Diversity in research projects - A key to success?

Science.gov (United States)

Henkel, Daniela; Eisenhauer, Anton; Taubner, Isabelle

2017-04-01

According to demographers, psychologists, sociologists and economists diverse groups, which are groups of different race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, are more innovative than homogeneous groups. This is also true for groups working together in research collaborations and international cooperation involving a culturally and functionally diverse mix of individuals who have to be integrated into an effective unit - a project team. If the goal is scientific excellence, diversity should be an essential ingredient to conduct science on high level productivity, quality and innovation. Effective teamwork is a key to project success and prime responsibilities of the project manager. Therefore, the project manager has to take into consideration different characteristics such as cultures, languages, and different values related to individual project partners. Here we show how diversity can affect the performance of a research project. Furthermore, the presentation indicates skills and abilities which are required for the management in order to deal also with the challenges of diversity in research projects. The presentation is based on insights experienced in the context of an Innovative Training Network (ITN) project within Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of the European HORIZON 2020 program and TRION a Collaborative Research Project in the Framework of the Trilateral Program of the German Research Foundation.

Institutional Data Management in Higher Education. ECAR Key Findings

Science.gov (United States)

Yanosky, Ronald

2009-01-01

This document presents the key findings from the 2009 ECAR (EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research) study of institutional data management, which examines the policies and practices by which higher education institutions effectively collect, protect, and use digital information assets to meet academic and business needs. Importantly, it also…

Audio Key Finding: Considerations in System Design and Case Studies on Chopin's 24 Preludes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elaine Chew

2007-01-01

Full Text Available We systematically analyze audio key finding to determine factors important to system design, and the selection and evaluation of solutions. First, we present a basic system, fuzzy analysis spiral array center of effect generator algorithm, with three key determination policies: nearest-neighbor (NN, relative distance (RD, and average distance (AD. AD achieved a 79% accuracy rate in an evaluation on 410 classical pieces, more than 8% higher RD and NN. We show why audio key finding sometimes outperforms symbolic key finding. We next propose three extensions to the basic key finding system—the modified spiral array (mSA, fundamental frequency identification (F0, and post-weight balancing (PWB—to improve performance, with evaluations using Chopin's Preludes (Romantic repertoire was the most challenging. F0 provided the greatest improvement in the first 8 seconds, while mSA gave the best performance after 8 seconds. Case studies examine when all systems were correct, or all incorrect.

Framework for Identifying Key Environmental Concerns in Marine Renewable Energy Projects- Appendices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kramer, Sharon; Previsic, Mirko; Nelson, Peter; Woo, Sheri

2010-06-17

) 3 project sizes: pilot, small commercial, and large commercial The possible combinations total 24 wave technology scenarios and 9 tidal technology scenarios. We evaluated 3 of the 33 scenarios in detail: 1. A small commercial OPT Power Buoy project off the Humboldt County, California coast 2. A small commercial Pelamis Wave Power P-2 project off Makapu’u Point, Oahu, Hawaii 3. A pilot MCT SeaGen tidal project, sited in the Tacoma Narrows, Washington. This framework document used information available from permitting documents that were written to support actual wave or tidal energy projects, but the results obtained here should not be confused with those of the permitting documents1. The main difference between this framework document and permitting documents of currently proposed pilot projects is that this framework identifies key environmental concerns and describes the next steps in addressing those concerns; permitting documents must identify effects, find or declare thresholds of significance, evaluate the effects against the thresholds, and find mitigation measures that will minimize or avoid the effects so they can be considered less-than-significant. Two methodologies, 1) an environmental effects analysis and 2) Raptools, were developed and tested to identify potential environmental effects associated with wave or tidal energy conversion projects. For the environmental effects analysis, we developed a framework based on standard risk assessment techniques. The framework was applied to the three scenarios listed above. The environmental effects analysis addressed questions such as: What is the temporal and spatial exposure of a species at a site? What are the specific potential project effects on that species? What measures could minimize, mitigate, or eliminate negative effects? Are there potential effects of the project, or species’ response to the effect, that are highly uncertain and warrant additional study? The second methodology, Raptools, is a

Management of investment-construction projects basing on the matrix of key events

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morozenko Andrey Aleksandrovich

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The article considers the current problematic issues in the management of investment-construction projects, examines the questions of efficiency increase of construction operations on the basis of the formation of a reflex-adaptive organizational structure. The authors analyzed the necessity of forming a matrix of key events in the investment-construction project (ICP, which will create the optimal structure of the project, basing on the work program for its implementation. For convenience of representing programs of the project implementation in time the authors make recommendations to consolidate the works into separate, economically independent functional blocks. It is proposed to use an algorithm of forming the matrix of an investment-construction project, considering the economic independence of the functional blocks and stages of the ICP implementation. The use of extended network model is justified, which is supplemented by organizational and structural constraints at different stages of the project, highlighting key events fundamentally influencing the further course of the ICP implementation.

Stakeholders' perception of key performance indicators (KPIs of public-private partnership (PPP projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olabode Emmanuel Ogunsanmi

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The study investigates key performance indicators (KPIs that could improve performance of public-private partnership (PPP projects in Nigeria. The study objectives include a comparison of stakeholders’ perception on KPIs and to investigate if significant difference exists between stakeholders’ perceptions on most KPIs. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information from various respondents who were recently involved in PPP projects. Random sampling technique was used to select forty-five (45 respondents out of which thirty-one (31 responses were used for the data analysis. The results indicate that top KPIs for performance improvement are levels of design complexity and technological advancement, and return on investment. Stakeholders agree on most of the rankings of the KPIs. The general perception of stakeholders was similar on most KPIs except for a few divergent opinions. The study findings have an implication for policy and decision making such that stakeholders could pay special attention to the KPIs identified, that could improve construction project performance. Finally the study recommends further research to explore KPIs for other procurement options.

Agile project portfolio management, new solutions and new challenges: preliminary findings from a case study of an agile organization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lars Kristian; Svejvig, Per

project management framework including two complementary perspectives. One perspective, denoted as classical project management (CPM), highlights key characteristics of traditional PPM practices. A second perspective, denoted as rethinking project management (RPM), highlights characteristics...... of progressive PPM practices. We investigate a large Danish company by applying the research question: “How does agile PPM manifests itself in a real organization and what are the observed pros and cons?” Surprisingly, when summa-rizing our results, we find some traits of concepts from the CPM perspective...... that are manifested in strict control of projects and programs. Furthermore, we find the traits of the RPM perspective more dominating than the CPM perspective, and these traits are mostly found to have desirable effects. CPM traits seem to improve the organi-zation’s ability to cope with uncertainty, a so...

Dioxins levels in Australia. Key findings of studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivory, A.; Mobbs, C. [Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage (Australia)

2004-09-15

The Australian Government established the National Dioxins Program (NDP) in 2001 to improve knowledge about levels of dioxins in Australia. The program aims to determine levels, assess the risks to Australians and the environment, and to consider appropriate management actions. Starting in mid 2001and completed in 2004, the studies constituted the largest survey of dioxin levels ever undertaken in Australia. The findings will contribute to debate on how to deal with dioxins in Australia, as well as helping to meet obligations under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which Australia ratified on 20 May 2004. These studies will also contribute to a better understanding about dioxins in the southern hemisphere. This paper provides a summary of the key findings of these studies and the risk assessments.

Projecting biodiversity and wood production in future forest landscapes: 15 key modeling considerations.

Science.gov (United States)

Felton, Adam; Ranius, Thomas; Roberge, Jean-Michel; Öhman, Karin; Lämås, Tomas; Hynynen, Jari; Juutinen, Artti; Mönkkönen, Mikko; Nilsson, Urban; Lundmark, Tomas; Nordin, Annika

2017-07-15

A variety of modeling approaches can be used to project the future development of forest systems, and help to assess the implications of different management alternatives for biodiversity and ecosystem services. This diversity of approaches does however present both an opportunity and an obstacle for those trying to decide which modeling technique to apply, and interpreting the management implications of model output. Furthermore, the breadth of issues relevant to addressing key questions related to forest ecology, conservation biology, silviculture, economics, requires insights stemming from a number of distinct scientific disciplines. As forest planners, conservation ecologists, ecological economists and silviculturalists, experienced with modeling trade-offs and synergies between biodiversity and wood biomass production, we identified fifteen key considerations relevant to assessing the pros and cons of alternative modeling approaches. Specifically we identified key considerations linked to study question formulation, modeling forest dynamics, forest processes, study landscapes, spatial and temporal aspects, and the key response metrics - biodiversity and wood biomass production, as well as dealing with trade-offs and uncertainties. We also provide illustrative examples from the modeling literature stemming from the key considerations assessed. We use our findings to reiterate the need for explicitly addressing and conveying the limitations and uncertainties of any modeling approach taken, and the need for interdisciplinary research efforts when addressing the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of environmental resources. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Yield risks in global maize markets: Historical evidence and projections in key regions of the world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelson B. Villoria

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Simultaneous worldwide crop failures stemming from a more unstable climate may reduce the scope for international trade to compensate food shortages and stabilize food prices across the various regions of the world. Understanding the effects of changes in crop productivity on global markets requires knowledge about the extent to which crop yields may be systematically related across producing and consuming centers. This short communication contributes to this knowledge by investigating the potential changes in the strength of two key sources of supply risks in global maize markets: yield variance and cross-country yield correlation. We focus on the largest producing and consuming countries of the world. We capitalize on yield projections from the Global Gridded Crop Model Intercomparison project. Exploratory analysis of the skill of the underlying GGCMI models in reproducing key moments of the distribution of observed yields reveals that they overstate observed variances but faithfully reproduce observed patterns of cross-country correlations. We find no evidence of an increase in the degree of cross-country dependency of maize yields. We also find a higher incidence of what would be considered extremely low maize yields by present-time standards stemming from the projected downward trend in yields levels toward mid-century. The weak dependency of maize yields across countries, an the possibility of reducing the higher incidence of extremes through policies aimed to reverse the climate-induced downward trends in yields, suggest that international trade can become a valuable tool to ameliorate the effects of more unstable crop yields. Keywords: Extremely low yields, Maize markets, Food prices, Agricultural yields, Systemic risk in agriculture, Global agriculture, AgMIP, Global gridded crop model intercomparison

Key Findings and Recommendations for Technology Transfer at the ITS JPO

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-18

This report provides key findings and recommendations for technology transfer at the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) based upon an assessment of best practices in technology transfer in other industries, such as nati...

Integrated vehicle-based safety systems light-vehicle field operational test key findings report.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

"This document presents key findings from the light-vehicle field operational test conducted as part of the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety Systems program. These findings are the result of analyses performed by the University of Michigan Transportat...

The Difficulty in Following Project Schedule as a Key Project Management Challenge: Family Firm Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna SADKOWSKA

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The problem of how to manage projects successfully has been gaining growing interest for the last decades. The aforementioned is mainly caused by the fact that project management offers a wide range of methods and tools which, when properly used, can stimulate long-term growth of businesses. As a consequence it offers a particular development opportunity for family enterprises which, due to their specificity, have to overcome many difficulties. The primary objective of this paper is to examine whether family enterprises perceive, and to what extent, the factor of following project schedule as a difficulty in the area of project management. 154 Polish family firms representing different sectors were surveyed. The results of regression analysis show that family firms with global range of business activities, on the contrary to those with local or regional ones, do not find the factor of following project schedule as a difficulty. This results manly from the tools employed and the maturity level they have reached in project management. The findings support the current discussion on the specificity and uniqueness of family businesses in relationship to the knowledge area of project management. It also contributes to filling the gap on understanding the functioning of family firms in the emerging economies of Eastern Europe.

Evaluation criteria for dialogue processes: key findings from RISCOM II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atherton, Elizabeth

2003-01-01

As part of Work Package 4 (undertaken by a consortium of partners from the United Kingdom) in the joint European project RISCOM II, work was undertaken on evaluation criteria for determining the success of dialogue processes; this note outlines its key findings as, in order to continue the development of dialogue processes, it is important to evaluate and learn from the experience of engaging with stakeholders. Criteria can be developed to evaluate how successful a process has been, these can range from very practical criteria relating to how well the process worked or be linked to more subjective criteria developed from the aims of the dialogue process itself. Some criteria are particularly relevant to dialogue processes that aim to encourage deliberation and the development of stakeholders' views through participation in the dialogue process: transparency, legitimacy, equality of access, 'being able to speak', a deliberative environment, openness of framing, developing insight into range of issues (new meanings are generated), inclusive and 'best' knowledge elicited, producing acceptable/tolerable and usable outcomes/decisions, improvement of trust and understanding between participants, developing a sense of shared responsibility and common good. Evaluation will incur a cost in terms of time and money, but will help practitioners to be able to develop processes that meet the needs of those who participate and improve the way that we try to engage people in the debate

ELIMINATION OF THE DISADVANTAGES OF SCHEDULING-NETWORK PLANNING BY APPLYING THE MATRIX OF KEY PROJECT EVENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morozenko Andrey Aleksandrovich

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the current disadvantages of the scheduling-network planning in the management of the terms of investment-construction project. Problems associated with the construction of the schedule and the definitions of the duration of the construction project are being studied. The problems of project management for the management apparatus are shown, which consists in the absence of mechanisms for prompt response to deviations in the parameters of the scheduling-network diagram. A new approach to planning the implementation of an investment-construction project based on a matrix of key events and a rejection of the current practice of determining the duration based on inauthentic regulatory data. An algorithm for determining the key events of the project is presented. For increase the reliability of the organizational structure, the load factor of the functional block in the process of achieving the key event is proposed. Recommendations for improving the interaction of the participants in the investment-construction project are given.

Key drivers for informal project coordination among sub-contractors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aagaard, Annabeth; Eskerod, Pernille; Madsen, Erik Skov

2015-01-01

understandings. Still though, many sub-contractors choose not to coordinate informally. The purpose of this paper is to identify drivers that enhance or inhibits informal coordination in projects. A qualitative, explorative case study approach was applied. Fifteen SME sub-contractors within the offshore wind...... are massive. Six drivers which enhance informal coordination and three drivers which inhibit informal coordination among sub-contractors in projects were identified. The findings imply that management in project-oriented organizations can enhance informal coordination across project sub-contractors...... and by facilitating trust building, by emphasizing previous collaboration successes with the sub-contractors and the possibility of future common projects, by being explicit about expectations on informal coordination, and by developing sub-contractor contracts that are not as tight in economic terms, but instead...

Identifying Coordination Problems in Software Development : Finding Mismatches between Software and Project Team Structures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Amrit, Chintan Amrit; van Hillegersberg, Jos; Kumar, Kuldeep

2012-01-01

Today’s dynamic and iterative development environment brings significant challenges for software project management. In distributed project settings, “management by walking around” is no longer an option and project managers may miss out on key project insights. The TESNA (TEchnical Social Network

Student and Staff Perceptions of Key Aspects of Computer Science Engineering Capstone Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Olarte, Juan José; Dominguez, César; Jaime, Arturo; Garcia-Izquierdo, Francisco José

2016-01-01

In carrying out their capstone projects, students use knowledge and skills acquired throughout their degree program to create a product or provide a technical service. An assigned advisor guides the students and supervises the work, and a committee assesses the projects. This study compares student and staff perceptions of key aspects of…

40 CFR 63.2831 - Where can I find definitions of key words used in this subpart?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... words used in this subpart? 63.2831 Section 63.2831 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... Vegetable Oil Production What This Subpart Covers § 63.2831 Where can I find definitions of key words used in this subpart? You can find definitions of key words used in this subpart in § 63.2872. ...

Implementing an interprofessional first-year teamwork project: some key reflections.

Science.gov (United States)

McNaughton, Susan Maree

2013-09-01

Implementing an interprofessional teamwork project for first-year students presents pedagogical and practical challenges. While transferable skills and attributes are important, engagement of students with limited professional experience in teamwork depends on relevance to current learning needs. This report outlines principles learned from planning and implementing a teamwork project for an interprofessional health administration and service development course. Practising interprofessional teamwork as leaders and teachers, aligning with previous, current and future teamwork content and processes and responding to student feedback and achievement have been the key factors in shaping the project over three semesters. Face-to-face and online interprofessional teamwork learning has necessitated developing resources that support self-direction, using familiar technology and providing enabling physical environments. Implications for first-year interprofessional teamwork are that structured well-resourced processes, responsiveness and alignment of learning all improve student outcomes.

Language Learning at Key Stage 2: Findings from a Longitudinal Study

Science.gov (United States)

Cable, Carrie; Driscoll, Patricia; Mitchell, Rosamond; Sing, Sue; Cremin, Teresa; Earl, Justine; Eyres, Ian; Holmes, Bernardette; Martin, Cynthia; Heins, Barbara

2012-01-01

This paper discusses some of the findings from a 3-year longitudinal study of language learning in the upper stage of English primary schools, i.e. at Key Stage 2. This largely qualitative study (commissioned by the then Department for Children, Schools and Families) was designed to explore and document developing provision and practice in a…

The Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) and EoR Key-Science Project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brentjens, Michiel; Koopmans, L. V. E.; de Bruyn, A. G.; Zaroubi, S.

The Low-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is a novel radio-telescope facility with its core and operation center in the Netherlands. LOFAR is one of several current pathfinders toward SKA. One of LOFAR's key science projects is the detection and characterization of the redshifted 21-cm emission from neutral

Long Frontal Projections Help Battus philenor (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) Larvae Find Host Plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Kandori, Ikuo; Tsuchihara, Kazuko; Suzuki, Taichi A; Yokoi, Tomoyuki; Papaj, Daniel R

2015-01-01

Animals sometimes develop conspicuous projections on or near their heads as, e.g., weaponry, burrowing or digging tools, and probes to search for resources. The frontal projections that insects generally use to locate and assess resources are segmented appendages, including antennae, maxillary palps, and labial palps. There is no evidence to date that arthropods, including insects, use projections other than true segmental appendages to locate food. In this regard, it is noteworthy that some butterfly larvae possess a pair of long antenna-like projections on or near their heads. To date, the function of these projections has not been established. Larvae of pipevine swallowtail butterflies Battus philenor (Papilionidae) have a pair of long frontal fleshy projections that, like insect antennae generally, can be actively moved. In this study, we evaluated the possible function of this pair of long moveable frontal projections. In laboratory assays, both frontal projections and lateral ocelli were shown to increase the frequency with which search larvae found plants. The frontal projections increased finding of host and non-host plants equally, suggesting that frontal projections do not detect host-specific chemical cues. Detailed SEM study showed that putative mechanosensillae are distributed all around the frontal as well as other projections. Taken together, our findings suggest that the frontal projections and associated mechanosensillae act as vertical object detectors to obtain tactile information that, together with visual information from lateral ocelli and presumably chemical information from antennae and mouthparts, help larvae to find host plants. Field observations indicate that host plants are small and scattered in southern Arizona locations. Larvae must therefore find multiple host plants to complete development and face significant challenges in doing so. The frontal projections may thus be an adaptation for finding a scarce resource before starving to

Highlighted scientific findings of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas M. Quigley; Heidi. Bigler Cole

1997-01-01

Decisions regarding 72 million acres of Forest Service- and Bureau of Land Management- administered lands will be based on scientific findings brought forth in the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project. Some highlights of the scientific findings are presented here. Project scientists drew three general conclusions: (1) Conditions and trends differ widely...

[Principles and methodology for ecological rehabilitation and security pattern design in key project construction].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Li-Ding; Lu, Yi-He; Tian, Hui-Ying; Shi, Qian

2007-03-01

Global ecological security becomes increasingly important with the intensive human activities. The function of ecological security is influenced by human activities, and in return, the efficiency of human activities will also be affected by the patterns of regional ecological security. Since the 1990s, China has initiated the construction of key projects "Yangtze Three Gorges Dam", "Qinghai-Tibet Railway", "West-to-East Gas Pipeline", "West-to-East Electricity Transmission" and "South-to-North Water Transfer" , etc. The interaction between these projects and regional ecological security has particularly attracted the attention of Chinese government. It is not only important for the regional environmental protection, but also of significance for the smoothly implementation of various projects aimed to develop an ecological rehabilitation system and to design a regional ecological security pattern. This paper made a systematic analysis on the types and characteristics of key project construction and their effects on the environment, and on the basis of this, brought forward the basic principles and methodology for ecological rehabilitation and security pattern design in this construction. It was considered that the following issues should be addressed in the implementation of a key project: 1) analysis and evaluation of current regional ecological environment, 2) evaluation of anthropogenic disturbances and their ecological risk, 3) regional ecological rehabilitation and security pattern design, 4) scenario analysis of environmental benefits of regional ecological security pattern, 5) re-optimization of regional ecological system framework, and 6) establishment of regional ecosystem management plan.

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....

02 - Düvel & Terblanché - Finding the key to successful …

African Journals Online (AJOL)

annaline

Terblanché & Düvel. 22 consequently it is usually of a recipe nature and does not promote ... Figure 2: Respondents' perception of the current and recommended extension ... As the first of a series of research projects aimed at finding guidelines for improved and more successful farmer settlement, the purpose of this study.

SpaceWire Tiger Team Findings and Suggestions

Science.gov (United States)

Ishac, Joseph A.

2011-01-01

This technical report intends to highlight the key findings and recommendations of the SpaceWire Tiger Team for the CoNNeCT project. It covers findings which are technical in nature, covering design concepts and approaches.

Identifying tier one key suppliers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wicks, Steve

2013-01-01

In today's global marketplace, businesses are becoming increasingly reliant on suppliers for the provision of key processes, activities, products and services in support of their strategic business goals. The result is that now, more than ever, the failure of a key supplier has potential to damage reputation, productivity, compliance and financial performance seriously. Yet despite this, there is no recognised standard or guidance for identifying a tier one key supplier base and, up to now, there has been little or no research on how to do so effectively. This paper outlines the key findings of a BCI-sponsored research project to investigate good practice in identifying tier one key suppliers, and suggests a scalable framework process model and risk matrix tool to help businesses effectively identify their tier one key supplier base.

Key projects to be enforced during the 11th Five-year Plan

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2009-01-01

@@ Addressing major S&T issues of strategic importance to China's socioeconomic growth, national security and development sustainability, the key projects of CAS during the period of the 11th Five-year Plan (2006-2010) are large-scale research initiatives with an expectation to give rise to S&T breakthroughs.

The development of today's mineable oil sands projects, the key factors influencing economics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lynn, J.R.

1991-01-01

Many factors influence the perception of economic performance for developing projects. Some of these factors can be controlled by the developer, while some are outside the developer's sphere of influence. Technology selection, management systems, stakeholder involvement, environmental responsiveness and risk management are areas that may be influenced, however interest rates, product prices and currency exchange all have a measurable effect on project economics and are beyond a developer's control. Economic considerations for evaluating mineable oil sand development projects are outlined, focussing on the key factors unique to such developments in general and to the OSLO project in particular. The OSLO project is a proposed $5 billion energy development that entails constructing an open pit oil sands mine and a bitumen extraction facility north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, coupled with a bitumen upgrader in the Redwater area. 7 figs

Alternative IT Sourcing Strategies: From the Campus to the Cloud. ECAR Key Findings

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Philip J.

2009-01-01

This document presents the key findings from the 2009 ECAR (EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research) study, "Alternative IT Sourcing Strategies: From the Campus to the Cloud," by Philip J. Goldstein. The study explores a multitude of strategies used by colleges and university information technology organizations to deliver the breadth of technologies…

Human Health Effects of Trichloroethylene: Key Findings and Scientific Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Jinot, Jennifer; Scott, Cheryl Siegel; Makris, Susan L.; Cooper, Glinda S.; Dzubow, Rebecca C.; Bale, Ambuja S.; Evans, Marina V.; Guyton, Kathryn Z.; Keshava, Nagalakshmi; Lipscomb, John C.; Barone, Stanley; Fox, John F.; Gwinn, Maureen R.; Schaum, John; Caldwell, Jane C.

2012-01-01

Background: In support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed a toxicological review of trichloroethylene (TCE) in September 2011, which was the result of an effort spanning > 20 years. Objectives: We summarized the key findings and scientific issues regarding the human health effects of TCE in the U.S. EPA’s toxicological review. Methods: In this assessment we synthesized and characterized thousands of epidemiologic, experimental animal, and mechanistic studies, and addressed several key scientific issues through modeling of TCE toxicokinetics, meta-analyses of epidemiologic studies, and analyses of mechanistic data. Discussion: Toxicokinetic modeling aided in characterizing the toxicological role of the complex metabolism and multiple metabolites of TCE. Meta-analyses of the epidemiologic data strongly supported the conclusions that TCE causes kidney cancer in humans and that TCE may also cause liver cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Mechanistic analyses support a key role for mutagenicity in TCE-induced kidney carcinogenicity. Recent evidence from studies in both humans and experimental animals point to the involvement of TCE exposure in autoimmune disease and hypersensitivity. Recent avian and in vitro mechanistic studies provided biological plausibility that TCE plays a role in developmental cardiac toxicity, the subject of substantial debate due to mixed results from epidemiologic and rodent studies. Conclusions: TCE is carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure and poses a potential human health hazard for noncancer toxicity to the central nervous system, kidney, liver, immune system, male reproductive system, and the developing embryo/fetus. PMID:23249866

Engaging Students in Learning: Findings from a Study of Project-Led Education

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Sandra; Mesquita, Diana; Flores, Maria Assunção; Lima, Rui M.

2014-01-01

This paper reports on findings from a three-year study of project-based learning implemented in the first year of the Industrial Engineering and Management programme, at the University of Minho, Portugal. This particular model was inspired on project-led education (PLE), following Powell and Weenk's [2003. "Project-Led Engineering…

Online Tutoring Procedure for Research Project Supervision: Management, Organization and Key Elements

Science.gov (United States)

Darder Mesquida, Antònia; Pérez Garcias, Adolfina

2015-01-01

Research project tutoring appears as a crucial element for teaching; it is a planned action based on the relationship between a tutor and a student. This paper presents the findings of a design and development research which has as its main aim to create an organization system for the tutoring of online research projects. That system seeks to…

Is the Alma Ata vision of comprehensive primary health care viable? Findings from an international project.

Science.gov (United States)

Labonté, Ronald; Sanders, David; Packer, Corinne; Schaay, Nikki

2014-01-01

The 4-year (2007-2011) Revitalizing Health for All international research program (http://www.globalhealthequity.ca/projects/proj_revitalizing/index.shtml) supported 20 research teams located in 15 low- and middle-income countries to explore the strengths and weaknesses of comprehensive primary health care (CPHC) initiatives at their local or national levels. Teams were organized in a triad comprised of a senior researcher, a new researcher, and a 'research user' from government, health services, or other organizations with the authority or capacity to apply the research findings. Multiple regional and global team capacity-enhancement meetings were organized to refine methods and to discuss and assess cross-case findings. Most research projects used mixed methods, incorporating analyses of qualitative data (interviews and focus groups), secondary data, and key policy and program documents. Some incorporated historical case study analyses, and a few undertook new surveys. The synthesis of findings in this report was derived through qualitative analysis of final project reports undertaken by three different reviewers. Evidence of comprehensiveness (defined in this research program as efforts to improve equity in access, community empowerment and participation, social and environmental health determinants, and intersectoral action) was found in many of the cases. Despite the important contextual differences amongst the different country studies, the similarity of many of their findings, often generated using mixed methods, attests to certain transferable health systems characteristics to create and sustain CPHC practices. These include:1. Well-trained and supported community health workers (CHWs) able to work effectively with marginalized communities2. Effective mechanisms for community participation, both informal (through participation in projects and programs, and meaningful consultation) and formal (though program management structures)3.�

Is the Alma Ata vision of comprehensive primary health care viable? Findings from an international project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronald Labonté

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Background: The 4-year (2007–2011 Revitalizing Health for All international research program (http://www.globalhealthequity.ca/projects/proj_revitalizing/index.shtml supported 20 research teams located in 15 low- and middle-income countries to explore the strengths and weaknesses of comprehensive primary health care (CPHC initiatives at their local or national levels. Teams were organized in a triad comprised of a senior researcher, a new researcher, and a ‘research user’ from government, health services, or other organizations with the authority or capacity to apply the research findings. Multiple regional and global team capacity-enhancement meetings were organized to refine methods and to discuss and assess cross-case findings. Objective: Most research projects used mixed methods, incorporating analyses of qualitative data (interviews and focus groups, secondary data, and key policy and program documents. Some incorporated historical case study analyses, and a few undertook new surveys. The synthesis of findings in this report was derived through qualitative analysis of final project reports undertaken by three different reviewers. Results: Evidence of comprehensiveness (defined in this research program as efforts to improve equity in access, community empowerment and participation, social and environmental health determinants, and intersectoral action was found in many of the cases. Conclusions: Despite the important contextual differences amongst the different country studies, the similarity of many of their findings, often generated using mixed methods, attests to certain transferable health systems characteristics to create and sustain CPHC practices. These include: 1. Well-trained and supported community health workers (CHWs able to work effectively with marginalized communities 2. Effective mechanisms for community participation, both informal (through participation in projects and programs, and meaningful consultation and formal

40 CFR 63.1176 - Where can I find definitions of key words used in this subpart?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... words used in this subpart? 63.1176 Section 63.1176 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... Production § 63.1176 Where can I find definitions of key words used in this subpart? The definitions of key words used in this subpart are in the Clean Air Act (Act), in § 63.2 of the general provisions in...

78 FR 43183 - Notice of Availability for Sharpe Permit Relinquishment Project Environmental Assessment Finding...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-19

... for Sharpe Permit Relinquishment Project Environmental Assessment Finding of No Significant Impact... Relinquishment Project Environmental Assessment (EA) Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). SUMMARY: On April... environment. Human environment was interpreted comprehensively to include the natural and physical environment...

Competitiveness of nuclear energy - Key findings from an OECD study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertel, Evelyne

2006-01-01

Economic competitiveness always has been a cornerstone in decision making for electricity generation options but the liberalization of energy markets has enhanced its importance. For private investors in de-regulated markets the economic attractiveness of a project is often 'the' driving factor. For plant owners and operators reducing costs is a key objective. The relative competitiveness of nuclear energy as compared with alternatives has been investigated in a recent OECD study which noted some evolution in the ranking of different options as compared with results published seven years ago. In particular the volatility of fossil fuel prices, notably natural gas for electricity generation, along with technical progress enhancing the reliability and availability factor of nuclear power plants have had a significant influence on comparative economic performance of base-load options. Furthermore, as governments implement progressively policies to address global climate change threat, the moves to internalize the costs of carbon emissions is increasing the competitiveness of low-carbon options such as renewable energy sources and nuclear power versus coal and to a lesser extent gas. (authors)

Online tutoring procedure for research project supervision: management, organization and key elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antònia Darder Mesquida

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Research project tutoring appears as a crucial element for teaching; it is a planned action based on the relationship between a tutor and a student. This paper presents the findings of a design and development research which has as its main aim to create an organization system for the tutoring of online research projects. That system seeks to facilitate the tutoring and supervision task with trainee researchers, providing guidance for its management and instruments for its implementation. The main conclusions arising from this research derive from considering the need to offer a solution to the problem of distance research project supervision and has materialized in organization and sequencing through a model about the variables that influence the research project tutoring problem.

IPMA Standard Competence Scope in Project Management Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bartoška, Jan; Flégl, Martin; Jarkovská, Martina

2012-01-01

The authors of the paper endeavoured to find out key competences in IPMA standard for educational approaches in project management. These key competences may be used as a basis for project management university courses. An incidence matrix was set up, containing relations between IPMA competences described in IPMA competence baseline. Further,…

Expert Meeting Report: Key Innovations for Adding Energy Efficiency to Maintenance Projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wood, A.; Wiehagen, J.

2012-09-01

This report describes an expert meeting hosted by the Building America research team NAHB Research Center, which was held on February 8, 2012, in Orlando, Florida. The topic, Key Innovations for Adding Energy Efficiency to Maintenance Projects, was intended to provide direction to more focused efforts to increase the efficiency of existing homes; in this meeting, the focus was specifically for re-roofing and the opportunities for adding energy efficiency upgrades during this major home repair activity.

Current Status of the LOFAR EoR Key Science Project

Science.gov (United States)

Koopmans, L. V. E.; LOFAR EoR KSP Team

2018-05-01

A short status update on the LOFAR Epoch of Reionization (EoR) Key Science Project (KSP) is given, regarding data acquisition, data processing and analysis, and current power-spectrum limits on the redshifted 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen at redshifts z = 8 - 10. With caution, we present a preliminary astrophysical analysis of ~60 hr of processed LOFAR data and their resulting power spectrum, showing that potentially already interesting limits on X-ray heating during the Cosmic Dawn can already be gained. This is by no means the final analysis of this sub-set of data, but illustrates the future potential when all nearly 3000 hr of data in hand on two EoR windows will have been processed.

Project FIND: a profile of a community-based senior services agency.

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, Andrée

2007-01-01

Project FIND has been providing innovative supportive housing, nutrition, and social support to homeless and low- and moderate-income seniors on New York City's West Side since 1967. This article profiles this nonprofit, community-based agency, which was established to meet the needs of the frail and isolated elderly, and has continued to grow and evolve in response to changing demographics, neighborhood gentrification, and needs of both the homeless as well as the active "younger old." The article describes creative programming that has distinguished Project FIND's response to seniors' needs beyond basic housing and nutrition. It also explores what it takes to successfully provide senior services using limited resources and examines challenges for the future both nationally and for the agency.

Designing Biodiversity Friendly Communities. Liveable Cities Forum: Key outcomes and findings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-10-15

The Liveable Cities Forum, held 21-22 August in Montreal Canada, created a platform to share best practices on biodiversity management and application at the local level. The Forum also highlighted the importance of partnership building and presented instruments (such as the Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity) that help to move the biodiversity agenda forward. A findings report on the Forum has recently been released, offering panel and workshop summaries, key outcomes, and a scope of future opportunities for local governments. Some of the key outcomes are as follows: Biodiversity protection is at its core a local issue, and in order to mitigate biodiversity loss in cities, there is an undeniable need for local governments to come together and work through solutions collectively; Urban centers influence local, regional and global biodiversity. Therefore, it is important that cities con-serve their local biodiversity through the sustainable use of resources beyond their borders; It is important for municipalities to engage and partner with local residents, academic institutions, and organizations, not only to have a finger on the pulse, but also to have local allies and secure long-term support; and Integrated policies help drive action. To effectively mainstream biodiversity at the local level, it is important to incorporate biodiversity considerations into multiple departments, plans and programs.

Competence raising through teaching of ESD environmental key topics implementing “project technology”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gayane Poghosyan

2015-06-01

The UNESCO Chair on “Education for Sustainable Development” at the Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia in cooperation with the National Institute of Education of the Armenian Ministry of Education and Science are carrying out a series of trainings and seminars for educators and students from pedagogical institutes to increase their competence on key environmental topics in the context of sustainable development implementing project method of teaching. Pedagogical-oriented universities and vocational training institutions have been chosen, where trainings and seminars have been carried out with the best students and the teaching staff using project method. In the result of the trainings and seminars 44 teachers and learners from 5 universities, 3 vocational colleges, 5 high schools, 3 NGOs were trained in 3 regions of the Republic of Armenia (with different environmental problems. Evaluations were carried out and the best tested projects were presented at round table discussions.

Development of generic key performance indicators for PMBOK® using a 3D project integration model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig Langston

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Since Martin Barnes’ so-called ‘iron triangle’ circa 1969, much debate has occurred over how best to describe the fundamental constraints that underpin project success. This paper develops a 3D project integration model for PMBOK® comprising core constraints of scope, cost, time and risk as a basis to propose six generic key performance indicators (KPIs that articulate successful project delivery. These KPIs are defined as value, efficiency, speed, innovation, complexity and impact and can each be measured objectively as ratios of the core constraints. An overall KPI (denoted as s3/ctr is also derived. The aim in this paper is to set out the case for such a model and to demonstrate how it can be employed to assess the performance of project teams in delivering successful outcomes at various stages in the project life cycle. As part of the model’s development, a new PMBOK® knowledge area concerning environmental management is advanced.

A problem of finding an acceptable variant in generalized project networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Blokh

2005-01-01

Full Text Available A project network often has some activities or groups of activities which can be performed at different stages of the project. Then, the problem of finding an optimal/acceptable time or/and optimal/acceptable order of such an activity or a group of activities arises. Such a problem emerges, in particular, in house-building management when the beginnings of some activities may vary in time or/and order. We consider a mathematical formulation of the problem, show its computational complexity, and describe an algorithm for solving the problem.

The MEarth Project: Finding the Best Targets for Atmospheric Characterization with JWST

Science.gov (United States)

Berta-Thompson, Z.

2014-04-01

If we want to directly observe the radius, orbit, mass, and atmosphere of a small, cool, habitable exoplanet, our best opportunity is to find such a planet transiting a small, cool, nearby M dwarf star. The MEarth Project is an ongoing all-sky survey for Earth-like planets transiting the closest, smallest M dwarfs in the Galaxy. MEarth aims to find good targets for atmospheric characterization with JWST and the next generation of enormous ground-based telescopes. This poster provides a status update on the MEarth Project, including the progress we've made over the past five years with 8 telescopes in the Northern hemisphere and promising early results from our new installation of 8 more telescopes in the Southern hemisphere.

Critical success factors influencing the performance of development projects: An empirical study of Constituency Development Fund projects in Kenya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Debadyuti Das

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The present work attempts to identify critical success factors (CSFs influencing the performance of development projects based on their key performance indicators (KPIs. It has considered the case of Constituency Development Fund (CDF projects constructed between 2003 and 2011 in Kenya and secured the perceptions of 175 respondents comprising clients, consultants and contractors involved in the implementation of CDF projects on 30 success variables. Findings reveal that individual items constituting these six factors represent six CSFs namely project-related, client-related, consultant-related, contractor-related, supply chain-related, and external environment-related factor. The findings are also relevant to development projects undertaken in other developing countries.

Assessment of Health Effects of Exogenous Urea: Summary and Key Findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickerson, Aisha S; Lee, Janice S; Keshava, Channa; Hotchkiss, Andrew; Persad, Amanda S

2018-05-01

Urea has been utilized as a reductant in diesel fuels to lower emission of nitrogen oxides, igniting interest in probable human health hazards associated with exposure to exogenous urea. Here, we summarize and update key findings on potential health effects of exogenous urea, including carcinogenicity. No definitive target organs for oral exposure were identified; however, results in animal studies suggest that the liver and kidney could be potential target organs of urea toxicity. The available human-subject literature suggests that the impact on lung function is minimal. Based on the literature on exogenous urea, we concluded that there was inadequate information to assess the carcinogenic potential of urea, or perform a quantitative assessment to derive reference values. Given the limited information on exogenous urea, additional research to address gaps for exogenous urea should include long-term cancer bioassays, two-generation reproductive toxicity studies, and mode-of-action investigations.

Project-based production and project management: Findings and trends in research on temporary systems in multiple contexts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tinus Pretorius

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Globalisation is challenging almost every aspect of the political, economic, social and technological environment. Organisations, whether public or private, have to adapt their strategies and operations to stay competitive and efficient. Historically, organisations adopted project-based operations as a mode to stay competitive, although the applications tended to be the oneoff type of operations such as construction and system development projects (Edum-Fotwe & McCaffer, 2000. As the world changed from an industrially driven to a more knowledge driven economy and the pace of continuous change became more intense, organisations adopted a project-based mode of operations on a broader scale. The knowledge economy lead to the creation of many service orientated industries. Organisations started facing portfolios of projects where the nature of these projects differed in technological complexity, urgency, customer value and social impact (Gutjahr & Froeschl, 2013. Based on their experience with more technically orientated projects, organisations focused their attention more intensely on new project management methods, tools and processes and not necessarily on the human and organisational interfaces. This paradigm changed however, especially since the 1980s and more and more organisations adopted temporary organisational forms (Bakker, 2010 in order to improve their competitiveness. The contributions in this special edition of the South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences have a common focus on the importance of the human and organisational interface of project-based operations on project success. The purpose of this concluding article is to analyse the findings and recommendations in these papers and to detect trends and future research opportunities in the field of project-based operations.

The international Chernobyl project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, A.J.

1992-01-01

The findings of the International Chernobyl Project are summarized herewith. The project focused on four key issues related to the radiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident which are of concern to the population and policy makers: the true extent of the current contamination in inhabited areas of Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine; the past, current and future radiation exposure of the population; the actual and potential health effects; and the adequacy or measures being taken to protect the public. The project findings are expected to contribute towards alleviating the consequences of the accident by presenting factual information to allow future policy and worldwide assistance to be channelled to where it is most needed and where it can be best used. (author)

Constructing a Cross-Domain Resource Inventory: Key Components and Results of the EarthCube CINERGI Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaslavsky, I.; Richard, S. M.; Malik, T.; Hsu, L.; Gupta, A.; Grethe, J. S.; Valentine, D. W., Jr.; Lehnert, K. A.; Bermudez, L. E.; Ozyurt, I. B.; Whitenack, T.; Schachne, A.; Giliarini, A.

2015-12-01

While many geoscience-related repositories and data discovery portals exist, finding information about available resources remains a pervasive problem, especially when searching across multiple domains and catalogs. Inconsistent and incomplete metadata descriptions, disparate access protocols and semantic differences across domains, and troves of unstructured or poorly structured information which is hard to discover and use are major hindrances toward discovery, while metadata compilation and curation remain manual and time-consuming. We report on methodology, main results and lessons learned from an ongoing effort to develop a geoscience-wide catalog of information resources, with consistent metadata descriptions, traceable provenance, and automated metadata enhancement. Developing such a catalog is the central goal of CINERGI (Community Inventory of EarthCube Resources for Geoscience Interoperability), an EarthCube building block project (earthcube.org/group/cinergi). The key novel technical contributions of the projects include: a) development of a metadata enhancement pipeline and a set of document enhancers to automatically improve various aspects of metadata descriptions, including keyword assignment and definition of spatial extents; b) Community Resource Viewers: online applications for crowdsourcing community resource registry development, curation and search, and channeling metadata to the unified CINERGI inventory, c) metadata provenance, validation and annotation services, d) user interfaces for advanced resource discovery; and e) geoscience-wide ontology and machine learning to support automated semantic tagging and faceted search across domains. We demonstrate these CINERGI components in three types of user scenarios: (1) improving existing metadata descriptions maintained by government and academic data facilities, (2) supporting work of several EarthCube Research Coordination Network projects in assembling information resources for their domains

Alligator rivers analogue project. Final report; volume 1; summary of findings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duerden, P.; Lever, D.A.; Sverjensky, D.A.; Townley, L.R.

1992-01-01

The Koongarra uranium ore deposit is located in the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory of Australia. Many of the processes that have controlled the development of this natural system are relevant to the performance assessment of radioactive waste repositories. An agreement was reached in 1987 by a number of agencies concerned with radioactive waste disposal to set up the International Alligator Rivers Analogue Project (ARAP) to study relevant aspects of the hydrological and geochemical evolution of the site. The Project ran for five years. The aims of the study were: to contribute to the production of reliable and realistic models for radionuclide migration within geological environments relevant to the assessment of the safety of radioactive waste repositories; to develop methods of validation of models using a combination of laboratory and field data associated with the Koongarra uranium deposit; and to encourage maximum interaction between modellers and experimentalists in achieving these objectives. It was anticipated that the substantial databases generated in the field and laboratory studies would then be used to develop and test geochemical and radionuclide transport models. The findings from the technical studies are discussed in the context of assessments of the long-term performance of geological repositories for radioactive wastes, which are being undertaken in many countries. They are also considered in an integrated 'Scenario Development' approach, aimed to understand the formation of the ore deposit. Despite their inherent uncertainties, the findings provide a basis for assessing the way in which radionuclides will migrate in environments with a variety of geologic settings and over a range of different geologic timescales. This summary report, which highlights the work and findings of the Alligator Rivers Analogue Project is one of a series of 16 volumes

FINDING SOLUTIONS AT THE WEST VALLEY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drake, John L.; Gramling, James M.; Houston, Helene M.

