The Evaluation Process in Non-Formal Education: A Path for Its Construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Chacón-Ortiz

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the construction and conceptualization of evaluation processes in non- formal education. The purpose of this essay is to discuss about the need to evaluate educational processes and to propose a scheme with the basic elements for evaluation. The current discussions in the field are the starting point, in order to raise the need for institutions, individuals, and organizations to get involved in developing educational processes alternative to those conducted in formal and informal settings. In addition, current theoretical debates in the field are explored. An overview of the subject is provided to point out steps and key processes, as well as evaluation tools in education. In conclusion, there is a growing importance of evaluating and reporting on the results of non-formal learning processes.

Basalt Waste Isolation Project Technical Program Evaluation Process: a criteria-based method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babad, H.; Evans, G.C.; Wolfe, B.A.

1982-01-01

The need to objectively evaluate the progress being made by the Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP) toward establishing the feasibility of siting a nuclear waste repository in basalt (NWRB) mandates a process for evaluating the technical work of the project. To assist BWIP management in the evaluation process, the Systems Department staff has developed a BWIP Technical Program Evaluation Process (TPEP). The basic process relates progress on project technical work to the SWIP Functional and System Performance Criteria as defined in National Waste Terminal Storage (MWTS) Criteria Documents. The benefits of the TPEP to BWIP and future plans for TPEP are discussed. During fiscal year (FY) 1982, TPEP wll be further formalized and further applied to the review of BWIP technical activities

Software Formal Inspections Guidebook

Science.gov (United States)

1993-01-01

The Software Formal Inspections Guidebook is designed to support the inspection process of software developed by and for NASA. This document provides information on how to implement a recommended and proven method for conducting formal inspections of NASA software. This Guidebook is a companion document to NASA Standard 2202-93, Software Formal Inspections Standard, approved April 1993, which provides the rules, procedures, and specific requirements for conducting software formal inspections. Application of the Formal Inspections Standard is optional to NASA program or project management. In cases where program or project management decide to use the formal inspections method, this Guidebook provides additional information on how to establish and implement the process. The goal of the formal inspections process as documented in the above-mentioned Standard and this Guidebook is to provide a framework and model for an inspection process that will enable the detection and elimination of defects as early as possible in the software life cycle. An ancillary aspect of the formal inspection process incorporates the collection and analysis of inspection data to effect continual improvement in the inspection process and the quality of the software subjected to the process.

Analysis and Development of a Project Evaluation Process.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coutant, Charles C.; Cada Glenn F.

1985-01-01

The Bonneville Power Administration has responsibility, assigned by the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-501; 16 USC 839), for implementing the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program of the Northwest Power Planning Council. One aspect of this responsibility is evaluation of project proposals and ongoing and completed projects. This report recommends formalized procedures for conducting this work in an accurate, professional, and widely respected manner. Recommendations and justifications are based largely on interviews with federal and state agencies and Indian tribes in the Northwest and nationally. Organizations were selected that have evaluation systems of their own, interact with the Fish and Wildlife Program, or have similar objectives or obligations. Perspective on aspects to be considered were obtained from the social science of evaluation planning. Examples of procedures and quantitative criteria are proposed. 1 figure, 2 tables.

Combining Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning for Workforce Skill Development

Science.gov (United States)

Misko, Josie

2008-01-01

This literature review, undertaken for Australian Industry Group, shows how multiple variations and combinations of formal, informal and non-formal learning, accompanied by various government incentives and organisational initiatives (including job redesign, cross-skilling, multi-skilling, diversified career pathways, action learning projects,…

Applying Formal Methods to NASA Projects: Transition from Research to Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Othon, Bill

2009-01-01

NASA project managers attempt to manage risk by relying on mature, well-understood process and technology when designing spacecraft. In the case of crewed systems, the margin for error is even tighter and leads to risk aversion. But as we look to future missions to the Moon and Mars, the complexity of the systems will increase as the spacecraft and crew work together with less reliance on Earth-based support. NASA will be forced to look for new ways to do business. Formal methods technologies can help NASA develop complex but cost effective spacecraft in many domains, including requirements and design, software development and inspection, and verification and validation of vehicle subsystems. To realize these gains, the technologies must be matured and field-tested so that they are proven when needed. During this discussion, current activities used to evaluate FM technologies for Orion spacecraft design will be reviewed. Also, suggestions will be made to demonstrate value to current designers, and mature the technology for eventual use in safety-critical NASA missions.

The Basalt Waste Isolation Project technical program evaluation process: A criteria-based method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babad, H.; Evans, C.; Wolfe, B.A.

1982-01-01

The need to objectively evaluate the progress being made by the Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP) toward establishing the feasibility of siting a nuclear waste repository in basalt (NWRB) mandates a process for evaluating the technical work of the project. To assist BWIP management in the evaluation process, the Systems Department staff has developed a BWIP Technical Program Evaluation Process (TPEP). The basic process relates progress on project technical work to the BWIP Functional and System Performance Criteria as defined in National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) Criteria Documents. The benefits of the TPEP to BWIP and future plans for TPEP are discussed. During fiscal year (FY) 1982, TPEP will be further formalized and further applied to the review of BWIP technical activities

Formal Implementation of a Performance Evaluation Model for the Face Recognition System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-Nyuo Shin

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Due to usability features, practical applications, and its lack of intrusiveness, face recognition technology, based on information, derived from individuals' facial features, has been attracting considerable attention recently. Reported recognition rates of commercialized face recognition systems cannot be admitted as official recognition rates, as they are based on assumptions that are beneficial to the specific system and face database. Therefore, performance evaluation methods and tools are necessary to objectively measure the accuracy and performance of any face recognition system. In this paper, we propose and formalize a performance evaluation model for the biometric recognition system, implementing an evaluation tool for face recognition systems based on the proposed model. Furthermore, we performed evaluations objectively by providing guidelines for the design and implementation of a performance evaluation system, formalizing the performance test process.

Balancing creativity and time efficiency in multi-team R&D projects : the alignment of formal and informal networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kratzer, Jan; Gemuenden, Hans Georg; Lettl, Christopher

2008-01-01

The business world is denoted by an increasing number of multi-team research and development (R&D) projects, however, managerial knowledge about how to run them successfully is scarce. The present study attempts to shed light at this kind of projects by investigating the alignment of formal and

Psychologist in non-formal education

OpenAIRE

Pavićević Miljana S.

2011-01-01

Learning is not limited to school time. It starts at birth and continues throughout the entire life. Equally important as formal education there are also non-formal and informal education. Any kind of learning outside the traditional school can be called informal. However, it is not easy to define non-formal education because it is being described differently, for example as an education movement, process, system… Projects and programs implemented under the name of non-formal education are of...

The ADVANCE project: Formal evaluation of the targeted deployment. Volume 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-01-01

The Advanced Driver and Vehicle Advisory Navigation ConcEpt (ADVANCE) was an invehicle advanced traveler information system (ATIS) that operated in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. It was designed to provide origin-destination shortest-time route guidance to a vehicle based on (a) an on-board static (fixed) data base of average network link travel times by time of day, combined as available and appropriate with (b) dynamic (real-time) information on traffic conditions provided by radio frequency (RF) communications to and from a traffic information center (TIC). Originally conceived in 1990 as a major project that would have installed 3,000 to 5,000 route guidance units in privately owned vehicles throughout the test area, ADVANCE was restructured in 1995 as a {open_quotes}targeted deployment,{close_quotes} in which approximately 80 vehicles were to be equipped with the guidance units - Mobile Navigation Assistants (MNAs) - to be in full communication with the TIC while driving the ADVANCE test area road system. Volume one consists of the evaluation managers overview report, and several appendices containing test results.

Qualitative Parameters for Evaluation Procedures of Non-Formal and Informal Learning Achievements

Science.gov (United States)

Stasiunaitiene, Egle; Kaminskiene, Lina

2009-01-01

The article introduces evaluation principles of non-formal and informal learning that determine the quality of evaluation, describes stages of the evaluation procedure, differentiates their qualitative parameters and defines their criteria and indicators. It also brings in the discussion that consideration of qualitative parameters for the…

Industrial applications of formal methods to model, design and analyze computer systems

CERN Document Server

Craigen, Dan

1995-01-01

Formal methods are mathematically-based techniques, often supported by reasoning tools, that can offer a rigorous and effective way to model, design and analyze computer systems. The purpose of this study is to evaluate international industrial experience in using formal methods. The cases selected are representative of industrial-grade projects and span a variety of application domains. The study had three main objectives: · To better inform deliberations within industry and government on standards and regulations; · To provide an authoritative record on the practical experience of formal m

Balancing creativity and time efficiency in multi-team R&D projects: The alignment of formal and informal networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kratzer, Jan; Gemuenden, Hans Georg; Lettl, Christopher

2008-01-01

and their effect on the challenge to balance project creativity and time efficiency. In order to analyse this issue data in two multi-team R&D projects in space industry are collected. There are two intriguing findings that are partly contradicting the state-of-the art knowledge. First, formally ascribed design...... with the team's creativity, whereas it negatively impacts the team's time efficiency....

Industrial Practice in Formal Methods : A Review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bicarregui, Juan C.; Fitzgerald, John; Larsen, Peter Gorm

2009-01-01

We examine the the industrial application of formal methods using data gathered in a review of 62 projects taking place over the last 25 years. The review suggests that formal methods are being applied in a wide range of application domains, with increasingly strong tool support. Significant chal...... challenges remain in providing usable tools that can be integrated into established development processes; in education and training; in taking formal methods from first use to second use, and in gathering and evidence to support informed selection of methods and tools.......We examine the the industrial application of formal methods using data gathered in a review of 62 projects taking place over the last 25 years. The review suggests that formal methods are being applied in a wide range of application domains, with increasingly strong tool support. Significant...

Methodology of formal software evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuszynski, J.

1998-01-01

Sydkraft AB, the major Swedish utility, owner of ca 6000 MW el installed in nuclear (NPP Barsebaeck and NPP Oskarshamn), fossil fuel and hydro Power Plants is facing modernization of the control systems of the plants. Standards applicable require structured, formal methods for implementation of the control functions in the modem, real time software systems. This presentation introduces implementation methodology as discussed presently at the Sydkraft organisation. The approach suggested is based upon the process of co-operation of three parties taking part in the implementation; owner of the plant, vendor and Quality Assurance (QA) organisation. QA will be based on tools for formal software validation and on systematic gathering by the owner of validated and proved-by-operation control modules for the concern-wide utilisation. (author)

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Briggs, J.B.

2003-01-01

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) was initiated in 1992 by the United States Department of Energy. The ICSBEP became an official activity of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in 1995. Representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, the Russian Federation, Hungary, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, Kazakhstan, Israel, Spain, and Brazil are now participating. The purpose of the ICSBEP is to identify, evaluate, verify, and formally document a comprehensive and internationally peer-reviewed set of criticality safety benchmark data. The work of the ICSBEP is published as an OECD handbook entitled 'International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments.' The 2003 Edition of the Handbook contains benchmark model specifications for 3070 critical or subcritical configurations that are intended for validating computer codes that calculate effective neutron multiplication and for testing basic nuclear data. (author)

Formalization and Implementation of Algebraic Methods in Geometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filip Marić

2012-02-01

Full Text Available We describe our ongoing project of formalization of algebraic methods for geometry theorem proving (Wu's method and the Groebner bases method, their implementation and integration in educational tools. The project includes formal verification of the algebraic methods within Isabelle/HOL proof assistant and development of a new, open-source Java implementation of the algebraic methods. The project should fill-in some gaps still existing in this area (e.g., the lack of formal links between algebraic methods and synthetic geometry and the lack of self-contained implementations of algebraic methods suitable for integration with dynamic geometry tools and should enable new applications of theorem proving in education.

A Formal Approach to Run-Time Evaluation of Real-Time Behaviour in Distributed Process Control Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, C.H.

This thesis advocates a formal approach to run-time evaluation of real-time behaviour in distributed process sontrol systems, motivated by a growing interest in applying the increasingly popular formal methods in the application area of distributed process control systems. We propose to evaluate...... because the real-time aspects of distributed process control systems are considered to be among the hardest and most interesting to handle....

New product development projects evaluation under time uncertainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thiago Augusto de Oliveira Silva

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The development time is one of the key factors that contribute to the new product development success. In spite of that, the impact of the time uncertainty on the development has been not fully exploited, as far as decision supporting models to evaluate this kind of projects is concerned. In this context, the objective of the present paper is to evaluate the development process of new technologies under time uncertainty. We introduce a model which captures this source of uncertainty and develop an algorithm to evaluate projects that incorporates Monte Carlo Simulation and Dynamic Programming. The novelty in our approach is to thoroughly blend the stochastic time with a formal approach to the problem, which preserves the Markov property. We base our model on the distinction between the decision epoch and the stochastic time. We discuss and illustrate the applicability of our model through an empirical example.O tempo de desenvolvimento é um dos fatores-chave que contribuem para o sucesso do desenvolvimento de novos produtos. Apesar disso, o impacto da incerteza de tempo no desenvolvimento tem sido pouco considerado em modelos de avaliação e valoração deste tipo de projetos. Neste contexto, este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar projetos de desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias mediante o tempo incerto. Introduzimos um modelo capaz de captar esta fonte de incerteza e desenvolvemos um algoritmo para a valoração do projeto que integra Simulação de Monte Carlo e Programação Dinâmica. A novidade neste trabalho é conseguir integrar meticulosamente o tempo estocástico a uma estrutura formal para tomada de decisão que preserva a propriedade de Markov. O principal ponto para viabilizar este fato é distinção entre o momento de revisão e o tempo estocástico. Ilustramos e discutimos a aplicabilidade deste modelo por meio de um exemplo empírico.

[Evaluation of formal elements of Spanish pediatrics journals].

Science.gov (United States)

Aleixandre-Benavent, R; González de Dios, J; Valderrama-Zurián, F J; Bolaños Pizarro, M; Valderrama-Zurián, J C

2007-03-01

Standardization of scientific journals is indispensable for accurate transmission of knowledge, since it guarantees the universality and reproducibility of research. The objective of this study was to evaluate the formal elements of Spanish pediatrics journals. In 2005, we studied the characteristics of Spanish biomedical journals with special emphasis on Spanish pediatrics journals. The form used for the selection of journals for inclusion in the database Indice Médico Español (IME) was employed to evaluate 65 distinct characteristics in each journal. The parameters were grouped in the following five categores: journal presentation, presentation of the articles, scientific and editorial committees, content characteristics, and dissemination parameters. The journals with the highest overall scores were Anales de Pediatría (63 points out of a maximum of 82), followed by Pediatría de Atención Primaria (53 points), Acta Pediátrica Española and Cirugía Pediátrica (55 points each), Pediatrika (53 points), and Revista Española de Pediatría (48 points). The score obtained by Anales de Pediatría places this journal in the top 10 Spanish journals included in IME. Spanish pediatrics journals meet most of the formal elements required of biomedical journals, although some aspects could be improved, such as deficiencies in the frequency and regularity of publication, mention of the dates of manuscript receipt and acceptance, the lack of a clear description of the editorial process of manuscript selection and peer review, the absence of committee members' institutional affiliations, and the absence of articles by non-Spanish authors.

Formal methods and their applicability in the development of safety critical software systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sievertsen, T.

1995-01-01

The OECD Halden Reactor Project has for a number of years been involved in the development and application of a formal software specification and development method based on algebraic specification and the HRP Prover. In parallel to this activity the Project has been evaluating and comparing different methods and approaches to formal software development by their application on realistic case examples. Recent work has demonstrated that algebraic specification and the HRP Prover can be used both in the specification and design of a software system, even down to a concrete model which can be translated into the chosen implementation language. The HRP Prover is currently being used in a case study on the applicability of the methodology in the development of a power range monitoring system for a nuclear power plant. The presentation reviews some of the experiences drawn from the Project's research activities in this area, with special emphasis on questions relating to applicability and limitations, and the role of formal methods in the development of safety-critical software systems. (14 refs., 1 fig.)

INTERCULTURAL ISSUES IN FORMAL PARTNERSHIPS - DIAGNOSIS AND SOLUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina MANOLESCU

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Today, collaboration, information and resource sharing with different (and sometimes even competing organizations have been viewed as key for success building. Encouraged by the European and national institutions, formal partnerships, whether temporary or permanent, such as grant writing agreements, clusters, regional working groups or networks have become more widespread in the socio-economic environment. This paper aims to investigate the most important intercultural issues in various types of formal partnerships built in Romanian public and private organizations and to identify solutions to these problems. In order to provide a solid, research-based approach to our study, we studied the evaluation reports of programs and projects involving partnerships and conducted interviews with people involved in the development and implementation of joint activities. The application of results is straightforward: the organizations will raise their awareness of the importance of an intercultural analysis when participating in a formal partnership and will take into account the implementation of appropriate methods in order to overcome intercultural challenges.

Non-Formal Spaces of Socio-Cultural Accompaniment: Responding to Young Unaccompanied Refugees--Reflections from the "Partispace" Project

Science.gov (United States)

Batsleer, Janet; Andersson, Björn; Liljeholm Hansson, Susanne; Lütgens, Jessica; Mengilli, Yagmur; Pais, Alexandre; Pohl, Axel; Wissö, Therése

2018-01-01

Drawing on research in progress in the Partispace project we make a case for the recognition of the importance of non-formal spaces in response to young refugees across three different national contexts: Frankfurt in Germany; Gothenburg in Sweden; and Manchester in the UK. It is argued that recognition of local regulation and national controls of…

Moderation instead of modelling: some arguments against formal engineering methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rauterberg, G.W.M.; Sikorski, M.; Rauterberg, G.W.M.

1998-01-01

The more formal the used engineering techniques are, the less non-technical facts can be captured. Several business process reengineering and software development projects fail, because the project management concentrates to much on formal methods and modelling approaches. A successful change of

The Potential of Non-Formal Laboratory Environments for Innovating the Chemistry Curriculum and Promoting Secondary School Level Students Education for Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole Garner

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Developing skills and attitudes among students in terms of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD requires that educators address issues of sustainability in both formal and non-formal education. However, up to now, ESD seems to have been insufficiently implemented in secondary science education in many countries in general, and in high school chemistry learning in particular. A lack of suitable experiments, coupled with missing teaching and learning materials and insufficient teacher professional development have been identified as the reasons for this gap. This paper describes a project of innovation and research in the field of ESD for secondary school chemistry education. Within the project, both half- and full-day learning environments have been developed for non-formal, laboratory-based learning of secondary level students at the university. The research-based development focuses on teaching-learning modules which link formal and non-formal learning. The pedagogy employed is both learner-centered and inquiry-based. All the modules focus on sustainability issues in chemistry-related contexts. Data was collected by questionnaires from teachers and students both prior to and after the visit of the non-formal learning environment. Likert-items were analyzed statistically and the evaluation of the open-ended questions was done by Qualitative Content Analysis. An overview of the project, a case from the non-formal laboratory setting, and findings from accompanying research and evaluation are discussed in this paper. Potential impacts on teacher professional development and curriculum innovation are also outlined.

Industrial use of formal methods formal verification

CERN Document Server

Boulanger, Jean-Louis

2012-01-01

At present the literature gives students and researchers of the very general books on the formal technics. The purpose of this book is to present in a single book, a return of experience on the used of the "formal technics" (such proof and model-checking) on industrial examples for the transportation domain. This book is based on the experience of people which are completely involved in the realization and the evaluation of safety critical system software based.  The implication of the industrialists allows to raise the problems of confidentiality which could appear and so allow

The simplest formal argument for fitness optimization

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The Formal Darwinism Project aims to provide a formal argument linking population genetics to fitness optimization, which of necessity includes defining fitness. This bridges the gulf between those biologists who assume that natural selection leads to something close to fitness optimization and those biologists who believe ...

Integrated project support environments the ASPECT project

CERN Document Server

Brown, Alan W

1991-01-01

A major part of software engineering developments involve the use of computing tools which facilitate the management, maintenance, security, and building of long-scale software engineer projects. Consequently, there have been a proliferation of CASE tools and IPSES. This book looks at IPSES in general and the ASPECT project in particular, providing design and implementation details, as well as locating ASPECT in IPSE developments.Survey of integrated project support environments for more efficient software engineering**Description of a large scale IPSE--ASPECT**Evaluation of formal methods in

Four Approaches to Project Evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Markus; Svejvig, Per; Rode, Anna Le Gerstrøm

. Each of the framework’s four approaches provides a distinct evaluation that sheds light on some issues while leaving others unattended. Following these lines, the paper calls for more multi-faceted project evaluations. Introducing a framework that can help analyze existing evaluations and structure......There are many theoretical and practical reasons for evaluating projects – including explorative arguments focusing on expanding descriptive knowledge on project work as well as normative arguments focusing on improving prescriptive models of project performance. Despite the need for project...... management methodologies that work and combat project failure, and research methods that can assess effective project management and methodologies, as well as empirical research on the actuality of projects as practice, evaluation research on projects including project management and methodologies is scarce...

Formal verification and validation of the safety-critical software in a digital reactor protection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, K. C.; Park, G. Y.

2006-01-01

This paper describes the Verification and Validation (V and V) activities for the safety-critical software in a Digital Reactor Protection System (DRPS) that is being developed through the Korea nuclear instrumentation and control system project. The main activities of the DRPS V and V process are a preparation of the software planning documentation, a verification of the software according to the software life cycle, a software safety analysis and a software configuration management. The verification works for the Software Requirement Specification (SRS) of the DRPS consist of a technical evaluation, a licensing suitability evaluation, a inspection and traceability analysis, a formal verification, and preparing a test plan and procedure. Especially, the SRS is specified by the formal specification method in the development phase, and the formal SRS is verified by a formal verification method. Through these activities, we believe we can achieve the functionality, performance, reliability, and safety that are the major V and V objectives of the nuclear safety-critical software in a DRPS. (authors)

Research Project Evaluation-Learnings from the PATHWAYS Project Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Galas, Aleksander; Pilat, Aleksandra; Leonardi, Matilde; Tobiasz-Adamczyk, Beata

2018-05-25

Every research project faces challenges regarding how to achieve its goals in a timely and effective manner. The purpose of this paper is to present a project evaluation methodology gathered during the implementation of the Participation to Healthy Workplaces and Inclusive Strategies in the Work Sector (the EU PATHWAYS Project). The PATHWAYS project involved multiple countries and multi-cultural aspects of re/integrating chronically ill patients into labor markets in different countries. This paper describes key project's evaluation issues including: (1) purposes, (2) advisability, (3) tools, (4) implementation, and (5) possible benefits and presents the advantages of a continuous monitoring. Project evaluation tool to assess structure and resources, process, management and communication, achievements, and outcomes. The project used a mixed evaluation approach and included Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O), and Threats (SWOT) analysis. A methodology for longitudinal EU projects' evaluation is described. The evaluation process allowed to highlight strengths and weaknesses and highlighted good coordination and communication between project partners as well as some key issues such as: the need for a shared glossary covering areas investigated by the project, problematic issues related to the involvement of stakeholders from outside the project, and issues with timing. Numerical SWOT analysis showed improvement in project performance over time. The proportion of participating project partners in the evaluation varied from 100% to 83.3%. There is a need for the implementation of a structured evaluation process in multidisciplinary projects involving different stakeholders in diverse socio-environmental and political conditions. Based on the PATHWAYS experience, a clear monitoring methodology is suggested as essential in every multidisciplinary research projects.

Gaussian-approximation formalism for evaluating decay of NMR spin echoes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Recchia, C.H.; Gorny, K.; Pennington, C.H.

1996-01-01

We present a formalism for evaluating the amplitude of the NMR spin echo and stimulated echo as a function of pulse spacings, for situations in which the nuclear spins experience an effective longitudinal magnetic field h z (t) resulting from an arbitrary number of independent sources, each characterized by its own arbitrary time correlation function. The distribution of accumulated phase angles for the ensemble of nuclear spins at the time of the echo is approximated as a Gaussian. The development of the formalism is motivated by the need to understand the transverse relaxation of 89 Y in YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 , in which the 89 Y experiences 63,65 Cu dipolar fields which fluctuate due to 63,65 Cu T 1 processes. The formalism is applied successfully to this example, and to the case of nuclei diffusing in a spatially varying magnetic field. Then we examine a situation in which the approximation fails emdash the classic problem of chemical exchange in dimethylformamide, where the methyl protons experience a chemical shift which fluctuates between two discrete values. In this case the Gaussian approximation yields a monotonic decay of the echo amplitude with increasing pulse spacing, while the exact solution yields distinct open-quote open-quote beats close-quote close-quote in the echo height, which we confirm experimentally. In light of this final example the limits of validity of the approximation are discussed. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Formalizing Darwinism and inclusive fitness theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Grafen, Alan

2009-11-12

Inclusive fitness maximization is a basic building block for biological contributions to any theory of the evolution of society. There is a view in mathematical population genetics that nothing is caused to be maximized in the process of natural selection, but this is explained as arising from a misunderstanding about the meaning of fitness maximization. Current theoretical work on inclusive fitness is discussed, with emphasis on the author's 'formal Darwinism project'. Generally, favourable conclusions are drawn about the validity of assuming fitness maximization, but the need for continuing work is emphasized, along with the possibility that substantive exceptions may be uncovered. The formal Darwinism project aims more ambitiously to represent in a formal mathematical framework the central point of Darwin's Origin of Species, that the mechanical processes of inheritance and reproduction can give rise to the appearance of design, and it is a fitting ambition in Darwin's bicentenary year to capture his most profound discovery in the lingua franca of science.

Formal, non-formal and informal learning in music : vocal students as animateurs : a case study of non-formal learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kors, Ninja; Mak, Peter

2006-01-01

The pilot project that will be described in this report was all about the animateur. What are his skills and attitudes? What are the pedagogical interventions that he uses in a workshop or an event? What are the main issues that arise when we try to include such a naturally non-formal and informal

Criteria for logical formalization

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Peregrin, Jaroslav; Svoboda, Vladimír

2013-01-01

Roč. 190, č. 14 (2013), s. 2897-2924 ISSN 0039-7857 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP401/10/1279 Institutional support: RVO:67985955 Keywords : logic * logical form * formalization * reflective equilibrium Subject RIV: AA - Philosophy ; Religion Impact factor: 0.637, year: 2013

Formalization of Medical Guidelines

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Peleška, Jan; Anger, Z.; Buchtela, David; Šebesta, K.; Tomečková, Marie; Veselý, Arnošt; Zvára, K.; Zvárová, Jana

2005-01-01

Roč. 1, - (2005), s. 133-141 ISSN 1801-5603 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR 1ET200300413 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : GLIF model * formalization of guidelines * prevention of cardiovascular diseases Subject RIV: IN - Informatics, Computer Science

Enhancing System Realisation in Formal Model Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tran-Jørgensen, Peter Würtz Vinther

and requirements of software extensions targeting Overture. The tools developed in this PhD project have successfully supported three case studies from externally funded projects. The feedback received from the case study work has further helped improve the code generation infrastructure and the tools built using...... implementation. One way to realise the system’s software is by automatically generating it from the formal specification – a technique referred to as code generation. However, in general it is difficult to make guarantees about the correctness of the generated code – especially while requiring automation...... of the steps involved in realising the formal specification. This PhD dissertation investigates ways to improve the automation of the steps involved in realising and validating a system based on a formal specification. The approach aims to develop properly designed software tools which support the integration...

The formal and the formalized: the cases of syllogistic and supposition theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dutilh Novaes, Catarina

2015-01-01

As a discipline, logic is arguably constituted of two main sub-projects: formal theories of argument validity on the basis of a small number of patterns, and theories of how to reduce the multiplicity of arguments in non-logical, informal contexts to the small number of patterns whose validity is

The role of formal specifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McHugh, J.

1994-01-01

The role of formal requirements specification is discussed under the premise that the primary purpose of such specifications is to facilitate clear and unambiguous communications among the communities of interest for a given project. An example is presented in which the failure to reach such an understanding resulted in an accident at a chemical plant. Following the example, specification languages based on logical formalisms and notations are considered. These are rejected as failing to serve the communications needs of diverse communities. The notion of a specification as a surrogate for a program is also considered and rejected. The paper ends with a discussion of the type of formal notation that will serve the communications role and several encouraging developments are noted

Principles of protection: a formal approach for evaluating dose distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wikman-Svahn, Per; Peterson, Martin; Hansson, Sven Ove

2006-01-01

One of the central issues in radiation protection consists in determining what weight should be given to individual doses in relation to collective or aggregated doses. A mathematical framework is introduced in which such assessments can be made precisely in terms of comparisons between alternative distributions of individual doses. In addition to evaluation principles that are well known from radiation protection, a series of principles that are derived from parallel discussions in moral philosophy and welfare economics is investigated. A battery of formal properties is then used to investigate the evaluative principles. The results indicate that one of the new principles, bilinear prioritarianism, may be preferable to current practices, since it satisfies efficiency-related properties better without sacrificing other desirable properties

The ADVANCE project: Formal evaluation of the targeted deployment. Volume 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-01-01

ADVANCE [Advanced Driver and Vehicle Advisory Navigation ConcEpt] was a public/private partnership conceived and developed by four founding parties. The founding parties include the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northwestern University operating together under the auspices of the Illinois Universities Transportation Research Consortium (IUTRC), and Motorola, Inc. The major responsibilities of each party are fully described in the Project agreement. Subsequently, these four were joined on the Steering Committee by the American Automobile Association (AAA). This unique blending of public sector, private sector and university interests, augmented by more than two dozen other private sector participants, provided a strong set of resources for ADVANCE. The ADVANCE test area covered over 300 square miles including portions of the City of Chicago and 40 northwest suburban communities. The Project encompasses the high growth areas adjacent to O`Hare International Airport, the Schaumbura/Hoffman Estates office and retail complexes, and the Lake-Cook Road development corridor. It also includes major sports and entertainment complexes such as the Arlington International Racecourse and the Rosemont Horizon. The population in the area is more than 750,000. This volume provides a summary of the insights and achievements made as a result of this field test, and selected appendices containing more detailed information.

Project evaluation: one framework - four approaches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rode, Anna Le Gerstrøm; Svejvig, Per

. Introducing a framework that can help structure such evaluations, the aim of this paper is to contribute to project theory and practice by inspiring project researchers and aiding project workers in their efforts to open up the black box of projects and deliver relevant and valuable results......There are many theoretical and practical reasons for evaluating projects – including explorative arguments focusing on expanding descriptive knowledge on projects as well as normative arguments focusing on developing prescriptive knowledge of project management. Despite the need for effective...... project management and research methods that can assess effective project management methodologies, extant literature on evaluation procedures or guidelines on how to evaluate projects and/or project management is scarce. To address this challenge, this paper introduces an evaluation framework consisting...

Nurses’ Evaluation of a New Formalized Triage System in the Emergency Department

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brehm Johansen, Mette; Forberg, Jakob Lundager

2011-01-01

Introduction: Formalized triage in the emergency department (ED) is not widely used in Denmark; this study explores the effects of introducing a five-level process triage system in a Danish ED. Material and methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 15 emergency nurses....... The interviews were preceded by observations of the work of the ED nurses in which focus was on the triage process. Results: Formalized triage was experienced to improve the overview of patients and resources at the ED, and the nurses described that they felt more assured when prioritizing between patients....... Communication and coordination were also improved by the triage system. But more time spent on documentation and re-evaluation may cause the nurses to feel professionally inadequate if adequate resources are not provided. Furthermore, the triage system has reduced the focus on the humanistic and psychosocial...

Formal verification of industrial control systems

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

Verification of critical software is a high priority but a challenging task for industrial control systems. For many kinds of problems, testing is not an efficient method. Formal methods, such as model checking appears to be an appropriate complementary method. However, it is not common to use model checking in industry yet, as this method needs typically formal methods expertise and huge computing power. In the EN-ICE-PLC section, we are working on a [methodology][1] and a tool ([PLCverif][2]) to overcome these challenges and to integrate formal verification in the development process of our PLC-based control systems. [1]: http://cern.ch/project-plc-formalmethods [2]: http://cern.ch/plcverif

Regular Formal Evaluation Sessions are Effective as Frame-of-Reference Training for Faculty Evaluators of Clerkship Medical Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Hemmer, Paul A; Dadekian, Gregory A; Terndrup, Christopher; Pangaro, Louis N; Weisbrod, Allison B; Corriere, Mark D; Rodriguez, Rechell; Short, Patricia; Kelly, William F

2015-09-01

Face-to-face formal evaluation sessions between clerkship directors and faculty can facilitate the collection of trainee performance data and provide frame-of-reference training for faculty. We hypothesized that ambulatory faculty who attended evaluation sessions at least once in an academic year (attendees) would use the Reporter-Interpreter-Manager/Educator (RIME) terminology more appropriately than faculty who did not attend evaluation sessions (non-attendees). Investigators conducted a retrospective cohort study using the narrative assessments of ambulatory internal medicine clerkship students during the 2008-2009 academic year. The study included assessments of 49 clerkship medical students, which comprised 293 individual teacher narratives. Single-teacher written and transcribed verbal comments about student performance were masked and reviewed by a panel of experts who, by consensus, (1) determined whether RIME was used, (2) counted the number of RIME utterances, and (3) assigned a grade based on the comments. Analysis included descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients. The authors reviewed 293 individual teacher narratives regarding the performance of 49 students. Attendees explicitly used RIME more frequently than non-attendees (69.8 vs. 40.4 %; p sessions used RIME terminology more frequently and provided more accurate grade recommendations than teachers who did not attend. Formal evaluation sessions may provide frame-of-reference training for the RIME framework, a method that improves the validity and reliability of workplace assessment.

Improved formalism for precision Higgs coupling fits

Science.gov (United States)

Barklow, Tim; Fujii, Keisuke; Jung, Sunghoon; Karl, Robert; List, Jenny; Ogawa, Tomohisa; Peskin, Michael E.; Tian, Junping

2018-03-01

Future e+e- colliders give the promise of model-independent determinations of the couplings of the Higgs boson. In this paper, we present an improved formalism for extracting Higgs boson couplings from e+e- data, based on the effective field theory description of corrections to the Standard Model. We apply this formalism to give projections of Higgs coupling accuracies for stages of the International Linear Collider and for other proposed e+e- colliders.

Improved formalism for precision Higgs coupling fits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barklow, Tim; Peskin, Michael E.; Jung, Sunghoon; Tian, Junping

2017-08-01

Future e + e - colliders give the promise of model-independent determinations of the couplings of the Higgs boson. In this paper, we present an improved formalism for extracting Higgs boson couplings from e + e - data, based on the Effective Field Theory description of corrections to the Standard Model. We apply this formalism to give projections of Higgs coupling accuracies for stages of the International Linear Collider and for other proposed e + e - colliders.

Should informal/non-formal education be considered in teacher education?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Karen Bjerg

2015-01-01

has been evidenced on introducing informal and non-formal learning environments for learners at primary and secondary school levels as means of re-engaging in particular school-leavers, drop-outs, and disadvantaged learners in the formal educational system. Educational policy, empirical studies......, projects, and various pedagogical interventions carried out in Europe, the United States, and other countries evidence this development. Based on empirical data and research from an European project “Anholt 2013” aimed at empowering disadvantaged and disengaged young European school-leavers, and motivating...... them to take responsibility for their own need for education, this article sets out to reflect whether informal and non-formal learning environments should be considered in teacher education and teaching....

Should Student Evaluation of Teaching Play a Significant Role in the Formal Assessment of Dental Faculty? Two Viewpoints: Viewpoint 1: Formal Faculty Assessment Should Include Student Evaluation of Teaching and Viewpoint 2: Student Evaluation of Teaching Should Not Be Part of Formal Faculty Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowan, Susan; Newness, Elmer J; Tetradis, Sotirios; Prasad, Joanne L; Ko, Ching-Chang; Sanchez, Arlene

2017-11-01

Student evaluation of teaching (SET) is often used in the assessment of faculty members' job performance and promotion and tenure decisions, but debate over this use of student evaluations has centered on the validity, reliability, and application of the data in assessing teaching performance. Additionally, the fear of student criticism has the potential of influencing course content delivery and testing measures. This Point/Counterpoint article reviews the potential utility of and controversy surrounding the use of SETs in the formal assessment of dental school faculty. Viewpoint 1 supports the view that SETs are reliable and should be included in those formal assessments. Proponents of this opinion contend that SETs serve to measure a school's effectiveness in support of its core mission, are valid measures based on feedback from the recipients of educational delivery, and provide formative feedback to improve faculty accountability to the institution. Viewpoint 2 argues that SETs should not be used for promotion and tenure decisions, asserting that higher SET ratings do not correlate with improved student learning. The advocates of this viewpoint contend that faculty members may be influenced to focus on student satisfaction rather than pedagogy, resulting in grade inflation. They also argue that SETs are prone to gender and racial biases and that SET results are frequently misinterpreted by administrators. Low response rates and monotonic response patterns are other factors that compromise the reliability of SETs.

Impact evaluation in multicultural educational projects : case: ADAPTYKES project

OpenAIRE

Kuusisto, Miika

2014-01-01

The objective of this thesis was to examine the common evaluation concepts of the European Union’s funded projects. Such concepts inter alia are effectiveness, impacts and sustainability. The aim was to study how these are realized in multicultural educational case–project in a context, where the project is funded by the European Commission’s Leonardo DaVinci Programme. Thesis introduces two evaluation approaches, which are Logical Framework Approach and Realistic evaluation model. The fi...

The MODUS Approach to Formal Verification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brewka Lukasz

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Software reliability is of great importance for the development of embedded systems that are often used in applications that have requirements for safety. Since the life cycle of embedded products is becoming shorter, productivity and quality simultaneously required and closely in the process of providing competitive products Objectives: In relation to this, MODUS (Method and supporting toolset advancing embedded systems quality project aims to provide small and medium-sized businesses ways to improve their position in the embedded market through a pragmatic and viable solution Methods/Approach: This paper will describe the MODUS project with focus on the technical methodologies that can assist formal verification and formal model checking. Results: Based on automated analysis of the characteristics of the system and by controlling the choice of the existing opensource model verification engines, model verification producing inputs to be fed into these engines. Conclusions: The MODUS approach is aligned with present market needs; the familiarity with tools, the ease of use and compatibility/interoperability remain among the most important criteria when selecting the development environment for a project

The DLESE Evaluation Toolkit Project

Science.gov (United States)

Buhr, S. M.; Barker, L. J.; Marlino, M.

