Standardised classification of pre-release development in male-brooding pipefish, seahorses, and seadragons (Family Syngnathidae)

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Members of the family Syngnathidae share a unique reproductive mode termed male pregnancy. Males carry eggs in specialised brooding structures for several weeks and release free-swimming offspring. Here we describe a systematic investigation of pre-release development in syngnathid fishes, reviewing available data for 17 species distributed across the family. This work is complemented by in-depth examinations of the straight-nosed pipefish Nerophis ophidion, the black-striped pipefish Syngnathus abaster, and the potbellied seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis. Results We propose a standardised classification of early syngnathid development that extends from the activation of the egg to the release of newborn. The classification consists of four developmental periods – early embryogenesis, eye development, snout formation, and juvenile – which are further divided into 11 stages. Stages are characterised by morphological traits that are easily visible in live and preserved specimens using incident-light microscopy. Conclusions Our classification is derived from examinations of species representing the full range of brooding-structure complexity found in the Syngnathidae, including tail-brooding as well as trunk-brooding species, which represent independent evolutionary lineages. We chose conspicuous common traits as diagnostic features of stages to allow for rapid and consistent staging of embryos and larvae across the entire family. In view of the growing interest in the biology of the Syngnathidae, we believe that the classification proposed here will prove useful for a wide range of studies on the unique reproductive biology of these male-brooding fish. PMID:23273265

Standardised classification of pre-release development in male-brooding pipefish, seahorses, and seadragons (Family Syngnathidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sommer Stefan

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Members of the family Syngnathidae share a unique reproductive mode termed male pregnancy. Males carry eggs in specialised brooding structures for several weeks and release free-swimming offspring. Here we describe a systematic investigation of pre-release development in syngnathid fishes, reviewing available data for 17 species distributed across the family. This work is complemented by in-depth examinations of the straight-nosed pipefish Nerophis ophidion, the black-striped pipefish Syngnathus abaster, and the potbellied seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis. Results We propose a standardised classification of early syngnathid development that extends from the activation of the egg to the release of newborn. The classification consists of four developmental periods – early embryogenesis, eye development, snout formation, and juvenile – which are further divided into 11 stages. Stages are characterised by morphological traits that are easily visible in live and preserved specimens using incident-light microscopy. Conclusions Our classification is derived from examinations of species representing the full range of brooding-structure complexity found in the Syngnathidae, including tail-brooding as well as trunk-brooding species, which represent independent evolutionary lineages. We chose conspicuous common traits as diagnostic features of stages to allow for rapid and consistent staging of embryos and larvae across the entire family. In view of the growing interest in the biology of the Syngnathidae, we believe that the classification proposed here will prove useful for a wide range of studies on the unique reproductive biology of these male-brooding fish.

IPaSS

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

IDRC CRDI

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities ... Much has been said about the role of social media, notably ..... Yemen. Zambia. Zimbabwe. Note: Low and middle income countries with.

Biomarker analyses and final overall survival results from a phase III, randomized, open-label, first-line study of gefitinib versus carboplatin/paclitaxel in clinically selected patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in Asia (IPASS).

Science.gov (United States)

Fukuoka, Masahiro; Wu, Yi-Long; Thongprasert, Sumitra; Sunpaweravong, Patrapim; Leong, Swan-Swan; Sriuranpong, Virote; Chao, Tsu-Yi; Nakagawa, Kazuhiko; Chu, Da-Tong; Saijo, Nagahiro; Duffield, Emma L; Rukazenkov, Yuri; Speake, Georgina; Jiang, Haiyi; Armour, Alison A; To, Ka-Fai; Yang, James Chih-Hsin; Mok, Tony S K

2011-07-20

The results of the Iressa Pan-Asia Study (IPASS), which compared gefitinib and carboplatin/paclitaxel in previously untreated never-smokers and light ex-smokers with advanced pulmonary adenocarcinoma were published previously. This report presents overall survival (OS) and efficacy according to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) biomarker status. In all, 1,217 patients were randomly assigned. Biomarkers analyzed were EGFR mutation (amplification mutation refractory system; 437 patients evaluable), EGFR gene copy number (fluorescent in situ hybridization; 406 patients evaluable), and EGFR protein expression (immunohistochemistry; 365 patients evaluable). OS analysis was performed at 78% maturity. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess biomarker status by randomly assigned treatment interactions for progression-free survival (PFS) and OS. OS (954 deaths) was similar for gefitinib and carboplatin/paclitaxel with no significant difference between treatments overall (hazard ratio [HR], 0.90; 95% CI, 0.79 to 1.02; P = .109) or in EGFR mutation-positive (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.33; P = .990) or EGFR mutation-negative (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.86 to 1.63; P = .309; treatment by EGFR mutation interaction P = .480) subgroups. A high proportion (64.3%) of EGFR mutation-positive patients randomly assigned to carboplatin/paclitaxel received subsequent EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. PFS was significantly longer with gefitinib for patients whose tumors had both high EGFR gene copy number and EGFR mutation (HR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.67) but significantly shorter when high EGFR gene copy number was not accompanied by EGFR mutation (HR, 3.85; 95% CI, 2.09 to 7.09). EGFR mutations are the strongest predictive biomarker for PFS and tumor response to first-line gefitinib versus carboplatin/paclitaxel. The predictive value of EGFR gene copy number was driven by coexisting EGFR mutation (post hoc analysis). Treatment-related differences observed for PFS in the EGFR

Examining a participation-focused stroke self-management intervention in a day rehabilitation setting: a quasi-experimental pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Danbi; Fischer, Heidi; Zera, Sarah; Robertson, Rosetta; Hammel, Joy

2017-12-01

Background People with stroke often find discharge from rehabilitation distressing because they do not feel prepared to participate in life roles as they want. A self-management approach can facilitate improvement in confidence and ability to manage post-stroke community living and participation after transitioning into the community. Objective To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the Improving Participation After Stroke Self-management program - Rehab version (IPASS-R) in a day rehabilitation setting. Methods We used a mixed-method non-randomized quasi-experimental design. The IPASS-R program is a six-session group-based intervention led by a trained occupational therapist and lay person with stroke. The program uses an efficacy building approach to support aging adults to maintain active participation in home and community activities post-stroke. Primary outcome measures were the Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI), Stroke Impact Scale (SIS), and Participation Strategies Self-Efficacy Scale. Qualitative feedback was collected post-treatment. Results Seventeen participants with stroke (intervention n = 9; control n = 8) were enrolled across two sites. Non-parametric effect sizes calculated using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test revealed larger effects on RNLI and SIS outcomes in the intervention group. The Mann-Whitney U test showed significant differences between the two groups' changes in scores on perceived recovery and strength. Conclusions The result shows that IPASS-R has the potential to be integrated into a day rehabilitation setting with a positive impact on community integration and perceived recovery outcomes. Future study is needed to investigate the IPASS-R with a larger sample size and more rigorous study design.

Farmer knowledge and a priori risk analysis: pre-release evaluation of genetically modified Roundup Ready wheat across the Canadian prairies.

Science.gov (United States)

Mauro, Ian J; McLachlan, Stéphane M; Van Acker, Rene C

2009-09-01

corporations, previous experience with GM canola, and a strong belief in the importance of community and environment. Farmers were critical of expert-based risk assessment, particularly RRW field trials, and believed that their LK was valuable for assessing agbiotechnology as a whole. Over 90% of canola production across the Canadian prairies makes use of herbicide-tolerant (HT) varieties. Yet, respondents were generally uniform in their criticism of RRW, regardless whether they were HT users, non-HT-users, conservation tillage or organic in approach. They had a sophisticated understanding of how GM trait confinement was intrinsically tied to grain system segregation and, ultimately, market accessibility, and were concerned that gene flow in RRW would not be contained. Organic farmers were particularly critical of RRW, in large part because certification standards prohibit the presence of GM traits. Farmers practicing conservation tillage were also at relatively great risk, in part because their dependence on glyphosate to control weeds increases the likelihood that RRW volunteer would become more difficult and costly to control. This research is the first of its kind to include farmer knowledge in the a priori risk analysis of GM crops and, arguably, given its prairie-wide scope, is the largest scale, independent-farmer-focused study on GM crops ever conducted. The surprising uniformity in attitudes between users and non-users of GM technology and among organic, conventional, conservation tillage and GM using farmers speaks to the ability of farmers to discriminate among HT varieties. Our results clearly show that prairie farmers recognize that the risks associated with RRW commercialization outweigh any benefits. Farmer knowledge systems are holistic in nature, incorporating socioeconomic, cultural, political, and agroecological factors that all can contribute meaningfully to the pre-release evaluation of GM crops. The inclusion of farmers and other stakeholders in risk

Evaluating real-time Java for mission-critical large-scale embedded systems

Science.gov (United States)

Sharp, D. C.; Pla, E.; Luecke, K. R.; Hassan, R. J.

2003-01-01

This paper describes benchmarking results on an RT JVM. This paper extends previously published results by including additional tests, by being run on a recently available pre-release version of the first commercially supported RTSJ implementation, and by assessing results based on our experience with avionics systems in other languages.

Design for safety: theoretical framework of the safety aspect of BIM system to determine the safety index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ai Lin Evelyn Teo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Despite the safety improvement drive that has been implemented in the construction industry in Singapore for many years, the industry continues to report the highest number of workplace fatalities, compared to other industries. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the theoretical framework of the safety aspect of a proposed BIM System to determine a Safety Index. An online questionnaire survey was conducted to ascertain the current workplace safety and health situation in the construction industry and explore how BIM can be used to improve safety performance in the industry. A safety hazard library was developed based on the main contributors to fatal accidents in the construction industry, determined from the formal records and existing literature, and a series of discussions with representatives from the Workplace Safety and Health Institute (WSH Institute in Singapore. The results from the survey suggested that the majority of the firms have implemented the necessary policies, programmes and procedures on Workplace Safety and Health (WSH practices. However, BIM is still not widely applied or explored beyond the mandatory requirement that building plans should be submitted to the authorities for approval in BIM format. This paper presents a discussion of the safety aspect of the Intelligent Productivity and Safety System (IPASS developed in the study. IPASS is an intelligent system incorporating the buildable design concept, theory on the detection, prevention and control of hazards, and the Construction Safety Audit Scoring System (ConSASS. The system is based on the premise that safety should be considered at the design stage, and BIM can be an effective tool to facilitate the efforts to enhance safety performance. IPASS allows users to analyse and monitor key aspects of the safety performance of the project before the project starts and as the project progresses.

Rethink, Reform, Reenter: An Entrepreneurial Approach to Prison Programming.

Science.gov (United States)

Keena, Linda; Simmons, Chris

2015-07-01

The purpose of this article was to present a description and first-stage evaluation of the impact of the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program on the learning experience of participating prerelease inmates at a Mississippi maximum-security prison and their perception of the transfer of skills learned in program into securing employment upon reentry. The Ice House Entrepreneurship Program is a 12-week program facilitated by volunteer university professors to inmates in a prerelease unit of a maximum-security prison in Mississippi. Participants' perspectives were examined through content analysis of inmates' answers to program Reflection and Response Assignments and interviews. The analyses were conducted according to the constant comparative method. Findings reveal the emergent of eight life-lessons and suggest that this is a promising approach to prison programming for prerelease inmates. This study discusses three approaches to better prepare inmates for a mindset change. The rethink, reform, and reenter approaches help break the traditional cycle of release, reoffend, and return. © The Author(s) 2014.

What constitutes a good hand offs in the emergency department: a patient's perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Downey, La Vonne; Zun, Leslie; Burke, Trena

2013-01-01

The aim is to determine, from the patient's perspective, what constitutes a good hand-off procedure in the emergency department (ED). The secondary purpose is to evaluate what impact a formalized hand-off had on patient knowledge, throughput and customer service This study used a randomized controlled clinical trial involving two unique hand-off approaches and a convenience sample. The study alternated between the current hand-off process that documented the process but not specific elements (referred to as the informal process) to one using the IPASS the BATON process (considered the formal process). Consenting patients completed a 12-question validated questionnaire on how the process was perceived by patients and about their understanding why they waited in the ED. Statistical analysis using SPSS calculated descriptive frequencies and t-tests. In total 107 patients were enrolled: 50 in the informal and 57 in the formal group. Most patients had positive answers to the customer survey. There were significant differences between formal and informal groups: recalling the oncoming and outgoing physician coming to the patient's bed (p = 0.000), with more formal group recalling that than informal group patients; the oncoming physician introducing him/herself (p = 0.01), with more from the formal group answering yes and the physician discussing tests and implications with formal group patients (p = 0.02). This study was done at an urban inner city ED, a fact that may have skewed its results. A comparison of suburban and rural EDs would make the results stronger. It also reflected a very high level of customer satisfaction within the ED. This lack of variance may have meant that the correlation between customer service and handoffs was missed or underrepresented. There was no codified observation of either those using the IPASS the BATON script or those using informal procedures, so no comparison of level and types of information given between the two groups was done

Effects of Dextrose and Lipopolysaccharide on the Corrosion Behavior of a Ti-6Al-4V Alloy with a Smooth Surface or Treated with Double-Acid-Etching

Science.gov (United States)

Faverani, Leonardo P.; Assunção, Wirley G.; de Carvalho, Paulo Sérgio P.; Yuan, Judy Chia-Chun; Sukotjo, Cortino; Mathew, Mathew T.; Barao, Valentim A.

2014-01-01

Diabetes and infections are associated with a high risk of implant failure. However, the effects of such conditions on the electrochemical stability of titanium materials remain unclear. This study evaluated the corrosion behavior of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy, with a smooth surface or conditioned by double-acid-etching, in simulated body fluid with different concentrations of dextrose and lipopolysaccharide. For the electrochemical assay, the open-circuit-potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and potentiodynamic test were used. The disc surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Their surface roughness and Vickers microhardness were also tested. The quantitative data were analyzed by Pearson's correlation and independent t-tests (α = 0.05). In the corrosion parameters, there was a strong lipopolysaccharide correlation with the Ipass (passivation current density), Cdl (double-layer capacitance), and Rp (polarization resistance) values (pcorrosion current density) and Ipass (pcorrosion behavior of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy surface treated with double-acid-etching. However, no dose-response corrosion behavior could be observed. These results suggest a greater susceptibility to corrosion of titanium implants in diabetic patients with associated infections. PMID:24671257

An assessment of African lion Panthera leo sociality via social network analysis: prerelease monitoring for an ex situ reintroduction program.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunston, Emma J; Abell, Jackie; Doyle, Rebecca E; Kirk, Jacqui; Hilley, Victoria B; Forsyth, Andrew; Jenkins, Emma; Freire, Rafael

2017-06-01

The wild population of the African lion Panthera leo continues to decline, requiring alternate conservation programs to be considered. One such program is ex situ reintroduction. Prior to release, long-term monitoring and assessment of behavior is required to determine whether prides and coalitions behave naturally and are sufficiently adapted to a wild environment. Social network analysis (SNA) can be used to provide insight into how the pride as a whole and individuals within it, function. Our study was conducted upon 2 captive-origin prides who are part of an ex situ reintroduction program, and 1 wild pride of African lion. Social interactions were collected at all occurrence for each pride and categorized into greet, social grooming, play, and aggression. Betweenness centrality showed that offspring in each pride were central to the play network, whereas degree indicated that adults received (indegree) the greatest number of overall social interactions, and the adult males of each pride were least likely to initiate (outdegree) any interactions. Through the assessment of individual centrality and degree values, a social keystone adult female was identified for each pride. Social network results indicated that the 2 captive-origin prides had formed cohesive social units and possessed relationships and behaviors comparable with the wild pride for the studied behaviors. This study provided the first SNA comparison between captive-bred origin and a wild pride of lions, providing valuable information on individual and pride sociality, critical for determining the success of prides within an ex situ reintroduction program.

An assessment of African lion Panthera leo sociality via social network analysis: prerelease monitoring for an ex situ reintroduction program

Science.gov (United States)

Abell, Jackie; Doyle, Rebecca E.; Kirk, Jacqui; Hilley, Victoria B.; Forsyth, Andrew; Jenkins, Emma; Freire, Rafael

2017-01-01

Abstract The wild population of the African lion Panthera leo continues to decline, requiring alternate conservation programs to be considered. One such program is ex situ reintroduction. Prior to release, long-term monitoring and assessment of behavior is required to determine whether prides and coalitions behave naturally and are sufficiently adapted to a wild environment. Social network analysis (SNA) can be used to provide insight into how the pride as a whole and individuals within it, function. Our study was conducted upon 2 captive-origin prides who are part of an ex situ reintroduction program, and 1 wild pride of African lion. Social interactions were collected at all occurrence for each pride and categorized into greet, social grooming, play, and aggression. Betweenness centrality showed that offspring in each pride were central to the play network, whereas degree indicated that adults received (indegree) the greatest number of overall social interactions, and the adult males of each pride were least likely to initiate (outdegree) any interactions. Through the assessment of individual centrality and degree values, a social keystone adult female was identified for each pride. Social network results indicated that the 2 captive-origin prides had formed cohesive social units and possessed relationships and behaviors comparable with the wild pride for the studied behaviors. This study provided the first SNA comparison between captive-bred origin and a wild pride of lions, providing valuable information on individual and pride sociality, critical for determining the success of prides within an ex situ reintroduction program. PMID:29491989

Environment and the sterile insect technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagel, P.; Peveling, R.

2005-01-01

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an exceptionally promising pest control method in terms of efficacy and environmental compatibility. Assessments of environmental risks vary according to the status and origin of the target pests. The suppression or eradication of exotic pest populations with the SIT raises few environmental concerns, and these are related mainly to pre-release suppression techniques. However, the elimination of native species, or at least populations of native species, requires more detailed and complex assessments of ecological effects and consequences for biodiversity conservation. Eradication programmes provide opportunities to study these topics within the scope of both environmental impact assessments and operational monitoring programmes. (author)

Continuous Automated Model EvaluatiOn (CAMEO) complementing the critical assessment of structure prediction in CASP12.

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, Jürgen; Barbato, Alessandro; Behringer, Dario; Studer, Gabriel; Roth, Steven; Bertoni, Martino; Mostaguir, Khaled; Gumienny, Rafal; Schwede, Torsten

2018-03-01

Every second year, the community experiment "Critical Assessment of Techniques for Structure Prediction" (CASP) is conducting an independent blind assessment of structure prediction methods, providing a framework for comparing the performance of different approaches and discussing the latest developments in the field. Yet, developers of automated computational modeling methods clearly benefit from more frequent evaluations based on larger sets of data. The "Continuous Automated Model EvaluatiOn (CAMEO)" platform complements the CASP experiment by conducting fully automated blind prediction assessments based on the weekly pre-release of sequences of those structures, which are going to be published in the next release of the PDB Protein Data Bank. CAMEO publishes weekly benchmarking results based on models collected during a 4-day prediction window, on average assessing ca. 100 targets during a time frame of 5 weeks. CAMEO benchmarking data is generated consistently for all participating methods at the same point in time, enabling developers to benchmark and cross-validate their method's performance, and directly refer to the benchmarking results in publications. In order to facilitate server development and promote shorter release cycles, CAMEO sends weekly email with submission statistics and low performance warnings. Many participants of CASP have successfully employed CAMEO when preparing their methods for upcoming community experiments. CAMEO offers a variety of scores to allow benchmarking diverse aspects of structure prediction methods. By introducing new scoring schemes, CAMEO facilitates new development in areas of active research, for example, modeling quaternary structure, complexes, or ligand binding sites. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effects of dextrose and lipopolysaccharide on the corrosion behavior of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy with a smooth surface or treated with double-acid-etching.

Science.gov (United States)

Faverani, Leonardo P; Assunção, Wirley G; de Carvalho, Paulo Sérgio P; Yuan, Judy Chia-Chun; Sukotjo, Cortino; Mathew, Mathew T; Barao, Valentim A

2014-01-01

Diabetes and infections are associated with a high risk of implant failure. However, the effects of such conditions on the electrochemical stability of titanium materials remain unclear. This study evaluated the corrosion behavior of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy, with a smooth surface or conditioned by double-acid-etching, in simulated body fluid with different concentrations of dextrose and lipopolysaccharide. For the electrochemical assay, the open-circuit-potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and potentiodynamic test were used. The disc surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Their surface roughness and Vickers microhardness were also tested. The quantitative data were analyzed by Pearson's correlation and independent t-tests (α = 0.05). In the corrosion parameters, there was a strong lipopolysaccharide correlation with the Ipass (passivation current density), Cdl (double-layer capacitance), and Rp (polarization resistance) values (pdextrose and lipopolysaccharide was correlated with the Icorr (corrosion current density) and Ipass (pdextrose and lipopolysaccharide. The combination of dextrose and lipopolysaccharide affected the corrosion behavior of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy surface treated with double-acid-etching. However, no dose-response corrosion behavior could be observed. These results suggest a greater susceptibility to corrosion of titanium implants in diabetic patients with associated infections.

Mobile Phenotyping System Using an Aeromotively Stabilized Cable-Driven Robot

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, M. B.; Zygielbaum, A. I.

2017-12-01

Agricultural researchers are constantly attempting to generate superior agricultural crops. Whether this means creating crops with greater yield, crops that are more resilient to disease, or crops that can tolerate harsh environments with fewer failures, test plots of these experimental crops must be studied in real-world environments with minimal invasion to determine how they will perform in full-scale agricultural settings. To monitor these crops without interfering with their natural growth, a noninvasive sensor system has been implemented. This system, instituted by the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (UNL), uses a system of poles, cables, and winches to support and maneuver a sensor platform above the crops at an outdoor phenotyping site. In this work, we improve upon the UNL outdoor phenotyping system presenting the concept design for a mobile, cable-driven phenotyping system as opposed to a permanent phenotyping facility. One major challenge in large-scale, cable-driven robots is stability of the end-effector. As a result, this mobile system seeks to use a novel method of end-effector stabilization using an onboard rotor drive system, herein referred to as the Instrument Platform Aeromotive Stabilization System (IPASS). A prototype system is developed and analyzed to determine the viability of IPASS.

Biosafety risk assessment approaches for insect-resistant genetically modified crops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inaam Ullah

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Environmental risk assessment (ERA is imperative for commercial release of insect resistant, genetically modified crops (IR-GMCs.An insect specific, spider venom peptideω-HXTX-Hv1a (Hvt was successfully expressed in cotton plants. The cotton plants producing Hvt protein have demonstrated resistance against economically important insect pest species. The study was performed to assess the effects of Hvt producing cotton plants on Honey bees (Apis mellifera. Methods: Three approaches were used to evaluate the effects of Hvt protein on adults of honeybees; whole plant assays in flight cages, in vitro assays with pollen of Hvt-cotton, and assays with elevated levels of purified Hvt protein. Pollens of Bt cotton or purified Bt proteins were used as control. Results: The field experiments did not yield any meaningful data due to high rate of mortality in all treatments including the control. However, the laboratory experiments provided conclusive results in which Hvt, purified or in pollens, did not affect the survival or longevity of the bees compared to the control. During the course of study we were able to compare the quality, effectiveness and economics of different experiments. Conclusions: We conclude that Hvt either purified or produced in cotton plants do not affect the survival or longevity of honey bees. We are also of the view that starting at laboratory level assays not only gives meaningful data but also saves a lot of time and money that can be spent on other important questions regarding safety of a particular transgenic crop. Hence, a purpose-based, tiered approach could be the best choice for pre-release ERA of IR-GMCs.

77 FR 2092 - Notice of Funding Opportunity and Solicitation for Grant Application (SGA) for Reintegration of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-13

... these grants to provide pre-release and post-release services to ex-offenders returning to high-poverty...- demand industries; and provide evidence of partnerships with the criminal justice system, local One-Stop...

C3 EVAL Model Development and Test. Volume 2. Programmers Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

1985-10-01

requests for CAS (message types 2900, 3000, 3400) and has a non- 61 - ~~.t -o-5. Sd% NODE MESSAGE DEST DEST PLINK LINKI ALT1 LINK2 ALT2 . LINKP • LINKA1...LINKA2 LINKn ALTi PLINK LINKI LINK2 LINKn ALT2 PLINK LINKI LINK2 * LINKn Figure 13: PARAMETERS IN COMMUNICATIONS ALLOCATION null pointer to its...SUBROUTINE HOLDQ1 (IPASS) * MOVE PRIORITY MESSAGES FROM HOLD QUEUE TO ALTERNATE * COMMUNICATIONS LINKI SEND QUEUE * CALLS - SNAP, FIND

Reintroduction medicine: whooping cranes in Wisconsin.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Dominique L; Hartup, Barry K

2013-01-01

This paper presents veterinary management strategies and diagnostic findings in the reintroduction of the endangered whooping crane (Grus americana). Between 2005 and 2010, 63 (27 male, 36 female) hatchling whooping cranes were assigned to a reintroduction project involving autumn release of costume-reared chicks in Wisconsin. Veterinary care included preventive measures and comprehensive pre-release evaluations to improve fitness and reduce translocation of potential disease agents to native habitats. A total of 44 clinically normal birds were released (70% of assigned individuals). Cases of morbidity were classified according to primary body system affected. Musculoskeletal disorders were described in 57 birds (90%); five birds were removed from the project prior to release (8%), all for abnormalities that prevented normal function. Fourteen birds died or were euthanized prior to release (22%); pre-release mortality was attributed to developmental abnormality, predation, trauma or infectious disease. Chronic respiratory aspergillosis, diagnosed in seven birds (11%), was the most common infectious disease of concern. Predation and trauma were primary causes of post-release mortality; no evidence of infectious disease of captive origin was detected in the study population by the end of 2010. The assessment of data accumulated by this project helped to outline successful health management strategies, as well as identify and mitigate ongoing risks to captive whooping cranes that impede reintroduction efforts and achieving management goals for species recovery. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

TEMPLATE FOR 4_PAGER

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

universities and research stations, and improved pre-release ... Field tests involving 290 marginalized farmers showed that ... In these tests, .... to incorporate small millets into other public food programs, expanding use beyond this pilot test.

A randomized clinical trial of buprenorphine for prisoners: Findings at 12-months post-release.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Michael S; Kinlock, Timothy W; Schwartz, Robert P; O'Grady, Kevin E; Fitzgerald, Terrence T; Vocci, Frank J

2017-03-01

This study examined whether starting buprenorphine treatment prior to prison and after release from prison would be associated with better drug treatment outcomes and whether males and females responded differently to the combination of in-prison treatment and post-release service setting. Study design was a 2 (In-Prison Treatment: Condition: Buprenorphine Treatment: vs. Counseling Only)×2 [Post-Release Service Setting Condition: Opioid Treatment: Program (OTP) vs. Community Health Center (CHC)]×2 (Gender) factorial design. The trial was conducted between September 2008 and July 2012. Follow-up assessments were completed in 2014. Participants were recruited from two Baltimore pre-release prisons (one for men and one for women). Adult pre-release prisoners who were heroin-dependent during the year prior to incarceration were eligible. Post-release assessments were conducted at 1, 3, 6, and 12-month following prison release. Participants (N=211) in the in-prison treatment condition effect had a higher mean number of days of community buprenorphine treatment compared to the condition in which participants initiated medication after release (P=0.005). However, there were no statistically significant hypothesized effects for the in-prison treatment condition in terms of: days of heroin use and crime, and opioid and cocaine positive urine screening test results (all Ps>0.14) and no statistically significant hypothesized gender effects (all Ps>0.18). Although initiating buprenorphine treatment in prison compared to after-release was associated with more days receiving buprenorphine treatment in the designated community treatment program during the 12-months post-release assessment, it was not associated with superior outcomes in terms of heroin and cocaine use and criminal behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

76 FR 58197 - Pre-Release Community Confinement

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-20

... advance notice and comment'' under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 552, et seq.). Sacora v... as follows: ``Community confinement'' means residence in a community treatment center, halfway house... defendant to his or her place of residence continuously, except for authorized absences, enforced by...

Survival of captive-reared Hispaniolan Parrots released in Parque Nacional del Este, Dominican Republic

Science.gov (United States)

Collazo, J.A.; White, T.H.; Vilella, F.J.; Guerrero, S.A.

2003-01-01

We report first-year survival rates of 49 captive-reared Hispaniolan Parrots (Amazona ventralis) released in Parque Nacional del Este, Dominican Republic. Our goal was to learn about factors affecting postrelease survival. Specifically, we tested if survival was related to movements and whether modifying prerelease protocols influenced survival rates. We also estimated survival in the aftermath of Hurricane Georges (22 September 1998). Twenty-four parrots, fitted with radio-transmitters, were released between 14 September and 12 December 1997. Twenty-five more were released between 29 June and 16 September 1998. First-year survival rates were 30% in 1997 and 29% in 1998. Survival probability was related to bird mobility. In contrast to birds released in 1997, none of the 25 parrots released in 1998 suffered early postrelease mortality (i.e., 3-5 days after release). Two adjustments to prerelease protocols (increased exercise and reduced blood sampling) made in 1998 may have contributed to differences in mobility and survival between years. The reduction of early postrelease mortality in 1998 was encouraging, as was the prospect for higher first-year survival (e.g., 30% to 65%). Only one death was attributed to the immediate impact of the hurricane. Loss of foraging resources was likely a major contributor to ensuing mortality. Birds increased their mobility, presumably in search of food. Survival rates dropped 23% in only eight weeks posthurricane. This study underscores the value of standardized prerelease protocols, and of estimating survival and testing for factors that might influence it. Inferences from such tests will provide the best basis to make adjustments to a release program.

28 CFR 570.20 - Purpose.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

..., halfway house, restitution center, mental health facility, alcohol or drug rehabilitation center, or other... Administration BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND RELEASE COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Pre-Release Community Confinement § 570.20 Purpose. The purpose of this subpart is to provide the procedures...

Demographic Modelling in Weed Biocontrol

Science.gov (United States)

Demographic matrix modeling of plant populations can be a powerful tool to identify key life stage transitions that contribute the most to population growth of an invasive plant and hence should be targeted for disruption. Therefore, this approach has the potential to guide the pre-release selection...

32 CFR 806.27 - Samples of Air Force FOIA processing documents.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... ADMINISTRATION AIR FORCE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT PROGRAM § 806.27 Samples of Air Force FOIA processing... determination within 20 workdays, we have instituted multitrack processing of requests. Based on the information... source; responsive records were part of the Air Force's decision-making process, and the prerelease...

A novel technique for die-level post-processing of released optical MEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elsayed, Mohannad Y; Beaulieu, Philippe-Olivier; Briere, Jonathan; Ménard, Michaël; Nabki, Frederic

2016-01-01

This work presents a novel die-level post-processing technique for dies including released movable structures. The procedure was applied to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) chips that were fabricated in a commercial process, SOIMUMPs from MEMSCAP. It allows the performance of a clean DRIE etch of sidewalls on the diced chips enabling the optical testing of the pre-released MEMS mirrors through the chip edges. The etched patterns are defined by photolithography using photoresist spray coating. The photoresist thickness is tuned to create photoresist bridges over the pre-released gaps, protecting the released structures during subsequent wet processing steps. Then, the chips are subject to a sequence of wet and dry etching steps prior to dry photoresist removal in O 2 plasma. Processed micromirrors were tested and found to rotate similarly to devices without processing, demonstrating that the post-processing procedure does not affect the mechanical performance of the devices significantly. (technical note)

A randomized clinical trial of methadone maintenance for prisoners: findings at 6 months post-release.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Michael S; Kinlock, Timothy W; Schwartz, Robert P; O'Grady, Kevin E

2008-08-01

This study examined the effectiveness of methadone maintenance initiated prior to or just after release from prison at 6 months post-release. A three-group randomized controlled trial was conducted between September 2003 and June 2005. A Baltimore pre-release prison. Two hundred and eleven adult pre-release inmates who were heroin-dependent during the year prior to incarceration. Participants were assigned randomly to the following: counseling only: counseling in prison, with passive referral to treatment upon release (n = 70); counseling + transfer: counseling in prison with transfer to methadone maintenance treatment upon release (n = 70); and counseling + methadone: methadone maintenance and counseling in prison, continued in a community-based methadone maintenance program upon release (n = 71). Addiction Severity Index at study entry and follow-up. Additional assessments at 6 months post-release were treatment record review; urine drug testing for opioids, cocaine and other illicit drugs. Counseling + methadone participants were significantly more likely than both counseling only and counseling + transfer participants to be retained in drug abuse treatment (P = 0.0001) and significantly less likely to have an opioid-positive urine specimen compared to counseling only (P = 0.002). Furthermore, counseling + methadone participants reported significantly fewer days of involvement in self-reported heroin use and criminal activity than counseling only participants. Methadone maintenance, initiated prior to or immediately after release from prison, increases treatment entry and reduces heroin use at 6 months post-release compared to counseling only. This intervention may be able to fill an urgent treatment need for prisoners with heroin addiction histories.

28 CFR 570.21 - Time-frames.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Time-frames. 570.21 Section 570.21... PROGRAMS Pre-Release Community Confinement § 570.21 Time-frames. (a) Community confinement. Inmates may be... inmate's term of imprisonment or six months. (c) Exceeding time-frames. These time-frames may be exceeded...

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Methadone Maintenance for Prisoners: Prediction of Treatment Entry and Completion in Prison

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Michael S.; Kinlock, Timothy W.; Couvillion, Kathryn A.; Schwartz, Robert P.; O'Grady, Kevin

2012-01-01

The present report is an intent-to-treat analysis involving secondary data drawn from the first randomized clinical trial of prison-initiated methadone in the United States. This study examined predictors of treatment entry and completion in prison. A sample of 211 adult male prerelease inmates with preincarceration heroin dependence were randomly…

Building Adjustable Pre-storm Reservoir Flood-control Release Rules

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shun-Nien; Chang, Li-Chiu; Chang, Fi-John; Hsieh, Cheng-Daw

2017-04-01

Typhoons hit Taiwan several times every year, which could cause serious flood disasters. Because mountainous terrains and steep landforms can rapidly accelerate the speed of flood flow during typhoon events, rivers cannot be a stable source of water supply. Reservoirs become the most effective floodwater storage facilities for alleviating flood damages in Taiwan. The pre-storm flood-control release can significantly increase reservoir storage capacity available to store floodwaters for reducing downstream flood damage, while the uncertainties of total forecasted rainfalls are very high in different stages of an oncoming typhoon, which may cause the risk of water shortage in the future. This study proposes adjustable pre-storm reservoir flood-control release rules in three designed operating stages with various hydrological conditions in the Feitsui Reservoir, a pivot reservoir for water supply to Taipei metropolitan in Taiwan, not only to reduce the risk of reservoir flood control and downstream flooding but also to consider water supply. The three operating stages before an oncoming typhoon are defined upon the timings when: (1) typhoon news is issued (3-7days before typhoon hit); (2) the sea warning is issued (2-4 days before typhoon hit); and (3) the land warning is issued (1-2 days before typhoon hit). We simulate 95 historical typhoon events with 3000 initial water levels and build some pre-storm flood-control release rules to adjust the amount of pre-release based on the total forecasted rainfalls at different operating stages. A great number of simulations (68.4 millions) are conducted to extract their major consequences and then build the adjustable pre-storm reservoir flood-control release rules. Accordingly, given a total forecasted rainfall and a water level, reservoir decision makers can easily identify the corresponding rule to tell the amount of pre-release in any stage. The results show that the proposed adjustable pre-release rules can effectively

2011 Agile (Scrum) Workshop Held in Baltimore, Maryland on November 14-15, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-15

ment melded with CMMI Level 3 discipline. Her programs put the end-user in control of priorities and delivered capabilities re- sulting in a...OPS PEX Team: Internal •Devs/ SMEs /Testers •Architecture Committee •Etc. none Future implementation, not Current release Big R/Little r I n...Refine Pre-release Planning Release Planning Release Execution Post- release POT: ( SMEs and Developers) •Based on Approved Roadmap •Decomposes

What's 'Awe' The Hype? Motivations to Share Video Game Information

OpenAIRE

Blankenbeckler, Logan Bryan

2017-01-01

Over the past few decades, video games have become a popular avenue for dissemination of information and publicity about video games is word-of-mouth sharing. Thus, it is imperative for researchers to examine the social, and individual processes that guide this behavior. Focusing on prerelease sharing behavior specifically, this pair of studies aimed to identify predictors and dimensions of video game information sharing, and explore the impact content characteristics have on individuals' ...

SHARP pre-release v1.0 - Current Status and Documentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahadevan, Vijay S. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Rahaman, Ronald O. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2015-09-30

The NEAMS Reactor Product Line effort aims to develop an integrated multiphysics simulation capability for the design and analysis of future generations of nuclear power plants. The Reactor Product Line code suite’s multi-resolution hierarchy is being designed to ultimately span the full range of length and time scales present in relevant reactor design and safety analyses, as well as scale from desktop to petaflop computing platforms. In this report, building on a several previous report issued in September 2014, we describe our continued efforts to integrate thermal/hydraulics, neutronics, and structural mechanics modeling codes to perform coupled analysis of a representative fast sodium-cooled reactor core in preparation for a unified release of the toolkit. The work reported in the current document covers the software engineering aspects of managing the entire stack of components in the SHARP toolkit and the continuous integration efforts ongoing to prepare a release candidate for interested reactor analysis users. Here we report on the continued integration effort of PROTEUS/Nek5000 and Diablo into the NEAMS framework and the software processes that enable users to utilize the capabilities without losing scientific productivity. Due to the complexity of the individual modules and their necessary/optional dependency library chain, we focus on the configuration and build aspects for the SHARP toolkit, which includes capability to autodownload dependencies and configure/install with optimal flags in an architecture-aware fashion. Such complexity is untenable without strong software engineering processes such as source management, source control, change reviews, unit tests, integration tests and continuous test suites. Details on these processes are provided in the report as a building step for a SHARP user guide that will accompany the first release, expected by Mar 2016.

Root-yield performance of pre-release sweet potato genotypes in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

SARAH

2013-05-29

May 29, 2013 ... consideration all yield components which affect the total root yield. Such a focused approach with well- defined selection objectives ensures positive progress early in the breeding program. Interrelationships among yield components have been investigated by Grüneberg et al. (2005) in. Peru and Çalişkan ...

Post-release monitoring of Antillean manatees: an assessment of the Brazilian rehabilitation and release programme

Science.gov (United States)

Normande, Iran C.; Malhado, Ana C. M.; Reid, James P.; Viana Junior, P.C.; Savaget, P. V. S.; Correia, R. A.; Luna, F. O.; R. J. Ladle,

2016-01-01

Mammalian reintroduction programmes frequently aim to reconnect isolated sub-populations and restore population viability. However, these long-term objectives are rarely evaluated due to the inadequacy of post-release monitoring. Here, we report the results of a unique long term telemetry-based monitoring programme for rehabilitated Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) reintroduced into selected sites in northeast Brazil with the aim of reconnecting isolated relict populations. Twenty-one satellite-tagged rehabilitated manatees, 13 males and 8 females, were released into the wild from two sites between November 2008 and June 2013. Individual accumulation curves were plotted and home ranges were calculated through the fixed kernel method using 95% of the utilization distribution. The number and size of the Centres of Activity (COAs) were calculated using 50% of the utilization distribution. Manatees displayed a dichotomous pattern of movement, with individuals either characterized by sedentary habits or by much more extensive movements. Moreover, home range size was not significantly influenced by gender, age at release or release site. COAs were strongly associated with sheltered conditions within reefs and estuaries, and also by the presence of freshwater and feeding sites. Our data confirm that manatee reintroductions in Brazil have the potential to reconnect distant sub-populations. However, pre-release identification of potential long-distance migrants is currently unfeasible, and further analysis would be required to confirm genetic mixing of distant sub-populations.

Rationale, study design and sample characteristics of a randomized controlled trial of directly administered antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected prisoners transitioning to the community - a potential conduit to improved HIV treatment outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Saber-Tehrani, Ali Shabahang; Springer, Sandra A; Qiu, Jingjun; Herme, Maua; Wickersham, Jeffrey; Altice, Frederick L

2012-03-01

HIV-infected prisoners experience poor HIV treatment outcomes post-release. Directly administered antiretroviral therapy (DAART) is a CDC-designated, evidence-based adherence intervention for drug users, yet untested among released prisoners. Sentenced HIV-infected prisoners on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and returning to New Haven or Hartford, Connecticut were recruited and randomized 2:1 to a prospective controlled trial (RCT) of 6 months of DAART versus self-administered therapy (SAT); all subjects received case management services. Subjects meeting DSM-IV criteria for opioid dependence were offered immediate medication-assisted treatment. Trained outreach workers provided DAART once-daily, seven days per week, including behavioral skills training during the last intervention month. Both study groups were assessed for 6 months after the intervention period. Assessments occurred within 90 days pre-release (baseline), day of release, and then monthly for 12 months. Viral load (VL) and CD4 testing was conducted baseline and quarterly; genotypic resistance testing was conducted at baseline, 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome was pre-defined as viral suppression (VLHIV treatment outcomes after release from prison, a period associated with adverse HIV and other medical consequences. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Estimating quality adjusted progression free survival of first-line treatments for EGFR mutation positive non small cell lung cancer patients in The Netherlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verduyn S

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Gefitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is an effective treatment in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC patients with an activating mutation in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR. Randomised clinical trials showed a benefit in progression free survival for gefitinib versus doublet chemotherapy regimens in patients with an activated EGFR mutation (EGFR M+. From a patient perspective, progression free survival is important, but so is health-related quality of life. Therefore, this analysis evaluates the Quality Adjusted progression free survival of gefitinib versus three relevant doublet chemotherapies (gemcitabine/cisplatin (Gem/Cis; pemetrexed/cisplatin (Pem/Cis; paclitaxel/carboplatin (Pac/Carb in a Dutch health care setting in patients with EGFR M+ stage IIIB/IV NSCLC. This study uses progression free survival rather than overall survival for its time frame in order to better compare the treatments and to account for the influence that subsequent treatment lines would have on overall survival analysis. Methods Mean progression free survival for Pac/Carb was obtained by extrapolating the median progression free survival as reported in the Iressa-Pan-Asia Study (IPASS. Data from a network meta-analysis was used to estimate the mean progression free survival for therapies of interest relative to Pac/Carb. Adjustment for health-related quality of life was done by incorporating utilities for the Dutch population, obtained by converting FACT-L data (from IPASS to utility values and multiplying these with the mean progression free survival for each treatment arm to determine the Quality Adjusted progression free survival. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine 95% credibility intervals. Results The Quality Adjusted progression free survival (PFS (mean, (95% credibility interval was 5.2 months (4.5; 5.8 for Gem/Cis, 5.3 months (4.6; 6.1 for Pem/Cis; 4.9 months (4.4; 5.5 for Pac/Carb and 8

Succession of microbial functional communities in response to a pilot-scale ethanol-blended fuel release throughout the plume life cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Jie; Deng, Ye; Yuan, Tong; Zhou, Jizhong; Alvarez, Pedro J.J.

2015-01-01

GeoChip, a comprehensive gene microarray, was used to examine changes in microbial functional gene structure throughout the 4-year life cycle of a pilot-scale ethanol blend plume, including 2-year continuous released followed by plume disappearance after source removal. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and Mantel tests showed that dissolved O 2 (which was depleted within 5 days of initiating the release and rebounded 194 days after source removal) was the most influential environmental factor on community structure. Initially, the abundance of anaerobic BTEX degradation genes increased significantly while that of aerobic BTEX degradation genes decreased. Gene abundance for N fixation, nitrification, P utilization, sulfate reduction and S oxidation also increased, potentially changing associated biogeochemical cycle dynamics. After plume disappearance, most genes returned to pre-release abundance levels, but the final functional structure significantly differed from pre-release conditions. Overall, observed successions of functional structure reflected adaptive responses that were conducive to biodegradation of ethanol-blend releases. - Highlights: • GeoChip discerned microbial functional changes through an ethanol blend plume. • The release increased gene abundance for anaerobic BTEX degradation. • The release changed key biogeochemical (N, P, C, and S) cycling gene abundance. • The functional structure did not recover 4 months after the plume attenuated. • Dissolved O 2 was the most influential factor shaping community structure. - Geochip analysis discerned adaptive shifts in microbial functional structure and controlling environmental factors throughout a 4-year life cycle of a pilot-scale ethanol blend plume

Boldness towards novelty and translocation success in captive-raised, orphaned Tasmanian devils.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinn, David L; Cawthen, Lisa; Jones, Susan M; Pukk, Chrissy; Jones, Menna E

2014-01-01

Translocation of endangered animals is common, but success is often variable and/or poor. Despite its intuitive appeal, little is known with regards to how individual differences amongst translocated animals influence their post-release survival, growth, and reproduction. We measured consistent pre-release responses to novelty in a familiar environment (boldness; repeatability=0.55) and cortisol response in a group of captive-reared Tasmanian devils, currently listed as "Endangered" by the IUCN. The devils were then released at either a hard- or soft-release site within their mothers' population of origin, and individual growth, movement, reproduction (females only), and survival across 2-8 months post-release was measured. Sex, release method, cohort, behavior, and cortisol response did not affect post-release growth, nor did these factors influence the home range size of orphan devils. Final linear distances moved from the release site were impacted heavily by the release cohort, but translocated devils' movement overall was not different from that in the same-age wild devils. All orphan females of reproductive age were subsequently captured with offspring. Overall survival rates in translocated devils were moderate (∼42%), and were not affected by devil sex, release method, cohort, release weight, or pre-release cortisol response. Devils that survived during the study period were, however, 3.5 times more bold than those that did not (effect size r=0.76). Our results suggest that conservation managers may need to provide developmental conditions in captivity that promote a wide range of behaviors across individuals slated for wild release. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Potential of adaptive clinical trial designs in pharmacogenetic research, A simulation based on the IPASS trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Der Baan, Frederieke H.; Knol, Mirjam J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304820350; Klungel, Olaf H.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/181447649; Egberts, Toine C.G.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/162850050; Grobbee, Diederick E.; Roes, Kit C.B.

