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Sample records for reliability programs lessons

  1. Achieving High Reliability Operations Through Multi-Program Integration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holly M. Ashley; Ronald K. Farris; Robert E. Richards

    2009-04-01

    Over the last 20 years the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has adopted a number of operations and safety-related programs which has each periodically taken its turn in the limelight. As new programs have come along there has been natural competition for resources, focus and commitment. In the last few years, the INL has made real progress in integrating all these programs and are starting to realize important synergies. Contributing to this integration are both collaborative individuals and an emerging shared vision and goal of the INL fully maturing in its high reliability operations. This goal is so powerful because the concept of high reliability operations (and the resulting organizations) is a masterful amalgam and orchestrator of the best of all the participating programs (i.e. conduct of operations, behavior based safety, human performance, voluntary protection, quality assurance, and integrated safety management). This paper is a brief recounting of the lessons learned, thus far, at the INL in bringing previously competing programs into harmony under the goal (umbrella) of seeking to perform regularly as a high reliability organization. In addition to a brief diagram-illustrated historical review, the authors will share the INL’s primary successes (things already effectively stopped or started) and the gaps yet to be bridged.

  2. Constellation Program Lessons Learned. Volume 2; Detailed Lessons Learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhatigan, Jennifer; Neubek, Deborah J.; Thomas, L. Dale

    2011-01-01

    These lessons learned are part of a suite of hardware, software, test results, designs, knowledge base, and documentation that comprises the legacy of the Constellation Program. The context, summary information, and lessons learned are presented in a factual format, as known and described at the time. While our opinions might be discernable in the context, we have avoided all but factually sustainable statements. Statements should not be viewed as being either positive or negative; their value lies in what we did and what we learned that is worthy of passing on. The lessons include both "dos" and "don ts." In many cases, one person s "do" can be viewed as another person s "don t"; therefore, we have attempted to capture both perspectives when applicable and useful. While Volume I summarizes the views of those who managed the program, this Volume II encompasses the views at the working level, describing how the program challenges manifested in day-to-day activities. Here we see themes that were perhaps hinted at, but not completely addressed, in Volume I: unintended consequences of policies that worked well at higher levels but lacked proper implementation at the working level; long-term effects of the "generation gap" in human space flight development, the need to demonstrate early successes at the expense of thorough planning, and the consequences of problems and challenges not yet addressed because other problems and challenges were more immediate or manifest. Not all lessons learned have the benefit of being operationally vetted, since the program was cancelled shortly after Preliminary Design Review. We avoid making statements about operational consequences (with the exception of testing and test flights that did occur), but we do attempt to provide insight into how operational thinking influenced design and testing. The lessons have been formatted with a description, along with supporting information, a succinct statement of the lesson learned, and

  3. Value pricing pilot program : lessons learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-08-01

    This "Lessons Learned Report" provides a summary of projects sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Congestion and Value Pricing Pilot Programs from 1991 through 2006 and draws lessons from a sample of projects with the richest an...

  4. Implementing US Department of Energy lessons learned programs. Volume 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-08-01

    The DOE Lessons Learned Handbook is a two-volume publication developed to supplement the DOE Lessons Learned Standard (DOE-STD-7501-95) with information that will organizations in developing or improving their lessons learned programs. Volume 1 includes greater detail than the Standard in areas such as identification and documentation of lessons learned; it also contains sections on specific processes such as training and performance measurement. Volume 2 (this document) contains examples of program documents developed by existing lessons learned programs as well as communications material, functional categories, transmittal documents, sources of professional and industry lessons learned, and frequently asked questions about the Lessons Learned List Service.

  5. Constellation Program: Lessons Learned. Volume 1; Executive Summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhatigan, Jennifer L. (Editor)

    2011-01-01

    This document (Volume I) provides an executive summary of the lessons learned from the Constellation Program. A companion Volume II provides more detailed analyses for those seeking further insight and information. In this volume, Section 1.0 introduces the approach in preparing and organizing the content to enable rapid assimilation of the lessons. Section 2.0 describes the contextual framework in which the Constellation Program was formulated and functioned that is necessary to understand most of the lessons. Context of a former program may seem irrelevant in the heady days of new program formulation. However, readers should take some time to understand the context. Many of the lessons would be different in a different context, so the reader should reflect on the similarities and differences in his or her current circumstances. Section 3.0 summarizes key findings developed from the significant lessons learned at the program level that appear in Section 4.0. Readers can use the key findings in Section 3.0 to peruse for particular topics, and will find more supporting detail and analyses in Section 4.0 in a topical format. Appendix A contains a white paper describing the Constellation Program formulation that may be of use to readers wanting more context or background information. The reader will no doubt recognize some very similar themes from previous lessons learned, blue-ribbon committee reviews, National Academy reviews, and advisory panel reviews for this and other large-scale human spaceflight programs; including Apollo, Space Shuttle, Shuttle/Mir, and the ISS. This could represent an inability to learn lessons from previous generations; however, it is more likely that similar challenges persist in the Agency structure and approach to program formulation, budget advocacy, and management. Perhaps the greatest value of these Constellation lessons learned can be found in viewing them in context with these previous efforts to guide and advise the Agency and its

  6. Human Reliability Program Overview

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bodin, Michael

    2012-09-25

    This presentation covers the high points of the Human Reliability Program, including certification/decertification, critical positions, due process, organizational structure, program components, personnel security, an overview of the US DOE reliability program, retirees and academia, and security program integration.

  7. Human factor reliability program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knoblochova, L.

    2017-01-01

    The human factor's reliability program was at Slovenske elektrarne, a.s. (SE) nuclear power plants. introduced as one of the components Initiatives of Excellent Performance in 2011. The initiative's goal was to increase the reliability of both people and facilities, in response to 3 major areas of improvement - Need for improvement of the results, Troubleshooting support, Supporting the achievement of the company's goals. The human agent's reliability program is in practice included: - Tools to prevent human error; - Managerial observation and coaching; - Human factor analysis; -Quick information about the event with a human agent; -Human reliability timeline and performance indicators; - Basic, periodic and extraordinary training in human factor reliability(authors)

  8. Free Trade and Tariffs: Level III, Unit 2, Lesson 1; Capitalism, Communism, Socialism: Lesson 2; Nationalism vs. Internationalism: Lesson 3. Advanced General Education Program. A High School Self-Study Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manpower Administration (DOL), Washington, DC. Job Corps.

    This self-study program for high-school level contains lessons on: Free Trade and Tariffs; Capitalism, Communism, Socialism; and Nationalism vs. Internationalism. Each of the lessons concludes with a Mastery Test to be completed by the student. (DB)

  9. NDE performance demonstration in the US nuclear power industry - applications, costs, lessons learned, and connection to NDE reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ammirato, F.

    1997-01-01

    Periodic inservice inspection (ISI) of nuclear power plant components is performed in the United States to satisfy legal commitments and to provide plant owners with reliable information for managing degradation. Performance demonstration provides credible evidence that ISI will fulfill its objectives. This paper examines the technical requirements for inspection and discusses how these technical needs are used to develop effective performance demonstration applications. NDE reliability is discussed with particular reference to its role in structural integrity assessments and its connection with performance demonstration. It is shown that the role of NDE reliability can range from very small to critical depending on the particular application and must be considered carefully in design of inspection techniques and performance demonstration programs used to qualify the inspection. Finally, the costs, benefits, and problems associated with performance demonstration are reviewed along with lessons learned from more than 15 years of performance demonstration experience in the US. (orig.)

  10. Korean round-robin result for new international program to assess the reliability of emerging nondestructive techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Kyung Cho; Kim, Jin Gyum; Kang, Sung Sik; Jhung, Myung Jo [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-04-15

    The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, as a representative organization of Korea, in February 2012 participated in an international Program to Assess the Reliability of Emerging Nondestructive Techniques initiated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The goal of the Program to Assess the Reliability of Emerging Nondestructive Techniques is to investigate the performance of emerging and prospective novel nondestructive techniques to find flaws in nickel-alloy welds and base materials. In this article, Korean round-robin test results were evaluated with respect to the test blocks and various nondestructive examination techniques. The test blocks were prepared to simulate large-bore dissimilar metal welds, small-bore dissimilar metal welds, and bottom-mounted instrumentation penetration welds in nuclear power plants. Also, lessons learned from the Korean round-robin test were summarized and discussed.

  11. Emergency diesel generator reliability program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serkiz, A.W.

    1989-01-01

    The need for an emergency diesel generator (EDG) reliability program has been established by 10 CFR Part 50, Section 50.63, Loss of All Alternating Current Power, which requires that utilities assess their station blackout duration and recovery capability. EDGs are the principal emergency ac power sources for coping with a station blackout. Regulatory Guide 1.155, Station Blackout, identifies a need for (1) an EDG reliability equal to or greater than 0.95, and (2) an EDG reliability program to monitor and maintain the required levels. The resolution of Generic Safety Issue (GSI) B-56 embodies the identification of a suitable EDG reliability program structure, revision of pertinent regulatory guides and Tech Specs, and development of an Inspection Module. Resolution of B-56 is coupled to the resolution of Unresolved Safety Issue (USI) A-44, Station Blackout, which resulted in the station blackout rule, 10 CFR 50.63 and Regulatory Guide 1.155, Station Blackout. This paper discusses the principal elements of an EDG reliability program developed for resolving GSI B-56 and related matters

  12. Common-Reliability Cumulative-Binomial Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheuer, Ernest, M.; Bowerman, Paul N.

    1989-01-01

    Cumulative-binomial computer program, CROSSER, one of set of three programs, calculates cumulative binomial probability distributions for arbitrary inputs. CROSSER, CUMBIN (NPO-17555), and NEWTONP (NPO-17556), used independently of one another. Point of equality between reliability of system and common reliability of components found. Used by statisticians and users of statistical procedures, test planners, designers, and numerical analysts. Program written in C.

  13. Lessons learned from Spain's nuclear program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia Rodriguez, A.

    1993-01-01

    The commercial nuclear program in Spain dates back to the beginning of the 1960s. There are currently nine units in operation, one more has been decommissioned and a further five are in different phases of construction but under nuclear moratorium since 1983. This article gives a general overview of the program, the criteria applied, what it has meant to and required of the industry and, finally, what lessons have been learned. (author) 2 figs

  14. A reliability program for emergency diesel generators at nuclear power plants: Program structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lofgren, E.V.; DeMoss, G.M.; Fragola, J.R.; Appignani, P.L.; Delarche, G.; Boccio, J.

    1988-04-01

    The purpose of this report is to provide technical guidelines for NRC staff use in the development of positions for evaluating emergency diesel generator (EDG) reliability programs. Such reviews will likely result following resolution of USI A-44 and GSI B-56. The diesel generator reliability program is a management system for achieving and maintaining a selected (or target) level of reliability. This can be achieved by: (1) understanding the factors that control the EDG reliability and (2) then applying reliability and maintenance techniques in the proper proportion to achieve selected performance goals. The concepts and guidelines discussed in this report are concepts and approaches that have been successful in applications where high levels of reliability must be maintained. Both an EDG reliability program process and a set of review items for NRC use are provided. The review items represent a checklist for reviewing EDG reliability programs. They do not, in themselves, constitute a reliability program. Rather, the review items are those distinctive features of a reliability program that must be present for the program to be effective

  15. Human Reliability Program Workshop

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Landers, John; Rogers, Erin; Gerke, Gretchen

    2014-05-18

    A Human Reliability Program (HRP) is designed to protect national security as well as worker and public safety by continuously evaluating the reliability of those who have access to sensitive materials, facilities, and programs. Some elements of a site HRP include systematic (1) supervisory reviews, (2) medical and psychological assessments, (3) management evaluations, (4) personnel security reviews, and (4) training of HRP staff and critical positions. Over the years of implementing an HRP, the Department of Energy (DOE) has faced various challenges and overcome obstacles. During this 4-day activity, participants will examine programs that mitigate threats to nuclear security and the insider threat to include HRP, Nuclear Security Culture (NSC) Enhancement, and Employee Assistance Programs. The focus will be to develop an understanding of the need for a systematic HRP and to discuss challenges and best practices associated with mitigating the insider threat.