2002-12-01

The Evaluation Toolkit and Community project is a new Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) collection designed to raise awareness of project evaluation within the geoscience education community, and to enable principal investigators, teachers, and evaluators to implement project evaluation more readily. This new resource is grounded in the needs of geoscience educators, and will provide a virtual home for a geoscience education evaluation community. The goals of the project are to 1) provide a robust collection of evaluation resources useful for Earth systems educators, 2) establish a forum and community for evaluation dialogue within DLESE, and 3) disseminate the resources through the DLESE infrastructure and through professional society workshops and proceedings. Collaboration and expertise in education, geoscience and evaluation are necessary if we are to conduct the best possible geoscience education. The Toolkit allows users to engage in evaluation at whichever level best suits their needs, get more evaluation professional development if desired, and access the expertise of other segments of the community. To date, a test web site has been built and populated, initial community feedback from the DLESE and broader community is being garnered, and we have begun to heighten awareness of geoscience education evaluation within our community. The web site contains features that allow users to access professional development about evaluation, search and find evaluation resources, submit resources, find or offer evaluation services, sign up for upcoming workshops, take the user survey, and submit calendar items. The evaluation resource matrix currently contains resources that have met our initial review. The resources are currently organized by type; they will become searchable on multiple dimensions of project type, audience, objectives and evaluation resource type as efforts to develop a collection-specific search engine mature. The peer review

DDF construction and D-brane boundary states in pure spinor formalism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukhopadhyay, Partha

2006-01-01

Open string boundary conditions for non-BPS D-branes in type II string theories discussed in hep-th/0505157 give rise to two sectors with integer (R sector) and half-integer (NS sector) modes for the combined fermionic matter and bosonic ghost variables in pure spinor formalism. Exploiting the manifest supersymmetry of the formalism we explicitly construct the DDF (Del Giudice, Di Vecchia, Fubini) states in both the sectors which are in one-to-one correspondence with the states in light-cone Green-Schwarz formalism. We also give a proof of validity of this construction. A similar construction in the closed string sector enables us to define a physical Hilbert space in pure spinor formalism which is used to project the covariant boundary states of both the BPS and non-BPS instantonic D-branes. These projected boundary states take exactly the same form as those found in light-cone Green-Schwarz formalism and are suitable for computing the cylinder diagram with manifest open-closed duality

Improved formalism for precision Higgs coupling fits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barklow, Tim; Peskin, Michael E. [Stanford Univ., Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; Fujii, Keisuke; Ogawa, Tomohisa [High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan); Jung, Sunghoon [Stanford Univ., Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; Seoul National Univ. (Korea, Republic of). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Karl, Robert; List, Jenny [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Tian, Junping [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). International Center for Elementary Particle Physics (ICEPP)

2017-08-15

Future e{sup +}e{sup -} colliders give the promise of model-independent determinations of the couplings of the Higgs boson. In this paper, we present an improved formalism for extracting Higgs boson couplings from e{sup +}e{sup -} data, based on the Effective Field Theory description of corrections to the Standard Model. We apply this formalism to give projections of Higgs coupling accuracies for stages of the International Linear Collider and for other proposed e{sup +}e{sup -} colliders.

TRUST: A Successful Formal-Informal Teacher Education Partnership Designed to Improve and Promote Urban Earth Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Sloan, H.; Drantch, K.; Steenhuis, J.

2006-12-01

We present an NSF-funded collaborative formal-informal partnership for urban Earth science teacher preparation and professional development. This model brings together The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and Brooklyn and Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY) to address science-impoverished classrooms that lack highly qualified teachers by focusing on Earth science teacher certification. Project design was based on identified needs in the local communities and schools, careful analysis of content knowledge mastery required for Earth science teacher certification, and existing impediments to certification. The problem-based approach required partners to push policy envelopes and to invent new ways of articulating content and pedagogy at both intra- and inter-institutional levels. One key element of the project is involvement of the local board of education, teachers, and administrators in initial design and ongoing assessment. Project components include formal Earth systems science courses, a summer institute primarily led and delivered by AMNH scientists through an informal series of lectures coupled to workshops led by AMNH educators, a mechanism for assigning course credit for informal experiences, development of new teaching approaches that include teacher action plans and an external program of evaluation. The principal research strand of this project focuses on the resulting model for formal-informal teacher education partnership, the project's impact on participating teachers, policy issues surrounding the model and the changes required for its development and implementation, and its potential for Earth science education reform. As the grant funded portion of the project draws to a close we begin to analyze data collected over the past 3 years. Third-year findings of the project's external evaluation indicate that the problem-based approach has been highly successful, particularly its impact on participating teachers. In addition

Formalization of the engineering science discipline - knowledge engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Xiao

Knowledge is the most precious ingredient facilitating aerospace engineering research and product development activities. Currently, the most common knowledge retention methods are paper-based documents, such as reports, books and journals. However, those media have innate weaknesses. For example, four generations of flying wing aircraft (Horten, Northrop XB-35/YB-49, Boeing BWB and many others) were mostly developed in isolation. The subsequent engineers were not aware of the previous developments, because these projects were documented such which prevented the next generation of engineers to benefit from the previous lessons learned. In this manner, inefficient knowledge retention methods have become a primary obstacle for knowledge transfer from the experienced to the next generation of engineers. In addition, the quality of knowledge itself is a vital criterion; thus, an accurate measure of the quality of 'knowledge' is required. Although qualitative knowledge evaluation criteria have been researched in other disciplines, such as the AAA criterion by Ernest Sosa stemming from the field of philosophy, a quantitative knowledge evaluation criterion needs to be developed which is capable to numerically determine the qualities of knowledge for aerospace engineering research and product development activities. To provide engineers with a high-quality knowledge management tool, the engineering science discipline Knowledge Engineering has been formalized to systematically address knowledge retention issues. This research undertaking formalizes Knowledge Engineering as follows: 1. Categorize knowledge according to its formats and representations for the first time, which serves as the foundation for the subsequent knowledge management function development. 2. Develop an efficiency evaluation criterion for knowledge management by analyzing the characteristics of both knowledge and the parties involved in the knowledge management processes. 3. Propose and develop an

The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Briggs, B. J.; Dean, V. F.; Pesic, M. P.

2001-01-01

In order to properly manage the risk of a nuclear criticality accident, it is important to establish the conditions for which such an accident becomes possible for any activity involving fissile material. Only when this information is known is it possible to establish the likelihood of actually achieving such conditions. It is therefore important that criticality safety analysts have confidence in the accuracy of their calculations. Confidence in analytical results can only be gained through comparison of those results with experimental data. The Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (CSBEP) was initiated in October of 1992 by the US Department of Energy. The project was managed through the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), but involved nationally known criticality safety experts from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Savannah River Technology Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 Plant, Hanford, Argonne National Laboratory, and the Rocky Flats Plant. An International Criticality Safety Data Exchange component was added to the project during 1994 and the project became what is currently known as the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP). Representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Japan, the Russian Federation, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Korea, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, Spain, and Israel are now participating on the project In December of 1994, the ICSBEP became an official activity of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - Nuclear Energy Agency's (OECD-NEA) Nuclear Science Committee. The United States currently remains the lead country, providing most of the administrative support. The purpose of the ICSBEP is to: (1) identify and evaluate a comprehensive set of critical benchmark data; (2) verify the data, to the extent possible, by reviewing original and subsequently revised documentation, and by talking with the

Formal Methods: Practice and Experience

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Woodcock, Jim; Larsen, Peter Gorm; Bicarregui, Juan

2009-01-01

. Based on this, we discuss the issues surrounding the industrial adoption of formal methods. Finally, we look to the future and describe the development of a Verified Software Repository, part of the worldwide Verified Software Initiative. We introduce the initial projects being used to populate...... the repository, and describe the challenges they address. © 2009 ACM. (146 refs.)...

Transport Project Evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leleur, Steen

1996-01-01

Two main project evaluation approaches exist: cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and multi-criteria analysis (MCA). Related to a European road evaluation method (EURET 1.1) and the MCA-method, WARP, the paper proposes a set of so-called segregated investment return rates (SIRR) to integrate advantages...

Formalized informal learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Levinsen, Karin; Sørensen, Birgitte Holm

2011-01-01

and other relevant stakeholders, as well as participant observations in the classroom documented by thick descriptions, formal and informal interviews and focus group interviews. The aim of the study was to explore and identify relations between designs for teaching and learning and the students' learning......This paper presents findings from a large-scale longitudinal, qualitative study - Project ICT and Learning (PIL) - that engaged the participation of eight primary schools in Denmark, and was conducted between 2006 and 2008. The research design was based on action research, involving teachers...... of school subjects within defined learning goals and curricula, along with various implementations of ICT in the pedagogical everyday practice (Levinsen & Sørensen 2008). However, another research strand - the topic of this paper - emerged during the project's life cycle as a consequence of ongoing changes...

Evaluating employee assistance policy in an HMO-based alcoholism project.

Science.gov (United States)

Putnam, S L; Stout, R L

1985-01-01

One aspect of successful employee assistance program (EAP) implementation is the adoption of a formal, written policy, reflecting company commitment to EAP guidelines and goals. This study of criteria predictive of such policy adoption was conducted at the occupational alcoholism project of a New England health maintenance organization (HMO). Data on nearly 400 organizations contacted by occupational program consultants (OPCs) over a 20-month period were collected by questionnaire and interview. One third of these organizations adopted employee assistance policies and set about establishing formal programs. Stepwise multiple regression is the principal method used to pinpoint the correlates of policy adoption. Two of the most important of these are the attitudes of contact persons within the organization toward alcoholism and employee assistance programs, particularly their admission of alcohol problems within their social networks; and the consultants' persistence and marketing skills. The adopting organizations also had reputations for being progressive, and actively concerned about employee welfare; they tended to be large, their executives autonomous, and their union membership rates high. Inhibiting policy acceptance were fears that a written policy would jeopardize the reputation and image of the organization, and that an employee assistance program would remove internal control of personal procedures. The adequacy of the evaluative data and methods are discussed, and recommendations are offered in the interests of streamlining the efforts of OPCs and of achieving greater penetration of targeted organizations.

Keldysh formalism for multiple parallel worlds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ansari, M.; Nazarov, Y. V.

2016-01-01

We present a compact and self-contained review of the recently developed Keldysh formalism for multiple parallel worlds. The formalism has been applied to consistent quantum evaluation of the flows of informational quantities, in particular, to the evaluation of Renyi and Shannon entropy flows. We start with the formulation of the standard and extended Keldysh techniques in a single world in a form convenient for our presentation. We explain the use of Keldysh contours encompassing multiple parallel worlds. In the end, we briefly summarize the concrete results obtained with the method.

Keldysh formalism for multiple parallel worlds

Science.gov (United States)

Ansari, M.; Nazarov, Y. V.

2016-03-01

We present a compact and self-contained review of the recently developed Keldysh formalism for multiple parallel worlds. The formalism has been applied to consistent quantum evaluation of the flows of informational quantities, in particular, to the evaluation of Renyi and Shannon entropy flows. We start with the formulation of the standard and extended Keldysh techniques in a single world in a form convenient for our presentation. We explain the use of Keldysh contours encompassing multiple parallel worlds. In the end, we briefly summarize the concrete results obtained with the method.

Keldysh formalism for multiple parallel worlds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ansari, M.; Nazarov, Y. V., E-mail: y.v.nazarov@tudelft.nl [Delft University of Technology, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience (Netherlands)

2016-03-15

We present a compact and self-contained review of the recently developed Keldysh formalism for multiple parallel worlds. The formalism has been applied to consistent quantum evaluation of the flows of informational quantities, in particular, to the evaluation of Renyi and Shannon entropy flows. We start with the formulation of the standard and extended Keldysh techniques in a single world in a form convenient for our presentation. We explain the use of Keldysh contours encompassing multiple parallel worlds. In the end, we briefly summarize the concrete results obtained with the method.

Project evaluation: main characteristics

OpenAIRE

Moutinho, Nuno

2010-01-01

— The evaluation process of real investment projects must consider not only the traditional financial approach, but also non-financial aspects. Non financial analysis can provide additional relevant information about projects. We investigate financial and non-financial areas most relevant in project appraisal. We present main critical success factors and areas of analysis that lead to the perception of project success. Finally, companies are segmented to verify its financial and non-financial...

International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation (IRPhE) Project. IRPhE Handbook - 2015 edition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bess, John D.; Gullifor, Jim

2015-03-01

The purpose of the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation (IRPhE) Project is to provide an extensively peer-reviewed set of reactor physics-related integral data that can be used by reactor designers and safety analysts to validate the analytical tools used to design next-generation reactors and establish the safety basis for operation of these reactors. This work of the IRPhE Project is formally documented in the 'International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments', a single source of verified and extensively peer-reviewed reactor physics benchmark measurements data. The evaluation process entails the following steps: Identify a comprehensive set of reactor physics experimental measurements data, Evaluate the data and quantify overall uncertainties through various types of sensitivity analysis to the extent possible, verify the data by reviewing original and subsequently revised documentation, and by talking with the experimenters or individuals who are familiar with the experimental facility, Compile the data into a standardized format, Perform calculations of each experiment with standard reactor physics codes where it would add information, Formally document the work into a single source of verified and peer reviewed reactor physics benchmark measurements data. The International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments contains reactor physics benchmark specifications that have been derived from experiments that were performed at nuclear facilities around the world. The benchmark specifications are intended for use by reactor designers, safety analysts and nuclear data evaluators to validate calculation techniques and data. Example calculations are presented; these do not constitute a validation or endorsement of the codes or cross-section data. The 2015 edition of the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments contains data from 143 experimental series that were

Spin formalism and applications to new physics searches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haber, H.E. [Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States)

1994-12-01

An introduction to spin techniques in particle physics is given. Among the topics covered are: helicity formalism and its applications to the decay and scattering of spin-1/2 and spin-1 particles, techniques for evaluating helicity amplitudes (including projection operator methods and the spinor helicity method), and density matrix techniques. The utility of polarization and spin correlations for untangling new physics beyond the Standard Model at future colliders such as the LHC and a high energy e{sup +}e{sup {minus}} linear collider is then considered. A number of detailed examples are explored including the search for low-energy supersymmetry, a non-minimal Higgs boson sector, and new gauge bosons beyond the W{sup {+-}} and Z.

Research Planning and Evaluation Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Seunghyun; Kim, Doyang; Ryu, Byunghoon; Lim, Chaeyoung; Song, Leeyoung; Lee, Youngchul; Han, Changsun; Kim, Hackchoon

2011-12-01

- To activate R and D through a systematic and impartial evaluation by using information on efficient distribution of research resource, setting project priorities, and measuring achievement against goals produced after research on planning and evaluation system for the government-funded project for KAERI was conducted. - Nuclear R and D project is the representative national R and D project which has been implemented in Korea. For the sustainable development of nuclear energy which supplies about 40% of total electricity generation and the enhancement of it innovative ability in the future, a systematic and efficient strategy in the planning stage is required

Project Management Personnel Competencies Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul POCATILU

2006-01-01

Full Text Available An important factor for the success management of IT projects is the human resource. People involved in the project management process have to be evaluated. In order to do that, same criteria has to be specified. This paper describes some aspects regarding the personnel evaluation.

IT Project Evaluation and Investment Decision

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

黄东兵; 张世英

2004-01-01

There are many kinds of real options,which are valuable,in each phase of the lifetime of an information technology(IT)project.However,in the current IT investment decision theory,real options that embedded in IT projects are not considered. In this paper, the process of IT project decision and implementation is fully analyzed, the real options that may be embedded in an IT project are identified, and a real option analysis (ROA) method is proposed for evaluation of an IT project under uncertain business environment. ROA employs Black-Scholes expansion model and cancels the assumption that the cost of project is certain. The numerical example manifests that the ROA can better evaluate IT project and select the IT investment alternative. Finally, a road map is provided to help selecting the suitable evaluation method to make IT investment decision.

Applicant Evaluations of Formal Position Advertisements: The Influence of Sex, Job Message Content, and Information Order.

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, Paul A.

1996-01-01

Applicant evaluations of job messages conveyed through formal position advertisements were studied with 136 role-playing teachers. Findings indicate that administrators can maximize advertisement attractiveness to women by using intrinsic job attributes and placing them first, and maximize attractiveness to men by using extrinsic attributes and…

The evaluation of a formalized queue management system for coronary angiography waiting lists.

Science.gov (United States)

Alter, D A; Newman, Alice M; Cohen, Eric A; Sykora, Kathy; Tu, Jack V

2005-11-01

Lengthy waiting lists for coronary angiography have been described in many health care systems worldwide. The extent to which formal queue management systems may improve the prioritization and survival of patients in the angiography queue is unknown. To prospectively evaluate the performance of a formal queue management system for patients awaiting coronary angiography in Ontario. The coronary angiography urgency scale, a formal queue management system developed in 1993 using a modified Delphi panel, allocates recommended maximum waiting times (RMWTs) in accordance with clinical necessity. By using a provincial clinical registry, 35,617 consecutive patients referred into the coronary angiography queue between April 1, 2001, and March 31, 2002, were prospectively tracked. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examined mortality risk across urgency after adjusting for additional clinical and comorbid factors. Good agreement was determined in urgency ratings between scores from the coronary angiography urgency scale and implicit physician judgement, which was obtained independently at the time of the index referral (weighted kappa = 0.49). The overall mortality in the queue was 0.3% (0.47%, 0.26% and 0.13% for urgent, semiurgent and elective patients, respectively). Urgency, as specified by the coronary angiography urgency scale, was the strongest predictor of death in the queue (Pqueue management system may decrease mortality in the coronary angiography queue. The authors recommend its implementation in health care systems where patients experience excessive waiting time delays for coronary angiography.

Creating Robust Evaluation of ATE Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Eddy, Pamela L.

2017-01-01

Funded grant projects all involve some form of evaluation, and Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grants are no exception. Program evaluation serves as a critical component not only for evaluating if a project has met its intended and desired outcomes, but the evaluation process is also a central feature of the grant application itself.…

Formal usability evaluation of audio track widget graphical representation for two-dimensional stage audio mixing interface

OpenAIRE

Dewey, Christopher; Wakefield, Jonathan P.

2017-01-01

The two-dimensional stage paradigm (2DSP) has been suggested as an alternative audio mixing interface (AMI). This study seeks to refine the 2DSP by formally evaluating graphical track visualisation styles. Track visualisations considered were text only, circles containing text, individually coloured circles containing text, circles colour coded by instrument type with text, icons with text superimposed, circles with RMS related dynamic opacity and a traditional AMI. The usability evaluation f...

Evaluation of microfinance projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, S

1999-08-01

This paper criticizes the quick system proposed by Henk Moll for evaluating microfinance projects in the article ¿How to Pre-Evaluate Credit Projects in Ten Minutes¿. The author contended that there is a need to emphasize the objectives of the project. The procedure used by Moll, he contended, is applicable only to projects that have only two key objectives, such as credit operations, and the provision of services. Arguments are presented on the three specific questions proposed by Moll, ranging from the availability of externally audited financial reports, the performance of interest rate on loans vis-a-vis the inflation rate, and the provision of loans according to the individual requirements of the borrowers. Lastly, the author emphasizes that the overall approach is not useful and suggests that careful considerations should be observed in the use or abuse of a simple scoring system or checklist such as the one proposed by Moll.

The Halden Reactor Project workshop on improved system development using case-tools based on formal methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gran, Bjoern Axel; Sivertsen, Terje; Stoelen, Ketil; Thunem, Harald; Zhang, Wenhui

1999-02-01

The workshop 'Improved system development using case-tools based on formal methods' was organised in Halden, December 1-2, 1998. The purpose of the workshop was to present and discuss the state-of-the-art with respect to formal approaches. The workshop had two invited presentations: 'Formality in specification and modelling: developments in software engineering practice' by John Fitzgerald (Centre for Software Reliability, UK), and 'Formal methods in industry - reaching results when correctness is not the only issue' by Oeystein Haugen (Ericsson NorARC, Norway). The workshop also had several presentations divided into three sessions on industrial experience, tools, and combined approaches. Each day there was a discussion. The first was on the effect of formalization, while the second was on the role of formal verification. At the end of the workshop, the presentations and discussions were summarised into specific recommendations. This report summarises the presentations of the speakers, the discussions, the recommendations, and the demonstrations given at the workshop (author) (ml)

Protocol design and implementation using formal methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Sinderen, Marten J.; Ferreira Pires, Luis; Pires, L.F.; Vissers, C.A.

1992-01-01

This paper reports on a number of formal methods that support correct protocol design and implementation. These methods are placed in the framework of a design methodology for distributed systems that was studied and developed within the ESPRIT II Lotosphere project (2304). The paper focuses on

Synthesizing Flight Software (FSW) Discrete Controllers from Formal Specifications

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This project will develop a Domain Specific Language (DSL) approach to interpret requirements and map them to formal specifications and legacy formats; explore and...

Formal design review report project W-151 mixer pump procurement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crass, D.W.

1997-01-21

A formal design review for WHC-S-0040 was held on January 21, 1993. The review was completed January 29, 1993. No outstanding action items existed. Comments were recorded on Record Comment Record (RCR) forms and incorporated into the specification. The specification was considered acceptable, approved and issued as WHC-S-0040, Rev. 0 on March 4, 1993.

Uranium resource evaluation project quality assurance evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grimes, J.G.

1981-01-01

This evaluation was conducted over an eight-month period from February 4 through October 1, 1980. During this time, field sampling was suspended for an indefinite time period while the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Program underwent restructuring. In addition, the Uranium Resource Evaluation (URE) Project archives are being restructured. Since it is difficult to evaluate quality assurance needs of a program that is undergoing drastic change and because sections of the evaluation were well along before these changes were announced, this evaluation reflects the situation as it was during February 1980. The following quality assurance related programs are continuing to date: (1) periodic checks of field sampling procedures by the Supervising Field Geologist and the Director of Field Operations; (2) verification of field form information and laboratory analytical data verification for all geochemical surveys; (3) URE Project laboratory quality control program (all elements routinely analyzed); and (4) Ames interlaboratory quality control program (uranium only). UCC-ND was given the responsibility of conducting a Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) survey in the Central United States (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). During 1979 and 1980, 13 detailed surveys were conducted by the URE Project in the Central and Western United States to characterize the hydrogeochemistry, stream sediment geochemistry, and/or radiometric patterns of known or potential uranium occurrences. Beginning in 1980, the HSSR surveys were modified to the Regional Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment (RHSS) surveys

Casulo como habitáculo e componente formal construtivo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sasquia Hizuru Obata

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The term cocoon has derived formal definition of the biological activity of shelter that involves an animal or a group of animals during a cycle or life period, possessing efficiently for this inactive phase or reproductive cycle a skin characteristic expresses or like a flexible involucre. The important characteristics are the isolation of activities, restrict space to development of a certain action, lightness, flexibility and the natural condition, represent metaphorical goal in conventional projects. As constructive goals, the searches in the natural ways of the cocoons can be translated in results and combinations in geometric ways modulate or even bubbles and capsules of historical architectural projects to the most recent. The identification of cocoon in buildings leads the proposition that module is a constructive component and a formal departure, in other words, a project strategy that assists the energy reduction, besides the micro-climate creation, flexibility and constructive lightness.

Project management in practice : Evaluating a case project through project management theories

OpenAIRE

Uusitalo, Jenni

2013-01-01

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate a case project and to study whether it was carried out in a correct manner; meaning that did the case project follow the project management models. In addition, part of the study was to determine what could have been improved in the management of the case project. The case project was about creating and launching a communication channel based on a social media service, on a blog platform called Tumblr, for Team Finland in Spain network. The network p...

Formal Development of the HRP Prover - Part 1: Syntax and Semantics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sivertsen, Terje

1996-01-01

This report describes the formal development of a new version of the HRP Prover. The new version of the tool will have functionality almost identical to the current version, but is developed in accordance to established principles for applying algebraic specification in formal software development. The development project provides results of relevance to the formal development of a wide range of language-oriented tools, including programming language compilers, as well as to the automatic generation of code from specifications. Since the overall scope of this report is the analysis of algebraic specifications, emphasis is given to topics related to what is usually understood as the ''front end'' of compilers. This includes lexical and syntax analysis of the specifications, static semantics through type checking, and dynamic semantics through evaluation. All the different phases are specified in algebraic specification and supported by the current version of the HRP Prover. In subsequent work, the completed parts of the new version will complement the tool support in the development. The work presented will be followed up by formal specification of theorem proving and transformation, as well as code generation into conventional programming languages. The new version of the HRP Prover is incrementally developed in coherence with the specifications produced in these activities. At the same time, the development of the tool demonstrates the efficient use of the methodology through real application on an increasingly important class of software. (author)

Topology in quantum states. PEPS formalism and beyond

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aguado, M [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Quantenoptik. Hans-Kopfermann-Str. 1. D-85748 Garching (Germany); Cirac, J I [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Quantenoptik. Hans-Kopfermann-Str. 1. D-85748 Garching (Germany); Vidal, G [School of Physical Sciences. University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072 (Australia)

2007-11-15

Topology has been proposed as a tool to protect quantum information encoding and processes. Work concerning the meaning of topology in quantum states as well as its characterisation in the projected entangled pair state (PEPS) formalism and related schemes is reviewed.

Expert evaluation of innovation projects of mining enterprises on the basis of methods of system analysis and fuzzy logics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pimonov Alexander

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the multipurpose approach to evaluation of research and innovation projects based on the method of analysis of hierarchies and fuzzy logics for the mining industry. The approach, implemented as part of a decision support system, can reduce the degree of subjectivity during examinations by taking into account both quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the compared innovative alternatives; it does not depend on specific conditions of examination and allows engagement of experts of various fields of knowledge. The system includes the mechanism of coordination of several experts’ views. Using of fuzzy logics allows evaluating the qualitative characteristics of innovations in the form of formalized logical conclusions.

A Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Model for Sustainability Risk Evaluation of PPP Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Libiao Bai

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Evaluating the sustainability risk level of public–private partnership (PPP projects can reduce project risk incidents and achieve the sustainable development of the organization. However, the existing studies about PPP projects risk management mainly focus on exploring the impact of financial and revenue risks but ignore the sustainability risks, causing the concept of “sustainability” to be missing while evaluating the risk level of PPP projects. To evaluate the sustainability risk level and achieve the most important objective of providing a reference for the public and private sectors when making decisions on PPP project management, this paper constructs a factor system of sustainability risk of PPP projects based on an extensive literature review and develops a mathematical model based on the methods of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model (FCEM and failure mode, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA for evaluating the sustainability risk level of PPP projects. In addition, this paper conducts computational experiment based on a questionnaire survey to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of this proposed model. The results suggest that this model is reasonable for evaluating the sustainability risk level of PPP projects. To our knowledge, this paper is the first study to evaluate the sustainability risk of PPP projects, which would not only enrich the theories of project risk management, but also serve as a reference for the public and private sectors for the sustainable planning and development. Keywords: sustainability risk eva

Formal matrices

CERN Document Server

Krylov, Piotr

2017-01-01

This monograph is a comprehensive account of formal matrices, examining homological properties of modules over formal matrix rings and summarising the interplay between Morita contexts and K theory. While various special types of formal matrix rings have been studied for a long time from several points of view and appear in various textbooks, for instance to examine equivalences of module categories and to illustrate rings with one-sided non-symmetric properties, this particular class of rings has, so far, not been treated systematically. Exploring formal matrix rings of order 2 and introducing the notion of the determinant of a formal matrix over a commutative ring, this monograph further covers the Grothendieck and Whitehead groups of rings. Graduate students and researchers interested in ring theory, module theory and operator algebras will find this book particularly valuable. Containing numerous examples, Formal Matrices is a largely self-contained and accessible introduction to the topic, assuming a sol...

Proceedings of the First NASA Formal Methods Symposium

Science.gov (United States)

Denney, Ewen (Editor); Giannakopoulou, Dimitra (Editor); Pasareanu, Corina S. (Editor)

2009-01-01

Topics covered include: Model Checking - My 27-Year Quest to Overcome the State Explosion Problem; Applying Formal Methods to NASA Projects: Transition from Research to Practice; TLA+: Whence, Wherefore, and Whither; Formal Methods Applications in Air Transportation; Theorem Proving in Intel Hardware Design; Building a Formal Model of a Human-Interactive System: Insights into the Integration of Formal Methods and Human Factors Engineering; Model Checking for Autonomic Systems Specified with ASSL; A Game-Theoretic Approach to Branching Time Abstract-Check-Refine Process; Software Model Checking Without Source Code; Generalized Abstract Symbolic Summaries; A Comparative Study of Randomized Constraint Solvers for Random-Symbolic Testing; Component-Oriented Behavior Extraction for Autonomic System Design; Automated Verification of Design Patterns with LePUS3; A Module Language for Typing by Contracts; From Goal-Oriented Requirements to Event-B Specifications; Introduction of Virtualization Technology to Multi-Process Model Checking; Comparing Techniques for Certified Static Analysis; Towards a Framework for Generating Tests to Satisfy Complex Code Coverage in Java Pathfinder; jFuzz: A Concolic Whitebox Fuzzer for Java; Machine-Checkable Timed CSP; Stochastic Formal Correctness of Numerical Algorithms; Deductive Verification of Cryptographic Software; Coloured Petri Net Refinement Specification and Correctness Proof with Coq; Modeling Guidelines for Code Generation in the Railway Signaling Context; Tactical Synthesis Of Efficient Global Search Algorithms; Towards Co-Engineering Communicating Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems; and Formal Methods for Automated Diagnosis of Autosub 6000.

CSR-induced emittance growth in achromats: Linear formalism revisited

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Venturini, M.

2015-09-11

We review the R-matrix formalism used to describe Coherent Synchrotron Radiation (CSR)-induced projected emittance growth in electron beam transport lines and establish the connection with a description in terms of the dispersion-invariant function.

A Formal Definition of VDM-SL

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bruun, Hans; Damm, F.; Dawes, J.

1998-01-01

This joint report from the Danish Institute for Applied Computer Science (IFAD), the Technical Universities of Delft and Denmark and the University of Leicester contains the background and technical material used in the production of the ISO Standard that defines the specification language part...... and reviewers of the project - these changes have improved the style and technical correctness of the formal definitions used to define VDM-SL....

Spinor formalism and complex-vector formalism of general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han-ying, G.; Yong-shi, W.; Gendao, L.

1974-01-01

In this paper, using E. Cartan's exterior calculus, we give the spinor form of the structure equations, which leads naturally to the Newman--Penrose equations. Furthermore, starting from the spinor spaces and the el (2C) algebra, we construct the general complex-vector formalism of general relativity. We find that both the Cahen--Debever--Defrise complex-vector formalism and that of Brans are its special cases. Thus, the spinor formalism and the complex-vector formalism of general relativity are unified on the basis of the uni-modular group SL(2C) and its Lie algebra

How Formal Control Influences Decision‐Making Clarity and Innovation Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schultz, Carsten; Salomo, Søren; de Brentani, Ulrike

2013-01-01

, which is a precise formal control mechanism relevant for managing specific problems at a single project level; (2) the immediate outcome of the application of formal controls, i.e. decision‐making clarity (DMC); and (3) degree of NPD innovativeness, a key contingency hypothesized to impact the efficacy...... of formal controls. For the empirical analysis, data are collected through a survey of 162 corporate NPD programs (Austria and Denmark, manufactured goods and services) where a total of 1274 respondents provide information relevant to their position. Hierarchical regression analysis is used to test...... the relationships. Results indicate that the performance effect of NPD formal control is fully mediated by DMC. Further, of the six hypothesized outcome relationships, four are fully supported. Both SGS and PM are effective systems for managing NPD when degree of innovativeness is not taken into account. PM...

Location priority for non-formal early childhood education school based on promethee method and map visualization

Science.gov (United States)

Ayu Nurul Handayani, Hemas; Waspada, Indra

2018-05-01

Non-formal Early Childhood Education (non-formal ECE) is an education that is held for children under 4 years old. The implementation in District of Banyumas, Non-formal ECE is monitored by The District Government of Banyumas and helped by Sanggar Kegiatan Belajar (SKB) Purwokerto as one of the organizer of Non-formal Education. The government itself has a program for distributing ECE to all villages in Indonesia. However, The location to construct the ECE school in several years ahead is not arranged yet. Therefore, for supporting that program, a decision support system is made to give some recommendation villages for constructing The ECE building. The data are projected based on Brown’s Double Exponential Smoothing Method and utilizing Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (Promethee) to generate priority order. As the recommendations system, it generates map visualization which is colored according to the priority level of sub-district and village area. The system was tested with black box testing, Promethee testing, and usability testing. The results showed that the system functionality and Promethee algorithm were working properly, and the user was satisfied.

SBME : Exploring boundaries between formal, non-formal, and informal learning

OpenAIRE

Shahoumian, Armineh; Parchoma, Gale; Saunders, Murray; Hanson, Jacky; Dickinson, Mike; Pimblett, Mark

2013-01-01

In medical education learning extends beyond university settings into practice. Non-formal and informal learning support learners’ efforts to meet externally set and learner-identified objectives. In SBME research, boundaries between formal, non-formal, and informal learning have not been widely explored. Whether SBME fits within or challenges these categories can make a contribution. Formal learning is described in relation to educational settings, planning, assessment, and accreditation. In...

Formal analysis of inelastic scattering in the coulomb-projected eikonal approximation

CERN Document Server

Qian, W J; Yan, S; Yang, Z S; Bo, D Y

1998-01-01

A formal procedure within the frame-work of the eikonal approximation for the inelastic scattering of many-electron atoms is formulated on the basis of the Racah algebra in the non-partial wave version, where an arbitrary complex wavefunction, including the contribution from all partial waves, can be used for the process calculations.

Cohomology in the Pure Spinor Formalism for the Superstring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berkovits, Nathan

2000-01-01

A manifestly super-Poincare covariant formalism for the superstring has recently been constructed using a pure spinor variable. Unlike the covariant Green-Schwarz formalism, this new formalism is easily quantized with a BRST operator and tree-level scattering amplitudes have been evaluated in a manifestly covariant manner. In this paper, the cohomology of the BRST operator in the pure spinor formalism is shown to give the usual light-cone Green-Schwarz spectrum. Although the BRST operator does not directly involve the Virasoro constraint, this constraint emerges after expressing the pure spinor variable in terms of SO(8) variables. (author)

Formal quality improvement curriculum and DMAIC method results in interdisciplinary collaboration and process improvement in renal transplant patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Leaphart, Cynthia L; Gonwa, Thomas A; Mai, Martin L; Prendergast, Mary B; Wadei, Hani M; Tepas, Joseph J; Taner, C Burcin

2012-09-01

Broad-based formal quality improvement curriculum emphasizing Six Sigma and the DMAIC approach developed by our institution is required for physicians in training. DMAIC methods evaluated the common outcome of postoperative hyponatremia, thus resulting in collaboration to prevent hyponatremia in the renal transplant population. To define postoperative hyponatremia in renal transplant recipients, a project charter outlined project aims. To measure postoperative hyponatremia, serum sodium at admission and immediately postoperative were recorded by retrospective review of renal transplant recipient charts from June 29, 2010 to December 31, 2011. An Ishikawa diagram was generated to analyze potential causative factors. Interdisciplinary collaboration and hospital policy assessment determined necessary improvements to prevent hyponatremia. Continuous monitoring in control phase was performed by establishing the goal of DMAIC approach and formal quality curriculum for trainees addresses core competencies by providing a framework for problem solving, interdisciplinary collaboration, and process improvement. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Formalization of Database Systems -- and a Formal Definition of {IMS}

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørner, Dines; Løvengreen, Hans Henrik

1982-01-01

Drawing upon an analogy between Programming Language Systems and Database Systems we outline the requirements that architectural specifications of database systems must futfitl, and argue that only formal, mathematical definitions may 6atisfy these. Then we illustrate home aspects and touch upon...... come ueee of formal definitions of data models and databaee management systems. A formal model of INS will carry this discussion. Finally we survey some of the exkting literature on formal definitions of database systems. The emphasis will be on constructive definitions in the denotationul semantics...... style of the VCM: Vienna Development Nethd. The role of formal definitions in international standardiaation efforts is briefly mentioned....

Project CAREER/CAN. Final Evaluation Report.

Science.gov (United States)

National Educational Evaluation Services, Inc., Chestnut Hill, MA.

A description and evaluation of (1) the development of the 4-column process which completes the behavioral objective data base, (2) the development of the computer retrieval capability, and (3) the pilot testing of the product in high school classrooms are included in this summative evaluation of Project CAREER/CAN. (Goals of Project CAREER/CAN,…

SELF-EFFICACY OF FORMALLY AND NON-FORMALLY TRAINED PUBLIC SECTOR TEACHERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Nadeem ANWAR

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The main objective of the study was to compare the formally and non-formally trained in-service public sector teachers’ Self-efficacy. Five hypotheses were developed describing no difference in the self-efficacy of formally and non-formally trained teachers to influence decision making, influence school resources, instructional self-efficacy, disciplinary self-efficacy and create positive school climate. Teacher Efficacy Instrument (TSES developed by Bandura (2001 consisting of thirty 9-point items was used in the study. 342 formally trained and 255 non-formally trained respondents’ questionnaires were received out of 1500 mailed. The analysis of data revealed that the formally trained public sector teachers are high in their self-efficacy on all the five categories: to influence decision making, to influence school resources, instructional self-efficacy, disciplinary self-efficacy and self-efficacy to create positive school climate.

5 CFR 470.317 - Project evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... law and/or regulation should be considered or proposed. Where the project plan provides for agency... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Project evaluation. 470.317 Section 470... MANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECTS Regulatory Requirements Pertaining to Demonstration...

Masses of Formal Philosophy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Masses of Formal Philosophy is an outgrowth of Formal Philosophy. That book gathered the responses of some of the most prominent formal philosophers to five relatively open and broad questions initiating a discussion of metaphilosophical themes and problems surrounding the use of formal methods i...... in philosophy. Including contributions from a wide range of philosophers, Masses of Formal Philosophy contains important new responses to the original five questions.......Masses of Formal Philosophy is an outgrowth of Formal Philosophy. That book gathered the responses of some of the most prominent formal philosophers to five relatively open and broad questions initiating a discussion of metaphilosophical themes and problems surrounding the use of formal methods...

The ADVANCE project: Formal evaluation of the targeted deployment. Volume 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-01-01

The ADVANCE familiar driver test provided a small sample of drivers familiar with their local road network and patterns of recurring congestion with an opportunity to drive a vehicle equipped with the ADVANCE dynamic route guidance system for a period of two weeks of normal use. On the basis of this test experience, drivers were asked to evaluate the ADVANCE system and to assess the value of features for future in-vehicle route guidance systems. This test involved 80 volunteer households living in the ADVANCE test area in northwest suburban Chicago; 110 drivers from these households used the ADVANCE vehicle and responded to both baseline (pre-test) and post-test surveys. Thirty two of these drivers participated in focus groups. Drivers also maintained written logs describing their rerouting experiences with the ADVANCE system.

Textile materials trading center formally launched online

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2012-01-01

Textile materials trading center was formally launched online in Wuxi City,Jiangsu Province. This is the first third-party electronic trading platform for spot trading in China textile materials professional market. The project will strive to build the most influential textile materials trading center of East China,the whole country and even the whole world China textile materials trading center will be

How is success or failure in river restoration projects evaluated? Feedback from French restoration projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Morandi, Bertrand; Piégay, Hervé; Lamouroux, Nicolas; Vaudor, Lise

2014-05-01

Since the 1990s, French operational managers and scientists have been involved in the environmental restoration of rivers. The European Water Framework Directive (2000) highlights the need for feedback from restoration projects and for evidence-based evaluation of success. Based on 44 French pilot projects that included such an evaluation, the present study includes: 1) an introduction to restoration projects based on their general characteristics 2) a description of evaluation strategies and authorities in charge of their implementation, and 3) a focus on the evaluation of results and the links between these results and evaluation strategies. The results show that: 1) the quality of an evaluation strategy often remains too poor to understand well the link between a restoration project and ecological changes; 2) in many cases, the conclusions drawn are contradictory, making it difficult to determine the success or failure of a restoration project; and 3) the projects with the poorest evaluation strategies generally have the most positive conclusions about the effects of restoration. Recommendations are that evaluation strategies should be designed early in the project planning process and be based on clearly-defined objectives. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

GEAR UP Aspirations Project Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Trimble, Brad A.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct a formative evaluation of the first two years of the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) Aspirations Project (Aspirations) using a Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) model so as to gain an in-depth understanding of the project during the middle school…

Formalizing Informal Logic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas Walton

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a formalization of informal logic using the Carneades Argumentation System (CAS, a formal, computational model of argument that consists of a formal model of argument graphs and audiences. Conflicts between pro and con arguments are resolved using proof standards, such as preponderance of the evidence. CAS also formalizes argumentation schemes. Schemes can be used to check whether a given argument instantiates the types of argument deemed normatively appropriate for the type of dialogue.