2003-01-01

The United States Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) faces a number of sizeable challenges as it begins to transform its mission from managing risk to reducing and eliminating risk throughout the DOE Complex. One of the greatest challenges being addressed by DOE-EM as this transformation takes place is accelerating the deactivation and decommissioning of thousands of facilities within the DOE Complex that were once used to support nuclear-related programs and projects. These facilities are now unused and aging. Finding solutions to complete the cleanup of these aging facilities more safely, efficiently, and effectively while reducing costs is critical to successfully meeting DOE-EM's cleanup challenge. The Large-Scale Demonstration and Deployment Project (LSDDP) of Hot Cells at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) is a near-term project funded through the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE-NETL) for the specific purpose of identifying, evaluating, demonstrating, and deploying commercially available technologies that are capable of streamlining the cleanup of hot cells in unused facilities while improving worker safety. Two DOE project sites are participating in this LSDDP: the WVDP site in West Valley, New York and the Hanford River Corridor Project (RCP) site in Richland, Washington. The WVDP site serves as the host site for the project. Technologies considered for demonstration and potential deployment at both LSDDP sites are targeted for application in hot cells that require the use of remote and semi-remote techniques to conduct various cleanup-related activities because of high radiation or high contamination levels. These hot cells, the type of cleanup activities being conducted, and technologies selected for demonstration are the main topics discussed in this paper. The range of cleanup-related activities addressed include in-situ characterization, size-reduction, contamination control, decontamination, in

Virtual Project Teams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn, Pernille

technology in six real-life virtual teams, two in industry and four in education, applying interpretative research and action research methods. Two main lines of investigation are pursued: the first involves an examination of the organisational issues related to groupware adaptation in virtual project teams......, professional disciplines, time differences and technology. This thesis comprises a general introduction, referred to as the summary report, and seven research papers, which deal in detail with the results and findings of the empirical cases. The summary report provides a general introduction to the research......, while the second looks at the social context and practices of virtual project teams. Two of the key findings are 1) that the process of groupware adaptation by virtual project teams can be viewed as a process of expanding and aligning the technological frames of the participants, which includes mutual...

75 FR 73059 - Record of Decision and Floodplain Statement of Findings for the Cushman Hydroelectric Project...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-29

... Floodplain Statement of Findings for the Cushman Hydroelectric Project, Mason County, Washington... Project in Mason County, Washington. These components include a new 3.6 megawatt (MW) powerhouse on the... components of the Cushman Hydroelectric Project in Mason County, Washington. These components include a new 3...

Inspire and develop people, two key competence for safety leadership

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, F.; Perez, O.; Fernandez, M.; Alvarez, N.; Villadoniga, J. I.

2014-01-01

Developing leadership skills in organizations is key to ensuring the sustainability of excellent results in industries with high standards of safety and reliability element. In order to have a model of development of specific leadership for these organizations, Tecnatom in 2011, we initiated an internal project to find and adapt a competency model to these requirements. (Author)

KEY ASPECTS OF MANAGING AN INNOVATION PROJECT IN THE EU FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME HORIZON 2020

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siniša M. Arsić

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The program EU Horizon 2020 (ec.europa.eu is the largest source of resources for all legal entities from Europe, with the budget of 80 billion €. It is possible to use donations from the EU for various proposals and themes, from the 91 calls for projects, with subjects differing from sustainable transport to the innovation support of the SME sector. A group of Serbian authors decided to enter into somewhat of an ambitious endeavour (authors had individual experience on projects, they decided to send a project proposal in the framework of the „SME Instrument“ call, which is directed to inovation support project in the SME sector. The projects that are proposed for the financing by the EU Horizon 2020 program, are in the group of complex and very specific projects, so the authors presented the review of key aspects of projects that are engaged in realization of the inovation process that starts with a certain idea on paper, and ends with a verified product which is placed on the competitive EU market. The special chapter of this paper deals with the sinergy of the inovation project explorers, which must answer to the multidisciplinarity of research problems. The possibilities are examined in the research of the technical-technological sciences, by using organizational-informatic tools, developed for the needs of managing projects. The main use of this work for readers are illuminating of numerous unknown technical details regarding the proposal itself, and the process of connecting with the project partners, because the large number of proposals quits off right at the beginning. Then contribution is reflected in the fact that the paper signifies a sort of basis for a knowledge base, which can be served to higher education institutions and economy to focus a part of their intentions on lifting their own capacity for the struggle with the massive competition of EU that is expected in years and decades to come.

Uncertainties in projecting climate-change impacts in marine ecosystems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Payne, Mark; Barange, Manuel; Cheung, William W. L.

2016-01-01

with a projection and building confidence in its robustness. We review how uncertainties in such projections are handled in marine science. We employ an approach developed in climate modelling by breaking uncertainty down into (i) structural (model) uncertainty, (ii) initialization and internal variability......Projections of the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems are a key prerequisite for the planning of adaptation strategies, yet they are inevitably associated with uncertainty. Identifying, quantifying, and communicating this uncertainty is key to both evaluating the risk associated...... and highlight the opportunities and challenges associated with doing a better job. We find that even within a relatively small field such as marine science, there are substantial differences between subdisciplines in the degree of attention given to each type of uncertainty. We find that initialization...

Monitoring HIV Prevention Programme Outcomes among Key Populations in Kenya: Findings from a National Survey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parinita Bhattacharjee

Full Text Available In preparation for the implementation of the Kenya AIDS Strategic Framework 2014/15-2018/19, the Kenya National AIDS and STI Control Programme facilitated a national polling booth survey as part of a baseline assessment of HIV-related risk behaviours among FSWs, MSM, and PWID, and their utilization of existing preventive interventions, as well as structural factors that may influence KPs' vulnerability to HIV. The survey was conducted among "key populations" (female sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs to understand current HIV risk and prevention behaviours, utilization of existing programmes and services, and experiences of violence. In total, 3,448 female sex workers, 1,308 men who have sex with men, and 690 people who inject drugs were randomly selected to participate in polling booth survey sessions from seven priority sites. Survey responses were aggregated and descriptive statistics derived. In general, reported condom use among all key populations was quite high with paying clients, and lower with regular, non-paying partners. Many participants reported unavailability of condoms or clean injecting equipment within the past month. Exposure to, and utilization of, existing HIV prevention services varied significantly among the groups, and was reported least commonly by female sex workers. Encouragingly, approximately three-quarters of all key population members reported receiving an HIV test in the past three months. All key population groups reported experiencing high levels of physical and sexual violence from partners/clients, and/or arrest and violence by law enforcement officials. Although some of the findings are encouraging, there is room for improvement in HIV prevention programmes and services for key populations across Kenya.

Functional Imaging of Autonomic Regulation: Methods and Key Findings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul M Macey

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Central nervous system processing of autonomic function involves a network of regions throughout the brain which can be visualized and measured with neuroimaging techniques, notably functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. The development of fMRI procedures has both confirmed and extended earlier findings from animal models, and human stroke and lesion studies. Assessments with fMRI can elucidate interactions between different central sites in regulating normal autonomic patterning, and demonstrate how disturbed systems can interact to produce aberrant regulation during autonomic challenges. Understanding autonomic dysfunction in various illnesses reveals mechanisms that potentially lead to interventions in the impairments. The objectives here are to: 1 describe the fMRI neuroimaging methodology for assessment of autonomic neural control, 2 outline the widespread, lateralized distribution of function in autonomic sites in the normal brain which includes structures from the neocortex through the medulla and cerebellum, 3 illustrate the importance of the time course of neural changes when coordinating responses, and how those patterns are impacted in conditions of sleep-disordered breathing, and 4 highlight opportunities for future research studies with emerging methodologies. Methodological considerations specific to autonomic testing include timing of challenges relative to the underlying fMRI signal, spatial resolution sufficient to identify autonomic brainstem nuclei, blood pressure and blood oxygenation influences on the fMRI signal, and the sustained timing, often measured in minutes of challenge periods and recovery. Key findings include the lateralized nature of autonomic organization, which is reminiscent of asymmetric motor, sensory and language pathways. Testing brain function during autonomic challenges demonstrate closely-integrated timing of responses in connected brain areas during autonomic challenges, and the involvement with

Critical success factors influencing the performance of development projects: An empirical study of Constituency Development Fund projects in Kenya

OpenAIRE

Debadyuti Das; Christopher Ngacho

2017-01-01

The present work attempts to identify critical success factors (CSFs) influencing the performance of development projects based on their key performance indicators (KPIs). It has considered the case of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects constructed between 2003 and 2011 in Kenya and secured the perceptions of 175 respondents comprising clients, consultants and contractors involved in the implementation of CDF projects on 30 success variables. Findings reveal that individual items co...

Key factors in the successful implementation of enterprise resource planning system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farajollah Rahnavard

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP are considered as the newest and most effective tools of enterprise resource planning and include an interconnected information, management and engineering system that meets all the needs of an organization. ERP implementation is costly and time-consuming and makes fundamental change in the process, if not implemented correctly it will cause challenges in most parts of the organization and will certainly fail. Therefore, the identification of key success factors in implementing ERP helps organizations avoid the loss of the project. This research aims to identify key success factors for ERP by examining 185 managers, professionals, experts of the Information and Communication Technology Institute associated with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of Iran. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Findings from exploratory factor analysis indicate that five factors: 1 user friendliness, flexible and consistency 2 establishment of project management; 3 alignment with user needs; 4 Management of organizational changes, and 5 observing the principles of successful implementation of ERP affect the institute and the corresponding suggestions are proposed consistent with these findings.

Citizen science participation in research in the environmental sciences: key factors related to projects' success and longevity.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunha, Davi G F; Marques, Jonatas F; Resende, Juliana C DE; Falco, Patrícia B DE; Souza, Chrislaine M DE; Loiselle, Steven A

2017-01-01

The potential impacts of citizen science initiatives are increasing across the globe, albeit in an imbalanced manner. In general, there is a strong element of trial and error in most projects, and the comparison of best practices and project structure between different initiatives remains difficult. In Brazil, the participation of volunteers in environmental research is limited. Identifying the factors related to citizen science projects' success and longevity within a global perspective can contribute for consolidating such practices in the country. In this study, we explore past and present projects, including a case study in Brazil, to identify the spatial and temporal trends of citizen science programs as well as their best practices and challenges. We performed a bibliographic search using Google Scholar and considered results from 2005-2014. Although these results are subjective due to the Google Scholar's algorithm and ranking criteria, we highlighted factors to compare projects across geographical and disciplinary areas and identified key matches between project proponents and participants, project goals and local priorities, participant profiles and engagement, scientific methods and funding. This approach is a useful starting point for future citizen science projects, allowing for a systematic analysis of potential inconsistencies and shortcomings in this emerging field.

Cryptographic Key Management System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No, author

2014-02-21

This report summarizes the outcome of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contract DE-OE0000543, requesting the design of a Cryptographic Key Management System (CKMS) for the secure management of cryptographic keys for the energy sector infrastructure. Prime contractor Sypris Electronics, in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Valicore Technologies, and Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS) and Smart Meter Integration Laboratory (SMIL), has designed, developed and evaluated the CKMS solution. We provide an overview of the project in Section 3, review the core contributions of all contractors in Section 4, and discuss bene ts to the DOE in Section 5. In Section 6 we describe the technical construction of the CKMS solution, and review its key contributions in Section 6.9. Section 7 describes the evaluation and demonstration of the CKMS solution in different environments. We summarize the key project objectives in Section 8, list publications resulting from the project in Section 9, and conclude with a discussion on commercialization in Section 10 and future work in Section 11.

Chernobyl 30 years on. Key remediation and safety projects are 'on track'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalton, David [NucNet, Brussels (Belgium)

2016-06-15

Thirty years after the accident at Chernobyl, key remediation and safety projects are on track and construction of the vital Euro 1.5 bn (US Dollars 1.6 bn) New Safe Confinement (NSC) is almost finished with commissioning scheduled for November 2017, the company in charge of construction and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) told NucNet. The NSC is the most high profile and expensive element of the US Dollars 2.15 bn Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP), a framework developed to overcome the consequences of the accident.

Key factors of project success in family small and medium-sized companies: the theoretical review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sinisa Arsic

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The paper proposes a systematization of the key success factors of projects, through the theoretical review of family-owned companies operating in the EU market. It is the small and medium companies that in their own way contribute to the overall success of the national economy in terms of economic activity, increased employment, development activities and defining better business environment. The theoretical review observed numerous studies of family businesses, and the contribution of this work is in the systematization of the results of previous research – over three horizons, i.e., over the role of managers in the creation of successful projects (or owner if it is a family enterprise, institutional support for companies in Serbia and the EU, specific industries and the parent (regional markets where a family company operates. Project management, as a general representation of the concept of implementation of strategic and operational endeavors, contains many specifics in terms of critical success factors of projects depending on the environment in which they are implemented. The goal of the paper is reflected in the identification and presentation of critical success factors of projects implemented in family companies. The paper concludes with a discussion of the research results in relation to the existing, similar research studies, as well as with the announcement of future research, which will examine the conclusions drawn on a real sample.

Export Odyssey: An Exposition and Analytical Review of Literature Concerning an Undergraduate Student Project in International Marketing on Key Teaching-Learning Dimensions.

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Nicholas C.

2001-01-01

Describes Export Odyssey (EO), a structured, Internet-intensive, team-based undergraduate student project in international marketing. Presents an analytical review of articles in the literature that relate to three key teaching-learning dimensions of student projects (experiential versus non-experiential active learning, team-based versus…

Impact of problem finding on the quality of authentic open inquiry science research projects

Science.gov (United States)

Labanca, Frank

2008-11-01

Problem finding is a creative process whereby individuals develop original ideas for study. Secondary science students who successfully participate in authentic, novel, open inquiry studies must engage in problem finding to determine viable and suitable topics. This study examined problem finding strategies employed by students who successfully completed and presented the results of their open inquiry research at the 2007 Connecticut Science Fair and the 2007 International Science and Engineering Fair. A multicase qualitative study was framed through the lenses of creativity, inquiry strategies, and situated cognition learning theory. Data were triangulated by methods (interviews, document analysis, surveys) and sources (students, teachers, mentors, fair directors, documents). The data demonstrated that the quality of student projects was directly impacted by the quality of their problem finding. Effective problem finding was a result of students using resources from previous, specialized experiences. They had a positive self-concept and a temperament for both the creative and logical perspectives of science research. Successful problem finding was derived from an idiosyncratic, nonlinear, and flexible use and understanding of inquiry. Finally, problem finding was influenced and assisted by the community of practicing scientists, with whom the students had an exceptional ability to communicate effectively. As a result, there appears to be a juxtaposition of creative and logical/analytical thought for open inquiry that may not be present in other forms of inquiry. Instructional strategies are suggested for teachers of science research students to improve the quality of problem finding for their students and their subsequent research projects.

A three-year teacher research–to–practice collaborative professional development project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hilton, Annette; Hilton, Geoff; Zeuschner, Michael

The theme is successful implementation of a research-to-practice collaborative teacher professional development project aimed at enhancing the teaching and learning of proportional reasoning. The objectives are to outline the project goals, provide an overview of the key research findings regardi...

Social impacts of community renewable energy projects: findings from a woodfuel case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, Jennifer C.; Simmons, Eunice A.; Convery, Ian; Weatherall, Andrew

2012-01-01

There is much current interest in the potential of community-based renewable energy projects to contribute to transition towards low carbon energy systems. As well as displacing fossil fuel consumption by increasing renewable energy generation, projects are expected to have a range of social impacts which may result in additional positive sustainability outcomes. These include potential to increase: acceptance of renewable energy developments; awareness of renewable and sustainable energy technologies and issues; uptake of low carbon technologies; and sustainable/pro-environmental behaviours. To date however, there has been little investigation of whether and how these impacts occur. This paper presents results from qualitative research investigating the social impacts of a community woodfuel project as experienced by project participants and other local stakeholders. Findings show projects can raise awareness of renewable energy technologies and increase uptake of renewables. Overall the case study project successfully changed the local social context for development of woodfuel heating, reducing risk for all involved in the future development of this sector, particularly in the immediate locality. There was some evidence of increased engagement with wider sustainability issues but this was limited to direct participants, suggesting local projects need to be supported by wider systemic change to maximise impacts. - Highlights: ► We assessed the social impacts of a community woodfuel project. ► The project increased awareness and uptake of woodfuel heating. ► Impacts were achieved as a result of the locally-specific approach. ► Local projects can seed cultural change promoting transition to a low carbon society.

Virtual communities, research groups and projects on IMS Learning Design. State of the art, key factors and forthcoming challenges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burgos, Daniel; Koper, Rob

2005-01-01

Burgos, D., Koper, R. (2005) Virtual communities, research groups and projects on IMS Learning Design. State of the art, key factors and forthcoming challenges. In E-Journal of Educational Research, Assessment and Evaluation, vol. 11, issue 2 [www.uv.es/RELIEVE]. Available at

Towards Improving our Understanding on the Retrievals of Key Parameters Characterising Land Surface Interactions from Space: Introduction & First Results from the PREMIER-EO Project

Science.gov (United States)

Ireland, Gareth; North, Matthew R.; Petropoulos, George P.; Srivastava, Prashant K.; Hodges, Crona

2015-04-01

Acquiring accurate information on the spatio-temporal variability of soil moisture content (SM) and evapotranspiration (ET) is of key importance to extend our understanding of the Earth system's physical processes, and is also required in a wide range of multi-disciplinary research studies and applications. The utility and applicability of Earth Observation (EO) technology provides an economically feasible solution to derive continuous spatio-temporal estimates of key parameters characterising land surface interactions, including ET as well as SM. Such information is of key value to practitioners, decision makers and scientists alike. The PREMIER-EO project recently funded by High Performance Computing Wales (HPCW) is a research initiative directed towards the development of a better understanding of EO technology's present ability to derive operational estimations of surface fluxes and SM. Moreover, the project aims at addressing knowledge gaps related to the operational estimation of such parameters, and thus contribute towards current ongoing global efforts towards enhancing the accuracy of those products. In this presentation we introduce the PREMIER-EO project, providing a detailed overview of the research aims and objectives for the 1 year duration of the project's implementation. Subsequently, we make available the initial results of the work carried out herein, in particular, related to an all-inclusive and robust evaluation of the accuracy of existing operational products of ET and SM from different ecosystems globally. The research outcomes of this project, once completed, will provide an important contribution towards addressing the knowledge gaps related to the operational estimation of ET and SM. This project results will also support efforts ongoing globally towards the operational development of related products using technologically advanced EO instruments which were launched recently or planned be launched in the next 1-2 years. Key Words: PREMIER

Building a Creative Ecosystem: The Young Designers on Location Project

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Dan; Howe, Alan; Haywood, Susan

2004-01-01

This article reports on findings from a research project designed to explore ways in which creativity can be fostered through interactions between selected children, particular environments, materials, techniques and key adults. The Young Designers on Location (YDoL) project was funded by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts…

Prevalence of incidental findings on magnetic resonance imaging: Cuban project to map the human brain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernandez Gonzalez, Gertrudis de los Angeles; Alvarez Sanchez, Marilet; Jordan Gonzalez, Jose

2010-01-01

To determine the prevalence of incidental findings in healthy subjects of the Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project sample, it was performed a retrospective descriptive study of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained from 394 healthy subjects that make up the sample of the project, between 2006-2007, with an age range of 18 to 68 years (mean 33,12), of which 269 (68,27 %) are male and 125 (31,73 %) are women. It was shown that 40,36 % had one or more anomaly in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In total, the number of incidental findings was 188, 23,6 % of which were brain findings and 24,11 % were non-brain findings, among the latter, were the sinusopathy with 20,81 % and maxillary polyps with 3,30 %. The most prevalent brain findings were: intrasellar arachnoidocele, 11,93 %, followed by the prominence of the pituitary gland, 5,84 %, ventricular asymmetry, 1,77 % and bone defects, 1,02 %. Other brain abnormalities found with very low prevalence had no pathological significance, except for two cases with brain tumor, which were immediately sent to a specialist. Incidental findings in MRI are common in the general population (40,36 %), being the sinusopathy, and intrasellar arachnoidocele the most common findings. Asymptomatic individuals who have any type of structural abnormality provide invaluable information on the prevalence of these abnormalities in a presumably healthy population, which may be used as references for epidemiological studies

The public and wildland fire management: social science findings for managers

Science.gov (United States)

S.M. McCaffrey

2006-01-01

Presents key social science findings from three National Fire Plan-sponsored research projects. Articles highlight information of likely interest to individuals working to decrease wildfire hazards on both private and public lands. Three general topic areas are addressed: (1) public views and acceptance of fuels management, (2) working with homeowners and communities,...

Key concepts of the INCAS multicomputer project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nehmer, J.; Haban, D.; Mattern, F.; Wybranietz, D.; Rombach, H.D.

1987-08-01

This paper gives an overview of the INCAS (INCremental Architecture for distributed Systems) multicomputer project, which aims at the development of a comprehensive methodology for the design and implementation of locally distributed systems. A structuring concept for distributed operating systems has been developed and integrated into the system implementation language LADY. The concurrent high-level programming language CSSA, based on the actor model, has been designed for the implementation of distributed applications. A substantial effort in the INCAS project is directed towards the development of a distributed test methodology. An experimental system has been implemented on a network of ten MC68000 microcomputers. Preliminary experience with the methodology has been gained from a small number of prototype applications.

Interim Evaluation of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Findings Based on Different Datasets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel T. L. Shek

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Interim evaluation studies were carried out in order to examine the implementation details of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes in Hong Kong. Quantitative results of the interim evaluation findings based on eight datasets collected from 2006 to 2009 are reported in this paper. Three hundred and seventy-eight schools were randomly selected to provide information on the implementation details of the program via face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, and self-completed questionnaires. Results showed that a majority of the workers perceived that the students had positive responses to the program and the program was helpful to the students. In conjunction with other process evaluation findings, the present study suggests that the implementation quality of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. is high. The present study also provides support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

Regional Transmission Projects: Finding Solutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Keystone Center

2005-06-15

The Keystone Center convened and facilitated a year-long Dialogue on "Regional Transmission Projects: Finding Solutions" to develop recommendations that will help address the difficult and contentious issues related to expansions of regional electric transmission systems that are needed for reliable and economic transmission of power within and across regions. This effort brought together a cross-section of affected stakeholders and thought leaders to address the problem with the collective wisdom of their experience and interests. Transmission owners sat at the table with consumer advocates and environmental organizations. Representatives from regional transmission organizations exchanged ideas with state and federal regulators. Generation developers explored common interests with public power suppliers. Together, the Dialogue participants developed consensus solutions about how to begin unraveling some of the more intractable issues surrounding identification of need, allocation of costs, and reaching consensus on siting issues that can frustrate the development of regional transmission infrastructure. The recommendations fall into three broad categories: 1. Recommendations on appropriate institutional arrangements and processes for achieving regional consensus on the need for new or expanded transmission infrastructure 2. Recommendations on the process for siting of transmission lines 3. Recommendations on the tools needed to support regional planning, cost allocation, and siting efforts. List of Dialogue participants: List of Dialogue Participants: American Electric Power American Transmission Company American Wind Energy Association California ISO Calpine Corporation Cinergy Edison Electric Institute Environmental Defense Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Great River Energy International Transmission Company ISO-New England Iowa Public Utility Board Kanner & Associates Midwest ISO National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners National Association

Accuracy of past projections of US energy consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Neill, B.C.; Desai, Mausami

2005-01-01

Energy forecasts play a key role in development of energy and environmental policy. Evaluations of the accuracy of past projections can provide insight into the uncertainty that may be associated with current forecasts. They can also be used to identify sources of inaccuracies, and potentially lead to improvements in projections over time. Here we assess the accuracy of projections of US energy consumption produced by the Energy Information Administration over the period 1982-2000. We find that energy consumption projections have tended to underestimate future consumption. Projections 10-13 years into the future have had an average error of about 4%, and about half that for shorter time horizons. These errors mask much larger, offsetting errors in the projection of GDP and energy intensity (EI). GDP projections have consistently been too high, and EI projection consistently too low, by more than 15% for projections of 10 years or more. Further work on the source of these sizable inaccuracies should be a high priority. Finally, we find no evidence of improvement in projections of consumption, GDP, or EI since 1982

Qanuqtuurniq—finding the balance: an IPY television series using community engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine L. Carry

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The three-part television broadcast Qanuqtuurniq—finding the balance was an International Polar Year communications and outreach project concerning Inuit health and wellness. The goal of this project was to engage the Inuit public and others in “real-time” dialogue about health and wellness issues and health research, and to deliver key messages. It was aired live in the Inuit language (with English captions/sub-titles from Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, in May 2009 and simultaneously webcast. Qanuqtuurniq—finding the balance used an Inuit communications model for remote communities that was developed in the Arctic in 1994 by the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation/Inuit Communications. In Qanuqtuurniq—finding the balance more than 250 people were engaged through the use of a diverse range of methods, including content working groups, stakeholder input, music recordings, pre-recorded community programme videos, live and public screening of the broadcasts, live panels, live audiences, public phone-ins, Skype video-conferencing and real-time online chat, focus groups and e-mail. This article examines the project in light of the principles of “community engagement”, demonstrating that Qanuqtuurniq—finding the balance exemplifies community engagement in a number of significant ways, including heavily involving community members in the selection of the health theme content of the televised programmes and through the formation of focus groups. Based on challenges encountered during the Qanuqtuurniq—finding the balance project, the article offers recommendations for future projects.

United States Crystalline Repository Project - key research areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patera, E.S.

1986-01-01

The Crystalline Repository Project is responsible for siting the second high-level nuclear waste repository in crystalline rock for the US Department of Energy. A methodology is being developed to define data and information needs and a way to evaluate that information. The areas of research the Crystalline Repository Project is involved in include fluid flow in a fractured network, coupled thermal, chemical and flow processes and cooperation in other nations and OECD research programs

Neighborhood Influences on Perceived Social Support Among Parents: Findings from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods

Science.gov (United States)

Tendulkar, Shalini A.; Koenen, Karestan C.; Dunn, Erin C.; Buka, Stephen; Subramanian, S. V.

2012-01-01

Background Social support is frequently linked to positive parenting behavior. Similarly, studies increasingly show a link between neighborhood residential environment and positive parenting behavior. However, less is known about how the residential environment influences parental social support. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and collective efficacy and the level and change in parental caregiver perceptions of non-familial social support. Methodology/Principal Findings The data for this study came from three data sources, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) Study's Longitudinal Cohort Survey of caregivers and their offspring, a Community Survey of adult residents in these same neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Social support is measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and neighborhood characteristics are measured at Wave 1. Multilevel linear regression models are fit. The results show that neighborhood collective efficacy is a significant (ß = .04; SE = .02; p = .03), predictor of the positive change in perceived social support over a 7 year period, however, not of the level of social support, adjusting for key compositional variables and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. In contrast concentrated neighborhood disadvantage is not a significant predictor of either the level or change in social support. Conclusion Our finding suggests that neighborhood collective efficacy may be important for inducing the perception of support from friends in parental caregivers over time. PMID:22493683

Horse Palace photovoltaic pilot project findings report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-06-15

This paper provided details of a solar photovoltaic (PV) feasibility study conducted as part of the Toronto Exhibition Place's 2010 energy self-sufficiency plan. The 100 kw plant was installed on the roof of the Horse Palace, and when first installed represented the largest urban PV array in Canada. The study was conducted to compare the performance of technology alternatives under otherwise common environmental and operating conditions, to build capacity to operate large roof-mounted PV systems in Toronto, and to gain experience with Ontario's renewable energy standard offer program (RESOP). The initial year of monitoring identified complications with inverters and monitoring equipment, shading issues, and problems with data collection and management. Interconnecting the project with the electricity grid to sell the produced power was a complicated and lengthy procedure. A problem with the baseline performance modeling that was used to assess the project was also identified. In 2008, the project produced 96,724 kWh. Simple payback for the project was estimated at 16.7 years. The plant is now participating in the RESOP and receiving monthly payments. 14 figs., 2 appendices.

Literacy and students' interest on Geosciences - Findings and results of GEOschools project

Science.gov (United States)

Fermeli, Georgia; Steininger, Fritz; Dermitzakis, Michael; Meléndez, Guillermo; Page, Kevin

2014-05-01

GEOschools is a European project supported by the Lifelong Learning Programme. Among the main aims of the project were to investigate the interest secondary school students have on geosciences and the teaching strategies used. Also, the development of a guide for Geosciences Literacy at a European level (Fermeli et al., 2011). GEOschools' literacy framework proposal is based on a comparative analysis of geoscience curricula in the partner countries (Austria, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal). Results of an "Interest Research" survey involved around 1750 students and 60 teachers from partner countries, combined with specific proposals by the project partners (Calonge et al., 2011). Results of the GEOschools "Interest research" survey evidence students show a higher interest in those topics which have a potentially higher social impact, such as mass extinctions, dinosaurs, geological hazards and disasters and origin and evolution of life (including human evolution). These results provide an evidence base to justify why curriculum content and teaching strategies can be made more effective through focusing mainly on such "interest topics", instead of trying to follow an excessively rigid, or academic, development of teaching programs (Fermeli et al., 2013). GEOschools literacy framework is summarized in 14 separate chapters, each including a brief description of the main themes of each subject, the intended learning outcomes as well as keywords and a bibliography. More particularly, the chapters of the framework describe what students should know and do, and how they should relate, as European citizens, to the geosciences. To face the challenges of the present and the future, modern citizens should be literate in natural sciences and, within the context of the geosciences, be able to: • Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of basic principles, models, laws and terminology of Geosciences. • Know how and where to find and access scientifically reliable

Key performance indicators for project success on innovative building technology projects

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mphahlele, Cathy

2015-12-01

Full Text Available unconventional building methods can only be deemed to satisfy by way of rational design or Agrèment certification”. Delivering projects through IBTs has introduced a construction environment that has different procurement, supply chain management, building...

Some recent research findings on the social dynamics of environmental risk perception

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horlick-Jones, T.; Marchi, B. de; Del Zotto, M.; Pellizzoni, L.; Ungaro, D.; Prades Lopez, A.; Diaz Hidalgo, M.; Pidgeon, N.; Sime, J.

1998-01-01

Full text of publication follows: key themes: social dynamics of public risk perception; trust, tolerability, and risk management; discourses of environmental risk; implications for risk communication and environmental valuation; application of mixed qualitative/quantitative methods in risk perception research. This paper presents some of the key findings of a two-year comparative European study (the PRISP Project) on public perception of risks associated with industrial sites in the UK, Italy and Spain. The project utilised a mixed-method approach (comprising community ethnography, semi-structured interviews, questionnaire survey and focus groups), within a Grounded Theory framework, to examine the social dynamics of risk comprehension, tolerability and politics in settings adjacent to a range of industrial facilities. These often complex industrial zones present a portfolio of 'acute' and 'chronic' risks including hazards associated with sites regulated by the European Union COMAH Directive. Our findings have important implications for the regulation of both major accident hazard and pollution risks, risk communication programmes, industrial risk management practices and for the methodological basis of health and safety and environmental valuation techniques. (authors)

Infusing and sustaining aging content in social work education: findings from GeroRich projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hash, Kristina M; Gottlieb, Jody; Harper-Dorton, Karen V; Crawley-Woods, Geraldine; Shelek-Furbee, Katherine; Smith, John David; Brown, Rita

2007-01-01

This article presents findings from experiences of 67 projects involved in GeroRich, an initiative funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation designed to infuse, enrich and sustain aging content in BSW and MSW curricula. Thematic qualitative analysis was used to uncover themes in answers to open-ended questions contained in End-of-Year 2 project reports. Content areas addressed by open-ended answers were: (1) successes and innovations, and (2) challenges requiring responses. Primary successes and innovations identified were as follows: curriculum enrichment, faculty and student involvement, student-learning activities and community. Challenges to be responded to were identified as lack of faculty involvement, competing demands on faculty and programs, and sustainability of project efforts. Examples of strategies implemented to overcome these obstacles include providing teaching resources, instituting financial and other supports, and developing strategic plans for sustaining content infusion post-funding. Experiences of the GeroRich projects offer practical considerations for other social work programs that accept the challenge of attracting and preparing students to work with the increasing population of older adults.

The village/commune safety policy and HIV prevention efforts among key affected populations in Cambodia: finding a balance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomson Nick

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract The Village/Commune Safety Policy was launched by the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Cambodia in 2010 and, due to a priority focus on “cleaning the streets”, has created difficulties for HIV prevention programs attempting to implement programs that work with key affected populations including female sex workers and people who inject drugs. The implementation of the policy has forced HIV program implementers, the UN and various government counterparts to explore and develop collaborative ways of delivering HIV prevention services within this difficult environment. The following case study explores some of these efforts and highlights the promising development of a Police Community Partnership Initiative that it is hoped will find a meaningful balance between the Village/Commune Safety Policy and HIV prevention efforts with key affected populations in Cambodia.

A Prototype for Education Programs using Planetari and Space Centres as Key Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, L; Brumfitt, A.; Honan, P.

Few hands on space experiments designed for school education allow the students and teachers to participate in the discovery of new science. One particularly experiment which flew on STS107 Columbia was designed specifically to do just this. A key feature of the project was to use a Zoo and a University as key tools in providing through life development and support. The project, "Spiders in Space" ran over a four year period resulted in the student and scientist team publishing over twenty refereed papers on their research findings. Throughout the project teacher and student performance, satisfaction, knowledge, abilities and competency were monitored and critically evaluated. The progressive gathering and feedback was used to improve the program and adapt the learning experience to the student needs and abilities. Based on the experience gained with the Spider Experiment on STS-107, the originating team of scientists and teachers have formulated a structure on which to facilitate the design of similar space education cross discipline projects. The project architecture presented uses as key tools Planetaria, Space science education centres, zoos and Universities in the successful delivery of the programs.The engagement of these key tools facilitates a cost effective and educationally sound support network for thousands of schools to have some ownership of their space program. These key tools provide both continuing professional development for teachers wishing to enter the program and field laboratory support for the student classes engaged in it. The resulting programs are designed to foster collaboration between space research and education on an international scale. The sample new program is presented which demonstrates the application of scientific principles by making students and teachers an integral part of current space research. Issues such as environment, climate control and biological diversity are investigated with a view to providing research outcomes

Key insights for the future of urban ecosystem services research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peleg Kremer

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Understanding the dynamics of urban ecosystem services is a necessary requirement for adequate planning, management, and governance of urban green infrastructure. Through the three-year Urban Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (URBES research project, we conducted case study and comparative research on urban biodiversity and ecosystem services across seven cities in Europe and the United States. Reviewing > 50 peer-reviewed publications from the project, we present and discuss seven key insights that reflect cumulative findings from the project as well as the state-of-the-art knowledge in urban ecosystem services research. The insights from our review indicate that cross-sectoral, multiscale, interdisciplinary research is beginning to provide a solid scientific foundation for applying the ecosystem services framework in urban areas and land management. Our review offers a foundation for seeking novel, nature-based solutions to emerging urban challenges such as wicked environmental change issues.

Human and organisational factors as key levers of performance in D and D project management - 59323

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flament, Thierry; Willmann, Bertrand; Laval, Gregoire de; Lemarch, Jean-Louis; Cordoba, Alain

2012-01-01

Document available in abstract form only. Full text of publication follows: In a number pf D and D projects, the type of installations to be dismantled and the variety of their equipments (glove-boxes, tanks..) and the products present on site (plutonium, uranium) in the form of powder are making many operations manual ones. Key phases in HR and organisation management: - The first D and D experience, the learning curve ramp-up - To begin any project, you usually try to benefit from benchmark of similar projects to be able to build up the first scenario, by using the best practices. The first experimental team consisted of operators who already had experienced dismantling at least once in the course of their career. This first dismantling operation is preferably to be conducted on an installation relatively poorly contaminated. This was to implement the correct techniques thus reducing the consequences of a possible unforeseen event. The capitalisation on the return on experience The success of this first dismantling site operation allowed us to implement a process of experience feedback to build the scenarios and the operating procedures of the following sites. In particular, targeted safety-security stop points are positioned for validation on the operations by people responsible for safety and security

Successes and challenges of north-south partnerships - key lessons from the African/Asian Regional Capacity Development projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Färnman, Rosanna; Diwan, Vishal; Zwarenstein, Merrick; Atkins, Salla

2016-01-01

Increasing efforts are being made globally on capacity building. North-south research partnerships have contributed significantly to enhancing the research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the past few decades; however, a lack of skilled researchers to inform health policy development persists, particularly in LMICs. The EU FP7 funded African/Asian Regional Capacity Development (ARCADE) projects were multi-partner consortia aimed to develop a new generation of highly trained researchers from universities across the globe, focusing on global health-related subjects: health systems and services research and research on social determinants of health. This article aims to outline the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the life course of the projects, focusing on the key outputs and experiences of developing and implementing these two projects together with sub-Saharan African, Asian and European institution partners. Sixteen participants from 12 partner institutions were interviewed. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis, which resulted in four themes and three sub-categories. These data were complemented by a review of project reports. The results indicated that the ARCADE projects have been successful in developing and delivering courses, and have reached over 920 postgraduate students. Some partners thought the north-south and south-south partnerships that evolved during the project were the main achievement. However, others found there to be a 'north-south divide' in certain aspects. Challenges included technical constraints and quality assurance. Additionally, adapting new teaching and learning methods into current university systems was challenging, combined with not being able to award students with credits for their degrees. The ARCADE projects were introduced as an innovative and ambitious project idea, although not designed appropriately for all partner institutions. Some challenges were underestimated

Findings of, and reflections on, the Gender, Lifelong Learning and Social Class (GLAS project. A UK partnership based perspective.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sue Betts

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the main findings of GLAS, a two-year, EC co-funded project to address potential barriers to lifelong learning. In considering the genesis of the project, its structure and partnership, we will discuss findings from the perspective of UK partners, Linking London. We will show that tackling complex issues of social inclusion requires the creative use of processes and strategies which already exist within higher education, and conclude by making recommendations for future research and action.

Neighborhood influences on perceived social support among parents: findings from the project on human development in Chicago neighborhoods.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shalini A Tendulkar

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Social support is frequently linked to positive parenting behavior. Similarly, studies increasingly show a link between neighborhood residential environment and positive parenting behavior. However, less is known about how the residential environment influences parental social support. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and collective efficacy and the level and change in parental caregiver perceptions of non-familial social support. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The data for this study came from three data sources, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN Study's Longitudinal Cohort Survey of caregivers and their offspring, a Community Survey of adult residents in these same neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Social support is measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and neighborhood characteristics are measured at Wave 1. Multilevel linear regression models are fit. The results show that neighborhood collective efficacy is a significant (ß = .04; SE = .02; p = .03, predictor of the positive change in perceived social support over a 7 year period, however, not of the level of social support, adjusting for key compositional variables and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. In contrast concentrated neighborhood disadvantage is not a significant predictor of either the level or change in social support. CONCLUSION: Our finding suggests that neighborhood collective efficacy may be important for inducing the perception of support from friends in parental caregivers over time.

IMPROVEMENT OF KEY PROCESSES THROUGH THE ANALYSIS OF VALUE ADDED IN TECHNOLOGY- BASED COMPANIES A SINGLE PROJECT PRODUCTIONS OF THE WATER SECTOR IN CUBA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reina Maylín, Hernández Oro

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present the main results of research designed to improve key business processes, using a procedure designed for this purpose, and which includes among its main stages, the analysis of value added by activity, adapting to technology based companies’ productions by one of the water sector project in Cuba. The procedure consistently combines different techniques such as multi-criteria decision analysis for selection of the key processes and analysis of value added by activity to identify key processes to improve and identify opportunities for improvement. The main results are able to identify, classify and relate the processes taking place in the organization, and represent them in a process map, and then determine the key processes for improvement, based on the analysis of value added at each process of each of the activities in it. Derived from the results obtained are proposed and implemented a set of organizational improvements had a positive economic impact for the company under study, allowing a positive conclusion on the feasibility of implementation, flexibility and robustness of the procedure developed in technology-based companies single project productions of the water sector in Cuba to support their business management.

Policy legitimacy - The key to long term Management of Radioactive Waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atherton, E.; Dalton, J.; Wild, D.

2003-01-01

Experience in the UK has shown that the central theme of delivering a solution is contingent on building a broad base of support for the long term management project. This is multi-layered, both in terms of local, regional and national political actors, but also across societal groups. Legitimacy is the key to success and needs to be understood in three main domains - equity, competence and economics. Finding the appropriate balance is essential for progress in the long term. (authors)

Application of scenario analysis in the investment projects evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brzaković Tomislav

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Investing represents an investment in the present to achieve certain effects in the future, and risk is an essential part of the investment process. Scenario analysis involves key risk factors of the project, its sensitivity to changes in key factors and the likelihood of their changes. Scenario analysis allows us to assign probabilities to the base case, the best case and the worst case so that we can find the expected value and standard deviation of the project's NPV to get a better idea of the project's risk. The goal is to determine whether it is possible to make relevant investment decisions on the basis of the parameters of projects risk, such as the standard deviation and the coefficient of variation. The paper is based on a mathematical model, applied to a specific agricultural company. In our case, the project has a wide range of possibilities and a large potential negative value, which suggests a great risk of the project. Although the scenario analysis shows a higher risk, it is not clear if the project should be accepted or not, and therefore, it is necessary to conduct simulation analysis, in order to get reliable answers.

Perceptions of key participants about Botswana adolescents' risks of unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV: Qualitative findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Magowe, Mabel K M; Seloilwe, Esther; Dithole, Kefalotse; St Lawrence, Janet

2017-10-01

The qualitative research findings are reported on the perceptions of key participants in Botswana about adolescent sexuality problems and the feasibility (with suggestions) of an adolescent prevention intervention. Twenty adult key participants who were selected through purposive sampling from schools and youth centers responded to open-ended questions during face-to-face individual in-depth interviews that were conducted between December, 2011 and January, 2012 in Gaborone, Botswana. The data were analyzed by using an inductive content analysis. Five major themes and 12 subthemes emerged from the interviews. The key participants discussed situations that exposed adolescents to HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy. They also discussed unsafe sexual practices, the consequences of unprotected sex, poor parent-adolescent communication on sexuality, and the need for a sexuality education program. Policy changes are needed to improve collaboration between adolescents, parents, teachers, and youth officers in order to address adolescent sexuality problems. Further research is needed to explore the ways in which to improve sexuality communication between these groups. The results of the study provide valuable information on the sexuality risks that expose adolescents to HIV, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections and the strategies for the prevention of these risks, thus informing targeted interventions for risk reduction for adolescents. © 2017 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.