  16. Suncor maintenance and reliability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Little, S. [Suncor Energy, Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2006-07-01

    Fleet maintenance and reliability at Suncor Energy was discussed in this presentation, with reference to Suncor Energy's primary and support equipment fleets. This paper also discussed Suncor Energy's maintenance and reliability standard involving people, processes and technology. An organizational maturity chart that graphed organizational learning against organizational performance was illustrated. The presentation also reviewed the maintenance and reliability framework; maintenance reliability model; the process overview of the maintenance and reliability standard; a process flow chart of maintenance strategies and programs; and an asset reliability improvement process flow chart. An example of an improvement initiative was included, with reference to a shovel reliability review; a dipper trip reliability investigation; bucket related failures by type and frequency; root cause analysis of the reliability process; and additional actions taken. Last, the presentation provided a graph of the results of the improvement initiative and presented the key lessons learned. tabs., figs.

  17. AECL's reliability and maintainability program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolfe, W.A.; Nieuwhof, G.W.E.

    1976-05-01

    AECL's reliability and maintainability program for nuclear generating stations is described. How the various resources of the company are organized to design and construct stations that operate reliably and safely is shown. Reliability and maintainability includes not only special mathematically oriented techniques, but also the technical skills and organizational abilities of the company. (author)

  18. Systems analysis programs for Hands-on integrated reliability evaluations (SAPHIRE) Version 5.0: Verification and validation (V ampersand V) manual. Volume 9

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, J.L.; Calley, M.B.; Capps, E.L.; Zeigler, S.L.; Galyean, W.J.; Novack, S.D.; Smith, C.L.; Wolfram, L.M.

    1995-03-01

    A verification and validation (V ampersand V) process has been performed for the System Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluation (SAPHIRE) Version 5.0. SAPHIRE is a set of four computer programs that NRC developed for performing probabilistic risk assessments. They allow an analyst to perform many of the functions necessary to create, quantify, and evaluate the risk associated with a facility or process being analyzed. The programs are Integrated Reliability and Risk Analysis System (IRRAS) System Analysis and Risk Assessment (SARA), Models And Results Database (MAR-D), and Fault tree, Event tree, and Piping and instrumentation diagram (FEP) graphical editor. Intent of this program is to perform a V ampersand V of successive versions of SAPHIRE. Previous efforts have been the V ampersand V of SAPHIRE Version 4.0. The SAPHIRE 5.0 V ampersand V plan is based on the SAPHIRE 4.0 V ampersand V plan with revisions to incorporate lessons learned from the previous effort. Also, the SAPHIRE 5.0 vital and nonvital test procedures are based on the test procedures from SAPHIRE 4.0 with revisions to include the new SAPHIRE 5.0 features as well as to incorporate lessons learned from the previous effort. Most results from the testing were acceptable; however, some discrepancies between expected code operation and actual code operation were identified. Modifications made to SAPHIRE are identified

  19. NASA Applications and Lessons Learned in Reliability Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safie, Fayssal M.; Fuller, Raymond P.

    2011-01-01

    Since the Shuttle Challenger accident in 1986, communities across NASA have been developing and extensively using quantitative reliability and risk assessment methods in their decision making process. This paper discusses several reliability engineering applications that NASA has used over the year to support the design, development, and operation of critical space flight hardware. Specifically, the paper discusses several reliability engineering applications used by NASA in areas such as risk management, inspection policies, components upgrades, reliability growth, integrated failure analysis, and physics based probabilistic engineering analysis. In each of these areas, the paper provides a brief discussion of a case study to demonstrate the value added and the criticality of reliability engineering in supporting NASA project and program decisions to fly safely. Examples of these case studies discussed are reliability based life limit extension of Shuttle Space Main Engine (SSME) hardware, Reliability based inspection policies for Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) turbine disc, probabilistic structural engineering analysis for reliability prediction of the SSME alternate turbo-pump development, impact of ET foam reliability on the Space Shuttle System risk, and reliability based Space Shuttle upgrade for safety. Special attention is given in this paper to the physics based probabilistic engineering analysis applications and their critical role in evaluating the reliability of NASA development hardware including their potential use in a research and technology development environment.

  20. Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE), Version 5.0. Volume 5, Systems Analysis and Risk Assessment (SARA) tutorial manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sattison, M.B.; Russell, K.D.; Skinner, N.L.

    1994-07-01

    The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) refers to a set of several microcomputer programs that were developed to create and analyze probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) primarily for nuclear power plants. This volume is the tutorial manual for the Systems Analysis and Risk Assessment (SARA) System Version 5.0, a microcomputer-based system used to analyze the safety issues of a open-quotes familyclose quotes [i.e., a power plant, a manufacturing facility, any facility on which a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) might be performed]. A series of lessons is provided that guides the user through some basic steps common to most analyses performed with SARA. The example problems presented in the lessons build on one another, and in combination, lead the user through all aspects of SARA sensitivity analysis capabilities

  1. Fourteen lessons learned from the successful nuclear power program of the Republic of Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Sungyeol; Jun, Eunju; Hwang, IlSoon; Starz, Anne; Mazour, Tom; Chang, SoonHeung; Burkart, Alex R.

    2009-01-01

    This paper summarized a development history and lessons of Korean nuclear power infrastructures from the beginning of the nuclear power program in 1956 to the localization of complete scope of PWR technology in 1990. The objective of this paper is to show the guideline on the issues that the development of a national infrastructure for nuclear power using the realistic experiences in order to help the developing countries newly starting nuclear power program as a long-term energy supply option. Development strategies and lessons learned from the successful Korean experience have been presented based on milestones structure of IAEA in order to help decision makers, advisers, senior managers and national planners of nuclear power program. Lessons for national nuclear power programs include considerations before launching a program, preparation and decision making, and the construction of the first nuclear power plant. Scope of these lessons includes knowledge and human resources management, financial and industrial infrastructure development, nuclear safety, legislative and regulatory experiences, fuel cycle and waste management, international cooperation. Fourteen lessons learned either positive or not are derived from the Korean case and are suggested for incorporation in the IAEA's efforts in support of developing countries' development of nuclear infrastructure and planning.

  2. A reliability program approach to operational safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, C.J.; Bezella, W.A.

    1985-01-01

    A Reliability Program (RP) model based on proven reliability techniques is being formulated for potential application in the nuclear power industry. Methods employed under NASA and military direction, commercial airline and related FAA programs were surveyed and a review of current nuclear risk-dominant issues conducted. The need for a reliability approach to address dependent system failures, operating and emergency procedures and human performance, and develop a plant-specific performance data base for safety decision making is demonstrated. Current research has concentrated on developing a Reliability Program approach for the operating phase of a nuclear plant's lifecycle. The approach incorporates performance monitoring and evaluation activities with dedicated tasks that integrate these activities with operation, surveillance, and maintenance of the plant. The detection, root-cause evaluation and before-the-fact correction of incipient or actual systems failures as a mechanism for maintaining plant safety is a major objective of the Reliability Program. (orig./HP)

  3. Closing the gap between people and programs: lessons from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Closing the gap between people and programs: lessons from implementation of social accountability for family planning and reproductive health in Uganda. Vicky Boydell, Stella Neema, Kelsey Wright, Karen Hardee ...

  4. Lessons learned from the NREL village power program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taylor, R.W. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

    1998-09-01

    Renewable energy solutions for village power applications can be economical, functional, and sustainable. Pilot projects are an appropriate step in the development of a commercially viable market for rural renewable energy solutions. Moreover, there are a significant number of rural electrification projects under way that employ various technologies, delivery mechanisms, and financing arrangements. These projects, if properly evaluated, communicated, and their lessons incorporated in future projects and programs, can lead the way to a future that includes a robust opportunity for cost-effective, renewable-based village power systems. This paper summarizes some of NREL`s recent experiences and lessons learned.

  5. Lessons Learned from the NREL Village Power Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taylor, R.

    1998-07-01

    Renewable energy solutions for village power applications can be economical, functional, and sustainable. Pilot projects are an appropriate step in the development of a commercially viable market for rural renewable energy solutions. Moreover, there are a significant number of rural electrification projects under way that employ various technologies, delivery mechanisms, and financing arrangements. These projects, if properly evaluated, communicated, and their lessons incorporated in future projects and programs, can lead the way to a future that includes a robust opportunity for cost-effective, renewable-based village power systems. This paper summarizes some of NRELs recent experiences and lessons learned.

  6. Equipment Reliability Program in NPP Krsko

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skaler, F.; Djetelic, N.

    2006-01-01

    Operation that is safe, reliable, effective and acceptable to public is the common message in a mission statement of commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs). To fulfill these goals, nuclear industry, among other areas, has to focus on: 1 Human Performance (HU) and 2 Equipment Reliability (EQ). The performance objective of HU is as follows: The behaviors of all personnel result in safe and reliable station operation. While unwanted human behaviors in operations mostly result directly in the event, the behavior flaws either in the area of maintenance or engineering usually cause decreased equipment reliability. Unsatisfied Human performance leads even the best designed power plants into significant operating events, which can be found as well-known examples in nuclear industry. Equipment reliability is today recognized as the key to success. While the human performance at most NPPs has been improving since the start of WANO / INPO / IAEA evaluations, the open energy market has forced the nuclear plants to reduce production costs and operate more reliably and effectively. The balance between these two (opposite) goals has made equipment reliability even more important for safe, reliable and efficient production. Insisting on on-line operation by ignoring some principles of safety could nowadays in a well-developed safety culture and human performance environment exceed the cost of electricity losses. In last decade the leading USA nuclear companies put a lot of effort to improve equipment reliability primarily based on INPO Equipment Reliability Program AP-913 at their NPP stations. The Equipment Reliability Program is the key program not only for safe and reliable operation, but also for the Life Cycle Management and Aging Management on the way to the nuclear power plant life extension. The purpose of Equipment Reliability process is to identify, organize, integrate and coordinate equipment reliability activities (preventive and predictive maintenance, maintenance

  7. System-Reliability Cumulative-Binomial Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheuer, Ernest M.; Bowerman, Paul N.

    1989-01-01

    Cumulative-binomial computer program, NEWTONP, one of set of three programs, calculates cumulative binomial probability distributions for arbitrary inputs. NEWTONP, CUMBIN (NPO-17555), and CROSSER (NPO-17557), used independently of one another. Program finds probability required to yield given system reliability. Used by statisticians and users of statistical procedures, test planners, designers, and numerical analysts. Program written in C.

  8. Lessons for the new CMS innovation center from the Medicare health support program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr, Michael S; Foote, Sandra M; Krakauer, Randall; Mattingly, Patrick H

    2010-07-01

    The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act establishes a new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The center is intended to enhance the CMS's role in promoting much-needed improvements in payment and service delivery. Lessons from the Medicare Health Support Program, a chronic care pilot program that ran between 2005 and 2008, illustrate the value of drawing on experience in planning for the center and future pilot programs. The lessons include the importance of strong leadership; collaboration and flexibility to foster innovation; receptivity of beneficiaries to care management; and the need for timely data on patients' status. The lessons also highlight pitfalls to be avoided in planning future pilot programs, such as flawed strategies for selecting populations to target when testing payment and service delivery reforms.

