Local competence building and public information in European nuclear territories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martell, Meritxell; Vila D'Abadal, Maria

2010-01-01

Opinion polls and case study analysis show that there is a strong public demand for more participation in decision-making processes relating to the environment and nuclear issues specifically (IGNA, 2007; EC DG TREN 2008). In this regard, the implementation of transparency and participation at local level in municipalities hosting nuclear facilities is being claimed by local representatives over Europe. The pilot project 'Local Competence Building and Public Information in European Nuclear Territories' (2007-2008) was promoted by the Group of European Municipalities with Nuclear Facilities (GMF) and partly financed by the Directorate General for Energy and Transport (DG TREN). The project aims at supporting the European Commission (EC) in the process of harmonising national practices in the field of governance in nuclear territories. The objectives of this pilot project were two-fold: firstly, to identify local good practices at European level with regards to governance in the nuclear field and, secondly, to provide a methodological framework to recommend good practices and establish a set of indicators. The results of the project are briefly explained under the five dimensions of local governance on nuclear matters: access to environmental information, participation, access to justice, competence building and local development. Firstly, access to information on nuclear issues is broadly acknowledged by local representatives to be of relevant importance in increasing public knowledge on nuclear issues, especially on nuclear safety and radiation protection. Secondly, most local representatives feel that the current participatory level on nuclear issues in municipalities is too low and they would appreciate a greater involvement of local communities in decision-making processes on nuclear issues through local commissions or other mechanisms. Thirdly, according to local authorities, access to justice should be provided not only for the public but also for themselves

Enabling cross-disciplinary research by linking data to Open Access publications

Science.gov (United States)

Rettberg, N.

2012-04-01

OpenAIREplus focuses on the linking of research data to associated publications. The interlinking of research objects has implications for optimising the research process, allowing the sharing, enrichment and reuse of data, and ultimately serving to make open data an essential part of first class research. The growing call for more concrete data management and sharing plans, apparent at funder and national level, is complemented by the increasing support for a scientific infrastructure that supports the seamless access to a range of research materials. This paper will describe the recently launched OpenAIREplus and will detail how it plans to achieve its goals of developing an Open Access participatory infrastructure for scientific information. OpenAIREplus extends the current collaborative OpenAIRE project, which provides European researchers with a service network for the deposit of peer-reviewed FP7 grant-funded Open Access publications. This new project will focus on opening up the infrastructure to data sources from subject-specific communities to provide metadata about research data and publications, facilitating the linking between these objects. The ability to link within a publication out to a citable database, or other research data material, is fairly innovative and this project will enable users to search, browse, view, and create relationships between different information objects. In this regard, OpenAIREplus will build on prototypes of so-called "Enhanced Publications", originally conceived in the DRIVER-II project. OpenAIREplus recognizes the importance of representing the context of publications and datasets, thus linking to resources about the authors, their affiliation, location, project data and funding. The project will explore how links between text-based publications and research data are managed in different scientific fields. This complements a previous study in OpenAIRE on current disciplinary practices and future needs for infrastructural

Greening Public Buildings: ESCO-Contracting in Danish Municipalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jesper Ole; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev; Rohr Hansen, Jesper

2013-01-01

This paper presents current research on Danish municipalities’ use of Energy Service Companies (ESCO) as a way to improve the standard of public buildings and to increase energy efficiency. In recent years more and more municipalities have used ESCO-contracts to retrofit existing public buildings...

Public Access and Open Access: Is There a Difference? | Poster

Science.gov (United States)

By Robin Meckley, Contributing Writer, and Tracie Frederick, Guest Writer Open access and public access—are they different concepts or are they the same? What do they mean for the researchers at NCI at Frederick? “Open-access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. What makes it possible is the Internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder,” according to an open access website maintained by Peter Suber, director, Harvard Open Access Project.

Environmental Assessment for Authorizing the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to allow Public Access to the Boiling Nuclear Superheat (BONUS) Reactor Building, Rincon, Puerto Rico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to consent to a proposal by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to allow public access to the Boiling Nuclear Superheat (BONUS) reactor building located near Rincon, Puerto Rico for use as a museum. PREPA, the owner of the BONUS facility, has determined that the historical significance of this facility, as one of only two reactors of this design ever constructed in the world, warrants preservation in a museum, and that this museum would provide economic benefits to the local community through increased tourism. Therefore, PREPA is proposing development of the BONUS facility as a museum

25 CFR 91.12 - Business enterprises and public buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Business enterprises and public buildings. 91.12 Section... INDIAN VILLAGES, OSAGE RESERVATION, OKLAHOMA § 91.12 Business enterprises and public buildings. No... buildings shall be erected on lands within the boundaries of a village reserve except on tracts described in...

Improving Data Access for Climate Preparedness Through Public-Private Partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Satkowski, L.; Tewksbury, J.

2017-12-01

With increasing exposure to extreme hurricane and flooding events, a growing number of communities, companies, and civil society organizations around the world are looking to assess climate impacts and vulnerability, and to develop resilience plans. Currently, efforts to turn data into actionable plans are constrained by limited access to robust, actionable data and information. The Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness (PREP), public-private collaboration that seeks to empower a data-driven approach to building climate resilience, aims to facilitate the process for planners, investors, resource managers, and others to routinely incorporate climate risks into their decisions, by enhancing access to relevant data and facilitating collective learning. Together, this peer-to-peer initiative of approximately 30 government, NGO, and business partners built PREPdata, an intuitive, open map-based platform that enables users to visualize, download and layer data to inform adaptation decision-making. The platform also connects practitioners to data providers, closing the feedback loop between them and enhancing the climate data ecosystem. In this session participants will learn how public-private partnerships can reduce barriers to discovering, accessing climate data and will be given an interactive tutorial on PREPdata, specific to the Gulf of Mexico and hurricane and flooding events. Participants will discover ways to incorporate local data with national and global data, learn about PREPdata application case studies, and how PREPdata can be used to analyze risk in hurricane vulnerable geographies.

Public building retrofit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1982-01-01

This report demonstrates the economic viability of cost effective, energy efficient retrofitting of a public building. The Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Canada/Yukon Conservation and Renewable Energy Demonstration Project undertook the demonstration project. The energy conservation features included increasing the insulation in the walls and ceiling, providing a 6 mm polyethylene air-vapour barrier and installing triple glazed windows on the north side. Also, an air-to-air heat exchanger and a combination wood/oil furnace were installed. However, neither of these latter features have been used since the completion of the renovations. In total, the features cost approximately $26,300. The energy conservation measures yielded less energy savings than expected. Although the T.C. Richard building is now consuming less heating oil (33% less); the amount of electricity used has increased by 146.6%. Overall the building achieved a 23% reduction in heating consumption (this figure takes into account the heat energy generated from the lighting system). Reasons for the low yield in energy savings can be attributed to the improper installation of the air-vapour barrier and not using the existing wood boiler. 1 fig. 5 tabs.

Implementing effect of energy efficiency supervision system for government office buildings and large-scale public buildings in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Jing; Wu Yong; Zhu Neng

2009-01-01

The Chinese central government released a document to initiate a task of energy efficiency supervision system construction for government office buildings and large-scale public buildings in 2007, which marks the overall start of existing buildings energy efficiency management in China with the government office buildings and large-scale public buildings as a breakthrough. This paper focused on the implementing effect in the demonstration region all over China for less than one year, firstly introduced the target and path of energy efficiency supervision system, then described the achievements and problems during the implementing process in the first demonstration provinces and cities. A certain data from the energy efficiency public notice in some typical demonstration provinces and cities were analyzed statistically. It can be concluded that different functional buildings have different energy consumption and the average energy consumption of large-scale public buildings is too high in China compared with the common public buildings and residential buildings. The obstacles need to be overcome afterward were summarized and the prospects for the future work were also put forward in the end.

Implementing effect of energy efficiency supervision system for government office buildings and large-scale public buildings in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao Jing [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China)], E-mail: zhaojing@tju.edu.cn; Wu Yong [Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People' s Republic of China, Beijing 100835 (China); Zhu Neng [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China)

2009-06-15

The Chinese central government released a document to initiate a task of energy efficiency supervision system construction for government office buildings and large-scale public buildings in 2007, which marks the overall start of existing buildings energy efficiency management in China with the government office buildings and large-scale public buildings as a breakthrough. This paper focused on the implementing effect in the demonstration region all over China for less than one year, firstly introduced the target and path of energy efficiency supervision system, then described the achievements and problems during the implementing process in the first demonstration provinces and cities. A certain data from the energy efficiency public notice in some typical demonstration provinces and cities were analyzed statistically. It can be concluded that different functional buildings have different energy consumption and the average energy consumption of large-scale public buildings is too high in China compared with the common public buildings and residential buildings. The obstacles need to be overcome afterward were summarized and the prospects for the future work were also put forward in the end.

Implementing effect of energy efficiency supervision system for government office buildings and large-scale public buildings in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Jing; Zhu, Neng [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China); Wu, Yong [Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People' s Republic of China, Beijing 100835 (China)

2009-06-15

The Chinese central government released a document to initiate a task of energy efficiency supervision system construction for government office buildings and large-scale public buildings in 2007, which marks the overall start of existing buildings energy efficiency management in China with the government office buildings and large-scale public buildings as a breakthrough. This paper focused on the implementing effect in the demonstration region all over China for less than one year, firstly introduced the target and path of energy efficiency supervision system, then described the achievements and problems during the implementing process in the first demonstration provinces and cities. A certain data from the energy efficiency public notice in some typical demonstration provinces and cities were analyzed statistically. It can be concluded that different functional buildings have different energy consumption and the average energy consumption of large-scale public buildings is too high in China compared with the common public buildings and residential buildings. The obstacles need to be overcome afterward were summarized and the prospects for the future work were also put forward in the end. (author)

36 CFR 1191.1 - Accessibility guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Accessibility guidelines... COMPLIANCE BOARD AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES; ARCHITECTURAL BARRIERS ACT (ABA) ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES § 1191.1 Accessibility guidelines. (a) The...

The challenges and possibilities of public access defibrillation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ringh, Mattias; Hollenberg, Jacob; Palsgaard-Moeller, Thea

2018-01-01

. Much hope has been put to the concept of Public Access Defibrillation with a massive dissemination of public available AEDs throughout most western countries. Accordingly, current guidelines recommend that AEDs should be deployed in places with a high likelihood of OHCA. Despite these efforts, AED use...... is in most settings anecdotal with little effect on overall OHCA survival. The major reasons for low use of public AEDs are that most OHCA take place outside high incidence sites of cardiac arrest and that most OHCAs take place in residential settings, currently defined as not suitable for Public Access...... Defibrillation. However, the use of new technology for identification and recruitment of lay bystanders and nearby AEDs to the scene of the cardiac arrest as well as new methods for strategic AED placement redefines and challenges the current concept and definitions of Public Access Defibrillation. Existing...

Energy efficiency supervision strategy selection of Chinese large-scale public buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin Zhenxing; Wu Yong; Li Baizhan; Gao Yafeng

2009-01-01

This paper discusses energy consumption, building development and building energy consumption in China, and points that energy efficiency management and maintenance of large-scale public buildings is the breakthrough point of building energy saving in China. Three obstacles are lack of basic statistics data, lack of service market for building energy saving, and lack of effective management measures account for the necessity of energy efficiency supervision for large-scale public buildings. And then the paper introduces the supervision aims, the supervision system and the five basic systems' role in the supervision system, and analyzes the working mechanism of the five basic systems. The energy efficiency supervision system of large-scale public buildings takes energy consumption statistics as a data basis, Energy auditing as a technical support, energy consumption ration as a benchmark of energy saving and price increase beyond ration as a price lever, and energy efficiency public-noticing as an amplifier. The supervision system promotes energy efficiency operation and maintenance of large-scale public building, and drives a comprehensive building energy saving in China.

Energy efficiency supervision strategy selection of Chinese large-scale public buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Zhenxing; Li, Baizhan; Gao, Yafeng [The Faculty of Urban Construction and Environmental Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing (China); Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region' s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400045 (China); Wu, Yong [The Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Construction, Beijing 100835 (China)

2009-06-15

This paper discusses energy consumption, building development and building energy consumption in China, and points that energy efficiency management and maintenance of large-scale public buildings is the breakthrough point of building energy saving in China. Three obstacles are lack of basic statistics data, lack of service market for building energy saving, and lack of effective management measures account for the necessity of energy efficiency supervision for large-scale public buildings. And then the paper introduces the supervision aims, the supervision system and the five basic systems' role in the supervision system, and analyzes the working mechanism of the five basic systems. The energy efficiency supervision system of large-scale public buildings takes energy consumption statistics as a data basis, Energy auditing as a technical support, energy consumption ration as a benchmark of energy saving and price increase beyond ration as a price lever, and energy efficiency public-noticing as an amplifier. The supervision system promotes energy efficiency operation and maintenance of large-scale public building, and drives a comprehensive building energy saving in China. (author)

Energy efficiency supervision strategy selection of Chinese large-scale public buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin Zhenxing [Faculty of Urban Construction and Environmental Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing (China); Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region' s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400045 (China)], E-mail: jinzhenxing33@sina.com; Wu Yong [Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Construction, Beijing 100835 (China); Li Baizhan; Gao Yafeng [Faculty of Urban Construction and Environmental Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing (China); Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region' s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400045 (China)

2009-06-15

This paper discusses energy consumption, building development and building energy consumption in China, and points that energy efficiency management and maintenance of large-scale public buildings is the breakthrough point of building energy saving in China. Three obstacles are lack of basic statistics data, lack of service market for building energy saving, and lack of effective management measures account for the necessity of energy efficiency supervision for large-scale public buildings. And then the paper introduces the supervision aims, the supervision system and the five basic systems' role in the supervision system, and analyzes the working mechanism of the five basic systems. The energy efficiency supervision system of large-scale public buildings takes energy consumption statistics as a data basis, Energy auditing as a technical support, energy consumption ration as a benchmark of energy saving and price increase beyond ration as a price lever, and energy efficiency public-noticing as an amplifier. The supervision system promotes energy efficiency operation and maintenance of large-scale public building, and drives a comprehensive building energy saving in China.

The challenges and possibilities of public access defibrillation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ringh, M; Hollenberg, J; Palsgaard-Moeller, T; Svensson, L; Rosenqvist, M; Lippert, F K; Wissenberg, M; Malta Hansen, C; Claesson, A; Viereck, S; Zijlstra, J A; Koster, R W; Herlitz, J; Blom, M T; Kramer-Johansen, J; Tan, H L; Beesems, S G; Hulleman, M; Olasveengen, T M; Folke, F

2018-03-01

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major health problem that affects approximately four hundred and thousand patients annually in the United States alone. It is a major challenge for the emergency medical system as decreased survival rates are directly proportional to the time delay from collapse to defibrillation. Historically, defibrillation has only been performed by physicians and in-hospital. With the development of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), rapid defibrillation by nonmedical professionals and subsequently by trained or untrained lay bystanders has become possible. Much hope has been put to the concept of Public Access Defibrillation with a massive dissemination of public available AEDs throughout most Western countries. Accordingly, current guidelines recommend that AEDs should be deployed in places with a high likelihood of OHCA. Despite these efforts, AED use is in most settings anecdotal with little effect on overall OHCA survival. The major reasons for low use of public AEDs are that most OHCAs take place outside high incidence sites of cardiac arrest and that most OHCAs take place in residential settings, currently defined as not suitable for Public Access Defibrillation. However, the use of new technology for identification and recruitment of lay bystanders and nearby AEDs to the scene of the cardiac arrest as well as new methods for strategic AED placement redefines and challenges the current concept and definitions of Public Access Defibrillation. Existing evidence of Public Access Defibrillation and knowledge gaps and future directions to improve outcomes for OHCA are discussed. In addition, a new definition of the different levels of Public Access Defibrillation is offered as well as new strategies for increasing AED use in the society. © 2018 The Association for the Publication of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Public Interest in Accessing the INIS Collection

OpenAIRE

Savić, Dobrica (IAEA-NIS); GreyNet, Grey Literature Network Service

2016-01-01

Since its creation in 1970, the International Nuclear Information System (INIS) has collected and provided access to more than 3.8 million bibliographic references to publications, documents, technical reports, non-copyrighted documentation, and other grey literature, as well as over a million full texts. Overall, there are 800 GB of data in the INIS repository. Public interest in accessing this collection has been remarkable. This year alone, there were more than one million sessions and alm...

Alumni access policies in public university libraries | Burclaff ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper explores the current library access policies for alumni at a public university system using document analysis, observations and interviews. We found that alumni are specifically addressed in only two library access policies, and borrowing privileges through cards, on-site access and restricted access to electronic ...

Public health policy and the building up of a Brazilian medical identity.

Science.gov (United States)

de Castro-Santos, L A

2005-12-01

Since George Herbert Mead studied "the social self" and the interactionists went further in distinguishing "images of self", a lecture on the building up of a Brazilian medical identity should try to focus on the patterns of self-images, presented images, and aspired-to images among the Brazilian medical elites during the First Republic (1889-1930). In no other period of Brazilian history were those "images" of professional identity so close--in contrast, later periods of Brazilian history witnessed an almost permanent "collision" or the clashing of such images among public health specialists. Oswaldo Cruz, Carlos Chagas, Artur Neiva and Belisário Pena are perhaps the best examples of successful careers as "sanitarians" (to recall John Duffy's historical work on luminaries before and after the "New Public Health" in the United States), and as important political actors during Brazil's First Republic. In light of the prominent political, policy-oriented, and scientific roles public health professionals played in Brazil, it is interesting to suggest that in large part such prominence resulted from the symbolic impact of the ideologies of sanitary reform on the political agenda of that period of Brazilian history. Where many studies look for personal rivalries and disputes around Chagas and Neiva as public figures, we may also see the importance of finding identity-building processes among public health specialists as an integrated group (e.g., trying to appear as "significant others" for the new generations of medical graduates in the country), regardless of existing rivalries. Cruz and Chagas, especially, were names with great impact in the Brazilian press (pro and con), a circumstance made possible largely by their easy and direct access to the Brazilian presidents Rodrigues Alves and Epitácio Pessoa, and, most clearly, by public health being one of Brazil's political priorities to find a place among the "civilized nations" of the world. A task that further

Environmental assessment for decontamination of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor building atmosphere. Draft NRC staff report for public comment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-03-01

The krypton-85 (Kr-85) released to the reactor building during the accident at TMI-2 must be removed from the reactor building in order to permit greater access to the building than is currently possible. The gases currently in the building emit sufficient radiation (1.2 rem/hr total body, 150 rad/hr skin dose) that occupation of the reactor building is severely limited even with protective clothing. Greater access is likely to be necessary to maintain instrumentation and equipment required to keep the reactor in a safe shutdown condition. In addition greater access would facilitate the gathering of data needed for planning the building decontamination program. An additional consideration is that prolonged enclosure of the Kr-85 within the building greatly increases the risk of its successive uncontrolled releases to the outside environment. The staff's evaluation of alternative methods for removing the krypton shows that each could be implemented with little risk to the health and safety of the public. The reactor building purge system, charcoal adsorption system, gas compression, selective absorption process system, and cryogenic processing system could each be operated to keep levels of airborne radioactive materials to unrestricted areas in compliance with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 20, and the design objectives of Appendix 1 to 10 CFR Part 50 of the Commission's regulations, and with the applicable requirements of 40 CFR Part 190.10

Environmental assessment for decontamination of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor building atmosphere. Draft NRC staff report for public comment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1980-03-01

The krypton-85 (Kr-85) released to the reactor building during the accident at TMI-2 must be removed from the reactor building in order to permit greater access to the building than is currently possible. The gases currently in the building emit sufficient radiation (1.2 rem/hr total body, 150 rad/hr skin dose) that occupation of the reactor building is severely limited even with protective clothing. Greater access is likely to be necessary to maintain instrumentation and equipment required to keep the reactor in a safe shutdown condition. In addition greater access would facilitate the gathering of data needed for planning the building decontamination program. An additional consideration is that prolonged enclosure of the Kr-85 within the building greatly increases the risk of its successive uncontrolled releases to the outside environment. The staff's evaluation of alternative methods for removing the krypton shows that each could be implemented with little risk to the health and safety of the public. The reactor building purge system, charcoal adsorption system, gas compression, selective absorption process system, and cryogenic processing system could each be operated to keep levels of airborne radioactive materials to unrestricted areas in compliance with the requirements of 10 CFR Part 20, and the design objectives of Appendix 1 to 10 CFR Part 50 of the Commission's regulations, and with the applicable requirements of 40 CFR Part 190.10.

Public Interest in Accessing the INIS Collection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savić, Dobrica

2016-01-01

Since its creation in 1970, the International Nuclear Information System (INIS) has collected and provided access to more than 3.8 million bibliographic references to publications, documents, technical reports, non‐copyrighted documentation, and other grey literature, as well as over a million full texts. Overall, there are 800 GB of data in the INIS repository. Public interest in accessing this collection has been remarkable. This year alone, there were more than one million sessions and almost two million page views. During the same period, there were 1.6 million full text document downloads. The INIS collection consists of seven types of literature – computer media, patents, books, reports, journal articles, miscellaneous and audio‐visuals. This paper provides an overview of the INIS collection subject coverage, and the distribution of different types of grey literature. It also provides INIS repository access statistics based on Google Analytics and other Web search data pertaining to public interest in accessing these different types of literature and the uniqueness of the collection. As one of the world's largest collections of published information on the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology, INIS represents an extraordinary example of world cooperation. 154 INIS members share and allow access to their valuable nuclear information resources, preserving them for future generations and offering a freely available nuclear knowledge repository. (author)

Towards sustainable public FM: collective building of capabilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ramskov Galamba, Kirsten; Nielsen, Susanne Balslev

2016-01-01

Purpose Public facilities management (FM) is in the unique position of aligning building projects and FM with the policies of sustainable development at societal level. However, sustainable facilities management (SFM) is an emergent profession, and there is a need to build a code of conduct for SFM...... in FM organisations. The purpose is to develop and test a workshop based concept for collective building of capabilities targeting in-house FM organisations, in particular public in-house FM organisations. Design/methodology/approach This research explores the role of public facilities managers...... and examines how an empowerment process can help FM employees develop collective competences for SFM. The methodologies used are literature review, and a 3–year-long action research process in the Danish local authority, Albertslund, which is internationally recognised for its innovative and green profile...

Forbidden Access

CERN Multimedia

C. Colloca TS/FM

2004-01-01

TS/FM group informs you that, for the replacement of the door of the main entrance at bldg. 500, the access will be closed to the public between 19 and 30 July 2004. Access to the Main Building complex will be assured at any time through both of the side doors and from bldg. 64. For more information, please contact 73273. C. Colloca TS/FM

Public Access; Public Interest. The Network Project. Notebook Number 11.

Science.gov (United States)

Columbia Univ., New York, NY. Network Project.

The transcript of a panel discussion and an essay on public access to and control of society's information resources are presented. It is contended that the electronic Media--including radio, television, and communication satellites--are controlled by a select group of individuals and corporations and that they are not meeting the public interest.…

22 CFR 214.37 - Public access to committee records.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Public access to committee records. 214.37 Section 214.37 Foreign Relations AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT Operation of Advisory Committees § 214.37 Public access to committee records. Records maintained in...

Public Access ICT across Cultures

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

3 Impact of Public Access to ICT Skills on Job Prospects in Rwanda ... reform and information and communication technology (ICT) policies, particularly in developing countries. ... (From internal memoranda prepared by Amy Mahan, 2008) ..... little decision-making autonomy, power, or financial control within the household.

Significant differences between the Nordic laws on public access to documents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Oluf

2017-01-01

Transparency and public access to information work as a check on the exercise of power and the existence of corruption. In Sweden the constitutional right of access to documents is justified precisely by its contribution to democracy, the rule of law and efficiency in the public administration....... The wide access to information in today’s world also makes possible the publication of personal information about individuals’ private life in an unprecedented way. Does this mean that the relative importance of the protection of privacy has to be strengthened at the cost of access to information? What...... will be the impact of the developing information and communication technology on access to information? The right of access to documents has traditionally been discussed on the level of domestic administration but when public administration is internationalised the issue of access to documents makes itself felt also...

Radon in public buildings; Radon in oeffentlichen Gebaeuden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schulz, H.; Flesch, K. [IAF - Radiooekologie GmbH, Dresden (Germany); Hermann, E. [B.P.S. Engineering GmbH, Zwickau (Germany); Loebner, W. [Wismut GmbH, Chemnitz (Germany); Leissring, B. [Bergtechnisches Ingenieurbuero GEOPRAX, Chemnitz (Germany)

2009-07-01

From the Free State of Saxony, a study was commissioned to survey how reliable measurements to characterize the radon situation in public buildings at a reasonable financial and human effort can be carried out to reduce radiation exposure in public buildings. The study approach was for 6 objects. To characterize the radon situation the time evolution measurement of radon concentrations of more than 1 to 2 weeks turned out to be sufficient. A novel data analysis enables the identification of a ''typical daily alteration of the radon concentration'' depending on the ventilation conditions and the daily use of the offices or class rooms. The identification of typical diurnal radon variations for the working time and weekends or holidays is of fundamental importance for assessing the exposure situation in public buildings. It was shown that the radon concentration during working time are in general much lower than in the times when the buildings (offices) are unused. It turned out that the long-term radon measurements with nuclear track detectors within distinct time regimes (day / night, working hours / leisure time) by utilizing switch modules are very efficient to estimate the actual exposure. (orig.)

Individual Public Transportation Accessibility is Positively Associated with Self-Reported Active Commuting.

Science.gov (United States)

Djurhuus, Sune; Hansen, Henning Sten; Aadahl, Mette; Glümer, Charlotte

2014-01-01

Active commuters have lower risk of chronic disease. Understanding which of the, to some extent, modifiable characteristics of public transportation that facilitate its use is thus important in a public health perspective. The aim of the study was to examine the association between individual public transportation accessibility and self-reported active commuting, and whether the associations varied with commute distance, age, and gender. Twenty-eight thousand nine hundred twenty-eight commuters in The Capital Region of Denmark reported self-reported time spent either walking or cycling to work or study each day and the distance to work or study. Data were obtained from the Danish National Health Survey collected in February to April 2010. Individual accessibility by public transportation was calculated using a multi-modal network in a GIS. Multilevel logistic regression was used to analyze the association between accessibility, expressed as access area, and being an active commuter. Public transport accessibility area based on all stops within walking and cycling distance was positively associated with being an active commuter. Distance to work, age, and gender modified the associations. Residing within 10 km commute distance and in areas of high accessibility was associated with being an active commuter and meeting the recommendations of physical activity. For the respondents above 29 years, individual public transportation accessibility was positively associated with being an active commuter. Women having high accessibility had significantly higher odds of being an active commuter compared to having a low accessibility. For men, the associations were insignificant. This study extends the knowledge about the driving forces of using public transportation for commuting by examining the individual public transportation accessibility. Findings suggest that transportation accessibility supports active commuting and planning of improved public transit accessibility

Access to public spaces and physical activity for Mexican adult women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ietza Bojorquez

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article was to explore the association between access to public spaces and physical activity for adult women, controlling and testing interactions with sociodemographic and public spaces characteristics. We combined sociodemographic data from a survey with the adult (18-65 years of age women population of Tijuana, Mexico, conducted in 2014 (N = 2,345; with data from a 2013 study on public spaces in the same city. We evaluated access to public spaces by the presence and total area of public spaces in buffers of 400, 800, 1,000 and 1,600m around the participants’ homes. We measured physical activity with the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-short. We employed multinomial logistic models to evaluate the association between access to public spaces and physical activity, and tested for interactions between access to public spaces and public spaces quality and sociodemographic characteristics. We observed no interaction between access to public spaces and public spaces quality in their effect on physical activity. There was an association between the presence of public spaces in the 400m buffer, and higher odds of being in the low physical activity level (as opposed to being in the moderate level (coefficient: 0.50; 95%CI: 0.13; 0.87. Participants who used public transport were less likely to be in the low physical activity level (coefficient: -0.57; 95%CI: -0.97; -0.17. We suggest that, in this population, the access to public spaces might be less relevant for physical activity than other elements of the urban environment and sociodemographic characteristics.

Accessibility of GI for Public Participation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arleth, Mette; Campagna, Michele

2005-01-01

The paper reports an ongoing comparative study on the accessibility of Geographic Information at public authorities’ websites in Denmark and Italy. The purpose of the study is twofold; to give an idea of the latest development and diffusion of GI on public authorities websites, and to identify...... critical factors for success or failure of the applications. First part of the study therefore consists of a mapping of the level of accessibility of GI in the two countries as a comparative analysis. The focus of the mapping is mainly on the use of geographic information as support to citizens......’ involvement in spatial e-government and planning processes. Then, in the reminder of the paper, a comparative analysis is proposed outlining similarities and divergences in critical success factors in the two examined domains....

Accessibility, equity and efficiency. Challenges for Transport and Public Services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geurs, Karst Teunis; Patuelli, Roberto; Dentinho, T.

2016-01-01

In this book, leading researchers from around the world show the importance of accessibility in contemporary issues such as rural depopulation, investments in public services and public transport, and transport infrastructure investments in Europe. The trade-offs between accessibility, economic

Building public confidence in the world's nuclear industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duncan, C.D.

1996-01-01

Public confidence in the nuclear industry requires two things, which are trust and understanding. Trust is an emotional response based upon an instinctive reaction. Understanding, on the other hand, is an intellectual response based upon facts. To gain public confidence, both of these levels must be communicated and proactive strategies must be implemented to do this. To achieve this objective will require confidence and courage in communication programs. Each company operating in the nuclear sector must be proactive in building its individual reputation and must not retreat from controversy. Similarly, each industry body must continue the Herculean task of building understanding. The nuclear industry has powerful arguments. ICI, BP or Ford did not achieve their licences to operate by keeping their heads down, they achieved their current market positions by building a positive corporate reputation within their respective industrial contexts over many decades. In order to achieve a similar position for the nuclear industry and the companies, their examples must be followed. If it is continued to 'keep the heads down' in the trenches, public opinion will surely bury within it. (G.K.)

24 CFR 598.410 - Public access to materials and proceedings.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... DESIGNATIONS Post-Designation Requirements § 598.410 Public access to materials and proceedings. After... 24 Housing and Urban Development 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Public access to materials and... Development (Continued) OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT OF...

Web accessibility of public universities in Andalusia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Alejandro Casasola Balsells

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes an analysis conducted in 2015 to evaluate the accessibility of content on Andalusian public university websites. In order to determinate whether these websites are accessible, an assessment has been carried out to check conformance with the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0 established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C. For this purpose, we have designed a methodology for analysis that combines the use of three automatic tools (eXaminator, MINHAP web accessibility tool, and TAW with a manual analysis to provide a greater reliability and validity of the results. Although the results are acceptable overall, a detailed analysis shows that more is still needed for achieving full accessibility for the entire university community. In this respect, we suggest several corrections to common accessibility errors for facilitating the design of university web portals.

14 CFR 221.102 - Accessibility of tariffs to the public.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Accessibility of tariffs to the public. 221.102 Section 221.102 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION... Inspection § 221.102 Accessibility of tariffs to the public. Each file of tariffs shall be kept in complete...

78 FR 67303 - Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-12

... ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD 36 CFR Part 1191 RIN 3014-AA22 Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities; Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Guidelines; Correction AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers...

Public Affairs Capacity Building: A Soft Tool for Combatant Commanders

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Salata, Jason P

2008-01-01

Public affairs capacity building is a valuable soft component of the Combatant Commander's Theater Campaign Plan that builds habitual relationships, fosters transparency, and enhances the ability to shape the AOR...

The principle of public access to official documents in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persson, I.

2001-01-01

In Sweden, access to information is considered one of the cornerstones of the free democratic exchange of views. It is not enough that public authorities give information about their work. Public activities shall be open to the citizens and the media in such a way that they can choose the information they wish to obtain, without having to rely on public information services. An official document is public, it must be kept available to anyone who wishes to peruse it. Official documents are registered in a public register in order to allow to anyone to exercise their right of access to official document. (N.C.)

Building capacity for evidence informed decision making in public health: a case study of organizational change.

Science.gov (United States)

Peirson, Leslea; Ciliska, Donna; Dobbins, Maureen; Mowat, David

2012-02-20

Core competencies for public health in Canada require proficiency in evidence informed decision making (EIDM). However, decision makers often lack access to information, many workers lack knowledge and skills to conduct systematic literature reviews, and public health settings typically lack infrastructure to support EIDM activities. This research was conducted to explore and describe critical factors and dynamics in the early implementation of one public health unit's strategic initiative to develop capacity to make EIDM standard practice. This qualitative case study was conducted in one public health unit in Ontario, Canada between 2008 and 2010. In-depth information was gathered from two sets of semi-structured interviews and focus groups (n = 27) with 70 members of the health unit, and through a review of 137 documents. Thematic analysis was used to code the key informant and document data. The critical factors and dynamics for building EIDM capacity at an organizational level included: clear vision and strong leadership, workforce and skills development, ability to access research (library services), fiscal investments, acquisition and development of technological resources, a knowledge management strategy, effective communication, a receptive organizational culture, and a focus on change management. With leadership, planning, commitment and substantial investments, a public health department has made significant progress, within the first two years of a 10-year initiative, towards achieving its goal of becoming an evidence informed decision making organization.

Building it together: collaboration in university-based open access book publishing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr Andrea Hacker

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Open access (OA book publishing in the humanities and social sciences is becoming technically more feasible and financially more desirable. After securing funding for the development of a business model based on a pilot book series, the University of Heidelberg is joining this development and building an infrastructure to publish OA books on campus. The challenges facing such new publishing outlets are considerable. This article argues that the best strategy to build the prestige, affordability and competitiveness necessary to succeed is collaboration. Accomplishing this within the OA community will prove less difficult than extending collaboration beyond it because many agencies and individuals still lack information about, and are often unconvinced of, the merits of open access. The key lies in offering excellence in manuscript development to revitalize the most important collaboration of all: that between publisher and author.

Government regulation and associated innovations in building energy-efficiency supervisory systems for large-scale public buildings in a market economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dai Xuezhi; Wu Yong; Di Yanqiang; Li Qiaoyan

2009-01-01

The supervision of energy efficiency in government office buildings and large-scale public buildings is the main embodiment for government implementation of Public Administration in the fields of resource saving and environmental protection. Aimed at improving the current situation of lack of government administration in building energy efficiency, this paper proposes the concept of 'change and redesign of governmental supervision in building energy efficiency', repositioning the role of government supervision. Based on this theory and other related theories in regulation economic and modern management, this paper analyzes and researches the action and function of all level governments in execution of the supervisory system of building energy efficiency in government office buildings and large-scale public buildings. This paper also defines the importance of government supervision in energy-efficiency system. Finally, this paper analyzes and researches the interaction mechanism between government and owners of different type buildings, government and energy-efficiency service institution with gambling as main features. This paper also presents some measurements to achieve a common benefit community in implementation of building energy-efficiency supervisory system.

Government regulation and associated innovations in building energy-efficiency supervisory systems for large-scale public buildings in a market economy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dai Xuezhi [China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013 (China)], E-mail: daixz9999@126.com; Wu Yong [Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People' s Republic of China, Beijing 100835 (China); Di Yanqiang [China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013 (China); Li Qiaoyan [Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore (Singapore)

2009-06-15

The supervision of energy efficiency in government office buildings and large-scale public buildings is the main embodiment for government implementation of Public Administration in the fields of resource saving and environmental protection. Aimed at improving the current situation of lack of government administration in building energy efficiency, this paper proposes the concept of 'change and redesign of governmental supervision in building energy efficiency', repositioning the role of government supervision. Based on this theory and other related theories in regulation economic and modern management, this paper analyzes and researches the action and function of all level governments in execution of the supervisory system of building energy efficiency in government office buildings and large-scale public buildings. This paper also defines the importance of government supervision in energy-efficiency system. Finally, this paper analyzes and researches the interaction mechanism between government and owners of different type buildings, government and energy-efficiency service institution with gambling as main features. This paper also presents some measurements to achieve a common benefit community in implementation of building energy-efficiency supervisory system.

Government regulation and associated innovations in building energy-efficiency supervisory systems for large-scale public buildings in a market economy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dai, Xuezhi; Di, Yanqiang [China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013 (China); Wu, Yong [Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People' s Republic of China, Beijing 100835 (China); Li, Qiaoyan [Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore (Singapore)

2009-06-15

The supervision of energy efficiency in government office buildings and large-scale public buildings is the main embodiment for government implementation of Public Administration in the fields of resource saving and environmental protection. Aimed at improving the current situation of lack of government administration in building energy efficiency, this paper proposes the concept of 'change and redesign of governmental supervision in building energy efficiency', repositioning the role of government supervision. Based on this theory and other related theories in regulation economic and modern management, this paper analyzes and researches the action and function of all level governments in execution of the supervisory system of building energy efficiency in government office buildings and large-scale public buildings. This paper also defines the importance of government supervision in energy-efficiency system. Finally, this paper analyzes and researches the interaction mechanism between government and owners of different type buildings, government and energy-efficiency service institution with gambling as main features. This paper also presents some measurements to achieve a common benefit community in implementation of building energy-efficiency supervisory system. (author)

Evaluating public space pedestrian accessibility: a GIS approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Morar, T.; Bertolini, L.; Radoslav, R.

2013-01-01

Public spaces are sources of quality of life in neighborhoods. Seeking to help professionals and municipalities assess how well a public space can be used by the community it serves, this paper presents a GIS-based methodology for evaluating its pedestrian accessibility. The Romanian city of

Research on statistical methodology to investigate energy consumption in public buildings sector in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Shuqin; Li Nianping; Guan Jun

2008-01-01

The purpose of this research is to find a statistical methodology to investigate the national energy consumption in the public buildings sector in China, in order to look into the actuality of the national energy consumption of public buildings and to provide abundant data for building energy efficiency work. The frame of a national statistical system of energy consumption for public buildings is presented in this paper. The statistical index system of energy consumption is constituted, which refers to the general characteristics of public buildings, their possession and utilization of energy consumption equipment and their energy consumption quantities. Sequentially, a set of statistical report forms is designed to investigate the energy consumption of cities, provinces and the country, respectively. On this base, the above statistical methodology is used to gather statistics of a public building for annual energy consumption

Assisted Housing - Public Housing Buildings - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Housing and Urban Development — The approximate physical location of each individual Public Housing Building. If the building has more than one entrance or street address, the address of the...

Energy-efficiency supervision systems for energy management in large public buildings: Necessary choice for China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Yanping; Wu Yong; Liu Changbin

2009-01-01

Buildings are important contributors to total energy consumption accounting for around 30% of all energy consumed in China. Of this, around two-fifths are consumed within urban homes, one-fifth within public buildings, and two-fifths within rural area. Government office buildings and large-scale public buildings are the dominant energy consumers in cities but their consumption can be largely cut back through improving efficiency. At present, energy management in the large public sector is a particular priority in China. Firstly, this paper discusses how the large public building is defined, and then energy performance in large public buildings is studied. The paper also describes barriers to improving energy efficiency of large public buildings in China and examines the energy-efficiency policies and programs adopted in United States and European Union. The energy-efficiency supervision (EES) systems developed to improve operation and maintenance practices and promote energy efficiency in large public sector are described. The benefits of the EES systems are finally summarized.

Energy-efficiency supervision systems for energy management in large public buildings. Necessary choice for China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan-ping, Feng [Beijing Jiaotong University, School of Economics and Management, Jiaoda Donglu18, 5-803, Beijing 100044 (China); Yong, Wu [Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Beijing 100835 (China); Chang-bin, Liu [Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044 (China)

2009-06-15

Buildings are important contributors to total energy consumption accounting for around 30% of all energy consumed in China. Of this, around two-fifths are consumed within urban homes, one-fifth within public buildings, and two-fifths within rural area. Government office buildings and large-scale public buildings are the dominant energy consumers in cities but their consumption can be largely cut back through improving efficiency. At present, energy management in the large public sector is a particular priority in China. Firstly, this paper discusses how the large public building is defined, and then energy performance in large public buildings is studied. The paper also describes barriers to improving energy efficiency of large public buildings in China and examines the energy-efficiency policies and programs adopted in United States and European Union. The energy-efficiency supervision (EES) systems developed to improve operation and maintenance practices and promote energy efficiency in large public sector are described. The benefits of the EES systems are finally summarized. (author)

Energy-efficiency supervision systems for energy management in large public buildings: Necessary choice for China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng Yanping [Beijing Jiaotong University, School of Economics and Management, Jiaoda Donglu18, 5-803, Beijing 100044 (China)], E-mail: fengyanping10@sohu.com; Wu Yong [Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Beijing 100835 (China); Liu Changbin [Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044 (China)

2009-06-15

Buildings are important contributors to total energy consumption accounting for around 30% of all energy consumed in China. Of this, around two-fifths are consumed within urban homes, one-fifth within public buildings, and two-fifths within rural area. Government office buildings and large-scale public buildings are the dominant energy consumers in cities but their consumption can be largely cut back through improving efficiency. At present, energy management in the large public sector is a particular priority in China. Firstly, this paper discusses how the large public building is defined, and then energy performance in large public buildings is studied. The paper also describes barriers to improving energy efficiency of large public buildings in China and examines the energy-efficiency policies and programs adopted in United States and European Union. The energy-efficiency supervision (EES) systems developed to improve operation and maintenance practices and promote energy efficiency in large public sector are described. The benefits of the EES systems are finally summarized.