Findings and recommendations of the competency based standards project for radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Egan, Ingrid

1993-01-01

In February 1992, the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition funded a $150,000 research project for the development of Competency Based Standards for the professions of Medical Radiation Science (MRS). The four professions of MRS are now considered to be: Radiography, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine Science and Sonography. The four national documents have aimed at describing the performances of the MRS practitioner at entry level to the profession. Findings from survey and interviews indicate that the existing structure of the undergraduate courses should be reviewed with emphasis on: problem solving skills, theater radiography, paediatric radiography, image interpretation or radiography pathology as well as venepuncture, if accepted nationally. . 5 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs

Public health impacts of city policies to reduce climate change: findings from the URGENCHE EU-China project.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabel, Clive E; Hiscock, Rosemary; Asikainen, Arja; Bi, Jun; Depledge, Mike; van den Elshout, Sef; Friedrich, Rainer; Huang, Ganlin; Hurley, Fintan; Jantunen, Matti; Karakitsios, Spyros P; Keuken, Menno; Kingham, Simon; Kontoroupis, Periklis; Kuenzli, Nino; Liu, Miaomiao; Martuzzi, Marco; Morton, Katie; Mudu, Pierpaolo; Niittynen, Marjo; Perez, Laura; Sarigiannis, Denis; Stahl-Timmins, Will; Tobollik, Myriam; Tuomisto, Jouni; Willers, Saskia

2016-03-08

Climate change is a global threat to health and wellbeing. Here we provide findings of an international research project investigating the health and wellbeing impacts of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in urban environments. Five European and two Chinese city authorities and partner academic organisations formed the project consortium. The methodology involved modelling the impact of adopted urban climate-change mitigation transport, buildings and energy policy scenarios, usually for the year 2020 and comparing them with business as usual (BAU) scenarios (where policies had not been adopted). Carbon dioxide emissions, health impacting exposures (air pollution, noise and physical activity), health (cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer and leukaemia) and wellbeing (including noise related wellbeing, overall wellbeing, economic wellbeing and inequalities) were modelled. The scenarios were developed from corresponding known levels in 2010 and pre-existing exposure response functions. Additionally there were literature reviews, three longitudinal observational studies and two cross sectional surveys. There are four key findings. Firstly introduction of electric cars may confer some small health benefits but it would be unwise for a city to invest in electric vehicles unless their power generation fuel mix generates fewer emissions than petrol and diesel. Second, adopting policies to reduce private car use may have benefits for carbon dioxide reduction and positive health impacts through reduced noise and increased physical activity. Third, the benefits of carbon dioxide reduction from increasing housing efficiency are likely to be minor and co-benefits for health and wellbeing are dependent on good air exchange. Fourthly, although heating dwellings by in-home biomass burning may reduce carbon dioxide emissions, consequences for health and wellbeing were negative with the technology in use in the cities studied. The climate-change reduction policies reduced

What Is the Key for Older People to Show Interest in Playing Digital Learning Games? Initial Qualitative Findings from the LEAGE Project on a Multicultural European Sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz-Orueta, Unai; Facal, David; Nap, Henk Herman; Ranga, Myrto-Maria

2012-04-01

Learning digital games can influence both older adults' health condition and their capacity to carry on activities in their actual environment. The goal of the current study was to explore and define the user requirements for developing digital learning games for older Europeans, focusing on types of learning games, motivational and social aspects, and preferences on game controllers. For this initial stage, a qualitative focus group study was performed in three participating countries (Spain, The Netherlands, and Greece) where both games existing in the market and others developed in other European Commission projects like HERMES were presented to them, both on video presentations and also with the possibility to actually test some of them. Challenge, socialization, fun, providing learning opportunities, and escape from daily routine were extracted as the main keys why older people would be interested in playing digital games. Users described themselves as active and participating in many leisure activities, and this level of activity appeared to be related with the contents proposed for digital games, such as physical activity, culture, arts, and other human sciences (history, geography, traveling, foreign languages, music), and daily life skills (cooking, computer use, first aid). The knowledge gathered from the focus groups will be used as input for the design of a learning game that will be largely compatible with the needs and abilities of a wide range of older Europeans.

Information dissemination and training: two key issues for consolidating and strengthening the results of health telematic projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Arcarese, T; Boi, S; Gagliardi, R

2000-01-01

The concepts expressed in this paper concerns the activities to be developed within HEALTHLINE, a European project under the Telematics Application programme. HEALTHLINE is an umbrella project which takes initiatives and provides links to other international projects on health telematics. The projects involved are NIVEMES and RISE; they represent the starting point from which a common approach will be developed. The experience gained from these projects has highlighted two emerging requirements: information dissemination and training. To fulfil the needs of information, an Internet corner will be set up; it will allow citizens and health professionals to find and exchange information as well as to discuss themes concerning health care. Due to the most advanced technologies recently introduced, the Health care sector has had to modify its traditional ways of working to aid professionals in exploiting new training techniques and Health Care provision methods. HEALTHLINE will focus on training and on the development of the use of new tools and services. Furthermore, the project will exploit the training methodologies based on multimedia technology for developing training-on-the-job modules. The entire system, in its final stage, will consist of a network for co-operating training and information dissemination; European sites in the project will share information, training material and provide education and information on tele-health, medical and health-care issues to health care providers, beneficiaries and the general public.

Postface "The GITEWS Project – results, summary and outlook"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. Münch

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This paper reflects the experiences and results gained during the GITEWS project (German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System, which was funded by the Federal German Ministry of Education and Research between spring 2005 and spring 2011. Many of the individual results have been presented at international conferences and in international journals. The NHESS special issue offers a comprehensive overview of the key findings within the project and the first phase of operation of the warning system.

Implementation of municipal health promoting projects in primary schools: teachers perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordin, Lone Lindegard

2013-01-01

. The project is funded by the Danish Ministry of Science, University of Aarhus and Silkeborg municipality, and involves 5 primary schools, 23 teachers and 233 pupils from 7th to 9 class. The project is positioned within the critical approach to school health education and health promotion, developed......Implementation of municipally health promoting projects' in primary schools: teachers perspective Research question This paper discusses the findings from a qualitative research, that aimed to investigate how teachers in primary schools implemented municipal health promoting projects focusing...... that there is a “gap” between policy and practice according to aim, content and methods, and that teachers practice can be explained as coping mechanism. The key findings include: • Teachers practice is closer to traditional health education than critical health education. • Teachers priorities the mandatory teaching...

Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States: Key Findings

Science.gov (United States)

Garfin, G. M.

2012-12-01

The Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States, is a technical input to the National Climate Assessment. The 121-author report summarizes knowledge about climate change and its impacts across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The report looks at links between climate and natural resources, vulnerabilities to climate variability and change across the region and along the U.S.-Mexico border, and adaptation and mitigation choices for addressing future changes. The period since 1950 has been warmer than any period of comparable length in the last 600 years. Droughts of the past 2,000 years have exceeded the most severe and sustained drought during 1901-2010. In the last decade, flows in the major river basins of the Southwest have been lower than their 20th century averages; many snowmelt-fed streams in the region exhibited earlier snowmelt and earlier center of mass of annual streamflows. Climate models project continued temperature increases, with longer and hotter summer heat waves. Average precipitation is projected to decrease in the southern part of the region. Reduced streamflows are projected for the Rio Grande, Colorado, and San Joaquin rivers. More frequent and intense winter flooding is projected for the western Sierra Nevada, whereas Colorado Front Range summer flooding is projected to increase. Observed ecosystems impacts include changes in phenology, widespread forest disturbance due to the confluence of drought, increased temperatures, and changes to insect life cycles. Area burned by wildfire is projected to increase in most of the Southwest. Plant and animal species' distributions will be affected by climate change, and studies show that observed climate changes are strongly associated with observed changes in species' distributions. California coastal ecosystems will be affected by a combination of ocean warming, reduced oxygen content, sea level rise and ocean acidification. When west coast sea levels are

SEI Innovation Center Report: Cyber Intelligence Tradecraft Project: Summary of Key Findings

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

source news, social media ), and focuses collection on the pertinent threats and strategic needs analysts identify while learning about their...difficult to correlate with other data sources (network data, social media , chat rooms, geopolitical news sites) and complicates trend analysis or...use of commonly exploited software, prohibiting USB storage devices, and impeding access to websites associated with scams and malware make it very

Status and trends of European pollinators. Key findings of the STEP project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Potts, S.; Biesmeijer, K.; Bommarco, R.; Kleijn, D.; Scheper, J.A.

2015-01-01

Natural Capital, and the ecosystem services derived from it, are essential to human well-be-
ing and economic prosperity. Indeed, nature inspires and provides many solutions that can
help us tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For example, pollinators
matter

Successes and challenges of north–south partnerships – key lessons from the African/Asian Regional Capacity Development projects

Science.gov (United States)

Färnman, Rosanna; Diwan, Vishal; Zwarenstein, Merrick; Atkins, Salla

2016-01-01

Introduction Increasing efforts are being made globally on capacity building. North–south research partnerships have contributed significantly to enhancing the research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the past few decades; however, a lack of skilled researchers to inform health policy development persists, particularly in LMICs. The EU FP7 funded African/Asian Regional Capacity Development (ARCADE) projects were multi-partner consortia aimed to develop a new generation of highly trained researchers from universities across the globe, focusing on global health-related subjects: health systems and services research and research on social determinants of health. This article aims to outline the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the life course of the projects, focusing on the key outputs and experiences of developing and implementing these two projects together with sub-Saharan African, Asian and European institution partners. Design Sixteen participants from 12 partner institutions were interviewed. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis, which resulted in four themes and three sub-categories. These data were complemented by a review of project reports. Results The results indicated that the ARCADE projects have been successful in developing and delivering courses, and have reached over 920 postgraduate students. Some partners thought the north–south and south–south partnerships that evolved during the project were the main achievement. However, others found there to be a ‘north–south divide’ in certain aspects. Challenges included technical constraints and quality assurance. Additionally, adapting new teaching and learning methods into current university systems was challenging, combined with not being able to award students with credits for their degrees. Conclusion The ARCADE projects were introduced as an innovative and ambitious project idea, although not designed appropriately for all partner

Successes and challenges of north–south partnerships – key lessons from the African/Asian Regional Capacity Development projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosanna Färnman

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Increasing efforts are being made globally on capacity building. North–south research partnerships have contributed significantly to enhancing the research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs over the past few decades; however, a lack of skilled researchers to inform health policy development persists, particularly in LMICs. The EU FP7 funded African/Asian Regional Capacity Development (ARCADE projects were multi-partner consortia aimed to develop a new generation of highly trained researchers from universities across the globe, focusing on global health-related subjects: health systems and services research and research on social determinants of health. This article aims to outline the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the life course of the projects, focusing on the key outputs and experiences of developing and implementing these two projects together with sub-Saharan African, Asian and European institution partners. Design: Sixteen participants from 12 partner institutions were interviewed. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis, which resulted in four themes and three sub-categories. These data were complemented by a review of project reports. Results: The results indicated that the ARCADE projects have been successful in developing and delivering courses, and have reached over 920 postgraduate students. Some partners thought the north–south and south–south partnerships that evolved during the project were the main achievement. However, others found there to be a ‘north–south divide’ in certain aspects. Challenges included technical constraints and quality assurance. Additionally, adapting new teaching and learning methods into current university systems was challenging, combined with not being able to award students with credits for their degrees. Conclusion: The ARCADE projects were introduced as an innovative and ambitious project idea, although not designed

Male mental health problems, psychopathy, and personality traits: key findings from the first 14 years of the Pittsburgh Youth Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Loeber, R; Farrington, D P; Stouthamer-Loeber, M; Moffitt, T E; Caspi, A; Lynam, D

2001-12-01

This paper reviews key findings on juvenile mental health problems in boys, psychopathy, and personality traits, obtained in the first 14 years of studies using data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study. This is a study of 3 samples, each of about 500 boys initially randomly drawn from boys in the 1st, 4th, and 7th grades of public schools in Pittsburgh. The boys have been followed regularly, initially each half year, and later at yearly intervals. Currently, the oldest boys are about 25 years old, whereas the youngest boys are about 19. Findings are presented on the prevalence and interrelation of disruptive behaviors, ADHD, and depressed mood. Results concerning risk factors for these outcomes are reviewed. Psychological factors such as psychopathy, impulsivity, and personality are described. The paper closes with findings on service delivery of boys with mental health problems.

Time Overrun in Construction Project

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, I.; Shafiq, Nasir; Nuruddin, M. F.

2017-12-01

Timely completion is the key criteria to achieve success in any project despite the industry. Unfortunately construction industry in Malaysia has been labelled as industry facing poor performance leading to failure in achieving effective time management. As the consequence most of the project face huge amount of time overrun. This study assesses the causes of construction projects time overrun in Malaysia using structured questionnaire survey. Each respondent is asked to assign a one-to-five rating for each of the 18 time factors identified from literature review. Out of the 50 questionnaires sent out, 33 were received back representing 68% of the response rate. Data received from the questionnaires were analysed and processed using the descriptive statistics procedures. Findings from the study revealed that design and documentation issues, project management and contract administration, ineffective project planning and scheduling, contractor’s site management, financial resource management were the major factors that cause the time overrun. This study is hoped to help the practitioners to implement the mitigation measure at planning stage in order to achieve successful construction projects.

Evaluation of a tuberculosis active case finding project in peri-urban areas, Myanmar: 2014-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Aye, Sandar; Majumdar, Suman S; Oo, Myo Minn; Tripathy, Jaya Prasad; Satyanarayana, S; Kyaw, Nang Thu Thu; Kyaw, Khine Wut Yee; Oo, Nay Lynn; Thein, Saw; Thu, Myat Kyaw; Soe, Kyaw Thu; Aung, Si Thu

2018-05-01

We assessed the effect of an active case finding (ACF) project on tuberculosis (TB) case notification and the yields from a household and neigbourhood intervention (screening contacts of historical index TB patients diagnosed >24months ago) and a community intervention (screening attendants of health education sessions/mobile clinics). Cross-sectional analysis of project records, township TB registers and annual TB reports. In the household and neigbourhood intervention, of 56,709 people screened, 1,076 were presumptive TB and 74 patients were treated for active TB with a screening yield of 0.1% and a yield from presumptive cases of 6.9%. In the community intervention, of 162,881 people screened, 4,497 were presumptive TB and 984 were treated for active TB with a screening yield of 0.6% and yield from presumptive cases of 21.9%. Of active TB cases, 94% were new, 89% were pulmonary, 44% were bacteriologically-confirmed and 5% had HIV. Case notification rates per 100,000 in project townships increased from 142 during baseline (2011-2013) to 148 during intervention (2014-2016) periods. The yield from household and neigbourhood intervention was lower than community intervention. This finding highlights reconsidering the strategy of screening of contacts from historical index cases. Strategies to reach high-risk groups should be explored for future ACF interventions to increase yield of TB. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A natural language processing program effectively extracts key pathologic findings from radical prostatectomy reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Brian J; Merchant, Madhur; Zheng, Chengyi; Thomas, Anil A; Contreras, Richard; Jacobsen, Steven J; Chien, Gary W

2014-12-01

Natural language processing (NLP) software programs have been widely developed to transform complex free text into simplified organized data. Potential applications in the field of medicine include automated report summaries, physician alerts, patient repositories, electronic medical record (EMR) billing, and quality metric reports. Despite these prospects and the recent widespread adoption of EMR, NLP has been relatively underutilized. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of an internally developed NLP program in extracting select pathologic findings from radical prostatectomy specimen reports in the EMR. An NLP program was generated by a software engineer to extract key variables from prostatectomy reports in the EMR within our healthcare system, which included the TNM stage, Gleason grade, presence of a tertiary Gleason pattern, histologic subtype, size of dominant tumor nodule, seminal vesicle invasion (SVI), perineural invasion (PNI), angiolymphatic invasion (ALI), extracapsular extension (ECE), and surgical margin status (SMS). The program was validated by comparing NLP results to a gold standard compiled by two blinded manual reviewers for 100 random pathology reports. NLP demonstrated 100% accuracy for identifying the Gleason grade, presence of a tertiary Gleason pattern, SVI, ALI, and ECE. It also demonstrated near-perfect accuracy for extracting histologic subtype (99.0%), PNI (98.9%), TNM stage (98.0%), SMS (97.0%), and dominant tumor size (95.7%). The overall accuracy of NLP was 98.7%. NLP generated a result in report. This novel program demonstrated high accuracy and efficiency identifying key pathologic details from the prostatectomy report within an EMR system. NLP has the potential to assist urologists by summarizing and highlighting relevant information from verbose pathology reports. It may also facilitate future urologic research through the rapid and automated creation of large databases.

Strengthening government health and family planning programs: findings from an action research project in rural Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Simmons, R; Phillips, J F; Rahman, M

1984-01-01

An ongoing study at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) is based on the premise that public sector health and family planning programs can be improved through an assessment of the dysfunctional aspects of their operations, the development of problem-solving capabilities, and the transfer of strategies successfully tested in a small-scale pilot project. This paper reports findings from a field trial implemented in a subunit of the project area at an early stage of the project. Operational barriers to public sector program implementation are discussed with regard to the quantity of work, the quality of work, supplies and facilities, integration of health and family planning, and leadership, supervision, and decision making. Initial results of the ICDDR,B intervention on these managerial processes are also indicated.

Analysis of Variance of the Effects of a Project’s Location on Key Issues and Challenges in Post-Disaster Reconstruction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dzulkarnaen Ismail

2017-11-01

Full Text Available After a disaster, the reconstruction phase is driven by immediate challenges. One of the main challenges in the post-disaster period is the way that reconstruction projects are implemented. Reconstruction cannot move forward until some complex issues are settled. The purposes of this research are to highlight the issues and challenges in post-disaster reconstruction (PDR projects and to determine the significant differences between the issues and challenges in different locations where PDR projects are carried out. The researchers collected data within international non-governmental organisations (INGOs on their experience of working with PDR projects. The findings of this research provide the foundation on which to build strategies for avoiding project failures; this may be useful for PDR project practitioners in the future.

Landscape ecological impact of climatic change some preliminary findings of the LICC Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boer, M.M.

1991-01-01

The main objectives of the LICC project are to address the potential effects of a future climatic change on (semi-) natural terrestrial ecosystems and landscapes in Europe; six case studies are covered: alpine regions, boreal and subartic regions, Mediterranean region, fluvial systems, wetlands and coastal dunes. Preliminary findings showed a serious lack in fundamental ecological knowledge. Assessment of potential effects involved changes in water and sediment fluxes, changes in the vegetation cover, species response, dispersal and migration in a fragmented landscape and modification of climate impacts by man

Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact: Kalina Geothermal Demonstration Project Steamboat Springs, Nevada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

N/A

1999-02-22

The Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) to provide the DOE and other public agency decision makers with the environmental documentation required to take informed discretionary action on the proposed Kalina Geothermal Demonstration project. The EA assesses the potential environmental impacts and cumulative impacts, possible ways to minimize effects associated with partial funding of the proposed project, and discusses alternatives to DOE actions. The DOE will use this EA as a basis for their decision to provide financial assistance to Exergy, Inc. (Exergy), the project applicant. Based on the analysis in the EA, DOE has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human or physical environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required and DOE is issuing this Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

Software metrics: The key to quality software on the NCC project

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Patricia J.

1993-01-01

Network Control Center (NCC) Project metrics are captured during the implementation and testing phases of the NCCDS software development lifecycle. The metrics data collection and reporting function has interfaces with all elements of the NCC project. Close collaboration with all project elements has resulted in the development of a defined and repeatable set of metrics processes. The resulting data are used to plan and monitor release activities on a weekly basis. The use of graphical outputs facilitates the interpretation of progress and status. The successful application of metrics throughout the NCC project has been instrumental in the delivery of quality software. The use of metrics on the NCC Project supports the needs of the technical and managerial staff. This paper describes the project, the functions supported by metrics, the data that are collected and reported, how the data are used, and the improvements in the quality of deliverable software since the metrics processes and products have been in use.

Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards a guide to measuring and monitoring project performance

CERN Document Server

Kerzner, Harold

2017-01-01

With the growth of complex projects, stakeholder involvement, and advancements in visual-based technology, metrics and KPIs (key performance indicators) are key factors in evaluating project performance. Dashboard reporting systems provide accessible project performance data, and sharing this vital data in a concise and consistent manner is a key communication responsibility of all project managers. This 3rd edition of Kerzner’s groundbreaking work includes the following updates: new sections on processing dashboard information, portfolio management PMO and metrics, and BI tool flexibility. PPT decks by chapter and a test bank will be available for use in seminar presentations and courses.

Key finding and messages (Rapporteur's report)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, Peter

2003-01-01

It is clear that the fundamental environmental principle of User Pays is being applied to waste management. This is very important, as the principle is one of the basic tenets of the environmental movement. For Radioactive waste management to be in accord with the principle is a powerful and positive statement. There are Acts of Parliament, Decrees, or Directives, which provide the authority for the funds to be established and preserved. This is important as it demonstrates, at the highest possible level, that there will be funds available to deal with the issue of waste management, including disposal, in the future. This is a powerful message that makes clear that the issue is important and that it will be addressed. Some countries establish decommissioning and waste management funds together. In other cases the two funds are separate. In addition to a moral requirement based in the principle of User Pays, and a legal requirement to establish funds for decommissioning and/or disposal there is a clear statement in the IAEA Convention on Safety or Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management (1997) that adequate financial resources be available for long-term management and disposal. These three fundamental requirements clearly signal that this is an important financial issue, and that the nuclear community takes it seriously. We clearly pay homage to the principle of User Pays and have identified the requirement to establish funds not only in state legislation but also as a requirement in an international convention. Clearly there is a capability to determine the dimension and magnitude of all of the potential waste liabilities and to develop a waste management strategy to deal with these liabilities. However, the cost estimation of these liabilities contain considerable uncertainties as they are projected over many years into the future. There are considerable uncertainties related to the growth of the funds as a result of the chosen investment strategy, the

Transforming the energy efficiency market in California: Key findings, lessons learned and future directions from California's market effects studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vine, Edward

2013-01-01

In the last three years, the California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE), along with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), managed three market effects studies that were funded by the CPUC. This paper summarizes the key findings from these studies that focused on compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), residential new construction (RNC), and high bay lighting (HBL), with a particular focus on changes to California's market effects evaluation protocol and lessons learned during the evaluation of market effects. This paper also summarizes the key results from a survey that was conducted by CIEE in February 2011 to determine what additional studies should be conducted in the evaluation of market effects. - Highlights: • We summarize three market effects studies and provide lessons learned. • Collect baseline market data as early as possible and throughout program lifecycle. • Estimate market effects throughout a program's lifecycle. • Require hypothesis testing as part of the evaluation. • Include elements of market effects evaluation in other program evaluations

INVAP and its project management capabilities: a key to company success

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salvatore, Marcelo; Delgado, Ricardo; Niklison, Carlos; Ordonez, Juan Pablo; Gerbino, Juan Jose Gil

2002-01-01

Over the past 26 years, several factors have contributed to INVAP's projection into domestic and overseas operations. Of these, the most recognized is of course the technological capabilities INVAP keeps developing to satisfy our customer's requirements. In a second thought, the other factor is the strategic objective of providing specific purpose customer oriented solutions. The less obvious third important factor in this trilogy is the successful application of Project Management techniques and methods. INVAP's vision on Project Management encompasses well known concepts as: Integrated Management, Proactive solutions, Cost Control and Reporting, Quality Assurance, Target Schedules, Performance Requirements, Risk Management, Configuration Management and Integrated Logistic Support. After 2 years of execution of the Replacement Research Reactor Project for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, our Project Management methodology have allowed us to timely meet all project milestones, complete basic and detail engineering, timely deliver the preliminary safety reports, manufacture and test technological concepts in specifically built mock ups and overcome risky situations -like the economical panorama in Argentina- without jeopardizing our Contractual commitments. Present paper depicts the practical approach INVAP has for Project Management -particularly within the Nuclear Division-, and a description of the tools to such aim developed. (author)

Phase 1 studies summary of major findings of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, South San Francisco Bay, California

Science.gov (United States)

Valoppi, Laura

2018-04-02

Wildlife, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.To implement the AMP, the PMT have selected and funded applied studies and monitoring projects to address key uncertainties. This information is used by the PMT to make decisions about current management of the project area and future restoration actions in order to meet project.This document summarizes the major scientific findings from studies conducted from 2009 to 2016, as part of the science program that was conducted in conjunction with Phase 1 restoration and management actions. Additionally, this report summarizes the management response to the study results under the guidance of the AMP framework and provides a list of suggested studies to be conducted in “Phase 2–A scorecard summarizing the Project’s progress toward meeting the AMP goals for a range of Project objectives.” The scoring to date indicates that the Project is meeting or exceeding expectations for sediment accretion and western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) recovery. There is uncertainty with respect to objectives for California gulls (Larus californicus), California least tern (Sternula antillarum), steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and regulatory water quality objectives. Water quality and algal blooms, specifically of the managed ponds, is indicated as trending negative. However, the vast majority of objectives are trending positive, including increased abundance for a number of bird guilds, increasing marsh habitat, maintenance of mudflats, visitor experience, estuarine fish numbers, and special-status marsh species numbers.

On-going activities of the EC project ''Benipa'' current status, key issues and achievements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alonso, J.

2003-01-01

BENIPA (Bentonite Barriers in Integrated Performance Assessment) is a research project, within the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Union, which was started on September 2000 and is has a duration of 36 months. The overall objective of BENIPA is to assess the state of the art in the treatment of bentonite barriers in Integrated Performance Assessment, evaluating the capacity and consistency of methods and data available to convincingly justify the capacity of bentonite to perform their assigned safety functions. During the first part of the project different bentonite barrier concepts have been reviewed and four reference cases have been defined for the modelling work in the project. FEP's Databases have been created and the scientific and technical bases for the analysis of bentonite barriers have been reviewed. In the second part of the project. as a step previous to modelling, an analysis of models for the mechanical, hydrological, thermal and chemical conditions is carried out, along with a review of the needs in input data. In BENIPA, calculations at process and integrated level are currently being performed among different codes to check consistency and sufficiency or complementarity for fulfilling the needs of performance assessment. However, since it is too early to present some of the results or even the individual contributions of the partners, the modelling and calculations being currently carried out by ENRESA will be advanced, just as a representative example of the work going on. This paper summarises the work already done in BENIPA and provides with illustrations of the modelling work consisting of the approach followed by ENRESA in applying three codes: CODE-BRIGHT, CORE 2D and GOLDSIM. The processes considered, simplifications adopted, limitations imposed and preliminary findings of the work are mentioned along. (author)

Public health impacts of city policies to reduce climate change: Findings from the URGENCHE EU-China project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sabel, C.E.; Hiscock, R.; Asikainen, A.; Bi, J.; Depledge, M.; Van Den Elshout, S.; Friedrich, R.; Huang, G.; Hurley, F.; Jantunen, M.; Karakitsios, S.P.; Keuken, M.; Kingham, S.; Kontoroupis, P.; Kuenzli, N.; Liu, M.; Martuzzi, M.; Morton, K.; Mudu, P.; Niittynen, M.; Perez, L.; Sarigiannis, D.; Stahl-Timmins, W.; Tobollik, M.; Tuomisto, J.; Willers, S.

2016-01-01

Background: Climate change is a global threat to health and wellbeing. Here we provide findings of an international research project investigating the health and wellbeing impacts of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in urban environments. Methods: Five European and two Chinese city

Promoting Energy-Balance Behaviors among Ethnically Diverse Adolescents: Overview and Baseline Findings of the Central Texas CATCH Middle School Project

Science.gov (United States)

Springer, Andrew E.; Kelder, Steven H.; Byrd-Williams, Courtney E.; Pasch, Keryn E.; Ranjit, Nalini; Delk, Joanne E.; Hoelscher, Deanna M.

2013-01-01

The Central Texas Coordinated Approach To Child Health (CATCH) Middle School Project is a 3.5-year school-based project aimed at promoting physical activity (PA), healthy eating, and obesity prevention among public middle school students in Texas. This article describes the CATCH intervention model and presents baseline findings from spring 2009.…

Project Leadership and Quality Performance of Construction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SPG Buba

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: The construction industry in Nigeria, is pigeonholed by poor quality of construction products as a result of the inherent corruption in the country. Lack of purposeful leadership and inappropriate choice of leadership styles in the industry have been attributed to project failure. Abandoned and failed projects are more predominant in the public sector which litters every corner of the country. Objectives: The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of leadership styles on quality performance criteria of public projects in Nigeria. Methodology: A total of 43 questionnaires were distributed to 3 key groups of respondents (Quantity Surveyors, Builders, and Architects who are project managers in Nigeria. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used to analyse the data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS. Likert Scale was used to measure the independent variables (leadership style: facilitative, coaching, delegating and directing; and the level of achievement of projects based on the dependent variables (quality and function performance criteria which are: achieving highest aesthetic quality; and functional building that fits its purpose. Findings: The study revealed that Directing is the major leadership style used by project managers in Nigeria. Amongst the leadership styles which has the most impact on quality performance indicators is also directing which has the most relative influence on achieving highest aesthetic quality and functional building that fits its purpose. Conclusion/Recommendation/Way forward: The underlying relationship between Directing leadership styles and the performance criteria of achieving highest aesthetic quality and functional building that fits its purpose will be beneficial to the Nigerian construction environment.

Geriatric cancer trends in the Middle-East: Findings from Lebanese cancer projections until 2025.

Science.gov (United States)

Haddad, Fady Gh; Kattan, Joseph; Kourie, Hampig R; El Rassy, Elie; Assi, Tarek; Adib, Salim M

2018-03-01

By 2020, 70% of all cancers will occur in patients aged 65years and older, causing an increase in related morbidity, mortality, and cost. This study projects cancer trends in the elderly population in Lebanon, a country experiencing accelerating aging trends. Findings will guide future policy decisions regarding geriatric oncology in Lebanon and the surrounding Arab world. Cancer incidence rates were derived for men and women 65years and above, divided into three age groups: 65-69years, 70-74years, and 75years and above. Raw data were obtained from the National Cancer Registry reports 2003-2010. The eight consecutive year data were used to project the incidence until 2025 using a logarithmic model. The Average Annual Percent Change in incidence rates was calculated to determine whether it would significantly increase, decrease, or remain stable over time. Incidence rates are projected to increase significantly in all age groups of both genders until 2025. In men, the fastest rise is expected in prostate cancer, followed by bladder, lung, colorectal, and NHL. In women, the rise will be fastest in breast, followed by colorectal, lung, NHL, and ovary. Projected rates increase faster in the "younger" age group 65-69 compared to the "oldest" ≥75, both in men and women. Only kidney and liver cancers continue to rise significantly after 75. Cancer incidence is projected to increase in individuals between 65 and 74years of age. Lebanese and Middle Eastern physicians must implement adapted therapeutic strategies in the management of the increasing caseload among frail, elderly patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The National Television Violence Study: Key Findings and Recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Young Children, 1996

1996-01-01

Summarizes findings of the Television Violence Study indicating that the context of much television violence is dangerous to viewers, perpetrators go unpunished in the majority of programs, negative consequences of violence are often ignored, guns feature prominently, and presentation of violence differs greatly across networks and across…

Understanding Applications of Project Planning and Scheduling in Construction Projects

OpenAIRE

AlNasseri, Hammad Abdullah

2015-01-01

Construction project life-cycle processes must be managed in a more effective and predictable way to meet project stakeholders’ needs. However, there is increasing concern about whether know-how effectively improves understanding of underlying theories of project management processes for construction organizations and their project managers. Project planning and scheduling are considered as key and challenging tools in controlling and monitoring project performance, but many worldwide constru...

Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards a guide to measuring and monitoring project performance

CERN Document Server

Kerzner, Harold

2013-01-01

Today, with the growth of complex projects, stakeholder involvement in projects, advances in computer technology for dashboard designs, metrics, and key performance indicators for project management have become an important focus. This Second Edition of the bestselling book walks readers through everything from the basics of project management metrics and key performance indicators to establishing targets and using dashboards to monitor performance. The content is aligned with PMI's PMBOK Guide and stresses "value" as the main focal point.

Neighborhood influences on perceived social support among parents: findings from the project on human development in Chicago neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Tendulkar, Shalini A; Koenen, Karestan C; Dunn, Erin C; Buka, Stephen; Subramanian, S V

2012-01-01

Social support is frequently linked to positive parenting behavior. Similarly, studies increasingly show a link between neighborhood residential environment and positive parenting behavior. However, less is known about how the residential environment influences parental social support. To address this gap, we examine the relationship between neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and collective efficacy and the level and change in parental caregiver perceptions of non-familial social support. The data for this study came from three data sources, the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) Study's Longitudinal Cohort Survey of caregivers and their offspring, a Community Survey of adult residents in these same neighborhoods and the 1990 Census. Social support is measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and neighborhood characteristics are measured at Wave 1. Multilevel linear regression models are fit. The results show that neighborhood collective efficacy is a significant (ß = .04; SE = .02; p = .03), predictor of the positive change in perceived social support over a 7 year period, however, not of the level of social support, adjusting for key compositional variables and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage. In contrast concentrated neighborhood disadvantage is not a significant predictor of either the level or change in social support. Our finding suggests that neighborhood collective efficacy may be important for inducing the perception of support from friends in parental caregivers over time.

A European Seal of Approval for 'gay' businesses: findings from an HIV-prevention pilot project.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherriff, Nigel; Gugglberger, Lisa

2014-05-01

'Gay' businesses can be important settings through which to deliver health promotion interventions to vulnerable populations, such as men who have sex with men (MSM) regarding HIV prevention. This article draws on data from the European Everywhere project, which represents the first scheme to develop and pre-test a common framework for HIV/STI prevention in 'gay' businesses across eight European countries. The scientific basis of the Everywhere framework was developed using a comprehensive consensus-building process over 30 months. This process included: formative scoping research; interviews with 54 'gay' businesses; meetings/workshops with representatives from project partners, 'gay' businesses, public health administrations and external experts; 15 interviews and three focus groups with project partners; a five-month pilot action phase in eight countries, together with support from the project's Advisory Group; and all Everywhere project partners including the Scientific Steering Committee. A voluntary European code setting out differentiated HIV/STI-prevention standards for 'gay' businesses (including sex venues, 'gay' and 'gay' friendly social spaces, travel agencies, hotels, dating websites) was developed and piloted in eight European cities. During a five-month pilot action, 83 'gay' businesses were certified with the Everywhere Seal of Approval representing a considerable increase on the expected pilot target of 30. Everywhere offers a major contribution to the public health and/or health promotion field in the form of a practical, policy-relevant, settings-based HIV-prevention framework for 'gay' businesses that is common across eight European countries. Findings suggest that a European-wide model of prevention is acceptable and feasible to businesses.

McArthur River project - the future of Key Lake

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spross, J.

1994-01-01

The Key Lake mill has operated since the fall of 1983. The ore from both Key Lake open pits will be depleted by 1997. It is planned to use this mill, located about 60 km southwest of McArthur, to process the McArthur River ore. While the geological data collected so far on the McArthur deposit are encouraging, more information of the deposit is needed before any detailed mine planning can begin. The surface drilling program identified the orebody and provided information on the geomechanical and hydrological properties of the overlying sandstone. It was proposed to conduct an underground exploration program to further delineate the orebody. This was approved following a public hearing and review process. This program involves the sinking of a 630 metre deep shaft and the driving of one or two drifts along a portion of the orebody. From these drifts, exploration drilling every 10 m to 15 m through the orebody will provide the information required for the preparation of a feasibility study and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). (author). 4 refs., 8 figs

The unique process for the Key Lake project, Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Floeter, W.

1983-01-01

The paper describes the Key Lake plant and its cost controls. The plant is unlike any other previously put into operation so a detailed accounting system has had to be developed to itemize all capital and operating costs. This cost system is described in detail and a distribution of capital and operating costs between major areas is given

Mars’ First Billion Years: Key Findings, Key Unsolved Paradoxes, and Future Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Ehlmann, Bethany

2017-10-01

In the evolution of terrestrial planets, the first billion years are the period most shrouded in mystery: How vigorous is early atmospheric loss? How do planetary climates respond to a brightening sun? When and how are plate tectonic recycling processes initiated? How do voluminous volcanism and heavy impact bombardment influence the composition of the atmosphere? Under what conditions might life arise? Looking outward to terrestrial planets around other stars, the record from Venus, Earth and Mars in this solar system is crucial for developing models of physical can chemical processes. Of these three worlds, Mars provides the longest record of planetary evolution from the first billion years, comprising >50% of exposed geologic units, which are only lightly overprinted by later processes.Orbital observations of the last decade have revealed abundant evidence for surface waters in the form of lakes, valley networks, and evidence of chemically open-system near-surface weathering. Groundwaters at temperatures ranging from just above freezing to hydrothermal have also left a rich record of process in the mineralogical record. A rsuite of environments - similar in diversity to Earth’s - has been discovered on Mars with water pH, temperature, redox, and chemistries varying in space and time.Here, I will focus on the consequences of the aqueous alteration of the Martian crust on the composition of the atmosphere based on recent work studying aspects of the volatile budget (Usui et al., 2015; Edwards & Ehlmann, 2015; Hu et al., 2015; Jakosky et al., 2017, Wordsworth et al., 2017, and Ehlmann, in prep.). The solid crust and mantle of Mars act as volatile reservoirs and volatile sources through volcanism, mineral precipitation, and release of gases. We examine the extent to which the budget is understood or ill-understood for hydrogen and carbon, and associated phases H2O, CO2, and CH4. Additionally, I identify some key stratigraphies where a combination of focused in

Enabling strategic projects: assessment of key instruments for national spatial planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Savini, F.; Salet, W.; Majoor, S.

2010-01-01

This research focuses on the instruments and tools which national planning agencies have at their disposal to intervene and get involved in strategic projects. The research examines how strategic national visions are translated into interventions in local projects across the Dutch territory. This

PROJECT - RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION: ANTHROPOLOGICAL PROJECTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina Aleksandrovna Ignat’eva

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the research was to denote a way to solve the problem of education mana-gement ΄s insufficient efficiency considered from the point of view of education opportunities to influence on the formation of mechanisms for sustainable development of society as a whole and its educational component. The concept «project-resource management of innovation in education» regarded on the basis of the anthropological project-transforming paradigm. Conceptually-categorical context presented by conceptual cluster composed of coordinated concepts «project», «resource», «educational reality», «organizational-resource potential», «project commonality». In the theoretical part of the study on the basis of analysis of the normative and exploratory approaches to educational innovations organization and management it was established the search approach ΄s leading role in the methodological substantiation of project-resource management. The study have indicated that in the presence of variable models of innovation management in education, corresponding to various predictive models of continuing education post-industrial society, project-resource management is an universal mechanism for the transition from separate innovation΄s precedents to the an authentic reality of innovative education. In the technological part of the study the main concern was to submit the project-resource management by the management goal’s system, each of which includes the specific management actions, projected results and the organizational forms. The project-resource management ΄s professional – activity context of the study showed evolution of managerial positions: an effective performer – an effective leader – strategist, implemented during the transition from directly directive management to the project management and further to the project-resource management. Based on the findings identified the key factors of initiatively-problem projects

Improving food and agricultural production. Thailand. Project findings and recommendations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

This document is the terminal report of a United Nations Development Program project to improve food and agricultural production in Thailand by means of nuclear and related technology. The project resulted in improved mutant material to be made available to plant breeders as well as in reports and recommendations on soil-water-plant management practices and livestock management. An additional benefit has been the specialized training that has been provided to many researchers in the country through the project

The "Finding Physics" Project: Recognizing and Exploring Physics Outside the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Judith; Perkins, James

2016-11-01

Students in introductory physics classes often have difficulty recognizing the relevance of physics concepts outside the confines of the physics classroom, lab, and textbook. Even though textbooks and instructors often provide examples of physics applications from a wide array of areas, students have difficulty relating physics to their own lives. Encouraging students to apply physics to their own surroundings helps them develop the critical analysis skills of a scientifically literate and competent citizen. Fink, in his book Creating Significant Learning Experiences, emphasizes the importance of constructing opportunities to help students connect what they learn in their academic courses with past and current life experiences and link them to possible future life experiences. Several excellent papers in this journal have presented labs and activities that address this concern by encouraging teachers to bring real-world examples into the classroom or to take students into the field for data collection and observation. Alternatively, Smith suggests a writing exercise in which his students identify and explain an event in terms of their understanding of physics. In this paper we present a multiphase exercise that challenges students to find their own examples of physics from outside the classroom and analyze them using the conceptual understanding and quantitative skills which they are developing in the classroom. The ultimate goal of the "Finding Physics" project is to improve students' learning through enhancing their recognition that, to quote one participant's end-of-course survey, "Physics is everywhere!"

Influence of organizational and project cultures on project success

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berdykulova G. M.

2017-10-01

Full Text Available the article is dedicated to studying the influence of organizational and project cultures on effective project management of the company by knowledge systematization and the comparative analysis of world companies’ practice that allowed to reveal the main factors and criteria of projects success and negative influence of organizational culture on the project; key aspects of corporate culture and cultural integration under the conditions of globalization.

Lessons Learned about Plug-in Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure from The EV Project and ChargePoint America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smart, John Galloway [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Salisbury, Shawn Douglas [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-07-01

This report summarizes key findings in two national plug-in electric vehicle charging infrastructure demonstrations: The EV Project and ChargePoint America. It will be published to the INL/AVTA website for the general public.

Refurbishment decision support tools review—Energy and life cycle as key aspects to sustainable refurbishment projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreira, Joaquim; Pinheiro, Manuel Duarte; Brito, Jorge de

2013-01-01

Europe is facing one of its most challenging crises since Great Depression and the construction sector is one of the worst affected. Refurbishment is therefore often suggested as one of the most useful solutions for the current real estate crisis in consolidated areas like the EU. On the other hand, it is imperative to construct buildings according to sustainable principles regarding economic, environmental and social issues. Therefore, proper decision-support methods are needed to help designers, investors and policy makers to choose the most sustainable solution for a refurbishment project, especially for energy retrofit works. This paper reviews the works relating to sustainable refurbishment decision-support tools which have already been developed. For this purpose we have analysed and classified 40 different methods, with particular focus on their main common aims. They are also compared with other classifications proposed. This paper further highlights the role of energy as a driving factor and discusses what other research developments are needed to create related tools for the future that could respond to actual construction requirements. - Highlights: • Sustainable refurbishment as an important challenge. • Proper decision-support methods are needed to refurbishment. • The paper reviews 40 different methods, focusing their main common aims. • The paper highlights the role of the energy as key factor to search sustainability. • It also stresses the importance of life cycle approach in refurbishment projects

Detailed assessment of global transport-energy models’ structures and projections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yeh, Sonia; Mishra, Gouri Shankar; Fulton, Lew; Kyle, Page; McCollum, David L.; Miller, Joshua; Cazzola, Pierpaolo; Teter, Jacob

2017-08-01

This paper focuses on comparing the frameworks and projections from four major global transportation models with considerable transportation technology and behavioral detail. We analyze and compare the modeling frameworks, underlying data, assumptions, intermediate parameters, and projections to identify the sources of divergence or consistency, as well as key knowledge gaps. We find that there are significant differences in the base-year data and key parameters for future projections, especially for developing countries. These include passenger and freight activity, mode shares, vehicle ownership rates, and even energy consumption by mode, particularly for shipping, aviation and trucking. This may be due in part to a lack of previous efforts to do such consistency-checking and “bench-marking.” We find that the four models differ in terms of the relative roles of various mitigation strategies to achieve a 2°C / 450 ppm CO2e target: the economics-based integrated assessment models favor the use of low carbon fuels as the primary mitigation option followed by efficiency improvements, whereas transport-only and expert-based models favor efficiency improvements of vehicles followed by mode shifts. We offer recommendations for future modeling improvements focusing on (1) reducing data gaps; (2) translating the findings from this study into relevant policy implications such as feasibility of current policy goals, additional policy targets needed, regional vs. global reductions, etc.; (3) modeling strata of demographic groups to improve understanding of vehicle ownership levels, travel behavior, and urban vs. rural considerations; and (4) conducting coordinated efforts in aligning input assumptions and historical data, policy analysis, and modeling insights.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT – KEY FACTORS

OpenAIRE

Magdalena Daniela DINU

2014-01-01

This paper exposes Supply Chain Management by its key factors. Briefly, where the Supply Chain Management is treated as strategic part of a company then maintaining both control and influence throughout the entire supply chain are key factors and critical to success. On the other hand, finding the right partner to manage the non-strategic Supply Chains would be another key factor too. To define the most important key factors within Supply Chain Management means a deeply understanding of bot...

D and D projects trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gay, Arnaud

2012-01-01

This series of slides presents: 1 - the Various types of needs and types of operations in any D and D project, 2 - the strong variety of nuclear units to dismantle, 3 - the D and D dependence on nuclear operators' strategy (Immediate/Deferred dismantling), 4 - the demand for D and D services with respect to the ageing of the nuclear fleet, 5 - the impacts to come on the D and D environment due to the Fukushima accident, 6 - the geographical dependence of D and D demands, 7 - the different D and D choices from nuclear operators in the supply chain management, 8 - the key levers in a D and D project performance, 9 - Some key competencies in D and D, 10 - Risk management for both clients and suppliers in a D and D project, 11 - AREVA involvement in Fukushima project as a key demonstration of a critical D and D project management

Synenco Energy's Northern Lights Project : update and key strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koshka, E.