2011-01-01

Background: An adaptive clinical trial design that allows population enrichment after interim analysis can be advantageous in pharmacogenetic research if previous evidence is not strong enough to exclude part of the patient population beforehand.With this design, underpowered studies or unnecessary

HITCal: a software tool for analysis of video head impulse test responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Rey-Martinez, Jorge; Batuecas-Caletrio, Angel; Matiño, Eusebi; Perez Fernandez, Nicolás

2015-09-01

The developed software (HITCal) may be a useful tool in the analysis and measurement of the saccadic video head impulse test (vHIT) responses and with the experience obtained during its use the authors suggest that HITCal is an excellent method for enhanced exploration of vHIT outputs. To develop a (software) method to analyze and explore the vHIT responses, mainly saccades. HITCal was written using a computational development program; the function to access a vHIT file was programmed; extended head impulse exploration and measurement tools were created and an automated saccade analysis was developed using an experimental algorithm. For pre-release HITCal laboratory tests, a database of head impulse tests (HITs) was created with the data collected retrospectively in three reference centers. This HITs database was evaluated by humans and was also computed with HITCal. The authors have successfully built HITCal and it has been released as open source software; the developed software was fully operative and all the proposed characteristics were incorporated in the released version. The automated saccades algorithm implemented in HITCal has good concordance with the assessment by human observers (Cohen's kappa coefficient = 0.7).

Effects of Peracetic Acid on the Corrosion Resistance of Commercially Pure Titanium (grade 4).

Science.gov (United States)

Raimundo, Lariça B; Orsi, Iara A; Kuri, Sebastião E; Rovere, Carlos Alberto D; Busquim, Thaís P; Borie, Eduardo

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the corrosion resistance of pure titanium grade 4 (cp-Ti-4), subjected to disinfection with 0.2% and 2% peracetic acid during different immersion periods using anodic potentiodynamic polarization test in acid and neutral artificial saliva. Cylindrical samples of cp-Ti-4 (5 mm x 5 mm) were used to fabricate 24 working electrodes, which were mechanically polished and divided into eight groups (n=3) for disinfection in 2% and 0.2% peracetic acid for 30 and 120 min. After disinfection, anodic polarization was performed in artificial saliva with pH 4.8 and 6.8 to assess the electrochemical behavior of the electrodes. A conventional electrochemical cell, constituting a reference electrode, a platinum counter electrode, and the working electrode (cp-Ti specimens) were used with a scanning rate of 1 mV/s. Three curves were obtained for each working electrode, and corrosion was characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS). Data of corrosion potential (Ecorr) and passive current (Ipass) obtained by the polarization curves were analyzed statistically by Student's t-test (a=0.05). The statistical analysis showed no significant differences (p>0.05) between artificial saliva types at different concentrations and periods of disinfection, as well as between control and experimental groups. No surface changes were observed in all groups evaluated. In conclusion, disinfection with 0.2% and 2% peracetic acid concentrations did not cause corrosion in samples manufactured with cp-Ti-4.

Polymer-coated albumin microspheres as carriers for intravascular tumour targeting of cisplatin.

Science.gov (United States)

Verrijk, R; Smolders, I J; McVie, J G; Begg, A C

1991-01-01

We used a poly-lactide-co-glycolide polymer (PLAGA 50:50) to formulate cisplatin (cDDP) into microspheres designed for intravascular administration. Two systems were developed. PLAGA-coated albumin microspheres and microspheres consisting of PLAGA only. PLAGA-coated microspheres displayed a mean diameter of 31.8 +/- 0.9 microns and a payload of 7.5% cDDP (w/w). Solid PLAGA microspheres exhibited a mean diameter of 19.4 +/- 0.6 microns and a payload of 20% cDDP. Release characteristics and in vitro effects on L1210 leukemia and B16 melanoma cell lines were investigated. Both types of microsphere overcame the initial rapid release of cDDP (burst effect), and PLAGA-coated albumin microspheres also showed a lag phase of approximately 30 min before cDDP release began. PLAGA-coated albumin microspheres released most of their payload through diffusion, and the coating eventually cracked after 7 days' incubation in saline supplemented with 0.1% Tween at 37 degrees C, enabling the release of any cDDP remaining. Effects of platinum, pre-released from PLAGA-coated albumin microspheres on the in vitro growth of L1210 cells were comparable with those of standard formulations (dissolved) of cDDP. Material released from non-drug-loaded PLAGA microspheres had no effect on L1210 cell growth, suggesting the absence of cytotoxic compounds in the matrix. The colony-forming ability of B16 cells was also equally inhibited by standard cDDP and pre-released drug. These studies show that formulation of cDDP in PLAGA-based microspheres prevents the rapid burst effect of cDDP seen in previous preparations and offers an improved system of administration for hepatic artery infusion or adjuvant therapy, enabling better clinical handling and the promise of a higher ratio of tumour tissue to normal tissue.

Status of the JEFF Nuclear Data Library

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koning, A.J.; Bersillon, O.; Forrest, R. A.; Jacqmin, R.; Kellett, M.A.; Nouri, A.; Rullhusen, P.

2005-01-01

The status of the Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion file (JEFF) is described. The next version of the library, JEFF-3.1, comprises a significant update of actinide evaluations, evaluations emerging from European nuclear data projects, the activation library JEFF-3/A, the decay data and fission yield library, and fusion-related data files from the EFF project. The revisions were motivated by the availability of new measurements, modelling capabilities, or trends from integral experiments. Various pre-release validation efforts are underway, mainly for criticality and shielding of thermal and fast systems. This JEFF-3.1 library is expected to provide improved performances with respect to previous releases for a variety of scientific and industrial applications

Status of the JEFF nuclear data library

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koning, A.J.; Duijvestijn, M.C.; Bersillon, O.; Forrest, R.A.; Jacqmin, R.; Kellett, M.A.; Nouri, A.; Rullhusen, P.

2005-03-01

The status of the Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion file (JEFF) is described. The next version of the library, JEFF-3.1, comprises a significant update of actinide evaluations, evaluations emerging from European nuclear data projects, the activation library JEFF-3/A, the decay data and fission yield library, and fusion-related data files from the EFF project. The revisions were motivated by the availability of new measurements, modelling capabilities, or trends from integral experiments. Various pre-release validation efforts are underway, mainly for criticality and shielding of thermal and fast systems. This JEFF-3.1 library is expected to provide improved performances with respect to previous releases for a variety of scientific and industrial applications

Metabolome Comparison of Transgenic and Non-transgenic Rice by Statistical Analysis of FTIR and NMR Spectra

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keykhosrow Keymanesh

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Modern biotechnology, based on recombinant DNA techniques, has made it possible to introduce new traits with great potential for crop improvement. However, concerns about unintended effects of gene transformation that possibly threaten environment or consumer health have persuaded scientists to set up pre-release tests on genetically modified organisms. Assessment of ‘substantial equivalence’ concept that established by comparison of genetically modified organism with a comparator with a history of safe use could be the first step of a comprehensive risk assessment. Metabolite level is the richest in performance of changes which stem from genetic or environmental factors. Since assessment of all metabolites in detail is very costly and practically impossible, statistical evaluation of processed data of grain spectroscopic values could be a time and cost effective substitution for complex chemical analysis. To investigate the ability of multivariate statistical techniques in comparison of metabolomes as well as testing a method for such comparisons with available tools, a transgenic rice in combination with its traditionally bred parent were used as test material, and the discriminant analysis were applied as supervised method and principal component analysis as unsupervised classification method on the processed data which were extracted from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectral data of powdered rice and rice extraction and barley grain samples, of which the latter was considered as control. The results confirmed the capability of statistics, even with initial data processing applications in metabolome studies. Meanwhile, this study confirms that the supervised method results in more distinctive results.

SU-E-T-133: Assessing IMRT Treatment Delivery Accuracy and Consistency On a Varian TrueBeam Using the SunNuclear PerFraction EPID Dosimetry Software

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dieterich, S [UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA (United States); Trestrail, E; Holt, R [Pacific Crest Medical Physics, Chico, CA (United States); Saini, S [Sun Nuclear Corporation, Melbourne, FL (Australia); Pfeiffer, I [VMTH, UC Davis, Davis, CA (United States); Kent, M; Hansen, K [Surgical and Radiological Sciences, UC Davis, Davis, CA (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: To assess if the TrueBeam HD120 collimator is delivering small IMRT fields accurately and consistently throughout the course of treatment using the SunNuclear PerFraction software. Methods: 7-field IMRT plans for 8 canine patients who passed IMRT QA using SunNuclear Mapcheck DQA were selected for this study. The animals were setup using CBCT image guidance. The EPID fluence maps were captured for each treatment field and each treatment fraction, with the first fraction EPID data serving as the baseline for comparison. The Sun Nuclear PerFraction Software was used to compare the EPID data for subsequent fractions using a Gamma (3%/3mm) pass rate of 90%. To simulate requirements for SRS, the data was reanalyzed using a Gamma (3%/1mm) pass rate of 90%. Low-dose, low- and high gradient thresholds were used to focus the analysis on clinically relevant parts of the dose distribution. Results: Not all fractions could be analyzed, because during some of the treatment courses the DICOM tags in the EPID images intermittently change from CU to US (unspecified), which would indicate a temporary loss of EPID calibration. This technical issue is still being investigated. For the remaining fractions, the vast majority (7/8 of patients, 95% of fractions, and 96.6% of fields) are passing the less stringent Gamma criteria. The more stringent Gamma criteria caused a drop in pass rate (90 % of fractions, 84% of fields). For the patient with the lowest pass rate, wet towel bolus was used. Another patient with low pass rates experienced masseter muscle wasting. Conclusion: EPID dosimetry using the PerFraction software demonstrated that the majority of fields passed a Gamma (3%/3mm) for IMRT treatments delivered with a TrueBeam HD120 MLC. Pass rates dropped for a DTA of 1mm to model SRS tolerances. PerFraction pass rates can flag missing bolus or internal shields. Sanjeev Saini is an employee of Sun Nuclear Corporation. For this study, a pre-release version of PerFRACTION 1

Author Self-disclosure Compared with Pharmaceutical Company Reporting of Physician Payments.

Science.gov (United States)

Alhamoud, Hani A; Dudum, Ramzi; Young, Heather A; Choi, Brian G

2016-01-01

Industry manufacturers are required by the Sunshine Act to disclose payments to physicians. These data recently became publicly available, but some manufacturers prereleased their data since 2009. We tested the hypotheses that there would be discrepancies between manufacturers' and physicians' disclosures. The financial disclosures by authors of all 39 American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association guidelines between 2009 and 2012 were matched to the public disclosures of 15 pharmaceutical companies during that same period. Duplicate authors across guidelines were assessed independently. Per the guidelines, payments disclosure was poor (κ = 0.238). There was a significant difference in error rates of disclosure among companies and authors (P = .019). Of disclosures by authors, companies failed to match them with an error rate of 71.6%. Of disclosures by companies, authors failed to match them with an error rate of 54.7%. Our analysis shows a concerning level of disagreement between guideline authors' and pharmaceutical companies' disclosures. Without ability for physicians to challenge reports, it is unclear whether these discrepancies reflect undisclosed relationships with industry or errors in reporting, and caution should be advised in interpretation of data from the Sunshine Act. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rapid dispersal of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) biocontrol beetles (Diorhabda carinulata) on a desert river detected by phenocams, MODIS imagery and ground observations

Science.gov (United States)

Nagler, Pamela L.; Pearlstein, Susanna; Glenn, Edward P.; Brown, Tim B.; Bateman, Heather L.; Bean, Dan W.; Hultine, Kevin R.

2013-01-01

We measured the rate of dispersal of saltcedar leaf beetles (Diorhabda carinulata), a defoliating insect released on western rivers to control saltcedar shrubs (Tamarix spp.), on a 63 km reach of the Virgin River, U.S. Dispersal was measured by satellite imagery, ground surveys and phenocams. Pixels from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) sensors on the Terra satellite showed a sharp drop in NDVI in midsummer followed by recovery, correlated with defoliation events as revealed in networked digital camera images and ground surveys. Ground surveys and MODIS imagery showed that beetle damage progressed downstream at a rate of about 25 km yr−1 in 2010 and 2011, producing a 50% reduction in saltcedar leaf area index and evapotranspiration by 2012, as estimated by algorithms based on MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index values and local meteorological data for Mesquite, Nevada. This reduction is the equivalent of 10.4% of mean annual river flows on this river reach. Our results confirm other observations that saltcedar beetles are dispersing much faster than originally predicted in pre-release biological assessments, presenting new challenges and opportunities for land, water and wildlife managers on western rivers. Despite relatively coarse resolution (250 m) and gridding artifacts, single MODIS pixels can be useful in tracking the effects of defoliating insects in riparian corridors.

Examining Masculine Norms and Peer Support within a Sample of Incarcerated African American Males.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Derrick M; Hawes, Samuel W; Perez-Cabello, M Arturo; Brabham-Hollis, Tamika; Lanza, A Stephen; Dyson, William J

2013-01-01

The adherence to masculine norms has been suggested to be influenced by social settings and context. Prisons have been described as a context where survival is dependent on adhering to strict masculine norms that may undermine reintegration back into the larger society. This study attempted to examine the relationship between masculine norms, peer support, and an individual's length of incarceration on a sample of 139 African American men taking part in a pre-release community re-entry program. Results indicate that peer support was associated with length of incarceration and the interaction between the endorsement of masculine norms and peer support significantly predicted the length of incarceration for African American men in this sample. Implications for incarcerated African American men and future research directions are discussed.

System Enhancements for Mechanical Inspection Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, Myers IV

2011-01-01

Quality inspection of parts is a major component to any project that requires hardware implementation. Keeping track of all of the inspection jobs is essential to having a smooth running process. By using HTML, the programming language ColdFusion, and the MySQL database, I created a web-based job management system for the 170 Mechanical Inspection Group that will replace the Microsoft Access based management system. This will improve the ways inspectors and the people awaiting inspection view and keep track of hardware as it is in the inspection process. In the end, the management system should be able to insert jobs into a queue, place jobs in and out of a bonded state, pre-release bonded jobs, and close out inspection jobs.

Movie Popularity Classification based on Inherent Movie Attributes using C4.5, PART and Correlation Coefficient

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ibnal Asad, Khalid; Ahmed, Tanvir; Rahman, Md. Saiedur

2012-01-01

Abundance of movie data across the internet makes it an obvious candidate for machine learning and knowledge discovery. But most researches are directed towards bi-polar classification of movie or generation of a movie recommendation system based on reviews given by viewers on various internet...... sites. Classification of movie popularity based solely on attributes of a movie i.e. actor, actress, director rating, language, country and budget etc. has been less highlighted due to large number of attributes that are associated with each movie and their differences in dimensions. In this paper, we...... propose classification scheme of pre-release movie popularity based on inherent attributes using C4.S and PART classifier algorithm and define the relation between attributes of post release movies using correlation coefficient....

Cerec omnicam and the virtual articulator--a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Fritzsche, G

2013-01-01

This case report demonstrates how two opposing teeth were restored with full crowns using Cerec software version 4.2 (pre-release version). In addition, an anterior tooth was provided with a veneer. The situation was scanned with the Cerec Omnicam. The new virtual articulator was used for the design to obtain correct dynamic contacts. The Cerec Omnicam can scan the entire situation prior to preparation without the help of an assistant, as no surface pretreatment is necessary. The locations of the occlusal contacts can be marked with articulating paper and are indicated on the virtual models. Selective deletion of individual areas allows the prepared teeth to be rescanned, considerably speeding up the workflow. A video demonstration is available of the acquisition and design procedure.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of EGFR mutation testing in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with gefitinib or carboplatin-paclitaxel.

Science.gov (United States)

Arrieta, Oscar; Anaya, Pablo; Morales-Oyarvide, Vicente; Ramírez-Tirado, Laura Alejandra; Polanco, Ana C

2016-09-01

Assess the cost-effectiveness of an EGFR-mutation testing strategy for advanced NSCLC in first-line therapy with either gefitinib or carboplatin-paclitaxel in Mexican institutions. Cost-effectiveness analysis using a discrete event simulation (DES) model to simulate two therapeutic strategies in patients with advanced NSCLC. Strategy one included patients tested for EGFR-mutation and therapy given accordingly. Strategy two included chemotherapy for all patients without testing. All results are presented in 2014 US dollars. The analysis was made with data from the Mexican frequency of EGFR-mutation. A univariate sensitivity analysis was conducted on EGFR prevalence. Progression-free survival (PFS) transition probabilities were estimated on data from the IPASS and simulated with a Weibull distribution, run with parallel trials to calculate a probabilistic sensitivity analysis. PFS of patients in the testing strategy was 6.76 months (95 % CI 6.10-7.44) vs 5.85 months (95 % CI 5.43-6.29) in the non-testing group. The one-way sensitivity analysis showed that PFS has a direct relationship with EGFR-mutation prevalence, while the ICER and testing cost have an inverse relationship with EGFR-mutation prevalence. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that all iterations had incremental costs and incremental PFS for strategy 1 in comparison with strategy 2. There is a direct relationship between the ICER and the cost of EGFR testing, with an inverse relationship with the prevalence of EGFR-mutation. When prevalence is >10 % ICER remains constant. This study could impact Mexican and Latin American health policies regarding mutation detection testing and treatment for advanced NSCLC.

Flipped script for gefitinib: A reapproved tyrosine kinase inhibitor for first-line treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor mutation positive metastatic nonsmall cell lung cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogdanowicz, Brian S; Hoch, Matthew A; Hartranft, Megan E

2017-04-01

Purpose The approval history, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical trials, efficacy, dosing recommendations, drug interactions, safety, place in therapy, and economic considerations of gefitinib are reviewed. Summary Lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and is the leading cause of cancer death. Platinum-based chemotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as erlotinib and afatinib, are recommended therapies for nonsmall cell lung cancer. The European Medicines Association based their approval of gefitinib on the randomized, multicenter Iressa Pan-Asia Study (IPASS, NCT00322452) and a single-arm study showing effectiveness in Caucasians (IFUM, NCT01203917). Both studies were recently referenced by the United States Food & Drug Administration to reapprove gefitinib for the first-line treatment of advanced nonsmall cell lung cancer with epidermal growth factor receptor exon 19 deletions or exon 21 substitution. Diarrhea, acneiform rash, and interstitial lung disease are known side effects of gefitinib. Conclusion Use of gefitinib for the first-line therapy of metastatic nonsmall cell lung cancer with epidermal growth factor receptor exon 19 deletions (residues 747-750) or exon 21 substitution mutation (L858R) is well-documented and supported.

Enhanced Monte-Carlo-Linked Depletion Capabilities in MCNPX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fensin, Michael L.; Hendricks, John S.; Anghaie, Samim

2006-01-01

As advanced reactor concepts challenge the accuracy of current modeling technologies, a higher-fidelity depletion calculation is necessary to model time-dependent core reactivity properly for accurate cycle length and safety margin determinations. The recent integration of CINDER90 into the MCNPX Monte Carlo radiation transport code provides a completely self-contained Monte-Carlo-linked depletion capability. Two advances have been made in the latest MCNPX capability based on problems observed in pre-released versions: continuous energy collision density tracking and proper fission yield selection. Pre-released versions of the MCNPX depletion code calculated the reaction rates for (n,2n), (n,3n), (n,p), (n,a), and (n,?) by matching the MCNPX steady-state 63-group flux with 63-group cross sections inherent in the CINDER90 library and then collapsing to one-group collision densities for the depletion calculation. This procedure led to inaccuracies due to the miscalculation of the reaction rates resulting from the collapsed multi-group approach. The current version of MCNPX eliminates this problem by using collapsed one-group collision densities generated from continuous energy reaction rates determined during the MCNPX steady-state calculation. MCNPX also now explicitly determines the proper fission yield to be used by the CINDER90 code for the depletion calculation. The CINDER90 code offers a thermal, fast, and high-energy fission yield for each fissile isotope contained in the CINDER90 data file. MCNPX determines which fission yield to use for a specified problem by calculating the integral fission rate for the defined energy boundaries (thermal, fast, and high energy), determining which energy range contains the majority of fissions, and then selecting the appropriate fission yield for the energy range containing the majority of fissions. The MCNPX depletion capability enables complete, relatively easy-to-use depletion calculations in a single Monte Carlo code

Effects of release procedures on the primary stress response and post-release survival and growth of hatchery-reared spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus.

Science.gov (United States)

Guest, T W; Rakocinski, C F; Evans, A N; Blaylock, R B

2017-03-01

To help explain the apparent poor post-release success of hatchery-reared (HR) spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus, this study examined the effects of handling, transport and release procedures on the stress response of two age classes [48 and 80 day post-hatch (dph)] of HR C. nebulosus, as measured by cortisol concentrations and the post-release survival and growth of 48 and 80 dph HR C. nebulosus. As a proxy for stress, tissue cortisol was measured at various times during the handling, tagging (80 dph), transport, acclimation and release process. To consider the implications of the pre-release stressors, growth and survival were monitored in separate field experiments for each age class of acclimated post-transport C. nebulosus using control C. nebulosus that only experienced anaesthesia, transport, acclimation and a net release v. experimental C. nebulosus that underwent the entire routine procedure, including anaesthesia, tagging, transport, acclimation and gravity release through a pipe. For 48 dph C. nebulosus, mean cortisol varied significantly throughout handling and transport, increasing more than six-fold from controls before decreasing in mean concentration just prior to release. For 80 dph C. nebulosus, cortisol varied throughout handling, tagging and transport, first increasing more than three-fold compared with control C. nebulosus, before decreasing and rising slightly just prior to release. For 48 dph C. nebulosus within field enclosures, survival was high and similar for control and experimental groups; experimental C. nebulosus, however, were shorter, lighter and lower in condition than control C. nebulosus. For 80 dph C. nebulosus within field enclosures, fewer experimental C. nebulosus survived and those that did survive were of lower condition than C. nebulosus from the control group. Small untagged C. nebulosus may survive the release procedure better than larger C. nebulosus carrying a coded-wire tag. These findings document

Status of neutron dosimetry cross sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griffin, P.J.; Kelly, J.G.

1992-01-01

Several new cross section libraries, such as ENDF/B-VI(release 2), IRDF-90,JEF-2.2, and JENDL-3 Dosimetry, have recently been made available to the dosimetry community. the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Radiation Metrology Laboratory (RML) has worked with these libraries since pre-release versions were available. this paper summarizes the results of the intercomparison and testing of dosimetry cross sections. As a result of this analysis, a compendium of the best dosimetry cross sections was assembled from the available libraries for use within the SNL RML. this library, referred to as the SNLRML Library, contains 66 general dosimetry sensors and 3 special dosimeters unique to the RML sensor inventory. The SNLRML cross sections have been put into a format compatible with commonly used spectrum determination codes

Use of Nuclear Techniques in Biological Control: Managing Pests, Facilitating Trade and Protecting the Environment. Report of a Consultants Group Meeting. Working Material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

High-priority opportunities are proposed for use of nuclear techniques to effect improved production and shipping of augmentative biological control agents. Proposed subprojects include use of ionizing radiation to improve the production of insect natural enemies on natural hosts/prey or on artificial diets. Other subprojects pertain to improving the ability to move beneficial organisms in international trade, and in using them in the field. Additional high priority activities were identified proposing use of nuclear techniques to produce sterile and/or substerile F-1 weed biological control agents to help evaluate potential impact on non-target species in the pre-release phase, integration of augmentative releases and F-1 sterility in IPM and area-wide pest management programmes, and utilization of by-products from SIT mass-rearing facilities in augmentative biological control programmes. (author)

Validation of SWAT+ at field level and comparison with previous SWAT models in simulating hydrologic quantity

Science.gov (United States)

GAO, J.; White, M. J.; Bieger, K.; Yen, H.; Arnold, J. G.

2017-12-01

Over the past 20 years, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has been adopted by many researches to assess water quantity and quality in watersheds around the world. As the demand increases in facilitating model support, maintenance, and future development, the SWAT source code and data have undergone major modifications over the past few years. To make the model more flexible in terms of interactions of spatial units and processes occurring in watersheds, a completely revised version of SWAT (SWAT+) was developed to improve SWAT's ability in water resource modelling and management. There are only several applications of SWAT+ in large watersheds, however, no study pays attention to validate the new model at field level and assess its performance. To test the basic hydrologic function of SWAT+, it was implemented in five field cases across five states in the U.S. and compared the SWAT+ created results with that from the previous models at the same fields. Additionally, an automatic calibration tool was used to test which model is easier to be calibrated well in a limited number of parameter adjustments. The goal of the study was to evaluate the performance of SWAT+ in simulating stream flow on field level at different geographical locations. The results demonstrate that SWAT+ demonstrated similar performance with previous SWAT model, but the flexibility offered by SWAT+ via the connection of different spatial objects can result in a more accurate simulation of hydrological processes in spatial, especially for watershed with artificial facilities. Autocalibration shows that SWAT+ is much easier to obtain a satisfied result compared with the previous SWAT. Although many capabilities have already been enhanced in SWAT+, there exist inaccuracies in simulation. This insufficiency will be improved with advancements in scientific knowledge on hydrologic process in specific watersheds. Currently, SWAT+ is prerelease, and any errors are being addressed.

The continental free trade area

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandrey, Ron; Jensen, Hans Grinsted

The Trade Law Centre (tralac) has recently capitalised upon the prerelease Version 9.2 of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) database and the recent excellent data sets from the World Bank and other publishing quality data on trade barriers across the African continent. It undertook a series...... of simulations examining regional integration and intra-African trade barrier reductions. The results for tariff elimination on intra-African trade are promising. But the real news is in confirming that these barriers are not as significant as the various trade-related barriers except for tariffs. Especially...... impressive results were forecast by simulating a modest 20% reduction in the costs associated with the particular African problem of transit time delays at customs, terminals and internal land transportation. These gains are significantly above both just intraAfrican tariff elimination and what may...

African agricultural trade

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Hans Grinsted; Sandrey, Ron

2015-01-01

This article starts with a profile of African agricultural trade. Using the pre-release version 9.2 of the GTAP database, we then show that the results for tariff elimination on intra-African trade are promising, but these tariff barriers are not as significant as the various trade-related barriers...... outside of tariffs. Impressive results were forecast by simulating both a 50% reduction in what can be considered traditional non-tariff barriers and a modest 20% reduction in the costs associated with transit time delays at customs, terminals and internal land transportation. Gains from tariff...... elimination, non-tariff barrier reductions and time in transit cost reductions are likely to be cumulative and would generate very large gains to Africa. The policy implications are clear: while cooperation will enhance the gains, much of the benefits will result from unilateral actions and regional...

EURANOS. Generic handbook for assisting in the management of contaminated food production systems in Europe following a radiological emergency

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nisbet, A.F.; Howard, B.J.; Jones, A.

production sectors and others who may be affected. The handbook is a living document that requires updating from time to time to remain state-of-the-art and customisation of the generic handbook is an essential part of its use within individual countries. The handbook includes management options......The handbook for food production systems has been developed as a result of a series of UK and European initiatives involving a wide range of stakeholders. It is aimed at national and local authorities, central government departments and agencies, radiation protection experts, agriculture and food...... for application in the pre-release, emergency and longer term phases of an incident. Sources of contamination considered in the handbook are nuclear accidents, radiological dispersion devices and satellite accidents. Agricultural and domestic food production systems are considered, including the gathering of free...

Pre-release efficacy assessment of the leaf-mining moth Digitivalva delaireae (Lepidoptera: Glyphipterigidae), a potential biological control agent for Cape-ivy, Delairea odorata (Asteraceae), in western North America

Science.gov (United States)

The leaf-mining moth Digitivalva delaireae Gaedike & Kruger (Lepidoptera: Glyphipterigidae) is a potential biological control agent for the invasive vine Cape-ivy, Delairea odorata Lemaire (Asteraceae), in western North America, where two morphological varieties (stipulate and exstipulate) of Cape-i...

Comparison of one-dimensional and point kinetics for various light water reactor transients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naser, J.A.; Lin, C.; Gose, G.C.; McClure, J.A.; Matsui, Y.

1985-01-01

The object of this paper is to compare the results from the three kinetics options: 1) point kinetics; 2) point kinetics by not changing the shape function; and 3) one-dimensional kinetics for various transients on both BWRs and PWRs. A systematic evaluation of the one-dimensional kinetics calculation and its alternatives is performed to determine the status of these models and to identify additional development work. In addition, for PWRs, the NODEP-2 - NODETRAN and SIMULATE - SIMTRAN paths for calculating kinetics parameters are compared. This type of comparison has not been performed before and is needed to properly evaluate the RASP methodology of which these codes are a part. It should be noted that RASP is in its early pre-release stage and this is the first serious attempt to examine the consistency between these two similar but different methods of generating physics parameters for the RETRAN computer code

Operational intervention levels and related requirements on radiation monitoring during pre-release / release phase of an accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carny, P.; Cabanekova, H

2003-01-01

In this paper authors discusses required outputs of emergency radiological monitoring in various phases of an accident and rationale of these requirements. In various phases of an accident various intervention levels are important and consequently various radiological quantities should be preferably measured. Distinguished tasks or aims of monitoring in different phases of accident have strong influence on methods of monitoring, instrumentation and capabilities of monitoring groups. Required tasks and outputs of monitoring are discussed

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Methadone Maintenance for Prisoners: Prediction of Treatment Entry and Completion in Prison.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Michael S; Kinlock, Timothy W; Couvillion, Kathryn A; Schwartz, Robert P; O'Grady, Kevin

2012-05-01

The present report is an intent-to-treat analysis involving secondary data drawn from the first randomized clinical trial of prison-initiated methadone in the United States. This study examined predictors of treatment entry and completion in prison. A sample of 211 adult male prerelease inmates with preincarceration heroin dependence were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: counseling only (counseling in prison; n= 70); counseling plus transfer (counseling in prison with transfer to methadone maintenance treatment upon release; n= 70); and counseling plus methadone (methadone maintenance in prison, continued in a community-based methadone maintenance program upon release; n= 71). Entered prison treatment (p prison treatment (pprison sentences may have better outcomes than younger individuals with shorter sentences, meaning they are more likely to enter and complete prison-based treatment. Furthermore, implications for the treatment of prisoners with prior heroin dependence and for conducting clinical trials may indicate the importance of examining individual characteristics and the possibility of the examination of patient preference.

Boiling water reactor modeling capabilities of MMS-02

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

May, R.S.; Abdollahian, D.A.; Elias, E.; Shak, D.P.

1987-01-01

During the development period for the Modular Modeling System (MMS) library modules, the Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) has been the last major component to be addressed. The BWRX module includes models of the reactor core, reactor vessel, and recirculation loop. A pre-release version was made available for utility use in September 1983. Since that time a number of changes have been incorporated in BWRX to (1) improve running time for most transient events of interest, (2) extend its capability to include certain events of interest in reactor safety analysis, and (3) incorporate a variety of improvements to the module interfaces and user input formats. The purposes of this study were to briefly review the module structure and physical models, to point the differences between the MMS-02 BWRX module and the BWRX version previously available in the TESTREV1 library, to provide guidelines for choosing among the various user options, and to present some representative results

Assessing Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Steen, Lynn Arthur

Assessment not only places value, it also identifies which elements to value. In this era of accountability, the constituents of educational assessment are not just students, faculty, and administrators, but also parents, legislators, journalists, and the public. For these broader audiences, simple numerical indicators of student performance take…

Assessing Assessment Texts: Where Is Planning?

Science.gov (United States)

Fives, Helenrose; Barnes, Nicole; Dacey, Charity; Gillis, Anna

2016-01-01

We conducted a content analysis of 27 assessment textbooks to determine how assessment planning was framed in texts for preservice teachers. We identified eight assessment planning themes: alignment, assessment purpose and types, reliability and validity, writing goals and objectives, planning specific assessments, unpacking, overall assessment…

SOURCE TERM ESTIMATION BASED on PLANT STATUS and on GAMMA DOSE RATES Measured by an ON-line environmental Monitoring Network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stubna, M.; Bujan, A.; Duranova, T.

1997-01-01

A number of severe accident analyses for reactor unit with WWER-440 (213) has been performed in order to evaluate the source term and radiological consequences. As a tool for these analyses the WWER modified version of Source Term Code Package and Real Time Accident Release Consequences codes have been used. A set of emergency procedures - manuals for quick estimation of the source term and countermeasures introduction during early -pre-release phase of severe accident progression has been developed at Nuclear Power Plants Research Institute Trnava, Inc. These manuals are subdivided into three groups: 1.) evaluation of the barriers integrity, 2.) source term estimation and 3.) estimation of the distances for the countermeasures introduction. A methodology and computer module for interpretation of environmental data - source term assessment during post-release phase from on-line environmental network has been developed at Nuclear Power Plants Research Institute Trnava, Inc. The method is based on the conversion of measured dose rates to the source term,i.e. airborne radioactivity release rate, taking into account real meteorological data and location of the measure points. The bootstrap method for the estimation of the mean value of source term Q as integral value of the release and confidence interval of Q has been selected. The methodology of Q distribution into fission product groups according to code Real Time Accident Release Consequences needs is based on known plant status, i.e. on the results of pre calculated accident sequences. The paper describes the methodologies introduced above and the way of their application

Mn-coatings on the micro-pore formed Ti-29Nb-xHf alloys by RF-magnetron sputtering for dental applications

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Seon-Yeong; Choe, Han-Cheol

2018-02-01

In this study, Mn-coatings on the micro-pore formed Ti-29Nb-xHf alloys by RF-magnetrons sputtering for dental applications were studied using different experimental techniques. Mn coating films were formed on Ti-29Nb-xHf alloys by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique for 0, 1, 3, and 5 min at 45 W. The microstructure, composition, and phase structure of the coated alloys were examined by optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The microstructure of Ti-29Nb alloy showed α" phase in the needle-like structure and Ti-29Nb-15Hf alloy showed β phase in the equiaxed structure. As the sputtering time increased, the circular particles of Mn coatings on the Ti-29Nb alloy increased at inside and outside surfaces. As the sputtering time increased, [Mn + Ca/P] ratio of the plasma electrolytic oxidized films in Ti- 29Nb-xHf alloys increased. The corrosion potential (Ecorr) of Mn coatings on the Ti-29Nb alloy showed higher than that of Mn coatings on the Ti-29Nb-15Hf alloy. The passive current density (Ipass) of the Mn coating on the Ti-29Nb alloy and Mn coatings on the Ti-29Nb-15Hf alloy was less noble than the non-Mn coated Ti-29Nb and Ti-29Nb-15Hf alloys surface.

Better Assessments Require Better Assessment Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Stiggins, Rick

2018-01-01

Stiggins says that, to build better assessment systems, educators and education leaders need more opportunities to learn the basic principles of sound assessment practice. He lays out what he views as the fundamental elements of assessment literacy.

75 FR 72581 - Assessments, Assessment Base and Rates

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-24

... Part III Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 12 CFR Part 327 Assessments, Assessment Base and... Assessments, Assessment Base and Rates AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. ACTION: Notice of... Consumer Protection Act regarding the definition of an institution's deposit insurance assessment base...

Promising mutant variety of rice evolved through gamma irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prasad, S.C.; Sinha, S.K.

1980-01-01

Rice occupies a major share in crop production in the Chotanagpur plateau of Bihar State. Uplands are roughly 40% in area where traditional low yielding rice, known as ''gora'' is cultivated as directly sown crop. Despite introduction of high yielding rice varieties, gora group of rices continue to prevail. It is therefore desired to increase the productivity level of the gora rice by mutation breeding. One such mutant known as ''gora mutant'' was obtained through gamma irradiation (10 kR) of variety Brown gora. The maturity of both parent and mutant remaining constant (ie. 100 days), there is some improvement in other characteristics like plant height, tillering capacity and kernel character. The parent being tall, shy in tillering and red bold kernel, the mutant has dwarfish characteristics, profuse tillering habit and white kernel with fine grains. The yielding capacity of mutant derivative is 30-40% higher than the parent Brown gora. This variety is in pre-release stage, and the farmers have taken great liking for it. (author)

Migrating Open Science Grid to RPMs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Alain

2012-01-01

We recently completed a significant transition in the Open Science Grid (OSG) in which we moved our software distribution mechanism from the useful but niche system called Pacman to a community-standard native package system, RPM. In this paper we explore some of the lessons learned during this transition as well as our earlier work, lessons that we believe are valuable not only for software distribution and packaging, but also for software engineering in a distributed computing environment where reliability is critical. We discuss the benefits found in moving to a community standard, including the abilities to reuse existing packaging, to donate existing packaging back to the community, and to leverage existing skills in the community. We describe our approach to testing in which we test our software against multiple versions of the OS, including pre-releases of the OS, in order to find surprises before our users do. Finally, we discuss our large-scale evaluation testing and community testing, which are essential for both quality and community acceptance.

Bringing it all back home: Understanding the medical difficulties encountered by newly released prisoners in New Orleans, Louisiana - a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Vail, William Lee; Niyogi, Anjali; Henderson, Norris; Wennerstrom, Ashley

2017-07-01

Formerly incarcerated persons (FIPs) face a disproportionate risk of death and serious illness in the immediate post-release period. Therefore, it is a critical time to initiate community-based care for chronic illnesses and behavioural disorders. Little is known about the unique transitional health and social support needs of FIPs in Louisiana, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world. As the average age of prisoners in the United States rises, the release of older prisoners with chronic conditions will become increasingly common. The aim of this study was to explore the healthcare experiences of FIPs in Louisiana in order to inform delivery of services tailored to this population. This research was done in partnership with a community organisation that advocates for restoration of voting rights to FIPs and helps newly released individuals transition back into society. This organisation identified FIPs in the Greater New Orleans area, and from January to May 2015, we conducted 24 semi-structured, in-person, audio-recorded interviews at the community organisation's transitional living facility. The interviews assessed FIPs' experiences with and barriers to receiving healthcare during and after incarceration. These discussions also explored FIPs' desires for services and attitudes towards health and healthcare. Interviews were transcribed and independently coded by two researchers. Interviewees reported negative experiences with healthcare during incarceration, and limited health guidance during the pre-release process. Post-release concerns included lack of insurance, difficulty accessing care and medication, and interest in learning about healthy lifestyles. Results suggest a need for a formalised system of transitional healthcare for FIPs. Findings are being used to inform a pilot transitional care clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Assessment Training Effects on Student Assessment Skills and Task Performance in a Technology-Facilitated Peer Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiongyi; Li, Lan

2014-01-01

This study examines the impact of an assessment training module on student assessment skills and task performance in a technology-facilitated peer assessment. Seventy-eight undergraduate students participated in the study. The participants completed an assessment training exercise, prior to engaging in peer-assessment activities. During the…

Assessment of Working Scientifically--The TAPS Focused Assessment Approach

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, Kendra

2018-01-01

The Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) Focused Assessment approach embeds assessment within normal classroom science activities. Essentially, a Focused Assessment is a lesson plan for a science inquiry, with an identified focus for assessment and guidance on how to interpret the children's responses in relation to expectations for that…

Specialization-Specific Course Assessments Integrated for Program Assessment

OpenAIRE

Qurban A. Memon; Adnan Harb; Shakeel Khoja

2012-01-01

The program assessment process combines assessments from individual courses to generate final program assessment to match accreditation benchmarks. In developing countries, industrial environment is not diversified to allow graduating engineers to seek jobs in all disciplines or specializations of an engineering program. Hence, it seems necessary to seek evolution of an engineering program assessment for specialized requirements of the industry. This paper describes how specialization-specifi...

Risk assessment research and technology assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albach, H.; Schade, D.; Sinn, H.

1991-01-01

The concepts and approaches for technology assessment, the targets and scientific principles, as well as recognizable deficits and recommendations concerning purposeful strategies for the promotion of this research field require a dialog between those concerned. Conception, deficits, and the necessary measures for risk assessment research and technology assessment were discussed as well as ethical aspects. The problematic nature of using organisms altered through genetic engineering in the open land, traffic and transport, site restoration, nuclear energy, and isotope applications were subjects particularly dealt with. (DG) [de

Human factors in safety assessment. Safety culture assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Li; Deng Zhiliang; Wang Yiqun; Huang Weigang

1996-01-01

This paper analyses the present conditions and problems in enterprises safety assessment, and introduces the characteristics and effects of safety culture. The authors think that safety culture must be used as a 'soul' to form the pattern of modern safety management. Furthermore, they propose that the human safety and synthetic safety management assessment in a system should be changed into safety culture assessment. Finally, the assessment indicators are discussed

Assessing the assessments: U.K. dermatology trainees' views of the workplace assessment tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, S N; Farrant, P B J; Taibjee, S M

2009-07-01

The workplace assessments, direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS), mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX) and multisource feedback (MSF, formerly known as 360 degrees appraisal), are now mandatory during dermatology specialist training in the U.K. The opinions of those undergoing such assessments in any medical specialty have rarely been sought. To collate the experience and views of U.K. dermatology trainees on the three workplace assessments. A questionnaire was circulated in autumn 2006 to all U.K. dermatology specialist registrars (SpRs) registered as members of the British Association of Dermatologists (n = 269). A total of 138 responses were received (51%). Seventeen SpRs had not experienced any of the assessments; 92 had undergone MSF, 95 DOPS and 54 mini-CEX. The total experience of the respondents amounted to a minimum of 251 DOPS, 122 MSF and 142 mini-CEX. Trainees appreciated the formative aspects of the assessments, especially feedback and training opportunities, although not all trainees reported receiving useful feedback. MSF was praised for the insights that it provides. All of the assessments were found to be time-consuming and difficult to organize. DOPS and mini-CEX carried a degree of stress and artificiality. Concerns were raised over the possibility of victimization by MSF raters. Discussion of performance in the assessments was rarely prominent in trainees' annual summative reviews. Trainees appreciate the formative benefits which derive from the assessments, namely feedback, reassurance of satisfactory performance and, in the case of DOPS and mini-CEX, additional one-to-one training from consultants. Some problems came to light. The issues raised will not be unique to dermatology and other specialties should take note.

Designing new biocompatible glass-forming Ti75-x Zr10 Nbx Si15 (x = 0, 15) alloys: corrosion, passivity, and apatite formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdi, Somayeh; Oswald, Steffen; Gostin, Petre Flaviu; Helth, Arne; Sort, Jordi; Baró, Maria Dolors; Calin, Mariana; Schultz, Ludwig; Eckert, Jürgen; Gebert, Annett

2016-01-01

Glass-forming Ti-based alloys are considered as potential new materials for implant applications. Ti75 Zr10 Si15 and Ti60 Zr10 Nb15 Si15 alloys (free of cytotoxic elements) can be produced as melt-spun ribbons with glassy matrix and embedded single β-type nanocrystals. The corrosion and passivation behavior of these alloys in their homogenized melt-spun states have been investigated in Ringer solution at 37°C in comparison to their cast multiphase crystalline counterparts and to cp-Ti and β-type Ti-40Nb. All tested materials showed very low corrosion rates as expressed in corrosion current densities icorr  alloys passive states in a wide potential range. This corresponds to low passive current densities ipass  = 2 ± 1 µA/cm(2) based on the growth of oxide films with thickness d alloys is beneficial for stable surface passivity. The addition of Nb does not only improve the glass-forming ability and the mechanical properties but also supports a high pitting resistance even at extreme anodic polarization up to 4V versus SCE were oxide thickness values of d ∼35 nm are reached. With regard to the corrosion properties, the Nb-containing nearly single-phase glassy alloy can compete with the β-type Ti-40Nb alloy. SBF tests confirmed the ability for formation of hydroxyapatite on the melt-spun alloy surfaces. All these properties recommend the new glass-forming alloys for application as wear- and corrosion-resistant coating materials for implants. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The relation of risk assessment and health impact assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ádám, Balázs; Gulis, Gabriel

2013-01-01

than assessing a present situation. As part of this process, however, methods applied in risk assessment are used. Risk assessment typically characterises relation of a well-defined risk factor to a well-defined health outcome. Within HIA usually several individual risk assessments are needed...... of the causal chain from the proposal through related health determinants and risk factors to health outcomes. The stepwise analysis, systematic prioritization and consideration of horizontal interactions between the causal pathways make it feasible to use widely recognized risk assessment methods in the HIA......The level and distribution of health risks in a society is substantially influenced by measures of various policies, programmes or projects. Risk assessment can evaluate the nature, likelihood and severity of an adverse effect. Health impact assessment (HIA) provides similar function when used...

Life Cycle Assessment and Risk Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Stig Irving

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool for environmental assessment of product and systems – over the whole life cycle from acquisition of raw materials to the end-of-life of the product – and encompassing all environmental impacts of emissions and resource usage, e.g. global warming, acidification...... cycle. The models for assessing toxic impacts in LCA are to a large extent based on those developed for RA, e.g. EUSES, and require basic information about the inherent properties of the emissions like solubility, LogKow,ED50 etc. Additionally, it is a prerequisite to know how to characterize...

A framework for combining social impact assessment and risk assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mahmoudi, Hossein; Renn, Ortwin; Vanclay, Frank; Hoffmann, Volker; Karami, Ezatollah

An increasing focus on integrative approaches is one of the current trends in impact assessment. There is potential to combine impact assessment with various other forms of assessment, such as risk assessment, to make impact assessment and the management of social risks more effective. We identify

A framework for combining social impact assessment and risk assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mahmoudi, Hossein; Renn, Ortwin; Vanclay, Frank; Hoffmann, Volker; Karami, Ezatollah

2013-01-01

An increasing focus on integrative approaches is one of the current trends in impact assessment. There is potential to combine impact assessment with various other forms of assessment, such as risk assessment, to make impact assessment and the management of social risks more effective. We identify

Utility of Social Modeling for Proliferation Assessment - Preliminary Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coles, Garill A.; Gastelum, Zoe N.; Brothers, Alan J.; Thompson, Sandra E.

2009-06-01

This Preliminary Assessment draft report will present the results of a literature search and preliminary assessment of the body of research, analysis methods, models and data deemed to be relevant to the Utility of Social Modeling for Proliferation Assessment research. This report will provide: 1) a description of the problem space and the kinds of information pertinent to the problem space, 2) a discussion of key relevant or representative literature, 3) a discussion of models and modeling approaches judged to be potentially useful to the research, and 4) the next steps of this research that will be pursued based on this preliminary assessment. This draft report represents a technical deliverable for the NA-22 Simulations, Algorithms, and Modeling (SAM) program. Specifically this draft report is the Task 1 deliverable for project PL09-UtilSocial-PD06, Utility of Social Modeling for Proliferation Assessment. This project investigates non-traditional use of social and cultural information to improve nuclear proliferation assessment, including nonproliferation assessment, proliferation resistance assessments, safeguards assessments and other related studies. These assessments often use and create technical information about the State’s posture towards proliferation, the vulnerability of a nuclear energy system to an undesired event, and the effectiveness of safeguards. This project will find and fuse social and technical information by explicitly considering the role of cultural, social and behavioral factors relevant to proliferation. The aim of this research is to describe and demonstrate if and how social science modeling has utility in proliferation assessment.