  9. A Spreadsheet-Based, Matrix Formulation Linear Programming Lesson

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harrod, Steven

    2009-01-01

    The article focuses on the spreadsheet-based, matrix formulation linear programming lesson. According to the article, it makes a higher level of theoretical mathematics approachable by a wide spectrum of students wherein many may not be decision sciences or quantitative methods majors. Moreover...

  10. Savannah River Site environmental restoration lessons learned program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plunkett, R.A.; Leibfarth, E.C.; Treger, T.M.; Blackmon, A.M.

    1993-01-01

    For the past three years environmental restoration has been formally consolidated at Savannah River Site. Accomplishments include waste site investigations to closure activities. Positive, as well as negatively impacting, events have occurred. Until recently, lessons learned were captured on a less than formal basis. Now, a program based upon critiques, evaluations and corrective actions is being used. This presentation reviews the development, implementation and use of that program

  11. A Study of the Validity and Reliability of a Mathematics Lesson Attitude Scale and Student Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tezer, Murat; Ozcan, Deniz

    2015-01-01

    Attitudes of the students towards mathematics lessons are very important in terms of their success and motivation. The purpose of this study is to develop a scale for the assessment of primary school students' attitudes towards mathematics courses in the 2nd and 3rd grades, to analyse its validity-reliability structure and to determine the…

  12. Lessons Learned on Benchmarking from the International Human Reliability Analysis Empirical Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boring, Ronald L.; Forester, John A.; Bye, Andreas; Dang, Vinh N.; Lois, Erasmia

    2010-01-01

    The International Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) Empirical Study is a comparative benchmark of the prediction of HRA methods to the performance of nuclear power plant crews in a control room simulator. There are a number of unique aspects to the present study that distinguish it from previous HRA benchmarks, most notably the emphasis on a method-to-data comparison instead of a method-to-method comparison. This paper reviews seven lessons learned about HRA benchmarking from conducting the study: (1) the dual purposes of the study afforded by joining another HRA study; (2) the importance of comparing not only quantitative but also qualitative aspects of HRA; (3) consideration of both negative and positive drivers on crew performance; (4) a relatively large sample size of crews; (5) the use of multiple methods and scenarios to provide a well-rounded view of HRA performance; (6) the importance of clearly defined human failure events; and (7) the use of a common comparison language to 'translate' the results of different HRA methods. These seven lessons learned highlight how the present study can serve as a useful template for future benchmarking studies.

  13. Lessons Learned on Benchmarking from the International Human Reliability Analysis Empirical Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronald L. Boring; John A. Forester; Andreas Bye; Vinh N. Dang; Erasmia Lois

    2010-06-01

    The International Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) Empirical Study is a comparative benchmark of the prediction of HRA methods to the performance of nuclear power plant crews in a control room simulator. There are a number of unique aspects to the present study that distinguish it from previous HRA benchmarks, most notably the emphasis on a method-to-data comparison instead of a method-to-method comparison. This paper reviews seven lessons learned about HRA benchmarking from conducting the study: (1) the dual purposes of the study afforded by joining another HRA study; (2) the importance of comparing not only quantitative but also qualitative aspects of HRA; (3) consideration of both negative and positive drivers on crew performance; (4) a relatively large sample size of crews; (5) the use of multiple methods and scenarios to provide a well-rounded view of HRA performance; (6) the importance of clearly defined human failure events; and (7) the use of a common comparison language to “translate” the results of different HRA methods. These seven lessons learned highlight how the present study can serve as a useful template for future benchmarking studies.

  14. Practice for beginners programming lesson using App Lab: Introduction of programming learning for undergraduate students

    OpenAIRE

    榊原, 直樹

    2017-01-01

    App Lab is an online programming education environment. It was designed classes of programming for beginners using the App Lab. Through 15 lessons of the class, it was to understand the basic structure of the programming of the sequential-repetition-branch. Students were allowed to complete the game as a final project. The effectiveness of App the Lab has been confirmed from these results.

  15. Reliability centered maintenance streamlining through lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strong, D.K.

    1991-01-01

    In late 1986, PSE and G concluded that the Nuclear Department would develop a consistent approach to maintenance at Artificial Island (Salem and Hope Creak nuclear units). Preventive maintenance (PM) would be the heart of this approach. In the last six months of 1987 departments affected by the maintenance program participated on working groups that developed the Artificial Island maintenance philosophy. The central theme of the maintenance philosophy is the RCM (reliability centered maintenance) process. A pilot project tested the process in 1988. In 1989 the Central PM Group formed and in 1990 was given responsibility and authority to analyze, approve, implement, and control PM program changes. RCM is the central theme of the PM improvement effort but not the whole effort. Other important pieces included in this paper are: development of a common PM program, improvement of work instructions, development of predictive maintenance techniques into programs, development of a PM basis database, development of PM feedback from failure trends, root cause analysis, maintenance performance indicators, technicians, and engineers

  16. Blended learning: strengths, challenges, and lessons learned in an interprofessional training program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lotrecchiano, G R; McDonald, P L; Lyons, L; Long, T; Zajicek-Farber, M

    2013-11-01

    This field report outlines the goals of providing a blended learning model for an interdisciplinary training program for healthcare professionals who care for children with disabilities. The curriculum blended traditional face-to-face or on-site learning with integrated online interactive instruction. Credit earning and audited graduate level online coursework, community engagement experiences, and on-site training with maternal and child health community engagement opportunities were blended into a cohesive program. The training approach emphasized adult learning principles in different environmental contexts integrating multiple components of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program. This paper describes the key principles adopted for this blended approach and the accomplishments, challenges, and lessons learned. The discussion offers examples from training content, material gathered through yearly program evaluation, as well as university course evaluations. The lessons learned consider the process and the implications for the role of blended learning in this type of training program with suggestions for future development and adoption by other programs.

  17. Lessons learned bulletin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-05-01

    During the past four years, the Department of Energy -- Savannah River Operations Office and the Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) Environmental Restoration (ER) Program completed various activities ranging from waste site investigations to closure and post closure projects. Critiques for lessons learned regarding project activities are performed at the completion of each project milestone, and this critique interval allows for frequent recognition of lessons learned. In addition to project related lessons learned, ER also performs lessons learned critiques. T'he Savannah River Site (SRS) also obtains lessons learned information from general industry, commercial nuclear industry, naval nuclear programs, and other DOE sites within the complex. Procedures are approved to administer the lessons learned program, and a database is available to catalog applicable lessons learned regarding environmental remediation, restoration, and administrative activities. ER will continue to use this database as a source of information available to SRS personnel

  18. Sustainable, Reliable Mission-Systems Architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neil, Graham; Orr, James K.; Watson, Steve

    2007-01-01

    A mission-systems architecture, based on a highly modular infrastructure utilizing: open-standards hardware and software interfaces as the enabling technology is essential for affordable and sustainable space exploration programs. This mission-systems architecture requires (a) robust communication between heterogeneous system, (b) high reliability, (c) minimal mission-to-mission reconfiguration, (d) affordable development, system integration, and verification of systems, and (e) minimal sustaining engineering. This paper proposes such an architecture. Lessons learned from the Space Shuttle program and Earthbound complex engineered system are applied to define the model. Technology projections reaching out 5 years are mde to refine model details.

  19. Reflective Lesson Planning in Refresher Training Programs for Experienced Physics Teachers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, C. M.; And Others

    1995-01-01

    Reports on a refresher training program that introduces experienced physics teachers to a reflective lesson-planning model and a more constructivist approach to physics teaching. Three instructional strategies developed by participants in the program and the corresponding suggestions made by their peers are presented and analyzed. (29 references)…

  20. Systems reliability analysis: applications of the SPARCS System-Reliability Assessment Computer Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Locks, M.O.

    1978-01-01

    SPARCS-2 (Simulation Program for Assessing the Reliabilities of Complex Systems, Version 2) is a PL/1 computer program for assessing (establishing interval estimates for) the reliability and the MTBF of a large and complex s-coherent system of any modular configuration. The system can consist of a complex logical assembly of independently failing attribute (binomial-Bernoulli) and time-to-failure (Poisson-exponential) components, without regard to their placement. Alternatively, it can be a configuration of independently failing modules, where each module has either or both attribute and time-to-failure components. SPARCS-2 also has an improved super modularity feature. Modules with minimal-cut unreliabiliy calculations can be mixed with those having minimal-path reliability calculations. All output has been standardized to system reliability or probability of success, regardless of the form in which the input data is presented, and whatever the configuration of modules or elements within modules

  1. Behavioral reliability program for the nuclear industry. Technical report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buchanan, J.C.; Davis, S.O.; Dunnette, M.D.; Meyer, P.; Sharac, J.

    1981-07-01

    The subject of the study was the development of standards for a behavioral observation program which could be used by the NRC licensed nuclear industry to detect indications of emotional instability in its employees who have access to protected and vital areas. Emphasis was placed on those observable characteristics which could be assessed by supervisors or peers in a work environment. The behavioral reliability program, as was defined in this report, encompasses the concept and basic components of the program, the definition of the behavioral reliability program, the definition of the behavioral reliability criterion, and a set of instructions for the creation and implementation of the program by an individual facility

  2. Evaluating Failures and near Misses in Human Spaceflight History for Lessons for Future Human Spaceflight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr, Stephanie

    2010-01-01

    Studies done in the past have drawn on lessons learned with regard to human loss-of-life events. However, an examination of near-fatal accidents can be equally useful, not only in detecting causes, both proximate and systemic, but also for determining what factors averted disaster, what design decisions and/or operator actions prevented catastrophe. Binary pass/fail launch history is often used for risk, but this also has limitations. A program with a number of near misses can look more reliable than a consistently healthy program with a single out-of-family failure. Augmenting reliability evaluations with this near miss data can provide insight and expand on the limitations of a strictly pass/fail evaluation. This paper intends to show how near-miss lessons learned can provide crucial data for any new human spaceflight programs that are interested in sending man into space

  3. National Workplace Literacy Program. Garment-Related Bilingual (English and Chinese) Broadcast Lessons. Book 1 and 2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Ha Yin

    A compilation of transcripts of 100 bilingual English/Chinese broadcast lessons for workers in the garment industry is presented. The lessons are part of the New York Chinatown Manpower Project's Workplace Literacy Program. With the support of the Sino Radio Broadcast Corporation, the lessons are broadcast daily in the morning and again after the…

  4. Selenide isotope generator for the Galileo mission. Reliability program plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-10-01

    The reliability program plan for the Selenide Isotope Generator (SIG) program is presented. It delineates the specific tasks that will be accomplished by Teledyne Energy Systems and its suppliers during design, development, fabrication and test of deliverable Radioisotopic Thermoelectric Generators (RTG), Electrical Heated Thermoelectric Generators (ETG) and associated Ground Support Equipment (GSE). The Plan is formulated in general accordance with procedures specified in DOE Reliability Engineering Program Requirements Publication No. SNS-2, dated June 17, 1974. The Reliability Program Plan presented herein defines the total reliability effort without further reference to Government Specifications. The reliability tasks to be accomplished are delineated herein and become the basis for contract compliance to the extent specified in the SIG contract Statement of Work

  5. Lessons learned from the PISC III study of the influence on human factors on inspection reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murgatroyd, R.A.; Worrall, G.M.; Crutzen, S.

