as instruments, materials, workers and so on. In this paper, we propose a constraint analysis method to define constraints for task planning of the new business processes. To visualize each constraint's influence on planning, we propose a network model which represents allocation relations between tasks and resources. The network can also represent task ordering relations and resource grouping relations. The proposed method formalizes the way of defining constraints manually as repeatedly checking the network structure and finding conflicts between constraints. Being applied to crew scheduling problems shows that the method can adequately represent and define constraints of some task planning problems with the following fundamental features, (1) specifying work pattern to some resources, (2) restricting the number of resources for some works, (3) requiring multiple resources for some works, (4) prior allocation of some resources to some works and (5) considering the workload balance between resources.

Planning of operation & maintenance using risk and reliability based methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Florian, Mihai; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

2015-01-01

Operation and maintenance (OM) of offshore wind turbines contributes with a substantial part of the total levelized cost of energy (LCOE). The objective of this paper is to present an application of risk- and reliability-based methods for planning of OM. The theoretical basis is presented...

Introduction to planning law

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ronellenfitsch, M.

1986-01-01

The author surveys the planning law in the Federal Republic of Germany. He deals with general regulations of the administrative procedure and land-use planning procedure and the main special rules of planning law, according to the Atomic Energy Act, the Nuclear Installation Ordinance and the Federal Act on the Protection against Nuisances. (WG) [de

Planning flexible learning to match the needs of consumers: a national survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayer, S; Smith, C

1998-05-01

The injection of market forces into the National Health Service (NHS) has led to nurse education being viewed as a commodity which educational institutions supply and NHS employers purchase. Conscious of the costs of paying for courses within this new consumer culture, NHS trusts and other health service employers are increasingly looking for cost-effective flexible training to educate their workforce quickly and efficiently. Parallel to this is the accelerated demand for continuing professional development (CPD) brought about by the inception of the UKCC's Post-Registration Education and Practice Project (PREPP). Both registered and enrolled nurses are finding they need professional updating and skills and thus increased access to courses. The increased demand for education and training brought about by these changes cannot be met through traditional methods alone, requiring educational institutions to re-appraise their methods of delivery and introduce more flexible approaches to learning. There is every evidence that this is now the case with open learning, distance learning and flexible approaches to learning ever growing in popularity as providers of nurse education recognize the benefits such approaches offer. The emphasis is on meeting the diverse needs of the health care employers and individuals by providing education that is flexible, learner-centred and customer focused. This paper presents the findings of a national survey to ascertain how providers of flexible education plan educational programmes to meet the needs of their customers. Based on data collected from 120 educational institutions within the higher education, health and social care and private sectors, it highlights: the ways in which flexible learning programmes and courses are delivered; what aspects of flexibility are considered important when designing programmes to meet the needs of prospective customers; and what approaches are used to assess demand for flexible education. The study

Four aspects of the scope and quality of family planning services in US publicly funded health centers: Results from a survey of health center administrators.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Marion W; Gavin, Loretta; Zapata, Lauren B; Bornstein, Marta; Mautone-Smith, Nancy; Moskosky, Susan B

2016-10-01

This study aims to describe aspects of the scope and quality of family planning services provided by US publicly funded health centers before the release of relevant federal recommendations. Using nationally representative survey data (N=1615), we describe four aspects of service delivery: family planning services provided, contraceptive methods provided onsite, written contraceptive counseling protocols and youth-friendly services. We created a count index for each issue and used multivariable ordered logistic regression to identify health center characteristics associated with scoring higher on each. Half of the sample received Title X funding and about a third each were a community health center or health department clinic. The vast majority reported frequently providing contraceptive services (89%) and STD services (87%) for women in the past 3 months. Service provision to males was substantially lower except for STD screening. A total of 63% and 48% of health centers provided hormonal IUDs and implants onsite in the past 3 months, respectively. Forty percent of health centers included all five recommended contraceptive counseling practices in written protocols. Of youth-friendly services, active promotion of confidential services was among the most commonly reported (83%); offering weekend/evening hours was among the least (42%). In multivariable analyses, receiving Title X funding, having larger volumes of family planning clients and being a Planned Parenthood clinic were associated with higher scores on most indices. Many services were consistent with the recommendations for providing quality family planning services, but there was room for improvement across domains and health centers types. As assessed in this paper, the scope and quality of these family planning services was relatively high, particularly among Planned Parenthood clinics and Title X-funded centers. However, results point to important areas for improvement. Future studies should assess

Comparing Coral Reef Survey Methods. Unesco Reports in Marine Science No. 21 Report of a Regional Unesco/UNEP Workshop on Coral Reef Survey Management and Assessment Methods in Asia and the Pacific (Phuket, Thailand, December 13-17, 1982).

Science.gov (United States)

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France). Div. of Marine Sciences.

This report includes nine papers prepared for a workshop on coral reef survey management and assessment methods in Asia and the Pacific. The papers are: "A Contrast in Methodologies between Surveying and Testing" (Charles Birkeland); "Coral Reef Survey Methods in the Andaman Sea" (Hansa Chansang); "A Review of Coral Reef…

The former Semipalatinsk Test Site survey by field γ-spectrometry method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pakhomov, S.A.; Dubasov, Yu.V.; Biryukov, E.I.; Gavrilin, S.S.; Ilyin, L.I.

2001-01-01

Full text: Field γ-spectrometry method is the most productive method of getting an information on gamma-irradiating radionuclides contents in objects under survey. For many years the Radium Institute was the most active participant of works on radiation survey of the Semipalatinsk Test Site, field γ-spectrometry method including. In field γ-spectrometry method realization the existence of corresponding apparatus, and methodic software is supposed to be allowing to carry out both measurement, recording of γ-spectrometry energetic characteristics in field conditions and final treatment (using corresponding physical models) ensuring obtaining the information on radionuclides' contents. Different variants of such apparatus were developed and made at the Radium Institute. Under conditions of complex spectral structure and high intensity existence a portable variant of Ge(Li)-detector spectrometer fed by alkaline accumulators and allowing to record a spectrum at high load was elaborated. For walk γ-survey in common with the University two variants of portable spectrometers 'Skif-3' were elaborated: one of them with a standard scintillation detector on the base of Nal(Ti) crystal, having the size of 63x63 mm, and the other is an 'X-ray' detector of large dimension on the base of CsI crystal with a diameter of 165 mm, designated for soft gamma-irradiation registration, 241 Am including. During 8 hours of independent works 'Skif-3' is able to record into internal memory up to 100 spectra with an exposure up to 9999 s. At 10 min exposure in its sensitivity of 241 Am finding (10 Bq/kg) a spectrometer 'Skif-3' excels a portable spectrometer 'InSpector' (Canberra) working with the exposure of 1 hour. For automobile measurements a car spectrometer was elaborated fed. from car board supply and having four detectors based on NaI crystals with the dimensions 200x110 mm and total volume of about 121. For express treatment of a 'Skif-3' spectrometer scintillation spectra special

Mapping neighborhood scale survey responses with uncertainty metrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles Robert Ehlschlaeger

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a methodology of mapping population-centric social, infrastructural, and environmental metrics at neighborhood scale. This methodology extends traditional survey analysis methods to create cartographic products useful in agent-based modeling and geographic information analysis. It utilizes and synthesizes survey microdata, sub-upazila attributes, land use information, and ground truth locations of attributes to create neighborhood scale multi-attribute maps. Monte Carlo methods are employed to combine any number of survey responses to stochastically weight survey cases and to simulate survey cases' locations in a study area. Through such Monte Carlo methods, known errors from each of the input sources can be retained. By keeping individual survey cases as the atomic unit of data representation, this methodology ensures that important covariates are retained and that ecological inference fallacy is eliminated. These techniques are demonstrated with a case study from the Chittagong Division in Bangladesh. The results provide a population-centric understanding of many social, infrastructural, and environmental metrics desired in humanitarian aid and disaster relief planning and operations wherever long term familiarity is lacking. Of critical importance is that the resulting products have easy to use explicit representation of the errors and uncertainties of each of the input sources via the automatically generated summary statistics created at the application's geographic scale.

The Plan's the Thing.

Science.gov (United States)

Raley, Nancy

1986-01-01

Planning is the process of setting direction, priorities, and guidelines. A CASE survey of public relations professionals is described that notes the use of staff retreats and brainstorming sessions, among other techniques and strategies, that help professionals plan. (MLW)

[Essential procedure and key methods for survey of traditional knowledge related to Chinese materia medica resources].