Challenges in Risk Assessment: Quantitative Risk Assessment

OpenAIRE

Jacxsens, Liesbeth; Uyttendaele, Mieke; De Meulenaer, Bruno

2016-01-01

The process of risk analysis consists out of three components, risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. These components are internationally well spread by Codex Alimentarius Commission as being the basis for setting science based standards, criteria on food safety hazards, e.g. setting maximum limits of mycotoxins in foodstuffs. However, the technical component risk assessment is hard to elaborate and to understand. Key in a risk assessment is the translation of biological or...

Risk Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

How the EPA conducts risk assessment to protect human health and the environment. Several assessments are included with the guidelines, models, databases, state-based RSL Tables, local contacts and framework documents used to perform these assessments.

A framework for combining social impact assessment and risk assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahmoudi, Hossein, E-mail: mahmoudi@uni-hohenheim.de [Department of Social Sciences in Agriculture, University of Hohenheim (Germany); Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C. (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Renn, Ortwin [Department of Technology and Environmental Sociology (and DIALOGIK), University of Stuttgart (Germany); Vanclay, Frank [Department of Cultural Geography, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands); Hoffmann, Volker [Department of Social Sciences in Agriculture, University of Hohenheim (Germany); Karami, Ezatollah [College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2013-11-15

An increasing focus on integrative approaches is one of the current trends in impact assessment. There is potential to combine impact assessment with various other forms of assessment, such as risk assessment, to make impact assessment and the management of social risks more effective. We identify the common features of social impact assessment (SIA) and social risk assessment (SRA), and discuss the merits of a combined approach. A hybrid model combining SIA and SRA to form a new approach called, ‘risk and social impact assessment’ (RSIA) is introduced. RSIA expands the capacity of SIA to evaluate and manage the social impacts of risky projects such as nuclear energy as well as natural hazards and disasters such as droughts and floods. We outline the three stages of RSIA, namely: impact identification, impact assessment, and impact management. -- Highlights: • A hybrid model to combine SIA and SRA namely RSIA is proposed. • RSIA can provide the proper mechanism to assess social impacts of natural hazards. • RSIA can play the role of ex-post as well as ex-ante assessment. • For some complicated and sensitive cases like nuclear energy, conducting a RSIA is necessary.

A framework for combining social impact assessment and risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahmoudi, Hossein; Renn, Ortwin; Vanclay, Frank; Hoffmann, Volker; Karami, Ezatollah

2013-01-01

An increasing focus on integrative approaches is one of the current trends in impact assessment. There is potential to combine impact assessment with various other forms of assessment, such as risk assessment, to make impact assessment and the management of social risks more effective. We identify the common features of social impact assessment (SIA) and social risk assessment (SRA), and discuss the merits of a combined approach. A hybrid model combining SIA and SRA to form a new approach called, ‘risk and social impact assessment’ (RSIA) is introduced. RSIA expands the capacity of SIA to evaluate and manage the social impacts of risky projects such as nuclear energy as well as natural hazards and disasters such as droughts and floods. We outline the three stages of RSIA, namely: impact identification, impact assessment, and impact management. -- Highlights: • A hybrid model to combine SIA and SRA namely RSIA is proposed. • RSIA can provide the proper mechanism to assess social impacts of natural hazards. • RSIA can play the role of ex-post as well as ex-ante assessment. • For some complicated and sensitive cases like nuclear energy, conducting a RSIA is necessary

From Assessment Cocktail to Assessment Symphony: The Development of Best Assessment Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanan M. Al-Kadri

2015-12-01

Despite the proven positive effects of formative compared to summative assessment on students׳ learning, most examinations in medical schools are still summative. Even assessment that is meant to be formative, is often used for summative decision making. The question therefore is: Are we reversing back to the psychometric era?

Assessing the assessments: Pharmaceuticals in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enick, O.V.; Moore, M.M.

2007-01-01

The relatively new issue of pharmaceutical contamination of the environment offers the opportunity to explore the application of values to the construction, communication and management of risk. The still-developing regulatory policies regarding environmental contamination with pharmaceuticals provide fertile ground for the introduction of values into the definition and management of risk. In this report, we summarize the current knowledge regarding pharmaceutical contamination of the environment and discuss specific attributes of pharmaceuticals that require special consideration. We then present an analysis showing that if values are incorporated into assessing, characterizing and managing risk, the results of risk assessments will more accurately reflect the needs of various stakeholders. Originating from an acknowledgement of the inherent uncertainty and value-laden nature of risk assessment, the precautionary principle (and later, the multi-criteria, integrated risk assessment), provides a direction for further research and policy development

Non-human biota dose assessment. Sensitivity analysis and knowledge quality assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, K.; Robinson, C.; Jackson, D.; La Cruz, I. de; Zinger, I.; Avila, R.

2010-10-01

This report provides a summary of a programme of work, commissioned within the BIOPROTA collaborative forum, to assess the quantitative and qualitative elements of uncertainty associated with biota dose assessment of potential impacts of long-term releases from geological disposal facilities (GDF). Quantitative and qualitative aspects of uncertainty were determined through sensitivity and knowledge quality assessments, respectively. Both assessments focused on default assessment parameters within the ERICA assessment approach. The sensitivity analysis was conducted within the EIKOS sensitivity analysis software tool and was run in both generic and test case modes. The knowledge quality assessment involved development of a questionnaire around the ERICA assessment approach, which was distributed to a range of experts in the fields of non-human biota dose assessment and radioactive waste disposal assessments. Combined, these assessments enabled critical model features and parameters that are both sensitive (i.e. have a large influence on model output) and of low knowledge quality to be identified for each of the three test cases. The output of this project is intended to provide information on those parameters that may need to be considered in more detail for prospective site-specific biota dose assessments for GDFs. Such information should help users to enhance the quality of their assessments and build greater confidence in the results. (orig.)

Climate change vulnerability for species-Assessing the assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Wheatley, Christopher J; Beale, Colin M; Bradbury, Richard B; Pearce-Higgins, James W; Critchlow, Rob; Thomas, Chris D

2017-09-01

Climate change vulnerability assessments are commonly used to identify species at risk from global climate change, but the wide range of methodologies available makes it difficult for end users, such as conservation practitioners or policymakers, to decide which method to use as a basis for decision-making. In this study, we evaluate whether different assessments consistently assign species to the same risk categories and whether any of the existing methodologies perform well at identifying climate-threatened species. We compare the outputs of 12 climate change vulnerability assessment methodologies, using both real and simulated species, and validate the methods using historic data for British birds and butterflies (i.e. using historical data to assign risks and more recent data for validation). Our results show that the different vulnerability assessment methods are not consistent with one another; different risk categories are assigned for both the real and simulated sets of species. Validation of the different vulnerability assessments suggests that methods incorporating historic trend data into the assessment perform best at predicting distribution trends in subsequent time periods. This study demonstrates that climate change vulnerability assessments should not be used interchangeably due to the poor overall agreement between methods when considering the same species. The results of our validation provide more support for the use of trend-based rather than purely trait-based approaches, although further validation will be required as data become available. © 2017 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): FMEA/CIL assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Hinsdale, L. W.; Swain, L. J.; Barnes, J. E.

1988-01-01

The McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company (MDAC) was selected to perform an Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL). Direction was given by the Orbiter and GFE Projects Office to perform the hardware analysis and assessment using the instructions and ground rules defined in NSTS 22206. The IOA analysis featured a top-down approach to determine hardware failure modes, criticality, and potential critical items. To preserve independence, the analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA and Prime Contractor FMEA/CIL documentation. The assessment process compared the independently derived failure modes and criticality assignments to the proposed NASA post 51-L FMEA/CIL documentation. When possible, assessment issues were discussed and resolved with the NASA subsystem managers. Unresolved issues were elevated to the Orbiter and GFE Projects Office manager, Configuration Control Board (CCB), or Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) for further resolution. The most important Orbiter assessment finding was the previously unknown stuck autopilot push-button criticality 1/1 failure mode. The worst case effect could cause loss of crew/vehicle when the microwave landing system is not active. It is concluded that NASA and Prime Contractor Post 51-L FMEA/CIL documentation assessed by IOA is believed to be technically accurate and complete. All CIL issues were resolved. No FMEA issues remain that have safety implications. Consideration should be given, however, to upgrading NSTS 22206 with definitive ground rules which more clearly spell out the limits of redundancy.

RETRAN overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agee, L.J.

1985-01-01

The RETRAN code has become the industry standard with respect to NSSS transient analysis. The objective of this paper is to present an overview of important RETRAN-related events since the second International meeting in April of 1982. This paper is divided into three parts. The first part addresses the current status of the code with emphasis on the design review of RETRAN-02 MOD002 and the goal of RETRAN-02 in the Reactor Analysis Support Package (RASP). These activities are being undertaken to simplify the use of RETRAN for safety analysis and reload application which may be part of an NRC submittal. The second part of the paper describes significant applications of RETRAN. In the analysis section, special emphasis is placed on validation analyses which compare the code to actual plant data or experimental facilities. The third section briefly describes the pre-release version of RETRAN and the developmental goals for the next version of RETRAN. One major limitation of all state-of-the-art thermal-hydraulic codes is the determination of the structure of the fluid. A brief description of research needs in this are indicated

Self-assessment and Peer-assessment in an EFL Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morteza Yamini

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Salient in an EFL teaching context is students' dissatisfaction with their final scores especially in oral courses. This study tried to bridge the gap between students' and teachers' rating system through alternatives to existing measurement methods. Task-based language assessment has stimulated language teachers to question the way through which students' language knowledge is assessed. Three groups of university students majoring in translation participated in this study. Two groups received rater instruction, but the control group did not. The assessed tasks were students' oral productions in Reading Comprehension I. Each oral production was assessed three times: by the speakers, by the peers, and by the teacher. The correlation of self-peer assessments and teacher assessments were estimated. Their performance on oral production of Reading Comprehension II was also analyzed and discussed and eventually compared with that of the control group to check the effects of rater instruction on learning.

Cloud Computing Applications in Support of Earth Science Activities at Marshall Space Flight Center

Science.gov (United States)

Molthan, Andrew L.; Limaye, Ashutosh S.; Srikishen, Jayanthi

2011-01-01

Currently, the NASA Nebula Cloud Computing Platform is available to Agency personnel in a pre-release status as the system undergoes a formal operational readiness review. Over the past year, two projects within the Earth Science Office at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center have been investigating the performance and value of Nebula s "Infrastructure as a Service", or "IaaS" concept and applying cloud computing concepts to advance their respective mission goals. The Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center focuses on the transition of unique NASA satellite observations and weather forecasting capabilities for use within the operational forecasting community through partnerships with NOAA s National Weather Service (NWS). SPoRT has evaluated the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model on virtual machines deployed within Nebula and used Nebula instances to simulate local forecasts in support of regional forecast studies of interest to select NWS forecast offices. In addition to weather forecasting applications, rapidly deployable Nebula virtual machines have supported the processing of high resolution NASA satellite imagery to support disaster assessment following the historic severe weather and tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011. Other modeling and satellite analysis activities are underway in support of NASA s SERVIR program, which integrates satellite observations, ground-based data and forecast models to monitor environmental change and improve disaster response in Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Himalayas. Leveraging SPoRT s experience, SERVIR is working to establish a real-time weather forecasting model for Central America. Other modeling efforts include hydrologic forecasts for Kenya, driven by NASA satellite observations and reanalysis data sets provided by the broader meteorological community. Forecast modeling efforts are supplemented by short-term forecasts of convective initiation, determined by

The international experience of bacterial screen testing of platelet components with an automated microbial detection system: a need for consensus testing and reporting guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Benjamin, Richard J; McDonald, Carl P

2014-04-01

The BacT/ALERT microbial detection system (bioMerieux, Inc, Durham, NC) is in routine use in many blood centers as a prerelease test for platelet collections. Published reports document wide variation in practices and outcomes. A systematic review of the English literature was performed to describe publications assessing the use of the BacT/ALERT culture system on platelet collections as a routine screen test of more than 10000 platelet components. Sixteen publications report the use of confirmatory testing to substantiate initial positive culture results but use varying nomenclature to classify the results. Preanalytical and analytical variables that may affect the outcomes differ widely between centers. Incomplete description of protocol details complicates comparison between sites. Initial positive culture results range from 539 to 10606 per million (0.054%-1.061%) and confirmed positive from 127 to 1035 per million (0.013%-0.104%) donations. False-negative results determined by outdate culture range from 662 to 2173 per million (0.066%-0.217%) and by septic reactions from 0 to 66 per million (0%-0.007%) collections. Current culture protocols represent pragmatic compromises between optimizing analytical sensitivity and ensuring the timely availability of platelets for clinical needs. Insights into the effect of protocol variations on outcomes are generally restricted to individual sites that implement limited changes to their protocols over time. Platelet manufacturers should reassess the adequacy of their BacT/ALERT screening protocols in light of the growing international experience and provide detailed documentation of all variables that may affect culture outcomes when reporting results. We propose a framework for a standardized nomenclature for reporting of the results of BacT/ALERT screening. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conflicting and complementary ethics of animal welfare considerations in reintroductions.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrington, Lauren A; Moehrenschlager, Axel; Gelling, Merryl; Atkinson, Rob P D; Hughes, Joelene; Macdonald, David W

2013-06-01

Despite differences in focus, goals, and strategies between conservation biology and animal welfare, both are inextricably linked in many ways, and greater consideration of animal welfare, although important in its own right, also has considerable potential to contribute to conservation success. Nevertheless, animal welfare and animal ethics are not always considered explicitly within conservation practice. We systematically reviewed the recent scientific peer-reviewed and online gray literature on reintroductions of captive-bred and wild-caught animals (mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles) to quantify the occurrence of animal welfare issues. We considered monitoring that could be indicative of the animal's welfare status and supportive management actions that could improve animal welfare (regardless of whether the aim was explicitly animal-welfare orientated). Potential welfare issues (of variable nature and extent) were recorded in 67% of 199 projects reviewed; the most common were mortality >50%, dispersal or loss of animals, disease, and human conflict. Most (>70%) projects monitored survival, 18% assessed body condition, and 2% monitored stress levels. Animal welfare, explicitly, was referred to in 6% of projects. Supportive actions, most commonly use of on-site prerelease pens and provision of supplemental food or water, were implemented in 79% of projects, although the extent and duration of support varied. Practitioners can address animal-welfare issues in reintroductions by considering the potential implications for individual animals at all stages of the release process using the decision tree presented. We urge practitioners to report potential animal-welfare issues, describe mitigation actions, and evaluate their efficacy to facilitate transparent evaluation of common moral dilemmas and to advance communal strategies for dealing with them. Currently, comparative mortality rates, health risks, postrelease stress, effectiveness of supportive measures

Authentic Assessment: A Handbook for Educators. Assessment Bookshelf Series.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, Diane

This book reviews the assessment movement, from the history of testing to the practical considerations of enhancing classroom experiences for teachers and students. It explores making time for assessment, tailoring assessment to desired outcomes, and scoring and evaluating student performance. The chapters are: (1) "Where We've Been: Standardized…

"Assessing the assessment" Development and use of quality criteria for Competence Assessment Programmes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baartman, L.K.J.

2008-01-01

Competence-based (vocational) education has gained a firm foothold in our society, causing assessment practices to change accordingly, along with ideas of what constitutes good assessment. The subject of this thesis is the (1) development, (2) validation and (3) practical use of a framework of

Integrated Environmental Assessment Part III: ExposureAssessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McKone, Thomas E.; Small, Mitchell J.

2006-06-01

Human exposure assessment is a key step in estimating the environmental and public health burdens that result chemical emissions in the life cycle of an industrial product or service. This column presents the third in a series of overviews of the state of the art in integrated environmental assessment - earlier columns described emissions estimation (Frey and Small, 2003) and fate and transport modeling (Ramaswami, et al., 2004). When combined, these first two assessment elements provide estimates of ambient concentrations in the environment. Here we discuss how both models and measurements are used to translate ambient concentrations into metrics of human and ecological exposure, the necessary precursors to impact assessment. Exposure assessment is the process of measuring and/or modeling the magnitude, frequency and duration of contact between a potentially harmful agent and a target population, including the size and characteristics of that population (IPCS, 2001; Zartarian, et al., 2005). Ideally the exposure assessment process should characterize the sources, routes, pathways, and uncertainties in the assessment. Route of exposure refers to the way that an agent enters the receptor during an exposure event. Humans contact pollutants through three routes--inhalation, ingestion, and dermal uptake. Inhalation occurs in both outdoor environments and indoor environments where most people spend the majority of their time. Ingestion includes both water and food, as well as soil and dust uptake due to hand-to-mouth activity. Dermal uptake occurs through contacts with consumer products; indoor and outdoor surfaces; the water supply during washing or bathing; ambient surface waters during swimming or boating; soil during activities such as work, gardening, and play; and, to a lesser extent, from the air that surrounds us. An exposure pathway is the course that a pollutant takes from an ambient environmental medium (air, soil, water, biota, etc), to an exposure medium

Assessing reading fluency in Kenya: Oral or silent assessment?

Science.gov (United States)

Piper, Benjamin; Zuilkowski, Stephanie Simmons

2015-04-01

In recent years, the Education for All movement has focused more intensely on the quality of education, rather than simply provision. Many recent and current education quality interventions focus on literacy, which is the core skill required for further academic success. Despite this focus on the quality of literacy instruction in developing countries, little rigorous research has been conducted on critical issues of assessment. This analysis, which uses data from the Primary Math and Reading Initiative (PRIMR) in Kenya, aims to begin filling this gap by addressing a key assessment issue - should literacy assessments in Kenya be administered orally or silently? The authors compared second-grade students' scores on oral and silent reading tasks of the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) in Kiswahili and English, and found no statistically significant differences in either language. They did, however, find oral reading rates to be more strongly related to reading comprehension scores. Oral assessment has another benefit for programme evaluators - it allows for the collection of data on student errors, and therefore the calculation of words read correctly per minute, as opposed to simply words read per minute. The authors therefore recommend that, in Kenya and in similar contexts, student reading fluency be assessed via oral rather than silent assessment.

Transdisciplinary knowledge integration : cases from integrated assessment and vulnerability assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hinkel, J.

2008-01-01

Keywords: climate change, integrated assessment, knowledge integration, transdisciplinary research, vulnerability, vulnerability assessment.
This thesis explores how transdisciplinary knowledge integration can be facilitated in the context of integrated assessments and vulnerability

ASSESSING STUDENT PERFORMANCE ON INTERPRETING THROUGH PEER-ASSESSMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Titik Ismailia

2017-12-01

Full Text Available As a part of translation interpreting is translating spoken discourse orally. It needs some requirements like ability to speak clearly, clarity, fluency, eye contact, and self-confidence. It also needs linguistic proficiency, analytical skill, listening and recall, interpersonal skills, ethical behaviour, speaking skills, cultural knowledge, and subject knowledge. Evaluating students performance on interpreting can be done through peer assessment. Peer- assessment is one of alternative assessment to grade the peers in group or individuals by commenting on and judging other students work. To do this process there is a join work between listening and speaking, and two students. The first student as a speaker and the second student as an interpreter. Both of them should do the same quality on speak clearly as a speaker and as an interpreter should able to listen and translating the spoken discourse orally. Evaluation can use analytical grade that allows teacher to set clear criteria for correction like fluency, grammar, terminology, general content, and mechanics. Students and teacher can give comment on every criteria based on their own competency. During the process on making criteria, students and teacher can discuss and give reasonable suggestion to make the assessment suitable to the students competency. At the end, a rubric of assessment with the score from 0 to 100 and criteria and also the comment included in the paper of assessment.

Assessment for Learning Tasks and the Peer Assessment Process

Science.gov (United States)

Lauf, Lorraine; Dole, Shelley

2010-01-01

A program of Assessment for Learning (AfL) was implemented with 107 Year 12 students as part of their preparation for a major external test. Students completed extended mathematics tasks and selected student responses were used for peer assessment purposes. This paper reports on two of the AfL elements, namely task selection and peer assessment as…

Performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doe, T.

1985-01-01

The purpose of performance assessment is to show that the repository is expected to serve its stated function - disposing of radioactive waste safely both during operation and for the postclosure period. Performance assessment is a straightforward concept, but its application may be very complicated. The concept of performance assessment has been clarified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in their Draft Generic Technical Position on Licensing Assessment Methodology for High-Level Waste Geologic Repositories (NRC, 1984). This document has gone a long way toward defining the criteria that the NRC will use to determine whether or not information from site characterization is adequate to meet the regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A favorable determination is required for issuance of a construction authorization, which is the first major regulatory requirement for developing a working repository. It is, therefore, essential that a research program be developed that not only resolves the outstanding technical issues, but also does it in such a way that the results are clearly applicable to the formal performance assessment and licensing procedures. The definitions of performance assessment are reviewed and the current NRC thinking is summarized

Assessing Assessment: In Pursuit of Meaningful Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Rootman-le Grange, Ilse; Blackie, Margaret A. L.

2018-01-01

The challenge of supporting the development of meaningful learning is prevalent in chemistry education research. One of the core activities used in the learning process is assessments. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how the semantics dimension of Legitimation Code Theory can be a helpful tool to critique the quality of assessments and…

Conceptualising sustainability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pope, Jenny; Annandale, David; Morrison-Saunders, Angus

2004-01-01

Sustainability assessment is being increasingly viewed as an important tool to aid in the shift towards sustainability. However, this is a new and evolving concept and there remain very few examples of effective sustainability assessment processes implemented anywhere in the world. Sustainability assessment is often described as a process by which the implications of an initiative on sustainability are evaluated, where the initiative can be a proposed or existing policy, plan, programme, project, piece of legislation, or a current practice or activity. However, this generic definition covers a broad range of different processes, many of which have been described in the literature as 'sustainability assessment'. This article seeks to provide some clarification by reflecting on the different approaches described in the literature as being forms of sustainability assessment, and evaluating them in terms of their potential contributions to sustainability. Many of these are actually examples of 'integrated assessment', derived from environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA), but which have been extended to incorporate social and economic considerations as well as environmental ones, reflecting a 'triple bottom line' (TBL) approach to sustainability. These integrated assessment processes typically either seek to minimise 'unsustainability', or to achieve TBL objectives. Both aims may, or may not, result in sustainable practice. We present an alternative conception of sustainability assessment, with the more ambitious aim of seeking to determine whether or not an initiative is actually sustainable. We term such processes 'assessment for sustainability'. 'Assessment for sustainability' firstly requires that the concept of sustainability be well-defined. The article compares TBL approaches and principles-based approaches to developing such sustainability criteria, concluding that the latter are more appropriate, since they avoid many

Student Self-Assessment and Multisource Feedback Assessment: Exploring Benefits, Limitations, and Remedies

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Scott N.

2014-01-01

It has become common practice for management students to participate in some sort of self-assessment or multisource feedback assessment (MSF; also called 360-degree assessment or multirater assessment) during their management degree program. These assessments provide students invaluable feedback about themselves and assist students in their…

Ecosystem services as assessment endpoints for ecological risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Munns, Wayne R; Rea, Anne W; Suter, Glenn W; Martin, Lawrence; Blake-Hedges, Lynne; Crk, Tanja; Davis, Christine; Ferreira, Gina; Jordan, Steve; Mahoney, Michele; Barron, Mace G

2016-07-01

Ecosystem services are defined as the outputs of ecological processes that contribute to human welfare or have the potential to do so in the future. Those outputs include food and drinking water, clean air and water, and pollinated crops. The need to protect the services provided by natural systems has been recognized previously, but ecosystem services have not been formally incorporated into ecological risk assessment practice in a general way in the United States. Endpoints used conventionally in ecological risk assessment, derived directly from the state of the ecosystem (e.g., biophysical structure and processes), and endpoints based on ecosystem services serve different purposes. Conventional endpoints are ecologically important and susceptible entities and attributes that are protected under US laws and regulations. Ecosystem service endpoints are a conceptual and analytical step beyond conventional endpoints and are intended to complement conventional endpoints by linking and extending endpoints to goods and services with more obvious benefit to humans. Conventional endpoints can be related to ecosystem services even when the latter are not considered explicitly during problem formulation. To advance the use of ecosystem service endpoints in ecological risk assessment, the US Environmental Protection Agency's Risk Assessment Forum has added generic endpoints based on ecosystem services (ES-GEAE) to the original 2003 set of generic ecological assessment endpoints (GEAEs). Like conventional GEAEs, ES-GEAEs are defined by an entity and an attribute. Also like conventional GEAEs, ES-GEAEs are broadly described and will need to be made specific when applied to individual assessments. Adoption of ecosystem services as a type of assessment endpoint is intended to improve the value of risk assessment to environmental decision making, linking ecological risk to human well-being, and providing an improved means of communicating those risks. Integr Environ Assess Manag

Assessment factors for human health risk assessment: a discussion paper

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeire TG; Stevenson H; Pieters MN; Rennen M; Slob W; Hakkert BC; Nederlandse organisatie voor; CSR; LEO; TNO-ITV

1998-01-01

The general goal of this discussion paper is to contribute towards further harmonisation of the human health risk assessment. It discusses the development of a formal, harmonised set of default assessment factors. The status quo with regard to assessment factors is reviewed. Options are presented

Introduction to risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raina, V.M.

2002-01-01

This paper gives an introduction to risk assessment. It discusses the basic concepts of risk assessment, nuclear risk assessment process and products, the role of risk assessment products in nuclear safety assurance, the relationship between risk assessment and other safety analysis and risk assessment and safe operating envelope

Assessment factors for human health risk assessment: A discussion paper

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeire, T.; Stevenson, H.; Pieters, M.N.; Rennen, M.; Slob, W.; Hakkert, B.C.

1999-01-01

The general goal of this discussion paper is to contribute toward the further harmonization of human health risk assessment. It first discusses the development of a formal, harmonized set of assessment factors. The status quo with regard to assessment factors is reviewed, that is, the type of

SIS - Fish Assessment

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Fish Assessment data set within the Species Information System (SIS) constraints information related to fishery stock assessments, including assessment meta-data...

The Contribution of Health Technology Assessment, Health Needs Assessment, and Health Impact Assessment to the Assessment and Translation of Technologies in the Field of Public Health Genomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenkotter, N.; Vondeling, H.; Blancquaert, I.

2011-01-01

contribute to the systematic translation and assessment of genomic health applications by focussing at population level and on public health policy making. It is shown to what extent HTA, HNA and HIA contribute to translational research by using the continuum of translational research (T1-T4) in genomic...... into the impact on public health and health care practice of those technologies that are actually introduced. This paper aims to give an overview of the major assessment instruments in public health [ health technology assessment (HTA), health needs assessment (HNA) and health impact assessment (HIA)] which could...... medicine as an analytic framework. The selected assessment methodologies predominantly cover 2 to 4 phases within the T1-T4 system. HTA delivers the most complete set of methodologies when assessing health applications. HNA can be used to prioritize areas where genomic health applications are needed...

Hubungan Self Assessment-Peer Assessment dengan Nilai Kelulusan OSCE Mahasiswa Fakultas Kedokteran Unisba

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santun Bhekti Rahimah

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Abstrak Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE adalah cara penilaian kompetensi klinik mahasiswa secara komprehensif dan konsisten serta dapat dijadikan media untuk meningkatkan hasil belajar. Feedback dapat dilakukan oleh mahasiswa itu sendiri (self assessment maupun mahasiswa lain yang satu level (peer assessment. Self dan peer assessment diharapkan akan meningkatkan kemampuan mahasiswa dalam melihat tujuan pembelajaran, meningkatkan rasa percaya diri, kemampuan berpikir kritis, dan bertindak tepat dalam menghadapi ujian. Tujuan penelitian ini melihat hubungan self assessment dan peer assessment dengan nilai kelulusan OSCE mahasiswa tingkat dua dan empat FK Unisba tahun akademik 2012/2013. Nilai hasil ujian OSCE yang dipergunakan adalah pada periode Desember 2012–Juni 2013. Self dan peer assessment dilaksanakan setelah ujian OSCE. Self assessment dilakukan oleh mahasiswa itu sendiri, sedangkan peer assessment didapatkan dari lima orang mahasiswa lain yang pernah berada dalam satu kelompok dengan subjek. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan untuk mahasiswa tingkat dua terdapat korelasi bermakna self assessment dan peer assessment dengan nilai OSCE (p<0,001, arah hubungan antara keduanya positif, serta kekuatan hubungan keduanya sedang (R=0,426. Pada mahasiswa tingkat empat terdapat korelasi bermakna antara self assessment dan nilai OSCE (p<0,001 dengan kekuatan hubungan keduanya sedang (R=0,451, serta terdapat korelasi yang bermakna antara penilaian peer assessment dan nilai OSCE. Simpulan, self assessment mempunyai korelasi positif terhadap nilai kelulusan OSCE pada mahasiswa tingkat dua dan tingkat empat, sedangkan peer assessment mempunyai korelasi positif dengan nilai kelulusan OSCE hanya pada mahasiswa tingkat dua. Self assessment mempunyai korelasi positif dengan peer assessment pada mahasiswa tingkat dua dan tingkat empat FK Unisba tahun akademik 2012/2013. Abstract Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE is a tools to assess

Practical Privacy Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peen, Søren; Jansen, Thejs Willem; Jensen, Christian D.

2008-01-01

This chapter proposes a privacy assessment model called the Operational Privacy Assessment Model that includes organizational, operational and technical factors for the protection of personal data stored in an IT system. The factors can be evaluated in a simple scale so that not only the resulting...... graphical depiction can be easily created for an IT system, but graphical comparisons across multiple IT systems are also possible. Examples of factors presented in a Kiviat graph are also presented. This assessment tool may be used to standardize privacy assessment criteria, making it less painful...... for the management to assess privacy risks on their systems....

Screening assessment and requirements for a comprehensive assessment: Volume 1, Draft. Columbia River comprehensive impact assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-04-01

To evaluate the impact to the Columbia River from the Hanford Site-derived contaminants, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Washington State Department of Ecology initiated a study referred to as the Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA). To address concerns about the scope and direction of CRCIA as well as enhance regulator, tribal, stockholder, and public involvement, the CRCIA Management Team was formed in August 1995. The Team agreed to conduct CRCIA using a phased approach. The initial phase, includes two components: 1) a screening assessment to evaluate the potential impact to the river, resulting from current levels of Hanford-derived contaminants in order to support decisions on Interim Remedial Measures, and 2) a definition of the essential work remaining to provide an acceptable comprehensive river impact assessment. The screening assessment is described in Part I of this report. The essential work remaining is Part II of this report. The objective of the screening assessment is to identify areas where the greatest potential exists for adverse effects on humans or the environment. Part I of this report discusses the scope, technical approach, and results of the screening assessment. Part II defines a new paradigm for predecisional participation by those affected by Hanford cleanup decisions.

Screening assessment and requirements for a comprehensive assessment: Volume 1, Draft. Columbia River comprehensive impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-04-01

To evaluate the impact to the Columbia River from the Hanford Site-derived contaminants, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Washington State Department of Ecology initiated a study referred to as the Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA). To address concerns about the scope and direction of CRCIA as well as enhance regulator, tribal, stockholder, and public involvement, the CRCIA Management Team was formed in August 1995. The Team agreed to conduct CRCIA using a phased approach. The initial phase, includes two components: 1) a screening assessment to evaluate the potential impact to the river, resulting from current levels of Hanford-derived contaminants in order to support decisions on Interim Remedial Measures, and 2) a definition of the essential work remaining to provide an acceptable comprehensive river impact assessment. The screening assessment is described in Part I of this report. The essential work remaining is Part II of this report. The objective of the screening assessment is to identify areas where the greatest potential exists for adverse effects on humans or the environment. Part I of this report discusses the scope, technical approach, and results of the screening assessment. Part II defines a new paradigm for predecisional participation by those affected by Hanford cleanup decisions

Involving Assessment Buddies in the Assessment of Design Project Work

Science.gov (United States)

Osmond, Jane; Clough, Brian

2012-01-01

This paper discusses the impact of a specially developed assessment and feedback system implemented within a second year industrial design module at Coventry University, UK. The "Assessment Buddy" system was developed in response to the need for a successful assessment and feedback method that could cope with the complexities of a…

Systemic Assessment as a New Tool for Assessing Students ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Systemic Assessment as a New Tool for Assessing Students Learning in Chemistry using SATL Methods: Systemic Matching, Systemic Synthesis, Systemic Analysis, Systemic Synthetic – Analytic, as Systemic Question Types.

GM Risk Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Sparrow, Penny A. C.

GM risk assessments play an important role in the decision-making process surrounding the regulation, notification and permission to handle Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Ultimately the role of a GM risk assessment will be to ensure the safe handling and containment of the GMO; and to assess any potential impacts on the environment and human health. A risk assessment should answer all ‘what if’ scenarios, based on scientific evidence.

A total risk assessment methodology for security assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Auilar, Richard; Pless, Daniel J.; Kaplan, Paul Garry; Silva, Consuelo Juanita; Rhea, Ronald Edward; Wyss, Gregory Dane; Conrad, Stephen Hamilton

2009-01-01

Sandia National Laboratories performed a two-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development project to develop a new collaborative risk assessment method to enable decision makers to fully consider the interrelationships between threat, vulnerability, and consequence. A five-step Total Risk Assessment Methodology was developed to enable interdisciplinary collaborative risk assessment by experts from these disciplines. The objective of this process is promote effective risk management by enabling analysts to identify scenarios that are simultaneously achievable by an adversary, desirable to the adversary, and of concern to the system owner or to society. The basic steps are risk identification, collaborative scenario refinement and evaluation, scenario cohort identification and risk ranking, threat chain mitigation analysis, and residual risk assessment. The method is highly iterative, especially with regard to scenario refinement and evaluation. The Total Risk Assessment Methodology includes objective consideration of relative attack likelihood instead of subjective expert judgment. The 'probability of attack' is not computed, but the relative likelihood for each scenario is assessed through identifying and analyzing scenario cohort groups, which are groups of scenarios with comparable qualities to the scenario being analyzed at both this and other targets. Scenarios for the target under consideration and other targets are placed into cohort groups under an established ranking process that reflects the following three factors: known targeting, achievable consequences, and the resources required for an adversary to have a high likelihood of success. The development of these target cohort groups implements, mathematically, the idea that adversaries are actively choosing among possible attack scenarios and avoiding scenarios that would be significantly suboptimal to their objectives. An adversary who can choose among only a few comparable targets and scenarios (a

Integrated assessment briefs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-04-01

Integrated assessment can be used to evaluate and clarify resource management policy options and outcomes for decision makers. The defining characteristics of integrated assessment are (1) focus on providing information and analysis that can be understood and used by decision makers rather than for merely advancing understanding and (2) its multidisciplinary approach, using methods, styles of study, and considerations from a broader variety of technical areas than would typically characterize studies produced from a single disciplinary standpoint. Integrated assessment may combine scientific, social, economic, health, and environmental data and models. Integrated assessment requires bridging the gap between science and policy considerations. Because not everything can be valued using a single metric, such as a dollar value, the integrated assessment process also involves evaluating trade-offs among dissimilar attributes. Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recognized the importance and value of multidisciplinary approaches to solving environmental problems early on and have pioneered the development of tools and methods for integrated assessment over the past three decades. Major examples of ORNL`s experience in the development of its capabilities for integrated assessment are given.

Cumulative Risk Assessment (CRA): transforming the way we assess health risks.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Pamela R D; Dotson, G Scott; Maier, Andrew

2012-10-16

Human health risk assessments continue to evolve and now focus on the need for cumulative risk assessment (CRA). CRA involves assessing the combined risk from coexposure to multiple chemical and nonchemical stressors for varying health effects. CRAs are broader in scope than traditional chemical risk assessments because they allow for a more comprehensive evaluation of the interaction between different stressors and their combined impact on human health. Future directions of CRA include greater emphasis on local-level community-based assessments; integrating environmental, occupational, community, and individual risk factors; and identifying and implementing common frameworks and risk metrics for incorporating multiple stressors.

E-Assessment: Institutional Development Strategies and the Assessment Life Cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Tomas, Carmen; Borg, Michaela; McNeil, Jane

2015-01-01

E-assessment is an umbrella term that comprises a complex array of tools of varying capacities. This paper focuses on the topic of e-assessment from the perspective of its strategic institutional development in higher education. The paper argues that research on e-assessment has been dominated by a focus on investigating benefits of use and…

Assessing Believability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Togelius, Julian; Yannakakis, Georgios N.; Karakovskiy, Sergey

2012-01-01

(or at least complementary) assessment might be made by an external observer that does not participate in the game, through comparing and ranking the performance of human and non-human agents playing a game. This assessment philosophy was embodied in the Turing Test Track of the recent Mario AI......We discuss what it means for a non-player character (NPC) to be believable or human-like, and how we can accurately assess believability. We argue that participatory observation, where the human assessing believability takes part in the game, is prone to distortion effects. For many games, a fairer...... Championship, where non-expert bystanders evaluated the human-likeness of several agents and humans playing a version of Super Mario Bros. We analyze the results of this competition. Finally, we discuss the possibilities for forming models of believability and of maximizing believability through adjusting game...

When Assessment Data Are Words: Validity Evidence for Qualitative Educational Assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, David A; Kuper, Ayelet; Hatala, Rose; Ginsburg, Shiphra

2016-10-01

Quantitative scores fail to capture all important features of learner performance. This awareness has led to increased use of qualitative data when assessing health professionals. Yet the use of qualitative assessments is hampered by incomplete understanding of their role in forming judgments, and lack of consensus in how to appraise the rigor of judgments therein derived. The authors articulate the role of qualitative assessment as part of a comprehensive program of assessment, and translate the concept of validity to apply to judgments arising from qualitative assessments. They first identify standards for rigor in qualitative research, and then use two contemporary assessment validity frameworks to reorganize these standards for application to qualitative assessment.Standards for rigor in qualitative research include responsiveness, reflexivity, purposive sampling, thick description, triangulation, transparency, and transferability. These standards can be reframed using Messick's five sources of validity evidence (content, response process, internal structure, relationships with other variables, and consequences) and Kane's four inferences in validation (scoring, generalization, extrapolation, and implications). Evidence can be collected and evaluated for each evidence source or inference. The authors illustrate this approach using published research on learning portfolios.The authors advocate a "methods-neutral" approach to assessment, in which a clearly stated purpose determines the nature of and approach to data collection and analysis. Increased use of qualitative assessments will necessitate more rigorous judgments of the defensibility (validity) of inferences and decisions. Evidence should be strategically sought to inform a coherent validity argument.

Approaching Assessment from a Learning Perspective: Elevating Assessment beyond Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Simms, Michele; George, Beena

2014-01-01

Assessment is a key process in assuring quality education but how is it linked to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)? How can we join teaching and learning to the assessment process rather than view it as a stand-alone component in course and/or program development? This paper explores the relationship between assessment and the SoTL…

Assessing elders using the functional health pattern assessment model.

Science.gov (United States)

Beyea, S; Matzo, M

1989-01-01

The impact of older Americans on the health care system requires we increase our students' awareness of their unique needs. The authors discuss strategies to develop skills using Gordon's Functional Health Patterns Assessment for assessing older clients.

Why Conduct a Spiritual Assessment? A Theoretical Foundation for Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David R. Hodge

2004-12-01

Full Text Available In spite of increased interest in spirituality, the concept of a spiritual assessment remains a questionable practice in the eyes of many social workers. This paper develops five rationales to underscore the importance of including spirituality in assessment. These reasons can be summarized as follows: spiritual assessment provides insight into clients’ world views, serves as a vehicle to identify strengths, and demonstrates respect for client autonomy. In addition, the profession’s ethics implicitly recommend the administration of a spiritual assessment and, for a growing number of accrediting organizations and agencies, it is explicitly recommended.This paper concludes by discussing the implications for practitioners and educators.

Dynamic Speaking Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Kent; Sabet, Mehran

2009-01-01

This article describes an attempt to adopt dynamic assessment (DA) methods in classroom speaking assessments. The study reported in this article focused on four particular applications of dynamic speaking assessment (DSA). The first, "mediated assistance" (MA), involves interaction between an assistor and a learner to reveal problems in…

Distributed road assessment system

Science.gov (United States)

Beer, N. Reginald; Paglieroni, David W

2014-03-25

A system that detects damage on or below the surface of a paved structure or pavement is provided. A distributed road assessment system includes road assessment pods and a road assessment server. Each road assessment pod includes a ground-penetrating radar antenna array and a detection system that detects road damage from the return signals as the vehicle on which the pod is mounted travels down a road. Each road assessment pod transmits to the road assessment server occurrence information describing each occurrence of road damage that is newly detected on a current scan of a road. The road assessment server maintains a road damage database of occurrence information describing the previously detected occurrences of road damage. After the road assessment server receives occurrence information for newly detected occurrences of road damage for a portion of a road, the road assessment server determines which newly detected occurrences correspond to which previously detected occurrences of road damage.

Human scenarios for the screening assessment. Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Napier, B.A.; Harper, B.L.; Lane, N.K.; Strenge, D.L.; Spivey, R.B.

1996-03-01

Because of past nuclear production operations along the Columbia River, there is intense public and tribal interest in assessing any residual Hanford Site related contamination along the river from the Hanford Reach to the Pacific Ocean. The Columbia River Impact Assessment (CRCIA) was proposed to address these concerns. The assessment of the Columbia River is being conducted in phases. The initial phase is a screening assessment of risk, which addresses current environmental conditions for a range of potential uses. One component of the screening assessment estimates the risk from contaminants in the Columbia River to humans. Because humans affected by the Columbia river are involved in a wide range of activities, various scenarios have been developed on which to base the risk assessments. The scenarios illustrate the range of activities possible by members of the public coming in contact with the Columbia River so that the impact of contaminants in the river on human health can be assessed. Each scenario illustrates particular activity patterns by a specific group. Risk will be assessed at the screening level for each scenario. This report defines the scenarios and the exposure factors that will be the basis for estimating the potential range of risk to human health from Hanford-derived radioactive as well as non-radioactive contaminants associated with the Columbia River.

Human scenarios for the screening assessment. Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Napier, B.A.; Harper, B.L.; Lane, N.K.; Strenge, D.L.; Spivey, R.B.

1996-03-01

Because of past nuclear production operations along the Columbia River, there is intense public and tribal interest in assessing any residual Hanford Site related contamination along the river from the Hanford Reach to the Pacific Ocean. The Columbia River Impact Assessment (CRCIA) was proposed to address these concerns. The assessment of the Columbia River is being conducted in phases. The initial phase is a screening assessment of risk, which addresses current environmental conditions for a range of potential uses. One component of the screening assessment estimates the risk from contaminants in the Columbia River to humans. Because humans affected by the Columbia river are involved in a wide range of activities, various scenarios have been developed on which to base the risk assessments. The scenarios illustrate the range of activities possible by members of the public coming in contact with the Columbia River so that the impact of contaminants in the river on human health can be assessed. Each scenario illustrates particular activity patterns by a specific group. Risk will be assessed at the screening level for each scenario. This report defines the scenarios and the exposure factors that will be the basis for estimating the potential range of risk to human health from Hanford-derived radioactive as well as non-radioactive contaminants associated with the Columbia River

Changing the culture of assessment: the dominance of the summative assessment paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Christopher J; Könings, Karen D; Schuwirth, Lambert W T; Wass, Valerie; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

2017-04-28

Despite growing evidence of the benefits of including assessment for learning strategies within programmes of assessment, practical implementation of these approaches is often problematical. Organisational culture change is often hindered by personal and collective beliefs which encourage adherence to the existing organisational paradigm. We aimed to explore how these beliefs influenced proposals to redesign a summative assessment culture in order to improve students' use of assessment-related feedback. Using the principles of participatory design, a mixed group comprising medical students, clinical teachers and senior faculty members was challenged to develop radical solutions to improve the use of post-assessment feedback. Follow-up interviews were conducted with individual members of the group to explore their personal beliefs about the proposed redesign. Data were analysed using a socio-cultural lens. Proposed changes were dominated by a shared belief in the primacy of the summative assessment paradigm, which prevented radical redesign solutions from being accepted by group members. Participants' prior assessment experiences strongly influenced proposals for change. As participants had largely only experienced a summative assessment culture, they found it difficult to conceptualise radical change in the assessment culture. Although all group members participated, students were less successful at persuading the group to adopt their ideas. Faculty members and clinical teachers often used indirect techniques to close down discussions. The strength of individual beliefs became more apparent in the follow-up interviews. Naïve epistemologies and prior personal experiences were influential in the assessment redesign but were usually not expressed explicitly in a group setting, perhaps because of cultural conventions of politeness. In order to successfully implement a change in assessment culture, firmly-held intuitive beliefs about summative assessment will need to

Assessment for Social Justice: The Role of Assessment in Achieving Social Justice

Science.gov (United States)

McArthur, Jan

2016-01-01

This article provides a rationale for "assessment for social justice", through which a greater focus is given to the role of assessment in achieving the social justice aspirations of higher education. It takes inspiration from work on assessment for learning to propose that as assessment is a powerful driver of how and what students…

Assessment Leaders' Perspectives of Institutional Cultures of Assessment: A Delphi Study

Science.gov (United States)

Fuller, Matthew; Henderson, Susan; Bustamante, Rebecca

2015-01-01

Institutional cultures of assessment are praised as beneficial to student learning. Yet, extant studies have not explored the theoretical foundations and pragmatic approaches to shaping cultures of assessment. The researchers used the Delphi method to explore 10 higher education assessment leaders' attitudes and theoretical perspectives regarding…

Ambulatory Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Ryan W; Wycoff, Andrea M; Trull, Timothy J

2016-08-01

In recent years, significant technological advances have changed our understanding of dynamic processes in clinical psychology. A particularly important agent of change has been ambulatory assessment (AA). AA is the assessment of individuals in their daily lives, combining the twin benefits of increased ecological validity and minimized retrospective biases. These benefits make AA particularly well-suited to the assessment of dynamic processes, and recent advancements in technology are providing exciting new opportunities to understand these processes in new ways. In the current article, we briefly detail the capabilities currently offered by smartphones and mobile physiological devices, as well as some of the practical and ethical challenges of incorporating these new technologies into AA research. We then provide several examples of recent innovative applications of AA methodology in clinical research, assessment, and intervention and provide a case example of AA data generated from a study utilizing multiple mobile devices. In this way, we aim to provide a sense of direction for researchers planning AA studies of their own.