77 FR 38064 - Public Buildings Service; Information Collection; GSA Form 3453, Application/Permit for Use of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-26

... Buildings Service; Information Collection; GSA Form 3453, Application/Permit for Use of Space in Public Buildings and Grounds AGENCY: Public Buildings Service, GSA. ACTION: Notice of request for comments... regarding GSA Form 3453, Application/Permit for Use of Space in Public Buildings and Grounds. Public...

Analyses of Public Utility Building - Students Designs, Aimed at their Energy Efficiency Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Wołoszyn, Marek Adam

2017-10-01

Public utility buildings are formally, structurally and functionally complex entities. Frequently, the process of their design involves the retroactive reconsideration of energy engineering issues, once a building concept has already been completed. At that stage, minor formal corrections are made along with the design of the external layer of the building in order to satisfy applicable standards. Architecture students do the same when designing assigned public utility buildings. In order to demonstrate energy-related defects of building designs developed by students, the conduct of analyses was proposed. The completed designs of public utility buildings were examined with regard to energy efficiency of the solutions they feature through the application of the following programs: Ecotect, Vasari, and in case of simpler analyses ArchiCad program extensions were sufficient.

Essential Medicines in Nigeria: Foregrounding Access to Affordable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract. Within every functional healthcare system, access to quality and affordable essential medicine stands out as one of the building blocks. However ... Keywords: Access to medicines, Essential medicines, Healthcare, Public health facilities, Counterfeit medicines, Traditional medicines, Health systems, Systems theory ...

Cost-Benefit Analysis for Energy Management in Public Buildings: Four Italian Case Studies

OpenAIRE

Davide Astiaso Garcia; Fabrizio Cumo; Mariagrazia Tiberi; Valentina Sforzini; Giuseppe Piras

2016-01-01

Improving energy efficiency in public buildings is one of the main challenges for a sustainable requalification of energy issues and a consequent reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper aims to provide preliminary information about economic costs and energy consumption reductions (benefits) of some considered interventions in existing public buildings. Methods include an analysis of some feasible interventions in four selected public buildings. Energy efficiency improvements h...

Checklist "Open Access Policies": Analysis of the Open Access Policies of Public Universities in Austria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Bauer

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This checklist provides an overview of the Open Access policies implemented at Austrian universities and extramural research institutions. Furthermore, the polices adopted at nine public universities are analyzed and the respective text modules are categorized thematically. The second part of the checklist presents measures for the promotion of Open Access following the implementation of an Open Access policy.

Selecting An Open Access Journal for Publication: Be Cautious

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffecker, Lilian; Hastings-Tolsma, Marie; Vincent, Deborah; Zuniga, Heidi

2015-12-04

Nurse scholars and clinicians seek to publish their research and scholarly findings to strengthen both nursing science and clinical practice. Traditionally subscription-based publications have been the mainstay of knowledge dissemination. However, subscription costs have tended to restrict access to many journals to a small, specialized, academic community, a limitation that has contributed to the development of open access (OA) publications. OA journals have a powerful appeal as they allow greater access to scholars and consumers on a global level. However, many OA journals depend on an author-pays model that may lead to unintended and undesirable consequences for authors. Today, it is easier than ever to share scholarly findings, but authors need to be vigilant when selecting a journal in which to publish. In this article, we discuss the background of open access journals and describe key consideration to distinguish between reputable publications and those that may lead authors astray. We conclude that despite controversy and concerns related to publishing in OA journals, these journals do provide opportunities for researchers and clinicians to raise the profile of their work and ensure a robust, scholarly communication system.

Comparable Measures of Accessibility to Public Transport Using the General Transit Feed Specification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinjoo Bok

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Public transport plays a critical role in the sustainability of urban settings. The mass mobility and quality of urban lives can be improved by establishing public transport networks that are accessible to pedestrians within a reasonable walking distance. Accessibility to public transport is characterized by the ease with which inhabitants can reach means of transportation such as buses or metros. By measuring the degree of accessibility to public transport networks using a common data format, a comparative study can be conducted between different cities or metropolitan areas with different public transit systems. The General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS by Google Developers allows this by offering a common format based on text files and sharing the data set voluntarily produced and contributed by the public transit agencies of many participating cities around the world. This paper suggests a method to assess and compare public transit accessibility in different urban areas using the GTFS feed and demographic data. To demonstrate the value of the new method, six examples of metropolitan areas and their public transit accessibility are presented and compared.

Open Access Policy for CERN Physics Publications

CERN Multimedia

2014-01-01

CERN is committed to Open Access. It represents one of the values written in our Convention sixty years ago and is increasingly important for our Member States.   In the last edition of the Bulletin, this article described how CERN is doing with regards to open access publishing today. On Thursday this week, the Open Access Policy for CERN Physics Publications* was endorsed by the Scientific Information Policy Board (SIPB) and approved by the Director-General the same day . For any clarifications regarding the policy, please contact the Scientific Information Service library.desk@cern.ch. * A French version of the policy will be made available shortly.

DIFABLE PERCEPTION FOR ACCESSIBILITY AND INFORMATION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN JAKARTA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mochdiana Hernawan

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Every human being has equal right for accessing to the transportation. Difable persons that have different ability also have the same right. The provision of the accessibility and information facility in public transport is not fully meet difable need and therefore difable persons have difficulties in accessibility and information while using public transports. This research will investigate the difable perceptions about accessibility and traveler information for the public transport in Jakarta. Questionnaire method will be used for this purpose and then analyzed by Importance Performance Analysis. The improvement for the transport infrastructure and information system will be elaborated. The findings of the research could be used as input for the local authority while planning or re-construction public transport infrastructure and information system so that difable persons become more accessible and convenience. The study results show that the average value of the perceived performance for the accessibility is 2.78 from 5 scales. This means the performance of the accessibility in overall is fairly. For the information facility, the average performance is 3.11 that meaning the performance in overall is good. The respondents required the provision of waiting room for difable persons as a priority. The information about the departure of the vehicle should been improved as priority to be increased. Furthermore, it is obtained that the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI value for accessibility is 56%. This indicates the entire respondents satisfied sufficiently with the accessibility facility. Also, 62% of the CSI value shows that the respondents satisfied sufficiently with the provided information.

Citizen and the press : access to public information

NARCIS (Netherlands)

den Boef, August Hans; Kircz, Joost; Riekert, Wolf-Fritz; Simon, Ingeborg

2012-01-01

The essence of a democratic process is the guarantee that citizens have free and easy access to public information. How can that be made possible and how can people learn to use that information critically? In earlier papers (Boef, et.al. 2008 and 2009), we discussed the relationship between public

Economic assessment of strategies to deploy publicly accessible charging infrastructure

OpenAIRE

Madina, Carlos; Barlag, Heike; Coppola, Giovanni; Gómez-Arriola, Inés; Rodríguez-Sánchez, Raúl; Zabala, Eduardo

2015-01-01

From the end user perspective, the main barriers for widespread electric vehicle (EV) adoption are high purchase cost and range anxiety, both regarding battery capacity and availability of accessible EV charging infrastructure. Governments and public bodies in general are taking steps towards overcoming these barriers by, among others, setting up regulatory requirements regarding standardisation, customer information and recommending objectives of publicly accessible charging infrastructure. ...

Increasing Access to Archival Records in Library Online Public Access Catalogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmore, Matthew B.

1988-01-01

Looks at the use of online public access catalogs, the utility of subject and call-number searching, and possible archival applications. The Wallace Archives at the Claremont Colleges is used as an example of the availability of bibliographic descriptions of multiformat archival materials through the library catalog. Sample records and searches…

47 CFR 27.1330 - Local public safety build-out and operation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... public safety build-out and operation. (a) The Upper 700 MHz D Block licensee and the Operating Company... exclusive right to build and operate the Shared Wireless Broadband Network. (b) Rights to early build-out in... transfer and compensation to occur prior to the scheduled build out date for such network in the NSA. (ii...

47 CFR 90.1430 - Local public safety build-out and operation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... public safety build-out and operation. (a) The Upper 700 MHz D Block licensee and the Operating Company... exclusive right to build and operate the Shared Wireless Broadband Network. (b) Rights to early build-out in... transfer and compensation to occur prior to the scheduled build out date for such network in the NSA. (ii...

Factors influencing publication choice: why faculty choose open access.

Science.gov (United States)

Warlick, Stefanie E; Vaughan, Ktl

2007-03-09

In an attempt to identify motivating factors involved in decisions to publish in open access and open archives (OA) journals, individual interviews with biomedical faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) and Duke University, two major research universities, were conducted. The interviews focused on faculty identified as early adopters of OA/free full-text publishing. Searches conducted in PubMed and PubMed Central identified faculty from the two institutions who have published works in OA/free full-text journals. The searches targeted authors with multiple OA citations during a specified 18 month period. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the most prolific OA authors at each university. Individual interviews attempted to determine whether the authors were aware they published in OA journals, why they chose to publish in OA journals, what factors influenced their publishing decisions, and their general attitude towards OA publishing models. Fourteen interviews were granted and completed. Respondents included a fairly even mix of Assistant, Associate and Full professors. Results indicate that when targeting biomedical faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke, speed of publication and copyright retention are unlikely motivating factors or incentives for the promotion of OA publishing. In addition, author fees required by some open access journals are unlikely barriers or disincentives. It appears that publication quality is of utmost importance when choosing publication venues in general, while free access and visibility are specifically noted incentives for selection of OA journals. Therefore, free public availability and increased exposure may not be strong enough incentives for authors to choose open access over more traditional and respected subscription based publications, unless the quality issue is also addressed.

Public Affairs Capacity Building: A Soft Tool for Combatant Commanders

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Salata, Jason P

2008-01-01

.... This paper examines the soft power application of public affairs capacity building, and the resultant cultivation of a public affairs social network through the lens of social network theory (nodes and ties...

Building capacity for evidence informed decision making in public health: a case study of organizational change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peirson Leslea

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Core competencies for public health in Canada require proficiency in evidence informed decision making (EIDM. However, decision makers often lack access to information, many workers lack knowledge and skills to conduct systematic literature reviews, and public health settings typically lack infrastructure to support EIDM activities. This research was conducted to explore and describe critical factors and dynamics in the early implementation of one public health unit's strategic initiative to develop capacity to make EIDM standard practice. Methods This qualitative case study was conducted in one public health unit in Ontario, Canada between 2008 and 2010. In-depth information was gathered from two sets of semi-structured interviews and focus groups (n = 27 with 70 members of the health unit, and through a review of 137 documents. Thematic analysis was used to code the key informant and document data. Results The critical factors and dynamics for building EIDM capacity at an organizational level included: clear vision and strong leadership, workforce and skills development, ability to access research (library services, fiscal investments, acquisition and development of technological resources, a knowledge management strategy, effective communication, a receptive organizational culture, and a focus on change management. Conclusion With leadership, planning, commitment and substantial investments, a public health department has made significant progress, within the first two years of a 10-year initiative, towards achieving its goal of becoming an evidence informed decision making organization.

Awareness and Use of Open Access Scholarly Publications by ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study investigated the awareness and use of Open Access scholarly publications by postgraduate students of Faculty of Science in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (ABU), Kaduna State, Nigeria. The study was guided by four research objectives namely to determine the channels of awareness of Open Access ...

76 FR 68518 - Request for Information: Public Access to Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Publications Resulting From...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-04

... archiving publications and making them publically accessible be used to grow the economy and improve the... can ensure long-term stewardship if content is distributed across multiple private sources? (4) Are...

76 FR 80418 - Request for Information: Public Access to Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Publications Resulting From...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-23

... archiving publications and making them publically accessible be used to grow the economy and improve the... can ensure long-term stewardship if content is distributed across multiple private sources? (4) Are...

Austro-Hungarian Public Building Refurbishment and Energy Efficiency Measures - A Case Study on a Public Building in Sarajevo

Science.gov (United States)

Salihbegović, Amira; Čaušević, Amir; Rustempašić, Nerman; Avdić, Dženis; Smajlović, Esad

2017-10-01

Among other pieces of architectural historical heritage in Sarajevo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina in general, the Austro-Hungarian architecture has preserved its original architectural, artistic and engineering characteristics. Both residential and public representative urban blocks, streets and squares are of distinguishable ambience in the architectural and urban image of the city and are testifying about our architectural past. A number of buildings is valorised and protected by law in terms of their architectural, artistic and historical value. In addition, these buildings have a distinct functional, ambiental, historical, and even aesthetical value. To make them last longer, refurbishment of these buildings is challenging and presents potential and multiple benefits for the city, and beyond. Refurbishing built environment through functional reorganizing, redesign and energy efficiency measures applications could result in prolonged longevity, architectural identity preservation and interior comfort improvement. Besides, implemented measures for energy efficiency, through the refurbishment process, should optimize the needs for energy consumption in treated buildings. This paper defines options in comfort improvements and redesign, without implying risks to the building longevity, analyses interventions and energy efficiency measures which would enable potential energy saving assessment in the refurbishment process of masonry buildings. This paper also discusses the different techniques that can be adopted for conservation and preservation of historical masonry buildings from the Austro-Hungarian period dealing with energy efficiency. The works were preceded by historical research and on-site investigations. This paper describes a methodology to quantify their vulnerability. A scheme of structural retrofitting is suggested following the research conducted. Revitalization of the building consisted in the reconstruction of the old building structure, creating the inner

PUBLIC ACCESS TO PRIVATE LAND IN SCOTLAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David L Carey Miller

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This article attempts to understand the radical reform of Scottish land law in its provision for a general right of public access to private land introduced in 2003 as part of land reform legislation, an important aspect of the initial agenda of the Scottish Parliament revived in 1999. The right is to recreational access for a limited period and the right to cross land. Access can be taken only on foot or by horse or bicycle. As a starting point clarification of the misunderstood pre-reform position is attempted. The essential point is that Scots common law does not give civil damages for a simple act of trespass (as English law does but only a right to obtain removal of the trespasser. Under the reforms the longstanding Scottish position of landowners allowing walkers access to the hills and mountains becomes a legal right. A critical aspect of the new right is that it is one of responsible access; provided a landowner co-operates with the spirit and system of the Act access can be denied on the basis that it is not being exercised responsibly. But the onus is on the landowner to show that the exercise of the right is not responsible.Although the right applies to all land a general exception protects the privacy of a domestic dwelling. Early case law suggests that the scope of this limit depends upon particular circumstances although reasonable 'garden ground' is likely to be protected. There are various particular limits such as school land.Compliance with the protection of property under the European Convention on Human Rights is discussed. The article emphasises the latitude, open to nations, for limitations to the right of ownership in land in the public interest. The extent of the Scottish access inroad illustrates this. This leads to the conclusion that 'land governance' – the subject of the Potchefstroom Conference at which the paper was initially presented – largely remains a matter for domestic law; the lex situs concept is alive

Public access of environmental information. Report of an Interdepartmental Working Party on public access to information held by Pollution Control Authorities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

The working party was set up to report to the Government ways of implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution that 'there should be a presumption in favour of unrestricted public access to the information which the pollution control authorities obtain or receive by virtue of their statutory powers'. Chapter 6 deals with Radioactive wastes. The present situation (eg on how the information is gathered, which department or bodies are involved etc) and the current state of the law are discussed. Licensed nuclear sites, sea disposal, inspections and defence wastes are all considered briefly. The case for improving public access to information and, recommendations on how to achieve this made, and the resource implications considered. On control of radioactive wastes there is currently no power for the responsible Government Departments to make information public. It is recommended that new legislation should confer powers to make information available, including a power to require public registers to be kept at prescribed places giving information related to certificates issued under the Radioactive Substances Act 1960. (UK)

Access to Four-Year Public Colleges and Degree Completion

OpenAIRE

Joshua Goodman; Michael Hurwitz; Jonathan Smith

2015-01-01

Does access to four-year colleges affect degree completion for students who would otherwise attend two-year colleges? Admission to Georgia’s four-year public sector requires minimum SAT scores. Regression discontinuity estimates show that access to this sector increases four-year college enrollment and college quality, largely by diverting students from two-year colleges. Access substantially increases bachelor’s degree completion rates for these relatively low-skilled students. SAT retaking ...

A systematic indoor air quality audit approach for public buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Asadi, Ehsan; da Silva, Manuel C Gameiro; Costa, J J

2013-01-01

Good indoor air quality (IAQ) in buildings provides a comfortable and healthy environment for the occupants to work, learn, study, etc. Therefore, it is important to ascertain the IAQ status in the buildings. This study is aimed to establish and demonstrate the comprehensive IAQ audit approach for public buildings, based on Portugal national laws. Four public buildings in Portugal are used to demonstrate the IAQ audit application. The systematic approach involves the measurement of physical parameters (temperature, relative humidity, and concentration of the suspended particulate matter), monitoring of the concentrations of selected chemical indicators [carbon dioxide (CO(2)), carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, ozone, and total volatile organic compounds], and the measurements of biological indicators (bacteria and fungi). In addition, air exchange rates are measured by the concentration decay method using metabolic CO(2) as the tracer gas. The comprehensive audits indicated some situations of common IAQ problems in buildings, namely: (1) insufficient ventilation rate, (2) too high particle concentration; and (3) poor filtration effectiveness and hygienic conditions in most of the air handling units. Accordingly, a set of recommendations for the improvement of IAQ conditions were advised to the building owner/managers.

Combined single-mode/multimode fiber link supporting simplified in-building 60-GHz gigabit wireless access

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pham, Tien Thang; Lebedev, Alexander; Beltrán, Marta

2012-01-01

In this paper, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple, cost-effective hybrid gigabit fiber-wireless system for in-building wireless access. Simplicity and cost-effectiveness are achieved in all parts of the system by utilizing direct laser modulation, optical frequency up-conversion, ......In this paper, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple, cost-effective hybrid gigabit fiber-wireless system for in-building wireless access. Simplicity and cost-effectiveness are achieved in all parts of the system by utilizing direct laser modulation, optical frequency up...

Optimization of the Public Buildings Energy Supply

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Filipović, P.; Dominkovic, Dominik Franjo; Ćosić, B.

2016-01-01

There is a rising interest in the improvement of energy efficiency in public buildings nowadays atthe EU level. Increasing energy efficiency can lead to both better thermal comfort, as well as netsavings on energy bills. Furthermore, the right choice of energy source can lead to large savings inC...

Access to 4-Year Public Colleges and Degree Completion

OpenAIRE

Goodman, Joshua Samuel; Hurwitz, Michael; Smith, Jonathan

2017-01-01

Does access to 4-year colleges affect degree completion for students who would otherwise attend 2-year colleges? Admission to Georgia’s 4-year public sector requires minimum SAT scores. Regression discontinuity estimates show that access to this sector increases 4-year college enrollment and college quality, largely by diverting students from 2-year colleges. Access substantially increases bachelor’s degree completion rates for these relatively low-skilled students. SAT retaking behavior sugg...

Public access to Indian geographical data - Guest editorial

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Narasimha, R.; Shetye, S.R.

. 79, NO. 4, 25 AUGUST 2000 391 In this issue Public access to Indian Geographical Data In late 1997 the Indian Academy of Sciences set up a Panel on Scientific Data of Public Interest to examine all issues concerning scientific data... available in the country. The mem- bers of the Panel are R. Narasimha (Chairman), S. Dhawan, M. Gadgil, I. Nath, S. Shetye (Secretary). In early 1998 the Panel issued a public announcement outlining its concerns and inviting suggestions on how...

Does the public deserve free access to climate system science?

Science.gov (United States)

Grigorov, Ivo

2010-05-01

Some time ago it was the lack of public access to medical research data that really stirred the issue and gave inertia for legislation and a new publishing model that puts tax payer-funded medical research in the hands of those who fund it. In today's age global climate change has become the biggest socio-economic challenge, and the same argument resonates: climate affects us all and the publicly-funded science quantifying it should be freely accessible to all stakeholders beyond academic research. Over the last few years the ‘Open Access' movement to remove as much as possible subscription, and other on-campus barriers to academic research has rapidly gathered pace, but despite significant progress, the climate system sciences are not among the leaders in providing full access to their publications and data. Beyond the ethical argument, there are proven and tangible benefits for the next generation of climate researchers to adapt the way their output is published. Through the means provided by ‘open access', both data and ideas can gain more visibility, use and citations for the authors, but also result in a more rapid exchange of knowledge and ideas, and ultimately progress towards a sought solution. The presentation will aim to stimulate discussion and seek progress on the following questions: Should free access to climate research (& data) be mandatory? What are the career benefits of using ‘open access' for young scientists? What means and methods should, or could, be incorporated into current European graduate training programmes in climate research, and possible ways forward?

The association between access to public transportation and self-reported active commuting.

Science.gov (United States)

Djurhuus, Sune; Hansen, Henning S; Aadahl, Mette; Glümer, Charlotte

2014-12-05

Active commuting provides routine-based regular physical activity which can reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Using public transportation involves some walking or cycling to a transit stop, transfers and a walk to the end location and users of public transportation have been found to accumulate more moderate physical activity than non-users. Understanding how public transportation characteristics are associated with active transportation is thus important from a public health perspective. This study examines the associations between objective measures of access to public transportation and self-reported active commuting. Self-reported time spent either walking or cycling commuting each day and the distance to workplace were obtained for adults aged 16 to 65 in the Danish National Health Survey 2010 (n = 28,928). Access to public transportation measures were computed by combining GIS-based road network distances from home address to public transit stops an integrating their service level. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the association between access to public transportation measures and active commuting. Distance to bus stop, density of bus stops, and number of transport modes were all positively associated with being an active commuter and with meeting recommendations of physical activity. No significant association was found between bus services at the nearest stop and active commuting. The results highlight the importance of including detailed measurements of access to public transit in order to identify the characteristics that facilitate the use of public transportation and active commuting.

The Association between Access to Public Transportation and Self-Reported Active Commuting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sune Djurhuus

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Active commuting provides routine-based regular physical activity which can reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Using public transportation involves some walking or cycling to a transit stop, transfers and a walk to the end location and users of public transportation have been found to accumulate more moderate physical activity than non-users. Understanding how public transportation characteristics are associated with active transportation is thus important from a public health perspective. This study examines the associations between objective measures of access to public transportation and self-reported active commuting. Self-reported time spent either walking or cycling commuting each day and the distance to workplace were obtained for adults aged 16 to 65 in the Danish National Health Survey 2010 (n = 28,928. Access to public transportation measures were computed by combining GIS-based road network distances from home address to public transit stops an integrating their service level. Multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the association between access to public transportation measures and active commuting. Distance to bus stop, density of bus stops, and number of transport modes were all positively associated with being an active commuter and with meeting recommendations of physical activity. No significant association was found between bus services at the nearest stop and active commuting. The results highlight the importance of including detailed measurements of access to public transit in order to identify the characteristics that facilitate the use of public transportation and active commuting.

Poor Access for African Researchers to African Emergency Care Publications: A Cross-sectional Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruijns, Stevan R; Maesela, Mmapeladi; Sinha, Suniti; Banner, Megan

2017-10-01

Based on relative population size and burden of disease, emergency care publication outputs from low- and middle-income regions are disproportionately lower than those of high-income regions. Ironically, outputs from regions with higher publication rates are often less relevant in the African context. As a result, the dissemination of and access to local research is essential to local researchers, but the cost of this access (actual and cost-wise) remains unknown. The aim of this study was to describe access to African emergency care publications in terms of publisher-based access (open access or subscription) and alternate access (self-archived or author provided), as well as the cost of access. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study using all emergency medicine publications included in Scopus between 2011 and 2015. A sequential search strategy described access to each article, and we calculated mean article charges against the purchasing power parity index (used to describe out-of-pocket expense). We included 666 publications from 49 journals, of which 395 (59.3%) were open access. For subscription-based articles, 106 (39.1%) were self-archived, 60 (22.1%) were author-provided, and 105 (38.8%) were inaccessible. Mean article access cost was $36.44, and mean processing charge was $2,319.34. Using the purchasing power parity index it was calculated that equivalent out-of-pocket expenditure for South African, Ghanaian and Tanzanian authors would respectively be $15.77, $10.44 and $13.04 for access, and $1,004.02, $664.36 and $830.27 for processing. Based on this, the corrected cost of a single-unit article access or process charge for South African, Ghanaian and Tanzanian authors, respectively, was 2.3, 3.5 and 2.8 times higher than the standard rate. One in six African emergency care publications are inaccessible outside institutional library subscriptions; additionally, the cost of access to publications in low- and middle-income countries appears

Improving Access to, Use of, and Outcomes from Public Health Programs: The Importance of Building and Maintaining Trust with Patients/Clients

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Paul Russell

2017-01-01

The central argument in this paper is that “public trust” is critical for developing and maintaining the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities, and societies. I argue that public health practitioners and policy makers need to take “public trust” seriously if they intend to improve both the public’s health and the engagement between members of the public and public health systems. Public health practitioners implement a range of services and interventions aimed at improving health but implicit a requirement for individuals to trust the practitioners and the services/interventions, before they engage with them. I then go on to provide an overview of the theory of trust within sociology and show why it is important to understand this theory in order to promote trust in public health services. I then draw on literature in three classic areas of public health—hospitals, cancer screening, and childhood immunization—to show why trust is vital in terms of understanding and potentially improving uptake of services. The case studies in this paper reveal that public health practitioners need to understand the centrality of building and maintaining trusting relationships with patients/clients because people who distrust public health services are less likely to use them, less likely to follow advice or recommendations, and more likely to have poorer health outcomes. PMID:28337430

Energy consumption quota of public buildings based on statistical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Jing; Xin Yajuan; Tong Dingding

2012-01-01

The establishment of building energy consumption quota as a comprehensive indicator used to evaluate the actual energy consumption level is an important measure for promoting the development of building energy efficiency. This paper focused on the determination method of the quota, and firstly introduced the procedure of establishing energy consumption quota of public buildings including four important parts: collecting data, classifying and calculating EUIs, standardizing EUIs, determining the measure method of central tendency. The paper also illustrated the standardization process of EUI by actual calculation based on the samples of 10 commercial buildings and 19 hotel buildings. According to the analysis of the frequency distribution of standardized EUIs of sample buildings and combining the characteristics of each measure method of central tendency, comprehensive application of mode and percentage rank is selected to be the best method for determining the energy consumption quota of public buildings. Finally the paper gave some policy proposals on energy consumption quota to help achieve the goal of further energy conservation. - Highlights: ► We introduce the procedure of determining energy consumption quota (ECQ). ► We illustrate the standardization process of EUI by actual calculation of samples. ► Measures of central tendency are brought into determine the ECQ. ► Comprehensive application of mode and percentage rank is the best method for ECQ. ► Punitive or incentive measures for ECQ are proposed.

LOSS OF WATER IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS (ON THE EXAMPLE OF MGSU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orlov Evgeniy Vladimirovich

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Any public building is a consumer of water resources. A huge amount of clean drinking water is used for various needs especially in buildings where there are a large number of people, for example, institutions of higher education. It should be noted that today all buildings must meet requirements for water conservation. This is because a large amount of drinking water is wasted. The author considers the problems characteristic of public buildings, because of which losses of water in the inner water supply systems happen. The variants are offered how to reduce wasteful expenses by installing contactless water intake devices, wastewater intake as well as water-saving headers and waterless urinals. The use of polymer materials and copper pipelines during reconstruction of the system in order to reduce water losses is justified.

Open Access Scholarly Publications as OER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Terry Anderson

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the rationale, common practices, challenges, and some personal anecdotes from a journal editor on the production, use, and re-use of peer-reviewed scholarly articles as open educational resources (OER. The scholarly and professional discourse related to open educational resources has largely focused on open learning objects, courseware, and textbooks. However, especially in graduate education, articles published in scholarly journals are often a major component of the course content in formal education. In addition, open access journal articles are critical to expanding access to knowledge by scholars in the developing world and in fostering citizen science, by which everyone has access to the latest academic information and research results. In this article, I highlight some of the challenges, economic models, and evidence for quality of open access journal content and look at new affordances provided by the Net for enhanced functionality, access, and distribution.In the 17 years since I graduated with a doctorate degree, the climate and acceptance of open access publishing has almost reversed itself. I recall a conversation with my PhD supervisor in which he argued that publishing online was not a viable option as the product would not have permanency, scholarly recognition, or the prestige of a paper publication. His comments reflect the confusion between online resources and those described as open access, but as well illustrate the change in academic acceptance and use of open access products during the past decade. The evolution from paper to online production and consumption is a disruptive technology in which much lower cost and increased accessibility of online work opens the product to a completely new group of potential users. In the case of OER these consumers are primarily students, but certainly access to scholars from all parts of the globe and the availability to support citizen science (Silvertown, 2009

Architectural Building A Public Key Infrastructure Integrated Information Space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vadim Ivanovich Korolev

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The article keeps under consideration the mattersto apply the cryptographic system having a public key to provide information security and to implya digital signature. It performs the analysis of trust models at the formation of certificates and their use. The article describes the relationships between the trust model and the architecture public key infrastructure. It contains conclusions in respect of the options for building the public key infrastructure for integrated informationspace.

Prioritising Project Scope Definition Elements in Public Building Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed K Fageha

2014-09-01

Full Text Available A complete definition of the scope of a project upfront during early stages ensures smooth and successful implementation during the project execution. This research identifies and prioritises project scope definition elements for public buildings in Saudi Arabia. Elements that could significantly contribute to complete project scope definition package at pre-project planning stage are identified and their interrelationship determined and prioritised. Using the Project Definition Rating Index (PDRI as a basis, the study uses analytical network process (ANP technique based on data obtained from project managers who have been involved in public sector projects in Saudi Arabia. Data collection and analysis was conducted in three steps. The first step involved identification of scope definition elements while the second involved an investigation into interrelationships among the elements. In the third step, ANP was used to determine the weight of the elements’ importance in terms of contribution to project scope definition completeness. Finally, Pareto analysis was used to prioritise and assess the distribution pattern of the elements. The outcome from this research is the prioritisation of project scope definition elements for public building projects in Saudi Arabia. The prioritised list developed indicates the importance of project scope definition elements. It should help project management teams identify elements to consider when evaluating project scope definition for completeness at the pre-project planning stage. Keywords: Project scope definition, pre-project planning, prioritising, public building projects, Saudi Arabia, Analytical Network Process (ANP

Experiments in engagement: Designing public engagement with science and technology for capacity building.

Science.gov (United States)

Selin, Cynthia; Rawlings, Kelly Campbell; de Ridder-Vignone, Kathryn; Sadowski, Jathan; Altamirano Allende, Carlo; Gano, Gretchen; Davies, Sarah R; Guston, David H

2017-08-01

Public engagement with science and technology is now widely used in science policy and communication. Touted as a means of enhancing democratic discussion of science and technology, analysis of public engagement with science and technology has shown that it is often weakly tied to scientific governance. In this article, we suggest that the notion of capacity building might be a way of reframing the democratic potential of public engagement with science and technology activities. Drawing on literatures from public policy and administration, we outline how public engagement with science and technology might build citizen capacity, before using the notion of capacity building to develop five principles for the design of public engagement with science and technology. We demonstrate the use of these principles through a discussion of the development and realization of the pilot for a large-scale public engagement with science and technology activity, the Futurescape City Tours, which was carried out in Arizona in 2012.

Public access to private land in Scotland | Miller | Potchefstroom ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article attempts to understand the radical reform of Scottish land law in its provision for a general right of public access to private land introduced in 2003 as part of land reform legislation, an important aspect of the initial agenda of the Scottish Parliament revived in 1999. The right is to recreational access for a limited ...

Researchers' perspectives on open access scholarly communication in Tanzanian public universities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F.W. Dulle

2009-04-01

Full Text Available This research explored the awareness, usage and perspectives of Tanzanian researchers on open access as a mode of scholarly communication. A survey questionnaire targeted 544 respondents selected through stratified random sampling from a population of 1088 university researchers of the six public universities in Tanzania. With a response rate of 73%, the data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The study reveals that the majority of the researchers were aware of and were positive towards open access. Findings further indicate that the majority of researchers in Tanzanian public universities used open access outlets more to access scholarly content than to disseminate their own research findings. It seems that most of these researchers would support open access publishing more if issues of recognition, quality and ownership were resolved. Thus many of them supported the idea of establishing institutional repositories at their respective universities as a way of improving the dissemination of local content. The study recommends that public universities and other research institutions in the country should consider establishing institutional repositories, with appropriate quality assurance measures, to improve the dissemination of research output emanating from these institutions.

Authentication and Access: Accommodating Public Users in an Academic World

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynne Weber

2010-09-01

Full Text Available In the fall of 2004, the Academic Computing Center, a division of the Information Technology Services Department (ITS at Minnesota State University, Mankato took over responsibility for the computers in the public areas of Memorial Library. For the first time, affiliated Memorial Library users were required to authenticate using a campus username and password, a change that effectively eliminated computer access for anyone not part of the university community. This posed a dilemma for the librarians. Because of its Federal Depository status, the library had a responsibility to provide general access to both print and online government publications for the general public. Furthermore, the library had a long tradition of providing guest access to most library resources, and there was reluctance to abandon the practice. Therefore the librarians worked with ITS to retain a small group of six computers that did not require authentication and were clearly marked for community use, along with several standup, open-access computers on each floor used primarily for searching the library catalog. The additional need to provide computer access to high school students visiting the library for research and instruction led to more discussions with ITS and resulted in a means of generating temporary usernames and passwords through a Web form. These user accommodations were implemented in the library without creating a written policy governing the use of open-access computers.

77 FR 59925 - Public Buildings Service; Submission for OMB Review; Application/Permit for Use of Space in...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-01

... Buildings Service; Submission for OMB Review; Application/ Permit for Use of Space in Public Buildings and... regarding GSA Form 3453, Application/Permit for Use of Space in Public Buildings and Grounds. A notice was... Information Collection 3090- 0044, GSA Form 3453, Application/Permit for Use of Space in Public Buildings and...

Online Public Access Catalogs. ERIC Fact Sheet.

Science.gov (United States)

Cochrane, Pauline A.

A listing is presented of 17 documents in the ERIC database concerning the Online Catalog (sometimes referred to as OPAC or Online Public Access Catalog), a computer-based and supported library catalog designed for patron use. The database usually represents recent acquisitions and often contains information about books on order and items in…

36 CFR 1270.42 - Denial of access to public; right to appeal.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...; right to appeal. 1270.42 Section 1270.42 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND... Denial of access to public; right to appeal. (a) Any person denied access to a Presidential record... library director at the address cited in part 1253 of this chapter. (b) All appeals must be received by...

Commentary: one strategy for building public trust in changing times.

Science.gov (United States)

Dauphinee, W Dale; Tamblyn, Robyn; Cruess, Sylvia R; Cruess, Richard L

2010-06-01

Major health care reforms are being debated in the United States. While these debates address issues of access and cost, the systems-based problems of patient safety, continuous quality improvement, and an integrated approach to continuing professional development (CPD) remain traditional opportunities for the profession to directly improve health care and maintain professional accountability. Such challenges can be addressed independently of proposed reforms and offer an opportunity for the profession to build greater public trust. Given recent evidence questioning many assumptions behind individually focused CPD, and as physicians' work shifts into group and team contexts, it is an opportune time to address better CPD strategies within emerging group and team settings.The first strategic change requires a focus on managing the development of the individual physician's educational growth into a systems-oriented approach based on better information and feedback within groups of practitioners and health care teams. Second, the renewal of the linked visions of professional collegiality and accountability with professional regulation needs to be seen as a collective responsibility across key organizations within the profession's normal accountability framework. Thus, the professional colleges, certifying boards, and regulatory authorities need to collaborate with the CDP community in refocusing their collective activities to promote the profession's traditional role of improving the quality of care and maintaining the public's trust in these times of intense policy debate.

New 2004 regulations for public buildings. June 17, 2004; Les nouveautes 2004 de la reglementation des etablissements recevant du public (ERP)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-06-15

Cegibat, the information-recommendation agency of Gaz de France for building engineering professionals, has organized this conference meeting on the new regulations relative to energy equipments and in particular gas appliances and storage systems in public buildings: changes in the French regulation, new gas-related articles (works, storage of liquefied hydrocarbons, pressure reducers and meters, gas distribution systems and safety systems, ventilation and exhaust systems, labelling of appliances, conformability, maintenance and inspection), particular dispositions (school buildings, small public buildings). (J.S.)

Perceived Accessibility of Public Transport as a Potential Indicator of Social Inclusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katrin Lättman

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Perceived accessibility has been acknowledged as an important aspect of transport policy since the 70s. Nevertheless, very few empirical studies have been conducted in this field. When aiming to improve social inclusion, by making sustainable transport modes accessible to all, it is important to understand the factors driving perceived accessibility. Unlike conventional accessibility measures, perceived accessibility focuses on the perceived possibilities and ease of engaging in preferred activities using different transport modes. We define perceived accessibility in terms of how easy it is to live a satisfactory life with the help of the transport system, which is not necessarily the same thing as the objective standard of the system. According to previous research, perceived accessibility varies with the subjectively-rated quality of the mode of transport. Thus, improvements in quality (e.g. trip planning, comfort, or safety increase the perceived accessibility and make life easier to live using the chosen mode of transport. This study (n=750 focuses on the perceived accessibility of public transport, captured using the Perceived Accessibility Scale PAC (Lättman, Olsson, & Friman, 2015. More specifically, this study aims to determine how level of quality affects the perceived accessibility in public transport. A Conditional Process Model shows that, in addition to quality, feeling safe and frequency of travel are important predictors of perceived accessibility. Furthermore, elderly and those in their thirties report a lower level of perceived accessibility to their day-to-day activities using public transport. The basic premise of this study is that subjective experiences may be as important as objective indicators when planning and designing for socially inclusive transport systems.

Support Services for Remote Users of Online Public Access Catalogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalin, Sally W.

1991-01-01

Discusses the needs of remote users of online public access catalogs (OPACs). User expectations are discussed; problems encountered by remote-access users are examined, including technical problems and searching problems; support services are described, including instruction, print guides, and online help; and differences from the needs of…

Documenting death: public access to government death records and attendant privacy concerns.

Science.gov (United States)

Boles, Jeffrey R

2012-01-01

This Article examines the contentious relationship between public rights to access government-held death records and privacy rights concerning the deceased, whose personal information is contained in those same records. This right of access dispute implicates core democratic principles and public policy interests. Open access to death records, such as death certificates and autopsy reports, serves the public interest by shedding light on government agency performance, uncovering potential government wrongdoing, providing data on public health trends, and aiding those investigating family history, for instance. Families of the deceased have challenged the release of these records on privacy grounds, as the records may contain sensitive and embarrassing information about the deceased. Legislatures and the courts addressing this dispute have collectively struggled to reconcile the competing open access and privacy principles. The Article demonstrates how a substantial portion of the resulting law in this area is haphazardly formed, significantly overbroad, and loaded with unintended consequences. The Article offers legal reforms to bring consistency and coherence to this currently disordered area of jurisprudence.

Making accessibility analyses accessible: A tool to facilitate the public review of the effects of regional transportation plans on accessibility

OpenAIRE

Golub, Aaron; Robinson, Glenn; Brendan Nee, Brendan Nee

2013-01-01

The regional transportation planning process in the United States has not been easily opened to public oversight even after strengthened requirements for public participation and civil rights considerations. In the effort to improve the public review of regional transportation plans, this paper describes the construction of a proof-of concept web-based tool designed to analyze the effects of regional transportation plans on accessibility to jobs and other essential destinations. The tool allo...

The Wired Island: The First Two Years of Public Access To Cable Television In Manhattan.

Science.gov (United States)

Othmer, David

A review is presented of the first two years of free public access programing on New York City's cable television (CATV) systems. The report provides some background information on franchising, public access to CATV in New York City, and Federal Communications Commission regulations. It also deals with the public access programing developed; it…

Due diligence in the open-access explosion era: choosing a reputable journal for publication.

Science.gov (United States)

Masten, Yondell; Ashcraft, Alyce

2017-11-15

Faculty are required to publish. Naïve and "in-a-hurry-to-publish" authors seek to publish in journals where manuscripts are rapidly accepted. Others may innocently submit to one of an increasing number of questionable/predatory journals, where predatory is defined as practices of publishing journals for exploitation of author-pays, open-access publication model by charging authors publication fees for publisher profit without provision of expected services (expert peer review, editing, archiving, and indexing published manuscripts) and promising almost instant publication. Authors may intentionally submit manuscripts to predatory journals for rapid publication without concern for journal quality. A brief summary of the open access "movement," suggestions for selecting reputable open access journals, and suggestion for avoiding predatory publishers/journals are described. The purpose is to alert junior and seasoned faculty about predatory publishers included among available open access journal listings. Brief review of open access publication, predatory/questionable journal characteristics, suggestions for selecting reputable open access journals and avoiding predatory publishers/journals are described. Time is required for intentionally performing due diligence in open access journal selection, based on publisher/journal quality, prior to manuscript submission or authors must be able to successfully withdraw manuscripts when submission to a questionable or predatory journal is discovered. © FEMS 2017.

Promoting Access to Public Research Data for Scientific, Economic, and Social Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P Arzberger

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Access to and sharing of data are essential for the conduct and advancement of science. This article argues that publicly funded research data should be openly available to the maximum extent possible. To seize upon advancements of cyberinfrastructure and the explosion of data in a range of scientific disciplines, this access to and sharing of publicly funded data must be advanced within an international framework, beyond technological solutions. The authors, members of an OECD Follow-up Group, present their research findings, based closely on their report to OECD, on key issues in data access, as well as operating principles and management aspects necessary to successful data access regimes.