On a theorem of Faltings on formal functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paola Bonacini

2007-12-01

Full Text Available In 1980, Faltings proved, by deep local algebra methods, a local resultregarding formal functions which has the following global geometric factas a consequence. Theorem. − Let k be an algebraically closed field (ofany characteristic. Let Y be a closed subvariety of a projective irreduciblevariety X defined over k. Assume that X ⊂ P^n , dim(X = d > 2 and Yis the intersection of X with r hyperplanes of P^n , with r ≤ d − 1. Then,every formal rational function on X along Y can be (uniquely extended toa rational function on X . Due to its importance, the aim of this paper is toprovide two elementary global geometric proofs of this theorem.

Stakeholder approach for evaluating organizational change projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Peltokorpi, Antti; Alho, Antti; Kujala, Jaakko; Aitamurto, Johanna; Parvinen, Petri

2008-01-01

This paper aims to create a model for evaluating organizational change initiatives from a stakeholder resistance viewpoint. The paper presents a model to evaluate change projects and their expected benefits. Factors affecting the challenge to implement change were defined based on stakeholder theory literature. The authors test the model's practical validity for screening change initiatives to improve operating room productivity. Change initiatives can be evaluated using six factors: the effect of the planned intervention on stakeholders' actions and position; stakeholders' capability to influence the project's implementation; motivation to participate; capability to change; change complexity; and management capability. The presented model's generalizability should be explored by filtering presented factors through a larger number of historical cases operating in different healthcare contexts. The link between stakeholders, the change challenge and the outcomes of change projects needs to be empirically tested. The proposed model can be used to prioritize change projects, manage stakeholder resistance and establish a better organizational and professional competence for managing healthcare organization change projects. New insights into existing stakeholder-related understanding of change project successes are provided.

Matching biomedical ontologies based on formal concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Mengyi; Zhang, Songmao; Li, Weizhuo; Chen, Guowei

2018-03-19

The goal of ontology matching is to identify correspondences between entities from different yet overlapping ontologies so as to facilitate semantic integration, reuse and interoperability. As a well developed mathematical model for analyzing individuals and structuring concepts, Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) has been applied to ontology matching (OM) tasks since the beginning of OM research, whereas ontological knowledge exploited in FCA-based methods is limited. This motivates the study in this paper, i.e., to empower FCA with as much as ontological knowledge as possible for identifying mappings across ontologies. We propose a method based on Formal Concept Analysis to identify and validate mappings across ontologies, including one-to-one mappings, complex mappings and correspondences between object properties. Our method, called FCA-Map, incrementally generates a total of five types of formal contexts and extracts mappings from the lattices derived. First, the token-based formal context describes how class names, labels and synonyms share lexical tokens, leading to lexical mappings (anchors) across ontologies. Second, the relation-based formal context describes how classes are in taxonomic, partonomic and disjoint relationships with the anchors, leading to positive and negative structural evidence for validating the lexical matching. Third, the positive relation-based context can be used to discover structural mappings. Afterwards, the property-based formal context describes how object properties are used in axioms to connect anchor classes across ontologies, leading to property mappings. Last, the restriction-based formal context describes co-occurrence of classes across ontologies in anonymous ancestors of anchors, from which extended structural mappings and complex mappings can be identified. Evaluation on the Anatomy, the Large Biomedical Ontologies, and the Disease and Phenotype track of the 2016 Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative campaign

Qualitative simulation in formal process modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sivertsen, Elin R.

1999-01-01

In relation to several different research activities at the OECD Halden Reactor Project, the usefulness of formal process models has been identified. Being represented in some appropriate representation language, the purpose of these models is to model process plants and plant automatics in a unified way to allow verification and computer aided design of control strategies. The present report discusses qualitative simulation and the tool QSIM as one approach to formal process models. In particular, the report aims at investigating how recent improvements of the tool facilitate the use of the approach in areas like process system analysis, procedure verification, and control software safety analysis. An important long term goal is to provide a basis for using qualitative reasoning in combination with other techniques to facilitate the treatment of embedded programmable systems in Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA). This is motivated from the potential of such a combination in safety analysis based on models comprising both software, hardware, and operator. It is anticipated that the research results from this activity will benefit V and V in a wide variety of applications where formal process models can be utilized. Examples are operator procedures, intelligent decision support systems, and common model repositories (author) (ml)

Students enabling students in a Student Partnership Project: A case study emerging from the OLT Transforming Practice Project on Student Partnerships

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Megan Kek

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This emerging initiative stemmed from an Office for Learning and Teaching Project (OLT project, Transforming Practice Programme 2016: Student Engagement: Students as Partners in Teaching and Learning. The initiative, trialed in semester two, 2016, involved the selection and training of two experienced students to be leaders of a Closed Facebook ‘students-only’ community which provided advice and triaged queries to appropriate channels. The evaluative processes comprised a participatory action research methodology. Two student leaders who facilitated the Closed Facebook and four academic staff of the project were the participants. The findings demonstrate that the Closed Facebook students-only site provided a safe space, outside the formal learning/classroom environment, where student participants were able to ask and share knowledge. The informal student-for-student learning community complemented the formal structure by facilitating the opportunity for students to become ‘experts’ as university students as they move-through their learning journey.

Formalization of 2007 ESH/ESC Hypertension Guidelines (HGL)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Peleška, Jan; Anger, Z.; Buchtela, David; Tomečková, Marie; Veselý, Arnošt; Zvárová, Jana; Zvolský, Miroslav

2008-01-01

Roč. 26, Suppl. 1 (2008), s. 302-302 ISSN 0952-1178. [ Hypertension 2008. 14.06.2008-19.06.2008, Berlin] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR 1ET200300413 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : formalization of medical guidelines * 2007 ESH/ESC hypertension guidelines Subject RIV: FA - Cardiovascular Diseases incl. Cardiotharic Surgery

Memory function formalism applied to electronic transport in disordered systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunha Lima, I.C. da

1984-01-01

Memory function formalism is briefly reviewed and applied to electronic transport using the projection operator technique. The resistivity of a disordered 2-D electron gas under strong magnetic field is obtained in terms of force-force correlation function. (Author) [pt

Formal Methods in Air Traffic Management: The Case of Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Munoz, Cesar A.

2015-01-01

As the technological and operational capabilities of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) continue to grow, so too does the need to introduce these systems into civil airspace. Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System is a NASA research project that addresses the integration of civil UAS into non-segregated airspace operations. One of the major challenges of this integration is the lack of an onboard pilot to comply with the legal requirement that pilots see and avoid other aircraft. The need to provide an equivalent to this requirement for UAS has motivated the development of a detect and avoid (DAA) capability to provide the appropriate situational awareness and maneuver guidance in avoiding and remaining well clear of traffic aircraft. Formal methods has played a fundamental role in the development of this capability. This talk reports on the formal methods work conducted under NASA's Safe Autonomous System Operations project in support of the development of DAA for UAS. This work includes specification of low-level and high-level functional requirements, formal verification of algorithms, and rigorous validation of software implementations. The talk also discusses technical challenges in formal methods research in the context of the development and safety analysis of advanced air traffic management concepts.

Project SEARCH UK--Evaluating Its Employment Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Kaehne, Axel

2016-01-01

Background: The study reports the findings of an evaluation of Project SEARCH UK. The programme develops internships for young people with intellectual disabilities who are about to leave school or college. The aim of the evaluation was to investigate at what rate Project SEARCH provided employment opportunities to participants. Methods: The…

INTEGRAL BENCHMARKS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL REACTOR PHYSICS EXPERIMENT EVALUATION PROJECT AND THE INTERNATIONAL CRITICALITY SAFETY BENCHMARK EVALUATION PROJECT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J. Blair Briggs; Lori Scott; Enrico Sartori; Yolanda Rugama

2008-09-01

Interest in high-quality integral benchmark data is increasing as efforts to quantify and reduce calculational uncertainties accelerate to meet the demands of next generation reactor and advanced fuel cycle concepts. The International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) and the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) continue to expand their efforts and broaden their scope to identify, evaluate, and provide integral benchmark data for method and data validation. Benchmark model specifications provided by these two projects are used heavily by the international reactor physics, nuclear data, and criticality safety communities. Thus far, 14 countries have contributed to the IRPhEP, and 20 have contributed to the ICSBEP. The status of the IRPhEP and ICSBEP is discussed in this paper, and the future of the two projects is outlined and discussed. Selected benchmarks that have been added to the IRPhEP and ICSBEP handbooks since PHYSOR’06 are highlighted, and the future of the two projects is discussed.

INTEGRAL BENCHMARKS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL REACTOR PHYSICS EXPERIMENT EVALUATION PROJECT AND THE INTERNATIONAL CRITICALITY SAFETY BENCHMARK EVALUATION PROJECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

J. Blair Briggs; Lori Scott; Enrico Sartori; Yolanda Rugama

2008-01-01

Interest in high-quality integral benchmark data is increasing as efforts to quantify and reduce calculational uncertainties accelerate to meet the demands of next generation reactor and advanced fuel cycle concepts. The International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) and the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) continue to expand their efforts and broaden their scope to identify, evaluate, and provide integral benchmark data for method and data validation. Benchmark model specifications provided by these two projects are used heavily by the international reactor physics, nuclear data, and criticality safety communities. Thus far, 14 countries have contributed to the IRPhEP, and 20 have contributed to the ICSBEP. The status of the IRPhEP and ICSBEP is discussed in this paper, and the future of the two projects is outlined and discussed. Selected benchmarks that have been added to the IRPhEP and ICSBEP handbooks since PHYSOR-06 are highlighted, and the future of the two projects is discussed

The Integration of Formal and Non-formal Education: The Dutch “brede school”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

du Bois-Reymond, Manuela

2009-12-01

courses and support for under-achievers who are often students with migrant background. In both sectors, primary and secondary, it is the formal school organization with its professionals which determines the character of a BS; there is no full integration of formal and non-formal education resulting in one non-disruptive learning trajectory, nor is there the intention to go in that direction. Non-formal pedagogues are partly professionals, like youth- and social workers, partly volunteers, like parents, partly non-educational partners, like school-police, psycho-medical help or commercial leisure providers. Besides that, the BS is regarded by government educational and social policy as a potential partner and anchor for community development. It is too early to make reliable statements about the effects of the BS movement in the Netherlands concerning the educational opportunities for disadvantaged children and their families, especially those with migrant background, and combat further segregation. Evaluation studies made so far are moderately positive but also point to problems of overly bureaucratized structures and layers, lack of sufficient financial resources and, again, are uncertain about long-term effects.

External Service Providers to the National Security Technology Incubator: Formalization of Relationships

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2008-04-30

This report documents the formalization of relationships with external service providers in the development of the National Security Technology Incubator (NSTI). The technology incubator is being developed as part of the National Security Preparedness Project (NSPP), funded by a Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) grant. This report summarizes the process in developing and formalizing relationships with those service providers and includes a sample letter of cooperation executed with each provider.

A desk evaluation review of project RAF/4/004 nuclear instruments maintenance. Project desk evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-04-15

A Project Desk Evaluation (PDE) is an intensive review process, using agreed guidelines, of the design, implementation, and the outputs of a project. This project was originally intended for six selected countries in Africa, namely, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Zaire and Zambia. Ethiopia and Tanzania joined in 1993 and it has now been extended to two other countries, Madagascar and Sudan. This is a step forward towards developing the infrastructure for nuclear instrumentation and maintenance is as many countries in Africa as require this service. A project summary along with financial data and recommendations for improvements are given. A table where total assistance provided to ten selected african countries is included.

A desk evaluation review of project RAF/4/004 nuclear instruments maintenance. Project desk evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

A Project Desk Evaluation (PDE) is an intensive review process, using agreed guidelines, of the design, implementation, and the outputs of a project. This project was originally intended for six selected countries in Africa, namely, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Zaire and Zambia. Ethiopia and Tanzania joined in 1993 and it has now been extended to two other countries, Madagascar and Sudan. This is a step forward towards developing the infrastructure for nuclear instrumentation and maintenance is as many countries in Africa as require this service. A project summary along with financial data and recommendations for improvements are given. A table where total assistance provided to ten selected african countries is included

Criticality safety benchmark evaluation project: Recovering the past

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trumble, E.F.

1997-06-01

A very brief summary of the Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project of the Westinghouse Savannah River Company is provided in this paper. The purpose of the project is to provide a source of evaluated criticality safety experiments in an easily usable format. Another project goal is to search for any experiments that may have been lost or contain discrepancies, and to determine if they can be used. Results of evaluated experiments are being published as US DOE handbooks.

On the adequacy of current empirical evaluations of formal models of categorization.

Science.gov (United States)

Wills, Andy J; Pothos, Emmanuel M

2012-01-01

Categorization is one of the fundamental building blocks of cognition, and the study of categorization is notable for the extent to which formal modeling has been a central and influential component of research. However, the field has seen a proliferation of noncomplementary models with little consensus on the relative adequacy of these accounts. Progress in assessing the relative adequacy of formal categorization models has, to date, been limited because (a) formal model comparisons are narrow in the number of models and phenomena considered and (b) models do not often clearly define their explanatory scope. Progress is further hampered by the practice of fitting models with arbitrarily variable parameters to each data set independently. Reviewing examples of good practice in the literature, we conclude that model comparisons are most fruitful when relative adequacy is assessed by comparing well-defined models on the basis of the number and proportion of irreversible, ordinal, penetrable successes (principles of minimal flexibility, breadth, good-enough precision, maximal simplicity, and psychological focus).

Crowd Sourced Formal Verification-Augmentation (CSFV-A)

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

Projects Agency (DARPA), Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Charles River Analytics Inc., and TopCoder, Inc. will be holding a contest to reward...CROWD SOURCED FORMAL VERIFICATION – AUGMENTATION (CSFV-A) CHARLES RIVER ANALYTICS, INC. JUNE 2016 FINAL TECHNICAL REPORT APPROVED FOR PUBLIC...CSFV 5e. TASK NUMBER TC 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER RA 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Charles River Analytics, Inc. 625 Mount Auburn

Define Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munk-Madsen, Andreas

2005-01-01

"Project" is a key concept in IS management. The word is frequently used in textbooks and standards. Yet we seldom find a precise definition of the concept. This paper discusses how to define the concept of a project. The proposed definition covers both heavily formalized projects and informally...... organized, agile projects. Based on the proposed definition popular existing definitions are discussed....

Workforce development and effective evaluation of projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickerson, Claire; Green, Tess; Blass, Eddie

The success of a project or programme is typically determined in relation to outputs. However, there is a commitment among UK public services to spending public funds efficiently and on activities that provide the greatest benefit to society. Skills for Health recognised the need for a tool to manage the complex process of evaluating project benefits. An integrated evaluation framework was developed to help practitioners identify, describe, measure and evaluate the benefits of workforce development projects. Practitioners tested the framework on projects within three NHS trusts and provided valuable feedback to support its development. The prospective approach taken to identify benefits and collect baseline data to support evaluation was positively received and the clarity and completeness of the framework, as well as the relevance of the questions, were commended. Users reported that the framework was difficult to complete; an online version could be developed, which might help to improve usability. Effective implementation of this approach will depend on the quality and usability of the framework, the willingness of organisations to implement it, and the presence or establishment of an effective change management culture.

A formal statistical approach to representing uncertainty in rainfall-runoff modelling with focus on residual analysis and probabilistic output evaluation - Distinguishing simulation and prediction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Breinholt, Anders; Møller, Jan Kloppenborg; Madsen, Henrik

2012-01-01

While there seems to be consensus that hydrological model outputs should be accompanied with an uncertainty estimate the appropriate method for uncertainty estimation is not agreed upon and a debate is ongoing between advocators of formal statistical methods who consider errors as stochastic...... and GLUE advocators who consider errors as epistemic, arguing that the basis of formal statistical approaches that requires the residuals to be stationary and conform to a statistical distribution is unrealistic. In this paper we take a formal frequentist approach to parameter estimation and uncertainty...... necessary but the statistical assumptions were nevertheless not 100% justified. The residual analysis showed that significant autocorrelation was present for all simulation models. We believe users of formal approaches to uncertainty evaluation within hydrology and within environmental modelling in general...

A Survey of Formal Methods for Intelligent Swarms

Science.gov (United States)

Truszkowski, Walt; Rash, James; Hinchey, Mike; Rouff, Chrustopher A.

2004-01-01

cutting edge in system correctness, and requires higher levels of assurance than other (traditional) missions that use a single or small number of spacecraft that are deterministic in nature and have near continuous communication access. One of the highest possible levels of assurance comes from the application of formal methods. Formal methods are mathematics-based tools and techniques for specifying and verifying (software and hardware) systems. They are particularly useful for specifying complex parallel systems, such as exemplified by the ANTS mission, where the entire system is difficult for a single person to fully understand, a problem that is multiplied with multiple developers. Once written, a formal specification can be used to prove properties of a system (e.g., the underlying system will go from one state to another or not into a specific state) and check for particular types of errors (e.g., race or livelock conditions). A formal specification can also be used as input to a model checker for further validation. This report gives the results of a survey of formal methods techniques for verification and validation of space missions that use swarm technology. Multiple formal methods were evaluated to determine their effectiveness in modeling and assuring the behavior of swarms of spacecraft using the ANTS mission as an example system. This report is the first result of the project to determine formal approaches that are promising for formally specifying swarm-based systems. From this survey, the most promising approaches were selected and are discussed relative to their possible application to the ANTS mission. Future work will include the application of an integrated approach, based on the selected approaches identified in this report, to the formal specification of the ANTS mission.

Lessons Learned from Client Projects in an Undergraduate Project Management Course

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, Carol E.

2012-01-01

This work proposes that a subtle combination of three learning methods offering "just in time" project management knowledge, coupled with hands-on project management experience can be particularly effective in producing project management students with employable skills. Students were required to apply formal project management knowledge to gain…

Equitable Financial Evaluation Method for Public-Private Partnership Projects

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

KE Yongjian; LIU Xinping; WANG Shouqing

2008-01-01

The feasibility study of a public-private partnership (PPP) project is regarded as one of the critical factors for successful implementation,but unfortunately the common financial evaluation methods currently used only represent the benefits of the private sector.There is,therefore,an urgent need to develop an equitable financial evaluation method for PPP projects.This paper presents a comprehensive literature review that examines international practices.An equitable financial evaluation method was then developed taking into account the inherent characteristics of PPP projects using six separate indicators and Monte Carlo simulations.The result for a bridge project in Romania shows that the method combines the viewpoints of all the relevant stakeholders to achieve an equitable financial evaluation of PPP projects.

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'TOOLE, S.M.

1999-01-01

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

Formal psychological assessment in evaluating depression: a new methodology to build exhaustive and irredundant adaptive questionnaires.

Science.gov (United States)

Serra, Francesca; Spoto, Andrea; Ghisi, Marta; Vidotto, Giulio

2015-01-01

Psychological Assessment can be defined as a complex procedure of information collection, analysis and processing. Formal Psychological Assessment (FPA) tries to improve this procedure by providing a formal framework to build assessment tools. In this paper, FPA is applied to depression. Seven questionnaires widely used for the self-evaluation of depression were selected. Diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder were derived from the DSM-5, literature and Seligman's and Beck's theories. A Boolean matrix was built, including 266 items from the questionnaires in the rows and 20 selected attributes, obtained through diagnostic criteria decomposition, in the columns. In the matrix, a 1 in a cell meant that the corresponding item investigated the specific attribute. It was thus possible to analyze the relationships between items and attributes and among items. While none of the considered questionnaires could alone cover all the criteria for the evaluation of depressive symptoms, we observed that a set of 30 items contained the same information that was obtained redundantly with 266 items. Another result highlighted by the matrix regards the relations among items. FPA allows in-depth analysis of currently used questionnaires based on the presence/absence of clinical elements. FPA allows for going beyond the mere score by differentiating the patients according to symptomatology. Furthermore, it allows for computerized-adaptive assessment.

RPERT: Repetitive-Projects Evaluation and Review Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Remon Fayek Aziz

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Estimating expected completion probability of any repetitive construction project with a specified/certain duration including repetitive identical activities by using program evaluation and review technique is the most essential part in construction areas since the activities were had optimistic, most likely and pessimistic durations. This paper focuses on the calculation of expected completion probability of any repetitive construction project within a specified/certain duration (contract duration by using Line Of Balance technique (LOB in case of single or multiple number of crews integrated with Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT. Repetitive-Projects Evaluation and Review Technique (RPERT, which is a simplified software, will generate the expected project completion probability of a specified/certain duration (contract duration. RPERT software is designed by java programming code system to provide a number of new and unique capabilities, including: (1 Viewing the expected project completion probability according to a set of specified durations per each identical activity (optimistic time, most likely time, and pessimistic time in the analyzed project; (2 Providing seamless integration with available project time calculations. In order to provide the aforementioned capabilities of RPERT, the system is implemented and developed in four main modules: (1 A user interface module; (2 A database module; (3 A running module; and (4 A processing module. At the end, an illustrative example will be presented to demonstrate and verify the applications of proposed software (RPERT, by using probabilistic calculations for repetitive construction projects.

Projetos de Educação Não-Formal na cidade de Ponta Grossa – PR: análise de currículos e práticas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ercília Maria Angeli Teixeira de Paula

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a study of non-formal education in Ponta Grossa City – Paraná State. The research aims at describing and analysing three projects of non-formal education. The data were collected through interviews and questionnaires completed by the coordinators and teachers involved in the projects. It was possible to establish that the projects had a flexible curriculum and applied innovative methodologies towards the construction of citizenship. It concludes that the function of non-formal education projects is not to reproduce the same activities as at formal school, but to develop the citizenship of the participants through access to culture, arts, leisure, and information.

Formality in Brackets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garsten, Christina; Nyqvist, Anette

Ethnographic work in formal organizations involves learning to recognize the many layers of front stage and back stage of organized life, and to bracket formality. It means to be alert to the fact that what is formal and front stage for one some actors, and in some situations, may in fact be back...... stage and informal for others. Walking the talk, donning the appropriate attire, wearing the proper suit, may be part of what is takes to figure out the code of formal organizational settings – an entrance ticket to the backstage, as it were. Oftentimes, it involves a degree of mimicry, of ‘following...... suits’ (Nyqvist 2013), and of doing ‘ethnography by failure’ (Garsten 2013). In this paper, we explore the layers of informality and formality in our fieldwork experiences among financial investors and policy experts, and discuss how to ethnographically represent embodied fieldwork practices. How do we...

Formal Theory versus Stakeholder Theory: New Insights from a Tobacco-Focused Prevention Program Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Huey T.; Turner, Nannette C.

2012-01-01

Health promotion and social betterment program interventions are based on either formal theory from academia or stakeholder theory from stakeholders' observations and experiences in working with clients. Over time, formal theory-based interventions have acquired high prestige, while stakeholder theory-based interventions have been held in low…

Leslie Martin and the formal order

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaime J. Ferrer Fores

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract This paper analyzes the architecture of Sir Leslie Martin (1908-2000 and covers the intense professional career that starts with the Nursery School at Northwich, Cheshire (1937-1938 or the Alastair Morton house at Brampton (1938 which are ascribed to the orthodoxy of modern architecture, and  continues with the projects he planned as the architect responsible of the railway company for stations and railroad infrastructure rearrangements in the postwar, interventions that will prepare him for his architectural maturity stage which he crystallizes in buildings for the Royal Festival Hall in London (1948-1951, the Harvey Court, Cambridge (1958-1962, the auditoriums  for the Middleton Hall, University of Hull (1958 , the School of Music  (1974 and College (1979 at Cambridge University and his proposal for  the University of Bristol (1979 that illustrate the essential basis of his  coherent architectural career where the tradition of modern architecture, the spatial continuity and the formal order converge. This analysis of the works in the fifties, sixties and seventies illustrates the architect’s constants  through the chronological exploration of his works that reveal the  compositional mechanisms, the search for formal order and the correct spatial organization taking into account the functional requirements, the relationship with the site and the technological resources that determine his entire career which is characterized by formal consistency and architectural coherence.

Uncertainties in Transport Project Evaluation: Editorial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salling, Kim Bang; Nielsen, Otto Anker

2015-01-01

University of Denmark, September 2013. The conference was held under the auspices of the project ‘Uncertainties in transport project evaluation’ (UNITE) which is a research project (2009-2014) financed by the Danish Strategic Research Agency. UNITE was coordinated by the Department of Transport......This following special issue of the European Journal of Transport Infrastructure Research (EJTIR) containing five scientific papers is the result of an open call for papers at the 1st International Conference on Uncertainties in Transport Project Evaluation that took place at the Technical...

Research on evaluation of enterprise project culture based on Denison model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yucheng Zeng

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to build enterprise project culture evaluation model and search for the best evaluation method for Chinese enterprise project culture on the basis of studying and drawing lessons from enterprise culture evaluation theory and method at home and abroad. Design/methodology/approach: Referring to the Denison enterprise culture evaluation model, this paper optimizes it according to the difference of enterprise project culture, designs the enterprise project culture evaluation model and proves the practicability of the model through empirical. Finding: This paper finds that it`s more applicable to use the Denison model for enterprise project culture evaluation through the comparative analysis of domestic and foreign enterprise culture evaluation theory and method, the systematic project culture management framework of Chinese enterprises has not yet formed through empirical research, and four factors in enterprise project culture have important influence on project operation performance improvement. Research limitations/implications: The research on evaluation of enterprise project culture based on Denison model is a preliminary attempt, the design of evaluation index system, evaluation model and scale structure also need to be improved, but the thinking of this paper in this field provides a valuable reference for future research. Practical Implications: This paper provides the support of theory and practice for evaluating the present situation of enterprise project culture construction and analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of project culture, which contributes to the "dialectical therapy" of enterprise project management, enterprise management and enterprise project culture construction. Originality/value: The main contribution of this paper is the introduction of Denison enterprise culture model. Combining with the actual situation of enterprises, this paper also builds the evaluation model for

Formal methods in the design of Ada 1995

Science.gov (United States)

Guaspari, David

1995-01-01

Formal, mathematical methods are most useful when applied early in the design and implementation of a software system--that, at least, is the familiar refrain. I will report on a modest effort to apply formal methods at the earliest possible stage, namely, in the design of the Ada 95 programming language itself. This talk is an 'experience report' that provides brief case studies illustrating the kinds of problems we worked on, how we approached them, and the extent (if any) to which the results proved useful. It also derives some lessons and suggestions for those undertaking future projects of this kind. Ada 95 is the first revision of the standard for the Ada programming language. The revision began in 1988, when the Ada Joint Programming Office first asked the Ada Board to recommend a plan for revising the Ada standard. The first step in the revision was to solicit criticisms of Ada 83. A set of requirements for the new language standard, based on those criticisms, was published in 1990. A small design team, the Mapping Revision Team (MRT), became exclusively responsible for revising the language standard to satisfy those requirements. The MRT, from Intermetrics, is led by S. Tucker Taft. The work of the MRT was regularly subject to independent review and criticism by a committee of distinguished Reviewers and by several advisory teams--for example, the two User/Implementor teams, each consisting of an industrial user (attempting to make significant use of the new language on a realistic application) and a compiler vendor (undertaking, experimentally, to modify its current implementation in order to provide the necessary new features). One novel decision established the Language Precision Team (LPT), which investigated language proposals from a mathematical point of view. The LPT applied formal mathematical analysis to help improve the design of Ada 95 (e.g., by clarifying the language proposals) and to help promote its acceptance (e.g., by identifying a

Evaluation on Collaborative Satisfaction for Project Management Team in Integrated Project Delivery Mode

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, L.; Li, Y.; Wu, Q.

2013-05-01

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a newly-developed project delivery approach for construction projects, and the level of collaboration of project management team is crucial to the success of its implementation. Existing research has shown that collaborative satisfaction is one of the key indicators of team collaboration. By reviewing the literature on team collaborative satisfaction and taking into consideration the characteristics of IPD projects, this paper summarizes the factors that influence collaborative satisfaction of IPD project management team. Based on these factors, this research develops a fuzzy linguistic method to effectively evaluate the level of team collaborative satisfaction, in which the authors adopted the 2-tuple linguistic variables and 2-tuple linguistic hybrid average operators to enhance the objectivity and accuracy of the evaluation. The paper demonstrates the practicality and effectiveness of the method through carrying out a case study with the method.

Back to inertia : Theoretical implications of alternative styles of logical formalization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Péli, Gabor; Pólos, L.; Hannan, M.T.

This article applies two new criteria, desirability and faithfulness, to evaluate Péli et al.'s (1994) formalization of Hannan and Freeman's structural inertia argument (1984, 1989). We conclude that this formalization fails to meet these criteria. We argue that part of the rational reconstruction

A desk evaluation review of project URT/5/007 tsetse fly eradication. Project desk evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-06-01

Project URT/5/007 was initiated in 1984 to assist the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania in developing membrane feeding technology for the mass breeding of tsetse flies, which is required for the application of the sterile insect technique to eradicate the tsetse fly from the island of Zanzibar. As the project progressed the objectives focused on the development of inter-related management practices with SIT to control and eventually eradicate the tsetse species infesting Zanzibar. As depicted by the project title, tsetse fly eradication on Zanzibar is the ultimate goal of on-going work of project URT/5/007; however, tsetse fly eradication is not the immediate objective of this project. The total budget of the project for the years 1984 through 1994 includes 53 man-months of expert services, $402,755 for equipment, and $1,959 for fellowship training. Additional funds for 57 man-months of fellowship training were provided from sources outside of the project. Resources provided by the United Republic of Tanzania for the project included staff, local facilities, and local running costs. A Desk Evaluation Review (DER) of Project URT/5/007 was requested by the Africa Section to provide an assessment of project achievements and to determine to what end the project may lead in the near future. Also the review could help determine how experiences gained during the developments of this project might be utilized in the management and implementation of similar projects in Tanzania or the region.

A desk evaluation review of project URT/5/007 tsetse fly eradication. Project desk evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

Project URT/5/007 was initiated in 1984 to assist the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania in developing membrane feeding technology for the mass breeding of tsetse flies, which is required for the application of the sterile insect technique to eradicate the tsetse fly from the island of Zanzibar. As the project progressed the objectives focused on the development of inter-related management practices with SIT to control and eventually eradicate the tsetse species infesting Zanzibar. As depicted by the project title, tsetse fly eradication on Zanzibar is the ultimate goal of on-going work of project URT/5/007; however, tsetse fly eradication is not the immediate objective of this project. The total budget of the project for the years 1984 through 1994 includes 53 man-months of expert services, $402,755 for equipment, and $1,959 for fellowship training. Additional funds for 57 man-months of fellowship training were provided from sources outside of the project. Resources provided by the United Republic of Tanzania for the project included staff, local facilities, and local running costs. A Desk Evaluation Review (DER) of Project URT/5/007 was requested by the Africa Section to provide an assessment of project achievements and to determine to what end the project may lead in the near future. Also the review could help determine how experiences gained during the developments of this project might be utilized in the management and implementation of similar projects in Tanzania or the region

Evaluation model of project complexity for large-scale construction projects in Iran - A Fuzzy ANP approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aliyeh Kazemi

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Construction projects have always been complex. By growing trend of this complexity, implementations of large-scale constructions become harder. Hence, evaluating and understanding these complexities are critical. Correct evaluation of a project complication can provide executives and managers with good source to use. Fuzzy analytic network process (ANP is a logical and systematic approach toward defining, evaluation, and grading. This method allows for analyzing complex systems, and determining complexity of them. In this study, by taking advantage of fuzzy ANP, effective indexes for development of complications in large-scale construction projects in Iran have been determined and prioritized. The results show socio-political, project system interdependencies, and technological complexity indexes ranked top to three. Furthermore, in comparison of three main huge projects: commercial-administrative, hospital, and skyscrapers, the hospital project had been evaluated as the most complicated. This model is beneficial for professionals in managing large-scale projects.

Evaluating experience with electricity generating GHG mitigation projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ellis, J.

2003-07-01

Several programmes have been initiated to encourage the development of projects that mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases. Recent programmes have been undertaken at the national level, such as the Dutch five-track approach, including contracts with multilateral institutions, regional development banks, private banks, bilateral contracts with countries, participation in carbon funds and the ERUPT and CERUPT tenders, Japanese Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) feasibility studies, and the more recent Finnish, Austrian and Italian JI/CDM programmes. International programmes, such as the World Bank's Prototype Carbon Fund (and other WB carbon funds), have also been initiated. Individual projects not belonging to particular programmes have also been initiated under the pilot phase of 'activities implemented jointly' (AIJ) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or developed as CDM or Joint Implementation (JI) projects. Some CDM project activities have been formally submitted to the CDM's Executive Board (EB), who approved the first set of baseline and monitoring methodologies for CDM project activities in July 2003. There is a large variety in the type of projects that have been put forward. These include energy, industry, forestry and waste projects. This paper will focus on CDM-type projects that generate grid-connected electricity for several reasons: demand for electricity is growing rapidly in many potential host countries; many projects in the electricity sector have been developed as potential CDM and JI projects; assessing additionality and baselines is arguably more difficult for projects in the electricity sector (where a range of project types may occur as part of business-as-usual activities) than for end-of-pipe projects such as landfill gas capture and flaring or decomposition of F-gases; much work has been done on assessing appropriate methods to determine baselines in the electricity sector, at the

Comparing formal verification approaches of interlocking systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haxthausen, Anne Elisabeth; Nguyen, Hoang Nga; Roggenbach, Markus

2016-01-01

these approaches. As a first step towards this, in this paper we suggest a way to compare different formal approaches for verifying designs of route-based interlocking systems and we demonstrate it on modelling and verification approaches developed within the research groups at DTU/Bremen and at Surrey......The verification of railway interlocking systems is a challenging task, and therefore several research groups have suggested to improve this task by using formal methods, but they use different modelling and verification approaches. To advance this research, there is a need to compare....../Swansea. The focus is on designs that are specified by so-called control tables. The paper can serve as a starting point for further comparative studies. The DTU/Bremen research has been funded by the RobustRailS project granted by Innovation Fund Denmark. The Surrey/Swansea research has been funded by the Safe...

Nuclear power plant human computer interface design incorporating console simulation, operations personnel, and formal evaluation techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chavez, C.; Edwards, R.M.; Goldberg, J.H.

1993-01-01

New CRT-based information displays which enhance the human machine interface are playing a very important role and are being increasingly used in control rooms since they present a higher degree of flexibility compared to conventional hardwired instrumentation. To prototype a new console configuration and information display system at the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II), an iterative process of console simulation and evaluation involving operations personnel is being pursued. Entire panels including selector switches and information displays are simulated and driven by plant dynamical simulations with realistic responses that reproduce the actual cognitive and physical environment. Careful analysis and formal evaluation of operator interaction while using the simulated console will be conducted to determine underlying principles for effective control console design for this particular group of operation personnel. Additional iterations of design, simulation, and evaluation will then be conducted as necessary

Survey of an evaluation method for research and development projects; Kenkyu kaihatsu project no hyoka shuho ni kansuru chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

This report describes an interim evaluation method and a concrete evaluation method for projects promoted by the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, and NEDO. As a result of the survey, a method of highly practical interim evaluation, concrete evaluation items, and evaluation criteria have been proposed by assuming that the projects are evaluated by the project evaluation department independent of the project promotion department. Long-term issues for constructing the evaluation system are also described. It is the most essential for the evaluation to fulfill the function of effective promotion of the following projects. It is also indispensable for the evaluation method and issues proposed in this report to communicate closely to project promoters and researchers, and to reassess the projects continuously. Continuous consideration for the feedback of evaluation process and the improvement of evaluation are significant for the long-term construction of system. 21 refs., 9 figs., 23 tabs.

Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning in the Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Ainsworth, Heather L.; Eaton, Sarah Elaine

2010-01-01

This research report investigates the links between formal, non-formal and informal learning and the differences between them. In particular, the report aims to link these notions of learning to the field of sciences and engineering in Canada and the United States, including professional development of adults working in these fields. It offers…

Fourier Series Formalization in ACL2(r

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cuong K. Chau

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We formalize some basic properties of Fourier series in the logic of ACL2(r, which is a variant of ACL2 that supports reasoning about the real and complex numbers by way of non-standard analysis. More specifically, we extend a framework for formally evaluating definite integrals of real-valued, continuous functions using the Second Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Our extended framework is also applied to functions containing free arguments. Using this framework, we are able to prove the orthogonality relationships between trigonometric functions, which are the essential properties in Fourier series analysis. The sum rule for definite integrals of indexed sums is also formalized by applying the extended framework along with the First Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and the sum rule for differentiation. The Fourier coefficient formulas of periodic functions are then formalized from the orthogonality relations and the sum rule for integration. Consequently, the uniqueness of Fourier sums is a straightforward corollary. We also present our formalization of the sum rule for definite integrals of infinite series in ACL2(r. Part of this task is to prove the Dini Uniform Convergence Theorem and the continuity of a limit function under certain conditions. A key technique in our proofs of these theorems is to apply the overspill principle from non-standard analysis.

Evaluating miscible flood projects for acquisition or viability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cassinat, J.C.

1991-01-01

Very little information exists regarding evaluating enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects, in particular miscible floods. Due to the size and scope of most tertiary recovery projects, standard evaluation rules and techniques are too general and vague to adequately model these schemes. A procedure for identifying the risks associated with miscible EOR projects is presented. It is essential to set up a cash flow model that accurately represents the future performance of a miscible flood. Included in the model are the timing of crucial events such as expected solvent breakthrough and the injection of trace gas. The cash flow analysis allows a quick audit procedure and converts production into a monetary or economic evaluation criteria that can easily be compared to other investment alternatives. When evaluating a miscible flood project, forecasting production, solvent and chase gas recovery costs can become quite complex. An organized procedure for an evaluation will ensure that a comprehensive and thorough examination of all the data is completed, and will increase confidence levels associated with decision making. 32 refs., 4 figs., 4 tabs

Projection-operator calculations of the lowest e--He resonance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berk, A.; Bhatia, A.K.; Junker, B.R.; Temkin, A.