SPAT 15 - Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bartley, J.C. (Coordinator)

1998-08-01

In the Spring of 1997, the Department of Energy's Department Standards Committee (DSC) convened a Standards Process Action Team (SPAT-15) to evaluate assessment processes within the DOE complex. If time and resources permitted, the team was also to evaluate assessment processes used by private industry conducting similar work and activities. The specific task statement was as follows: "Define the attributes of assessment programs that effectively support organizational feedback and improvement of safety systems at all the different levels of contractor and Department organizations." The team gathered information on existing assessment programs through surveys and presentations by representatives from national laboratories, processing facilities, and remediation sites. Examples of assessment programs described in this report encompass site-wide, individual facility, and task level applications within the DOE compIex

SPAT 15 - Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartley, J.C.

1998-01-01

In the Spring of 1997, the Department of Energy's Department Standards Committee (DSC) convened a Standards Process Action Team (SPAT-15) to evaluate assessment processes within the DOE complex. If time and resources permitted, the team was also to evaluate assessment processes used by private industry conducting similar work and activities. The specific task statement was as follows: ''Define the attributes of assessment programs that effectively support organizational feedback and improvement of safety systems at all the different levels of contractor and Department organizations.'' The team gathered information on existing assessment programs through surveys and presentations by representatives from national laboratories, processing facilities, and remediation sites. Examples of assessment programs described in this report encompass site-wide, individual facility, and task level applications within the DOE compIex

How Do States Integrate Performance Assessment in Their Systems of Assessment?

Science.gov (United States)

Stosich, Elizabeth Leisy; Snyder, Jon; Wilczak, Katie

2018-01-01

This paper reviews state strategies for incorporating performance assessment in policy and practice. Specifically, the paper reviews the use of performance assessment in 12 states in the Innovation Lab Network, a group committed to developing systems of assessment that provide meaningful measures of college and career readiness. This review…

Does Computer-Based Motor Skill Assessment Training Transfer to Live Assessing?

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Luke E.; Taliaferro, Andrea; Krause, Jennifer

2012-01-01

Developing competency in motor skill assessment has been identified as a critical need in physical educator preparation. We conducted this study to evaluate (a) the effectiveness of a web-based instructional program--Motor Skill Assessment Program (MSAP)--for developing assessment competency, and specifically (b) whether competency developed by…

Characterizing College Science Assessments: The Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol

Science.gov (United States)

Underwood, Sonia M.; Matz, Rebecca L.; Posey, Lynmarie A.; Carmel, Justin H.; Caballero, Marcos D.; Fata-Hartley, Cori L.; Ebert-May, Diane; Jardeleza, Sarah E.; Cooper, Melanie M.

2016-01-01

Many calls to improve science education in college and university settings have focused on improving instructor pedagogy. Meanwhile, science education at the K-12 level is undergoing significant changes as a result of the emphasis on scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. This framework of “three-dimensional learning” is based on the literature about how people learn science and how we can help students put their knowledge to use. Recently, similar changes are underway in higher education by incorporating three-dimensional learning into college science courses. As these transformations move forward, it will become important to assess three-dimensional learning both to align assessments with the learning environment, and to assess the extent of the transformations. In this paper we introduce the Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3D-LAP), which is designed to characterize and support the development of assessment tasks in biology, chemistry, and physics that align with transformation efforts. We describe the development process used by our interdisciplinary team, discuss the validity and reliability of the protocol, and provide evidence that the protocol can distinguish between assessments that have the potential to elicit evidence of three-dimensional learning and those that do not. PMID:27606671

Characterizing College Science Assessments: The Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Laverty, James T; Underwood, Sonia M; Matz, Rebecca L; Posey, Lynmarie A; Carmel, Justin H; Caballero, Marcos D; Fata-Hartley, Cori L; Ebert-May, Diane; Jardeleza, Sarah E; Cooper, Melanie M

2016-01-01

Many calls to improve science education in college and university settings have focused on improving instructor pedagogy. Meanwhile, science education at the K-12 level is undergoing significant changes as a result of the emphasis on scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. This framework of "three-dimensional learning" is based on the literature about how people learn science and how we can help students put their knowledge to use. Recently, similar changes are underway in higher education by incorporating three-dimensional learning into college science courses. As these transformations move forward, it will become important to assess three-dimensional learning both to align assessments with the learning environment, and to assess the extent of the transformations. In this paper we introduce the Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3D-LAP), which is designed to characterize and support the development of assessment tasks in biology, chemistry, and physics that align with transformation efforts. We describe the development process used by our interdisciplinary team, discuss the validity and reliability of the protocol, and provide evidence that the protocol can distinguish between assessments that have the potential to elicit evidence of three-dimensional learning and those that do not.

Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional Assessment: pre-assessment report

Science.gov (United States)

Assal, Timothy J.; Melcher, Cynthia P.; Carr, Natasha B.

2015-01-01

The purpose of the Pre-Assessment Report for the Southern Great Plains Rapid Ecoregional Assessment (REA) is to document the selection process for and final list of Conservation Elements, Change Agents, and Management Questions developed during Phase I. The overall goal of the REAs being conducted for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is to provide information that supports regional planning and analysis for the management of ecological resources. The REA provides an assessment of baseline ecological conditions, an evaluation of current risks from drivers of ecosystem change, and a predictive capacity for evaluating future risks. The REA also may be used for identifying priority areas for conservation or restoration and for assessing the cumulative effects of a variety of land uses. There are several components of the REAs. Management Questions, developed by the BLM and partners for the ecoregion, identify the information needed for addressing land-management responsibilities. Conservation Elements represent regionally significant terrestrial and aquatic species and communities that are to be conserved and (or) restored. For each Conservation Element, key ecological attributes will be evaluated to determine the status of each species and community. The REA also will evaluate major drivers of ecosystem change, or Change Agents, currently affecting or likely to affect the status of Conservation Elements in the future. The relationships between Change Agents and key ecological attributes will be summarized using conceptual models. The REA process is a two-phase process. Phase I (pre-assessment) includes developing and finalizing the lists of priority Management Questions, Conservation Elements, and Change Agents, culminating in the REA Pre-Assessment Report.

The Structured Assessment Dialogue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dolin, Jens; Bruun, Jesper; Nielsen, Sanne Schnell

2018-01-01

The two key purposes of assessment, formative and summative, are often in a contradictory position if they are used concurrently. The summative assessment of learning will often prevent the formative assessment for learning to be realised (Butler, J Educ Psychol 79(4):474, 1987), meaning...... assessment method involving three distinct phases: A 5-min student-teacher dialogue, a 5-min peer feedback phase and finally 2–3-min of student self-reflection. We describe the rationales for the SAD and analyse results from classroom implementations in Denmark and Finland. First, using focus group interview...... that the learning potential of the assessment will often be minimal. It is therefore a central challenge to find ways to combine the dual use of assessment. The structured assessment dialogue (SAD) is a candidate for such a combination. This chapter introduces the structured assessment dialogue – a short ritualised...

Two Thinking Skills Assessment Approaches: "Assessment of Pupils' Thinking Skills" and "Individual Thinking Skills Assessments"

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Lynsey A.; Williams, Joanne M.

2012-01-01

This paper is linked to a previous paper outlining an evaluation of a thinking skills intervention (Burke & Williams, 2008). Following extensive requests for the assessment tools used in the intervention, this short paper presents the development and potential uses of two thinking skills assessment tools. The aim of the paper is simply to make…

Precision Learning Assessment: An Alternative to Traditional Assessment Techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Caltagirone, Paul J.; Glover, Christopher E.

1985-01-01

A continuous and curriculum-based assessment method, Precision Learning Assessment (PLA), which integrates precision teaching and norm-referenced techniques, was applied to a math computation curriculum for 214 third graders. The resulting districtwide learning curves defining average annual progress through the computation curriculum provided…

Biology Reflective Assessment Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Bayley, Cheryl Ann

Often students and educators view assessments as an obligation and finality for a unit. In the current climate of high-stakes testing and accountability, the balance of time, resources and emphasis on students' scores related to assessment have been slanted considerably toward the summative side. This tension between assessment for accountability and assessment to inform teaching strains instruction and educators' ability to use that information to design learning opportunities that help students develop deeper conceptual understanding. A substantive body of research indicates that formative and reflective assessment can significantly improve student learning. Biology Reflective Assessment Curriculum (BRAC) examines support provided for high school science students through assessment practices. This investigation incorporates the usage of reflective assessments as a guiding practice for differentiated instruction and student choice. Reflective assessment is a metacognitive strategy that promotes self-monitoring and evaluation. The goals of the curriculum are to promote self-efficacy and conceptual understanding in students learning biology through developing their metacognitive awareness. BRAC was implemented in a high school biology classroom. Data from assessments, metacognitive surveys, self-efficacy surveys, reflective journals, student work, a culminating task and field notes were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum. The results suggest that students who develop their metacognitive skills developed a deeper conceptual understanding and improved feelings of self-efficacy when they were engaged in a reflective assessment unit embedded with student choice. BRAC is a tool for teachers to use assessments to assist students in becoming metacognitive and to guide student choice in learning opportunities.

Rapid knowledge assessment (RKA): Assessing students content knowledge through rapid, in class assessment of expertise

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connell, Erin

Understanding how students go about problem solving in chemistry lends many possible advantages for interventions in teaching strategies for the college classroom. The work presented here is the development of an in-classroom, real-time, formative instrument to assess student expertise in chemistry with the purpose of developing classroom interventions. The development of appropriate interventions requires the understanding of how students go about starting to solve tasks presented to them, what their mental effort (load on working memory) is, and whether or not their performance was accurate. To measure this, the Rapid Knowledge Assessment (RKA) instrument uses clickers (handheld electronic instruments for submitting answers) as a means of data collection. The classroom data was used to develop an algorithm to deliver student assessment scores, which when correlated to external measure of standardized American Chemical Society (ACS) examinations and class score show a significant relationship between the accuracy of knowledge assessment (p=0.000). Use of eye-tracking technology and student interviews supports the measurements found in the classroom.

Risk Assessment Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Prassinos, Peter G.; Lyver, John W., IV; Bui, Chinh T.

2011-01-01

Risk assessment is used in many industries to identify and manage risks. Initially developed for use on aeronautical and nuclear systems, risk assessment has been applied to transportation, chemical, computer, financial, and security systems among others. It is used to gain an understanding of the weaknesses or vulnerabilities in a system so modification can be made to increase operability, efficiency, and safety and to reduce failure and down-time. Risk assessment results are primary inputs to risk-informed decision making; where risk information including uncertainty is used along with other pertinent information to assist management in the decision-making process. Therefore, to be useful, a risk assessment must be directed at specific objectives. As the world embraces the globalization of trade and manufacturing, understanding the associated risk become important to decision making. Applying risk assessment techniques to a global system of development, manufacturing, and transportation can provide insight into how the system can fail, the likelihood of system failure and the consequences of system failure. The risk assessment can identify those elements that contribute most to risk and identify measures to prevent and mitigate failures, disruptions, and damaging outcomes. In addition, risk associated with public and environment impact can be identified. The risk insights gained can be applied to making decisions concerning suitable development and manufacturing locations, supply chains, and transportation strategies. While risk assessment has been mostly applied to mechanical and electrical systems, the concepts and techniques can be applied across other systems and activities. This paper provides a basic overview of the development of a risk assessment.

Species for the screening assessment. Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, J.M.; Brandt, C.A.; Dauble, D.D.; Maughan, A.D.; O'Neil, T.K.

1996-03-01

Because of past nuclear production operations along the Columbia River, there is intense public and tribal interest in assessing any residual Hanford Site related contamination along the river from the Hanford Reach to the Pacific Ocean. The Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment was proposed to address these concerns. The assessment of the Columbia River is being conducted in phases. The initial phase is a screening assessment of the risk, which addresses current environmental conditions for a range of potential uses. One component of the screening assessment estimates the risk from contaminants in the Columbia River to the environment. The objective of the ecological risk assessment is to determine whether contaminants from the Columbia River pose a significant threat to selected receptor species that exist in the river and riparian communities of the study area. This report (1) identifies the receptor species selected for the screening assessment of ecological risk and (2) describes the selection process. The species selection process consisted of two tiers. In Tier 1, a master species list was developed that included many plant and animal species known to occur in the aquatic and riparian systems of the Columbia River between Priest Rapids Dam and the Columbia River estuary. This master list was reduced to 368 species that occur in the study area (Priest Rapids Dam to McNary Dam). In Tier 2, the 181 Tier 1 species were qualitatively ranked based on a scoring of their potential exposure and sensitivity to contaminants using a conceptual exposure model for the study area

Species for the screening assessment. Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, J.M.; Brandt, C.A.; Dauble, D.D.; Maughan, A.D.; O`Neil, T.K.

1996-03-01

Because of past nuclear production operations along the Columbia River, there is intense public and tribal interest in assessing any residual Hanford Site related contamination along the river from the Hanford Reach to the Pacific Ocean. The Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment was proposed to address these concerns. The assessment of the Columbia River is being conducted in phases. The initial phase is a screening assessment of the risk, which addresses current environmental conditions for a range of potential uses. One component of the screening assessment estimates the risk from contaminants in the Columbia River to the environment. The objective of the ecological risk assessment is to determine whether contaminants from the Columbia River pose a significant threat to selected receptor species that exist in the river and riparian communities of the study area. This report (1) identifies the receptor species selected for the screening assessment of ecological risk and (2) describes the selection process. The species selection process consisted of two tiers. In Tier 1, a master species list was developed that included many plant and animal species known to occur in the aquatic and riparian systems of the Columbia River between Priest Rapids Dam and the Columbia River estuary. This master list was reduced to 368 species that occur in the study area (Priest Rapids Dam to McNary Dam). In Tier 2, the 181 Tier 1 species were qualitatively ranked based on a scoring of their potential exposure and sensitivity to contaminants using a conceptual exposure model for the study area.

Human reliability assessment and probabilistic risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Embrey, D.E.; Lucas, D.A.

1989-01-01

Human reliability assessment (HRA) is used within Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to identify the human errors (both omission and commission) which have a significant effect on the overall safety of the system and to quantify the probability of their occurrence. There exist a variey of HRA techniques and the selection of an appropriate one is often difficult. This paper reviews a number of available HRA techniques and discusses their strengths and weaknesses. The techniques reviewed include: decompositional methods, time-reliability curves and systematic expert judgement techniques. (orig.)

Making the assessment right, or making the right assessment?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ritzen, M.J.; Rovers, R.; Vroon, Z.A.E.P.; Geurts, C.P.W.; Khan, A.; Allacker, K.

2015-01-01

While its design has significant impact on the sustainability of a building, assessment methods to measure sustainability in design phases are not widely used. If assessment methods are applied, it is debateable whether they can generate the insight that is needed to realize a truly sustainable

Twelve tips for assessing surgical performance and use of technical assessment scales

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strandbygaard, Jeanett; Scheele, Fedde; Sørensen, Jette Led

2017-01-01

Using validated assessment scales for technical competence can help structure and standardize assessment and feedback for both the trainee and the supervisor and thereby avoid bias and drive learning. Correct assessment of operative skills can establish learning curves and allow adequate monitoring....... However, the assessment of surgical performance is not an easy task, since it includes many proxy parameters, which are hard to measure. Although numerous technical assessment scales exist, both within laparoscopic and open surgery, the validity evidence is often sparse, and this can raise doubts about...... reliability and educational outcome. Furthermore, the implementation of technical assessment scales varies due to several obstacles and doubts about accurate use. In this 12-tips article, we aim to give the readers a critical and useful appraisal of some of the common questions and misunderstandings regarding...

Complementary approaches to the assessment of personality disorder. The Personality Assessment Schedule and Adult Personality Functioning Assessment compared.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, J; Fudge, H; Harrington, R; Pickles, A; Rutter, M

2000-05-01

Current concepts and measures of personality disorder are in many respects unsatisfactory. To establish agreement between two contrasting measures of personality disorder, and to compare subject-informant agreement on each. To examine the extent to which trait abnormality can be separated from interpersonal and social role dysfunction. Fifty-six subjects and their closest informants were interviewed and rated independently. Personality functioning was assessed using a modified Personality Assessment Schedule (M-PAS), and the Adult Personality Functioning Assessment (APFA). Subject-informant agreement on the M-PAS was moderately good, and agreement between the M-PAS and the APFA, across and within subjects and informants, was comparable to that for the M-PAS. This was equally the case when M-PAS trait plus impairment scores and trait abnormality scores were used. The M-PAS and the APFA are probably assessing similar constructs. Trait abnormalities occur predominantly in an interpersonal context and could be assessed within that context.

Breastfeeding assessment tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bizouerne, Cécile; Kerac, Marko; Macgrath, Marie

2014-01-01

Full text: Breastfeeding plays a major role in reducing the global burden of child mortality and under-nutrition. Whilst many programmes aim to support breastfeeding and prevent feeding problems occurring, interventions are also needed once they have developed. In this situation, accurate assessment of a problem is critical to inform prognosis and enables tailored, appropriate treatment. The presentation will present a review, which aims to identify breastfeeding assessment tools/checklists for use in assessing malnourished infants in poor resource settings. The literature review identified 24 breastfeeding assessment tools, and 41 validation studies. Evidence underpinning most of the tools was mainly low quality, and conducted in high-income countries and hospital settings. The presentation will describe the main findings of the literature review and propose recommendations for improving existing tools in order to appropriately assess malnourished infants and enable early, appropriate intervention and treatment of malnutrition. (author)

Welfare Quality assessment protocol for laying hens = Welfare Quality assessment protocol voor leghennen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niekerk, van T.G.C.M.; Gunnink, H.; Reenen, van C.G.

2012-01-01

Results of a study on the Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for laying hens. It reports the development of the integration of welfare assessment as scores per criteria as well as simplification of the Welfare Quality® assessment protocol. Results are given from assessment of 122 farms.

Assessing Assessment Quality: Criteria for Quality Assurance in Design of (Peer) Assessment for Learning--A Review of Research Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Tillema, Harm; Leenknecht, Martijn; Segers, Mien

2011-01-01

The interest in "assessment for learning" (AfL) has resulted in a search for new modes of assessment that are better aligned to students' learning how to learn. However, with the introduction of new assessment tools, also questions arose with respect to the quality of its measurement. On the one hand, the appropriateness of traditional,…

Changing Assessment--Towards a New Assessment Paradigm Using ICT

Science.gov (United States)

Redecker, Christine; Johannessen, Oystein

2013-01-01

This article discusses how Information and Communication Technologies can support 21st century assessment strategies and what needs to be done to ensure that technological advances support and foster pedagogical innovation. Based on an extensive review of the literature, it provides an overview of current ICT-enabled assessment practices, with a…

E-assessment for learning? Exploring the potential of computer-marked assessment and computer-generated feedback, from short-answer questions to assessment analytics.

OpenAIRE

Jordan, Sally

2014-01-01

This submission draws on research from twelve publications, all addressing some aspect of the broad research question: “Can interactive computer-marked assessment improve the effectiveness of assessment for learning?” \\ud \\ud The work starts from a consideration of the conditions under which assessment of any sort is predicted to best support learning, and reviews the broader literature of assessment and feedback before considering the potential of computer-based assessment, focusing on relat...

Energy and environmental assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Henrik; Sukkumnoed, Decharut

2004-01-01

The paper introduce and discuss strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and economic assessment for energy innovation and suggests approach to influence support for sustainable energy development in Thailand.......The paper introduce and discuss strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and economic assessment for energy innovation and suggests approach to influence support for sustainable energy development in Thailand....

What influences the choice of assessment methods in health technology assessments? Statistical analysis of international health technology assessments from 1989 to 2002.

Science.gov (United States)

Draborg, Eva; Andersen, Christian Kronborg

2006-01-01

Health technology assessment (HTA) has been used as input in decision making worldwide for more than 25 years. However, no uniform definition of HTA or agreement on assessment methods exists, leaving open the question of what influences the choice of assessment methods in HTAs. The objective of this study is to analyze statistically a possible relationship between methods of assessment used in practical HTAs, type of assessed technology, type of assessors, and year of publication. A sample of 433 HTAs published by eleven leading institutions or agencies in nine countries was reviewed and analyzed by multiple logistic regression. The study shows that outsourcing of HTA reports to external partners is associated with a higher likelihood of using assessment methods, such as meta-analysis, surveys, economic evaluations, and randomized controlled trials; and with a lower likelihood of using assessment methods, such as literature reviews and "other methods". The year of publication was statistically related to the inclusion of economic evaluations and shows a decreasing likelihood during the year span. The type of assessed technology was related to economic evaluations with a decreasing likelihood, to surveys, and to "other methods" with a decreasing likelihood when pharmaceuticals were the assessed type of technology. During the period from 1989 to 2002, no major developments in assessment methods used in practical HTAs were shown statistically in a sample of 433 HTAs worldwide. Outsourcing to external assessors has a statistically significant influence on choice of assessment methods.

Assessing Vocal Performances Using Analytical Assessment: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Gynnild, Vidar

2016-01-01

This study investigated ways to improve the appraisal of vocal performances within a national academy of music. Since a criterion-based assessment framework had already been adopted, the conceptual foundation of an assessment rubric was used as a guide in an action research project. The group of teachers involved wanted to explore thinking…

Issues in Assessment: Implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Malinowski, Patricia A., Ed.

This collection of articles is the third in a series on assessment produced by Finger Lakes Community College (New York). It deals with classroom assessment as an ongoing process that can be of significant value to teachers as well as to students. Assessment at the college and assessment in the classroom in general are explored. Articles include:…

76 FR 44891 - Monsanto Co.; Availability of Petition, Plant Pest Risk Assessment, and Environmental Assessment...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-27

...] Monsanto Co.; Availability of Petition, Plant Pest Risk Assessment, and Environmental Assessment for... Monsanto petition, our plant pest risk assessment, and our draft environmental assessment for the proposed...-2817 before coming. The petition, draft environmental assessment, and plant pest risk assessment are...

SELF ASSESSMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dumara Coutinho Tokunaga Sameshima

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Institutional Assessment is a comprehensive action, radical mobilizing and engaging the institution as a whole. Process is not indifferent or neutral. Instead, take advantage reaffirms values considered positive, the judge denies negative, their social relationships and work involved in all aspects of academic life and institutional (Newton Balzan and José Dias Sobrinho. As pointed out by the authors of the text, the institutional assessment is a challenge for managers in the field. In this sense this study addresses the understanding of Institutional Assessment and investigation procedure, that explicitly and reveal the subject institution's social reality prevailing in its various dimensions, identifying their points of excellence, their focus create obstacles, pointing paths and prospects for institutional development. The process of self-assessment meets the desire of institutions to maintain the provision of quality services and meet legislation on Institutional Assessment, specifically the Law. 10861/2004 which regulates the National Assessment of Higher Education - SINAES. The author's desire to emphasize that institutions of higher learning, being recognized as educational institutions, research and extension to provide excellence in education, training people competent, ethical and socially committed to the real exercise of citizenship.

Psychological distress and streamlined BreastScreen follow-up assessment versus standard assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherman, Kerry A; Winch, Caleb J; Borecky, Natacha; Boyages, John

2013-11-04

To establish whether altered protocol characteristics of streamlined StepDown breast assessment clinics heightened or reduced the psychological distress of women in attendance compared with standard assessment. Willingness to attend future screening was also compared between the assessment groups. Observational, prospective study of women attending either a mammogram-only StepDown or a standard breast assessment clinic. Women completed questionnaires on the day of assessment and 1 month later. Women attending StepDown (136 women) or standard assessment clinics (148 women) at a BreastScreen centre between 10 November 2009 and 7 August 2010. Breast cancer worries; positive and negative psychological consequences of assessment (Psychological Consequences Questionnaire); breast cancer-related intrusion and avoidance (Impact of Event Scale); and willingness to attend, and uneasiness about, future screening. At 1-month follow-up, no group differences were evident between those attending standard and StepDown clinics on breast cancer worries (P= 0.44), positive (P= 0.88) and negative (P = 0.65) consequences, intrusion (P = 0.64), and avoidance (P = 0.87). Willingness to return for future mammograms was high, and did not differ between groups (P = 0.16), although higher levels of unease were associated with lessened willingness to rescreen (P = 0.04). There was no evidence that attending streamlined StepDown assessments had different outcomes in terms of distress than attending standard assessment clinics for women with a BreastScreen-detected abnormality. However, unease about attending future screening was generally associated with less willingness to do so in both groups; thus, there is a role for psycho-educational intervention to address these concerns.

Increasing quality and managing complexity in neuroinformatics software development with continuous integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yury V. Zaytsev

2013-01-01

Full Text Available High quality neuroscience research requires accurate, reliable and well maintained neuroinformatics applications. As software projects become larger, offering more functionality and developing a denser web of interdependence between their component parts, we need more sophisticated methods to manage their complexity. If complexity is allowed to get out of hand, either the quality of the software or the speed of development suffer, and in many cases both. To address this issue, here we develop a scalable, low-cost and open source solution for continuous integration (CI, a technique which ensures the quality of changes to the code base during the development procedure, rather than relying on a pre-release integration phase. We demonstrate that a CI based workflow, due to rapid feedback about code integration problems and tracking of code health measures, enabled substantial increases in productivity for a major neuroinformatics project and additional benefits for three further projects. Beyond the scope of the current study, we identify multiple areas in which CI can be employed to further increase the quality of neuroinformatics projects by improving development practices and incorporating appropriate development tools. Finally, we discuss what measures can be taken to lower the barrier for developers of neuroinformatics applications to adopt this useful technique.

Mapping and Quantification of Vascular Branching in Plants, Animals and Humans by VESGEN Software

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons-Wingerter, P. A.; Vickerman, M. B.; Keith, P. A.

2010-01-01

Humans face daunting challenges in the successful exploration and colonization of space, including adverse alterations in gravity and radiation. The Earth-determined biology of plants, animals and humans is significantly modified in such extraterrestrial environments. One physiological requirement shared by larger plants and animals with humans is a complex, highly branching vascular system that is dynamically responsive to cellular metabolism, immunological protection and specialized cellular/tissue function. VESsel GENeration (VESGEN) Analysis has been developed as a mature beta version, pre-release research software for mapping and quantification of the fractal-based complexity of vascular branching. Alterations in vascular branching pattern can provide informative read-outs of altered vascular regulation. Originally developed for biomedical applications in angiogenesis, VESGEN 2D has provided novel insights into the cytokine, transgenic and therapeutic regulation of angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis and other microvascular remodeling phenomena. Vascular trees, networks and tree-network composites are mapped and quantified. Applications include disease progression from clinical ophthalmic images of the human retina; experimental regulation of vascular remodeling in the mouse retina; avian and mouse coronary vasculature, and other experimental models in vivo. We envision that altered branching in the leaves of plants studied on ISS such as Arabidopsis thaliana cans also be analyzed.

Increasing quality and managing complexity in neuroinformatics software development with continuous integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaytsev, Yury V; Morrison, Abigail

2012-01-01

High quality neuroscience research requires accurate, reliable and well maintained neuroinformatics applications. As software projects become larger, offering more functionality and developing a denser web of interdependence between their component parts, we need more sophisticated methods to manage their complexity. If complexity is allowed to get out of hand, either the quality of the software or the speed of development suffer, and in many cases both. To address this issue, here we develop a scalable, low-cost and open source solution for continuous integration (CI), a technique which ensures the quality of changes to the code base during the development procedure, rather than relying on a pre-release integration phase. We demonstrate that a CI-based workflow, due to rapid feedback about code integration problems and tracking of code health measures, enabled substantial increases in productivity for a major neuroinformatics project and additional benefits for three further projects. Beyond the scope of the current study, we identify multiple areas in which CI can be employed to further increase the quality of neuroinformatics projects by improving development practices and incorporating appropriate development tools. Finally, we discuss what measures can be taken to lower the barrier for developers of neuroinformatics applications to adopt this useful technique.

High yielding rice mutants for West Bengal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Debnath, A.R.; Sen, S.

1980-01-01

Four high yielding mutants with specific genetic corrections of the simply inherited characters were developed from IR-8 through X-irradiation. Recurrent selections of the promising isolates were made under diverse agro-climatic conditions in Winter and Summer seasons of West Bengal. The isolates CNM 6 and CNM 25 belonging to early maturity group and CNM 20 and CNM 31, to mid-early maturity group were finally selected at X 5 generation on the basis of their resistance qualities, maturity period and grain yield. They were evaluated upto X 10 qeneration at multi-locations as Pre-release and Minikit Varieties at State level. They were also placed at the National Screening Nursery (NSN) for screening against multiple diseases and pests at the National level. CNM 6 is reported to be promising in IRTP nurseries. It is reported that CNM 25 (IET 5646) ranked 2nd on the basis of average grain yield, CNM 20 (IET 5937) and CNM 31 (IET 5936) were resistant to diseases and with yield comparable to Jaya. These four productive mutants of superior types are widely accepted. CNM 6 is recommended for cultivation in Bankura and Birbhum districts and CNM 25 and CNM 31 in the different agro-climatic zones of West Bengal. (author)

National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program: 1990 Integrated Assessment report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-11-01

The document, the 'Integrated Assessment,' is a summary of the causes and effects of acidic deposition and a comparison of the costs and effectiveness of alternative emission control scenarios. In developing the 'Integrated Assessment,' it was NAPAP's goal to produce a structured compilation of policy-relevant technical information. The Integrated Assessment is based on findings and data from a series of twenty-seven State-of-Science/Technology Reports (SOS/T) on acidic deposition published by NAPAP in 1990. The scope of the documents includes: (1) emissions, atmospheric processes and deposition; (2) effects on surface waters, forests, agricultural crops, exposed materials, human health, and visibility; and (3) control technologies, future emissions, and effects valuation

The contribution of health technology assessment, health needs assessment, and health impact assessment to the assessment and translation of technologies in the field of public health genomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenkötter, N; Vondeling, H; Blancquaert, I; Mekel, O C L; Kristensen, F B; Brand, A

2011-01-01

The European Union has named genomics as one of the promising research fields for the development of new health technologies. Major concerns with regard to these fields are, on the one hand, the rather slow and limited translation of new knowledge and, on the other hand, missing insights into the impact on public health and health care practice of those technologies that are actually introduced. This paper aims to give an overview of the major assessment instruments in public health [health technology assessment (HTA), health needs assessment (HNA) and health impact assessment (HIA)] which could contribute to the systematic translation and assessment of genomic health applications by focussing at population level and on public health policy making. It is shown to what extent HTA, HNA and HIA contribute to translational research by using the continuum of translational research (T1-T4) in genomic medicine as an analytic framework. The selected assessment methodologies predominantly cover 2 to 4 phases within the T1-T4 system. HTA delivers the most complete set of methodologies when assessing health applications. HNA can be used to prioritize areas where genomic health applications are needed or to identify infrastructural needs. HIA delivers information on the impact of technologies in a wider scope and promotes informed decision making. HTA, HNA and HIA provide a partly overlapping and partly unique set of methodologies and infrastructure for the translation and assessment of genomic health applications. They are broad in scope and go beyond the continuum of T1-T4 translational research regarding policy translation. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Operational risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

McKim, Vicky L

2017-06-01

In the world of risk management, which encompasses the business continuity disciplines, many types of risk require evaluation. Financial risk is most often the primary focus, followed by product and market risks. Another critical area, which typically lacks a thorough review or may be overlooked, is operational risk. This category encompasses many risk exposure types including those around building structures and systems, environmental issues, nature, neighbours, clients, regulatory compliance, network, data security and so on. At times, insurance carriers will assess internal hazards, but seldom do these assessments include more than a cursory look at other types of operational risk. In heavily regulated environments, risk assessments are required but may not always include thorough assessments of operational exposures. Vulnerabilities may linger or go unnoticed, only to become the catalyst for a business disruption at a later time, some of which are so severe that business recovery becomes nearly impossible. Businesses may suffer loss of clients as the result of a prolonged disruption of services. Comprehensive operational risk assessments can assist in identifying such vulnerabilities, exposures and threats so that the risk can be minimised or removed. This paper lays out how an assessment of this type can be successfully conducted.

Assessment, surgeon, and society.

Science.gov (United States)

Norcini, John; Talati, Jamsheer

2009-08-01

An increasing public demand to monitor and assure the quality of care provided by physicians and surgeons has been accompanied by a deepening appreciation within the profession of the demands of self-regulation and the need for accountability. To respond to these developments, the public and the profession have turned increasingly to assessment, both to establish initial competence and to ensure that it is maintained throughout a career. Fortunately, this comes at a time when there have been significant advances in the breadth and quality of the assessment tools available. This article provides an overview of the drivers of change in assessment which includes the educational outcomes movement, the development of technology, and advances in assessment. It then outlines the factors that are important in selecting assessment devices as well as a system for classifying the methods that are available. Finally, the drivers of change have spawned a number of trends in the assessment of competence as a surgeon. Three of them are of particular note, simulation, workplace-based assessment, and the assessment of new competences, and each is reviewed with a focus on its potential.

Transforming Assessment Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jan Alexis; Dolin, Jens; Tidemand, Sofie

2018-01-01

This chapter will identify and outline current gaps in research into assessment practice and tie the results of the ASSIST-ME project onto this outline. In this way, the chapter will present concrete research vistas that are still needed in international assessment research. The chapter concludes...... with a key theme that appears across many of the chapters in this volume, namely, issues concerning the operationalisation of complex learning goals into teaching and assessment activities....

Research on probabilistic assessment method based on the corroded pipeline assessment criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Guangli; Luo, Jinheng; Zhao Xinwei; Zhang Hua; Zhang Liang; Zhang Yi

2012-01-01

Pipeline integrity assessments are performed using conventional deterministic approaches, even though there are many uncertainties about the parameters in the pipeline integrity assessment. In this paper, a probabilistic assessment method is provided for the gas pipeline with corrosion defects based on the current corroded pipe evaluation criteria, and the failure probability of corroded pipelines due to the uncertainties of loadings, material property and measurement accuracy is estimated using Monte-Carlo technique. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis approach is introduced to rank the influence of various random variables to the safety of pipeline. And the method to determine the critical defect size based on acceptable failure probability is proposed. Highlights: ► The folias factor in pipeline corrosion assessment methods was analyzed. ► The probabilistic method was applied in corrosion assessment methods. ► The influence of assessment variables to the reliability of pipeline was ranked. ► The acceptable failure probability was used to determine the critical defect size.

National Assessment Database

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The National Assessment Database stores and tracks state water quality assessment decisions, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and other watershed plans designed to...

Risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinchin, G.H.

1983-01-01

After defining risk and introducing the concept of individual and societal risk, the author considers each of these, restricting considerations to risk of death. Some probabilities of death arising from various causes are quoted, and attention drawn to the care necessary in making comparisons between sets of data and to the distinction between voluntary and involuntary categories and between early and delayed deaths. The presentation of information on societal risk is discussed and examples given. The history of quantified risk assessment is outlined, particularly related to the nuclear industry, the process of assessing risk discussed: identification of hazard causes, the development of accident chains and the use of event trees, the evaluation of probability through the collection of data and their use with fault trees, and the assessment of consequences of hazards in terms of fatalities. Reference is made to the human element and common-made failures, and to studies supporting the development of reliability assessment techniques. Acceptance criteria are discussed for individual and societal risk in the nuclear field, and it is shown that proposed criteria lead to risks conservative by comparison with risks from day-to-day accidents and other potentially hazardous industries. (U.K.)

Role of assessment

African Journals Online (AJOL)

User

skills valued by employers such as problem solving, communication skills, and working effectively with ... structured. Performance assessment, portfolios, authentic assessment and student self ...... damaging the self-esteem of low achievers.

Hepatitis Risk Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

... please visit this page: About CDC.gov . Hepatitis Risk Assessment Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir Viral Hepatitis. Are you at risk? Take this 5 minute Hepatitis Risk Assessment developed ...

Global mineral resource assessment: porphyry copper assessment of Mexico: Chapter A in Global mineral resource assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Robinson, Gilpin R.; Ludington, Steve; Gray, Floyd; Drenth, Benjamin J.; Cendejas-Cruz, Francisco; Espinosa, Enrique; Pérez-Segura, Efrén; Valencia-Moreno, Martín; Rodríguez-Castañeda, José Luis; Vásquez-Mendoza, Rigobert; Zürcher, Lukas

2010-01-01

Mineral resource assessments provide a synthesis of available information about distributions of mineral deposits in the Earth’s crust. A probabilistic mineral resource assessment of undiscovered resources in porphyry copper deposits in Mexico was done as part of a global mineral resource assessment. The purpose of the study was to (1) delineate permissive areas (tracts) for undiscovered porphyry copper deposits within 1 km of the surface at a scale of 1:1,000,000; (2) provide a database of known porphyry copper deposits and significant prospects; (3) estimate numbers of undiscovered deposits within those permissive tracts; and (4) provide probabilistic estimates of amounts of copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), gold (Au), and silver (Ag) that could be contained in undiscovered deposits for each permissive tract. The assessment was conducted using a three-part form of mineral resource assessment based on mineral deposit models (Singer, 1993). Delineation of permissive tracts primarily was based on distributions of mapped igneous rocks related to magmatic arcs that formed in tectonic settings associated with subduction boundary zones. Using a GIS, map units were selected from digital geologic maps based on lithology and age to delineate twelve permissive tracts associated with Jurassic, Laramide (~90 to 34 Ma), and younger Tertiary magmatic arcs. Stream-sediment geochemistry, mapped alteration, regional aeromagnetic data, and exploration history were considered in conjunction with descriptive deposit models and grade and tonnage models to guide estimates.

Opportunities for using spatial property assessment data in air pollution exposure assessments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keller C Peter

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many epidemiological studies examining the relationships between adverse health outcomes and exposure to air pollutants use ambient air pollution measurements as a proxy for personal exposure levels. When pollution levels vary at neighbourhood levels, using ambient pollution data from sparsely located fixed monitors may inadequately capture the spatial variation in ambient pollution. A major constraint to moving toward exposure assessments and epidemiological studies of air pollution at a neighbourhood level is the lack of readily available data at appropriate spatial resolutions. Spatial property assessment data are widely available in North America and may provide an opportunity for developing neighbourhood level air pollution exposure assessments. Results This paper provides a detailed description of spatial property assessment data available in the Pacific Northwest of Canada and the United States, and provides examples of potential applications of spatial property assessment data for improving air pollution exposure assessment at the neighbourhood scale, including: (1 creating variables for use in land use regression modelling of neighbourhood levels of ambient air pollution; (2 enhancing wood smoke exposure estimates by mapping fireplace locations; and (3 using data available on individual building characteristics to produce a regional air pollution infiltration model. Conclusion Spatial property assessment data are an extremely detailed data source at a fine spatial resolution, and therefore a source of information that could improve the quality and spatial resolution of current air pollution exposure assessments.

Formative assessment (assessment for learning educational achievements of students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zemlyаnskaya E.N.

2016-09-01

Full Text Available We present definition of the concept of formative assessment and its significance for modern education. Displaying developmental approach in foreign studies, the further development, the risks and the possibility of their reduction. We discuss some of the techniques and examples of formative assessment. We investigate the relationship between formative and final evaluation, including the national curriculum levels.

Clinical outcomes assessment in clinical trials to assess treatment of femoroacetabular impingement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harris-Hayes, Marcie; McDonough, Christine M; Leunig, Michael

2013-01-01

Patient-reported outcome measures are an important component of outcomes assessment in clinical trials to assess the treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). This review of disease-specific measures and instruments used to assess the generic quality of life and physical activity levels...... developed recently and have not been established in the literature. Although currently used generic and activity-level measures have limitations, as well, they should be considered, depending on the specific goals of the study. Additional research is needed to assess the properties of these measures fully...

Exploring approaches to dietetic assessment of a common task across different universities through assessment moderation.

Science.gov (United States)

Palermo, C; Volders, E; Gibson, S; Kennedy, M; Wray, A; Thomas, J; Hannan-Jones, M; Gallegos, D; Beck, E

2018-02-01

Assessment presents one of the greatest challenges to evaluating health professional trainee performance, as a result of the subjectivity of judgements and variability in assessor standards. The present study aimed to test a moderation procedure for assessment across four independent universities and explore approaches to assessment and the factors that influence assessment decisions. Assessment tasks designed independently by each of the four universities to assess student readiness for placement were chosen for the present study. Each university provided four student performance recordings for moderation. Eight different academic assessors viewed the student performances and assessed them using the corresponding university assessment instrument. Assessment results were collated and presented back to the assessors, together with the original university assessment results. Results were discussed with assessors to explore variations. The discussion was recorded, transcribed, thematically analysed and presented back to all assessors to achieve consensus on the emerging major learnings. Although there were differences in absolute scores, there was consistency (12 out of 16 performances) in overall judgement decisions regarding placement readiness. Proficient communication skills were considered a key factor when determining placement readiness. The discussion revealed: (i) assessment instruments; (ii) assessor factors; and (iii) the subjectivity of judgement as the major factors influencing assessment. Assessment moderation is a useful method for improving the quality of assessment decisions by sharing understanding and aligning standards of performance. © 2017 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Assessing Professionalism: A Theoretical Framework for Defining Clinical Rotation Assessment Criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Armitage-Chan, Elizabeth

Although widely accepted as an important graduate competence, professionalism is a challenging outcome to define and assess. Clinical rotations provide an excellent opportunity to develop student professionalism through the use of experiential learning and effective feedback, but without appropriate theoretical frameworks, clinical teachers may find it difficult to identify appropriate learning outcomes. The adage "I know it when I see it" is unhelpful in providing feedback and guidance for student improvement, and criteria that are more specifically defined would help students direct their own development. This study sought first to identify how clinical faculty in one institution currently assess professionalism, using retrospective analysis of material obtained in undergraduate teaching and faculty development sessions. Subsequently, a faculty workshop was held in which a round-table type discussion sought to develop these ideas and identify how professionalism assessment could be improved. The output of this session was a theoretical framework for teaching and assessing professionalism, providing example assessment criteria and ideas for clinical teaching. This includes categories such as client and colleague interaction, respect and trust, recognition of limitations, and understanding of different professional identities. Each category includes detailed descriptions of the knowledge, skills, and behaviors expected of students in these areas. The criteria were determined by engaging faculty in the development of the framework, and therefore they should represent a focused development of criteria already used to assess professionalism, and not a novel and unfamiliar set of assessment guidelines. The faculty-led nature of this framework is expected to facilitate implementation in clinical teaching.

Improving Assessment: Creating a Culture of Assessment with a Change Management Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Lane, Michael R.; Lane, Peggy L.; Rich, John; Wheeling, Barbara

2015-01-01

For more than twenty years accrediting agencies have required assessment as part of their initial accreditation or reaffirmation processes. During that period of time thousands of institutions have successfully prepared plans to achieve or maintain their accreditation. Why then does a culture of assessment not exist? And why is assessment still an…

Assessment of Students Projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Lise B.; Stachowicz, Marian S.

2012-01-01

The evaluation and assessment of engineering programmes is a big issue, and there exist many concepts and methods. This paper deals with the assessment methods which can be used when assessing the knowledge, skills and competences developed in projects using PBL (problem based and project organized...... learning) pedagogical approaches. The experience of assessing first year projects from the Medialogy education at Aalborg University and third year projects from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at University of Minnesota, Duluth are presented, and the different methods discussed....... The conclusion is that process as well as product has to be assessed in a way which evaluates all aspects of students’ learning outcomes....

Prior Knowledge Assessment Guide

Science.gov (United States)

2014-12-01

assessment in a reasonable amount of time. Hands-on assessments can be extremely diverse in makeup and administration depending on the subject matter...DEVELOPING AND USING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENTS TO TAILOR TRAINING D-3 ___ Brush and scrub ___ Orchards ___ Rice

“ASSESSMENT IN DIALOGUE” (AID. ASSESSING THE COMMUNICATIVE ACTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Piasta-Siechowicz

2018-04-01

Full Text Available “Assessment in Dialogue” (AID is a model of Joanna Piasta-Siechowicz addressed to the participants of general education: students-teachers-parents. AID reconciles contradictory tendencies of the philosophy and praxis of student assessment: the pursuit of objectivity of the former and the need of individualisation of the latter. It aspires to combine the objectivity of requirements and evaluation criteria with the need of individualisation. It is also well suited to help teachers in systematic planning of their work. “Assessment in Dialogue” refers to the trisubjectivity (student-parent-teacher in the planning and organisation of student’s activities and, as a result, in informing about his/her achievements during a lesson. Implemented in a primary school since 2012, “Assessment in Dialogue” is popularised at conferences of principals and teachers in Poland and Ireland, workshops for teachers, publications in methodical journals. It is grounded in the official documents of the Ministry of National Education, European Council recommendations and conclusions from ten years of constant evaluation of the psycho-didactic process in schools as well as the functioning of evaluation system in Poland.

2007 TOXICOLOGY AND RISK ASSESSMENT ...

Science.gov (United States)

EPA has announced The 2007 Toxicology and Risk Assessment Conference Cincinnati Marriott North, West Chester (Cincinnati), OHApril 23- 26, 2007 - Click to register!The Annual Toxicology and Risk Assessment Conference is a unique meeting where several Government Agencies come together to discuss toxicology and risk assessment issues that are not only of concern to the government, but also to a broader audience including academia and industry. The theme of this year's conference is Emerging Issues and Challenges in Risk Assessment and the preliminary agenda includes: Plenary Sessions and prominent speakers (tentative) include: Issues of Emerging Chemical ContaminantsUncertainty and Variability in Risk Assessment Use of Mechanistic data in IARC evaluationsParallel Sessions:Uncertainty and Variability in Dose-Response Assessment Recent Advances in Toxicity and Risk Assessment of RDX The Use of Epidemiologic Data for Risk Assessment Applications Cumulative Health Risk Assessment:

RCTA capstone assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Lennon, Craig; Bodt, Barry; Childers, Marshal; Dean, Robert; Oh, Jean; DiBerardino, Chip; Keegan, Terence

2015-05-01

The Army Research Laboratory's Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance (RCTA) is a program intended to change robots from tools that soldiers use into teammates with which soldiers can work. This requires the integration of fundamental and applied research in perception, artificial intelligence, and human-robot interaction. In October of 2014, the RCTA assessed progress towards integrating this research. This assessment was designed to evaluate the robot's performance when it used new capabilities to perform selected aspects of a mission. The assessed capabilities included the ability of the robot to: navigate semantically outdoors with respect to structures and landmarks, identify doors in the facades of buildings, and identify and track persons emerging from those doors. We present details of the mission-based vignettes that constituted the assessment, and evaluations of the robot's performance in these vignettes.