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Gong; Huang, Lu-qi; Xue, Da-yuan; Zhang, Xiao-bo

2014-12-01

The survey of traditional knowledge related to Chinese materia medica resources is the important component and one of the innovative aspects of the fourth national survey of the Chinese materia medica resources. China has rich traditional knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the comprehensive investigation of TCM traditional knowledge aims to promote conservation and sustainable use of Chinese materia medica resources. Building upon the field work of pilot investigations, this paper introduces the essential procedures and key methods for conducting the survey of traditional knowledge related to Chinese materia medica resources. The essential procedures are as follows. First is the preparation phrase. It is important to review all relevant literature and provide training to the survey teams so that they have clear understanding of the concept of traditional knowledge and master key survey methods. Second is the field investigation phrase. When conducting field investigations, survey teams should identify the traditional knowledge holders by using the 'snowball method', record the traditional knowledge after obtaining prior informed concerned from the traditional knowledge holders. Researchers should fill out the survey forms provided by the Technical Specification of the Fourth National Survey of Chinese Materia Medica Resources. Researchers should pay particular attention to the scope of traditional knowledge and the method of inheriting the knowledge, which are the key information for traditional knowledge holders and potential users to reach mutual agreed terms to achieve benefit sharing. Third is the data compilation and analysis phrase. Researchers should try to compile and edit the TCM traditional knowledge in accordance with intellectual property rights requirements so that the information collected through the national survey can serve as the basic data for the TCM traditional knowledge database. The key methods of the survey include regional

Computational methods for planning and evaluating geothermal energy projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goumas, M.G.; Lygerou, V.A.; Papayannakis, L.E.

1999-01-01

In planning, designing and evaluating a geothermal energy project, a number of technical, economic, social and environmental parameters should be considered. The use of computational methods provides a rigorous analysis improving the decision-making process. This article demonstrates the application of decision-making methods developed in operational research for the optimum exploitation of geothermal resources. Two characteristic problems are considered: (1) the economic evaluation of a geothermal energy project under uncertain conditions using a stochastic analysis approach and (2) the evaluation of alternative exploitation schemes for optimum development of a low enthalpy geothermal field using a multicriteria decision-making procedure. (Author)

Three-dimensional Cross-Platform Planning for Complex Spinal Procedures: A New Method Adaptive to Different Navigation Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kosterhon, Michael; Gutenberg, Angelika; Kantelhardt, Sven R; Conrad, Jens; Nimer Amr, Amr; Gawehn, Joachim; Giese, Alf

2017-08-01

A feasibility study. To develop a method based on the DICOM standard which transfers complex 3-dimensional (3D) trajectories and objects from external planning software to any navigation system for planning and intraoperative guidance of complex spinal procedures. There have been many reports about navigation systems with embedded planning solutions but only few on how to transfer planning data generated in external software. Patients computerized tomography and/or magnetic resonance volume data sets of the affected spinal segments were imported to Amira software, reconstructed to 3D images and fused with magnetic resonance data for soft-tissue visualization, resulting in a virtual patient model. Objects needed for surgical plans or surgical procedures such as trajectories, implants or surgical instruments were either digitally constructed or computerized tomography scanned and virtually positioned within the 3D model as required. As crucial step of this method these objects were fused with the patient's original diagnostic image data, resulting in a single DICOM sequence, containing all preplanned information necessary for the operation. By this step it was possible to import complex surgical plans into any navigation system. We applied this method not only to intraoperatively adjustable implants and objects under experimental settings, but also planned and successfully performed surgical procedures, such as the percutaneous lateral approach to the lumbar spine following preplanned trajectories and a thoracic tumor resection including intervertebral body replacement using an optical navigation system. To demonstrate the versatility and compatibility of the method with an entirely different navigation system, virtually preplanned lumbar transpedicular screw placement was performed with a robotic guidance system. The presented method not only allows virtual planning of complex surgical procedures, but to export objects and surgical plans to any navigation or

Applying social science and public health methods to community-based pandemic planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Danforth, Elizabeth J; Doying, Annette; Merceron, Georges; Kennedy, Laura

2010-11-01

Pandemic influenza is a unique threat to communities, affecting schools, businesses, health facilities and individuals in ways not seen in other emergency events. This paper aims to outline a local government project which utilised public health and social science research methods to facilitate the creation of an emergency response plan for pandemic influenza coincidental to the early stages of the 2009 H1N1 ('swine flu') outbreak. A multi-disciplinary team coordinated the creation of a pandemic influenza emergency response plan which utilised emergency planning structure and concepts and encompassed a diverse array of county entities including schools, businesses, community organisations, government agencies and healthcare facilities. Lessons learned from this project focus on the need for (1) maintaining relationships forged during the planning process, (2) targeted public health messaging, (3) continual evolution of emergency plans, (4) mutual understanding of emergency management concepts by business and community leaders, and (5) regional coordination with entities outside county boundaries.

Mobile phones are a viable option for surveying young Australian women: a comparison of two telephone survey methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu Bette

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Households with fixed-line telephones have decreased while mobile (cell phone ownership has increased. We therefore sought to examine the feasibility of recruiting young women for a national health survey through random digit dialling mobile phones. Methods Two samples of women aged 18 to 39 years were surveyed by random digit dialling fixed and mobile numbers. We compared participation rates and responses to a questionnaire between women surveyed by each contact method. Results After dialling 5,390 fixed-lines and 3,697 mobile numbers, 140 and 128 women were recruited respectively. Among women contacted and found to be eligible, participation rates were 74% for fixed-lines and 88% for mobiles. Taking into account calls to numbers where eligibility was unknown (e.g. unanswered calls the estimated response rates were 54% and 45% respectively. Of women contacted by fixed-line, 97% reported having a mobile while 61% of those contacted by mobile reported having a fixed-line at home. After adjusting for age, there were no significant differences between mobile-only and fixed-line responders with respect to education, residence, and various health behaviours; however compared to those with fixed-lines, mobile-only women were more likely to identify as Indigenous (OR 4.99, 95%CI 1.52-16.34 and less likely to live at home with their parents (OR 0.09, 95%CI 0.03-0.29. Conclusions Random digit dialling mobile phones to conduct a health survey in young Australian women is feasible, gives a comparable response rate and a more representative sample than dialling fixed-lines only. Telephone surveys of young women should include mobile dialling.

DURAND NEIGHBOURHOOD HERITAGE INVENTORY: TOWARD A DIGITAL CITYWIDE SURVEY APPROACH TO HERITAGE PLANNING IN HAMILTON

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Angel

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In the face of changing economies and patterns of development, the definition of heritage is diversifying, and the role of inventories in local heritage planning is coming to the fore. The Durand neighbourhood is a layered and complex area located in inner-city Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and the second subject area in a set of pilot inventory studies to develop a new city-wide inventory strategy for the City of Hamilton,. This paper presents an innovative digital workflow developed to undertake the Durand Built Heritage Inventory project. An online database was developed to be at the centre of all processes, including digital documentation, record management, analysis and variable outputs. Digital tools were employed for survey work in the field and analytical work in the office, resulting in a GIS-based dataset that can be integrated into Hamilton’s larger municipal planning system. Together with digital mapping and digitized historical resources, the Durand database has been leveraged to produce both digital and static outputs to shape recommendations for the protection of Hamilton’s heritage resources.

Durand Neighbourhood Heritage Inventory: Toward a Digital Citywide Survey Approach to Heritage Planning in Hamilton

Science.gov (United States)

Angel, V.; Garvey, A.; Sydor, M.

2017-08-01

In the face of changing economies and patterns of development, the definition of heritage is diversifying, and the role of inventories in local heritage planning is coming to the fore. The Durand neighbourhood is a layered and complex area located in inner-city Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and the second subject area in a set of pilot inventory studies to develop a new city-wide inventory strategy for the City of Hamilton,. This paper presents an innovative digital workflow developed to undertake the Durand Built Heritage Inventory project. An online database was developed to be at the centre of all processes, including digital documentation, record management, analysis and variable outputs. Digital tools were employed for survey work in the field and analytical work in the office, resulting in a GIS-based dataset that can be integrated into Hamilton's larger municipal planning system. Together with digital mapping and digitized historical resources, the Durand database has been leveraged to produce both digital and static outputs to shape recommendations for the protection of Hamilton's heritage resources.

Arctic pipeline planning design, construction, and equipment

CERN Document Server

Singh, Ramesh

2013-01-01

Utilize the most recent developments to combat challenges such as ice mechanics. The perfect companion for engineers wishing to learn state-of-the-art methods or further develop their knowledge of best practice techniques, Arctic Pipeline Planning provides a working knowledge of the technology and techniques for laying pipelines in the coldest regions of the world. Arctic Pipeline Planning provides must-have elements that can be utilized through all phases of arctic pipeline planning and construction. This includes information on how to: Solve challenges in designing arctic pipelines Protect pipelines from everyday threats such as ice gouging and permafrost Maintain safety and communication for construction workers while supporting typical codes and standards Covers such issues as land survey, trenching or above ground, environmental impact of construction Provides on-site problem-solving techniques utilized through all phases of arctic pipeline planning and construction Is packed with easy-to-read and under...