1986-01-01

Results for the lowest (Schulz) autodetaching state of He - [1s(2s) 2 ] are reported. The calculation utilizes the full projection-operator formalism as explicitly developed by Temkin and Bhatia [Phys. Rev. A 31, 1259 (1985)]. Eigenvalues, scrE = , are calculated using projection operators Q depending on increasingly elaborate target wave functions going up to a 10-term Hylleraas-form, and a configuration-interaction total wave function Phi of 40 configurations. Results are well converged, but our best value is --0.13 eV above the experimental position at 19.37 eV. We conclude that the shift (Δ) in the Feshbach formalism gives a large contribution (relative to the width) to the position E/sub r/ ( = scrE+Δ). An appendix is devoted to the evaluation of the most complicated type of three-center integral involved in the calculation

Fear of the Formal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

du Gay, Paul; Lopdrup-Hjorth, Thomas

Over recent decades, institutions exhibiting high degrees of formality have come in for severe criticism. From the private to the public sector, and across a whole spectrum of actors spanning from practitioners to academics, formal organization is viewed with increasing doubt and skepticism....... In a “Schumpetarian world” (Teece et al., 1997: 509) of dynamic competition and incessant reform, formal organization appears as well suited to survival as a fish out of water. Indeed, formal organization, and its closely overlapping semantic twin bureaucracy, are not only represented as ill suited to the realities...... is that formal organization is an obstacle to be overcome. For that very reason, critics, intellectuals and reformers alike have urged public and private organizations to break out of the stifling straightjacket of formality, to dispense with bureaucracy, and to tear down hierarchies. This could either be done...

Evaluation of Service Station Attendant-Auto Care Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Cress, Ronald J.

The project described offers an approach to providing occupational skills to socially and educationally handicapped youth, specifically the skills necessary for a service station attendant in driveway salesmanship and auto care. The 10-page evaluation report presents project goals and objectives with evaluation data (represented graphically) and…

Formalizing the Problem of Music Description

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sturm, Bob L.; Bardeli, Rolf; Langlois, Thibault

2015-01-01

The lack of a formalism for “the problem of music descrip- tion” results in, among other things: ambiguity in what problem a music description system must address, how it should be evaluated, what criteria define its success, and the paradox that a music description system can reproduce the “ground...

Comprehensive Evaluation of Large Infrastructure Project Plan with ANP

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

HAN Chuan-feng; CHEN Jian-ye

2005-01-01

Analytic Network Process(ANP) was used in comprehensive evaluation of large infrastructure project plan. A model including social economy, ecological environment, and resources was established with ANP method. The evaluation pattern of hierarchy structure and comprehensive evaluation method for quantity and quality of large infrastructure project were put forward, which provides an effective way to evaluate the large infrastructure project plan. Quantitative analysis indicated that the internal dependence relation of hierarchy structure has influence on ranking results of plan. It is suggested that considering the internal relation can helps managers make effective decisions.

Evaluation of the pilot procurement project in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ostertag, Katrin

2003-01-01

Energy+ represents a European cooperative procurement initiative which aims at increasing the market share of highly energy-efficient cold appliances. Three years after its start, the project was recently evaluated in Germany. This paper discusses the main evaluation results and their implications for the project's further development. It covers the impacts of Energy+ on technology development and the commercial importance of the targeted appliances. Due to the project's relatively recent start, however, the main focus of the evaluation lies on the procurement process and practical implementation elements. Of particular interest are the specificities of the considered market segment which, in Germany and also in other participating countries, is characterised by highly dispersed consumers and the lack of large institutional buyers as candidates for a buyer group. The project therefore developed a new approach emphasising the role of retail organisations and of marketing activities by the project coordinators. The evaluation discusses several challenges related to this approach. This includes issues concerning the interfaces between international producers, their national branch offices and retailers as well as conflicts between the marketing approaches of producers and retailers, in particular with respect to the use of brand names and trade marks. Further, in Energy+ the communication between users and producers, an essential innovative element of cooperative procurement, cannot take its usual role, since consumers are not directly involved in the process. The paper shows how the project has dealt with these challenges and provides recommendations for the future project design

Preparation and Characterization of Formalated Polyvinyl Alcohol Hydrogel Film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Than Than Aye; Nyunt Win; San Myint

2011-12-01

A feasible hydrogen film was prepared from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sample. The effect of chemical grafting on polyvinyl alcohol film was studied. Polyvinyl alcohol sample was mixed with distilled water and autoclaved at 121C for 60 minutes. An aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol was casted into a steel plate and dried for a certain time at room temperature. The obtained PVA film was immersed in formalation bath containing aqueous formaldehyde, sulphuric acid, anhydrous sodium sulphate with a weight ratio of (64:95:300) and 1 liter of distilled water at 60C for various hours. Effect of formalation time was studied varying 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hours. Degree of formalation was also evaluated. Physical properties of the hydrogel film such as gel fraction, degree of swelling and mechanical properties such as tensile strength, elongation and hardness were determined before and after formalation of the PVA film. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic (FTIR) analysis, Thermogravimetric / Differential thermal analysis (DTA / TG) were also studied for characterization. It was found that the appropriate condition for formalation was occured at 24 hours formalation time of with the calculated degree of formalation 65.35% with the determined values (9.04 Mpa) for tensile strength, (241.92%) for elongation, (45.30 Shore D) for hardness, (280.36%) for degree of swelling and (68.32%) for gel fraction.

Necessity of Integral Formalism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tao Yong

2011-01-01

To describe the physical reality, there are two ways of constructing the dynamical equation of field, differential formalism and integral formalism. The importance of this fact is firstly emphasized by Yang in case of gauge field [Phys. Rev. Lett. 33 (1974) 445], where the fact has given rise to a deeper understanding for Aharonov-Bohm phase and magnetic monopole [Phys. Rev. D 12 (1975) 3845]. In this paper we shall point out that such a fact also holds in general wave function of matter, it may give rise to a deeper understanding for Berry phase. Most importantly, we shall prove a point that, for general wave function of matter, in the adiabatic limit, there is an intrinsic difference between its integral formalism and differential formalism. It is neglect of this difference that leads to an inconsistency of quantum adiabatic theorem pointed out by Marzlin and Sanders [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 (2004) 160408]. It has been widely accepted that there is no physical difference of using differential operator or integral operator to construct the dynamical equation of field. Nevertheless, our study shows that the Schrödinger differential equation (i.e., differential formalism for wave function) shall lead to vanishing Berry phase and that the Schrödinger integral equation (i.e., integral formalism for wave function), in the adiabatic limit, can satisfactorily give the Berry phase. Therefore, we reach a conclusion: There are two ways of describing physical reality, differential formalism and integral formalism; but the integral formalism is a unique way of complete description. (general)

Pragmatics for formal semantics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danvy, Olivier

2011-01-01

This tech talk describes how to write and how to inter-derive formal semantics for sequential programming languages. The progress reported here is (1) concrete guidelines to write each formal semantics to alleviate their proof obligations, and (2) simple calculational tools to obtain a formal...

Leveraging Formal Methods and Fuzzing to Verify Security and Reliability Properties of Large-Scale High-Consequence Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruthruff, Joseph. R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Armstrong, Robert C. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Davis, Benjamin Garry [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Mayo, Jackson R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Punnoose, Ratish J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)

2012-09-01

Formal methods describe a class of system analysis techniques that seek to prove specific properties about analyzed designs, or locate flaws compromising those properties. As an analysis capability,these techniques are the subject of increased interest from both internal and external customers of Sandia National Laboratories. Given this lab's other areas of expertise, Sandia is uniquely positioned to advance the state-of-the-art with respect to several research and application areas within formal methods. This research project was a one-year effort funded by Sandia's CyberSecurity S&T Investment Area in its Laboratory Directed Research & Development program to investigate the opportunities for formal methods to impact Sandia's present mission areas, more fully understand the needs of the research community in the area of formal methods and where Sandia can contribute, and clarify from those potential research paths those that would best advance the mission-area interests of Sandia. The accomplishments from this project reinforce the utility of formal methods in Sandia, particularly in areas relevant to Cyber Security, and set the stage for continued Sandia investments to ensure this capabilityis utilized and advanced within this laboratory to serve the national interest.

Formal Verification -26 ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

by testing of the components and successful testing leads to the software being ... Formal verification is based on formal methods which are mathematically based ..... scenario under which a similar error could occur. There are various other ...

A Formal Verification Method of Function Block Diagram

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koh, Kwang Yong; Seong, Poong Hyun; Jee, Eun Kyoung; Jeon, Seung Jae; Park, Gee Yong; Kwon, Kee Choon

2007-01-01

Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), an industrial computer specialized for real-time applications, is widely used in diverse control systems in chemical processing plants, nuclear power plants or traffic control systems. As a PLC is often used to implement safety, critical embedded software, rigorous safety demonstration of PLC code is necessary. Function block diagram (FBD) is a standard application programming language for the PLC and currently being used in the development of a fully-digitalized reactor protection system (RPS), which is called the IDiPS, under the KNICS project. Therefore, verification issue of FBD programs is a pressing problem, and hence is of great importance. In this paper, we propose a formal verification method of FBD programs; we defined FBD programs formally in compliance with IEC 61131-3, and then translate the programs into Verilog model, and finally the model is verified using a model checker SMV. To demonstrate the feasibility and effective of this approach, we applied it to IDiPS which currently being developed under KNICS project. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 briefly describes Verilog and Cadence SMV. In Section 3, we introduce FBD2V which is a tool implemented to support the proposed FBD verification framework. A summary and conclusion are provided in Section 4

A root cause analysis project in a medication safety course.

Science.gov (United States)

Schafer, Jason J

2012-08-10

To develop, implement, and evaluate team-based root cause analysis projects as part of a required medication safety course for second-year pharmacy students. Lectures, in-class activities, and out-of-class reading assignments were used to develop students' medication safety skills and introduce them to the culture of medication safety. Students applied these skills within teams by evaluating cases of medication errors using root cause analyses. Teams also developed error prevention strategies and formally presented their findings. Student performance was assessed using a medication errors evaluation rubric. Of the 211 students who completed the course, the majority performed well on root cause analysis assignments and rated them favorably on course evaluations. Medication error evaluation and prevention was successfully introduced in a medication safety course using team-based root cause analysis projects.

Perturbation theory and collision probability formalism. Vol. 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nasr, M [National Center for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Control, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

1996-03-01

Perturbation theory is commonly used in evaluating the activity effects, particularly those resulting from small and localized perturbation in multiplying media., e.g. in small sample reactivity measurements. The Boltzmann integral transport equation is generally used for evaluating the direct and adjoint fluxes in the heterogenous lattice cells to be used in the perturbation equations. When applying perturbation theory in this formalism, a term involving the perturbation effects on the special transfer kernel arises. This term is difficult to evaluate correctly, since it involves an integration all over the entire system. The main advantage of the perturbation theory which is the limitation of the integration procedure on the perturbation region is found to be of no practical use in such cases. In the present work, the perturbation equation in the collision probability formalism is analyzed. A mathematical treatment of the term in question is performed. A new mathematical expression for this term is derived. The new expression which can be estimated easily is derived.

Evaluation of rubber modified asphalt demonstration projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-01-01

As part of the Ontario Government's medium-term scrap tire management strategy, 11 rubber modified asphalt demonstration projects were funded or completed, with 13 additional projects from small to large (1,500-65,000 passenger tire equivalents) approved for the 1993 paving season. This report presents the results of an August to November 1993 study of the 11 demonstration projects. The evaluation included a description of the technology; technical review of the projects; economic analysis; review of the environmental literature; environmental review of the projects; comparison of the projects with similar ones in other jurisdictions; and recommendations. Detailed information on asphalt technology is included in an appendix.

A Comparison of Participation Patterns in Selected Formal, Non-Formal, and Informal Online Learning Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Schwier, Richard A.; Seaton, J. X.

2013-01-01

Does learner participation vary depending on the learning context? Are there characteristic features of participation evident in formal, non-formal, and informal online learning environments? Six online learning environments were chosen as epitomes of formal, non-formal, and informal learning contexts and compared. Transcripts of online…

Canonical formalism for relativistic dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Penafiel-Nava, V.M.

1982-01-01

The possibility of a canonical formalism appropriate for a dynamical theory of isolated relativistic multiparticle systems involving scalar interactions is studied. It is shown that a single time-parameter structure satisfying the requirements of Poincare invariance and simultaneity of the constituents (global tranversality) can not be derived from a homogeneous Lagrangian. The dynamics is deduced initially from a non-homogeneous but singular Lagrangian designed to accommodate the global tranversality constraints with the equaltime plane associated to the total momentum of the system. An equivalent standard Lagrangian is used to generalize the parametrization procedure which is referred to an arbitrary geodesic in Minkowski space. The equations of motion and the definition of center of momentum are invariant with respect to the choice of geodesic and the entire formalism becomes separable. In the original 8N-dimensional phase-space, the symmetries of the Lagrangian give rise to a canonical realization of a fifteen-generator Lie algebra which is projected in the 6N dimensional hypersurface of dynamical motions. The time-component of the total momentum is thus reduced to a neutral element and the canonical Hamiltonian survives as the only generator for time-translations so that the no-interaction theorem becomes inapplicable

Improving Learner Outcomes in Lifelong Education: Formal Pedagogies in Non-Formal Learning Contexts?

Science.gov (United States)

Zepke, Nick; Leach, Linda

2006-01-01

This article explores how far research findings about successful pedagogies in formal post-school education might be used in non-formal learning contexts--settings where learning may not lead to formal qualifications. It does this by examining a learner outcomes model adapted from a synthesis of research into retention. The article first…

Formalized Medical Guidelines and a Structured Electronic Health Record.

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Peleška, Jan; Anger, Z.; Buchtela, David; Šebesta, K.; Tomečková, Marie; Veselý, Arnošt; Zvára, K.; Zvárová, Jana

2005-01-01

Roč. 11, - (2005), s. 4652-4656 ISSN 1727-1983. [EMBEC'05. European Medical and Biomedical Conference /3./. Prague, 20.11.2005-25.11.2005] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR 1ET200300413 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : formalization of guidelines in cardilogy * GLIF model * structure electronic health record * algorithm in cardiovascular diagnostics and treatment Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information

A critical evaluation of the STRATEGY project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Howard, B.J.; Liland, A.; Beresford, N.A.

2004-01-01

The STRATEGY project (sustainable restoration and long-term management of contaminated rural, urban and industrial ecosystems; www.strategy-ec.org.uk) addressed the need for a holistic decision framework for the selection of optimal remediation strategies for long-term sustainable management...... of contaminated areas in Western Europe. The project considered both technical and social aspects of implementing restoration strategies for urban and rural environments. The importance of considering socially relevant objectives in addition to the dose reduction was emphasised. A critical evaluation was carried...... out on 101 selected countermeasures, (including rural waste disposal options), a model was developed to aid optimising countermeasure strategies and a method of carrying out participatory decision-making suggested. The outputs of the project are described and critically evaluated....

A critical evaluation of the strategy project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howard, B. J.; Liland, A.; Beresford, N. A.; Andersson, K. G.; Cox, G.; Gil, J. M.; Hunt, J.; Nisbet, A.; Oughton, D. H.; Voigt, G.

2004-01-01

The STRATEGY project (sustainable restoration and long-term management of contaminated rural, urban and industrial ecosystems; www.strategy-ec.org.uk) addressed the need for a holistic decision framework for the selection of optimal remediation strategies for long-term sustainable management of contaminated areas in Western Europe. The project considered both technical and social aspects of implementing restoration strategies for urban and rural environments. The importance of considering socially relevant objectives in addition to the dose reduction was emphasised. A critical evaluation was carried out on 101 selected countermeasures, (including rural waste disposal options), a model was developed to aid optimising countermeasure strategies and a method of carrying out participatory decision-making suggested. The outputs of the project are described and critically evaluated. (authors)

Criteria of benchmark selection for efficient flexible multibody system formalisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valášek M.

2007-10-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the selection process of benchmarks for testing and comparing efficient flexible multibody formalisms. The existing benchmarks are briefly summarized. The purposes for benchmark selection are investigated. The result of this analysis is the formulation of the criteria of benchmark selection for flexible multibody formalisms. Based on them the initial set of suitable benchmarks is described. Besides that the evaluation measures are revised and extended.

A desk evaluation review of project VIE/4/009 design and production of nuclear instruments. Project desk evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-12-09

A Project Desk Evaluation (PDE) is an intensive review process, using agreed guidelines, of the design, implementation, and the output of a project. This project is exclusively dealing with the design and production of nuclear instruments. The aim of this project would be to develop a viable capability for maintenance and repair of the nuclear instruments at the Dalat Research Institute (DNRI), the premier nuclear centre in Viet Nam, and also to meet the steadily increasing needs of DNRI, as well as of other national institutions, hospitals and universities engaged in the application of nuclear technologies, particularly in the southern part of the country. Project Summary with financial data is given along with training programme. 1 tab.

A desk evaluation review of project VIE/4/009 design and production of nuclear instruments. Project desk evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

A Project Desk Evaluation (PDE) is an intensive review process, using agreed guidelines, of the design, implementation, and the output of a project. This project is exclusively dealing with the design and production of nuclear instruments. The aim of this project would be to develop a viable capability for maintenance and repair of the nuclear instruments at the Dalat Research Institute (DNRI), the premier nuclear centre in Viet Nam, and also to meet the steadily increasing needs of DNRI, as well as of other national institutions, hospitals and universities engaged in the application of nuclear technologies, particularly in the southern part of the country. Project Summary with financial data is given along with training programme. 1 tab

The Mutual Reciprocity of Education, Non-Formal Cultural Education and Social Capital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igaune Edīte

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Human knowledge and creative potential has become one of the most important driving forces of humanity progress. In the context of the twenty-first century, in order to create a high-quality culture environment, it requires a paradigm shift in education - the transition to education, which stimulates the imagination, intuition, emotions and creative ideas and develops critical thinking. Non-formal education and the skills and knowledge gained in it is still in evaluation and recognition phase in Latvia. It is still developing; therefore, it is important to create a clear understanding of the importance and social role of non-formal cultural education. The paper aims to explore the role of non-formal cultural education in strengthening social capital as well as to identify what social capital indicators can be attributed to non-formal cultural education programmes. The topicality of the study is determined by the fact that non-formal cultural education and social capital in the context of Latvia are little explored areas, as well as there is lack of research on mutual reciprocity. The study uses qualitative research methodology. Research analyses non-formal cultural education programmes of 10 subordinated institutions of Latvian Ministry of Culture (museums, theatres, concert institutions and opera and on the basis of 19 in-depth and semi-structured interviews. Study contains new, theoretically based evaluation model of social capital and characterizes of indicators in the context of non-formal education. The study confirms that there is a mutual reciprocity between social capital and non-formal cultural education programmes, and these programmes have a positive and supportive role in strengthening both the individual and collective social capital.

Project Aprendizaje. Final Evaluation Report 1992-93.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Andrew

This report provides evaluative information regarding the effectiveness of Project Aprendizaje, a New York City program that served 269 Spanish-speaking students of limited English proficiency (LEP). The project promoted parent and community involvement by sponsoring cultural events, such as a large Latin American festival. Students developed…

The Jeff evaluated nuclear data project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koning, A.J.; Duijvestijn, M.C.; Hogenbirk, A.; Van der Marck, S.C.; Avrigeanu, M.; Avrigeanu, V.; Batistoni, P.; Pillon, M.; Bauge, E.; Bersillon, O.; Dos-Santos-Uzarralde, P.; Lopez Jimenez, M.J.; Morillon, B.; Romain, P.; Be, M.M.; Duchemin, B.; Huynh, T.D.; Jouanne, C.; Mounier, C.; Bem, P.; Bernard, D.; Bouland, O.; Courcelle, A.; Dupont, E.; Jacqmin, R.; Litaize, O.; Noguere, G.; Saint Jean, C. de; Santamarina, A.; Serot, O.; Sublet, J.Ch.; Bidaud, A.; Dean, C.J.; Perry, R.J.; Duhamel, I.; Nouri, A.; Gunsing, F.; Ridikas, D.; Fischer, U.; Leichtle, D.; Pereslavtsev, P.; Simakov, S.; Forrest, R.A.; Haeck, W.; Henriksson, H.; Kodeli, I.; Nordborg, C.; Rugama, Y.; Sartori, E.; Keinert, J.; Mattes, M.; Kellett, M.A.; Nichols, A.L.; Kopecky, J.; Leeb, H.; Leppanen, J.; Menapace, E.; Pescarini, M.; Mills, R.W.; Perel, R.L.; Plompen, A.J.M.; Rullhusen, P.; Seidel, K.; Tagesen, S.; Vonach, H.; Trkov, A

2008-07-01

The status of the Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion file (JEFF) is described. JEFF-3.1 comprises a significant update of actinide evaluations, materials evaluations that have emerged from various European nuclear data projects, the activation library JEFF-3.1/A, the decay data and fission yield sub-libraries, and fusion-related data files from the EFF project. The revisions were motivated by the availability of new measurements, modelling capabilities and trends from integral experiments. Validations have been performed, mainly for criticality, reactivity temperature coefficients, fuel inventory and shielding of thermal and fast systems. Compared with earlier releases, JEFF-3.1 provides improved performance with respect to a variety of scientific and industrial applications. Following on from the public release of JEFF-3.1, the French nuclear power industry has selected this suite of nuclear applications libraries for inclusion in their production codes. (authors)

The Jeff evaluated nuclear data project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koning, A.J.; Duijvestijn, M.C.; Hogenbirk, A.; Van der Marck, S.C.; Avrigeanu, M.; Avrigeanu, V.; Batistoni, P.; Pillon, M.; Bauge, E.; Bersillon, O.; Dos-Santos-Uzarralde, P.; Lopez Jimenez, M.J.; Morillon, B.; Romain, P.; Be, M.M.; Duchemin, B.; Huynh, T.D.; Jouanne, C.; Mounier, C.; Bem, P.; Bernard, D.; Bouland, O.; Courcelle, A.; Dupont, E.; Jacqmin, R.; Litaize, O.; Noguere, G.; Saint Jean, C. de; Santamarina, A.; Serot, O.; Sublet, J.Ch.; Bidaud, A.; Dean, C.J.; Perry, R.J.; Duhamel, I.; Nouri, A.; Gunsing, F.; Ridikas, D.; Fischer, U.; Leichtle, D.; Pereslavtsev, P.; Simakov, S.; Forrest, R.A.; Haeck, W.; Henriksson, H.; Kodeli, I.; Nordborg, C.; Rugama, Y.; Sartori, E.; Keinert, J.; Mattes, M.; Kellett, M.A.; Nichols, A.L.; Kopecky, J.; Leeb, H.; Leppanen, J.; Menapace, E.; Pescarini, M.; Mills, R.W.; Perel, R.L.; Plompen, A.J.M.; Rullhusen, P.; Seidel, K.; Tagesen, S.; Vonach, H.; Trkov, A.

2008-01-01

The status of the Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion file (JEFF) is described. JEFF-3.1 comprises a significant update of actinide evaluations, materials evaluations that have emerged from various European nuclear data projects, the activation library JEFF-3.1/A, the decay data and fission yield sub-libraries, and fusion-related data files from the EFF project. The revisions were motivated by the availability of new measurements, modelling capabilities and trends from integral experiments. Validations have been performed, mainly for criticality, reactivity temperature coefficients, fuel inventory and shielding of thermal and fast systems. Compared with earlier releases, JEFF-3.1 provides improved performance with respect to a variety of scientific and industrial applications. Following on from the public release of JEFF-3.1, the French nuclear power industry has selected this suite of nuclear applications libraries for inclusion in their production codes. (authors)

Monitoring the effectiveness evaluation of investment projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skopin Alex O.

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The article raised the question of monitoring regulatory evaluation of the effectiveness of regional investment projects. This is justified by the fact that the current regulatory framework defined indicators for measuring the effectiveness of regional investment projects, but these figures are usually used only at the design stage of the project, an interim assessment of the effectiveness of a sufficiently simplified and based on the level of exploration investment.

Economic Evaluation Methodology Review on KAERI's Recent Projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Jin Sam; Kim, Jee Young [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

In technology utilization, economics evaluation is helpful to R and D program managers by giving them economic information needed to improve the usefulness of their projects. Moreover it can help them to communicate to others participants keeping all of them value-oriented minded through the whole development process. In this context, KAERI(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) has been performed economic evaluation on recent some projects. So, in this study, it has been made brief reviews on KAERI's economic evaluation methodology to its recent some projects of which evaluation we engage in, especially PEFP(Proton Engineering frontier Project) and SMART(Small Medium advanced ReacTor): Methodology comparison and their pros and cons

Methodology for evaluation of railroad technology research projects

Science.gov (United States)

1981-04-01

This Project memorandum presents a methodology for evaluating railroad research projects. The methodology includes consideration of industry and societal benefits, with special attention given to technical risks, implementation considerations, and po...

Intermediate evaluation of USAID/Cairo energy policy planning project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilbanks, T.J.; Wright, S.B. (Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)); Barron, W.F. (Hong Kong Univ. (Hong Kong)); Kamel, A.M. (Ain Shams Univ., Cairo (Egypt)); Santiago, H.T. (USDOE, Washington, DC (United States))

1992-01-01

Three years ago, a team from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, supplemented by an expert from the US Department of Energy and a senior Egyptian energy professional, carried out what was termed an intermediate evaluation'' of a major energy policy project in Egypt. Supported by USAID/Cairo, the project had concentrated on developing and strengthening an Organization for Energy Planning (OEP) within the Government of India, and it was actually scheduled to end less than a year after this evaluation. The evaluation was submitted to USAID/Cairo and circulated elsewhere in the US Agency for International Development and the Government of Egypt as an internal report. Over the next several years, the USAID energy planning project ended and the functions performed by OEP were merged with planning capabilities in the electric power sector. Now that the major issues addressed by the evaluation report have been resolved, we are making it available to a broader audience as a contribution to the general literature on development project evaluation and institution-building.

Intermediate evaluation of USAID/Cairo energy policy planning project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilbanks, T.J.; Wright, S.B. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Barron, W.F. [Hong Kong Univ. (Hong Kong); Kamel, A.M. [Ain Shams Univ., Cairo (Egypt); Santiago, H.T. [USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)

1992-09-01

Three years ago, a team from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, supplemented by an expert from the US Department of Energy and a senior Egyptian energy professional, carried out what was termed an ``intermediate evaluation`` of a major energy policy project in Egypt. Supported by USAID/Cairo, the project had concentrated on developing and strengthening an Organization for Energy Planning (OEP) within the Government of India, and it was actually scheduled to end less than a year after this evaluation. The evaluation was submitted to USAID/Cairo and circulated elsewhere in the US Agency for International Development and the Government of Egypt as an internal report. Over the next several years, the USAID energy planning project ended and the functions performed by OEP were merged with planning capabilities in the electric power sector. Now that the major issues addressed by the evaluation report have been resolved, we are making it available to a broader audience as a contribution to the general literature on development project evaluation and institution-building.

Closing the gap between formalism and application

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole Ravn

2008-01-01

A common problem in learning mathematics concerns the gap between, on the one hand, doing the formalisms and calculations of abstract mathematics and, on the other hand, applying these in a specific contextualized setting for example the engineering world. The skills acquired through problem......-based learning (PBL), in the special model used at Aalborg University, Denmark, may give us some idea of how to bridge this gap. Through an investigation of a series of examples of student projects concerning the application of mathematical subjects-such as matrices, differential equations, cluster analysis...

Beyond formalism

Science.gov (United States)

Denning, Peter J.

1991-01-01

The ongoing debate over the role of formalism and formal specifications in software features many speakers with diverse positions. Yet, in the end, they share the conviction that the requirements of a software system can be unambiguously specified, that acceptable software is a product demonstrably meeting the specifications, and that the design process can be carried out with little interaction between designers and users once the specification has been agreed to. This conviction is part of a larger paradigm prevalent in American management thinking, which holds that organizations are systems that can be precisely specified and optimized. This paradigm, which traces historically to the works of Frederick Taylor in the early 1900s, is no longer sufficient for organizations and software systems today. In the domain of software, a new paradigm, called user-centered design, overcomes the limitations of pure formalism. Pioneered in Scandinavia, user-centered design is spreading through Europe and is beginning to make its way into the U.S.

Teaching Evaluation of Higher Education Institutions: Retrospect and Prospect

Science.gov (United States)

Siping, Gao

2009-01-01

China started up pilot projects for the evaluation of teaching work at regular higher education institutions (HEIs) in 1994, and, beginning in 2003, the Ministry of Education (MOE) formally set up a system of cyclical teaching evaluation. Among the 592 undergraduate colleges and universities that were listed in the plan for the first round of…

A portfolio evaluation framework for air transportation improvement projects

Science.gov (United States)

Baik, Hyeoncheol

This thesis explores the application of portfolio theory to the Air Transportation System (ATS) improvement. The ATS relies on complexly related resources and different stakeholder groups. Moreover, demand for air travel is significantly increasing relative to capacity of air transportation. In this environment, improving the ATS is challenging. Many projects, which are defined as technologies or initiatives, for improvement have been proposed and some have been demonstrated in practice. However, there is no clear understanding of how well these projects work in different conditions nor of how they interact with each other or with existing systems. These limitations make it difficult to develop good project combinations, or portfolios that maximize improvement. To help address this gap, a framework for identifying good portfolios is proposed. The framework can be applied to individual projects or portfolios of projects. Projects or portfolios are evaluated using four different groups of factors (effectiveness, time-to-implement, scope of applicability, and stakeholder impacts). Portfolios are also evaluated in terms of interaction-determining factors (prerequisites, co-requisites, limiting factors, and amplifying factors) because, while a given project might work well in isolation, interdependencies between projects or with existing systems could result in lower overall performance in combination. Ways to communicate a portfolio to decision makers are also introduced. The framework is unique because (1) it allows using a variety of available data, and (2) it covers diverse benefit metrics. For demonstrating the framework, an application to ground delay management projects serves as a case study. The portfolio evaluation approach introduced in this thesis can aid decision makers and researchers at universities and aviation agencies such as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Department of Defense (DoD), in

Structuring Formal Requirements Specifications for Reuse and Product Families

Science.gov (United States)

Heimdahl, Mats P. E.

2001-01-01

In this project we have investigated how formal specifications should be structured to allow for requirements reuse, product family engineering, and ease of requirements change, The contributions of this work include (1) a requirements specification methodology specifically targeted for critical avionics applications, (2) guidelines for how to structure state-based specifications to facilitate ease of change and reuse, and (3) examples from the avionics domain demonstrating the proposed approach.

Integrated formal operations plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cort, G.; Dearholt, W.; Donahue, S.; Frank, J.; Perkins, B.; Tyler, R.; Wrye, J.

1994-01-05

The concept of formal operations (that is, a collection of business practices to assure effective, accountable operations) has vexed the Laboratory for many years. To date most attempts at developing such programs have been based upon rigid, compliance-based interpretations of a veritable mountain of Department of Energy (DOE) orders, directives, notices, and standards. These DOE dictates seldom take the broad view but focus on highly specialized programs isolated from the overall context of formal operations. The result is a confusing array of specific, and often contradictory, requirements that produce a patchwork of overlapping niche programs. This unnecessary duplication wastes precious resources, dramatically increases the complexity of our work processes, and communicates a sense of confusion to our customers and regulators. Coupled with the artificial divisions that have historically existed among the Laboratory`s formal operations organizations (quality assurance, configuration management, records management, training, etc.), this approach has produced layers of increasingly vague and complex formal operations plans, each of which interprets its parent and adds additional requirements of its own. Organizational gridlock ensues whenever an activity attempts to implement these bureaucratic monstrosities. The integrated formal operations plan presented is to establish a set of requirements that must be met by an integrated formal operations program, assign responsibilities for implementation and operation of the program, and specify criteria against which the performance of the program will be measured. The accountable line manager specifies the items, processes, and information (the controlled elements) to which the formal operations program specified applies. The formal operations program is implemented using a graded approach based on the level of importance of the various controlled elements and the scope of the activities in which they are involved.

An Evaluation of Non-Formal Educational Programs for Women in Morocco.

Science.gov (United States)

Youssef, Nadia H.; And Others

Morocco's existing non-formal education programs involving women (Foyers Feminins and Ouvroirs) cater to female adolescents from low-income families and are almost entirely oriented to the teaching of traditional feminine crafts. Efforts are being made by both programs to introduce non-craft training in areas related to the modern economic sector.…

The Impact of Non-formal Education on Skills and Knowledge of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The ultimate route to address the needs of the poor is through a community development process with projects as the main vehicle. The main role player to facilitate this process is the community development worker. This article focuses firstly on the role and importance of non-formal education in community development ...

Risk variables in evaluation of transport projects

Science.gov (United States)

Vařbuchta, Petr; Kovářová, Hana; Hromádka, Vít; Vítková, Eva

2017-09-01

Depending on the constantly increasing demands on assessment of investment projects, especially assessment of large-scale projects in transport and important European projects with wide impacts, there is constantly increasing focus on risk management, whether to find mitigations, creating corrective measures or their implementation in assessment, especially in the context of Cost-Benefit analysis. To project assessment is often used implementation of certain risk variables, which can generate negative impacts of project outputs in framework of assess. Especially in case of transportation infrastructure projects is taken much emphasis on the influence of risk variables. However, currently in case of assessment of transportation projects is in Czech Republic used a few risk variables, which occur in the most projects. This leads to certain limitation in framework of impact assessment of risk variables. This papers aims to specify a new risk variables and process of applying them to already executed project assessment. Based on changes generated by new risk variables will be evaluated differences between original and adapted assessment.

Formal Nutritional Education Improves Weight Loss in Bariatric Patients Following Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mangieri, Christopher Wesley; Strode, Matthew A

2016-12-01

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is an increasingly performed procedure in the bariatric surgery armamentarium. This study evaluates our experience with LSG at Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center (DDEAMC) during the time period of 2008-2010. We found that the inclusion of formal nutritional education significantly increased our weight loss results following LSG. This is a retrospective review from our LSG caseload from 2008 to 2010. During that time, we performed 159 LSG. In our review, we performed comparative data of all operative years during 2008-2010 for up to 3 years postoperatively. Our main focus was in regard to weight loss as measured by percentage of excess body weight loss (%EWL), percentage of total weight loss (%TWL), and percentage of excess BMI loss (%EBL). We also evaluated the effect of LSG on diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) postoperatively. We found an improvement in our %EWL, %TWL, and %EBL rates in our LSG cases following the inclusion of formal nutritional education. There was a mean increase in %EWL of 15 %, %TWL of 7 %, and %EBL of 21 %, which were statistically significant, that was present at all postoperative years of follow-up. We determined the only variable that changed in our bariatric program starting in 2010 was the inclusion of formal nutritional education. We also found a statistically significant improvement in resolution of HTN with the inclusion of formal nutritional education. The addition of formal nutritional education can enhance weight loss following bariatric surgery. We have shown a significant improvement in weight loss results following LSG with the implementation of formal nutritional education; this is the only study to our knowledge evaluating formal nutritional education and LSG.

RISK MANAGEMENT PROJECTS EVALUATION OF INNOVATION IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-HIGH TECHNOLOGY USING THE PERSPECTIVE OF PRISM METHODOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taciana de Barros Jerônimo

2011-10-01

Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the failures of the activity of project management in small and medium-sized high-tech firms, using the tool PRISM. This postmortem methodology, proposed by Gary Pan, Shan L. and Ray Hackney Pan, analyzes the interactions between the components of the project during the exchange relationship between the project organization, information system and the users. Thus, the contribution of this work is to allow a formal analysis of the relationship between the sequence of events development projects into an innovative view, that provide insights into the potential success or failure of the project on medium-sized high-tech firms (whose the acronym is PMET.

A formal mentorship program for faculty development.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackevicius, Cynthia A; Le, Jennifer; Nazer, Lama; Hess, Karl; Wang, Jeffrey; Law, Anandi V

2014-06-17

To describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a formal mentorship program at a college of pharmacy. After extensive review of the mentorship literature within the health sciences, a formal mentorship program was developed between 2006 and 2008 to support and facilitate faculty development. The voluntary program was implemented after mentors received training, and mentors and protégés were matched and received an orientation. Evaluation consisted of conducting annual surveys and focus groups with mentors and protégés. Fifty-one mentor-protégé pairs were formed from 2009 to 2012. A large majority of the mentors (82.8%-96.9%) were satisfied with the mentorship program and its procedures. The majority of the protégés (≥70%) were satisfied with the mentorship program, mentor-protégé relationship, and program logistics. Both mentors and protégés reported that the protégés most needed guidance on time management, prioritization, and work-life balance. While there were no significant improvements in the proteges' number of grant submissions, retention rates, or success in promotion/tenure, the total number of peer-reviewed publications by junior faculty members was significantly higher after program implementation (mean of 7 per year vs 21 per year, p=0.03) in the college's pharmacy practice and administration department. A formal mentorship program was successful as measured by self-reported assessments of mentors and protégés.

RateMyProfessors.com versus formal in-class student evaluations of teaching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theodore Coladarci

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Using data for 426 instructors at the University of Maine, we examined the relationship between RateMyProfessors.com (RMP indices and formal in-class student evaluations of teaching (SET. The two primary RMP indices correlate substantively and significantly with their respective SET items: RMP overall quality correlates r = .68 with SET item, Overall, how would you rate the instructor?; and RMP ease correlates r = .44 with SET item, How did the work load for this course compare to that of others of equal credit? Further, RMP overall quality and RMP ease each correlates with its corresponding SET factor derived from a principal components analysis of all 29 SET items: r = .57 and .51, respectively. While these RMP/SET correlations should give pause to those who are inclined to dismiss RMP indices as meaningless, the amount of variance left unexplained in SET criteria limits the utility of RMP. The ultimate implication of our results, we believe, is that higher education institutions should make their SET data publicly available online.

Group adaptation, formal darwinism and contextual analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Okasha, S; Paternotte, C

2012-06-01

We consider the question: under what circumstances can the concept of adaptation be applied to groups, rather than individuals? Gardner and Grafen (2009, J. Evol. Biol.22: 659-671) develop a novel approach to this question, building on Grafen's 'formal Darwinism' project, which defines adaptation in terms of links between evolutionary dynamics and optimization. They conclude that only clonal groups, and to a lesser extent groups in which reproductive competition is repressed, can be considered as adaptive units. We re-examine the conditions under which the selection-optimization links hold at the group level. We focus on an important distinction between two ways of understanding the links, which have different implications regarding group adaptationism. We show how the formal Darwinism approach can be reconciled with G.C. Williams' famous analysis of group adaptation, and we consider the relationships between group adaptation, the Price equation approach to multi-level selection, and the alternative approach based on contextual analysis. © 2012 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2012 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Storytelling in Projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munk-Madsen, Andreas; Andersen, Peter Bøgh

2006-01-01

project managers should not only be concerned with project plans, but also with project stories. In this paper we explore some basic principles for transforming project plans into appealing stories. We discuss what may happen to stories once they are released into public space. And we illustrate how......Plans and stories are two different ways of communicating about projects. Project plans are formalized descriptions, primarily supporting coordination. Project stories are accounts whose primary function is emotional appeal. Project stories influence the projects’ chances of success. Therefore...... the possibilities of telling favorable stories may have repercussions on the project planning....