Small Wind Site Assessment Guidelines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olsen, Tim [Advanced Energy Systems LLC, Eugene, OR (United States); Preus, Robert [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-09-01

Site assessment for small wind energy systems is one of the key factors in the successful installation, operation, and performance of a small wind turbine. A proper site assessment is a difficult process that includes wind resource assessment and the evaluation of site characteristics. These guidelines address many of the relevant parts of a site assessment with an emphasis on wind resource assessment, using methods other than on-site data collection and creating a small wind site assessment report.

Radiological impact assessment within the IAEA Arctic Assessment Project (IASAP)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scott, E.M.; Gurbutt, P.; Harmes, I.

1998-01-01

As part of the International Arctic Seas Assessment Project (IASAP) of IAEA, a working group was created to model the dispersal and transfer of radionuclides released from radioactive waste disposed of in the Kara Sea and bays of Novaya Zemlya and to assess the radiological impact. Existing models...

Assessment of professional engineering skills - define, monitor and assess

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersson, Niclas; Andersson, Pernille Hammar

2012-01-01

, professional engineering skills need to be included in the syllabus of engineering courses and study programs, which in turn call for the implementation of learning objectives, teaching activities as well as methods for assessing the professional performance of the engineering students. The implicit...... life experience from industry and consequently, they might have limited knowledge about professional skills which of course delimits their ability to evaluate the students’ professional performance. The objective of this study is to design and test a method to assess professional skills...... in an engineering teaching context. A suggested approach, based on the three consecutive steps of Define – Monitor – Assess, was applied and tested in an engineering course in which the students and professional engineers from industry interacted in an extensive role play simulation. The students’ were actively...

Survey of Biomass Resource Assessments and Assessment Capabilities in APEC Economies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Milbrandt, A.; Overend, R. P

2008-11-01

This survey of biomass resource assessments and assessment capabilities in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies considered various sources: academic and government publications, media reports, and personal communication with contacts in member economies.

Solar Resource Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Renne, D.; George, R.; Wilcox, S.; Stoffel, T.; Myers, D.; Heimiller, D.

2008-02-01

This report covers the solar resource assessment aspects of the Renewable Systems Interconnection study. The status of solar resource assessment in the United States is described, and summaries of the availability of modeled data sets are provided.

Peer-Assessment Debriefing Instrument (PADI): Assessing Faculty Effectiveness in Simulation Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Saylor, Jennifer L; Wainwright, Susan F; Herge, E A; Pohlig, Ryan T

2016-01-01

Evaluating the debriefing skill of faculty in simulations is essential but often challenging. The Peer Assessment Debriefing Instrument (PADI) is a self and peer assessment designed to assess a debriefers' effectiveness and is grounded in current scientific debriefing literature and peer review methodology. This pilot study tested the PADI at three institutions during 10 different healthcare debriefing sessions. The PADI is useful to faculty and administrators of simulation centers by demonstrating ongoing quality improvement and as a guide to train new debriefers.

The assessment of practical skills

OpenAIRE

Reiss, M. J.; Abrahams, I.

2015-01-01

Major changes are currently afoot as to how practical work will be assessed in high status examinations (GCSEs for 16 year-olds and ‘A’ levels for 18 year-olds) in England. We explore here how practical skills might best be assessed in school science and introduce two terms: direct assessment of practical skills (DAPS) and indirect assessment of practical skills (IAPS). We conclude that both the direct and indirect assessment of practical skills have their place in effective assessment of sch...

Software reliability assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, M.; Bradley, P.A.; Brewer, M.A.

1994-01-01

The increased usage and sophistication of computers applied to real time safety-related systems in the United Kingdom has spurred on the desire to provide a standard framework within which to assess dependable computing systems. Recent accidents and ensuing legislation have acted as a catalyst in this area. One particular aspect of dependable computing systems is that of software, which is usually designed to reduce risk at the system level, but which can increase risk if it is unreliable. Various organizations have recognized the problem of assessing the risk imposed to the system by unreliable software, and have taken initial steps to develop and use such assessment frameworks. This paper relates the approach of Consultancy Services of AEA Technology in developing a framework to assess the risk imposed by unreliable software. In addition, the paper discusses the experiences gained by Consultancy Services in applying the assessment framework to commercial and research projects. The framework is applicable to software used in safety applications, including proprietary software. Although the paper is written with Nuclear Reactor Safety applications in mind, the principles discussed can be applied to safety applications in all industries

Assessing the Utility of a Demand Assessment for Functional Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Roscoe, Eileen M.; Rooker, Griffin W.; Pence, Sacha T.; Longworth, Lynlea J.

2009-01-01

We evaluated the utility of an assessment for identifying tasks for the functional analysis demand condition with 4 individuals who had been diagnosed with autism. During the demand assessment, a therapist presented a variety of tasks, and observers measured problem behavior and compliance to identify demands associated with low levels of…

Crowdsourced emphysema assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ørting, Silas Nyboe; Cheplygina, Veronika; Petersen, Jens

2017-01-01

Classification of emphysema patterns is believed to be useful for improved diagnosis and prognosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Emphysema patterns can be assessed visually on lung CT scans. Visual assessment is a complex and time-consuming task performed by experts, making...... it unsuitable for obtaining large amounts of labeled data. We investigate if visual assessment of emphysema can be framed as an image similarity task that does not require expert. Substituting untrained annotators for experts makes it possible to label data sets much faster and at a lower cost. We use crowd...... annotators to gather similarity triplets and use t-distributed stochastic triplet embedding to learn an embedding. The quality of the embedding is evaluated by predicting expert assessed emphysema patterns. We find that although performance varies due to low quality triplets and randomness in the embedding...

Analysis of time to event outcomes in randomized controlled trials by generalized additive models.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christos Argyropoulos

Full Text Available Randomized Controlled Trials almost invariably utilize the hazard ratio calculated with a Cox proportional hazard model as a treatment efficacy measure. Despite the widespread adoption of HRs, these provide a limited understanding of the treatment effect and may even provide a biased estimate when the assumption of proportional hazards in the Cox model is not verified by the trial data. Additional treatment effect measures on the survival probability or the time scale may be used to supplement HRs but a framework for the simultaneous generation of these measures is lacking.By splitting follow-up time at the nodes of a Gauss Lobatto numerical quadrature rule, techniques for Poisson Generalized Additive Models (PGAM can be adopted for flexible hazard modeling. Straightforward simulation post-estimation transforms PGAM estimates for the log hazard into estimates of the survival function. These in turn were used to calculate relative and absolute risks or even differences in restricted mean survival time between treatment arms. We illustrate our approach with extensive simulations and in two trials: IPASS (in which the proportionality of hazards was violated and HEMO a long duration study conducted under evolving standards of care on a heterogeneous patient population.PGAM can generate estimates of the survival function and the hazard ratio that are essentially identical to those obtained by Kaplan Meier curve analysis and the Cox model. PGAMs can simultaneously provide multiple measures of treatment efficacy after a single data pass. Furthermore, supported unadjusted (overall treatment effect but also subgroup and adjusted analyses, while incorporating multiple time scales and accounting for non-proportional hazards in survival data.By augmenting the HR conventionally reported, PGAMs have the potential to support the inferential goals of multiple stakeholders involved in the evaluation and appraisal of clinical trial results under proportional and

Cost-effectiveness analysis of EGFR mutation testing and gefitinib as first-line therapy for non-small cell lung cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Narita, Yusuke; Matsushima, Yukiko; Shiroiwa, Takeru; Chiba, Koji; Nakanishi, Yoichi; Kurokawa, Tatsuo; Urushihara, Hisashi

2015-10-01

The combination use of gefitinib and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) testing is a standard first-line therapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Here, we examined the cost-effectiveness of this approach in Japan. Our analysis compared the 'EGFR testing strategy', in which EGFR mutation testing was performed before treatment and patients with EGFR mutations received gefitinib while those without mutations received standard chemotherapy, to the 'no-testing strategy,' in which genetic testing was not conducted and all patients were treated with standard chemotherapy. A three-state Markov model was constructed to predict expected costs and outcomes for each strategy. We included only direct medical costs from the healthcare payer's perspective. Outcomes in the model were based on those reported in the Iressa Pan-Asia Study (IPASS). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated using quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained. Sensitivity and scenario analyses were conducted. The incremental cost and effectiveness per patient of the 'EGFR testing strategy' compared to the 'no-testing strategy' was estimated to be approximately JP¥122,000 (US$1180; US$1=JP¥104 as of February 2014) and 0.036 QALYs. The ICER was then calculated to be around JP¥3.38 million (US$32,500) per QALY gained. These results suggest that the 'EGFR testing strategy' is cost-effective compared with the 'no-testing strategy' when JP¥5.0 million to 6.0 million per QALY gained is considered an acceptable threshold. These results were supported by the sensitivity and scenario analyses. The combination use of gefitinib and EGFR testing can be considered a cost-effective first-line therapy compared to chemotherapy such as carboplatin-paclitaxel for the treatment for NSCLC in Japan. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Georgia's Teacher Performance Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Fenton, Anne Marie; Wetherington, Pamela

2016-01-01

Like most states, Georgia until recently depended on an assessment of content knowledge to award teaching licenses, along with a licensure recommendation from candidates' educator preparation programs. While the content assessment reflected candidates' grasp of subject matter, licensure decisions did not hinge on direct, statewide assessment of…

Performance assessment - risk assessment vive la differences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nitschke, R.L.

1997-01-01

In the sister worlds of radioactive waste management disposal and environmental restoration, there are two similar processes and computational approaches for determining the acceptability of the proposed activities. While similar, these two techniques can lead to confusion and misunderstanding if the differences are not recognized and appreciated. In the case of radioactive waste management, the performance assessment process is used to determine compliance with certain prescribed 'performance objectives'. These objectives are designed to ensure that the disposal of radioactive (high-level, low-level, and/or transuranic) waste will be protective of human health and the environment. The environmental link is primarily through assuring protection of the groundwater as a resource. In the case of environmental restoration, the risk assessment process is used to determine the proper remedial action response, if any, for a past hazardous waste release. The process compares the 'no action' or 'leave as is' option with both carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic values for human health to determine the need for any action and to help to help determine just what the appropriate action would need to be. The impacts to the ecological system are evaluated in a slightly, different but similar fashion. Now the common objectives between these two processes notwithstanding. There are some key and fundamental differences that need to be answered that make direct comparisons or a common approach inappropriate. Failure to recognize this can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. This can be particularly problematic when one is faced with an active disposal facility located within the boundaries of an environmental restoration site as is the case at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). Through a critical evaluation of the performance assessment and risk assessment processes, highlighting both similarities and differences, it is hoped that greater understanding and appreciation

Assessing undergraduate nursing students in clinical practice: do preceptors use assessment strategies?

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Bridie; Murphy, Siobhan

2008-04-01

Health care organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and An Bord Altranais (ABA, The Irish Nursing Registration Board) demand higher standards of new graduate nurses than heretofore. This is in conjunction with the implementation of degree programmes for undergraduate nurse education. These organisations stipulate that graduates must be well-educated, accountable, and can demonstrate the skills of a safe, caring and competent decision-making practitioner. The Bachelor of Science (BSc) four-year degree programme for undergraduate nurse education was introduced in Ireland in 2002, and is provided in universities and colleges of higher education throughout The Republic of Ireland. During the implementation process, each university and college of higher education developed a range of assessment strategies to clinically assess students. Preceptor nurses were subsequently assigned the responsibility of clinically assessing students, a remit previously undertaken by Clinical Ward/Unit Nurse Managers. Preceptors are qualified nurses, working in clinical units who are specially prepared to support BSc students during clinical placements. The purpose of this study was to explore to what extent preceptor nurses use the devised assessment strategies to clinically assess BSc students in one university in The Republic of Ireland. Data were collected by using a questionnaire distributed to all known preceptors in General, Psychiatric and Intellectual Disability nursing, during year four of the first cycle of the BSc programme. Findings from this descriptive study revealed that many preceptors were inexperienced, did not fully comprehend the assessment process and were not applying all of the recommended assessment strategies when assessing students in clinical practice. In light of these findings suggestions are made in the context of further research, management and education.

Spatial differentiated effect assessment for aquatic eutrophication in Life Cycle Assessment.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Penailillo, Reinaldo

2005-01-01

The conventional evaluation of aquatic eutrophication in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) expresses the contribution of nitrogen and/or phosphorus emissions to biomass production in terms of the equivalent emission of a reference substance. This assessment doe

Dutch Risk Assessment tools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Venema, A.

2015-01-01

The ‘Risico- Inventarisatie- en Evaluatie-instrumenten’ is the name for the Dutch risk assessment (RA) tools. A RA tool can be used to perform a risk assessment including an evaluation of the identified risks. These tools were among the first online risk assessment tools developed in Europe. The

Assessment of Innovation Competency

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jan Alexis

2015-01-01

competency, and communication competency) as well as assessment criteria for a number of skills relevant to these subcompetencies. These assessment criteria, it is argued, largely resonate with existing literature and they provide a detailed glimpse into how assessment of innovation competency could...... of the recorded talk in interaction that occurred in teacher group discussion sessions at 5 upper secondary schools. Based on the analysis, it was possible to extrapolate assessment criteria for 5 subcompetencies relevant to innovation (creative competency, collaboration competency, navigation competency, action...

Configuration Management Process Assessment Strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, Thad

2014-01-01

Purpose: To propose a strategy for assessing the development and effectiveness of configuration management systems within Programs, Projects, and Design Activities performed by technical organizations and their supporting development contractors. Scope: Various entities CM Systems will be assessed dependent on Project Scope (DDT&E), Support Services and Acquisition Agreements. Approach: Model based structured against assessing organizations CM requirements including best practices maturity criteria. The model is tailored to the entity being assessed dependent on their CM system. The assessment approach provides objective feedback to Engineering and Project Management of the observed CM system maturity state versus the ideal state of the configuration management processes and outcomes(system). center dot Identifies strengths and risks versus audit gotcha's (findings/observations). center dot Used "recursively and iteratively" throughout program lifecycle at select points of need. (Typical assessments timing is Post PDR/Post CDR) center dot Ideal state criteria and maturity targets are reviewed with the assessed entity prior to an assessment (Tailoring) and is dependent on the assessed phase of the CM system. center dot Supports exit success criteria for Preliminary and Critical Design Reviews. center dot Gives a comprehensive CM system assessment which ultimately supports configuration verification activities.*

Changing the culture of assessment: the dominance of the summative assessment paradigm

OpenAIRE

Harrison, Christopher J.; Konings, Karen D.; Schuwirth, Lambert W. T.; Wass, Valerie; van der Vleuten, Cees P. M.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Despite growing evidence of the benefits of including assessment for learning strategies within programmes of assessment, practical implementation of these approaches is often problematical. Organisational culture change is often hindered by personal and collective beliefs which encourage adherence to the existing organisational paradigm. We aimed to explore how these beliefs influenced proposals to redesign a summative assessment culture in order to improve students' use of asses...

Benefits of pre-release population genetics: a case study using Psyttalia lounsburyi, a biocontrol agent of the olive fruit fly in California

Science.gov (United States)

From a pest management perspective, limited knowledge on the genetics of released biocontrol agents has been repeatedly considered as one possible cause of failures in classical biological control. Introduced biocontrol agents are expected to experience a loss in genetic diversity as the result of s...

Sectoral assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Callaway, J M; Fenhann, J; Gorham, R; Makundi, W; Sathaye, J

1999-09-01

This publication contains five papers that were written as a part of the GEF project, The Economics of Greenhouse Gas Limitations. The main goal of the project was to assess the greenhouse gas reductions and incremental costs of mitigation option sin Ecuador, Argentina, Senegal, Mauritius, Vietnam, Indonesia, Estonia and Hungary. In addition, regional studies were conducted for the Andean Pact nations and Southern Africa to assess various aspects of regional co-operation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The GEF study also involved the development of a methodological framework for climate change assessment, with a special emphasis on developing countries. These guidelines have been published in a separate document, Economics of Greenhouse Gas Limitations: Methodological Guidelines. The papers in this publication focus on various methodological and policy aspects of greenhouse gas mitigation at the sectoral level, and are outgrowth of work performed on other parts of the GEF project. (au)

Contract 98 Self-Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-04-01

This report documents the results of LBL`s Self-Assessment required by Appendix F to Contract DE ACOO3765F00098. This self assessment covers the performance measures set forth in Appendix F except those requiring an external audit. The performance measures for LBL are in the areas of ES&H Finance, Human Services and Procurement and Property. LBL is a multi-program laboratory operated by the University of California (UC) for DOE. The mission of LBL includes performing research in energy, general, and life sciences. LBL facilities include the main site on 130 acres located in the cities of Berkeley and Oakland; laboratories and offices located in buildings on the UC Berkeley Campus; and three leased buildings in the cities of Berkeley and Emeryville. 1. Involvement of Line Management in the assessment process to provide awareness and ownership. 2. Using existing assessments, audits and appraisals in lieu of a new assessment wherever possible. 3. Conduct of the assessments by individuals with functional responsibility and knowledge of the areas being assessed. 4. Interaction with individuals performing assessments at other Laboratories to enhance our learning process. As anticipated, a number of findings will require corrective action. General corrective actions are identified for key findings in this report. In early May 1993, this Laboratory will begin the development of detailed formal corrective action plans which will be entered into a laboratory automated corrective action tracking system.

Chemical Risk Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

This course is aimed at providing an overview of the fundamental guiding principles and general methods used in chemical risk assessment. Chemical risk assessment is a complex and ever-evolving process. These principles and methods have been organized by the National Research Cou...

Information Technology and Literacy Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Balajthy, Ernest

2002-01-01

Compares technology predictions from around 1989 with the technology of 2002. Discusses the place of computer-based assessment today, computer-scored testing, computer-administered formal assessment, Internet-based formal assessment, computerized adaptive tests, placement tests, informal assessment, electronic portfolios, information management,…

Probabilistic assessment factors for human health risk assessment - A practical guide

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeire T; Pieters M; Rennen M; Bos P; CSR

2001-01-01

Dit rapport is een practische gids voor de toepassing van probabilistische verdelingen van default assessment factoren in risicobeoordelingen voor de mens. RIVM en TNO ontwikkelden het gebruik van probabilistische assessment factoren als eerste stap naar nationale en internaitonale harmonisatie.

Exposure Assessment Tools by Tiers and Types - Deterministic and Probabilistic Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

EPA ExpoBox is a toolbox for exposure assessors. Its purpose is to provide a compendium of exposure assessment and risk characterization tools that will present comprehensive step-by-step guidance and links to relevant exposure assessment data bases

Designing assignment using authentic assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Arlianty, Widinda Normalia; Febriana, Beta Wulan; Diniaty, Artina; Fauzi'ah, Lina

2017-12-01

This research is conducted to get an overview of the use of authentic assessment in the department of chemistry education, Islamic University of Indonesia. This research was conducted on the students of semester five, odd semester of academic year 2016/2017. Authentic assessment is an assessment process that is capable of measuring the knowledge, attitudes and skills of learners. Chemistry teacher candidates are required to be equipped with teaching and judging skills. Teachers were required can design and carry out assessment of the process and learning outcomes of students in an objective, accountable, and informative. Teacher creativity is required in the assessment. Therefore, authentic assessment is very appropriate used to improve the competence of students in education department as teachers candidates in the preparation of learning assessments.

Environmental Workplace Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernier, Jacques; And Others

1994-01-01

Describes environmental workplace assessments as tools in developing customized training, highlighting the group process and individual interview techniques. Suggests that, by assessing the cultural climate of an organization, education providers can gather essential baseline information on an organization and thereby provide a guide for further…

Lesion activity assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ekstrand, K R; Zero, D T; Martignon, S

2009-01-01

in response to cariogenic plaque as well as lesion arrest. Based on this understanding, different clinical scoring systems have been developed to assess the severity/depth and activity of lesions. A recent system has been devised by the International Caries Detection and Assessment System Committee...

Comprehensive neurotoxicity assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kulig, B.M.

1996-01-01

Significant progress has been made in recent years in terms of both the conceptualization of neurotoxicity assessment strategies as well as in the development of behavioral techniques for evaluating neurotoxic exposures. A tiered approach, for example, has been advocated as an assessment strategy in

Assessing Big Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leimbach, Timo; Bachlechner, Daniel

2015-01-01

In recent years, big data has been one of the most controversially discussed technologies in terms of its possible positive and negative impact. Therefore, the need for technology assessments is obvious. This paper first provides, based on the results of a technology assessment study, an overview...... of the potential and challenges associated with big data and then describes the problems experienced during the study as well as methods found helpful to address them. The paper concludes with reflections on how the insights from the technology assessment study may have an impact on the future governance of big...... data....

Assessing competencies of trainee sport psychologists: An examination of the 'Structured Case Presentation' assessment method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hutter, R.I.; Pijpers, J.R.; Oudejans, R.R.D.

2016-01-01

Objectives: There is virtually no literature on how to assess competencies of applied sport psychologists. We assessed casework of applied sport psychology students and compared written case report assessment (WCRA) with structured case presentation assessment (SCPA) on reliability and acceptability

Comparing the self-assessed and examiner-assessed driving skills of Japanese driving school students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroshi Nakai

2012-03-01

A sample of Japanese driving test candidates (n=2021 completed a self-assessment using a 5-point scale applied to 19 items. The candidates completed the assessment shortly after passing their practical driving test conducted at a driving school. Their performance was also assessed by an examiner who used the same scale. The comparison between self-assessment and examiner-assessment revealed that around 40% of Japanese driving school students made a realistic assessment of their skills. With regard to the gender differences, although males displayed higher levels of overconfidence than females did, the differences were not as large as earlier studies with questionnaires had suggested. Furthermore, the effect of age on the accuracy of novice drivers' skill assessment was found to be relatively small. Our findings, which are based on a comparison of subjective assessments of driving skills between examiners and novices, instead of a questionable method which relies on a comparison with a hypothetical average driver, suggest that the majority of candidates in fact do not overrate their own skills. These results were discussed from the viewpoint of the driver education system and compared to other European research using the same framework.

Assessment Worlds Colliding? Negotiating between Discourses of Assessment on an Online Open Course

Science.gov (United States)

Hills, Laura; Hughes, Jonathan

2016-01-01

Using the badged open course, "Taking your first steps into Higher Education", this case study examines how assessment on online open courses draws on concepts of assessment used within formal and informal learning. Our experience was that assessment used within open courses, such as massive open online courses, is primarily determined…

The assessment of nonverbal behavior in schizophrenia through the Formal Psychological Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Granziol, Umberto; Spoto, Andrea; Vidotto, Giulio

2018-03-01

The nonverbal behavior (NVB) of people diagnosed with schizophrenia consistently interacts with their symptoms during the assessment. Previous studies frequently observed such an interaction when a prevalence of negative symptoms occurred. Nonetheless, a list of NVBs linked to negative symptoms needs to be defined. Furthermore, a list of items that can exhaustively assess such NVBs is still needed. The present study aims to introduce both lists by using the Formal Psychological Assessment. A deep analysis was performed on both the scientific literature and the DSM-5 for constructing the set of nonverbal behaviors; similarly, an initial list of 138 items investigating the behaviors was obtained from instruments used to assess schizophrenia. The Formal Psychological Assessment was then applied to reduce the preliminary list. A final list of 23 items necessary and sufficient to investigate the NVBs emerged. The list also allowed us to analyze specific relations among items. The present study shows how it is possible to deepen a patient's negative symptomatology, starting with the relations between items and the NVBs they investigate. Finally, this study examines the advantages and clinical implications of defining an assessment tool based on the found list of items. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Discourse and Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

McNamara, Tim; Hill, Kathryn; May, Lynette

2002-01-01

Focuses on the increase in discourse-based studies of oral proficiency assessment techniques. Discusses research carried out on a number of factors in the assessment setting, including the role of interlocutor, candidate, and rater, and the impact of tasks, task performance conditions, and rating criteria. (Author/VWL)

Assessing for Learning: Some Dimensions Underlying New Approaches to Educational Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Biggs, John

1995-01-01

Different models of performance assessment arise from interactions of three dimensions of assessment: the measurement versus the standards model of testing, quantitative and qualitative assumptions concerning the nature of learning, and whether learning and testing are situated or decontextualized. Addresses difficulties in implementing…

The Pediatrics Milestones Assessment Pilot: Development of Workplace-Based Assessment Content, Instruments, and Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hicks, Patricia J; Margolis, Melissa; Poynter, Sue E; Chaffinch, Christa; Tenney-Soeiro, Rebecca; Turner, Teri L; Waggoner-Fountain, Linda; Lockridge, Robin; Clyman, Stephen G; Schwartz, Alan

2016-05-01

To report on the development of content and user feedback regarding the assessment process and utility of the workplace-based assessment instruments of the Pediatrics Milestones Assessment Pilot (PMAP). One multisource feedback instrument and two structured clinical observation instruments were developed and refined by experts in pediatrics and assessment to provide evidence for nine competencies based on the Pediatrics Milestones (PMs) and chosen to inform residency program faculty decisions about learners' readiness to serve as pediatric interns in the inpatient setting. During the 2012-2013 PMAP study, 18 U.S. pediatric residency programs enrolled interns and subinterns. Faculty, residents, nurses, and other observers used the instruments to assess learner performance through direct observation during a one-month rotation. At the end of the rotation, data were aggregated for each learner, milestone levels were assigned using a milestone classification form, and feedback was provided to learners. Learners and site leads were surveyed and/or interviewed about their experience as participants. Across the sites, 2,338 instruments assessing 239 learners were completed by 630 unique observers. Regarding end-of-rotation feedback, 93% of learners (128/137) agreed the assessments and feedback "helped me understand how those with whom I work perceive my performance," and 85% (117/137) agreed they were "useful for constructing future goals or identifying a developmental path." Site leads identified several benefits and challenges to the assessment process. PM-based instruments used in workplace-based assessment provide a meaningful and acceptable approach to collecting evidence of learner competency development. Learners valued feedback provided by PM-based assessment.

Offshore risk assessment

CERN Document Server

Vinnem, Jan-Erik

2014-01-01

  Offshore Risk Assessment was the first book to deal with quantified risk assessment (QRA) as applied specifically to offshore installations and operations. Risk assessment techniques have been used for more than three decades in the offshore oil and gas industry, and their use is set to expand increasingly as the industry moves into new areas and faces new challenges in older regions.   This updated and expanded third edition has been informed by a major R&D program on offshore risk assessment in Norway and summarizes research from 2006 to the present day. Rooted with a thorough discussion of risk metrics and risk analysis methodology,  subsequent chapters are devoted to analytical approaches to escalation, escape, evacuation and rescue analysis of safety and emergency systems.   Separate chapters analyze the main hazards of offshore structures: fire, explosion, collision, and falling objects as well as structural and marine hazards. Risk mitigation and control are discussed, as well as an illustrat...

From Clinical-Developmental Theory to Assessment: The Holistic Student Assessment Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gil Noam

2012-12-01

Full Text Available A description and test of the Holistic Student Assessment Tool (HSA, an assessment tool to measure children’s and adolescents’ resiliencies in relation to externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. The HSA is based on the authors’ research-based clinical-developmental Clover Leaf Model of resilience and psychopathology, and is one of the first attempts at closing the gap between risk and resilience approaches in developmental assessment. The HSA was tested in a cross-sectional sample of 423 children and adolescents.The results lend support to the HSA as a valid measure of children’s and adolescents’ resiliencies. Furthermore, the resilience scales mostly exhibited the theoretically expected convergent and divergent relationships with the psychopathology scales. In addition, we show how the resilience scales predict adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing symptoms. We contend that evidence-based intervention to address youth aggression needs to be based on sounddevelopmental assessment.

Student Self-Assessment and Faculty Assessment of Performance in an Interprofessional Error Disclosure Simulation Training Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Poirier, Therese I; Pailden, Junvie; Jhala, Ray; Ronald, Katie; Wilhelm, Miranda; Fan, Jingyang

2017-04-01

Objectives. To conduct a prospective evaluation for effectiveness of an error disclosure assessment tool and video recordings to enhance student learning and metacognitive skills while assessing the IPEC competencies. Design. The instruments for assessing performance (planning, communication, process, and team dynamics) in interprofessional error disclosure were developed. Student self-assessment of performance before and after viewing the recordings of their encounters were obtained. Faculty used a similar instrument to conduct real-time assessments. An instrument to assess achievement of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies was developed. Qualitative data was reviewed to determine student and faculty perceptions of the simulation. Assessment. The interprofessional simulation training involved a total of 233 students (50 dental, 109 nursing and 74 pharmacy). Use of video recordings made a significant difference in student self-assessment for communication and process categories of error disclosure. No differences in student self-assessments were noted among the different professions. There were differences among the family member affects for planning and communication for both pre-video and post-video data. There were significant differences between student self-assessment and faculty assessment for all paired comparisons, except communication in student post-video self-assessment. Students' perceptions of achievement of the IPEC core competencies were positive. Conclusion. The use of assessment instruments and video recordings may have enhanced students' metacognitive skills for assessing performance in interprofessional error disclosure. The simulation training was effective in enhancing perceptions on achievement of IPEC core competencies. This enhanced assessment process appeared to enhance learning about the skills needed for interprofessional error disclosure.

Process of performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, C.M.; Halford, D.K.

1987-01-01

Performance assessment is the process used to evaluate the environmental consequences of disposal of radioactive waste in the biosphere. An introductory review of the subject is presented. Emphasis is placed on the process of performance assessment from the standpoint of defining the process. Performance assessment, from evolving experience at DOE sites, has short-term and long-term subprograms, the components of which are discussed. The role of mathematical modeling in performance assessment is addressed including the pros and cons of current approaches. Finally, the system/site/technology issues as the focal point of this symposium are reviewed

Assessing Online Discussions: A Holistic Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yu-mei; Chen, Der-Thanq

2017-01-01

This article reports a holistic approach to assessing online discussions. This holistic approach integrates three assessment methods: assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning. Assessment of learning directly examines students' learning products to decide whether they have achieved the expected learning through…

NRC performance assessment program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coplan, S.M.

1986-01-01

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) performance assessment program includes the development of guidance to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on preparation of a license application and on conducting the studies to support a license application. The nature of the licensing requirements of 10 CFR Part 60 create a need for performance assessments by the DOE. The NRC and DOE staffs each have specific roles in assuring the adequacy of those assessments. Performance allocation is an approach for determining what testing and analysis will be needed during site characterization to assure that an adequate data base is available to support the necessary performance assessments. From the standpoint of establishing is implementable methodology, the most challenging performance assessment needed for licensing is the one that will be used to determine compliance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) containment requirement

Environmental impact assessment report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, K. J.; Paik, S. T.; Chung, U. S.; Jung, K. H.; Park, S. K.; Lee, D. G.; Kim, H. R.; Kim, J. K.; Yang, S. H.; Lee, B. J.; Kim, E. H.; Choi, K. S

2000-10-01

This report is the revised Environmental Impact Assessment Report which was made and submitted as one of the license documents for TRIGA Research Reactor D and D Project. The Environmental Impact Assessment Report includes introduction of decommissioning plan, status of reactors and environmental impact of surroundings. Also it was assessed and analyzed on radioactivity for environment, and the plan was established to minimize radioactive material release. Finally environmental monitoring plan was established to confirm whether contaminated or not from radioactivity during decommissioning period. According to the assessment results, the risk of excess exposure will be not on environment and public. The first Environmental Impact Assessment Report was submitted to the government for the license and reviewed by Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety. The first Report was revised including answers for the questions arising from review process.

Discussion of some issues in assessing nuclear and radiation environmental impacts and in related assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan Ziqiang

1998-01-01

The author discusses some noticeable issues in drafting assessment report of nuclear and radiation environmental impacts and relevant aspects needed to be considered from the point of view of comprehensive environmental assessment. The considerable issue are principles of radioactive waste management, optimization of radiation protection and collective dose, and uncertainty of the assessment. Implementing reporting system on assessment of nuclear and radiation environmental impacts would improve environmental protection for nuclear and radiation facilities. However, trade's, regional , country and global assessment of environmental impacts has to be enhanced. For this purpose, it is necessary to develop methodology of qualitative and quantitative comprehensive assessment

Assessment Hotspots, 2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahearn, Charles, Ed.; Nalley, Donna, Ed.; Marsh, Corinda, Ed.; Casbon, Christy, Ed.

2000-01-01

SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) is one of the federally funded regional educational laboratories. This annual publication captures and shares the experiences of SERVE school districts that have volunteered to share their efforts at assessment reform. This issue contains the following articles: (1) "Classroom Assessment: A…

Scope and profoundness of environmental assessments. A study in the frame of environmental impact assessments. Strategic environmental assessment and FFH (fauna-flora-habitat) impact assessment under specific consideration of the conflict wind energy - bird protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erb, Mareen

2013-01-01

The legal background of environmental impact assessments and the principle regulations and guidelines for this assessment are shortly summarized. The following Issues are discussed in detail: fundamentals of environmental assessments, profoundness and scope in environmental assessments; the conflict wind energy parks and birds.

Assessment Revisited: A Review of Research in "Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education"

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Diana; Flores, Maria Assunção; Niklasson, Laila

2016-01-01

A review of articles published in "Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education," over the last eight years (2006-2013) on assessment in higher education, since the introduction of the Bologna process, is the subject of the paper. The first part discusses the key issue of assessment in higher education and the method used for selecting…

The Contribution of Project Environmental Assessment to Assessing and Managing Cumulative Effects: Individually and Collectively Insignificant?

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, Bram; Liu, Jialang; Hackett, Paul

2017-04-01

This paper explores the opportunities and constraints to project-based environmental assessment as a means to support the assessment and management of cumulative environmental effects. A case study of the hydroelectric sector is used to determine whether sufficient information is available over time through project-by-project assessments to support an adequate understanding of cumulative change. Results show inconsistency from one project to the next in terms of the components and indicators assessed, limited transfer of baseline information between project assessments over time, and the same issues and concerns being raised by review panels-even though the projects reviewed are operating in the same watershed and operated by the same proponent. Project environmental assessments must be managed, and coordinated, as part of a larger system of impact assessment, if project-by-project assessments are to provide a meaningful forum for learning and understanding cumulative change. The paper concludes with recommendations for improved project-based assessment practice in support of cumulative effects assessment and management.

76 FR 37770 - Monsanto Co.; Availability of Petition, Plant Pest Risk Assessment, and Environmental Assessment...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-28

...] Monsanto Co.; Availability of Petition, Plant Pest Risk Assessment, and Environmental Assessment for... available for public comment the Monsanto petition, our plant pest risk assessment, and our draft... plant pest risk assessment are also available on the APHIS Web site at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs...

Financial Sector Assessment : Turkey

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2007-01-01

A joint International Monetary Fund-World Bank team conducted an assessment of Turkey's financial system in connection with the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) through missions in April, August-September 2006 and March, 2007. This report provides a summary of the main findings of the assessment and the policy priorities identified. The main objective of the FSAP is to assist the...

Improving cumulative effects assessment in Alberta: Regional strategic assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, Dallas; Lalonde, Kim; McEachern, Menzie; Kenney, John; Mendoza, Gustavo; Buffin, Andrew; Rich, Kate

2011-01-01

The Government of Alberta, Canada is developing a regulatory framework to better manage cumulative environmental effects from development in the province. A key component of this effort is regional planning, which will lay the primary foundation for cumulative effects management into the future. Alberta Environment has considered the information needs of regional planning and has concluded that Regional Strategic Assessment may offer significant advantages if integrated into the planning process, including the overall improvement of cumulative environmental effects assessment in the province.

The Future of Self-Assessment in Classroom Practice: Reframing Self-Assessment as a Core Competency

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Gavin T. L.; Harris, Lois R.

2014-01-01

Formative assessment policies and self-regulation theories argue that student self-assessment of their own work and processes are useful for raising academic performance and self-regulatory skills. However, research into student self-evaluation raises serious doubts about the quality of self-assessment as an assessment process and identifies…

Revisiting Individual Creativity Assessment: Triangulation in Subjective and Objective Assessment Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Namgyoo K.; Chun, Monica Youngshin; Lee, Jinju

2016-01-01

Compared to the significant development of creativity studies, individual creativity research has not reached a meaningful consensus regarding the most valid and reliable method for assessing individual creativity. This study revisited 2 of the most popular methods for assessing individual creativity: subjective and objective methods. This study…

Office of Academic Assessment provides workshops on the program assessment process

OpenAIRE

Williams, Meghan

2008-01-01

The Office of Academic Assessment is once again providing a series of workshops on the program assessment process during the spring semester. The workshops will offer a wide range of resources to assist faculty and administrators as they focus on teaching and learning in their programs.

Assessing work disability for social security benefits: international models for the direct assessment of work capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Geiger, Ben Baumberg; Garthwaite, Kayleigh; Warren, Jon; Bambra, Clare

2017-08-25

It has been argued that social security disability assessments should directly assess claimants' work capacity, rather than relying on proxies such as on functioning. However, there is little academic discussion of how such assessments could be conducted. The article presents an account of different models of direct disability assessments based on case studies of the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, utilising over 150 documents and 40 expert interviews. Three models of direct work disability assessments can be observed: (i) structured assessment, which measures the functional demands of jobs across the national economy and compares these to claimants' functional capacities; (ii) demonstrated assessment, which looks at claimants' actual experiences in the labour market and infers a lack of work capacity from the failure of a concerned rehabilitation attempt; and (iii) expert assessment, based on the judgement of skilled professionals. Direct disability assessment within social security is not just theoretically desirable, but can be implemented in practice. We have shown that there are three distinct ways that this can be done, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Further research is needed to clarify the costs, validity/legitimacy, and consequences of these different models. Implications for rehabilitation It has recently been argued that social security disability assessments should directly assess work capacity rather than simply assessing functioning - but we have no understanding about how this can be done in practice. Based on case studies of nine countries, we show that direct disability assessment can be implemented, and argue that there are three different ways of doing it. These are "demonstrated assessment" (using claimants' experiences in the labour market), "structured assessment" (matching functional requirements to workplace demands), and "expert assessment" (the

Pharmacy curriculum outcomes assessment for individual student assessment and curricular evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Day M; Bennett, Lunawati L; Ferrill, Mary J; Brown, Daniel L

2010-12-15

The Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA) is a standardized examination for assessing academic progress of pharmacy students. Although no other national benchmarking tool is available on a national level, the PCOA has not been adopted by all colleges and schools of pharmacy. Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBAU) compared 2008-2010 PCOA results of its P1, P2, and P3 students to their current grade point average (GPA) and to results of a national cohort. The reliability coefficient of PCOA was 0.91, 0.90, and 0.93 for the 3 years, respectively. PBAU results showed a positive correlation between GPA and PCOA scale score. A comparison of subtopic results helped to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum. PCOA provides useful comparative data that can facilitate individual student assessment as well as programmatic evaluation. There are no other standardized assessment tools available. Despite limitations, PCOA warrants consideration by colleges and schools of pharmacy. Expanded participation could enhance its utility as a meaningful benchmark.

Construction and pilot assessment of the Lower Limb Function Assessment Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Allart, Etienne; Paquereau, Julie; Rogeau, Caroline; Daveluy, Walter; Kozlowski, Odile; Rousseaux, Marc

2014-01-01

Stroke often leads to upright standing and walking impairments. Clinical assessments do not sufficiently address ecological aspects and the patient's subjective evaluation of function. To perform a pilot assessment of the psychometric properties of the Lower Limb-Function Assessment Scale (LL-FAS). The LL-FAS includes 30 items assessing the patient's perception (in a questionnaire) and the examiner's perception (in a practical test) of upright standing and walking impairments and their impact on activities of daily living. We analyzed the LL-FAS's reliability, construct validity, internal consistency, predictive validity and feasibility. Thirty-five stroke patients were included. The scale's mean ± SD completion time was 25 ± 6 min. Intra-observer reliability was good to excellent (intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC >0.82). Interobserver reliability was moderate (0.67 0.9) and predictive validity were excellent. The LL-FAS showed fair psychometric properties in this pilot study and may be of value for evaluating post-stroke lower limb impairment.

Workplace Based Assessment in Psychiatry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayse Devrim Basterzi

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Workplace based assessment refers to the assessment of working practices based on what doctors actually do in the workplace, and is predominantly carried out in the workplace itself. Assessment drives learning and it is therefore essential that workplace-based assessment focuses on important attributes rather than what is easiest to assess. Workplacebased assessment is usually competency based. Workplace based assesments may well facilitate and enhance various aspects of educational supervisions, including its structure, frequency and duration etc. The structure and content of workplace based assesments should be monitored to ensure that its benefits are maximised by remaining tailored to individual trainees' needs. Workplace based assesment should be used for formative and summative assessments. Several formative assessment methods have been developed for use in the workplace such as mini clinical evaluation exercise (mini-cex, evidence based journal club assesment and case based discussion, multi source feedback etc. This review discusses the need of workplace based assesments in psychiatry graduate education and introduces some of the work place based assesment methods.

Assessment in Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Rustaman, N. Y.

2017-09-01

An analyses study focusing on scientific reasoning literacy was conducted to strengthen the stressing on assessment in science by combining the important of the nature of science and assessment as references, higher order thinking and scientific skills in assessing science learning as well. Having background in developing science process skills test items, inquiry in its many form, scientific and STEM literacy, it is believed that inquiry based learning should first be implemented among science educators and science learners before STEM education can successfully be developed among science teachers, prospective teachers, and students at all levels. After studying thoroughly a number of science researchers through their works, a model of scientific reasoning was proposed, and also simple rubrics and some examples of the test items were introduced in this article. As it is only the beginning, further studies will still be needed in the future with the involvement of prospective science teachers who have interests in assessment, either on authentic assessment or in test items development. In balance usage of alternative assessment rubrics, as well as valid and reliable test items (standard) will be needed in accelerating STEM education in Indonesia.

Technology Assessment and Roadmap for the Emergency Radiation Dose Assessment Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turteltaub, K W; Hartman-Siantar, C; Easterly, C; Blakely, W

2005-01-01

A Joint Interagency Working Group (JIWG) under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security Office of Research and Development conducted a technology assessment of emergency radiological dose assessment capabilities as part of the overall need for rapid emergency medical response in the event of a radiological terrorist event in the United States. The goal of the evaluation is to identify gaps and recommend general research and development needs to better prepare the Country for mitigating the effects of such an event. Given the capabilities and roles for responding to a radiological event extend across many agencies, a consensus of gaps and suggested development plans was a major goal of this evaluation and road-mapping effort. The working group consisted of experts representing the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services (Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health), Food and Drug Administration, Department of Defense and the Department of Energy's National Laboratories (see appendix A for participants). The specific goals of this Technology Assessment and Roadmap were to: (1) Describe the general context for deployment of emergency radiation dose assessment tools following terrorist use of a radiological or nuclear device; (2) Assess current and emerging dose assessment technologies; and (3) Put forward a consensus high-level technology roadmap for interagency research and development in this area. This report provides a summary of the consensus of needs, gaps and recommendations for a research program in the area of radiation dosimetry for early response, followed by a summary of the technologies available and on the near-term horizon. We then present a roadmap for a research program to bring present and emerging near-term technologies to bear on the gaps in radiation dose assessment and triage. Finally we present detailed supporting discussion on the nature of the threats we considered, the status of technology

Technology Assessment and Roadmap for the Emergency Radiation Dose Assessment Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turteltaub, K W; Hartman-Siantar, C; Easterly, C; Blakely, W

2005-10-03

A Joint Interagency Working Group (JIWG) under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security Office of Research and Development conducted a technology assessment of emergency radiological dose assessment capabilities as part of the overall need for rapid emergency medical response in the event of a radiological terrorist event in the United States. The goal of the evaluation is to identify gaps and recommend general research and development needs to better prepare the Country for mitigating the effects of such an event. Given the capabilities and roles for responding to a radiological event extend across many agencies, a consensus of gaps and suggested development plans was a major goal of this evaluation and road-mapping effort. The working group consisted of experts representing the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services (Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health), Food and Drug Administration, Department of Defense and the Department of Energy's National Laboratories (see appendix A for participants). The specific goals of this Technology Assessment and Roadmap were to: (1) Describe the general context for deployment of emergency radiation dose assessment tools following terrorist use of a radiological or nuclear device; (2) Assess current and emerging dose assessment technologies; and (3) Put forward a consensus high-level technology roadmap for interagency research and development in this area. This report provides a summary of the consensus of needs, gaps and recommendations for a research program in the area of radiation dosimetry for early response, followed by a summary of the technologies available and on the near-term horizon. We then present a roadmap for a research program to bring present and emerging near-term technologies to bear on the gaps in radiation dose assessment and triage. Finally we present detailed supporting discussion on the nature of the threats we considered, the status of

A Study of Career Planning Assessments

OpenAIRE

Firkola, Peter

2007-01-01

This paper provides an overview of career planning assessments. Background on key career concepts is first introduced. A number of career planning assessments are then examined. These assessments included reviewing ones personal history, interest inventories, values assessments, personality assessments, and aptitude tests. The importance and limitations of these career assessments is then discussed.

How Effective Are Self- and Peer Assessment of Oral Presentation Skills Compared with Teachers' Assessments?

Science.gov (United States)

De Grez, Luc; Valcke, Martin; Roozen, Irene

2012-01-01

Assessment of oral presentation skills is an underexplored area. The study described here focuses on the agreement between professional assessment and self- and peer assessment of oral presentation skills and explores student perceptions about peer assessment. The study has the merit of paying attention to the inter-rater reliability of the…

Innovation Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hasselbalch, Jacob

2017-01-01

Current regulatory approaches are ill-equipped to address the challenges of governing through periods of disruptive technological change. This article hones in on the use of assessment regimes at the level of the European Union, particularly in the work of the Commission, to argue for a missing...... I label innovation assessment, to steer polities through periods of disruptive technological change, during which innovations have taken concrete forms and are beginning to diffuse, but still exhibit much scope for rapid, unexpected change and alternative trajectories of development. By juxtaposing...

Multilingual Learners in Language Assessment: Assessment Design for Linguistically Diverse Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Schissel, Jamie L.; Leung, Constant; López-Gopar, Mario; Davis, James R.