Public Access to NASA's Earth Science Data

Science.gov (United States)

Behnke, J.; James, N.

2013-12-01

Many steps have been taken over the past 20 years to make NASA's Earth Science data more accessible to the public. The data collected by NASA represent a significant public investment in research. NASA holds these data in a public trust to promote comprehensive, long-term Earth science research. Consequently, NASA developed a free, open and non-discriminatory policy consistent with existing international policies to maximize access to data and to keep user costs as low as possible. These policies apply to all data archived, maintained, distributed or produced by NASA data systems. The Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is a major core capability within NASA Earth Science Data System Program. EOSDIS is designed to ingest, process, archive, and distribute data from approximately 90 instruments. Today over 6800 data products are available to the public through the EOSDIS. Last year, EOSDIS distributed over 636 million science data products to the user community, serving over 1.5 million distinct users. The system supports a variety of science disciplines including polar processes, land cover change, radiation budget, and most especially global climate change. A core philosophy of EOSDIS is that the general user is best served by providing discipline specific support for the data. To this end, EOSDIS has collocated NASA Earth science data with centers of science discipline expertise, called Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs). DAACs are responsible for data management, archive and distribution of data products. There are currently twelve DAACs in the EOSDIS system. The centralized entrance point to the NASA Earth Science data collection can be found at http://earthdata.nasa.gov. Over the years, we have developed several methods for determining needs of the user community including use of the American Customer Satisfaction Index survey and a broad metrics program. Annually, we work with an independent organization (CFI Group) to send this

Managing the Accessibility on Mass Public Transit: the Case of Hong Kong

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siman Tang

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Public transit services (PTS improve mobility and accessibility, and reduce car dependence. It is ideal if PTS are financially sustainable, with affordable fares and expedient quality. The success of PTS on accessibility improvement can be reflected by their level of patronage: do travelers choose to use them in lieu of their private cars? PTS in Hong Kong are renowned for their quality and profitability, superbly addressing the accessibility need for the city; they carry over 90% of the 11 million daily trips. A comparison of the per capita train-car and bus-vehicle kilometer run of PTS in Hong Kong with those in London and Singapore, however, suggests that it is not purely the supply that affects the use or accessibility of PTS in Hong Kong. By tracing and analyzing the development of PTS in Hong Kong over the past two decades, we found evidence that the high level of accessibility on mass public transit in the territory can be attributed to the land use policy of developing compact, high-density township, accompanying transport policies of granting high priority to the development of mass transit facilities and providing ways to ensure the financial viability of privately operated PTS, especially the innovative approach of integrating the development of public transport facility and property so as to exploit their synergy. In this paper, we study and highlight elements that contribute to the development of high accessibility on mass public transit in Hong Kong.

Toward Accessing Spatial Structure from Building Information Models

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, C.; Bhatt, M.

2011-08-01

Data about building designs and layouts is becoming increasingly more readily available. In the near future, service personal (such as maintenance staff or emergency rescue workers) arriving at a building site will have immediate real-time access to enormous amounts of data relating to structural properties, utilities, materials, temperature, and so on. The critical problem for users is the taxing and error prone task of interpreting such a large body of facts in order to extract salient information. This is necessary for comprehending a situation and deciding on a plan of action, and is a particularly serious issue in time-critical and safety-critical activities such as firefighting. Current unifying building models such as the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), while being comprehensive, do not directly provide data structures that focus on spatial reasoning and spatial modalities that are required for high-level analytical tasks. The aim of the research presented in this paper is to provide computational tools for higher level querying and reasoning that shift the cognitive burden of dealing with enormous amounts of data away from the user. The user can then spend more energy and time in planning and decision making in order to accomplish the tasks at hand. We present an overview of our framework that provides users with an enhanced model of "built-up space". In order to test our approach using realistic design data (in terms of both scale and the nature of the building models) we describe how our system interfaces with IFC, and we conduct timing experiments to determine the practicality of our approach. We discuss general computational approaches for deriving higher-level spatial modalities by focusing on the example of route graphs. Finally, we present a firefighting scenario with alternative route graphs to motivate the application of our framework.

REDUCING THE “JUSTICE GAP” THROUGH ACCESS TO LEGAL INFORMATION: ESTABLISHING ACCESS TO JUSTICE ENTRY POINTS AT PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beth Bilson

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Among the strategies to improve public access to justice, increasing the accessibility and comprehensibility of legal information must be ranked as important. In this paper, the authors explore how libraries and librarians might play a role in providing the public with access and guidance to legal information. These issues are considered primarily in the context of two scenarios: that of the self-represented litigant, and that of a party to a limited scope retainer. The authors consider in particular how public libraries as a public space and public librarians as trusted intermediaries might support the objective of greater access. The possible roles of law society/courthouse and academic libraries in training and collection development are also considered. The distinction between providing access to legal information and giving legal advice is discussed briefly, and the authors suggest some possible ways of clarifying this distinction while pursuing the goal of expanding public access to legal information.   Parmi les stratégies susceptibles d’améliorer l’accès du public à la justice, les mesures visant à accroître l’accessibilité et la convivialité de l’information juridique doivent être considérées comme des stratégies importantes. Dans ce document, les auteurs explorent le rôle que peuvent jouer les bibliothèques et les bibliothécaires en orientant le public et en lui donnant accès aux renseignements juridiques. Ce rôle est examiné principalement dans le contexte de deux scénarios : celui de la partie qui se représente elle-même et celui de la partie dont l’avocat a un mandat à portée limitée. Les auteurs se demandent notamment comment les bibliothèques publiques, à titre d’espace public, et les bibliothécaires, à titre d’intermédiaires de confiance, peuvent favoriser l’atteinte de l’objectif d’un meilleur accès à cette information. Les rôles que pourraient être appelées à jouer les

Building a Brand for Finna

OpenAIRE

Maar, Vivika

2014-01-01

This thesis deals with building a brand for Finna, a new digital library service with joint interfaces. The Public Interface of Finna is a new service in the brand architecture of the National Library of Finland and provides access to the digital information and services of libraries, archives, museums, serving those who seek information or experiences. The thesis is based on structural interviews that were conducted for the purpose of gathering information for the brand building process...

A study of institutional spending on open access publication fees in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Jahn, Najko; Tullney, Marco

2016-01-01

Publication fees as a revenue source for open access publishing hold a prominent place on the agendas of researchers, policy makers, and academic publishers. This study contributes to the evolving empirical basis for funding these charges and examines how much German universities and research organisations spent on open access publication fees. Using self-reported cost data from the Open APC initiative, the analysis focused on the amount that was being spent on publication fees, and compared these expenditure with data from related Austrian (FWF) and UK (Wellcome Trust, Jisc) initiatives, in terms of both size and the proportion of articles being published in fully and hybrid open access journals. We also investigated how thoroughly self-reported articles were indexed in Crossref, a DOI minting agency for scholarly literature, and analysed how the institutional spending was distributed across publishers and journal titles. According to self-reported data from 30 German universities and research organisations between 2005 and 2015, expenditures on open access publication fees increased over the years in Germany and amounted to € 9,627,537 for 7,417 open access journal articles. The average payment was € 1,298, and the median was € 1,231. A total of 94% of the total article volume included in the study was supported in accordance with the price cap of € 2,000, a limit imposed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) as part of its funding activities for open access funding at German universities. Expenditures varied considerably at the institutional level. There were also differences in how much the institutions spent per journal and publisher. These differences reflect, at least in part, the varying pricing schemes in place including discounted publication fees. With an indexing coverage of 99%, Crossref thoroughly indexed the open access journals articles included in the study. A comparison with the related openly available cost data from Austria and

A study of institutional spending on open access publication fees in Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Najko Jahn

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Publication fees as a revenue source for open access publishing hold a prominent place on the agendas of researchers, policy makers, and academic publishers. This study contributes to the evolving empirical basis for funding these charges and examines how much German universities and research organisations spent on open access publication fees. Using self-reported cost data from the Open APC initiative, the analysis focused on the amount that was being spent on publication fees, and compared these expenditure with data from related Austrian (FWF and UK (Wellcome Trust, Jisc initiatives, in terms of both size and the proportion of articles being published in fully and hybrid open access journals. We also investigated how thoroughly self-reported articles were indexed in Crossref, a DOI minting agency for scholarly literature, and analysed how the institutional spending was distributed across publishers and journal titles. According to self-reported data from 30 German universities and research organisations between 2005 and 2015, expenditures on open access publication fees increased over the years in Germany and amounted to € 9,627,537 for 7,417 open access journal articles. The average payment was € 1,298, and the median was € 1,231. A total of 94% of the total article volume included in the study was supported in accordance with the price cap of € 2,000, a limit imposed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG as part of its funding activities for open access funding at German universities. Expenditures varied considerably at the institutional level. There were also differences in how much the institutions spent per journal and publisher. These differences reflect, at least in part, the varying pricing schemes in place including discounted publication fees. With an indexing coverage of 99%, Crossref thoroughly indexed the open access journals articles included in the study. A comparison with the related openly available cost data

Revaluation Of Wrocław Public Use Buildings In Years 2005 - 2013

Science.gov (United States)

Kirschke, Paweł

2015-09-01

In the years 2005-2013 in Wroclaw, there was commissioned to use hundreds of public buildings, including fifty revalued monuments These were: offices, museums, theatres, science and education facilities, as well as commercial buildings: banks, department stores, office buildings and hotels. The success of these projects was the merit of Wroclaw scientists who nurtured these outstanding works of architecture and convince the public to the fact that they stand for works which cannot be missed. The merit of architects and conservators was professionally prepared projects and effective supervision of investment, making the implementation of technical and program objectives not colliding with protection of historic material of the objects.

22 CFR 214.51 - Administrative review of denial for public access to records.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Administrative review of denial for public access to records. 214.51 Section 214.51 Foreign Relations AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT Administrative Remedies § 214.51 Administrative review of denial for public access to...

Public Access to Government Electronic Information. Policy Framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science, 1992

1992-01-01

This policy framework provides guidelines for federal agencies on public access to government electronic information. Highlights include reasons for disseminating information; defining user groups; which technology to use; pricing flexibility; security and privacy issues; and the private sector and state and local government roles. (LRW)

ACCESSIBLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED IN MALAYSIA: HOTELS AS CASE STUDIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asiah Abdul Rahim

2010-12-01

Full Text Available In Malaysia, it has become of increasing importance to study ways to improve the level of accessibility in buildings for the elderly and disabled people in the built environment, especially in hotels and resorts. The methods used in this study to identify areas to improve are access audits, table research and interviews. The data from these studies are analysed using a descriptive analysis based on access audits, observations, plan analysis, photographs and questionnaires. Access audits were carried out in two hotels and resorts in July and November 2007 in selected areas of East Malaysia. The selected hotels and resorts were constructed in the 1980s; one is located at the countryside and the other in the city centre. The findings will allow the building provider to upgrade existing facilities in order to accommodate accessible built environment for the elderly and disabled people. This will allow the elderly and disabled people to move freely, safely and being more easily integrated with the society in areas of public building and public spaces.

Accessibility of public libraries by rural dwellers in rural areas of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In conclusion, public libraries are essential to rural dwellers; therefore it is recommended that all types of information be made available to public libraries. Sensitization programmes should be encouraged. This will in turn bring about positive impact on the rural dwellers. Key words: Accessibility, Public, Library, rural, ...

The Association between Access to Public Transportation and Self-Reported Active Commuting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Djurhuus, Sune; Hansen, Henning S; Aadahl, Mette

2014-01-01

Active commuting provides routine-based regular physical activity which can reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Using public transportation involves some walking or cycling to a transit stop, transfers and a walk to the end location and users of public transportation have been found to accumulate...... more moderate physical activity than non-users. Understanding how public transportation characteristics are associated with active transportation is thus important from a public health perspective. This study examines the associations between objective measures of access to public transportation...... and self-reported active commuting. Self-reported time spent either walking or cycling commuting each day and the distance to workplace were obtained for adults aged 16 to 65 in the Danish National Health Survey 2010 (n = 28,928). Access to public transportation measures were computed by combining GIS...

Effects of Job Accessibility Improved by Public Transport System: Natural Experimental Evidence from the Copenhagen Metro

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pons Rotger, Gabriel Angel; Nielsen, Thomas Alexander Sick

2015-01-01

This study examines the effect of accessibility to urban jobs via a public transport system on individual earnings and commuting behaviour. The effect of improved public transport based accessibility on these outcomes is determined by exploiting the exogenous variation in access to a public rail ...... with a change in commuting patterns as the improved access to public transport facilitates a shift from employment within the township to better paid jobs in the city centre, as well as in other suburbs of the Copenhagen Metropolitan area...

75 FR 2144 - Public Buildings Service; Submission for OMB Review; Art-in-Architecture Program National Artist...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-14

... GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION [OMB Control No. 3090-0274] Public Buildings Service; Submission for OMB Review; Art-in- Architecture Program National Artist Registry AGENCY: Public Buildings Service... in 2000 when a renewed focus on commissioning works of art that are an integral part of the building...

Global Disease Detection-Achievements in Applied Public Health Research, Capacity Building, and Public Health Diplomacy, 2001-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Carol Y; Goryoka, Grace W; Henao, Olga L; Clarke, Kevin R; Salyer, Stephanie J; Montgomery, Joel M

2017-11-01

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established 10 Global Disease Detection (GDD) Program regional centers around the world that serve as centers of excellence for public health research on emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. The core activities of the GDD Program focus on applied public health research, surveillance, laboratory, public health informatics, and technical capacity building. During 2015-2016, program staff conducted 205 discrete projects on a range of topics, including acute respiratory illnesses, health systems strengthening, infectious diseases at the human-animal interface, and emerging infectious diseases. Projects incorporated multiple core activities, with technical capacity building being most prevalent. Collaborating with host countries to implement such projects promotes public health diplomacy. The GDD Program continues to work with countries to strengthen core capacities so that emerging diseases can be detected and stopped faster and closer to the source, thereby enhancing global health security.

Restricting access to publications from funded research: ethical issues and solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Manikandan, S; Vani, N Isai

2010-01-01

India is becoming one of the hubs of clinical research. Commensurate with these advances, the government funding for biomedical research in thrust areas is also increasing. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science and Technology (DST) are some of the government organizations which provide financial support for various research projects. The results of the funded research projects are published in various international journals. Most of these journals have an access to paid subscribers only. Hence it is unethical to use the research grants from government (people's money) and not allow the scientific community free access to the results of the study. To tackle such issues, these agencies should sign the Berlin declaration and create open access repositories. A public access policy should be formulated and listed in JULIET. The funding bodies in India should also join Pubmed Central (PMC) to form PMC India so that every investigator who has received grants would submit the full text of the paper published from his study and these can be made freely accessible to everyone. Universities and research institutions should also develop institutional open access repositories. The public access policy has definitive advantages and should be implemented.

Restricting access to publications from funded research: Ethical issues and solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manikandan S

2010-01-01

Full Text Available India is becoming one of the hubs of clinical research. Commensurate with these advances, the government funding for biomedical research in thrust areas is also increasing. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR, Department of Biotechnology (DBT, Department of Science and Technology (DST are some of the government organizations which provide financial support for various research projects. The results of the funded research projects are published in various international journals. Most of these journals have an access to paid subscribers only. Hence it is unethical to use the research grants from government (people′s money and not allow the scientific community free access to the results of the study. To tackle such issues, these agencies should sign the Berlin declaration and create open access repositories. A public access policy should be formulated and listed in JULIET. The funding bodies in India should also join Pubmed Central (PMC to form PMC India so that every investigator who has received grants would submit the full text of the paper published from his study and these can be made freely accessible to everyone. Universities and research institutions should also develop institutional open access repositories. The public access policy has definitive advantages and should be implemented.

Providing Social Enterprises with Better Access to Public Procurement : The Development of Supportive Legal Frameworks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Argyrou, A.

2017-01-01

This article discusses the issue of social enterprises gaining access to public procurement processes and contracts at the EU and national level. It primarily examines the opportunities for social enterprises to access public procurement contracts provided for in the Public Procurement Directive

Key Performance Indicators for Maintenance Management Effectiveness of Public Hospital Building

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farhana Omar Mardhiah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Effectiveness of management in maintenance aspect holds the key element in influencing the performance of overall maintenance management. Similarly, public hospital building needs an effective maintenance management as this type of building in nature is one of the most complex issues in the field of maintenance. Improper building maintenance management adopted by the organization significantly will interrupt the overall operation of the building. Therefore, this paper is aim to identifying the key performance indicator (KPI of effectiveness of maintenance management for the public hospital building. A total of 32 set of questionnaires were distributed to the maintenance manager for each hospital in the northern region of peninsular Malaysia by using self-administration strategy. The survey answer was analyzed by performing descriptive analysis in SPSS. Overall, the result of descriptive analysis shows that all the ten factors of effectiveness of maintenance management are accepted as KPI since the mean value is at least 3.93 which classified as important and significant. The most significant factor of effectiveness of maintenance management is task planning and scheduling with the mean score of 4.35. While less significant factor is identify as maintenance approach with the value of mean score is 3.93. The both results indicates that the management need to have well-structured planning for the maintenance works and also need to embrace the exact strategy of maintenance approach in order to achieved better overall performance of maintenance management. This study may draw a standard practice for the government in assessing the performance of public facilities in terms of maintenance management.

Greening Public Buildings: ESCO-Contracting in Danish Municipalities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesper Rohr Hansen

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents current research on Danish municipalities’ use of Energy Service Companies (ESCO as a way to improve the standard of public buildings and to increase energy efficiency. In recent years more and more municipalities have used ESCO-contracts to retrofit existing public buildings, and to make them more energy efficient. At the moment 30 municipalities (of the 98 municipalities in Denmark are involved in, or preparing, ESCO contracts. Nevertheless, ESCO-contracting still faces many challenges on the Danish market, as there is a widespread skepticism towards the concept amongst many stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the various experience gained so far by municipalities use of ESCO-contracting, the different approached to ESCO-contracting being used in practice, as well as the different viewpoints drivers and barriers behind the development. The strong growth in ESCO-contracts reflects that the ESCO-concept fits well with a number of present problems that municipalities are facing, as well as a flexible adaptation to the local context in different municipalities.

Solar envelope concepts: moderate density building applications. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knowles, R.L.; Berry, R.D.

1980-04-01

Solar energy utilization in urban areas requires public guarantees that all property owners have direct access to the sun. The study examines the implications of this premise in relation to the need for cities to also encourage or accommodate rebuilding and future development. The public policy mechanism for guaranteeing solar access is conceptualized as a solar zoning envelope that allows the largest possible building bulk on a land parcel without shadowing neighboring properties during specified times. Step-by-step methods for generating solar envelopes are described with extensive drawings, showing a variety of urban platting and lot configurations. Development and design possibilities are examined on a selected set of Los Angeles sites with typically diverse urban characteristics. Envelope attributes suitable for encouraging moderate-density commercial and residential building are examined in the context of two hypothetical but realistic development programs: one for speculative office buildings and one for condominium housing. Numerous illustrations of envelope forms and prototypical building designs are provided. The results of development simulation studies on all test sites are tabulated to show building bulk, density, land-coverage and open space characteristics obtainable under the hypothesized envelopes.

Effects of Job Accessibility Improved by Public Transport System: Natural Experimental Evidence from the Copenhagen Metro

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pons Rotger, Gabriel Angel; Nielsen, Thomas Alexander Sick

2015-01-01

This study examines the effect of accessibility to urban jobs via a public transport system on individual earnings and commuting behaviour. The effect of improved public transport based accessibility on these outcomes is determined by exploiting the exogenous variation in access to a public rail...... and Metro system resulting from the construction of a new terminal Metro station connecting southern townships to Copenhagen city centre. The results show that public transport based job accessibility has a positive and permanent effect on individual earnings. The increase in earnings is associated...... with a change in commuting patterns as the improved access to public transport facilitates a shift from employment within the township to better paid jobs in the city centre, as well as in other suburbs of the Copenhagen Metropolitan area...

Mars Public Mapping Project: Public Participation in Science Research; Providing Opportunities for Kids of All Ages

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, L. D.; Valderrama Graff, P.; Bandfield, J. L.; Christensen, P. R.; Klug, S. L.; Deva, B.; Capages, C.

2007-12-01

The Mars Public Mapping Project is a web-based education and public outreach tool developed by the Mars Space Flight Facility at Arizona State University. This tool allows the general public to identify and map geologic features on Mars, utilizing Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) visible images, allowing public participation in authentic scientific research. In addition, participants are able to rate each image (based on a 1 to 5 star scale) to help build a catalog of some of the more appealing and interesting martian surface features. Once participants have identified observable features in an image, they are able to view a map of the global distribution of the many geologic features they just identified. This automatic feedback, through a global distribution map, allows participants to see how their answers compare to the answers of other participants. Participants check boxes "yes, no, or not sure" for each feature that is listed on the Mars Public Mapping Project web page, including surface geologic features such as gullies, sand dunes, dust devil tracks, wind streaks, lava flows, several types of craters, and layers. Each type of feature has a quick and easily accessible description and example image. When a participant moves their mouse over each example thumbnail image, a window pops up with a picture and a description of the feature. This provides a form of "on the job training" for the participants that can vary with their background level. For users who are more comfortable with Mars geology, there is also an advanced feature identification section accessible by a drop down menu. This includes additional features that may be identified, such as streamlined islands, valley networks, chaotic terrain, yardangs, and dark slope streaks. The Mars Public Mapping Project achieves several goals: 1) It engages the public in a manner that encourages active participation in scientific research and learning about geologic features and processes. 2) It helps to

40 CFR 745.228 - Accreditation of training programs: public and commercial buildings, bridges and superstructures...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Accreditation of training programs: public and commercial buildings, bridges and superstructures. [Reserved] 745.228 Section 745.228... Accreditation of training programs: public and commercial buildings, bridges and superstructures. [Reserved] ...

Enhancing energy efficiency in public buildings: The role of local energy audit programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Annunziata, Eleonora; Rizzi, Francesco; Frey, Marco

2014-01-01

In the objective of reaching the “nearly zero-energy buildings” target set by the European Union, municipalities cover a crucial role in advocating and implementing energy-efficient measures on a local scale. Based on a dataset of 322 municipalities in Northern Italy, we carried out a statistical analysis to investigate which factors influence the adoption of energy efficiency in municipal buildings. In particular, the analysis focuses on four categories of factors: (i) capacity building for energy efficiency, (ii) existing structure and competences for energy efficiency, (iii) technical and economic support for energy efficiency, and (iv) spill-over effect caused by adoption of “easier” energy-efficient measures. Our results show that capacity building through training courses and technical support provided by energy audits affect positively the adoption of energy efficiency in municipal buildings. The size of the municipal authority, the setting of local energy policies for residential buildings and funding for energy audits are not correlated with energy efficiency in public buildings, where the “plucking of low hanging fruit” often prevails over more cost-effective but long-term strategies. Finally, our results call for the need to promote an efficient knowledge management and a revision of the Stability and Growth Pact. - Highlights: • Public procurement supports the deployment of the energy efficiency of buildings. • Energy audits and other factors influence energy efficiency in public buildings. • Econometric analysis applied to data from 322 municipalities in Northern Italy. • Municipalities need to overtake the “plucking of low-hanging fruit”. • Knowledge management should be associated with removal of budget constraints

ACCESS TO PUBLIC OPEN SPACE: IS DISTRIBUTION EQUITABLE ACROSS DIFFERENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC AREAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Javad Koohsari

2011-12-01

Full Text Available During the past decade, the role of the built environment on physical activity has been well investigated by public health, transportation and urban design scholars and it has been shown that different aspects of the built environment can influence physical activity Public open spaces (POS like parks have many health benefits and they can be important settings and destinations for having physical activity. Inequality in access to POS which may influence the amount of physical activity can be a reason for lower physical activity among deprived neighbourhoods. This paper aims to examine whether objective access to public open spaces (POS like parks is equally across the different socio-economic status (SES areas in the City of Melbourne. Objective access to POS was measured in network distance using geographic information systems (GIS and area SES was obtained using the SEIFA (Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas index. The results showed there was a significant difference in access to POS according to the SES areas. There was a significant negative correlation between the access to POS and the SES areas in which lower SES areas had poorer access to POS in comparison with the higher ones.

Building Capacity in the Public Utility Sectors of Basra, Iraq

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Trainor, Tim; Henderson, Dale

2007-01-01

... in provincial reconstruction efforts. Specifically, the mission was to assist in building the capacity of the public sector utility leadership in project prioritization, project planning and project management in order to enhance...

Public Access ICT across Cultures: Diversifying Participation in the ...

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

2015-06-01

Jun 1, 2015 ... Public access venues – most often Internet cafés in cities and ... 35 years working as an economist for international development agencies. ... Birth registration is the basis for advancing gender equality and children's rights.

Training Concerns for an Online Public Access Catalog.

Science.gov (United States)

Rockman, Ilene F.; Adalian, Paul T., Jr.

This report is designed to raise issues and concerns which will affect the successful implementation of an education and training program once an online public access catalog (OLPAC) has been installed in the Kennedy Library at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo. Information presented in the document was gathered…

Writing for Publication While in Graduate School: An Accessible Reality

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Joshua C.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this Writer's Forum is to share eight tips about writing for publication as a graduate student. These tips demonstrate writing for publication as an accessible reality for students. This Writer's Forum advances ideas, advice, and anecdotes focused on helping graduate students to see themselves as valued experts who are…

Building, measuring and improving public confidence in the nuclear regulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

An important factor for public confidence in the nuclear regulator is the general public trust of the government and its representatives, which is clearly not the same in all countries. Likewise, cultural differences between countries can be considerable, and similar means of communication between government authorities and the public may not be universally effective. Nevertheless, this workshop identified a number of common principles for the communication of nuclear regulatory decisions that can be recommended to all regulators. They have been cited in particular for their ability to help build, measure and/or improve overall public confidence in the nuclear regulator. (author)

Public Smoking Bans, Youth Access Laws, and Cigarette Sales at Vending Machines

OpenAIRE

Kvasnicka, Michael

2010-01-01

Tobacco control policies have proliferated in many countries in recent years, in particular youth access laws and public smoking bans. The effectiveness of youth access laws is still disputed, however, as are the costs of public smoking bans to the hospitality industry. Using a unique data set on cigarette sales at more than 100k vending machines that provides first objective evidence on the outgoing and customer behavior of smokers, we study both outcome dimensions by investigating several r...

Rural-Urban Differences in Access to Preventive Health Care Among Publicly Insured Minnesotans.

Science.gov (United States)

Loftus, John; Allen, Elizabeth M; Call, Kathleen Thiede; Everson-Rose, Susan A

2018-02-01

Reduced access to care and barriers have been shown in rural populations and in publicly insured populations. Barriers limiting health care access in publicly insured populations living in rural areas are not understood. This study investigates rural-urban differences in system-, provider-, and individual-level barriers and access to preventive care among adults and children enrolled in a public insurance program in Minnesota. This was a secondary analysis of a 2008 statewide, cross-sectional survey of publicly insured adults and children (n = 4,388) investigating barriers associated with low utilization of preventive care. Sampling was stratified with oversampling of racial/ethnic minorities. Rural enrollees were more likely to report no past year preventive care compared to urban enrollees. However, this difference was no longer statistically significant after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors (OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.00-1.88). Provider- and system-level barriers associated with low use of preventive care among rural enrollees included discrimination based on public insurance status (OR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.34-2.38), cost of care concerns (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.03-2.89) and uncertainty about care being covered by insurance (OR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.01-2.85). These and additional provider-level barriers were also identified among urban enrollees. Discrimination, cost of care, and uncertainty about insurance coverage inhibit access in both the rural and urban samples. These barriers are worthy targets of interventions for publicly insured populations regardless of residence. Future studies should investigate additional factors associated with access disparities based on rural-urban residence. © 2017 National Rural Health Association.

The Battle to Secure Our Public Access Computers

Science.gov (United States)

Sendze, Monique

2006-01-01

Securing public access workstations should be a significant part of any library's network and information-security strategy because of the sensitive information patrons enter on these workstations. As the IT manager for the Johnson County Library in Kansas City, Kan., this author is challenged to make sure that thousands of patrons get the access…

Building on the US Eclipse Experience in Schools, with the Public, and Beyond the US

Science.gov (United States)

Simmons, Mike; Chee, Zoe; Bartolone, Lindsay

2018-01-01

Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) organized several programs for the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse, both before and after the event, to increase participation, build on the inspiration of the eclipse, share the eclipse experience, and prepare for the eclipse in 2024.AWB focused on preparing institutions that were least likely to receive resources despite extensive nationwide efforts. AWB distributed more than 100,000 donated glasses, to isolated schools, children's cancer hospitals, abused women’s shelters, and other institutions without access to other resource providers.AWB’s Building on the Eclipse Education Program builds on the inspiration of the eclipse for STEM education. The program uses a small, personal spectroscope kit to study sunlight in different scientific fields and includes free classroom activities that meet NGSS standards.A program to collect eclipse observing glasses for schools in developing countries for future eclipses was announced around the time of the eclipse and quickly went viral, with coverage by national and innumerable local media outlets. This effort builds on AWB’s earlier programs for schools in Africa and in South America for past eclipses. Well over one million pairs are expected, as compared to the tens of thousands AWB provided through crowdfunding for previous efforts. Nearly 1000 glasses collection centers were created spontaneously, without a public call. Factors leading to widespread and diverse public participation will be presented.A program calling for first-time eclipse observers to share their experiences addresses a major issue in encouraging people to travel to the path of totality. Expert and eclipse-enthusiast testimony often fails to convince people of the value of the experience of totality as “a few minutes of darkness.” This program will share the disconnect between expectation and experience from first-time “ordinary” observers to encourage others to travel to the path of totality for the

From public open access to common property: the prospects and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

From public open access to common property: the prospects and challenges of institutionalizing boundaries for self-governance and management of community irrigation dams in the Upper East Region, Ghana.

Challenges created by data dissemination and access restrictions when attempting to address community concerns: individual privacy versus public wellbeing.

Science.gov (United States)

Colquhoun, Amy; Aplin, Laura; Geary, Janis; Goodman, Karen J; Hatcher, Juanita

2012-05-08

Population health data are vital for the identification of public health problems and the development of public health strategies. Challenges arise when attempts are made to disseminate or access anonymised data that are deemed to be potentially identifiable. In these situations, there is debate about whether the protection of an individual's privacy outweighs potentially beneficial public health initiatives developed using potentially identifiable information. While these issues have an impact at planning and policy levels, they pose a particular dilemma when attempting to examine and address community concerns about a specific health problem. Research currently underway in northern Canadian communities on the frequency of Helicobacter pylori infection and associated diseases, such as stomach cancer, is used in this article to illustrate the challenges that data controls create on the ability of researchers and health officials to address community concerns. Barriers are faced by public health professionals and researchers when endeavouring to address community concerns; specifically, provincial cancer surveillance departments and community-driven participatory research groups face challenges related to data release or access that inhibit their ability to effectively address community enquiries. The resulting consequences include a limited ability to address misinformation or to alleviate concerns when dealing with health problems in small communities. The development of communication tools and building of trusting relationships are essential components of a successful investigation into community health concerns. It may also be important to consider that public wellbeing may outweigh the value of individual privacy in these situations. As such, a re-evaluation of data disclosure policies that are applicable in these circumstances should be considered.

Fifty years of hemodialysis access literature: The fifty most cited publications in the medical literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Skripochnik, Edvard; O'Connor, David J; Trestman, Eric B; Lipsitz, Evan C; Scher, Larry A

2018-02-01

Objectives The modern era of hemodialysis access surgery began with the publication in 1966 by Brescia et al. describing the use of a surgically created arteriovenous fistula. Since then, the number of patients on chronic hemodialysis and the number of publications dealing with hemodialysis access have steadily increased. We have chronicled the increase in publications in the medical literature dealing with hemodialysis access by evaluating the characteristics of the 50 most cited articles. Methods We queried the Science Citation Index from the years 1960-2014. Articles were selected based on a subject search and were ranked according to the number of times they were cited in the medical literature. Results The 50 most frequently cited articles were selected for further analysis and the number of annual publications was tracked. The landmark publication by Dr Brescia et al. was unequivocally the most cited article dealing with hemodialysis access (1109 citations). The subject matter of the papers included AV fistula and graft (9), hemodialysis catheter (9), complications and outcomes (24), and other topics (8). Most articles were published in nephrology journals (33), with fewer in surgery (7), medicine (7), and radiology (3) journals. Of the 17 journals represented, Kidney International was the clear leader, publishing 18 articles. There has been an exponential rise in the frequency of publications regarding dialysis access with 42 of 50 analyzed papers being authored after 1990. Conclusion As the number of patients on hemodialysis has increased dramatically over the past five decades, there has been a commensurate increase in the overall number of publications related to hemodialysis access.

An IoT-Based Gamified Approach for Reducing Occupants’ Energy Wastage in Public Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitriou, Nikos; Vasilakis, Kostas; Schoofs, Anthony; Nikiforakis, Manolis; Pursche, Fabian; Deliyski, Nikolay; Taha, Amr; Kotsopoulos, Dimosthenis; Bardaki, Cleopatra; Kotsilitis, Sarantis; Garbi, Anastasia

2018-01-01

Conserving energy amenable to the activities of occupants in public buildings is a particularly challenging objective that includes associating energy consumption to particular individuals and providing them with incentives to alter their behavior. This paper describes a gamification framework that aims to facilitate achieving greater energy conservation in public buildings. The framework leverages IoT-enabled low-cost devices, to improve energy disaggregation mechanisms that provide energy use and—consequently—wastage information at the device, area and end-user level. The identified wastages are concurrently targeted by a gamified application that motivates respective behavioral changes combining team competition, virtual rewards and life simulation. Our solution is being developed iteratively with the end-users’ engagement during the analysis, design, development and validation phases in public buildings located in three different countries: Luxembourg (Musée National d’Histoire et d’Art), Spain (EcoUrbanBuilding, Institut Català d’Energia headquarters, Barcelona) and Greece (General Secretariat of the Municipality of Athens). PMID:29439414

An IoT-Based Gamified Approach for Reducing Occupants' Energy Wastage in Public Buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Papaioannou, Thanasis G; Dimitriou, Nikos; Vasilakis, Kostas; Schoofs, Anthony; Nikiforakis, Manolis; Pursche, Fabian; Deliyski, Nikolay; Taha, Amr; Kotsopoulos, Dimosthenis; Bardaki, Cleopatra; Kotsilitis, Sarantis; Garbi, Anastasia

2018-02-10

Conserving energy amenable to the activities of occupants in public buildings is a particularly challenging objective that includes associating energy consumption to particular individuals and providing them with incentives to alter their behavior. This paper describes a gamification framework that aims to facilitate achieving greater energy conservation in public buildings. The framework leverages IoT-enabled low-cost devices, to improve energy disaggregation mechanisms that provide energy use and-consequently-wastage information at the device, area and end-user level. The identified wastages are concurrently targeted by a gamified application that motivates respective behavioral changes combining team competition, virtual rewards and life simulation. Our solution is being developed iteratively with the end-users' engagement during the analysis, design, development and validation phases in public buildings located in three different countries: Luxembourg (Musée National d'Histoire et d'Art), Spain (EcoUrbanBuilding, Institut Català d'Energia headquarters, Barcelona) and Greece (General Secretariat of the Municipality of Athens).

The Efficiency and Public Transport Accessibility of Indirect State Administration in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vrabková Iveta

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the efficiency and public transport accessibility of indirect (devolved state administration performed by municipalities with extended powers (hereinafter MEPs in the Czech Republic. Our aim is to evaluate the efficiency of the revenues made by municipalities with extended powers, through performing powers delegated to them by the state administration, and those municipalities’ public transport accessibility as of 31 December, 2014. The rate of efficiency is tested on an output-oriented Free Disposable Hull model. One input variable is selected - the operating expenses of the municipal offices recalculated per inhabitant of the municipality’s administrative district - and two output variables are selected: contribution to the performance of state administration, recalculated per inhabitant of the municipality’s administrative district, and revenues from administrative fees per inhabitant of the municipality’s administrative district. The municipality’s offices’ transport accessibility is evaluated via network analysis using ArcGIS software. The article investigates the hypothesis that public administration deconcentration practices logically result in higher security costs and therefore inefficiency. The results reveal that only 66 of the country’s 205 MEPs are efficient and that operating expenses and state contributions for the performance of state administrative tasks play a significant role in these results. Efficiency is less significantly influenced by administrative fee revenues. Public transport accessibility is analyzed for two time intervals - 6:00 to 8:00 am and 1:00 to 2:00 pm - on Tuesdays. The degree of accessibility is defined using a six-point scale of accessibility. The results show that the best accessibility is in the morning hours, when the offices are accessible for 68.8% of the population aged 15+ in the Czech Republic; the worst accessibility is in the afternoon hours when only 2% of the

Retracted Publications in the Biomedical Literature from Open Access Journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tao; Xing, Qin-Rui; Wang, Hui; Chen, Wei

2018-03-07

The number of articles published in open access journals (OAJs) has increased dramatically in recent years. Simultaneously, the quality of publications in these journals has been called into question. Few studies have explored the retraction rate from OAJs. The purpose of the current study was to determine the reasons for retractions of articles from OAJs in biomedical research. The Medline database was searched through PubMed to identify retracted publications in OAJs. The journals were identified by the Directory of Open Access Journals. Data were extracted from each retracted article, including the time from publication to retraction, causes, journal impact factor, and country of origin. Trends in the characteristics related to retraction were determined. Data from 621 retracted studies were included in the analysis. The number and rate of retractions have increased since 2010. The most common reasons for retraction are errors (148), plagiarism (142), duplicate publication (101), fraud/suspected fraud (98) and invalid peer review (93). The number of retracted articles from OAJs has been steadily increasing. Misconduct was the primary reason for retraction. The majority of retracted articles were from journals with low impact factors and authored by researchers from China, India, Iran, and the USA.

Radon concentrations inside public and commercial buildings in the Pittsburgh area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cohen, B L; Kulwicki, D R; Warner, Jr, K R; Grassi, C L

1984-09-01

Radon concentrations in ambient air from numerous schools, stores and other public and commercial buildings in the Pittsburgh, PA, area were measured by grab sampling. This is more appropriate than using long-term integrating monitors because of the correlation between times of occupancy and Rn levels. Results indicate that Rn concentrations in these buildings are nearly an order of magnitude less than in homes, and not much higher than outdoors. Variations among sites is also much less than for homes, probably because there is less variability in ventilation and building maintenance practices. Colleges and universities have somewhat higher Rn levels and a larger degree of variability than commercial buildings or hospitals. There was no indication of higher Rn levels in cold weather than in warm weather, or of correlations with the age of the building.

Radon concentrations inside public and commercial buildings in the Pittsburgh area.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, B L; Kulwicki, D R; Warner, K R; Grassi, C L

1984-09-01

Radon concentrations in ambient air from numerous schools, stores and other public and commercial buildings in the Pittsburgh, PA, area were measured by grab sampling. This is more appropriate than using long-term integrating monitors because of the correlation between times of occupancy and Rn levels. Results indicate that Rn concentrations in these buildings are nearly an order of magnitude less than in homes, and not much higher than outdoors. Variations among sites is also much less than for homes, probably because there is less variability in ventilation and building maintenance practices. Colleges and universities have somewhat higher Rn levels and a larger degree of variability than commercial buildings or hospitals. There was no indication of higher Rn levels in cold weather than in warm weather, or of correlations with the age of the building.

The radon problem in schools and public buildings in Belgium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poffijn, A.; Uyttenhove, J.; Tondeur, F.

1992-01-01

Owing to differences in geology, radon in Belgium is recognised to be a more serious problem in the southern part of the country than in the northern part. From national and regional surveys, it became clear that in the province of Luxembourg indoor radon concentrations exceeding the European reference level of 400 Bq.m -3 frequently occur. As many people (children as well as adults) spend an important part of the day indoors at school or at work, it was decided by the local authorities to conduct a more systematic survey. In all schools and public buildings, measurements with integrating etched track devices have been performed. The results of these campaigns are discussed and a limiting scheme for radon in schools and public buildings, based mainly upon the existing Belgian regulations for protecting against ionising radiation is presented. (author)

Public Libraries and Internet Access across the United States: A Comparison by State 2004–2006

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul T. Jaeger

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Drawing upon findings from a national survey of U.S. public libraries, this paper examines trends in Internet and public computing access in public libraries across states from 2004 to 2006. Based on library-supplied information about levels and types of Internet and public computing access, the authors offer insights into the network-based content and services that public libraries provide. Examining data from 2004 to 2006 reveals trends and accomplishments in certain states and geographic regions. This paper details and discusses the data, identifies and analyzes issues related to Internet access, and suggests areas for future research.

Investigating the Social and Economic Impact of Public Access to ...

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

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in a number of public access to information and communication technology (ICT) ... University of Washington ... It is now generally accepted that affordable, effective telecommunication ...

Improving Information Access through Technology: A Plan for Louisiana's Public Libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaques, Thomas F.