2005-01-01

This presentation described the Northern Lights Project and addressed the unique characteristics of oil sands which have led to innovative mine and extraction techniques. A table indicating the mining projects in development was presented with reference to recoverable bitumen and ore grade. The marketing aspects of synthetic crude that influence the choice of bitumen upgrader design and economics were discussed. It was noted that new pipeline developments should open up new market opportunities. The expected market for Synenco crude is the northern portion of the United States Midwest. There may also be a possibility to sell the product as diluent because Synenco crude has a lower vacuum gas oil (VGO) content and more naphtha than other synthetic crude. The properties of Synenco crude components were listed with reference to gravity, density, sulfur content, cetane number, smoke point, and feed quality. The trade-off between capital costs, operating cost and risk mitigation was also examined. tabs., figs

Nuclear energy: a key role despite problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, E.V.

1977-01-01

Nuclear energy is projected to be the fastest growing power source and a key to meeting power demands in spite of the many problems facing the nuclear industry in the form of delays, protests, and cancellations. Pressures for a nuclear moratorium will slow the industry, Mr. Anderson feels, but in the long run nuclear reactors will make up an increasing share of the power generating capacity. The Arthur D. Little Co. projects a fourfold increase between 1975 and 1985 on the basis of 10-year lead times for construction of nuclear power plants. Half the new generating capacity after 1985 will be nuclear. Problems besetting every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle result from debates over proliferation, waste disposal, reactor safety, and environmental damage and lead to controversy over regulations and licensing. U.S. utilities are not ordering reactors, but manufacturers are finding markets in other countries. Financial difficulties have kept domestic utilities from undertaking large investment programs until they can resolve problems of fuel costs and rate structures. New construction is inevitable, however, to meet future electrical requirements. Nuclear companies, which number nearly 1300 manufacturers and service providers, need to develop a better public image by working together to demonstrate their ability to manage the risks and uncertainties

Key Factors Affecting Construction Safety Performance in Developing Countries: Evidence from Cambodia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serdar Durdyev

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Although proper safety management in construction is of utmost importance; anecdotal evidence suggests that safety is not adequately considered in many developing countries. This paper considers the key variables affecting construction safety performance in Cambodia. Using an empirical questionnaire survey targeting local construction professionals, respondents were invited to rate the level of importance of 30 variables identified from the seminal literature. The data set was subjected to factor analysis. Correlations between the variables show that five key factors underlie the challenges facing the local industry; management and organisation, resources, site management, cosmetic and workforce. It is found that the forefront construction professionals (top management and government authorities should take more responsibilities for further improvements in safety performance on project sites. Findings and recommendations of this study may be useful to construction professional who are seeking ways to improve safety records in developing countries.

Rethinking project portfolio management: A case study of a public organization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lars Kristian; Svejvig, Per

2018-01-01

analytical perspectives. One perspective, denoted as classical project management (CPM), highlights key characteristics of traditional PPM research. A second perspective, denoted as rethinking project management (RPM), highlights characteristics of progressive PPM research. Against this background, we...... diagnose PPM practices in a large public organization and find that organizational top management use the vocabulary and request the values emphasized by the CPM perspective, such as executability, controllability, instrumentality and linearity. However, below top management level, we find managers...... practices. Taking into account the limitations of our single case study design, our research shows how an organization, which differs considerably from advise provided by the conventional CPM perspective, and best PPM practices, may be well functioning – or at least, in large, meets the organization’ PPM...

Investing in mental health and well-being: findings from the DataPrev project

Science.gov (United States)

Mcdaid, David; Park, A-La

2011-01-01

A systematic review was conducted to determine the extent to which an economic case has been made in high-income countries for investment in interventions to promote mental health and well-being. We focused on areas of interest to the DataPrev project: early years and parenting interventions, actions set in schools and workplaces and measures targeted at older people. Economic evaluations had to have some focus on promotion of mental health and well-being and/or primary prevention of poor mental health through health-related means. Studies preventing exacerbations in existing mental health problems were excluded, with the exception of support for parents with mental health problems, which might indirectly affect the mental health of their children. Overall 47 studies were identified. There was considerable variability in their quality, with a variety of outcome measures and different perspectives: societal, public purse, employer or health system used, making policy comparisons difficult. Caution must therefore be exercised in interpreting results, but the case for investment in parenting and health visitor-related programmes appears most strong, especially when impacts beyond the health sector are taken into account. In the workplace an economic return on investment in a number of comprehensive workplace health promotion programmes and stress management projects (largely in the USA) was reported, while group-based exercise and psychosocial interventions are of potential benefit to older people. Many gaps remain; a key first step would be to make more use of the existence evidence base on effectiveness and model mid- to long-term costs and benefits of action in different contexts and settings. PMID:22079932

Kansas Advanced Semiconductor Project: Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baringer, P.; Bean, A.; Bolton, T.; Horton-Smith, G.; Maravin, Y.; Ratra, B.; Stanton, N.; von Toerne, E.; Wilson, G.

2007-01-01

KASP (Kansas Advanced Semiconductor Project) completed the new Layer 0 upgrade for D0, assumed key electronics projects for the US CMS project, finished important new physics measurements with the D0 experiment at Fermilab, made substantial contributions to detector studies for the proposed e+e- international linear collider (ILC), and advanced key initiatives in non-accelerator-based neutrino physics.

Key parameters of two typical intercalation reactions to prepare hybrid inorganic-organic perovskite films

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Biao; Guo, Sheng; Wei, Changchun; Li, Baozhang; Ding, Yi; Li, Yuelong; Wan, Qing; Zhao, Ying; Zhang, Xiaodan

2018-01-01

Not Available Project supported by the International Cooperation Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, China (Grant No. 2014DFE60170), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61474065 and 61674084), Tianjin Research Key Program of Application Foundation and Advanced Technology, China (Grant No. 15JCZDJC31300), Key Project in the Science & Technology Pillar Program of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. BE2014147-3), and the 111 Project, China (Grant No. B16027).

IT Project Portfolio Management; Challenges faced by Danish municipalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lars Kristian

2010-01-01

Abstract. Increasing the organizational benefits from IT projects is a key concern in most organizations. The use of Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is generally recommended by consultants (e.g. Kaplan 2005) and researchers (e.g. De Reyck et al 2005) as one way of increasing the organizational...... benefits from IT investments. This article reports from an action research project aiming at understanding and improving IT PPM practices in Danish municipalities, thereby contributing to the general body of knowledge concerning PPM of IT projects. Our findings suggest that the participating organizations...... might benefit from a structured approach as suggested by the literature (e.g. Kaplan 2005), but also that the prescriptive PPM literature in some areas is too simplistic when compared to the reality faced by the participating practitioners. Especially, our research suggests that different PPM elements...

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.

Stakeholder Participation in REDD+ Readiness Activities for Three Collaborative Projects in Lao PDR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saykham Boutthavong

2017-04-01

Full Text Available A key challenge for reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD in developing countries is to balance the power of various stakeholders in decision making. This study explores the forms of stakeholder participation in the implementation of three pilot projects in Laos, with a focus on who actually makes decisions on project activities. We found that stakeholder roles in making decisions were imbalanced. The central government and development partner organizations were the ones who actually fulfill the roles of decision-makers in most project activities. Although local communities were not the key stakeholders in decision making in most activities, their roles seem to have increased in the activities where participatory approaches were applied. Participation of the private sector, non-governmental organizations, academic and research institutes and mass organizations was limited. Opportunities to reach decision-makers regarding project activities came through service contract agreements. Our findings suggest that an understanding of who fulfills the key roles will support a decentralization of decision making by balancing power and redistributing the roles from dominant to weaker stakeholders. In addition, the private sector’s participation may enhance opportunities to harmonize their investments for supporting REDD+ development and reduce the negative impacts on the forests and the environment.

Experiences of project developers around CDM projects in South Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thurner, Thomas W.; Varughese, Arun

2013-01-01

Project developers in South Africa are puzzled with the long process of evaluating and registering their CDM projects. In addition to other obstacles, we find that South African big businesses are rather reluctant to engage in any new business activities such as CDM projects and municipalities often lack the necessary flexibility. This offers opportunities for small-scale project developers who spot the opportunities and find creative solutions to overcome these difficulties. - Highlights: • First paper analysing the experience of small project developers in South Africa. • Project developers in South Africa are puzzled with the long process. • South African big businesses are reluctant to engage in CDM projects. • Small-scale project developers spot opportunities and find creative solutions to overcome difficulties. • Also, we saw learning processes of South African administration in support of CDM projects

Relationships and project marketing success

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skaates, Maria Anne; Tikkanen, Henrikki; Lindblom, Jarno

2002-01-01

Project operations are a dominating mode of international business. Managing relationships and networks is crucial to project marketing success both at the level of the individual project and at the level of multiple projects. This article first defines key characteristics of project business, id...

International co-ordinated research project on low and intermediate level waste package performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dayal, R. [International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA, Vienna (Austria)

2001-07-01

As part of IAEA's mandate to facilitate the transfer and exchange of information amongst Member States, the Agency is currently coordinating an international R and D project, involving 12 developed and developing countries, on Performance of Low and Intermediate Level Waste Packages under Disposal Conditions. This paper will review the current status of the Coordinated Research Project (CRP) and summarize the key findings of the work completed to date within the context of the CRP in the participating Member States. (author)

International co-ordinated research project on low and intermediate level waste package performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dayal, R.

2001-01-01

As part of IAEA's mandate to facilitate the transfer and exchange of information amongst Member States, the Agency is currently coordinating an international R and D project, involving 12 developed and developing countries, on Performance of Low and Intermediate Level Waste Packages under Disposal Conditions. This paper will review the current status of the Coordinated Research Project (CRP) and summarize the key findings of the work completed to date within the context of the CRP in the participating Member States. (author)

DIPLOMA PROJECT TEAM WORK MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. S. Kruglyk

2014-04-01

Full Text Available During the work performance students should get the maximal approach to the process of real project execution, so the project should include the need to use the latest technology, integration of data or services with different developments, architecture design, interaction of the team members and others. Implementation of graduation projects is the useful activity for the acquisition and consolidation of key IT competencies. Since the task of educational projects is maximal close to real one, students participate almost in all typical stages of commercial product’s development, and do so successfully. This is also confirmed practically: students, who were actively engaged in some projects at the university, have key positions in IT companies of the city and country after that. The main objective of the paper is to describe the organization of a common group students’ work on a degree project, implementation peculiarity of such projects, recommendations for improving the quality of projects. Thus, the paper is devoted to the peculiarities of the joint students’ work on a project during diploma execution in IT specialties, as the final part of the acquisition and consolidation process of key IT competencies of future programmers. The problem of choosing work topic, project concept, work organization in a group, implementation process organization has been considered. Also the specific stages of software development have been considered: development of interface, choice of technology, product quality, project disposal to the next developers, project completion.

Family meals and adolescents: what have we learned from Project EAT (Eating Among Teens)?

Science.gov (United States)

Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; Larson, Nicole I; Fulkerson, Jayne A; Eisenberg, Marla E; Story, Mary

2010-07-01

The purpose of the present paper is to provide an integrated overview of the research methodology and key findings from a decade of research on family meals as part of Project EAT (Eating Among Teens), a large, population-based study of adolescents. Focus groups conducted with 141 middle-school and high-school adolescents suggested the importance of family meals in influencing adolescents' food choices. These findings led to the inclusion of questions on family meals in the Project EAT-I survey, completed by 4746 middle-school and high-school students, and in the Project EAT-II longitudinal survey, completed by 2516 of the original participants five years later. A subset of 902 parents also participated in telephone interviews as part of Project EAT-I. Findings indicate that many adolescents and parents view family meals in a positive light, but there is great diversity in the context and frequency of family meal patterns in the homes of adolescents. Findings further suggest that family meals may have benefits in terms of dietary intake, disordered eating behaviours, substance use and psychosocial health. Findings from Project EAT, in conjunction with other research studies on family meals, suggest the importance of working with families to increase the frequency and improve the quality of family meals. Further research is needed in order to elucidate the pathways that underpin the relationships between family meals and health outcomes. Suggestions for a future research agenda based on what was learned from Project EAT are provided.

Finding and Improving the Key-Frames of Long Video Sequences for Face Recognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nasrollahi, Kamal; Moeslund, Thomas B.

2010-01-01

Face recognition systems are very sensitive to the quality and resolution of their input face images. This makes such systems unreliable when working with long surveillance video sequences without employing some selection and enhancement algorithms. On the other hand, processing all the frames...... of such video sequences by any enhancement or even face recognition algorithm is demanding. Thus, there is a need for a mechanism to summarize the input video sequence to a set of key-frames and then applying an enhancement algorithm to this subset. This paper presents a system doing exactly this. The system...... uses face quality assessment to select the key-frames and a hybrid super-resolution to enhance the face image quality. The suggested system that employs a linear associator face recognizer to evaluate the enhanced results has been tested on real surveillance video sequences and the experimental results...

KEY COMPARISON: Final report of EUROMET Project 696: pH determination of a phthalate buffer

Science.gov (United States)

Spitzer, Petra; Charlet, Philippe; Eberhard, Ralf; Karpov, Oleg V.; Philippe, Rachel; Rivier, Cedric; Maximov, Igor; Sudmeier, Uwe

2005-01-01

The EUROMET project 696, a trilateral comparison between PTB, Germany, LNE, France and VNIIFTRI, Russia was performed in order to demonstrate and document the capability of the participants to measure the pH of a phthalate buffer by the primary measurement procedure for pH. Good agreement of the reported results was observed. The sample was very similar to the one used in the comparison CCQM-K17. PTB acts as pilot laboratory in CCQM-K17 and in EUROMET 696. This comparison allows one to link the results obtained by LNE to the CCQM-K17 key comparison through the degree of equivalence of PTB. On the other hand, the discrepancy between measured pH values at the VNIIFTRI and PTB for the same type of buffer solution decreased, as compared with a bilateral comparison in 1997. Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA).

Research Project Evaluation—Learnings from the PATHWAYS Project Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksander Galas

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Background: 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. Methods: 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. Results: 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%. Conclusions: 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.

Key Issues in Transfer Stage of BOT Project: Experience from China

OpenAIRE

Wang Liguang; Zhang Xueqing

2017-01-01

The build-operate-transfer (BOT) project delivery system has provided effective routes to mobilize private sector funds, innovative technologies, management skills and operational efficiencies for public infrastructure development and have been widely used in China during the last 20 years. Many BOT projects in China will be smoothly transferred to the government soon and the transfer stage, which is considered as the last stage, must be studied carefully and handled well to achieve the overa...

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN ENGLISH FOR MEDICINE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zorica Antić

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Project-based learning facilitates hands-on learning in student-driven investigations, resulting in high-quality, challenging activities. Students participate actively in projects that revolve around their interests, questions or needs. PBL also develops the 21st century skills including critical thinking, collaboration and communication. The essence of PBL is problem-solving, a key critical thinking skill. Since problem-solving is an integral part of medicine, projects represent a significant method of instruction in English for Medical Purposes. Depending on their individual interests and abilities, each student contributes to the whole group work and the final outcome. The approach also requires students to work in teams and to communicate their findings. Using real-life problems to motivate students, challenging them to think deeply about meaningful content, and enabling them to work collaboratively are practices that yield benefits for all students and their future careers.

New weak keys in simplified IDEA

Science.gov (United States)

Hafman, Sari Agustini; Muhafidzah, Arini

2016-02-01

Simplified IDEA (S-IDEA) is simplified version of International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA) and useful teaching tool to help students to understand IDEA. In 2012, Muryanto and Hafman have found a weak key class in the S-IDEA by used differential characteristics in one-round (0, ν, 0, ν) → (0,0, ν, ν) on the first round to produce input difference (0,0, ν, ν) on the fifth round. Because Muryanto and Hafman only use three differential characteristics in one-round, we conducted a research to find new differential characteristics in one-round and used it to produce new weak key classes of S-IDEA. To find new differential characteristics in one-round of S-IDEA, we applied a multiplication mod 216+1 on input difference and combination of active sub key Z1, Z4, Z5, Z6. New classes of weak keys are obtained by combining all of these characteristics and use them to construct two new differential characteristics in full-round of S-IDEA with or without the 4th round sub key. In this research, we found six new differential characteristics in one round and combined them to construct two new differential characteristics in full-round of S-IDEA. When two new differential characteristics in full-round of S-IDEA are used and the 4th round sub key required, we obtain 2 new classes of weak keys, 213 and 28. When two new differential characteristics in full-round of S-IDEA are used, yet the 4th round sub key is not required, the weak key class of 213 will be 221 and 28 will be 210. Membership test can not be applied to recover the key bits in those weak key classes. The recovery of those unknown key bits can only be done by using brute force attack. The simulation result indicates that the bit of the key can be recovered by the longest computation time of 0,031 ms.

Design reality gap issues within an ICT4D project:an assessment of Jigawa State Community Computer Center

OpenAIRE

Kanya, Rislana Abdulazeez; Good, Alice

2013-01-01

This paper evaluates the Jigawa State Government Community Computer centre project using the design reality gap framework. The purpose of this was to analyse the shortfall between design expectations and implementation realities, in order to find out the current situation of the project. Furthermore to analyse whether it would meet the key stakeholder’s expectation. The Majority of Government ICT Projects is classified as either failure or partial failure. Our research will underpin a case st...

Projections of change in key ecosystem indicators for planning and management of marine protected areas: An example study for European seas

Science.gov (United States)

Kay, Susan; Butenschön, Momme

2018-02-01

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are widely used as tools to maintain biodiversity, protect habitats and ensure that development is sustainable. If MPAs are to maintain their role into the future it is important for managers to understand how conditions at these sites may change as a result of climate change and other drivers, and this understanding needs to extend beyond temperature to a range of key ecosystem indicators. This case study demonstrates how spatially-aggregated model results for multiple variables can provide useful projections for MPA planners and managers. Conditions in European MPAs have been projected for the 2040s using unmitigated and globally managed scenarios of climate change and river management, and hence high and low emissions of greenhouse gases and riverborne nutrients. The results highlight the vulnerability of potential refuge sites in the north-west Mediterranean and the need for careful monitoring at MPAs to the north and west of the British Isles, which may be affected by changes in Atlantic circulation patterns. The projections also support the need for more MPAs in the eastern Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea, and can inform the selection of sites.

Consumer engagement: An insight from smart grid projects in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gangale, Flavia; Mengolini, Anna; Onyeji, Ijeoma

2013-01-01

This paper provides an insight into consumer engagement in smart grid projects in Europe. Projects analysed are those included in the catalogue annexed in the JRC Report “Smart Grid projects in Europe: lessons learned and current developments”. The analysis suggests an increase in the interest in consumer engagement projects at European level and a strong focus on the residential sector, and emphasises the key importance of public funding to support these projects. The study also reveals that projects involving consumers are characterised by the pursuit of two main objectives: gaining deeper knowledge of consumer behaviour (observing and understanding the consumer) and motivating and empowering consumers to become active energy customers (engaging the consumer). The paper reviews the main activities undertaken to obtain these objectives and highlights trends and developments in the field. Finally, the paper discusses obstacles to consumer engagement and the strategies adopted by the projects surveyed to tackle them, highlighting the need to build consumer trust and to design targeted campaigns taking into consideration different consumer segments. The conclusions are in line with findings and analyses presented in the literature and underscore the need for further research and action at European level. - Highlights: • Consumers' key role in the success of the future electricity system (smart grids). • Survey on consumer engagement experiences in European smart grid projects. • Focus is on observing and understanding the consumers and on engaging them. • Trust and confidence as central elements. • Need to take into consideration different consumer segments/motivational factors

Editorial summary: findings from a survey on the Danish study progress reform

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sarauw, Laura Louise; Madsen, Simon Ryberg

The summary presents the key findings from the first comprehensive survey of what students expect of the Danish Study Progress Reform. The summarised report is based on a survey conducted among 4.354 university students, who were asked to assess how they expect to manage their time and prioritise...... their activities in light of the Study Progress Reform’s requirements for faster completion. The survey was distributed in April 2015 as part of a politically independent research project funded by the Danish Council for Independent Research/Humanities (FKK)....

DiskDetective.org: Finding Homes for Exoplanets Through Citizen Science

Science.gov (United States)

Kuchner, Marc J.

2016-01-01

The Disk Detective project is scouring the data archive from the WISE all-sky survey to find new debris disks and protoplanetary disks-the dusty dens where exoplanets form and dwell. Volunteers on this citizen science website have already performed 1.6 million classifications, searching a catalog 8x the size of any published WISE survey. We follow up candidates using ground based telescopes in California, Arizona, Chile, Hawaii, and Argentina. We ultimately expect to increase the pool of known debris disks by approx. 400 and triple the solid angle in clusters of young stars examined with WISE, providing a unique new catalog of isolated disk stars, key planet-search targets, and candidate advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. Come to this talk to hear the news about our latest dusty discoveries and the trials and the ecstasy of launching a new citizen science project. Please bring your laptop or smartphone if you like!

ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE TYPES OF PROJECTS AND SKILLS PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN THE AES SUL DISTRIBUIDORA GAÚCHA DE ENERGIA S.A

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Greice de Bem Noro

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The pursuit of excellence and new markets and customers has driven companies to build methods to reach goals and improve their strategies and competitive advantages. Therefore, the project management (PM has played a key role in the organizations to adjust deadlines, organizing methods and decision-making. Although many companies already use the PM as resource, this research attempt to contribute to increase the area trough the debate about alignment of companies projects types with the choice of the leader, in line with their skills. The study was developed in the AES Sul Distribuidora Gaúcha de Energia SA (AES Sul and examined how the alignment of the types of projects and management competencies can add value to the organization. The methodological procedure is classified as qualitative, quantitative and descriptive, conducted through a case study. The main results show the need for adjustments between the essential skills and AES Sul types of projects, beyond find some gaps regarding the leaders competencies.

[From Science to Law: Findings of Reha XI Project on Ascertaining the Need for Rehabilitation in Medical Service Assessments].

Science.gov (United States)

Kalwitzki, T; Huter, K; Runte, R; Breuninger, K; Janatzek, S; Gronemeyer, S; Gansweid, B; Rothgang, H

2017-03-01

Introduction: In the broad-based consortium project "Reha XI - Identifying rehabilitative requirements in medical service assessments: evaluation and implementation", a comprehensive analysis of the corresponding procedures was carried out by the medical services of the German Health Insurance Funds (MDK). On the basis of this analysis, a Good Practice Standard (GPS) for assessments was drawn up and scientifically evaluated. This article discusses the findings and applicability of the GPS as the basis for a nationwide standardized procedure in Germany as required by the Second Act to Strengthen Long-Term Care (PSG II) under Vol. XI Para. 18 (6) of the German Social Welfare Code. Method: The consortium project comprised four project phases: 1. Qualitative and quantitative situation analysis of the procedures for ascertaining rehabilitative needs in care assessments carried out by the MDK; 2. Development of a Good Practice Standard (GPS) in a structured, consensus-based procedure; 3. Scientific evaluation of the validity, reliability and practicability of the assessment procedure according to the GPS in the MDK's operational practice; 4. Survey of long-term care insurance funds with respect to the appropriateness of the rehabilitation recommendations drawn up by care assessors in line with the GPS for providing a qualified recommendation for the applicant. The evaluation carried out in the third project phase was subject to methodological limitations that may have given rise to distortions in the findings. Findings: On the basis of the situation analysis, 7 major thematic areas were identified in which improvements were implemented by applying the GPS. For the evaluation of the GPS, a total of 3 247 applicants were assessed in line with the GPS; in 6.3% of the applicants, an indication for medical rehabilitation was determined. The GPS procedure showed a high degree of reliability and practicability, but the values for the validity of the assessment procedure were

Coherent one-way quantum key distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Stucki, Damien; Fasel, Sylvain; Gisin, Nicolas; Thoma, Yann; Zbinden, Hugo

2007-05-01

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) consists in the exchange of a secrete key between two distant points [1]. Even if quantum key distribution systems exist and commercial systems are reaching the market [2], there are still improvements to be made: simplify the construction of the system; increase the secret key rate. To this end, we present a new protocol for QKD tailored to work with weak coherent pulses and at high bit rates [3]. The advantages of this system are that the setup is experimentally simple and it is tolerant to reduced interference visibility and to photon number splitting attacks, thus resulting in a high efficiency in terms of distilled secret bits per qubit. After having successfully tested the feasibility of the system [3], we are currently developing a fully integrated and automated prototype within the SECOQC project [4]. We present the latest results using the prototype. We also discuss the issue of the photon detection, which still remains the bottleneck for QKD.

The Citizenship Safety Project: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Frederick, K; Barlow, J

2006-02-01

The Government White Paper Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation (1999) provides a clear indication that accidents are a serious public health problem and have been targeted by the Department of Health as a key area for prevention over the next 10 years. School-based injury prevention programmes have been identified as one of the key settings for the implementation of the White Paper's heath promotion strategies. The Citizen Safety Project (CSP) is a peer-delivered injury prevention programme for Year 10 students (14-15 years) and Year 2 pupils (6-7 years). This paper summarizes the findings of a pilot study that assessed the feasibility of implementing the CSP in schools and of conducting a larger study. Working as part of their Personal Social Health Education lessons, 11 pairs (n = 22) of Year 10 students developed a project to take one accident prevention theme of their choice into a primary school to teach small groups of five or six Year 2 pupils (n = 55). A formative evaluation was conducted, based on interviews with Year 2 and Year 10 teachers (n = 2), and the diaries of Year 10 students. Knowledge of accident prevention and risk awareness was measured in Year 2 pupils using the Draw and Write technique, and impact on Year 10 students was measured using self-esteem and locus of control inventories. Using both statistical and thematic analysis the study concludes that the CSP is well accepted, improves knowledge in Year 2 pupils and boosts confidence in Year 10 students, while concurrently achieving key stage attainment targets. Implications of the study are discussed in terms of future research, as are recommendations with regard to modifications to the project.

Locale-Specific Categorization of IT Projects for Proper Project Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Nasir

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper we aim to show that not only are the project management techniques important for small-scale projects, but following proper project management techniques is one of the most important requirements. However, there come slight variations in implementing project management techniques in small projects as compared with larger projects. Therefore, proper categorization of projects holds the key to success in many situations. Our paper will show that categorization of a project as small-scale or large-scale should always be locale specific. In this regards, we develop a criteria and evaluate how the projects are categorized as small-scale and large-scale in different parts of the world with focus on IT projects. This research concludes that some methods cannot be used for projects of different scales.

Key-Phenomenon and Religious Meaning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lomuscio Vincenzo

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper I develop a phenomenology of religious experience through the notion of keyphenomenon. My analysis moves from a general phenomenology of situation, in which we have to relate different phenomena according to a sense. What does “according to a sense” mean? My suggestion is that we should look for a relationship among these data when we find a key-phenomenon (among a series of phenomena that would enlighten all the others. This key-phenomenon would show a non-phenomenal meaning which would make all the others understandable. Each other datum, therefore, becomes the witness of invisible meaning through a key-witness. The key-phenomenon we choose determines the role (i.e., the truth of each datum within its situation. This phenomenological relationship belongs to both the sense of day-life situations, and that one of possible religious situations. If the religious interpretation of a situation depends on our choice of key-phenomenon, or key-witness, we have to define what kind of keyphenomenon constitutes a religious intuition.

Key-value Storage Systems (and Beyond with Python

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Web application developers often use RDBMS systems such as MySql or PostgreSql but there are many other types of databases out there. Key-value storage, schema and schema-less document storage, and column-oriented DBMS systems abound. These kind of database systems are becoming more popular when developing scalable web applications but many developers are unsure how to integrate them into their projects. This talk will focus on the key-value class of data storage systems, weigh the strengths and drawbacks of each and discuss typical use cases for key value storage.

An assessment of the positive partnership project in Thailand: key considerations for scaling-up microcredit loans for HIV-positive and negative pairs in other settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Viravaidya, M; Wolf, R C; Guest, P

2008-01-01

Stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA), and their families, remains a barrier to participation in prevention and care programmes. This barrier takes on added significance as Thailand expands provision of free antiretroviral therapy (ART). This paper documents an innovative approach to improve quality of life for PLHA, while reducing levels of stigma and discrimination. The Population and Community Development Association (PDA) began implementing the Positive Partnership Project (PPP) in 2002. In this project, an HIV-negative person must team up with an HIV-positive person to become eligible for a loan for income-generating activities. The use of microcredit to explicitly reduce stigma and discrimination is a unique feature of the PPP. While the microcredit component of the project is an important dimension for improving the status of participating PLHA, the impacts of the project extend far beyond the PLHA who receive loans. Both directly and indirectly, it has contributed to improved quality of life and economic conditions for PLHA, while raising their visibility and acceptance in hundreds of communities throughout urban and rural Thailand. This paper identifies key features of the project and considerations for adapting its use in other settings.

Key Questions in Building Defect Prediction Models in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Ramler, Rudolf; Wolfmaier, Klaus; Stauder, Erwin; Kossak, Felix; Natschläger, Thomas

The information about which modules of a future version of a software system are defect-prone is a valuable planning aid for quality managers and testers. Defect prediction promises to indicate these defect-prone modules. However, constructing effective defect prediction models in an industrial setting involves a number of key questions. In this paper we discuss ten key questions identified in context of establishing defect prediction in a large software development project. Seven consecutive versions of the software system have been used to construct and validate defect prediction models for system test planning. Furthermore, the paper presents initial empirical results from the studied project and, by this means, contributes answers to the identified questions.

Statistical Projections for Multi-resolution, Multi-dimensional Visual Data Exploration and Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen, Hoa T. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Stone, Daithi [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Bethel, E. Wes [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2016-01-01

An ongoing challenge in visual exploration and analysis of large, multi-dimensional datasets is how to present useful, concise information to a user for some specific visualization tasks. Typical approaches to this problem have proposed either reduced-resolution versions of data, or projections of data, or both. These approaches still have some limitations such as consuming high computation or suffering from errors. In this work, we explore the use of a statistical metric as the basis for both projections and reduced-resolution versions of data, with a particular focus on preserving one key trait in data, namely variation. We use two different case studies to explore this idea, one that uses a synthetic dataset, and another that uses a large ensemble collection produced by an atmospheric modeling code to study long-term changes in global precipitation. The primary findings of our work are that in terms of preserving the variation signal inherent in data, that using a statistical measure more faithfully preserves this key characteristic across both multi-dimensional projections and multi-resolution representations than a methodology based upon averaging.

Central key project `Biotechnology`. Supplementary report. 2nd project phase (3/95 through 12/95); Zentrales Schwerpunktprojekt Bioverfahrenstechnik. Ergaenzungsbericht 2. Foerderphase (3/95 bis 12/95)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-31

The report describes the activities of the three sections of the key project `Biotechnology`: Biological systems, e.g. environmental biotechnology, enzyme reactions; protein engineering, fermentation problems of secondary metabolites, tetrachloroethylene degradation, stereoselective synthesis; process engineering, i.e. supercritical solvents, enzyme-catalysed reactions, bipolar membrane technology, membrane separation processes, anaerobic processes; information engineering, i.e. morphology recording, process control. Separate abstracts are available in this database for two articles of this report. (SR) [Deutsch] Dargestellt werden die Taetigkeiten der verschiedenen Arbeitsbereiche des Schwerpunktprojektes Biotechnologie. Es handelt sich hierbei um die drei Projektbereiche: Biologische Systeme unter anderem mit den Themen Umweltbiotechnologie, Enzymreaktionen, Protein-Engineering, Fermentationsprobleme bei sekundaeren Metaboliten, Tetrachlorethylen-Abbau, Stereoselektive Synthese; des weiteren der Projektbereich Verfahrenstechnik unter anderem mit den Themen Ueberkritische Loesungsmittel, Enzymkatalysierte Reaktionen, Bipolare Membrantechnik, Membrantrennverfahren, Anaerobprozesse; als letztes der Projektbereich Informationstechnik mit den Themen Morphologieerfassung, Prozessfuehrung. (SR)

Central key project `Biotechnology`. Supplementary report. 2nd project phase (3/95 through 12/95); Zentrales Schwerpunktprojekt Bioverfahrenstechnik. Ergaenzungsbericht 2. Foerderphase (3/95 bis 12/95)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-12-31

The report describes the activities of the three sections of the key project `Biotechnology`: Biological systems, e.g. environmental biotechnology, enzyme reactions; protein engineering, fermentation problems of secondary metabolites, tetrachloroethylene degradation, stereoselective synthesis; process engineering, i.e. supercritical solvents, enzyme-catalysed reactions, bipolar membrane technology, membrane separation processes, anaerobic processes; information engineering, i.e. morphology recording, process control. Separate abstracts are available in this database for two articles of this report. (SR) [Deutsch] Dargestellt werden die Taetigkeiten der verschiedenen Arbeitsbereiche des Schwerpunktprojektes Biotechnologie. Es handelt sich hierbei um die drei Projektbereiche: Biologische Systeme unter anderem mit den Themen Umweltbiotechnologie, Enzymreaktionen, Protein-Engineering, Fermentationsprobleme bei sekundaeren Metaboliten, Tetrachlorethylen-Abbau, Stereoselektive Synthese; des weiteren der Projektbereich Verfahrenstechnik unter anderem mit den Themen Ueberkritische Loesungsmittel, Enzymkatalysierte Reaktionen, Bipolare Membrantechnik, Membrantrennverfahren, Anaerobprozesse; als letztes der Projektbereich Informationstechnik mit den Themen Morphologieerfassung, Prozessfuehrung. (SR)

Project financing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowan, A.

1998-01-01

Project financing was defined ('where a lender to a specific project has recourse only to the cash flow and assets of that project for repayment and security respectively') and its attributes were described. Project financing was said to be particularly well suited to power, pipeline, mining, telecommunications, petro-chemicals, road construction, and oil and gas projects, i.e. large infrastructure projects that are difficult to fund on-balance sheet, where the risk profile of a project does not fit the corporation's risk appetite, or where higher leverage is required. Sources of project financing were identified. The need to analyze and mitigate risks, and being aware that lenders always take a conservative view and gravitate towards the lowest common denominator, were considered the key to success in obtaining project financing funds. TransAlta Corporation's project financing experiences were used to illustrate the potential of this source of financing

Effective Bug Finding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rivas, Iago Abal

Lightweight bug finders (also known as code scanners) are becoming popular, they scale well and can find simple yet common programming errors. It is now considered a good practice to integrate these tools as part of your development process. The Linux project, for instance, has an automated testing...... service, known as the Kbuild robot, that runs a few of these code scanners. In this project, I have carefully studied tens of historical Linux bugs, and I have found that many of these bugs, despite being conceptually simple, were not caught by any code scanning tool. The reason is that, by design, code...... scanners will find mostly superficial errors. Thus, when bugs span multiple functions, even if simple, they become undetectable by most code scanners. The studied set of historical bugs contained many of such cases. This PhD thesis proposes a bug-finding technique that is both lightweight and capable...

Spent nuclear fuel project, Cold Vacuum Drying Facility human factors engineering (HFE) analysis: Results and findings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garvin, L.J.

1998-01-01

This report presents the background, methodology, and findings of a human factors engineering (HFE) analysis performed in May, 1998, of the Spent Nuclear Fuels (SNF) Project Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF), to support its Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR), in responding to the requirements of Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5480.23 (DOE 1992a) and drafted to DOE-STD-3009-94 format. This HFE analysis focused on general environment, physical and computer workstations, and handling devices involved in or directly supporting the technical operations of the facility. This report makes no attempt to interpret or evaluate the safety significance of the HFE analysis findings. The HFE findings presented in this report, along with the results of the CVDF PSAR Chapter 3, Hazards and Accident Analyses, provide the technical basis for preparing the CVDF PSAR Chapter 13, Human Factors Engineering, including interpretation and disposition of findings. The findings presented in this report allow the PSAR Chapter 13 to fully respond to HFE requirements established in DOE Order 5480.23. DOE 5480.23, Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports, Section 8b(3)(n) and Attachment 1, Section-M, require that HFE be analyzed in the PSAR for the adequacy of the current design and planned construction for internal and external communications, operational aids, instrumentation and controls, environmental factors such as heat, light, and noise and that an assessment of human performance under abnormal and emergency conditions be performed (DOE 1992a)

The integration of the risk in the governance of urban projects: a key issue for a resilient city

Science.gov (United States)

Moulin, E.; Deroubaix, J.-F.

2012-04-01

Despite a severe regulation concerning the building in flooding areas, 80% of these areas are already built in the Greater Paris (Paris, Val-de-Marne, Hauts-de-Seine and Seine-Saint-Denis). The land use in flooding area is presented as one of the main solutions to solve the ongoing real estate pressure. For instance some of the industrial wastelands located along the river are currently in redevelopment and residential buildings are planned. So landuse in the flooding areas is currently a key issue in the development of the Greater Paris area. Tools and measures, structural or non-structural such as warning systems, barriers, etc do exist and could be a smart way to improve the resilience of the new urbanised areas. The technical solutions are available and efficient, but we notice that these tools are not much implemented. There is a lack of flood risk concern among the stakeholders and the inhabitants1. How landuse stakeholders could integrate the flood risk in the decision making process throughout the implementation of the urban project? Which type of governance favours an efficient development of good flood risk policy including prevention, protection and the management of the crisis? What is the "good" governance of the urban project e.g. enabling to take into account or not to forget the flood risk and to empower the (future) inhabitants? This inhabitants' empowerment includes the improvement of awareness (i.e. inhabitants being aware that they live in a flooded area) and the improvement of concern (i.e. inhabitants adopting the "right" behaviour when the risk occurs). In order to investigate how flood risk is or could be integrated in the project governance, we interviewed stakeholders (elected representatives, architects, property developers, etc.) and observed the integration or the vanishing of the risk throughout the project. In order to develop this topic we rely on a case study. The "Ardoines" is a project aiming at redeveloping an industrial site

Hospital cultural competency as a systematic organizational intervention: Key findings from the national center for healthcare leadership diversity demonstration project.

Science.gov (United States)

Weech-Maldonado, Robert; Dreachslin, Janice L; Epané, Josué Patien; Gail, Judith; Gupta, Shivani; Wainio, Joyce Anne

Cultural competency or the ongoing capacity of health care systems to provide for high-quality care to diverse patient populations (National Quality Forum, 2008) has been proposed as an organizational strategy to address disparities in quality of care, patient experience, and workforce representation. But far too many health care organizations still do not treat cultural competency as a business imperative and driver of strategy. The aim of the study was to examine the impact of a systematic, multifaceted, and organizational level cultural competency initiative on hospital performance metrics at the organizational and individual levels. This demonstration project employs a pre-post control group design. Two hospital systems participated in the study. Within each system, two hospitals were selected to serve as the intervention and control hospitals. Executive leadership (C-suite) and all staff at one general medical/surgical nursing unit at the intervention hospitals experienced a systematic, planned cultural competency intervention. Assessments and interventions focused on three organizational level competencies of cultural competency (diversity leadership, strategic human resource management, and patient cultural competency) and three individual level competencies (diversity attitudes, implicit bias, and racial/ethnic identity status). In addition, we evaluated the impact of the intervention on diversity climate and workforce diversity. Overall performance improvement was greater in each of the two intervention hospitals than in the control hospital within the same health care system. Both intervention hospitals experienced improvements in the organizational level competencies of diversity leadership and strategic human resource management. Similarly, improvements were observed in the individual level competencies for diversity attitudes and implicit bias for Blacks among the intervention hospitals. Furthermore, intervention hospitals outperformed their respective

Finding the key to success: A visitors' perspective at a National Arts Festival

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Saayman

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose and/or objectives: The purpose of this article was to segment festival visitors at the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK based on their travel motives and their ratings of the Key Success Factors (KSFs in terms of their festival experience. Problem investigated: Previous research has indicated that the success and sustainability of an arts festival is dependent on the number of tickets sold for shows and productions during the festival. Therefore, success depends on attracting visitors who attend and buy tickets for different types of shows and productions. To achieve this festival organisers need to understand the aspects that visitors regard as satisfying their needs and which create a unique festival experience. Methodology: A survey was conducted using a questionnaire at the festival. A total of 450 questionnaires were administered and 443 completed questionnaires were included in the analysis. Factor analysis was used to identify visitors' motivation to travel to and attend the KKNK. Cluster analysis followed the factor analysis to segments visitors based their identified travel motives. ANOVAs, Chi-square tests, two-way frequency tables and Tukey's multiple comparisons were conducted to investigate and determine any significant differences between the clusters based on demographics, behavioural variables and KSFs. Analysis and interpretation of findings: The findings of this study revealed that the travel motives that are important to visitors to the arts festival are: Festival Attractiveness, Novelty and Escape and Socialisation. Furthermore, different markets have different travel motives, clustered as Escapists, Festival Junkies and Culture Seekers. These different clusters have different tastes and needs, for example the Culture Seekers are more interested in Rock shows and all three clusters enjoy Drama, Music Theatre and Cabaret and Comedy shows and productions. Different markets also focus on different KSFs that

Project Management with IT Security Focus

OpenAIRE

Felician Alecu; Paul Pocatilu; Sergiu Capisizu

2011-01-01

The paper focus on the main key points related to the IT security project management. The most important lifecycle stages are identified: IT security project proposal definition, project organization, project planning, quality planning, project team organization, IT security project activities management and project closing. The most important success factors for IT security projects are the support of top-management, customer satisfaction, prevention over remediation and continuous progress....

Impact of an aquaculture extension project in Bangladesh

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rand, John; Tarp, Finn

2009-01-01

productivity and the value of fish production per capita among participants. However, in the long run no similar well-determined effect emerges. Second, MAEP appears to have had no significant impact on socioeconomic status as measured by consumption expenditure of participating households. The authors argue......This paper is an impact study of key short- and long-run effects of the Danida supported Mymensingh Aquaculture Extension Project (MAEP) in Bangladesh, applying different matching and double difference estimators. Results are mixed. First, the paper finds a positive short-run impact on pond...

A case study detailing key considerations for implementing a telehealth approach to office ergonomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Ritchie, Catherine L W; Miller, Linda L; Antle, David M

2017-01-01

Telehealth approaches to delivering ergonomics assessment hold great potential to improve service delivery in rural and remote settings. This case study describes a telehealth-based ergonomics service delivery process, and compares in-person and telehealth-based ergonomics approaches at an Alberta-based non-profit advocacy group. This project demonstrates that telehealth approaches to ergonomics do not lead to significantly different scoring outcomes for assessment of ergonomics issues, when compared to in-person assessments. This project also outlines the importance of live real-time video conferencing to improving communication, attaining key assessment information, and demonstrating ergonomic adjustments. However, some key considerations of bandwidth and hardware capabilities need to be taken into account. Key communication strategies are outlined to improve rapport, maintain employee confidentiality, and reduce client anxiety around telehealth ergonomics assessments. This project provides further support for telehealth approaches to office ergonomics, and outlines some key implementation strategies and barriers that should be considered.

Identifying Issues in Applying Integrated Project Delivery to Domestic Nuclear Power Plant Construction Projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Young Joo [Korean Nuclear Society, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is defined as that people, systems, business structures, and practices of key stakeholders are incorporated into a single-team, with a single process, which executes a project in a way of optimizing the project's outcome, increasing values delivered to the end user, reducing waste, and maximizing efficiency throughout the phases of engineering to construction. The researcher had carried out literature review in terms of IPD to identify major characteristics of IPD which are presented in the following section and had compared such characteristics against peculiarities of nuclear power plant (NPP) construction projects in order to shed light on obstacles in possible application of IPD method to domestic NPP construction projects in the coming days. In this research, three (3) major characteristics of IPD were identified: 1) key stakeholders signing one balanced contract, forming de facto one body, sharing risk and reward 2) an integrated project team being formed in the early stage of a project and providing input to minimize time and cost loss from rework downstream 3) team members co-locating, having open and direct communication, making decisions on time, and pursuing the success of the project itself.