Modelling in Evaluating a Working Life Project in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Sarja, Anneli; Janhonen, Sirpa; Havukainen, Pirjo; Vesterinen, Anne

2012-01-01

This article describes an evaluation method based on collaboration between the higher education, a care home and university, in a R&D project. The aim of the project was to elaborate modelling as a tool of developmental evaluation for innovation and competence in project cooperation. The approach was based on activity theory. Modelling enabled a…

Integrating semi-formal and formal requirements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wieringa, Roelf J.; Olivé, Antoni; Dubois, Eric; Pastor, Joan Antoni; Huyts, Sander

1997-01-01

In this paper, we report on the integration of informal, semiformal and formal requirements specification techniques. We present a framework for requirements specification called TRADE, within which several well-known semiformal specification techniques are placed. TRADE is based on an analysis of

Understanding organizational congruence: formal model and simulation framework.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dignum, M.V.; Dignum, F.P.M.

2007-01-01

Despite a large number of studies, the effect of organizational structure on the performance and the individual cognition of its members is still not well understood. Our research aims at developing tools and formalisms to model organizations and evaluate their performance under different

Flexible receiver adapter formal design review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krieg, S.A.

1995-01-01

This memo summarizes the results of the Formal (90%) Design Review process and meetings held to evaluate the design of the Flexible Receiver Adapters, support platforms, and associated equipment. The equipment is part of the Flexible Receiver System used to remove, transport, and store long length contaminated equipment and components from both the double and single-shell underground storage tanks at the 200 area tank farms

Formal System Verification - Extension 2

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-08

vision of truly trustworthy systems has been to provide a formally verified microkernel basis. We have previously developed the seL4 microkernel...together with a formal proof (in the theorem prover Isabelle/HOL) of its functional correctness [6]. This means that all the behaviours of the seL4 C...source code are included in the high-level, formal specification of the kernel. This work enabled us to provide further formal guarantees about seL4 , in

Informal in Formal: The Relationship of Informal and Formal Learning in Popular and Jazz Music Master Workshops in Conservatoires

Science.gov (United States)

Virkkula, Esa

2016-01-01

The present article will examine informal learning in popular and jazz music education in Finland and evaluate it as a part of formal upper secondary vocational musicians' training, which is typically teacher directed. It is not necessarily the best model of working in popular and jazz music learning, which has traditionally benefitted from…

Topical Roots of Formal Dialectic

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krabbe, Erik C. W.

Formal dialectic has its roots in ancient dialectic. We can trace this influence in Charles Hamblin's book on fallacies, in which he introduced his first formal dialectical systems. Earlier, Paul Lorenzen proposed systems of dialogical logic, which were in fact formal dialectical systems avant la

An exploration of student midwives' language to describe non-formal learning in professional practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Finnerty, Gina; Pope, Rosemary

2005-05-01

The essence of non-formal learning in midwifery practice has not been previously explored. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the language of a sample of student midwives' descriptions of their practice learning in a range of clinical settings. The students submitted audio-diaries as part of a national study (Pope, R., Graham. L., Finnerty. G., Magnusson, C. 2003. An investigation of the preparation and assessment for midwifery practice within a range of settings. Project Report. University of Surrey). Participants detailed their learning activities and support obtained whilst working with their named mentors for approximately 10 days or shifts. The rich audio-diary data have been analysed using Discourse Analysis. A typology of non-formal learning (Eraut, M. 2000. Non-formal learning and implicit knowledge in professional work. British Journal of Educational Psychology 70, 113-136) has been used to provide a framework for the analysis. Non-formal learning is defined as any learning which does not take place within a formally organised learning programme (Eraut, M. 2000. Non-formal learning and implicit knowledge in professional work. British Journal of Educational Psychology 70, 113-136). Findings indicate that fear and ambiguity hindered students' learning. Recommendations include the protection of time by mentors within the clinical curriculum to guide and supervise students in both formal and non-formal elements of midwifery practice. This paper will explore the implications of the findings for practice-based education.

Formal and Informal Volunteering in a State Friendly Society

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Lars Skov; Rosdahl, David; Koch-Nielsen, Inger

Citizens’ civic engagement and participation in voluntary associations is shaped by several factors, some of which are institutional while others are characteristics about the individual and the environment to which s/he belongs. Based on a comprehensive population survey carried out as part of t...... of the Danish Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, this article explores determinants of formal and informal volunteering in a ‘state friendly society’ like the Danish....

Lending Policies of Informal, Formal, and Semi-formal Lenders: Evidence from Vietnam

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lensink, B.W.; Pham, T.T.T.

2007-01-01

This paper compares lending policies of formal, informal and semiformal lenders with respect to household lending in Vietnam. The analysis suggests that the probability of using formal or semiformal credit increases if borrowers provide collateral, a guarantor and/or borrow for business-related

Projection pursuit water quality evaluation model based on chicken swam algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Zhe

2018-03-01

In view of the uncertainty and ambiguity of each index in water quality evaluation, in order to solve the incompatibility of evaluation results of individual water quality indexes, a projection pursuit model based on chicken swam algorithm is proposed. The projection index function which can reflect the water quality condition is constructed, the chicken group algorithm (CSA) is introduced, the projection index function is optimized, the best projection direction of the projection index function is sought, and the best projection value is obtained to realize the water quality evaluation. The comparison between this method and other methods shows that it is reasonable and feasible to provide decision-making basis for water pollution control in the basin.

Formalized Combined 2003 European Guidelines on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Hypertension

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Peleška, Jan; Anger, Z.; Buchtela, David; Tomečková, Marie; Veselý, Arnošt; Zvárová, Jana

23 Suppl. 2, - (2005), s. 196 ISSN 0263-6352. [European Meeting on Hypertension /15./. 17.06.2005-21.06.2005, Milan] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR 1ET200300413 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : European medical guidelines * formalization of combined guidelines Subject RIV: FA - Cardiovascular Disease s incl. Cardiotharic Surgery

Concepciones acerca de la maternidad en la educación formal y no formal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alvarado Calderón, Kathia

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Este artículo presenta algunos resultados de la investigación desarrollada en el Instituto de Investigación en Educación (INIE, bajo el nombre "Construcción del concepto de maternidad en la educación formal y no formal". Utilizando un enfoque cualitativo de investigación, recurrimos a las técnicas de elaboración de dibujos, entrevistas y grupo focal como recursos para la recolección de la información. De esta manera, podemos acercarnos a las concepciones de la maternidad que utilizan los participantes de las diferentes instancias educativas (formal y no formal con quienes se trabajó. This article presents some results the research developed in the Instituto de Investigación en Educación (INIE, named "Construcción del concepto de maternidad en la educación formal y no formal". It begins with a theoretical analysis about social conceptions regarding motherhood in the occidental societies. Among the techniques for gathering information were thematic drawing, interview and focus group, using a qualitative approach research method. This is followed by a brief summary of main findings. The article concludes with a proposal of future working lines for the deconstruction of the motherhood concept in formal and informal education contexts.

Spent Nuclear Fuel Cold Vacuum Drying facility comprehensive formal design review report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HALLER, C.S.

1999-01-01

The majority of the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF) design and construction is complete; isolated portions are still in the design and fabrication process. The project commissioned a formal design review to verify the sufficiency and accuracy of current design media to assure that: (1) the design completely and accurately reflects design criteria, (2) design documents are consistent with one another, and (3) the design media accurately reflects the current design. This review is a key element in the design validation and verification activities required by SNF-4396, ''Design Verification and Validation Plan For The Cold Vacuum Drying Facility''. This report documents the results of the formal design review

Nuclear data project evaluation activity report. October 1998 - October 2000

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akovali, Y; Blackmon, J; Radford, D; Smith, M [Physics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2001-02-01

This report summarizes the activities of the ORNL Nuclear Data Project since the IAEA Advisory Group meeting in December 1998. The group's future plans are also included. The ORNL Nuclear Data Project's responsibility includes the compilation/evaluation of astrophysics data, as well as the evaluation and compilation of nuclear structure data. The Nuclear Data Project, therefore, is composed of two groups. The Nuclear Data Project staff through September 2000 is listed below. Accomplishments for the period of October 1998 through September 2000 of the nuclear structure data group and the nuclear astrophysics group are submitted in this Nuclear Data Project report.

Nuclear data project evaluation activity report. October 1998 - October 2000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akovali, Y.; Blackmon, J.; Radford, D.; Smith, M.

2001-01-01

This report summarizes the activities of the ORNL Nuclear Data Project since the IAEA Advisory Group meeting in December 1998. The group's future plans are also included. The ORNL Nuclear Data Project's responsibility includes the compilation/evaluation of astrophysics data, as well as the evaluation and compilation of nuclear structure data. The Nuclear Data Project, therefore, is composed of two groups. The Nuclear Data Project staff through September 2000 is listed below. Accomplishments for the period of October 1998 through September 2000 of the nuclear structure data group and the nuclear astrophysics group are submitted in this Nuclear Data Project report

An Ontology for State Analysis: Formalizing the Mapping to SysML

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, David A.; Bennett, Matthew B.; Karban, Robert; Rouquette, Nicolas; Jenkins, Steven; Ingham, Michel

2012-01-01

State Analysis is a methodology developed over the last decade for architecting, designing and documenting complex control systems. Although it was originally conceived for designing robotic spacecraft, recent applications include the design of control systems for large ground-based telescopes. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) began a project to design the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), which will require coordinated control of over a thousand articulated mirror segments. The designers are using State Analysis as a methodology and the Systems Modeling Language (SysML) as a modeling and documentation language in this task. To effectively apply the State Analysis methodology in this context it became necessary to provide ontological definitions of the concepts and relations in State Analysis and greater flexibility through a mapping of State Analysis into a practical extension of SysML. The ontology provides the formal basis for verifying compliance with State Analysis semantics including architectural constraints. The SysML extension provides the practical basis for applying the State Analysis methodology with SysML tools. This paper will discuss the method used to develop these formalisms (the ontology), the formalisms themselves, the mapping to SysML and approach to using these formalisms to specify a control system and enforce architectural constraints in a SysML model.

[Case control trial on putative factors antagonising the successful project course of MD thesis projects].

Science.gov (United States)

Scharfenberg, J; Schaper, K; Krummenauer, F

2015-05-01

Award of the degree MD has special relevance in Germany since the underlying research project can be started during the qualification for admission to doctoral training. This leads to a large number of thesis projects with a not always sufficiently pronounced enthusiasm and thus poor chances of success. Accordingly a case control study was undertaken in the Department of Human Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University to investigate reported drop-outs of thesis projects. In autumn 2012 all students in the clinical phases of human medicine education were surveyed using a self-conceived questionnaire on previously initiated or terminated thesis projects, "terminated" is defined as the unsuccessful ending of a project after working for at least 3 months. Individually reported thesis terminations were evaluated using defined items in a 4-stage Likert scale regarding thesis plan and project, subsequently, graduate students who successfully completed a project received the same questionnaire. The items possibly corresponding to process determinants were averaged to a total of 7 dimensions prior to the analysis; the resulting scores were normalised in value ranges 0.0 to 1.0 (1.0 = optimal project situation) whereby individual items could be included in several scores. By means of 5 items a primary endpoint from the faculty's perspective on "compliance with formal procedures" was aggregated; by means of a two-sided Wilcoxon test at the 5 % level students with unsuccessful and successful courses were compared along the corresponding scores. 181 of 276 students from 7 study semesters participated in the screening; details of 17 terminations and 23 currently successful courses could be evaluated in the case control study. For significant differences (p thesis projects to the responsible committees. A weakness is the low number of evaluable self-reported drop-outs as well as the overall moderate response rate. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

EVALUATION CRITERIA OF INNOVATIVE SOCIAL INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN HEALTH CARE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vadim Aleksandrovich Lomazov

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose: analysis of key indicators and creation of evaluation criteria of innovative socio-economic investment projects in healthcare, implemented on the basis of public-private partnerships.Methodology: there has been performed comprehensive assessment of specialized socio-economic projects in health sector taking into consideration interests of participants in the project (public and private, main aspects (medical, social, economic, scientific and innovative, and assessment components (presumable effectiveness or risk during implementation of the project. The degree of relative importance of the factors considered in each level, and the levels themselves are determined by experts with the help of paired comparisons method. The values of the project indicators are estimated against nonuniform grading scale, both the results of direct measurements and expert information being used.Results: There has been suggested an approach and a procedure for evaluating projects based on the allocation of interests, issues and evaluation components of the project as sub-criteria levels of the hierarchy analysis method; there has been developed research prototype of information analysis system for assessment of projects on the basis of the proposed approach.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-8-48

Evaluation of Embedded System Component Utilized in Delivery Integrated Design Project Course

Science.gov (United States)

Junid, Syed Abdul Mutalib Al; Hussaini, Yusnira; Nazmie Osman, Fairul; Razak, Abdul Hadi Abdul; Idros, Mohd Faizul Md; Karimi Halim, Abdul

2018-03-01

This paper reports the evaluation of the embedded system component utilized in delivering the integrated electronic engineering design project course. The evaluation is conducted based on the report project submitted as to fulfil the assessment criteria for the integrated electronic engineering design project course named; engineering system design. Six projects were assessed in this evaluation. The evaluation covers the type of controller, programming language and the number of embedded component utilization as well. From the evaluation, the C-programming based language is the best solution preferred by the students which provide them flexibility in the programming. Moreover, the Analog to Digital converter is intensively used in the projects which include sensors in their proposed design. As a conclusion, in delivering the integrated design project course, the knowledge over the embedded system solution is very important since the high density of the knowledge acquired in accomplishing the project assigned.

First formal ITER negotiations make excellent progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnard, P.

2001-01-01

November 8 and 9 2001 marked the historic beginning of formal negotiations meetings on the ITER project. Delegations from Canada, the European Union, Japan and the Russian Federation met in Toronto, Canada, for the first in a series of Negotiations that is expected to lead, by the end of 2002, to an agreement on the joint implementation of ITER. This agreement will govern, under international law, the construction, operation and decommissioning of ITER. The Negotiations concluded by issuing a joint news release, reflecting a commitment to share the progress reports on the efforts to implement ITER

Formalized Informal Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Levinsen, Karin Tweddell; Sørensen, Birgitte Holm

2013-01-01

are examined and the relation between network society competences, learners’ informal learning strategies and ICT in formalized school settings over time is studied. The authors find that aspects of ICT like multimodality, intuitive interaction design and instant feedback invites an informal bricoleur approach....... When integrated into certain designs for teaching and learning, this allows for Formalized Informal Learning and support is found for network society competences building....

New developments in IPD-projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ir. Dick van Schenk Brill; Ir. K. Kater

2004-01-01

Our IPD-projects have changed: more international partners became involved and simultaneously we started to carry out real projects for real companies. This caused a number of problems. In order to be able to give full support to the projects and conclude them with a nice, formal symposium we need

Formalizing WS-BPEL and Higher Order Mobile Embedded Business Processes in the Bigraphical Programming Languages (BPL) Tool

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bundgaard, Mikkel; Glenstrup, Arne John; Hildebrandt, Thomas

is the starting point of an endeavor to provide a completely formalized and extensible business process engine within the Computer Supported Mobile Adaptive Business Processes (CosmoBiz) research project at the IT University of Copenhagen. Building upon the formalization of WS-BPEL we propose and formalize Home......BPEL, a higher-order WS-BPEL-like business process execution language where processes are first-class values that can be stored in variables, passed as messages, and activated as embedded sub-instances. A sub-instance is similar to a WS-BPEL scope, except that it can be dynamically frozen and stored as a process...

The Generational Impact of Technology on Formal Writing of Rural Middle School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Land, Martha Ann

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact text messages, social networks, Instant Messaging, email, and blogging had on rural middle school students' ability to decipher between formal and informal writing. Students completed self-evaluation logs, completed Formal and Informal Writing Assessments, and were scored on their use of…

The base of the iceberg: informal learning and its impact on formal and non-formal learning

OpenAIRE

Rogers, Alan

2014-01-01

The author looks at learning (formal, non-formal and informal) and examines the hidden world of informal (unconscious, unplanned) learning. He points out the importance of informal learning for creating tacit attitudes and values, knowledge and skills which influence (conscious, planned) learning - formal and non-formal. Moreover, he explores the implications of informal learning for educational planners and teachers in the context of lifelong learning. While mainly aimed at adult educators, ...

CHARACTERISTICS OF MIRR METHOD IN EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS' EFFECTIVENESS

OpenAIRE

P. Kukhta

2014-01-01

There were analyzed characteristics of the Modified Internal Rate of Return method in the evaluation of investment projects, restrictions connected with its application, advantages and disadvantages compared with indicators of the original Internal Rate of Return and Net Present Value for projects with certain baseline characteristics. It was determined opportunities to adapt the method of Modified Internal Rate of Return to alternative computational approaches of the project cash flows evalu...

Does GEM-Encoding Clinical Practice Guidelines Improve the Quality of Knowledge Bases? A Study with the Rule-Based Formalism

Science.gov (United States)

Georg, Gersende; Séroussi, Brigitte; Bouaud, Jacques

2003-01-01

The aim of this work was to determine whether the GEM-encoding step could improve the representation of clinical practice guidelines as formalized knowledge bases. We used the 1999 Canadian recommendations for the management of hypertension, chosen as the knowledge source in the ASTI project. We first clarified semantic ambiguities of therapeutic sequences recommended in the guideline by proposing an interpretative framework of therapeutic strategies. Then, after a formalization step to standardize the terms used to characterize clinical situations, we created the GEM-encoded instance of the guideline. We developed a module for the automatic derivation of a rule base, BR-GEM, from the instance. BR-GEM was then compared to the rule base, BR-ASTI, embedded within the critic mode of ASTI, and manually built by two physicians from the same Canadian guideline. As compared to BR-ASTI, BR-GEM is more specific and covers more clinical situations. When evaluated on 10 patient cases, the GEM-based approach led to promising results. PMID:14728173

Does GEM-encoding clinical practice guidelines improve the quality of knowledge bases? A study with the rule-based formalism.

Science.gov (United States)

Georg, Georg; Séroussi, Brigitte; Bouaud, Jacques

2003-01-01

The aim of this work was to determine whether the GEM-encoding step could improve the representation of clinical practice guidelines as formalized knowledge bases. We used the 1999 Canadian recommendations for the management of hypertension, chosen as the knowledge source in the ASTI project. We first clarified semantic ambiguities of therapeutic sequences recommended in the guideline by proposing an interpretative framework of therapeutic strategies. Then, after a formalization step to standardize the terms used to characterize clinical situations, we created the GEM-encoded instance of the guideline. We developed a module for the automatic derivation of a rule base, BR-GEM, from the instance. BR-GEM was then compared to the rule base, BR-ASTI, embedded within the critic mode of ASTI, and manually built by two physicians from the same Canadian guideline. As compared to BR-ASTI, BR-GEM is more specific and covers more clinical situations. When evaluated on 10 patient cases, the GEM-based approach led to promising results.

Project Management Plan for the INEL technology logic diagrams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudin, M.J.

1992-10-01

This Project Management Plan (PjMP) describes the elements of project planning and control that apply to activities outlined in Technical Task Plan (TTP) ID-121117, ''Technology Logic Diagrams For The INEL.'' The work on this project will be conducted by personnel in EG ampersand G Idaho, Inc.'s Waste Technology Development Program. Technology logic diagrams represent a formal methodology to identify technology gaps or needs within Environmental Restoration/Waste Management Operations, which will focus on Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM-50) research and development, demonstration, test, and evaluation efforts throughout the US Department of Energy complex. This PjMP describes the objectives, organization, roles and responsibilities, workscope and processes for implementing and managing the technology logic diagram for the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory project

Evaluating Stream Restoration Projects: What Do We Learn from Monitoring?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zan Rubin

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Two decades since calls for stream restoration projects to be scientifically assessed, most projects are still unevaluated, and conducted evaluations yield ambiguous results. Even after these decades of investigation, do we know how to define and measure success? We systematically reviewed 26 studies of stream restoration projects that used macroinvertebrate indicators to assess the success of habitat heterogeneity restoration projects. All 26 studies were previously included in two meta-analyses that sought to assess whether restoration programs were succeeding. By contrast, our review focuses on the evaluations themselves, and asks what exactly we are measuring and learning from these evaluations. All 26 studies used taxonomic diversity, richness, or abundance of invertebrates as biological measures of success, but none presented explicit arguments why those metrics were relevant measures of success for the restoration projects. Although changes in biodiversity may reflect overall ecological condition at the regional or global scale, in the context of reach-scale habitat restoration, more abundance and diversity may not necessarily be better. While all 26 studies sought to evaluate the biotic response to habitat heterogeneity enhancement projects, about half of the studies (46% explicitly measured habitat alteration, and 31% used visual estimates of grain size or subjectively judged ‘habitat quality’ from protocols ill-suited for the purpose. Although the goal of all 26 projects was to increase habitat heterogeneity, 31% of the studies either sampled only riffles or did not specify the habitats sampled. One-third of the studies (35% used reference ecosystems to define target conditions. After 20 years of stream restoration evaluation, more work remains for the restoration community to identify appropriate measures of success and to coordinate monitoring so that evaluations are at a scale capable of detecting ecosystem change.

Evaluating Development Projects and Programmes in Africa: The ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

evaluation. It is indicated that NEPAD has not prescribed any internal or external monitoring and evaluation of its projects and programmes, and therefore calls into doubt the level of professional competence in its delivery strategies. The article also examines selected monitoring and evaluation strategies such as the African

Agile Project Management for e-Learning Developments

Science.gov (United States)

Doherty, Iain

2010-01-01

We outline the project management tactics that we developed in praxis in order to manage elearning projects and show how our tactics were enhanced through implementing project management techniques from a formal project management methodology. Two key factors have contributed to our project management success. The first is maintaining a clear…

CHARACTERISTICS OF MIRR METHOD IN EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS' EFFECTIVENESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Kukhta

2014-09-01

Full Text Available There were analyzed characteristics of the Modified Internal Rate of Return method in the evaluation of investment projects, restrictions connected with its application, advantages and disadvantages compared with indicators of the original Internal Rate of Return and Net Present Value for projects with certain baseline characteristics. It was determined opportunities to adapt the method of Modified Internal Rate of Return to alternative computational approaches of the project cash flows evaluation.

The formal logic of business rules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivana Rábová

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Identification of improvement areas and utilization of information and communication technologies have gained value and priority in our knowledge driven society. Rules define constraints, conditions and policies of how the business processes are to be performed but they also affect the behavior of the resource and facilitate strategic business goals achieving. They control the business and represent business knowledge. The research works about business rules show how to specify and classify business rules from the business perspective and to establish an approach to managing them that will enable faster change in business processes and other business concepts in all areas of the business. In concrete this paper deals with four approaches to business rules formalization, i. e. notation of OCL, inference rules, decision table and predicate logic and with their general evaluation. The article shows also the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches of formalization. They are the example of every mentioned approach.

Using CASE-tools based on formal methods in real-life system development of distributed systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoelen, Ketil; Karlsen, Tore Willy; Mohn, Peter; Sandmark, Haaakon

1998-03-01

Within the OECD Halden Reactor Project (HRP) the development and application of formal methods to enhance system quality have been prioritised tasks for the last three years per periods. The three year programme 1997-1999 identifies the need to gain experience from applying formal methods in larger real-life system developments. This motivated the initiation of the HRP research activity Integration of Formal Specification in the Development of HAMMLAB 2000 (INT-FS). The principal objective of INT-FS is to experiment with formal methods in system developments connected to HAMMLAB 2000 and thereby gain a better understanding of their suitability to support practical software engineering. In particular, INT-FS will try to measure the effect of formal methods and gain experience in combining formal methods with traditional development techniques. INT-FS was started up in January 1997. This report describes the status of INT-FS by February 1998. The report identifies objectives and plans; it motivates the choice of formal methods, CASE-tool and software process; it motivates and defines metrics for measuring achievement and the effect of formalization. The report also provides preliminary results from an experimental development of a communication manager; it describes the component to be developed and the background of the participants; it offers some provisional statistics and summarises the experiences with methods and tools. The development of the communication manager is the first attempt ever to exploit state-of-the-art CASE-tools for formal methods in practical software engineering at the HRP. (author)

Schwinger–Keldysh canonical formalism for electronic Raman scattering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Su, Yuehua, E-mail: suyh@ytu.edu.cn

2016-03-01

Inelastic low-energy Raman and high-energy X-ray scatterings have made great progress in instrumentation to investigate the strong electronic correlations in matter. However, theoretical study of the relevant scattering spectrum is still a challenge. In this paper, we present a Schwinger–Keldysh canonical perturbation formalism for the electronic Raman scattering, where all the resonant, non-resonant and mixed responses are considered uniformly. We show how to use this formalism to evaluate the cross section of the electronic Raman scattering off an one-band superconductor. All the two-photon scattering processes from electrons, the non-resonant charge density response, the elastic Rayleigh scattering, the fluorescence, the intrinsic energy-shift Raman scattering and the mixed response, are included. In the mean-field superconducting state, Cooper pairs contribute only to the non-resonant response. All the other responses are dominated by the single-particle excitations and are strongly suppressed due to the opening of the superconducting gap. Our formalism for the electronic Raman scattering can be easily extended to study the high-energy resonant inelastic X-ray scattering.

Formalized Epistemology, Logic, and Grammar

Science.gov (United States)

Bitbol, Michel

The task of a formal epistemology is defined. It appears that a formal epistemology must be a generalization of "logic" in the sense of Wittgenstein's Tractatus. The generalization is required because, whereas logic presupposes a strict relation between activity and language, this relation may be broken in some domains of experimental enquiry (e.g., in microscopic physics). However, a formal epistemology should also retain a major feature of Wittgenstein's "logic": It must not be a discourse about scientific knowledge, but rather a way of making manifest the structures usually implicit in knowledge-gaining activity. This strategy is applied to the formalism of quantum mechanics.

Developing Formal Correctness Properties from Natural Language Requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Nikora, Allen P.

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the rationale of the program to transform natural language specifications into formal notation.Specifically, automate generation of Linear Temporal Logic (LTL)correctness properties from natural language temporal specifications. There are several reasons for this approach (1) Model-based techniques becoming more widely accepted, (2) Analytical verification techniques (e.g., model checking, theorem proving) significantly more effective at detecting types of specification design errors (e.g., race conditions, deadlock) than manual inspection, (3) Many requirements still written in natural language, which results in a high learning curve for specification languages, associated tools and increased schedule and budget pressure on projects reduce training opportunities for engineers, and (4) Formulation of correctness properties for system models can be a difficult problem. This has relevance to NASA in that it would simplify development of formal correctness properties, lead to more widespread use of model-based specification, design techniques, assist in earlier identification of defects and reduce residual defect content for space mission software systems. The presentation also discusses: potential applications, accomplishments and/or technological transfer potential and the next steps.

The Second Futamura Projection for Type-Directed Partial Evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grobauer, Bernd; Yang, Zhe

2001-01-01

', syntax-directed partial evaluation and TDPE, this derivation involves several conceptual and technical steps. These include a suitable formulation of the second Futamura projection and techniques for using TDPE to specialize type-indexed programs. In the context of the second Futamura projection, we also...... compare and relate TDPE with conventional offline partial evaluation. We demonstrate our technique with several examples, including compiler generation for Tiny, a prototypical imperative language....

Empresa: um espaço para a educação formalThe Company: a space for formal educationEmpresa: un espacio para la educación formal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

APRILE, Maria Rita

2005-01-01

Full Text Available RESUMOEste artigo aponta a presença das ações de educação formal no âmbito das empresas brasileiras, discutindo sua importância como uma das condições para definição de padrões de empregabilidade e de competitividade. Para tanto, destaca-se o peso das demandas oriundas no mundo do trabalho para a definição de programas e projetos que visam ampliar a escolaridade da força de trabalho, condição fundamental para o desenvolvimento das novas qualificações e competências profissionais requeridas.ABSTRACTThis article points the presence of the actions of formal education in the scope of the Brazilian companies, arguing its importance as one of the conditions with respect to definition of competitiveness and employability standards. For in such a way, it is distinguished the weight of the deriving demands in the world of the work for the definition of programs and projects that aim to extend the schooling of the work force, basic condition for the development of the new qualifications and required professional abilities.RESUMENEste artículo señala la presencia de las acciones de educación formal en el ámbito de las empresas brasileñas, discutiendo su importancia como una de las condiciones para la definición de modelos de empleabilidad y de competitividad. Para esto, se destaca el peso de las demandas provenientes del mundo del trabajo, en la definición de programas y proyectos que buscan ampliar la escolaridad de la fuerza de trabajo, condición fundamental para el desarrollo de las nuevas calificaciones y competencias profesionales requeridas.

Project Aprendizaje. 1990-91 Final Evaluation Profile. OREA Report.

Science.gov (United States)

New York City Board of Education, Brooklyn, NY. Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment.

An evaluation was done of New York City Public Schools' Project Aprendizaje, which served disadvantaged, immigrant, Spanish-speaking high school students at Seward Park High School in Manhattan. The Project enrolled 290 students in grades 9 through 12, 93.1 percent of whom were eligible for the Free Lunch Program. The Project provided students of…

A method multi criterio to evaluate projects of rural electrification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez Posse, E.

1994-01-01

In this document about the problem of the evaluation projects methodologies in rural electrification.The low analysis problem is of complex nature, because each project is evaluation object and an economic agent. One of these agents identifies different benefits and cost, and also has a different approaches for value them.In consequence, the form in that it is carried out the evaluation of the one project for each one of this agents that it is usually solved for mechanisms linked to the capacity of incidence or of determination of each one of them, this does not assures a satisfactory results for the general interest

Indigenous Knowledge and Education from the Quechua Community to School: Beyond the Formal/Non-Formal Dichotomy

Science.gov (United States)

Sumida Huaman, Elizabeth; Valdiviezo, Laura Alicia

2014-01-01

In this article, we propose to approach Indigenous education beyond the formal/non-formal dichotomy. We argue that there is a critical need to conscientiously include Indigenous knowledge in education processes from the school to the community; particularly, when formal systems exclude Indigenous cultures and languages. Based on ethnographic…

New procedure for departure formalities

CERN Multimedia

HR & GS Departments

2011-01-01

As part of the process of simplifying procedures and rationalising administrative processes, the HR and GS Departments have introduced new personalised departure formalities on EDH. These new formalities have applied to students leaving CERN since last year and from 17 October 2011 this procedure will be extended to the following categories of CERN personnel: Staff members, Fellows and Associates. It is planned to extend this electronic procedure to the users in due course. What purpose do departure formalities serve? The departure formalities are designed to ensure that members of the personnel contact all the relevant services in order to return any necessary items (equipment, cards, keys, dosimeter, electronic equipment, books, etc.) and are aware of all the benefits to which they are entitled on termination of their contract. The new departure formalities on EDH have the advantage of tailoring the list of services that each member of the personnel must visit to suit his individual contractual and p...

Evaluation of Building Projects Using Earned Value Technique ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study evaluates building construction projects using the Earned Value Analysis technique, the Experimental Approach, and Value Concept Analysis. The aim was to compare the cost incurred for an identified amount of work done on a project with the cost budgeted for the same work. The results were used to calculate ...

Uranium mill tailings remedial action project real estate management plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-09-01

This plan summarizes the real estate requirements of the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Uranium Mill Tailings Action (UMTRA) Project, identifies the roles and responsibilities of project participants involved in real estate activities, and describes the approaches used for completing these requirements. This document is intended to serve as a practical guide for all project participants. It is intended to be consistent with all formal agreements, but if a conflict is identified, the formal agreements will take precedence

Uranium mill tailings remedial action project real estate management plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-09-01

This plan summarizes the real estate requirements of the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) Uranium Mill Tailings Action (UMTRA) Project, identifies the roles and responsibilities of project participants involved in real estate activities, and describes the approaches used for completing these requirements. This document is intended to serve as a practical guide for all project participants. It is intended to be consistent with all formal agreements, but if a conflict is identified, the formal agreements will take precedence.

Evaluation of the Higher Education Active Community Fund Project in Bournemouth

OpenAIRE

Apostolakis, Christos

2005-01-01

This report evaluates the Higher Education Active Community Fund (HEACF) Project from its first year in September 2002 to May 2005.The principle objective of the study was to evaluate the implementation of the HEACF project, its impact and its capacity to achieve the aims during this time. Based on research evidence the HEACF project introduced a holistic and systematic way of organising and developing volunteer activity at Bournemouth University. In addition to this, the project provided an ...

Combining Formal Logic and Machine Learning for Sentiment Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Niklas Christoffer; Villadsen, Jørgen

2014-01-01

This paper presents a formal logical method for deep structural analysis of the syntactical properties of texts using machine learning techniques for efficient syntactical tagging. To evaluate the method it is used for entity level sentiment analysis as an alternative to pure machine learning...

Concepts of formal concept analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Žáček, Martin; Homola, Dan; Miarka, Rostislav

2017-07-01

The aim of this article is apply of Formal Concept Analysis on concept of world. Formal concept analysis (FCA) as a methodology of data analysis, information management and knowledge representation has potential to be applied to a verity of linguistic problems. FCA is mathematical theory for concepts and concept hierarchies that reflects an understanding of concept. Formal concept analysis explicitly formalizes extension and intension of a concept, their mutual relationships. A distinguishing feature of FCA is an inherent integration of three components of conceptual processing of data and knowledge, namely, the discovery and reasoning with concepts in data, discovery and reasoning with dependencies in data, and visualization of data, concepts, and dependencies with folding/unfolding capabilities.

Using fuzzy logic to improve the project time and cost estimation based on Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farhad Habibi

2018-09-01

Full Text Available Among different factors, correct scheduling is one of the vital elements for project management success. There are several ways to schedule projects including the Critical Path Method (CPM and Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT. Due to problems in estimating dura-tions of activities, these methods cannot accurately and completely model actual projects. The use of fuzzy theory is a basic way to improve scheduling and deal with such problems. Fuzzy theory approximates project scheduling models to reality by taking into account uncertainties in decision parameters and expert experience and mental models. This paper provides a step-by-step approach for accurate estimation of time and cost of projects using the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT and expert views as fuzzy numbers. The proposed method included several steps. In the first step, the necessary information for project time and cost is estimated using the Critical Path Method (CPM and the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT. The second step considers the duration and cost of the project activities as the trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, and then, the time and cost of the project are recalculated. The duration and cost of activities are estimated using the questionnaires as well as weighing the expert opinions, averaging and defuzzification based on a step-by-step algorithm. The calculating procedures for evaluating these methods are applied in a real project; and the obtained results are explained.

Educational Process Reengineering and Diffusion of Innovation in Formal Learning Environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Khalid, Md. Saifuddin; Hossain, Mohammad Shahadat; Rongbutsri, Nikorn

2011-01-01

administration and evaluation and assessment. Educational environments are flexible and not governed by standard operating procedures, making technology use lithe. Theory of diffusion of innovations‟ is recommended to be integrated to reason and measure acceptance or rejection of EPR selected technology......In technology mediated learning while relative advantages of technologies is proven, lack of contextualization and process centric change, and lack of user driven change has kept intervention and adoption of educational technologies among individuals and organizations as challenges. Reviewing...... the formal, informal and non-formal learning environments, this study focuses on the formal part. This paper coins the term 'Educational Process Reengineering (EPR) based on the established concept of 'Business Process Reengineering (BPR) for process improvement of teaching learning activities, academic...

On the Adequacy of Current Empirical Evaluations of Formal Models of Categorization

Science.gov (United States)

Wills, Andy J.; Pothos, Emmanuel M.

2012-01-01

Categorization is one of the fundamental building blocks of cognition, and the study of categorization is notable for the extent to which formal modeling has been a central and influential component of research. However, the field has seen a proliferation of noncomplementary models with little consensus on the relative adequacy of these accounts.…

A Methodology for Collective Evaluation and Selection of Industrial R&D Projects

OpenAIRE

Muhittin Oral; Ossama Kettani; Pascal Lang

1991-01-01

This paper proposes a methodology for evaluating and selecting R&D projects in a collective decision setting, especially useful at sectorial and national levels. It consists of two major phases: Evaluation and Selection. The evaluation process repeatedly uses mathematical programming models to determine the "relative values" of a given R&D project from the viewpoint of the other R&D projects. The selection process of R&D projects is based on these "relative values" and is done through a model...

Model-Based Design and Formal Verification Processes for Automated Waterway System Operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonard Petnga

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Waterway and canal systems are particularly cost effective in the transport of bulk and containerized goods to support global trade. Yet, despite these benefits, they are among the most under-appreciated forms of transportation engineering systems. Looking ahead, the long-term view is not rosy. Failures, delays, incidents and accidents in aging waterway systems are doing little to attract the technical and economic assistance required for modernization and sustainability. In a step toward overcoming these challenges, this paper argues that programs for waterway and canal modernization and sustainability can benefit significantly from system thinking, supported by systems engineering techniques. We propose a multi-level multi-stage methodology for the model-based design, simulation and formal verification of automated waterway system operations. At the front-end of development, semi-formal modeling techniques are employed for the representation of project goals and scenarios, requirements and high-level models of behavior and structure. To assure the accuracy of engineering predictions and the correctness of operations, formal modeling techniques are used for the performance assessment and the formal verification of the correctness of functionality. The essential features of this methodology are highlighted in a case study examination of ship and lock-system behaviors in a two-stage lock system.

Leading global projects for professional and accidental project leaders

CERN Document Server

Moran, Robert T

2008-01-01

This book is a must-read for anyone responsible for projects and initiatives that span functional and geographical divides. Authors Moran and Youngdahl bring extensive experience and learning from industry practice to present a clear and straightforward treatment of the leadership skills and knowledge required to lead projects that are global in nature. They have written the first book of its kind to address the three essential skills of global project leaders - strategic project management, project leadership, and cross-cultural leadership. The authors argue that global project leadership is an essential skill in our project-based world and that we are all either intentional or accidental project leaders. Intentional project leaders pursue formal project management education and even certification whereas accidental project leaders find themselves leading global projects and initiatives as a result of a special assignment or promotion. Moran and Youndahl have found that the vast majority of global projects ...

Critical formalism or digital biomorphology. The contemporary architecture formal dilema

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beatriz Villanueva Cajide

2018-05-01

Full Text Available With the dawn of digital media the architecture’s formal possibilities reached a level unknown before. The Guggenheim Museo branch in Bilbao appears in 1993 as the materialisation of the possibilities of the use of digital tools in architecture’s design, starting the development of a digital based architecture which currently has reached an exhaustion level that is evident in the repetition biomorphologic shapes emerged from the digital determinism to which some contemporary architectural practices have converged. While the digitalisation of the architectural process is irreversible and desirable, it is necessary to rethink the terms of this collaboration beyond the possibilities of the digital tools themselves. This article proposes to analyse seven texts written in the very moment when digitalisation became a real possibility, between Gehry’s conception of the Guggenheim Museum in 1992 and the Congress on Morphogenesis hold in the Architectural Association in 2004, in order to explore the possibility of reversing the process that has led to the formal exhaustion of digital architecture, from the acceptance of incorporating strategies coming from a contemporary critical formalism.