Strengthening technology in Louisiana's public libraries will support equitable and convenient access to electronic information resources for all citizens at library sites, in homes, and in business. The plan presented in this document is intended to enhance and expand technology in the state's public libraries. After discussion of the crucial…

Building Sustainable Capacity for Cardiovascular Care at a Public Hospital in Western Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Binanay, Cynthia A; Akwanalo, Constantine O; Aruasa, Wilson; Barasa, Felix A; Corey, G Ralph; Crowe, Susie; Esamai, Fabian; Einterz, Robert; Foster, Michael C; Gardner, Adrian; Kibosia, John; Kimaiyo, Sylvester; Koech, Myra; Korir, Belinda; Lawrence, John E; Lukas, Stephanie; Manji, Imran; Maritim, Peris; Ogaro, Francis; Park, Peter; Pastakia, Sonak D; Sugut, Wilson; Vedanthan, Rajesh; Yanoh, Reuben; Velazquez, Eric J; Bloomfield, Gerald S

2015-12-08

Cardiovascular disease deaths are increasing in low- and middle-income countries and are exacerbated by health care systems that are ill-equipped to manage chronic diseases. Global health partnerships, which have stemmed the tide of infectious diseases in low- and middle-income countries, can be similarly applied to address cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we present the experiences of an academic partnership between North American and Kenyan medical centers to improve cardiovascular health in a national public referral hospital. We highlight our stepwise approach to developing sustainable cardiovascular services using the health system strengthening World Health Organization Framework for Action. The building blocks of this framework (leadership and governance, health workforce, health service delivery, health financing, access to essential medicines, and health information system) guided our comprehensive and sustainable approach to delivering subspecialty care in a resource-limited setting. Our experiences may guide the development of similar collaborations in other settings. Copyright © 2015 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Average opportunity-based accessibility of public transit systems to grocery stores in small urban areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nimish Dharmadhikari

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This research studies the accessibility of grocery stores to university students using the public transportation system, drawing from a case study of Fargo, North Dakota. Taking into consideration the combined travel time components of walking, riding, and waiting, this study measures two types of accessibilities: accessibility to reach a particular place and accessibility to reach the bus stop to ride the public transit system. These two accessibilities are interdependent and cannot perform without each other. A new method to calculate the average accessibility measure for the transit routes is proposed. A step-wise case study analysis indicates that one route provides accessibility to a grocery store in eight minutes. This also suggests that the North Dakota State University area has moderate accessibility to grocery stores.

Individual public transportation accessibility is positively associated with self-reported active commuting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Djurhuus, Sune; Hansen, Henning Sten; Aadahl, Mette

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: Active commuters have lower risk of chronic disease. Understanding which of the, to some extent, modifiable characteristics of public transportation that facilitate its use is thus important in a public health perspective. The aim of the study was to examine the association between...... individual public transportation accessibility and self-reported active commuting, and whether the associations varied with commute distance, age, and gender. METHODS: Twenty-eight thousand nine hundred twenty-eight commuters in The Capital Region of Denmark reported self-reported time spent either walking...... or cycling to work or study each day and the distance to work or study. Data were obtained from the Danish National Health Survey collected in February to April 2010. Individual accessibility by public transportation was calculated using a multi-modal network in a GIS. Multilevel logistic regression was used...

Access to medication in the Public Health System and equity: populational health surveys in São Paulo, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Monteiro, Camila Nascimento; Gianini, Reinaldo José; Barros, Marilisa Berti de Azevedo; Cesar, Chester Luiz Galvão; Goldbaum, Moisés

2016-03-01

Since 2003, the access to medication has been increasing in Brazil and particularly in São Paulo. The present study aimed to analyze the access to medication obtained in the public sector and the socioeconomic differences in this access in 2003 and 2008. Also, we explored the difference in access to medication from 2003 to 2008. Data were obtained from two cross-sectional population-based household surveys from São Paulo, Brazil (ISA-Capital 2003 and ISA-Capital 2008). Concentration curve and concentration index were calculated to analyze the associations between socioeconomic factors and access to medication in the public sector. Additionally, the differences between 2003 and 2008 regarding socioeconomic characteristics and access to medication were studied. Access to medication was 89.55% in 2003 and 92.99% in 2008, and the proportion of access to medication did not change in the period. Access in the public sector increased from 26.40% in 2003 to 48.55% in 2008 and there was a decrease in the concentration index between 2003 and 2008 in access to medication in the public sector. The findings indicate an expansion of Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde ) users, with the inclusion of people of higher socioeconomic position in the public sector. As the SUS gives more support to people of lower socioeconomic position in terms of medication provision, the SUS tends to equity. Nevertheless, universal coverage for medication and equity in access to medication in the public sector are still challenges for the Brazilian public health system.

National public health law: a role for WHO in capacity-building and promoting transparency.

Science.gov (United States)

Marks-Sultan, Géraldine; Tsai, Feng-Jen; Anderson, Evan; Kastler, Florian; Sprumont, Dominique; Burris, Scott

2016-07-01

A robust health infrastructure in every country is the most effective long-term preparedness strategy for global health emergencies. This includes not only health systems and their human resources, but also countries' legal infrastructure for health: the laws and policies that empower, obligate and sometimes limit government and private action. The law is also an important tool in health promotion and protection. Public health professionals play important roles in health law - from the development of policies, through their enforcement, to the scientific evaluation of the health impact of laws. Member States are already mandated to communicate their national health laws and regulations to the World Health Organization (WHO). In this paper we propose that WHO has the authority and credibility to support capacity-building in the area of health law within Member States, and to make national laws easier to access, understand, monitor and evaluate. We believe a strong case can be made to donors for the funding of a public health law centre or unit, that has adequate staffing, is robustly networked with its regional counterparts and is integrated into the main work of WHO. The mission of the unit or centre would be to define and integrate scientific and legal expertise in public health law, both technical and programmatic, across the work of WHO, and to conduct and facilitate global health policy surveillance.

National public health law: a role for WHO in capacity-building and promoting transparency

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Feng-jen; Anderson, Evan; Kastler, Florian; Sprumont,, Dominique; Burris, Scott

2016-01-01

Abstract A robust health infrastructure in every country is the most effective long-term preparedness strategy for global health emergencies. This includes not only health systems and their human resources, but also countries’ legal infrastructure for health: the laws and policies that empower, obligate and sometimes limit government and private action. The law is also an important tool in health promotion and protection. Public health professionals play important roles in health law – from the development of policies, through their enforcement, to the scientific evaluation of the health impact of laws. Member States are already mandated to communicate their national health laws and regulations to the World Health Organization (WHO). In this paper we propose that WHO has the authority and credibility to support capacity-building in the area of health law within Member States, and to make national laws easier to access, understand, monitor and evaluate. We believe a strong case can be made to donors for the funding of a public health law centre or unit, that has adequate staffing, is robustly networked with its regional counterparts and is integrated into the main work of WHO. The mission of the unit or centre would be to define and integrate scientific and legal expertise in public health law, both technical and programmatic, across the work of WHO, and to conduct and facilitate global health policy surveillance. PMID:27429492

40 CFR 1400.3 - Public access to paper copies of off-site consequence analysis information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...-site consequence analysis information. 1400.3 Section 1400.3 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... PROGRAMS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT SECTION 112(r)(7); DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION Public Access § 1400.3 Public access to...

Designing User Manuals for the Online Public Access Catalog.

Science.gov (United States)

Seiden, Peggy; Sullivan, Patricia

1986-01-01

Describes the process of developing and revising a brochure to guide library patrons in conducting an author search on an online public access catalog in order to demonstrate the application of four steps in production of a functional document--analysis; planning; development; evaluation, testing, and revision. Three sources are given. (EJS)

Urban ecology and sustainable building in a Danish era of public de-regulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten

, to which extent the changes should be seen as a result of respectively the right-wing government, or international trends in environmental management and public regulation – as characterised by the concepts of “Ecological Modernisation” and “New Public Management”. The recent development in the sector......The article describes the changed conditions for sustainable building in Denmark in the last decade and describes the different actors and there relations during this period. It also discusses to what extent the new right-wing government, which came to power in 2001, initiated these changes...... extent been based on public subsidies, and on grass-root activities. The new government however, has changed many of the previously state-supported conditions for sustainable building, and have escalated and narrowed a policy based on the principles of New Public Management. The discussions will include...

User Problems with Access to Fictional Characters and Personal Names in Online Public Access Catalogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Yee, Martha M.; Soto, Raymond

1991-01-01

Describes a survey of reference librarians in libraries with online public access catalogs that was conducted to determine what types of searches patrons would use to look for names of fictional characters. Name, subject, and author indexes are discussed, and implications for cataloging using the MARC format are suggested. (10 references) (LRW)

Acceptance and Adoption of Open Access Publication (OAP) in University Libraries in South East Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Sambe, Manasseh Tyungu; Raphael, Gabriel Okplogidi

2015-01-01

This study examines the kinds of open access scholarly publication or information resources accepted and adopted by federal university libraries in South East Nigeria. The purpose was to determine the factors that affect open access scholarly publication or information resources acceptance and adoption in university libraries. The study adopted…

Public-private partnerships to build human capacity in low income countries: findings from the Pfizer program.

Science.gov (United States)

Vian, Taryn; Richards, Sarah C; McCoy, Kelly; Connelly, Patrick; Feeley, Frank

2007-03-02

The ability of health organizations in developing countries to expand access to quality services depends in large part on organizational and human capacity. Capacity building includes professional development of staff, as well as efforts to create working environments conducive to high levels of performance. The current study evaluated an approach to public-private partnership where corporate volunteers give technical assistance to improve organizational and staff performance. From 2003 to 2005, the Pfizer Global Health Fellows program sent 72 employees to work with organizations in 19 countries. This evaluation was designed to assess program impact. The researchers administered a survey to 60 Fellows and 48 Pfizer Supervisors. In addition, the team conducted over 100 interviews with partner organization staff and other key informants during site visits in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and India, the five countries where 60% of Fellows were placed. Over three-quarters of Fellowships appear to have imparted skills or enhanced operations of NGOs in HIV/AIDS and other health programs. Overall, 79% of Fellows reported meeting all or most technical assistance goals. Partner organization staff reported that the Fellows provided training to clinical and research personnel; strengthened laboratory, pharmacy, financial control, and human resource management systems; and helped expand Partner organization networks. Local staff also reported the Program changed their work habits and attitudes. The evaluation identified problems in defining goals of Fellowships and matching Organizations with Fellows. Capacity building success also appears related to size and sophistication of partner organization. Public expectations have grown regarding the role corporations should play in improving health systems in developing countries. Corporate philanthropy programs based on "donations" of personnel can help build the organizational and human capacity of frontline agencies

Regulating internet access in UK public libraries: legal compliance and ethical dilemmas

OpenAIRE

Muir, Adrienne; Spacey, Rachel; Cooke, Louise; Creaser, Claire

2016-01-01

Purpose – This paper aims to consider selected results from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded “Managing Access to the internet in Public Libraries” (MAIPLE) project, from 2012-2014. MAIPLE has explored the ways in which public library services manage use of the internet connections that they provide for the public. This included the how public library services balance their legal obligations and the needs of their communities in a public space and the ethical dilemmas tha...

Barriers and facilitators to public access defibrillation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Christopher M; Lim Choi Keung, Sarah N; Khan, Mohammed O; Arvanitis, Theodoros N; Fothergill, Rachael; Hartley-Sharpe, Christopher; Wilson, Mark H; Perkins, Gavin D

2017-10-01

Public access defibrillation initiatives make automated external defibrillators available to the public. This facilitates earlier defibrillation of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims and could save many lives. It is currently only used for a minority of cases. The aim of this systematic review was to identify barriers and facilitators to public access defibrillation. A comprehensive literature review was undertaken defining formal search terms for a systematic review of the literature in March 2017. Studies were included if they considered reasons affecting the likelihood of public access defibrillation and presented original data. An electronic search strategy was devised searching MEDLINE and EMBASE, supplemented by bibliography and related-article searches. Given the low-quality and observational nature of the majority of articles, a narrative review was performed. Sixty-four articles were identified in the initial literature search. An additional four unique articles were identified from the electronic search strategies. The following themes were identified related to public access defibrillation: knowledge and awareness; willingness to use; acquisition and maintenance; availability and accessibility; training issues; registration and regulation; medicolegal issues; emergency medical services dispatch-assisted use of automated external defibrillators; automated external defibrillator-locator systems; demographic factors; other behavioural factors. In conclusion, several barriers and facilitators to public access defibrillation deployment were identified. However, the evidence is of very low quality and there is not enough information to inform changes in practice. This is an area in urgent need of further high-quality research if public access defibrillation is to be increased and more lives saved. PROSPERO registration number CRD42016035543. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2017. For permissions

Exploring the interaction of activity limitations with context, systems, community and personal factors in accessing public health care services: A presentation of South African case studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Mji, Gubela; Braathen, Stine H; Vergunst, Richard; Scheffler, Elsje; Kritzinger, Janis; Mannan, Hasheem; Schneider, Marguerite; Swartz, Leslie; Visagie, Surona

2017-02-08

There are many factors that influence access to public health services, such as the context people live in, the existing health services, and personal, cultural and community factors. People with disabilities (activity limitations), through their experience of health services, may offer a particular understanding of the performance of the health services, thus exposing health system limitations more clearly than perhaps any other health service user. This article explores how activity limitations interact with factors related to context, systems, community and personal factors in accessing public health care services in South Africa. We present four case studies of people with disabilities from four low-resource diverse contexts in South Africa (rural, semi-rural, farming community and peri-urban) to highlight challenges of access to health services experienced by people with activity limitations in a variety of contexts. One case study of a person with disabilities was chosen from each study setting to build evidence using an intensive qualitative case study methodology to elucidate individual and household experiences of challenges experienced by people with activity limitations when attempting to access public health services. In-depth interviews were used to collect data, using an interview guide. The analysis was conducted in the form of a thematic analysis using the interview topics as a starting point. First, these four case studies demonstrate that equitable access to health services for people with activity limitations is influenced by a complex interplay of a variety of factors for a single individual in a particular context. Secondly, that while problems with access to public health services are experienced by everyone, people with activity limitations are affected in particular ways making them particularly vulnerable in using public health services. The revitalisation of primary health care and the introduction of national health

EPA's Public Access Website Children’s Privacy and Copyright Issues

Science.gov (United States)

This document establishes the policy for protecting the privacy of children on EPA’s Public Access Web site. It concerns the collection, both online and off, of information from ages 13 and under, and the display of Personally Identifying Information (PII)

Comparison and Evaluation of End-User Interfaces for Online Public Access Catalogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Zumer, Maja

End-user interfaces for the online public access catalogs (OPACs) of OhioLINK, a system linking major university and research libraries in Ohio, and its 16 member libraries, accessible through the Internet, are compared and evaluated from the user-oriented perspective. A common, systematic framework was used for the scientific observation of the…

Compliance with smoke-free legislation within public buildings: a cross-sectional study in Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Navas-Acien, Ana; Çarkoğlu, Asli; Ergör, Gül; Hayran, Mutlu; Ergüder, Toker; Kaplan, Bekir; Susan, Jolie; Magid, Hoda; Pollak, Jonathan; Cohen, Joanna E

2016-02-01

To investigate public compliance with legislation to prohibit smoking within public buildings and the extent of tobacco smoking in outdoor areas in Turkey. Using a standardized observation protocol, we determined whether smoking occurred and whether ashtrays, cigarette butts and/or no-smoking signs were present in a random selection of 884 public venues in 12 cities in Turkey. We visited indoor and outdoor locations in bars/nightclubs, cafes, government buildings, hospitals, restaurants, schools, shopping malls, traditional coffee houses and universities. We used logistic regression models to determine the association between the presence of ashtrays or the absence of no-smoking signs and the presence of individuals smoking or cigarette butts. Most venues had no-smoking signs (629/884). We observed at least one person smoking in 145 venues, most frequently observed in bars/nightclubs (63/79), hospital dining areas (18/79), traditional coffee houses (27/120) and government-building dining areas (5/23). For 538 venues, we observed outdoor smoking close to public buildings. The presence of ashtrays was positively associated with indoor smoking and cigarette butts, adjusted odds ratio, aOR: 315.9; 95% confidence interval, CI: 174.9-570.8 and aOR: 165.4; 95% CI: 98.0-279.1, respectively. No-smoking signs were negatively associated with the presence of cigarette butts, aOR: 0.5; 95% CI: 0.3-0.8. Additional efforts are needed to improve the implementation of legislation prohibiting smoking in indoor public areas in Turkey, especially in areas in which we frequently observed people smoking. Possible interventions include removing all ashtrays from public places and increasing the number of no-smoking signs.

UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND ACCESSIBILITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN MASJID NEGARA, MALAYSIA

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Nangkula Utaberta

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Malaysia to become seeks to become a fully developed country by 2020. Among nine central challenges demonstrated in the body of the “Vision 2020” is “the challenge of establishing a fully caring society” (WAWASAN 2020. Along with developed societies overcoming such dysfunctional built environments has become under consideration in Malaysia as well to remove barriers and provide equal access of people with disabilities (PWDS to all public services. Notwithstanding practical steps taken, there are still dissatisfactions from the members of public toward public buildings which cause restriction in PWDS daily life. Previous studies has also raised claims against inaccessibility of mosque buildings as well.  In order to realization of a barrier-free built environment for a huge portion of Malaysia population, this research aimed to investigate accessibility and usability of Malaysian mosques for PWDS. Masjid Negara was selected for the purpose of this study. The most recent revision of available Malaysian Standard of MS 1184:2014, “Universal Design and Accessibility in the Built Environment - Code of Practice”, became the reference in this study. A comprehensive evaluation checklist was constructed for the purpose of a systematic observation including 162 checkpoints under 22 items of accessibility.

Building a middle-range theory of free public healthcare seeking in sub-Saharan Africa: a realist review.

Science.gov (United States)

Robert, Emilie; Samb, Oumar Mallé; Marchal, Bruno; Ridde, Valéry

2017-09-01

Realist reviews are a new form of knowledge synthesis aimed at providing middle-range theories (MRTs) that specify how interventions work, for which populations, and under what circumstances. This approach opens the 'black box' of an intervention by showing how it triggers mechanisms in specific contexts to produce outcomes. We conducted a realist review of health user fee exemption policies (UFEPs) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This article presents how we developed both the intervention theory (IT) of UFEPs and a MRT of free public healthcare seeking in SSA, building on Sen's capability approach. Over the course of this iterative process, we explored theoretical writings on healthcare access, services use, and healthcare seeking behaviour. We also analysed empirical studies on UFEPs and healthcare access in free care contexts. According to the IT, free care at the point of delivery is a resource allowing users to make choices about their use of public healthcare services, choices previously not generally available to them. Users' ability to choose to seek free care is influenced by structural, local, and individual conversion factors. We tested this IT on 69 empirical studies selected on the basis of their scientific rigor and relevance to the theory. From that analysis, we formulated a MRT on seeking free public healthcare in SSA. It highlights three key mechanisms in users' choice to seek free public healthcare: trust, risk awareness and acceptability. Contextual elements that influence both users' ability and choice to seek free care include: availability of and control over resources at the individual level; characteristics of users' and providers' communities at the local level; and health system organization, governance and policies at the structural level. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

City of San Antonio, Texas Better Buildings Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meyer, Liza C. [City of San Antonio, TX (United States); Hammer, Mary C. [City of San Antonio, TX (United States)

2014-06-30

The San Antonio Better Buildings Program is a unified single-point-of-service energy efficiency delivery mechanism targeting residential, commercial, institutional, industrial and public buildings. This comprehensive and replicable energy efficiency program is designed to be an effective demand side management initiative to provide a seamless process for program participants to have turn-key access to expert analysis, support and incentives to improve the performance of their in-place energy using systems, while reducing electrical energy use and demand.

Assessment of the accessibility legislation in Spain and its effective application

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Jesús Hernández-Galán

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The existence of legislation on accessibility does not always imply it is enforced effectively. This article aims to answer the following question: Is the existence of accessibility legislation enough to make physical environments truly accessible?This study assesses the current Spanish legislation as well as any existing voluntary regulations in the country. This assessment is done chronologically, so as to show the historical evolution of the accessibility regulations in Spain.In order to determine whether accessibility legislation has been truly effectively enforced, the issue is studied as it affects Spanish municipalities with respect to urban planning, public buildings, public transportation and websites. The conclusion of this study is that the existence of accessibility legislation per se is not enough to ensure its practical application, and ultimately, to render physical environments, products and services accessible to the majority of the population regardless of their functional capabilities.

48 CFR 504.602-71 - Federal Procurement Data System-Public access to data.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Government procurement to the public. (b) Fee for direct hook-up. To the extent that a member of the public... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Federal Procurement Data... Procurement Data System—Public access to data. (a) The FPDS database. The General Services Administration...

The Guatemala-Penn Partners: An Innovative Inter-Institutional Model for Scientific Capacity-Building, Healthcare Education, and Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Paniagua-Avila, Maria Alejandra; Messenger, Elizabeth; Nelson, Caroline A.; Calgua, Erwin; Barg, Frances K.; Bream, Kent W.; Compher, Charlene; Dean, Anthony J.; Martinez-Siekavizza, Sergio; Puac-Polanco, Victor; Richmond, Therese S.; Roth, Rudolf R.; Branas, Charles C.

2017-01-01

Population health outcomes are directly related to robust public health programs, access to basic health services, and a well-trained health-care workforce. Effective health services need to systematically identify solutions, scientifically test these solutions, and share generated knowledge. The World Health Organization (WHO)’s Global Healthcare Workforce Alliance states that the capacity to perform research is an essential factor for well-functioning public health systems. Low- and middle-income countries have greater health-care worker shortages and lower research capacity than higher-income countries. International global health partnerships between higher-income countries and low-middle-income countries aim to directly address such inequalities through capacity building, a process by which human and institutional resources are strengthened and developed, allowing them to perform high-level functions, solve complex problems, and achieve important objectives. The Guatemala–Penn Partners (GPP) is a collaboration among academic centers in Guatemala and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that echoes the vision of the WHO’s Global Healthcare Workforce Alliance. This article describes the historical development and present organization of the GPP according to its three guiding principles: university-to-university connections, dual autonomies with locally led capacity building, and mutually beneficial exchanges. It describes the GPP activities within the domains of science, health-care education, and public health, emphasizing implementation factors, such as sustainability and scalability, in relation to the guiding principles. Successes and limitations of this innovative model are also analyzed in the hope that the lessons learned may be applied to similar partnerships across the globe. PMID:28443274

Spatial accessibility to basic public health services in South Sudan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter M. Macharia

2017-05-01

Full Text Available At independence in 2011, South Sudan’s health sector was almost non-existent. The first national health strategic plan aimed to achieve an integrated health facility network that would mean that 70% of the population were within 5 km of a health service provider. Publically available data on functioning and closed health facilities, population distribution, road networks, land use and elevation were used to compute the fraction of the population within 1 hour walking distance of the nearest public health facility offering curative services. This metric was summarised for each of the 78 counties in South Sudan and compared with simpler metrics of the proportion of the population within 5 km of a health facility. In 2016, it is estimated that there were 1747 public health facilities, out of which 294 were non-functional in part due to the on-going civil conflict. Access to a service provider was poor with only 25.7% of the population living within one-hour walking time to a facility and 28.6% of the population within 5 km. These metrics, when applied sub-nationally, identified the same high priority, most vulnerable counties. Simple metrics based upon population distribution and location of facilities might be as valuable as more complex models of health access, where attribute data on travel routes are imperfect or incomplete and sparse. Disparities exist in South Sudan among counties and those with the poorest health access should be targeted for priority expansion of clinical services.

Theories, models and frameworks used in capacity building interventions relevant to public health: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergeron, Kim; Abdi, Samiya; DeCorby, Kara; Mensah, Gloria; Rempel, Benjamin; Manson, Heather

2017-11-28

There is limited research on capacity building interventions that include theoretical foundations. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify underlying theories, models and frameworks used to support capacity building interventions relevant to public health practice. The aim is to inform and improve capacity building practices and services offered by public health organizations. Four search strategies were used: 1) electronic database searching; 2) reference lists of included papers; 3) key informant consultation; and 4) grey literature searching. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are outlined with included papers focusing on capacity building, learning plans, professional development plans in combination with tools, resources, processes, procedures, steps, model, framework, guideline, described in a public health or healthcare setting, or non-government, government, or community organizations as they relate to healthcare, and explicitly or implicitly mention a theory, model and/or framework that grounds the type of capacity building approach developed. Quality assessment were performed on all included articles. Data analysis included a process for synthesizing, analyzing and presenting descriptive summaries, categorizing theoretical foundations according to which theory, model and/or framework was used and whether or not the theory, model or framework was implied or explicitly identified. Nineteen articles were included in this review. A total of 28 theories, models and frameworks were identified. Of this number, two theories (Diffusion of Innovations and Transformational Learning), two models (Ecological and Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation) and one framework (Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning) were identified as the most frequently cited. This review identifies specific theories, models and frameworks to support capacity building interventions relevant to public health organizations. It provides public health practitioners

The AAS Working Group on Accessibility and Disability (WGAD) Year 1 Highlights and Database Access

Science.gov (United States)

Knierman, Karen A.; Diaz Merced, Wanda; Aarnio, Alicia; Garcia, Beatriz; Monkiewicz, Jacqueline A.; Murphy, Nicholas Arnold

2017-06-01

The AAS Working Group on Accessibility and Disability (WGAD) was formed in January of 2016 with the express purpose of seeking equity of opportunity and building inclusive practices for disabled astronomers at all educational and career stages. In this presentation, we will provide a summary of current activities, focusing on developing best practices for accessibility with respect to astronomical databases, publications, and meetings. Due to the reliance of space sciences on databases, it is important to have user centered design systems for data retrieval. The cognitive overload that may be experienced by users of current databases may be mitigated by use of multi-modal interfaces such as xSonify. Such interfaces would be in parallel or outside the original database and would not require additional software efforts from the original database. WGAD is partnering with the IAU Commission C1 WG Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion to develop such accessibility tools for databases and methods for user testing. To collect data on astronomical conference and meeting accessibility considerations, WGAD solicited feedback from January AAS attendees via a web form. These data, together with upcoming input from the community and analysis of accessibility documents of similar conferences, will be used to create a meeting accessibility document. Additionally, we will update the progress of journal access guidelines and our social media presence via Twitter. We recommend that astronomical journals form committees to evaluate the accessibility of their publications by performing user-centered usability studies.

Comparative Analysis of Disabled Accessibility Needs of Heritage Building in Perak

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Zahari Nurul Fadzila

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Tourism sector was the sixth highest national income provider to the Malaysian economy in 2014. In order to replenish Malaysian economy through tourism, the Malaysian government has to diversify the present tourism products and offers a wide variety of tourism packages. This has mentioned in the National Key Results Area (NKRA development platform highlighted in the 10th Malaysian Plan. Therefore, the tourism sector needs to continuously re-engineer and adapt its business model to suit every customer’s needs and demands, including disabled people. At the moment, one of the highest tourist attraction contributors in Malaysia is the heritage building sector. The heritage building sector in Malaysia becomes popular due to its diverse historical background and culture. It attracts local and international tourists to visit. However, the lack of facilities provided especially for the disable people has hindered its future prospects to become globally popular. The national heritage should be viewed, explored and enjoyed by everybody without discriminating anyone. Insufficient of provision for disable facilities in heritage act has caused barrier to the disable people to enjoy and visit the heritage sites. The objective of this research is to analyze the comparative data that been retrieved in the field of selected case study. It will be carried out by visiting the selected case study, observation and documentary analysis. This research aims to do a comparative analysis of Disabled Accessibility needs of Heritage Building in Perak. The findings of this research will alert the needs of disabled in visiting the heritage building and documented for future research.

FHWA Research and Technology Evaluation: Public-Private Partnership Capacity Building Program

Science.gov (United States)

2018-02-01

This report details the evaluation of the Federal Highway Administrations Office of Innovative Program Delivery Public-Private Partnership (P3) Capacity Building Program (P3 Program). The evaluators focused on the P3 Programs P3 Toolkit as an e...

Building Resilience in Public Organizations: The Role of Waste and Bricolage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S.G.J. Van de Walle (Steven)

2014-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ This paper shows how organizational waste and processes of bricolage have an important role in the functioning of public organizations, and how this is essential to innovation, organisational resilience and survival. This paper largely builds on the work of

Accountability for Public Expenditure under "Building Schools for the Future"

Science.gov (United States)

Shaoul, Jean; Stafford, Anne; Stapleton, Pamela

2010-01-01

This paper examines the disclosure and reporting of expenditure under the UK government's "Building Schools for the Future" programme. The study finds that there is little detailed and useful financial reporting, and the public's right to know under Freedom of Information Act 2000 is very limited. The lack of such information makes it…

Public Perception of Quality and Support for Required Access to Drinking Water in Schools and Parks.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Michael W; Gortmaker, Steven L; Patel, Anisha I; Onufrak, Stephen J; Wilking, Cara L; Cradock, Angie L

2018-01-01

We assessed public support for required water access in schools and parks and perceived safety and taste of water in these settings to inform efforts to increase access to and consumption of tap water. Cross-sectional survey of the US public collected from August to November 2011. Random digit-dialed telephone survey. Participants (n = 1218) aged 17 and older from 1055 US counties in 46 states. Perceived safety and taste of water in schools and parks as well as support for required access to water in these settings. Survey-adjusted perceived safety and taste as well as support for required access were estimated. There was broad support for required access to water throughout the day in schools (96%) and parks (89%). Few participants believed water was unsafe in schools (10%) or parks (18%). This study provides evidence of public support for efforts to increase access to drinking water in schools and parks and documents overall high levels of perceived taste and safety of water provided in these settings.

Open access for operational research publications from low- and middle-income countries: who pays?

Science.gov (United States)

Zachariah, R; Kumar, A M V; Reid, A J; Van den Bergh, R; Isaakidis, P; Draguez, B; Delaunois, P; Nagaraja, S B; Ramsay, A; Reeder, J C; Denisiuk, O; Ali, E; Khogali, M; Hinderaker, S G; Kosgei, R J; van Griensven, J; Quaglio, G L; Maher, D; Billo, N E; Terry, R F; Harries, A D

2014-09-21

Open-access journal publications aim to ensure that new knowledge is widely disseminated and made freely accessible in a timely manner so that it can be used to improve people's health, particularly those in low- and middle-income countries. In this paper, we briefly explain the differences between closed- and open-access journals, including the evolving idea of the 'open-access spectrum'. We highlight the potential benefits of supporting open access for operational research, and discuss the conundrum and ways forward as regards who pays for open access.

Deregulation of the Building Code and the Norwegian Approach to Regulation of Accessibility in the Built Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyngstad, Pål

2016-01-01

Deregulation is on the political agenda in the European countries. The Norwegian building code related to universal design and accessibility is challenged. To meet this, the Norwegian Building Authority have chosen to examine established truths and are basing their revised code on scientific research and field tests. But will this knowledge-based deregulation comply within the framework of the anti-discrimination act and, and if not: who suffers and to what extent?

Opportunities of energy saving in lighting systems for public buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayman Abd El-khalek

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The lighting system provides many options for cost-effective energy saving with low or no inconvenience. Lighting improvements are excellent investments in most public buildings, it is usually cost-effective to address because lighting improvements are often easier to make than many process upgrades.For public buildings, the easy no and low cost options to help save money and improve the energy performance are:Understand energy use.Identify optionsPrioritize actionsMake the changes and measure the savings.Continue managing energy efficiency.The challenge is to retrofit traditional lamps with LED lamps of good quality. The benefits of LED light bulbs are long-lasting, durable, cool, mercury free, more efficient, and cost effective.The light Emitting Diode (LED bulb uses a semiconductor as its light source, and is currently one of the most energy efficient and quickly developing types of bulbs for lighting. LEDs increasingly are being purchased to replace traditional bulbs. LEDs are relatively more expensive than other types of bulbs, but are very cost-effective because they use only a fraction of electricity of traditional lighting methods nd can last for longer.Benchmarking guides decision makers to policies aimed at the energy sector through better understanding of energy consumption trends nationwide, e.g.: energy price, moderating, peak demand, and encouraging sectors, low energy expansions.The “Improving Energy Efficiency Project of Lighting and Appliances” carried out energy audits and implemented opportunities of energy saving in lighting for different type of public buildings.To rationalize the use of energy by giving guidelines to consumers, the IEEL&A project prepared some brochures.This paper leads with the results of case studies as energy audits, opportunities in lighting systems, energy saving and CO2 reduction.

Publications | Page 417 | IDRC - International Development ...

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

Results 4161 - 4170 of 6384 ... IDRC works with developing-country researchers and institutions to build local capacity through funding, knowledge sharing, and training. Through books, articles, research publications, and studies, we aim to widen the ... What kinds of organisations may NRENs serve? (restricted access) ...

The right of public access to legal information : A proposal for its universal recognition as a human right

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mitee, Leesi Ebenezer

2017-01-01

Abstract: This Article examines the desirability of the universal recognition of the right of public access to legal information as a human right and therefore as part of a legal framework for improving national and global access to legal information. It discusses the right of public access to legal

Building partnership to improve migrants’ access to healthcare in Mumbai

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nilesh Chandrakant Gawde

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Objectives: An intervention to improve migrants’ access to healthcare was piloted in Mumbai with purpose of informing health policy and planning. This paper aims to describe the process of building partnership for improving migrants’ access to healthcare of the pilot intervention including the role played by different stakeholders and the contextual factors affecting the intervention. Methods: The process evaluation was based upon Baranowski and Stables’ framework. their Observations in community and conversations with stakeholders as recorded in daily diaries, minutes of pre-intervention workshops and stakeholder meetings served as data sources. Data were coded using the framework and descriptive summaries of evaluation components were prepared.Results: Recruitment of stakeholders was easier than sustaining their interest. Community representatives led the intervention assisted by government officials. They planned community level interventions to improve access to healthcare which involved predominantly information, education and communication activities for which pre-existing formal and informal social networks and community events were used. Although the intervention reached migrants living with families, single male migrants neither participated nor did the intervention reach them consistently. Contextual factors such as culture differences between migrants and native population and illegality in the nature of the settlement resulting in the exclusion from services were the barriers. Conclusion: Inclusive multi-stakeholder partnership including migrants themselves and using both formal and informal networks in community is a feasible strategy for health education and has potential to improve the migrants’ access to healthcare. However, there are challenges to the partnership process and new strategies to overcome these challenges need to be tested such as peer-led models for involvement of single male migrants. For sustaining such

Building Partnership to Improve Migrants' Access to Healthcare in Mumbai.

Science.gov (United States)

Gawde, Nilesh Chandrakant; Sivakami, Muthusamy; Babu, Bontha V

2015-01-01

An intervention to improve migrants' access to healthcare was piloted in Mumbai with purpose of informing health policy and planning. This paper aims to describe the process of building partnership for improving migrants' access to healthcare of the pilot intervention, including the role played by different stakeholders and the contextual factors affecting the intervention. The process evaluation was based on Baranowski and Stables' framework. Observations in community and conversations with stakeholders as recorded in daily diaries, minutes of pre-intervention workshops, and stakeholder meetings served as data sources. Data were coded using the framework and descriptive summaries of evaluation components were prepared. Recruitment of stakeholders was easier than sustaining their interest. Community representatives led the intervention assisted by government officials. They planned community-level interventions to improve access to healthcare that involved predominantly information, education, and communication activities for which pre-existing formal and informal social networks and community events were used. Although the intervention reached migrants living with families, single male migrants neither participated nor did the intervention reach them consistently. Contextual factors such as culture differences between migrants and native population and illegality in the nature of the settlement, resulting in the exclusion from services, were the barriers. Inclusive multi-stakeholder partnership, including migrants themselves and using both formal and informal networks in community is a feasible strategy for health education and has potential to improve the migrants' access to healthcare. However, there are challenges to the partnership process and new strategies to overcome these challenges need to be tested such as peer-led models for involvement of single male migrants. For sustaining such efforts and mainstreaming migrants, addressing contextual factors and

State K-12 Broadband Leadership: Driving Connectivity and Access

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Christine; Jones, Rachel

2016-01-01

In this report, State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) builds upon the research and recommendations from prior publications with a focus on the role of state leadership in supporting districts and schools to increase high-speed connectivity and access for students and educators. SETDA firmly believes that high-speed broadband…

Design and Build: Views from some Major Public Clients in Hong Kong

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert P C Chan

2001-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the views of clients in public sector on design and build(D&B procurement method. Specifically, their reasons of adopting D&B and refusing to adopt it were explored. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with ten senior staff from four major public organisations in Hong Kong. The findings indicate that public clients held different views on D&B methods based on different grounds. Apart from functional requirements such as project completion time, cost certainty, etc., internal resources and political force would also influence client's adoption of D&B method in the public sector.

Remote Sensing Open Access Journal: Increasing Impact through Quality Publications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prasad S. Thenkabail

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Remote Sensing, an open access journal (http://www.mdpi.com/journal/remotesensing has grown at rapid pace since its first publication five years ago, and has acquired a strong reputation. It is a “pathfinder” being the first open access journal in remote sensing. For those academics who were used to waiting a year or two for their peer-reviewed scientific work to be reviewed, revised, edited, and published, Remote Sensing offers a publication time frame that is unheard of (in most cases, less than four months. However, we do this after multiple peer-reviews, multiple revisions, much editorial scrutiny and decision-making, and professional editing by an editorial office before a paper is published online in our tight time frame, bringing a paradigm shift in scientific publication. As a result, there has been a swift increase in submissions of higher and higher quality manuscripts from the best authors and institutes working on Remote Sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS, GIScience, and all related geospatial science and technologies from around the world. The purpose of this editorial is to update everyone interested in Remote Sensing on the progress made over the last year, and provide an outline of our vision for the immediate future. [...

Mobile Interfaces for Building Control Surveyors

OpenAIRE

Chmielewski , Jacek; Walczak , Krzysztof; Wiza , Wojciech

2010-01-01

International audience; The problem of integrating heterogeneous back-end platforms used in public administration has been widely addressed in a number of research and development projects. In such a complex and heterogeneous environment, application of the SOA paradigm can be particularly beneficial. However, in some application domains - such as the Building Control Administration - there is an additional requirement: integration of heterogeneous front-end platforms - including access throu...

Regulatory assessment of proposed accessibility guidelines for pedestrians in the public right-of-way

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-30

This report assesses the potential costs and benefits of proposed accessibility guidelines issued by the Access Board for pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way. The report also analyzes the potential impacts of the proposed guidelines on s...

Extending the Online Public Access Catalog into the Microcomputer Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutton, Brett

1990-01-01

Describes PCBIS, a database program for MS-DOS microcomputers that features a utility for automatically converting online public access catalog search results stored as text files into structured database files that can be searched, sorted, edited, and printed. Topics covered include the general features of the program, record structure, record…

Mental health leadership and patient access to care: a public-private initiative in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Szabo, Christopher Paul; Fine, Jennifer; Mayers, Pat; Naidoo, Shan; Zabow, Tuviah

2017-01-01

Mental health leadership is a critical component of patient access to care. More specifically, the ability of mental health professionals to articulate the needs of patients, formulate strategies and engage meaningfully at the appropriate level in pursuit of resources. This is not a skill set routinely taught to mental health professionals. A public-private mental health leadership initiative, emanating from a patient access to care programme, was developed with the aim of building leadership capacity within the South African public mental health sector. The express aim was to equip health care professionals with the requisite skills to more effectively advocate for their patients. The initiative involved participants from various sites within South Africa. Inclusion was based on the proposal of an ongoing "project", i.e. a clinician-initiated service development with a multidisciplinary focus. The projects were varied in nature but all involved identification of and a plan for addressing an aspect of the participants' daily professional work which negatively impacted on patient care due to unmet needs. Six such projects were included and involved 15 participants, comprising personnel from psychiatry, psychology, occupational therapy and nursing. Each project group was formally mentored as part of the initiative, with mentors being senior professionals with expertise in psychiatry, public health and nursing. The programme design thus provided a unique practical dimension in which skills and learnings were applied to the projects with numerous and diverse outcomes. Benefits were noted by participants but extended beyond the individuals to the health institutions in which they worked and the patients that they served. Participants acquired both the skills and the confidence which enabled them to sustain the changes that they themselves had initiated in their institutions. The initiative gave impetus to the inclusion of public mental health as part of the curriculum

The case for developing publicly-accessible datasets for health services research in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

El-Jardali Fadi

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The existence of publicly-accessible datasets comprised a significant opportunity for health services research to evolve into a science that supports health policy making and evaluation, proper inter- and intra-organizational decisions and optimal clinical interventions. This paper investigated the role of publicly-accessible datasets in the enhancement of health care systems in the developed world and highlighted the importance of their wide existence and use in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region. Discussion A search was conducted to explore the availability of publicly-accessible datasets in the MENA region. Although datasets were found in most countries in the region, those were limited in terms of their relevance, quality and public-accessibility. With rare exceptions, publicly-accessible datasets - as present in the developed world - were absent. Based on this, we proposed a gradual approach and a set of recommendations to promote the development and use of publicly-accessible datasets in the region. These recommendations target potential actions by governments, researchers, policy makers and international organizations. Summary We argue that the limited number of publicly-accessible datasets in the MENA region represents a lost opportunity for the evidence-based advancement of health systems in the region. The availability and use of publicly-accessible datasets would encourage policy makers in this region to base their decisions on solid representative data and not on estimates or small-scale studies; researchers would be able to exercise their expertise in a meaningful manner to both, policy makers and the public. The population of the MENA countries would exercise the right to benefit from locally- or regionally-based studies, versus imported and in 'best cases' customized ones. Furthermore, on a macro scale, the availability of regionally comparable publicly-accessible datasets would allow for the

Extent of moisture and mould damage in structures of public buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petri J. Annila

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The study concentrated on the extent of moisture and mould damage in different structures in 25 public buildings in Finland. Users of all the buildings had health symptoms suspected to be the result of moisture and mould damage, which is why moisture performance assessments had been performed. The assessment reports on each building were available as research material. The reports indicated that the examined buildings suffered from multiple moisture and mould problems in several different structures. On average, however, a relatively small proportion of the total number of structures had suffered damage. On the basis of the research material, damage was most extensive in walls in soil contact (16.3% and base floor structures (12.5%. The lowest damage rates were found in partition walls (2.4%, external walls (2.6% and intermediate floors (2.5%. The results of the study underline the importance of thorough moisture performance assessments to ensure that all point-sized moisture and mould damage is detected.