Harmonized biosafety regulations are key to trust building in regional agbiotech partnerships: the case of the Bt cotton project in East Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ezezika Obidimma C

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt cotton public-private partnership (PPP project in East Africa was designed to gather baseline data on the effect of Bt cotton on biodiversity and the possibility of gene flow to wild cotton varieties. The results of the project are intended to be useful for Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania when applying for biosafety approvals. Using the backdrop of the different biosafety regulations in the three countries, we investigate the role of trust in the Bt cotton partnership in East Africa. Methods Data were collected by reviewing relevant project documents and peer-reviewed articles on Bt cotton in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda; conducting face-to-face interviews with key informants of the project; and conducting direct observations of the project. Data were analyzed based on recurring and emergent themes to create a comprehensive narrative on how trust is understood and built among the partners and with the community. Results We identified three factors that posed challenges to building trust in the Bt cotton project in East Africa: different regulatory regimes among the three countries; structural and management differences among the three partner institutions; and poor public awareness of GM crops and negative perceptions of the private sector. The structural and management differences were said to be addressed through joint planning, harmonization of research protocols, and management practices, while poor public awareness of GM crops and negative perceptions of the private sector were said to be addressed through open communication, sharing of resources, direct stakeholder engagement and awareness creation. The regulatory differences remained outside the scope of the project. Conclusions To improve the effectiveness of agbiotech PPPs, there is first a need for a regulatory regime that is acceptable to both the public and private sector partners. Second, early and continuous joint planning; sharing of

Quantum key distribution on Hannover Campus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duhme, Joerg; Franz, Torsten; Werner, Reinhard F. [Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, AG Quanteninformation (Germany); Haendchen, Vitus; Eberle, Tobias; Schnabel, Roman [Albert Einstein Institut, Quantum Interferometry (Germany)

2012-07-01

We report on the progress of the implementation of an entanglement-based quantum key distribution on Hannover campus using squeezed gaussian states (continuous variables). This poster focuses on the theoretical aspects of the project. Experimental data has been compared with the theoretical simulation of the experimental setup. We especially discuss effects of the homodyne detection and postprocessing in use on the measurement outcome.

Time to refine key climate policy models

Science.gov (United States)

Barron, Alexander R.

2018-05-01

Ambition regarding climate change at the national level is critical but is often calibrated with the projected costs — as estimated by a small suite of energy-economic models. Weaknesses in several key areas in these models will continue to distort policy design unless collectively addressed by a diversity of researchers.

Themeaning and Role of Projects in contemporary Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waldemar Walczak

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to present and explain the important role and meanings of projects for modern organizations. The particular attention was paid on differing project’s features and premises that substantiate incremental interest of project management methodic of diagnosis key conditionality, which has fundamental meaning for correct planning of project venture. Important element of led analysis was presenting and discussing project limitation and key processes related with project preparation phase. A very significant accent of led consideration are recommendations for management practice related with identifying the needs, expectations and stakeholders influence on project success, as well as calling particular attention on benefits gained by organizations due to realized project.

Key findings from HSC's 2010 site visits: health care markets weather economic downturn, brace for health reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Felland, Laurie E; Grossman, Joy M; Tu, Ha T

2011-05-01

Lingering fallout--loss of jobs and employer coverage--from the great recession slowed demand for health care services but did little to slow aggressive competition by dominant hospital systems for well-insured patients, according to key findings from the Center for Studying Health System Change's (HSC) 2010 site visits to 12 nationally representative metropolitan communities. Hospitals with significant market clout continued to command high payment rate increases from private insurers, and tighter hospital-physician alignment heightened concerns about growing provider market power. High and rising premiums led to increasing employer adoption of consumer-driven health plans and continued increases in patient cost sharing, but the broader movement to educate and engage consumers in care decisions did not keep pace. State and local budget deficits led to some funding cuts for safety net providers, but an influx of federal stimulus funds increased support to community health centers and shored up Medicaid programs, allowing many people who lost private insurance because of job losses to remain covered. Hospitals, physicians and insurers generally viewed health reform coverage expansions favorably, but all worried about protecting revenues as reform requirements phase in.

Microbiome Research Is Becoming the Key to Better Understanding Health and Nutrition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dirk Hadrich

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The human microbiome has emerged as the crucial moderator in the interactions between food and our body. It is increasingly recognised that the microbiome can change our mind and health status, or switch on a wide range of diseases including cancer, cardio-metabolic diseases, allergies, and obesity. The causes of diseases are often only partially understood. However, nutrients, metabolites, and microbes are increasingly regarded as key players, even where the complete disease mechanisms remain unclear. The key to progress in the future will be to use and exploit additional, newly emerging disciplines such as metagenomics to complement patient information and to bring our understanding of diseases and the interrelation and effects of nutritional molecules to the next level. The EU has already funded 216 projects under the 7th Framework Programme and Horizon 2020 programmes to promote metagenomics and to advance our knowledge of microbes. This support started with the catalysing MetaHIT project that has produced a catalogue of gut microbes, and has arrived now at the very multi-disciplinary SYSCID action looking at how the microbiome is driving its resilience potential and our health. Together, these projects involve an investment of more than €498 M. However, in Horizon 2020, the new EU Health and Food Work Programmes for 2018–2020 go even further by setting new goals to find applications and to generate more knowledge on the microbiome, nutrition, various hosts of microbes, and their relation to health and disease. The big vision is to modulate health and diseases via the microbiome and nutrition, while at the same time other factors such as omics, molecular signatures, and lifestyle are constant. In this way, microbiome and nutrition research is moving from an isolated and despised offside position to a beacon of hope with a lot of potential and possibilities.

ERP IMPLANTATION: KEY FACTORS OF SUCCESS AND IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dumitru Valentin

2008-05-01

Full Text Available The implantation of an ERP (abbreviation for "Enterprise Resource Planning" system is an enterprise project that implies the remodeling of the information system, mostly the rethinking of management procedures within the organization. The expansion and the complexity of these projects demand a theoretical framework and « optimal practices » in order to model and to evaluate the key factors of implementation success and to analyze its impact on the organization’s performance. The research problem of our communication can be divided into three research questions: - What conceptual framework for ERP implantation? - What are the key factors of success in ERP implantation? - What is the relationship between ERP implantation and enterprise performance?

The impact on healthcare, policy and practice from 36 multi-project research programmes: findings from two reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanney, Steve; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Blatch-Jones, Amanda; Glover, Matthew; Raftery, James

2017-03-28

We sought to analyse the impacts found, and the methods used, in a series of assessments of programmes and portfolios of health research consisting of multiple projects. We analysed a sample of 36 impact studies of multi-project research programmes, selected from a wider sample of impact studies included in two narrative systematic reviews published in 2007 and 2016. We included impact studies in which the individual projects in a programme had been assessed for wider impact, especially on policy or practice, and where findings had been described in such a way that allowed them to be collated and compared. Included programmes were highly diverse in terms of location (11 different countries plus two multi-country ones), number of component projects (8 to 178), nature of the programme, research field, mode of funding, time between completion and impact assessment, methods used to assess impact, and level of impact identified. Thirty-one studies reported on policy impact, 17 on clinician behaviour or informing clinical practice, three on a combined category such as policy and clinician impact, and 12 on wider elements of impact (health gain, patient benefit, improved care or other benefits to the healthcare system). In those multi-programme projects that assessed the respective categories, the percentage of projects that reported some impact was policy 35% (range 5-100%), practice 32% (10-69%), combined category 64% (60-67%), and health gain/health services 27% (6-48%). Variations in levels of impact achieved partly reflected differences in the types of programme, levels of collaboration with users, and methods and timing of impact assessment. Most commonly, principal investigators were surveyed; some studies involved desk research and some interviews with investigators and/or stakeholders. Most studies used a conceptual framework such as the Payback Framework. One study attempted to assess the monetary value of a research programme's health gain. The widespread

Risk Evaluation of a UHV Power Transmission Construction Project Based on a Cloud Model and FCE Method for Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huiru Zhao

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In order to achieve the sustainable development of energy, Ultra High Voltage (UHV power transmission construction projects are being established in China currently. Their high-tech nature, the massive amount of money involved, and the need for multi-agent collaboration as well as complex construction environments bring many challenges and risks. Risk management, therefore, is critical to reduce the risks and realize sustainable development of projects. Unfortunately, many traditional risk assessment methods may not perform well due to the great uncertainty and randomness inherent in UHV power construction projects. This paper, therefore, proposes a risk evaluation index system and a hybrid risk evaluation model to evaluate the risk of UHV projects and find out the key risk factors. This model based on a cloud model and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE method combines the superiority of the cloud model for reflecting randomness and discreteness with the advantages of the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method in handling uncertain and vague issues. For the sake of proving our framework, an empirical study of “Zhejiang-Fuzhou” UHV power transmission construction project is presented. As key contributions, we find the risk of this project lies at a “middle” to “high” level and closer to a “middle” level; the “management risk” and “social risk” are identified as the most important risk factors requiring more attention; and some risk control recommendations are proposed. This article demonstrates the value of our approach in risk identification, which seeks to improve the risk control level and the sustainable development of UHV power transmission construction projects.

Strategy and implementation of resources control of key equipments in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zha Qing

2014-01-01

The strategic resources of the construction of nuclear power plant, which include the main equipment of nuclear island, heavy forgings, the bottleneck equipment and strategic materials, is one of the key issues in the construction of nuclear power projects. The control of these strategic resources has become the focus of competition in industry and the major nuclear power groups are willing to fight for this huge advantages. The resource control strategies of key equipment of nuclear power projects are analyzed in this paper. This paper put forward specific measures and methods for the strategic resources control. By the application to a plurality of nuclear power engineering construction projects, these specific measures and methods achieved good results and will be with important guidance and reference for the construction of future nuclear power projects in China. (author)

Efficient Project Delivery Using Lean Principles - An Indian Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Kovvuri, P. Ramachandra Reddy; Sawhney, Anil; Ahuja, Ritu; Sreekumar, Aiswarya

2016-03-01

Construction industry in India is growing at a rapid pace. Along with this growth, the industry is facing numerous challenges that are making delivery of projects inefficient. Experts believe that capacity constraints in the industry need to be addressed immediately. Government has recommended `introduction of efficient technologies and modern management techniques' to increase the productivity of the industry. In this context, lean principles can act as a lever to make project delivery more efficient and provide the much needed impetus to the Indian construction sector. Around the globe lean principles are showing positive results on the projects. Project teams are reporting improvements in construction time, cost and quality along with softer benefits of enhanced collaboration, coordination and trust in project teams. Can adoption of lean principles provide similar benefits in the Indian construction sector? This research was conducted to answer this question. Using an action research approach a key lean construction tool called Last Planner System (LPS) was tested on a large Indian construction project. The work described in this work investigates the improvements achieved in project delivery by adopting LPS in Indian construction sector. Comparison in pre- and post-implementation data demonstrates increase in the certainty of work-flow and improves schedule compliance. This is measured through a simple LPS metric called percent plan complete. Explicit improvements in schedule performance are seen during 8 week LPS implementation along with implicit improvements in coordination, collaboration and trust in the project team. This work reports the findings of LPS implementation on the case study project outlining the barriers and drivers to adoption, strategies needed to ensure successful implementation and roadmap for implementation. Based on the findings the authors envision that lean construction can make project delivery more efficient in India.

Security Economics in the European Context: Implications of the EUSECON Project

OpenAIRE

Michael Brzoska; Raphael Bossong; Eric van Um

2011-01-01

This paper presents key aspects and policy implications of a multi-annual research project on economic analyses of European security issues (EUSECON), with an emphasis on intentional threats of organised crime, piracy and terrorism. The first part argues that rational models can provide significant insights on the emergence and current patterns of terrorism and piracy. These findings could lead to new priorities or to more nuanced interventions in response to these threats. The second part fo...

Mid-Columbia Coho Reintroduction Feasibility Project : Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife

1999-04-01

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is proposing to fund research for 2 to 3 years on the feasibility of reintroducing coho salmon into mid-Columbia River basin tributaries. The research would take place in the Methow and Wenatchee river basins in Chelan and Okanogan Counties, Washington. BPA has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) (DOE/EA-1282) evaluating the proposed project. Based on the analysis in the EA, BPA has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required, and BPA is issuing this Finding of No Significant Impact.

Mid-Columbia Coho Reintroduction Feasibility Project. Final Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is proposing to fund research for 2 to 3 years on the feasibility of reintroducing coho salmon into mid-Columbia River basin tributaries. The research would take place in the Methow and Wenatchee river basins in Chelan and Okanogan Counties, Washington. BPA has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) (DOE/EA-1282) evaluating the proposed project. Based on the analysis in the EA, BPA has determined that the proposed action is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required, and BPA is issuing this Finding of No Significant Impact

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT – KEY FACTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magdalena Daniela DINU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper exposes Supply Chain Management by its key factors. Briefly, where the Supply Chain Management is treated as strategic part of a company then maintaining both control and influence throughout the entire supply chain are key factors and critical to success. On the other hand, finding the right partner to manage the non-strategic Supply Chains would be another key factor too. To define the most important key factors within Supply Chain Management means a deeply understanding of both Supply Chain’ s components, procedures, workflow, processes and the importance of Supply Chain Management into maximizing company's value. SCORE model able to provide solid information about measuring performance and identifying priorities within Supply Chain Management will help us to understand the key factors by analyzing its elements: Plan, Source, Make, Deliver,Return, Enable. These elements covers all the challenging areas from first to third tier of Supply Chain Management.

Kentucky Preschool Evaluation Project: Differential Effects, Program Characteristics and Child Outcomes, and Longitudinal and Cumulative Findings. Reports 1-4, 1998-1999.

Science.gov (United States)

Hemmeter, Mary Louise; Townley, Kim; Wilson, Stephen; Epstein, Ann; Hines, Huyi

This document is comprised of four reports related to the evaluation of the Kentucky Preschool Program (KPP), serving 4-year-olds who qualify for the free lunch program and 3- and 4-year-olds with disabilities. Report 1 focuses on the differential effects of the preschool program related to race and to gender. Three key findings are reported: (1)…

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…

Haughton-Mars Project Expedition 2005: Interplanetary Supply Chain Management & Logistics Architectures

Science.gov (United States)

deWeck, Olivier; Simchi-Levi, David

2006-01-01

The 2005 expedition to the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) research station on Devon Island was part of a NASA-funded project on Space Logistics. A team of nine researchers from MIT went to the Canadian Arctic to participate in the annual HMP field campaign from July 8 to August 12, 2005. We investigated the applicability of the HMP research station as an analogue for planetary macro- and micro-logistics to the Moon and Mars, and began collecting data for modeling purposes. We also tested new technologies and procedures to enhance the ability of humans and robots to jointly explore remote environments. The expedition had four main objectives. We briefly summarize our key findings in each of these areas.

Managing clinical improvement projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Joanna; Simmonds, Lorraine

This paper, the second of a three-part series looking at change management tools, provides a practical guide on how to use common project management principles in practice. Much of the literature on project management focuses on the business arena, with little reference to clinical settings. Identifying this literature and understanding its relevance to managing projects in healthcare can be difficult. This article provides a practical guide to identifying the key principles of good project management and applying these in health settings.

Renewable energy project development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohi, J.

1996-12-31

The author presents this paper with three main thrusts. The first is to discuss the implementation of renewable energy options in China, the second is to identify the key project development steps necessary to implement such programs, and finally is to develop recommendations in the form of key issues which must be addressed in developing such a program, and key technical assistance needs which must be addressed to make such a program practical.

Implementing an interprofessional patient safety learning initiative: insights from participants, project leads and steering committee members.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffs, Lianne; Abramovich, Ilona Alex; Hayes, Chris; Smith, Orla; Tregunno, Deborah; Chan, Wai-Hin; Reeves, Scott

2013-11-01

Effective teamwork and interprofessional collaboration are vital for healthcare quality and safety; however, challenges persist in creating interprofessional teamwork and resilient professional teams. A study was undertaken to delineate perceptions of individuals involved with the implementation of an interprofessional patient safety competency-based intervention and intervention participants. The study employed a qualitative study design that triangulated data from interviews with six steering committee members and five members of the project team who developed and monitored the intervention and six focus groups with clinical team members who participated in the intervention and implemented local patient safety projects within a large teaching hospital in Canada. Our study findings reveal that healthcare professionals and support staff acquired patient safety competencies in an interprofessional context that can result in improved patient and work flow processes. However, key challenges exist including managing projects amidst competing priorities, lacking physician engagement and sustaining projects. Our findings point to leaders to provide opportunities for healthcare teams to engage in interprofessional teamwork and patient safety projects to improve quality of patient care. Further research efforts should examine the sustainability of interprofessional safety projects and how leaders can more fully engage the participation of all professions, specifically physicians.

Undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of service-learning through a school-based community project.

Science.gov (United States)

Bassi, Sherry

2011-01-01

Service-learning (SL) is an experiential teaching method that combines instruction with community service, with the aim of enriching students' academic learning, interpersonal skills and sense of responsibility while making meaningful contributions to the community. However, measuring outcomes of service-learning projects is difficult. This article reports on the perceptions of 18 third-year undergraduate nursing students who took part in a pilot service-learning project targeting tobacco use in a local elementary school. Faculty members evaluated the program's outcomes by engaging students in structured reflection on the program about its relevance to their future careers as practicing professionals, especially in community-based settings. The students' perceptions were elicited through three sets of reflective assignments following the project. Findings from the reflective assignments suggest that the pilot program was successful in enhancing the students' academic, social, and personal development while building a partnership between the school of nursing and key players in the community, including school-based nurses, teachers, administrators, families, and community leaders. The author suggests that service-learning projects can help nursing students accomplish key developmental tasks of the college years (such as building their competence, autonomy, and integrity), while helping impart the skills and values they will need as they graduate and seek professional nursing roles.

Decision Process Analysis on Project Priority Strategy: A Case Study of an ICT Design Firm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincent F. Yu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Project priority strategy is the benchmarking of a corporate operation management strategy and in particular is used by a projects-based research and development firm in the complex competence environment of the information and communication technology (ICT industry. This research takes the variables of external environments and internal resources into account for a firm’s market, technology, and finance assets in order to present a decision process on a project priority strategy. This empirical study also addresses the key factors of the interaction between business on a project development’s supply chain: clients, the examined firm, and suppliers. The findings indicate that a profit-driven project can dominate the firm’s strategic operations and management from the resource-based view and analytic hierarchy process technique perspectives. At the same time, the analysis results contribute significant values to project decision management, which is highly recommended for small-medium enterprises conducting product/project development, project portfolio management, and strategic business management.

Secure image retrieval with multiple keys

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Haihua; Zhang, Xinpeng; Wei, Qiuhan; Cheng, Hang

2018-03-01

This article proposes a secure image retrieval scheme under a multiuser scenario. In this scheme, the owner first encrypts and uploads images and their corresponding features to the cloud; then, the user submits the encrypted feature of the query image to the cloud; next, the cloud compares the encrypted features and returns encrypted images with similar content to the user. To find the nearest neighbor in the encrypted features, an encryption with multiple keys is proposed, in which the query feature of each user is encrypted by his/her own key. To improve the key security and space utilization, global optimization and Gaussian distribution are, respectively, employed to generate multiple keys. The experiments show that the proposed encryption can provide effective and secure image retrieval for each user and ensure confidentiality of the query feature of each user.

Marketing Industrial Project-Related Services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cova, Bernard; Skaates, Maria Anne

2002-01-01

Services are a growing part of projects in the context of the international trend toward solution buying and selling on B2B markets. Services are also often a key source of competitive advantage in project business. Therefore the aim of this paper is to critically scrutinise the intuitive...... hypothesis that the marketing of project-related services lies somewhere at the crossroads between services marketing and project marketing....

Finding-specific display presets for computed radiography soft-copy reading.

Science.gov (United States)

Andriole, K P; Gould, R G; Webb, W R

1999-05-01

Much work has been done to optimize the display of cross-sectional modality imaging examinations for soft-copy reading (i.e., window/level tissue presets, and format presentations such as tile and stack modes, four-on-one, nine-on-one, etc). Less attention has been paid to the display of digital forms of the conventional projection x-ray. The purpose of this study is to assess the utility of providing presets for computed radiography (CR) soft-copy display, based not on the window/level settings, but on processing applied to the image optimized for visualization of specific findings, pathologies, etc (i.e., pneumothorax, tumor, tube location). It is felt that digital display of CR images based on finding-specific processing presets has the potential to: speed reading of digital projection x-ray examinations on soft copy; improve diagnostic efficacy; standardize display across examination type, clinical scenario, important key findings, and significant negatives; facilitate image comparison; and improve confidence in and acceptance of soft-copy reading. Clinical chest images are acquired using an Agfa-Gevaert (Mortsel, Belgium) ADC 70 CR scanner and Fuji (Stamford, CT) 9000 and AC2 CR scanners. Those demonstrating pertinent findings are transferred over the clinical picture archiving and communications system (PACS) network to a research image processing station (Agfa PS5000), where the optimal image-processing settings per finding, pathologic category, etc, are developed in conjunction with a thoracic radiologist, by manipulating the multiscale image contrast amplification (Agfa MUSICA) algorithm parameters. Soft-copy display of images processed with finding-specific settings are compared with the standard default image presentation for 50 cases of each category. Comparison is scored using a 5-point scale with the positive scale denoting the standard presentation is preferred over the finding-specific processing, the negative scale denoting the finding

The use of process mapping in healthcare quality improvement projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Antonacci, Grazia; Reed, Julie E; Lennox, Laura; Barlow, James

2018-05-01

Introduction Process mapping provides insight into systems and processes in which improvement interventions are introduced and is seen as useful in healthcare quality improvement projects. There is little empirical evidence on the use of process mapping in healthcare practice. This study advances understanding of the benefits and success factors of process mapping within quality improvement projects. Methods Eight quality improvement projects were purposively selected from different healthcare settings within the UK's National Health Service. Data were gathered from multiple data-sources, including interviews exploring participants' experience of using process mapping in their projects and perceptions of benefits and challenges related to its use. These were analysed using inductive analysis. Results Eight key benefits related to process mapping use were reported by participants (gathering a shared understanding of the reality; identifying improvement opportunities; engaging stakeholders in the project; defining project's objectives; monitoring project progress; learning; increased empathy; simplicity of the method) and five factors related to successful process mapping exercises (simple and appropriate visual representation, information gathered from multiple stakeholders, facilitator's experience and soft skills, basic training, iterative use of process mapping throughout the project). Conclusions Findings highlight benefits and versatility of process mapping and provide practical suggestions to improve its use in practice.

Finding solid ground: law enforcement, key populations and their health and rights in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheibe, Andrew; Howell, Simon; Müller, Alexandra; Katumba, Munyaradzi; Langen, Bram; Artz, Lillian; Marks, Monique

2016-01-01

Sex workers, people who use drugs, men who have sex with men, women who have sex with women and transgender people in South Africa frequently experience high levels of stigma, abuse and discrimination. Evidence suggests that such abuse is sometimes committed by police officers, meaning that those charged with protection are perpetrators. This reinforces cycles of violence, increases the risk of HIV infection, undermines HIV prevention and treatment interventions and violates the constitutional prescriptions that the police are mandated to protect. This paper explores how relationship building can create positive outcomes while taking into account the challenges associated with reforming police strategies in relation to key populations, and vice versa. We argue that relationships between law enforcement agencies and key populations need to be re-examined and reconstituted to enable appropriate responses and services. The antagonistic positioning, "othering" and blame assignment frequently seen in interactions between law enforcement officials and key populations can negatively influence both, albeit for different reasons. In addressing these concerns, we argue that mediation based on consensual dialogue is required, and can be harnessed through a process that highlights points of familiarity that are often shared, but not understood, by both parties. Rather than laying blame, we argue that substantive changes need to be owned and executed by all role-players, informed by a common language that is cognisant of differing perspectives. Relational approaches can be used to identify programmes that align goals that are part of law enforcement, human rights and public health despite not always being seen as such. Law enforcement champions and representatives of key populations need to be identified and supported to promote interventions that are mutually reinforcing, and address perceived differences by highlighting commonality. Creating opportunities to share experiences

Project management in the public sector: a bibliometric analysis (1988-2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Honorato Clemente

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The importance of management of projects in the public sector has manifested itself as a governmental initiative which ensures and contributes to governance and focusses on transparency, accountability, the efficient and effective use of public resources, the implementation of policies and changes and, principally, on the maintenance of public trust. This being the case, the aim of this study is to present a bibliometric study about the management of projects in the public sector in order to identify publication trends and theoretical currents within this field. Data was gathered from the Web of Science Core Collection database and the software Sitkis and Ucinet were utilized to generate the networks. Descriptive and network analyses such as reference articles, co-citations and key words are presented. Findings suggest that management and execution methods of construction and infrastructure projects, such as Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT and Public-Private Partnerships, are relevant within the field of project management in the public sector.

The Tsimane Health and Life History Project: Integrating anthropology and biomedicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurven, Michael; Stieglitz, Jonathan; Trumble, Benjamin; Blackwell, Aaron D; Beheim, Bret; Davis, Helen; Hooper, Paul; Kaplan, Hillard

2017-04-01

The Tsimane Health and Life History Project, an integrated bio-behavioral study of the human life course, is designed to test competing hypotheses of human life-history evolution. One aim is to understand the bidirectional connections between life history and social behavior in a high-fertility, kin-based context lacking amenities of modern urban life (e.g. sanitation, banks, electricity). Another aim is to understand how a high pathogen burden influences health and well-being during development and adulthood. A third aim addresses how modernization shapes human life histories and sociality. Here we outline the project's goals, history, and main findings since its inception in 2002. We reflect on the implications of current findings and highlight the need for more coordinated ethnographic and biomedical study of contemporary nonindustrial populations to address broad questions that can situate evolutionary anthropology in a key position within the social and life sciences. © 2017 The Authors Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Long-distance quantum key distribution with imperfect devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lo Piparo, Nicoló; Razavi, Mohsen

2014-01-01

Quantum key distribution over probabilistic quantum repeaters is addressed. We compare, under practical assumptions, two such schemes in terms of their secure key generation rate per memory, R QKD . The two schemes under investigation are the one proposed by Duan et al. in [Nat. 414, 413 (2001)] and that of Sangouard et al. proposed in [Phys. Rev. A 76, 050301 (2007)]. We consider various sources of imperfections in the latter protocol, such as a nonzero double-photon probability for the source, dark count per pulse, channel loss and inefficiencies in photodetectors and memories, to find the rate for different nesting levels. We determine the maximum value of the double-photon probability beyond which it is not possible to share a secret key anymore. We find the crossover distance for up to three nesting levels. We finally compare the two protocols

Manpower development for nuclear power programme. China. Project findings and recommendations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csik, B.J.

1992-01-01

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) project was conceived in April 1985, implementation was started on preliminary authorization by summer 1986, and it was approved and signed in early 1987. The duration was originally planned for three years with a UNDP input of US$ 1,657.500 (including Government cost sharing of US$ 280,000). The project is now essentially completed with a few items still pending, though committed as firmly planned, and the current cost estimate is US$ 1,707.617. The objective of the project was to assist in establishing long-term training programmes in two training centres in the People's Republic of China (Qinshan and Suzhou) and strengthen the training capabilities at these centres. The two centres are intended to provide specialized comprehensive training in basic and applied nuclear power engineering disciplines as well as in construction, operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants to technical personnel assigned to the nuclear power plants in the People's Republic of China

Scenarios and Strategies for Vocational Education and Lifelong Learning in Europe: Summary of Findings and Conclusions of the Joint CEDEFOP/ETF Project (1998-2002). CEDEFOP Panorama Series.

Science.gov (United States)

Sellin, Burkart

The scenarios project set out to develop a tool to improve understanding of vocational education and training (VET) systems in the linked contexts of economic and technological change; changes in society, work, and the labor market; and changing training/skills environment. Other key attempts at the European level to generate European scenarios…

Hamburg's Family Literacy project (FLY) in the context of international trends and recent evaluation findings

Science.gov (United States)

Rabkin, Gabriele; Geffers, Stefanie; Hanemann, Ulrike; Heckt, Meike; Pietsch, Marcus

2018-05-01

The authors of this article begin with an introduction to the holistic concept of family literacy and learning and its implementation in various international contexts, paying special attention to the key role played by the notions of lifelong learning and intergenerational learning. The international trends and experiences they outline inspired and underpinned the concept of a prize-winning Family Literacy project called FLY, which was piloted in 2004 in Hamburg, Germany. FLY aims to build bridges between preschools, schools and families by actively involving parents and other family members in children's literacy education. Its three main pillars are: (1) parents' participation in their children's classes; (2) special sessions for parents (without their children); and (3) joint out-of-school activities for teachers, parents and children. These three pillars help families from migrant backgrounds, in particular, to develop a better understanding of German schools and to play a more active role in school life. To illustrate how the FLY concept is integrated into everyday school life, the authors showcase one participating Hamburg school before presenting their own recent study on the impact of FLY in a group of Hamburg primary schools with several years of FLY experience. The results of the evaluation clearly indicate that the project's main objectives have been achieved: (1) parents of children in FLY schools feel more involved in their children's learning and are offered more opportunities to take part in school activities; (2) the quality of teaching in these schools has improved, with instruction developing a more skills-based focus due to markedly better classroom management und a more supportive learning environment; and (3) children in FLY schools are more likely to have opportunities to accumulate experience in out-of-school contexts and to be exposed to environments that stimulate and enhance their literacy skills in a tangible way.

KEY COMPARISON Report to the CCT on key comparison EUROMET.T-K6 (EUROMET Project no. 621): Comparison of the realizations of local dew/frost-point temperature scales in the range -50 °C to +20 °C

Science.gov (United States)

Heinonen, Martti

2010-01-01

The first humidity CIPM key comparison, CCT-K6, will be completed in 2010. The corresponding European regional key comparison, EUROMET.T-K6, was carried out in 2004 to 2008. National metrology institutes from 24 countries participated in the comparison. The comparison covered the dew-point temperature range from -50 °C to +20 °C. It was organized as three parallel loops with two specially manufactured precision chilled mirror hygrometers as transfer standards in each loop. The comparison scheme was designed to ensure high quality results with evenly spread workload for the participants. MIKES was coordinating the project. This report presents the results of the comparison and provides detailed information on the measurements performed by all participating laboratories and the analysis of the results. Conclusions on the equivalence of the dew-point temperature standards are drawn on the basis of calculated bilateral degrees of equivalence and deviations from EURAMET comparison reference values (ERV). Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCT, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA).

A Collaborative Approach to Defining the Usefulness of Impact: Lessons from a Knowledge Exchange Project Involving Academics and Social Work Practitioners

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, Heather; Gallagher, Michael; Smith, Mark

2012-01-01

This paper reports on a knowledge exchange project involving academics and practitioners in six local authority social work departments. It contributes to recent debates about the coproduction of knowledge, presenting findings in three key areas: the importance of relationships for knowledge exchange; "what works" for practitioners…

Cigarette tax avoidance and evasion: findings from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project

Science.gov (United States)

Guindon, G. Emmanuel; Driezen, Pete; Chaloupka, Frank J.; Fong, Geoffrey T.

2014-01-01

Background Decades of research have produced overwhelming evidence that tobacco taxes reduce tobacco use and increase government tax revenue. The magnitude and effectiveness of taxes at reducing tobacco use provide an incentive for tobacco users, manufacturers and others, most notably criminal networks, to devise ways to avoid or evade tobacco taxes. Consequently, tobacco tax avoidance and tax evasion can reduce the public health and fiscal benefit of tobacco taxes. Objectives First, this study aims to document, using data from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC), levels and trends in cigarette users’ tax avoidance and tax evasion behaviour in a sample of sixteen low-, middle- and high-income countries. Second, this study explores factors associated with cigarette tax avoidance and evasion. Methods We use data from ITC surveys conducted in 16 countries to estimate the extent and the type of cigarette tax avoidance/evasion between countries and across time. We use self-reported information about the source of a smoker’s last purchase of cigarettes or self-reported packaging information, or similar information gathered by the interviewers during face-to-face interviews to measure tax avoidance/evasion behaviours. We use generalized estimating equations (GEE) to explore individual-level factors that may affect the likelihood of cigarette tax avoidance or evasion in Canada, United States, United Kingdom and France. Findings We find prevalence estimates of cigarette tax avoidance/evasion vary substantially between countries and across time. In Canada, France and the United Kingdom, more than 10% of smokers report last purchasing cigarettes from low or untaxed sources while in Malaysia, some prevalence estimates suggest substantial cigarette tax avoidance/evasion. We also find important associations between household income and education and the likelihood to engage in tax avoidance/evasion. These associations, however, vary both in

Engaging Key Stakeholders in Climate Change: A Community-Based Project for Youth-Led Participatory Climate Action

Science.gov (United States)

Trott, Carlie D.

of urgency towards the need for climate change action. Further, participants reported increased engagement in personal pro-environmental behaviors, an enhanced sense of agency in the context of climate change, and provided strong evidence of their role as agents of change in family and community contexts. Through SCA, participants gained a deeper appreciation for science (e.g., in school, careers, and society) and reported increased interest, participation, confidence, and performance in school science. Findings contribute to the vast and growing psychology literature on climate change perceptions and action, and from the understudied perspective of youth. Through a combination of innovative methods and interactive projects, the youth in this study gained a number of psychosocial and educational benefits, while tangibly contributing to the sustainable transformation of their families and communities. Findings of this dissertation have implications for educational programs, youth organizing, and interventions aimed to strengthen youths' active engagement with critical social and scientific issues that impact their lives.

Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange through Steganographied Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amine Khaldi

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose – In a private key system, the major problem is the exchange of the key between the two parties. Diffie and Hellman have set up a way to share the key. However, this technique is not protected against a man-in-the-middle attack as the settings are not authenticated. The Diffie-Hellman key exchange requires the use of digital signature or creating a secure channel for data exchanging to avoid the man-in-the-middle attack. Methodology/approach/design – We present a Diffie-Hellman key exchange implementation using steganographied images. Using steganography made invisible the data exchange to a potential attacker. So, we will not need a digital signature or creating a secure channel to do our key exchange since only the two concerned parts are aware of this exchange. Findings – We generate a symmetric 128-bit key between two users without use of digital signature or secure channel. However, it works only on bitmap images, heavy images and sensitive to compression.

Gender balance on company boards: a summary from a research project about the impact of the Norwegian gender quota legislation

OpenAIRE

2015-01-01

This report summarizes main findings from the research project: Effects of gender balance in corporate boards. The project is financed by the Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion. The report consists of nine chapters. The introductory chapter will provide key information about the gender quota legislation, as well as describe the policy process that led to the gender balance legislation; the second chapter will present some of the existing research on the gender balance regulat...

The CORMAN project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bregnballe, Thomas

2013-01-01

The CORMAN project (‘Sustainable Management of Cormorant Populations’) is now in its final year. The main goals have been (1) to collaborate with the CRG in order to assess the number and distribution of Cormorants in Europe during breeding and wintertime, and (2) to create the EU Cormorant...... Platform in order to disseminate information. The project has also engaged with key European stakeholder groups and formed a Stakeholders Liaison Group to support information exchange and discuss relevant issues. The project is carried out on behalf of DG Environment under the European Commission....

Causes, consequences, and policy responses to the migration of health workers: key findings from India.

Science.gov (United States)

Walton-Roberts, Margaret; Runnels, Vivien; Rajan, S Irudaya; Sood, Atul; Nair, Sreelekha; Thomas, Philomina; Packer, Corinne; MacKenzie, Adrian; Tomblin Murphy, Gail; Labonté, Ronald; Bourgeault, Ivy Lynn

2017-04-05

This study sought to better understand the drivers of skilled health professional migration, its consequences, and the various strategies countries have employed to mitigate its negative impacts. The study was conducted in four countries-Jamaica, India, the Philippines, and South Africa-that have historically been "sources" of health workers migrating to other countries. The aim of this paper is to present the findings from the Indian portion of the study. Data were collected using surveys of Indian generalist and specialist physicians, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists, dieticians, and other allied health therapists. We also conducted structured interviews with key stakeholders representing government ministries, professional associations, regional health authorities, health care facilities, and educational institutions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression models. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Shortages of health workers are evident in certain parts of India and in certain specialty areas, but the degree and nature of such shortages are difficult to determine due to the lack of evidence and health information. The relationship of such shortages to international migration is not clear. Policy responses to health worker migration are also similarly embedded in wider processes aimed at health workforce management, but overall, there is no clear policy agenda to manage health worker migration. Decision-makers in India present conflicting options about the need or desirability of curtailing migration. Consequences of health work migration on the Indian health care system are not easily discernable from other compounding factors. Research suggests that shortages of skilled health workers in India must be examined in relation to domestic policies on training, recruitment, and retention rather than viewed as a direct consequence of the international migration of health workers.

Innovative developments and managerial factors as key enablers of deepwater riser project delivery

OpenAIRE

Belik, Maxim

2016-01-01

Master's thesis in Offshore technology: industrial asset management The oil and gas industry is currently facing unprecedented challenges because of a negative impact from a declined commodity pricing trend. As the industry tackles deeper and more complex projects, the use of innovative technology to resolve technical challenges becomes an essential project enabler. Integrating proven designs and products with new technologies is a basic requirement in present business environment. Com...

Promoting bioethanol production through clean development mechanism: Findings and lessons learnt from ASIATIC project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gnansounou, Edgard; Bedniaguine, Denis; Dauriat, Arnaud

2005-12-15

Global climate change mitigation policies call for increasing use of biomass fuels as renewable substitutes to fossil energy resources. Quantified targets for biofuels introduction in to the market exist in the United States, the European Union, and a number of developing countries. In this context, mixing biologically produced ethanol with conventional gasoline represents an attractive technical option allowing for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and lessening the dependence on non-renewable petrol in the transportation sector. This paper investigates technological and socio-economic aspects of ethanol production in developing countries, particularly in China, with special focus on determining eligibility of bioethanol projects for Clean Development Mechanism. Basing on the findings of the ASIATIC study (Agriculture and Small to Medium Scale Industries in Peri-urban Areas through Ethanol Production for Transport In China), we analyse how alcohol fuels can be produced in a sustainable way with mutual benefits between rural and urban people. The bioethanol production cost and life cycle CO2 eq. emissions were calculated for six different types of feedstock: sugarcane, sugarcane molasses, sweet sorghum juice, cassava, corn, and sorghum bagasse. Implications of the CDM rules and procedures for bioethanol industry were examined under the angles of environmental and economical additionality, and conformity with the principles of sustainable development. It is found that the starch-based (cassava) ethanol production path has the greatest potential for market penetration in China, followed by the conversion route using sugar-based feedstock (sorghum juice, sugarcane molasses). Meanwhile, the lignocelluloses biomass - to - ethanol technology may represent the highest interest for implementation as Clean Development Mechanism project. (Author)

Learning and adapting to societal requirements for radioactive waste management. Key findings and experience of the forum on stakeholder confidence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC) is an ongoing initiative of the Nea Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC). The FSC is composed of nominees from Nea member countries and consists mostly of representatives of national organisations (implementers, regulators, policy makers, research and development personnel) with responsibility for, and experience of, interacting with stakeholders. The FSC mandate includes the following: to define, oversee and carry out work programme activities in the strategic area of public perception and stakeholder confidence, as assigned by the RWMC; to advise the RWMC on major and emerging issues in the area of public perception and stakeholder confidence related to waste management; to act as a forum to share experience in achieving stakeholder confidence and, in particular, in how to obtain the confidence of local communities and their representatives and intermediaries with the technical decision makers; to analyse today processes for embedding waste management programmes into a socio-political, decision-making context; to identify opportunities for harmonized views of member countries regarding successful and unsuccessful experiences in interacting with stakeholders, technical concerns of stakeholders, effective means of communicating with technical and nontechnical audiences. This report presents the key FSC findings based on the substantial documentation and experience developed by the Forum during its first four years of activity (2000-2004). The historical context within which the FSC was established is also described and provides a perspective to those findings. An appendix recounts the collective experience of the FSC members, including their views of the impact of FSC activities on participating organisations. The FSC will build upon the present findings during its next phase of work. (author)

Quality Cost in the Construction Industry ' Preliminary Findings in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mukhtar Che Ali

2010-06-01

Full Text Available One of the key areas being emphasis in ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS is performance measurement towards continual improvement. Among the primary measuring tools is quality cost approach. Quality cost has been well practice in manufacturing sector but slowly gain its importance in construction industry. In fact Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK has reckoned quality cost as one of the tool and technique in few of its management processes. In view of such circumstances that has prompted an effort to undertake a study to ascertain the level of knowledge and practice on quality cost in Malaysian construction landscape. The targeted group of respondents was the personnel in the project management team. Capitalizing Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB National Electronic Tendering Initiatives (NETI road shows which were held in year 2007 throughout the country, the author was able to garner 263 respondents representing the project management team. Subsequently the data gathered from the completed forms were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS software. General findings indicated that the level of knowledge and practice on quality cost among the project management team were relatively low. One of the main contributing factors was poor knowledge in the area related to quality cost. Despite of such scenario most of the respondents showed their interest in acquiring knowledge in the field of quality cost. Hence quality cost approach is at the infancy stage in Malaysian construction industry.

Proposed system for measuring project performance using process-based key performance indicators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haponava, T.; Al-Jibouri, Saad H.S.

2012-01-01

Despite some evidence of its usefulness, performance measurement by using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in the construction industry also has its critics. Among the shortcomings attributed to existing KPIs is the fact that almost all of them are product oriented. This means that the indicators

Methodology of project management at implementation of projects of high-rise construction

Science.gov (United States)

Papelniuk, Oksana

2018-03-01

High-rise construction is the perspective direction in urban development. An opportunity to arrange on rather small land plot a huge number of the living and commercial space makes high-rise construction very attractive for developers. However investment projects of high-rise buildings' construction are very expensive and complex that sets a task of effective management of such projects for the company builder. The best tool in this area today is the methodology of project management, which becomes a key factor of efficiency.

A secure key agreement protocol based on chaotic maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xing-Yuan; Luan Da-Peng

2013-01-01

To guarantee the security of communication in the public channel, many key agreement protocols have been proposed. Recently, Gong et al. proposed a key agreement protocol based on chaotic maps with password sharing. In this paper, Gong et al.'s protocol is analyzed, and we find that this protocol exhibits key management issues and potential security problems. Furthermore, the paper presents a new key agreement protocol based on enhanced Chebyshev polynomials to overcome these problems. Through our analysis, our key agreement protocol not only provides mutual authentication and the ability to resist a variety of common attacks, but also solve the problems of key management and security issues existing in Gong et al.'s protocol

DUST AND GAS IN THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS FROM THE HERITAGE HERSCHEL KEY PROJECT. I. DUST PROPERTIES AND INSIGHTS INTO THE ORIGIN OF THE SUBMILLIMETER EXCESS EMISSION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gordon, Karl D.; Roman-Duval, Julia; Meixner, Margaret [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Bot, Caroline [Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7550, 11 rue de l Université, F-67000 Strasbourg (France); Babler, Brian [Department of Astronomy, 475 North Charter Street, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Bernard, Jean-Philippe [CESR, Université de Toulouse, UPS, 9 Avenue du Colonel Roche, F-31028 Toulouse, Cedex 4 (France); Bolatto, Alberto; Jameson, Katherine [Department of Astronomy, Lab for Millimeter-wave Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 (United States); Boyer, Martha L. [Observational Cosmology Lab, Code 665, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Clayton, Geoffrey C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, 233-A Nicholson Hall, Tower Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States); Engelbracht, Charles [Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Fukui, Yasuo [Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602 (Japan); Galametz, Maud [European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, D-85748 Garching-bei-Mnchen (Germany); Galliano, Frederic; Hony, Sacha; Lebouteiller, Vianney [CEA, Laboratoire AIM, Irfu/SAp, Orme des Merisiers, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Hughes, Annie [Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Indebetouw, Remy [Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, and National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Israel, Frank P. [Sterrewacht Leiden, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Kawamura, Akiko [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8588 (Japan); and others

2014-12-20

The dust properties in the Large and Small Magellanic clouds (LMC/SMC) are studied using the HERITAGE Herschel Key Project photometric data in five bands from 100 to 500 μm. Three simple models of dust emission were fit to the observations: a single temperature blackbody modified by a power-law emissivity (SMBB), a single temperature blackbody modified by a broken power-law emissivity (BEMBB), and two blackbodies with different temperatures, both modified by the same power-law emissivity (TTMBB). Using these models, we investigate the origin of the submillimeter excess, defined as the submillimeter emission above that expected from SMBB models fit to observations <200 μm. We find that the BEMBB model produces the lowest fit residuals with pixel-averaged 500 μm submillimeter excesses of 27% and 43% for the LMC and SMC, respectively. Adopting gas masses from previous works, the gas-to-dust ratios calculated from our fitting results show that the TTMBB fits require significantly more dust than are available even if all the metals present in the interstellar medium (ISM) were condensed into dust. This indicates that the submillimeter excess is more likely to be due to emissivity variations than a second population of colder dust. We derive integrated dust masses of (7.3 ± 1.7) × 10{sup 5} and (8.3 ± 2.1) × 10{sup 4} M {sub ☉} for the LMC and SMC, respectively. We find significant correlations between the submillimeter excess and other dust properties; further work is needed to determine the relative contributions of fitting noise and ISM physics to the correlations.