    1995-01-01

    Results from the PISC II Programme suggested that differences existed between manual inspectors in terms of their skills, knowledge and working practices which could exert a significant influence on the reliability on an inspection. Therefore, a programme of work on human reliability studies was initiated in the PISC III Programme as Action 7, with the objectives of studying and identifying causes of variability in inspection activities, and identifying some of the factors influencing the reliability of inspection in industrial conditions. It was foreseen that the information from Action 7 would aid in the development of methods for reducing the incidence of human error in inspection activities. This paper gives a brief summary of the programme and describes the lessons learned as a result of the work. A considerably more detailed description of the work is available as a PISC report. 3 refs, 3 figs

  6. Pollution prevention program for new projects -- Lessons learned

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lum, J. [Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC (United States)

    1993-03-01

    The purpose of this presentation is to relay the experience of the Office of New Production Reactors (NP) in developing and implementing its pollution prevention program. NP was established to plan, design, and construct a new safe and environmentally acceptable nuclear reactor capacity necessary to provide an assured supply of tritium to maintain the nation`s long-term deterrent capability. The Program offered the Department of Energy an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to environmental protection via minimization of environmental releases; new design offers the best opportunity for pollution prevention. The NP pollution prevention program was never fully implemented because NP`s tritium production design activity was recovery terminated. The information in this paper represented lessons learned from the last three years of NP operation.

  7. Human performance for the success of equipment reliability programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woodcock, J.

    2007-01-01

    Human performance is a critical element of programs directed at equipment reliability. Reliable equipment performance requires broad support from all levels of plant management and throughout all plant departments. Experience at both nuclear power plants and fuel manufacturing plants shows that human performance must be addressed during all phases of program implementation from the beginning through the establishment of a living, on-going process. At the beginning, certain organizational and management actions during the initiation of the program set the stage for successful adoption by station personnel, leading to more rapid benefits. For the long term, equipment reliability is a living process needed throughout the lifetime of a station, a program which must be motivated and measured. Sustained acceptance and participation by the plant personnel is a requirement, and culture is a key ingredient. This paper will provide an overview of key human performance issues to be considered, using the application of the INPO AP-913 Equipment Reliability Guideline as a basis and gives some best practices for training, communicating and implementing programs. The very last part includes ways to tell if the program is effective

  8. Making literature reviews more reliable through application of lessons from systematic reviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haddaway, N R; Woodcock, P; Macura, B; Collins, A

    2015-12-01

    Review articles can provide valuable summaries of the ever-increasing volume of primary research in conservation biology. Where findings may influence important resource-allocation decisions in policy or practice, there is a need for a high degree of reliability when reviewing evidence. However, traditional literature reviews are susceptible to a number of biases during the identification, selection, and synthesis of included studies (e.g., publication bias, selection bias, and vote counting). Systematic reviews, pioneered in medicine and translated into conservation in 2006, address these issues through a strict methodology that aims to maximize transparency, objectivity, and repeatability. Systematic reviews will always be the gold standard for reliable synthesis of evidence. However, traditional literature reviews remain popular and will continue to be valuable where systematic reviews are not feasible. Where traditional reviews are used, lessons can be taken from systematic reviews and applied to traditional reviews in order to increase their reliability. Certain key aspects of systematic review methods that can be used in a context-specific manner in traditional reviews include focusing on mitigating bias; increasing transparency, consistency, and objectivity, and critically appraising the evidence and avoiding vote counting. In situations where conducting a full systematic review is not feasible, the proposed approach to reviewing evidence in a more systematic way can substantially improve the reliability of review findings, providing a time- and resource-efficient means of maximizing the value of traditional reviews. These methods are aimed particularly at those conducting literature reviews where systematic review is not feasible, for example, for graduate students, single reviewers, or small organizations. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

  9. Automation of reliability evaluation procedures through CARE - The computer-aided reliability estimation program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathur, F. P.

    1972-01-01

    Description of an on-line interactive computer program called CARE (Computer-Aided Reliability Estimation) which can model self-repair and fault-tolerant organizations and perform certain other functions. Essentially CARE consists of a repository of mathematical equations defining the various basic redundancy schemes. These equations, under program control, are then interrelated to generate the desired mathematical model to fit the architecture of the system under evaluation. The mathematical model is then supplied with ground instances of its variables and is then evaluated to generate values for the reliability-theoretic functions applied to the model.

  10. Swine-Flu Scare Offers Lessons for Study-Abroad Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Karin

    2009-01-01

    Reports of swine flu have led some colleges to pull students and faculty members out of Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, and to cancel study-abroad programs there. But even as the number of new cases appears to be falling, the health scare offers some lasting lessons for colleges, says Gary Rhodes, director of the Center for Global Education…

  11. Plants and Photosynthesis: Level III, Unit 3, Lesson 1; The Human Digestive System: Lesson 2; Functions of the Blood: Lesson 3; Human Circulation and Respiration: Lesson 4; Reproduction of a Single Cell: Lesson 5; Reproduction by Male and Female Cells: Lesson 6; The Human Reproductive System: Lesson 7; Genetics and Heredity: Lesson 8; The Nervous System: Lesson 9; The Glandular System: Lesson 10. Advanced General Education Program. A High School Self-Study Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manpower Administration (DOL), Washington, DC. Job Corps.

    This self-study program for the high-school level contains lessons in the following subjects: Plants and Photosynthesis; The Human Digestive System; Functions of the Blood; Human Circulation and Respiration; Reproduction of a Single Cell; Reproduction by Male and Female Cells; The Human Reproductive System; Genetics and Heredity; The Nervous…

  12. The Effects of Web 2.0 Technologies Usage in Programming Languages Lesson on the Academic Success, Interrogative Learning Skills and Attitudes of Students towards Programming Languages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gençtürk, Abdullah Tarik; Korucu, Agah Tugrul

    2017-01-01

    It is observed that teacher candidates receiving education in the department of Computer and Instructional Technologies Education are not able to gain enough experience and knowledge in "Programming Languages" lesson. The goal of this study is to analyse the effects of web 2.0 technologies usage in programming languages lesson on the…

  13. Exploration of reliability assurance program (RAP) for advanced nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Fang; Xu Rongbin

    2009-01-01

    This article describes the new requirements in US SRP on Reliability Assurance Program, inquires into the evolution of the reliability assurance requirements, and investigates the regulatory requirements on reliability assurance program for advanced reactors, it's main contents, and evaluation review practices and related issues, with the aim of enabling staff to understand be familiar and pay attention to this engineering program. This article may be as a reference for related workers. (authors)

  14. Multi-agency data linkage- How to and lessons learnt through the Western Australian Developmental Pathways Program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Glauert

    2017-04-01

    This Program is the largest data linkage program in Australia, and is continually expanding with new agencies coming on board every year. Here we will provide a useful overview of the Program, along with key lessons learnt.

  15. Thailand's National Nutritional Program : Lessons in Management and Capacity Development

    OpenAIRE

    Heaver, Richard; Kachondam, Yongyout

    2002-01-01

    Thailand's community nutrition program has been the most successful in Asia. This paper looks at what made it work from a management and capacity development point of view. Key lessons are identified in the following areas: Building a strong consensus at national and local levels about the importance of nutrition as an investment in the country's future, rather than as a welfare expenditur...

  16. RIO: a program to determine reliability importance and allocate optimal reliability goals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poloski, J.P.

    1978-09-01

    The designer of a nuclear plant must know the plant's associated risk limitations so that he can design the plant accordingly. To design a safety system, he must understand its importance and how it relates to the overall plant risk. The computer program RIO can aid the designer to understand a system's contribution to the plant's overall risk. The methodology developed and presented was sponsored by the Nuclear Research Applications Division of the Department of Energy for use in the Gas Cooled Fast Breeder Reactor (GCFR) Program. The principal motivation behind its development was the need to translate nuclear plants safety goals into reliability goals for systems which make up that plant. The method described herein will make use of the GCFR Accident Initiation and Progression Analyses (AIPA) event trees and other models in order to determine these reliability goals

  17. Program integration of predictive maintenance with reliability centered maintenance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strong, D.K. Jr; Wray, D.M.

    1990-01-01

    This paper addresses improving the safety and reliability of power plants in a cost-effective manner by integrating the recently developed reliability centered maintenance techniques with the traditional predictive maintenance techniques of nuclear power plants. The topics of the paper include a description of reliability centered maintenance (RCM), enhancing RCM with predictive maintenance, predictive maintenance programs, condition monitoring techniques, performance test techniques, the mid-Atlantic Reliability Centered Maintenance Users Group, test guides and the benefits of shared guide development

  18. SIMON. A computer program for reliability and statistical analysis using Monte Carlo simulation. Program description and manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kongsoe, H.E.; Lauridsen, K.

    1993-09-01

    SIMON is a program for calculation of reliability and statistical analysis. The program is of the Monte Carlo type, and it is designed with high flexibility, and has a large potential for application to complex problems like reliability analyses of very large systems and of systems, where complex modelling or knowledge of special details are required. Examples of application of the program, including input and output, for reliability and statistical analysis are presented. (au) (3 tabs., 3 ills., 5 refs.)

  19. Reliability centered Maintenance (RCM) program for Chashma NPP (CHASNUPP)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khalid, S.; Khan, S.A.

    2000-01-01

    This paper describes the proposed Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) program for Chashma Nuclear Power Plant (CHASNUPP). Major steps are the identification of risk critical components and the implementation of RCM procedures. Identification of risk critical components is based upon the CHASNUPP level 1 PSA results (performed under IAEA TC Project PAK/9/019) which is near completion. The other requirements for implementation of RCM program is the qualitative analysis to be performed for identifying the dominant potential failure modes of each risk critical component and determination of the necessary maintenance activities, required to ensure reliable operation of the identified risk critical components. Implementation of RCM program for these components will lead to improvement in plant availability and safety together with reduction in the maintenance cost. Development - implementation of RCM program at this stage will help the CHASNUPP Maintenance department who is now developing the maintenance program - procedures for CHASNUPP. (author)

  20. Refrigerator retirement and replacement programs : lessons learned and application to an Ontario wide program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2006-05-15

    The best practices in refrigerator retirement programs in North America were identified in an effort to develop a concept for an Ontario-wide provincial refrigerator retirement program. The report focused on describing refrigerator retirement programs, namely those programs that focused on getting rid of old secondary refrigerators. The report excluded refrigerator replacement programs, which encourage householders to retire their refrigerators early and replace them with an energy star refrigerator. However, it was noted that in several regions, both replacement and retirement programs are offered at the same time. The report provided background information on energy use by refrigerators as well as refrigerator retirement and replacement programs. Types of refrigerator retirement and replacement programs and the environmental benefits of these programs were also described. The report also addressed the potential energy impact of an Ontario-wide refrigerator retirement program as well as consumer incentive and bounties initiatives to encourage households to retire units. Other topics covered in the report included the design of typical refrigerator retirement and replacement programs; collection and recycling of retired refrigerators; reported costs of refrigerator retirement and replacement programs; as well as marketing and advertising. The role of retailers and manufacturers and reported lessons learned from refrigerator retirement and replacement were also presented. 14 refs., 6 tabs., 6 appendices.

  1. Establishing monitoring programs for travel time reliability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Within the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2), Project L02 focused on creating a suite of methods by which transportation agencies could monitor and evaluate travel time reliability. Creation of the methods also produced an improved u...