Presentation of the paper “Open access repositories as channel of publication scientific grey literature”

OpenAIRE

Ferreras Fernández, Tránsito; García-Peñalvo, Francisco José; Merlo Vega, José Antonio

2015-01-01

This is the presentation of the paper entitled “Open access repositories as channel of publication scientific grey literature” in the TEEM 2015 International Conference held in Porto (Portugal) in October 7-9, 2015. In this paper we describe how the open access repositories are valid channels for the publication of scientific grey literature. Technological development facilitates the communication of scientific knowledge, allowing expand distribution channels and significantly reducing tra...

More Than a Pretty Picture: Making WISE Data Accessible to the Public

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Nancy; Mendez, B.; Fricke, K.; Wright, E. L.; Eisenhardt, P. R.; Cutri, R. M.; Hurt, R.; WISE Team

2011-01-01

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has surveyed the sky in four bands of infrared light, creating a treasure trove of data. This data is of interest not only to the professional astronomical community, but also to educators, students and the general public. The Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) program for WISE is creating opportunities to make WISE data accessible to these audiences through the Internet as well as through teacher professional development programs. Shortly after WISE took its first light image in January 2010, images have been featured weekly on the WISE website. These images serve to engage the general public through "pretty pictures” that are accompanied by educational captions. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter are used to further engage the public with the images. For a more comprehensive view of WISE images, we are creating a guided tour of the infrared sky on the WorldWide Telescope. The public will be able to use the free WorldWide Telescope software to interact with WISE images and listen to narration that describes features of the Universe as seen in infrared light. We are also developing resources for teachers and students to access WISE data when in becomes public in 2011 to learn about astronomical imaging and to conduct authentic scientific investigations.

Computer self efficacy as correlate of on-line public access ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The use of Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) by students has a lot of advantages and computer self-efficacy is a factor that could determine its effective utilization. Little appears to be known about colleges of education students‟ use of OPAC, computer self-efficacy and the relationship between OPAC and computer ...

Improving energy sustainability for public buildings in Italian mountain communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Mutani, Guglielmina; Cornaglia, Mauro; Berto, Massimo

2018-05-01

The objective of this work is to analyze and then optimize thermal energy consumptions of public buildings located within the mountain community of Lanzo, Ceronda and Casternone Valleys. Some measures have been proposed to reduce energy consumption and consequently the economic cost for energy production, as well as the harmful GHG emissions in the atmosphere. Initially, a study of the mountain territory has been carried out, because of its vast extension and climatic differences. Defined the communities and the buildings under investigation, energy dependant data were collected for the analysis of energy consumption monitoring: consumption data of three heating seasons, geometric buildings characteristics, type of opaque and transparent envelope, heating systems information with boiler performance and climatic data. Afterward, five buildings with critical energy performances were selected; for each of these buildings, different retrofit interventions have been hypothesized to reduce the energy consumption, with thermal insulation of vertical or horizontal structures, new windows or boiler substitution. The cost-optimal technique was used to choose the interventions that offered higher energy performance at lower costs; then a retrofit scenario has been planned with a specific financial investment. Finally, results showed possible future developments and scenarios related to buildings energy efficiency with regard to the topic of biomass exploitation and its local availability in this area. In this context, the biomass energy resource could to create a virtuous environmental, economic and social process, favouring also local development.

APLIKASI ONLINE PUBLIC ACCESS CATALOQUE (OPAC BERBASIS ANDROID SEBAGAI SARANA TEMU KEMBALI INFORMASI DI PERPUSTAKAAN UNIVERSITAS PENDIDIKAN GANESHA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Putu Tika Parmawati

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengembangkan perangkat lunak aplikasi Online Public Access Cataloque (OPAC berbasis android. Jenis penelitian ini merupakan Research and Development (R & D dengan metode pengembangan menggunakan model prototyping. Pengembangan sistem informasi layanan audio visual berbasis video streaming dengan enam tahap, yaitu : 1 Tahap pengumpulan kebutuhan dan perbaikan, 2 Tahap perancangan desain cepat (desain awal, 3 Tahap membangun prototipe, 4 Tahap evaluasi prototype, 5 Tahap perbaikan prototype, dan 6 Tahap rekayasa produk. Penentuan tingkat kelayakan aplikasi Online Public Access Cataloque (OPAC berbasis android berdasarkan uji validasi ahli bidang teknologi informasi dan uji coba terbatas pada pengguna. Hasil uji coba sebagai berikut : 1 Pengembangan aplikasi Online Public Access Cataloque (OPAC berbasis android sudah sesuai dengan spesifikasi yang telah ditentukan sebagai aplikasi penelusuran informasi koleksi buku teks umum secara online melalui smartphone. 2 Indikator penilaian dari program ini adalah kebenaran atau ketepatan operasional sistem, ketegaran, keterluasan, keterpakaian ulang, efisiensi atau kinerja, portabilitas, integritas, modularitas, keterbacaan mendapat kualifikasi cukup baik, sedangkan verifikasi mendapat kualifikasi baik. 3 Secara umum dari hasil penilaian tersebut aplikasi OPAC berbasis android ini cukup layak untuk digunakan sebagai alternatif pelengkap pemberian layanan penelusuran informasi koleksi buku teks umum di Perpustakaan Undiksha. Kata Kunci: OPAC, android, dan temu kembali informasi Abstract Aim of this study to develop the software of Online Public Access Cataloque (OPAC based on android. Research and Development (R & D design was applied in this study which was developed through prototyping models. The software was constructed through six stages, namely: 1 needs analysis and repairment, 2 rapid design (preliminary design, 3 prototypes building, 4 prototype evaluation, 5

Difficulties in accessing and availing of public health care systems among rural population in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh

OpenAIRE

Geetha Lakshmi Sreerama; Sai Varun Matavalum; Paraiveedu Arumugam Chandresekharan; Veronica Thunga

2015-01-01

Context: Despite policies to make health care accessible to all, it is not universally accessible. Frequent evaluation of barriers to accessibility of health care services paves path for improvement. Hence, present study is undertaken to evaluate the factors and public health policies influencing health care access to rural people in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, which can be interpolated for other regions. Aims: To assess knowledge, perceptions, availing of public health care services, ...

Increasing Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa: Exploring Public-Private Models for Intervention

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bazilian, Morgan; Pless, Jacquelyn

2014-01-16

This report, by Morgan Bazilian and Jacquelyn Pless, examines ways that Energy+ could make a large impact in providing energy access to the poor, focusing on four promising models. While there remains a focus on a technology (PV), and a region (SSA) in this report, the models the authors explore are amenable to other specifications as well. Thus, the models presented provide an opportunity for stakeholders and the international community to collaborate and leverage capacities, resources, and networks. Of course, these models are only a few of the very wide range of possible mechanisms. They also are somewhat focused on engaging the private sector. The report does not provide a full context for the complex landscape of energy access and energy poverty. Rather, the paper is focused around the specifics of the interventions. It remains the case that the fundamental building blocks of capacity building, good governance and planning, and the ability to find funding for 'upfront' due diligence and analysis remain critical. Those items are, however, largely outside the scope of this short report.

Public-private partnerships to build human capacity in low income countries: findings from the Pfizer program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Connelly Patrick

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The ability of health organizations in developing countries to expand access to quality services depends in large part on organizational and human capacity. Capacity building includes professional development of staff, as well as efforts to create working environments conducive to high levels of performance. The current study evaluated an approach to public-private partnership where corporate volunteers give technical assistance to improve organizational and staff performance. From 2003 to 2005, the Pfizer Global Health Fellows program sent 72 employees to work with organizations in 19 countries. This evaluation was designed to assess program impact. Methods The researchers administered a survey to 60 Fellows and 48 Pfizer Supervisors. In addition, the team conducted over 100 interviews with partner organization staff and other key informants during site visits in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and India, the five countries where 60% of Fellows were placed. Results Over three-quarters of Fellowships appear to have imparted skills or enhanced operations of NGOs in HIV/AIDS and other health programs. Overall, 79% of Fellows reported meeting all or most technical assistance goals. Partner organization staff reported that the Fellows provided training to clinical and research personnel; strengthened laboratory, pharmacy, financial control, and human resource management systems; and helped expand Partner organization networks. Local staff also reported the Program changed their work habits and attitudes. The evaluation identified problems in defining goals of Fellowships and matching Organizations with Fellows. Capacity building success also appears related to size and sophistication of partner organization. Conclusion Public expectations have grown regarding the role corporations should play in improving health systems in developing countries. Corporate philanthropy programs based on "donations" of personnel can help build

Access to Medication Abortion Among California's Public University Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhyay, Ushma D; Cartwright, Alice F; Johns, Nicole E

2018-06-09

A proposed California law will require student health centers at public universities to provide medication abortion. To understand its potential impact, we sought to describe current travel time, costs, and wait times to access care at the nearest abortion facilities. We projected total medication abortion use based on campus enrollment figures and age- and state-adjusted abortion rates. We calculated distance and public transit time from campuses to the nearest abortion facility. We contacted existing abortion-providing facilities to determine costs, insurance acceptance, and wait times. We estimate 322 to 519 California public university students seek medication abortions each month. As many as 62% of students at these universities were more than 30 minutes from the closest abortion facility via public transportation. Average cost of medication abortion was $604, and average wait time to the first available appointment was one week. College students face cost, scheduling, and travel barriers to abortion care. Offering medication abortion on campus could reduce these barriers. Copyright © 2018 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is Low Profile Access Flooring and Why More Businesses Need It

OpenAIRE

NetfloorUSA

2017-01-01

Low profile access flooring is being commonly used in a variety of businesses today. To understand why more businesses, need this type of flooring, it is essential that we take the time to first understand what is low profile flooring actually is. What Is Low Profile Access Flooring A low profile access floor is a floor that is designed to sit above the original concrete slab flooring installed in any home, business, or public building. The higher floor height creates a space between ...

Accessibility of public services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poort, J.P.; Groot, I.; Kok, L.; de Graaf, D.; Hof, B.J.F.

2005-01-01

The accessibility of certain products and services to all people, irrespective of their income, age, health and geographical location is considered to be of great social importance. Think for instance of health care, education, electricity, and sanitation. Accessibility can be secured in a variety

Building credibility in public studies: Lessons learned from the Hanford environmental Dose Reconstruction project may apply to all public studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Till, J.E.

1995-01-01

This article describes the process by which the author came to recognize the importance of openness to the public in environmental studies, during the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project. Using the Dose reconstruction public involvement, the article goes on to describe a general guide to the construction of a new, positive framework for conducting future public studies. The steps include the following: putting the public in the study; building credibility into a public study (1 -search for proof in historical records; 2-define the domain and the exposed population; 3-characterize the material released; 4-identify key materials, pathways and receptors; 5-encouraging public participation; 6 -explaining the meaning of the results) and reconciling scientific and public issues

Building credibility in public studies: Lessons learned from the Hanford environmental Dose Reconstruction project may apply to all public studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Till, J.E. [Radiological Assessment Corp., Neeses, SC (United States)

1995-09-01

This article describes the process by which the author came to recognize the importance of openness to the public in environmental studies, during the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project. Using the Dose reconstruction public involvement, the article goes on to describe a general guide to the construction of a new, positive framework for conducting future public studies. The steps include the following: putting the public in the study; building credibility into a public study (1 -search for proof in historical records; 2-define the domain and the exposed population; 3-characterize the material released; 4-identify key materials, pathways and receptors; 5-encouraging public participation; 6 -explaining the meaning of the results) and reconciling scientific and public issues.

Towards a Methodology for the Design of Multimedia Public Access Interfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowley, Jennifer

1998-01-01

Discussion of information systems methodologies that can contribute to interface design for public access systems covers: the systems life cycle; advantages of adopting information systems methodologies; soft systems methodologies; task-oriented approaches to user interface design; holistic design, the Star model, and prototyping; the…

Government management and implementation of national real-time energy monitoring system for China large-scale public building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Na Wei; Wu Yong; Song Yan; Dong Zhongcheng

2009-01-01

The supervision of energy efficiency in government office buildings and large-scale public buildings (GOBLPB) is the main embodiment for government implementation of Public Administration in the fields of resource saving and environmental protection. It is significant for China government to achieve the target: reducing building energy consumption by 11 million ton standard coal before 2010. In the framework of a national demonstration project concerning the energy management system, Shenzhen Municipality has been selected for the implementation of the system. A data acquisition system and a methodology concerning the energy consumption of the GOBLPB have been developed. This paper summarizes the various features of the system incorporated into identifying the building consumes and energy saving potential. This paper also defines the methods to achieve the real-time monitoring and diagnosis: the meters installed at each building, the data transmitted through internet to a center server, the analysis and unification at the center server and the publication through web. Furthermore, this paper introduces the plans to implement the system and to extend countrywide. Finally, this paper presents some measurements to achieve a common benefit community in implementation of building energy efficiency supervisory system on GOBLPB in its construction, reconstruction or operation stages.

Venting krypton-85 from the Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burton, H.M.

1981-01-01

To permit the less restricted access to the reactor building necessary to maintain instrumentation and equipment, and to proceed towad the total decontamination of the facility, General Public Utilities, operators of the facility referred to hereafter as GPU, asked the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, for permission to remove the 85 Kr from the reactor building by venting it to the environment. GPU supported their request with the Safety Analysis and Environmental Assessment Report on the proposed reactor building venting plan. On June 12, 1980, after seven months of licensing deliberations and numerous public hearings, the NRC granted GPU's request. The actual venting took place between June 28 and July 11, 1980. This report presents an overview of the detailed effort involved in the TMI-2 reactor building venting program. The findings reported here are condensed from a published report entitled TMI-2 Reactor Building Purge--Kr-85 Venting

Professional Access 2013 programming

CERN Document Server

Hennig, Teresa; Hepworth, George; Yudovich, Dagi (Doug)

2013-01-01

Authoritative and comprehensive coverage for building Access 2013 Solutions Access, the most popular database system in the world, just opened a new frontier in the Cloud. Access 2013 provides significant new features for building robust line-of-business solutions for web, client and integrated environments.  This book was written by a team of Microsoft Access MVPs, with consulting and editing by Access experts, MVPs and members of the Microsoft Access team. It gives you the information and examples to expand your areas of expertise and immediately start to develop and upgrade projects. Exp

Sustainable construction - the standard for all public building?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Handyside, R. [Richard Handyside Construction Resources (United Kingdom)

2002-01-01

This article argues for the need for foresight and planning to achieve sustainable development in the construction of public buildings. Reasons why sustainable development fails are highlighted, and the key factors that go to make a development sustainable are listed and involve the choice and layout of the site, site services, the fitting of spaces to the required purpose, the arrangement of rooms to achieve maximum use of natural light, heat and air, and the choice of construction materials and finishes. The balancing of short and long-term costs, and the use of life-cycle costs in every project are discussed.

Publications | Page 218 | IDRC - International Development ...

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

IDRC works with developing-country researchers and institutions to build local capacity ... Use this search tool to locate a specific publication for your field of research. ... Americas, a nonprofit affiliate to the Organization of the American States (OAS). ... algorithm to find optimally effective drug in a drug complex (open access).

Essays on the Impacts of Geography and Institutions on Access to Energy and Public Infrastructure Services

Science.gov (United States)

Archibong, Belinda

While previous literature has emphasized the importance of energy and public infrastructure services for economic development, questions surrounding the implications of unequal spatial distribution in access to these resources remain, particularly in the developing country context. This dissertation provides evidence on the nature, origins and implications of this distribution uniting three strands of research from the development and political economy, regional science and energy economics fields. The dissertation unites three papers on the nature of spatial inequality of access to energy and infrastructure with further implications for conflict risk , the historical institutional and biogeographical determinants of current distribution of access to energy and public infrastructure services and the response of households to fuel price changes over time. Chapter 2 uses a novel survey dataset to provide evidence for spatial clustering of public infrastructure non-functionality at schools by geopolitical zone in Nigeria with further implications for armed conflict risk in the region. Chapter 3 investigates the drivers of the results in chapter 2, exploiting variation in the spatial distribution of precolonial institutions and geography in the region, to provide evidence for the long-term impacts of these factors on current heterogeneity of access to public services. Chapter 4 addresses the policy implications of energy access, providing the first multi-year evidence on firewood demand elasticities in India, using the spatial variation in prices for estimation.

The purpose of peer review in the case of an open-access publication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandrov Georgii A

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract First scientific journals were simply a way of informing colleagues about new research findings. In due course, they started filtering out unreasonable claims, and introduced a peer-review system. The purpose of peer reviewing changed with time. Since the middle of the past century, commercial publishers have owned a large number of scientific journals and as a result, the marketable value of a submitted manuscript has become an increasingly important factor in publishing decisions. Recently some publishers have developed business schemes which may stop this tendency. In the case of an open-access publication, the marketable value of a manuscript is not the primary consideration, since access to the research is not being sold. This innovation challenges scientists to re-consider the purpose of peer review. This editorial indicates some of the commonly used criteria for publication that consequently should receive less or little emphasis under the open-access model.

System Design and Cataloging Meet the User: User Interfaces to Online Public Access Catalogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Yee, Martha M.

1991-01-01

Discusses features of online public access catalogs: (1) demonstration of relationships between records; (2) provision of entry vocabularies; (3) arrangement of multiple entries on the screen; (4) provision of access points; (5) display of single records; and (6) division of catalogs into separate files or indexes. User studies and other research…

Means of escape provisions and evacuation simulation of public building in Malaysia and Singapore

Science.gov (United States)

Samad, Muna Hanim Abdul; Taib, Nooriati; Ying, Choo Siew

2017-10-01

The Uniform Building By-law 1984 of Malaysia is the legal document governing fire safety requirements in buildings. Its prescriptive nature has made the requirements out dated from the viewpoint of current performance based approach in most developed countries. The means of escape provisions is a critical requirement to safeguard occupants' safety in fire especially in public buildings. As stipulated in the UBBL 1984, the means of escape provisions includes sufficient escape routes, travel distance, protection of escape routes, etc. designated as means to allow occupants to escape within a safe period of time. This research aims at investigating the effectiveness of those provisions in public buildings during evacuation process involving massive crowd during emergencies. This research includes a scenario-based study on evacuation processes using two software i.e. PyroSim, a crowd modelling software to conduct smoke study and Pathfinder to stimulate evacuation model of building in Malaysia and Singapore as comparative study. The results show that the buildings used as case study were designed according to Malaysian UBBL 1984 and Singapore Firecode, 2013 respectively provide relative safe means of escape. The simulations of fire and smoke and coupled with simulation of evacuation have demonstrated that although there are adequate exits designated according to fire requirements, the impact of the geometry of atriums on the behavior of fire and smoke have significant effect on escape time especially for unfamiliar user of the premises.

Intelligent urban public transportation for accessibility dedicated to people with disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Haiying; Hou, Kun-Mean; Zuo, Decheng; Li, Jian

2012-01-01

The traditional urban public transport system generally cannot provide an effective access service for people with disabilities, especially for disabled, wheelchair and blind (DWB) passengers. In this paper, based on advanced information & communication technologies (ICT) and green technologies (GT) concepts, a dedicated public urban transportation service access system named Mobi+ has been introduced, which facilitates the mobility of DWB passengers. The Mobi+ project consists of three subsystems: a wireless communication subsystem, which provides the data exchange and network connection services between buses and stations in the complex urban environments; the bus subsystem, which provides the DWB class detection & bus arrival notification services; and the station subsystem, which implements the urban environmental surveillance & bus auxiliary access services. The Mobi+ card that supports multi-microcontroller multi-transceiver adopts the fault-tolerant component-based hardware architecture, in which the dedicated embedded system software, i.e., operating system micro-kernel and wireless protocol, has been integrated. The dedicated Mobi+ embedded system provides the fault-tolerant resource awareness communication and scheduling mechanism to ensure the reliability in data exchange and service provision. At present, the Mobi+ system has been implemented on the buses and stations of line '2' in the city of Clermont-Ferrand (France). The experiential results show that, on one hand the Mobi+ prototype system reaches the design expectations and provides an effective urban bus access service for people with disabilities; on the other hand the Mobi+ system is easily to deploy in the buses and at bus stations thanks to its low energy consumption and small form factor.

Intelligent Urban Public Transportation for Accessibility Dedicated to People with Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Haiying; Hou, Kun-Mean; Zuo, Decheng; Li, Jian

2012-01-01

The traditional urban public transport system generally cannot provide an effective access service for people with disabilities, especially for disabled, wheelchair and blind (DWB) passengers. In this paper, based on advanced information & communication technologies (ICT) and green technologies (GT) concepts, a dedicated public urban transportation service access system named Mobi+ has been introduced, which facilitates the mobility of DWB passengers. The Mobi+ project consists of three subsystems: a wireless communication subsystem, which provides the data exchange and network connection services between buses and stations in the complex urban environments; the bus subsystem, which provides the DWB class detection & bus arrival notification services; and the station subsystem, which implements the urban environmental surveillance & bus auxiliary access services. The Mobi+ card that supports multi-microcontroller multi-transceiver adopts the fault-tolerant component-based hardware architecture, in which the dedicated embedded system software, i.e., operating system micro-kernel and wireless protocol, has been integrated. The dedicated Mobi+ embedded system provides the fault-tolerant resource awareness communication and scheduling mechanism to ensure the reliability in data exchange and service provision. At present, the Mobi+ system has been implemented on the buses and stations of line ‘2’ in the city of Clermont-Ferrand (France). The experiential results show that, on one hand the Mobi+ prototype system reaches the design expectations and provides an effective urban bus access service for people with disabilities; on the other hand the Mobi+ system is easily to deploy in the buses and at bus stations thanks to its low energy consumption and small form factor. PMID:23112622

Intelligent Urban Public Transportation for Accessibility Dedicated to People with Disabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Li

2012-08-01

Full Text Available The traditional urban public transport system generally cannot provide an effective access service for people with disabilities, especially for disabled, wheelchair and blind (DWB passengers. In this paper, based on advanced information & communication technologies (ICT and green technologies (GT concepts, a dedicated public urban transportation service access system named Mobi+ has been introduced, which facilitates the mobility of DWB passengers. The Mobi+ project consists of three subsystems: a wireless communication subsystem, which provides the data exchange and network connection services between buses and stations in the complex urban environments; the bus subsystem, which provides the DWB class detection & bus arrival notification services; and the station subsystem, which implements the urban environmental surveillance & bus auxiliary access services. The Mobi+ card that supports multi-microcontroller multi-transceiver adopts the fault-tolerant component-based hardware architecture, in which the dedicated embedded system software, i.e., operating system micro-kernel and wireless protocol, has been integrated. The dedicated Mobi+ embedded system provides the fault-tolerant resource awareness communication and scheduling mechanism to ensure the reliability in data exchange and service provision. At present, the Mobi+ system has been implemented on the buses and stations of line ‘2’ in the city of Clermont-Ferrand (France. The experiential results show that, on one hand the Mobi+ prototype system reaches the design expectations and provides an effective urban bus access service for people with disabilities; on the other hand the Mobi+ system is easily to deploy in the buses and at bus stations thanks to its low energy consumption and small form factor.

Microcomputer Database Management Systems that Interface with Online Public Access Catalogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, James

1988-01-01

Describes a study that assessed the availability and use of microcomputer database management interfaces to online public access catalogs. The software capabilities needed to effect such an interface are identified, and available software packages are evaluated by these criteria. A directory of software vendors is provided. (4 notes with…

Information Resources on Online Public Access Catalogs. A Selected ERIC Bibliography.

Science.gov (United States)

ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources, Syracuse, NY.

Sixteen articles, books, and reports published between 1978 and 1983 and cited in "Resources in Education" and "Current Index to Journals in Education" are listed in this bibliography on online public access catalogs (OPACs). Emphasis is on the movement toward computer-based alternatives to library card catalogs and user…

Grand Junction Projects Office Remedial Action Project Building 2 public dose evaluation. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, R.

1996-05-01

Building 2 on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Projects Office (GJPO) site, which is operated by Rust Geotech, is part of the GJPO Remedial Action Program. This report describes measurements and modeling efforts to evaluate the radiation dose to members of the public who might someday occupy or tear down Building 2. The assessment of future doses to those occupying or demolishing Building 2 is based on assumptions about future uses of the building, measured data when available, and predictive modeling when necessary. Future use of the building is likely to be as an office facility. The DOE sponsored program, RESRAD-BUILD, Version. 1.5 was chosen for the modeling tool. Releasing the building for unrestricted use instead of demolishing it now could save a substantial amount of money compared with the baseline cost estimate because the site telecommunications system, housed in Building 2, would not be disabled and replaced. The information developed in this analysis may be used as part of an as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) cost/benefit determination regarding disposition of Building 2

Crowded Out? The Effect of Nonresident Enrollment on Resident Access to Public Research Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Curs, Bradley R.; Jaquette, Ozan

2017-01-01

Public universities have pursued nonresident enrollment growth as a solution to the stagnation of state funding. Representatives of public universities often argue that nonresident tuition revenue is an important resource in efforts to finance access for resident students, whereas state policymakers are concerned that nonresident enrollment…

Access 2013 for dummies

CERN Document Server

Ulrich Fuller, Laurie

2013-01-01

The easy guide to Microsoft Access returns with updates on the latest version! Microsoft Access allows you to store, organize, view, analyze, and share data; the new Access 2013 release enables you to build even more powerful, custom database solutions that integrate with the web and enterprise data sources. Access 2013 For Dummies covers all the new features of the latest version of Accessand serves as an ideal reference, combining the latest Access features with the basics of building usable databases. You'll learn how to create an app from the Welcome screen, get support

Evaluation of the Conservation of Modern Architectural Heritage through Ankara’s Public Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Turgut Gültekin, Nevin

2017-10-01

This paper evaluates the approach to the field of modern architecture in Turkey through the public buildings of Ankara. Although the conservation of modern architecture as cultural heritage has been accepted, to a limited degree, within related frameworks and disciplines, and within theory, the inconsistency in preservation legislations have been evaluated critically. The scope of conservation is limited to the state of being old and historical, thereby rendering modern architecture not worth conserving. This is valid for many countries, just like it is for Turkey. Despite various local interpretations of the mode of modern architecture that foresees mono-typing, the connotations of “culture” and the state of being a “product of the past,” of the 20th century, are denied. The expanding and transforming characteristic of immovable cultural heritage is disregarded. As such, modern architecture in Turkey remains inadequately analyzed and documented within the framework of cultural heritage. The conservation of buildings dating back to the 20th century remains within the preference of the related Ministry. As the criteria for this preference is not determined, some public buildings that exemplify modern architecture are rapidly lost despite their being of the same style and period with other buildings designated for conservation. The threat of being torn down or destroyed due to aging functionally and physically renders the preservation of modern architecture products within the framework of cultural heritage, as well as the updating of the legal context according to new parameters, urgent and necessary. The sustenance of public buildings, which are not only products of modern architecture but also sources of the history of the city and architecture, and therefore the history of the Republic in Turkey and the modernization process, gains even more significance through its impact on the urban identity of the capital, Ankara. To this end, this paper focuses on

An Intelligent System Proposal for Improving the Safety and Accessibility of Public Transit by Highway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmelo R. García

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The development of public transit systems that are accessible and safe for everyone, including people with special needs, is an objective that is justified from the civic and economic points of view. Unfortunately, public transit services are conceived for people who do not have reduced physical or cognitive abilities. In this paper, we present an intelligent public transit system by highway with the goal of facilitating access and improving the safety of public transit for persons with special needs. The system is deployed using components that are commonly available in transport infrastructure, e.g., sensors, mobile communications systems, and positioning systems. In addition, the system can operate in non-urban transport contexts, e.g., isolated rural areas, where the availability of basic infrastructure, such as electricity and communications infrastructures, is not always guaranteed. To construct the system, the principles and techniques of Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence have been employed. To illustrate the utility of the system, two cases of services rendered by the system are described: the first case involves a surveillance system to guarantee accessibility at bus stops; the second case involves a route assistant for blind people.

Publicly announced access recommendations and consumers’ service time choices with uncertain congestion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Han, Q.; Benedict, G.C.; Dellaert, W.; van Raaij, W.F.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

2014-01-01

This article investigates consumers' anticipation of other consumers' service time choices in capacity-constrained services and how this is affected by publicly announced access recommendations. Empirical results from an experiment with simulated congestion experiences show that the impact of

Publicly announced access recommendations and consumers' service time choices with uncertain congestion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Han, Q.; Dellaert, B.G.C.; Raaij, W.F.V.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

2014-01-01

This article investigates consumers' anticipation of other consumers' service time choices in capacity-constrained services and how this is affected by publicly announced access recommendations. Empirical results from an experiment with simulated congestion experiences show that the impact of

Supporting Building Portfolio Investment and Policy Decision Making through an Integrated Building Utility Data Platform

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aziz, Azizan [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Lasternas, Bertrand [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Alschuler, Elena [US DOE; View Inc; Loftness, Vivian [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Wang, Haopeng [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Mo, Yunjeong [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Wang, Ting [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Zhang, Chenlu [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Sharma, Shilpi [Carnegie Mellon; Stevens, Ivana [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

2016-03-18

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding of 2009 for smart grid projects resulted in the tripling of smart meters deployment. In 2012, the Green Button initiative provided utility customers with access to their real-time1 energy usage. The availability of finely granular data provides an enormous potential for energy data analytics and energy benchmarking. The sheer volume of time-series utility data from a large number of buildings also poses challenges in data collection, quality control, and database management for rigorous and meaningful analyses. In this paper, we will describe a building portfolio-level data analytics tool for operational optimization, business investment and policy assessment using 15-minute to monthly intervals utility data. The analytics tool is developed on top of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Standard Energy Efficiency Data (SEED) platform, an open source software application that manages energy performance data of large groups of buildings. To support the significantly large volume of granular interval data, we integrated a parallel time-series database to the existing relational database. The time-series database improves on the current utility data input, focusing on real-time data collection, storage, analytics and data quality control. The fully integrated data platform supports APIs for utility apps development by third party software developers. These apps will provide actionable intelligence for building owners and facilities managers. Unlike a commercial system, this platform is an open source platform funded by the U.S. Government, accessible to the public, researchers and other developers, to support initiatives in reducing building energy consumption.

Using the GTFS format to improve public transport data accessibility in Gauteng

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Koetsier, Sumarie

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Public transport plays an important role in cities. It is a less expensive option than private transport and could reduce congestion and improve accessibility to jobs. However, ridership could be hampered when information regarding an operator’s...

What Use Patterns Were Observed for PEV Drivers at Publicly Accessible AC Level 2 EVSE Sites?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Francfort, James Edward [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-12-01

The EV Project deployed over 4,000 ACL2 EVSE for drivers to charge their plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) when away-from-home. The vast majority of these EVSE stations were installed to be available to all PEV drivers at publicly accessible locations. Some were also deployed for use at workplaces and fleets. This paper examines only the use patterns of PEV drivers using the EVSE intended to be publicly accessible.

Model of Communication Strategy for Public Relations in Private University in Building the Relationship with the Media

OpenAIRE

Darmastuti, Rini; Sinatra Wijaya, Lina

2009-01-01

The success of Public Relations work in Private University depends on the public relations strategy in building the relationship with the media. For knowing how effective PR strategy is in building the relationship with the media, A research has been done with 10 respondents ( 10 Private Universities in Central Java ) by using descriptive qualitative approach and direct observation. There are two relationship models that have been found from this research, they are “ Imbalanced Commensalisms ...

The Publishers' Pushback against NIH's Public Access and Scholarly Publishing Sustainability

OpenAIRE

Willinsky, John

2009-01-01

Last September, US Congressman John Conyers introduced the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act. John Willinsky explains how the bill's Orwellian title obscures its true aim: to derail the new policy implemented by the National Institutes of Health to open access to publicly funded research, amid talk of sustainability that cuts both ways.

Metropolitan natural area protection to maximize public access and species representation

Science.gov (United States)

Jane A. Ruliffson; Robert G. Haight; Paul H. Gobster; Frances R. Homans

2003-01-01

In response to widespread urban development, local governments in metropolitan areas in the United States acquire and protect privately-owned open space. We addressed the planner's problem of allocating a fixed budget for open space protection among eligible natural areas with the twin objectives of maximizing public access and species representation. Both...

The Distribution of Information: The Role for Online Public Access Catalogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, Joseph R.

1994-01-01

Describes the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) and the inclusion of abstracting and indexing industry databases in OPACs. Topics addressed include the implications of including abstracting and indexing tape and CD-ROM products in OPACs; the need for standards allowing library systems to communicate with dissimilar CD-ROM products; and computer,…

The responsibility of business enterprises to restore access to essential public service at resettlement sites

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Ploeg, Lidewij; Vanclay, Francis; Lourenço, Ivo; Hesselman, Marlies; Hallo de Wolf, Antenor; Toebes, Brigit

2017-01-01

This chapter examines the provision of essential public services in resettlement sites associated with project induced displacement. Restoring and improving access to essential public services in resettlement sites is an important aspect of livelihood restoration of affected peoples. Project

Integrated Urban System and Energy Consumption Model: Public and Singular Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rocco Papa

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The present paper illustrates the results of the first steps of a study on one aspect investigated as the preliminary step of the definition of the analysis - comprehension model of the relation between: city, buildings, and user behavior, for the reduction of energy consumption within the research project “Smart Energy Master” for the energetic governance of the territory (PON_MIUR n. pos. 04a2_00120 CUP Ricerca: E61H12000130005, at the Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering - University of Naples Federico II, principal investigator prof. Carmela Gargiulo.Specifically the literary review aimed at determining if, and in what measure, the presence of public and singular buildings is present in the energy consumption estimate models,  proposed by the scientific community, for the city or neighborhood scale.The difficulties in defining the weight of these singular buildings on the total energy consumption and the impossibility to define mean values that are significant for all subsets and different types as well as for each one, have forced model makers to either ignore them completely or chose a portion of this specific stock to include.

The impact of energy labels and accessibility on office rents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kok, Nils; Jennen, Maarten

2012-01-01

Energy consumption in the commercial property sector offers an important opportunity for conserving resources. In this study, we evaluate the financial implications of two elements of “sustainability” – energy efficiency and accessibility – in the market for commercial real estate. An empirical analysis of some 1100 leasing transactions in the Netherlands over the 2005–2010 period shows that buildings designated as inefficient (with an EU energy performance certificate D or worse) command rental levels that are some 6.5 percent lower as compared to energy efficient, but otherwise similar buildings (labeled A, B or C). Furthermore, this study shows that office buildings in multi-functional areas, with access to public transport and facilities, achieve rental premiums over mono-functional office districts. For policymakers, the results documented in this paper provide an indication on the effectiveness of the EU energy performance certificate as a market signal in the commercial property sector. The findings documented here are also relevant for investors in European office markets, as the importance of energy efficiency and locational diversification is bound to increase following stricter environmental regulation and changing tenant preferences. - Highlights: ► Built environment plays important role in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. ► Energy certification of buildings may increase transparency and awareness. ► Tenants pay lower rent for less efficient commercial office buildings. ► Accessibility important determinant of commercial office rents.

From access to re-use: a user’s perspective on public sector information availability

OpenAIRE

Frederika Welle Donker

2016-01-01

If data are the building blocks to generate information needed to acquire knowledge and understanding, then geodata, i.e. data with a geographic component (geodata), are the building blocks for information vital for decision-making at all levels of government, for companies and for citizens. Governments collect geodata and create, develop and use geo-information - also referred to as spatial information - to carry out public tasks as almost all decision-making involves a geographic component,...

ATTAINING UNIVERSAL ACCESS: PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AND BUSINESS-NGO PARTNERSHIP

OpenAIRE

Chowdhury, Shyamal K.

2002-01-01

This paper evaluates two alternative mechanisms, Public-Private Partnership in Peru and Business-NGO Partnership in Bangladesh, that provide rural people with access to telecommunications. The two mechanisms that are examined here are considered as two best practices in the provision of rural telecommunications in the context of developing countries. Under two geographically distinct market segments, rural market characterized by low per-subscriber revenue and urban market characterized by hi...

41 CFR 102-79.115 - What guidelines must an agency follow if it elects to establish a public access defibrillation...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... SPACE Assignment and Utilization of Space Public Access Defibrillation Programs § 102-79.115 What... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What guidelines must an agency follow if it elects to establish a public access defibrillation program in a Federal facility? 102...

The Searching Behavior of Remote Users: A Study of One Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC).

Science.gov (United States)

Kalin, Sally W.

1991-01-01

Describes a study that was conducted to determine whether the searching behavior of remote users of LIAS (Library Information Access System), Pennsylvania State University's online public access catalog (OPAC), differed from those using the OPAC within the library. Differences in search strategies and in user satisfaction are discussed. (eight…

Impact of Serials Management, Access and Use on Publication Output of Lecturers in Nigerian Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Akinbode, Rahmon O. Onaolapo; Nwalo, Kenneth Ivo Ngozi

2017-01-01

This study investigates serials management in university libraries, determines the extent to which serials are accessed and used and appraises the influence of availability, accessibility and use of serials on publications output of lecturers in federal universities in Nigeria. Questionnaire administration method was adopted to accumulate data for…

Revisiting the 'Buy versus Build' decision for publicly owned utilities in California considering wind and geothermal resources; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolinger, Mark; Wiser, Ryan; Golove, William

2001-01-01

The last two decades have seen a dramatic increase in the market share of independent, non-utility generators (NUGs) relative to traditional, utility-owned generation assets. Accordingly, the ''buy versus build'' decision facing utilities--i.e., whether a utility should sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a NUG, or develop and own the generation capacity itself-has gained prominence in the industry. Specific debates have revolved around the relative advantages of, the types of risk created by, and the regulatory incentives favoring each approach. Very little of this discussion has focused specifically on publicly owned electric utilities, however, perhaps due to the belief that public power's tax-free financing status leaves little space in which NUGs can compete. With few exceptions (Wiser and Kahn 1996), renewable sources of supply have received similarly scant attention in the buy versus build debate. In this report, we revive the ''buy versus build'' debate and apply it to the two sectors of the industry traditionally underrepresented in the discussion: publicly owned utilities and renewable energy. Contrary to historical treatment, this debate is quite relevant to public utilities and renewables because publicly owned utilities are able to take advantage of some renewable energy incentives only in a ''buy'' situation, while others accrue only in a ''build'' situation. In particular, possible economic advantages of public utility ownership include: (1) the tax-free status of publicly owned utilities and the availability of low-cost debt, and (2) the renewable energy production incentive (REPI) available only to publicly owned utilities. Possible economic advantages to entering into a PPA with a NUG include: (1) the availability of federal tax credits and accelerated depreciation schedules for certain forms of NUG-owned renewable energy, and (2) the California state production incentives available to NUGs but not utilities. This report looks at a publicly

75 FR 20598 - Public Buildings Service; Prospect Island, Sacramento Delta, Solano County, CA; Transfer of Property

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-20

... GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION [Wildlife Order 188; 9-I-CA-1674] Public Buildings Service; Prospect Island, Sacramento Delta, Solano County, CA; Transfer of Property Pursuant to section 2 of Public... General Services Administration transferred 1253 acres of land identified as Prospect Island, Sacramento...

Open Access Data Centers as an Essential Partner to a Data Publication Journal

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, D.; Pfeiffenberger, H.

2016-12-01

The success of Earth System Science Data derives in part from key infrastructure: digital object identifiers (doi) and open access data centers. Our concept that a data journal should promote access and exchange through publication of reviewed data descriptions presupposed third parties to hold the data. As minimum criteria for those data centers we expected international reputation for quality of service and an active lifetime extending at least a decade into the future. We also expected modern access interfaces offering geographic, topical and parameter-based browsing - so that users could discover related holdings through an ESSD link or discover ESSD by way of links in data sets revealed through the center's browse tools - and true open access. True open access means one or two clicks from abstract in ESSD to the data itself without barriers. We started with Pangaea and CDIAC. Data providers already used these centers, the staff welcomed the ESSD initiative and all parties cooperated on doi. With this initial support ESSD proved the basic concept of data publication and demonstrated utility to a larger group of data providers, many of whom suggested additional centers. So long as those data centers met expectations for open access and quality and durability of service, ESSD agreed to collaborate. Through back-door collaborations - e.g. service on particular data sets - ESSD developed working partnerships with more than 30 data centers in 13 countries. Data centers ask to join our list. We encourage those centers to stimulate local providers to submit a data set to ESSD, thus preserving our practical data-set by data-set partnership mode. For a few data centers where national policies impose a registration step, center staff and ESSD editors created bypass access routes to facilitate anonymous reviews. For ESSD purposes, open access and doi cooperation leading to reliable curation allows a win, win, win partnership among centers, providers, and journal.