2018-01-01

The assessments designed for and analyzed in this study used a task-based language design template rooted in theories of language reflecting heteroglossic language practices and funds of knowledge learning theories, which were understood as transforming classroom teaching, learning, and assessment through continua of biliteracy lenses. Using a…

Emergency Response Capability Baseline Needs Assessment Compliance Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharry, John A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2013-09-16

This document is the second of a two-part analysis of Emergency Response Capabilities of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The first part, 2013 Baseline Needs Assessment Requirements Document established the minimum performance criteria necessary to meet mandatory requirements. This second part analyses the performance of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Emergency Management Department to the contents of the Requirements Document. The document was prepared based on an extensive review of information contained in the 2009 BNA, the 2012 BNA document, a review of Emergency Planning Hazards Assessments, a review of building construction, occupancy, fire protection features, dispatch records, LLNL alarm system records, fire department training records, and fire department policies and procedures.

Handbook for value-impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heaberlin, S.W.; Burnham, J.B.; Gallucci, R.H.V.

1983-12-01

The basic purpose of this handbook is to document a set of systematic procedures for providing information that can be used in performing value-impact assessments of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulatory actions. The handbook describes a structured but flexible process for performing the assessment. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the value-impact assessment process. Chapter 2 describes the attributes most frequently affected by proposed NRC actions, provides guidance concerningthe appropriate level of effort to be devoted to the assessment, suggests a standard format for documenting the assessment, and discusses the treatment of uncertainty. Chapter 3 contains detailed methods for evaluating each of the attributes affected by a regulatory action. The handbook has five appendixes containing background information, technical data, and example applications of the value-impact assessment procedures. This edition of the handbook focuses primarily on assessing nuclear power reactor safety issues

Formative assessment: a student perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, D A; Guinea, A I; McCarthy, W H

1994-09-01

An educator's view would be that formative assessment has an important role in the learning process. This study was carried out to obtain a student perspective of the place of formative assessment in the curriculum. Final-year medical students at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital took part in four teaching sessions, each structured to integrate teaching with assessment. Three assessment methods were used; the group objective structured clinical examination (G-OSCE), structured short answer (SSA) questions and a pre/post-test multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ). Teaching sessions were conducted on the subject areas of traumatology, the 'acute abdomen', arterial disorders and cancer. Fifty-five students, representing 83% of those who took part in the programme, responded to a questionnaire where they were asked to rate (on a 5-point Likert scale) their response to general questions about formative assessment and 13 specific questions concerning the comparative value of the three assessment modalities. Eighty-nine per cent of respondents felt that formative assessment should be incorporated into the teaching process. The SSA assessment was regarded as the preferred modality to reinforce previous teaching and test problem-solving skills. The MCQ was the least favoured assessment method. The effect size variable between the total scores for the SSA and MCQ was 0.64. The variable between G-OSCE and SSA/MCQ was 0.26 and 0.33 respectively. Formative assessment is a potentially powerful method to direct learning behaviour. Students should have input into the methods used.

State of risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conrad, J.

1978-03-01

In view of the growing importance assumed in recent years by scientific work on the calculation, quantification, evaluation and acceptance as well as behavior in the face of risks in general and more specifically, the risks of large industrial plants, the report attempts to provide a survey of the current situation, results and evaluation of this new branch of research, risk assessment. The emphasis of the report is on the basic discussion and criticism of the theoretical and methodological approaches used in the field of risk assessment (section 3). It is concerned above all with - methodical problems of determining and quantifying risks (3.1) - questions of the possibility of risk evaluation and comp arison (3.1, 3.2) - the premises of normative and empirical studies on decision making under risk (3.2, 3.3) - investigations into society's acceptance of risks involved in the introduction of new technologies (3.4) - attempts to combine various aspects of the field of risk assessment in a unified concept (3.5, 3.6, 3.7). Because risk assessment is embedded in the framework of decision theory and technology assessment, it can be implicitly evaluated at a more general level within this framework, as far as its possibilities and weaknesses of method and application are concerned (section 4). Sections 2 and 5 deal with the social context of origin and utilization of risk assessment. Finally, an attempt is made at a summary indicating the possible future development of risk assessment. (orig./HP) [de

The Bristol Radiology Report Assessment Tool (BRRAT): Developing a workplace-based assessment tool for radiology reporting skills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallis, A.; Edey, A.; Prothero, D.; McCoubrie, P.

2013-01-01

Aim: To review the development of a workplace-based assessment tool to assess the quality of written radiology reports and assess its reliability, feasibility, and validity. Materials and methods: A comprehensive literature review and rigorous Delphi study enabled the development of the Bristol Radiology Report Assessment Tool (BRRAT), which consists of 19 questions and a global assessment score. Three assessors applied the assessment tool to 240 radiology reports provided by 24 radiology trainees. Results: The reliability coefficient for the 19 questions was 0.79 and the equivalent coefficient for the global assessment scores was 0.67. Generalizability coefficients demonstrate that higher numbers of assessors and assessments are needed to reach acceptable levels of reliability for summative assessments due to assessor subjectivity. Conclusion: The study methodology gives good validity and strong foundation in best-practice. The assessment tool developed for radiology reporting is reliable and most suited to formative assessments

Fiscal Year 2014 Revegetation Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nordstrom, Jenifer [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-03-01

This report summarizes the Fiscal Year 2014 Revegetation Assessment by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. This assessment was conducted to document revegetation efforts at Idaho National Laboratory to ensure that disturbed vegetation and soil at various locations are being restored. This report provides the following information for each site being monitored by the Idaho National Laboratory Environmental Support and Services: • Summary of each site • Assessment of vegetation status and site stabilization at each location • Actions and Resolutions for each site. Five disturbed sites were evaluated for this assessment. Four sites are recommended to be removed from the annual assessment, and one is recommended for continued evaluation. New sites are also identified for future monitoring as part of the annual assessment.

Information needs for risk assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeRosa, C.T.; Choudhury, H.; Schoeny, R.S.

1990-12-31

Risk assessment can be thought of as a conceptual approach to bridge the gap between the available data and the ultimate goal of characterizing the risk or hazard associated with a particular environmental problem. To lend consistency to and to promote quality in the process, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published Guidelines for Risk Assessment of Carcinogenicity, Developmental Toxicity, Germ Cell Mutagenicity and Exposure Assessment, and Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures. The guidelines provide a framework for organizing the information, evaluating data, and for carrying out the risk assessment in a scientifically plausible manner. In the absence of sufficient scientific information or when abundant data are available, the guidelines provide alternative methodologies that can be employed in the risk assessment. 4 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.

NEW MODEL OF QUALITY ASSESSMENT IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION - UPGRADING THE COMMON ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK (CAF

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirna Macur

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In our study, we developed new model of quality assessment in public administration. The Common Assessment Framework (CAF is frequently used in continental Europe for this purpose. Its use has many benefits, however we believe its assessment logic is not adequate for public administration. Upgraded version of CAF is conceptually different: instead of analytical and linear CAF we get the instrument that measures organisation as a network of complex processes. Original and upgraded assessment approaches are presented in the paper and compared in the case of self-assessment of selected public administration organisation. The two approaches produced different, sometimes contradictory results. The upgraded model proved to be logically more consistent and it produced higher interpretation capacity.

Physiological response of some economically important freshwater salmonids to catch-and-release fishing

Science.gov (United States)

Wedemeyer, G.A.; Wydoski, R.S.

2008-01-01

Catch-and-release fishing regulations are widely used by fishery resource managers to maintain both the quantity and quality of sport fish populations. We evaluated blood chemistry disturbances in wild brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, brown trout Salmo trutta, cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii, and Arctic grayling Thymallus arcticus that had been hooked and played for 1-5 min in waters of the intermountain western United States. A hatchery stock of brown trout was included for comparison. To assess time needed for recovery, additional test groups were played for 5 min and then released into net-pens, where they were held for up to 72 h. The osmoregulatory and metabolic disturbances associated with catch-and-release fishing under the conditions we tested were minimal and judged to be well within normal physiological tolerance limits. In fish that were held for recovery, the blood chemistry alterations that did occur appeared to be related to stress from confinement in the net-pens. Our results confirm the results of previous studies, showing that prerelease air exposure and handling cause more physiological stress than does either hooking per se or playing time. Fishery managers must be aware of the differences in the perceptions, attitudes, and values of different societal groups, some of which feel that catch-and-release fishing should be banned because it is cruel to the animals. On the basis of brain anatomy, it seems highly unlikely that fish experience pain in the same manner as humans experience it, because fish lack a neocortex, the brain structure that enables the sensation of pain in higher vertebrates. However, independent of the neurobiological argument, our results indicate that under conditions similar to those tested, fish subjected to catch and release are neither suffering nor particularly stressed. Improved education programs about the relatively benign physiological effects of catch-and-release fishing as a fishery management practice would

Participation of irradiated Anopheles arabiensis males in swarms following field release in Sudan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ageep, Tellal B; Alsharif, Bashir; Ahmed, Ayman; Salih, Elwaleed HO; Ahmed, Fayez TA; El Sayed, Badria B; Damiens, David; Gilles, Jeremie RL; Lees, Rosemary S; Diabaté, Abdoulaye

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: The success of the SIT depends on the; release of large numbers of sterile males, which are able to; compete for mates with the wild male population within the; target area. The processes of colonisation, mass production; and irradiation may reduce the competitiveness of sterile; males through genetic selection, loss of natural traits and; somatic damage. In this context, the capacity of released; sterile Anopheles arabiensis males to survive, disperse and; participate in swarms occurring at varying distances from; the release site was studied using mark-release-recapture; techniques.; METHODS: In order to assess their participation in; swarms, irradiated and marked laboratory-reared male; mosquitoes were released 50, 100 or 200 m from the; known site of a large swarm on three consecutive nights.; Males were collected from this large swarm on subsequent; nights. Over the three days a total of 8,100 males were released.; Mean distance travelled (MDT), daily probability of; survival and estimated population size were calculated; from the recapture data. An effect of male age at the time; of release on these parameters was observed.; RESULTS: Five per cent of the males released over three; days were recaptured. In two-, three- and four-day-old; males, MDT was 118, 178 and 170 m, and the daily survival; probability 0.95, 0.90 and 0.75, respectively. From the; recapture data on the first day following each release, the; Lincoln index gives an estimation of 32,546 males in the; natural population.; DISCUSSION: Sterile An. arabiensis males released into; the field were able to find and participate in existing; swarms, and possibly even initiate swarms. The survival; probability decreased with the age of male on release but; the swarm participation and the distance travelled by older; males seemed higher than for younger males. The inclusion; of a pre-release period may thus be beneficial to male competitiveness; and increase the attractiveness of adult sexing

Students' Assessment and Self-assessment of Nursing Clinical Faculty Competencies: Important Feedback in Clinical Education?

Science.gov (United States)

Lovrić, Robert; Prlić, Nada; Zec, Davor; Pušeljić, Silvija; Žvanut, Boštjan

2015-01-01

The students' assessment of clinical faculty competencies and the faculty members' self-assessment can provide important information about nursing clinical education. The aim of this study was to identify the differences between the students' assessment of the clinical faculty member's competencies and the faculty member's self-assessment. These differences can reveal interesting insights relevant for improving clinical practice.

Assessment in Cognitive Therapy

OpenAIRE

Brown, Gary P.; Clark, David A.

2015-01-01

This volume brings together leading experts to explore the state of the art of cognitive clinical assessment and identify cutting-edge approaches of interest to clinicians and researchers. The book highlights fundamental problems concerning the validity of assessments that are widely used in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Key directions for further research and development are identified. Updated cognitive assessment methods are described in detail, with particular attention to transdiag...

Historical relationship between performance assessment for radioactive waste disposal and other types of risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rechard, R.P.

1999-01-01

This article describes the evolution of the process for assessing the hazards of a geologic disposal system for radioactive waste and, similarly, nuclear power reactors, and the relationship of this process with other assessments of risk, particularly assessments of hazards from manufactured carcinogenic chemicals during use and disposal. This perspective reviews the common history of scientific concepts for risk assessment developed until the 1950s. Computational tools and techniques developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s to analyze the reliability of nuclear weapon delivery systems were adopted in the early 1970s for probabilistic risk assessment of nuclear power reactors, a technology for which behavior was unknown. In turn, these analyses became an important foundation for performance assessment of nuclear waste disposal in the late 1970s. The evaluation of risk to human health and the environment from chemical hazards is built on methods for assessing the dose response of radionuclides in the 1950s. Despite a shared background, however, societal events, often in the form of legislation, have affected the development path for risk assessment for human health, producing dissimilarities between these risk assessments and those for nuclear facilities. An important difference is the regulator's interest in accounting for uncertainty

Assessing Assessment – the Danish Experience of Worker Participation in Risk Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Per Langå

2002-01-01

The transposition of the EU Framework Directive resulted in new Danish legislation on workplace assessment whereby a mandatory participatory process to handle work environment is to be established in all firms. The first studies on the implementations shows that while smaller firms do not comply...

Web-based teaching tool incorporating peer assessment and self-assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McEvoy, Fintan; McEvoy, Peter M.; Svalastoga, Eiliv L.

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVE. Our objective was to create an electronic learning tool that incorporates the pedagogic advantages of peer assessment and self-assessment into report-generating skills. CONCLUSION. The tool was created using Web programming software. It was tested with 12 veterinary students and provided...... peer-peer and tutor-student interactions that supported learning. The tool is suited for training any professional concerned with the interpretation of images, particularly resident radiologists....

Assessment of printability for printed electronics patterns by measuring geometric dimensions and defining assessment parameters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeon, Sung Woong [Dept. of Robotics Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Cheol; Kim, Chung Hwan [Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-12-15

The printability of patterns for printed electronic devices determines the performance, yield rate, and reliability of the devices; therefore, it should be assessed quantitatively. In this paper, parameters for printability assessment of printed patterns for width, pinholes, and edge waviness are suggested. For quantitative printability assessment, printability grades for each parameter are proposed according to the parameter values. As examples of printability assessment, printed line patterns and mesh patterns obtained using roll-to-roll gravure printing are used. Both single-line patterns and mesh patterns show different levels of printability, even in samples obtained using the same printing equipment and conditions. Therefore, for reliable assessment, it is necessary to assess the printability of the patterns by enlarging the sampling area and increasing the number of samples. We can predict the performance of printed electronic devices by assessing the printability of the patterns that constitute them.

Assessment of printability for printed electronics patterns by measuring geometric dimensions and defining assessment parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeon, Sung Woong; Kim, Cheol; Kim, Chung Hwan

2016-01-01

The printability of patterns for printed electronic devices determines the performance, yield rate, and reliability of the devices; therefore, it should be assessed quantitatively. In this paper, parameters for printability assessment of printed patterns for width, pinholes, and edge waviness are suggested. For quantitative printability assessment, printability grades for each parameter are proposed according to the parameter values. As examples of printability assessment, printed line patterns and mesh patterns obtained using roll-to-roll gravure printing are used. Both single-line patterns and mesh patterns show different levels of printability, even in samples obtained using the same printing equipment and conditions. Therefore, for reliable assessment, it is necessary to assess the printability of the patterns by enlarging the sampling area and increasing the number of samples. We can predict the performance of printed electronic devices by assessing the printability of the patterns that constitute them

Biosafety Risk Assessment Methodology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caskey, Susan Adele [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). International Biological Threat Reduction Program; Gaudioso, Jennifer M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). International Biological Threat Reduction Program; Salerno, Reynolds Mathewson [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). International Biological Threat Reduction Program; Wagner, Stefan M. [Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB (Canada). Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health (CSCHAH); Shigematsu, Mika [National Inst. of Infectious Diseases (NIID), Tokyo (Japan); Risi, George [Infectious Disease Specialists, P.C, Missoula, MT (United States); Kozlovac, Joe [US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)., Beltsville, MD (United States); Halkjaer-Knudsen, Vibeke [Statens Serum Inst., Copenhagen (Denmark); Prat, Esmeralda [Bayer CropScience, Monheim am Rhein (Germany)

2010-10-01

Laboratories that work with biological agents need to manage their safety risks to persons working the laboratories and the human and animal community in the surrounding areas. Biosafety guidance defines a wide variety of biosafety risk mitigation measures, which include measures which fall under the following categories: engineering controls, procedural and administrative controls, and the use of personal protective equipment; the determination of which mitigation measures should be used to address the specific laboratory risks are dependent upon a risk assessment. Ideally, a risk assessment should be conducted in a manner which is standardized and systematic which allows it to be repeatable and comparable. A risk assessment should clearly define the risk being assessed and avoid over complication.

The Bristol Radiology Report Assessment Tool (BRRAT): developing a workplace-based assessment tool for radiology reporting skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallis, A; Edey, A; Prothero, D; McCoubrie, P

2013-11-01

To review the development of a workplace-based assessment tool to assess the quality of written radiology reports and assess its reliability, feasibility, and validity. A comprehensive literature review and rigorous Delphi study enabled the development of the Bristol Radiology Report Assessment Tool (BRRAT), which consists of 19 questions and a global assessment score. Three assessors applied the assessment tool to 240 radiology reports provided by 24 radiology trainees. The reliability coefficient for the 19 questions was 0.79 and the equivalent coefficient for the global assessment scores was 0.67. Generalizability coefficients demonstrate that higher numbers of assessors and assessments are needed to reach acceptable levels of reliability for summative assessments due to assessor subjectivity. The study methodology gives good validity and strong foundation in best-practice. The assessment tool developed for radiology reporting is reliable and most suited to formative assessments. Copyright © 2013 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of medical communication skills by computer: assessment method and student experiences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hulsman, R. L.; Mollema, E. D.; Hoos, A. M.; de Haes, J. C. J. M.; Donnison-Speijer, J. D.

2004-01-01

BACKGROUND A computer-assisted assessment (CAA) program for communication skills designated ACT was developed using the objective structured video examination (OSVE) format. This method features assessment of cognitive scripts underlying communication behaviour, a broad range of communication

Changing the culture of assessment: the dominance of the summative assessment paradigm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Harrison, C.J.; Konings, K.D.; Schuwirth, L.W.; Wass, V.; Vleuten, C.P.M. van der

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Despite growing evidence of the benefits of including assessment for learning strategies within programmes of assessment, practical implementation of these approaches is often problematical. Organisational culture change is often hindered by personal and collective beliefs which

Investigating the Dynamics of Formative Assessment: Relationships between Teacher Knowledge, Assessment Practice and Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Herman, Joan; Osmundson, Ellen; Dai, Yunyun; Ringstaff, Cathy; Timms, Michael

2015-01-01

This exploratory study of elementary school science examines questions central to policy, practice and research on formative assessment: What is the quality of teachers' content-pedagogical and assessment knowledge? What is the relationship between teacher knowledge and assessment practice? What is the relationship between teacher knowledge,…

Patient Assessment File (PAF)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Patient Assessment File (PAF) database compiles the results of the Patient Assessment Instrument (PAI) questionnaire filled out for intermediate care Veterans...

Evidence-Based Psychological Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bornstein, Robert F

2017-01-01

In recent years there has been increasing emphasis on evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP), and as is true in most health care professions, the primary focus of EBPP has been on treatment. Comparatively little attention has been devoted to applying the principles of EBPP to psychological assessment, despite the fact that assessment plays a central role in myriad domains of empirical and applied psychology (e.g., research, forensics, behavioral health, risk management, diagnosis and classification in mental health settings, documentation of neuropsychological impairment and recovery, personnel selection and placement in organizational contexts). This article outlines the central elements of evidence-based psychological assessment (EBPA), using the American Psychological Association's tripartite definition of EBPP as integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences. After discussing strategies for conceptualizing and operationalizing evidence-based testing and evidence-based assessment, 6 core skills and 3 meta-skills that underlie proficiency in psychological assessment are described. The integration of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences is discussed in terms of the complex interaction of patient and assessor identities and values throughout the assessment process. A preliminary framework for implementing EBPA is offered, and avenues for continued refinement and growth are described.

Alignment between South African mathematics assessment standards and the TIMSS assessment frameworks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mdutshekelwa Ndlovu

2012-12-01

Full Text Available South Africa’s performance in international benchmark tests is a major cause for concern amongst educators and policymakers, raising questions about the effectiveness of the curriculum reform efforts of the democratic era. The purpose of the study reported in this article was to investigate the degree of alignment between the TIMSS 2003 Grade 8 Mathematics assessment frameworks and the Revised National Curriculum Statements (RNCS assessment standards for Grade 8 Mathematics, later revised to become the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS. Such an investigation could help to partly shed light on why South African learners do not perform well and point out discrepancies that need to be attended to. The methodology of document analysis was adopted for the study, with the RNCS and the TIMSS 2003 Grade 8 Mathematics frameworks forming the principal documents. Porter’s moderately complex index of alignment was adopted for its simplicity. The computed index of 0.751 for the alignment between the RNCS assessment standards and the TIMSS assessment objectives was found to be significantly statistically low, at the alpha level of 0.05, according to Fulmer’s critical values for 20 cells and 90 or 120 standard points. The study suggests that inadequate attention has been paid to the alignment of the South African mathematics curriculum to the successive TIMSS assessment frameworks in terms of the cognitive level descriptions. The study recommends that participation in TIMSS should rigorously and critically inform ongoing curriculum reform efforts.

Transportation life cycle assessment (LCA) synthesis : life cycle assessment learning module series.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-12

The Life Cycle Assessment Learning Module Series is a set of narrated, self-advancing slideshows on : various topics related to environmental life cycle assessment (LCA). This research project produced the first 27 of such modules, which : are freely...

Direct heat applications of geothermal energy in The Geysers/Clear Lake region. Volume I. Geotechnical assessment, agribusiness applications, socioeconomic assessment, engineering assessment. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1977-08-01

The different uses to which geothermal heat and fluids could be applied as a direct utilization of resource or as heat utilization are explored. The following aspects are covered: geotechnical assessment, agricultural and industrial applications, socioeconomic assessment, and engineering assessment. (MHR)

7 CFR 37.10 - Official assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... ASSESS ORGANIC CERTIFYING AGENCIES § 37.10 Official assessment. Official assessment of an applicant's certification program shall be granted upon successful completion of a two-step review process, as provided for... completion of an adequacy audit by the auditors. (b) Program assessment. Assessment of a certification...

The Measurement Properties of the Assessing Math Concepts' Assessments of Primary Students' Number Sense Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Christie; Lambert, Richard; Polly, Drew; Wang, Chuang; Pugalee, David

The purpose of this study was to examine the measurement properties of the Assessing Math Concepts AMC Anywhere Hiding and Ten Frame Assessments, formative assessments of primary students' number sense skills. Each assessment has two parts, where Part 1 is intended to be foundational skills for part two. Part 1 includes manipulatives whereas Part 2 does not. Student data from 228 kindergarten through second grade teachers with a total of 3,666 students was analyzed using Rasch scaling. Data analyses indicated that when the two assessments were examined separately the intended order of item difficulty was clear. When the parts of both assessments were analyzed together, the items in Part 2 were not consistently more difficult that the items in Part 1. This suggests an alternative sequence of tasks in that students may progress from working with a specific number with manipulatives then without manipulatives rather than working with a variety of numbers with manipulatives before moving onto assessments without manipulatives.

The E-assessment burger: Supporting the Before and After in E-Assessment Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Adams

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a threshold concept-driven e-assessment system that supports teachers in writing effective formative multiple-choice questions, creating quizzes tailored to students’ learning pathways. The system, which has been co-designed with teachers, acts as the ‘bun’ on either side of an ‘e-assessment burger’ pedagogically scaffolding quiz creation (the top of the bun, integrating the quiz within personalized learning trajectories (the burger and feeding the results back to the learners and teachers to guide the direction of future learning pathways (the bottom of the bun. The evaluation with 26 students in 3 subjects across two schools identified that supporting the before and after e-assessment empowers a shift in teachers’ encouragement for student ownership of assessment, guiding their learning pathways. Teachers also provide insights into how the system scaffolding and visualisations inspired changes to sequencing learning and teaching practices. In conclusion the changing role of assessment within a school ecosystem is debated.

Data for the screening assessment. Volume 1: Text, Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miley, T.B.; O'Neil, T.K.; Gilbert, R.O.; Klevgard, L.A.; Walters, T.B.

1996-06-01

The Columbia River is a critical resource for residents of the Pacific Northwest. This resource drew the Manhattan Project's planners to the site now called Hanford to produce nuclear weapon materials. Production of those materials has left behind a legacy of chemical and radioactive contamination and materials that have, are, and will continue to pose a threat to the Columbia river for the foreseeable future. To evaluate the impact to the river from this Hanford-derived contamination, the US Department of Energy, US Environmental Protection Agency, and State of Washington Department of Ecology (the Tri-Party agencies) initiated a study referred to as the Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA). To address concerns about the scope and direction of CRCIA as well as enhance regulator, stakeholder, tribal, and public involvement, the CRCIA Management Team was formed in August 1995. A major CRCIA Team decision was to organize CRCIA into phases, with additional phases to be identified as warranted after completion of the initial phase. The initial phase is comprised of two parts: (1) a screening assessment to evaluate the current impact to the river resulting from Hanford-derived contamination and (2) identification of requirements considered necessary by the CRCIA Management Team for a comprehensive assessment of impact to the river. The purpose of the screening assessment is to support cleanup decisions. The scope of the screening assessment is to evaluate the current risk to humans and the environment resulting from Hanford-derived contaminants. The screening assessment has the primary components of: identifying contaminants to be assessed; identifying a variety of exposure scenarios to evaluate human contaminant exposure; identifying a variety of other species to evaluate ecological contaminant exposure; and assessing risks posed by exposure of humans and other species to the contaminants

Modelling the pre-assessment learning effects of assessment: evidence in the validity chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Cilliers, Francois J; Schuwirth, Lambert W T; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

2012-11-01

We previously developed a model of the pre-assessment learning effects of consequential assessment and started to validate it. The model comprises assessment factors, mechanism factors and learning effects. The purpose of this study was to continue the validation process. For stringency, we focused on a subset of assessment factor-learning effect associations that featured least commonly in a baseline qualitative study. Our aims were to determine whether these uncommon associations were operational in a broader but similar population to that in which the model was initially derived. A cross-sectional survey of 361 senior medical students at one medical school was undertaken using a purpose-made questionnaire based on a grounded theory and comprising pairs of written situational tests. In each pair, the manifestation of an assessment factor was varied. The frequencies at which learning effects were selected were compared for each item pair, using an adjusted alpha to assign significance. The frequencies at which mechanism factors were selected were calculated. There were significant differences in the learning effect selected between the two scenarios of an item pair for 13 of this subset of 21 uncommon associations, even when a p-value of value. For a subset of uncommon associations in the model, the role of most assessment factor-learning effect associations and the mechanism factors involved were supported in a broader but similar population to that in which the model was derived. Although model validation is an ongoing process, these results move the model one step closer to the stage of usefully informing interventions. Results illustrate how factors not typically included in studies of the learning effects of assessment could confound the results of interventions aimed at using assessment to influence learning. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

Data for the screening assessment. Volume 2: Appendices, Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miley, T.B.; O'Neil, T.K.; Gilbert, R.O.; Klevgard, L.A.; Walters, T.B.

1996-06-01

The Columbia River is a critical resource for residents of the Pacific Northwest. This resource drew the Manhattan Project's planners to the site now called Hanford to produce nuclear weapon materials. Production of those materials has left behind a legacy of chemical and radioactive contamination and materials that have, are, and will continue to pose a threat to the Columbia river for the foreseeable future. To evaluate the impact to the river from this Hanford-derived contamination, the US Department of Energy, US Environmental Protection Agency, and State of Washington Department of Ecology (the Tri-Party agencies) initiated a study referred to as the Columbia River Comprehensive Impact Assessment (CRCIA). To address concerns about the scope and direction of CRCIA as well as enhance regulator, stakeholder, tribal, and public involvement, the CRCIA Management Team was formed in August 1995. A major CRCIA Team decision was to organize CRCIA into phases, with additional phases to be identified as warranted after completion of the initial phase. The initial phase is comprised of two parts: (1) a screening assessment to evaluate the current impact to the river resulting from Hanford-derived contamination and (2) identification of requirements considered necessary by the CRCIA Management Team for a comprehensive assessment of impact to the river. The purpose of the screening assessment is to support cleanup decisions. The scope of the screening assessment is to evaluate the current risk to humans and the environment resulting from Hanford-derived contaminants. The screening assessment has the primary components of: identifying contaminants to be assessed; identifying a variety of exposure scenarios to evaluate human contaminant exposure; identifying a variety of other species to evaluate ecological contaminant exposure; and assessing risks posed by exposure of humans and other species to the contaminants. This volume compiles the data from this study

Systematic Review Protocol for the IRIS Chloroform Assessment (Inhalation) (Preliminary Assessment Materials)

Science.gov (United States)

In January 2018, EPA released the Systematic Review Protocol for the IRIS Chloroform Assessment (Inhalation). As part of developing a draft IRIS assessment, EPA presents a methods document, referred to as the protocol, for conducting a chemical-specific systematic revie...

Advanced Level Biology Teachers' Attitudes towards Assessment and Their Engagement in Assessment for Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Bramwell-Lalor, Sharon; Rainford, Marcia

2015-01-01

This paper reports on a Mixed Methods study involving an investigation into the attitudes of advanced level biology teachers towards assessment and describes the teachers' experiences while being engaged in Assessment for Learning (AfL) practices such as sharing of learning objectives and peer- and self-assessment. Quantitative data were collected…

The Effects of Performance-Based Assessment Criteria on Student Performance and Self-Assessment Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Fastre, Greet Mia Jos; van der Klink, Marcel R.; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G.

2010-01-01

This study investigated the effect of performance-based versus competence-based assessment criteria on task performance and self-assessment skills among 39 novice secondary vocational education students in the domain of nursing and care. In a performance-based assessment group students are provided with a preset list of performance-based…

Using TAPS Focused Assessments as Part of Our Teacher Assessment Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Kerry-Anne

2018-01-01

As the Science Co-ordinator at St Paul's RC Primary School, the author has been involved in producing and trialling resources for the Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) project over the last four years. This article explains how St Paul's has used the Focused Assessments (FAs). The author has always tried to promote enquiry-based…

[Forensic assessment of violence risk].

Science.gov (United States)

Pujol Robinat, Amadeo; Mohíno Justes, Susana; Gómez-Durán, Esperanza L

2014-03-01

Over the last 20 years there have been steps forward in the field of scientific research on prediction and handling different violent behaviors. In this work we go over the classic concept of "criminal dangerousness" and the more current of "violence risk assessment". We analyze the evolution of such assessment from the practice of non-structured clinical expert opinion to current actuarial methods and structured clinical expert opinion. Next we approach the problem of assessing physical violence risk analyzing the HCR-20 (Assessing Risk for Violence) and we also review the classic and complex subject of the relation between mental disease and violence. One of the most problematic types of violence, difficult to assess and predict, is sexual violence. We study the different actuarial and sexual violence risk prediction instruments and in the end we advise an integral approach to the problem. We also go through partner violence risk assessment, describing the most frequently used scales, especially SARA (Spouse Assault Risk Assessment) and EPV-R. Finally we give practical advice on risk assessment, emphasizing the importance of having maximum information about the case, carrying out a clinical examination, psychopathologic exploration and the application of one of the described risk assessment scales. We'll have to express an opinion about the dangerousness/risk of future violence from the subject and some recommendations on the conduct to follow and the most advisable treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Spasticity-assessment: a review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Biering-Sørensen, F.; Nielsen, Jens Bo; Klinge, Klaus Peter

2006-01-01

Study design:Review of the literature on the validity and reliability of assessment of spasticity and spasms.Objectives:Evaluate the most frequently used methods for assessment of spasticity and spasms, with particular focus on individuals with spinal cord lesions.Setting:Clinic for Spinal Cord...... Injuries, Rigshospitalet, University Hospital of Copenhagen, and Department of Medical Physiology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.Methods:The assessment methods are grouped into clinical, biomechanical and electrophysiological, and the correlation between these is evaluated.Results:Clinical methods......: For assessment of spasticity, the Ashworth and the modified Ashworth scales are commonly used. They provide a semiquantitative measure of the resistance to passive movement, but have limited interrater reliability. Guidelines for the testing procedures should be adhered to. Spasm frequency scales seem...

Safety Assessment for Decommissioning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-06-15

In the past few decades, international guidance has been developed on methods for assessing the safety of predisposal and disposal facilities for radioactive waste. More recently, it has been recognized that there is also a need for specific guidance on safety assessment in the context of decommissioning nuclear facilities. The importance of safety during decommissioning was highlighted at the International Conference on Safe Decommissioning for Nuclear Activities held in Berlin in 2002 and at the First Review Meeting of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management in 2003. At its June 2004 meeting, the Board of Governors of the IAEA approved the International Action Plan on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities (GOV/2004/40), which called on the IAEA to: ''establish a forum for the sharing and exchange of national information and experience on the application of safety assessment in the context of decommissioning and provide a means to convey this information to other interested parties, also drawing on the work of other international organizations in this area''. In response, in November 2004, the IAEA launched the international project Evaluation and Demonstration of Safety for Decommissioning of Facilities Using Radioactive Material (DeSa) with the following objectives: -To develop a harmonized approach to safety assessment and to define the elements of safety assessment for decommissioning, including the application of a graded approach; -To investigate the practical applicability of the methodology and performance of safety assessments for the decommissioning of various types of facility through a selected number of test cases; -To investigate approaches for the review of safety assessments for decommissioning activities and the development of a regulatory approach for reviewing safety assessments for decommissioning activities and as a basis for regulatory decision making; -To provide a forum

Complex method to calculate objective assessments of information systems protection to improve expert assessments reliability

Science.gov (United States)

Abdenov, A. Zh; Trushin, V. A.; Abdenova, G. A.

2018-01-01

The paper considers the questions of filling the relevant SIEM nodes based on calculations of objective assessments in order to improve the reliability of subjective expert assessments. The proposed methodology is necessary for the most accurate security risk assessment of information systems. This technique is also intended for the purpose of establishing real-time operational information protection in the enterprise information systems. Risk calculations are based on objective estimates of the adverse events implementation probabilities, predictions of the damage magnitude from information security violations. Calculations of objective assessments are necessary to increase the reliability of the proposed expert assessments.

GCSE Assessment Notes: Six GCSE Assessment Assignments.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Stephen

1988-01-01

Provided are copy masters, instructions for use, and grading criteria for six problems used as part of the practical assessment for a modular science course. Each problem gives a narrative and a list of materials necessary to complete the problem. (CW)

Information System Quality Assessment Methods

OpenAIRE

Korn, Alexandra

2014-01-01

This thesis explores challenging topic of information system quality assessment and mainly process assessment. In this work the term Information System Quality is defined as well as different approaches in a quality definition for different domains of information systems are outlined. Main methods of process assessment are overviewed and their relationships are described. Process assessment methods are divided into two categories: ISO standards and best practices. The main objective of this w...

The Art of Making Assessment Anti-Venom: Injecting Assessment in Small Doses to Create a Faculty Culture of Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Philip I.

2009-01-01

Many college faculty react to student outcomes assessment the way most people react when they see a rattlesnake within striking distance. Common faculty reactions to the perceived threat of assessment include metaphorically running away and throwing rocks or sticks at it. Like a hiker in the desert doing her best to avoid being struck when she…

Risk Assessment and Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Strategies, Nordic Workshop, Vedbæk 1999

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poll, Christian

At a Nordic workshop on Product-oriented Environmental Strategies the roles of risk and hazard assessment and life cycle assessment of products in the future regulation of chemicals were discussed by participants representing administration, academia and industry from the Nordic countries....... This report compiles the papers and presentations given at the workshop. The papers present and discuss the different assessment tools and procedures - for individual chemicals through hazard and risk assessments and for products, materials and services through life-cycle assessment. The report also contains......, consultants and private enterprises to consider these well-established tools as individually necessary for the future regulation of the chemical pressure on the environment and to accept them as complementary to each other. Together with other process- or chain oriented tools like Substance or Material Flow...

Life cycle assessment (LCA)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thrane, Mikkel; Schmidt, Jannick Andresen

2004-01-01

The chapter introduces Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and its application according to the ISO 1404043 standards.......The chapter introduces Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and its application according to the ISO 1404043 standards....

77 FR 26292 - Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Assessments: Social Science Methodologies to Assess Goals...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-03

...] Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Assessments: Social Science Methodologies to Assess Goals... announcing a public workshop entitled ``Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Assessments: Social Science... constructive dialogue and information-sharing among regulators, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry...

Using slides to test for changes in crown defoliation assessment methods. Part I: Visual assessment of slides.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobbertin, Matthias; Hug, Christian; Mizoue, Nobuya

2004-11-01

In this study we used photographs of tree crowns to test whether the assessment methods for tree defoliation in Switzerland have changed over time. We randomly selected 24 series of slides of Norway spruce with field assessments made between 1986 and 1995. The slides were randomly arranged and assessed by three experts without prior knowledge of the year when the slide was taken or the tree number. Defoliation was assessed using the Swiss reference photo guide. Although the correlations between the field assessments and slide assessments were high (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient ranged between 0.79 and 0.83), we found significant differences between field and slide assessments (4.3 to 9% underprediction by the slide assessors) and between the slide assessments. However, no significant trends in field assessment methods could be detected. When the mean differences between field and slide assessments were subtracted, in some years, field assessors consistently underpredicted (1990, 1992) or overpredicted defoliation (1987, 1991). Defoliation tended to be overpredicted in slides taken against the light, and underpredicted for trees with more than 25% crown overlap. We conclude that slide series can be used to detect changes in assessment methods. However, potential observer bias calls for more objective methods of assessment.

Implementing Formative Assessment in Engineering Education: The Use of the Online Assessment System Etude

Science.gov (United States)

Dopper, Sofia M.; Sjoer, Ellen

2004-01-01

This article describes the possibilities offered by the online assessment system Etude to achieve the benefits of formative assessment. In order to find out the way this works in practice, we carried out an experiment with the use of Etude for formative assessment in the course on collaborative report writing. Results show that online formative…

Assessment of the Assessment Tool: Analysis of Items in a Non-MCQ Mathematics Exam

Science.gov (United States)

Khoshaim, Heba Bakr; Rashid, Saima

2016-01-01

Assessment is one of the vital steps in the teaching and learning process. The reported action research examines the effectiveness of an assessment process and inspects the validity of exam questions used for the assessment purpose. The instructors of a college-level mathematics course studied questions used in the final exams during the academic…

Managing Post-Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNA)

OpenAIRE

Jones, Brett

2010-01-01

This knowledge note provides an overview of the post-disaster assessment process, extracting lessons learned in the East Asia Pacific Region (EAP) and presenting best practices from recent assessments. The note explains the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) methodology, and outlines: (i) the assessment triggers, (ii) key steps in assessment planning, and (iii) dos and don'ts in assessm...

Assessment of Mental Status.

Science.gov (United States)

Finney, Glen R; Minagar, Alireza; Heilman, Kenneth M

2016-02-01

Assessing the mental status of patients with a neurobehavioral disorder is a critical element in the diagnosis and treatment of these patients. This assessment should always be performed after the patient's history it taken and a general physical as well as a neurologic examination is completed. The mental status examination commences with observing the patient's appearance and level of consciousness. The examiner should also pay attention to patient's social behavior, emotional state and mood. There are 3 major means of assessing a patient's mental status. One type attempts to determine if the patient is demented and the severity of the dementia as it pertains to their ability to perform activities of daily living as well as instrumental activities. A second type of assessment utilizes what may be termed as "screening tests" or "omnibus tests". These brief tests are performed independent of the patient's history and examination. The two most frequently used screening tests are the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The third means of assessing a patient's mental status is by using specific neuropsychological tests that focus on specific domains of cognition, such as frontal executive functions, attention, episodic verbal and visuospatial memory, declarative knowledge such as language (speech, reading and writing) and arithmetical, as well as visuospatial and perceptual abilities. These neurobehavioral, neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological assessments of patients with a cognitive decline and behavioral abnormalities should often be accompanied by laboratory tests, and neuroimaging that can help determine the underlying pathologic process so that effective therapeutic and management approaches can be provided. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing medical technologies in development; a new paradigm of medical technology assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hummel, J. Marjan; van Rossum, Wouter; Verkerke, Gijsbertus Jacob; Rakhorst, Gerhard

2000-01-01

Objective: Our study aims to provide a practical contribution to the field of medical technology assessment within a new paradigm. This paradigm indicates the need for more comprehensive technology assessments in the development stage of a new technology. - Method: We introduce a method, based on

Assessing medical technologies in development - A new paradigm of medical technology assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hummel, MJM; van Rossum, W; Verkerke, GJ; Rakhorst, G

2000-01-01

Objective: Our study aims to provide a practical contribution to the field of medical technology assessment within a new paradigm. This paradigm indicates the need for more comprehensive technology assessments in the development stage of a new technology. Method: We introduce a method, based on

Collection assessment and acquisitions budgets

CERN Document Server

Lee, Sul H

2013-01-01

This invaluable new book contains timely information about the assessment of academic library collections and the relationship of collection assessment to acquisition budgets. The rising cost of information significantly influences academic libraries'abilities to acquire the necessary materials for students and faculty, and public libraries'abilities to acquire material for their clientele. Collection Assessment and Acquisitions Budgets examines different aspects of the relationship between the assessment of academic library collections and the management of library acquisition budgets. Librar

Assessing Self-Assessment: Can Age and Prior Literacy Attainment Predict the Accuracy of Children's Self-Assessments in Literacy?

Science.gov (United States)

Keane, Lainey; Griffin, Claire P.

2018-01-01

Self-assessment practices have been advocated in recent Irish educational documents due to their potential to enhance school children's learning and self-regulatory skills. However, the literature has highlighted how some children struggle to make accurate self-assessments of their academic work, which diminishes such positive effects (Keane and…

SELF-ASSESSMENT AMONG YOUNG LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arni Sukmiarni

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The implementation of self-assessment among young learners becomes a challenging issue to include in English classroom assessment. The common belief that children cannot self-assess accurately as adults do seems to yield that the inclusion of self-assessment in TEYL is still not prevalent yet. Self-assessment is an assessment involving the ability in assessing one’s own performance in learning. This is strongly related to one’s metacognition development. The tendency of earlier research investigating metacognitive capacities of young children concludes that mecognition in children is a late developing skill (Lai, 2011. In fact, more recent empirical studies conclude that young children have capability of simple metacognition thought (Lai, 2011. Hence, the inclusion of self-assessment in TEYL can be implemented as an assessment supporting other assessment conducted in classroom. Self-assessment is beneficial in improving students’s own awareness of their learning progress. In Indonesian context, English as a foreign language, has been taught in elementary school since 1994 and generally formative and summative assessments as classroom assessments are employed to assess student’s progress in learning. Self-assessment is an assessment that needs to be considered to include in classroom assessment. This paper discusses self-assessment among young learners, in this context elementary school students studying English.

Self-Assessment among Young Learners of English

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arni Sukmiarni

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The implementation of self-assessment among young learners becomes a challenging issue to include in English classroom assessment. The common belief that children cannot self-assess accurately as adults do seems to yield that the inclusion of self-assessment in TEYL is still not prevalent yet. Self-assessment is an assessment involving the ability in assessing one’s own performance in learning. This is strongly related to one’s metacognition development. The tendency of earlier research investigating metacognitive capacities of young children concludes that mecognition in children is a late developing skill (Lai, 2011. In fact, more recent empirical studies conclude that young children have capability of simple metacognition thought (Lai, 2011. Hence, the inclusion of self-assessment in TEYL can be implemented as an assessment supporting other assessment conducted in classroom. Self-assessment is beneficial in improving students’s own awareness of their learning progress. In Indonesian context, English as a foreign language, has been taught in elementary school since 1994 and generally formative and summative assessments as classroom assessments are employed to assess student’s progress in learning. Self-assessment is an assessment that needs to be considered to include in classroom assessment. This paper discusses self-assessment among young learners, in this context elementary school students studying English.

Interactive Rapid Dose Assessment Model (IRDAM): reactor-accident assessment methods. Vol.2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poeton, R.W.; Moeller, M.P.; Laughlin, G.J.; Desrosiers, A.E.

1983-05-01

As part of the continuing emphasis on emergency preparedness, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) sponsored the development of a rapid dose assessment system by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). This system, the Interactive Rapid Dose Assessment Model (IRDAM) is a micro-computer based program for rapidly assessing the radiological impact of accidents at nuclear power plants. This document describes the technical bases for IRDAM including methods, models and assumptions used in calculations. IRDAM calculates whole body (5-cm depth) and infant thyroid doses at six fixed downwind distances between 500 and 20,000 meters. Radionuclides considered primarily consist of noble gases and radioiodines. In order to provide a rapid assessment capability consistent with the capacity of the Osborne-1 computer, certain simplifying approximations and assumptions are made. These are described, along with default values (assumptions used in the absence of specific input) in the text of this document. Two companion volumes to this one provide additional information on IRDAM. The user's Guide (NUREG/CR-3012, Volume 1) describes the setup and operation of equipment necessary to run IRDAM. Scenarios for Comparing Dose Assessment Models (NUREG/CR-3012, Volume 3) provides the results of calculations made by IRDAM and other models for specific accident scenarios

Linking global scenarios to national assessments: Experiences from the Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Linda L. Langner; Peter J. Ince

2012-01-01

The Resources Planning Act (RPA) Assessment provides a nationally consistent analysis of the status and trends of the Nation's renewable forest resources. A global scenario approach was taken for the 2010 RPA Assessment to provide a shared world view of potential futures. The RPA Assessment scenarios were linked to the global scenarios and climate projections used...

Strategic environmental assessment quality assurance: evaluating and improving the consistency of judgments in assessment panels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noble, Bram F.

2004-01-01

Assessment panels and expert judgment are playing increasing roles in the practice of strategic environmental assessment (SEA). Thus, the quality of an SEA decision rests considerably on the quality of the judgments of the assessment panel. However, there exists very little guidance in the SEA literature for practitioners concerning the treatment and integration of expert judgment into SEA decision-making processes. Subsequently, the performance of SEAs based on expert judgment is often less than satisfactory, and quality improvements are required in the SEA process. Based on the lessons learned from strategic- and project-level impact assessment practices, this paper outlines a number of principles concerning the use of assessment panels in SEA decision-making, and attempts to provide some guidance for SEA practitioners in this regard. Particular attention is given to the notion and value of consistency in assessment panel judgments

[Urban ecological risk assessment: a review].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Mei-E; Chen, Wei-Ping; Peng, Chi

2014-03-01

With the development of urbanization and the degradation of urban living environment, urban ecological risks caused by urbanization have attracted more and more attentions. Based on urban ecology principles and ecological risk assessment frameworks, contents of urban ecological risk assessment were reviewed in terms of driven forces, risk resources, risk receptors, endpoints and integrated approaches for risk assessment. It was suggested that types and degrees of urban economical and social activities were the driven forces for urban ecological risks. Ecological functional components at different levels in urban ecosystems as well as the urban system as a whole were the risk receptors. Assessment endpoints involved in changes of urban ecological structures, processes, functional components and the integrity of characteristic and function. Social-ecological models should be the major approaches for urban ecological risk assessment. Trends for urban ecological risk assessment study should focus on setting a definite protection target and criteria corresponding to assessment endpoints, establishing a multiple-parameter assessment system and integrative assessment approaches.