Long-acting family planning method switching among revisit clients of public health facilities in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Atnafe, Meselu; Assefa, Nega; Alemayehu, Tadesse

2016-01-01

"Contraceptive switching" from one method to another is a common phenomenon. Switching from a more effective long-acting method to a less effective method exposes women for unplanned pregnancy. The aim of this study was to assess the level and factors associated with long-acting family planning method switching to other methods. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2013 on 634 women attending public health facilities in Dire Dawa City Administration, Ethiopia. Participants of the study were revisit clients of family planning service and were interviewed as they appear in the clinics. Data were analyzed using crude and adjusted logistic regression, and results were reported using OR and corresponding 95 % CI. Long-acting family planning method switching among revisit clients was 40.4 %; switching from implant was 29.8 % and from IUCD, it was 10.6 %. The main reasons for methods switching were side effects of the methods such as bleeding, weight loss, and feeling of arm numbness. The tendency of switching was less among married women (AOR = 2.41, 95 % CI: 1.01, 5.74), women who had 2-4 and 5 and more children (AOR 3.00, 95 % CI: 1.59, 5.67) and (AOR 2.07, 95 % CI: 1.17, 3.66), respectively. It was also less among women who want to stop birth (AOR 5.11, 95 % CI: 1.15, 24.8), among those who mentioned health care providers as source of information for family planning (AOR 1.88, 95 % CI: 1.18, 3.01), and among women whose husbands were aware of their use of the methods (AOR 3.05, 95 % CI: 1.88, 4.94). Method switching from long-acting contraceptives to less effective methods is high. Method switching was significant among unmarried women, who had one child, plan to postpone fertility, and whose husbands were not aware of their wive's use of the method. In the provision of family planning service, the health care providers should give adequate information about each method and risks of method switching. Appropriate family

Pattern of Family Planning Methods used by Antenatal Patients in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study aimed at assessing the pattern of family planning methods used by antenatal patients at Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. The study was conducted between December,2007 and February,2008 at the antenatal clinic of the hospital. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethical committee of ...

Are three methods better than one? A comparative assessment of usability evaluation methods in an EHR.

Science.gov (United States)

Walji, Muhammad F; Kalenderian, Elsbeth; Piotrowski, Mark; Tran, Duong; Kookal, Krishna K; Tokede, Oluwabunmi; White, Joel M; Vaderhobli, Ram; Ramoni, Rachel; Stark, Paul C; Kimmes, Nicole S; Lagerweij, Maxim; Patel, Vimla L

2014-05-01

To comparatively evaluate the effectiveness of three different methods involving end-users for detecting usability problems in an EHR: user testing, semi-structured interviews and surveys. Data were collected at two major urban dental schools from faculty, residents and dental students to assess the usability of a dental EHR for developing a treatment plan. These included user testing (N=32), semi-structured interviews (N=36), and surveys (N=35). The three methods together identified a total of 187 usability violations: 54% via user testing, 28% via the semi-structured interview and 18% from the survey method, with modest overlap. These usability problems were classified into 24 problem themes in 3 broad categories. User testing covered the broadest range of themes (83%), followed by the interview (63%) and survey (29%) methods. Multiple evaluation methods provide a comprehensive approach to identifying EHR usability challenges and specific problems. The three methods were found to be complementary, and thus each can provide unique insights for software enhancement. Interview and survey methods were found not to be sufficient by themselves, but when used in conjunction with the user testing method, they provided a comprehensive evaluation of the EHR. We recommend using a multi-method approach when testing the usability of health information technology because it provides a more comprehensive picture of usability challenges. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Canadian survey on pandemic flu preparations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tracy CS

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The management of pandemic influenza creates public health challenges. An ethical framework, 'Stand on Guard for Thee: ethical considerations in pandemic influenza preparedness' that served as a template for the World Health Organization's global consultation on pandemic planning, was transformed into a survey administered to a random sample of 500 Canadians to obtain opinions on key ethical issues in pandemic preparedness planning. Methods All framework authors and additional investigators created items that were pilot-tested with volunteers of both sexes and all socioeconomic strata. Surveys were telephone administered with random sampling achieved via random digit dialing (RDD. Eligible participants were adults, 18 years or older, with per province stratification equaling provincial percent of national population. Descriptive results were tabulated and logistic regression analyses were used to assess whether demographic factors were significantly associated with outcomes. Results 5464 calls identified 559 eligible participants of whom 88.5% completed surveys. Over 90% of subjects agreed the most important goal of pandemic influenza preparations was saving lives, with 41% endorsing saving lives solely in Canada and 50% endorsing saving lives globally as the highest priority. Older age (OR = 8.51, p Conclusions Results suggest trust in public health officials to make difficult decisions, providing emphasis on reciprocity and respect for individual rights.

Abusir 3D survey 2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yukinori Kawae

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In 2015, in collaboration with the Czech Institute of Egyptology, we, a Japanese consortium, initiated the Abusir 3D Survey (A-3DS for the 3D documentation of the site’s pyramids, which have not been updated since the time of the architectural investigations of Vito Maragioglio and Celeste Rinaldi in the 1960s to the 1970s. The first season of our project focused on the exterior of Neferirkare’s pyramid, the largest pyramid at Abusir. By developing a strategic mathematical 3D survey plan, step-by-step 3D documentation to suit specific archaeological needs, and producing a new display method for the 3D data, we successfully measured the dimensions of the pyramid in a cost-effective way.

Time-optimal path planning in uncertain flow fields using ensemble method

KAUST Repository

Wang, Tong; Le Maitre, Olivier; Hoteit, Ibrahim; Knio, Omar

2016-01-01

the performance of sampling strategy, and develop insight into extensions dealing with regional or general circulation models. In particular, the ensemble method enables us to perform a statistical analysis of travel times, and consequently develop a path planning

Reasoning about plans

CERN Document Server

Allen, James; Pelavin, Richard; Tenenberg, Josh

1991-01-01

This book presents four contributions to planning research within an integrated framework. James Allen offers a survey of his research in the field of temporal reasoning, and then describes a planning system formalized and implemented directly as an inference process in the temporal logic. Starting from the same logic, Henry Kautz develops the first formal specification of the plan recognition process and develops a powerful family of algorithms for plan recognition in complex situations. Richard Pelavin then extends the temporal logic with model operators that allow the representation to

Risky Group Decision-Making Method for Distribution Grid Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Cunbin; Yuan, Jiahang; Qi, Zhiqiang

2015-12-01

With rapid speed on electricity using and increasing in renewable energy, more and more research pay attention on distribution grid planning. For the drawbacks of existing research, this paper proposes a new risky group decision-making method for distribution grid planning. Firstly, a mixing index system with qualitative and quantitative indices is built. On the basis of considering the fuzziness of language evaluation, choose cloud model to realize "quantitative to qualitative" transformation and construct interval numbers decision matrices according to the "3En" principle. An m-dimensional interval numbers decision vector is regarded as super cuboids in m-dimensional attributes space, using two-level orthogonal experiment to arrange points uniformly and dispersedly. The numbers of points are assured by testing numbers of two-level orthogonal arrays and these points compose of distribution points set to stand for decision-making project. In order to eliminate the influence of correlation among indices, Mahalanobis distance is used to calculate the distance from each solutions to others which means that dynamic solutions are viewed as the reference. Secondly, due to the decision-maker's attitude can affect the results, this paper defines the prospect value function based on SNR which is from Mahalanobis-Taguchi system and attains the comprehensive prospect value of each program as well as the order. At last, the validity and reliability of this method is illustrated by examples which prove the method is more valuable and superiority than the other.

Survey: interpolation methods for whole slide image processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Roszkowiak, L; Korzynska, A; Zak, J; Pijanowska, D; Swiderska-Chadaj, Z; Markiewicz, T

2017-02-01

Evaluating whole slide images of histological and cytological samples is used in pathology for diagnostics, grading and prognosis . It is often necessary to rescale whole slide images of a very large size. Image resizing is one of the most common applications of interpolation. We collect the advantages and drawbacks of nine interpolation methods, and as a result of our analysis, we try to select one interpolation method as the preferred solution. To compare the performance of interpolation methods, test images were scaled and then rescaled to the original size using the same algorithm. The modified image was compared to the original image in various aspects. The time needed for calculations and results of quantification performance on modified images were also compared. For evaluation purposes, we used four general test images and 12 specialized biological immunohistochemically stained tissue sample images. The purpose of this survey is to determine which method of interpolation is the best to resize whole slide images, so they can be further processed using quantification methods. As a result, the interpolation method has to be selected depending on the task involving whole slide images. © 2016 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2016 Royal Microscopical Society.