New 2004 regulations for public buildings - October 12, 2004; Les nouveautes 2004 de la reglementation des etablissements recevant du public (ERP)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-07-01

Cegibat, the information-recommendation agency of Gaz de France for building engineering professionals, has organized this conference meeting on the new regulations relative to energy equipments and in particular gas appliances and storage systems in public buildings: changes in the French regulation, structure and organization of the regulation (works, storage of liquefied hydrocarbons, pressure reducers and meters, gas distribution systems, ventilation and exhaust systems, conformability, maintenance and inspection), new gas-related articles of the regulation, particular dispositions. (J.S.)

Comparison between publicly accessible publications, registries, and protocols of phase III trials indicated persistence of selective outcome reporting.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Sheng; Liang, Fei; Li, Wenfeng

2017-11-01

The decision to make protocols of phase III randomized controlled trials (RCTs) publicly accessible by leading journals was a landmark event in clinical trial reporting. Here, we compared primary outcomes defined in protocols with those in publications describing the trials and in trial registration. We identified phase III RCTs published between January 1, 2012, and June 30, 2015, in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and The BMJ with available protocols. Consistency in primary outcomes between protocols and registries (articles) was evaluated. We identified 299 phase III RCTs with available protocols in this analysis. Out of them, 25 trials (8.4%) had some discrepancy for primary outcomes between publications and protocols. Types of discrepancies included protocol-defined primary outcome reported as nonprimary outcome in publication (11 trials, 3.7%), protocol-defined primary outcome omitted in publication (10 trials, 3.3%), new primary outcome introduced in publication (8 trials, 2.7%), protocol-defined nonprimary outcome reported as primary outcome in publication (4 trials, 1.3%), and different timing of assessment of primary outcome (4 trials, 1.3%). Out of trials with discrepancies in primary outcome, 15 trials (60.0%) had discrepancies that favored statistically significant results. Registration could be seen as a valid surrogate of protocol in 237 of 299 trials (79.3%) with regard to primary outcome. Despite unrestricted public access to protocols, selective outcome reporting persists in a small fraction of phase III RCTs. Only studies from four leading journals were included, which may cause selection bias and limit the generalizability of this finding. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Building Capacity for Evidence-Based Public Health: Reconciling the Pulls of Practice and the Push of Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Brownson, Ross C; Fielding, Jonathan E; Green, Lawrence W

2018-04-01

Timely implementation of principles of evidence-based public health (EBPH) is critical for bridging the gap between discovery of new knowledge and its application. Public health organizations need sufficient capacity (the availability of resources, structures, and workforce to plan, deliver, and evaluate the preventive dose of an evidence-based intervention) to move science to practice. We review principles of EBPH, the importance of capacity building to advance evidence-based approaches, promising approaches for capacity building, and future areas for research and practice. Although there is general agreement among practitioners and scientists on the importance of EBPH, there is less clarity on the definition of evidence, how to find it, and how, when, and where to use it. Capacity for EBPH is needed among both individuals and organizations. Capacity can be strengthened via training, use of tools, technical assistance, assessment and feedback, peer networking, and incentives. Modest investments in EBPH capacity building will foster more effective public health practice.

Public buildings architecture built between 1868 until 1900: Part one

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roter-Blagojević Mirjana Z.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The main transformation courses in Serbia and its capital have been portrayed covering the period of the 19th century's last three decades, i.e. the aftermath of the partial national liberation from the centuries lasting Turkish occupation. Political and economic changes in the princedom and later the kingdom of Serbia prompted the capital's swift transformation and the construction of numerous edifices, especially those accommodating government or public institutions. The construction of the Royal Theatre several Ministries, schools, hotels and other public edifices brought to the capital the new building spirit clearly influenced by the European historic style architecture. Through a chronological overview of the major stateowned and public edifices construction and their architectural form analyses, some key characteristics of this period's architecture in Serbia have been elucidated, with reference to some authors` importance and their relationship with the European building art. The emphasis is put on the reflection of certain phases, which the architectural form had undergone at the end of the 19th century. The changes became manifest through the permanent enrichment of the architectural expression and the construction advancement, thereby achieving the European centers standing. The creation of closer links with the adjacent neighborhoods, namely Zemun and Pancevo and subsequently with the broader European surroundings, particularly Budapest and Vienna, where most of the authors came from, introduced the European academic architecture spirit into Serbian architecture. However, in the first period, analysed in part one of this study, by the end of the 60s and during the 70s of the 19th century, because of adverse political and economic times, only a fairly small number of public edifices were built. Distinguished are the Theatre at the Stambol Gate, the new hotel at the Serbian Crown, and the hotel Russia, in whose formal expression the

Online Public Access Catalog: The Google Maps of the Library World

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Kieren

2011-01-01

What do Google Maps and a library's Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) have in common? Google Maps provides users with all the information they need for a trip in one place; users can get directions and find out what attractions, hotels, and restaurants are close by. Librarians must find the ultimate OPAC that will provide, in one place, all the…

Policies to Spur Energy Access. Executive Summary; Volume 1, Engaging the Private Sector in Expanding Access to Electricity; Volume 2, Case Studies to Public-Private Models to Finance Decentralized Electricity Access

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walters, Terri [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Rai, Neha [International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London (England); Esterly, Sean [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cox, Sadie [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Reber, Tim [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Muzammil, Maliha [Univ. of Oxford (United Kingdom); Mahmood, Tasfiq [International Center for Climate Change and Development, Baridhara (Bangladesh); Kaur, Nanki [International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London (England); Tesfaye, Lidya [Echnoserve Consulting (Ethiopia); Mamuye, Simret [Echnoserve Consulting (Ethiopia); Knuckles, James [Univ. of London (England). Cass Business School; Morris, Ellen [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States); de Been, Merijn [Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands); Steinbach, Dave [International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London (England); Acharya, Sunil [Digo Bikas Inst. (Nepal); Chhetri, Raju Pandit [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bhushal, Ramesh [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-09-01

Government policy is one of the most important factors in engaging the private sector in providing universal access to electricity. In particular, the private sector is well positioned to provide decentralized electricity products and services. While policy uncertainty and regulatory barriers can keep enterprises and investors from engaging in the market, targeted policies can create opportunities to leverage private investment and skills to expand electricity access. However, creating a sustainable market requires policies beyond traditional electricity regulation. The report reviews the range of policy issues that impact the development and expansion of a market for decentralized electricity services from establishing an enabling policy environment to catalyzing finance, building human capacity, and integrating energy access with development programs. The case studies in this report show that robust policy frameworks--addressing a wide range of market issues--can lead to rapid transformation in energy access. The report highlights examples of these policies in action Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mali, Mexico, and Nepal.

Open access of evidence-based publications: the case of the orthopedic and musculoskeletal literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Yammine, Kaissar

2015-11-01

The open access model, where researchers can publish their work and make it freely available to the whole medical community, is gaining ground over the traditional type of publication. However, fees are to be paid by either the authors or their institutions. The purpose of this paper is to assess the proportion and type of open access evidence-based articles in the form of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the field of musculoskeletal disorders and orthopedic surgery. PubMed database was searched and the results showed a maximal number of hits for low back pain and total hip arthroplasty. We demonstrated that despite a 10-fold increase in the number of evidence-based publications in the past 10 years, the rate of free systematic reviews in the general biomedical literature did not change for the last two decades. In addition, the average percentage of free open access systematic reviews and meta-analyses for the commonest painful musculoskeletal conditions and orthopedic procedures was 20% and 18%, respectively. Those results were significantly lower than those of the systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the remaining biomedical research. Such findings could indicate a divergence between the efforts engaged at promoting evidence-based principles and those at disseminating evidence-based findings in the field of musculoskeletal disease and trauma. The high processing fee is thought to be a major limitation when considering open access model for publication. © 2015 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

In an Age of Open Access to Research Policies: Physician and Public Health NGO Staff Research Use and Policy Awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Moorhead, Laura L; Holzmeyer, Cheryl; Maggio, Lauren A; Steinberg, Ryan M; Willinsky, John

2015-01-01

Through funding agency and publisher policies, an increasing proportion of the health sciences literature is being made open access. Such an increase in access raises questions about the awareness and potential utilization of this literature by those working in health fields. A sample of physicians (N=336) and public health non-governmental organization (NGO) staff (N=92) were provided with relatively complete access to the research literature indexed in PubMed, as well as access to the point-of-care service UpToDate, for up to one year, with their usage monitored through the tracking of web-log data. The physicians also participated in a one-month trial of relatively complete or limited access. The study found that participants' research interests were not satisfied by article abstracts alone nor, in the case of the physicians, by a clinical summary service such as UpToDate. On average, a third of the physicians viewed research a little more frequently than once a week, while two-thirds of the public health NGO staff viewed more than three articles a week. Those articles were published since the 2008 adoption of the NIH Public Access Policy, as well as prior to 2008 and during the maximum 12-month embargo period. A portion of the articles in each period was already open access, but complete access encouraged a viewing of more research articles. Those working in health fields will utilize more research in the course of their work as a result of (a) increasing open access to research, (b) improving awareness of and preparation for this access, and (c) adjusting public and open access policies to maximize the extent of potential access, through reduction in embargo periods and access to pre-policy literature.

Accessibility to Specialized Public Oral Health Services from the Perspective of Brazilian Users

Science.gov (United States)

de Castro, Ricardo Dias; Rangel, Marianne de Lucena; da Silva, Marcos André Azevedo; de Lucena, Brunna Thaís Lucwu; Cavalcanti, Alessandro Leite; Bonan, Paulo Rogério Ferreti; Oliveira, Julyana de Araújo

2016-01-01

The Specialized Dental Clinics (SDCs) represent the first government initiative in Latin America aimed at providing specialized oral health services. This study sought to evaluate the organizational accessibility to specialized oral health care services in Brazil and to understand the factors that may be associated with accessibility from the user’s perspective. This epidemiological, cross-sectional and quantitative study was conducted by means of interviews with individuals who sought specialized public oral health services in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil, and consisted of a sample of 590 individuals. Users expressed a favorable view of the classification and resolutive nature of specialized services offered by Brazilian public health. The binary logistic regression analysis revealed weak points highlighting the difficulty involved in obtaining such treatments leading to unfavorable evaluations. In the resolutive nature item, difficulty in accessing the location, queues and lack of materials and equipment were highlighted as statistically significant unfavorable aspects. While many of the users considered the service to be resolutive, weaknesses were mentioned that need to be detected to promote improvements and to prevent other health models adopted worldwide from reproducing the same flaws. PMID:27775584

Building the Case for Educating Business Leaders on the Importance of Public Relations

Science.gov (United States)

Hagan, Linda M.

2011-01-01

An organization's well-developed strategic plan and reputation can crumble in minutes if it mishandles key communications, particularly during crises. Today's leaders need to appreciate the value of professional public relations and how it helps organizational effectiveness by building strategic relationships, maintaining a favorable reputation,…

DRIVER: Building a Sustainable Infrastructure of European Scientific Repositories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norbert Lossau

2008-11-01

Full Text Available DRIVER has a clear vision: All research institutions in Europe and worldwide make all their research publications openly accessible through institutional repositories. The vision follows the Berlin Declaration, which called in October 2003 for ‘free and unrestricted access to sciences and human knowledge representation worldwide’. Initiated by the internationally renowned German research organisation the Max-Planck-Society, and signed by many international research organisations and institutes, the Berlin Declaration has set a political statement. In building a sustainable infrastructure for scientific repositories, DRIVER brings to this statement the reality of scholarly communication in the future.

Datasets will not be made accessible to the public due to the fact that they include household level data with PII.

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Datasets will not be made accessible to the public due to the fact that they include household level data with PII. This dataset is not publicly accessible because:...

Umgang mit Open-Access-Publikationsgebühren – die Situation in Deutschland in 2010 [Dealing with open access publication fees – the situation in Germany in 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bandilla, Wolfgang

2012-07-01

Full Text Available [english] Along with the dynamic development of open access, the question of how to handle open access publication charges is increasingly discussed. German research organisations have been involved in this discussion as part of their activities within the Priority Initiative “Digital Information” of the “Alliance of German Science Organisations” since 2008. In 2010 they commissioned a survey among universities and research institutions, focusing on their practice in dealing with publication charges. As a result, it became clear that these organisations are aware of the issue. For their members, they seek to develop mechanisms to facilitate publishing in author fee-based open access journals. In general, an overview of the open access strategies of the organisations shows an ongoing transformation process from a subscription-based towards an open access publishing system. However, the survey results also point to challenges. The article gives an overview of open-access related activities and developments in German research organisations and presents the results of the survey on handling of open access publication charges among academic institutions in Germany. [german] Mit der dynamischen Entwicklung von Open Access gewinnt die Diskussion um den Umgang mit Gebühren, die für Open-Access-Publikationen anfallen, an Bedeutung. Die deutschen Wissenschaftsorganisationen widmen sich dieser Diskussion, seit 2008 auch im Rahmen der Schwerpunktinitiative „Digitale Information“. Im Jahr 2010 wurde in einer Umfrage unter Hochschulen und außeruniversitären Forschungsinstitutionen die Praxis im Umgang mit diesen Publikationsgebühren unter die Lupe genommen. Dabei wurde deutlich, dass sich die Wissenschaftsorganisationen des Themas annehmen und bestrebt sind, Mechanismen zu entwickeln, um ihren Angehörigen die Veröffentlichung in Open-Access-Zeitschriften, die sich durch Publikationsgebühren finanzieren, unkompliziert zu ermöglichen. Dar

Disruption - Access cards service

CERN Multimedia

2014-01-01

We would like to inform you that between 10 November and 15 December 2014, the access cards service in Building 55 will be disrupted, as the GS Department has decided to improve the facilities for users of this building. During the work, you will find the registration, biometric registration and dosimeter exchange services on the second floor of Building 55 and the vehicle sticker service on the ground floor along with the access cards service. We thank you for your understanding and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Perspectives on Open Access Opportunities for IS Research Publication: Potential Benefits for Researchers, Educators, and Students

Science.gov (United States)

Woszczynski, Amy B.; Whitman, Michael E.

2016-01-01

Access to current research materials, pedagogical best practices, and relevant knowledge has become problematic as journal subscription costs have increased. Increasing delays in the traditional publication timeline, coupled with high subscription costs, have resulted in a diminished ability for IS faculty and their students to access the most…

Access for All! Neuro-architecture and Equal Enjoyment of Public Facilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoria Gillen

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990, many impaired Americans are no longer disabled by socially condoned conditions in the built environment. However, many people with cognitive and neurological impairments continue to face significant barriers to access, due to disabling environmental hyper-sensitivity and sensory processing disorders. These people are equally protected under the ADA, therefore mitigation is required. Neuroarchitecture, where consideration of the impact of the built environment on the central nervous system informs design paradigms, must complement current ADA compliance guidelines. This paper serves to open the topic to discussion, and is a call for attention, and action, for the removal of these generally unrecognized barriers to access and the equal use and enjoyment of public facilities.

Intellectual property rights vs. public access rights: ethical aspects of the DeCSS decryptation program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Vaagan

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. In 1999-2000, a Norwegian youth cracked a DVD-access code and published a decryptation program on the Internet. He was sued by the US DVD Copy Control Association (DVD-CCA and the Norwegian Motion Picture Association (MAP, allies of the US Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA, arrested by Norwegian police and charged with data crime. Two Norwegian court rulings in 2003 unanimously ruled that the program did not amount to a breach of Norwegian law, and he was fully acquitted. In the US, there have been related cases, some with other outcomes. Method. Based on a theoretical framework developed by Zwass, the paper discusses these court rulings and the wider issues of intellectual property rights versus public access rights. Analysis. The DVD-Jon case illustrates that intellectual property rights can conflict with public access rights, as the struggle between proprietary software and public domain software, as well as the SPARC and Open Archives Initiative reflect. Results. An assessment of the DVD-Jon case based on the Zwass framework does not give a clear information ethics answer. The analysis depends on whether one ascribes to consequentialist (e.g., utilitarian or de-ontological reflection, and also on which side of the digital gap is to be accorded most weight. Conclusion. While copyright interests are being legally strengthened, there may be ethically- grounded access rights that outweigh property rights.

Open access to scientific publications - an analysis of the barriers to change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Professor Bo-Christer Björk

2004-01-01

Full Text Available One of the effects of the Internet is that the dissemination of scientific publications in a few years has migrated to electronic formats. The basic business practices between libraries and publishers for selling and buying the content have, however, not changed much. Scientists have in protest against the high subscription prices of mainstream publishers started Open Access (OA journals and e-print repositories, which distribute scientific information freely. Despite widespread agreement among academics that OA would be the optimal distribution mode for publicly financed research results, OA channels still constitute only a marginal phenomenon in the global scholarly communication system. This paper discusses, in view of the experiences of the last ten years, the many barriers hindering a rapid proliferation of Open Access. The discussion is structured according to the main OA channels; peer-reviewed journals for primary publishing, subject-specific and institutional repositories for secondary parallel publishing. It also discusses the types of barriers, which can be classified as: legal framework, IT-infrastructure, business models, indexing services and standards, academic reward system, marketing and critical mass.

Validating the accuracy of GIS-based accessibility analysis in determining public primary health care demand in metropolitan areas: conference presentation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mokgalaka, H

2014-07-01

Full Text Available selected for the analysis are mainly those that offered public primary health care services and acted as first point of contact with the health service delivery system. Attached to the facility data are attribute data indicating the capacity...-Based Accessibility Analysis in Determining Public Primary Health Care Demand in Metropolitan Areas Hunadi Mokgalaka July 2014 Contents • Service access planning • GIS-based accessibility analysis • Key challenges to application • Methodology...

Dose rate survey inside and outside three public buildings located approximately 40 km northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yajima, Kazuaki; Iwaoka, Kazuki; Kamada, So

2013-01-01

We surveyed the reduction of the dose rate inside three public buildings compared to the dose rate outside in Kawamata-machi, Fukushima Prefecture. The three buildings—a wooden construction district meeting place, a steel construction public hall, and a reinforced concrete school building—are located approximately 40 km northwest of TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Stations. The dose rate measurement, performed with a NaI(Tl) scintillation survey meter, was carried out on January 19, 2012. We evaluated the reduction of the dose rate inside the building using the reduction factor, which was determined to be the ratio of the dose rate inside the building to that outside the building. The reduction factors 1 m inside from the window were 0.51-0.56 for the wooden building, 0.34-0.51 for the steel construction building, and 0.27-0.31 for the concrete building. The reduction factors at the center of the room were 0.48 for the wooden building, 0.23-0.34 for the steel construction building, and 0.10-0.16 for the concrete building. (author)

The private partners of public health: public-private alliances for public good.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonnell, Sharon; Bryant, Carol; Harris, Jeff; Campbell, Marci Kramish; Lobb, Ano; Hannon, Peggy A; Cross, Jeffrey L; Gray, Barbara

2009-04-01

We sought to convey lessons learned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) about the value and challenges of private-sector alliances resulting in innovative health promotion strategies. Several PRCs based in a variety of workplace and community settings contributed. We conducted interviews with principal investigators, a literature review, and a review of case studies of private-sector alliances in a microbusiness model, a macrobusiness model, and as multiparty partnerships supporting public health research, implementation, and human resource services. Private-sector alliances provide many advantages, particularly access to specialized skills generally beyond the expertise of public health entities. These skills include manufacturing, distribution, marketing, business planning, and development. Alliances also allow ready access to employee populations. Public health entities can offer private-sector partners funding opportunities through special grants, data gathering and analysis skills, and enhanced project credibility and trust. Challenges to successful partnerships include time and resource availability and negotiating the cultural divide between public health and the private sector. Critical to success are knowledge of organizational culture, values, mission, currency, and methods of operation; an understanding of and ability to articulate the benefits of the alliance for each partner; and the ability and time to respond to unexpected changes and opportunities. Private-public health alliances are challenging, and developing them takes time and resources, but aspects of these alliances can capitalize on partners' strengths, counteract weaknesses, and build collaborations that produce better outcomes than otherwise possible. Private partners may be necessary for program initiation or success. CDC guidelines and support materials may help nurture these alliances.

The Academic Publication Service AlmaDL Journals and the New Challenges of Open Access

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piero Grandesso

2018-03-01

Full Text Available AlmaDL Journals is an Open Access publishing service of the University of Bologna, Italy. After 5 years from the publication of the first paper in Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage about the service, we review the transformations and the growth it has experienced during this time span, with a look at the changes that have occurred in Open Access publishing that have driven and inspired the modifications adopted by AlmaDL Journals.

Accessibility to the Public Facilities: A Mean to Achieve Civil Rights of the People with Disabilities in Iran

OpenAIRE

Roya Ghasemzadeh; Mohammad Kamali; Ali Chabok; Masoud Fallahi Khoshknab; Manuchehr Shirani

2008-01-01

Objectives: Civil rights may cover different aspects of citizens’ lives. All the members of the society should have equal access to the public facilities and public transportation system. Barriers and obstacles in society may limit the accessibility of these facilities to the disabled people. Methods: This article contains a part of the results in a phenomenological study of the Disability Rights. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe experiences of disability r...

Judicialization of Health Policy in the Definition of Access to Public Goods: Individual Rights versus Collective Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Telma Maria Gonçalves Menicucci

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The article analyses a form of judicialization of public policies in the health field. It has as its object lawsuits initiated against Belo Horizonte Municipality arguing for the provision of services or the acquisition of inputs not obtained in the public system via institutional access routes. The argument is that the individualized quest for the guarantee of the right to healthcare via the judicial path is a form of reproduction of the tensions produced in democratic societies between the social and the individual conceptions of citizenship. By ensuring access to goods by means of individual suits, the Judiciary interferes in the making of public choices taken on by public-sector managers, thus regulating opportunities for consumption according to a concentrating logic. And so the assertion of a constitutional right superposes the political right of the majority, represented by the Executive, to make choices as to the goods that are the object of public policies, with a relatively significant financial and budgetary impact.

The ELENA Programme in the Province of Chieti - A Public Private Partnership Best Practice Improving Energy Efficiency of Buildings and Public Lighting Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierluigi Fecondo

2015-09-01

To date, the most relevant Project outcomes consist 87 municipalities involved, a structured database of energy audit and data about 144 buildings and about 46,000 public light points. Moreover, an effective engagement of public and private stakeholders, lays the foundation for a strong Energy Performance Contract framework able to leverage financing based on minimun guaranteed energy savings of 20% in respect to baseline values.

PRIVATE GRAPHS – ACCESS RIGHTS ON GRAPHS FOR SEAMLESS NAVIGATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Dorner

2016-06-01

Full Text Available After the success of GNSS (Global Navigational Satellite Systems and navigation services for public streets, indoor seems to be the next big development in navigational services, relying on RTLS – Real Time Locating Services (e.g. WIFI and allowing seamless navigation. In contrast to navigation and routing services on public streets, seamless navigation will cause an additional challenge: how to make routing data accessible to defined users or restrict access rights for defined areas or only to parts of the graph to a defined user group? The paper will present case studies and data from literature, where seamless and especially indoor navigation solutions are presented (hospitals, industrial complexes, building sites, but the problem of restricted access rights was only touched from a real world, but not a technical perspective. The analysis of case studies will show, that the objective of navigation and the different target groups for navigation solutions will demand well defined access rights and require solutions, how to make only parts of a graph to a user or application available to solve a navigational task. The paper will therefore introduce the concept of private graphs, which is defined as a graph for navigational purposes covering the street, road or floor network of an area behind a public street and suggest different approaches how to make graph data for navigational purposes available considering access rights and data protection, privacy and security issues as well.

Building secure wireless access point based on certificate authentication and firewall captive portal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soewito B.

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Wireless local area network or WLAN more vulnerability than wired network even though WLAN has many advantages over wired. Wireless networks use radio transmissions to carry data between end users and access point. Therefore, it is possible for someone to sit in your office building's lobby or parking lot or parking lot to eavesdrop on the wireless network communication. This paper discussed securing wires local area network used WPA2 Enterprise based PEAP MS-CHAP and Captive portal firewall. We also divided the network for employer and visitor to increase the level of security. Our experiment showed that the WLAN could be broken using the attacker tool such as airodump, aireply, and aircrack.

User Practices in Keyword and Boolean Searching on an Online Public Access Catalog.

Science.gov (United States)

Ensor, Pat

1992-01-01

Discussion of keyword and Boolean searching techniques in online public access catalogs (OPACs) focuses on a study conducted at Indiana State University that examined users' attitudes toward searching on NOTIS (Northwestern Online Total Integrated System). Relevant literature is reviewed, and implications for library instruction are suggested. (17…

DoD Needs to Improve Screening and Access Controls for General Public Tenants Leasing Housing on Military Installations (REDACTED)

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-01

helps enhance service members’ quality of life by improving the condition of military-owned housing faster and more economically than traditional...DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SUBJECT: DoD Needs to Improve Screening and Access Controls for General Public Tenants Leasing Housing on Military...public tenants who leased DoD privatized housing before granting those tenants unescorted access to military installations. In addition, DoD officials

The Making of a Sustainable Wireless City? Mapping Public Wi-Fi Access in Shanghai

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mingfeng Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the context of the global information economy, ready access to the Internet is critical to a city’s competitiveness, which has prompted a number of cities to launch plans to establish wireless networks. Most literature on the development of wireless cities focuses on cities in Western countries, and few have discussed how Chinese cities have adopted wireless technologies in their urban infrastructure development efforts. This paper examines recent development and spatial distribution of public Wi-Fi access in Shanghai, a leading business hub in China. We mapped Wi-Fi hotspots through the government sponsored “i-Shanghai” project and China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC. We find that while telecommunication providers have been proactively deploying WLAN (wireless local area network，a proxy of public Wi-Fi or wireless access hotspots in Shanghai, neither government sponsored WLAN hotspots nor facilities established by CMCC could cover the old traditional neighborhoods in the central city and sub-districts in remote rural areas. We also address the development of a more sustainable wireless city in Shanghai with a particular focus on digital divide and social equity issues.

Application and importance of cost-benefit analysis in energy efficiency projects implemented in public buildings: The case of Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đurovic Dejan M.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this paper is to present the advantages of using Cost-Benefit analysis in energy efficiency projects implemented in public buildings, and to prove the hypothesis that Cost-Benefit analysis boosts the effectiveness and efficiency of the said type of projects. The paper offers theoretical and practical explanation of the implementation of Cost-Benefit analysis in the relevant area. Since energy efficiency projects in public buildings usually represent a part of a broader portfolio of similar projects and their implementation demands allocation of substantial financial resources, communities are often be interested in achieving maximal economic and non-economic benefits. This paper aims to demonstrate that Cost-Benefit analysis can represent an excellent contribution when attempting to select the projects for implementation within a broader portfolio of energy efficiency projects in public buildings. This hypothesis was demonstrated by putting a greater emphasis on non-economic benefits and the costs arising from implementation of the aforementioned types of projects. In addition, a practical test of this hypothesis was performed through the implementation of an energy efficiency portfolio in public buildings, worth several tens of millions of dollars - the Serbian Energy Efficiency Project. The paper concludes that the use of Cost-Benefit analysis can help us to effectively evaluate and manage projects of this type aimed at achieving maximum benefits for the community in question.

REDUCTION OF THE RISK IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT BY USING DESIGN-BUILD AS A MEANS FOR SUITABLE CONSTRUCTING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakub Blaťák

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Suitable and sustainable buildings have increased demands for design and for the transfer of design requirements to realization. That causes an increase of risk connected with the differences between planned and real parameters of the buildings. This article will outline the main theme comparison between DBB and DB projects concerning contractor’s risk management level. This comparative analysis explains, using the RIPRAN method, the hidden risks in each type of delivery method. The comparison identifies numerous contractual topics and risks included in both and gives deeper insight into risk management, both for the contracting party and also for public procurement. Applying risk analysis strategies and tools to the process will help decision-makers evaluate and select the suitable delivery method consistently and defensibly. This paper gives generic risk factors related to both project types. The results indicate risk factors with influence on the price, probability of occurrence and unfavourable impact on the project and help allocate risk level more properly in accordance with its high, middle or low probable impact. Public investment is a significant part of the public budget, the application of design-build can help with the reduction of corruption, and the public sector can benefit from the usage of DB projects to help eliminate the mistakes made by contracting authorities.

Wheelchair users, access and exclusion in South African higher education.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiwandire, Desire; Vincent, Louise

2017-01-01

South Africa's Constitution guarantees everyone, including persons with disabilities, the right to education. A variety of laws are in place obliging higher education institutions to provide appropriate physical access to education sites for all. In practice, however, many buildings remain inaccessible to people with physical disabilities. To describe what measures South African universities are taking to make their built environments more accessible to students with diverse types of disabilities, and to assess the adequacy of such measures. We conducted semi-structured in-depth face-to-face interviews with disability unit staff members (DUSMs) based at 10 different public universities in South Africa. Challenges with promoting higher education accessibility for wheelchair users include the preservation and heritage justification for failing to modify older buildings, ad hoc approaches to creating accessible environments and failure to address access to toilets, libraries and transport facilities for wheelchair users. South African universities are still not places where all students are equally able to integrate socially. DUSMs know what ought to be done to make campuses more accessible and welcoming to students with disabilities and should be empowered to play a leading role in sensitising non-disabled members of universities, to create greater awareness of, and appreciation for, the multiple ways in which wheelchair user students continue to be excluded from full participation in university life. South African universities need to adopt a systemic approach to inclusion, which fosters an understanding of inclusion as a fundamental right rather than as a luxury.

Radon in indoor concentrations and indoor concentrations of metal dust particles in museums and other public buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Carneiro, G L; Braz, D; de Jesus, E F; Santos, S M; Cardoso, K; Hecht, A A; Dias da Cunha, Moore K

2013-06-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the public and occupational exposure to radon and metal-bearing particles in museums and public buildings located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For this study, four buildings were selected: two historic buildings, which currently house an art gallery and an art museum; and two modern buildings, a chapel and a club. Integrated radon concentration measurements were performed using passive radon detectors with solid state nuclear track detector-type Lexan used as nuclear track detector. Air samplers with a cyclone were used to collect the airborne particle samples that were analyzed by the particle-induced X-ray emission technique. The average unattached-radon concentrations in indoor air in the buildings were above 40 Bq/m(3), with the exception of Building D as measured in 2009. The average radon concentrations in indoor air in the four buildings in 2009 were below the recommended reference level by World Health Organization (100 Bq/m(3)); however, in 2011, the average concentrations of radon in Buildings A and C were above this level, though lower than 300 Bq/m(3). The average concentrations of unattached radon were lower than 148 Bq/m(3) (4pCi/L), the USEPA level recommended to take action to reduce the concentrations of radon in indoor air. The unattached-radon average concentrations were also lower than the value recommended by the European Union for new houses. As the unattached-radon concentrations were below the international level recommended to take action to reduce the radon concentration in air, it was concluded that during the period of sampling, there was low risk to human health due to the inhalation of unattached radon in these four buildings.

Multidisciplinary research in public health: a case study of research on access to green space.

Science.gov (United States)

Kessel, A; Green, J; Pinder, R; Wilkinson, P; Grundy, C; Lachowycz, K

2009-01-01

Quantitative analysis of the physical and demographic parameters of access to Thames Chase Community Forest (TCCF), and how these have changed between 1990 and 2003; and qualitative exploration of our understanding of the links between health and the natural environment (TCCF), with a focus on the issue of 'access' to green space. Multimethod design involving both quantitative (analysis of physical access to green space) and qualitative (ethnography) components. Quantitative analysis, using geographical information systems, of physical access to the community forest; and ethnographic research including participant observation, non-participant observation, in-depth interviews and attendance at meetings and conferences. The quantitative analysis showed that public access to green space improved between 1990 and 2003 as a result of the regeneration and acquisition of new areas, and the average reduction in distance to green space was 162 m. However, such improvements were distributed differentially between population groups. In both 1990 and 2003, people from deprived areas and in poorer health had better access to green space than people from less deprived areas, but the greatest improvement in access to green space over this interval occurred in areas of below average deprivation (i.e. in the more affluent areas). The ethnographic research showed different interpretations of the notion of access. Use of TCCF was determined by a variety of factors including whether a person could 'imagine themselves' using such a space, different perceptions of what is actually being accessed (e.g. a place to exercise or a place to socialise), and ideas about using the countryside 'properly'. The health benefits of using a green space, such as TCCF, for walking or exercising are well recognized. However, whether people choose to use local green space may be determined by a variety of factors. These are likely to include physical distance to access of green space, as well as

Fungal aerosol in public utility buildings in the city of Kraków

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Lenart-Boroń

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The quality of indoor air is one of the most important factors affecting health and well-being of people, who inhale 10 m3 of air every day and spend 80–95% of life indoors. The aim of this research was to evaluate the occurrence of airborne fungi, along with assessment of air pollution and microbiological hazard for humans, in 45 public utility buildings in Cracow. Material and methods. The study was carried out in four groups of buildings, including teaching facilities of the University of Agriculture and Jagiellonian University, churches, shopping malls and hospitals with outpatient clinics. Four sites located in the open air were chosen as control. The air sampling was carried out with MAS-100 impactor. Fungi were enumerated on Malt Extract Agar and the results were expressed as colony forming units (CFU per m3 of air. The isolated fungi were identified by comparing macroscopic and microscopic observations with taxonomic monographs. Results. Mean concentration of airborne fungi was highest in the teaching facilities (1970 CFU/m3. These were also the sites where the largest range of fungal concentration was observed, i.e. from 0 to 23,300 CFU/m3. The lowest mean concentration (99 CFU/m3 including range was observed in hospitals (from 0 to 327 CFU/m3. Species identification of the fungal isolates revealed the presence of allergenic fungi (Alternaria and Cladosporium in the examined spaces. Moreover, some strains were also identified as potentially toxigenic species, such as Penicillium expansum or Aspergillus niger. Conclusions. The concentration range of airborne fungi varied significantly between the tested spaces. Although the observed concentration of airborne fungi in the majority of buildings was quite low, detection of potentially toxigenic fungi indicates the need for monitoring of both concentration and composition of fungal aerosol in public utility buildings.

Building evaluation capacity in Ontario's public health units: promising practices and strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bourgeois, I; Simmons, L; Buetti, D

2018-03-26

This article presents the findings of a project focusing on building evaluation capacity in 10 Ontario public health units. The study sought to identify effective strategies that lead to increased evaluation capacity in the participating organizations. This study used a qualitative, multiple case research design. An action research methodology was used to design customized evaluation capacity building (ECB) strategies for each participating organization, based on its specific context and needs. This methodological approach also enabled monitoring and assessment of each strategy, based on a common set of reporting templates. A multiple case study was used to analyze the findings from the 10 participating organizations and derive higher level findings. The main findings of the study show that most of the strategies used to increase evaluation capacity in public health units are promising, especially those focusing on developing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of health unit staff and managers. Facilitators to ECB strategies were the engagement of all staff members, the support of leadership, and the existence of organizational tools and infrastructure to support evaluation. It is also essential to recognize that ECB takes time and resources to be successful. The design and implementation of ECB strategies should be based on organizational needs. These can be assessed using a standardized instrument, as well as interviews and staff surveys. The implementation of a multicomponent approach (i.e. several strategies implemented simultaneously) is also linked to better ECB outcomes in organizations. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-Criteria Analysis of Alternative Energy Supply Solutions to Public Nearly Zero Energy Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giedrius Šiupšinskas

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes energy supply alternatives for modernised public nearly zero energy buildings. The paper examines alternative energy production systems such as heat pumps (air-water and ground-water, solar collectors, adsorption cooling, biomass boiler, solar photovoltaic, wind turbines and combinations of these systems. The simulation of the analysed building energy demand for different energy production alternatives has been performed using TRNSYS modelling software. In order to determine an optimal energy supply variant, the estimated results of energy, environmental, and economic evaluation have been converted into non-dimensional variables (3E using multi-criteria analysis.Article in Lithuanian

The Online Public Access Catalogue at the Cite des Sciences Mediatheque in Paris.

Science.gov (United States)

Witt, Maria

1990-01-01

Provides background on the holdings, services, and layout of the mediatheque (multimedia library) at the Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie (originally the Museum of Science, Technology, and Industry) in Paris. The library's online public access catalog and use of the catalog by children and the visually handicapped are described. (four…

How to use Building Information Systems for a transition towards Sustainable Building Operation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Itard, L.C.M.; Joosstens, F; Heiselberg, Per Kvols

2016-01-01

BIM Building Information Model or Modelling connects many different information
systems from various actors during the building construction process with each
other in one easily accessible and understandable model. BIM assures an effective
and efficient building construction process by

Improving Public Health Through Access to and Utilization of Medication Assisted Treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas F. Kresina

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Providing access to and utilization of medication assisted treatment (MAT for the treatment of opioid abuse and dependence provides an important opportunity to improve public health. Access to health services comprising MAT in the community is fundamental to achieve broad service coverage. The type and placement of the health services comprising MAT and integration with primary medical care including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV prevention, care and treatment services are optimal for addressing both substance abuse and co-occurring infectious diseases. As an HIV prevention intervention, integrated (same medical record for HIV services and MAT services MAT with HIV prevention, care and treatment programs provides the best “one stop shopping” approach for health service utilization. Alternatively, MAT, medical and HIV services can be separately managed but co-located to allow convenient utilization of primary care, MAT and HIV services. A third approach is coordinated care and treatment, where primary care, MAT and HIV services are provided at distinct locations and case managers, peer facilitators, or others promote direct service utilization at the various locations. Developing a continuum of care for patients with opioid dependence throughout the stages MAT enhances the public health and Recovery from opioid dependence. As a stigmatized and medical disenfranchised population with multiple medical, psychological and social needs, people who inject drugs and are opioid dependent have difficulty accessing services and navigating medical systems of coordinated care. MAT programs that offer comprehensive services and medical care options can best contribute to improving the health of these individuals thereby enhancing the health of the community.

75 FR 20364 - Public Buildings Service; Key Largo Beacon Annex Site; Key Largo, FL; Transfer of Property

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-19

... GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION [Wildlife Order 187; 4-D-FL-1218] Public Buildings Service; Key Largo Beacon Annex Site; Key Largo, FL; Transfer of Property Pursuant to section 2 of Public Law 537, 80th Congress, approved May 19, 1948 (16 U.S.C. 667c), notice is hereby given that: 1. The General...

National Scale Marine Geophysical Data Portal for the Israel EEZ with Public Access Web-GIS Platform

Science.gov (United States)

Ketter, T.; Kanari, M.; Tibor, G.

2017-12-01

Recent offshore discoveries and regulation in the Israel Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are the driving forces behind increasing marine research and development initiatives such as infrastructure development, environmental protection and decision making among many others. All marine operations rely on existing seabed information, while some also generate new data. We aim to create a single platform knowledge-base to enable access to existing information, in a comprehensive, publicly accessible web-based interface. The Israel EEZ covers approx. 26,000 sqkm and has been surveyed continuously with various geophysical instruments over the past decades, including 10,000 km of multibeam survey lines, 8,000 km of sub-bottom seismic lines, and hundreds of sediment sampling stations. Our database consists of vector and raster datasets from multiple sources compiled into a repository of geophysical data and metadata, acquired nation-wide by several research institutes and universities. The repository will enable public access via a web portal based on a GIS platform, including datasets from multibeam, sub-bottom profiling, single- and multi-channel seismic surveys and sediment sampling analysis. Respective data products will also be available e.g. bathymetry, substrate type, granulometry, geological structure etc. Operating a web-GIS based repository allows retrieval of pre-existing data for potential users to facilitate planning of future activities e.g. conducting marine surveys, construction of marine infrastructure and other private or public projects. User interface is based on map oriented spatial selection, which will reveal any relevant data for designated areas of interest. Querying the database will allow the user to obtain information about the data owner and to address them for data retrieval as required. Wide and free public access to existing data and metadata can save time and funds for academia, government and commercial sectors, while aiding in cooperation

Accessibility to the Public Facilities: A Mean to Achieve Civil Rights of the People with Disabilities in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roya Ghasemzadeh

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Civil rights may cover different aspects of citizens’ lives. All the members of the society should have equal access to the public facilities and public transportation system. Barriers and obstacles in society may limit the accessibility of these facilities to the disabled people. Methods: This article contains a part of the results in a phenomenological study of the Disability Rights. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe experiences of disability rights among 11 physically disabled that were living in Tehran, Iran. The study involves secondary analysis of in-depth transcribed interview data, using colazzi’s method. Results: A total of 655 descriptive expressions were categorized in to 25 preliminary structural elements (sub themes. 7 essential structural elements (themes emerged from an analysis of the sub themes. One of these themes was right to access which was emerged from an analysis of 6 sub themes. Discussion: Disabled people who participated in the interviews. These sub themes that were obtained from an analysis of descriptive expressions of the participants, are: right to access to housing, right to access to education and information, right to access to job facilities, right to access to medical care and rehabilitation, right to access to rest, leisure and sport and right to access to places and transportation system. The right to access theme, was then categorized in to the civil rights field. In this article we will describe the right to access as it was experienced by those physically.

Architecture for large-scale automatic web accessibility evaluation based on the UWEM methodology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ulltveit-Moe, Nils; Olsen, Morten Goodwin; Pillai, Anand B.