Y-formalism and b ghost in the non-minimal pure spinor formalism of superstrings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oda, Ichiro; Tonin, Mario

2007-01-01

We present the Y-formalism for the non-minimal pure spinor quantization of superstrings. In the framework of this formalism we compute, at the quantum level, the explicit form of the compound operators involved in the construction of the b ghost, their normal-ordering contributions and the relevant relations among them. We use these results to construct the quantum-mechanical b ghost in the non-minimal pure spinor formalism. Moreover we show that this non-minimal b ghost is cohomologically equivalent to the non-covariant b ghost

IT Project Selection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Keld

2016-01-01

for initiation. Most of the research on project selection is normative, suggesting new methods, but available empirical studies indicate that many methods are seldom used in practice. This paper addresses the issue by providing increased understanding of IT project selection practice, thereby facilitating...... the development of methods that better fit current practice. The study is based on naturalistic decision-making theory and interviews with experienced project portfolio managers who, when selecting projects, primarily rely on political skills, experience and personal networks rather than on formal IT project......-selection methods, and these findings point to new areas for developing new methodological support for IT project selection....

Geometry and Formal Linguistics.

Science.gov (United States)

Huff, George A.

This paper presents a method of encoding geometric line-drawings in a way which allows sets of such drawings to be interpreted as formal languages. A characterization of certain geometric predicates in terms of their properties as languages is obtained, and techniques usually associated with generative grammars and formal automata are then applied…

Computational methods for planning and evaluating geothermal energy projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1999-01-01

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

Formal Process Modeling to Improve Human Decision-Making in Test and Evaluation Acoustic Range Control

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

MODELING TO IMPROVE HUMAN DECISION-MAKING DURING TEST AND EVALUATION RANGE CONTROL by William Carlson September 2017 Thesis Advisor...the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT...MAKING DURING TEST AND EVALUATION RANGE CONTROL 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHOR(S) William Carlson 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES

Framework for integration of informal waste management sector with the formal sector in Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Masood, Maryam; Barlow, Claire Y

2013-10-01

Historically, waste pickers around the globe have utilised urban solid waste as a principal source of livelihood. Formal waste management sectors usually perceive the informal waste collection/recycling networks as backward, unhygienic and generally incompatible with modern waste management systems. It is proposed here that through careful planning and administration, these seemingly troublesome informal networks can be integrated into formal waste management systems in developing countries, providing mutual benefits. A theoretical framework for integration based on a case study in Lahore, Pakistan, is presented. The proposed solution suggests that the municipal authority should draw up and agree on a formal work contract with the group of waste pickers already operating in the area. The proposed system is assessed using the integration radar framework to classify and analyse possible intervention points between the sectors. The integration of the informal waste workers with the formal waste management sector is not a one dimensional or single step process. An ideal solution might aim for a balanced focus on all four categories of intervention, although this may be influenced by local conditions. Not all the positive benefits will be immediately apparent, but it is expected that as the acceptance of such projects increases over time, the informal recycling economy will financially supplement the formal system in many ways.

Formal Testing of Correspondence Carrying Software

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bujorianu, M.C.; Bujorianu, L.M.; Maharaj, S.

2008-01-01

Nowadays formal software development is characterised by use of multitude formal specification languages. Test case generation from formal specifications depends in general on a specific language, and, moreover, there are competing methods for each language. There is a need for a generic approach to

Cooperate to Validate. Observal-Net Experts' Report on Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning (VNIL) 2013

Science.gov (United States)

Weber Guisan, Saskia; Voit, Janine; Lengauer, Sonja; Proinger, Eva; Duvekot, Ruud; Aagaard, Kirsten

2014-01-01

The present publication is one of the outcomes of the OBSERVAL-NET project (followup of the OBSERVAL project). The main aim of OBSERVAL-NET was to set up a stakeholder centric network of organisations supporting the validation of non-formal and informal learning in Europe based on the formation of national working groups in the 8 participating…

Cooperate to Validate: OBSERVAL-NET Experts' Report on Validation of Non-Formal and Informal Learning (VNIL) 2013

Science.gov (United States)

Weber Guisan, Saskia; Voit, Janine; Lengauer, Sonja; Proinger, Eva; Duvekot, Ruud; Aagaard, Kirsten

2014-01-01

The present publication is one of the outcomes of the OBSERVAL-NET project (follow-up of the OBSERVAL project). The main aim of OBSERVAL-NET was to set up a stakeholder-centric network of organisations supporting the validation of non-formal and informal learning in Europe based on the formation of national working groups in the 8 participating…

Evaluation guide for the international reactor physics experiments evaluation project (IRPhEP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaji, Akifumi

2013-01-01

At present, there is an urgent need to preserve integral reactor physics experimental data including separate or special effects data for nuclear energy and technology applications and the knowledge and competence contained therein. The International Reactor Physics Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) was initiated as a pilot activity in 1999 by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Nuclear Science Committee (NSC). The project was endorsed as an official activity of the NSC in June of 2003. While coordination and administration of the IRPhEP takes place at an international level, each participating country is responsible for the administration, technical direction, and priorities of the project within their respective countries. This document outlines the general presentation guidelines that evaluators should follow for the description of the experiments and all relevant experimental data in order to ensure the consistency between the evaluations published in the final Handbook. Publication templates will be used to ensure this consistency and will follow the general scheme below: 1 - Experiment identification number; 2- Date; 3 - Name of experiment (Purpose of experiment, Phenomena measured and scope); 4 - Name or designation of experimental programme; 5 - Description of facility; 6 - Description of test or experiment (Experimental configuration, Core life cycle, Experimental limitations or shortcomings); 7 - Phenomena measured (Description of results and analysis, Special features and characteristics of experiment, Measurement systems/methods and uncertainties); 8 - Duplicate or complementary experiments / other related experiments; 9 - Status of completion of the evaluation; 10 - References (pointer to evaluation, archive if available, otherwise generic bibliographic reference); 11 - Authors/ organisers 12 - Material available

Formal Women-only Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villesèche, Florence; Josserand, Emmanuel

2017-01-01

/organisations and the wider social group of women in business. Research limitations/implications: The authors focus on the distinction between external and internal formal women-only networks while also acknowledging the broader diversity that can characterise such networks. Their review provides the reader with an insight...... member level, the authors suggest that such networks can be of value for organisations and the wider social group of women in management and leadership positions.......Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the emerging literature on formal women-only business networks and outline propositions to develop this under-theorised area of knowledge and stimulate future research. Design/methodology/approach: The authors review the existing literature on formal...

Remedial action and waste disposal project - ERDF readiness evaluation plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casbon, M.A.

1996-06-01

This Readiness Evaluation Report presents the results of the project readiness evaluation to assess the readiness of the Environmental Restoration and Disposal Facility. The evaluation was conducted at the conclusion of a series of readiness activities that began in January 1996. These activities included completion of the physical plant; preparation, review, and approval of operating procedures; definition and assembly of the necessary project and operational organizations; and activities leading to regulatory approval of the plant and operating plans

READINGS FROM THE FORMAL DISCOURSE OF PROJECT MANAGERS REGARDING DIVERSITY IN TEAMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Regina da Rocha-Pinto

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Based on the viewpoint of project managers with regards to diversity, this paper used a phenomenographic method. Fifteen project managers were interviewed. The latter focused primarily on the variety of techniques, rather than on varieties of any other kind. This view of diversity extends beyond those angles generally taken in the literature on the theme which in most instances refer to diversity as based on gender, race and disadvantaged ethnic and minority groups. Additionally, the study brings to light the fact that diversities of knowledge and behavior are as beneficial for the development of projects. Furthermore, communication and the role of the project manager were raised as mitigating factors when it came to diversity. And, lastly, the conclusion arrived at was that project managers have similar discourses which correspond to the recommendation of the main project management manuals. These discourses and forms of expression are in most cases ready-made.

Does formal research training lead to academic success in otolaryngology?

Science.gov (United States)

Bobian, Michael R; Shah, Noor; Svider, Peter F; Hong, Robert S; Shkoukani, Mahdi A; Folbe, Adam J; Eloy, Jean Anderson

2017-01-01

To evaluate whether formalized research training is associated with higher researcher productivity, academic rank, and acquisition of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants within academic otolaryngology departments. Each of the 100 civilian otolaryngology program's departmental websites were analyzed to obtain a comprehensive list of faculty members credentials and characteristics, including academic rank, completion of a clinical fellowship, completion of a formal research fellowship, and attainment of a doctorate in philosophy (PhD) degree. We also recorded measures of scholarly impact and successful acquisition of NIH funding. A total of 1,495 academic physicians were included in our study. Of these, 14.1% had formal research training. Bivariate associations showed that formal research training was associated with a greater h-index, increased probability of acquiring NIH funding, and higher academic rank. Using a linear regression model, we found that otolaryngologists possessing a PhD had an associated h-index of 1.8 points higher, and those who completed a formal research fellowship had an h-index of 1.6 points higher. A PhD degree or completion of a research fellowship was not associated with a higher academic rank; however, a higher h-index and previous acquisition of an NIH grant were associated with a higher academic rank. The attainment of NIH funding was three times more likely for those with a formal research fellowship and 8.6 times more likely for otolaryngologists with a PhD degree. Formalized research training is associated with academic success in otolaryngology. Such dedicated research training accompanies greater scholarly impact, acquisition of NIH funding, and a higher academic rank. NA Laryngoscope, 127:E15-E21, 2017. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Potential of Non Formal Basic Education in Promoting Women Education in Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Jumani, Nabi Bux; Rahman, Fazal-ur; Bibi, Khadija

2011-01-01

The present study aimed to assess the performance of a non-formal basic education (NFBE) schools project initiated in the province of Punjab with the assistance of the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA). The study was conducted in 120 NFBE schools in four districts of Punjab and it lasted for a period of three months. It was a survey…

Formal analysis of design process dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosse, T.; Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.

2010-01-01

This paper presents a formal analysis of design process dynamics. Such a formal analysis is a prerequisite to come to a formal theory of design and for the development of automated support for the dynamics of design processes. The analysis was geared toward the identification of dynamic design

Formal Analysis of Design Process Dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosse, T.; Jonker, C.M.; Treur, J.

2010-01-01

This paper presents a formal analysis of design process dynamics. Such a formal analysis is a prerequisite to come to a formal theory of design and for the development of automated support for the dynamics of design processes. The analysis was geared toward the identification of dynamic design

APPROACHES FOR EVALUATING AND FINANCING INVESTMENT PROJECTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIA-LOREDANA POPESCU

2011-04-01

Full Text Available This article presents the financial investment approach and the investment evaluation methods, which are criteria for assessing both investment projects and their funding sources. An important role in the analysis carried out is played by the investment decision and financing decision quality. Making an investment decision implies computing the related investment efficiency indicators. They allow the comparison of several variants of the same investment project as well as their comparison with other projects in the same industry or in other industries. The financing decision concerns the selection between their own sources (share capital, depreciation fund, profits, reserve funds, additional capital, revenues from investments, attracted sources (domestic resource mobilization and borrowed sources (credits.

Project Evaluation under Inflation Condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hindy, M.; El Missiry, P.

2004-01-01

This paper analyzes the role of inflation in capital budgeting and attempts to introduce solutions to such implication in order to make the appropriate decision for the firm' stockholders under these circumstances. Inflation leads to biasness in evaluating the investment projects, due to its impact on the cash flow, the discount rate, the initial investment cost, and the depreciation. This paper has shown that the capital budgeting process is not neutral with respect to inflation, as the output prices will raise as well as the operating and capital expenditures will also be adjusted due to inflation. In addition, it has shown that it is reasonable to expect that the cost of capital will increase as a result of an increase in the real interest rate, the inflation premium, and the cost of equity. Of critical importance is the basis used in calculating the annual depreciation which may lead to the transfer of wealth from the investment projects to the government and will result in underestimating the net present value of the investment projects, if these depreciation charges is calculated based upon the historical values and not on the replacement cost of the fixed assets

Public project success as seen in a broad perspective.: Lessons from a meta-evaluation of 20 infrastructure projects in Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Volden, Gro Holst

2018-08-01

Infrastructure projects in developed countries are rarely evaluated ex-post. Despite their number and scope, our knowledge about their various impacts is surprisingly limited. The paper argues that such projects must be assessed in a broad perspective that includes both operational, tactical and strategic aspects, and unintended as well as intended effects. A generic six-criteria evaluation framework is suggested, inspired by a framework frequently used to evaluate development assistance projects. It is tested on 20 Norwegian projects from various sectors (transport, defence, ICT, buildings). The results indicate that the majority of projects were successful, especially in operational terms, possibly because they underwent external quality assurance up-front. It is argued that applying this type of standardized framework provides a good basis for comparison and learning across sectors. It is suggested that evaluations should be conducted with the aim of promoting accountability, building knowledge about infrastructure projects, and continuously improve the tools, methods and governance arrangements used in the front-end of project development. Copyright © 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Institutional design and utilization of evaluation: a contribution to a theory of evaluation influence based on Swiss experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Balthasar, Andreas

2009-06-01

Growing interest in the institutionalization of evaluation in the public administration raises the question as to which institutional arrangement offers optimal conditions for the utilization of evaluations. Institutional arrangement denotes the formal organization of processes and competencies, together with procedural rules, that are applicable independently of individual evaluation projects. It reflects the evaluation practice of an institution and defines the distance between evaluators and evaluees. This article outlines the results of a broad-based study of all 300 or so evaluations that the Swiss Federal Administration completed from 1999 to 2002. On this basis, it derives a theory of the influence of institutional factors on the utilization of evaluations.

Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration project: Cross-site evaluation method

Science.gov (United States)

The Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (CORD) project links public health and primary care interventions in three projects described in detail in accompanying articles in this issue of Childhood Obesity. This article describes a comprehensive evaluation plan to determine the extent to which th...

Formalizing the concept of sound.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaper, H. G.; Tipei, S.

1999-08-03

The notion of formalized music implies that a musical composition can be described in mathematical terms. In this article we explore some formal aspects of music and propose a framework for an abstract approach.

Formal Analysis of Domain Models

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Bharadwaj, Ramesh

2002-01-01

Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in the application of formal methods, in particular, precise formal notations and automatic analysis tools for the creation and analysis of requirements specifications (i.e...

Formal Methods for Life-Critical Software

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Ricky W.; Johnson, Sally C.

1993-01-01

The use of computer software in life-critical applications, such as for civil air transports, demands the use of rigorous formal mathematical verification procedures. This paper demonstrates how to apply formal methods to the development and verification of software by leading the reader step-by-step through requirements analysis, design, implementation, and verification of an electronic phone book application. The current maturity and limitations of formal methods tools and techniques are then discussed, and a number of examples of the successful use of formal methods by industry are cited.

Technical Assistance in Evaluating Career Education Projects. Final Report. Volume II: Final Career Education Evaluation Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Stenner, A. Jackson; And Others

This document contains the second of five volumes reporting the activities and results of a career education evaluation project conducted to accomplish the following two objectives: (1) to improve the quality of evaluations by career education projects funded by the United States Office of Career Education (OCE) through the provision of technical…

Scalable Techniques for Formal Verification

CERN Document Server

Ray, Sandip

2010-01-01

This book presents state-of-the-art approaches to formal verification techniques to seamlessly integrate different formal verification methods within a single logical foundation. It should benefit researchers and practitioners looking to get a broad overview of the spectrum of formal verification techniques, as well as approaches to combining such techniques within a single framework. Coverage includes a range of case studies showing how such combination is fruitful in developing a scalable verification methodology for industrial designs. This book outlines both theoretical and practical issue

The Sellafield repository project information programme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Curd, P J [United Kingdom Nirex Limited (United Kingdom)

1993-07-01

The Sellafield Repository Project Information programme has been guided by formal research and by feedback through members of the team. Progress has been made and a significant majority of local people support the project and feel it will benefit the area. (author)

The Sellafield repository project information programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curd, P.J.

1993-01-01

The Sellafield Repository Project Information programme has been guided by formal research and by feedback through members of the team. Progress has been made and a significant majority of local people support the project and feel it will benefit the area. (author)

A Survey of Formal Methods in Software Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørner, Dines

2012-01-01

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

Impact evaluation of productive use—An implementation guideline for electrification projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bensch, Gunther; Peters, Jörg; Schmidt, Christoph M.

2012-01-01

There is a consensus in the international community that rural electrification and, in particular, the productive use of electricity contributes to poverty alleviation. At the same time, efforts to evaluate the impacts of development projects have increased substantially. This paper provides a hands-on guide for designing evaluation studies regarding the impacts of productive electricity usage. Complementary to the existing literature on evaluation methods, this guide familiarizes project managers with the concrete steps that have to be undertaken to plan and implement an evaluation. The guide comprises three modules based on enterprise surveys and on anecdotal case studies. For each module, the implementation is described on a step-by-step basis including conceptual issues as well as logistics and methodological questions. - Highlights: ► Hands-on evaluation guideline for development project managers. ► Step-by-step procedure on how to implement evaluation. ► Impacts of productive electricity use.

A Formal Methods Approach to the Analysis of Mode Confusion

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Ricky W.; Miller, Steven P.; Potts, James N.; Carreno, Victor A.

2004-01-01

models and analyses can be used to help eliminate mode confusion from flight deck designs and at the same time increase our confidence in the safety of the implementation. The paper is based upon interim results from a new project involving NASA Langley and Rockwell Collins in applying formal methods to a realistic business jet Flight Guidance System (FGS).

Growth and Expansion of the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project and the Newly Organized International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

J. Blair Briggs; Lori Scott; Yolanda Rugama; Enrico Satori

2007-01-01

Since ICNC 2003, the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) has continued to expand its efforts and broaden its scope. Criticality-alarm/shielding type benchmarks and fundamental physics measurements that are relevant to criticality safety applications are not only included in the scope of the project, but benchmark data are also included in the latest version of the handbook. A considerable number of improvements have been made to the searchable database, DICE and the criticality-alarm/shielding benchmarks and fundamental physics measurements have been included in the database. There were 12 countries participating on the ICSBEP in 2003. That number has increased to 18 with recent contributions of data and/or resources from Brazil, Czech Republic, Poland, India, Canada, and China. South Africa, Germany, Argentina, and Australia have been invited to participate. Since ICNC 2003, the contents of the ''International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments'' have increased from 350 evaluations (28,000 pages) containing benchmark specifications for 3070 critical or subcritical configurations to 442 evaluations (over 38,000 pages) containing benchmark specifications for 3957 critical or subcritical configurations, 23 criticality-alarm-placement/shielding configurations with multiple dose points for each, and 20 configurations that have been categorized as fundamental physics measurements that are relevant to criticality safety applications in the 2006 Edition of the ICSBEP Handbook. Approximately 30 new evaluations and 250 additional configurations are expected to be added to the 2007 Edition of the Handbook. Since ICNC 2003, a reactor physics counterpart to the ICSBEP, The International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) was initiated. Beginning in 1999, the IRPhEP was conducted as a pilot activity by the by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency

Formalizing Probabilistic Safety Claims

Science.gov (United States)

Herencia-Zapana, Heber; Hagen, George E.; Narkawicz, Anthony J.

2011-01-01

A safety claim for a system is a statement that the system, which is subject to hazardous conditions, satisfies a given set of properties. Following work by John Rushby and Bev Littlewood, this paper presents a mathematical framework that can be used to state and formally prove probabilistic safety claims. It also enables hazardous conditions, their uncertainties, and their interactions to be integrated into the safety claim. This framework provides a formal description of the probabilistic composition of an arbitrary number of hazardous conditions and their effects on system behavior. An example is given of a probabilistic safety claim for a conflict detection algorithm for aircraft in a 2D airspace. The motivation for developing this mathematical framework is that it can be used in an automated theorem prover to formally verify safety claims.

Evaluation of Career Education Projects, 1976-1977. Report #7829.

Science.gov (United States)

Chern, Hermine J.; And Others

Evaluations of thirty career education projects in the school district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are contained in this report. Fifteen of the projects concern classroom or shop instruction, six concern development and/or field testing of curriculum materials, and the remainder involve staff development, installation of shop equipment, job…

Augmenting Reality and Formality of Informal and Non-Formal Settings to Enhance Blended Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Sanagustin, Mar; Hernández-Leo, Davinia; Santos, Patricia; Kloos, Carlos Delgado; Blat, Josep

2014-01-01

Visits to museums and city tours have been part of higher and secondary education curriculum activities for many years. However these activities are typically considered "less formal" when compared to those carried out in the classroom, mainly because they take place in informal or non-formal settings. Augmented Reality (AR) technologies…

Superfield formalism

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

dimensional superfields, is a clear signature of the presence of the (anti-)BRST invariance in the original. 4D theory. Keywords. Non-Abelian 1-form gauge theory; Dirac fields; (anti-)Becchi–Roucet–Stora–. Tyutin invariance; superfield formalism; ...

How Formal Methods Impels Discovery: A Short History of an Air Traffic Management Project

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Ricky W.; Hagen, George; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Munoz, Cesar A.; Narkawicz, Anthony; Dowek, Gilles

2010-01-01

In this paper we describe a process of algorithmic discovery that was driven by our goal of achieving complete, mechanically verified algorithms that compute conflict prevention bands for use in en route air traffic management. The algorithms were originally defined in the PVS specification language and subsequently have been implemented in Java and C++. We do not present the proofs in this paper: instead, we describe the process of discovery and the key ideas that enabled the final formal proof of correctness

The Formalization of the Business Process Modeling Goals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ligita Bušinska

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In business process modeling the de facto standard BPMN has emerged. However, the applications of this notation have many subsets of elements and various extensions. Also, BPMN still coincides with many other modeling languages, forming a large set of available options for business process modeling languages and dialects. While, in general, the goal of modelers is a central notion in the choice of modeling languages and notations, in most researches that propose guidelines, techniques, and methods for business process modeling language evaluation and/or selection, the business process modeling goal is not formalized and not transparently taken into account. To overcome this gap, and to explicate and help to handle business process modeling complexity, the approach to formalize the business process modeling goal, and the supporting three dimensional business process modeling framework, are proposed.

MOOC & B-Learning: Students' Barriers and Satisfaction in Formal and Non-Formal Learning Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Gutiérrez-Santiuste, Elba; Gámiz-Sánchez, Vanesa-M.; Gutiérrez-Pérez, Jose

2015-01-01

The study presents a comparative analysis of two virtual learning formats: one non-formal through a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and the other formal through b-learning. We compare the communication barriers and the satisfaction perceived by the students (N = 249) by developing a qualitative analysis using semi-structured questionnaires and…

Formality of the Chinese collective leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haiying; Graesser, Arthur C

2016-09-01

We investigated the linguistic patterns in the discourse of four generations of the collective leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) from 1921 to 2012. The texts of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao were analyzed using computational linguistic techniques (a Chinese formality score) to explore the persuasive linguistic features of the leaders in the contexts of power phase, the nation's education level, power duration, and age. The study was guided by the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion, which includes a central route (represented by formal discourse) versus a peripheral route (represented by informal discourse) to persuasion. The results revealed that these leaders adopted the formal, central route more when they were in power than before they came into power. The nation's education level was a significant factor in the leaders' adoption of the persuasion strategy. The leaders' formality also decreased with their increasing age and in-power times. However, the predictability of these factors for formality had subtle differences among the different types of leaders. These results enhance our understanding of the Chinese collective leadership and the role of formality in politically persuasive messages.

Project Familia. Final Evaluation Report, 1992-93. OREA Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Candice

Project Familia was an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII funded project that, in the year covered by this evaluation, served 41 special education students of limited English proficiency (LEP) from 5 schools, with the participation of 54 parents and 33 siblings. Participating students received English language enrichment and…

Evaluating Quality in Educational Spaces: OECD/CELE Pilot Project

Science.gov (United States)

von Ahlefeld, Hannah

2009-01-01

CELE's International Pilot Project on Evaluating Quality in Educational Spaces aims to assist education authorities, schools and others to maximise the use of and investment in learning environments. This article provides an update on the pilot project, which is currently being implemented in Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal and the United…

40 years of formal methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørner, Dines; Havelund, Klaus

2014-01-01

In this "40 years of formal methods" essay we shall first delineate, Sect. 1, what we mean by method, formal method, computer science, computing science, software engineering, and model-oriented and algebraic methods. Based on this, we shall characterize a spectrum from specification-oriented met...

Socio-economic project evaluation in practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsen, A.

1995-01-01

The theoretical basis for a socio-economic project evaluation can be doubtful and specific analyses can involve quite essential uncertainty. Among serious theoretical problems of the energy sector there should be named the price distortions, due to various taxes. The choice of the presumed calculation interest can be difficult, due to the extremely long-range energy-political planning. (EG) 10 refs

Evaluating Clustering in Subspace Projections of High Dimensional Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müller, Emmanuel; Günnemann, Stephan; Assent, Ira

2009-01-01

Clustering high dimensional data is an emerging research field. Subspace clustering or projected clustering group similar objects in subspaces, i.e. projections, of the full space. In the past decade, several clustering paradigms have been developed in parallel, without thorough evaluation...... and comparison between these paradigms on a common basis. Conclusive evaluation and comparison is challenged by three major issues. First, there is no ground truth that describes the "true" clusters in real world data. Second, a large variety of evaluation measures have been used that reflect different aspects...... of the clustering result. Finally, in typical publications authors have limited their analysis to their favored paradigm only, while paying other paradigms little or no attention. In this paper, we take a systematic approach to evaluate the major paradigms in a common framework. We study representative clustering...

An Overview of the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Briggs, J. Blair; Gulliford, Jim

2014-01-01

Interest in high-quality integral benchmark data is increasing as efforts to quantify and reduce calculational uncertainties associated with advanced modeling and simulation accelerate to meet the demands of next generation reactor and advanced fuel cycle concepts. Two Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) activities, the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP), initiated in 1992, and the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP), initiated in 2003, have been identifying existing integral experiment data, evaluating those data, and providing integral benchmark specifications for methods and data validation for nearly two decades. Data provided by those two projects will be of use to the international reactor physics, criticality safety, and nuclear data communities for future decades. An overview of the IRPhEP and a brief update of the ICSBEP are provided in this paper.

A Formalization of Linkage Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ingolfsdottir, Anna; Christensen, A.I.; Hansen, Jens A.

In this report a formalization of genetic linkage analysis is introduced. Linkage analysis is a computationally hard biomathematical method, which purpose is to locate genes on the human genome. It is rooted in the new area of bioinformatics and no formalization of the method has previously been ...

Evaluation of Project Achievements in VOMARE -project

OpenAIRE

Kokkarinen, Eeva

2011-01-01

The purpose of the thesis is to study the achievements of VOMARE –project from the Finnish Lifeboat Institutions perspective. The organisation is a roof organisation for voluntary maritime rescue operation in Finland. The Finnish Lifeboat Institution is a lead partner in VOMARE –project which is EU funded project and the aim of the project is to start voluntary rescue operations in Estonia. The theoretical part of the work is divided into two main categories; project management and planni...

Fundamentals of the Pure Spinor Formalism

CERN Document Server

Hoogeveen, Joost

2010-01-01

This thesis presents recent developments within the pure spinor formalism, which has simplified amplitude computations in perturbative string theory, especially when spacetime fermions are involved. Firstly the worldsheet action of both the minimal and the non-minimal pure spinor formalism is derived from first principles, i.e. from an action with two dimensional diffeomorphism and Weyl invariance. Secondly the decoupling of unphysical states in the minimal pure spinor formalism is proved

Best Practices in NASA's Astrophysics Education and Public Outreach Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Hasan, H.; Smith, D.

2015-11-01

NASA's Astrophysics Education and Public Outreach (EPO) program has partnered scientists and educators since its inception almost twenty years ago, leading to authentic STEM experiences and products widely used by the education and outreach community. We present examples of best practices and representative projects. Keys to success include effective use of unique mission science/technology, attention to audience needs, coordination of effort, robust partnerships and publicly accessible repositories of EPO products. Projects are broadly targeted towards audiences in formal education, informal education, and community engagement. All NASA programs are evaluated for quality and impact. New technology is incorporated to engage young students being raised in the digital age. All projects focus on conveying the excitement of scientific discoveries from NASA's Astrophysics missions, advancing scientific literacy, and engaging students in science and technology careers.

Growth and Expansion of the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project and the Newly Organized International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J. Blair Briggs; Lori Scott; Yolanda Rugama; Enrico Satori

2007-05-01

Since ICNC 2003, the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) has continued to expand its efforts and broaden its scope. Criticality-alarm / shielding type benchmarks and fundamental physics measurements that are relevant to criticality safety applications are not only included in the scope of the project, but benchmark data are also included in the latest version of the handbook. A considerable number of improvements have been made to the searchable database, DICE and the criticality-alarm / shielding benchmarks and fundamental physics measurements have been included in the database. There were 12 countries participating on the ICSBEP in 2003. That number has increased to 18 with recent contributions of data and/or resources from Brazil, Czech Republic, Poland, India, Canada, and China. South Africa, Germany, Argentina, and Australia have been invited to participate. Since ICNC 2003, the contents of the “International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments” have increased from 350 evaluations (28,000 pages) containing benchmark specifications for 3070 critical or subcritical configurations to 442 evaluations (over 38,000 pages) containing benchmark specifications for 3957 critical or subcritical configurations, 23 criticality-alarm-placement / shielding configurations with multiple dose points for each, and 20 configurations that have been categorized as fundamental physics measurements that are relevant to criticality safety applications in the 2006 Edition of the ICSBEP Handbook. Approximately 30 new evaluations and 250 additional configurations are expected to be added to the 2007 Edition of the Handbook. Since ICNC 2003, a reactor physics counterpart to the ICSBEP, The International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) was initiated. Beginning in 1999, the IRPhEP was conducted as a pilot activity by the by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy

Towards the Formal Verification of a Distributed Real-Time Automotive System

Science.gov (United States)

Endres, Erik; Mueller, Christian; Shadrin, Andrey; Tverdyshev, Sergey

2010-01-01

We present the status of a project which aims at building, formally and pervasively verifying a distributed automotive system. The target system is a gate-level model which consists of several interconnected electronic control units with independent clocks. This model is verified against the specification as seen by a system programmer. The automotive system is implemented on several FPGA boards. The pervasive verification is carried out using combination of interactive theorem proving (Isabelle/HOL) and model checking (LTL).

Portland Public Schools Project Chrysalis: Year 2 Evaluation Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Stephanie J.; Gabriel, Roy M.; Hahn, Karen J.; Laws, Katherine E.

In 1994, the Chrysalis Project in Portland Public Schools received funding to prevent or delay the onset of substance abuse among a special target population: high-risk, female adolescents with a history of childhood abuse. Findings from the evaluation of the project's second year of providing assistance to these students are reported here. During…

Real Option--A New Approach in the Evaluation of Telecom Investment Projects

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

WU Hong

2005-01-01

This paper gives a new method into the evaluating system of telecom investment projects, I.e. Real Option. This may overcome the defects resulted from employing Net Present Value (NPV), which is now used in the evaluation of telecom projects. A theoretical analysis of Real Option is provided, followed by an example of telecom investment project to illustrate the differences between the two methods.

Leibniz' First Formalization of Syllogistics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Robering, Klaus

2014-01-01

of letters just those which belong to the useful, i.e., valid, modes. The set of codes of valid modes turns out to be a so-called "regular" language (in the sense of formal-language-theory). Leibniz' formalization of syllogistics in his Dissertatio thus contains an estimation of the computational complexity...

Formalizing the concept phase of product development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schuts, M.; Hooman, J.

2015-01-01

We discuss the use of formal techniques to improve the concept phase of product realisation. As an industrial application, a new concept of interventional X-ray systems has been formalized, using model checking techniques and the simulation of formal models. cop. Springer International Publishing

A survey of formal languages for contracts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvitved, Tom

2010-01-01

In this short paper we present the current status on formal languages and models for contracts. By a formal model is meant an unambiguous and rigorous representation of contracts, in order to enable their automatic validation, execution, and analysis — activates that are collectively referred...... to as contract lifecycle management (CLM). We present a set of formalism requirements, which represent features that any ideal contract model should support, based on which we present a comparative survey of existing contract formalisms....

[Evaluation of 12 pilot projects to improve outpatient palliative care].

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt-Wolf, G; Elsner, F; Lindena, G; Hilgers, R-D; Heussen, N; Rolke, R; Ostgathe, C; Radbruch, L

2013-12-01

With a priority programme the German Cancer Aid supported the development of quality-assured outpatient palliative care to cover the whole country. The 12 regional pilot projects funded with the aim to improve outpatient palliative care in different models and different frameworks were concurrently monitored and evaluated. The supported projects, starting and ending individually, documented all patients who were cared for using HOPE (Hospice and palliative care evaluation) and MIDOS (Minimal documentation system for palliative patients). Total data were analyzed for 3239 patients decriptively. In addition to the quantitative data the experiences of the projects were recorded in a number of workshops (2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012). In particular, the experiences reported in the final meeting in July 2012 were considered for this article as well as the final reports for the German Cancer Aid. In the quantitative evaluation 85.6% of 3239 palliative care patients had a cancer diagnosis. In all model projects the goal of a network with close cooperation of primary providers, social support, and outpatient and inpatient specialist services has been achieved. For all projects, the initial financing of the German Cancer Aid was extremely important, because contracts with health insurance funds were negotiated slowly, and could then be built on the experiences with the projects. The participants of the project-completion meeting emphasized the need to carry out a market analysis before starting palliative care organizations considering the different regional structures and target groups of patients. Education, training and continuing education programs contribute significantly to the network. A reliably funded coordination center/case management across all institutions is extremely important. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Federal Workplace Literacy Project. Internal Evaluation Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Matuszak, David J.

This report describes the following components of the Nestle Workplace Literacy Project: six job task analyses, curricula for six workplace basic skills training programs, delivery of courses using these curricula, and evaluation of the process. These six job categories were targeted for training: forklift loader/checker, BB's processing systems…

Introduction of formal debate into a postgraduate specialty track education programme in periodontics in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, A; Fujinami, K

2011-02-01

To evaluate the formal debate as an active learning strategy within a postgraduate specialty track education programme in periodontics. A formal debate was implemented as an active learning strategy in the programme. The participants were full-time faculty, residents and dentists attending special courses at a teaching hospital in Japan. They were grouped into two evenly matched opposing teams, judges and audience. As a preparation for the debate, the participants attended a lecture on critical thinking. At the time of debate, each team provided a theme report with a list of references. Performances and contents of the debate were evaluated by the course instructors and audience. Pre- and post-debate testing was used to assess the participants' objective knowledge on clinical periodontology. Evaluation of the debate by the participants revealed that scores for criteria, such as presentation performance, response with logic and rebuttal effectiveness were relatively low. Thirty-eight per cent of the participants demonstrated higher test scores after the debate, although there was no statistically significant difference in the mean scores between pre- and post-tests. At the end of the debate, vast majority of participants recognised the significance and importance of the formal debate in the programme. It was suggested that the incorporation of the formal debate could serve as an educational tool for the postgraduate specialty track programme. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

20 CFR 702.336 - Formal hearings; new issues.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Formal hearings; new issues. 702.336 Section... Procedures Formal Hearings § 702.336 Formal hearings; new issues. (a) If, during the course of the formal hearing, the evidence presented warrants consideration of an issue or issues not previously considered...

The Interrelatedness of Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning: Evidence from Labour Market Program Participants

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, Roslyn; Harrison, Jennifer L.

2012-01-01

Definitions, differences and relationships between formal, non-formal and informal learning have long been contentious. There has been a significant change in language and reference from adult education to what amounts to forms of learning categorised by their modes of facilitation. Nonetheless, there is currently a renewed interest in the…

Digital Resource Developments for Mathematics Education Involving Homework across Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Radovic, Slaviša; Passey, Don

2016-01-01

The aim of this paper is to explore further an under-developed area--how drivers of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment conceptions and practices shape the creation and uses of technologically based resources to support mathematics learning across informal, non-formal and formal learning environments. The paper considers: the importance of…

NON-FORMAL EDUCATION, OVEREDUCATION AND WAGES

OpenAIRE

SANDRA NIETO; RAÚL RAMOS

2013-01-01

Why do overeducated workers participate in non-formal education activities? Do not they suffer from an excess of education? Using microdata from the Spanish sample of the 2007 Adult Education Survey, we have found that overeducated workers participate more than the rest in non-formal education and that they earn higher wages than overeducated workers who did not participate. This result can be interpreted as evidence that non-formal education allows overeducated workers to acquire new abiliti...

The development of a model of creative space and its potential for transfer from non-formal to formal education

Science.gov (United States)

White, Irene; Lorenzi, Francesca

2016-12-01

Creativity has been emerging as a key concept in educational policies since the mid-1990s, with many Western countries restructuring their education systems to embrace innovative approaches likely to stimulate creative and critical thinking. But despite current intentions of putting more emphasis on creativity in education policies worldwide, there is still a relative dearth of viable models which capture the complexity of creativity and the conditions for its successful infusion into formal school environments. The push for creativity is in direct conflict with the results-driven/competitive performance-oriented culture which continues to dominate formal education systems. The authors of this article argue that incorporating creativity into mainstream education is a complex task and is best tackled by taking a systematic and multifaceted approach. They present a multidimensional model designed to help educators in tackling the challenges of the promotion of creativity. Their model encompasses three distinct yet interrelated dimensions of a creative space - physical, social-emotional and critical. The authors use the metaphor of space to refer to the interplay of the three identified dimensions. Drawing on confluence approaches to the theorisation of creativity, this paper exemplifies the development of a model before the background of a growing trend of systems theories. The aim of the model is to be helpful in systematising creativity by offering parameters - derived from the evaluation of an example offered by a non-formal educational environment - for the development of creative environments within mainstream secondary schools.

The Heartfile Lodhran CVD prevention project--end of project evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishtar, Sania; Badar, Asma; Kamal, Mohammad Umer; Iqbal, Azhar; Bajwa, Rashid; Shah, Tauqeer; Larik, Zahid; Karim, Fazle; Mehmood, Mahmood ul Hassan; Jehangir, Haroon; Azam, Syed Iqbal; Mirza, Yasir Abbas; Khan, Shahzad Ali; Qayyum, Aamra; Aqeel, Fauzia; Bakir, Abdul; Rahim, Ejaz

2007-01-01

Mainstream preventive interventions often fail to reach poor populations with a high risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Pakistan. A community-based CVD primary prevention project aimed at developing approaches to reduce risk factors in such populations was established by Heartfile in collaboration with the National Rural Support Program in the district of Lodhran. The project implemented a range of activities integrated with existing social and health service mechanisms during a three year intervention period 2000/01-03/04. These were targeted in 4 key settings: community health education, mass media interventions, training of health professionals and health education through Lady Health Workers. The project received support from the Department for International Development, U.K. At the community level, a pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design was used for examining project outcomes related to the community component of the intervention. Pre and post-intervention (training) evaluations were conducted involving all health care providers in randomly selected workshops in order to determine baseline levels of knowledge and the impact of training on knowledge level. In order to assess practices of physician and non-physician health care providers patient interviews, with control comparisons were conducted at each health care facility. Significant positive changes were observed in knowledge levels at a community level in the district of intervention compared with baseline knowledge levels particularly in relation to a heart healthy diet, beneficial level of physical activity, the causes of high blood pressure and heart attack and the effects of high blood pressure and active and passive smoking on health. Significant changes in behaviors at a practice level were not shown in the district of intervention. However the project played a critical role in spurring national action for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and introducing

An analysis of policy success and failure in formal evaluations of Australia's national mental health strategy (1992-2012).