75 FR 51831 - Request for Measures of Health Plan Efforts To Address Health Plan Members' Health Literacy Needs

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-23

... and health plans. The results of the planned survey may become an important source of information for... services and nurse advice lines, the quality and accessibility of health plan information on coverage...

A Comparison of Traditional Worksheet and Linear Programming Methods for Teaching Manure Application Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, M. A.; And Others

1994-01-01

Compares traditional manure application planning techniques calculated to meet agronomic nutrient needs on a field-by-field basis with plans developed using computer-assisted linear programming optimization methods. Linear programming provided the most economical and environmentally sound manure application strategy. (Contains 15 references.) (MDH)

Study on method of dose estimation for the Dual-moderated neutron survey meter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Bo; Li, Taosheng; Xu, Yuhai; Gong, Cunkui; Yan, Qiang; Li, Lei

2013-01-01

In order to study neutron dose measurement in high energy radiation field, a Dual-moderated survey meter in the range from 1 keV to 300 MeV mean energies spectra has been developed. Measurement results of some survey meters depend on the neutron spectra characteristics in different neutron radiation fields, so the characteristics of the responses to various neutron spectra should be studied in order to get more reasonable dose. In this paper the responses of the survey meter were calculated under different neutron spectra data from IAEA of Technical Reports Series No. 318 and other references. Finally one dose estimation method was determined. The range of the reading per H*(10) for the method estimated is about 0.7–1.6 for the neutron mean energy range from 50 keV to 300 MeV. -- Highlights: • We studied a novel high energy neutron survey meter. • Response characteristics of the survey meter were calculated by using a series of neutron spectra. • One significant advantage of the survey meter is that it can provide mean energy of radiation field. • Dose estimate deviation can be corrected. • The range of corrected reading per H*(10) is about 0.7–1.6 for the neutron fluence mean energy range from 0.05 MeV to 300 MeV

Analysis of construction dynamic plan using fuzzy critical path method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kurij Kazimir V.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Critical Path Method (CPM technique has become widely recognized as valuable tool for the planning and scheduling large construction projects. The aim of this paper is to present an analytical method for finding the Critical Path in the precedence network diagram where the duration of each activity is represented by a trapezoidal fuzzy number. This Fuzzy Critical Path Method (FCPM uses a defuzzification formula for trapezoidal fuzzy number and applies it on the total float (slack time for each activity in the fuzzy precedence network to find the critical path. The method presented in this paper is very effective in determining the critical activities and finding the critical paths.

A new optimization method using a compressed sensing inspired solver for real-time LDR-brachytherapy treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guthier, C; Aschenbrenner, K P; Buergy, D; Ehmann, M; Wenz, F; Hesser, J W

2015-01-01

This work discusses a novel strategy for inverse planning in low dose rate brachytherapy. It applies the idea of compressed sensing to the problem of inverse treatment planning and a new solver for this formulation is developed. An inverse planning algorithm was developed incorporating brachytherapy dose calculation methods as recommended by AAPM TG-43. For optimization of the functional a new variant of a matching pursuit type solver is presented. The results are compared with current state-of-the-art inverse treatment planning algorithms by means of real prostate cancer patient data. The novel strategy outperforms the best state-of-the-art methods in speed, while achieving comparable quality. It is able to find solutions with comparable values for the objective function and it achieves these results within a few microseconds, being up to 542 times faster than competing state-of-the-art strategies, allowing real-time treatment planning. The sparse solution of inverse brachytherapy planning achieved with methods from compressed sensing is a new paradigm for optimization in medical physics. Through the sparsity of required needles and seeds identified by this method, the cost of intervention may be reduced. (paper)

A new optimization method using a compressed sensing inspired solver for real-time LDR-brachytherapy treatment planning

Science.gov (United States)

Guthier, C.; Aschenbrenner, K. P.; Buergy, D.; Ehmann, M.; Wenz, F.; Hesser, J. W.

2015-03-01

This work discusses a novel strategy for inverse planning in low dose rate brachytherapy. It applies the idea of compressed sensing to the problem of inverse treatment planning and a new solver for this formulation is developed. An inverse planning algorithm was developed incorporating brachytherapy dose calculation methods as recommended by AAPM TG-43. For optimization of the functional a new variant of a matching pursuit type solver is presented. The results are compared with current state-of-the-art inverse treatment planning algorithms by means of real prostate cancer patient data. The novel strategy outperforms the best state-of-the-art methods in speed, while achieving comparable quality. It is able to find solutions with comparable values for the objective function and it achieves these results within a few microseconds, being up to 542 times faster than competing state-of-the-art strategies, allowing real-time treatment planning. The sparse solution of inverse brachytherapy planning achieved with methods from compressed sensing is a new paradigm for optimization in medical physics. Through the sparsity of required needles and seeds identified by this method, the cost of intervention may be reduced.

A Survey on Chinese Scholars' Adoption of Mixed Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yuchun

2018-01-01

Since the 1980s when mixed methods emerged as "the third research methodology", it was widely adopted in Western countries. However, inadequate literature revealed how this methodology was accepted by scholars in Asian countries, such as China. Therefore, this paper used a quantitative survey to investigate Chinese scholars' perceptions…

Managing the complexity and uncertainties of load, generation and markets in system development planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

System planners face today unique challenges to accommodate the new uncertainties in markets, loads and generation and to develop system plans that balance reliability, economy and risk. The report summarizes a survey of the methods used worldwide. In addition, case examples are provided to illustrate in more detail these methods

Automation of block assignment planning using a diagram-based scenario modeling method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

In Hyuck Hwang

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Most shipbuilding scheduling research so far has focused on the load level on the dock plan. This is because the dock is the least extendable resource in shipyards, and its overloading is difficult to resolve. However, once dock scheduling is completed, making a plan that makes the best use of the rest of the resources in the shipyard to minimize any additional cost is also important. Block assignment planning is one of the midterm planning tasks; it assigns a block to the facility (factory/shop or surface plate that will actually manufacture the block according to the block characteristics and current situation of the facility. It is one of the most heavily loaded midterm planning tasks and is carried out manually by experienced workers. In this study, a method of representing the block assignment rules using a diagram was suggested through analysis of the existing manual process. A block allocation program was developed which automated the block assignment process according to the rules represented by the diagram. The planning scenario was validated through a case study that compared the manual assignment and two automated block assignment results.

Automation of block assignment planning using a diagram-based scenario modeling method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hwang In Hyuck

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Most shipbuilding scheduling research so far has focused on the load level on the dock plan. This is be¬cause the dock is the least extendable resource in shipyards, and its overloading is difficult to resolve. However, once dock scheduling is completed, making a plan that makes the best use of the rest of the resources in the shipyard to minimize any additional cost is also important. Block assignment planning is one of the midterm planning tasks; it assigns a block to the facility (factory/shop or surface plate that will actually manufacture the block according to the block characteristics and current situation of the facility. It is one of the most heavily loaded midterm planning tasks and is carried out manu¬ally by experienced workers. In this study, a method of representing the block assignment rules using a diagram was su¬ggested through analysis of the existing manual process. A block allocation program was developed which automated the block assignment process according to the rules represented by the diagram. The planning scenario was validated through a case study that compared the manual assignment and two automated block assignment results.

Demand for long acting and permanent contraceptive methods and associated factors among family planning service users, Batu town, Central Ethiopia.

Science.gov (United States)

Haile, Anley; Fantahun, Mesganaw

2012-01-01

Evidence suggests a high unsatisfied demand for long acting and permanent contraceptive methods in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is limited knowledge on demand for long acting and permanent contraceptive methods and associated factors in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to assess demand for long acting and permanent contraceptive methods and associated factors among women of age group 18-49 years in Batu town, East Shoa Zone, Ethiopia. A facility based cross-sectional survey was conducted in six service delivery points from March to April 2009 on 398 women of age 18-49 years old. Thirteen (3%) were using long acting and permanent contraceptive methods and 89 (22.4%) wanted no more child in the future making the total demand of long acting and permanent contraceptive methods 24.4%. Older age group, multiparty, that the provider asked about reproductive intention, and the provider explained side effects of method selected were significantly associated with using LA and MPs (P demand and several socio demographic and family planning service quality related factors were associated with demand for long acting and permanent contraceptive methods indicating that multi-dimensional measures are needed to improve the use of long acting and permanent contraceptive methods.

Inclusion survey contractor implementation plan for fiscal years 1986-1988

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Espegren, M.L.; Carter, T.E.; Little, C.A.; Ramos, S.J.

1987-03-01

The Radiological Surveys Activities Group (RASA) of Oak Ridge National Laboratory acts as the Inclusion Survey Contractor (ISC) to the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The ISC investigates properties to determine whether the properties qualify for remedial action according to the standards set forth for the UMTRA Project by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The major work elements making up the ISC's activities are: consent form acquisition, land survey/drawing, inclusion survey, post-survey activities, survey report, file transmittal, and recommendation for a vicinity property to be included into or excluded from UMTRAP. The ISC will produce 2960 recommendations in FY 1988 for $3.98M.