Transfer maps and projection formulas

OpenAIRE

Tabuada, Goncalo

2010-01-01

Transfer maps and projection formulas are undoubtedly one of the key tools in the development and computation of (co)homology theories. In this note we develop an unified treatment of transfer maps and projection formulas in the non-commutative setting of dg categories. As an application, we obtain transfer maps and projection formulas in algebraic K-theory, cyclic homology, topological cyclic homology, and other scheme invariants.

CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Argirova

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The modern information society in ever increasing business projects and time limits to achieve the objectives at minimum cost leads to a search for ways to manage them. Today, more and more managers use IT tools for project management, and the term itself is associated with software solutions for the optimization and management of projects in different fields of human activity. The paper examines the main characteristics of project management by means of information technology. Key tasks and processes in the project implementation and management are discussed.

Successful project management

CERN Document Server

Young, Trevor L

2016-01-01

Successful Project Management, 5th edition, is an essential guide for anyone who wants to improve the success rate of their projects. It will help managers to maintain a balance between the demands of the customer, the project, the team and the organization. Covering the more technical aspects of a project from start to completion it contains practised and tested techniques, covering project conception and start-up, how to manage stake holders, effective risk management, project planning and launch and execution. Also including a brand new glossary of key terms, it provides help with evaluating your project as well as practical checklists and templates to ensure success for any ambitious project manager. With over one million copies sold, the hugely popular Creating Success series covers a wide variety of topic, with the latest editions including new chapters such as Tough Conversations and Treating People Right. This indispensable business skills collection is suited to a variety of roles, from someone look...

A process model for design team communication within fast-track building projects using project websites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Otter, den A.F.H.J.; Reymen, I.M.M.J.

2008-01-01

The factor time within building projects is on high pressure because of the increasing need for faster delivery of buildings. Within fast track, complex building projects the design process is an important key. Through case analyses offart-hack design processes it became obvious that process and

An Exploration of the Effect of Community Engagement in Research on Perceived Outcomes of Partnered Mental Health Services Projects*

Science.gov (United States)

Khodyakov, Dmitry; Stockdale, Susan; Jones, Felica; Ohito, Elizabeth; Jones, Andrea; Lizaola, Elizabeth; Mango, Joseph

2011-01-01

Mental health research projects address sensitive issues for vulnerable populations and are implemented in complex environments. Community-Based Participatory Research approaches are recommended for health research on vulnerable populations, but little is known about how variation in participation affects outcomes of partnered research projects. We developed a conceptual model demonstrating the impact of community engagement in research on outcomes of partnered projects. We collected data on key constructs from community and academic leaders of 21 sampled partnered research projects in two cycles of an NIMH research center. We conducted empirical analyses to test the model. Our findings suggest that community engagement in research is positively associated with perceived professional development, as well as political and community impact. PMID:22582144

Organizations, projects and culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. van Cleeff; Pieter van Nispen tot Pannerden

2016-01-01

Purpose: to explore and demonstrate the effects of organizational culture on projects, in particular project culture and project management style. Methodology/approach: descriptive and explorative; through students’ groups. Findings: the cultural relationship between organizations, their projects

The life cycle of a genome project: perspectives and guidelines inspired by insect genome projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Papanicolaou, Alexie

2016-01-01

Many research programs on non-model species biology have been empowered by genomics. In turn, genomics is underpinned by a reference sequence and ancillary information created by so-called "genome projects". The most reliable genome projects are the ones created as part of an active research program and designed to address specific questions but their life extends past publication. In this opinion paper I outline four key insights that have facilitated maintaining genomic communities: the key role of computational capability, the iterative process of building genomic resources, the value of community participation and the importance of manual curation. Taken together, these ideas can and do ensure the longevity of genome projects and the growing non-model species community can use them to focus a discussion with regards to its future genomic infrastructure.

Projective-anticipating, projective and projective-lag synchronization of chaotic systems with time-varying delays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Cunfang; Guan Wei; Wang Yinghai

2013-01-01

We investigate different types of projective (projective-anticipating, projective and projective-lag) synchronization in unidirectionally nonlinearly coupled time-delayed chaotic systems with variable time delays. Based on the Krasovskii–Lyapunov approach, we find both the existence and sufficient stability conditions, using a general class of time-delayed chaotic systems related to optical bistable or hybrid optical bistable devices. Our method has the advantage that it requires only one nonlinearly coupled term to achieve different types of projective synchronization in time-delayed chaotic systems with variable time delays. Compared with other existing works, our result provides an easy way to achieve projective-anticipating, projective and projective-lag synchronization. Numerical simulations of the Ikeda system are given to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method. (paper)

Housing First for People With Severe Mental Illness Who Are Homeless: A Review of the Research and Findings From the At Home–Chez soi Demonstration Project

Science.gov (United States)

Aubry, Tim; Nelson, Geoffrey; Tsemberis, Sam

2015-01-01

Objective: To provide a review of the extant research literature on Housing First (HF) for people with severe mental illness (SMI) who are homeless and to describe the findings of the recently completed At Home (AH)–Chez soi (CS) demonstration project. HF represents a paradigm shift in the delivery of community mental health services, whereby people with SMI who are homeless are supported through assertive community treatment or intensive case management to move into regular housing. Method: The AH–CS demonstration project entailed a randomized controlled trial conducted in 5 Canadian cities between 2009 and 2013. Mixed methods were used to examine the implementation of HF programs and participant outcomes, comparing 1158 people receiving HF to 990 people receiving standard care. Results: Initial research conducted in the United States shows HF to be a promising approach, yielding superior outcomes in helping people to rapidly exit homelessness and establish stable housing. Findings from the AH–CS demonstration project reveal that HF can be successfully adapted to different contexts and for different populations without losing its fidelity. People receiving HF achieved superior housing outcomes and showed more rapid improvements in community functioning and quality of life than those receiving treatment as usual. Conclusions: Knowledge translation efforts have been undertaken to disseminate the positive findings and lessons learned from the AH–CS project and to scale up the HF approach across Canada. PMID:26720504

Effective Bug Finding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rivas, Iago Abal

Lightweight bug finders (also known as code scanners) are becoming popular, they scale well and can find simple yet common programming errors. It is now considered a good practice to integrate these tools as part of your development process. The Linux project, for instance, has an automated testing...... service, known as the Kbuild robot, that runs a few of these code scanners. In this project, I have carefully studied tens of historical Linux bugs, and I have found that many of these bugs, despite being conceptually simple, were not caught by any code scanning tool. The reason is that, by design, code...... by matching temporal bug-patterns against the control-flow graph of this program abstraction. I have implemented a proof-of-concept bug finder based on this technique, EBA, and confirmed that it is both scalable and effective at finding bugs. On a benchmark of historical Linux double-lock bugs, EBA was able...

3D DSA findings of uterine artery and its optimal projection position

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Weifu; Zhang Aiwu; Zhou Chunze; Lu Dong; Xiao Jingkun; Wang Weiyu; Zhang Xingming; Zhang Zhengfeng; Hou Changlong

2011-01-01

Objective: to observe the origin site, anatomic features of uterine artery with 3D DSA and to discuss the optimal projection position in order to improve the success rate of super-selective catheterization of uterine artery. Methods: Prospective pelvic angiography was performed in 42 adult females (a total of 84 uterine arteries). 3D DSA was carried out with 206 ° rotation. 3D reconstruction of the obtained images was performed and the angiographic manifestations of the uterine artery were analyzed. The optimal projection position for the displaying of uterine artery was discussed. The quality of images obtained with the projection angle of 15 °-25 °, 25 °-35 ° and 35 °-45 ° was determined and the results were compared with each other. Results: The orifices of all 84 uterine arteries could be well demonstrated on 3D DSA images. The uterine artery was originated from the anterior trunk of internal iliac artery (n=58, 69%), from main stem of internal iliac artery (n=16, 19.1%), from internal pudenda artery (n=8, 9.5%) and from inferior gluteal artery (n=2, 2.4%). The best projection position to show the opening and route of the uterine artery was contralateral oblique view of 25-35 degrees (P<0.05). Conclusion: 3D DSA can clearly display the anatomy of the uterine artery, which is very helpful for the management of super-selective catheterization of uterine artery. The optimal projection position for uterine artery is contralateral oblique view of 25-35 degrees. (authors)

Africa region population projections - 1988-89

OpenAIRE

Vu, My T.; Bos, Eduard; Bulatao, Rodolfo A.

1988-01-01

The report which is part of a series, presents population projection tables for each country in the Africa region. The report provides an explanation on projection results as well as a description of the projection methodology, summarizing the main results. The projections in the report cover the period 1985 - 2150. This time period allows countries to approach stability. The key elements in these projections are the base year (mid 1985). Total population estimates and age - sex structures ar...

Key Findings for Interpersonal Skills

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-04

along in patrol cars; (b) SPD-1, which all include a use of force and are collected by a dashcam ; (c) SPD-2, collected by dashcam ; and (d) a Midwest...Traffic corpus, also collected by dashcam . For quantitative analysis, a subset of encounters was selected according to the following criteria: 1. Audio

Overview of research in the ADVANTAGE project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Angjelichinoski, Marko; Cosovic, Mirsad; Kalalas, Charalampos

2016-01-01

The European Marie Curie Project ADVANTAGE (Advanced Communications and Information processing in smart grid systems) was launched in 2014. It represents a major inter-disciplinary research project into the topic of Smart Grid technology. A key aspect of the project is to bring together and train...

Efficient and Effective Project Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dusan Pene

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to investigate different authorities and responsibilities of a project manager and of a project leader. Considering the fact that nowadays the project management is becoming the important factor in performing and leading the investments which are modified by modern leadership theories, we can say that the key element is the sovereign leadership of a manager and a project leader. The current multi-project environments and modern techniques at the project management area need the interdisciplinary leadership approach and at the same time they enable the strengthening of company’s competitive features so they are consistently satisfying high project expectations of the project investor or a client.

Business Intelligence Support For Project Management

OpenAIRE

Muntean, Mihaela; Cabau, Liviu Gabiel

2013-01-01

With respect to the project management framework, a project live cycle consists of phases like: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & control and closing. Monitoring implies measuring the progress and performance of the project during its execution and communicating the status. Actual performance is compared with the planned one. Therefore, a minimal set of key performance indicators will be proposed. Monitoring the schedule progress, the project budget and the scope will be possible....

E-Skill Information Acquisition Software: A Key to Poverty Alleviation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

E-Skill Information Acquisition Software: A Key to Poverty Alleviation Or Self Reliance. ... has not helped matters. This project is about developing an e-skill transfer using software. ... Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT

Rural Residents’ Perception of Construction Project Delays in Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahid Hussain

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The construction industry is one of the key sectors that facilitate sustainable economic and social development in the region. Currently, community development mechanisms are adopted by many developed and developing nations, aimed at enhancing economic growth and quality of life along with social welfare of the local community. This study reviews the rural residents’ perception of public construction project delays and aims to explore economic and social challenges confronted by residents, especially in rural areas in Pakistan. A questionnaire with 26 factors identified from the literature was sent to rural educated residents. Through a questionnaire survey, the opinions of rural residents were sought and tested. Based on 366 (73% valid responses, this study examined the socio-economic influencing factors. The findings of the study revealed that problems faced while traveling, increase the price of consumer goods, high transportation costs, lack of educational opportunities, more expenditures on education, and barriers to primary healthcare access were the top most important factors. Research results confirmed that the delays in construction projects negatively affect the socio-economic conditions of the rural community, which directly influence the rural dwells’ sustainable life. The research findings suggest that the practitioners in public sector organization make sure to execute the project on time and within the quality. Otherwise, it has negative socio-economic implications for the rural community.

Predictors of Adolescent Breakfast Consumption: Longitudinal Findings from Project EAT

Science.gov (United States)

Bruening, Meg; Larson, Nicole; Story, Mary; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; Hannan, Peter

2011-01-01

Objective: To identify predictors of breakfast consumption among adolescents. Methods: Five-year longitudinal study Project EAT (Eating Among Teens). Baseline surveys were completed in Minneapolis-St. Paul schools and by mail at follow-up by youth (n = 800) transitioning from middle to high school. Linear regression models examined associations…

Key Challenges to the introduction of hydrogen - European stakeholder views

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seymour, E. Hugo; Murray, Luke; Fernandes, Rei

2008-01-01

Recent hydrogen policy initiatives focus on fostering the market introduction of hydrogen technologies. These initiatives include hydrogen roadmapping projects. Stakeholder involvement in strategic planning is of key importance to the successful implementation of the strategy. Thus, the views of the stakeholder group involved in the European roadmapping project HyWays are pertinent to the introduction of hydrogen in Europe. A qualitative assessment using the Key Changes and Actor Mapping (KCAM) methodology showed that on average stakeholders expect hydrogen systems to begin to be introduced over the next 15 years. Hydrogen production is expected to be based initially on steam methane reforming of natural gas and onsite electrolysis using wind power, and any hydrogen transport is likely to be by truck. The major challenges envisaged are to do with carbon capture and storage, high-temperature hydrogen production technologies and hydrogen pipeline development. (author)

Student ownership of projects in an upper-division optics laboratory course: A multiple case study of successful experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Dounas-Frazer, Dimitri R.; Stanley, Jacob T.; Lewandowski, H. J.

2017-12-01

We investigate students' sense of ownership of multiweek final projects in an upper-division optics lab course. Using a multiple case study approach, we describe three student projects in detail. Within-case analyses focused on identifying key issues in each project, and constructing chronological descriptions of those events. Cross-case analysis focused on identifying emergent themes with respect to five dimensions of project ownership: student agency, instructor mentorship, peer collaboration, interest and value, and affective responses. Our within- and cross-case analyses yielded three major findings. First, coupling division of labor with collective brainstorming can help balance student agency, instructor mentorship, and peer collaboration. Second, students' interest in the project and perceptions of its value can increase over time; initial student interest in the project topic is not a necessary condition for student ownership of the project. Third, student ownership is characterized by a wide range of emotions that fluctuate as students alternate between extended periods of struggle and moments of success while working on their projects. These findings not only extend the literature on student ownership into a new educational domain—namely, upper-division physics labs—they also have concrete implications for the design of experimental physics projects in courses for which student ownership is a desired learning outcome. We describe the course and projects in sufficient detail that others can adapt our results to their particular contexts.

A community's response to suicide through public art: stakeholder perspectives from the Finding the Light Within project.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohatt, Nathaniel V; Singer, Jonathan B; Evans, Arthur C; Matlin, Samantha L; Golden, Jane; Harris, Cathy; Burns, James; Siciliano, Catherine; Kiernan, Guy; Pelleritti, Margaret; Tebes, Jacob Kraemer

2013-09-01

Suicide is a preventable public health problem and a leading cause of death in the United States. Despite recognized need for community-based strategies for suicide prevention, most suicide prevention programs focus on individual-level change. This article presents seven first person accounts of Finding the Light Within, a community mobilization initiative to reduce the stigma associated with suicide through public arts participation that took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 2011 through 2012. The stigma associated with suicide is a major challenge to suicide prevention, erecting social barriers to effective prevention and treatment and enhancing risk factors for people struggling with suicidal ideation and recovery after losing a loved one to suicide. This project engaged a large and diverse audience and built a new community around suicide prevention through participatory public art, including community design and production of a large public mural about suicide, storytelling and art workshops, and a storytelling website. We present this project as a model for how arts participation can address suicide on multiple fronts-from raising awareness and reducing stigma, to promoting community recovery, to providing healing for people and communities in need.

Preparing master-level mental health nurses to work within a wellness paradigm: Findings from the eMenthe project.

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, Louise; Ellilä, Heikki; Jormfeldt, Henrika; Lahti, Mari; Higgins, Agnes; Keogh, Brian; Meade, Oonagh; Sitvast, Jan; Skärsäter, Ingela; Stickley, Theo; Kilkku, Nina

2018-04-01

Mental health promotion remains an important component of mental health nursing practice. Supporting wellness at both the individual and societal levels has been identified as one of the key tenets of mental health promotion. However, the prevailing biomedical paradigm of mental health education and practice has meant that many nurses have not been equipped to incorporate a wellness perspective into their mental health practice. In the present study, we report on an exploratory study which details the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required by master-level mental health nurses to practice within a wellness paradigm from the perspective of three groups of key stakeholders: (i) service users and family members (n = 23); (ii) experienced mental health nurses (n = 49); and (iii) master-level mental health nursing students (n = 37). The findings, which were reported from individual and focus group interviews across five European countries, suggested a need to reorientate mental health nursing education to include a focus on wellness and resilience to equip mental health nurses with the skills to work within a strengths-based, rather than a deficits-based, model of mental health practice. Key challenges to working within a wellness paradigm were identified as the prevailing dominance of the biomedical model of cause and treatment of mental health problems, which focusses on symptoms, rather than the holistic functioning of the individual, and positions the person as passive in the nurse-service user relationship. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

LBTool: A stochastic toolkit for leave-based key updates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yuksel, Ender; Nielson, Hanne Riis; Nielson, Flemming

2012-01-01

Quantitative techniques have been successfully employed in verification of information and communication systems. However, the use of such techniques are still rare in the area of security. In this paper, we present a toolkit that implements transient analysis on a key update method for wireless...... sensor networks. The analysis aims to find out the probability of a network key being compromised at a specific time point, which result in fluctuations over time for a specific key update method called Leave-based key update. For such a problem, the use of current tools is limited in many ways...

Laying the Foundations: Early Findings from the New Mathways Project

Science.gov (United States)

Zachry Rutschow, Elizabeth; Diamond, John

2015-01-01

National studies reveal that 50 percent to 70 percent of community college students are required to take developmental, or remedial, math courses upon enrollment, and only 20 percent of developmental math students ever successfully complete a college-level math course. Taking up the challenge is the "New Mathways Project" (NMP),…

Discovering New Variable Stars at Key Stage 3

Science.gov (United States)

Chubb, Katy; Hood, Rosie; Wilson, Thomas; Holdship, Jonathan; Hutton, Sarah

2017-01-01

Details of the London pilot of the "Discovery Project" are presented, where university-based astronomers were given the chance to pass on some real and applied knowledge of astronomy to a group of selected secondary school pupils. It was aimed at students in Key Stage 3 of their education, allowing them to be involved in real…

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Mimicking Alzheimer Disease and Dementia With Lewy Bodies-Findings of FDG PET With 3-Dimensional Stereotactic Surface Projection.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyazawa, Nobuhiko

2017-05-01

A 78-year-old man received a diagnosis of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease based on symptoms and findings of MRI, FDG PET, and cerebrospinal fluid markers. PET with 3-dimensional stereotactic surface projection (3D-SSP) showed that the distribution of hypometabolism mimicked that of Alzheimer disease. A 68-year-old woman was treated under a diagnosis of convulsion. Findings of MRI, PET, familial history, and cerebrospinal fluid markers revealed familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. FDG PET with 3D-SSP disclosed that the hypometabolic pattern mimicked that of dementia with Lewy bodies. FDG PET with 3D-SSP can demonstrate similar patterns in various neurodegenerative disorders.

How Project Managers Really Manage: An Indepth Look at Some Managers of Large, Complex NASA Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Mulenburg, Gerald M.; Impaeilla, Cliff (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

This paper reports on a research study by the author that examined ten contemporary National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) complex projects. In-depth interviews with the project managers of these projects provided qualitative data about the inner workings of the project and the methodologies used in establishing and managing the projects. The inclusion of a variety of space, aeronautics, and ground based projects from several different NASA research centers helped to reduce potential bias in the findings toward any one type of project, or technical discipline. The findings address the participants and their individual approaches. The discussion includes possible implications for project managers of other large, complex, projects.

The collaborative project on European sodium fast reactor (CP ESFR project)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiorini, Gian-Luigi

2010-01-01

The paper summarizes the key characteristics of the four years large Collaborative Project on European Sodium Fast Reactor (CP ESFR - 2009-2012); the CP ESFR follows the 6th FP project named 'Roadmap for a European Innovative SOdium cooled FAst Reactor - EISOFAR' further identifying, organizing and implementing a significant part of the needed R and D effort. The paper also gives insights concerning the so called 'working horses' cores and systems which are provided by CEA and AREVA and that will be used as a basis to test the performances and assess the pertinence of innovative solutions. The CP ESFR merges the contribution of 25 European partners (EU + CH); it will be performed under the aegis of the 7th Euratom FP under the Area - Advanced Nuclear Systems with a refund from the European Commission. It will be a key component of the European Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNE TP) and its Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). The inputs for the project are the key research goals for fourth generation of European sodium cooled fast reactors which can be summarized as follows: an improved safety with in particular the achievement of a robust architecture vis-a-vis of abnormal situations and the robustness of the safety demonstrations; the guarantee of a financial risk similar to that of the other means of energy production; a flexible and robust management of nuclear materials and especially waste reduction through Minor Actinides burning

WEpods project : Finding the potential for automated road public transport

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Homem De Almeida Rodriguez Correia, G.

2016-01-01

Vehicle automation is developing rapidly, nevertheless a lot of wor k is still lacking, as we are not yet at a point where vehicles are able to drive themselves on a road without a human behind the wheel. One of the possibilities of automation is its use as public transport. In theWEpods project,

Renewable fuels: Policy effectiveness and project risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leach, Andrew; Doucet, Joseph; Nickel, Trevor

2011-01-01

This paper examines the impact of government policy on the risk profile of a small ethanol production facility. We derive four key results from a simulation model. First, we show that commodity price risk may discourage investment in a project, despite a positive expected rate of return. Second, we show that political uncertainty may have significant impacts on the risk profile of a project. Next, we show that using only production subsidies to attract investors is expensive, since the financial assistance is paid regardless of whether the plant is operating under positive or negative financial conditions. Finally, we show that a capital grant provides a valuable complement to a subsidy, because the grant reduces the amount of value investors must put at risk, and increases their leverage thereby enhancing returns, while the subsidy mitigates commodity price risk. Our results show that compared to a subsidy-only approach, a grant and subsidy combination provides an investment environment with similar downside protection and expected returns for less than 60% of the cost. Further, we show that the two policy tools combined yield a superior investment environment to that created by an equivalent or greater total investment deployed entirely in either of the policy tools without the other. - Research highlights: → We find that government policy may increase both project returns and risk. → We find a policy of capital grants combined with an output price support to be preferred. → Price supports alone will tend to reward those plants which need them the least.

Barakah Project in UAE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrunik, K. [Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp., Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

2014-07-01

This paper reviews the Barakah Project in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Development of UAE nuclear power plant programme is proceeding and construction is well under way. Nuclear energy is a compelling solution to energy demand in the UAE. Economics, environment, energy security, diversification and industrial development are the key drivers of this program. The project continues ro meet construction milestones, capacity building and training on UAE Nationals.

VALUES-ORIENTED PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Олександр Михайлович ВОЗНИЙ

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The value-oriented approach to project management of renewable energy based on classification stage of the life cycle of products of the projects, adapted to the goals and objectives of information modeling, which allowed to formulate stricter requirements information models used at different stages of the power plant is proposed. A classification of the alternative energy projects, which highlighting areas for activities is proposed. The list of stakeholders that have an impact on alternative energy projects and presented their classification is defined. The value of alternative energy projects considered from the standpoint of a utilitarian approach, using the concept of utility and on the basis of this concept proposed classification values of alternative energy projects. Criteria values as indicators for assessing the value of alternative energy projects and their weights determined by pairwise comparison. To take into account the changes of the value criteria over time proposed to use the key control points value, assessed value criteria in various key points of control, defined indicator of the total value of alternative energy projects. The classification of risks and tools for value-oriented risk management in alternative energy projects is proposed. Further study authors plan to link the development of mechanisms for harmonization value alternative energy projects for their stakeholders.

Complex approach in telecommunication engineering education: develop engineering skills by a team project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scripcariu Luminița

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper provides an overview of the educational process of telecommunication engineering students by presenting the preparation of a team project focused on information security. Our educational approach combines basic knowledge such as mathematics with specialized engineering notions and various skills. The project theme is to design, implement and test an encryption algorithm. Students are provided with online courses, specific software programs and Internet access. They have to choose an encryption algorithm, to study its details and to write the script of the encryption algorithm in MATLAB program. The algorithm is implemented in C/C++ programming language and tested. Finally, a concurrent team tries to break the algorithm by finding the decryption key. It is an interactive approach which combines various education methods including gaming concepts. The covered topics provide students professional outcomes such as knowledge and use of specific mathematical tools and software environments (C/C ++ programming languages, MATLAB, abilities to design, develop, implement and test software algorithms. The project also provides transversal outcomes such as ability to team work, skills of computer use and information technology and capability to take responsibilities. Creativity is also encouraged by extending the algorithm to other encryption key lengths than the usual ones.

Tap Dancing Around Sustainability:The Case of Palm Oil Key Stakeholders

OpenAIRE

Sulaiman, Abdul Muis

2016-01-01

The Swedish Initiative on Sustainable Palm Oil in food and cosmetic and detergent industries hasemerged in 2014 following other EU national initiatives. This thesis project aims to explore thecondition of the initiative by examining who the key important stakeholders are and how these palmoil key stakeholders in Swedish market develop and implement their Sustainable Palm OilInitiatives. A qualitative approach using case study technique is used to guide the study andsupported by a combination ...

Non-financial constraints to scaling-up small and medium-sized energy enterprises: Findings from field research in Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haselip, James Arthur; Desgain, Denis DR; Mackenzie, Gordon A.

2015-01-01

constraint to establishing and expanding local small and medium-sized energy businesses, a range of significant non-financial constraints were also identified. This article provides a critical evaluation of these non-financial constraints as they were encountered in Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia, based...... on the findings of a wider study into the key outcomes of the AREED project. These barriers include the institutional frameworks, human capacities and social and cultural factors....

World energy projections to 2030

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Criqui, P.; Kouvaritakis, N.

2000-01-01

This paper provides a description of the international energy projections elaborated with the POLES energy model for the purpose of analysing, in other papers of this issue, the impacts of technological change at world level and to 2030. Section 2 describes the key exogenous hypotheses on population and economic growth used for this projection, as well as the main resulting changes for the world energy system and in terms of CO 2 emissions. In Section 3 the dynamics of the energy systems are further analysed for four main world regions, while Section 4 is dedicated to the identification of the key uncertainties and of their possible impacts on future energy development. Finally, the last section presents the key messages of this outlook, which shows a rapidly growing world economy and energy consumption with increasing oil and gas prices, although this last feature remains subject to uncertainties on resource endowment estimates. (orig.)

Project stakeholder management

CERN Document Server

Eskerod, Pernille

2013-01-01

Carrying out a project as planned is not a guarantee for success. Projects may fail because project management does not take the requirements, wishes and concerns of stakeholders sufficiently into account. Projects can only be successful though contributions from stakeholders. And in the end, it is the stakeholders that evaluate whether they find that the project is a success. To manage stakeholders effectively, you need to know your stakeholders, their behaviours and attitudes towards the project. In Project Stakeholder Management, the authors give guidance on how to adopt an analytical and s

The Impact of Project Organizational Culture on the Performance of Construction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luong Hai Nguyen

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Cultural influence has recently received significant attention from academics due to its vital role in the success or failure of a project. In the construction industry, several empirical investigations have examined the influence of culture on project management. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of project organizational culture on the performance of construction projects. A total of 199 completed construction projects in Vietnam with specific data gathering through questionnaires were analyzed. The findings reveal that contractor commitment to contract agreements is the most significant cultural factor affecting project performance. Goal alignment and reliance, contractor commitment, and worker orientation (i.e., commitment to workers contribute to improved overall performance and participant satisfaction. Contractor commitment and cooperative orientation enhance labor productivity, whereas goal alignment and trust and contractor commitment ensure learning performance (i.e., learning from experience. The findings of this study may assist construction professionals in implementing practices that can contribute to the sustainability and success of construction projects.

Quantifying economic benefits for rail infrastructure projects.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-10-01

This project identifies metrics for measuring the benefit of rail infrastructure projects for key : stakeholders. It is important that stakeholders with an interest in community economic development play an active : role in the development of the rai...

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 ...

Innovative use of ICT in schools based on the findings in ELFE project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frederiksson, Ulf; Jedeskog, Gunilla; Plomp, T.

2008-01-01

The European e-Learning Forum for Education (ELFE) is a project initiated by the ETUCE (European Trade Union Committee on Education). An important objective of the project has been to study good experiences with implementing the use of ICT in schools. This objective has been broken down in seven

Project-based fieldwork: perspectives of graduate entry students and project sponsors.

Science.gov (United States)

Fortune, Tracy; McKinstry, Carol

2012-08-01

This article builds on an earlier viewpoint regarding the need for project-focussed fieldwork. It presents the findings of an evaluative study into the value of project placements undertaken by final year graduate entry master's students as part of a capstone subject. The authors argue that provision of project placements enable impending graduates to develop and implement macro level strategies to develop prevention, resource and service development skills often required of contemporary occupational therapy practitioners. A qualitative approach is adopted. Student cohorts from 2005 and 2006 completed open-ended, written questionnaires, and agency project sponsors were interviewed to obtain their perspectives of the project placement experience. Despite some concern that project placements might be undertaken at the expense of 'clinical' placements these findings reveal that projects managed by students were perceived by services to add great value enabling them to advance important priorities. Students and sponsors highlighted a range of positive learning outcomes, including the ability to work collaboratively with supervisors and develop advanced communication skills and political acumen. The success of such placements depends on supportive supervision from academic staff. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: The findings promote project placements as a highly authentic aspect of work integrated learning enabling learners to draw together a range of attributes that support the ability to manage complex issues that have occupational relevance at a macro level. In addition, such experiences help learners to develop agency and political acumen both increasingly important capabilities for the contemporary workplace. © 2012 The Authors Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2012 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Key factors impacting on diagnosis and treatment for vulvar cancer for Indigenous women: findings from Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

McGrath, Pam; Rawson, Nicole

2013-10-01

To date, there has been limited research on the topic of vulvar cancer. This paper provides findings from a qualitative study conducted with Indigenous women in East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia on the psychosocial impact of diagnosis and treatment for vulvar cancer. The insights from the study outlined in this paper not only make a contribution to deepening our understanding of the experience of vulvar cancer for Indigenous women, but provide practical recommendations to ensure effective and early engagement for diagnosis and treatment. A qualitative research method was employed through in-depth, open-ended interviews. The participants of the study were a purposive sample of Indigenous women with the condition, health professionals, and Aboriginal health workers. There were a total of 40 participants; with twelve (n = 12) Indigenous women affected with the condition, fourteen (n = 14) Aboriginal Health Workers, ten (n = 10) nurses, three (n = 3) doctors, and one (n = 1) community member. This paper addresses three key issues highlighted by the participants which include the fact that the private nature of the disease makes the condition 'women's business', that there is a sense of shame associated with the condition, and that there is fear and worry generated by the seriousness of the condition. The private nature of the disease and the sense of shame associated with the condition impact upon the diagnosis and treatment for many Indigenous women. In addition, the limitation of resources for health service delivery for East Arnhem Land exacerbates the problems faced by these communities. This paper puts forward suggestions to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment for women affected with the condition.

Key issues of public relations of Europe: findings from the European Communication Monitor 2007-2014

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verčič, D.; Verhoeven, P.; Zerfass, A.

2014-01-01

European Communication Monitor is the largest longitudinal research project in public relations practice in the world. Data collected annually from 2007 to 2014 show that practitioners perceive five issues as the most important for their work: linking business strategy and communication, coping with

Pollution! Find a STEM solution!

Science.gov (United States)

Takač, Danijela; Moćan, Marina

2016-04-01

Primary and secondary school Pantovčak is an innovative school in downtown Zagreb, Croatia. The school is involved in many projects concerning STEM education. Pollution! Find a STEM solution! is a two year long cross-curricular project that grew out of identified need to develop STEM and ICT skills more. Pisa results make evident that students' knowledge is poor and motivation for math and similar subjects is low. Implying priorities of European Commission, like e-learning, raises motivation and also develops basic skills and improves knowledge in science, math, physic, ICT. Main objectives are to increase students' interest in STEM education and careers and introduce them to all available new trends in technology, engineering and science in their region by visiting clean technology industries and strengthening links with them, to introduce some future digital jobs and prepare students for rapid technological changes by integrating ICT into classroom practice more, to highlight the importance of global environmental issues and improve the knowledge in the areas of sustainable development and renewable energy, to develop collaborative partnership between schools and the wider community in formal, non-formal and informal learning, to support multilingualism by publishing Open Educational Resources in 8 different languages and to strengthen the professional profile of the teaching profession. The project brings together 231 teachers and 2729 students from five different European countries in learning to think globally and work on activities that contribute to the community's well-being. There are altogether 33 activities, divided in 4 categories. STEM activities are focused on students building the devices for measuring air, light and noise pollution in their school and homes. They use the scientific method to analyze the data and compare the results with their peers to find a solution. Eskills, digital literacy and digital jobs are focused on introducing career

Clustering ERP implementation project activities: a foundation for project size definition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janssens, G.; Kusters, R.J.; Heemstra, F.J.; Sadiq, A.; Reichert, M.; Schultz, K.; Trienekens, J.J.M.; Moller, C.; Kusters, R.J.

2007-01-01

The size of an ERP project can be a useful measurement for predicting the effort needed to complete an ERP implementation project. Because this measurement does not exist, research is needed to find a set of variables which can define the size of an ERP implementation project. This paper shows 21

The Use of Volunteers in Local Study Library Projects: A Case Study of the Walter Gardiner Photography Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beth Hewitt

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Objectives – Interviews with library staff and volunteers were conducted to evaluate the use of volunteers in UK public libraries via a case study of the Walter Gardiner Photographic Project, a digitisation project based in Worthing Library, to inform future guidelines on volunteer usage and to make recommendations to existing practice.Methods – Fourteen semi-structured interviews were carried out to explore the perceptions and experiences of both staff and volunteers of the project. All interviews were fully transcribed and then coded to identify emergent themes.Results – Key positives for volunteers were professional training, good time management and organization by staff, the friendliness and approachability of staff, and the informal nature of the volunteering. Enjoyment of the work and forming close relationships with others were key motivating factors. For staff, the completion of work which would have otherwise been impossible was the most positive outcome. Problem areas identified by volunteers were lack of contact time with project staff and feeling isolated from other library staff. For project staff, a lack of professionalism on behalf of some volunteers was the primary negative. Key issues to emerge were the need to strike a balance between formal and informal management, the need for good integration between the volunteers and host organization, and the importance of acknowledging the nature of the voluntary commitment.Conclusions – The project proved overall to be a successful example of using volunteers in public library projects with good examples of volunteer recruitment, training, and management being demonstrated. Areas of conflict that did arise stemmed from differing expectations of levels of service between staff and volunteers. Clarification on these expectations through a written volunteer agreement is advocated for further projects.

Ensuring Biologics Advanced Development and Manufacturing Capability for the United States Government: A Summary of Key Findings and Conclusions

Science.gov (United States)

2009-10-06

CRISP Computer Retrieval Information on Scientific Projects DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DCA Demand Capacity Assessment DHS...2007. 8. BARDA, HHS. Personal interview. 20 September 2007. 9. Bravata DM . Reducing mortality from anthrax bioterrorism: strategies for stockpiling...Projects ( CRISP ). Novel smallpox vaccine derived from VV/VAR Immunome. EPIVAX, INC. 17. Congressional Research Services (CRS) RL32917: Bioterrorism

Engaging clinicians in health informatics projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Caballero Muñoz, Erika; Hullin Lucay Cossio, Carola M

2010-01-01

This chapter gives an educational overview of: * The importance of the engagement of clinicians within a health informatics project * Strategies required for an effective involvement of clinicians throughout a change management process within a clinical context for the implementation of a health informatics project * The critical aspects for a successful implementation of a health informatics project that involves clinicians as end users * Key factors during the administration of changes during the implementation of an informatics project for an information system in clinical practice.

Student ownership of projects in an upper-division optics laboratory course: A multiple case study of successful experiences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitri R. Dounas-Frazer

2017-12-01

Full Text Available We investigate students’ sense of ownership of multiweek final projects in an upper-division optics lab course. Using a multiple case study approach, we describe three student projects in detail. Within-case analyses focused on identifying key issues in each project, and constructing chronological descriptions of those events. Cross-case analysis focused on identifying emergent themes with respect to five dimensions of project ownership: student agency, instructor mentorship, peer collaboration, interest and value, and affective responses. Our within- and cross-case analyses yielded three major findings. First, coupling division of labor with collective brainstorming can help balance student agency, instructor mentorship, and peer collaboration. Second, students’ interest in the project and perceptions of its value can increase over time; initial student interest in the project topic is not a necessary condition for student ownership of the project. Third, student ownership is characterized by a wide range of emotions that fluctuate as students alternate between extended periods of struggle and moments of success while working on their projects. These findings not only extend the literature on student ownership into a new educational domain—namely, upper-division physics labs—they also have concrete implications for the design of experimental physics projects in courses for which student ownership is a desired learning outcome. We describe the course and projects in sufficient detail that others can adapt our results to their particular contexts.

Cloud/Fog Computing System Architecture and Key Technologies for South-North Water Transfer Project Safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaoling Fan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In view of the real-time and distributed features of Internet of Things (IoT safety system in water conservancy engineering, this study proposed a new safety system architecture for water conservancy engineering based on cloud/fog computing and put forward a method of data reliability detection for the false alarm caused by false abnormal data from the bottom sensors. Designed for the South-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP, the architecture integrated project safety, water quality safety, and human safety. Using IoT devices, fog computing layer was constructed between cloud server and safety detection devices in water conservancy projects. Technologies such as real-time sensing, intelligent processing, and information interconnection were developed. Therefore, accurate forecasting, accurate positioning, and efficient management were implemented as required by safety prevention of the SNWTP, and safety protection of water conservancy projects was effectively improved, and intelligential water conservancy engineering was developed.

Risk identification for PPP waste-to-energy incineration projects in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Jinbo; Song, Danrong; Zhang, Xueqing; Sun, Yan

2013-01-01

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is regarded as a renewable energy source. In China, the sharp increase of MSW has precipitated the rapid growth of waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration plants. Private capital has been getting into the WTE incineration industry through the public–private partnership (PPP) arrangement. Due to the large construction cost and the long concession period commonly associated with this arrangement, a number of failures have emerged in PPP WTE incineration projects. The aim of this paper is to investigate the key risks of PPP WTE incineration projects in China and study the strategies for managing these risks by drawing experience and learning lessons from these projects. First, we analyzed the MSW management practices, relevant legislations and policies, and the development of PPP WTE incineration projects in China. Second, we identified ten key risks through interviews, surveys and visits to some selected projects, and provided detailed analysis of these risks. Lastly, we developed response strategies for these risks from the perspectives of both public and private sectors. - Highlights: • We analyze MSW management practices, relevant legislations and policies in China. • Through case study on PPP WTE incineration projects, ten key risks are identified. • Response strategies for key risks are developed

Key issues for the control of refueling outage duration and costs in PWR nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degrave, C.; Martin-Onraet, M.

2000-01-01

For several years, EDF, within the framework of the CIDEM project and in collaboration with some German Utilities, has undertaken a detailed review of the operating experience both of its own NPP and of foreign units, in order to improve the performances of future units under design, particularly the French-German European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) project. This review made it possible to identify the key issues allowing to decrease the duration of refueling and maintenance outages. These key issues can be classified in 3 categories: Design; Maintenance and Logistic Support; Outage Management. Most key issues in the design field and some in the logistic support field have been studied and could be integrated into the design of any future PWR unit, as for the EPR project. Some of them could also be adapted to current plants, provided they are feasible and profitable. The organization must be tailored to each country, utility or period: it widely depends on the power production environment, particularly in a deregulation context. (author)

Performance of Project Alliancing in Australasia: a Digest of Infrastructure Development from 2008 to 2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derek Henry Thomas Walker

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Project and program alliances have been an accepted form of project procurement for public infrastructure engineering projects in Australia and New Zealand (Australasia. Alliancing often provides best value and superior value for money when compared to traditional approaches such as Design and Construct, however considerable debate continues about its success and applicability. This paper reports on three studies of completed construction project alliance performance in 2008, 2010 and 2012. Consolidated findings are presented on 61 project alliances, data is analysed and emerging trends discussed. Recent government policy changes in Australia at Federal and State level have led to a decline in the number of project alliances, however, while the volume of alliance activity is declining it still represents billions of dollars of infrastructure construction work being undertaken. Results also revealed that communication and trust between the executive leadership and operational management teams was a major factor contributing to the functioning of the alliance. Furthermore, the research identifies several key factors that were necessary preconditions for successful alliances. Paper Type: Research article

Systematic design for trait introgression projects

OpenAIRE

Cameron, John N.; Han, Ye; Wang, Lizhi; Beavis, William D.

2017-01-01

Key message Using an Operations Research approach, we demonstrate design of optimal trait introgression projects with respect to competing objectives. Abstract We demonstrate an innovative approach for designing Trait Introgression (TI) projects based on optimization principles from Operations Research. If the designs of TI projects are based on clear and measurable objectives, they can be translated into mathematical models with decision variables and constraints that can be translated into ...

Physician Appraisals: Key Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klich Jacek

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of the article is to identify key criteria being used for physician appraisals and to find how communication skills of physicians are valued in those appraisals. ScienceDirect and EBSCOhost databases were used for this search. The results show that a physician appraisal is underestimated both theoretically and empirically. The particular gap exists with respect to the communication skills of physicians, which are rarely present in medical training syllabi and physician assessments. The article contributes to the theoretical discourse on physician appraisals and points out at the inconsistency between the high status of physicians as a key hospital resource on the one hand and, on the other hand, at inadequate and poorly researched assessment of their performance with a special emphasis on communication skills. The article may inspire health managers to develop and implement up-to-date assessment forms for physicians and good managerial practices in this respect in hospitals and other health care units.

A Framework for Effective Software Monitoring in Project Management

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A Framework for Effective Software Monitoring in Project Management. ... is shown to provide meaningful interpretation of collected metric data by embedding certain quality function. Key words: Project Management, Feedback, project control, metrics, process model, quantitative validity ... AJOL African Journals Online.

Key-value store with internal key-value storage interface

Science.gov (United States)

Bent, John M.; Faibish, Sorin; Ting, Dennis P. J.; Tzelnic, Percy; Gupta, Uday; Grider, Gary; Bonnie, David J.

2018-01-16

A key-value store is provided having one or more key-value storage interfaces. A key-value store on at least one compute node comprises a memory for storing a plurality of key-value pairs; and an abstract storage interface comprising a software interface module that communicates with at least one persistent storage device providing a key-value interface for persistent storage of one or more of the plurality of key-value pairs, wherein the software interface module provides the one or more key-value pairs to the at least one persistent storage device in a key-value format. The abstract storage interface optionally processes one or more batch operations on the plurality of key-value pairs. A distributed embodiment for a partitioned key-value store is also provided.

Students' and teachers' perceptions: initial achievements of a Project-Based Engineering School

Science.gov (United States)

Terrón-López, María-José; Velasco-Quintana, Paloma-Julia; García-García, María-José; Ocampo, Jared R.

2017-11-01

A unified academic model based on the project-based learning (PBL) methodology was implemented, in the 2012-2013 period, in the School of Engineering at Universidad Europea de Madrid. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether teachers and students participating in the capstone projects feel that the objectives for which this methodology was designed for are being achieved. The data were collected through interviews to participants at the end of the PBL experience. The results are encouraging, as students seem to be more motivated, and they say that they are experiencing deeper learning, and have developed key competitive skills required for their professional lives. Findings also suggest that teachers face positively the PBL as a learning approach since they perceive that students obtain a deeper learning, develop transversal skills with the projects and are more engaged with their studies. Implications and recommendations for the future of the model are also discussed.