Science.gov (United States)

Grace, Francesca C; Meurk, Carla S; Head, Brian W; Hall, Wayne D; Harris, Meredith G; Whiteford, Harvey A

2017-05-30

Heightened fiscal constraints, increases in the chronic disease burden and in consumer expectations are among several factors contributing to the global interest in evidence-informed health policy. The present article builds on previous work that explored how the Australian Federal Government applied five instruments of policy, or policy levers, to implement a series of reforms under the Australian National Mental Health Strategy (NMHS). The present article draws on theoretical insights from political science to analyse the relative successes and failures of these levers, as portrayed in formal government evaluations of the NMHS. Documentary analysis of six evaluation documents corresponding to three National Mental Health Plans was undertaken. Both the content and approach of these government-funded, independently conducted evaluations were appraised. An overall improvement was apparent in the development and application of policy levers over time. However, this finding should be interpreted with caution due to variations in evaluation approach according to Plan and policy lever. Tabulated summaries of the success and failure of each policy initiative, ordered by lever type, are provided to establish a resource that could be consulted for future policy-making. This analysis highlights the complexities of health service reform and underscores the limitations of narrowly focused empirical approaches. A theoretical framework is provided that could inform the evaluation and targeted selection of appropriate policy levers in mental health.

Bridging the gap between formal and experience-based knowledge for context-aware laparoscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Katić, Darko; Schuck, Jürgen; Wekerle, Anna-Laura; Kenngott, Hannes; Müller-Stich, Beat Peter; Dillmann, Rüdiger; Speidel, Stefanie

2016-06-01

Computer assistance is increasingly common in surgery. However, the amount of information is bound to overload processing abilities of surgeons. We propose methods to recognize the current phase of a surgery for context-aware information filtering. The purpose is to select the most suitable subset of information for surgical situations which require special assistance. We combine formal knowledge, represented by an ontology, and experience-based knowledge, represented by training samples, to recognize phases. For this purpose, we have developed two different methods. Firstly, we use formal knowledge about possible phase transitions to create a composition of random forests. Secondly, we propose a method based on cultural optimization to infer formal rules from experience to recognize phases. The proposed methods are compared with a purely formal knowledge-based approach using rules and a purely experience-based one using regular random forests. The comparative evaluation on laparoscopic pancreas resections and adrenalectomies employs a consistent set of quality criteria on clean and noisy input. The rule-based approaches proved best with noisefree data. The random forest-based ones were more robust in the presence of noise. Formal and experience-based knowledge can be successfully combined for robust phase recognition.

Project monitoring and evaluation: an enhancing method for health research system management.

Science.gov (United States)

Djalalinia, Shirin; Owlia, Parviz; Malekafzali, Hossein; Ghanei, Mostafa; Babamahmoodi, Abdolreza; Peykari, Niloofar

2014-04-01

Planning, organizing, staffing, leading and monitoring are the basic functional component of management. In present article, we aim to define the project monitoring and evaluation in health research system (HRS) considering its success and challenges based on our national experience. IN THIS STUDY BASED ON THE INFORMATION OF ANNUAL MEDICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITIES EVALUATION DURING THE LAST DECADE THE HRS INDICATORS HAVE BEEN SCORED IN THREE AXES BASED ON HRS FUNCTIONS: Stewardship, capacity building and knowledge production. In this article, we will focus on the results of HRS evaluation from 2002 to 2010, also on its success and challenges. In an overall view, the main results are the experiences of the designing and implantation of such process after pre-project preparation, all parts followed under the whole supervision of the aims of the HRS evaluation. Project management light the way of practical application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques for better HRS evaluation and management. We concluded that; although monitoring and evaluation as an essential part of HRS Management light the improvement ahead way but we still need to advantage of the new project management advances.

Decay data evaluation project: Evaluation of 52Mn and 52mMn nuclear decay data

Science.gov (United States)

Luca, Aurelian

2017-09-01

All nuclear decay data within the 52Fe-52m,52Mn-52Cr decay chain have been evaluated at IFIN-HH, Romania, as part of an IAEA coordinated research project (F41029) and incorporated into the Decay Data Evaluation Project (DDEP). Both 52Fe and daughter 52Mn are two potentially promising radionuclides to be incorporated into suitable radiopharmaceuticals for PET and SPECT imaging. The decay data evaluation of 52Fe has previously been published and reported to the IAEA Nuclear Data Section. Equivalent DDEP evaluations for 52Mn and 52mMn have also been completed recently, and are presented in summary form below. These improved decay data sets have also been reported to the IAEA in detail, and are highly suitable in dose rate calculations for their application in nuclear medicine.

Evaluation of the Relational Competence Project 2012-16

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Birgitte Lund

2017-01-01

The relational competence project was initiated by a broad group of stakeholders, referring to both research and to concrete experiences of a need for development in schools and teacher education. The evaluation of the project has been based on a retrospective survey with answers and reflections......, and the same was new insight into the importance of relations and the concrete tools and approaches tried with students in schools. Some of the challenges emphasised was about the so-called “inner exercises”. It seems that systematic enactments with these exercises was perceived as extremely beneficial...... the project aspects to frame their inquiries for the final bachelor-project. Those students have experienced the highest level of professional outcomes. Relational competence has in their bachelor-inquiries been used in a very wide range of pedagogical and subject matter contexts, emphasizing relational...

40 CFR 35.938-4 - Formal advertising.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Formal advertising. 35.938-4 Section 35... advertising. Each contract shall be awarded after formal advertising, unless negotiation is permitted in accordance with § 35.936-18. Formal advertising shall be in accordance with the following: (a) Adequate...

Evaluating impacts of development and conservation projects using sustainability indicators: Opportunities and challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agol, Dorice, E-mail: d.agol@uea.a.c.uk [University of East Anglia, School of International Development, Norwich NR4 7TJ (United Kingdom); Latawiec, Agnieszka E., E-mail: a.latawiec@iis-rio.org [International Institute for Sustainability, Estrada Dona Castorina 124, 22460-320 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Opole University of Technology, Department of Production Engineering and Logistics, Luboszycka 5, 45-036 Opole (Poland); University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich NR4 7TJ (United Kingdom); Strassburg, Bernardo B.N., E-mail: b.strassburg@iis-rio.org [International Institute for Sustainability, Estrada Dona Castorina 124, 22460-320 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Department of Geography and the Environment, Pontificia Universidade Catolica, 22453-900 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2014-09-15

There has been an increased interest in using sustainability indicators for evaluating the impacts of development and conservation projects. Past and recent experiences have shown that sustainability indicators can be powerful tools for measuring the outcomes of various interventions, when used appropriately and adequately. Currently, there is a range of methods for applying sustainability indicators for project impact evaluation at the environment–development interface. At the same time, a number of challenges persist which have implication for impact evaluation processes especially in developing countries. We highlight some key and recurrent challenges, using three cases from Kenya, Indonesia and Brazil. In this study, we have conducted a comparative analysis across multiple projects from the three countries, which aimed to conserve biodiversity and improve livelihoods. The assessments of these projects were designed to evaluate their positive, negative, short-term, long term, direct and indirect impacts. We have identified a set of commonly used sustainability indicators to evaluate the projects and have discussed opportunities and challenges associated with their application. Our analysis shows that impact evaluation processes present good opportunities for applying sustainability indicators. On the other hand, we find that project proponents (e.g. managers, evaluators, donors/funders) face challenges with establishing full impacts of interventions and that these are rooted in monitoring and evaluation processes, lack of evidence-based impacts, difficulties of measuring certain outcomes and concerns over scale of a range of impacts. We outline key lessons learnt from the multiple cases and propose ways to overcome common problems. Results from our analysis demonstrate practical experiences of applying sustainability indicators in developing countries context where there are different prevailing socio-economic, cultural and environmental conditions. The

Evaluating impacts of development and conservation projects using sustainability indicators: Opportunities and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agol, Dorice; Latawiec, Agnieszka E.; Strassburg, Bernardo B.N.

2014-01-01

There has been an increased interest in using sustainability indicators for evaluating the impacts of development and conservation projects. Past and recent experiences have shown that sustainability indicators can be powerful tools for measuring the outcomes of various interventions, when used appropriately and adequately. Currently, there is a range of methods for applying sustainability indicators for project impact evaluation at the environment–development interface. At the same time, a number of challenges persist which have implication for impact evaluation processes especially in developing countries. We highlight some key and recurrent challenges, using three cases from Kenya, Indonesia and Brazil. In this study, we have conducted a comparative analysis across multiple projects from the three countries, which aimed to conserve biodiversity and improve livelihoods. The assessments of these projects were designed to evaluate their positive, negative, short-term, long term, direct and indirect impacts. We have identified a set of commonly used sustainability indicators to evaluate the projects and have discussed opportunities and challenges associated with their application. Our analysis shows that impact evaluation processes present good opportunities for applying sustainability indicators. On the other hand, we find that project proponents (e.g. managers, evaluators, donors/funders) face challenges with establishing full impacts of interventions and that these are rooted in monitoring and evaluation processes, lack of evidence-based impacts, difficulties of measuring certain outcomes and concerns over scale of a range of impacts. We outline key lessons learnt from the multiple cases and propose ways to overcome common problems. Results from our analysis demonstrate practical experiences of applying sustainability indicators in developing countries context where there are different prevailing socio-economic, cultural and environmental conditions. The

Introduction course on the economical evaluation of energy projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansen, J.C.

1992-06-01

A theoretical course on the financial and economical evaluation of energy projects is presented. The course was organized by the Banque Mondiale in Bujumbura, Burundi, from 11 to 16 November 1991. Subsequently attention is paid to the basics of economic analysis, the financial and the economical analysis of an investment project, and finally the prices of energy products. 4 figs., 13 refs

Sustainability Risk Evaluation for Large-Scale Hydropower Projects with Hybrid Uncertainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiyao Tang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available As large-scale hydropower projects are influenced by many factors, risk evaluations are complex. This paper considers a hydropower project as a complex system from the perspective of sustainability risk, and divides it into three subsystems: the natural environment subsystem, the eco-environment subsystem and the socioeconomic subsystem. Risk-related factors and quantitative dimensions of each subsystem are comprehensively analyzed considering uncertainty of some quantitative dimensions solved by hybrid uncertainty methods, including fuzzy (e.g., the national health degree, the national happiness degree, the protection of cultural heritage, random (e.g., underground water levels, river width, and fuzzy random uncertainty (e.g., runoff volumes, precipitation. By calculating the sustainability risk-related degree in each of the risk-related factors, a sustainable risk-evaluation model is built. Based on the calculation results, the critical sustainability risk-related factors are identified and targeted to reduce the losses caused by sustainability risk factors of the hydropower project. A case study at the under-construction Baihetan hydropower station is presented to demonstrate the viability of the risk-evaluation model and to provide a reference for the sustainable risk evaluation of other large-scale hydropower projects.

A Mathematical Formalization Proposal for Business Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gheorghe BAILESTEANU

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Economic sciences have known a spectacular evolution in the last century; beginning to use axiomatic methods, applying mathematical instruments as a decision-making tool. The quest to formalization needs to be addressed from various different angles, reducing entry and operating formal costs, increasing the incentives for firms to operate formally, reducing obstacles to their growth, and searching for inexpensive approaches through which to enforce compliancy with government regulations. This paper proposes a formalized approach to business growth, based on mathematics and logics, taking into consideration the particularities of the economic sector.

What Determines Firms’ Decisions to Formalize?

OpenAIRE

Neil McCulloch; Günther G. Schulze; Janina Voss

2010-01-01

In this paper we analyze the decision of small and micro firms to formalize, i.e. to obtain business and other licenses in rural Indonesia. We use the rural investment climate survey (RICS) that consists of non-farm rural enterprises, most of them microenterprises, and analyze the effect of formalization on tax payments, corruption, access to credit and revenue, taking into account the endogeneity of the formalization decision to such benefits and costs. We show, contrary to most of the liter...

Connecting Formal and Informal Learning Experiences

Science.gov (United States)

O'Mahony, Timothy Kieran

The learning study reports on part of a larger project being lead by the author. In this dissertation I explore one goal of this project---to understand effects on student learning outcomes as a function of using different methods for connecting out-of-school experiential learning with formal school-based instruction. There is a long history of assuming that "experience is the best teacher"(e.g. Aristotle, 360 BC; Dewey, 1934; Kolb, 1997; Pliny, AD 77). As a practical geographer I endorsed that assumption throughout my teaching career, paying attention to local topography, physical features, and natural resources in the geographic hinterland. I was particularly interested in understanding the impact of the physical landscape on humankind, and reciprocally, noting humankind's widespread impressions on the natural world. Until I began this research project, I assumed that everyone else paid a similar attention to immediate surroundings. The work that I describe in this dissertation emerges out of a conviction that there are many degrees of truth to the idea that experience is a great teacher. Its effectiveness seems to depend on how one's "experience" is mediated, and how "learning from it" is defined. This motivated me to think about design principles for linking people's experiences to learning. I began to explore, experimentally, how I might enhance people's abilities to notice, represent, and discuss their experiences in order to better learn from them. This study investigated how different ways of connecting outdoor learning experiences to formal schooling impacts students' performance. I studied high-school students in outdoor settings as they engaged in evocative issues of learning pertaining to consequential everyday life encounters. Different kinds of "expert mediation" were introduced and tested as the students engaged in investigative activities around the science of dam removal and habitat restoration. I measured outcomes with the aid of pre- and

Color back projection for fruit maturity evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Dong; Lee, Dah-Jye; Desai, Alok

2013-12-01

In general, fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and dates are harvested before they fully ripen. After harvesting, they continue to ripen and their color changes. Color is a good indicator of fruit maturity. For example, tomatoes change color from dark green to light green and then pink, light red, and dark red. Assessing tomato maturity helps maximize its shelf life. Color is used to determine the length of time the tomatoes can be transported. Medjool dates change color from green to yellow, and the orange, light red and dark red. Assessing date maturity helps determine the length of drying process to help ripen the dates. Color evaluation is an important step in the processing and inventory control of fruits and vegetables that directly affects profitability. This paper presents an efficient color back projection and image processing technique that is designed specifically for real-time maturity evaluation of fruits. This color processing method requires very simple training procedure to obtain the frequencies of colors that appear in each maturity stage. This color statistics is used to back project colors to predefined color indexes. Fruit maturity is then evaluated by analyzing the reprojected color indexes. This method has been implemented and used for commercial production.

Lifelong Learning to Empowerment: Beyond Formal Education

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Alexis; Balasubramanian, K.; Atieno, Rosemary; Onyango, James

2018-01-01

This paper discusses the relevance of lifelong learning vis-à-vis the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and stresses the need for an approach blending formal education, non-formal and informal learning. The role of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in moving beyond formal education and the importance of integrating pedagogy, andragogy and…

A formal approach to the analysis of clinical computer-interpretable guideline modeling languages.

Science.gov (United States)

Grando, M Adela; Glasspool, David; Fox, John

2012-01-01

To develop proof strategies to formally study the expressiveness of workflow-based languages, and to investigate their applicability to clinical computer-interpretable guideline (CIG) modeling languages. We propose two strategies for studying the expressiveness of workflow-based languages based on a standard set of workflow patterns expressed as Petri nets (PNs) and notions of congruence and bisimilarity from process calculus. Proof that a PN-based pattern P can be expressed in a language L can be carried out semi-automatically. Proof that a language L cannot provide the behavior specified by a PNP requires proof by exhaustion based on analysis of cases and cannot be performed automatically. The proof strategies are generic but we exemplify their use with a particular CIG modeling language, PROforma. To illustrate the method we evaluate the expressiveness of PROforma against three standard workflow patterns and compare our results with a previous similar but informal comparison. We show that the two proof strategies are effective in evaluating a CIG modeling language against standard workflow patterns. We find that using the proposed formal techniques we obtain different results to a comparable previously published but less formal study. We discuss the utility of these analyses as the basis for principled extensions to CIG modeling languages. Additionally we explain how the same proof strategies can be reused to prove the satisfaction of patterns expressed in the declarative language CIGDec. The proof strategies we propose are useful tools for analysing the expressiveness of CIG modeling languages. This study provides good evidence of the benefits of applying formal methods of proof over semi-formal ones. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A rational quantitative approach to determine the best dosing regimen for a target therapeutic effect: a unified formalism for antibiotic evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jun; Nekka, Fahima

2013-02-21

The determination of an optimal dosing regimen is a critical step to enhance the drug efficacy and avoid toxicity. Rational dosing recommendations based on mathematical considerations are increasingly being adopted in the process of drug development and use. In this paper, we propose a quantitative approach to evaluate the efficacy of antibiotic agents. By integrating both pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) information, this approach gives rise to a unified formalism able to measure the cause-effect of dosing regimens. This new pharmaco-metric allows to cover a whole range of antibiotics, including the two well known concentration and time dependent classes, through the introduction of the Hill-dependency concept. As a direct fallout, our formalism opens a new path toward the bioequivalence evaluation in terms of PK and PD, which associates the in vivo drug concentration and the in vitro drug effect. Using this new approach, we succeeded to reveal unexpected, but relevant behaviors of drug performance when different drug regimens and drug classes are considered. Of particular notice, we found that the doses required to reach the same therapeutic effect, when scheduled differently, exhibit completely different tendencies for concentration and time dependent drugs. Moreover, we theoretically confirmed the previous experimental results of the superiority of the once daily regimen of aminoglycosides. The proposed methodology is appealing for its computational features and can easily be applicable to design fair clinical protocols or rationalize prescription decisions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Formal methods and tools for the development of distributed and real time systems : Esprit Project 3096 (SPEC)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roever, de W.P.; Barringer, H.; Courcoubetis, C.; Gabbay, D.M.; Gerth, R.T.; Jonsson, B.; Pnueli, A.; Reed, M.; Sifakis, J.; Vytopil, J.; Wolper, P.

1990-01-01

The Basic Research Action No. 3096, Formal Methods snd Tools for the Development of Distributed and Real Time Systems, is funded in the Area of Computer Science, under the ESPRIT Programme of the European Community. The coordinating institution is the Department of Computing Science, Eindhoven

Risk management, financial evaluation and funding for wastewater and stormwater reuse projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Furlong, Casey; De Silva, Saman; Gan, Kein; Guthrie, Lachlan; Considine, Robert

2017-04-15

This paper has considered risk management, financial evaluation and funding in seven Australian wastewater and stormwater reuse projects. From the investigated case studies it can be seen that responsible parties have generally been well equipped to identify potential risks. In relation to financial evaluation methods some serious discrepancies, such as time periods for analysis, and how stormwater benefits are valued, have been identified. Most of the projects have required external, often National Government, funding to proceed. As National funding is likely to become less common in the future, future reuse projects may need to be funded internally by the water industry. In order to enable this the authors propose that the industry requires (1) a standard project evaluation process, and (2) an infrastructure funders' forum (or committee) with representation from both utilities and regulators, in order to compare and prioritise future reuse projects against each other. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards unified performance measures for evaluating nuclear safeguard systems: mathematical foundations and formal comparison of existing models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corynen, G.C.

1979-01-01

An important step in the analysis of large-scale systems is the development of economical and meaningful measures of system performance. In the literature on analysis of nuclear safeguard systems, many performance measures have been advanced, but their interrelationships and their relevance to overall system objectives have not received attention commensurate with the effort spent in developing detailed safeguard models. The work reported here is an attempt to improve the development and evaluation of performance measures for nuclear safeguard systems. This work falls into three main areas. First, we develop a new framework which provides an initial basis for defining and structuring performance measures. To demonstrate that this framework allows a clear understanding of the purposes of nuclear safeguard systems, we employ it to state various safeguard questions clearly and concisely. The framework reflects the rough subsystem structure of safeguard systems - the detection and response subsystems - and formally accommodates various safeguard models. We especially emphasize two of these models which are under development at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, the structured assessment approach (SAA) and the systems vulnerability assessment method (SVAM). Second, we examine some performance measures presently used in the nuclear safeguards area and in reliability theory in general. Some of these we accept and modify to obtain system performance measures that are an additive combination of subsystem performance measures, a very convenient form indeed. Others we reject as impractical and meaningless. Finally, we determine some common features between the SAA and SVAM models by formally comparing these models in our framework

Success factors for international HTA projects: evaluating EUnetHTA Joint Action as an exemplar.

Science.gov (United States)

Guegan, Eleanor Woodford; Cook, Andrew

2014-11-01

Evaluation is essential for the management of international projects or networks in health technology assessment (HTA). It extends beyond the normal process of project management by incorporating qualitative dimensions and provides information about a project's effectiveness and achievements. This article aimed to identify the factors that are important for the success of international HTA projects. The European network for Health Technology Assessment Joint Action (EUnetHTA JA) is presented as an exemplar. METHODS for the evaluation of international HTA projects include interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, observations and documentary review, and the key points of these approaches have been summarized. The impact and effectiveness of the EUnetHTA JA was evaluated by questionnaires of project participants and external stakeholders, and by documentary review. The response rate for the three annual questionnaires sent to project participants ranged from 86 percent to 88 percent and for external stakeholders ranged from 65 percent to 88 percent. Key factors for project success included production of deliverables according to the workplan, achievement of objectives, added value generated, effective communication, involvement of external stakeholders, workstream management and progress from the preceding EUnetHTA 2006-2008 project. The experience of this project can inform the evaluation of future international HTA collaborations, such as the EUnetHTA 2nd Joint Action and HTAsiaLink. A high response rate was achieved to the self-completion questionnaires and the strategy followed is recommended for evaluation of international HTA projects. Future assessments of international HTA projects should strive to measure outcomes and impact, not just outputs and process.

Development of Experimental Superconducting Magnet for the Collector Ring of FAIR Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Yinfeng; Wu Weiyue; Wu Songtao; Liu Changle; Xu Houchang

2010-01-01

A pool cooled experimental magnet based on the copper stabilized NbTi superconducting wire was designed, fabricated and tested, in order to evaluate the engineering design of the dipole superconducting magnet for the collector ring (CR) of the facility for antiproton and ion research (FAIR) project. In this paper, the experimental setup including quench protection system was presented. Performance of the liquid helium pool cooled test was introduced. All of the results indicate both the performance of conductor and the experimental superconducting magnet under low temperature is stable, which suggests the engineering design are feasible for the formal magnet in CR of the FAIR project.

Formal Symplectic Groupoid of a Deformation Quantization

Science.gov (United States)

Karabegov, Alexander V.

2005-08-01

We give a self-contained algebraic description of a formal symplectic groupoid over a Poisson manifold M. To each natural star product on M we then associate a canonical formal symplectic groupoid over M. Finally, we construct a unique formal symplectic groupoid ‘with separation of variables’ over an arbitrary Kähler-Poisson manifold.

Formative evaluation of the telecare fall prevention project for older veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Miake-Lye, Isomi M; Amulis, Angel; Saliba, Debra; Shekelle, Paul G; Volkman, Linda K; Ganz, David A

2011-05-23

Fall prevention interventions for community-dwelling older adults have been found to reduce falls in some research studies. However, wider implementation of fall prevention activities in routine care has yielded mixed results. We implemented a theory-driven program to improve care for falls at our Veterans Affairs healthcare facility. The first project arising from this program used a nurse advice telephone line to identify patients' risk factors for falls and to triage patients to appropriate services. Here we report the formative evaluation of this project. To evaluate the intervention we: 1) interviewed patient and employee stakeholders, 2) reviewed participating patients' electronic health record data and 3) abstracted information from meeting minutes. We describe the implementation process, including whether the project was implemented according to plan; identify barriers and facilitators to implementation; and assess the incremental benefit to the quality of health care for fall prevention received by patients in the project. We also estimate the cost of developing the pilot project. The project underwent multiple changes over its life span, including the addition of an option to mail patients educational materials about falls. During the project's lifespan, 113 patients were considered for inclusion and 35 participated. Patient and employee interviews suggested support for the project, but revealed that transportation to medical care was a major barrier in following up on fall risks identified by nurse telephone triage. Medical record review showed that the project enhanced usual medical care with respect to home safety counseling. We discontinued the program after 18 months due to staffing limitations and competing priorities. We estimated a cost of $9194 for meeting time to develop the project. The project appeared feasible at its outset but could not be sustained past the first cycle of evaluation due to insufficient resources and a waning of local

Formative evaluation of the telecare fall prevention project for older veterans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saliba Debra

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Fall prevention interventions for community-dwelling older adults have been found to reduce falls in some research studies. However, wider implementation of fall prevention activities in routine care has yielded mixed results. We implemented a theory-driven program to improve care for falls at our Veterans Affairs healthcare facility. The first project arising from this program used a nurse advice telephone line to identify patients' risk factors for falls and to triage patients to appropriate services. Here we report the formative evaluation of this project. Methods To evaluate the intervention we: 1 interviewed patient and employee stakeholders, 2 reviewed participating patients' electronic health record data and 3 abstracted information from meeting minutes. We describe the implementation process, including whether the project was implemented according to plan; identify barriers and facilitators to implementation; and assess the incremental benefit to the quality of health care for fall prevention received by patients in the project. We also estimate the cost of developing the pilot project. Results The project underwent multiple changes over its life span, including the addition of an option to mail patients educational materials about falls. During the project's lifespan, 113 patients were considered for inclusion and 35 participated. Patient and employee interviews suggested support for the project, but revealed that transportation to medical care was a major barrier in following up on fall risks identified by nurse telephone triage. Medical record review showed that the project enhanced usual medical care with respect to home safety counseling. We discontinued the program after 18 months due to staffing limitations and competing priorities. We estimated a cost of $9194 for meeting time to develop the project. Conclusions The project appeared feasible at its outset but could not be sustained past the first cycle of

multiPDEVS: A Parallel Multicomponent System Specification Formalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damien Foures

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Based on multiDEVS formalism, we introduce multiPDEVS, a parallel and nonmodular formalism for discrete event system specification. This formalism provides combined advantages of PDEVS and multiDEVS approaches, such as excellent simulation capabilities for simultaneously scheduled events and components able to influence each other using exclusively their state transitions. We next show the soundness of the formalism by giving a construction showing that any multiPDEVS model is equivalent to a PDEVS atomic model. We then present the simulation procedure associated, usually called abstract simulator. As a well-adapted formalism to express cellular automata, we finally propose to compare an implementation of multiPDEVS formalism with a more classical Cell-DEVS implementation through a fire spread application.

An Analysis of Internally Funded Learning and Teaching Project Evaluation in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Huber, Elaine; Harvey, Marina

2016-01-01

Purpose: In the higher education sector, the evaluation of learning and teaching projects is assuming a role as a quality and accountability indicator. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how learning and teaching project evaluation is approached and critiques alignment between evaluation theory and practice. Design/Methodology/Approach:…

Research on Comprehensive Evaluation Method for Heating Project Based on Analytic Hierarchy Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Shenchao; Yang, Yanchun; Liu, Yude; Zhang, Peng; Li, Siwei

2018-01-01

It is effective to reduce haze in winter by changing the distributed heat supply system. Thus, the studies on comprehensive index system and scientific evaluation method of distributed heat supply project are essential. Firstly, research the influence factors of heating modes, and an index system with multiple dimension including economic, environmental, risk and flexibility was built and all indexes were quantified. Secondly, a comprehensive evaluation method based on AHP was put forward to analyze the proposed multiple and comprehensive index system. Lastly, the case study suggested that supplying heat with electricity has great advantage and promotional value. The comprehensive index system of distributed heating supply project and evaluation method in this paper can evaluate distributed heat supply project effectively and provide scientific support for choosing the distributed heating project.

Formative Evaluation of a Nutritional Marketing Project in City-Center Restaurants.

Science.gov (United States)

Demers, Andree; Renaud, Lise

1992-01-01

Formative evaluation of a community health project providing and promoting low-fat foods in five restaurants in Montreal (Canada) shows that restaurateurs are willing to collaborate in project implementation but not in training waiters and that the project did not cause an increase in market demand for low-fat menu offerings. (SLD)

Extensive Evaluation of Using a Game Project in a Software Architecture Course

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Alf Inge

2011-01-01

This article describes an extensive evaluation of introducing a game project to a software architecture course. In this project, university students have to construct and design a type of software architecture, evaluate the architecture, implement an application based on the architecture, and test this implementation. In previous years, the domain…

Bridging In-school and Out-of-school Learning: Formal, Non-Formal, and Informal Education

Science.gov (United States)

Eshach, Haim

2007-04-01

The present paper thoroughly examines how one can effectively bridge in-school and out-of-school learning. The first part discusses the difficulty in defining out-of-school learning. It proposes to distinguish three types of learning: formal, informal, and non-formal. The second part raises the question of whether out-of-school learning should be dealt with in the in-school system, in view of the fact that we experience informal learning anyway as well as considering the disadvantages and difficulties teachers are confronted with when planning and carrying out scientific fieldtrips. The voices of the teachers, the students, and the non-formal institution staff are heard to provide insights into the problem. The third part discusses the cognitive and affective aspects of non-formal learning. The fourth part presents some models explaining scientific fieldtrip learning and based on those models, suggests a novel explanation. The fifth part offers some recommendations of how to bridge in and out-of-school learning. The paper closes with some practical ideas as to how one can bring the theory described in the paper into practice. It is hoped that this paper will provide educators with an insight so that they will be able to fully exploit the great potential that scientific field trips may offer.

Toward a formal ontology for narrative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciotti, Fabio

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper the rationale and the first draft of a formal ontology for modeling narrative texts are presented. Building on the semiotic and structuralist narratology, and on the work carried out in the late 1980s by Giuseppe Gigliozzi in Italy, the focus of my research are the concepts of character and of narrative world/space. This formal model is expressed in the OWL 2 ontology language. The main reason to adopt a formal modeling approach is that I consider the purely probabilistic-quantitative methods (now widespread in digital literary studies inadequate. An ontology, on one hand provides a tool for the analysis of strictly literary texts. On the other hand (though beyond the scope of the present work, its formalization can also represent a significant contribution towards grounding the application of storytelling methods outside of scholarly contexts.

Performance Evaluation of Public-Private Partnership Projects from the Perspective of Efficiency, Economic, Effectiveness, and Equity: A Study of Residential Renovation Projects in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuhui Cong

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The performance evaluation index system was established on the basis of 4E (Efficiency, Economic, Effectiveness, Equity theory to improve performance evaluation of Public-Private Partnership Projects for Residential Renovation (4P2R. Moreover, the index weighting model was demonstrated based on Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA. Finally, the cloud model was used for performance evaluation, through the cloud uncertainty reasoning to determine the quantitative performance evaluation index value, the positive reverse cloud to calculate the qualitative performance evaluation index value, and the normal cloud to measure the project performance. The proof-of-concept application shows that the performance evaluation index system and evaluation model can better identify the deficiencies in the project, and provide targeted improvement measures for similar projects in the future.

Formal verification - Robust and efficient code: Introduction to Formal Verification

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2016-01-01

In general, FV means "proving that certain properties hold for a given system using formal mathematics". This definition can certainly feel daunting, however, as we will learn, we can reap benefits from the paradigm without digging too deep into ...

Algorithm for evaluating the effectiveness of a high-rise development project based on current yield

Science.gov (United States)

Soboleva, Elena

2018-03-01

The article is aimed at the issues of operational evaluation of development project efficiency in high-rise construction under the current economic conditions in Russia. The author touches the following issues: problems of implementing development projects, the influence of the operational evaluation quality of high-rise construction projects on general efficiency, assessing the influence of the project's external environment on the effectiveness of project activities under crisis conditions and the quality of project management. The article proposes the algorithm and the methodological approach to the quality management of the developer project efficiency based on operational evaluation of the current yield efficiency. The methodology for calculating the current efficiency of a development project for high-rise construction has been updated.

Plant life management in Belgium: an integrated project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wacquier, W.; Smet, M. de; Hennart, J.C.; Greer, J.L.; Breesch, Ch.; Havard, P.

2001-01-01

In Belgium, a specific plant life management project, named ''Continuous Operation of Belgian NPPs'' is currently developing. Its final objective is to centralize all safety and economic aspects of plant life management in order to determine, for each NPP unit, the optimal actions required to maintain their safe and reliable operation. As the lifetime of safety-related active components is permanently controlled by the current maintenance programs, the project focuses only on passive safety-related components and on non-safety components important for the availability of the plants. These structures and components were evaluated and compared on the basis of a set of weighted criteria in order to measure their criticality and to identify those which must be considered in the project. The selection and the ranking of those components is based on the KBM TM methodology (Knowledge Based Maintenance). This methodology facilitates the collection, formalization and exchange of know-how and gives immediate results thanks to a sequential and systematic step by step analysis. (author)

Project Half Double

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svejvig, Per; Ehlers, Michael; Adland, Karoline Thorp

activities carried out within the framework of the projects. The formal part of Project Half Double was initiated in June 2015. We started out by developing, refining and testing the Half Double methodology on seven pilot projects in the first phase of the project, which will end June 2016. The current......Project Half Double has a clear mission to succeed in finding a project methodology that can increase the success rate of our projects while increasing the speed at which we generate new ideas and develop new products and services. Chaos and complexity should be seen as a basic condition...... and as an opportunity rather than a threat and a risk. We are convinced that by doing so, we can strengthen Denmark’s competitiveness and play an important role in the battle for jobs and future welfare. The overall goal is to deliver “projects in half the time with double the impact”, where projects in half the time...

Evaluation of light extraction efficiency for the light-emitting diodes based on the transfer matrix formalism and ray-tracing method

Science.gov (United States)

Pingbo, An; Li, Wang; Hongxi, Lu; Zhiguo, Yu; Lei, Liu; Xin, Xi; Lixia, Zhao; Junxi, Wang; Jinmin, Li

2016-06-01

The internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of the light-emitting diodes can be calculated by the ratio of the external quantum efficiency (EQE) and the light extraction efficiency (LEE). The EQE can be measured experimentally, but the LEE is difficult to calculate due to the complicated LED structures. In this work, a model was established to calculate the LEE by combining the transfer matrix formalism and an in-plane ray tracing method. With the calculated LEE, the IQE was determined and made a good agreement with that obtained by the ABC model and temperature-dependent photoluminescence method. The proposed method makes the determination of the IQE more practical and conventional. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.11574306, 61334009), the China International Science and Technology Cooperation Program (No. 2014DFG62280), and the National High Technology Program of China (No. 2015AA03A101).

pep-up: a review of the umgeni valley pro.ject evaluation process

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The evaluation process at the Umgeni Valle~ Project is.described. Its evolution, background and ... mental Education circles in Southern Africa. The ... t? the percei~ed need for evaluation of the Umgen1 Valley ProJect. ... This group, insisting that they were facilitating .... Phase : An integrated summary of all fielc and working ...

Formalization of the Resolution Calculus for First-Order Logic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schlichtkrull, Anders

2016-01-01

A formalization in Isabelle/HOL of the resolution calculus for first-order logic is presented. Its soundness and completeness are formally proven using the substitution lemma, semantic trees, Herbrand’s theorem, and the lifting lemma. In contrast to previous formalizations of resolution, it consi......A formalization in Isabelle/HOL of the resolution calculus for first-order logic is presented. Its soundness and completeness are formally proven using the substitution lemma, semantic trees, Herbrand’s theorem, and the lifting lemma. In contrast to previous formalizations of resolution...

Evaluation system of Research and Development projects and services from ININ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reglero, R.

1994-01-01

To make a plan for a project is one thing; to control it are a hundred things at the same time. Because of this fact, the enterprises and Research and Development Institutions have searched better ways to manage this activities. The management system of Research and Development projects and services from ININ, is used as a recording, evaluation tracking, information and control of result instrument for these activities. The need to have update information of different activities in the working areas of ININ, such as: Projects, technical or technological services either internal or external; diffusion programs and human resources training programs; and departmental activities, has taken to the development of uniform methods of recording, evaluation tracking and control of events, which allow the standardization, compilation, analysis and reporting of the results in an easy and quick way. The elaboration of an original scheme for the evaluation system of assessment for Research and Development projects and services was started in July 1988, and the data acquisition was manual. The use of Personal Computers began at 1992. (Author)

R and D programmes in Germany. Selection and evaluation of projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

In Germany, budgets for research and development rest on three pillars, which are the federal government, the 16 states, and the civil sector. The total expenditure for 1997 amounted to 83.7 times 1 billion Deutsche marks, and this occupied 2.3 of Germany's GNP (gross national product). National research projects constitute the main stream even today. As for federal government-financed projects, they are managed mainly by BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Technology). There are project carriers as the managerial organizations. Requests for proposals for research and development projects are published in official gazettes and technical journals. Such a project has to contain detailed descriptions regarding the setting of targets, levels of technology, cost accounting, development schedule, history of discovery and development involved, etc. Analyses are conducted into technology, economic risk, market, and environmental impact. Support by the German government for government-related projects is given in compliance with predetermined guidelines. The evaluation and selection of submitted proposals are performed by professionals of the project carrier level. In this paper, explanations are also given about contracts, management of progress, and evaluation. (NEDO)

"They just know": the epistemological politics of "evidence-based" non-formal education.

Science.gov (United States)

Archibald, Thomas

2015-02-01

Community education and outreach programs should be evidence-based. This dictum seems at once warranted, welcome, and slightly platitudinous. However, the "evidence-based" movement's more narrow definition of evidence--privileging randomized controlled trials as the "gold standard"--has fomented much debate. Such debate, though insightful, often lacks grounding in actual practice. To address that lack, the purpose of the study presented in this paper was to examine what actually happens, in practice, when people support the implementation of evidence-based programs (EBPs) or engage in related efforts to make non-formal education more "evidence-based." Focusing on three cases--two adolescent sexual health projects (one in the United States and one in Kenya) and one more general youth development organization--I used qualitative methods to address the questions: (1) How is evidence-based program and evidence-based practice work actually practiced? (2) What perspectives and assumptions about what non-formal education is are manifested through that work? and (3) What conflicts and tensions emerge through that work related to those perspectives and assumptions? Informed by theoretical perspectives on the intersection of science, expertise, and democracy, I conclude that the current dominant approach to making non-formal education more evidence-based by way of EBPs is seriously flawed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

FutureGen Project Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cabe, Jim; Elliott, Mike

2010-09-30

for dry-fed gasifier configuration • Full capital cost report and cost category analysis (CAPEX) • Full operating cost report and assumptions (OPEX) Comparative technology evaluations, value engineering exercises, and initial air permitting activities are also provided; the report concludes with schedule, risk, and cost mitigation activities as well as lessons learned such that the products of this report can be used to support future investments in utility scale gasification and carbon capture and sequestration. Collectively, the FutureGen project enabled the comprehensive site specific evaluation and determination of the economic viability of IGCC-CCS. The project report is bound at that determination when DOE formally proposed the FutureGen 2.0 project which focuses on repowering a pulverized coal power plant with oxy-combustion technology including CCS.

Mark 4A project training evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Stephenson, S. N.

1985-01-01

A participant evaluation of a Deep Space Network (DSN) is described. The Mark IVA project is an implementation to upgrade the tracking and data acquisition systems of the dSN. Approximately six hundred DSN operations and engineering maintenance personnel were surveyed. The survey obtained a convenience sample including trained people within the population in order to learn what training had taken place and to what effect. The survey questionnaire used modifications of standard rating scales to evaluate over one hundred items in four training dimensions. The scope of the evaluation included Mark IVA vendor training, a systems familiarization training seminar, engineering training classes, a on-the-job training. Measures of central tendency were made from participant rating responses. Chi square tests of statistical significance were performed on the data. The evaluation results indicated that the effects of different Mark INA training methods could be measured according to certain ratings of technical training effectiveness, and that the Mark IVA technical training has exhibited positive effects on the abilities of DSN personnel to operate and maintain new Mark IVA equipment systems.