  2. A Lesson about the Circular Flow. Active Learning Lessons. Economics International.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landfried, Janet

    This lesson plan was developed through "Economics International," an international program to help build economic education infrastructures in the emerging market economies. It provides a lesson description; appropriate grade level; economic concepts; content standards and benchmarks; related subjects; instructional objectives; time…

  3. Overdose prevention for injection drug users: lessons learned from naloxone training and distribution programs in New York City.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piper, Tinka Markham; Rudenstine, Sasha; Stancliff, Sharon; Sherman, Susan; Nandi, Vijay; Clear, Allan; Galea, Sandro

    2007-01-25

    Fatal heroin overdose is a significant cause of mortality for injection drug users (IDUs). Many of these deaths are preventable because opiate overdoses can be quickly and safely reversed through the injection of Naloxone [brand name Narcan], a prescription drug used to revive persons who have overdosed on heroin or other opioids. Currently, in several cities in the United States, drug users are being trained in naloxone administration and given naloxone for immediate and successful reversals of opiate overdoses. There has been very little formal description of the challenges faced in the development and implementation of large-scale IDU naloxone administration training and distribution programs and the lessons learned during this process. During a one year period, over 1,000 participants were trained in SKOOP (Skills and Knowledge on Opiate Prevention) and received a prescription for naloxone by a medical doctor on site at a syringe exchange program (SEP) in New York City. Participants in SKOOP were over the age of 18, current participants of SEPs, and current or former drug users. We present details about program design and lessons learned during the development and implementation of SKOOP. Lessons learned described in the manuscript are collectively articulated by the evaluators and implementers of the project. There were six primary challenges and lessons learned in developing, implementing, and evaluating SKOOP. These include a) political climate surrounding naloxone distribution; b) extant prescription drug laws; c) initial low levels of recruitment into the program; d) development of participant appropriate training methodology; e) challenges in the design of a suitable formal evaluation; and f) evolution of program response to naloxone. Other naloxone distribution programs may anticipate similar challenges to SKOOP and we identify mechanisms to address them. Strategies include being flexible in program planning and implementation, developing evaluation

  4. Lessons learned -- NREL Village Power Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flowers, L.

    1998-07-01

    In 1993, a workshop was convened at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to discuss the issues of applying renewable energy in a sustainable manner to international rural development. One of the summary recommendations was that NREL could assist in the renewable energy for rural electrification effort by developing and supplying six related activities: resource assessment, comparative analysis and modeling, performance monitoring and analysis, pilot project development, internet-based project data, communications, and training. In response to this recommendation, NREL launched its Village Power Program consisting of these activities that cut across NREL technologies and disciplines. Currently NREL is active in 20 countries, with pilot projects in 12 of those countries. At this time the technologies include photovoltaics, wind, biomass, and hybrids. The rural applications include home lighting and communications, water pumping, schools and health posts, battery charging stations, ecotourism, and village systems. These pilot projects are central to the renewable energy village power development through the demonstration of three aspects critical to replication and implementation of the projects on a significant scale. The three aspects are technical functionality, economic competitiveness, and institutional sustainability. It is important to note that the pilot projects from which NREL's experience has been gained were funded and, in many cases, developed by other organizations and agencies. NREL's role has been one of technical assistance or project management or both. The purpose of this paper is to describe the lessons NREL staff has gleaned from their participation in the various pilot projects. The author hopes that these lessons will help the Renewable Energy-Based Rural Electrification (RERE) community in implementing sustainable projects that lead to replication.

  5. License renewal demonstration program: NRC observations and lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prato, R.J.; Kuo, P.T.; Newberry, S.F.

    1996-12-01

    This report summarizes the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff's observations and lessons learned from the five License Renewal Demonstration Program (LRDP) site visits performed by the staff from March 25, 1996, through August 16, 1996. The LRDP was a Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) program intended to assess the effectiveness of the guidance provided by NEI 95-10, Revision 0, open-quotes Industry Guideline for Implementing the Requirements of 10 CFR Part 54 - The License Renewal Rule,close quotes to implement the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 54 (10 CFR Part 54), open-quotes Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants.close quotes In general, NEI 95-10 appeared to contain the basic guidance needed for scoping, screening, identifying aging effects, developing aging management programs, and performing time-limited aging analyses. However, inconsistent implementation of this guidance in some areas was an indication that clarification of existing guidance and/or the inclusion-of some new guidance may be needed for applicants to develop a license renewal program that is consistent with the intent of the rule

  6. Safety and Mission Assurance for In-House Design Lessons Learned from Ares I Upper Stage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Joel M.

    2011-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation identifies lessons learned in the course of the Ares I Upper Stage design and in-house development effort. The contents include: 1) Constellation Organization; 2) Upper Stage Organization; 3) Presentation Structure; 4) Lesson-Importance of Systems Engineering/Integration; 5) Lesson-Importance of Early S&MA Involvement; 6) Lesson-Importance of Appropriate Staffing Levels; 7) Lesson-Importance S&MA Team Deployment; 8) Lesson-Understanding of S&MA In-Line Engineering versus Assurance; 9) Lesson-Importance of Close Coordination between Supportability and Reliability/Maintainability; 10) Lesson-Importance of Engineering Data Systems; 11) Lesson-Importance of Early Development of Supporting Databases; 12) Lesson-Importance of Coordination with Safety Assessment/Review Panels; 13) Lesson-Implementation of Software Reliability; 14) Lesson-Implementation of S&MA Technical Authority/Chief S&MA Officer; 15) Lesson-Importance of S&MA Evaluation of Project Risks; 16) Lesson-Implementation of Critical Items List and Government Mandatory Inspections; 17) Lesson-Implementation of Critical Items List Mandatory Inspections; 18) Lesson-Implementation of Test Article Safety Analysis; and 19) Lesson-Importance of Procurement Quality.

  7. Reliability program plan for the Isotope Brayton Ground Demonstration System (phase I)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1975-01-01

    The reliability and quality assurance organizational relationships, the methods to be used, the tasks to be completed, and the documentation to be published are presented. The total program is intended to provide the necessary reliability and quality assurance associated with the design, fabrication, and testing of the GDS. It is consistent with the general objectives of the ERDA Quality Assurance (QA) program requirements document ''SNS-1'' dated April 1972 and reliability program requirements document ''SNS-2'' dated 17 June 1974 but has been specifically modified for the GDS with the intent of establishing background data for the subsequent Phase II effort

  8. Development of a Reliability Program approach to assuring operational nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, C.J.; Bezella, W.A.

    1985-01-01

    A Reliability Program (RP) model based on proven reliability techniques used in other high technology industries is being formulated for potential application in the nuclear power industry. Research findings are discussed. The reliability methods employed under NASA and military direction, commercial airline and related FAA programs were surveyed with several reliability concepts (e.g., quantitative reliability goals, reliability centered maintenance) appearing to be directly transferable. Other tasks in the RP development effort involved the benchmarking and evaluation of the existing nuclear regulations and practices relevant to safety/reliability integration. A review of current risk-dominant issues was also conducted using results from existing probabilistic risk assessment studies. The ongoing RP development tasks have concentrated on defining a RP for the operating phase of a nuclear plant's lifecycle. The RP approach incorporates safety systems risk/reliability analysis and performance monitoring activities with dedicated tasks that integrate these activities with operating, surveillance, and maintenance of the plant. The detection, root-cause evaluation and before-the-fact correction of incipient or actual systems failures as a mechanism for maintaining plant safety is a major objective of the RP

  9. Reliability and Maintainability Engineering - A Major Driver for Safety and Affordability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safie, Fayssal M.

    2011-01-01

    The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is in the midst of an effort to design and build a safe and affordable heavy lift vehicle to go to the moon and beyond. To achieve that, NASA is seeking more innovative and efficient approaches to reduce cost while maintaining an acceptable level of safety and mission success. One area that has the potential to contribute significantly to achieving NASA safety and affordability goals is Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) engineering. Inadequate reliability or failure of critical safety items may directly jeopardize the safety of the user(s) and result in a loss of life. Inadequate reliability of equipment may directly jeopardize mission success. Systems designed to be more reliable (fewer failures) and maintainable (fewer resources needed) can lower the total life cycle cost. The Department of Defense (DOD) and industry experience has shown that optimized and adequate levels of R&M are critical for achieving a high level of safety and mission success, and low sustainment cost. Also, lessons learned from the Space Shuttle program clearly demonstrated the importance of R&M engineering in designing and operating safe and affordable launch systems. The Challenger and Columbia accidents are examples of the severe impact of design unreliability and process induced failures on system safety and mission success. These accidents demonstrated the criticality of reliability engineering in understanding component failure mechanisms and integrated system failures across the system elements interfaces. Experience from the shuttle program also shows that insufficient Reliability, Maintainability, and Supportability (RMS) engineering analyses upfront in the design phase can significantly increase the sustainment cost and, thereby, the total life cycle cost. Emphasis on RMS during the design phase is critical for identifying the design features and characteristics needed for time efficient processing

  10. Speed, Acceleration, and Velocity: Level II, Unit 9, Lesson 1; Force, Mass, and Distance: Lesson 2; Types of Motion and Rest: Lesson 3; Electricity and Magnetism: Lesson 4; Electrical, Magnetic, and Gravitational Fields: Lesson 5; The Conservation and Conversion of Matter and Energy: Lesson 6; Simple Machines and Work: Lesson 7; Gas Laws: Lesson 8; Principles of Heat Engines: Lesson 9; Sound and Sound Waves: Lesson 10; Light Waves and Particles: Lesson 11; Program. A High.....

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manpower Administration (DOL), Washington, DC. Job Corps.

    This self-study program for high-school level contains lessons on: Speed, Acceleration, and Velocity; Force, Mass, and Distance; Types of Motion and Rest; Electricity and Magnetism; Electrical, Magnetic, and Gravitational Fields; The Conservation and Conversion of Matter and Energy; Simple Machines and Work; Gas Laws; Principles of Heat Engines;…

  11. DOE Human Reliability Program Removals Report 2004-2006

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Center for Human Reliability Studies

    2007-01-01

    This report presents results of the comprehensive data analysis and assessment of all U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) facilities that have positions requiring workers to be certified in the Human Reliability Program (HRP). Those facilities include: Albuquerque, Amarillo, DOE Headquarters, Hanford, Idaho, Nevada, Oak Ridge, Oakland, and Savannah River. The HRP was established to ensure, through continuous review and evaluation, the reliability of individuals who have access to the DOE's most sensitive facilities, materials, and information

  12. Implementing a Reliability Centered Maintenance Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Tuttle, Raymond

    1998-01-01

    .... A reliability centered maintenance (RCM) program seeks to offer equal or greater reliability at decreased cost by insuring only applicable, effective maintenance is performed and by in large part replacing time based maintenance...