Health effects assessment summary tables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

The document is an excellent pointer system to identify current literature or changes in assessment criteria for many chemicals of interest to Superfund. It was prepared for Superfund use by the Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office (ECAO-Cin) in EPA's Office of Health and Environmental Assessment. Chemicals considered are those for which Health Effects Assessment Documents, Health and Environmental Effects Profiles, Health Assessment Documents or Air Quality Criteria Documents have been prepared by ECAO. Radionuclides considered are those believed to be most common at Superfund sites. Tables summarize reference doses (RfDs) for toxicity from subchronic and chronic inhalation, oral exposure, slope factors and unit risk values for carcinogenicity based on lifetime inhalation and oral exposure, and radionuclide carcinogenicity

Assessing Writing Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Narayanan, M.

2013-12-01

This is an encore presentation of what was presented at the 2012 AGU International Conference. It was entitled: 'ASSESSING CORE COMPETENCIES.' The poster presentation, however, has been redesigned and reorganized with new, revised perspectives. The importance of ASSESSMENT principles has been emphasized. Catherine Palomba and Trudy Banta offer the following definition of assessment, adapted from one provided by Marchese in 1987. Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development. (Palomba and Banta 1999). Educational institutions are committing substantial resources to the establishment of dedicated technology-based laboratories, so that they will be able to accommodate and fulfill students' desire to master certain of these specific skills. This type of technology-based instruction may raise some fundamental questions about the core competencies of the student learner. Some of the most important questions are : 1. Is the utilization of these fast high-powered computers and user-friendly software programs creating a totally non-challenging instructional environment for the student learner ? 2. Can technology itself all too easily overshadow the learning outcomes intended ? 3. Are the educational institutions simply training students how to use technology rather than educating them in the appropriate field ? 4. Are we still teaching content-driven courses and analysis oriented subject matter ? 5. Are these sophisticated modern era technologies contributing to a decline in the Critical Thinking Capabilities of the 21st century technology-savvy students ? The author tries to focus on technology as a tool and not on the technology itself. He further argues that students must demonstrate that they have the have the ability to think critically before they make an attempt to use technology in a chosen application-specific environment. The author further

Confidence rating of marine eutrophication assessments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Murray, Ciarán; Andersen, Jesper Harbo; Kaartokallio, Hermanni

2011-01-01

of the 'value' of the indicators on which the primary assessment is made. Such secondary assessment of confidence represents a first step towards linking status classification with information regarding their accuracy and precision and ultimately a tool for improving or targeting actions to improve the health......This report presents the development of a methodology for assessing confidence in eutrophication status classifications. The method can be considered as a secondary assessment, supporting the primary assessment of eutrophication status. The confidence assessment is based on a transparent scoring...

Assessing Resource Assessment for MRE (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, H. P.; Bozec, A.; Duerr, A. S.; Rauchenstein, L. T.

2010-12-01

The Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center at Florida Atlantic University is concerned with marine renewable energy (MRE) recovery from the Florida Current using marine hydrokinetic technology and, in the future, from the thermocline in the Florida Straits via ocean thermal energy conversion. Although neither concept is new, technology improvements and the evolution of policy now warrant optimism for the future of these potentially rich resources. In moving toward commercial-scale deployments of energy-generating systems, an important first step is accurate and unembellished assessment of the resource itself. In short, we must ask: how much energy might be available? The answer to this deceptively simple question depends, of course, on the technology itself - system efficiencies, for example - but it also depends on a variety of other limiting factors such as deployment strategies, environmental considerations, and the overall economics of MRE in the context of competing energy resources. While it is universally agreed that MRE development must occur within a framework of environmental stewardship, it is nonetheless inevitable that there will be trade-offs between absolute environmental protection and realizing the benefits of MRE implementation. As with solar-energy and wind-power technologies, MRE technologies interact with the environment in which they are deployed. Ecological, societal, and even physical resource concerns all require investigation and, in some cases, mitigation. Moreover, the converse - how will the environment affect the equipment? - presents technical challenges that have confounded the seagoing community forever. Biofouling, for example, will affect system efficiency and create significant maintenance and operations issues. Because this will also affect the economics of MRE, nonlinear interactions among the limiting factors complicate the overall issue of resource assessment significantly. While MRE technology development is

Energy assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unruh, T.D.

1998-01-01

Energy industry initiatives during the 1970s and during the 1990s are compared. During the 1970s, the objective was to reduce energy consumption and to reduce dependency on foreign fuel. Today, the emphasis is on reducing energy costs and to improve net operating income. The challenges posed by the drive to reduce energy costs are discussed. As a tool in the drive to reduce energy cost, the energy assessment process was described. The process entails a detailed analysis of energy consumption, an investigation of energy rates and an assessment of site conditions and equipment, with a view towards an optimum combination that will lead to energy cost reductions

Effects That Facebook-Based Online Peer Assessment with Micro-Teaching Videos Can Have on Attitudes toward Peer Assessment and Perceived Learning from Peer Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Guan-Yu

2016-01-01

The present study investigates the effects that Facebook-based online peer assessment with micro-teaching videos can have on attitudes toward peer assessment and perceived learning from peer assessment. The study recruited a sample of 31 university students who were enrolled in a teacher-training course. Using assessees' microteaching videos, the…

Classroom Assessment Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Narayanan, M.

2003-12-01

Provost David L. Potter of George Mason University chaired a joint task force and presented a report entitled ``Powerful Partnerships : A Shared Responsibility for Learnin'' in June 1998. The main goal is to make a difference in the quality of student learning. Further, it is important to assess this difference and document it. Clifford O. Young, Sr., & Laura Howzell Young of California State University, San Bernardino argue that a new paradigm for assessment, a learning paradigm, must be constructed to measure the success of new kinds of educational practices. Using two survey instruments, the Instruction Model Learning Model Questionnaire (IMLMQ) and the Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SETE), they compared students' responses to the course when taught with traditional methods and with interactive methods. The results suggest that neither instrument effectively measures the kinds of learning promoted under the new paradigm. Linn, Baker, & Dunbar recommend that these newer assessment practices should be more authentic, that is, to involve students in the actual or simulated performance of a task or the documentation of the desired competency in a portfolio. Cerbin says that one of the most unfortunate consequences of a summative emphasis is that it inhibits open and productive discussions about teaching; in essence, it marginalizes the types of activity that could lead to better teaching (Cerbin, 1992). William Cerbin, who is the Director of the Center for Effective Teaching and learning, University Assessment Coordinator, and Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse is a recognized expert in the areas of cognition, language, and development. Edgerton, Hutchings, & Quinlan indicate that Teaching Portfolios may contain evidence of students' learning, but such information is optional, and when included, it may be only one of many pieces of material. Seldin, also supports this and stresses that the interplay between the instructor

Defense Programs Transportation Risk Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clauss, D.B.

1994-01-01

This paper provides an overview of the methodology used in a probabilistic transportation risk assessment conducted to assess the probabilities and consequences of inadvertent dispersal of radioactive materials arising from severe transportation accidents. The model was developed for the Defense Program Transportation Risk Assessment (DPTRA) study. The analysis incorporates several enhancements relative to previous risk assessments of hazardous materials transportation including newly-developed statistics on the frequencies and severities of tractor semitrailer accidents and detailed route characterization using the 1990 Census data

Comparative Probabilistic Assessment of Occupational Pesticide Exposures Based on Regulatory Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Pouzou, Jane G.; Cullen, Alison C.; Yost, Michael G.; Kissel, John C.; Fenske, Richard A.

2018-01-01

Implementation of probabilistic analyses in exposure assessment can provide valuable insight into the risks of those at the extremes of population distributions, including more vulnerable or sensitive subgroups. Incorporation of these analyses into current regulatory methods for occupational pesticide exposure is enabled by the exposure data sets and associated data currently used in the risk assessment approach of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Monte Carlo simulations were performed on exposure measurements from the Agricultural Handler Exposure Database and the Pesticide Handler Exposure Database along with data from the Exposure Factors Handbook and other sources to calculate exposure rates for three different neurotoxic compounds (azinphos methyl, acetamiprid, emamectin benzoate) across four pesticide-handling scenarios. Probabilistic estimates of doses were compared with the no observable effect levels used in the EPA occupational risk assessments. Some percentage of workers were predicted to exceed the level of concern for all three compounds: 54% for azinphos methyl, 5% for acetamiprid, and 20% for emamectin benzoate. This finding has implications for pesticide risk assessment and offers an alternative procedure that may be more protective of those at the extremes of exposure than the current approach. PMID:29105804

Comparative Probabilistic Assessment of Occupational Pesticide Exposures Based on Regulatory Assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Pouzou, Jane G; Cullen, Alison C; Yost, Michael G; Kissel, John C; Fenske, Richard A

2017-11-06

Implementation of probabilistic analyses in exposure assessment can provide valuable insight into the risks of those at the extremes of population distributions, including more vulnerable or sensitive subgroups. Incorporation of these analyses into current regulatory methods for occupational pesticide exposure is enabled by the exposure data sets and associated data currently used in the risk assessment approach of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Monte Carlo simulations were performed on exposure measurements from the Agricultural Handler Exposure Database and the Pesticide Handler Exposure Database along with data from the Exposure Factors Handbook and other sources to calculate exposure rates for three different neurotoxic compounds (azinphos methyl, acetamiprid, emamectin benzoate) across four pesticide-handling scenarios. Probabilistic estimates of doses were compared with the no observable effect levels used in the EPA occupational risk assessments. Some percentage of workers were predicted to exceed the level of concern for all three compounds: 54% for azinphos methyl, 5% for acetamiprid, and 20% for emamectin benzoate. This finding has implications for pesticide risk assessment and offers an alternative procedure that may be more protective of those at the extremes of exposure than the current approach. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

AN ASSESSMENT OF CITIZEN CONTRIBUTED GROUND REFERENCE DATA FOR LAND COVER MAP ACCURACY ASSESSMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. M. Foody

2015-08-01

Full Text Available It is now widely accepted that an accuracy assessment should be part of a thematic mapping programme. Authoritative good or best practices for accuracy assessment have been defined but are often impractical to implement. Key reasons for this situation are linked to the ground reference data used in the accuracy assessment. Typically, it is a challenge to acquire a large sample of high quality reference cases in accordance to desired sampling designs specified as conforming to good practice and the data collected are normally to some degree imperfect limiting their value to an accuracy assessment which implicitly assumes the use of a gold standard reference. Citizen sensors have great potential to aid aspects of accuracy assessment. In particular, they may be able to act as a source of ground reference data that may, for example, reduce sample size problems but concerns with data quality remain. The relative strengths and limitations of citizen contributed data for accuracy assessment are reviewed in the context of the authoritative good practices defined for studies of land cover by remote sensing. The article will highlight some of the ways that citizen contributed data have been used in accuracy assessment as well as some of the problems that require further attention, and indicate some of the potential ways forward in the future.

Psychological Assessment of the Disabled.

Science.gov (United States)

Pool, Donald A.

The paper examines issues, philosophy and guidelines for psychological assessment of the disabled. Focused on are: (1) adjustments in testing procedures and (2) applicability of standard norms with commonly used psychological test instruments for the assessment of ability, interest, and personality. The importance of accurate assessment for…

Environmental assessment in the uranium industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frost, S.E.

2002-01-01

The paper examines the subject matter to be dealt with in environmental impact assessments for uranium production facilities, the development of environmental impact statements and the processes used for assessing projects. Different types of regulatory process used to assess projects are described, using Canadian and Australian examples. Some of the techniques used in developing environmental assessments are described. Public participation, including that of special interest groups, is discussed. Some examples of assessments are examined, particularly looking at recent assessments for uranium mining projects in Canada. Trends in environmental assessment are described, using examples from a number of different projects over the past 25 years. Some recommendations for the future are offered. (author)

Environmental assessment in the uranium industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frost, S.E.

2000-01-01

The paper examines the subject matter to be dealt with in environmental impact assessments for uranium production facilities, the development of environmental impact statements and the processes used for assessing projects. Different types of regulatory process used to assess projects are described, using Canadian and Australian examples. Some of the techniques used in developing environmental assessments are described. Public participation, including that of special interest groups, is discussed. Some examples of assessments are examined, particularly looking at recent assessments for uranium mining projects in Canada. Trends in environmental assessment are described, using examples from a number of different projects over the past 25 years. Some recommendations for the future are offered. (author)

AMAP Assessment 2013: Arctic Ocean acidification

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

This assessment report presents the results of the 2013 AMAP Assessment of Arctic Ocean Acidification (AOA). This is the first such assessment dealing with AOA from an Arctic-wide perspective, and complements several assessments that AMAP has delivered over the past ten years concerning the effects of climate change on Arctic ecosystems and people. The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) is a group working under the Arctic Council. The Arctic Council Ministers have requested AMAP to: - produce integrated assessment reports on the status and trends of the conditions of the Arctic ecosystems;

Technology Performance Level Assessment Methodology.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roberts, Jesse D.; Bull, Diana L; Malins, Robert Joseph; Costello, Ronan Patrick; Aurelien Babarit; Kim Nielsen; Claudio Bittencourt Ferreira; Ben Kennedy; Kathryn Dykes; Jochem Weber

2017-04-01

The technology performance level (TPL) assessments can be applied at all technology development stages and associated technology readiness levels (TRLs). Even, and particularly, at low TRLs the TPL assessment is very effective as it, holistically, considers a wide range of WEC attributes that determine the techno-economic performance potential of the WEC farm when fully developed for commercial operation. The TPL assessment also highlights potential showstoppers at the earliest possible stage of the WEC technology development. Hence, the TPL assessment identifies the technology independent “performance requirements.” In order to achieve a successful solution, the entirety of the performance requirements within the TPL must be considered because, in the end, all the stakeholder needs must be achieved. The basis for performing a TPL assessment comes from the information provided in a dedicated format, the Technical Submission Form (TSF). The TSF requests information from the WEC developer that is required to answer the questions posed in the TPL assessment document.

The Psychological Assessment of Clerics.

Science.gov (United States)

Jack, Alexander; Wilcox, Daniel T

2018-01-01

The psychological assessment of novice and experienced clerics is an important component of ordination, suitability, and risk evaluation to ensure that representatives of religious organizations are equipped, motivated, and safe for a life commitment to a faith vocation. It is the authors' opinion that such assessments should be conducted by skilled psychologists with expertise that covers occupational, clinical, and forensic domains. Further, the authors emphasize the importance of an objective and secular assessment to better inform the church about its role and responsibility for the oversight and spiritual development of the cleric. A thorough psychological assessment should incorporate a multimodal approach to information gathering, which includes a comprehensive review of background information and medical records, a personal history interview, a mental status examination, and administration of relevant psychometric measures and assessment tools. We also advise that, upon completion of the assessment, the requesting religious organization should be offered the opportunity to meet with the evaluating psychologist to discuss suitability issues and, if necessary, risk management planning.

Health technology assessment in Finland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mäkelä, Marjukka; Roine, Risto P

2010-01-01

Since the 1990s, health policy makers in Finland have been supportive of evidence-based medicine and approaches to implement its results. The Finnish Office for Health Technology Assessment (Finohta) has grown from a small start in 1995 to a medium-sized health technology assessment (HTA) agency,...... findings. The Managed Uptake of Medical Methods program links the hospital districts to agree on introduction of technologies. The Ohtanen database provides Finnish-language summaries of major assessments made in other countries.......Since the 1990s, health policy makers in Finland have been supportive of evidence-based medicine and approaches to implement its results. The Finnish Office for Health Technology Assessment (Finohta) has grown from a small start in 1995 to a medium-sized health technology assessment (HTA) agency......, with special responsibility in providing assessments to underpin national policies in screening. External evaluations enhanced the rapid growth. In the Finnish environment, decision making on health technologies is extremely decentralized, so Finohta has developed some practical tools for implementing HTA...

Probabilistic mercury multimedia exposure assessment in small children and risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Morisset, Typhaine; Ramirez-Martinez, Alejandra; Wesolek, Nathalie; Roudot, Alain-Claude

2013-09-01

Emissions of mercury in the environment have been decreasing for several years. However, mercury species are still found in different media (food, water, air and breast-milk). Due to mercury toxicity and typical behaviour in children, we have conducted a mercury exposure assessment in French babies, and small children aged 0 to 36months. Consumption and mercury concentration data were chosen for the exposure assessment. The Monte Carlo technique has been used to calculate the weekly exposure dose in order to integrate inter-individual variability and parameter uncertainty. Exposure values have been compared to toxicological reference values for health risk assessment. Inorganic mercury median exposure levels ranged from 0.160 to 1.649μg/kg of body weight per week (95th percentile (P95): 0.298-2.027µg/kg bw/week); elemental mercury median exposure level in children was 0.11ng/kg bw/week (P95: 28ng/kg bw/week); and methylmercury median exposure level ranged from 0.247 to 0.273µg/kg bw/week (P95: 0.425-0.463µg/kg bw/week). Only elemental mercury by inhalation route (indoor air) and methylmercury by ingestion (fish and breast-milk) seem to lead to a health risk in small children. These results confirm the importance of assessing total mercury concentration in media like breast-milk, indoor air and dust and methylmercury level in food, other than fish and seafood. In this way, informed monitoring plan and risk assessment in an at-risk sub-population can be set. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Constructing a Language Assessment Knowledge Base: A Focus on Language Assessment Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Inbar-Lourie, Ofra

2008-01-01

The competencies required for conducting assessment in the educational context have recently been reformulated in view of social constructivist perspectives and the acknowledgement of the role of classroom assessment in promoting learning. These changes have impacted the knowledge base language assessors need to obtain, and hence the contents of…

Computer-based feedback in formative assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Kleij, Fabienne

2013-01-01

Formative assessment concerns any assessment that provides feedback that is intended to support learning and can be used by teachers and/or students. Computers could offer a solution to overcoming obstacles encountered in implementing formative assessment. For example, computer-based assessments

Multiage Assessment: One School's Plan.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Sue Beth; Kidwell, Barbara; Rossman, David

1998-01-01

Describes one elementary school's multiage assessment plan. Describes how standards were developed, and describes the assessment plan's guiding element: the progress report arranged as a continuum of objectives that serve as a goal indicator and a reporting mechanism. Discusses how objectives are assessed, record keeping and documentation, and the…

English Teachers Classroom Assessment Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Saefurrohman; Balinas, Elvira S.

2016-01-01

The new language assessment policies in the Philippines and in Indonesia have impact on English teachers' assessment practices. Classroom assessment; as mandated in the current curriculum of both countries swifts from sources of information to the inseparable process of teaching and learning. This study describes Filipino and Indonesian high…

Assessment of Hearing Impaired Youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Hicks, Doin E., Ed.; And Others

1980-01-01

The issue of Directions contains 11 articles on assessment of hearing impaired individuals. Entries have the following titles and authors: "Classroom Assessment Techniques for Hearing Impaired Students--A Literature Review" (B. McKee, M. Hausknecht); "Informal Assessment of Hearing Impaired Students In the Classroom" (B. Culhane, R. Hein);…

Managing a network vulnerability assessment

CERN Document Server

Peltier, Thomas R; Blackley, John A

2003-01-01

Managing a Network Vulnerability Assessment provides a formal framework for finding and eliminating network security threats, ensuring that no vulnerabilities are overlooked. This thorough overview focuses on the steps necessary to successfully manage an assessment, including the development of a scope statement, the understanding and proper use of assessment methodology, the creation of an expert assessment team, and the production of a valuable response report. The book also details what commercial, freeware, and shareware tools are available, how they work, and how to use them.

The process of performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, C.M.; Halford, D.K.

1986-01-01

An introductory review of the subject of ''Performance Assessment'' will be presented. Emphasis will be placed on the process of performance assessment from the standpoint of defining the process. Performance assessment, from evolving experience at DOE sites, has short-term and long-term subprograms, the components of which will be discussed. The role of mathematical modeling in performance assessment will be addressed including the pros and cons of current approaches. Finally, the ''system/site/technology'' issues as the focal point of this symposium will be reviewed

Information technology resources assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stevens, D.F. [ed.

1992-01-01

This year`s Information Technology Resources Assessment (ITRA) is something of a departure from traditional practice. Past assessments have concentrated on developments in fundamental technology, particularly with respect to hardware. They form an impressive chronicle of decreasing cycle times, increasing densities, decreasing costs (or, equivalently, increasing capacity and capability per dollar spent), and new system architectures, with a leavening of operating systems and languages. Past assessments have aimed -- and succeeded -- at putting information technology squarely in the spotlight; by contrast, in the first part of this assessment, we would like to move it to the background, and encourage the reader to reflect less on the continuing technological miracles of miniaturization in space and time and more on the second- and third-order implications of some possible workplace applications of these miracles. This Information Technology Resources Assessment is intended to provide a sense of technological direction for planners in projecting the hardware, software, and human resources necessary to support the diverse IT requirements of the various components of the DOE community. It is also intended to provide a sense of our new understanding of the place of IT in our organizations.

Information technology resources assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stevens, D.F. (ed.)

1992-01-01

This year's Information Technology Resources Assessment (ITRA) is something of a departure from traditional practice. Past assessments have concentrated on developments in fundamental technology, particularly with respect to hardware. They form an impressive chronicle of decreasing cycle times, increasing densities, decreasing costs (or, equivalently, increasing capacity and capability per dollar spent), and new system architectures, with a leavening of operating systems and languages. Past assessments have aimed -- and succeeded -- at putting information technology squarely in the spotlight; by contrast, in the first part of this assessment, we would like to move it to the background, and encourage the reader to reflect less on the continuing technological miracles of miniaturization in space and time and more on the second- and third-order implications of some possible workplace applications of these miracles. This Information Technology Resources Assessment is intended to provide a sense of technological direction for planners in projecting the hardware, software, and human resources necessary to support the diverse IT requirements of the various components of the DOE community. It is also intended to provide a sense of our new understanding of the place of IT in our organizations.

Decoding the Assessment Alphabet Soup

Science.gov (United States)

Engelhardt, Paula

2010-10-01

The number of assessment instruments that help physics instructors evaluate the conceptual learning of their students has grown over the last twenty years. Today, the number of tests that are available begin to look like an alphabet soup, FCI, MBT, TUG-K, CSE, CSM, CSEM, DIRECT, BEMA, LOCE, FMCE, SEMCO, etc. What can these assessment tests do for you that is different from what you regularly do? How do these tests differ from the tests and other assessments you already give in class? What is meant by formative and summative assessment and why should you care? What are some of the issues associated with giving one of these assessment tests? These are the questions that will be addressed in this talk.

Offsite transportation hazards assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burnside, M.E.

1997-01-01

This report documents the emergency preparedness Hazards Assessment for the offsite transportation of hazardous material from the Hanford Site. The assessment is required by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 151.1. Offsite transportation accidents are categorized using the DOE system to assist communication within the DOE and assure that appropriate assistance is provided to the people in charge at the scene. The assistance will initially include information about the load and the potential hazards. Local authorities will use the information to protect the public following a transportation accident. This Hazards Assessment will focus on the material being transported from the Hanford Site. Shipments coming to Hanford are the responsibility of the shipper and the carrier and, therefore, are not included in this Hazards Assessment, unless the DOE elects to be the shipper of record

Attitudes and knowledge about naloxone and overdose prevention among detained drug users in Ningbo, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu Yu

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To date there has been limited research on both the prevalence of overdose and drug user knowledge about overdose prevention and response methods in China. In addition, there has been no effort to integrate naloxone information and distribution into pre-release services for drug users detained in isolated compulsory detoxification facilities in China. Methods The authors conducted a survey of 279 heroin users in isolated compulsory detoxification centers in Ningbo, China in an attempt to evaluate the possibility of conducting prelease peer naloxone programs in Ningbo isolated compulsory detoxification centers. Respondents' demographic background, history of heroin overdoses, and attitudes/knowledge about overdose prevention and response were collected. Results While drug users in Ningbo's compulsory detoxification centers have limited understandings of how to effectively respond to overdoses, they expressed concern about the possibility of overdose, interest in participating in overdose prevention and response programs, and a willingness to help their peers. In general, there was no significant difference in history and attitudes/knowledge of overdose between male and female participants. Conclusion Based on the findings of this research, our survey provides preliminary evidence that detained drug users have considerable interest in overdose prevention and response information and willingness to help peers. However, drug users in Ningbo isolated compulsory detoxification centers currently have limited understandings of effective ways of helping to prevent overdose deaths.

Re-entry experiences of Black men living with HIV/AIDS after release from prison: Intersectionality and implications for care.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Shufang; Crooks, Natasha; Kemnitz, Rebecca; Westergaard, Ryan P

2018-06-12

Both the HIV epidemic and incarceration disproportionately affect Black men in the United States. A critical period for incarcerated Black men living with HIV/AIDS is re-entry into the community, which is often associated with adverse health outcomes. Additionally, Black men living with HIV/AIDS involved in the criminal justice system are burdened by multiple, intersecting disadvantaged identities and social positions. This study aimed to examine community re-entry experiences among Black men living with HIV/AIDS from an intersectional perspective. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 incarcerated Black men in Wisconsin, at pre-release from prison and six months after re-entry. Thematic analysis guided by intersectionality theory was used to analyze interview transcripts. Seven emerged themes included Intersectional Identities and Social Positions, Family Support, Neighborhood Violence, Relationship with Law Enforcement, Employment, Mental Health Concerns, and Medical Care and Medication Management. Intersecting identities and social positions interact with factors at multiple levels to inform health and HIV care. A conceptual framework was developed to illustrate relationships among themes. Findings demonstrate the relevance of intersectionality theory in HIV care with Black men involved in criminal justice system. Incorporating a social-ecological perspective into intersectionality framework could be useful in theoretical and empirical research. Disenfranchised communities may particularly benefit from interventions that address community- and systemic-level issues. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fluid/structure interaction in BERDYNE (Level 4)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fox, M.J.H.

1988-02-01

A fluid-structure interaction capability has been developed for Level 4 of the finite element dynamics code BERDYNE, as part of the BERSAFE structural analysis system. This permits analysis of small amplitude free or forced vibration of systems comprising elastic structural components and inviscid volumes of possibly compressible fluid. Free fluid surfaces under the influence of gravity may be present. The formulation chosen uses the rigid walled fluid modes, calculated in a preliminary stage, as a basis for description of the coupled system, providing symmetric system matrices for which efficient solution procedures are available. The inclusion of the fluid modal variables within the system matrices is carried out through the use of the BERDYNE 'substructuring' feature, which allows the inclusion of very general 'super-elements' among the normal structural elements. The program also has a seismic analysis capability, used for the analysis of fluid-structure systems subjected to a specified support acceleration time history. In this case analysis is carried out in terms of relative structural motions, but absolute fluid pressures. Application of the BERDYNE fluid/structure interaction capability to some simple test cases produced results in good agreement with results obtained by analytic or independent numerical techniques. Full instructions on the use of the facility will be included in the BERDYNE Level 4 documentation. Interim documentation for the pre-release version is available from the author. (author)

Iodine dispersion and effects on groundwater chemistry following a release to a peat bog, Manitoba, Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheppard, M.I.; Thibault, D.H.; Smith, P.A.

1989-01-01

The migration and behaviour of I was investigated in a sphagnum bog on the precambrian Shield in eastern Manitoba, Canada. A 6 M solution of K1 was released at the base of the bog to simulate a pulse discharge of contaminated groundwater from a fracture in the granitic rock. A network of piezometer tubes was used to monitor the dispersion of the I and the groundwater chemistry over 1 year. Cores of peat were also taken for analysis to supplement the groundwater data and to investigate the sorption of I. The introduced I dispersed 2 m horizontally and 1 m vertically within a month. After this, the system stabilized and further migration was insignificant. The pattern of I dispersion indicated that the bog hydrology was very complex with flow directions changing substantially with depth. The groundwater concentrations of the major cations rose in response to the mass action effect of K displacing them from reaction sites in the peat. Humic materials in the groundwater decreased in size after the KI release and returned to their pre-release conformation one month later. The geometric mean soil distribution coefficient value, K d , for I in the bog was 1.361/kg, but it was strongly related to pore water concentration. Thus, a single K d value was insufficient for describing the system. (author)

Quarter 9 Mercury information clearinghouse final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laudal, D.L.; Miller, S.; Pflughoeft-Hassett, D.; Ralston, N.; Dunham, G.; Weber, G.

2005-12-15

The Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) identified a need and contracted the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) to create and maintain an information clearinghouse on global research and development activities related to mercury emissions from coal-fired electric utilities. A total of eight reports were completed and are summarized and updated in this final CEA quarterly report. Selected topics were discussed in detail in each quarterly report. Issues related to mercury from coal-fired utilities include the general areas of measurement, control, policy, and transformations. Specific topics that have been addressed in previous quarterly reports include the following: Quarterly 1 - Sorbent Control Technologies for Mercury Control; Quarterly 2 - Mercury Measurement; Quarterly 3 - Advanced and Developmental Mercury Control Technologies; Quarterly 4 - Prerelease of Mercury from Coal Combustion By-Products; Quarterly 5 - Mercury Fundamentals; Quarterly 6 - Mercury Control Field Demonstrations; Quarterly 7 - Mercury Regulations in the United States: Federal and State; and Quarterly 8 - Commercialization Aspects of Sorbent Injection Technologies in Canada. In this last of nine quarterly reports, an update of these mercury issues is presented that includes a summary of each topic, with recent information pertinent to advances made since the quarterly reports were originally presented. In addition to a comprehensive update of previous mercury-related topics, a review of results from the CEA Mercury Program is provided. 86 refs., 11 figs., 8 tabs.

A randomized controlled trial of prison-initiated buprenorphine: prison outcomes and community treatment entry.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Michael S; Kinlock, Timothy W; Schwartz, Robert P; Fitzgerald, Terrence T; O'Grady, Kevin E; Vocci, Frank J

2014-09-01

Buprenorphine is a promising treatment for heroin addiction. However, little is known regarding its provision to pre-release prisoners with heroin dependence histories who were not opioid-tolerant, the relative effectiveness of the post-release setting in which it is provided, and gender differences in treatment outcome in this population. This is the first randomized clinical trial of prison-initiated buprenorphine provided to male and female inmates in the US who were previously heroin-dependent prior to incarceration. A total of 211 participants with 3-9 months remaining in prison were randomized to one of four conditions formed by crossing In-Prison Treatment Condition (received buprenorphine vs. counseling only) and Post-release Service Setting (at an opioid treatment center vs. a community health center). Outcome measures were: entered prison treatment; completed prison treatment; and entered community treatment 10 days post-release. There was a significant main effect (p=.006) for entering prison treatment favoring the In-Prison buprenorphine Treatment Condition (99.0% vs. 80.4%). Regarding completing prison treatment, the only significant effect was Gender, with women significantly (pPrison buprenorphine Treatment Condition (47.5% vs. 33.7%). Buprenorphine appears feasible and acceptable to prisoners who were not opioid-tolerant and can facilitate community treatment entry. However, concerns remain with in-prison treatment termination due to attempted diversion of medication. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Personality Assessment: A Competency-Capability Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaslow, Nadine J; Finklea, J Tyler; Chan, Ginny

2018-01-01

This article begins by reviewing the proficiency of personality assessment in the context of the competencies movement, which has dominated health service psychology in recent years. It examines the value of including a capability framework for advancing this proficiency and enhancing the quality of personality assessments, including Therapeutic Assessment (Finn & Tonsager, 1997 ), that include a personality assessment component. This hybrid competency-capability framework is used to set the stage for the conduct of personality assessments in a variety of contexts and for the optimal training of personality assessment. Future directions are offered in terms of ways psychologists can strengthen their social contract with the public and offer a broader array of personality assessments in more diverse contexts and by individuals who are both competent and capable.

Elements of Network-Based Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, David

2007-01-01

Elements of network-based assessment systems are envisioned based on recent advances in knowledge and practice in learning theory, assessment design and delivery, and semantic web interoperability. The architecture takes advantage of the meditating role of technology as well as recent models of assessment systems. This overview of the elements…

Pre-Assessment: Promises and Cautions

Science.gov (United States)

Guskey, Thomas R.; McTighe, Jay

2016-01-01

Nearly every modern instructional planning model, differentiation approach, and personalized learning system incorporates some form of re-assessment. Yet there's scant research evidence that teachers use pre-assessment in ways that improve learning, according to Guskey and McTighe. To increase the likelihood that pre-assessment will be worth the…

HTGR accident and risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silady, F.A.; Everline, C.J.; Houghton, W.J.

1982-01-01

This paper is a synopsis of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) performed by General Atomic Company. Principal topics presented include: HTGR safety assessments, peer interfaces, safety research, process gas explosions, quantitative safety goals, licensing applications of PRA, enhanced safety, investment risk assessments, and PRA design integration

A blending of computer-based assessment and performance-based assessment: Multimedia-Based Performance Assessment (MBPA). The introduction of a new method of assessment in Dutch Vocational Education and Training (VET)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Klerk, Sebastiaan; Eggen, Theodorus Johannes Hendrikus Maria; Veldkamp, Bernard P.

2014-01-01

Innovation in technology drives innovation in assessment. Since the introduction of computer-based assessment (CBA), a few decades ago, many formerly paper-and-pencil tests have transformed in a computer-based equivalent. CBAs are becoming more complex, including multimedia and simulative elements

Agile software assessment

OpenAIRE

Nierstrasz Oscar; Lungu Mircea

2012-01-01

Informed decision making is a critical activity in software development but it is poorly supported by common development environments which focus mainly on low level programming tasks. We posit the need for agile software assessment which aims to support decision making by enabling rapid and effective construction of software models and custom analyses. Agile software assessment entails gathering and exploiting the broader context of software information related to the system at hand as well ...

Data Science in Educational Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, David C.; Webb, Mary E.

2015-01-01

This article is the second of two articles in this special issue that were developed following discussions of the Assessment Working Group at EDUsummIT 2013. The article extends the analysis of assessments of collaborative problem solving (CPS) to examine the significance of the data concerning this complex assessment problem and then for…

Classroom Implementation. Issues in Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Malinowski, Patricia A., Ed.

This booklet, second in a series on issues in assessment, seeks to describe an initiative supported by Finger Lakes Community College (New York) to use classroom assessment techniques (CATs) in different academic areas and to present an overview of some assessment approaches that have been used in the classroom. Papers include: (1) "Enhancing…

Assessing Children in the Nordic Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Karen Egedal; Hjörne, Eva

2014-01-01

Recent tendencies within assessment in comprehensive school in Nordic countries raise the question of the role of different practices of assessments, on how assessments are being used, for which purposes and the consequences of this. Assessments can be considered to be an integrated part of forma...

Assessment of Teacher Perceived Skill in Classroom Assessment Practices Using IRT Models

Science.gov (United States)

Koloi-Keaikitse, Setlhomo

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess teacher perceived skill in classroom assessment practices. Data were collected from a sample of (N = 691) teachers selected from government primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary schools in Botswana. Item response theory models were used to identify teacher response on items that measured their…

Understanding National Models for Climate Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Dave, A.; Weingartner, K.

2017-12-01

National-level climate assessments have been produced or are underway in a number of countries. These efforts showcase a variety of approaches to mapping climate impacts onto human and natural systems, and involve a variety of development processes, organizational structures, and intended purposes. This presentation will provide a comparative overview of national `models' for climate assessments worldwide, drawing from a geographically diverse group of nations with varying capacities to conduct such assessments. Using an illustrative sampling of assessment models, the presentation will highlight the range of assessment mandates and requirements that drive this work, methodologies employed, focal areas, and the degree to which international dimensions are included for each nation's assessment. This not only allows the U.S. National Climate Assessment to be better understood within an international context, but provides the user with an entry point into other national climate assessments around the world, enabling a better understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities societies face.

SPECAL ISSUE Assessing the Assessment Procedures and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Community Based Education/CBE Courses at Jimma. University .... Develop policies and strategies for the CBE courses with high levels of ... practices to enhance successful performance and sustainability of the philosophy in ... Thus, descriptive method was used in this study to assess and describe the existing condition of ...

Methodology of environmental risk assessment management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saša T. Bakrač

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Successful protection of environment is mostly based on high-quality assessment of potential and present risks. Environmental risk management is a complex process which includes: identification, assessment and control of risk, namely taking measures in order to minimize the risk to an acceptable level. Environmental risk management methodology: In addition to these phases in the management of environmental risk, appropriate measures that affect the reduction of risk occurrence should be implemented: - normative and legal regulations (laws and regulations, - appropriate organizational structures in society, and - establishing quality monitoring of environment. The emphasis is placed on the application of assessment methodologies (three-model concept, as the most important aspect of successful management of environmental risk. Risk assessment methodology - European concept: The first concept of ecological risk assessment methodology is based on the so-called European model-concept. In order to better understand this ecological risk assessment methodology, two concepts - hazard and risk - are introduced. The European concept of environmental risk assessment has the following phases in its implementation: identification of hazard (danger, identification of consequences (if there is hazard, estimate of the scale of consequences, estimate of consequence probability and risk assessment (also called risk characterization. The European concept is often used to assess risk in the environment as a model for addressing the distribution of stressors along the source - path - receptor line. Risk assessment methodology - Canadian concept: The second concept of the methodology of environmental risk assessment is based on the so-called Canadian model-concept. The assessment of ecological risk includes risk arising from natural events (floods, extreme weather conditions, etc., technological processes and products, agents (chemical, biological, radiological, etc

Twelve tips for assessment psychometrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Coombes, Lee; Roberts, Martin; Zahra, Daniel; Burr, Steven

2016-01-01

It is incumbent on medical schools to show, both to regulatory bodies and to the public at large, that their graduating students are "fit for purpose" as tomorrow's doctors. Since students graduate by virtue of passing assessments, it is vital that schools quality assure their assessment procedures, standards, and outcomes. An important part of this quality assurance process is the appropriate use of psychometric analyses. This begins with development of an empowering, evidence-based culture in which assessment validity can be demonstrated. Preparation prior to an assessment requires the establishment of appropriate rules, test blueprinting and standard setting. When an assessment has been completed, the reporting of test results should consider reliability, assessor, demographic, and long-term analyses across multiple levels, in an integrated way to ensure the information conveyed to all stakeholders is meaningful.

Integrated climate change risk assessment:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaspersen, Per Skougaard; Halsnæs, Kirsten

2017-01-01

Risk assessments of flooding in urban areas during extreme precipitation for use in, for example, decision-making regarding climate adaptation, are surrounded by great uncertainties stemming from climate model projections, methods of downscaling and the assumptions of socioeconomic impact models...... to address the complex linkages between the different kinds of data required in assessing climate adaptation. It emphasizes that the availability of spatially explicit data can reduce the overall uncertainty of the risk assessment and assist in identifying key vulnerable assets. The usefulness...... of such a framework is demonstrated by means of a risk assessment of flooding from extreme precipitation for the city of Odense, Denmark. A sensitivity analysis shows how the presence of particularly important assets, such as cultural and historical heritage, may be addressed in assessing such risks. The output...

Comment Response on the Final Report: Peer Review of the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (TSPA-VA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pendleton, M. W.

1999-01-01

The Management and Operating Contractor established a Performance Assessment Peer Review Panel (hereinafter ''the Panel'') at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office. The objectives of the peer review were to provide: (1) A formal, independent evaluation and critique of Viability Assessment of a Repository at Yucca Mountain: Total System Performance Assessment, Volume 3 (DOE 1998a; hereinafter ''Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment'') that was conducted in support of the Viability Assessment of a Repository at Yucca Mountain (DOE 1998b). (2) Suggestions for improvements as the U.S. Department of Energy prepares to develop the documentation for a Total System Performance Assessment to support a potential License Application. The Panel conducted a phased review over a two-year period to observe the development and, ultimately, to review the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (DOE 1998a). During the development of the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (DOE 1998a), the Panel submitted three Interim Reports (Whipple et al., 1997a, 1997b, and 1998) to the Management and Operating Contractor with recommendations and comments on the process models, model abstractions, and draft documentation for the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (DOE 1998a). The Panel's Final Report Total System Performance Assessment Peer Review Panel (Whipple et al. 1999; hereinafter ''Final Report'') on the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (DOE 1998a) is based primarily on the completed Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (DOE 1998a), the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (TSPA-VA) Analyses Technical Basis Document (CRWMS M and O 1998), and the cited references. The Final Report (Whipple et al. 1999) includes the major points from the three Interim Reports (Whipple et al. 1997a, 1997b, and 1998

Assessment Practices in Undergraduate Accounting Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Lusher, Anna L.

2010-01-01

This study examined accounting program assessment plans at 102 colleges and universities in the United States. The research focused on identifying assessment practices in undergraduate accounting programs by examining the skills and competencies assessed and determining the methods of assessment used. The study also investigated what course and/or…

Validity in assessment of prior learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wahlgren, Bjarne; Aarkrog, Vibe

2015-01-01

, the article discusses the need for specific criteria for assessment. The reliability and validity of the assessment procedures depend on whether the competences are well-defined, and whether the teachers are adequately trained for the assessment procedures. Keywords: assessment, prior learning, adult...... education, vocational training, lifelong learning, validity...

Enhancing Cyber Security for SME organizations through self-assessments : How self-assessment raises awareness

OpenAIRE

Hassinen, Tarmo

2017-01-01

This thesis primarily studied the importance of self-assessment in increasing business organizations’ cyber security awareness of their ICT environment. The secondary studied item was the relevance of self-assessment in detecting new business potential while understanding ICT environment changes. The self-assessment is based on FINCS, the Finnish basic level cyber security certificate launched in December 2016. FINCSC consists of physical and management security, ICT service and system securi...

Building better environmental risk assessments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raymond eLayton

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Risk assessment is a reasoned, structured approach to address uncertainty based on scientific and technical evidence. It forms the foundation for regulatory decision making, which is bound by legislative and policy requirements, as well as the need for making timely decisions using available resources. In order to be most useful, environmental risk assessments (ERA for genetically modified (GM crops should provide consistent, reliable, and transparent results across all types of GM crops, traits, and environments. The assessments must also separate essential information from scientific or agronomic data of marginal relevance or value for evaluating risk and complete the assessment in a timely fashion. Challenges in conducting ERAs differ across regulatory systems – examples are presented from Canada, Malaysia, and Argentina. One challenge faced across the globe is the conduct of risk assessments with limited resources. This challenge can be overcome by clarifying risk concepts, placing greater emphasis on data critical to assess environmental risk (for example, phenotypic and plant performance data rather than molecular data, and adapting advances in risk analysis from other relevant disciplines.

Building Better Environmental Risk Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Layton, Raymond; Smith, Joe; Macdonald, Phil; Letchumanan, Ramatha; Keese, Paul; Lema, Martin

2015-01-01

Risk assessment is a reasoned, structured approach to address uncertainty based on scientific and technical evidence. It forms the foundation for regulatory decision-making, which is bound by legislative and policy requirements, as well as the need for making timely decisions using available resources. In order to be most useful, environmental risk assessments (ERAs) for genetically modified (GM) crops should provide consistent, reliable, and transparent results across all types of GM crops, traits, and environments. The assessments must also separate essential information from scientific or agronomic data of marginal relevance or value for evaluating risk and complete the assessment in a timely fashion. Challenges in conducting ERAs differ across regulatory systems – examples are presented from Canada, Malaysia, and Argentina. One challenge faced across the globe is the conduct of risk assessments with limited resources. This challenge can be overcome by clarifying risk concepts, placing greater emphasis on data critical to assess environmental risk (for example, phenotypic and plant performance data rather than molecular data), and adapting advances in risk analysis from other relevant disciplines. PMID:26301217

Building Better Environmental Risk Assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Layton, Raymond; Smith, Joe; Macdonald, Phil; Letchumanan, Ramatha; Keese, Paul; Lema, Martin

2015-01-01

Risk assessment is a reasoned, structured approach to address uncertainty based on scientific and technical evidence. It forms the foundation for regulatory decision-making, which is bound by legislative and policy requirements, as well as the need for making timely decisions using available resources. In order to be most useful, environmental risk assessments (ERAs) for genetically modified (GM) crops should provide consistent, reliable, and transparent results across all types of GM crops, traits, and environments. The assessments must also separate essential information from scientific or agronomic data of marginal relevance or value for evaluating risk and complete the assessment in a timely fashion. Challenges in conducting ERAs differ across regulatory systems - examples are presented from Canada, Malaysia, and Argentina. One challenge faced across the globe is the conduct of risk assessments with limited resources. This challenge can be overcome by clarifying risk concepts, placing greater emphasis on data critical to assess environmental risk (for example, phenotypic and plant performance data rather than molecular data), and adapting advances in risk analysis from other relevant disciplines.

Globalising Assessment: An Ethnography of Literacy Assessment, Camels and Fast Food in the Mongolian Gobi

Science.gov (United States)

Maddox, Bryan

2014-01-01

What happens when standardised literacy assessments travel globally? The paper presents an ethnographic account of adult literacy assessment events in rural Mongolia. It examines the dynamics of literacy assessment in terms of the movement and re-contextualisation of test items as they travel globally and are received locally by Mongolian…

Implementing Self-Assessment in Singapore Primary Schools: Effects on Students' Perceptions of Self-Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Hwei Ming

2017-01-01

Student academic self-assessment engages the students in deliberate reflection about what they are learning and how they are learning it. This intervention study investigated the effects of self-assessment training on students' perceptions towards self-assessment in two Singaporean primary schools. The study, which used a pretest-posttest design,…

Experience and lessons from health impact assessment for human rights impact assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Salcito, Kendyl; Utzinger, Jürg; Krieger, Gary R; Wielga, Mark; Singer, Burton H; Winkler, Mirko S; Weiss, Mitchell G

2015-09-16

As globalisation has opened remote parts of the world to foreign investment, global leaders at the United Nations and beyond have called on multinational companies to foresee and mitigate negative impacts on the communities surrounding their overseas operations. This movement towards corporate impact assessment began with a push for environmental and social inquiries. It has been followed by demands for more detailed assessments, including health and human rights. In the policy world the two have been joined as a right-to-health impact assessment. In the corporate world, the right-to-health approach fulfils neither managers' need to comprehensively understand impacts of a project, nor rightsholders' need to know that the full suite of their human rights will be safe from violation. Despite the limitations of a right-to-health tool for companies, integration of health into human rights provides numerous potential benefits to companies and the communities they affect. Here, a detailed health analysis through the human rights lens is carried out, drawing on a case study from the United Republic of Tanzania. This paper examines the positive and negative health and human rights impacts of a corporate operation in a low-income setting, as viewed through the human rights lens, considering observations on the added value of the approach. It explores the relationship between health impact assessment (HIA) and human rights impact assessment (HRIA). First, it considers the ways in which HIA, as a study directly concerned with human welfare, is a more appropriate guide than environmental or social impact assessment for evaluating human rights impacts. Second, it considers the contributions HRIA can make to HIA, by viewing determinants of health not as direct versus indirect, but as interrelated.