Inclusion survey contractor implementation plan for fiscal years 1986-1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Espegren, M.L.; Carter, T.E.; Little, C.A.; Ramos, S.J.

1987-03-01

The Radiological Surveys Activities Group (RASA) of Oak Ridge National Laboratory acts as the Inclusion Survey Contractor (ISC) to the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project of the US Department of Energy (DOE). The ISC investigates properties to determine whether the properties qualify for remedial action according to the standards set forth for the UMTRA Project by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The major work elements making up the ISC's activities are: consent form acquisition, land survey/drawing, inclusion survey, post-survey activities, survey report, file transmittal, and recommendation for a vicinity property to be included into or excluded from UMTRAP. The ISC will produce 2960 recommendations in FY 1988 for $3.98M

Heuristic methods for shared backup path protection planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haahr, Jørgen Thorlund; Stidsen, Thomas Riis; Zachariasen, Martin

2012-01-01

schemes are employed. In contrast to manual intervention, automatic protection schemes such as Shared Backup Path Protection (SBPP) can recover from failure quickly and efficiently. SBPP is a simple but efficient protection scheme that can be implemented in backbone networks with technology available...... present heuristic algorithms and lower bound methods for the SBPP planning problem. Experimental results show that the heuristic algorithms are able to find good quality solutions in minutes. A solution gap of less than 3.5% was achieved for more than half of the benchmark instances (and a gap of less...

A Review of Family Planning Methods Used in Kano, Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Method All records of the clients that attended the Family Planning Clinic from January 2003 to December 2007 were analyzed Results New clients were 22% while revisits were 78%, with a steady increase in the number of new clients from 4% in 2003 to 26% in 2007. Injectable contraceptives were the most commonly ...

The U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Collections Management System (GCMS)—A master catalog and collections management plan for U.S. Geological Survey geologic samples and sample collections

Science.gov (United States)

,

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is widely recognized in the earth science community as possessing extensive collections of earth materials collected by research personnel over the course of its history. In 2006, a Geologic Collections Inventory was conducted within the USGS Geology Discipline to determine the extent and nature of its sample collections, and in 2008, a working group was convened by the USGS National Geologic and Geophysical Data Preservation Program to examine ways in which these collections could be coordinated, cataloged, and made available to researchers both inside and outside the USGS. The charge to this working group was to evaluate the proposition of creating a Geologic Collections Management System (GCMS), a centralized database that would (1) identify all existing USGS geologic collections, regardless of size, (2) create a virtual link among the collections, and (3) provide a way for scientists and other researchers to obtain access to the samples and data in which they are interested. Additionally, the group was instructed to develop criteria for evaluating current collections and to establish an operating plan and set of standard practices for handling, identifying, and managing future sample collections. Policies and procedures promoted by the GCMS would be based on extant best practices established by the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution. The resulting report—USGS Circular 1410, “The U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Collections Management System (GCMS): A Master Catalog and Collections Management Plan for U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Samples and Sample Collections”—has been developed for sample repositories to be a guide to establishing common practices in the collection, retention, and disposal of geologic research materials throughout the USGS.

Development of advanced methods for planning electric energy distribution systems. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goenen, T.; Foote, B.L.; Thompson, J.C.; Fagan, J.E.

1979-10-01

An extensive search was made for the identification and collection of reports published in the open literature which describes distribution planning methods and techniques. In addition, a questionnaire has been prepared and sent to a large number of electric power utility companies. A large number of these companies were visited and/or their distribution planners interviewed for the identification and description of distribution system planning methods and techniques used by these electric power utility companies and other commercial entities. Distribution systems planning models were reviewed and a set of new mixed-integer programming models were developed for the optimal expansion of the distribution systems. The models help the planner to select: (1) optimum substation locations; (2) optimum substation expansions; (3) optimum substation transformer sizes; (4) optimum load transfers between substations; (5) optimum feeder routes and sizes subject to a set of specified constraints. The models permit following existing right-of-ways and avoid areas where feeders and substations cannot be constructed. The results of computer runs were analyzed for adequacy in serving projected loads within regulation limits for both normal and emergency operation.

Systematic Methods in School Planning and Design. A Selected and Annotated Bibliography.

Science.gov (United States)

Murtha, D. Michael

A selection of technical reports, journal articles and books on various aspects of systematic methods for school planning and design, are presented in this bibliography. The subject areas include the design process in terms of--(1) practice, (2) theory, (3) methods, (4) decision systems, and (5) computer applications. Criteria for design with…

The Theory of Planned Behavior and Helmet Use among College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Lisa Thomson; Ross, Thomas P.; Farber, Sarah; Davidson, Caroline; Trevino, Meredith; Hawkins, Ashley

2011-01-01

Objectives: To assess undergraduate helmet use attitudes and behaviors in accordance with the theory of planned behavior (TPB). We predicted helmet wearers and nonwearers would differ on our subscales. Methods: Participants (N = 414, 69% female, 84% white) completed a survey. Results: Principal component analysis and reliability analysis guided…

Implementation of Department of Defense Survey Burden Action Plan - Reducing Survey Burden, Cost and Duplication

Science.gov (United States)

2017-08-23

vulnerable populations (e.g., minors); or 3) sensitive topics (e.g., gender relations, discrimination , UCMJ violations) to improve tracking of survey...e.g., gender relations, discrimination , UCMJ violations) to improve tracking of survey burden. The applicable ISSCC-member Survey Office will...their families per year; or 2) vulnerable populations (e.g., minors); or 3) sensitive topics (e.g., gender relations, discrimination , UCMJ violations

Comparing two survey methods of measuring health-related indicators: Lot Quality Assurance Sampling and Demographic Health Surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Anoke, Sarah C; Mwai, Paul; Jeffery, Caroline; Valadez, Joseph J; Pagano, Marcello

2015-12-01

Two common methods used to measure indicators for health programme monitoring and evaluation are the demographic and health surveys (DHS) and lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS); each one has different strengths. We report on both methods when utilised in comparable situations. We compared 24 indicators in south-west Uganda, where data for prevalence estimations were collected independently for the two methods in 2011 (LQAS: n = 8876; DHS: n = 1200). Data were stratified (e.g. gender and age) resulting in 37 comparisons. We used a two-sample two-sided Z-test of proportions to compare both methods. The average difference between LQAS and DHS for 37 estimates was 0.062 (SD = 0.093; median = 0.039). The average difference among the 21 failures to reject equality of proportions was 0.010 (SD = 0.041; median = 0.009); among the 16 rejections, it was 0.130 (SD = 0.010, median = 0.118). Seven of the 16 rejections exhibited absolute differences of 0.10 and 0.20 (mean = 0.261, SD = 0.083). There is 75.7% agreement across the two surveys. Both methods yield regional results, but only LQAS provides information at less granular levels (e.g. the district level) where managerial action is taken. The cost advantage and localisation make LQAS feasible to conduct more frequently, and provides the possibility for real-time health outcomes monitoring. © 2015 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Roof Moisture Surveys: Current State Of The Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Tobiasson, Wayne

1983-03-01

Moisture is the big enemy of compact roofing systems. Non-destructive nuclear, capacitance and infrared methods can all find wet insulation in such roofs but a few core samples are needed for verification. Nuclear and capacitance surveys generate quantitative results at grid points but examine only a small portion of the roof. Quantitative results are not usually provided by infrared scanners but they can rapidly examine every square inch of the roof. Being able to find wet areas when they are small is an important advantage. Prices vary with the scope of the investigation. For a particular scope, the three techniques are often cost-competitive. The limitations of each technique are related to the people involved as well as the equipment. When the right people are involved, non-destructive surveys are a very effective method for improving the long-term performance and reducing the life-cycle costs of roofing systems. Plans for the maintenance, repair or replacement of a roof should include a roof moisture survey.

Statistical methods for the planning of inspections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hough, C.G.; Beetle, T.M.

1976-01-01

Inspection plans are designed to detect diversions of M kilograms of nuclear material with a high degree of confidence. Attribute sample plans were first developed and applied at a zero-energy fast reactor in the United Kingdom in co-operation with the Agency. Battelle-Northwest in the United States of America proposed a variables sample plan based on decision theory. The Karlsruhe Research Center in the Federal Republic of Germany developed the strategic points concept and sample plans based on game theory considerations. All these approaches were combined into a common approach which is summarized in this report. (author)

The Method of Multiple Spatial Planning Basic Map

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, C.; Fang, C.