Mark 4A project training evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Stephenson, S. N.

1985-11-01

A participant evaluation of a Deep Space Network (DSN) is described. The Mark IVA project is an implementation to upgrade the tracking and data acquisition systems of the dSN. Approximately six hundred DSN operations and engineering maintenance personnel were surveyed. The survey obtained a convenience sample including trained people within the population in order to learn what training had taken place and to what effect. The survey questionnaire used modifications of standard rating scales to evaluate over one hundred items in four training dimensions. The scope of the evaluation included Mark IVA vendor training, a systems familiarization training seminar, engineering training classes, a on-the-job training. Measures of central tendency were made from participant rating responses. Chi square tests of statistical significance were performed on the data. The evaluation results indicated that the effects of different Mark INA training methods could be measured according to certain ratings of technical training effectiveness, and that the Mark IVA technical training has exhibited positive effects on the abilities of DSN personnel to operate and maintain new Mark IVA equipment systems.

Calcicolous beech forests and related vegetation in the Czech Republic: a comparison of formalized classifications

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Boublík, Karel; Petřík, Petr; Sádlo, Jiří; Hédl, Radim; Willner, W.; Černý, Tomáš; Kolbek, Jiří

2007-01-01

Roč. 79, - (2007), s. 141-161 ISSN 0032-7786 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA6005202; GA ČR(CZ) GA206/05/0020; GA MŠk LC06073 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Keywords : Cephalanthero-Fagenion * Cocktail * formalized classification Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 2.064, year: 2007

Project evaluation and selection using fuzzy Delphi method and zero - one goal programming

Science.gov (United States)

Alias, Suriana; Adna, Nofarziah; Arsad, Roslah; Soid, Siti Khuzaimah; Ali, Zaileha Md

2014-12-01

Project evaluation and selection is a factor affecting the impotence of board director in which is trying to maximize all the possible goals. Assessment of the problem occurred in organization plan is the first phase for decision making process. The company needs a group of expert to evaluate the problems. The Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) is a systematic procedure to evoke the group's opinion in order to get the best result to evaluate the project performance. This paper proposes an evaluation and selection of the best alternative project based on combination of FDM and Zero - One Goal Programming (ZOGP) formulation. ZOGP is used to solve the multi-criteria decision making for final decision part by using optimization software LINDO 6.1. An empirical example on an ongoing decision making project in Johor, Malaysia is implemented for case study.

Influence of Formal Education on Cognitive Reserve in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Luerding, Ralf; Gebel, Sophie; Gebel, Eva-Maria; Schwab-Malek, Susanne; Weissert, Robert

2016-01-01

The concept of cognitive reserve (CR) and its influence on cognitive impairment has attracted increasing interest. One hundred twenty-eight patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) from Southern Germany were evaluated during the years 2000 to 2012. Twenty-seven neuropsychological (NP) tests were applied regarding basic cognitive functions, attention, executive functions, visual perception and construction, memory and learning, problem solving, and language. By this retrospective approach, a comprehensive NP profile of the investigated individuals was established. An effect of timespan of formal education on CR was observed. Enrichment by reading, physical activities, and challenging vocational practices had more profound effects in patients who had undergone a shorter educational period compared to a longer educational period. In summary, our study demonstrates that the advantage of longer formal education periods, compared to shorter formal education periods, can be counterbalanced by high frequencies of reading, physical activities, and challenging vocational practices in patients with MS.

Influence of formal education on cognitive reserve in patients with multiple sclerosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ralf eLürding

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The concept of cognitive reserve (CR and its influence on cognitive impairment (CI has attracted increasing interest. 128 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS from Southern Germany were evaluated during the years 2000 to 2012. 27 neuropsychological (NP tests were applied regarding Basic Cognitive Functions, Attention, Executive Functions, Visual Perception and Construction, Memory and Learning, Problem Solving, and Language. By this retrospective approach, a comprehensive neuropsychological profile of the investigated individuals was established. An effect of timespan of formal education on CR was observed. Enrichment by reading, physical activities, and challenging vocational practices had more profound effects in patients who had undergone a shorter educational period compared to a longer educational period. In summary, our study demonstrates that the advantage of longer formal education periods, compared to shorter formal education periods, can be counterbalanced by high frequencies of reading, physical activities, and challenging vocational practices in patients with MS.

The Unifying Strands: Formalism and Gestalt Theory in the Musical Philosophies of Aristoxenus, Descartes, and Meyer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda N. Staufer

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In every age, philosophers deal with inquiries concerning musical meaning and the effect of music on the listener. Instead of answering the formidable question of musical meaning, this essay demonstrates the parallel aspects of three musical theories from ancient, Enlightenment, and modern times. Using the two criteria of musical formalism and Gestalt Theory, this essay systematically connects the philosophies of Aristoxenus of Tarentum, René Descartes, and Leonard Meyer. Musical formalism holds that music’s nature is innate, self-evident, able to be systematically deduced, and rational. According to formalism, musical meaning is defined by things objectively ‘there’ in the music, musical experience relies on cognition, and music is less a matter of sense than of mind. Gestalt Theory asserts that music is a unified totality—the whole gives meaning to the parts. This project demonstrates that three seemingly dissimilar musical philosophies include and prefigure the same foundational principles, although the theories reach different conclusions about musical meaning. In the research process, this essay utilizes documentary evidence. This essay concludes that the philosophies of Aristoxenus, Descartes, and Meyer are united by tendencies toward musical formalism and strands of the Gestalt view of music.

Evaluating the US government's crude oil price projections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, M.D.

1992-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) 1991 official long run crude oil price projections are evaluated by comparing parameter averages for the forecast period (1991-2010) to parameter averages from crude oil price history (1859-1990). The parameters used in the evaluation are average price, average annual price changes, and average cycle duration (in years). All prices used in the analysis are annual prices in constant 1990 dollars per barrel. 13 figs

Using Evaluability Assessment to Improve Program Evaluation for the Blue-Throated Macaw Environmental Education Project in Bolivia

Science.gov (United States)

Salvatierra da Silva, Daniela; Jacobson, Susan K.; Monroe, Martha C.; Israel, Glenn D.

2016-01-01

An evaluability assessment of a program to save a critically endangered bird helped prepare the Blue-throated Macaw Environmental Education Project for evaluation and program improvement. The evaluability assessment facilitated agreement among key stakeholders on evaluation criteria and intended uses of evaluation information in order to maximize…

Informal work and formal plans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalsted, Rikke Juul; Hølge-Hazelton, Bibi; Kousgaard, Marius Brostrøm

2012-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Formal pathways models outline that patients should receive information in order to experience a coherent journey but do not describe an active role for patients or their relatives. The aim of this is paper is to articulate and discuss the active role of patients during their cancer...... trajectories. METHODS AND THEORY: An in-depth case study of patient trajectories at a Danish hospital and surrounding municipality using individual interviews with patients. Theory about trajectory and work by Strauss was included. RESULTS: Patients continuously took initiatives to organize their treatment....... The patients' requests were not sufficiently supported in the professional organisation of work or formal planning. Patients' insertion and use of information in their trajectories challenged professional views and working processes. And the design of the formal pathway models limits the patients' active...

Formalisms for reuse and systems integration

CERN Document Server

Rubin, Stuart

2015-01-01

Reuse and integration are defined as synergistic concepts, where reuse addresses how to minimize redundancy in the creation of components; while, integration focuses on component composition. Integration supports reuse and vice versa. These related concepts support the design of software and systems for maximizing performance while minimizing cost. Knowledge, like data, is subject to reuse; and, each can be interpreted as the other. This means that inherent complexity, a measure of the potential utility of a system, is directly proportional to the extent to which it maximizes reuse and integration. Formal methods can provide an appropriate context for the rigorous handling of these synergistic concepts. Furthermore, formal languages allow for non ambiguous model specification; and, formal verification techniques provide support for insuring the validity of reuse and integration mechanisms.   This edited book includes 12 high quality research papers written by experts in formal aspects of reuse and integratio...

Benefit Evaluation of Implementing BIM in Construction Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, Hui-Yu; Chen, Pei-Yu

2017-10-01

Since 2014, public construction projects in Taiwan have progressively undertaken steps to promote the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology, the use of BIM has therefore become a necessity for contractors. However, issues such as the high upfront costs relating to software and hardware setup and BIM user training, combined with the difficulties of incorporating BIM into existing workflow operations and management systems, remain a challenge to contractors. Consequently, the benefits stemming from the BIM implementation in turn will affect the activeness and enthusiasm of contractors to implement BIM. While there have been previous studies abroad where the benefits relating to BIM implementation had been calculated and quantified numerically, a benefit evaluation index would require considerations for regional industry practices and characteristics. This study established a benefit evaluation index and method for the implementation of BIM suitable for contractors in Taiwan. The three main principal indexes are: (1) RCR means the effects of reducing costs associated with rework; (2) SDR & DPR mean the effects of mitigating delays that occur due to construction interface coordination or rework, as well as the effects of reducing the penalty costs associated with overdue delivery; (3) AQE means the effects of improving the ability to estimate the amounts of building materials and resources. This study also performed a benefit evaluation calculation of a real world case study construction project using the first two established indexes. The results showed a 0.16% reduction in rework costs, a 6.49% reduction in delays that occur from construction interface coordination or rework, and a 5.0% reduction in penalty costs associated with overdue deliveries. The results demonstrated the applicability of the benefit evaluation index established in this study for real world construction projects.

TRIM timber projections: an evaluation based on forest inventory measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

John R. Mills

1989-01-01

Two consecutive timberland inventories collected from permanent plots in the natural pine type in North Carolina were used to evaluate the timber resource inventory model (TRIM). This study compares model predictions with field measurements and examines the effect of inventory data aggregation on the accuracy of projections. Projections were repeated for two geographic...

Projective interpretation of some doubly special relativity theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jafari, N.; Shariati, A.

2011-01-01

A class of projective actions of the orthogonal group on the projective space is being studied. It is shown that the Fock-Lorentz and Magueijo-Smolin transformations known as doubly special relativity are such transformations. The formalism easily leads to new types of transformations.

37 CFR 251.41 - Formal hearings.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... ARBITRATION ROYALTY PANEL RULES AND PROCEDURES COPYRIGHT ARBITRATION ROYALTY PANEL RULES OF PROCEDURE Procedures of Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panels § 251.41 Formal hearings. (a) The formal hearings that will be conducted under the rules of this subpart are rate adjustment hearings and royalty fee...

Formal Engineering Hybrid Systems: Semantic Underpinnings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bujorianu, M.C.; Bujorianu, L.M.

2008-01-01

In this work we investigate some issues in applying formal methods to hybrid system development and develop a categorical framework. We study the themes of stochastic reasoning, heterogeneous formal specification and retrenchment. Hybrid systems raise a rich pallets of aspects that need to be

Formal Analysis Of Use Case Diagrams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radosław Klimek

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Use case diagrams play an important role in modeling with UML. Careful modeling is crucialin obtaining a correct and efficient system architecture. The paper refers to the formalanalysis of the use case diagrams. A formal model of use cases is proposed and its constructionfor typical relationships between use cases is described. Two methods of formal analysis andverification are presented. The first one based on a states’ exploration represents a modelchecking approach. The second one refers to the symbolic reasoning using formal methodsof temporal logic. Simple but representative example of the use case scenario verification isdiscussed.

Formalizing Higher-order Mobile Embedded Business Processes with Binding Bigraphs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bundgaard, Mikkel; Glenstrup, Arne John; Hildebrandt, Thomas

2008-01-01

engines and in particular stay available for disconnected operation on mobile devices. We provide a formal semantics based on binding bigraphical reactive systems implemented in the BPL Tool as part of the Bigraphical Programming Languages project at ITU. The semantics is an extension of a semantics given...... be dynamically frozen and stored as a process in a variable, and then subsequently be thawed when reactivated as a sub-instance. We motivate HomeBPEL by an example of pervasive health care where treatment guidelines are dynamically deployed as sub processes that may be delegated dynamically to other workflow...

Evaluation of Nuclear Facility Decommissioning Projects program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumann, B.L.

1983-01-01

The objective of the Evaluation of Nuclear Facility Decommissioning Projects (ENFDP) program is to provide the NRC licensing staff with data which will allow an assessment of radiation exposure during decommissioning and the implementation of ALARA techniques. The data will also provide information to determine the funding level necessary to ensure timely and safe decommissioning operations. Actual decommissioning costs, methods and radiation exposures are compared with those estimated by the Battelle-PNL and ORNL NUREGs on decommissioning. Exposure reduction techniques applied to decommissioning activities to meet ALARA objectives are described. The lessons learned concerning various decommissioning methods are evaluated

Project management at a university

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, Joel A.

2006-06-01

Managing instrumentation projects, large or small, involves a number of common challenges-defining what is needed, desiging a system to provide it, producing it in an economical way, and putting it into service expeditiously. Doing these things in a university environoment provides unique challenges and opportunities not obtaining in the environment of large projects at NASA or national labs. I address this topic from the viewpoint of knowledge of two such projects, the development of OAO-2 at the University of Wisconsin and the relocation of Fairborn Observatory to the Patagonia Mountains in Arizona, as well as my own developemnt of the Tennessee State 2-m Automatic Spectroscopic Telescope. For the university environment, I argue for a more traditional management style that relies on more informal techniques than those used in large-scale projects conducted by big bureaucratic institutions. This style identifies what tasks are really necessary and eliminates as much wasteful overhead as possible. I discuss many of the formalities used in project management, such as formal reviews (PDR, CDR, etc.) and Gantt charts, and propose other ways of acheving the same results more effectively. The university environment acutely requires getting the right people to do the project, both in terms of their individual personalities, motivation, and technical skills but also in terms of their ability to get on with one another. Two critical challenges confronting those doing such projects in universities are 1) keeping the contractors on task (the major challenge to anyone doing project management) and 2) dealing with the purchasing systems in such institutions.

Fuzzy logic approach for energetic and economic evaluation of hydroelectric projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iliev, Atanas M.

2003-01-01

A mathematical model for energetic and economic evaluation of hydroelectric projects is developed. The main advantage of the proposed methodology is that the model considers uncertainty and vagueness which appears during the decision making process. Due to modeling of variables that are non statistical in their character, fuzzy logic approach is fully incorporated in the model. The first step in energetic evaluation of the hydro power projects is determination of the characteristic of the efficiency of the units to be installed in hydro power plants. For this purpose the model which uses the best characteristics of Artificial Network Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is applied. The method is tested on real systems: HPP Tikves- the power plant in operation and HPP Kozjak - the power plant in construction. The results obtained from practical implementation show that the proposed approach gives superior results than classical polynomial approximation. The model for determining the consumption characteristic of hydro power plant is developed by Sugeno Fuzzy Logic System with polynomials in the consequent part of the rules. Model takes into account the variable gross head of HPP, as well as, the number of units which will be in operation for given output. Modeling of the gross head and power output are performed by expert's design membership functions. This model is practically applied on HPP Tikves for determination of the consumption characteristic for several gross head. The plausible yearly production of electricity from hydro power project, which is important for estimation of the benefit from the project, is calculated by mixed fuzzy-statistical model. hi this approach fuzzy set of the inflow is constructed according to the statistical parameters. The calculation of the production of electricity is realized for a several hydrological conditions which are described by linguistic variables. Finally, Mamdani Fuzzy Inference System with fuzzy number in consequent part

Formal balancing of chemical reaction networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Schaft, Abraham; Rao, S.; Jayawardhana, B.

2016-01-01

In this paper we recall and extend the main results of Van der Schaft, Rao, Jayawardhana (2015) concerning the use of Kirchhoff’s Matrix Tree theorem in the explicit characterization of complex-balanced reaction networks and the notion of formal balancing. The notion of formal balancing corresponds

Evaluation of Urban Planning Projects Criteria Using Fuzzy AHP Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Walid Mustafa Kamas

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In this research, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process technique is applied (Fuzzy AHP which is one of multi-criteria decision making techniques to evaluate the criteria for urban planning projects, the project of developing master plan of Al-Muqdadiyah city to 2035 has been chosen as a case study. The researcher prepared a list of criteria in addition to the authorized departments criteria and previous researches in order to choose optimized master plan according to these criteria. This research aims at employing the foundations of (Fuzzy AHP technique in evaluating urban planning criteria precisely and flexible. The results of the data analysis to the individuals of the sample who are specialists, in this aspect. The land use criteria are more important than the rest of the criteria in these projects, where it received the relative importance with percentile (42.1 %.

Formal methods in software development: A road less travelled

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John A van der Poll

2010-08-01

Full Text Available An integration of traditional verification techniques and formal specifications in software engineering is presented. Advocates of such techniques claim that mathematical formalisms allow them to produce quality, verifiably correct, or at least highly dependable software and that the testing and maintenance phases are shortened. Critics on the other hand maintain that software formalisms are hard to master, tedious to use and not well suited for the fast turnaround times demanded by industry. In this paper some popular formalisms and the advantages of using these during the early phases of the software development life cycle are presented. Employing the Floyd-Hoare verification principles during the formal specification phase facilitates reasoning about the properties of a specification. Some observations that may help to alleviate the formal-methods controversy are established and a number of formal methods successes is presented. Possible conditions for an increased acceptance of formalisms in oftware development are discussed.

A Descriptive Account of an Inter-Professional Collaborative Leadership Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maura MacPhee

2014-09-01

Full Text Available A collaborative project between an academic healthcare faculty and a professional development director resulted in the design, delivery and evaluation of an inter-professional collaborative leadership workshop with ongoing leadership development activities. The workshop attendees were five inter-professional teams from one large, urban cancer care center in Taipei, Taiwan. The workshop included didactic instruction complemented with team discussions and interactive exercises. Continued practice was encouraged, such as appreciative inquiry exercises and rotated team leadership. Evaluation involved the use of a cross-culturally validated collaborative practice tool and follow-up interviews and focus groups. Although the formal workshop was a 1-day session, continued organizational support and systematic approaches to collaborative leadership practice in clinical settings were necessary components for transfer of learning from the workshop to real life. This paper will include an overview of the foundational leadership concepts covered in the workshop. The instructional strategies, evaluation methods and outcomes will be discussed. The limitations and strengths of this collaborative leadership project will be provided, as well as future plans for a collaborative leadership development program.

Statistical Survey of Non-Formal Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ondřej Nývlt

2012-12-01

Full Text Available focused on a programme within a regular education system. Labour market flexibility and new requirements on employees create a new domain of education called non-formal education. Is there a reliable statistical source with a good methodological definition for the Czech Republic? Labour Force Survey (LFS has been the basic statistical source for time comparison of non-formal education for the last ten years. Furthermore, a special Adult Education Survey (AES in 2011 was focused on individual components of non-formal education in a detailed way. In general, the goal of the EU is to use data from both internationally comparable surveys for analyses of the particular fields of lifelong learning in the way, that annual LFS data could be enlarged by detailed information from AES in five years periods. This article describes reliability of statistical data aboutnon-formal education. This analysis is usually connected with sampling and non-sampling errors.

Realization of economic evaluation expert system for uranium mine project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Haifeng

1993-01-01

By studying the EVALUATOR, economic evaluation expert system of uranium mine project, the theoretical fundamentals of expert system, principle of inference mechanism, implementation of knowledge base, realization of explanation mechanism, acquisition of domain knowledge and representation of knowledge were described, especially the subjective Bayes approach for inexact reasoning problem used in EVALUATOR was discussed in detail

Integrated evaluation framework. Based on the logical framework approach for project cycle management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-11-01

This Integrated Evaluation Framework (IEF) was developed by TC Evaluation with the aim of presenting in a comprehensive manner the logic of thinking used when evaluating projects and programmes. Thus, in the first place, the intended audience for this report are evaluation officers, so that when applying the evaluation procedures and check lists, data can be organized following a systematic and logical scheme and conclusions can be derived ''objectively''. The value of such a framework for reporting on performance and in providing a quality reference for disbursements represents one of its major advantages. However, when developing and applying the IEF, it was realized that a Logical Framework Approach (LFA), like the one upon which the IEF is based, needs to be followed throughout the project life cycle, from the Country Programme Framework planning stage, through project design and implementation. Then, the helpful consequences flow into project design quality and smooth implementation. It is only in such an environment that meaningful and consistent evaluation can take place. Therefore the main audience for this report are Agency staff involved in planning, designing and implementing TC projects as well as their counterparts in Member States. In this understanding, the IEF was subjected to review by a consultants meeting, which included both external consultants and Agency staff. This Consultants Review Meeting encouraged the Secretariat to further adopt the LFA into the TC management process

Comprehensive management of project changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aljaž Stare

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The goal of this research was to examine how project changes can be prevented, and how to reduce their negative impact. Theoretical research examined risk management, project control and change management. Based on the study a “Comprehensive Change Management Model” was developed and verified after conducting empirical research in Slovenian enterprises. The research confirmed that risk management identifies possible changes and reduces their impact; project control ensures the timely detection of changes and an efficient response, while formal change management ensures the effective implementation of changes. The combined functioning of all three areas ensures effective project execution.

Formal Ontologies and Uncertainty. In Geographical Knowledge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matteo Caglioni

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Formal ontologies have proved to be a very useful tool to manage interoperability among data, systems and knowledge. In this paper we will show how formal ontologies can evolve from a crisp, deterministic framework (ontologies of hard knowledge to new probabilistic, fuzzy or possibilistic frameworks (ontologies of soft knowledge. This can considerably enlarge the application potential of formal ontologies in geographic analysis and planning, where soft knowledge is intrinsically linked to the complexity of the phenomena under study.  The paper briefly presents these new uncertainty-based formal ontologies. It then highlights how ontologies are formal tools to define both concepts and relations among concepts. An example from the domain of urban geography finally shows how the cause-to-effect relation between household preferences and urban sprawl can be encoded within a crisp, a probabilistic and a possibilistic ontology, respectively. The ontology formalism will also determine the kind of reasoning that can be developed from available knowledge. Uncertain ontologies can be seen as the preliminary phase of more complex uncertainty-based models. The advantages of moving to uncertainty-based models is evident: whether it is in the analysis of geographic space or in decision support for planning, reasoning on geographic space is almost always reasoning with uncertain knowledge of geographic phenomena.

Evaluation Use in Evaluation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Højlund, Steven

2014-01-01

This article investigates the European Union’s evaluation system and its conduciveness to evaluation use. Taking the European Commission’s LIFE programme as its case, the article makes an empirical contribution to an emerging focus in the literature on the importance of organization...... and institutions when analyzing evaluation use. By focusing on the European Union’s evaluation system the article finds that evaluation use mainly takes place in the European Commission and less so in the European Parliament and the European Council. The main explanatory factors enabling evaluation use relate...... to the system’s formalization of evaluation implementation and use; these factors ensure evaluation quality, timeliness and capacity in the Commission. At the same time, however, the system’s formalization also impedes evaluation use, reducing the direct influence of evaluations on policy-making and effectively...

Human centric security and privacy for the IoT using formal techniques

OpenAIRE

Kammueller, Florian

2018-01-01

In this paper, we summarize a new approach to make security and privacy issues in the Internet of Things (IoT) more transparent for vulnerable users. As a pilot project, we investigate monitoring of Alzheimer’s patients for a low-cost early warning system based on bio-markers supported with smart technologies. To provide trustworthy and secure IoT infrastructures, we employ formal methods and techniques that allow specification of IoT scenarios with human actors, refinement and analysis of at...

Design of an eLearning System for Accreditation of Non-formal Learning

OpenAIRE

Kovatcheva , Eugenia; Nikolov , Roumen

2008-01-01

This paper deals with issues related to the non-formal learning in vocational education, and the role of ICT for providing appropriate accreditation model in such education. The presented conclusions are based on the Leonardo da Vinci project LeoSPAN. The paper emphasises on the development of a model and a prototype of an adaptive eLearning system that ensures the pre-defined learner outcomes. One of the advantages of the eLearning system is the flexibility for people who upgrade and improve...

Formalization of Many-Valued Logics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Villadsen, Jørgen; Schlichtkrull, Anders

2017-01-01

Partiality is a key challenge for computational approaches to artificial intelligence in general and natural language in particular. Various extensions of classical two-valued logic to many-valued logics have been investigated in order to meet this challenge. We use the proof assistant Isabelle...... to formalize the syntax and semantics of many-valued logics with determinate as well as indeterminate truth values. The formalization allows for a concise presentation and makes automated verification possible....

Helicity formalism and spin effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anselmino, M.; Caruso, F.; Piovano, U.

1990-01-01

The helicity formalism and the technique to compute amplitudes for interaction processes involving leptons, quarks, photons and gluons are reviewed. Explicit calculations and examples of exploitation of symmetry properties are shown. The formalism is then applied to the discussion of several hadronic processes and spin effects: the experimental data, when related to the properties of the elementary constituent interactions, show many not understood features. Also the nucleon spin problem is briefly reviewed. (author)

Evaluating a "Second Life" Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Demonstrator Project: What Can We Learn?

Science.gov (United States)

Beaumont, Chris; Savin-Baden, Maggi; Conradi, Emily; Poulton, Terry

2014-01-01

This article reports the findings of a demonstrator project to evaluate how effectively Immersive Virtual Worlds (IVWs) could support problem-based learning. The project designed, created and evaluated eight scenarios within "Second Life" (SL) for undergraduate courses in health care management and paramedic training. Evaluation was…

Risk Evaluation on UHV Power Transmission Construction Project Based on AHP and FCE Method

OpenAIRE

Huiru Zhao; Sen Guo

2014-01-01

Ultra high voltage (UHV) power transmission construction project is a high-tech power grid construction project which faces many risks and uncertainty. Identifying the risk of UHV power transmission construction project can help mitigate the risk loss and promote the smooth construction. The risk evaluation on “Zhejiang-Fuzhou” UHV power transmission construction project was performed based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) method in this paper. Afte...

Towards Formal Implementation of PUS Standard

Science.gov (United States)

Ilić, D.

2009-05-01

As an effort to promote the reuse of on-board and ground systems ESA developed a standard for packet telemetry and telecommand - PUS. It defines a set of standard service models with the corresponding structures of the associated telemetry and telecommand packets. Various missions then can choose to implement those standard PUS services that best conform to their specific requirements. In this paper we propose a formal development (based on the Event-B method) of reusable service patterns, which can be instantiated for concrete application. Our formal models allow us to formally express and verify specific service properties including various telecommand and telemetry packet structure validation.

Formalizing structured file services for the data storage and retrieval subsystem of the data management system for Spacestation Freedom

Science.gov (United States)

Jamsek, Damir A.

1993-01-01

A brief example of the use of formal methods techniques in the specification of a software system is presented. The report is part of a larger effort targeted at defining a formal methods pilot project for NASA. One possible application domain that may be used to demonstrate the effective use of formal methods techniques within the NASA environment is presented. It is not intended to provide a tutorial on either formal methods techniques or the application being addressed. It should, however, provide an indication that the application being considered is suitable for a formal methods by showing how such a task may be started. The particular system being addressed is the Structured File Services (SFS), which is a part of the Data Storage and Retrieval Subsystem (DSAR), which in turn is part of the Data Management System (DMS) onboard Spacestation Freedom. This is a software system that is currently under development for NASA. An informal mathematical development is presented. Section 3 contains the same development using Penelope (23), an Ada specification and verification system. The complete text of the English version Software Requirements Specification (SRS) is reproduced in Appendix A.

Learning Needs Analysis of Collaborative E-Classes in Semi-Formal Settings: The REVIT Example

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Mavroudi

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Analysis, the first phase of the typical instructional design process, is often downplayed. This paper focuses on the analysis concerning a series of e-courses for collaborative adult education in semi-formal settings by reporting and generalizing results from the REVIT project. REVIT, an EU-funded research project, offered custom e-courses to learners in several remote European areas and received a ‘best practice’ distinction in social inclusion. These e-courses were designed and developed for the purpose of providing training in aspects of the learners’ professional domains related to the utilization of information and communication technologies. The main challenge was to prove that it is possible and economically feasible to provide meaningful training opportunities via distance education, by utilizing existing infrastructure (“revitalizing schools” and by making use of modern digital technology affordances coupled with suitable distance learning techniques and Web 2.0 tools. ADDIE, the generic instructional systems design model, enhanced with a rapid prototyping phase, was put forth in order to allow stakeholders to interact with a prototypical e-course, which served as an introductory lesson and as a reference point, since its evaluation informed the design choices of all subsequent e-courses. The learning needs approach adopted in REVIT combined learner analysis, context analysis, and needs analysis into a coherent analysis framework in which several methods (observation, estimation, document analysis, survey, and dialogue were exploited. Putting emphasis on the analysis phase and decoupling the design from the delivery of the e-courses facilitated adaptation and localization. Adaptation and localization issues concerning the adoption of the REVIT distance learning framework, taking into account the socio-cultural and pedagogical context, are discussed. A central result reported is that the analysis phase was crucial for the

The Engineering Project as Story and Narrative

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Lars Bo

2012-01-01

that the traditional project management tools are not always sufficient when it comes to managing engineering projects. In this chapter, an engineering project is examined, and it turns out that the language, the stories, and the narratives connected to the project is of greater importance to the engineers than...... the formal project management tools that were offered to the engineers. It also turns out that the term “project” could itself be a problem when it comes to fulfilling the project goals. Therefore, it is concluded that when working on engineering projects, language, stories, and narratives are just...

Evaluation of the indexes of income yield capacity of energetic projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villanueva M, C.

2008-01-01

An economic-financial model to evaluate in the class living room those indexes of profitability of projects of productive infrastructure of the energy sector was developed, as for example: generation projects, transmission and electric energy distribution; projects of transport and distribution of natural gas; projects of cogeneration of vapor and electricity; projects of refinement of petroleum; and other industrial projects. It is described the structure and operation of the pattern, which has been implemented in an Excel calculation sheet that the students use in their personal computers to apply it to the evaluation of the indexes of profitability, specified by the Secretaria de Hacienda y Credito Publico (SHCP) in their limits for the elaboration and presentation of the cost and benefit analysis of the programs and projects of investment of the public sector. The indicators are: present net value VPN, quotient benefits cost B/C, return internal rate TIR, and equivalent annual cost CAE, which should be calculated with methodological rigor according to the SHCP lineaments. The pattern uses the pre-programmed financial functions in the Excel calculation sheet to carry out the compute of the indicators starting from the effective flow of the projects. It is described the technician-economic configuration and the effective flows during the useful life of three power stations of electric power generation that are designed, builds and operated to sell electric power to the national interconnected system in a nodal marginal prices market: a hydroelectric one, a combined cycle power station that uses natural gas, and a nucleo electric. The effective flows are developed and the central profitability of three centrals are evaluated and they are also carried out the corresponding sensitivity analyses and indifference required by the SHCP in their lineaments. Finally, the conditions in that the projects should operate and the prices in those that should sell their

Survey of Existing Tools for Formal Verification.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Punnoose, Ratish J.; Armstrong, Robert C.; Wong, Matthew H.; Jackson, Mayo

2014-12-01

Formal methods have come into wide use because of their effectiveness in verifying "safety and security" requirements of digital systems; a set of requirements for which testing is mostly ineffective. Formal methods are routinely used in the design and verification of high-consequence digital systems in industry. This report outlines our work in assessing the capabilities of commercial and open source formal tools and the ways in which they can be leveraged in digital design workflows.

Multiverse in the Third Quantized Formalism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faizal Mir

2014-01-01

In this paper we will analyze the third quantization of gravity in path integral formalism. We will use the time-dependent version of Wheeler—DeWitt equation to analyze the multiverse in this formalism. We will propose a mechanism for baryogenesis to occur in the multiverse, without violating the baryon number conservation. (general)

[Formal sample size calculation and its limited validity in animal studies of medical basic research].

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, B; Muche, R

2013-01-01

Animal studies are highly relevant for basic medical research, although their usage is discussed controversially in public. Thus, an optimal sample size for these projects should be aimed at from a biometrical point of view. Statistical sample size calculation is usually the appropriate methodology in planning medical research projects. However, required information is often not valid or only available during the course of an animal experiment. This article critically discusses the validity of formal sample size calculation for animal studies. Within the discussion, some requirements are formulated to fundamentally regulate the process of sample size determination for animal experiments.

A Quantitative Examination of Critical Success Factors Comparing Agile and Waterfall Project Management Methodologies

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, Mitra

2013-01-01

This study investigated the rate of success for IT projects using agile and standard project management methodologies. Any successful project requires use of project methodology. Specifically, large projects require formal project management methodologies or models, which establish a blueprint of processes and project planning activities. This…

Pilot project "The zoo goes to school", enriching the classroom

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michel Mendes

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Environmental education does not only occur in formal institutions, and yes has been widely disseminated among non formal spaces of education, which complements its ecological and social nature. Zoos are the institutions that play an important role in environmental education, raising awareness and preparing citizens to act in the critically and ethical society, committed to the environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the environmental perception of students in 7th grade of elementary school in Municipal Elementary School Jardelino Ramos, in partnership with the Zoo, University of Caxias do Sul. Twenty-four questionnaires were applied in order to diagnose the environmental perception of students through four questions regarding activities at the zoo. After it was contextualized and discussed on the topics: zoos and their history, function, animals and their enclosures, technical education and environmental enrichment. To complement the enrichment technique discussed in class, the students sewed materials that were later added to the precincts of animals chosen for themselves. A week after the project is completed was held again the questionnaire to verify the results obtained from the project. These were analyzed, discussed and compared through graphs, which show that the objectives were achieved and the didactics used was efficient, as described in the article.

An economic analysis methodology for project evaluation and programming.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-01

Economic analysis is a critical component of a comprehensive project or program evaluation methodology that considers all key : quantitative and qualitative impacts of highway investments. It allows highway agencies to identify, quantify, and value t...

THE POLITICS OF EVALUATION IN CO-FINANCED PROJECTS: THE CASE OF THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE AND THE EVALUATION OF THE STRUCTURAL FUNDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Delia M. Costân

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This paper combines an analysis of the different theories expressed in the literature in relation to the process of evaluation and their empirical application to the case of a project evaluation undertaken by the Scottish Executive. The evaluation undertaken by the Scottish Executive is analysed in the context of the various theories and hypotheses expressed in the evaluation literature. Insight into the activity undertaken by the Scottish Executive and access to primary documents used, was facilitated by the author’s participation in a six week internship within the Structural Funds Division of the Scottish Executive. The analysis of the evaluation of the co-financed projects in Scotland revealed that the challenges to the process of evaluation in Scotland resulted in part from the existence of different understandings by the various stakeholders involved in the setting of the goals of the evaluation process. The author’s findings on the application of Article 4 in Scotland are that the different interpretations of Article 4 come from the European Commissions’ general approach to evaluation;, the Scottish Executives’ emphasis on meeting the absorption requirements of the Structural Funds and less on detailed evaluation, and the Programme Management Executives’ focus on supporting the project beneficiaries and less on evaluating the projects.

Semantic Indexing and Retrieval based on Formal Concept Analysis

OpenAIRE

Codocedo , Victor; Lykourentzou , Ioanna; Napoli , Amedeo

2012-01-01

Semantic indexing and retrieval has become an important research area, as the available amount of information on the Web is growing more and more. In this paper, we introduce an original approach to semantic indexing and retrieval based on Formal Concept Analysis. The concept lattice is used as a semantic index and we propose an original algorithm for traversing the lattice and answering user queries. This framework has been used and evaluated on song datasets.

The Formalization of Cultural Psychology. Reasons and Functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Salvatore, Sergio

2017-03-01

In this paper I discuss two basic theses about the formalization of cultural psychology. First, I claim that formalization is a relevant, even necessary stage of development of this domain of science. This is so because formalization allows the scientific language to achieve a much needed autonomy from the commonsensical language of the phenomena that this science deals with. Second, I envisage the two main functions that formalization has to perform in the field of cultural psychology: on the one hand, it has to provide formal rules grounding and constraining the deductive construction of the general theory; on the other hand, it has to provide the devices for supporting the interpretation of local phenomena, in terms of the abductive reconstruction of the network of linkages among empirical occurrences comprising the local phenomena.

Formal specifications for safety grade systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chisholm, G.H.; Smith, B.T.; Wojcik, A.S.

1992-01-01

The authors describe the findings of a study into the application of formal methods to the specification of a safety system for an operating nuclear reactor. They developed a formal specification that is used to verify and validate that no unsafe condition will result from action or inaction of the system. For this reason, the specification must facilitate thinking about, talking about, and implementing the system. In fact, the specification must provide a bridge between people (designers, engineers, policy makers) and diverse implementations (hardware, software, sensors, power supplies) at all levels. For a specification to serve as an effective linkage, it must have the following properties: (1) completeness, (2) conciseness, (3) unambiguity, and (4) communicativeness. In this paper they describe the development of a specification that has three properties. This development is based on the use of formal methods, i.e., methods that add mathematical rigor to the development, analysis and operation of computer systems and to applications based thereon (Neumann). They demonstrate that a specification derived from a formal basis facilitates development of the design and its subsequent verification

Formal truncations of connected kernel equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, R.M.

1977-01-01

The Connected Kernel Equations (CKE) of Alt, Grassberger and Sandhas (AGS); Kouri, Levin and Tobocman (KLT); and Bencze, Redish and Sloan (BRS) are compared against reaction theory criteria after formal channel space and/or operator truncations have been introduced. The Channel Coupling Class concept is used to study the structure of these CKE's. The related wave function formalism of Sandhas, of L'Huillier, Redish and Tandy and of Kouri, Krueger and Levin are also presented. New N-body connected kernel equations which are generalizations of the Lovelace three-body equations are derived. A method for systematically constructing fewer body models from the N-body BRS and generalized Lovelace (GL) equations is developed. The formally truncated AGS, BRS, KLT and GL equations are analyzed by employing the criteria of reciprocity and two-cluster unitarity. Reciprocity considerations suggest that formal truncations of BRS, KLT and GL equations can lead to reciprocity-violating results. This study suggests that atomic problems should employ three-cluster connected truncations and that the two-cluster connected truncations should be a useful starting point for nuclear systems

Formalizing Implementation Strategies for First-Class Continuations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danvy, Olivier

1999-01-01

We present the first formalization of implementation strategies for first-class continuations. The formalization hinges on abstract machines for continuation-passing style (CPS) programs with a special treatment for the current continuation, accounting for the essence of first-class continuations......-class continuations and that second-class continuations are stackable. A large body of work exists on implementing continuations, but it is predominantly empirical and implementation-oriented. In contrast, our formalization abstracts the essence of first-class continuations and provides a uniform setting...

Formalizing Implementation Strategies for First-Class Continuations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danvy, Olivier

2000-01-01

We present the first formalization of implementation strategies for first-class continuations. The formalization hinges on abstract machines for continuation-passing style (CPS) programs with a special treatment for the current continuation, accounting for the essence of first-class continuations......-class continuations and that second-class continuations are stackable. A large body of work exists on implementing continuations, but it is predominantly empirical and implementation-oriented. In contrast, our formalization abstracts the essence of first-class continuations and provides a uniform setting...