Project-based production and project management : Findings and trends in research on temporary systems in multiple contexts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pretorius, M.W.; Oerlemans, L.A.G.

2014-01-01

Globalisation is challenging almost every aspect of the political, economic, social and technological environment. Organisations, whether public or private, have to adapt their strategies and operations to stay competitive and efficient. Historically, organisations adopted project-based operations

The pediatric resident training on tobacco project: baseline findings from the Parent/Guardian Tobacco Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Hymowitz, Norman; Schwab, Joseph; Haddock, Christopher keith; Pyle, Sara; Moore, Glenisha; Meshberg, Sarah

2005-07-01

Pediatricians have an important and unique role to play in the anti-tobacco arena. They may prevent relapse to smoking in women who stopped smoking during pregnancy, encourage parents to protect infants and young children from environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), prevent the onset of smoking in children and adolescents, and help patients and parents who smoke or use other forms of tobacco to quit. Unfortunately, few pediatricians intervene on tobacco use or ETS, and few pediatric residency training programs prepare residents to address tobacco. The Pediatric Residency Training on Tobacco Project is a 4-year randomized prospective study of the effectiveness of training pediatric residents to intervene on tobacco in patients and parents. In this paper, we present findings from the Baseline Parent/Guardian Tobacco Survey. Fifteen pediatric residency training programs participated in the Pediatric Residency Training on Tobacco Project, and they were assigned randomly to special and standard training conditions. The Baseline Parent/Guardian Tobacco Survey was administered to 1770 participants, a minimum of 100 from each site. The Parent/Guardian Survey was designed to describe the population under study. It addressed demographic information, family tobacco use, rules concerning smoking in the home and elsewhere, smoking behavior and beliefs, and parent/guardian reports of resident intervention on tobacco. Data analyses described the population served by Continuity Clinics associated with the pediatric residency training programs and determined the degree to which residents addressed tobacco in parents/guardians. The parents/guardians were primarily low-income African American and Hispanic females. Approximately 20% reported that they smoked cigarettes, and about 60% prohibited smoking in their home. Seventy percent of the parents reported that the resident asked about cigarette smoking, and about half indicated that the resident talked with them about ETS. However, only

Old Wine in New Skins: The Sensitivity of Established Findings to New Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, E. Michael; Wiley-Exley, Elizabeth; Bickman, Leonard

2009-01-01

Findings from an evaluation of a model system for delivering mental health services to youth were reassessed to determine the robustness of key findings to the use of methodologies unavailable to the original analysts. These analyses address a key concern about earlier findings--that the quasi-experimental design involved the comparison of two…

Key Success Factors in Business Intelligence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Szymon Adamala

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Business Intelligence can bring critical capabilities to an organization, but the implementation of such capabilities is often plagued with problems. Why is it that certain projects fail, while others succeed? The aim of this article is to identify the factors that are present in successful Business Intelligence projects and to organize them into a framework of critical success factors. A survey was conducted during the spring of 2011 to collect primary data on Business Intelligence projects. Findings confirm that Business Intelligence projects are wrestling with both technological and non-technological problems, but the non-technological problems are found to be harder to solve as well as more time consuming than their counterparts. The study also shows that critical success factors for Business Intelligence projects are different from success factors for Information Systems projects in general. Business Intelligences projects have critical success factors that are unique to the subject matter. Major differences can be found primarily among non-technological factors, such as the presence of a specific business need and a clear vision to guide the project. Success depends on types of project funding, the business value provided by each iteration in the project and the alignment of the project to a strategic vision for Business Intelligence at large. Furthermore, the study provides a framework for critical success factors that, explains sixty-one percent of variability of success for projects. Areas which should be given special attention include making sure that the Business Intelligence solution is built with the end users in mind, that the Business Intelligence solution is closely tied to the company’s strategic vision and that the project is properly scoped and prioritized to concentrate on the best opportunities first.

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.

Washington Wildlife Mitigation Projects : Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

United States. Bonneville Power Administration; Washington (State). Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.

1996-08-01

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) proposes to fund the portion of the Washington Wildlife Mitigation Agreement (Agreement) pertaining to wildlife habitat mitigation projects to be undertaken in a cooperative effort with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). This Agreement serves to establish a monetary budget funded by BPA for projects proposed by Washington Wildlife Coalition members and approved by BPA to protect, mitigate, and improve wildlife and/or wildlife habitat within the State of Washington that has been affected by the construction of Federal dams along the Columbia River. This Environmental Assessment examines the potential environmental effects of acquiring and/or improving wildlife habitat within five different project areas. These project areas are located throughout Grant County and in parts of Okanogan, Douglas, Adams, Franklin, Kittias, Yakima, and Benton Counties. The multiple projects would involve varying combinations of five proposed site-specific activities (habitat improvement, operation and maintenance, monitoring and evaluation, access and recreation management, and cultural resource management). All required Federal, State, and tribal coordination, permits and/or approvals would be obtained prior to ground-disturbing activities.

Washington wildlife mitigation projects. Final programmatic environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-08-01

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) proposes to fund the portion of the Washington Wildlife Mitigation Agreement (Agreement) pertaining to wildlife habitat mitigation projects to be undertaken in a cooperative effort with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). This Agreement serves to establish a monetary budget funded by BPA for projects proposed by Washington Wildlife Coalition members and approved by BPA to protect, mitigate, and improve wildlife and/or wildlife habitat within the State of Washington that has been affected by the construction of Federal dams along the Columbia River. This Environmental Assessment examines the potential environmental effects of acquiring and/or improving wildlife habitat within five different project areas. These project areas are located throughout Grant County and in parts of Okanogan, Douglas, Adams, Franklin, Kittias, Yakima, and Benton Counties. The multiple projects would involve varying combinations of five proposed site-specific activities (habitat improvement, operation and maintenance, monitoring and evaluation, access and recreation management, and cultural resource management). All required Federal, State, and tribal coordination, permits and/or approvals would be obtained prior to ground-disturbing activities

Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies and Practices in Family Child Care Homes in Oregon: Baseline Findings from the Healthy Home Child Care Project

Science.gov (United States)

Gunter, Katherine B.; Rice, Kelly R.; Trost, Stewart G.

2012-01-01

Baseline findings from the Healthy Home Child Care Project include data from Family Child Care Providers (FCCPs) in Oregon (n=53) who completed assessments of nutrition and physical activity policies and practices and BMI data for children in the care of FCCPs (n=205). Results show that a significant percentage of FCCPs failed to meet child care…

Number projection method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaneko, K.

1987-01-01

A relationship between the number projection and the shell model methods is investigated in the case of a single-j shell. We can find a one-to-one correspondence between the number projected and the shell model states

Starting a hospital-based home health agency: Part II--Key success factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, P

1993-09-01

In Part II of a three-part series, the financial, technological and legislative issues of a hospital-based home health-agency are discussed. Beginning a home healthcare service requires intensive research to answer key environmental and operational questions--need, competition, financial projections, initial start-up costs and the impact of delayed depreciation. Assessments involving technology, staffing, legislative and regulatory issues can help project service volume, productivity and cost-control.

Social cost impact assessment of pipeline infrastructure projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matthews, John C., E-mail: matthewsj@battelle.org [Battelle, 7231 Palmetto Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70808 (United States); Allouche, Erez N., E-mail: allouche@latech.edu [Louisiana Tech University (United States); Sterling, Raymond L., E-mail: sterling@latech.edu [Louisiana Tech University (United States)

2015-01-15

A key advantage of trenchless construction methods compared with traditional open-cut methods is their ability to install or rehabilitate underground utility systems with limited disruption to the surrounding built and natural environments. The equivalent monetary values of these disruptions are commonly called social costs. Social costs are often ignored by engineers or project managers during project planning and design phases, partially because they cannot be calculated using standard estimating methods. In recent years some approaches for estimating social costs were presented. Nevertheless, the cost data needed for validation of these estimating methods is lacking. Development of such social cost databases can be accomplished by compiling relevant information reported in various case histories. This paper identifies eight most important social cost categories, presents mathematical methods for calculating them, and summarizes the social cost impacts for two pipeline construction projects. The case histories are analyzed in order to identify trends for the various social cost categories. The effectiveness of the methods used to estimate these values is also discussed. These findings are valuable for pipeline infrastructure engineers making renewal technology selection decisions by providing a more accurate process for the assessment of social costs and impacts. - Highlights: • Identified the eight most important social cost factors for pipeline construction • Presented mathematical methods for calculating those social cost factors • Summarized social cost impacts for two pipeline construction projects • Analyzed those projects to identify trends for the social cost factors.

Social cost impact assessment of pipeline infrastructure projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matthews, John C.; Allouche, Erez N.; Sterling, Raymond L.

2015-01-01

A key advantage of trenchless construction methods compared with traditional open-cut methods is their ability to install or rehabilitate underground utility systems with limited disruption to the surrounding built and natural environments. The equivalent monetary values of these disruptions are commonly called social costs. Social costs are often ignored by engineers or project managers during project planning and design phases, partially because they cannot be calculated using standard estimating methods. In recent years some approaches for estimating social costs were presented. Nevertheless, the cost data needed for validation of these estimating methods is lacking. Development of such social cost databases can be accomplished by compiling relevant information reported in various case histories. This paper identifies eight most important social cost categories, presents mathematical methods for calculating them, and summarizes the social cost impacts for two pipeline construction projects. The case histories are analyzed in order to identify trends for the various social cost categories. The effectiveness of the methods used to estimate these values is also discussed. These findings are valuable for pipeline infrastructure engineers making renewal technology selection decisions by providing a more accurate process for the assessment of social costs and impacts. - Highlights: • Identified the eight most important social cost factors for pipeline construction • Presented mathematical methods for calculating those social cost factors • Summarized social cost impacts for two pipeline construction projects • Analyzed those projects to identify trends for the social cost factors

Siting and early-stage project management of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Kai; Li Guojin

2013-01-01

In this paper, difficulties and challenges facing in siting of nuclear power plant after Fukushima nuclear accident is introduced. The key points for siting are analyzed. The site characteristics related to nuclear safety and the evaluated methods are discussed. From project management perspective, main procedures and key points for the early-stage of a nuclear power project are described. (authors)

An end-users oriented methodology for enhancing the integration of knowledge on soil-water-sediment systems in River Basin Management: an illustration from the AquaTerra project.

Science.gov (United States)

Merly, Corinne; Chapman, Antony; Mouvet, Christophe

2012-01-01

Research results in environmental and socio-economic sciences are often under-used by stakeholders involved in the management of natural resources. To minimise this gap, the FP6 EU interdisciplinary project AquaTerra (AT) developed an end-users' integration methodology in order to ensure that the data, knowledge and tools related to the soil-water-sediment system that were generated by the project were delivered in a meaningful way for end-users, thus improving their uptake. The methodology and examples of its application are presented in this paper. From the 408 project deliverables, 96 key findings were identified, 53 related to data and knowledge, and 43 describing advanced tools. River Basin Management (RBM) stakeholders workshops identified 8 main RBM issues and 25 specific stakeholders' questions related to RBM which were classified into seven groups of cross-cutting issues, namely scale, climate change, non-climatic change, the need for systemic approaches, communication and participation, international and inter-basin coordination and collaboration, and the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. The integration methodology enabled an assessment of how AT key findings meet stakeholders' demands, and for each main RBM issue and for each specific question, described the added-value of the AT project in terms of knowledge and tools generated, key parameters to consider, and recommendations that can be made to stakeholders and the wider scientific community. Added value and limitations of the integration methodology and its outcomes are discussed and recommendations are provided to further improve integration methodology and bridge the gaps between scientific research data and their potential uptake by end-users.

Project Management as a means of knowledge communication for the Information economy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampf, Constance

Currently Project Management as a field is understood from an engineering and management perspective as a system of planning, managing and monitoring work processes involved in projects.  The systems focus does not preclude communication as an important element, but it does not synthesize...... communication concepts with project management practices. Understanding Project Management from a communication perspective entails synthesizing key concepts from Knowledge Communication, Knowledge Management and Rhetoric.  From Knowledge Communication, key concepts include Wenger's Communities of Practice...... (1998), Nonaka & Takeuchi´s' SECI model describing the relationship between tacit and explicit knowledge in the context of knowledge creation (1995), and Davenport & Prusak's problematization of knowledge definitions in Working Knowledge (1998, 2000).  From a Knowledge Management Perspective, key...

Energy Storage Project

Science.gov (United States)

Mercer, Carolyn R.; Jankovsky, Amy L.; Reid, Concha M.; Miller, Thomas B.; Hoberecht, Mark A.

2011-01-01

NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program funded the Energy Storage Project to develop battery and fuel cell technology to meet the expected energy storage needs of the Constellation Program for human exploration. Technology needs were determined by architecture studies and risk assessments conducted by the Constellation Program, focused on a mission for a long-duration lunar outpost. Critical energy storage needs were identified as batteries for EVA suits, surface mobility systems, and a lander ascent stage; fuel cells for the lander and mobility systems; and a regenerative fuel cell for surface power. To address these needs, the Energy Storage Project developed advanced lithium-ion battery technology, targeting cell-level safety and very high specific energy and energy density. Key accomplishments include the development of silicon composite anodes, lithiated-mixed-metal-oxide cathodes, low-flammability electrolytes, and cell-incorporated safety devices that promise to substantially improve battery performance while providing a high level of safety. The project also developed "non-flow-through" proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell stacks. The primary advantage of this technology set is the reduction of ancillary parts in the balance-of-plant--fewer pumps, separators and related components should result in fewer failure modes and hence a higher probability of achieving very reliable operation, and reduced parasitic power losses enable smaller reactant tanks and therefore systems with lower mass and volume. Key accomplishments include the fabrication and testing of several robust, small-scale nonflow-through fuel cell stacks that have demonstrated proof-of-concept. This report summarizes the project s goals, objectives, technical accomplishments, and risk assessments. A bibliography spanning the life of the project is also included.

GIS Project Design: Brainstorming & Ideation Workshop

OpenAIRE

Garofalo, Frank

2015-01-01

Who should attend: Do you have a new project or existing project, and looking to generate some new ideas? Come with a project in mind or just come to learn some new collaboration and brainstorming techniques. What participants will learn… techniques for: Working with others to create a common direction and vision, then generating alignment Evaluating current state situations, strengths, complications and implications Identifying and forming consensus on key target audiences Generating ide...

Finding Futures: A Spatio-Visual Experiment In Participatory Engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davies, Sarah Rachael; Selin, Cynthia; Gano, Gretchen

2013-01-01

The Finding Futures Project explores innovative ways of deliberating the future of cities through an emphasis on embodied spatio-visual engagement with urban landscapes. The first instantiation of the project - which took place in Lisbon in 2011 - is reported through a discussion of the project's...

Increasing seat belt use through state-level demonstration projects : a compendium of initial findings

Science.gov (United States)

2008-08-01

This report summarizes the efforts and results from four of six State-level demonstration projects supported with cooperative agreements from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The projects were intended to increase seat belt use sta...

Project Management in the Finnish Music Industry

OpenAIRE

Hypén, Joel

2009-01-01

The term project is a widely used phrase in today’s working life. This thesis explains what project management theory is, how it has evolved through history and how it is applied in managing modern business projects in the contexts of the Finnish music business sector. The literature review contains a description of the key phases a project is typically organised in as well as the terms and tools used to plan and run a successful project. Through qualitative research means the thesis inves...

Learning through projects in the training of biomedical engineers: an application experience

Science.gov (United States)

Gambi, José Antonio Li; Peme, Carmen

2011-09-01

Learning through Projects in the curriculum consists of both the identification and analysis of a problem, and the design of solution, execution and evaluation strategies, with teams of students. The project is conceived as the creation of a set of strategies articulated and developed during a certain amount of time to solve a problem contextualized in situations continually changing, where the constant evaluation provides feedback to make adjustments. In 2009, Learning through Projects was applied on the subject Hospital Facilities and three intervention projects were developed in health centers. This first stage is restricted to the analysis of the aspects that are considered to be basic to the professional training: a) Context knowledge: The future biomedical engineers must be familiarized with the complex health system where they will develop their profession; b) Team work: This is one of the essential skills in the training of students, since Biomedical Engineering connects the knowledge of sciences of life with the knowledge of exact sciences and technology; c) Regulations: The activities related to the profession require the implementation of regulations; therefore, to be aware of and to apply these regulations is a fundamental aspect to be analyzed in this stage; d) Project evaluation: It refers to the elaboration and studying of co-evaluation reports, which helps to find out if Learning through Projects contributes to the training. This new line of investigation has the purpose of discovering if the application of this learning strategy makes changes in the training of students in relation to their future professional career. The findings of this ongoing investigation will allow for the analysis of the possibility of extending its application. Key words: engineering, biomedical, learning, projects, strategies.

Brief introduction to project management of full scope simulator for Qinshan 300 MW Nuclear Power Unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Jie

1996-01-01

The key points in development and engineering project management of full scope simulator for Qinshan 300 MW Nuclear Power Unit are briefly introduced. The Gantt chart, some project management methods and experience are presented. The key points analysis along with the project procedure will be useful to the similar project

Commercial agreements and documentation relevant for project financing renewable energy schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

Renewable energy projects covered by the NFFO Orders are distinguished by the fact that the key contract in any project is in effect a standard form contract in the form of the Power Purchase Agreement with the Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency Limited (''NFPA''). However our research has indicated that general contract standardization is unlikely to be practicable in the short term, although it is thought that the production of a range of specimen documents in the context of this study with input from various representative industry associations could lead to a more consistent approach to the negotiation and structuring of projects and facilitate the presentation of projects at the funding stage. We have produced a suite of documents which are specimens of the sorts of agreements that lenders are likely to find acceptable. The range of documents which we have produced covers the principal contractual arrangements for a typical renewable energy project (including full text or abridged agreements), for a land lease and for agreements for design and build, operation and maintenance, waste supply, wind lease, landfill gas, and forestry residue supply. We have produced an insurance scope of cover and financing documentation including a due diligence check list, term sheet, and a facility agreement with related security documentation. (author)

Disclosing finding and development costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janisch, M.L.

1998-01-01

The importance of finding and development costs in the petroleum industry and the issue of how they can be either manipulated or misunderstood was discussed. Finding and development costs are usually expressed in terms of $/BOE (barrel of oil equivalents) and reflect the total capital expenditures divided by the total reserves replaced and added. Various examples of the importance of finding and development costs in making investment decisions were used to illustrate the effects of potential bias by the resource company, and the need for care and understanding of what the numbers issued by the company actually mean. In general, low and consistent finding and development costs, combined with good netbacks, are the key to value added for shareholders. tabs

ELIMINATION OF THE DISADVANTAGES OF SCHEDULING-NETWORK PLANNING BY APPLYING THE MATRIX OF KEY PROJECT EVENTS

OpenAIRE

Morozenko Andrey Aleksandrovich; Krasovskiy Dmitriy Viktorovich

2017-01-01

The article discusses the current disadvantages of the scheduling-network planning in the management of the terms of investment-construction project. Problems associated with the construction of the schedule and the definitions of the duration of the construction project are being studied. The problems of project management for the management apparatus are shown, which consists in the absence of mechanisms for prompt response to deviations in the parameters of the scheduling-network diagram. ...

eHealth for Remote Regions: Findings from Central Asia Health Systems Strengthening Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Sajwani, Afroz; Qureshi, Kiran; Shaikh, Tehniat; Sayani, Saleem

2015-01-01

Isolated communities in remote regions of Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan and Tajikistan lack access to high-quality, low-cost health care services, forcing them to travel to distant parts of the country, bearing an unnecessary financial burden. The eHealth Programme under Central Asia Health Systems Strengthening (CAHSS) Project, a joint initiative between the Aga Khan Foundation, Canada and the Government of Canada, was initiated in 2013 with the aim to utilize Information and Communication Technologies to link health care institutions and providers with rural communities to provide comprehensive and coordinated care, helping minimize the barriers of distance and time. Under the CAHSS Project, access to low-cost, quality health care is provided through a regional hub and spoke teleconsultation network of government and non-government health facilities. In addition, capacity building initiatives are offered to health professionals. By 2017, the network is expected to connect seven Tier 1 tertiary care facilities with 14 Tier 2 secondary care facilities for teleconsultation and eLearning. From April 2013 to September 2014, 6140 teleconsultations have been provided across the project sites. Additionally, 52 new eLearning sessions have been developed and 2020 staff members have benefitted from eLearning sessions. Ethics and patient rights are respected during project implementation.

Photovoltaic concentrator technology development project. Sixth project integration meeting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1980-10-01

Thirty-three abstracts and short papers are presented which describe the current status of research, development, and demonstration of concentrator solar cell technology. Solar concentrators discussed include the parabolic trough, linear focus Fresnel lens, point focus Fresnel lens, and the parabolic dish. Solar cells studied include silicon, GaAs, and AlGaAs. Research on multiple junction cells, combined photovoltaic/thermal collectors, back contact solar cells, and beam splitter modules is described. Concentrator solar cell demonstration programs are reported. Contractor status summaries are given for 33 US DOE concentrator solar cell contracts; a description of the project, project status, and key results to date is included. (WHK)

Impact of Project P.A.T.H.S. on adolescent developmental outcomes in Hong Kong: findings based on seven waves of data.

Science.gov (United States)

Shek, Daniel T L; Ma, Cecilia M S

2012-01-18

The present study examined the longitudinal impact of Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes) on adolescent developmental outcomes in Hong Kong. Using a longitudinal randomized group design, seven waves of data were collected from 24 experimental schools (n=4049 at wave 1) in which students participated in the Tier 1 Program of Project P.A.T.H.S. and 24 control schools (n=3797 at wave 1). Results based on individual growth curve modeling generally showed that, relative to the control participants, participants in the experimental group had: (a) a higher level of positive development; (b) a lower level of substance abuse; and (c) a lower level of delinquent behavior. Participants who regarded the program to be beneficial also showed higher levels of positive development and lower levels of problem behavior than did the control school students. The present findings suggest that Project P.A.T.H.S. is effective in promoting positive development and preventing adolescent problem behavior in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

Examination of the relationship between project management critical success factors and project success of oil and gas drilling projects

Science.gov (United States)

Alagba, Tonye J.

Oil and gas drilling projects are the primary means by which oil companies recover large volumes of commercially available hydrocarbons from deep reservoirs. These types of projects are complex in nature, involving management of multiple stakeholder interfaces, multidisciplinary personnel, complex contractor relationships, and turbulent environmental and market conditions, necessitating the application of proven project management best practices and critical success factors (CSFs) to achieve success. Although there is some practitioner oriented literature on project management CSFs for drilling projects, none of these is based on empirical evidence, from research. In addition, the literature has reported alarming rates of oil and gas drilling project failure, which is attributable not to technical factors, but to failure of project management. The aim of this quantitative correlational study therefore, was to discover an empirically verified list of project management CSFs, which consistent application leads to successful implementation of oil and gas drilling projects. The study collected survey data online, from a random sample of 127 oil and gas drilling personnel who were members of LinkedIn's online community "Drilling Supervisors, Managers, and Engineers". The results of the study indicated that 10 project management factors are individually related to project success of oil and gas drilling projects. These 10 CSFs are namely; Project mission, Top management support, Project schedule/plan, Client consultation, Personnel, Technical tasks, Client acceptance, Monitoring and feedback, Communication, and Troubleshooting. In addition, the study found that the relationships between the 10 CSFs and drilling project success is unaffected by participant and project demographics---role of project personnel, and project location. The significance of these findings are both practical, and theoretical. Practically, application of an empirically verified CSFs list to oil

Project Temporalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tryggestad, Kjell; Justesen, Lise; Mouritsen, Jan

2013-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how animals can become stakeholders in interaction with project management technologies and what happens with project temporalities when new and surprising stakeholders become part of a project and a recognized matter of concern to be taken...... into account. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a qualitative case study of a project in the building industry. The authors use actor-network theory (ANT) to analyze the emergence of animal stakeholders, stakes and temporalities. Findings – The study shows how project temporalities can...... multiply in interaction with project management technologies and how conventional linear conceptions of project time may be contested with the emergence of new non-human stakeholders and temporalities. Research limitations/implications – The study draws on ANT to show how animals can become stakeholders...

Applying a life cycle approach to project management methods

OpenAIRE

Biggins, David; Trollsund, F.; Høiby, A.L.

2016-01-01

Project management is increasingly important to organisations because projects are the method\\ud by which organisations respond to their environment. A key element within project management\\ud is the standards and methods that are used to control and conduct projects, collectively known as\\ud project management methods (PMMs) and exemplified by PRINCE2, the Project Management\\ud Institute’s and the Association for Project Management’s Bodies of Knowledge (PMBOK and\\ud APMBOK. The purpose of t...

Guia de gestors de projectes, setembre 2012

OpenAIRE

Morante Milla, Antoni

2012-01-01

¿Qué es un proyecto?, la gestión de proyectos, aspectos clave en la definición y gestión de un proyecto, planificación de un proyecto herramientas informáticas para la planificación y gestión de proyectos y guía de uso del software de gestión de proyectos ClockingIT. What is a project?, project management, key issues in definition and project management, project planning tools for planning and managing projects and guide on how to use ClockingIT, project management software. Què és un p...

Key Distribution and Changing Key Cryptosystem Based on Phase Retrieval Algorithm and RSA Public-Key Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tieyu Zhao

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The optical image encryption has attracted more and more researchers’ attention, and the various encryption schemes have been proposed. In existing optical cryptosystem, the phase functions or images are usually used as the encryption keys, and it is difficult that the traditional public-key algorithm (such as RSA, ECC, etc. is used to complete large numerical key transfer. In this paper, we propose a key distribution scheme based on the phase retrieval algorithm and the RSA public-key algorithm, which solves the problem for the key distribution in optical image encryption system. Furthermore, we also propose a novel image encryption system based on the key distribution principle. In the system, the different keys can be used in every encryption process, which greatly improves the security of the system.

The Specification of Cortical Subcerebral Projection Neurons Depends on the Direct Repression of TBR1 by CTIP1/BCL11a.

Science.gov (United States)

Cánovas, José; Berndt, F Andrés; Sepúlveda, Hugo; Aguilar, Rodrigo; Veloso, Felipe A; Montecino, Martín; Oliva, Carlos; Maass, Juan C; Sierralta, Jimena; Kukuljan, Manuel

2015-05-13

The acquisition of distinct neuronal fates is fundamental for the function of the cerebral cortex. We find that the development of subcerebral projections from layer 5 neurons in the mouse neocortex depends on the high levels of expression of the transcription factor CTIP1; CTIP1 is coexpressed with CTIP2 in neurons that project to subcerebral targets and with SATB2 in those that project to the contralateral cortex. CTIP1 directly represses Tbr1 in layer 5, which appears as a critical step for the acquisition of the subcerebral fate. In contrast, lower levels of CTIP1 in layer 6 are required for TBR1 expression, which directs the corticothalamic fate. CTIP1 does not appear to play a critical role in the acquisition of the callosal projection fate in layer 5. These findings unravel a key step in the acquisition of cell fate for closely related corticofugal neurons and indicate that differential dosages of transcriptions factors are critical to specify different neuronal identities. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/357552-13$15.00/0.

Projections of specialist physicians in Mexico: a key element in planning human resources for health.

Science.gov (United States)

Nigenda, Gustavo; Muños, José Alberto

2015-09-22

Projections are considered a useful tool in the planning of human resources for health. In Mexico, the supply and demand of specialist doctors are clearly disconnected, and decisions must be made to reduce labour market imbalances. Thus, it is critical to produce reliable projections to assess future interactions between supply and demand. Using a service demand approach, projections of the number of specialist physicians required by the three main public institutions were calculated using the following variables: a) recent recruitment of specialists, b) physician productivity and c) retirement rates. Two types of scenarios were produced: an inertial one with no changes made to current production levels and an alternative scenario adjusted by recommended productivity levels. Results show that institutions must address productivity as a major policy element to act upon in future contracting of specialist physicians. The projections that adjusted for productivity suggest that the hiring trends for surgeons and internists should be maintained or increased to compensate for the increase in demand for services. In contrast, due to the decline in demand for obstetric and paediatric services, the hiring of new obstetrician-gynaecologists and paediatricians should be reduced to align with future demand.

Key Issues for the control of refueling outage duration and costs in PWR Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degrave, Claude

2002-01-01

For several years, EDF, within the framework of the CIDEM1 project and in collaboration with some German Utilities, has undertaken a detailed review of the operating experience both of its own NPP and of foreign units, in order to improve the performances of future units under design, particularly the French-German European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) project. This review made it possible to identify the key issues allowing to decrease the duration of refueling and maintenance outages. These key issues can be classified in 3 categories Design, Maintenance and Logistic Support, Outage Management. Most of the key issues in the design field and some in the logistic support field have been studied and could be integrated into the design of any future PWR unit, as for the EPR project. Some of them could also be adapted to current plants, provided they are feasible and profitable. The organization must be tailored to each country, utility or period: it widely depends on the power production environment, particularly in a deregulation context. (author)

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....

The WPU Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Janne Jul; Skov, Mikael B.; Stage, Jan

2008-01-01

in the course of the project, when there is neither time nor financial possibilities for solving the problems. The objective of the WPU project is to develop new methods for usability engineering in the development of web portals and to test these methods in companies that develop modern web portals. The result......The Web Portal Usability (WPU) project focuses on usability in the development of modern web portals. Web portals are a key part of software development. They are created to provide a group of users with access to a collection of internet services. State-of-the-art methods for usability engineering...... is a catalogue of methods that support usability engineering in web portal development, combined with guidelines for use, training programmes and documented experience from deployment and use of the methods. The WPU project is a collaborative effort between researchers from Aalborg University, Department...

Seaworthy Quantum Key Distribution Design and Validation (SEAKEY)

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-12

polarization control and the CV state and the LO state are separated at a polarizing beam splitter . The CV state is delayed relative to the LO state, and... splitter or loss imperfections. We have identified a number of risks associated with implementing this design . The two most critical risks are: • The...Contractor Address: 10 Moulton Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 Title of the Project: Seaworthy Quantum Key Distribution Design and Validation (SEAKEY

Testing Software Development Project Productivity Model

Science.gov (United States)

Lipkin, Ilya

Software development is an increasingly influential factor in today's business environment, and a major issue affecting software development is how an organization estimates projects. If the organization underestimates cost, schedule, and quality requirements, the end results will not meet customer needs. On the other hand, if the organization overestimates these criteria, resources that could have been used more profitably will be wasted. There is no accurate model or measure available that can guide an organization in a quest for software development, with existing estimation models often underestimating software development efforts as much as 500 to 600 percent. To address this issue, existing models usually are calibrated using local data with a small sample size, with resulting estimates not offering improved cost analysis. This study presents a conceptual model for accurately estimating software development, based on an extensive literature review and theoretical analysis based on Sociotechnical Systems (STS) theory. The conceptual model serves as a solution to bridge organizational and technological factors and is validated using an empirical dataset provided by the DoD. Practical implications of this study allow for practitioners to concentrate on specific constructs of interest that provide the best value for the least amount of time. This study outlines key contributing constructs that are unique for Software Size E-SLOC, Man-hours Spent, and Quality of the Product, those constructs having the largest contribution to project productivity. This study discusses customer characteristics and provides a framework for a simplified project analysis for source selection evaluation and audit task reviews for the customers and suppliers. Theoretical contributions of this study provide an initial theory-based hypothesized project productivity model that can be used as a generic overall model across several application domains such as IT, Command and Control

Identification of key oil refining technologies for China National Petroleum Co. (CNPC)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Haiyan; Yu Jianning; Xu Jian; Fan Yu; Bao Xiaojun

2007-01-01

This paper summarizes the results from the project 'Vision of the Key Petroleum Refining Technologies for China National Petroleum Co. (CNPC) in the Early 21st Century' undertaken by the Department of R and D Administration, CNPC, and its affiliate key laboratory, The Key Laboratory of Catalysis operated by China University of Petroleum, Beijing. The objective of the project was to identify the challenges and opportunities of CNPC's petroleum refining business given increasing economy globalization and stricter environmental regulations. Using the modified Delphi method, four key technologies for CNPC's oil refining industry were identified. They are: integrated fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), hydroprocessing, residue hydrocracking, and high-grade lubricant production. The most significant technology will be the integrated FCC technology that can economically increase the yield of light fractions as well as upgrade transportation fuels. In China, FCC units produce about 80% and 30% commercial gasoline and diesel, respectively. To ensure compliance with future environmental legislation, hydroprocessing technologies, including those related to petroleum product hydrorefining and distillate hydrocracking, should be developed. By combining residue hydrocracking and FCC technologies, poorer quality residua can be processed. Supplying high-grade lube oils is one of the main tasks for CNPC's oil refining industry. Development of hydrodewaxing technologies to manufacture API group II/III base oil is the main direction for CNPC's lubricant production business

Decommissioning of the ASTRA research reactor - planning, executing and summarizing the project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, F.

2010-01-01

The decommissioning of the ASTRA research reactor at the Austrian Research Centres Seibersdorf was described within three technical papers already released in Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection throughout the years 2003, 2006, and 2008. Following a suggestion from IAEA the project was investigated well after the files were closed regarding rather administrative than technical matters starting with the project mission, explaining the project structure and identifying the key factors and the key performance indicators. The continuous documentary and reporting system as implemented to fulfil the informational needs of stakeholders, management, and project staff alike is described. Finally the project is summarized in relationship to the performance indicators. (author)

On-site Labour Productivity of New Zealand Construction Industry: Key Constraints and Improvement Measures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serdar Durdyev

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Productivity is key to the survival and growth of any organisation, industry or nation. Some factors constrain the achievement of the set project objectives in the New Zealand building and construction industry and are responsible for the reported steady decline of productivity and performance. This study aims to identify the key constraints to on-site labour productivity and improvement measures. Using the descriptive survey method, views of some project managers, contractors and subcontractors in New Zealand were canvassed via pilot interviews and questionnaire surveys at the qualitative and quantity data gathering stages, respectively. Multi-attribute technique was used to analyse the quantitative data. Results showed that the key external constraints to on-site labour productivity comprise, in order of decreasing impact, statutory compliance, unforeseen events and wider external dynamics. The internal constraints, which contribute 67 percent of the onsite productivity issues, comprise reworks, level of skill and experience of the workforce, adequacy of method of construction, buildability issues, and inadequate supervision and coordination. . The factors underlying each broad category of external and internal constraints are reported. The relative levels of impact of the identified constraints are expected to guide the project team in addressing the constraints in a cost-effective manner.

Managing a project's legacy: implications for organizations and project management

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Lynne P.; Hecht, Michael H.; Majchrzak, Ann

2003-01-01

Organizations that rely on projects to implement their products must find effective mechanisms for propagating lessons learned on one project throughout the organization. A broad view of what constitutes a project's 'legacy' is presented that includes not just the design products and leftover parts, but new processes, relationships, technology, skills, planning data, and performance metrics. Based on research evaluating knowledge reuse in innovative contexts, this paper presents an approach to project legacy management that focuses on collecting and using legacy knowledge to promote organizational learning and effective reuse, while addressing factors of post-project responsibility, information obsolescence, and the importance of ancillary contextual information. .

General risks for tunnelling projects: An overview

Science.gov (United States)

Siang, Lee Yong; Ghazali, Farid E. Mohamed; Zainun, Noor Yasmin; Ali, Roslinda

2017-10-01

Tunnels are indispensable when installing new infrastructure as well as when enhancing the quality of existing urban living due to their unique characteristics and potential applications. Over the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in the building of tunnels, world-wide. Tunnelling projects are complex endeavors, and risk assessment for tunnelling projects is likewise a complex process. Risk events are often interrelated. Occurrence of a technical risk usually carries cost and schedule consequences. Schedule risks typically impact cost escalation and project overhead. One must carefully consider the likelihood of a risk's occurrence and its impact in the context of a specific set of project conditions and circumstances. A project's goals, organization, and environment impacts in the context of a specific set of project conditions and circumstances. Some projects are primarily schedule driven; other projects are primarily cost or quality driven. Whether a specific risk event is perceived fundamentally as a cost risk or a schedule risk is governed by the project-specific context. Many researchers have pointed out the significance of recognition and control of the complexity, and risks of tunnelling projects. Although all general information on a project such as estimated duration, estimated cost, and stakeholders can be obtained, it is still quite difficult to accurately understand, predict and control the overall situation and development trends of the project, leading to the risks of tunnelling projects. This paper reviews all the key risks for tunnelling projects from several case studies that have been carried out by other researchers. These risks have been identified and reviewed in this paper. As a result, the current risk management plan in tunnelling projects can be enhanced by including all these reviewed risks as key information.

Implementation of Period-Finding Algorithm by Means of Simulating Quantum Fourier Transform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zohreh Moghareh Abed

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we introduce quantum fourier transform as a key ingredient for many useful algorithms. These algorithms make a solution for problems which is considered to be intractable problems on a classical computer. Quantum Fourier transform is propounded as a key for quantum phase estimation algorithm. In this paper our aim is the implementation of period-finding algorithm.Quantum computer solves this problem, exponentially faster than classical one. Quantum phase estimation algorithm is the key for the period-finding problem .Therefore, by means of simulating quantum Fourier transform, we are able to implement the period-finding algorithm. In this paper, the simulation of quantum Fourier transform is carried out by Matlab software.

Turn-key SRF accelerators to drive subcritical reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, Rolland P.

2011-01-01

Large particle accelerator projects, both accomplished and proposed, have been used to engage US industry through contracts and grants to develop efficient capabilities to design, develop, produce, and deliver entire accelerator systems or any needed subsystems. Staffed in many cases by experienced scientists and engineers from National Laboratories and Universities, existing companies could extend their portfolios to offer turn-key accelerators with parameters to match the needs of ADS. If the reactors were based on molten salt fuel such that trip rate requirements were relaxed, the developments needed for a multi-MW proton accelerator for ADS would be minimal. Turn-key SRF proton linacs for ADS operation can be ordered now to enable GW-level power generation from natural thorium, natural uranium, or nuclear waste from conventional reactors. (author)

A path finding implementation for multi-layer networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, F.; van der Ham, J.; Grosso, P.; de Laat, C.

2009-01-01

The goal of the OptIPuter project is to tightly couple research applications with dynamically allocated paths. Since OptIPuter is a multi-disciplinary project, the paths through the network often span multiple network domains, and the applications are challenged to find valid network connections

A path finding implementation for multi-layer network

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, F.; Ham, J.J. van der; Grosso, P.; Laat, C. de

2009-01-01

The goal of the OptIPuter project is to tightly couple research applications with dynamically allocated paths. Since OptIPuter is a multi-disciplinary project, the paths through the network often span multiple network domains, and the applications are challenged to find valid network connections

Investigating ideomotor cognition with motorvisual priming paradigms: Key findings, methodological challenges, and future directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roland eThomaschke

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Ideomotor theory claims that perceptual representations of action effects are functionally involved in the planning of actions. Strong evidence for this claim comes from a phenomenon called motorvisual priming. Motorvisual priming refers to the finding that action planning directly affects perception, and that the effects are selective for stimuli that share features with the planned action. Motorvisual priming studies have provided detailed insights into the processing of perceptual representations in action planning. One important finding is that such representations in action planning have a categorical format, whereas metric representations are not anticipated in planning. Further essential findings regard the processing mechanisms and the time course of ideomotor cognition. Perceptual representations of action effects are first activated by action planning and then bound into a compound representation of the action plan. This compound representation is stabilized throughout the course of the action by the shielding of all involved representations from other cognitive processes. Despite a rapid growth in the number of motorvisual priming studies in the current literature, there are still many aspects of ideomotor cognition which have not yet been investigated. These aspects include the scope of ideomotor processing with regard to action types and stimulus types, as well as the exact nature of the binding and shielding mechanisms involved.

Development of the Neptune Deepwater Port: The Importance of Key Stakeholder Involvement and Benefits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silver, Marc

2010-09-15

In 2005, a subsidiary of GDF SUEZ began developing the Neptune LNG Deepwater Port off the coast of Massachusetts. The project met with minimal opposition and maintained a very aggressive timeline. The reasons? Productive involvement with key stakeholders and well-defined benefits. This paper outlines the systematic approach to stakeholder outreach and mitigation planning that Neptune LNG LLC took to garner project acceptance. Details of the pre-planning phase, the stakeholder outreach phase, and the project mitigation phase are all discussed. The result was a major energy project that took less than 3.5 years to permit and 1.5 years to build.

Improvement of Construction Project Management Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nazarko, J.

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The common denominator of the five papers published in the current edition of the Journal of Engineering, Project, and Production Management is the improvement of construction project management processes for effective use of resources. Execution of proper project management processes is widely recognized as a key success factor influencing likelihood of project success (Alleman, 2014. It is noticeable that four out of five papers in this issue of the Journal are authored or co-authored by Iranian researchers from the same Institute but their conclusions bear importance that cannot be limited to the authors’ region.

Project control integrating cost and schedule in construction

CERN Document Server

Del Pico, Wayne J

2013-01-01

The key to successful project control is the fusing of cost to schedule whereby the management of one helps to manage the other. Project Control: Integrating Cost and Schedule in Construction explores the reasons behind and the methodologies for proper planning, monitoring, and controlling both project costs and schedule. Filling a current void the topic of project control applied to the construction industry, it is essential reading for students and professionals alike.

The TIMSS Videotape Classroom Study: Methods and Findings from an Exploratory Research Project on Eighth-Grade Mathematics Instruction in Germany, Japan, and the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Stigler, James W.; Gonzales, Patrick; Kawanaka, Takako; Knoll, Steffen; Serrano, Ana

1999-01-01

Describes the methods and preliminary findings of the Videotape Classroom Study, a video survey of eighth-grade mathematics lessons in Germany, Japan, and the United States. Part of the Third International Mathematics and Science study, this research project is the first study of videotaped records from national probability samples. (SLD)

Interactive simulations for quantum key distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Kohnle, Antje; Rizzoli, Aluna

2017-05-01

Secure communication protocols are becoming increasingly important, e.g. for internet-based communication. Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows two parties, commonly called Alice and Bob, to generate a secret sequence of 0s and 1s called a key that is only known to themselves. Classically, Alice and Bob could never be certain that their communication was not compromised by a malicious eavesdropper. Quantum mechanics however makes secure communication possible. The fundamental principle of quantum mechanics that taking a measurement perturbs the system (unless the measurement is compatible with the quantum state) also applies to an eavesdropper. Using appropriate protocols to create the key, Alice and Bob can detect the presence of an eavesdropper by errors in their measurements. As part of the QuVis Quantum Mechanics Visualisation Project, we have developed a suite of four interactive simulations that demonstrate the basic principles of three different QKD protocols. The simulations use either polarised photons or spin 1/2 particles as physical realisations. The simulations and accompanying activities are freely available for use online or download, and run on a wide range of devices including tablets and PCs. Evaluation with students over three years was used to refine the simulations and activities. Preliminary studies show that the refined simulations and activities help students learn the basic principles of QKD at both the introductory and advanced undergraduate levels.

Interactive simulations for quantum key distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohnle, Antje; Rizzoli, Aluna

2017-01-01

Secure communication protocols are becoming increasingly important, e.g. for internet-based communication. Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows two parties, commonly called Alice and Bob, to generate a secret sequence of 0s and 1s called a key that is only known to themselves. Classically, Alice and Bob could never be certain that their communication was not compromised by a malicious eavesdropper. Quantum mechanics however makes secure communication possible. The fundamental principle of quantum mechanics that taking a measurement perturbs the system (unless the measurement is compatible with the quantum state) also applies to an eavesdropper. Using appropriate protocols to create the key, Alice and Bob can detect the presence of an eavesdropper by errors in their measurements. As part of the QuVis Quantum Mechanics Visualisation Project, we have developed a suite of four interactive simulations that demonstrate the basic principles of three different QKD protocols. The simulations use either polarised photons or spin 1/2 particles as physical realisations. The simulations and accompanying activities are freely available for use online or download, and run on a wide range of devices including tablets and PCs. Evaluation with students over three years was used to refine the simulations and activities. Preliminary studies show that the refined simulations and activities help students learn the basic principles of QKD at both the introductory and advanced undergraduate levels. (paper)

Symmetric Link Key Management for Secure Neighbor Discovery in a Decentralized Wireless Sensor Network

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

KEY MANAGEMENT FOR SECURE NEIGHBOR DISCOVERY IN A DECENTRALIZED WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK by Kelvin T. Chew September 2017 Thesis Advisor...and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT...DATE September 2017 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Master’s thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE SYMMETRIC LINK KEY MANAGEMENT FOR SECURE NEIGHBOR

Simple Web-based interactive key development software (WEBiKEY) and an example key for Kuruna (Poaceae: Bambusoideae).