  13. Overdose prevention for injection drug users: Lessons learned from naloxone training and distribution programs in New York City

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nandi Vijay

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Fatal heroin overdose is a significant cause of mortality for injection drug users (IDUs. Many of these deaths are preventable because opiate overdoses can be quickly and safely reversed through the injection of Naloxone [brand name Narcan], a prescription drug used to revive persons who have overdosed on heroin or other opioids. Currently, in several cities in the United States, drug users are being trained in naloxone administration and given naloxone for immediate and successful reversals of opiate overdoses. There has been very little formal description of the challenges faced in the development and implementation of large-scale IDU naloxone administration training and distribution programs and the lessons learned during this process. Methods During a one year period, over 1,000 participants were trained in SKOOP (Skills and Knowledge on Opiate Prevention and received a prescription for naloxone by a medical doctor on site at a syringe exchange program (SEP in New York City. Participants in SKOOP were over the age of 18, current participants of SEPs, and current or former drug users. We present details about program design and lessons learned during the development and implementation of SKOOP. Lessons learned described in the manuscript are collectively articulated by the evaluators and implementers of the project. Results There were six primary challenges and lessons learned in developing, implementing, and evaluating SKOOP. These include a political climate surrounding naloxone distribution; b extant prescription drug laws; c initial low levels of recruitment into the program; d development of participant appropriate training methodology; e challenges in the design of a suitable formal evaluation; and f evolution of program response to naloxone. Conclusion Other naloxone distribution programs may anticipate similar challenges to SKOOP and we identify mechanisms to address them. Strategies include being flexible in

  14. Developing safe and reliable LNG supply chains in teh new global environment: experience and lessons from six continents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meyer, Ernst; Danielsen, Hans Kristian; Dweck, Jacob; Mareino, Vince; Eriksen, Remi

    2007-07-01

    This paper explores the dynamics of risk management in the context of specific recent experiences in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) business. The paper notes the overall success of the LNG business in ensuring safety and reliability, and highlights the opportunities and dangers of recent business growth. Risks are organised by theme, with focuses on politics and regulation, safety and security, environmental impact, public perception, technological innovation, cost and time management, competence and quality of assets, and harsh climates. Developers and other stakeholders are encouraged to draw lessons from these experiences when attempting to model the interplay of social, commercial and technical factors in LNG project development. (auth)

  15. EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) operator reliability experiments program - Training implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joksimovich, V.; Spurgin, A.J.; Orvis, D.D.; Moieni, P.; Worledge, D.H.

    1990-01-01

    The primary purpose of the EPRI Operator Reliability Experiments (ORE) Program is to collect data for use in reliability and safety studies of nuclear power plant operation to more realistically take credit for operator performance in preventing core damage. The two objectives for fulfilling this purpose are: (1) to obtain quantitative/qualitative performance data on operating crew responses in the control room for potential accident sequences by using plant simulators, and (2) to test the Human Cognitive Reliability (HCR) correlation. This paper briefly discusses the background to this program, data collection and analysis, the results and quantitative/qualitative insights stemming from phase one which might be of interest to simulator operators and trainers

  16. Lessons learned related to packaging and transportation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wallen, C.

    1995-01-01

    The use of lessons learned as a tool for learning from past experiences is well established, especially by many organizations within the nuclear industry. Every person has, at some time, used the principles of lessons learned to adopt good work practices based on their own experiences or the experiences of others. Lessons learned can also help to avoid the recurrence of adverse practices, which is often an area that most lessons-learned programs tend to focus on. This paper will discuss how lessons learned relate to packaging and transportation issues and events experienced at Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. It will also discuss the role performed by the Office of Nuclear and Facility Safety's Office of Operating Experience Analysis and Feedback in disseminating lessons learned and operating experience feedback to the DOE complex. The central concept of lessons learned is that any organization should be able to learn from its own experiences and events. In addition, organizations should implement methodologies to scan external environments for lessons learned, to analyze and determine the relevance of lessons learned, and to bring about the necessary changes learned from these experiences. With increased concerns toward facility safety, the importance of utilizing the lessons-learned principles and the establishment of lessons-learned programs can not be overstated

  17. Development of reliability program for emergency diesel generators in domestic nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Young Ho; Jung, Hyun Jong; Choi, Kwang Hee; Hong, Seoung Yeul

    2001-01-01

    Surveillance tests of Emergency Diesel Generators (EDGs) in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) have been conducted periodically to verify the reliability and integrity of the EDGs, however, it was found that these surveillance methods were so conservative and severe as to accelerate the degradation of the EDGs. Hence, new regulatory guideline, Reg. Guide 1.9 Rev. 3, was established by the U.S. NRC to resolve these problems. But it requires the additional implementation of reliability program of the EDGs to improve the actual reliability of them. In Korea, the EDGs of Yonggwang nuclear units 3 and 4 were the first plant applying new Reg. guide 1.9 rev.3 and implementing EDG reliability program. Furthermore it is expected that new guideline for the EDGs will be applied to other EDGs of Korean NPPs. In this paper, this reliability program is described, and it can be used as a reference for other EDGs in Korean NPPs

  18. Advancements in valve technology and industry lessons lead to improved plant reliability and cost savings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, V.; Kalsi, M.S.

    2005-01-01

    Plant reliability and safety hinges on the proper functioning of several valves. Recent advancements in valve technology have resulted in new analytical and test methods for evaluating and improving valve and actuator reliability. This is especially significant in critical service applications in which the economic impact of a valve failure on production, outage schedules and consequential damages far surpasses the initial equipment purchase price. This paper presents an overview of recent advances in valve technology driven by reliability concerns and cost savings objectives without comprising safety in the Nuclear Power Industry. This overview is based on over 27 years of experience in supporting US and International nuclear power utilities, and contributing to EPRI, and NSSS Owners' Groups in developing generic models/methodologies to address industry wide issues; performing design basis reviews; and implementing plant-wide valve reliability improvement programs. Various analytical prediction software and hardware solutions and training seminars are now available to implement valve programs covering power plants' lifecycle from the construction phase through life extension and power up rate. These tools and methodologies can enhance valve-engineering activities including the selection, sizing, proper application, condition monitoring, failure analysis, and condition based maintenance optimization with a focus on potential bad actors. This paper offers two such examples, the Kalsi Valve and Actuator Program (KVAP) and Check Valve Analysis and Prioritization (CVAP) [1-3, 8, 9, 11-13]. The advanced, validated torque prediction models incorporated into KVAP software for AOVs and MOVs have improved reliability of margin predictions and enabled cost savings through elimination of unwarranted equipment modifications. CVAP models provides a basis to prioritize the population of valves recommended for preventive maintenance, inspection and/or modification, allowing

  19. Planning and implementation of reliability/quality programs to energy plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quenon, J.

    1986-01-01

    Quality Assurance principles have long been applied in part to many varied industrial enterprises. The advent of commercial nuclear power brought the evolution of a more comprehensive approach to the applications of quality assurance programs in this industry. However, the application philosophy was almost totally aimed at assuring the safety of the worker and the public. Recently, there has been a strong movement by industries and business in the U.S. and Europe to apply quality assurance in a more general way to assure overall reliability as well as safety. This paper describes an approach to enable management to not only make initial determinations of how to apply the elements of a reliability/quality assurance program, but how to continuously adjust the program to optimize the benefits that can be obtained

  20. Development of a Teen-Friendly Health Education Program on Facebook: Lessons Learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Bu Kyung; Nahm, Eun-Shim; Rogers, Valerie E

    2016-01-01

    Facebook is the most popular online platform among adolescents and can be an effective medium to deliver health education. Although Korean American (KA) adolescents are at risk of obesity, a culturally tailored health education program is not available for them. Thus, our research team developed a health education program for KA adolescents on Facebook called "Healthy Teens." The aim of this study was to discuss important lessons learned through the program development process. This program includes culturally tailored learning modules about healthy eating and physical activity. The program was developed on the basis of the social cognitive theory, and the online program was developed by applying Web usability principles for adolescents. Upon completion, the usability of the program was assessed using heuristic evaluation. The findings from the heuristic evaluation showed that the Healthy Teens program was usable for KA adolescents. The findings from this study will assist researchers who are planning to build similar Facebook-based health education programs. Copyright © 2016 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Lessons learned from case studies of inhalation exposures of workers to radioactive aerosols

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoover, M.D.; Fencl, A.F.; Newton, G.J. [and others

    1995-12-01

    Various Department of Energy requirements, rules, and orders mandate that lessons learned be identified, evaluated, shared, and incorporated into current practices. The recently issued, nonmandatory DOE standard for Development of DOE Lessons Learned Program states that a DOE-wide lessons learned program will {open_quotes}help to prevent recurrences of negative experiences, highlight best practices, and spotlight innovative ways to solve problems or perform work more safely, efficiently, and cost effectively.{close_quotes} Additional information about the lessons learned program is contained in the recently issued DOE handbook on Implementing U.S. Department of Energy Lessons Learned Programs and in October 1995 DOE SAfety Notice on Lessons Learned Programs. This report summarizes work in progress at ITRI to identify lessons learned for worker exposures to radioactive aerosols, and describes how this work will be incorporated into the DOE lessons learned program, including a new technical guide for measuring, modeling, and mitigating airborne radioactive particles. Follow-on work is focusing on preparation of {open_quotes}lessons learned{close_quotes} training materials for facility designers, managers, health protection professionals, line supervisors, and workers.

  2. Lessons learned from case studies of inhalation exposures of workers to radioactive aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoover, M.D.; Fencl, A.F.; Newton, G.J.

    1995-01-01

    Various Department of Energy requirements, rules, and orders mandate that lessons learned be identified, evaluated, shared, and incorporated into current practices. The recently issued, nonmandatory DOE standard for Development of DOE Lessons Learned Program states that a DOE-wide lessons learned program will open-quotes help to prevent recurrences of negative experiences, highlight best practices, and spotlight innovative ways to solve problems or perform work more safely, efficiently, and cost effectively.close quotes Additional information about the lessons learned program is contained in the recently issued DOE handbook on Implementing U.S. Department of Energy Lessons Learned Programs and in October 1995 DOE SAfety Notice on Lessons Learned Programs. This report summarizes work in progress at ITRI to identify lessons learned for worker exposures to radioactive aerosols, and describes how this work will be incorporated into the DOE lessons learned program, including a new technical guide for measuring, modeling, and mitigating airborne radioactive particles. Follow-on work is focusing on preparation of open-quotes lessons learnedclose quotes training materials for facility designers, managers, health protection professionals, line supervisors, and workers

  3. Penn State continuing education program on low-level radioactive waste disposal and management: lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vincenti, J.R.

    1985-01-01

    Since November of 1983, The Pennsylvania State University, Institute for Research on Land and Water Resources has provided the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with information on low-level radioactive waste disposal and management through a continuing education program called the PIER (Public Involvement and Education on Radiation) Program. This paper will review the form, function, and development of this continuing education program and some of the lessons learned in providing citizens of the Commonwealth with information in both formal and informal educational settings

  4. Design and Implementation of a Pilot Obesity Prevention Program in a Low-Resource School: Lessons Learned and Research Recommendations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baskin, Monica L.; Zunker, Christie; Worley, Courtney B.; Dial, Brenda; Kimbrough, Linda

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: This paper seeks to describe the design, implementation, and lessons learned from an obesity prevention pilot program delivered in a low resource school in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: A planned program evaluation was conducted to: document explicitly the process of designing and implementing the program; and assess the…

  5. Cancer Care Ontario and integrated cancer programs: portrait of a performance management system and lessons learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Siu Mee; Thompson, Leslee J

    2006-01-01

    A performance management system has been implemented by Cancer Care Ontario (CCO). This system allows for the monitoring and management of 11 integrated cancer programs (ICPs) across the Province of Ontario. The system comprises of four elements: reporting frequency, reporting requirements, review meetings and accountability and continuous improvement activities. CCO and the ICPs have recently completed quarterly performance review exercises for the last two quarters of the fiscal year 2004-2005. The purpose of this paper is to address some of the key lessons learned. The paper provides an outline of the CCO performance management system. These lessons included: data must be valid and reliable; performance management requires commitments from both parties in the performance review exercises; streamlining performance reporting is beneficial; technology infrastructure which allows for cohesive management of data is vital for a sustainable performance management system; performance indicators need to stand up to scrutiny by both parties; and providing comparative data across the province is valuable. Critical success factors which would help to ensure a successful performance management system include: corporate engagement from various parts of an organization in the review exercises; desire to focus on performance improvement and avoidance of blaming; and strong data management systems. The performance management system is a practical and sustainable system that allows for performance improvement of cancer care services. It can be a vital tool to enhance accountability within the health care system. The paper demonstrates that the performance management system supports accountability in the cancer care system for Ontario, and reflects the principles of the provincial governments commitment to continuous improvement of healthcare.