2008-01-01

The European Internet Accessibility project (EIAO) has developed an Observatory for performing large scale automatic web accessibility evaluations of public sector web sites in Europe. The architecture includes a distributed web crawler that crawls web sites for links until either a given budget...... of web pages have been identified or the web site has been crawled exhaustively. Subsequently, a uniform random subset of the crawled web pages is sampled and sent for accessibility evaluation and the evaluation results are stored in a Resource Description Format (RDF) database that is later loaded...... challenges that the project faced and the solutions developed towards building a system capable of regular large-scale accessibility evaluations with sufficient capacity and stability. It also outlines some possible future architectural improvements....

Hanford B Reactor Building Hazard Assessment Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griffin, P. W.

1999-01-01

The 105-B Reactor (hereinafter referred to as B Reactor) is located in the 100 Area of the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington. The B Reactor is one of nine plutonium production reactors that were constructed in the 1940s during the Cold War Era. Construction of the B Reactor began June 7, 1943, and operation began on September 26, 1944. The Environmental Restoration Contractor was requested by RL to provide an assessment/characterization of the B Reactor building to determine and document the hazards that are present and could pose a threat to the environment and/or to individuals touring the building. This report documents the potential hazards, determines the feasibility of mitigating the hazards, and makes recommendations regarding areas where public tour access should not be permitted

Locating stations of public transportation vehicles for improving transit accessibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Ziari

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Since transportation is one of the most complicated and the basic problem of urban life in developing countries at the present time and in various dimensions, so it is necessary to view it more scientifically-practically. Reducing travelling time is one way to reduce its cost. In public transportation system, it is important to determine proper travelling costs. There are various methods to determine the distances between stations. One of these methods used in England is based on logical and calculative relations in mathematics. In this paper, in addition to studying this method some changes have been made in order to reduce and modify required variables for calculation of those relations. A numerical example is designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method and thus developed to optimize the public transportation stop location problem. The sensitivity of the total travel time, access, speed and the effect of the parameters on the optimum stop location are analyzed and discussed.

Management and monitoring of public buildings through ICT based systems: Control rules for energy saving with lighting and HVAC services

OpenAIRE

Aghemo, C.; Virgone, J.; Fracastoro, G.V.; Pellegrino, A.; Blaso, L.; Savoyat, J.; Johannes, Kevyn

2013-01-01

The presented work addresses the topic of energy savings in existing public buildings, when no significant retrofits on building envelope or plants can be done and savings can be achieved by designing intelligent ICT-based service to monitor and control environmental conditions, energy loads and plants operation. At the end of 2010 the European Commission, within the Seventh Framework Program, has founded a project entitled “Smart Energy Efficient Middleware for Public Spaces” (SEEMPubS). To ...

Es ist das Einfache, das schwer zu machen ist – Open Access im wissenschaftlichen Publikationsprozess / It is the simple things that are hard to do: Open Access and scholarly publications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Böske, Julia

2010-11-01

Full Text Available In the last years the scientific system of publication was challenged increasingly. Open Access – the free access to scientific information – has contributed a lot to it. Therefore is a profound discussion with the phenomenon Open Access worthwhile. In this context the business model of traditional publishing is compared to that of the Open Access. This comparison should give the impulse to think over the interpretation of the Open Access referring to the Berlin Declaration and to open to new forms of the Open Access. However, for this purpose existing enemy images must be destroyed which were aroused since the last years above all between commercial publishing companies and the science. In this respect the following implementations are not only a dialogue help, but they also refresh the legitimization of commercial publishing companies in the publication process and offer them a new action basis. Because Open Access should be understood not only as a danger – above all it is a challenge and chance for the continuity of commercial scientific publishing companies. The point is that it is possible to break into electronic markets of tomorrow.

The access of political representatives to information and the new laws on transparency and access to public information. In particular, their capacity to file claims with the transparency authorities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilio Guichot Reina

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The new public independent authorities in charge of access to information’s claims have adopted conflicting positions on the rules applicable to requests for information made by political representatives and on their own competence to hear complaints they may raise. The right of access to the information of the political representatives cannot have a smaller scope in its substantive, procedural and guarantees content than the one that the new regulation on transparency and access to the information recognizes to any person. The case law of the Supreme Court has consistently affirmed this. It would contribute to legal certainty if this criterion was followed by every new public independent authorities and it was expressly established by a future legislative reform.

The choice of primary energy source including PV installation for providing electric energy to a public utility building - a case study

Science.gov (United States)

Radomski, Bartosz; Ćwiek, Barbara; Mróz, Tomasz M.

2017-11-01

The paper presents multicriteria decision aid analysis of the choice of PV installation providing electric energy to a public utility building. From the energy management point of view electricity obtained by solar radiation has become crucial renewable energy source. Application of PV installations may occur a profitable solution from energy, economic and ecologic point of view for both existing and newly erected buildings. Featured variants of PV installations have been assessed by multicriteria analysis based on ANP (Analytic Network Process) method. Technical, economical, energy and environmental criteria have been identified as main decision criteria. Defined set of decision criteria has an open character and can be modified in the dialog process between the decision-maker and the expert - in the present case, an expert in planning of development of energy supply systems. The proposed approach has been used to evaluate three variants of PV installation acceptable for existing educational building located in Poznań, Poland - the building of Faculty of Chemical Technology, Poznań University of Technology. Multi-criteria analysis based on ANP method and the calculation software Super Decisions has proven to be an effective tool for energy planning, leading to the indication of the recommended variant of PV installation in existing and newly erected public buildings. Achieved results show prospects and possibilities of rational renewable energy usage as complex solution to public utility buildings.

Massive financing of the energy transition - SFTE feasibility study: synthesis report, Energy renovation of public buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-11-01

The Energy Shift Financing Agency's (SFTE) project aims to establish a broad partnership between public and private entities to stimulate the economy and deliver between euros 180 bn and euros 420 bn of investment in Europe over 10 years for the benefit of medium-sized projects (in the order of euros 1 m) that are necessary for the energy transition. It will enable EU banks to finance the energy renovation of public buildings under excellent - cheap and long-term - conditions. A feasibility study has been conducted by the AFTER association with an exemplary consortium of public and private stakeholders in France: local authorities, industry players, banks/financial institutions, NGOs, Plan Batiment Durable. Many European institutions have expressed their interest in the initiative. Now the implementation of the SFTE project requires a commitment from European and national public authorities. Such a proactive real-estate policy would significantly contribute to economic recovery, cut costs, CO_2 emissions and the external deficit and improve energy independence, and could quickly create jobs. This document is the French version of the synthesis report of the SFTE project feasibility study. Two notes are attached to the document: one about the SFTE project adaptation to the Juncker's 315 bn euros investment plan, and the other about the selection of public buildings energy retrofitting in the Juncker plan and the French-German proposals

Accessing the public MIMIC-II intensive care relational database for clinical research.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Daniel J; Lee, Joon; Silva, Ikaro; Park, Shinhyuk; Moody, George B; Celi, Leo A; Mark, Roger G

2013-01-10

The Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care II (MIMIC-II) database is a free, public resource for intensive care research. The database was officially released in 2006, and has attracted a growing number of researchers in academia and industry. We present the two major software tools that facilitate accessing the relational database: the web-based QueryBuilder and a downloadable virtual machine (VM) image. QueryBuilder and the MIMIC-II VM have been developed successfully and are freely available to MIMIC-II users. Simple example SQL queries and the resulting data are presented. Clinical studies pertaining to acute kidney injury and prediction of fluid requirements in the intensive care unit are shown as typical examples of research performed with MIMIC-II. In addition, MIMIC-II has also provided data for annual PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenges, including the 2012 Challenge "Predicting mortality of ICU Patients". QueryBuilder is a web-based tool that provides easy access to MIMIC-II. For more computationally intensive queries, one can locally install a complete copy of MIMIC-II in a VM. Both publicly available tools provide the MIMIC-II research community with convenient querying interfaces and complement the value of the MIMIC-II relational database.

Conducting Accessible Research: Including People With Disabilities in Public Health, Epidemiological, and Outcomes Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Rios, Dianne; Magasi, Susan; Novak, Catherine; Harniss, Mark

2016-12-01

People with disabilities are largely absent from mainstream health research. Exclusion of people with disabilities may be explicit, attributable to poorly justified exclusion criteria, or implicit, attributable to inaccessible study documents, interventions, or research measures. Meanwhile, people with disabilities experience poorer health, greater incidence of chronic conditions, and higher health care expenditure than people without disabilities. We outline our approach to "accessible research design"-research accessible to and inclusive of people with disabilities. We describe a model that includes 3 tiers: universal design, accommodations, and modifications. Through our work on several large-scale research studies, we provide pragmatic examples of accessible research design. Making efforts to include people with disabilities in public health, epidemiological, and outcomes studies will enhance the interpretability of findings for a significant patient population.

Europe sees mixed results from public-private partnerships for building and managing health care facilities and services.

Science.gov (United States)

Barlow, James; Roehrich, Jens; Wright, Steve

2013-01-01

Prompted in part by constrained national budgets, European governments are increasingly partnering with the private sector to underwrite the costs of constructing and operating public hospitals and other health care facilities and delivering services. Through such public-private partnerships, governments hope to avoid up-front capital expenditure and to harness private-sector efficiencies, while private-sector partners aim for a return on investment. Our research indicates that to date, experience with these partnerships has been mixed. Early models of these partnerships-for example, in which a private firm builds a hospital and carries out building maintenance, which we term an "accommodation-only" model-arguably have not met expectations for achieving greater efficiencies at lower costs. Newer models described in this article offer greater opportunities for efficiency gains but are administratively harder to set up and manage. Given the shortages in public capital for new infrastructure, it seems likely that the attractiveness of these partnerships to European governments will grow.

The New Cispadana Motorway. Impact on Industrial Buildings Property Values

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Tondelli

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Infrastructures, through externalities, modify the territorial status quo: by creating advantages and disadvantages, they lead to inequalities and territorial cohesion problems, calling for a setup of territorial equalization mechanisms. In this paper, the estimation of the costs and benefits generated from the building of the new Cispadana regional motorway (Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy is described. The study focuses on the price variations of the industrial buildings property values in the real estate market after the new motorway will be built, aiming at developing a forecasting method, which could be repeatable and applicable to other kinds of externalities. Thanks to the hedonic pricing method, which is recurring in transport literature, using a multiple linear regression model based on ordinary least squares method (OLS, the contribution of the accessibility on the industrial buildings' pricing has been isolated; it was then possible to forecast the rise in the industrial buildings prices that will be due to the accessibility variation produced by the new infrastructure. The purpose of such a procedure is the setup of equalization mechanisms, which can re-balance the territorial effects though he so-called “land value capture” tools. Thanks to a relatively quick phase of development and implementation, the  described application could be used as a tool for the ex-ante evaluation of different infrastructure projects and as an ex-post analysis tool for the monitoring of an existing infrastructure. Finally, thanks to the chance to understand the contribution of each territorial feature to the final price of the good, this application could be very useful in participatory planning processes because it could provide a common knowledge base which could be used to support the public administration’s capability of negotiation with the private partner, both in the  participatory planning processes and in the public-private partnership

The economic impact of energy saving retrofits of residential and public buildings in Croatia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikulić, Davor; Bakarić, Ivana Rašić; Slijepčević, Sunčana

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to estimunate the impact of energy saving investment in residential and public buildings in Croatia for the period 2015–2020. The aim is to assess the overall socio-economic impact of energy saving renovation measures defined in Croatian strategic documents in terms of the direct, indirect and induced growth of gross value added, employment and government revenues. An estimate of the avoided costs of air pollution is also included. The overall economic impact assessment is based on an input-output methodology. From the point of view of individual investors, the benefits in terms of reduced future expenses related to energy products are usually below energy efficient renovation investment costs, making an investment financially viable only if government support is provided. If the benefits for society as a whole are included, energy efficient renovation could be assessed as viable even in the short-run. Energy saving retrofits of residential and public buildings positively contribute to economic growth, employment and protection of the environment. Because of economic growth, the tax revenues induced by these investments could compensate for government expenditures, and the overall impact on the public deficit is expected to be neutral even in the short-run. - Highlights: •Estimate of the overall socioeconomic impact of energy saving renovation measures on national economy. •Energy efficient renovation if not subsidised is not financially viable from the owner perspective. •Total social benefits are higher than social costs due to positive externalities. •Impact of subsidies on public deficit is neutral even in the short run.

Virtual slides in peer reviewed, open access medical publication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kayser Klaus

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Application of virtual slides (VS, the digitalization of complete glass slides, is in its infancy to be implemented in routine diagnostic surgical pathology and to issues that are related to tissue-based diagnosis, such as education and scientific publication. Approach Electronic publication in Pathology offers new features of scientific communication in pathology that cannot be obtained by conventional paper based journals. Most of these features are based upon completely open or partly directed interaction between the reader and the system that distributes the article. One of these interactions can be applied to microscopic images allowing the reader to navigate and magnify the presented images. VS and interactive Virtual Microscopy (VM are a tool to increase the scientific value of microscopic images. Technology and Performance The open access journal Diagnostic Pathology http://www.diagnosticpathology.org has existed for about five years. It is a peer reviewed journal that publishes all types of scientific contributions, including original scientific work, case reports and review articles. In addition to digitized still images the authors of appropriate articles are requested to submit the underlying glass slides to an institution (DiagnomX.eu, and Leica.com for digitalization and documentation. The images are stored in a separate image data bank which is adequately linked to the article. The normal review process is not involved. Both processes (peer review and VS acquisition are performed contemporaneously in order to minimize a potential publication delay. VS are not provided with a DOI index (digital object identifier. The first articles that include VS were published in March 2011. Results and Perspectives Several logistic constraints had to be overcome until the first articles including VS could be published. Step by step an automated acquisition and distribution system had to be implemented to the corresponding

Access to antiretroviral treatment, issues of well-being and public health governance in Chad: what justifies the limited success of the universal access policy?

Science.gov (United States)

Azétsop, Jacquineau; Diop, Blondin A

2013-08-01

Universal access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Chad was officially declared in December 2006. This presidential initiative was and is still funded 100% by the country's budget and external donors' financial support. Many factors have triggered the spread of AIDS. Some of these factors include the existence of norms and beliefs that create or increase exposure, the low-level education that precludes access to health information, social unrest, and population migration to areas of high economic opportunities and gender-based discrimination. Social forces that influence the distribution of dimensions of well-being and shape risks for infection also determine the persistence of access barriers to ART. The universal access policy is quite revolutionary but should be informed by the systemic barriers to access so as to promote equity. It is not enough to distribute ARVs and provide health services when health systems are poorly organized and managed. Comprehensive access to ART raises many organizational, ethical and policy problems that need to be solved to achieve equity in access. This paper argues that the persistence of access barriers is due to weak health systems and a poor public health leadership. AIDS has challenged health systems in a manner that is essentially different from other health problems.

Relative political and value proximity in mediated public diplomacy: The effect of state-level homophily on international frame building

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sheafer, T.; Shenhav, S.R.; Takens, J.H.; van Atteveldt, W.H.

2014-01-01

This article applies the homophily thesis to public diplomacy and offers an empirical examination of a country's success in its mediated public diplomacy efforts. It analyzes international frame building, the process of creating or changing media frames in the international communications arena, by

Penerapan Bahasa Alami Sederhana pada Online Public Access Catalog (Opac) Berbasis Web Semantik

OpenAIRE

Andri, Andri

2012-01-01

Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) merupakan sistem katalog online yang memanfaatkan teknologi komputer dan internet sebagai media pengaksesan dan penyimpanan datanya. Sebuah katalog biasanya memberikan informasi mengenai koleksi yang disimpan dalam sebuah perpustakaan digital. Dalam penelitian ini akan dibuat sebuah prototipe aplikasi pencarian pada katalog online di perpustakaan Universitas Binadarma Palembang berbasis teknologi web semantik serta menerapkan pengolahan bahasa alami sederha...

Individual- and area-level disparities in access to the road network, subway system and a public bicycle share program on the Island of Montreal, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuller, Daniel; Gauvin, Lise; Kestens, Yan

2013-02-01

Few studies have examined potential disparities in access to transportation infrastructures, an important determinant of population health. To examine individual- and area-level disparities in access to the road network, public transportation system, and a public bicycle share program in Montreal, Canada. Examining associations between sociodemographic variables and access to the road network, public transportation system, and a public bicycle share program, 6,495 adult respondents (mean age, 48.7 years; 59.0 % female) nested in 33 areas were included in a multilevel analysis. Individuals with lower incomes lived significantly closer to public transportation and the bicycle share program. At the area level, the interaction between low-education and low-income neighborhoods showed that these areas were significantly closer to public transportation and the bicycle share program controlling for individual and urbanicity variables. More deprived areas of the Island of Montreal have better access to transportation infrastructure than less-deprived areas.

How to Measure Carbon Emission Reduction in China’s Public Building Sector: Retrospective Decomposition Analysis Based on STIRPAT Model in 2000–2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minda Ma

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Productive building energy efficiency (BEE work is an approved factor in the progress of sustainable urbanization in China, with the assessment of carbon emission reduction in China’s public buildings (CERCPB being an essential element of this endeavor. Nevertheless, such evaluation has been hampered by inadequate and inefficient approaches; this is the first study to utilize the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index Type I (LMDI-I to decompose the equation of China’s public building carbon emissions (CPBCE with the connected driving factors (population in China, floor areas of China’s existing public buildings, building service level index of China’s existing public buildings, and the comparable CPBCE intensity, and this equation was established by the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT model. The LMDI and STIRPAT approaches subsequently assessed the CERCPB values from 2001 to 2015. The results indicated that: (1 Only the contribution of the comparable CPBCE intensity to CPBCE was negative during 2001–2015; this represents the CERCPB value for the period. (2 The assessment results indicated that CERCPB has accumulated considerably with the swift progress of BEE work in China in 2001–2015. The CERCPB values in 2001–2005, 2006–2010, and 2011–2015 were 69.29, 158.53, and 277.86 million tons of carbon dioxide, respectively. (3 This study demonstrated that the positive effect of implementing public BEE work in China had led to significant results in 2001–2015, which can be regarded as a prerequisite for producing the considerable accumulation of CERCPB over this period. Overall, this study illustrated the feasibility of employing the LMDI and STIRPAT approaches for assessing the CERCPB value. Accordingly, we believe the results of this study are a significant driving force in the next phase of the development of the carbon emission control strategy of public buildings and sustainable

ICT Enhanced Buildings Potentials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansson, Per

2007-01-01

component systems that are accessed and integrated in the real world of building use in different contexts. The ICT systems may be physically or virtually embedded in the building. Already in 1982 AT&T established the 'intelligent buildings', IB, concept due to marketing reasons and the Informart building...... with focus on virtual building models support, new services and user environment definitions and development, virtual spaces and augmented reality, intelligent building components, application ontologies, and ICT systems integration to illustrate ICT enhanced buildings potentials and R&D needs.  ...

Sick building syndrome: in public buildings and workplaces

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Abdul-Wahab, Sabah A

2011-01-01

... are health and pleasant to live in. The chapters of this book have elaborated in a clear style, yet scientifically solid, the causes, diagnostic tools, health impacts and mitigation approaches that may be applied to existing and planned buildings. I would like to congratulate the authors and the editor for this excellent effort. We at SQU are proud ...

Optimal Decision Model for Sustainable Hospital Building Renovation—A Case Study of a Vacant School Building Converting into a Community Public Hospital

Science.gov (United States)

Juan, Yi-Kai; Cheng, Yu-Ching; Perng, Yeng-Horng; Castro-Lacouture, Daniel

2016-01-01

Much attention has been paid to hospitals environments since modern pandemics have emerged. The building sector is considered to be the largest world energy consumer, so many global organizations are attempting to create a sustainable environment in building construction by reducing energy consumption. Therefore, maintaining high standards of hygiene while reducing energy consumption has become a major task for hospitals. This study develops a decision model based on genetic algorithms and A* graph search algorithms to evaluate existing hospital environmental conditions and to recommend an optimal scheme of sustainable renovation strategies, considering trade-offs among minimal renovation cost, maximum quality improvement, and low environmental impact. Reusing vacant buildings is a global and sustainable trend. In Taiwan, for example, more and more school space will be unoccupied due to a rapidly declining birth rate. Integrating medical care with local community elder-care efforts becomes important because of the aging population. This research introduces a model that converts a simulated vacant school building into a community public hospital renovation project in order to validate the solutions made by hospital managers and suggested by the system. The result reveals that the system performs well and its solutions are more successful than the actions undertaken by decision-makers. This system can improve traditional hospital building condition assessment while making it more effective and efficient. PMID:27347986

Optimal Decision Model for Sustainable Hospital Building Renovation-A Case Study of a Vacant School Building Converting into a Community Public Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Juan, Yi-Kai; Cheng, Yu-Ching; Perng, Yeng-Horng; Castro-Lacouture, Daniel

2016-06-24

Much attention has been paid to hospitals environments since modern pandemics have emerged. The building sector is considered to be the largest world energy consumer, so many global organizations are attempting to create a sustainable environment in building construction by reducing energy consumption. Therefore, maintaining high standards of hygiene while reducing energy consumption has become a major task for hospitals. This study develops a decision model based on genetic algorithms and A* graph search algorithms to evaluate existing hospital environmental conditions and to recommend an optimal scheme of sustainable renovation strategies, considering trade-offs among minimal renovation cost, maximum quality improvement, and low environmental impact. Reusing vacant buildings is a global and sustainable trend. In Taiwan, for example, more and more school space will be unoccupied due to a rapidly declining birth rate. Integrating medical care with local community elder-care efforts becomes important because of the aging population. This research introduces a model that converts a simulated vacant school building into a community public hospital renovation project in order to validate the solutions made by hospital managers and suggested by the system. The result reveals that the system performs well and its solutions are more successful than the actions undertaken by decision-makers. This system can improve traditional hospital building condition assessment while making it more effective and efficient.

Making USGS Science Data more Open, Accessible, and Usable: Leveraging ScienceBase for Success

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, M.; Ignizio, D.; Langseth, M. L.; Norkin, T.

2016-12-01

In 2013, the White House released initiatives requiring federally funded research to be made publicly available and machine readable. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been developing a unified approach to make USGS data available and open. This effort has involved the establishment of internal policies and the release of a Public Access Plan, which outlines a strategy for the USGS to move forward into the modern era in scientific data management. Originally designed as a catalog and collaborative data management platform, ScienceBase (www.sciencebase.gov) is being leveraged to serve as a robust data hosting solution for USGS researchers to make scientific data accessible. With the goal of maintaining persistent access to formal data products and developing a management approach to facilitate stable data citation, the ScienceBase Data Release Team was established to ensure the quality, consistency, and meaningful organization of USGS data through standardized workflows and best practices. These practices include the creation and maintenance of persistent identifiers for data, improving the use of open data formats, establishing permissions for read/write access, validating the quality of standards compliant metadata, verifying that data have been reviewed and approved prior to release, and connecting to external search catalogs such as the USGS Science Data Catalog (data.usgs.gov) and data.gov. The ScienceBase team is actively building features to support this effort by automating steps to streamline the process, building metrics to track site visits and downloads, and connecting published digital resources in line with USGS and Federal policy. By utilizing ScienceBase to achieve stewardship quality and employing a dedicated team to help USGS scientists improve the quality of their data, the USGS is helping to meet today's data quality management challenges and ensure that reliable USGS data are available to and reusable for the public.

Building and Rebuilding: The National Public Health Laboratory Systems and Services Before and After the Earthquake and Cholera Epidemic, Haiti, 2009-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Jean Louis, Frantz; Buteau, Josiane; Boncy, Jacques; Anselme, Renette; Stanislas, Magalie; Nagel, Mary C; Juin, Stanley; Charles, Macarthur; Burris, Robert; Antoine, Eva; Yang, Chunfu; Kalou, Mireille; Vertefeuille, John; Marston, Barbara J; Lowrance, David W; Deyde, Varough

2017-10-01

Before the 2010 devastating earthquake and cholera outbreak, Haiti's public health laboratory systems were weak and services were limited. There was no national laboratory strategic plan and only minimal coordination across the laboratory network. Laboratory capacity was further weakened by the destruction of over 25 laboratories and testing sites at the departmental and peripheral levels and the loss of life among the laboratory health-care workers. However, since 2010, tremendous progress has been made in building stronger laboratory infrastructure and training a qualified public health laboratory workforce across the country, allowing for decentralization of access to quality-assured services. Major achievements include development and implementation of a national laboratory strategic plan with a formalized and strengthened laboratory network; introduction of automation of testing to ensure better quality of results and diversify the menu of tests to effectively respond to outbreaks; expansion of molecular testing for tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus, malaria, diarrheal and respiratory diseases; establishment of laboratory-based surveillance of epidemic-prone diseases; and improvement of the overall quality of testing. Nonetheless, the progress and gains made remain fragile and require the full ownership and continuous investment from the Haitian government to sustain these successes and achievements.

Fixed Access Network Sharing

Science.gov (United States)

Cornaglia, Bruno; Young, Gavin; Marchetta, Antonio

2015-12-01

Fixed broadband network deployments are moving inexorably to the use of Next Generation Access (NGA) technologies and architectures. These NGA deployments involve building fiber infrastructure increasingly closer to the customer in order to increase the proportion of fiber on the customer's access connection (Fibre-To-The-Home/Building/Door/Cabinet… i.e. FTTx). This increases the speed of services that can be sold and will be increasingly required to meet the demands of new generations of video services as we evolve from HDTV to "Ultra-HD TV" with 4k and 8k lines of video resolution. However, building fiber access networks is a costly endeavor. It requires significant capital in order to cover any significant geographic coverage. Hence many companies are forming partnerships and joint-ventures in order to share the NGA network construction costs. One form of such a partnership involves two companies agreeing to each build to cover a certain geographic area and then "cross-selling" NGA products to each other in order to access customers within their partner's footprint (NGA coverage area). This is tantamount to a bi-lateral wholesale partnership. The concept of Fixed Access Network Sharing (FANS) is to address the possibility of sharing infrastructure with a high degree of flexibility for all network operators involved. By providing greater configuration control over the NGA network infrastructure, the service provider has a greater ability to define the network and hence to define their product capabilities at the active layer. This gives the service provider partners greater product development autonomy plus the ability to differentiate from each other at the active network layer.

Fulfillment Research Resources through Access Financial Report fo Go Public Company at Library STIE Perbanas Surabaya Perpustakaan STIE Perbanas Surabaya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melati Purba Bestari

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Modern libraries are characterized by the diversity of information services to users, including to fulfill the information needs of researchers. Fulfill the information requirements for this research group is very important because the information provided affect the quality of research. Library of STIE Perbanas Surabaya efforts to fulfill the information needs of researchers is to provide research resources through the provision of access annual and financial report for go public company. To provide convenience to users who do research and need annual and financial report for go public, library of STIE Perbanas Surabaya provide easy access through online catalog. To fulfill the annual and financial report for go public company, library tracking data on Indonesian stock exchange and go public company. Library attempts to provide easy access to information is expected to support a process that requires researchers and  annual and financial report data so as to improve the quality and quantity of scientific works in the field of economics science, especially for subject of banking, finance and business.

Fulfillment Research Resources through Access Financial Report fo Go Public Company at Library STIE Perbanas Surabaya Perpustakaan STIE Perbanas Surabaya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melati Purba Bestari

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Modern libraries are characterized by the diversity of information services to users, including to fulfill the information needs of researchers. Fulfilling the information requirements for this research group is very important because the information provided affect the quality of research. Library of STIE Perbanas Surabaya efforts to fulfill the information needs of researchers is to provide research resources through the provision of access annual and financial report for go public company. To provide convenience to users who do research and need annual and financial report for go public, library of STIE Perbanas Surabaya provide easy access through online catalog. To fulfill the annual and financial report for go public company, library tracked data on Indonesian stock exchange and go public company. Library attempts to provide easy access to information is expected to support a process that requires researchers and annual and financial report data so as to improve the quality and quantity of scientific works in the field of economics science, especially for subject of banking, finance and business.

The EV Project Price/Fee Models for Publicly Accessible Charging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Francfort, James Edward [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-12-01

As plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are introduced to the market place and gain more consumer acceptance, it is important for a robust and self-sustaining non-residential infrastructure of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) to be established to meet the needs of PEV drivers. While federal and state financial incentives for electric vehicles were in place and remain so today, future incentives are uncertain. In order for PEVs to achieve mainstream adoption, an adequate and sustainable commercial or publicly available charging infrastructure was pursued by The EV Project to encourage increased PEV purchases by alleviating range anxiety, and by removing adoption barriers for consumers without a dedicated overnight parking location to provide a home-base charger. This included determining a business model for publicly accessible charge infrastructure. To establish this business model, The EV Project team created a fee for charge model along with various ancillary offerings related to charging that would generate revenue. And after placing chargers in the field the Project rolled out this fee structure.

Where civics meets science: building science for the public good through Civic Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Garlick, J A; Levine, P

2017-09-01

Public understanding of science and civic engagement on science issues that impact contemporary life matter more today than ever. From the Planned Parenthood controversy, to the Flint water crisis and the fluoridation debate, societal polarization about science issues has reached dramatic levels that present significant obstacles to public discussion and problem solving. This is happening, in part, because systems built to support science do not often reward open-minded thinking, inclusive dialogue, and moral responsibility regarding science issues. As a result, public faith in science continues to erode. This review explores how the field of Civic Science can impact public work on science issues by building new understanding of the practices, influences, and cultures of science. Civic Science is defined as a discipline that considers science practice and knowledge as resources for civic engagement, democratic action, and political change. This review considers how Civic Science informs the roles that key participants-scientists, public citizens and institutions of higher education-play in our national science dialogue. Civic Science aspires to teach civic capacities, to inform the responsibilities of scientists engaged in public science issues and to inspire an open-minded, inclusive dialogue where all voices are heard and shared commitments are acknowledged. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Why is Design-Build Commonly Used in the Public Sector? An Illustration from Hong Kong

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edmond Lam

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The Design and Build (D&B procurement method is one of the systems advocated to overcome inadequacies with the traditional procurement method. In recent years, this innovative procurement method has been put to practice in Hong Kong where a vast amount of infrastructure works is taking place. This paper aims to illustrate the applicability of design-build in the Hong Kong setting.As most D&B projects are undertaken by the public sector of Hong Kong, the main features of a public sector project and reasons for its wider use on D&B are fully examined in the paper. To further explore the benefits of D&B in actual practice, structured interviews have been conducted with clients, contractors and consultants running D&B projects in Hong Kong. Summary of major problems of running D&B projects from the previous study by the authors is also outlined. With the increasing use of D&B in the public sector of Hong Kong and worldwide, more research can be undertaken on the quantitative comparison of the traditional mode of procurement and how to carry out a D&B project successfully so as to develop a knowledge base for the D&B procurement method.

Ethical policies on animal experiments are not compromised by whether a journal is freely accessible or charges for publication

OpenAIRE

Rands, SA

2009-01-01

The advent of the open access (OA) movement in publishing has been instrumental in causing a shift in the accessibility of research findings published in academic journals. The adoption of OA and other online publication models means that the results of scientific research published in journals using a free access (FA) framework are now available, free of charge, to anyone with access to the Internet. FA journals typically require a payment from the authors of a manuscript, which has raised c...

36 CFR 1254.32 - What rules apply to public access use of the Internet on NARA-supplied computers?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... access use of the Internet on NARA-supplied computers? 1254.32 Section 1254.32 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC AVAILABILITY AND USE USING RECORDS AND DONATED... for Internet use in all NARA research rooms. The number of workstations varies per location. We...

Access 2010 Programmer's Reference

CERN Document Server

Hennig, Teresa; Griffith, Geoffrey L

2010-01-01

A comprehensive guide to programming for Access 2010 and 2007. Millions of people use the Access database applications, and hundreds of thousands of developers work with Access daily. Access 2010 brings better integration with SQL Server and enhanced XML support; this Wrox guide shows developers how to take advantage of these and other improvements. With in-depth coverage of VBA, macros, and other programming methods for building Access applications, this book also provides real-world code examples to demonstrate each topic.: Access is the leading database that is used worldwide; While VBA rem

Making public mental-health services accessible to deaf consumers: Illinois Deaf Services 2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Munro-Ludders, Bruce; Simpatico, Thomas; Zvetina, Daria

2004-01-01

Illinois Deaf Services 2000 (IDS2000), a public/private partnership, promotes the creation and implementation of strategies to develop and increase access to mental health services for deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and deaf-blind consumers. IDS2000 has resulted in the establishment of service accessibility standards, a technical support and adherence monitoring system, and the beginnings of a statewide telepsychiatry service. These system modifications have resulted in increase by 60% from baseline survey data in the number of deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and deaf-blind consumers identified in community mental-health agencies in Illinois. Depending on the situation of deaf services staff and infrastructure, much of IDS2000 could be replicated in other states in a mostly budget-neutral manner.

Access 2013 bible

CERN Document Server

Alexander, Michael

2013-01-01

A comprehensive reference to the updated and new features of Access 2013 As the world's most popular database management tool, Access enables you to organize, present, analyze, and share data as well as build powerful database solutions. However, databases can be complex. That's why you need the expert guidance in this comprehensive reference. Access 2013 Bible helps you gain a solid understanding of database purpose, construction, and application so that whether you're new to Access or looking to upgrade to the 2013 version, this well-rounded resource provides you with a th

Beyond access: a case study on the intersection between accessibility, sustainability, and universal design.

Science.gov (United States)

Gossett, Andrea; Mirza, Mansha; Barnds, Ann Kathleen; Feidt, Daisy

2009-11-01

A growing emphasis has been placed on providing equal opportunities for all people, particularly people with disabilities, to support participation. Barriers to participation are represented in part by physical space restrictions. This article explores the decision-making process during the construction of a new office building housing a disability-rights organization. The building project featured in this study was developed on the principles of universal design, maximal accessibility, and sustainability to support access and participation. A qualitative case study approach was used involving collection of data through in-depth interviews with key decision-makers; non-participant observations at design meetings; and on-site tours. Qualitative thematic analysis along with the development of a classification system was used to understand specific building elements and the relevant decision processes from which they resulted. Recording and analyzing the design process revealed several key issues including grassroots involvement of stakeholders; interaction between universal design and sustainable design; addressing diversity through flexibility and universality; and segregationist accessibility versus universal design. This case study revealed complex interactions between accessibility, universal design, and sustainability. Two visual models were proposed to understand and analyze these complexities.

Building energy analysis tool

Science.gov (United States)

Brackney, Larry; Parker, Andrew; Long, Nicholas; Metzger, Ian; Dean, Jesse; Lisell, Lars

2016-04-12

A building energy analysis system includes a building component library configured to store a plurality of building components, a modeling tool configured to access the building component library and create a building model of a building under analysis using building spatial data and using selected building components of the plurality of building components stored in the building component library, a building analysis engine configured to operate the building model and generate a baseline energy model of the building under analysis and further configured to apply one or more energy conservation measures to the baseline energy model in order to generate one or more corresponding optimized energy models, and a recommendation tool configured to assess the one or more optimized energy models against the baseline energy model and generate recommendations for substitute building components or modifications.

Evaluation of Public E-Services and Information Technology Accessibility in Different Social Groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramutė Naujikienė

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to develop an approach based on the social quality evaluation square model for evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. Componential view to the accessibility of e-services including IT means providing the possibility to research the influences of different life conditions to usage of the public e-services. The task of this empirical study is directed towards revealing the differences of e-inclusion and e-services accessibility for social groups of citizens of Lithuania, and to compare this accessibility data with other EU countries.Design/methodology/approach—the approach is based on the square model of social quality evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. The social division square model includes an assessment of quality according to the evaluation of socioeconomic security, social inclusion, social cohesion, and empowerment. Empowerment can be defined as consisting of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life.Findings—the results are demonstrated by the accessibility of public e-services data, which are evaluated by the quality of social group development according to IT applications. The hypothesis was confirmed that the e-government activities can be realized by properly selecting and installing technologies, and using technology facilities. E-services influence the capabilities of state officials to apply modern technology and increase the availability of e-services for social groups. Results consist of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life, to implementation of effective information technologies in the e-government activities and using of e-services. An important indicator is the implementation of e-services in the activity of citizens. It is submitted as the index of e-participation in dealing with the activities of citizens and the possibilities of authorities directly related with providing services

Evaluation of Public E-Services and Information Technology Accessibility in Different Social Groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramutė Naujikienė

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to develop an approach based on the social quality evaluation square model for evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. Componential view to the accessibility of e-services including IT means providing the possibility to research the influences of different life conditions to usage of the public e-services. The task of this empirical study is directed towards revealing the differences of e-inclusion and e-services accessibility for social groups of citizens of Lithuania, and to compare this accessibility data with other EU countries. Design/methodology/approach—the approach is based on the square model of social quality evaluation of information technology usage in different social groups. The social division square model includes an assessment of quality according to the evaluation of socioeconomic security, social inclusion, social cohesion, and empowerment. Empowerment can be defined as consisting of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life. Findings—the results are demonstrated by the accessibility of public e-services data, which are evaluated by the quality of social group development according to IT applications. The hypothesis was confirmed that the e-government activities can be realized by properly selecting and installing technologies, and using technology facilities. E-services influence the capabilities of state officials to apply modern technology and increase the availability of e-services for social groups. Results consist of individual or collective decisions to act on one’s own life, to implementation of effective information technologies in the e-government activities and using of e-services. An important indicator is the implementation of e-services in the activity of citizens. It is submitted as the index of e-participation in dealing with the activities of citizens and the possibilities of authorities directly related with providing

Improving access to medicines in low and middle income countries: corporate responsibilities in context.

Science.gov (United States)

Leisinger, Klaus Michael; Garabedian, Laura Faden; Wagner, Anita Katharina

2012-12-01

More than two billion people in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) lack adequate access to essential medicines. In this paper, we make strong public health, human rights and economic arguments for improving access to medicines in LMIC and discuss the different roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, including national governments, the international community, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). We then establish a framework of pharmaceutical firms' corporate responsibilities - the "must," the "ought to," and the "can" dimensions - and make recommendations for actionable business strategies for improving access to medicines. We discuss controversial topics, such as pharmaceutical profits and patents, with the goal of building consensus around facts and working towards a solution. We conclude that partnerships and collaboration among multiple stakeholders are urgently needed to improve equitable access to medicines in LMIC.

Saving lives with public access defibrillation: A deadly game of hide and seek.

Science.gov (United States)

Sidebottom, David B; Potter, Ryan; Newitt, Laura K; Hodgetts, Gillian A; Deakin, Charles D

2018-07-01

Early defibrillation is a critical link in the chain of survival. Public access defibrillation (PAD) programmes utilising automated external defibrillators (AEDs) aim to decrease the time-to-first-shock, and improve survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Effective use of PADs requires rapid location of the device, facilitated by adequate signage. We aimed to therefore assess the quality of signage for PADs in the community. From April 2017 to January 2018 we surveyed community PADs available for public use on the 'Save a Life' AED locator mobile application in and around Southampton, UK. Location and signage characteristics were collected, and the distance from the furthest sign to the AED was measured. Researchers evaluated 201 separate PADs. All devices visited were included in the final analysis. No signage at all was present for 135 (67.2%) devices. Only 15/201 (7.5%) AEDs had signage at a distance from AED itself. In only 5 of these cases (2.5%) was signage mounted more than 5.0 m from the AED. When signage was present, 46 used 2008 ILCOR signage and 15 used 2006 Resuscitation Council (UK) signage. Signage visibility was partially or severely obstructed at 27/66 (40.9%) sites. None of the 45 GP surgeries surveyed used exterior signage or an exterior 24/7 access box. Current signage of PADs is poor and limits the device effectiveness by impeding public awareness and location of AEDs. Recommendations should promote visible signage within the operational radius of each AED. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pilot Test of the Online Public Access Catalog Project's User and Nonuser Questionnaires. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Markey, Karen

This report describes the pilot data collections and post-questionnaire interview activities of the Council on Library Resources (CLR)/Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Online Public Access Project. The background of the project is briefly described, the purpose and adminstration of the post-questionnaire interviews are outlined, and pilot…

A Comparison of Keyword Subject Searching on Six British University OPACs Online Public Access Catalogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Aanonson, John

1987-01-01

Compares features of online public access catalogs (OPACs) at six British universities: (1) Cambridge; (2) Hull; (3) Newcastle; (4) Surrey; (5) Sussex; and (6) York. Results of keyword subject searches on two topics performed on each of the OPACs are reported and compared. Six references are listed. (MES)

Open access of publications by veterinary faculty in the United States and Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Nault, André J

2011-01-01

The free availability of full-text veterinary publications in MEDLINE-indexed journals by US and Canadian veterinary faculty from 2006-7 was determined. Additionally, publishing databases were searched to obtain general statistics on veterinary publishing. A survey of institutional initiatives to promote open-access journals and institutional repositories was also performed. Veterinary faculty published a total of 4,872 articles indexed by MEDLINE in 679 different journals. Of these articles, 1,334 (27%) were available as free full text and were published in 245 different journals. Although 51 veterinary-specific journals offering immediate and free full-text access were identified, few articles in this study appeared in these titles. Rather, most free scholarly articles by veterinary faculty appeared in journals with an embargo period. Academic veterinary institutions may want to recommend acceptance of alternate forms of information dissemination (such as open-access journals and journals published only digitally) to encourage greater global dissemination of their research findings. The promotion and use of digital institutional repositories is also an area for future investment and warrants additional research.