2018-04-01

The "Provincial Space Plan Pilot Program" issued in December 2016 pointed out that the existing space management and control information management platforms of various departments were integrated, and a spatial planning information management platform was established to integrate basic data, target indicators, space coordinates, and technical specifications. The planning and preparation will provide supportive decision support, digital monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the plan, implementation of various types of investment projects and space management and control departments involved in military construction projects in parallel to approve and approve, and improve the efficiency of administrative approval. The space planning system should be set up to delimit the control limits for the development of production, life and ecological space, and the control of use is implemented. On the one hand, it is necessary to clarify the functional orientation between various kinds of planning space. On the other hand, it is necessary to achieve "multi-compliance" of various space planning. Multiple spatial planning intergration need unified and standard basic map(geographic database and technical specificaton) to division of urban, agricultural, ecological three types of space and provide technical support for the refinement of the space control zoning for the relevant planning. The article analysis the main space datum, the land use classification standards, base map planning, planning basic platform main technical problems. Based on the geographic conditions, the results of the census preparation of spatial planning map, and Heilongjiang, Hainan many rules combined with a pilot application.

SU-E-T-628: A Cloud Computing Based Multi-Objective Optimization Method for Inverse Treatment Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Na, Y; Suh, T; Xing, L

2012-06-01

Multi-objective (MO) plan optimization entails generation of an enormous number of IMRT or VMAT plans constituting the Pareto surface, which presents a computationally challenging task. The purpose of this work is to overcome the hurdle by developing an efficient MO method using emerging cloud computing platform. As a backbone of cloud computing for optimizing inverse treatment planning, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud with a master node (17.1 GB memory, 2 virtual cores, 420 GB instance storage, 64-bit platform) is used. The master node is able to scale seamlessly a number of working group instances, called workers, based on the user-defined setting account for MO functions in clinical setting. Each worker solved the objective function with an efficient sparse decomposition method. The workers are automatically terminated if there are finished tasks. The optimized plans are archived to the master node to generate the Pareto solution set. Three clinical cases have been planned using the developed MO IMRT and VMAT planning tools to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method. The target dose coverage and critical structure sparing of plans are comparable obtained using the cloud computing platform are identical to that obtained using desktop PC (Intel Xeon® CPU 2.33GHz, 8GB memory). It is found that the MO planning speeds up the processing of obtaining the Pareto set substantially for both types of plans. The speedup scales approximately linearly with the number of nodes used for computing. With the use of N nodes, the computational time is reduced by the fitting model, 0.2+2.3/N, with r̂2>0.99, on average of the cases making real-time MO planning possible. A cloud computing infrastructure is developed for MO optimization. The algorithm substantially improves the speed of inverse plan optimization. The platform is valuable for both MO planning and future off- or on-line adaptive re-planning. © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Electron beam treatment planning: A review of dose computation methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohan, R.; Riley, R.; Laughlin, J.S.

1983-01-01

Various methods of dose computations are reviewed. The equivalent path length methods used to account for body curvature and internal structure are not adequate because they ignore the lateral diffusion of electrons. The Monte Carlo method for the broad field three-dimensional situation in treatment planning is impractical because of the enormous computer time required. The pencil beam technique may represent a suitable compromise. The behavior of a pencil beam may be described by the multiple scattering theory or, alternatively, generated using the Monte Carlo method. Although nearly two orders of magnitude slower than the equivalent path length technique, the pencil beam method improves accuracy sufficiently to justify its use. It applies very well when accounting for the effect of surface irregularities; the formulation for handling inhomogeneous internal structure is yet to be developed

Integrating financial theory and methods in electricity resource planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Felder, F.A. [Economics Resource Group, Cambridge, MA (United States)

1996-02-01

Decision makers throughout the world are introducing risk and market forces in the electric power industry to lower costs and improve services. Incentive based regulation (IBR), which replaces cost of service ratemaking with an approach that divorces costs from revenues, exposes the utility to the risk of profits or losses depending on their performance. Regulators also are allowing for competition within the industry, most notably in the wholesale market and possibly in the retail market. Two financial approaches that incorporate risk in resource planning are evaluated: risk adjusted discount rates (RADR) and options theory (OT). These two complementary approaches are an improvement over the standard present value revenue requirement (PVRR). However, each method has some important limitations. By correctly using RADR and OT and understanding their limitations, decision makers can improve their ability to value risk properly in power plant projects and integrated resource plans. (Author)

Innovative Methods in Strategic Planning of Foreign Economic Activity of Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valentyna Yakubiv

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Changes in the external conditions of business in Ukraine, European integration vector of the country development, and possibilities of import/export operations facilitate foreign trade. Modern methods of strategic management and strategic diagnostics should be developed in line with international requirements and needs of managers in Ukraine and partners abroad. Therefore substantiation of innovation trends for enterprise development strategies on the international arena as a constituent of stable economy is important and necessary. The purpose of this article is to define innovative approaches to planning, development and implementation of strategies and to develop a comprehensive diagnosis of the strategic potential of foreign economic activity. During the research, the following methods: logical abstraction, modeling, PEST-analysis, systems analysis, graphic. The main results of the study are: 1 disclosure of the features of the construction of strategic management in international business; 2 analysis of European and American practices of strategic management of foreign economic activity of enterprises; 3 study of algorithmic scheme of strategic management in the Ukraine; 4 justification of methods of three-level system of strategic analysis using matrix methods of assessment; 5 the classification of the main methods of matrix analysis within groups: macro, meso, macro level; 6 a comprehensive diagnosis of the strategic potential of foreign economic activity of enterprises in Ukraine. The study proved the main areas of innovation and strategic principles of international management and comprehensive methodology for strategic planning matrix based on innovative methods.

THE METHOD OF MULTIPLE SPATIAL PLANNING BASIC MAP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Zhang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The “Provincial Space Plan Pilot Program” issued in December 2016 pointed out that the existing space management and control information management platforms of various departments were integrated, and a spatial planning information management platform was established to integrate basic data, target indicators, space coordinates, and technical specifications. The planning and preparation will provide supportive decision support, digital monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the plan, implementation of various types of investment projects and space management and control departments involved in military construction projects in parallel to approve and approve, and improve the efficiency of administrative approval. The space planning system should be set up to delimit the control limits for the development of production, life and ecological space, and the control of use is implemented. On the one hand, it is necessary to clarify the functional orientation between various kinds of planning space. On the other hand, it is necessary to achieve “multi-compliance” of various space planning. Multiple spatial planning intergration need unified and standard basic map(geographic database and technical specificaton to division of urban, agricultural, ecological three types of space and provide technical support for the refinement of the space control zoning for the relevant planning. The article analysis the main space datum, the land use classification standards, base map planning, planning basic platform main technical problems. Based on the geographic conditions, the results of the census preparation of spatial planning map, and Heilongjiang, Hainan many rules combined with a pilot application.

Quality-assurance and data management plan for groundwater activities by the U.S. Geological Survey in Kansas, 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Putnam, James E.; Hansen, Cristi V.

2014-01-01

As the Nation’s principle earth-science information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is depended on to collect data of the highest quality. This document is a quality-assurance plan for groundwater activities (GWQAP) of the Kansas Water Science Center. The purpose of this GWQAP is to establish a minimum set of guidelines and practices to be used by the Kansas Water Science Center to ensure quality in groundwater activities. Included within these practices are the assignment of responsibilities for implementing quality-assurance activities in the Kansas Water Science Center and establishment of review procedures needed to ensure the technical quality and reliability of the groundwater products. In addition, this GWQAP is intended to complement quality-assurance plans for surface-water and water-quality activities and similar plans for the Kansas Water Science Center and general project activities throughout the USGS. This document provides the framework for collecting, analyzing, and reporting groundwater data that are quality assured and quality controlled. This GWQAP presents policies directing the collection, processing, analysis, storage, review, and publication of groundwater data. In addition, policies related to organizational responsibilities, training, project planning, and safety are presented. These policies and practices pertain to all groundwater activities conducted by the Kansas Water Science Center, including data-collection programs, interpretive and research projects. This report also includes the data management plan that describes the progression of data management from data collection to archiving and publication.

Aerial radiation surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jobst, J.