  6. Reliability program plan for the Kilowatt Isotope Power System (KIPS) technology verification phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-01-01

    Ths document is an integral part of the Kilowatt Isotope Power System (KIPS) Program Plan. This document defines the KIPS Reliability Program Plan for the Technology Verification Phase. This document delineates the reliability assurance tasks that are to be accomplished by Sundstrand and its suppliers during the design, fabrication and testing of the KIPS

  7. High Speed Simulation Framework for Reliable Logic Programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Wan-Bok; Kim, Seog-Ju

    2006-01-01

    This paper shows a case study of designing a PLC logic simulator that was developed to simulate and verify PLC control programs for nuclear plant systems. The nuclear control system requires strict restrictions rather than normal process control system does, since it works with nuclear power plants requiring high reliability under severe environment. One restriction is the safeness of the control programs which can be assured by exploiting severe testing. Another restriction is the simulation speed of the control programs, that should be fast enough to control multi devices concurrently in real-time. To cope with these restrictions, we devised a logic compiler which generates C-code programs from given PLC logic programs. Once the logic program was translated into C-code, the program could be analyzed by conventional software analysis tools and could be used to construct a fast logic simulator after cross-compiling, in fact, that is a kind of compiled-code simulation

  8. Reliability Lessons Learned From GPU Experience With The Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gallarno, George [Christian Brothers University; Rogers, James H [ORNL; Maxwell, Don E [ORNL

    2015-01-01

    The high computational capability of graphics processing units (GPUs) is enabling and driving the scientific discovery process at large-scale. The world s second fastest supercomputer for open science, Titan, has more than 18,000 GPUs that computational scientists use to perform scientific simu- lations and data analysis. Understanding of GPU reliability characteristics, however, is still in its nascent stage since GPUs have only recently been deployed at large-scale. This paper presents a detailed study of GPU errors and their impact on system operations and applications, describing experiences with the 18,688 GPUs on the Titan supercom- puter as well as lessons learned in the process of efficient operation of GPUs at scale. These experiences are helpful to HPC sites which already have large-scale GPU clusters or plan to deploy GPUs in the future.

  9. Fuzzy Goal Programming Approach in Selective Maintenance Reliability Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neha Gupta

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available 800x600 In the present paper, we have considered the allocation problem of repairable components for a parallel-series system as a multi-objective optimization problem and have discussed two different models. In first model the reliability of subsystems are considered as different objectives. In second model the cost and time spent on repairing the components are considered as two different objectives. These two models is formulated as multi-objective Nonlinear Programming Problem (MONLPP and a Fuzzy goal programming method is used to work out the compromise allocation in multi-objective selective maintenance reliability model in which we define the membership functions of each objective function and then transform membership functions into equivalent linear membership functions by first order Taylor series and finally by forming a fuzzy goal programming model obtain a desired compromise allocation of maintenance components. A numerical example is also worked out to illustrate the computational details of the method.  Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

  10. Flash Memory Reliability: Read, Program, and Erase Latency Versus Endurance Cycling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidecker, Jason

    2010-01-01

    This report documents the efforts and results of the fiscal year (FY) 2010 NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Program (NEPP) task for nonvolatile memory (NVM) reliability. This year's focus was to measure latency (read, program, and erase) of NAND Flash memories and determine how these parameters drift with erase/program/read endurance cycling.

  11. System safety and reliability using object-oriented programming techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patterson-Hine, F.A.; Koen, B.V.

    1987-01-01

    Direct evaluation fault tree codes have been written in recursive, list-processing computer languages such as PL/1 (PATREC-I) and LISP (PATREC-L). The pattern-matching strategy implemented in these codes has been used extensively in France to evaluate system reliability. Recent reviews of the risk management process suggest that a data base containing plant-specific information be integrated with a package of codes used for probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) to alleviate some of the difficulties that make a PRA so costly and time-intensive. A new programming paradigm, object-oriented programming, is uniquely suited for the development of such a software system. A knowledge base and fault tree evaluation algorithm, based on previous experience with PATREC-L, have been implemented using object-oriented techniques, resulting in a reliability assessment environment that is easy to develop, modify, and extend

  12. A Sustainable, Reliable Mission-Systems Architecture that Supports a System of Systems Approach to Space Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Steve; Orr, Jim; O'Neil, Graham

    2004-01-01

    A mission-systems architecture based on a highly modular "systems of systems" infrastructure utilizing open-standards hardware and software interfaces as the enabling technology is absolutely essential for an affordable and sustainable space exploration program. This architecture requires (a) robust communication between heterogeneous systems, (b) high reliability, (c) minimal mission-to-mission reconfiguration, (d) affordable development, system integration, and verification of systems, and (e) minimum sustaining engineering. This paper proposes such an architecture. Lessons learned from the space shuttle program are applied to help define and refine the model.

  13. Establishing monitoring programs for travel time reliability. [supporting datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this project was to develop system designs for programs to monitor travel time reliability and to prepare a guidebook that practitioners and others can use to design, build, operate, and maintain such systems. Generally, such travel ...

  14. Noncombatant Evacuation Operations: Department of State’s Lessons Learned Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-10

    means for utilizing the lessons learned, in some form of rehearsal or exercise, will 4 make the lessons learned meaningful. A lesson should only...required by DOS policy. The Department agreed with the recommendations to establish certain procedures to address the need to constantly 44 update...doctrine.31 Futch also explained that CALL is constantly seeking to expand training and educational efforts about the lessons learned process and

  15. Reliability programs for nuclear power plants. Regulatory standard S-98 revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-07-01

    The purpose of this regulatory standard is to help assure, in accordance with the purpose of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act (NSCA), that a licensee who constructs or operates a nuclear power plant (NPP) develops and implements a reliability program that assures that the systems important to safety at the plant can and will meet their defined design and performance specifications at acceptable levels of reliability throughout the lifetime of the facility. This regulatory standard describes the requirements of a reliability program for a nuclear power plant. The licensee shall implement the requirements described in this regulatory standard when a condition of a licence or other legally enforceable instrument so requires.(author)

  16. The INEL Human Reliability Program: The first two years of experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minner, D.E.

    1986-01-01

    This paper provides a review of the design, implementation, and operation of the INEL Human Reliability Program from January 1984 through June of 1986. Human Reliability Programs are defined in terms of the ''insider threat'' to security of nuclear facilities. The design of HRP's are discussed with special attention given the special challenge of the disgruntled employee. Each component of an HRP is reviewed noting pitfalls and opportunities with each: drug testing of applicants and incumbents, psychological evaluation by management, security clearance procedures and administration including the use of an Employee Review Board to recommend action prior to final management decision

  17. Accident Sequence Evaluation Program: Human reliability analysis procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swain, A.D.

    1987-02-01

    This document presents a shortened version of the procedure, models, and data for human reliability analysis (HRA) which are presented in the Handbook of Human Reliability Analysis With emphasis on Nuclear Power Plant Applications (NUREG/CR-1278, August 1983). This shortened version was prepared and tried out as part of the Accident Sequence Evaluation Program (ASEP) funded by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and managed by Sandia National Laboratories. The intent of this new HRA procedure, called the ''ASEP HRA Procedure,'' is to enable systems analysts, with minimal support from experts in human reliability analysis, to make estimates of human error probabilities and other human performance characteristics which are sufficiently accurate for many probabilistic risk assessments. The ASEP HRA Procedure consists of a Pre-Accident Screening HRA, a Pre-Accident Nominal HRA, a Post-Accident Screening HRA, and a Post-Accident Nominal HRA. The procedure in this document includes changes made after tryout and evaluation of the procedure in four nuclear power plants by four different systems analysts and related personnel, including human reliability specialists. The changes consist of some additional explanatory material (including examples), and more detailed definitions of some of the terms. 42 refs

  18. FTA low-speed urban Maglev research program : updated lessons learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    In 1999, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) initiated the Low-Speed Urban Magnetic Levitation (Urban Maglev) Program to develop magnetic levitation technology that offers a cost-effective, reliable, and environmentally-sound transit option for ...

  19. Surviving the Lead Reliability Engineer Role in High Unit Value Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, Reinaldo J.

    2011-01-01

    A project with a very high unit value within a company is defined as a project where a) the project constitutes one of a kind (or two-of-a-kind) national asset type of project, b) very large cost, and c) a mission failure would be a very public event that will hurt the company's image. The Lead Reliability engineer in a high visibility project is by default involved in all phases of the project, from conceptual design to manufacture and testing. This paper explores a series of lessons learned, over a period of ten years of practical industrial experience by a Lead Reliability Engineer. We expand on the concepts outlined by these lessons learned via examples. The lessons learned are applicable to all industries.

  20. Lessons from sexual and reproductive health voucher program design and function: a comprehensive review

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Developing countries face challenges in financing healthcare; often the poor do not receive the most basic services. The past decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of voucher programs, which target output-based subsidies for specific services to poor and underserved groups. The dearth of literature that examines lessons learned risks the wheel being endlessly reinvented. This paper examines commonalities and differences in voucher design and implementation, highlighting lessons learned for the design of new voucher programmes. Methodology The methodology comprised: discussion among key experts to develop inclusion/exclusion criteria; up-dating the literature database used by the DFID systematic review of voucher programs; and networking with key contacts to identify new programs and obtain additional program documents. We identified 40 programs for review and extracted a dataset of more than 120 program characteristics for detailed analysis. Results All programs aimed to increase utilisation of healthcare, particularly maternal health services, overwhelmingly among low-income populations. The majority contract(ed) private providers, or public and private providers, and all facilitate(d) access to services that are well defined, time-limited and reflect the country’s stated health priorities. All voucher programs incorporate a governing body, management agency, contracted providers and target population, and all share the same incentive structure: the transfer of subsidies from consumers to service providers, resulting in a strong effect on both consumer and provider behaviour. Vouchers deliver subsidies to individuals, who in the absence of the subsidy would likely not have sought care, and in all programs a positive behavioural response is observed, with providers investing voucher revenue to attract more clients. A large majority of programs studied used targeting mechanisms. Conclusions While many programs remain too small to address

  1. Lessons from sexual and reproductive health voucher program design and function: a comprehensive review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grainger, Corinne; Gorter, Anna; Okal, Jerry; Bellows, Ben

    2014-04-29

    Developing countries face challenges in financing healthcare; often the poor do not receive the most basic services. The past decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of voucher programs, which target output-based subsidies for specific services to poor and underserved groups. The dearth of literature that examines lessons learned risks the wheel being endlessly reinvented. This paper examines commonalities and differences in voucher design and implementation, highlighting lessons learned for the design of new voucher programmes. The methodology comprised: discussion among key experts to develop inclusion/exclusion criteria; up-dating the literature database used by the DFID systematic review of voucher programs; and networking with key contacts to identify new programs and obtain additional program documents. We identified 40 programs for review and extracted a dataset of more than 120 program characteristics for detailed analysis. All programs aimed to increase utilisation of healthcare, particularly maternal health services, overwhelmingly among low-income populations. The majority contract(ed) private providers, or public and private providers, and all facilitate(d) access to services that are well defined, time-limited and reflect the country's stated health priorities. All voucher programs incorporate a governing body, management agency, contracted providers and target population, and all share the same incentive structure: the transfer of subsidies from consumers to service providers, resulting in a strong effect on both consumer and provider behaviour. Vouchers deliver subsidies to individuals, who in the absence of the subsidy would likely not have sought care, and in all programs a positive behavioural response is observed, with providers investing voucher revenue to attract more clients. A large majority of programs studied used targeting mechanisms. While many programs remain too small to address national-level need among the poor, large programs

  2. Grade pending: lessons for hospital quality reporting from the New York City restaurant sanitation inspection program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Andrew M; Detsky, Allan S

    2015-02-01

    Public quality reporting programs have been widely implemented in hospitals in an effort to improve quality and safety. One such program is Hospital Compare, Medicare's national quality reporting program for US hospitals. The New York City sanitary grade inspection program is a parallel effort for restaurants. The aims of Hospital Compare and the New York City sanitary inspection program are fundamentally similar: to address a common market failure resulting from consumers' lack of information on quality and safety. However, by displaying easily understandable information at the point of service, the New York City sanitary inspection program is better designed to encourage informed consumer decision making. We argue that this program holds important lessons for public quality reporting of US hospitals. © 2014 Society of Hospital Medicine.