Public Access Points, Location of public beach access along the Oregon Coast. Boat ramp locations were added to the dataset to allow users to view the location of boat ramps along the Columbia River and the Willamete River north of the Oregon City Dam., Published in 2005, 1:100000 (1in=8333ft) scale, Oregon Geospatial Enterprise Office (GEO).

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC State | GIS Inventory — Public Access Points dataset current as of 2005. Location of public beach access along the Oregon Coast. Boat ramp locations were added to the dataset to allow users...

43 CFR 8.6 - Buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Buildings. 8.6 Section 8.6 Public Lands: Interior Office of the Secretary of the Interior JOINT POLICIES OF THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE INTERIOR AND OF THE ARMY RELATIVE TO RESERVOIR PROJECT LANDS § 8.6 Buildings. Buildings for human occupancy as well as...

Measurements of the Received Signal Level and Service Coverage Area at the IEEE 802.11 Access Point in the Building

Science.gov (United States)

Gunantara, N.; Sudiarta, P. K.; Prasetya, AAN A. I.; Dharma, A.; Gde Antara, I. N.

2018-04-01

Access point (AP) is part of a Wireless Local Access Network (WLAN) with its communications using WiFi. AP is used to transmit and receive data to users/clients. The ability of AP to serve users/clients depends on many factors. Moreover, if AP is applied in conditions inside the building. In this study, AP is installed at two points inside the building and then measured in the form of the received signal level (RSL) and service coverage area. One AP measured its performance by 26 measurement points and the other AP measured its performance by 20 measurement points. When AP has measured its performance then another AP position is switched off. Based on the measurement result, the received signal level value is the highest value is about -47 dBm at a distance of 3.2 m, while the lowest is about -79 dBm at a 9.21 m because it is on barrier 2 walls. While based on service coverage area, the area which is far away from the AP then the quality of service becomes bad because the transmitted signal is weakening caused by the distance and the loss of the wall.

Distributed Multi-Sensor Real-Time Building Environmental Parameters Monitoring System with Remote Data Access

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beinarts Ivars

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper the advanced monitoring system of multiple environmental parameters is presented. The purpose of the system is a long-term estimation of energy efficiency and sustainability for the research test stands which are made of different building materials. Construction of test stands, and placement of main sensors are presented in the first chapter. The structure of data acquisition system includes a real-time interface with sensors and a data logger that allows to acquire and log data from all sensors with fixed rate. The data logging system provides a remote access to the processing of the acquired data and carries out periodical saving at a remote FTP server using an Internet connection. The system architecture and the usage of sensors are explained in the second chapter. In the third chapter implementation of the system, different interfaces of sensors and energy measuring devices are discussed and several examples of data logger program are presented. Each data logger is reading data from analog and digital channels. Measurements can be displayed directly on a screen using WEB access or using data from FTP server. Measurements and acquired data graphical results are presented in the fourth chapter in the selected diagrams. The benefits of the developed system are presented in the conclusion.

A national survey of public support for restrictions on youth access to tobacco.

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, W J; Crowe, J W

1994-10-01

A national telephone survey was conducted to measure public support for seven proposals to restrict youth access to tobacco products, including increases in the cigarette excise tax. A random digit dialing survey, using computer-assisted telephone interviews and a two-stage Mitofsky-Waksberg design, was used to generate and replace telephone numbers and to select individuals from within households. More than 94% of respondents believed cigarette smoking by children and adolescents to be a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" problem. Most respondents expressed support for all the proposed measures to restrict youth access to tobacco products (fines for sellers, fines for youthful violators, licensing of all tobacco vendors, restrictions on cigarette vending machines, ban on sponsorship of youth-oriented events, and ban on all tobacco advertising), and for increases in the cigarette excise tax.

Pro Access 2010 Development

CERN Document Server

Collins, Mark

2011-01-01

Pro Access 2010 Development is a fundamental resource for developing business applications that take advantage of the features of Access 2010 and the many sources of data available to your business. In this book, you'll learn how to build database applications, create Web-based databases, develop macros and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) tools for Access applications, integrate Access with SharePoint and other business systems, and much more. Using a practical, hands-on approach, this book will take you through all the facets of developing Access-based solutions, such as data modeling, co

Green roof adoption in atlanta, georgia: the effects of building characteristics and subsidies on net private, public, and social benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Mullen, Jeffrey D; Lamsal, Madhur; Colson, Greg

2013-10-01

This research draws on and expands previous studies that have quantified the costs and benefits associated with conventional roofs versus green roofs. Using parameters from those studies to define alternative scenarios, we estimate from a private, public, and social perspective the costs and benefits of installing and maintaining an extensive green roof in Atlanta, GA. Results indicate net private benefits are a decreasing function of roof size and vary considerably across scenarios. In contrast, net public benefits are highly stable across scenarios, ranging from $32.49 to $32.90 m(-2). In addition, we evaluate two alternative subsidy regimes: (i) a general subsidy provided to every building that adopts a green roof and (ii) a targeted subsidy provided only to buildings for which net private benefits are negative but net public benefits are positive. In 6 of the 12 general subsidy scenarios the optimal public policy is not to offer a subsidy; in 5 scenarios the optimal subsidy rate is between $20 and $27 m(-2); and in 1 scenario the optimal rate is $5 m(-2). The optimal rate with a targeted subsidy is between $20 and $27 m(-2) in 11 scenarios and no subsidy is optimal in the twelfth. In most scenarios, a significant portion of net public benefits are generated by buildings for which net private benefits are positive. This suggests a policy focused on information dissemination and technical assistance may be more cost-effective than direct subsidy payments.

Online Public Access Catalog User Studies: A Review of Research Methodologies, March 1986-November 1989.

Science.gov (United States)

Seymour, Sharon

1991-01-01

Review of research methodologies used in studies of online public access catalog (OPAC) users finds that a variety of research methodologies--e.g., surveys, transaction log analysis, interviews--have been used with varying degrees of expertise. It is concluded that poor research methodology resulting from limited training and resources limits the…

The cost risk implementation on design-build project of integrated public spaces child friendly in capital of Jakarta

Science.gov (United States)

Mardiaman, Mubarok, Abdul

2017-11-01

Jakarta area of 662.33 km2 with a population of 10,075,030 inhabitants and green open spaces 9.98%. The Jakarta government built a child-friendly integrated open space as facilities for playing. Providing of facilities was hoped suitable with time, cost, quality, accountability and proper financial governance. Based on the PU ministerial regulation number 19/PRT/M/2015 on the standards and guidelines for procurement the design and construction work on the integrated build and the PU ministerial regulation No. 07/PRT/M/2011 on standards and guidelines for procurement of construction works and consulting services of public works and the ministry of housing. RPTRA development at 123 locations in Jakarta was implemented base on the contract of design and build. The design study was influenced by the cost elements; the main strength (expert), skilled personnel, support personnel, major equipment and support. The construction fee relies on; expert implementation, hardware implementation, preparation work, land, buildings, courtyards, fences, complementary and governance capabilities for human resources in completing the construction activities to minimize the cost risk. Montecarlo simulations was conducted to determine the average unit price, model and analyze systems. In the cost contract, the percentage of design work stipulated 2.5%, build 97.5%. Base on regulation the minister of public work for design work cost 2.72%, build 97.28%. Then, actual cost for design 2.67% and build 97.33%. From the three reference was shown that there are differentiation one another. The acceleration of planning able to make the cost and time more efficient that impact on the implementation margin.

Solar Access to Public Capital (SAPC) Mock Securitization Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mendelsohn, Michael [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Lowder, Travis [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Rottman, Mary [Rottman-Associates, San Francisco, CA (United States); Borod, Ronald [DLA Piper, London (United Kingdom); Gabig, Nathan [KPMG, Knoxville, TN (United States); Henne, Stephen [KPMG, Knoxville, TN (United States); Caplin, Conrad [KPMG, Knoxville, TN (United States); Notte, Quentin [Mercatus, Arlington, VA (United States)

2015-12-21

In late 2012, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) initiated the Solar Access to Public Capital (SAPC) working group. Backed by a three-year funding facility from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), NREL set out to organize the solar, legal, banking, capital markets, engineering, and other relevant stakeholder communities in order to open lower-cost debt investment for solar asset deployment. SAPC engaged its members to standardize contracts, develop best practices, and comprehend how the rating agencies perceive solar project portfolios as an investment asset class. Rating agencies opine on the future creditworthiness of debt obligations. Issuers often seek investment-grade ratings from the rating agencies in order to satisfy the desires of their investors. Therefore, for the solar industry to access larger pools of capital at a favorable cost, it is critical to increase market participants' understanding of solar risk parameters. The process provided valuable information to address rating agency perceptions of risk that, without such information, could require costly credit enhancement or higher yields to attract institutional investors. Two different securities were developed--one for a hypothetical residential solar portfolio and one for a hypothetical commercial solar portfolio. Five rating agencies (Standard and Poor's, Moody's, KBRA, Fitch, and DBRS) participated and provided extensive feedback, some through conversations that extended several months. The findings represented in this report are a composite summary of that feedback and do not indicate any specific feedback from any single rating agency.

PRIVATE AND PUBLIC ENTERPRISE: FLETCHER CONSTRUCTION AND THE BUILDING OF NEW ZEALAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Astrid Baker

2002-01-01

Full Text Available This paper shows how a New Zealand company, Fletcher Construction, created wealth in partnership with the state. The first Labour government was elected in 1935 with a firm commitment to full employment and a broad social security system. Because Labour’s determination to get things done through local industry coincided with James Fletcher’s, and then his son’s, drive for company expansion and profits. Fletchers’ design or construction of roads, wharves, saw-mills, flour mills, pulp mills, paper mills, factories, railway stations, university buildings, hospitals, department stores, office blocks, houses, and ownership and management of stone quarries, brickworks and forests, left a mark in almost every town and city in the country. Many projects required building methods and materials new to New Zealand, the innovative use of traditional materials, large-scale plant, specialist, skilled staff and technical know-how from United States and British construction and engineering firms. In this way Fletcher projects drew together many different suppliers, equipment makers, skilled tradesmen and financiers. As a provider of employment in construction and manufacturing, with easy access to established business and political leaders and a powerful influence on policy making, the company became a potent force in New Zealand’s full employment welfare state.

Building energy efficiency for public hospitals and healthcare facilities in China: Barriers and drivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Tao; Li, Xiaodong; Liao, Pin-Chao; Fang, Dongping

2016-01-01

Maximizing energy efficiency within HHFs (hospitals and healthcare facilities) is a major challenge in the field of energy conservation. This paper studies the key barriers to the implementation of energy-efficient technologies in China's public HHFs. For this purpose, a preliminary survey was conducted at the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau in order to assess the energy conservation efforts being made at 20 public HHFs. In the survey, a list of specific barriers to energy efficiency was created and HHF staffs were asked to rank these barriers in the order of importance. The results show that the economic incentives, appropriate technology, as well as enforceable laws and regulations are insufficiently supported by the government, have become the most significant obstacles to the improvement of energy efficiency. To remedy this, policymakers should take a multipronged approach which addresses the hospitals, projects, and technical and operating procedures in order to encourage the full participation and support of all stakeholders involved. Specifically, the government should offer multilevel economic incentives and reward policies; establish practical mandatory targets for building energy efficiency; provide demonstrable best practices in terms of the project, techniques, and operating procedures; and promote awareness of the importance of property risk management. - Highlights: • We developed a checklist of building energy efficiency barriers of HHFs in China. • We took a survey to prioritize the barriers by the staff from 20 public HHFs. • Policy makers should provide multiple-level solutions to all the stakeholders. • Economic incentives, mandatory target, technique supports are critical drivers.

Courthouse Prototype Building

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malhotra, Mini [ORNL; New, Joshua Ryan [ORNL; Im, Piljae [ORNL

2018-02-01

As part of DOE's support of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 and IECC, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) apply a suite of prototype buildings covering 80% of the commercial building floor area in the U.S. for new construction. Efforts have started on expanding the prototype building suite to cover 90% of the commercial building floor area in the U.S., by developing prototype models for additional building types including place of worship, public order and safety, public assembly. Courthouse is courthouse is a sub-category under the “Public Order and Safety" building type category; other sub-categories include police station, fire station, and jail, reformatory or penitentiary.ORNL used building design guides, databases, and documented courthouse projects, supplemented by personal communication with courthouse facility planning and design experts, to systematically conduct research on the courthouse building and system characteristics. This report documents the research conducted for the courthouse building type and proposes building and system characteristics for developing a prototype building energy model to be included in the Commercial Building Prototype Model suite. According to the 2012 CBECS, courthouses occupy a total of 436 million sqft of floor space or 0.5% of the total floor space in all commercial buildings in the US, next to fast food (0.35%), grocery store or food market (0.88%), and restaurant or cafeteria (1.2%) building types currently included in the Commercial Prototype Building Model suite. Considering aggregated average, courthouse falls among the larger with a mean floor area of 69,400 sqft smaller fuel consumption intensity building types and an average of 94.7 kBtu/sqft compared to 77.8 kBtu/sqft for office and 80 kBtu/sqft for all commercial buildings.Courthouses range in size from 1000 sqft to over a million square foot building gross square feet and 1 courtroom to over 100 courtrooms. Small courthouses

Online medical books: their availability and an assessment of how health sciences libraries provide access on their public Websites.

Science.gov (United States)

MacCall, Steven L

2006-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine the number and topical range of available online medical books and to assess how health sciences libraries were providing access to these resources on their public Websites. The collection-based evaluative technique of list checking was used to assess the number and topical range of online medical books of the six largest publishers. Publisher inventory lists were downloaded over a two-day period (May 16-17, 2004). Titles were counted and compared with the 2003 Brandon/Hill list. A sample of health sciences libraries was subsequently derived by consulting the 2004 "Top Medical Schools-Research" in U.S. News & World Report. Bibliographic and bibliothecal access methods were evaluated based on an inspection of the publicly available Websites of the sample libraries. Of 318 currently published online medical books, 151 (47%) were Brandon/Hill titles covering 42 of 59 Brandon/Hill topics (71%). These 151 titles represented 22% (N = 672) of the Brandon/Hill list, which further broke down as 52 minimal core, 41 initial purchase, and 58 other recommended Brandon/Hill titles. These numbers represented 50%, 28%, and 12%, respectively, of all Brandon/Hill titles corresponding to those categories. In terms of bibliographic access, 20 of 21 of sampled libraries created catalog records for their online medical books, 1 of which also provided analytical access at the chapter level, and none provided access at the chapter section level. Of the 21 libraries, 19 had library Website search engines that provided title-level access and 4 provided access at the chapter level and none that at the chapter section level. For bibliothecal access, 19 of 21 libraries provided title-level access to medical books, 8 of which provided classified and alphabetic arrangements, 1 provided a classified arrangement only, and 10 provided an alphabetic arrangement only. No library provided a bibliothecal arrangement for medical book chapters or chapter

The power of the university in public administration. participation of national university of Colombia campus Manizales, in building public policy for the region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Germán Albeiro Castaño Duque

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The current research aims to investigate the power of the University and its contribution to the public administration through participation in public policy. It examines what has been the role of academia in taking clear and decisive way finding solutions to the problems of communities and how extension programs have influenced the action of the state to lay the foundation of social development. The research methodology is approached from a casual type qualitative perspective, which aims to demonstrate the contribution and participation of the National University of Colombia Campus Manizales in the construction of public policies in its geographical influence area and the coordination with communities immersed in those territories. It is intended that this case study be as an input to generate parameters for the participation of universities in building public policies that contribute to addressing the needs and questions of citizens.

Dutch Building Decree

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholten, N.P.M.

2000-01-01

On the 1 October 1992 a change in the Dutch building legislation took effect: the revised Housing Act, the Building Decree and the technical documents related to this legislation came into force. This publication contains an English translation of the Building Decree. In order to give an idea of the

Do PEV Drivers Park Near Publicly Accessible EVSE in San Diego but Not Use Them?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Francfort, James Edward [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-06-01

The PEV charging stations deployed as part of The EV Project included both residential and non-residential sites. Non-residential sites included EVSE installed in workplace environments, fleet applications and those that were publicly accessible near retail centers, parking lots, and similar locations. The EV Project utilized its Micro-Climate® planning process to determine potential sites for publicly accessible EVSE in San Diego. This process worked with local stakeholders to target EVSE deployment near areas where significant PEV traffic and parking was expected. This planning process is described in The Micro-Climate deployment Process in San Diego1. The EV Project issued its deployment plan for San Diego in November 2010, prior to the sale of PEVs by Nissan and Chevrolet. The Project deployed residential EVSE concurrent with vehicle delivery starting in December 2010. The installation of non-residential EVSE commenced in April 2011 consistent with the original Project schedule, closely following the adoption of PEVs. The residential participation portion of The EV Project was fully subscribed by January 2013 and the non-residential EVSE deployment was essentially completed by August 2013.

Building nursing capacity for palliative care at a Jesuit Catholic University: A model program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eileen R. O’Shea

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The average life span is increasing, due to vast advancements in social conditions, public health, and medical care. Globally, those living with chronic and serious medical conditions can benefit from palliative care services. Yet, the workforce is insufficient to support the demand. This case study describes efforts made by one Jesuit Catholic University to build nursing capacity and to promote access to high quality, compassionate palliative healthcare.

Open Access and the Public Domain in Digital Data and Information for Science: Proceedings of an International Symposium

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Esanu, Julie

2004-01-01

.... On the one hand, the Internet provides valuable new opportunities for overcoming geographic limitations and the promise of unprecedented open access to public information for research on a global basis...

Public Access for Teaching Genomics, Proteomics, and Bioinformatics

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, A. Malcolm

2003-01-01

When the human genome project was conceived, its leaders wanted all researchers to have equal access to the data and associated research tools. Their vision of equal access provides an unprecedented teaching opportunity. Teachers and students have free access to the same databases that researchers are using. Furthermore, the recent movement to…

The Impact of Materials and Maintenance Considerations during the Design Stage of Public Buildings in Oman

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al Rubaiey S.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences of architects and civil engineers in the Sultanate of Oman regarding building maintenance during the design of public buildings. This exploratory and descriptive study used a qualitative approach, drawing data from focus groups in particular, to develop a rich and in-depth description of the designers’ building maintenance experiences. Structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants from architecture and civil engineering fields, from which, the interviewees shared the viewpoint that maintenance functions entirely separate from the design and construction process itself, but that it is, in fact, an integral part of the design process and post-occupancy stage. The designer should plan for sufficient maintenance for the whole building life cycle. However, some elements are more difficult to maintain in Oman than in other regions such as roofs, facades and the substructure of buildings. The results showed that salt is the most challenging environmental factor that could cause building defects. This was followed by solar heat, moisture from below ground and, lastly, rain. Most of these defects occurred during the buildings’ post-occupancy phase and were related to inappropriate or poor design. The results also suggested that deficiencies caused by thermal expansion came in the form of cracks, followed by paint decay, dampness, and staining.

Does public transportation improve the accessibility of primary dental care in São Paulo, Brazil?

Science.gov (United States)

Yuen, Aidan; Martins Rocha, Carla; Kruger, Estie; Tennant, Marc

2018-06-01

Advances in geospatial technologies have recognized the role of geographic distance as a barrier to healthcare accessibility. Frequent transportation is supposed to buffer issues with distance, while infrequent services impede the uptake of care. The role of public transportation on the accessibility of health care-including oral health care-is not well elucidated in the context of megacities, such as the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. This study aimed to compare the supply of public transportation to primary dental clinics and the population between advantaged and disadvantaged areas in São Paulo city. A total of 4101 primary dental clinics in São Paulo city were identified and geocoded. Geographic coordinates were also retrieved for the 19 242 bus stops, 56 commuter rail stations and 64 rapid transit stations. Clinic locations and transport points were integrated with the city's 19 128 constituent census tracts-each containing sociodemographic data on the 11 252 204 residents-using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Almost all clinics were located within 0.5 km of public transportation. Half of all clinics were within 0.5 km of high-frequency transport points, and three-quarters were within 1 km. Likewise, 99% of the population resided within 0.5 km of any public transportation. However, only 22% were within 0.5 km of high-frequency options, and half were within 1 km. Those within 0.5 km of high-frequency points had higher average monthly household incomes and lower illiteracy rates, with lower proportions of children and ethnic minorities, and higher proportions of older people. Clinics and populations in sociodemographically disadvantaged tracts have poorer public transportation links in São Paulo city. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Ica-Atom using as access platform, dissemination and description of archival documents public institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eliseu dos Santos Lima

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Information technology has caused changes in various segments of society. In archival area its presence is remarkable, so much that lately has increased the quantity of institutions that make use of computerized systems, repositories and platforms that automate activities such as description, diffusion, and even provide access to archival documentary heritage. Objective: To discuss the functionality and usefulness of the platform International Archives Council - Access to Memory (ICA-AtoM in archival description of activities, dissemination and access to archival documentary heritage. Methodology: bibliographical research, drawn from the archival legislation, especially through research resulting from Master's dissertations, articles published in journals of the Science field of Information and manuals produced by members of the Group of CNPq-UFSM Research: Electronic Management of archival documents - Ged / A. Results: It was observed that the platform is used to describe both the permanent documents, and to provide access to information recorded in current and intermediate documents, in order to streamline access to documentary resources of public institutions. Conclusions: It is considered that the ICA-Atom besides serving the description, can provide an authentic environment for the secure storage and as a source of evidence of digital and digitized institutional documents, as well as to provide for preservation and long term access if It is connected to a RDC-Arq, like Archivematica, for example.

Trends in Research and Publication: Science 2.0 and Open Access

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Geir Hovland

2009-07-01

Full Text Available This paper considers current trends in academic research and publication, in particular as seen from the control community. The introduction of Web 2.0 applications for scientists and engineers is currently changing the way research is being conducted. In the near future, participants in the research community will be able to share ideas, data and results like never before. They will also be able to manage the rapidly increasing amount of scientific information much more effectively than today through collaborative efforts enabled by the new Internet tools. However, an important premise for such a development is the availability of research material. Many research results are currently shielded behind expensive subscription schemes that impede the sharing of information. At the same time, an increasing amount of research is being published through open access channels with unrestricted availability. Interestingly, recent studies show that such policies contribute to an increased number of citations compared to the pay-based alternatives. In sum, the parallel development of new tools for research collaboration and an increased access to research material may fundamentally transform the way research is going to be conducted in the future.

Commercial mitigation techniques used in remediating a 2200 pCi/L public building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidson, J.G.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on commercial mitigation techniques used in remediating a 2200 pCi/L public building. In March of 1989 EPA and Pa. DER officials were amazed to discover a school in Pennsylvania with levels in its library of 2200 pCi/L. The library was a 30 year old, three story slab-on-grade structure more like a commercial building than a typical school structure. It had three separate and complex HVAC systems. Initial diagnostics indicated radon levels under the slab at over 80,000 pCi/L. Further investigations revealed major entry routes and a HVAC system terribly out of balance. Remediation consisted of installing a complex sub-slab depressurization system with an exterior commercial fan unit, major entry route sealing, and working closely with a mechanical contractor to bring the HVAC systems back into balance. Initial post remediation testing showed a 99% drop in radon levels. Refinements to the system are still in progress

A Digital Repository and Execution Platform for Interactive Scholarly Publications in Neuroscience.

Science.gov (United States)

Hodge, Victoria; Jessop, Mark; Fletcher, Martyn; Weeks, Michael; Turner, Aaron; Jackson, Tom; Ingram, Colin; Smith, Leslie; Austin, Jim

2016-01-01

The CARMEN Virtual Laboratory (VL) is a cloud-based platform which allows neuroscientists to store, share, develop, execute, reproduce and publicise their work. This paper describes new functionality in the CARMEN VL: an interactive publications repository. This new facility allows users to link data and software to publications. This enables other users to examine data and software associated with the publication and execute the associated software within the VL using the same data as the authors used in the publication. The cloud-based architecture and SaaS (Software as a Service) framework allows vast data sets to be uploaded and analysed using software services. Thus, this new interactive publications facility allows others to build on research results through reuse. This aligns with recent developments by funding agencies, institutions, and publishers with a move to open access research. Open access provides reproducibility and verification of research resources and results. Publications and their associated data and software will be assured of long-term preservation and curation in the repository. Further, analysing research data and the evaluations described in publications frequently requires a number of execution stages many of which are iterative. The VL provides a scientific workflow environment to combine software services into a processing tree. These workflows can also be associated with publications and executed by users. The VL also provides a secure environment where users can decide the access rights for each resource to ensure copyright and privacy restrictions are met.

Dataset of Atmospheric Environment Publication in 2016, Characterization of organophosphorus flame retardants’ sorption on building materials and consumer products

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The data presented in this data file is a product of a journal publication. The dataset contains OPFR sorption concentrations on building materials and consumer...

Challenges of Radiation Protection Capacity Building in Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ntuane, B. I.

2004-01-01

Capacity building is a term that is used in reference to required resources which may be human, infrastructural, information or knowledge, competency or financial in nature to enable the achievement of certain objectives. On the African continent the issue of capacity building in RP has always been important towards the development of radiation protection (RP) infrastructure and human competency. Identifiable resources that are of relevance to the cause of capacity building include ? the availability of qualified RP practitioners ? infrastructure which ensures safety of workers, the environment and public ? acceptable control and RP management systems ? legislation accessible to various stakeholders including operators, regulators, government and the public ? financial capacity to sustain material development including enhancement of skills and routine conduct of RP management ? necessitating public involvement which has a spin-off in education and understanding of safety application of nuclear technology and ? proper utilization of communication systems between the various stakeholders within respective countries and between African countries and the rest of the world. It is with the belief that in keeping with the objectives of this congress, it is equally important to raise certain aspects of concern which can guide us to develop a strategy to achieve our goal. Discussion and debate have to ensue as we are all expressing a common concern to see to it that New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is given life in our interest and commitment to provide competency in the safe management of Radioactive waste and ALARA application in routine operations. NEPAD is an adopted strategy by the Africa Union in fostering developmental, economic and technological partnerships between Africa and the rest of the world, particularly the industrialized nations. (Author)

A typology of intellectual property management for public health innovation and access: design considerations for policymakers.

Science.gov (United States)

Taubman, Antony

2010-01-19

This paper seeks to set the practical discipline of public interest intellectual property (IP) management in public health into its broader policy context. The most immediate and direct impact of IP systems on public welfare results not from international standards nor from national legislation - though these norms are fundamentally important - but rather from the accumulated impact of numerous practical choices whether or not to seek IP protection; where and where not; and how any exclusive rights are deployed, by whom, and to what end. IP management is the essentially practical exercise of limited exclusive rights over protected subject matter, the judicious use of those rights to leverage outcomes that advance an institution's or a firm's objectives. Exclusive rights are used to construct and define knowledge-based relationships, to leverage access to technology and other necessary resources, and to enhance market-based incentives. IP management choices range across a broad spectrum, spanning public domain strategies, open or exclusive licensing, and strong exclusivity. The idea of 'exclusive rights', as a specific legal mechanism, can run counter to expectations of greater openness and accessibility, but actual outcomes will depend very much on how these mechanisms are used in practice. For public interest or public sector institutions concerned with health research and development, particularly the development of new medicines, IP management choices can be just as critical as they are for private firms, although a predominant institutional concentration on advancing direct public interest objectives may lead to significantly different approaches in weighing and exercising practical choices for IP management: even so, a private sector approach should not be conflated with exclusivity as an end in itself, nor need public interest IP management eschew all leverage over IP. This paper offers a tentative framework for a richer typology of those choices, to give a

Influencing energy consumption in public buildings - methodology and experience; Beeinflussung der Nutzer in oeffentlichen Gebaeuden - Methoden und Erfahrungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muno, P.

2000-07-01

In public buildings energy consumption and the attitude towards it depends in the most diverse fields upon the consumer hinself. Public buildings are to serve as examples for developing strategies to save energy on the consumer's side. Methods and experience of 21 years of energy management are to be reported on through which a reduction of energy consumption of approx. 20% has been achieved. (orig.) [German] Die Energieanwendung, der Umgang mit Energie in oeffentlichen Gebaeuden ist in verschiedensten Bereichen abhaengig vom Verhalten der Nutzer. Dieses Nutzerverhalten in Richtung Energieeinsparung zu beeinflussen und zu aendern, bietet neben der Verringerung des Energieverbrauchs und der CO{sub 2}-Emissionen den Vorteil niedrigerer Energiekosten. Methoden und Erfahrungen dazu liegen vor, d.h. Energieeinsparung durch nichtinvestive Massnahmen. Ein wichtiges Potential, nicht zuletzt wegen der knapper werdenden Energie-Ressourcen und oeffentlichen Mittel. (orig.)

Managing Projects with the Public, -bringing Partnering, Contracts and Financing together in Building Public Services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Christian

2004-01-01

of opportunity shows that on the operational level the contractual, financial and skill basis for the project has to be mobilized, negotiated, partly stabilized and renegotiated. The participating actors thus have to develop a new set of skills in dealing with municipalities and managing operations in PPPs....... of projects have had trouble to develop. The paper views PPP as an interaction between an emergent governance frame and operational activities in the project. PPP is an element of a networked public sector and the paper takes a network and political process approach to the shaping of PPP in Denmark....... It is analysed how the governance frame for these type of projects constituted a window of opportunity in the late nineties for “sale and lease back” arrangements, combined with partnering and more traditional design-build contracts. A case of a municipality renewing its school services, exploiting this window...

Accessorizing Building Science – A Web Platform to Support Multiple Market Transformation Programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madison, Michael C.; Antonopoulos, Chrissi A.; Dowson, Scott T.; Franklin, Trisha L.; Carlsen, Leif C.; Baechler, Michael C.

2014-09-28

As demand for improved energy efficiency in homes increases, builders need information on the latest findings in building science, rapidly ramping-up energy codes, and technical requirements for labeling programs. The Building America Solution Center is a Department of Energy (DOE) website containing hundreds of expert guides designed to help residential builders install efficiency measures in new and existing homes. Builders can package measures with other media for customized content. Website content provides technical support to market transformation programs such as ENERGY STAR and has been cloned and adapted to provide content for the Better Buildings Residential Program. The Solution Center uses the Drupal open source content management platform to combine a variety of media in an interactive manner to make information easily accessible. Developers designed a unique taxonomy to organize and manage content. That taxonomy was translated into web-based modules that allow users to rapidly traverse structured content with related topics, and media. We will present information on the current design of the Solution Center and the underlying technology used to manage the content. The paper will explore development of features, such as “Field Kits” that allow users to bundle and save content for quick access, along with the ability to export PDF versions of content. Finally, we will discuss development of an Android based mobile application, and a visualization tool for interacting with Building Science Publications that allows the user to dynamically search the entire Building America Library.

Current perception of wooden building in Slovenia

OpenAIRE

Kitek Kuzman , Manja; Hrovatin, Jasna

2007-01-01

In residential buildings, prefabricated wooden houses constitute minor part ofall buildings in Slovenia. The reasons pertaining to the relatively low occurrence of prefabricated wooden buildings today are assessed in the presentstudy. The Slovenian public opinion survey on wooden building 2006 examined, among other issues, public attitude towards wooden buildings and itsadvantages. Data collection was performed by CATI method. Results of publicresearch clearly indicate the users' lack of know...

Capacity building for HIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Gulis PhD

2007-09-01

Full Text Available

Background: To integrate health impact assessment (HIA into existing decision-making processes requires not only methods and procedures but also well-trained experts, aware policy makers and appropriate institutions. Capacity building is the assistance which is provided to entities, which have a need to develop a certain skill or competence, or for general upgrading of performance ability. If a new technique is planned to be introduced there is a need for capacity building with no respect to levels (local, regional, national, international or sectors (health, environment, finance, social care, education, etc.. As such, HIA is a new technique for most of the new Member States and accession countries of the European Union.

Methods: To equip individuals with the understanding and skills needed to launch a HIA or be aware of the availability of this methodology and to access information, knowledge and training, we focused on the organization of workshops in participating countries. The workshops served also as pilot events to test a “curriculum” for HIA; a set of basic topics and presentations had been developed to be tested during workshops. In spite of classical in-class workshops we aimed to organize e-learning events as a way to over come the “busyness” problem of decision makers.

Results: Throughout March – October 2006 we organized and ran 7 workshops in Denmark, Turkey, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovak Republic and Hungary. Participants came from the public health sector (141, non-public health decision makers (113 and public health students (100. A concise curriculum was developed and tested during these workshops. Participants developed a basic understanding of HIA, skills to develop and use their own screening tools as well as scoping.Within the workshop in Denmark we tested an online, real-time Internet based training method; participants highly welcomed this

Cancer Deaths due to Lack of Universal Access to Radiotherapy in the Brazilian Public Health System.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendez, L C; Moraes, F Y; Fernandes, G Dos S; Weltman, E

2018-01-01

Radiotherapy plays a fundamental role in the treatment of cancer. Currently, the Brazilian public health system cannot match the national radiotherapy demand and many patients requiring radiotherapy are never exposed to this treatment. This study estimated the number of preventable deaths in the public health system if access to radiotherapy was universal. Incidence rates for the year 2016 provided by Instituto Nacional de Cancer were used in this analysis. The number of untreated patients requiring radiotherapy was obtained through the difference between the total number of patients requiring radiotherapy and the total amount of delivered radiotherapy treatments in the public health system. The number of deaths for the three most common cancers in each gender due to radiotherapy shortage was calculated. Initially, the total number of patients per cancer type was divided in stages using Brazilian epidemiological data. Subsequently, previously published tree arm diagrams were used to define the rate of patients requiring radiotherapy in each specific clinical setting. Finally, the clinical benefit of radiotherapy in overall survival was extracted from studies with level 1 evidence. Over 596 000 cancer cases were expected in Brazil in 2016. The public health system covers more than 75% of the Brazilian population and an estimated 111 432 patients who required radiotherapy in 2016 did not receive this treatment. Breast, colorectal and cervix cancers are the most frequent malignant tumours in women and prostate, lung and colorectal in men. The number of deaths due to a radiotherapy shortage in the year 2016 for these types of cancer were: (i) breast: 1011 deaths in 10 years; (ii) cervix: 2006 deaths in 2 years; (iii) lung: 1206 deaths in 2 years; (iv) prostate, intermediate risk: 562 deaths in 13 years; high risk: 298 deaths in 10 years; (v) colorectal: 0 deaths, as radiotherapy has no proven benefit in overall survival. Thousands of cancer patients requiring

DeepGreen - Entwicklung eines rechtssicheren Workflows zur effizienten Umsetzung der Open-Access-Komponente in den Allianz-Lizenzen für die Wissenschaft

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Putnings

2016-12-01

the alliance licences contracted since 2011 has shown that entitled authors make almost no use of their open access rights. Thus, a tremendous amount of scientific literature has yet to be uncovered from publishers’ closed access systems. The project DeepGreen, approved by DFG (based on the 2014 initiative „Open Access Transformation“, seeks to establish a convenient and automated technical infrastructure to support existing open access agreements. The intended scenario is that publishers will be required to deliver periodically all publications eligible for open access through defined interfaces, instead of authors (or their respective libraries having to upload these items manually into corresponding open access repositories. To this end, the members of the project consortium (University Libraries of Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU and TU Berlin, Helmholtz Open Science Office at the German GeoResearch Centre, Bavarian State Library, and two Librarian Network Organizations, BVB and KOBV will build the platform DeepGreen, essentially a dark archive, into which publications and metadata are fed periodically according to the publishers’ contracted alliance licences. In turn, the platform Deep-Green will deliver these publications to the legitimate repositories automatically. Two publishers, Karger Publishers and SAGE Publications, have agreed to pilot the project as associated partners. This paper presents the project and the current status of the work.

Can free open access resources strengthen knowledge-based emerging public health priorities, policies and programs in Africa?

Science.gov (United States)

Tambo, Ernest; Madjou, Ghislaine; Khayeka-Wandabwa, Christopher; Tekwu, Emmanuel N; Olalubi, Oluwasogo A; Midzi, Nicolas; Bengyella, Louis; Adedeji, Ahmed A; Ngogang, Jeanne Y

2016-01-01

Tackling emerging epidemics and infectious diseases burden in Africa requires increasing unrestricted open access and free use or reuse of regional and global policies reforms as well as timely communication capabilities and strategies. Promoting, scaling up data and information sharing between African researchers and international partners are of vital importance in accelerating open access at no cost. Free Open Access (FOA) health data and information acceptability, uptake tactics and sustainable mechanisms are urgently needed. These are critical in establishing real time and effective knowledge or evidence-based translation, proven and validated approaches, strategies and tools to strengthen and revamp health systems.  As such, early and timely access to needed emerging public health information is meant to be instrumental and valuable for policy-makers, implementers, care providers, researchers, health-related institutions and stakeholders including populations when guiding health financing, and planning contextual programs.

Fishing Access Areas

Data.gov (United States)

Vermont Center for Geographic Information — The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department maintains developed fishing access areas. These sites provide public access to waters in Vermont for shore fishing...

Transparency of Biobank Access in Canada: An Assessment of Industry Access and the Availability of Information on Access Policies and Resulting Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibson, Shannon G; Axler, Renata E; Lemmens, Trudo

2017-12-01

A key issue impacting public trust in biobanks is how these resources are utilized, including who is given access to biobank data and samples. To assess the conditions under which researchers are given access to Canadian biobanks, we reviewed websites and contacted Canadian biobanks to determine the availability of information on access policies and procedures; research resulting from access biobank data and samples; and conditions on private industry access to biobanks. We also conducted expert interviews with key Canadian stakeholders ( n = 11) to obtain their perspectives on biobank transparency and access policies. Among 21 Canadian biobanks, there was wide variation in the access information made publicly available, and the majority of these allowed access by industry applicants. Biobanks should be governed by the principles of transparency, accountability, and accessibility, and attention must be given to the conditions around the commercialization of biobank-based research.

Construction of public discussions and the strategies of deproblimatization in the debate on Russia's accession to the WTO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazun Anastasia, D.

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Russia's accession to the WTO remained one of the most talked economic events for a long time. Representatives of various interest groups (both supporters and opponents of joining the organization attended in the public debate on this issue. The paper presents the results of the analysis of publications in the print media on Russia's accession to the WTO over a period from December 2010 to December 2013. The focuses of our attention are two time slots: one and a half years prior to the entry and one and a half years after. The total number of analyzed articles is 397. As a result of the research we made some conclusions about the features of the construction of the WTO's media image. The paper presents an analysis of the positions of representatives of different groups and an evaluation of their involvement in the discussion. In addition, we provide illustrations of basic strategies used for deproblematization of the Russia's accession to the WTO, as well as to make assumptions about the reasons for which such actions became necessary.

Development of Disruptive Open Access Journals

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Terry; McConkey, Brigette

2009-01-01

Open access (OA) publication has emerged, with disruptive effects, as a major outlet for scholarly publication. OA publication is usually associated with on-line distribution and provides access to scholarly publications to anyone, anywhere--regardless of their ability to pay subscription fees or their association with an educational institution.…

An empirical study to find important factors on building national brand: An Iranian tourism case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abolghasem Hakimipour

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Building national brand plays an important role on today's economy to attract interested tourists in visiting various countries. There are different factors impacting national brand such as advertisement, natural attraction, etc. In this paper, we perform an empirical investigation to find the impact of ten most important factors on building brand. The study designs and distributes a questionnaire among 384 international tourists who visited Iran during the year of 2010 and it uses factor analysis to group important factors. The results extract four groups; the first factor includes three most important components including satellite advertisement programs, public awareness on economical power and public awareness on specialized symposium and conferences. The second factor includes three other important factors, which are public awareness on human right, advertisement programs through distribution brushers and internet advertisement. The third factor includes two variables, which are public awareness on education and access to educational services and introducing cultural heritage. Finally, the last factor includes introducing natural attraction and advertisement programs through distribution brushers.

Gamification as a Means to User Involvement in Decision-making Processes for Sustainable Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Hanne Tine Ring; Knudstrup, Mary-Ann; Skøtt, Stine

2017-01-01

of life. Design thinking was used as method to develop a tool that focuses on how to make sustainable strategy development accessible to non-specialists during those critical stages of building design processes when goals and prioritisations are set. The tool is based on an open and editable platform...... and it will be available to the public in the early Summer of 2017. The paper presents how design thinking is used as an engaging research and development methodology, as well as, an introduction to the dialogue and prioritisation tool’s content and format.......User ownership, actors’ and stakeholders’ lack of knowledge is often identified as critical success parameters and barriers when evaluating how well sustainable buildings perform. Recognising that it is impossible to drive sustainable development without the people who pay for sustainable buildings...

Use and benefits of public access defibrillation in a nation-wide network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Anne Møller; Folke, Fredrik; Lippert, Freddy Knudsen

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) are known to increase survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). The aim of this study was to examine the use and benefit of public-access defibrillation (PAD) in a nation-wide network. We primarily sought to assess survival at 1 month...... to exercise (42% vs. 0%), and with improved 30-day survival (69% vs. 15%, p=0.001). Among those presenting with a shockable rhythm, 20 (65%) had Return of Spontaneous Circulation upon arrival of EMS and 8 (26%) were conscious, which emphasizes the diagnostic value of ECG downloads from AEDs. Survival could...

Accessing Electronic Journals.