1980-01-01

A recent aerial radiation survey of the surroundings of the Vitro mill in Salt Lake City shows that uranium mill tailings have been removed to many locations outside their original boundary. To date, 52 remote sites have been discovered within a 100 square kilometer aerial survey perimeter surrounding the mill; 9 of these were discovered with the recent aerial survey map. Five additional sites, also discovered by aerial survey, contained uranium ore, milling equipment, or radioactive slag. Because of the success of this survey, plans are being made to extend the aerial survey program to other parts of the Salt Lake valley where diversions of Vitro tailings are also known to exist

Toward Authentic IEPs and Transition Plans: Student, Parent, and Teacher Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Cavendish, Wendy; Connor, David

2018-01-01

This mixed-methods study examined perspectives on factors that influence meaningful student and parent involvement in Individualized Education Program (IEP) transition planning. Survey data and open-ended qualitative interviews with urban high school students with a learning disability (LD; n = 16), their parents (n = 9), and their teachers (n =…

Don't spin the pen: two alternative methods for second-stage sampling in urban cluster surveys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rose Angela MC

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract In two-stage cluster surveys, the traditional method used in second-stage sampling (in which the first household in a cluster is selected is time-consuming and may result in biased estimates of the indicator of interest. Firstly, a random direction from the center of the cluster is selected, usually by spinning a pen. The houses along that direction are then counted out to the boundary of the cluster, and one is then selected at random to be the first household surveyed. This process favors households towards the center of the cluster, but it could easily be improved. During a recent meningitis vaccination coverage survey in Maradi, Niger, we compared this method of first household selection to two alternatives in urban zones: 1 using a superimposed grid on the map of the cluster area and randomly selecting an intersection; and 2 drawing the perimeter of the cluster area using a Global Positioning System (GPS and randomly selecting one point within the perimeter. Although we only compared a limited number of clusters using each method, we found the sampling grid method to be the fastest and easiest for field survey teams, although it does require a map of the area. Selecting a random GPS point was also found to be a good method, once adequate training can be provided. Spinning the pen and counting households to the boundary was the most complicated and time-consuming. The two methods tested here represent simpler, quicker and potentially more robust alternatives to spinning the pen for cluster surveys in urban areas. However, in rural areas, these alternatives would favor initial household selection from lower density (or even potentially empty areas. Bearing in mind these limitations, as well as available resources and feasibility, investigators should choose the most appropriate method for their particular survey context.

Utilization of family planning services by married Sudanese women of reproductive age.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibnouf, A H; van den Borne, H W; Maarse, J A M

2007-01-01

To explore differences in utilization of family planning services and predisposing factors, we surveyed 601 women from urban and rural areas of Khartoum state. About half were using modern family planning techniques; there were no significant differences in utilization rates between urban and rural settings. Contraceptive pills were the most frequently used modern method (47.7%) followed by intrauterine devices (10.2%) and injections (7.5%). Breastfeeding was used by around 33% of both groups. The rhythm method and withdrawal were more often used by urban women (22.2% and 8.6% respectively) than rural women (16.1% and 3.6% respectively). Use of male methods (condom; sterilization) was extremely low. Socioeconomic status, knowledge and education level were the most important determinants of using modern methods.

7 CFR 611.10 - Standards, guidelines, and plans.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Standards, guidelines, and plans. 611.10 Section 611... § 611.10 Standards, guidelines, and plans. (a) NRCS conducts soil surveys under national standards and guidelines for naming, classifying, and interpreting soils and for disseminating soil survey information. (b...

Multidisciplinary eHealth Survey Evaluation Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Karras, Bryant T.; Tufano, James T.

2006-01-01

This paper describes the development process of an evaluation framework for describing and comparing web survey tools. We believe that this approach will help shape the design, development, deployment, and evaluation of population-based health interventions. A conceptual framework for describing and evaluating web survey systems will enable the…

Birth planning and sterilization in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Short, S E; Linmao, M; Wentao, Y

2000-11-01

Sterilization is the most prevalent method of contraception in China. Approximately half of all women of reproductive age report that they or their husbands are sterilized. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey we describe patterns of sterilization in eight Chinese provinces. With a discrete-time event history model we investigate the link between characteristics of local birth planning policy and the risk of sterilization. After controlling for parity, the risk of sterilization is highest in communities where birth planning policy is least strong as measured by exceptions to the one-child policy. These results suggest that couples with more flexibility in family building may have less control over contraceptive method use. Other factors affecting the risk of sterilization are a woman's age, parity, and whether or not she has a son. Our results emphasize the importance of taking into account multiple dimensions of reproductive behaviour when assessing one-child policy changes.

Access to Money and Relation to Women's Use of Family Planning Methods Among Young Married Women in Rural India.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Elizabeth; Donta, Balaiah; Dasgupta, Anindita; Ghule, Mohan; Battala, Madhusudana; Nair, Saritha; Silverman, Jay; Jadhav, Arun; Palaye, Prajakta; Saggurti, Niranjan; Raj, Anita

2016-06-01

Objectives The social positioning (i.e. social status and autonomy) of women in the household facilitates women's access to and decision-making power related to family planning (FP). Women's access to spending money, which may be an indicator of greater social positioning in the household, may also be greater among women who engage in income generating activities for their families, regardless of women's status in the household. However, in both scenarios, access to money may independently afford greater opportunity to obtain family planning services among women. This study seeks to assess whether access to money is associated with FP outcomes independently of women's social positioning in their households. Methods Using survey data from married couples in rural Maharashtra, India (n = 855), crude and adjusted regression was used to assess women's access to their own spending money in relation to past 3 month use of condoms and other forms of contraceptives (pills, injectables, intrauterine device). Results Access to money (59 %) was associated with condom and other contraceptive use (AORs ranged 1.5-1.8). These findings remained significant after adjusting for women's FP decision-making power in the household and mobility to seek FP services. Conclusion While preliminary, findings suggest that access to money may increase women's ability to obtain FP methods, even in contexts where social norms to support women's power in FP decision-making may not be readily adopted.

Exploration on Planning Methods for Rural Communities in the Local Economic and Institutional Contexts

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Ying; WANG; Xin; PAN; Zhilun; XIAO; Xiangwei; CHENG; Caige; LI

2014-01-01

This paper reviews the wave of rural community construction, compares the urban and rural areas on the aspects of land property right, financing channels, construction management procedures, and the user-builder difference, and examines the unique characteristics of rural communities. On the basis of that, it proposes some planning methods for the rural community planning and construction, such as encouraging public participation, conducting public facility-oriented planning, and providing house-design menu, and further puts forward some supporting measures and policies.

A Systematic Review of Published Respondent-Driven Sampling Surveys Collecting Behavioral and Biologic Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Lisa G; Hakim, Avi J; Dittrich, Samantha; Burnett, Janet; Kim, Evelyn; White, Richard G

2016-08-01

Reporting key details of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) survey implementation and analysis is essential for assessing the quality of RDS surveys. RDS is both a recruitment and analytic method and, as such, it is important to adequately describe both aspects in publications. We extracted data from peer-reviewed literature published through September, 2013 that reported collected biological specimens using RDS. We identified 151 eligible peer-reviewed articles describing 222 surveys conducted in seven regions throughout the world. Most published surveys reported basic implementation information such as survey city, country, year, population sampled, interview method, and final sample size. However, many surveys did not report essential methodological and analytical information for assessing RDS survey quality, including number of recruitment sites, seeds at start and end, maximum number of waves, and whether data were adjusted for network size. Understanding the quality of data collection and analysis in RDS is useful for effectively planning public health service delivery and funding priorities.

[Comparison study on sampling methods of Oncomelania hupensis snail survey in marshland schistosomiasis epidemic areas in China].

Science.gov (United States)

An, Zhao; Wen-Xin, Zhang; Zhong, Yao; Yu-Kuan, Ma; Qing, Liu; Hou-Lang, Duan; Yi-di, Shang

2016-06-29

To optimize and simplify the survey method of Oncomelania hupensis snail in marshland endemic region of schistosomiasis and increase the precision, efficiency and economy of the snail survey. A quadrate experimental field was selected as the subject of 50 m×50 m size in Chayegang marshland near Henghu farm in the Poyang Lake region and a whole-covered method was adopted to survey the snails. The simple random sampling, systematic sampling and stratified random sampling methods were applied to calculate the minimum sample size, relative sampling error and absolute sampling error. The minimum sample sizes of the simple random sampling, systematic sampling and stratified random sampling methods were 300, 300 and 225, respectively. The relative sampling errors of three methods were all less than 15%. The absolute sampling errors were 0.221 7, 0.302 4 and 0.047 8, respectively. The spatial stratified sampling with altitude as the stratum variable is an efficient approach of lower cost and higher precision for the snail survey.