The 2008-2009 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment Handbook for Assessment Coordinators: Writing, Reading and Mathematics, Science

Science.gov (United States)

Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2010

2010-01-01

This handbook describes the responsibilities of district and school assessment coordinators in the administration of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). This updated guidebook contains the following sections: (1) General Assessment Guidelines for All Assessments; (2) Writing Specific Guidelines; (3) Reading and Mathematics…

Using IT to Assess IT: Towards Greater Authenticity in Summative Performance Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Newhouse, C. Paul

2011-01-01

An applied Information Technology (IT) course that is assessed using pen and paper may sound incongruous but it is symptomatic of the state of high-stakes assessment in jurisdictions such as Western Australia. Whereas technology has permeated most aspects of modern life, including schooling, and more has been demanded of education systems in terms…

Assessment methods for rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Biefang, S; Potthoff, P

1995-09-01

Diagnostics and evaluation in medical rehabilitation should be based on methods that are as objective as possible. In this context quantitative methods are an important precondition. We conducted for the German Pensions Insurance Institutions (which are in charge of the medical and vocational rehabilitation of workers and employees) a survey on assessment methods for rehabilitation which included an evaluation of American literature, with the aim to indicate procedures that can be considered for adaptation in Germany and to define further research requirements. The survey identified: (1) standardized procedures and instrumented tests for the assessment of musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary and neurophysiological function; (2) personality, intelligence, achievement, neuropsychological and alcoholism screening tests for the assessment of mental or cognitive function; (3) rating scales and self-administered questionnaires for the assessment of Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (ADL/IADL Scales); (4) generic profiles and indexes as well as disease-specific measures for the assessment of health-related quality of life and health status; and (5) rating scales for vocational assessment. German equivalents or German versions exist only for a part of the procedures identified. Translation and testing of Anglo-Saxon procedures should have priority over the development of new German methods. The following procedures will be taken into account: (a) instrumented tests for physical function, (b) IADL Scales, (c) generic indexes of health-related quality of life, (d) specific quality of life and health status measures for disorders of the circulatory system, metabolic system, digestive organs, respiratory tract and for cancer, and (e) vocational rating scales.

25 CFR 163.81 - Assessment guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Assessment guidelines. 163.81 Section 163.81 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND AND WATER GENERAL FORESTRY REGULATIONS Program Assessment § 163.81 Assessment guidelines. Assessments shall be national in scope and shall include: (a) An...

Plants with stacked genetically modified events: to assess or not to assess?

Science.gov (United States)

Kok, Esther J; Pedersen, Jan; Onori, Roberta; Sowa, Slawomir; Schauzu, Marianna; De Schrijver, Adinda; Teeri, Teemu H

2014-02-01

The principles for the safety assessment of genetically modified (GM) organisms (GMOs) are harmonised worldwide to a large extent. There are, however, still differences between the European GMO regulations and the GMO regulations as they have been formulated in other parts of the world. One of these differences relates to the so-called 'stacked GM events', that is, GMOs, plants so far, where new traits are combined by conventional crossing of different GM plants. This paper advocates rethinking the current food/feed safety assessment of stacked GM events in Europe based on an analysis of different aspects that currently form the rationale for the safety assessment of stacked GM events. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

WATER CHEMISTRY ASSESSMENT METHODS

Science.gov (United States)

This section summarizes and evaluates the surfce water column chemistry assessment methods for USEPA/EMAP-SW, USGS-NAQA, USEPA-RBP, Oho EPA, and MDNR-MBSS. The basic objective of surface water column chemistry assessment is to characterize surface water quality by measuring a sui...

Are All Assessments Equal? The Comparability of Demands of College-Based Assessments in a Vocationally Related Qualification

Science.gov (United States)

Crisp, Victoria; Novakovic, Nadezda

2009-01-01

The consistency of assessment demands is important to validity. This research investigated the comparability of the demands of college-assessed units within a vocationally related qualification, drawing on methodological approaches that have previously been used to compare assessments. Assessment materials from five colleges were obtained. After…

I Can Assess Myself: Singaporean Primary Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Students' Self-Assessment Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Hwei Ming

2016-01-01

Student self-assessment engages the students in purposeful reflection about what they are learning and how they are learning it. This study investigated the perceptions of students and teachers towards the students' self-assessment ability in two Singapore primary schools. A total of 75 students were taught how to use self-assessment. Eighteen…

CERCLA site assessment workbook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-08-01

This contains comments for each chapter of exercises (in Vol. 1) which illustrate how to conduct site assessments for CERCLA regulation. A through analysis of the exercises is provided so that work and solutions from Vol 1 can be critiqued and comments are also included on the strategy of site assessment whereas the exercises illustrate the principles involved. Covered exercises include the following: A preliminary assessment of a ground water site; waste characteristics and characterization of sources; documentation of observed releases and actual contamination of targets; the strategy of an SI at a surface water site; the soil exposure pathway; the air pathway

Assessment of inclusive education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miller, Tanja

2014-01-01

The focus of this paper is on the way teachers, in teams can work with assessing the inclusive practice in their own classes. In 2012 a joint effort between CEPRA, teachers and school administrators from the municipality of Hjørring developed a dialog based model for continually assessing...... the quality of the learning environment in regard to inclusion – this model draws heavily on the logic and mindset of ECERS (Early child environment program). This article will relate the rationale of the assessment model called “Dialoger om Kvalitet” (dialogues on quality) to LSP’s definition of inclusion...

Cumulative Impact Assessment: Approaching Environmental Capacity in Development Area Using Environmental Impact Assessment Information

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, N.; Lee, M. J.; Maeng, J. H.

2017-12-01

Environmental impact assessment estimates the impact of development as a business unit and establishes mitigation plan. If the development is done, its economic effects can spread to the nearby areas. So that various developments can be distributed at different time intervals. The impact of the new developments can be combined with existing environmental impacts and can have a larger impact. That is, Cumulative impact assessment is needed to consider the environmental capacity of the Nearby area. Cumulative impact assessments require policy tools such as environmental impact assessment information and cumulative impact estimation models. In Korea, environmental information (water quality, air quality, etc.) of the development site is measured for environmental impact assessment and monitored for a certain period (generally 5 years) after the project. In addition, by constructing the environmental information as a spatial database, it is possible to express the environmental impact on a regional basis spatially and to intuitively use it for development site selection. Utilizing a composite model of environmental impact assessment information and Remote Sensing data for cumulative impact estimation, That can be used as a policy decision support tool that provides quantitative information for development area management, such as time series effect and sprawl phenomenon.

Competencies and Their Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Drisko, James W.

2014-01-01

This article explores competencies and methods for their assessment in higher education and in social work's accreditation standards. Many contemporary policy and educational accreditation efforts employ the model of competency assessment. The current emphasis on accountability in higher education, including the Council on Social Work…

Remote online ergonomic assessment in the office environment as compared to face-to-face ergonomic assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyal, Levy; Ribak, Joseph; Badihi, Yehuda

2012-01-01

remote online ergonomic assessment in the office environment as compared to face-to-face ergonomic assessment and examination of the applicability of remote online ergonomic assessment to office workers. 40 employees from a large Israeli hi-tech company were ergonomically assessed per the University of California computer usage checklist, according to the two assessment types (face-to-face and remote). An additional Ergonomist "assessor 2" examined the credibility of the process. Research hypothesis 1 was verified: 21 out of 22 questions (95.45%) from the checklist indicated compatibility between "assessor 1" to the "Gold Standard" at an 80% level. Research hypothesis 2: examining the credibility between the assessors with regard to remote assessment. This hypothesis was partially verified, the correlation between the assessors was measured at 0.54. Research hypothesis 3: examining the extent of deviation of natural posture between distal body parts assessment (distant from the center of the body) and proximal body parts (close to the center of the body). This hypothesis was clearly verified. It has been proven that there is statistical significance between the results. The current research has proved that there is an additional method to assess musculoskeletal disorders risk factors remotely online at office environment.

24 CFR 35.315 - Risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Risk assessment. 35.315 Section 35... Provided by a Federal Agency Other Than HUD § 35.315 Risk assessment. Each owner shall complete a risk assessment in accordance with 40 CFR 745.227(d). Each risk assessment shall be completed in accordance with...

Department of Energy, highly enriched uranium ES ampersand H vulnerability assessment, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory site assessment team report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

In accordance with the February 22, 1996 directive issued by Secretary of Energy O'Leary on the Vulnerability Assessment of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) Storage, the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory conducted an assessment of the site's HEU holdings and any associated vulnerabilities. The assessment was conducted between April 25 and May 24, 1996. The scope of this assessment, as defined in the Assessment Plan, included all HEU, and any spent fuel not evaluated in the Spent Fuel Vulnerability Assessment. Addressed in this assessment were all of the holdings at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) except any located at Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-W) and the Naval Reactors Facility. Excluded from the assessment were those HEU holdings previously assessed in the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Spent Nuclear Fuel Inventory and Vulnerability Site Assessment Report and any HEU holdings evaluated in the Plutonium Vulnerability Assessment Report

Utilizing Occupational Complexity Levels in Vocational Interest Assessments: Assessing Interests for STEM Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Toker, Yonca; Ackerman, Phillip L.

2012-01-01

With an aim to improve vocational interest assessments geared toward the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas, we developed a new assessment by incorporating occupational complexity levels. Occupations which correspond to Holland's realistic and investigative themes were identified together with their complexity levels…

Educational Assessment in Norway

Science.gov (United States)

Tveit, Sverre

2014-01-01

Norway has seen major changes in the field of educational assessment over the past decade, following the 2001 '"PISA shock" that stimulated reform of the entire primary and secondary education systems: new outcome-based curricula with cross-disciplinary basic skills were accompanied by major revision of assessment regulations,…

Competencies, skills and assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Højgaard, Tomas

2009-01-01

This paper is an analysis of the challenge of assessing student learning and how that is affected by using descriptions of competencies as a core element when describing the aims of the learning process. Assessment is modelled as a three step process; characterising, identifying and judging, to a...

Structured Assessment Approach: a procedure for the assessment of fuel cycle safeguard systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parziale, A.A.; Patenaude, C.J.; Renard, P.A.; Sacks, I.J.

1980-01-01

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has developed and tested for the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission a procedure for the evaluation of Material Control and Accounting (MC and A) Systems at Nuclear Fuel Facilities. This procedure, called the Structured Assessment Approach, SAA, subjects the MC and A system at a facility to a series of increasingly sophisticated adversaries and strategies. A fully integrated version of the computer codes which assist the analyst in this assessment was made available in October, 1979. The concepts of the SAA and the results of the assessment of a hypothetical but typical facility are presented

Evaluation of thermal risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loos, J.J.; Perry, E.S.

1993-01-01

Risk assessment was done in 1983 to estimate the ecological hazard of increasing the generating load and thermal output of an electric generating station. Subsequently, long-term monitoring in the vicinity of the station allowed verification of the predictions made in the risk assessment. This presentation will review the efficacy of early risk assessment methods in producing useful predictions from a resource management point of view. In 1984, the Chalk Point Generating facility of the Potomac Electric Power Company increased it's median generating load by 100%. Prior to this operational change, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia synthesized site specific data, model predictions, and results from literature to assess the risk of additional waste heat to the Patuxent River subestuary of Chesapeake Bay. Risk was expressed as the number of days per year that various species of fish and the blue crab would be expected to avoid the discharge vicinity. Accuracy of these predictions is assessed by comparing observed fish and crab distributions and their observed frequencies of avoidance to those predicted. It is concluded that the predictions of this early risk assessment were sufficiently accurate to produce a reliable resource management decision

Safety assessments for potential exposures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunn, D.I.

2012-04-01

Safety Assessment of potential exposures have been carried out in major practices, namely: industrial radiography, gamma irradiators and electron accelerators used in industry and research, and radiotherapy. This paper focuses on reviewing safety assessment methodologies and using developed software to analyse radiological accidents, also review, and discuss these past accidents.The primary objective of the assessment is to assess the adequacy of planned or existing measures for protection and safety and to identify any additional measures that should be put in place. As such, both routine use of the source and the probability and magnitude of potential exposures arising from accidents or incidents should be considered. Where the assessment indicates that there is a realistic possibility of an accident affecting workers or members of the public or having consequences for the environment, the registrant or licensee should prepare a suitable emergency plan. A safety assessment for normal operation addresses all the conditions under which the radiation source operates as expected, including all phases of the lifetime of the source. Due account needs to be taken of the different factors and conditions that will apply during non-operational phases, such as installation, commissioning and maintenance. (author)

Introduction to radiological performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moss, G.

1995-02-01

A radiological performance assessment is conducted to provide reasonable assurance that performance objectives for low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal will be met. Beginning in the early stages of development, a radiological performance assessment continues through the operational phase, and is instrumental in the postclosure of the facility. Fundamental differences exist in the regulation of commercial and defense LLW, but the radiological performance assessment process is essentially the same for both. The purpose of this document is to describe that process in a concise and straightforward manner. This document focuses on radiological performance assessment as it pertains to commercial LLW disposal, but is applicable to US Department of Energy sites as well. Included are discussions on performance objectives, site characterization, and how a performance assessment is conducted. A case study is used to illustrate how the process works as a whole. A bibliography is provided to assist in locating additional information

Library assessment in higher education

CERN Document Server

Matthews, Joseph R

2015-01-01

Academic libraries are increasingly being asked to demonstrate their value as one of many units on campus, but determining the outcomes of an academic library within the context of its collegiate setting is challenging. This book explains and clarifies the practice of assessment in academic institutions, enabling library managers to better understand and explain the impact of the library on student learning outcomes, teaching effectiveness, and research productivity. Providing essential information for all college and university librarians, this volume discusses and summarizes the outcomes of research that has been conducted to investigate assessment within the context of higher education. This updated second edition incorporates additional research, examines new trends, and covers groundbreaking advances in digital assessment tools as well as the changes in the amount and forms of data utilized in the assessment process. The chapters address assessment from a campus setting and present data that demonstrate...

Bayesian networks in educational assessment

CERN Document Server

Almond, Russell G; Steinberg, Linda S; Yan, Duanli; Williamson, David M

2015-01-01

Bayesian inference networks, a synthesis of statistics and expert systems, have advanced reasoning under uncertainty in medicine, business, and social sciences. This innovative volume is the first comprehensive treatment exploring how they can be applied to design and analyze innovative educational assessments. Part I develops Bayes nets’ foundations in assessment, statistics, and graph theory, and works through the real-time updating algorithm. Part II addresses parametric forms for use with assessment, model-checking techniques, and estimation with the EM algorithm and Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). A unique feature is the volume’s grounding in Evidence-Centered Design (ECD) framework for assessment design. This “design forward” approach enables designers to take full advantage of Bayes nets’ modularity and ability to model complex evidentiary relationships that arise from performance in interactive, technology-rich assessments such as simulations. Part III describes ECD, situates Bayes nets as ...

Consultative exercise on dose assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Bridges, B A; Parker, T; Simmonds, J R; Sumner, D

2001-06-01

A summary is given of a meeting held at Sussex University, UK, in October 2000, which allowed the exchange of ideas on methods of assessment of dose to the public arising from potential authorised radioactive discharges from nuclear sites in the UK. Representatives of groups with an interest in dose assessments were invited, and hence the meeting was called the Consultative Exercise on Dose Assessments (CEDA). Although initiated and funded by the Food Standards Agency, its organisation, and the writing of the report, were overseen by an independent Chairman and Steering Group. The report contains recommendations for improvement in co-ordination between different agencies involved in assessments, on method development and on the presentation of data on assessments. These have been prepared by the Steering Group, and will be taken forward by the Food Standards Agency and other agencies in the UK. The recommendations are included in this memorandum.

Assessment, Planning, and Execution Considerations for Conjunction Risk Assessment and Mitigation Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Frigm, Ryan C.; Levi, Joshua A.; Mantziaras, Dimitrios C.

2010-01-01

An operational Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis (CARA) concept is the real-time process of assessing risk posed by close approaches and reacting to those risks if necessary. The most effective way to completely mitigate conjunction risk is to perform an avoidance maneuver. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has implemented a routine CARA process since 2005. Over this period, considerable experience has been gained and many lessons have been learned. This paper identifies and presents these experiences as general concepts in the description of the Conjunction Assessment, Flight Dynamics, and Flight Operations methodologies and processes. These general concepts will be tied together and will be exemplified through a case study of an actual high risk conjunction event for the Aura mission.

NURE quadrangle evaluation and assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horton, R.C.

1979-01-01

The NURE program effort will continue to generate and employ improvements in assessment technology. Assessment procedures in current use are carefully documented to the extent that a useful audit trail is available; these data extend from the actual recording of field observations and identification of favorability areas to the selection of the proper control areas and application to the actual assessment function. BFEC is confident that the basic system of assessment of the unknown by analogy to the known is fully tenable. And, BFEC is proud to be a contributing party to the NURE program which is of a magnitude not hitherto undertaken by any government or private organization

Integrating environmental and socioeconomic assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Branch, K.M.; Cluett, C.; Page, T.L.

1987-01-01

Since the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1969, considerable scientific and regulatory attention has been given to the preparation of environmental impact assessments. Part of this attention has been directed to definition of the proper scope of an environmental assessment and to debate about how the ''human environment'' should be addressed. This debate continues, and is reflected in the ongoing evolution of the definition of and relationship between the ''environmental'' and ''socioeconomic'' components of an integrated environmental impact assessment. This paper discusses the need for close integration between the environmental and socioeconomic assessment efforts and examines some of the benefits and difficulties of achieving this integration

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT FOR FIELD SPORTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Carling

2009-03-01

Full Text Available DESCRIPTION The book covers the various sport science assessment procedures for sports such as soccer, rugby, field hockey and lacrosse. It provides detailed and clear information about laboratory and field-based methods that can be used to assess and improve both individual and team performance. PURPOSE The book aims to provide a contemporary reference tool for selection of appropriate testing procedures for sports across a range of scientific disciplines. FEATURES The text begins with a chapter on the rationales for performance assessments, the use of technology and the necessity for procedures to conform to scientific rigor, explaining the importance of test criteria. This chapter ends by emphasizing the importance of the feedback process and vital considerations for the practitioner when interpreting the data, selecting which information is most important and how to deliver this back to the athlete or coach in order to deliver a positive performance outcome. The next two chapters focus on psychological assessments with respect to skill acquisition, retention and execution providing a variety of qualitative and quantitative options, underpinned with scientific theory and contextualized in order to improve the understanding of the application of these methods to improve anticipation and decision-making to enhance game intelligence.Chapter 4 provides coverage of match analysis techniques in order to make assessments of technical, tactical and physical performances. Readers learn about a series of methodologies ranging from simplistic pen and paper options through to sophisticated technological systems with some exemplar data also provided. Chapters 5 through 7 cover the physiological based assessments, including aerobic, anaerobic and anthropometric procedures. Each chapter delivers a theoretical opening section before progressing to various assessment options and the authors make great efforts to relate to sport-specific settings. The final

Water resources assessment and prediction in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Guangsheng

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Water resources assessment in China, can be classified into three groups: (i comprehensive water resources assessment, (ii annual water resources assessment, and (iii industrial project water resources assessment. Comprehensive water resources assessment is the conventional assessment where the frequency distribution of water resources in basins or provincial regions are analyzed. For the annual water resources assessment, water resources of the last year in basins or provincial regions are usually assessed. For the industrial project water resources assessment, the water resources situation before the construction of industrial project has to be assessed. To address the climate and environmental changes, hydrological and statistical models are widely applied for studies on assessing water resources changes. For the water resources prediction in China usually the monthly runoff prediction is used. In most low flow seasons, the flow recession curve is commonly used as prediction method. In the humid regions, the rainfall-runoff ensemble prediction (ESP has been widely applied for the monthly runoff prediction. The conditional probability method for the monthly runoff prediction was also applied to assess next month runoff probability under a fixed initial condition.

Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) Operations Manual

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gopalakrishnan, Bhaskaran [West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States); Nimbalkar, Sachin U. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Wenning, Thomas J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Thirumaran, Kiran [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-04-01

IAC Operations Manual describes organizational model and operations of the Industrial Assessment Center (IAC), Center management activities, typical process of energy assessment, and energy assessment data for specific industry sectors.

Wadeable Streams Assessment Data

Science.gov (United States)

The Wadeable Streams Assessment (WSA) is a first-ever statistically-valid survey of the biological condition of small streams throughout the U.S. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) worked with the states to conduct the assessment in 2004-2005. Data for each parameter sampled in the Wadeable Streams Assessment (WSA) are available for downloading in a series of files as comma separated values (*.csv). Each *.csv data file has a companion text file (*.txt) that lists a dataset label and individual descriptions for each variable. Users should view the *.txt files first to help guide their understanding and use of the data.

Assessing Knowledge in Dialogue

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tackney, Charles T.; Strømgren, Ole; Sato, Toyoko

2013-01-01

The Synopsis–Based Oral Examination (S–BOE) is described as deployed in international management education programs in a Danish business school. It assesses students in light of specified learning objectives through time–constrained presentation and dialogue. The format is premised on prior...... submission of a synopsis, although the synopsis has no bearing on grade assessment. Practitioner experience and student feedback suggest that students experience this type of examination as an important learning experience, in itself, in addition to testing course–related knowledge. We reviewed the current...... epistemological basis for grading, providing a critical realism corrective to enhance assessment and appropriation of this exam format....

Recent software developments for biomechanical assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Greaves, John O. B.

1990-08-01

While much of the software developed in research laboratories is narrow in focus and suited for a specific experiment, some of it is broad enough and of high enough quality to be useful to others in solving similar problems. Several biomechanical assessment packages are now beginning to emerge, including: * 3D research biomechanics (5- and 6-DOF) with kinematics, kinetics, 32-channel analog data subsystem, and project management. * 3D full-body gait analysis with kinematics, kinetics, EMG charts, and force plate charts. * 2D dynamic rear-foot assessment. * 2D occupational biomechanics lifting task and personnel assessments. * 2D dynamic gait analysis. * Multiple 2D dynamic spine assessments. * 2D sport and biomechanics assessments with kinematics and kinetics. * 2D and 3D equine gait assessments.

Measuring Up: Assessment in Microeconomics

OpenAIRE

Jill K. Hayter; Carolyn F. Rochelle

2014-01-01

Appropriate assessment is of major importance for universities today. Many faculty perceive assessment as already occurring through grade assignment. This paper investigates grades versus knowledge of learning objectives as forms of assessment. By analyzing the relationship between examination questions and post-test comprehension of learning objectives in Principles of Microeconomics, this study tests differences in proportions of correct responses from the two evaluation methods. For some l...

Experiences in assessing safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spitalnik, J.

2002-01-01

Based on several Safety Culture self-assessment applications in nuclear organisations, the paper stresses relevant aspects to be considered when programming an assessment of this type. Reasons for assessing Safety Culture, basic principles to take into account, necessary resources, the importance of proper statistical analyses, the feed-back of results, and the setting up of action plans to enhance Safety Culture are discussed. (author)

Gender-Sensitive Post-Disaster Assessments

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2012-01-01

This note on gender-sensitive post-disaster assessments is the eighth in a series of guidance notes on gender issues in disaster risk management (DRM) in the East Asia and the Pacific region. Targeting World Bank staff, clients and development partners, this note gives an overview of the main reasons for assessing gender impacts as part of a post-disaster needs assessment, identifies the k...

Assessment of human exposures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lebret, E. [RIVM-National Inst. of Public Health and Environmental Protection (Netherlands)

1995-12-31

This article describes some of the features of the assessment of human exposure to environmental pollutants in epidemiological studies. Since exposure assessment in air pollution epidemiology studies typically involve professionals from various backgrounds, interpretation of a concepts like `exposure` may vary. A brief descriptions is therefore given by way of introduction

Functional Assessment Inventory Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

Crewe, Nancy M.; Athelstan, Gary T.

This manual, which provides extensive new instructions for administering the Functional Assessment Inventory (FAI), is intended to enable counselors to begin using the inventory without undergoing any special training. The first two sections deal with the need for functional assessment and issues in the development and use of the inventory. The…

Assessment of human exposures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lebret, E [RIVM-National Inst. of Public Health and Environmental Protection (Netherlands)

1996-12-31

This article describes some of the features of the assessment of human exposure to environmental pollutants in epidemiological studies. Since exposure assessment in air pollution epidemiology studies typically involve professionals from various backgrounds, interpretation of a concepts like `exposure` may vary. A brief descriptions is therefore given by way of introduction

National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program Report to Congress: An Integrated Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uhart, M.; et al,

2005-08-01

Under Title IX of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, Congress reauthorized the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) to continue coordinating acid rain research and monitoring, as it had done during the previous decade, and to provide Congress with periodic reports. In particular, Congress asked NAPAP to assess all available data and information to answer two questions: (1) What are the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of Title IV? This question addresses the costs and economic impacts of complying with the Acid Rain Program as well as benefit analyses associated with the various human health and welfare effects, including reduced visibility, damages to materials and cultural resources, and effects on ecosystems. (2) What reductions in deposition rates are needed to prevent adverse ecological effects? This complex questions addresses ecological systems and the deposition levels at which they experience harmful effects. The results of the assessment of the effects of Title IV and of the relationship between acid deposition rates and ecological effects were to be reported to Congress quadrennially, beginning with the 1996 report to Congress. The objective of this Report is to address the two main questions posed by Congress and fully communicate the results of the assessment to decision-makers. Given the primary audience, most of this report is not written as a technical document, although information supporting the conclusions is provided along with references.

Designing Second Language Performance Assessments. Technical Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, John M.; Brown, James Dean; Hudson, Thom; Yoshioka, Jim

This technical report focuses on the decision-making potential provided by second language performance assessments. First, performance assessment is situated within the broader discussion of alternatives in language assessment and in educational assessment in general. Next, issues in performance assessment design, implementation, reliability, and…

Competency Based Assessment in Fashion Design

Science.gov (United States)

Russanti, Irma; Nurlaela, Lutfiyah; Basuki, Ismet; Munoto

2018-04-01

Professional certification is a form of stipulation on certain competency standards provided by one professional organization to the performance of a person through assessment. For that an assessment needs to be standardized so that there exists a general standardized scale to measure competence. In the professional certification of fashion design department, an instrument of competency based assessment is essential to be developed. The purpose of this review is to know the application of competency based assessment in the field of fashion design. The literature reviews were found by journal searching with keywords competency based assessment and fashion design in Google scholar, of which was gotten over 20 journals from 2006 to 2016. Afterwards, the search of the free-downloaded e-books in libgen was conducted under competency based assessment and fashion design, which is then found some related references. The obtained literatures were used to review the definition, approach, and implementation of competency based assessment in the field of fashion design. Results show that it is important to develop an assessment sheet in the field of fashion design covering garment, apparel and embroidery sectors by patterning the criteria of performers along with the qualifications.

Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment for Individual Student Assessment and Curricular Evaluation

OpenAIRE

Scott, Day M.; Bennett, Lunawati L.; Ferrill, Mary J.; Brown, Daniel L.

2010-01-01

The Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA) is a standardized examination for assessing academic progress of pharmacy students. Although no other national benchmarking tool is available on a national level, the PCOA has not been adopted by all colleges and schools of pharmacy. Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBAU) compared 2008-2010 PCOA results of its P1, P2, and P3 students to their current grade point average (GPA) and to results of a national cohort. The reliability coefficient of ...

Health visiting assessment--unpacking critical attributes in health visitor needs assessment practice: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Appleton, Jane V; Cowley, Sarah

2008-02-01

Assessment of family health need is a central feature of health visiting practice in which a range of skills, knowledge and judgements are used. These assessments are pivotal in uncovering need, safeguarding children and in determining levels of health intervention to be offered to children and their families by the health visiting service in the UK. The central focus of this paper is to outline the critical attributes of the basic principles that underpin health visiting assessment practice that emerged as part of a case study enquiry. A case study design informed by a constructivist methodology was used to examine health visitors' professional judgements and use of formal guidelines in identifying health needs and prioritising families requiring extra health visiting support. The main study was conducted in three community Trust case sites in England, UK, with pilot work being undertaken in a fourth site. Fifteen health visitors participated in the main study and data were collected during 56 observed home visits to families receiving extra health visiting support. Separate in-depth interviews were conducted with the health visitors, pre- and post-home contacts, while 53 client interviews also took place. The analysis suggests that there are certain fundamental elements associated with the majority of health visitor assessments and these have been termed assessment principles. These characteristics are integral to, and provide the basis upon which health visitors' assessments are conducted and professional judgement is formed. They reflect the basic principles of health visiting assessment practice, which exist despite the constraints and realities of the practice context and can be differentiated from the activity centred methods of assessment processes.

Assessment Training: A Precondition for Teachers' Competencies and Use of Classroom Assessment Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Koloi-Keaikitse, Setlhomo

2016-01-01

Student assessment, particularly at classroom level, remains an integral part of teaching and learning and is a driving force for the implementation of educational policies and practices in many countries. Nevertheless, problems associated with teachers' classroom assessment practices continue to exist in schools and research shows that teachers…

Emergency Response Capability Baseline Needs Assessment - Compliance Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharry, John A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2016-09-01

This document was prepared by John A. Sharry, LLNL Fire Marshal and Division Leader for Fire Protection and was reviewed by LLNL Emergency Management Department Head, James Colson. This document is the second of a two-part analysis on Emergency Response Capabilities of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The first part, 2016 Baseline Needs Assessment Requirements Document established the minimum performance criteria necessary to meet mandatory requirements. This second part analyses the performance of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Emergency Management Department to the contents of the Requirements Document. The document was prepared based on an extensive review of information contained in the 2016 BNA, a review of Emergency Planning Hazards Assessments, a review of building construction, occupancy, fire protection features, dispatch records, LLNL alarm system records, fire department training records, and fire department policies and procedures. The 2013 BNA was approved by NNSA’s Livermore Field Office on January 22, 2014.

Sudan Investment Climate Assessment

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2009-01-01

This report on Sudan's Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) provides a baseline assessment of challenges to productivity, diversification and inclusion. Chapter 1 describes some of the questions underlying the three issues of competitiveness, diversification and broad-based growth. Chapter 2 analyzes firm performance and competitiveness. Chapter 3 discusses markets and trust. Chapter 4 des...

An abuse of risk assessment: how regulatory agencies improperly adopted LNT for cancer risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Calabrese, Edward J

2015-04-01

The Genetics Panel of the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation (BEAR) recommended the adoption of the linear dose-response model in 1956, abandoning the threshold dose-response for genetic risk assessments. This recommendation was quickly generalized to include somatic cells for cancer risk assessment and later was instrumental in the adoption of linearity for carcinogen risk assessment by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Genetics Panel failed to provide any scientific assessment to support this recommendation and refused to do so when later challenged by other leading scientists. Thus, the linearity model used in cancer risk assessment was based on ideology rather than science and originated with the recommendation of the NAS BEAR Committee Genetics Panel. Historical documentation in support of these conclusions is provided in the transcripts of the Panel meetings and in previously unexamined correspondence among Panel members.

Environmental impact assessment screening tool

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-05-01

An environmental assessment and impact planning software, SCREENER, was tested at a pilot project at the Cameco site (Port Hope). SCREENER was used to screen the impacts of a new construction project in accordance with the process and reporting requirements laid out in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The software test concentrated on the activities that are directly involved with the structure construction and site preparation activities. In addition, a two and one half day training course was given to three AECB staff using the test case as a hands on example. The conclusion of this project is that an automated tool such as SCREENER (or Calyx, the new generation of environmental assessment tools from ESSA Software Ltd.), will help the AECB to standardize the approach to environmental assessment, assist in project planning, and save resources in the screening process. The new approach could allow to allocate AECB limited resources to the detailed assessments required for maximum impact activities. 2 figs. 7 refs.

Using risk assessment in periodontics.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodman, Alan J

2014-08-01

Risk assessment has become a regular feature in both dental practice and society as a whole, and principles used to assess risk in society are similar to those used in a clinical setting. Although the concept of risk assessment as a prognostic indicator for periodontal disease incidence and activity is well established in the management of periodontitis, the use of risk assessment to manage the practical treatment of periodontitis and its sequelae appears to have less foundation. A simple system of initial risk assessment - building on the use of the Basic Periodontal Examination (BPE), clinical, medical and social factors - is described, linked to protocols for delivering care suited to general dental practice and stressing the role of long-term supportive care. The risks of not treating the patient are considered, together with the possible causes of failure, and the problems of successful treatment are illustrated by the practical management of post-treatment recession.

Life-cycle assessment of semiconductors

CERN Document Server

Boyd, Sarah B

2012-01-01

Life-Cycle Assessment of Semiconductors presents the first and thus far only available transparent and complete life cycle assessment of semiconductor devices. A lack of reliable semiconductor LCA data has been a major challenge to evaluation of the potential environmental benefits of information technologies (IT). The analysis and results presented in this book will allow a higher degree of confidence and certainty in decisions concerning the use of IT in efforts to reduce climate change and other environmental effects. Coverage includes but is not limited to semiconductor manufacturing trends by product type and geography, unique coverage of life-cycle assessment, with a focus on uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of energy and global warming missions for CMOS logic devices, life cycle assessment of flash memory and life cycle assessment of DRAM. The information and conclusions discussed here will be highly relevant and useful to individuals and institutions. The book also: Provides a detailed, complete a...

Environmental impact assessment screening tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-05-01

An environmental assessment and impact planning software, SCREENER, was tested at a pilot project at the Cameco site (Port Hope). SCREENER was used to screen the impacts of a new construction project in accordance with the process and reporting requirements laid out in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The software test concentrated on the activities that are directly involved with the structure construction and site preparation activities. In addition, a two and one half day training course was given to three AECB staff using the test case as a hands on example. The conclusion of this project is that an automated tool such as SCREENER (or Calyx, the new generation of environmental assessment tools from ESSA Software Ltd.), will help the AECB to standardize the approach to environmental assessment, assist in project planning, and save resources in the screening process. The new approach could allow to allocate AECB limited resources to the detailed assessments required for maximum impact activities

Seismic and wind vulnerability assessment for the GAR-13 global risk assessment

OpenAIRE

Yamín Lacouture, Luis Eduardo; Hurtado Chaparro, Alvaro Ivan; Barbat Barbat, Horia Alejandro; Cardona Arboleda, Omar Dario

2014-01-01

A general methodology to evaluate vulnerability functions suitable for a probabilistic global risk assessment is proposed. The methodology is partially based in the methodological approach of the Multi-hazard Loss Estimation Methodology (Hazus) developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The vulnerability assessment process considers the resolution, information and limitations established for both the hazard and exposure models adopted. Seismic and wind vulnerability function...

Safety assessment principles for nuclear plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The present Safety Assessment Principles result from the revision of those which were drawn up following a recommendation arising from the Sizewell-B enquiry. The principles presented here relate only to nuclear safety; there is a section on risks from normal operation and accident conditions and the standards against which those risks are assessed. A major part of the document deals with the principles that cover the design of nuclear plants. The revised Safety assessment principles are aimed primarily at the safety assessment of new nuclear plants but they will also be used in assessing existing plants. (UK)

Peer assessment in architecture education

OpenAIRE

Teixeira de Sampayo, Mafalda; Sousa-Rodrigues, David; Jimenez-Romero, Cristian; Johnson, Jeffrey

2014-01-01

The role of peer assessment in education has become of particular interest in recent years, mainly because of its potential benefits in improving student’s learning and benefits in time management by allowing teachers and tutors to use their time more efficiently to get the results of student’s assessments quicker. Peer assessment has also relevant in the context of distance learning and massive open online courses (MOOCs).

76 FR 48119 - Oral Rabies Vaccine Trial; Availability of a Risk Assessment and an Environmental Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-08

...] Oral Rabies Vaccine Trial; Availability of a Risk Assessment and an Environmental Assessment AGENCY... environmental assessment relative to an oral rabies vaccination field trial in West Virginia. The environmental... rabies vaccine, analyzes the use of that vaccine in field safety and efficacy trials in West Virginia...

Industrial Assessment Center Program Impact Evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martin, M.A.

2000-01-26

This report presents the results of an evaluation of the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) Program. The purpose of this program is to conduct energy, waste, and productivity assessments for small to medium-sized industrial firms. Assessments are conducted by 30 university-based industrial assessment centers. The purpose of this project was to evaluate energy and cost savings attributable to the assessments, the trained alumni, and the Websites sponsored by this program. How IAC assessments, alumni, and Web-based information may influence industrial energy efficiency decision making was also studied. It is concluded that appreciable energy and cost savings may be attributed to the IAC Program and that the IAC Program has resulted in more active and improved energy-efficiency decision making by industrial firms.

Fiscal Year 2013 Revegetation Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nordstrom, Jenifer [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2013-11-01

This report summarizes the Fiscal Year 2013 Revegetation Assessment by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. This assessment was conducted to supplement documentation related to the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for Construction Activities and to ensure that disturbed vegetation and soil at various locations are being restored. This report provides the following information for each site being monitored by the Idaho National Laboratory Environmental Support and Services: Summary of each site Assessment of vegetation status and site stabilization at each location Actions and Resolutions for each site. Six disturbed sites were evaluated for this assessment. One has achieved final stabilization. The remaining five sites not meeting the criteria for final stabilization will be evaluated again in the next fiscal year.

Assessment of capabilities in persons with advanced stage of dementia: Validation of The Montessori Assessment System (MAS).

Science.gov (United States)

Erkes, Jérôme; Camp, Cameron J; Raffard, Stéphane; Gély-Nargeot And, Marie-Christine; Bayard, Sophie

2017-01-01

This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Montessori Assessment System. The Montessori Assessment System assesses preserved abilities in persons with moderate to severe dementia. In this respect, this instrument provides crucial information for the development of effective person-centered care plans. A total of 196 persons with a diagnosis of dementia in the moderate to severe stages of dementia were recruited in 10 long-term care facilities in France. All participants completed the Montessori Assessment System, the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale and/or the Mini Mental State Examination and the Severe Impairment Battery-short form. The internal consistency and temporal stability of the Montessori Assessment System were high. Additionally, good construct and divergent validity were demonstrated. Factor analysis showed a one-factor structure. The Montessori Assessment System demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties while being a useful instrument to assess capabilities in persons with advanced stages of dementia and hence to develop person-centered plans of care.

HEPA Filter Vulnerability Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

GUSTAVSON, R.D.

2000-01-01

This assessment of High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter vulnerability was requested by the USDOE Office of River Protection (ORP) to satisfy a DOE-HQ directive to evaluate the effect of filter degradation on the facility authorization basis assumptions. Within the scope of this assessment are ventilation system HEPA filters that are classified as Safety-Class (SC) or Safety-Significant (SS) components that perform an accident mitigation function. The objective of the assessment is to verify whether HEPA filters that perform a safety function during an accident are likely to perform as intended to limit release of hazardous or radioactive materials, considering factors that could degrade the filters. Filter degradation factors considered include aging, wetting of filters, exposure to high temperature, exposure to corrosive or reactive chemicals, and exposure to radiation. Screening and evaluation criteria were developed by a site-wide group of HVAC engineers and HEPA filter experts from published empirical data. For River Protection Project (RPP) filters, the only degradation factor that exceeded the screening threshold was for filter aging. Subsequent evaluation of the effect of filter aging on the filter strength was conducted, and the results were compared with required performance to meet the conditions assumed in the RPP Authorization Basis (AB). It was found that the reduction in filter strength due to aging does not affect the filter performance requirements as specified in the AB. A portion of the HEPA filter vulnerability assessment is being conducted by the ORP and is not part of the scope of this study. The ORP is conducting an assessment of the existing policies and programs relating to maintenance, testing, and change-out of HEPA filters used for SC/SS service. This document presents the results of a HEPA filter vulnerability assessment conducted for the River protection project as requested by the DOE Office of River Protection

Assessing Second Language Speaking

Science.gov (United States)

Fulcher, Glenn

2015-01-01

While the viva voce (oral) examination has always been used in content-based educational assessment (Latham 1877: 132), the assessment of second language (L2) speaking in performance tests is relatively recent. The impetus for the growth in testing speaking during the 19th and 20th centuries is twofold. Firstly, in educational settings the…

Calculus Courses' Assessment Data

Science.gov (United States)

Pauna, Matti

2017-01-01

In this paper we describe computer-aided assessment methods used in online Calculus courses and the data they produce. The online learning environment collects a lot of time-stamped data about every action a student makes. Assessment data can be harnessed into use as a feedback, predictor, and recommendation facility for students and instructors.…

Daugherty Memorial Assessment Center (DMAC)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — Daugherty Memorial Assessment Center (DMAC) is a 39,000-square-foot facility that doubles the warfare center's high-secured performance assessment capabilities. DMAC...

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Risk Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

... HRS Find a Specialist Share Twitter Facebook SCA Risk Assessment Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) occurs abruptly and without ... people of all ages and health conditions. Start Risk Assessment The Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Risk Assessment Tool ...

Validation of the Australian Midwifery Standards Assessment Tool (AMSAT): A tool to assess midwifery competence.

Science.gov (United States)

Sweet, Linda; Bazargan, Maryam; McKellar, Lois; Gray, Joanne; Henderson, Amanda

2018-02-01

There is no current validated clinical assessment tool to measure the attainment of midwifery student competence in the midwifery practice setting. The lack of a valid assessment tool has led to a proliferation of tools and inconsistency in assessment of, and feedback on student learning. This research aimed to develop and validate a tool to assess competence of midwifery students in practice-based settings. A mixed-methods approach was used and the study implemented in two phases. Phase one involved the development of the AMSAT tool with qualitative feedback from midwifery academics, midwife assessors of students, and midwifery students. In phase two the newly developed AMSAT tool was piloted across a range of midwifery practice settings and ANOVA was used to compare scores across year levels, with feedback being obtained from assessors. Analysis of 150 AMSAT forms indicate the AMSAT as: reliable (Cronbach alpha greater than 0.9); valid-data extraction loaded predominantly onto one factor; and sensitivity scores indicating level of proficiency increased across the three years. Feedback evaluation forms (n=83) suggest acceptance of this tool for the purpose of both assessing and providing feedback on midwifery student's practice performance and competence. The AMSAT is a valid, reliable and acceptable midwifery assessment tool enables consistent assessment of midwifery student competence. This assists benchmarking across midwifery education programs. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Risk assessment in international operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stricklin, Daniela L.

2008-01-01

During international peace-keeping missions, a diverse number of non-battle hazards may be encountered, which range from heavily polluted areas, endemic disease, toxic industrial materials, local violence, traffic, and even psychological factors. Hence, elevated risk levels from a variety of sources are encountered during deployments. With the emphasis within the Swedish military moving from national defense towards prioritization of international missions in atypical environments, the risk of health consequences, including long term health effects, has received greater consideration. The Swedish military is interested in designing an optimal approach for assessment of health threats during deployments. The Medical Intelligence group at FOI CBRN Security and Defence in Umea has, on request from and in collaboration with the Swedish Armed Forces, reviewed a variety of international health threat and risk assessment models for military operations. Application of risk assessment methods used in different phases of military operations will be reviewed. An overview of different international approaches used in operational risk management (ORM) will be presented as well as a discussion of the specific needs and constraints for health risk assessment in military operations. This work highlights the specific challenges of risk assessment that are unique to the deployment setting such as the assessment of exposures to a variety of diverse hazards concurrently

Acute pain assessment

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Clear, Elaine

2016-05-01

The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage” (IASP, 1997). This definition of pain emphasises that it is neither a sensory nor an emotional experience, but a combination of both. It is a subjective experience influenced by physical, psychological and environmental factors that is assessed from a biopsychosocial perspective. The gold standard in assessing pain however is always what the patient says it is.

Surgery Risk Assessment (SRA) Database

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Surgery Risk Assessment (SRA) database is part of the VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP). This database contains assessments of selected surgical...

Myanmar Transport Sector Initial Assessment

OpenAIRE

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

2012-01-01

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is preparing sector assessments to help align future ADB support with the needs and strategies of developing member countries and other development partners. The assessment is a working document that helps inform the development of country partnership strategies. This transport sector assessment highlights development issues, needs, and strategic assistance priorities of the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and ADB, with a focus on rail, road...

Risk Assessment Stability: A Revalidation Study of the Arizona Risk/Needs Assessment Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Schwalbe, Craig S.

2009-01-01

The actuarial method is the gold standard for risk assessment in child welfare, juvenile justice, and criminal justice. It produces risk classifications that are highly predictive and that may be robust to sampling error. This article reports a revalidation study of the Arizona Risk/Needs Assessment instrument, an actuarial instrument for juvenile…

School-Based Mental Health Professionals' Bullying Assessment Practices: A Call for Evidence-Based Bullying Assessment Guidelines

Science.gov (United States)

Blake, Jamilia; Banks, Courtney S.; Patience, Brenda A.; Lund, Emily M.

2014-01-01

A sample of 483 school-based mental health professionals completed a survey about the training they have received related to conducting bullying assessments in schools, competence in conducting an assessment of bullying, and the bullying assessment methods they used. Results indicate that school counselors were usually informed about incidents of…

Affective Assessment Is Necessary and Possible.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Lorin W.; Anderson, Jo Craig

1982-01-01

Presents information that teachers need when undertaking affective assessment: why such assessment should be done, what should be assessed, what instruments are available, how to determine the quality of the instrument, and how to interpret scores. (Author/JM)

TIMSS 2015 Assessment Frameworks

Science.gov (United States)

Mullis, Ina V. S., Ed.; Martin, Michael O., Ed.

2013-01-01