Science.gov (United States)

Attigala, Lakshmi; De Silva, Nuwan I; Clark, Lynn G

2016-04-01

Programs that are user-friendly and freely available for developing Web-based interactive keys are scarce and most of the well-structured applications are relatively expensive. WEBiKEY was developed to enable researchers to easily develop their own Web-based interactive keys with fewer resources. A Web-based multiaccess identification tool (WEBiKEY) was developed that uses freely available Microsoft ASP.NET technologies and an SQL Server database for Windows-based hosting environments. WEBiKEY was tested for its usability with a sample data set, the temperate woody bamboo genus Kuruna (Poaceae). WEBiKEY is freely available to the public and can be used to develop Web-based interactive keys for any group of species. The interactive key we developed for Kuruna using WEBiKEY enables users to visually inspect characteristics of Kuruna and identify an unknown specimen as one of seven possible species in the genus.

Setting objectives for managing Key deer

Science.gov (United States)

Diefenbach, Duane R.; Wagner, Tyler; Stauffer, Glenn E.

2014-01-01

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is responsible for the protection and management of Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) because the species is listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. There are a host of actions that could possibly be undertaken to recover the Key deer population, but without a clearly defined problem and stated objectives it can be difficult to compare and evaluate alternative actions. In addition, management goals and the acceptability of alternative management actions are inherently linked to stakeholders, who should be engaged throughout the process of developing a decision framework. The purpose of this project was to engage a representative group of stakeholders to develop a problem statement that captured the management problem the FWS must address with Key deer and identify objectives that, if met, would help solve the problem. In addition, the objectives were organized in a hierarchical manner (i.e., an objectives network) to show how they are linked, and measurable attributes were identified for each objective. We organized a group of people who represented stakeholders interested in and potentially affected by the management of Key deer. These stakeholders included individuals who represented local, state, and federal governments, non-governmental organizations, the general public, and local businesses. This stakeholder group met five full days over the course of an eight-week period to identify objectives that would address the following problem:“As recovery and removal from the Endangered Species list is the purpose of the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs a management approach that will ensure a sustainable, viable, and healthy Key deer population. Urbanization has affected the behavior and population dynamics of the Key deer and the amount and characteristics

Enhancement and creation of secondary channel habitat: Review of project performance across a range of project types and settings

Science.gov (United States)

Epstein, J.; Lind, P.

2017-12-01

Secondary channels provide critical off-channel habitat for key life stages of aquatic species. In many systems, interruption of natural processes via anthropogenic influences have reduced the quantity of secondary channel habitat and have impaired the processes that help form and maintain them. Creation and enhancement of secondary channels is therefore a key component of stream rehabilitation, particularly in the Pacific Northwest where the focus has been on enhancement of habitat for ESA-listed salmonids. Secondary channel enhancement varies widely in scope, scale, and approach depending on species requirements, hydrology/hydraulics, geomorphologic setting, sediment dynamics, and human constraints. This presentation will review case studies from numerous secondary channel projects constructed over the last 20 years by different entities and in different settings. Lessons learned will be discussed that help to understand project performance and inform future project design. A variety of secondary channel project types will be reviewed, including mainstem flow splits, year-round flow through, seasonally activated, backwater alcove, natural groundwater-fed, and engineered groundwater-fed (i.e. groundwater collection galleries). Projects will be discussed that span a range of project construction intensities, such as full excavation of side channels, select excavation to increase flow, or utilizing mainstem structures to activate channels. Different configurations for connecting to the main channel, and their relative performance, will also be presented. A variety of connection types will be discussed including stabilized channel entrance, free-formed entrance, using bar apex jams to split flows, using `bleeder' jams to limit secondary channel flow, and obstructing the main channel to divert flows into secondary channels. The performance and longevity of projects will be discussed, particularly with respect to the response to sediment mobilizing events. Lessons

Trojan horse attacks on counterfactual quantum key distribution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Xiuqing, E-mail: xqqyang@163.com [School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); College of Science, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, 010051 Hohhot (China); Wei, Kejin; Ma, Haiqiang [School of Science, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876 (China); Sun, Shihai, E-mail: shsun@nudt.edu.cn [Department of Physics, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073 (China); Du, Yungang [College of Science, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, 010051 Hohhot (China); Wu, Lingan [Laboratory of Optical Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080 (China)

2016-04-22

There has been much interest in “counterfactual quantum cryptography” (T.-G. Noh, 2009 [10]). It seems that the counterfactual quantum key distribution protocol without any photon carrier through the quantum channel provides practical security advantages. However, we show that it is easy to break counterfactual quantum key distribution systems in practical situations. We introduce the two types of Trojan horse attacks that are available for the two-way protocol and become possible for practical counterfactual systems with our eavesdropping schemes. - Highlights: • We find the attacks available for the two-way protocol become possible for the practical counterfactual systems. • It does not require the assumption that it works on the counterfactual systems only in a finite key scenario. • Compared to the other attack models, our scheme is relatively simple for an eavesdropper.

Your Project Management Coach Best Practices for Managing Projects in the Real World

CERN Document Server

Biafore, Bonnie

2012-01-01

A pragmatic approach to project management Many projects fail to deliver on time or on budget, or even to deliver a workable product that satisfies the customer. While good project management goes a long way towards ensuring success, managers often fail to follow the plans they implement. This unique guide helps you understand and successfully handle project management, once and for all. Covering practical ways to solve problems you'll typically face when managing actual projects, this pragmatic book takes you through a full project management lifecycle. You'll find ample tips, tricks, and bes

The Torres Indigenous Hip Hop Project: evaluating the use of performing arts as a medium for sexual health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

McEwan, Alexandra; Crouch, Alan; Robertson, Heather; Fagan, Patricia

2013-08-01

The Torres Indigenous Hip Hop Project (the Project) was conducted in the Torres and Northern Peninsula Area of Queensland during early 2010. This paper provides a critical analysis of project outcomes and identifies criteria that may form a suitable framework for the assessment of proposals for sexual health promotion using performing arts-based approaches in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander settings. A case study method was used. The first phase of analysis assessed whether project objectives were met using data collected during project planning and implementation. The second phase used these findings, augmented by interviews with key personnel, to respond to the question 'How could this be done better?'. The Project required significant human and organisational implementation support. The project was successful in facilitating event-specific community mobilisation. It raised awareness of sexual health disadvantage and engaged effectively with the target group. It laid important groundwork to progress school-based and community mechanisms to address regional youth disadvantage. Against these benefits are issues of opportunity cost and the need for ongoing resources to capitalise on the opportunities created. With substantial support and planning, such approaches can play an important role in engaging young people and bridging the gap between clinical interventions and improvements in health deriving from community-driven strategies. SO WHAT? This paper contributes to existing literature by identifying key elements of an effective approach to using performing arts in sexual health promotion in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander settings. It also provides guidance when consideration is being given to investment in resource-intensive health promotion initiatives.

Key Frame Extraction in the Summary Space.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xuelong; Zhao, Bin; Lu, Xiaoqiang; Xuelong Li; Bin Zhao; Xiaoqiang Lu; Lu, Xiaoqiang; Li, Xuelong; Zhao, Bin

2018-06-01

Key frame extraction is an efficient way to create the video summary which helps users obtain a quick comprehension of the video content. Generally, the key frames should be representative of the video content, meanwhile, diverse to reduce the redundancy. Based on the assumption that the video data are near a subspace of a high-dimensional space, a new approach, named as key frame extraction in the summary space, is proposed for key frame extraction in this paper. The proposed approach aims to find the representative frames of the video and filter out similar frames from the representative frame set. First of all, the video data are mapped to a high-dimensional space, named as summary space. Then, a new representation is learned for each frame by analyzing the intrinsic structure of the summary space. Specifically, the learned representation can reflect the representativeness of the frame, and is utilized to select representative frames. Next, the perceptual hash algorithm is employed to measure the similarity of representative frames. As a result, the key frame set is obtained after filtering out similar frames from the representative frame set. Finally, the video summary is constructed by assigning the key frames in temporal order. Additionally, the ground truth, created by filtering out similar frames from human-created summaries, is utilized to evaluate the quality of the video summary. Compared with several traditional approaches, the experimental results on 80 videos from two datasets indicate the superior performance of our approach.

From Surveillance to Intervention: Overview and Baseline Findings for the Active City of Liverpool Active Schools and SportsLinx (A-CLASS Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola McWhannell

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper outlines the implementation of a programme of work that started with the development of a population-level children’s health, fitness and lifestyle study in 1996 (SportsLinx leading to selected interventions one of which is described in detail: the Active City of Liverpool, Active Schools and SportsLinx (A-CLASS Project. The A-CLASS Project aimed to quantify the effectiveness of structured and unstructured physical activity (PA programmes on children’s PA, fitness, body composition, bone health, cardiac and vascular structures, fundamental movement skills, physical self-perception and self-esteem. The study was a four-arm parallel-group school-based cluster randomised controlled trial (clinical trials no. NCT02963805, and compared different exposure groups: a high intensity PA (HIPA group, a fundamental movement skill (FMS group, a PA signposting (PASS group and a control group, in a two-schools-per-condition design. Baseline findings indicate that children’s fundamental movement skill competence levels are low-to-moderate, yet these skills are inversely associated with percentage body fat. Outcomes of this project will make an important contribution to the design and implementation of children’s PA promotion initiatives.

From Surveillance to Intervention: Overview and Baseline Findings for the Active City of Liverpool Active Schools and SportsLinx (A-CLASS) Project

Science.gov (United States)

McWhannell, Nicola; Henaghan, Jayne L.

2018-01-01

This paper outlines the implementation of a programme of work that started with the development of a population-level children’s health, fitness and lifestyle study in 1996 (SportsLinx) leading to selected interventions one of which is described in detail: the Active City of Liverpool, Active Schools and SportsLinx (A-CLASS) Project. The A-CLASS Project aimed to quantify the effectiveness of structured and unstructured physical activity (PA) programmes on children’s PA, fitness, body composition, bone health, cardiac and vascular structures, fundamental movement skills, physical self-perception and self-esteem. The study was a four-arm parallel-group school-based cluster randomised controlled trial (clinical trials no. NCT02963805), and compared different exposure groups: a high intensity PA (HIPA) group, a fundamental movement skill (FMS) group, a PA signposting (PASS) group and a control group, in a two-schools-per-condition design. Baseline findings indicate that children’s fundamental movement skill competence levels are low-to-moderate, yet these skills are inversely associated with percentage body fat. Outcomes of this project will make an important contribution to the design and implementation of children’s PA promotion initiatives.

Engagement in the HIV Care Continuum among Key Populations in Tijuana, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Laramie R; Patterson, Thomas L; Magis-Rodriguez, Carlos; Ojeda, Victoria D; Burgos, Jose Luis; Rojas, Sarah A; Zúñiga, María Luisa; Strathdee, Steffanie A

2016-05-01

In Tijuana, Mexico, HIV is concentrated in sub-epidemics of key populations: persons who inject drugs (PWID), sex workers (SW), and men who have sex with men (MSM). To date, data on engagement in the HIV care continuum among these key populations, particularly in resource-constrained settings, are sparse. We pooled available epidemiological data from six studies (N = 3368) to examine HIV testing and treatment uptake in these key populations; finding an overall HIV prevalence of 5.7 %. Of the 191 identified HIV-positive persons, only 11.5 % knew their HIV-positive status and 3.7 % were on ART. Observed differences between these HIV-positive key populations suggest PWID (vs. non-PWID) were least likely to have previously tested or initiate HIV care. MSM (vs. non-MSM) were more likely to have previously tested but not more likely to know their HIV-positive status. Of persons aware of their HIV-positive status, SW (vs. non-SW) were more likely to initiate HIV care. Findings suggest engagement of key populations in HIV treatment is far below estimates observed for similarly resource-constrained generalized epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa. These data provide one of the first empirical-snapshots highlighting the extent of HIV treatment disparities in key populations.

Why does project planning fail

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foley, M.; Luciano, G.

1991-01-01

The technology of project controls have become increasingly sophisticated. Some say that the technological advancements of the Nineteen-Eighties represented a maturation of project control tools. Others say that the advancements were merely bells and whistles that added little or nothing to the project management process. Above it all, as we enter the Nineties, there is a popular outcry to get back to the basics of planning. The genesis of this outcry is the sobering impact of significant cost overruns and schedule extensions, even on projects that have employed the most advanced project control tools and systems. This paper examines the merits of taking a strategic approach to the project planning process. Within that context, there are basic goals of planning which are enduring through the life cycle of the project. Key reasons for failure and inability to achieve the goals of project planning are explained. By examining the goals of project planning and the reasons for failure, insight is provided into the role of project controls specialists and sophisticated project control tools in meeting the challenges of complex project management in the 1990's

Manet key management via Mobile Ficlke Key protocol (MFK ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Manet key management via Mobile Ficlke Key protocol (MFK) ... Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL ... No Abstract. Keywords: MANET; key management scheme; simulation environment ...

Adapting Project Management Practices to Research-Based Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Bahr, P.; Baker, T.; Corbin, B.; Keith, L.; Loerch, L.; Mullenax, C.; Myers, R.; Rhodes, B.; Skytland, N.

2007-01-01

From dealing with the inherent uncertainties in outcomes of scientific research to the lack of applicability of current NASA Procedural Requirements guidance documentation, research-based projects present challenges that require unique application of classical project management techniques. If additionally challenged by the creation of a new program transitioning from basic to applied research in a technical environment often unfamiliar with the cost and schedule constraints addressed by project management practices, such projects can find themselves struggling throughout their life cycles. Finally, supplying deliverables to a prime vehicle customer, also in the formative stage, adds further complexity to the development and management of research-based projects. The Biomedical Research and Countermeasures Projects Branch at NASA Johnson Space Center encompasses several diverse applied research-based or research-enabling projects within the newly-formed Human Research Program. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the organizational structure and environment in which these projects operate and how the projects coordinate to address and manage technical requirements. We will identify several of the challenges (cost, technical, schedule, and personnel) encountered by projects across the Branch, present case reports of actions taken and techniques implemented to deal with these challenges, and then close the session with an open forum discussion of remaining challenges and potential mitigations.

Association between tax structure and cigarette consumption: findings from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation (ITC) Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Ce; Lee, Hye Myung; Chaloupka, Frank J; Fong, Geoffrey T; Thompson, Mary; O'Connor, Richard J

2018-05-24

Recent studies show that greater price variability and more opportunities for tax avoidance are associated with tax structures that depart from a specific uniform one. These findings indicate that tax structures other than a specific uniform one may lead to more cigarette consumption. This paper aims to examine how cigarette tax structure is associated with cigarette consumption. We used survey data taken from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project in 17 countries to conduct the analysis. Self-reported cigarette consumption was aggregated to average measures for each surveyed country and wave. The effect of tax structures on cigarette consumption was estimated using generalised estimating equations after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, average taxes and year fixed effects. Our study provides important empirical evidence of a relationship between tax structure and cigarette consumption. We find that a change from a specific to an ad valorem structure is associated with a 6%-11% higher cigarette consumption. In addition, a change from uniform to tiered structure is associated with a 34%-65% higher cigarette consumption. The results are consistent with existing evidence and suggest that a uniform and specific tax structure is the most effective tax structure for reducing tobacco consumption. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Key Findings of AAP Store Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Melendes, Bob; And Others

1977-01-01

Results of the Association of American Publishers "College Bookstore Marketing Survey" in the fall of 1976 are summarized. The intent was to improve college textbook publisher services to college stores in the areas of order fulfillment, publication scheduling, print quantities, shipping, billing, and processing of returns. (LBH)

1995 project of the year Hanford Environmental compliance project nomination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelly, J.R.

1996-02-01

The completion of the Hanford Environmental Compliance (HEC) Project in December 1995 brought to a successful close a long line of major contributions to environmental cleanup. Not since the early days of the Hanford Site during and shortly after World War 11 had such a large group of diverse construction activities, with a common goal, been performed at Hanford. Key to this success was the unique combination of 14 subprojects under the HEC Project which afforded the flexibility to address evolving subproject requirements. This strategy resulted in the accomplishment of the HEC Project stakeholders` objectives on an aggressive schedule, at a $33 million cost savings to the customer. The primary objectives of the HEC Project were to upgrade selected Hanford Site facilities and systems to bring them into compliance with current environmental standards and regulations. The HEC Project contributed significantly towards the Hanford site compliance with Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) requirements. It provided, in part, those construction activities required to comply with those requirements in the areas of liquid and solid waste treatment and disposal, waste characterization, and groundwater monitoring.

1995 project of the year Hanford Environmental compliance project nomination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly, J.R.

1996-02-01

The completion of the Hanford Environmental Compliance (HEC) Project in December 1995 brought to a successful close a long line of major contributions to environmental cleanup. Not since the early days of the Hanford Site during and shortly after World War 11 had such a large group of diverse construction activities, with a common goal, been performed at Hanford. Key to this success was the unique combination of 14 subprojects under the HEC Project which afforded the flexibility to address evolving subproject requirements. This strategy resulted in the accomplishment of the HEC Project stakeholders' objectives on an aggressive schedule, at a $33 million cost savings to the customer. The primary objectives of the HEC Project were to upgrade selected Hanford Site facilities and systems to bring them into compliance with current environmental standards and regulations. The HEC Project contributed significantly towards the Hanford site compliance with Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) requirements. It provided, in part, those construction activities required to comply with those requirements in the areas of liquid and solid waste treatment and disposal, waste characterization, and groundwater monitoring

SPECIFICITY OF THE PROJECTIVE FIELD: REVERIES AND TRANSFORMATIVE POTENTIALITIES

OpenAIRE

Tiziana Sola

2014-01-01

This article suggests a reading of the projectives Methods in Bionian key, with particular reference to the bionian elaboration by Antonino Ferro, who substantially considers the patient’s associative flows as forms of the oneiric. The projective situation also represents a place of induction to reverie, in resonance with the concept of projective field, the peculiarity of which lie in the introduction of the element “third”, i.e. the test material.Keywords: Projective methods - Projective fi...

The online good practice guide on job finding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Levinsen, Karin Tweddell; Ørngreen, Rikke; Andreasen, Lars Birch

2010-01-01

The Online Good Practice Guide on Job Finding is a result of the project L@JOST, 'Learn about finding jobs through digital storytelling', with the purpose of enhancing the employability possibilities of graduated students through the use of e-portfolio and digital storytelling....

Grounded Theory Study of Conflicts in Norwegian Agile Software Projects: The Project Managers’ Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lubna Siddique

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to explore the process of conflicts in agile software projects. The purpose was to investigate the causes and consequences of these conflicts. For this purpose, we conducted a qualitative study involving agile software projects in Norway. Grounded theory was used to analyze the data and the interview findings are presented using Glaser´s Six C model (context, condition, causes, consequences, contingencies, and covariance. The research findings suggest that there are several causes of conflicts. These include: the role of the product owner, an inexperienced project manager, the customer’s lack of knowledge about methodology organizational hierarchy in public companies, contracting, personal egos, financial issues, not getting the right team. Consequences of conflicts include: decreased productivity, wastage of time and resources, diverted attention from project objectives loss of motivation, poor decision making, loss of communication. Based on interview data, different conflict strategies are suggested and these include appropriately skilled project manager, communication and negotiation, defining clear roles, stakeholder analysis, managing stakeholder´s expectations, discussion, finding the root cause of conflict. Project managers are using these strategies to avoid or resolve conflicts. The competencies required to handle these kind of conflicts are also discussed in the paper, while the implications of theory and practice of conflict management theory are also presented.

Saturated Zone Flow and Transport Expert Elicitation Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coppersmith, Kevin J.; Perman, Roseanne C.

1998-01-01

This report presents results of the Saturated Zone Flow and Transport Expert Elicitation (SZEE) project for Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This project was sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and managed by Geomatrix Consultants, Inc. (Geomatrix), for TRW Environmental Safety Systems, Inc. The DOE's Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (referred to as the YMP) is intended to evaluate the suitability of the site for construction of a mined geologic repository for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The SZEE project is one of several that involve the elicitation of experts to characterize the knowledge and uncertainties regarding key inputs to the Yucca Mountain Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA). The objective of the current project was to characterize the uncertainties associated with certain key issues related to the saturated zone system in the Yucca Mountain area and downgradient region. An understanding of saturated zone processes is critical to evaluating the performance of the potential high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. A major goal of the project was to capture the uncertainties involved in assessing the saturated flow processes, including uncertainty in both the models used to represent the physical processes controlling saturated zone flow and transport, and the parameter values used in the models. So that the analysis included a wide range of perspectives, multiple individual judgments were elicited from members of an expert panel. The panel members, who were experts from within and outside the Yucca Mountain project, represented a range of experience and expertise. A deliberate process was followed in facilitating interactions among the experts, in training them to express their uncertainties, and in eliciting their interpretations. The resulting assessments and probability distributions, therefore, provide a reasonable aggregate representation of the knowledge and

Project Half Double

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svejvig, Per; Gerstrøm, Anna; Frederiksen, Signe Hedeboe

The Half Double mission: Project Half Double has a clear mission. We want to succeed in finding a project methodology that can increase the success rate of our projects while increasing the development speed of new products and services. We are convinced that by doing so we can strengthen...... the competitiveness of Denmark 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 should be understood as half the time to impact (benefit realization, effect is achieved......) and not as half the time for project execution. The Half Double project journey: It all began in May 2013 when we asked ourselves: How do we create a new and radical project paradigm that can create successful projects? Today we are a movement of hundreds of passionate project people, and it grows larger...

Impact of National Fadama Development Project II on Rice farmers ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... examined the impact of National Fadama Development Project II on the profitability of rice farmers and assessed the extent to which the various innovations disseminated by the project were adopted by the rice farmer beneficiaries. The project which had all operating expenses cofinanced by the various key stakeholders ...

A framework to improve performance measurement in engineering projects

OpenAIRE

Zheng , Li; Baron , Claude; Esteban , Philippe; Xue , Rui; Zhang , Qiang

2017-01-01

International audience; A wide range of methods and good practices have been developed for the measurement of projects performance. They help project managers to effectively monitor the project progress and evaluate results. However, from a literature review, we noticed several remaining critical issues in measuring projects performance, such as an unbalanced development of Key Performance Indicators types between lagging and leading indicators. On the other hand, systems engineering measurem...

How to Grow Project Scientists: A Systematic Approach to Developing Project Scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Kea, Howard

2011-01-01

The Project Manager is one of the key individuals that can determine the success or failure of a project. NASA is fully committed to the training and development of Project Managers across the agency to ensure that highly capable individuals are equipped with the competencies and experience to successfully lead a project. An equally critical position is that of the Project Scientist. The Project Scientist provides the scientific leadership necessary for the scientific success of a project by insuring that the mission meets or exceeds the scientific requirements. Traditionally, NASA Goddard project scientists were appointed and approved by the Center Science Director based on their knowledge, experience, and other qualifications. However the process to obtain the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities was not documented or done in a systematic way. NASA Goddard's current Science Director, Nicholas White saw the need to create a pipeline for developing new projects scientists, and appointed a team to develop a process for training potential project scientists. The team members were Dr. Harley Thronson, Chair, Dr. Howard Kea, Mr. Mark Goldman, DACUM facilitator and the late Dr. Michael VanSteenberg. The DACUM process, an occupational analysis and evaluation system, was used to produce a picture of the project scientist's duties, tasks, knowledge, and skills. The output resulted in a 3-Day introductory course detailing all the required knowledge, skills and abilities a scientist must develop over time to be qualified for selections as a Project Scientist.

Experience in independent power production: Two projects that closed

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kappaz, M.H.

1994-12-31

K and M Engineering and Consulting Corporation`s experience in independent power production is outlined. The following topics are discussed: the KMR Power Corporation, K and M strengths and strategy, key success factors, project experience, selected projects, and capital structure.

Prioritizing the countries for BOT nuclear power project using Analytic Hierarchy Process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Sun Woo; Roh, Myung Sub

2013-01-01

This paper proposes factors influencing the success of BOT nuclear power projects and their weighting method using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to find the optimal country which developer intends to develop. To summarize, this analytic method enable the developer to select and focus on the country which has preferable circumstance so that it enhances the efficiency of the project promotion by minimizing the opportunity cost. Also, it enables the developer to quantify the qualitative factors so that it diversifies the project success strategy and policy for the targeted country. Although the performance of this study is insufficient due to the limitation of time, small sampling and security of materials, it still has the possibility to improve the analytic model more systematically through further study with more data. Developing Build-Own(or Operate)-Transfer (BOT) nuclear power project carrying large capital in the long term requires initially well-made multi-decision which it prevents sorts of risks from unexpected situation of targeted countries. Moreover, the nuclear power project in most case is practically implemented by Government to Government cooperation, so the key concern for such nuclear power project would be naturally focused on the country situation rather than project viability at planning stage. In this regard, it requires the evaluation of targeted countries before involving the project, comprehensive and proper decision making for complex judgment factors, and efficient integration of expert's opinions, etc. Therefore, prioritizing and evaluating the feasibility of country for identification of optimal project region is very meaningful study

Nuclear project management experience in Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jae-Pung Jeon

1987-01-01

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has been dereloping nuclear power steadily over last 30 years to support effective economic growth of the nation with cheap electric power. In the course of development, KEPCO has experienced various project management patterns diverging from turn-key contracts with foreign vendors to non-turnkey with local affiliates. To culative own project management capabilities, one has to pay continuous efforts for better management systems development and manpower training. KEPCO is ready to share its priceless experiences gained over last three decades of nuclear project operation with any developing nation. (Liu)

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

Unconditional security of quantum key distribution and the uncertainty principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koashi, Masato

2006-01-01

An approach to the unconditional security of quantum key distribution protocols is presented, which is based on the uncertainty principle. The approach applies to every case that has been treated via the argument by Shor and Preskill, but it is not necessary to find quantum error correcting codes. It can also treat the cases with uncharacterized apparatuses. The proof can be applied to cases where the secret key rate is larger than the distillable entanglement

The Process to Estimate Economical Benefits of Six Sigma Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Kosina

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to define the process for the continuous evaluation of the financial benefits during Six Sigma project life time. The financial criteria are critical success factors of a Six Sigma project. The process has been developed as part of the six sigma project monitoring in order to estimate proper allocation of the resources taking in account the expected project benefits as well as evaluationof real achievements. The evaluation of the finacial benefits based on the quality costs is not sufficient in the real life and has to be accomplished with key financial performance indicators of the business to visualize the results. The evaluation based on the savings seems to be too difficult especially for green belts. The early involvement of the finance department in the project definition as well as ongoing evaluation is key. The defined process has been applied to real business enviroment.

Development of a database system for near-future climate change projections under the Japanese National Project SI-CAT

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawa, Y.; Kawahara, S.; Araki, F.; Matsuoka, D.; Ishikawa, Y.; Fujita, M.; Sugimoto, S.; Okada, Y.; Kawazoe, S.; Watanabe, S.; Ishii, M.; Mizuta, R.; Murata, A.; Kawase, H.

2017-12-01

Analyses of large ensemble data are quite useful in order to produce probabilistic effect projection of climate change. Ensemble data of "+2K future climate simulations" are currently produced by Japanese national project "Social Implementation Program on Climate Change Adaptation Technology (SI-CAT)" as a part of a database for Policy Decision making for Future climate change (d4PDF; Mizuta et al. 2016) produced by Program for Risk Information on Climate Change. Those data consist of global warming simulations and regional downscaling simulations. Considering that those data volumes are too large (a few petabyte) to download to a local computer of users, a user-friendly system is required to search and download data which satisfy requests of the users. We develop "a database system for near-future climate change projections" for providing functions to find necessary data for the users under SI-CAT. The database system for near-future climate change projections mainly consists of a relational database, a data download function and user interface. The relational database using PostgreSQL is a key function among them. Temporally and spatially compressed data are registered on the relational database. As a first step, we develop the relational database for precipitation, temperature and track data of typhoon according to requests by SI-CAT members. The data download function using Open-source Project for a Network Data Access Protocol (OPeNDAP) provides a function to download temporally and spatially extracted data based on search results obtained by the relational database. We also develop the web-based user interface for using the relational database and the data download function. A prototype of the database system for near-future climate change projections are currently in operational test on our local server. The database system for near-future climate change projections will be released on Data Integration and Analysis System Program (DIAS) in fiscal year 2017

The ComSoc guide to managing telecommunications projects

CERN Document Server

Desmond, Celia

2010-01-01

"This pocket guide provides an overview of the telecommunications environment as it has evolved over the past few years, illustrating the need for project management, the significance of project success to the companies, and the application of key project management processes within the telecom environment. Topics covered include: scope management, time management, cost management, procurement management, risk management, communications, quality, human resources, and Integration. It offers professionals a brief and accessible guide to managing telecommunication projects in the 21st century"--

Chosen aspects of innovative projects management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Gawlik

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Any company willing to maintain its market position has to search and implement innovative products and services. Integrated development ofenterprise’s innovative activity requests a constant search for new technologies and new organizational forms. Ability of effectivemanagement of innovative projects becomes a crucial issue. The paper presents a characteristic of innovative projects accordingly toOECD standards. Project management concepts based on Project Management Institute (PMI and International Project ManagementAssociation (IPMA procedures have been discussed. Key success factors have been defined, i.e.: obtaining assumed project outcome (range, project implementation conform to planned schedule (deadline, maintaining project costs under a certain limit (budget, quality (are the customers satisfied?, resources (team losses and interpersonal relations. Tables comparing product innovativeness with fields of requested know – how for particular product innovativeness levels have been elaborated. Finally, SCRUM method of adaptive project management aiming at providing possibly optimal outcome has been described.

Modelling efforts needed to advance herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccine development: Key findings from the World Health Organization Consultation on HSV Vaccine Impact Modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottlieb, Sami L; Giersing, Birgitte; Boily, Marie-Claude; Chesson, Harrell; Looker, Katharine J; Schiffer, Joshua; Spicknall, Ian; Hutubessy, Raymond; Broutet, Nathalie

2017-06-21

Development of a vaccine against herpes simplex virus (HSV) is an important goal for global sexual and reproductive health. In order to more precisely define the health and economic burden of HSV infection and the theoretical impact and cost-effectiveness of an HSV vaccine, in 2015 the World Health Organization convened an expert consultation meeting on HSV vaccine impact modelling. The experts reviewed existing model-based estimates and dynamic models of HSV infection to outline critical future modelling needs to inform development of a comprehensive business case and preferred product characteristics for an HSV vaccine. This article summarizes key findings and discussions from the meeting on modelling needs related to HSV burden, costs, and vaccine impact, essential data needs to carry out those models, and important model components and parameters. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Something of value Governance of Projects in the Project-Based Organisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riis, Eva

2013-01-01

The paper presents a conceptual framework for studying Governance of Projects and issues of value in the project-based organisation. Attempts at exploring and conceptualising the issues in the current literature are reviewed. Issues pertinent to gaining value by Governance of Projects have mainly...... for a better understanding of Governance of Projects and value contribution. The findings presented here form the conceptual foundation for subsequent empirical studies of value by Governance of Projects....... been explored from the perspective of economic theory. Models found in the literature are not typically concerned with value for the implementing organisation as a whole; their scope is limited to the time just after project completion. No valid, empirically-based models of value creation by Governance...

Melding Service Learning and Leadership Skills Development: Keys to Effective Course Design

Science.gov (United States)

Lester, Scott W.

2015-01-01

The author presents keys to designing a class that successfully melds service learning and student leadership development. These prescriptions are based on the lessons learned over 8 years of teaching a class titled "Community Leadership." This class emphasizes experiential learning and revolves around service learning projects. The…

Critical management practices influencing on-site waste minimization in construction projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Ajayi, Saheed O; Oyedele, Lukumon O; Bilal, Muhammad; Akinade, Olugbenga O; Alaka, Hafiz A; Owolabi, Hakeem A

2017-01-01

As a result of increasing recognition of effective site management as the strategic approach for achieving the required performance in construction projects, this study seeks to identify the key site management practices that are requisite for construction waste minimization. A mixed methods approach, involving field study and survey research were used as means of data collection. After confirmation of construct validity and reliability of scale, data analysis was carried out through a combination of Kruskal-Wallis test, descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. The study suggests that site management functions could significantly reduce waste generation through strict adherence to project drawings, and by ensuring fewer or no design changes during construction process. Provision of waste skips for specific materials and maximisation of on-site reuse of materials are also found to be among the key factors for engendering waste minimization. The result of factor analysis suggests four factors underlying on-site waste management practices with 96.093% of total variance. These measures include contractual provisions for waste minimization, waste segregation, maximisation of materials reuse and effective logistic management. Strategies through which each of the underlying measures could be achieved are further discussed in the paper. Findings of this study would assist construction site managers and other site operatives in reducing waste generated by construction activities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two Project Methods: Preliminary Observations on the Similarities and Differences between William Heard Kilpatrick's Project Method and John Dewey's Problem-Solving Method

Science.gov (United States)

Sutinen, Ari

2013-01-01

The project method became a famous teaching method when William Heard Kilpatrick published his article "Project Method" in 1918. The key idea in Kilpatrick's project method is to try to explain how pupils learn things when they work in projects toward different common objects. The same idea of pupils learning by work or action in an…

Key issues considered at LNG 13

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kidd, S.

2001-01-01

In the past few years, deregulation of the gas markets throughout the world has changed the way LNG projects can be brought into realisation. Gone are the days when large consortia of buyers could aggregate demand into quantities that made an LNG project economic. Today's market is typified by buyers requesting greater flexibility in volumes, shorter contract terms and reduced exposure to take-or-pay clauses. This means that the onus is on the producer to aggregate volume to make a large project viable, and to find flexible supply options as demand increases. As a result, there is an increasing ability to source LNG from excess capacity around the world, as has been demonstrated with the extended shutdown of the Arun LNG plant in Indonesia. Although some flexibility exists for the supply of LNG, it is unlikely that a world market where LNG is freely traded will develop. LNG projects will still require long-term contracts to ensure project financing. Furthermore, the 'LNG world' will remain separated into two regions the Atlantic and Asia-Pacific basins with only small amounts of 'spot' trading occurring between them. This is primarily due to the increased shipping costs associated with the global movement of LNG, and thus the ability to compete with closer sources of LNG and pipeline gas. Australia's position and its challenges in the LNG market is analysed

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...

Knowledge Governance in Project-Based Organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pemsel, Sofia; Wiewiora, Anna; Müller, Ralf

This paper conceptualizes knowledge governance (KG) in project-based organizations (PBOs) and its methodological approaches for empirical investigation. Three key contributions towards a multi-faceted view of KG and an understanding of KG in PBOs are advanced. These contributions include a defini......This paper conceptualizes knowledge governance (KG) in project-based organizations (PBOs) and its methodological approaches for empirical investigation. Three key contributions towards a multi-faceted view of KG and an understanding of KG in PBOs are advanced. These contributions include...... a definition of KG in PBOs, a conceptual framework to investigate KG and a methodological framework for empirical inquiry into KG in PBO settings. Our definition highlights the contingent nature of KG processes in relation to their organizational context. The conceptual framework addresses macro- and micro...

Interdisciplinary Problem Oriented Project Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blomhøj, Morten; Kjeldsen, Tinne Hoff

2018-01-01

In this chapter, we analyze the problem oriented project work practiced at the Bachelor Study Program in Natural Science (Nat Bach) at Roskilde University (RU) as a learning environment for developing students’ mathematical modelling competence. The projects are conducted in a rather sophisticated...... and radical learning environment grounded on the four pedagogical key principles of, problem orientation, participant directed group work, interdisciplinarity and exemplarity. We illustrate and discuss the interplay between the aim of developing the students’ modelling competence on the one hand...

Towards rethinking Project portfolio management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lars Kristian; Svejvig, Per

the last five years. Utilizing the theoretical lens proposed by Svejvig and Andersen (2015), we apply two complementary analytical perspectives to classify and analyze the stocks. One perspective, denoted as classical project management (CPM), highlights key characteristics of conventional research....... A second perspective, denoted as rethinking project management (RPM), highlights characteristics of progressive research. Not surprisingly, characteristics from CPM are very dominant in the stock of most cited publications of all years — instrumentality and controllability in particular. In the newest...

Increasing the Value of Research: A Comparison of the Literature on Critical Success Factors for Projects, IT Projects and Enterprise Resource Planning Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annie Maddison Warren

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Since the beginning of modern project management in the 1960s, academic researchers have sought to identify a definitive list of Critical Success Factors (CSFs, the key things that project managers must get right in order to deliver a successful product. With the advent of Information Technology (IT projects and, more recently, projects to deliver Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP systems, attention has turned to identifying definitive lists of CSFs for these more specific project types. The purpose of this paper is to take stock of this research effort by examining how thinking about each type of project has evolved over time, before producing a consolidated list of CSFs for each as a basis for comparison. This process reveals a high degree of similarity, leading to the conclusion that the goal of identifying a generic list of CSFs for project management has been achieved. Therefore, rather than continuing to describe lists of CSFs, researchers could increase the value of their contribution by taking a step forward and focusing on why, despite this apparent knowledge of how to ensure their success, ERP projects continue to fail.

Underestimation of Project Costs

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Harry W.

2015-01-01

Large projects almost always exceed their budgets. Estimating cost is difficult and estimated costs are usually too low. Three different reasons are suggested: bad luck, overoptimism, and deliberate underestimation. Project management can usually point to project difficulty and complexity, technical uncertainty, stakeholder conflicts, scope changes, unforeseen events, and other not really unpredictable bad luck. Project planning is usually over-optimistic, so the likelihood and impact of bad luck is systematically underestimated. Project plans reflect optimism and hope for success in a supposedly unique new effort rather than rational expectations based on historical data. Past project problems are claimed to be irrelevant because "This time it's different." Some bad luck is inevitable and reasonable optimism is understandable, but deliberate deception must be condemned. In a competitive environment, project planners and advocates often deliberately underestimate costs to help gain project approval and funding. Project benefits, cost savings, and probability of success are exaggerated and key risks ignored. Project advocates have incentives to distort information and conceal difficulties from project approvers. One naively suggested cure is more openness, honesty, and group adherence to shared overall goals. A more realistic alternative is threatening overrun projects with cancellation. Neither approach seems to solve the problem. A better method to avoid the delusions of over-optimism and the deceptions of biased advocacy is to base the project cost estimate on the actual costs of a large group of similar projects. Over optimism and deception can continue beyond the planning phase and into project execution. Hard milestones based on verified tests and demonstrations can provide a reality check.

Are diet and physical activity patterns related to cigarette smoking in adolescents? Findings from Project EAT.

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Nicole I; Story, Mary; Perry, Cheryl L; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne; Hannan, Peter J

2007-07-01

An inadequate diet and physical inactivity may compound the many deleterious effects of smoking on health. Some research indicates that smoking behavior is related to other health behaviors, but little research has examined how smoking may be related to dietary intake of key nutrients, consumption of fast food, sedentary lifestyle, or weight status. The purpose of this study was to describe smoking frequency among adolescents and its relationship to physical activity and dietary patterns. The research study employed a cross-sectional, population-based design. Adolescents self-reported cigarette smoking, physical activity, and eating behaviors on the Project EAT (Eating Among Teens) survey and reported dietary intake on a food frequency questionnaire completed in school classrooms. The sample included 4746 middle school and high school students from Minneapolis-St. Paul public schools. Mixed-model regression, which was controlled for sex, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, grade level (middle school or high school), and school, was used to examine the association of smoking with diet and physical activity patterns. Overall, reported smoking frequency was inversely related to participating in team sports, eating regular meals, and consuming healthful foods and nutrients. Smoking frequency was directly related to frequency of fast-food and soft drink consumption. Adolescents who smoke cigarettes may be less likely to engage in health-promoting lifestyle behaviors. Interventions are needed to prevent smoking and the unhealthy dietary practices and physical activity behaviors that may be associated with it.

Quantum key management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hughes, Richard John; Thrasher, James Thomas; Nordholt, Jane Elizabeth

2016-11-29

Innovations for quantum key management harness quantum communications to form a cryptography system within a public key infrastructure framework. In example implementations, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a Merkle signature scheme (using Winternitz one-time digital signatures or other one-time digital signatures, and Merkle hash trees) to constitute a cryptography system. More generally, the quantum key management innovations combine quantum key distribution and a quantum identification protocol with a hash-based signature scheme. This provides a secure way to identify, authenticate, verify, and exchange secret cryptographic keys. Features of the quantum key management innovations further include secure enrollment of users with a registration authority, as well as credential checking and revocation with a certificate authority, where the registration authority and/or certificate authority can be part of the same system as a trusted authority for quantum key distribution.

Habitat Demonstration Unit Project: Leadership and Management Strategies for a Rapid Prototyping Project

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Kriss J.; Toup, Larry; Gill, Tracy; Tri, Terry; Howe, Scott; Smitherman, David

2011-01-01

management team that put in place the key multi-center leadership skills and disciplines to enable a successful tiger team approach. Advocacy was established with key stakeholders and NASA Headquarters (HQ) by defining a strategic vision, mission, goals and objectives for the project and team. As a technology-pull testbed capability the HDU project was able to collaborate and leverage the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) and individual NASA center investments which capitalized on their respective center core competencies and skills. This approach enable the leveraging of over $7.5m of value to create an operational habitat demonstration unit 2010 PEM configuration.

Project Management Yinyang: Coupling project success and client satisfaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Greg Stewart Usher

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Our research applies paradox theory to a project management construct to help project management researchers and practitioners understand the tensions that can exist between project success and client satisfaction. Our research highlights that although project success and client satisfaction are both present within a project management construct, they also belong to different functional systems. Project success and client satisfaction have different systemic-discourses and use different language games to convey information. These distinctions can create latent and sometimes salient tensions within the project management construct that project managers must understand, embrace, and work with. We have used a Grounded Theory (GT methodology to explore the lived experience of project managers, and from this have identified a phenomenon which we have termed project management yinyang. Project management yinyang is the state that exists when both project success and Client satisfaction are tightly coupled within the project management construct. Project management yinyang highlights that these two phenomena cannot be viewed as separate elements because the ‘seed’ of each exists within the other. And to truly achieve one, you must also achieve the other. Our findings indicate that in order to create project management yinyang the project manager must embrace a paradoxical yet holistic philosophy. They must understand the complementarity, interdependency, and structural coupling that exists between the positivist and interpretivist paradigms within the project management construct. They must understand how satisfaction (Yin and success (Yang are created through focus. Furthermore, they must understand how project management yinyang is separate from, but borne from, the convergence of the other two elements.

Factors affecting sustainability of land reform projects in Ehlanzeni ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study evaluated factors affecting sustainability of land reform projects in Mpumalanga Province in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality (BLM) of Ehlanzeni District. The study was conducted between July and September 2014. A random sampling technique was used in selecting 31 key informants from the projects.

Ready to Retrofit: The Process of Project Team Selection, Building Benchmarking, and Financing Commercial Building Energy Retrofit Projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanders, Mark D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Parrish, Kristen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mathew, Paul [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2012-05-01

This guide presents a process for three key activities for the building owner in preparing to retrofit existing commercial buildings: selecting project teams, benchmarking the existing building, and financing the retrofit work. Although there are other essential steps in the retrofit process, the three activities presented in this guide are the critical elements where the building owner has the greatest influence on the outcome of the project.

The Biodiversity Community Action Project: An STS Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Aidin, Amirshokoohi; Mahsa, Kazempour

2010-01-01

The Biodiversity Community Action Project is a stimulating and vigorous project that allows students to gain an in-depth understanding of the interconnection between organisms and their environments as well as the connection of science to their lives and society. It addresses key content standards in the National Science Education Standards and…

Analysing PKCS#11 Key Management APIs with Unbounded Fresh Data

Science.gov (United States)