A Method on Dynamic Path Planning for Robotic Manipulator Autonomous Obstacle Avoidance Based on an Improved RRT Algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Kun; Ren, Bingyin

2018-02-13

In a future intelligent factory, a robotic manipulator must work efficiently and safely in a Human-Robot collaborative and dynamic unstructured environment. Autonomous path planning is the most important issue which must be resolved first in the process of improving robotic manipulator intelligence. Among the path-planning methods, the Rapidly Exploring Random Tree (RRT) algorithm based on random sampling has been widely applied in dynamic path planning for a high-dimensional robotic manipulator, especially in a complex environment because of its probability completeness, perfect expansion, and fast exploring speed over other planning methods. However, the existing RRT algorithm has a limitation in path planning for a robotic manipulator in a dynamic unstructured environment. Therefore, an autonomous obstacle avoidance dynamic path-planning method for a robotic manipulator based on an improved RRT algorithm, called Smoothly RRT (S-RRT), is proposed. This method that targets a directional node extends and can increase the sampling speed and efficiency of RRT dramatically. A path optimization strategy based on the maximum curvature constraint is presented to generate a smooth and curved continuous executable path for a robotic manipulator. Finally, the correctness, effectiveness, and practicability of the proposed method are demonstrated and validated via a MATLAB static simulation and a Robot Operating System (ROS) dynamic simulation environment as well as a real autonomous obstacle avoidance experiment in a dynamic unstructured environment for a robotic manipulator. The proposed method not only provides great practical engineering significance for a robotic manipulator's obstacle avoidance in an intelligent factory, but also theoretical reference value for other type of robots' path planning.

U.S. Geological Survey experience with the residual absolutes method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. W. Worthington

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS Geomagnetism Program has developed and tested the residual method of absolutes, with the assistance of the Danish Technical University's (DTU Geomagnetism Program. Three years of testing were performed at College Magnetic Observatory (CMO, Fairbanks, Alaska, to compare the residual method with the null method. Results show that the two methods compare very well with each other and both sets of baseline data were used to process the 2015 definitive data. The residual method will be implemented at the other USGS high-latitude geomagnetic observatories in the summer of 2017 and 2018.

Planning and management for reactor decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyasaka, Yasuhiko

2001-01-01

This report describes decommissioning strategy, planning process, regulation, management and organization, radiological characterization and safety. Planning is used to identify, define and organize the requirements for decommissioning including decommissioning options, items to be accomplished (objective, scope), to solve problems of how it is to be accomplished (methods, means and procedures), questions of who will execute it (resources, organization and responsibilities, interfacing), and time when it will be executed (schedule for meeting the objectives). A plan is highly dependent on the quality of the management team assembled to carry it out. Radiological characterization involves a survey of existing data, calculation, in situ measurements and/or sampling and analyses. Using this databases decommissioning planner may assess options, considering: decontamination processes, dismantling procedures, tools required, radiological protection of workers and public/environment, waste classification, and resulting costs. Comparison and optimization of these factors will lead to selection of a decommissioning strategy, i.e. typically, immediate or deferred dismantling. The planning and implementation of decommissioning for nuclear reactors should be referred both recent dismantling techniques and many decommissioning experiences. The technical lessons learned from many projects will help in the planning for future decommissioning projects. And systematic planning and management are essential to successful completion of a decommissioning project. (author)

National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines (PNAUM: household survey component methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sotero Serrate Mengue

Full Text Available ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To describe methodological aspects of the household survey National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines (PNAUM related to sampling design and implementation, the actual obtained sample, instruments and fieldwork. METHODS A cross-sectional, population-based study with probability sampling in three stages of the population living in households located in Brazilian urban areas. Fieldwork was carried out between September 2013 and February 2014. The data collection instrument included questions related to: information about households, residents and respondents; chronic diseases and medicines used; use of health services; acute diseases and events treated with drugs; use of contraceptives; use of pharmacy services; behaviors that may affect drug use; package inserts and packaging; lifestyle and health insurance. RESULTS In total, 41,433 interviews were carried out in 20,404 households and 576 urban clusters corresponding to 586 census tracts distributed in the five Brazilian regions, according to eight domains defined by age and gender. CONCLUSIONS The results of the survey may be used as a baseline for future studies aiming to assess the impact of government action on drug access and use. For local studies using a compatible method, PNAUM may serve as a reference point to evaluate variations in space and population. With a comprehensive evaluation of drug-related aspects, PNAUM is a major source of data for a variety of analyses to be carried out both at academic and government level.

Interrogating the Lesson Plan in a Pre-Service Methods Course: Evidence from a University in Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Simwa, Kefa L.; Modiba, Maropeng

2015-01-01

The paper reports on research that examined how the content of a History methods course, taught in a university in Kenya, influenced student teachers' lesson planning and pedagogical skills. A lecture on a lesson plan, micro-teaching lesson plan documents and presentations were examined to determine student teachers' preparedness for teaching the…

Chapter 6. Dwarf mistletoe surveys

Science.gov (United States)

J.A. Muir; B. Moody

2002-01-01

Dwarf mistletoe surveys are conducted for a variety of vegetation management objectives. Various survey and sampling techniques are used either at a broad, landscape scale in forest planning or program review, or at an individual, stand, site level for specific project implementation. Standard and special surveys provide data to map mistletoe distributions and quantify...

Development of Consensus Treatment Plans for Juvenile Localized Scleroderma

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Suzanne C.; Torok, Kathryn S.; Pope, Elena; Dedeoglu, Fatma; Hong, Sandy; Jacobe, Heidi T.; Rabinovich, C. Egla; Laxer, Ronald M.; Higgins, Gloria C.; Ferguson, Polly J.; Lasky, Andrew; Baszis, Kevin; Becker, Mara; Campillo, Sarah; Cartwright, Victoria; Cidon, Michael; Inman, Christi J; Jerath, Rita; O'Neil, Kathleen M.; Vora, Sheetal; Zeft, Andrew; Wallace, Carol A.; Ilowite, Norman T.; Fuhlbrigge, Robert C

2013-01-01

Objective To develop standardized treatment plans, clinical assessments, and response criteria for active, moderate to high severity juvenile localized scleroderma (jLS). Background jLS is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder associated with substantial morbidity and disability. Although a wide range of therapeutic strategies have been reported in the literature, a lack of agreement on treatment specifics and accepted methods for clinical assessment of have made it difficult to compare approaches and identify optimal therapy. Methods A core group of pediatric rheumatologists, dermatologists and a lay advisor was engaged by the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) to develop standardized treatment plans and assessment parameters for jLS using consensus methods/nominal group techniques. Recommendations were validated in two face-to-face conferences with a larger group of practitioners with expertise in jLS and with the full membership of CARRA, which encompasses the majority of pediatric rheumatologists in the U.S and Canada. Results Consensus was achieved on standardized treatment plans that reflect the prevailing treatment practices of CARRA members. Standardized clinical assessment methods and provisional treatment response criteria were also developed. Greater than 90% of pediatric rheumatologists responding to a survey (67% of CARRA membership) affirmed the final recommendations and agreed to utilize these consensus plans to treat patients with jLS. Conclusions Using consensus methodology, we have developed standardized treatment plans and assessment methods for jLS. The high level of support among pediatric rheumatologists will support future comparative effectiveness studies and enable the development of evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of jLS. PMID:22505322

Methods for rapidly processing angular masks of next-generation galaxy surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Swanson, M. E. C.; Tegmark, Max; Hamilton, Andrew J. S.; Hill, J. Colin

2008-07-01

As galaxy surveys become larger and more complex, keeping track of the completeness, magnitude limit and other survey parameters as a function of direction on the sky becomes an increasingly challenging computational task. For example, typical angular masks of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey contain about N = 300000 distinct spherical polygons. Managing masks with such large numbers of polygons becomes intractably slow, particularly for tasks that run in time with a naive algorithm, such as finding which polygons overlap each other. Here we present a `divide-and-conquer' solution to this challenge: we first split the angular mask into pre-defined regions called `pixels', such that each polygon is in only one pixel, and then perform further computations, such as checking for overlap, on the polygons within each pixel separately. This reduces tasks to , and also reduces the important task of determining in which polygon(s) a point on the sky lies from to , resulting in significant computational speedup. Additionally, we present a method to efficiently convert any angular mask to and from the popular HEALPIX format. This method can be generically applied to convert to and from any desired spherical pixelization. We have implemented these techniques in a new version of the MANGLE software package, which is freely available at http://space.mit.edu/home/tegmark/mangle/, along with complete documentation and example applications. These new methods should prove quite useful to the astronomical community, and since MANGLE is a generic tool for managing angular masks on a sphere, it has the potential to benefit terrestrial mapmaking applications as well.

Survey of systems safety analysis methods and their application to nuclear waste management systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pelto, P.J.; Winegardner, W.K.; Gallucci, R.H.V.

1981-11-01

This report reviews system safety analysis methods and examines their application to nuclear waste management systems. The safety analysis methods examined include expert opinion, maximum credible accident approach, design basis accidents approach, hazard indices, preliminary hazards analysis, failure modes and effects analysis, fault trees, event trees, cause-consequence diagrams, G0 methodology, Markov modeling, and a general category of consequence analysis models. Previous and ongoing studies on the safety of waste management systems are discussed along with their limitations and potential improvements. The major safety methods and waste management safety related studies are surveyed. This survey provides information on what safety methods are available, what waste management safety areas have been analyzed, and what are potential areas for future study

Survey of systems safety analysis methods and their application to nuclear waste management systems