  3. Accident Sequence Evaluation Program: Human reliability analysis procedure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Swain, A.D.

    1987-02-01

    This document presents a shortened version of the procedure, models, and data for human reliability analysis (HRA) which are presented in the Handbook of Human Reliability Analysis With emphasis on Nuclear Power Plant Applications (NUREG/CR-1278, August 1983). This shortened version was prepared and tried out as part of the Accident Sequence Evaluation Program (ASEP) funded by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and managed by Sandia National Laboratories. The intent of this new HRA procedure, called the ''ASEP HRA Procedure,'' is to enable systems analysts, with minimal support from experts in human reliability analysis, to make estimates of human error probabilities and other human performance characteristics which are sufficiently accurate for many probabilistic risk assessments. The ASEP HRA Procedure consists of a Pre-Accident Screening HRA, a Pre-Accident Nominal HRA, a Post-Accident Screening HRA, and a Post-Accident Nominal HRA. The procedure in this document includes changes made after tryout and evaluation of the procedure in four nuclear power plants by four different systems analysts and related personnel, including human reliability specialists. The changes consist of some additional explanatory material (including examples), and more detailed definitions of some of the terms. 42 refs.

  4. RCM [reliability-centered maintenance] at Ginna: Preventive maintenance program optimization at year 20

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edgar, E.C.

    1989-01-01

    The reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) program at Rochester Gas ampersand Electric Company's Ginna station is entering its second year. Of the 20 systems originally selected for evaluation, 10 are in various stages of completion, and recommendations resulting from the earliest systems studied are now being implemented. As expected, few major discoveries have been made in terms of preventive maintenance program failings or excesses. The performance of the now 20-yr-old plant has been excellent in recent years, and objectives focus more on ensuring continued high standards of safety, reliability, and economy than on maintenance program cost reduction

  5. Demand Response in the West: Lessons for States and Provinces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Douglas C. Larson; Matt Lowry; Sharon Irwin

    2004-06-29

    OAK-B135 This paper is submitted in fulfillment of DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-015F22369 on the experience of western states/provinces with demand response (DR) in the electricity sector. Demand-side resources are often overlooked as a viable option for meeting load growth and addressing the challenges posed by the region's aging transmission system. Western states should work together with utilities and grid operators to facilitate the further deployment of DR programs which can provide benefits in the form of decreased grid congestion, improved system reliability, market efficiency, price stabilization, hedging against volatile fuel prices and reduced environmental impacts of energy production. This report describes the various types of DR programs; provides a survey of DR programs currently in place in the West; considers the benefits, drawbacks and barriers to DR; and presents lessons learned and recommendations for states/provinces.

  6. St. Louis FUSRAP Lessons Learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eberlin, J.; Williams, D.; Mueller, D.

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to present lessons learned from fours years' experience conducting Remedial Investigation and Remedial Action activities at the St. Louis Downtown Site (SLDS) under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Many FUSRAP sites are experiencing challenges conducting Remedial Actions within forecasted volume and budget estimates. The St. Louis FUSRAP lessons learned provide insight to options for cost effective remediation at FUSRAP sites. The lessons learned are focused on project planning (budget and schedule), investigation, design, and construction

  7. Interim reliability evaluation program (IREP)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlson, D.D.; Murphy, J.A.

    1981-01-01

    The Interim Reliability Evaluation Program (IREP), sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is currently applying probabilistic risk analysis techniques to two PWR and two BWR type power plants. Emphasis was placed on the systems analysis portion of the risk assessment, as opposed to accident phenomenology or consequence analysis, since the identification of risk significant plant features was of primary interest. Traditional event tree/fault tree modeling was used for the analysis. However, the study involved a more thorough investigation of transient initiators and of support system faults than studies in the past and substantially improved techniques were used to quantify accident sequence frequencies. This study also attempted to quantify the potential for operator recovery actions in the course of each significant accident

  8. Feedback of safety - related operational experience: Lessons learned

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elias, D [Commonwealth Edison Co. (United States)

    1997-09-01

    The presentation considers the following aspects of feedback of safety-related operational experience: lessons learned program, objectives, personnel characteristics; three types of documents for transmitting lessons learned issues.

  9. Feedback of safety - related operational experience: Lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elias, D.

    1997-01-01

    The presentation considers the following aspects of feedback of safety-related operational experience: lessons learned program, objectives, personnel characteristics; three types of documents for transmitting lessons learned issues

  10. Increasing the reliability, availability, and maintainability of the AP600 by design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trombola, D.; Meyer, C.

    1993-01-01

    The AP600 design is based on providing a safe, simple, standardized, and economically competitive design with a high degree of operability and ease of maintenance. Design features such as component selection, layout, and standardization increase the probability that targeted repair times are achieved. Design requirements from the utility industry and industry design practices have established criteria for: layout, changeout and replacement of parts and components; access for major pieces of equipment; and vehicle passage. These features coupled with a solid reliability assurance and maintenance program will help the AP600 meet its objectives for operation and maintenance. The AP600 draws on the operating experience and lessons learned from the utility community through design workshops and design review interaction, as well as operating plant data from sources several sources. Internally, the AP600 program incorporates the resources of Westinghouse NSD (Nuclear Service Division), which for decades has provided refueling, steam generator, reactor coolant pump, and other operating plant services. Since the early phases of the design process, the AP600 Program has executed a comprehensive reliability, availability, and maintainability program (RAM) which dealt primarily with assessing and improving plant availability. In conjunction with this program a Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) was performed and submitted to the NRC with the Standard Safety Analysis Report (SSAR) in June 1992. This paper describes how AP600 ensures that the plant has design features to enhance reliability, availability, and maintainability. The RAM program that brings the plant through the design certification phase is described

  11. Interim Reliability Evaluation Program procedures guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlson, D.D.; Gallup, D.R.; Kolaczkowski, A.M.; Kolb, G.J.; Stack, D.W.; Lofgren, E.; Horton, W.H.; Lobner, P.R.

    1983-01-01

    This document presents procedures for conducting analyses of a scope similar to those performed in Phase II of the Interim Reliability Evaluation Program (IREP). It documents the current state of the art in performing the plant systems analysis portion of a probabilistic risk assessment. Insights gained into managing such an analysis are discussed. Step-by-step procedures and methodological guidance constitute the major portion of the document. While not to be viewed as a cookbook, the procedures set forth the principal steps in performing an IREP analysis. Guidance for resolving the problems encountered in previous analyses is offered. Numerous examples and representative products from previous analyses clarify the discussion

  12. Communication-and-resolution programs: the challenges and lessons learned from six early adopters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mello, Michelle M; Boothman, Richard C; McDonald, Timothy; Driver, Jeffrey; Lembitz, Alan; Bouwmeester, Darren; Dunlap, Benjamin; Gallagher, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    In communication-and-resolution programs (CRPs), health systems and liability insurers encourage the disclosure of unanticipated care outcomes to affected patients and proactively seek resolutions, including offering an apology, an explanation, and, where appropriate, reimbursement or compensation. Anecdotal reports from the University of Michigan Health System and other early adopters of CRPs suggest that these programs can substantially reduce liability costs and improve patient safety. But little is known about how these early programs achieved success. We studied six CRPs to identify the major challenges in and lessons learned from implementing these initiatives. The CRP participants we interviewed identified several factors that contributed to their programs' success, including the presence of a strong institutional champion, investing in building and marketing the program to skeptical clinicians, and making it clear that the results of such transformative change will take time. Many of the early CRP adopters we interviewed expressed support for broader experimentation with these programs even in settings that differ from their own, such as systems that do not own and control their liability insurer, and in states without strong tort reforms.

  13. Lessons learned in streamlining the preparation of SNM standard solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, J.P.; Johnson, S.R.

    1986-01-01

    Improved safeguard measurements have produced a demand for greater quantities of reliable SNM solution standards. At the Savannah River Plant (SRP), the demand for these standards has been met by several innovations to improve the productivity and reliability of standards preparations. With the use of computer controlled balance, large batches of SNM stock solutions are prepared on a gravimetric basis. Accurately dispensed quantities of the stock solution are weighed and stored in bottles. When needed, they are quantitatively transferred to tared containers, matrix adjusted to target concentrations, weighed, and measured for density at 25 0 C. Concentrations of SNM are calculated both gravimetrically and volumetrically. Calculated values are confirmed analytically before the standards are used in measurement control program (MCP) activities. The lessons learned include: MCP goals include error identification and management. Strategy modifications are required to improve error management. Administrative controls can minimize certain types of errors. Automation can eliminate redundancy and streamline preparations. Prudence and simplicity enhance automation success. The effort expended to increase productivity has increased the reliability of standards and provided better documentation for quality assurance

  14. Recruitment Strategies and Lessons Learned from the Children's Healthy Living Program Prevalence Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fialkowski, Marie K; Yamanaka, Ashley; Wilkens, Lynne R; Braun, Kathryn L; Butel, Jean; Ettienne, Reynolette; McGlone, Katalina; Remengesau, Shelley; Power, Julianne M; Johnson, Emihner; Gilmatam, Daisy; Fleming, Travis; Acosta, Mark; Belyeu-Camacho, Tayna; Shomour, Moria; Sigrah, Cecilia; Nigg, Claudio; Novotny, Rachel

    2016-01-01

    The US Affiliated Pacific region's childhood obesity prevalence has reached epidemic proportions. To guide program and policy development, a multi-site study was initiated, in collaboration with partners from across the region, to gather comprehensive information on the regional childhood obesity prevalence. The environmental and cultural diversity of the region presented challenges to recruiting for and implementing a shared community-based, public health research program. This paper presents the strategies used to recruit families with young children (n = 5775 for children 2 - 8 years old) for obesity-related measurement across eleven jurisdictions in the US Affiliated Pacific Region. Data were generated by site teams that provided summaries of their recruitment strategies and lessons learned. Conducting this large multi-site prevalence study required considerable coordination, time and flexibility. In every location, local staff knowledgeable of the community was hired to lead recruitment, and participant compensation reflected jurisdictional appropriateness (e.g., gift cards, vouchers, or cash). Although recruitment approaches were site-specific, they were predominantly school-based or a combination of school- and community-based. Lessons learned included the importance of organization buy-in; communication, and advance planning; local travel and site peculiarities; and flexibility. Future monitoring of childhood obesity prevalence in the region should consider ways to integrate measurement activities into existing organizational infrastructures for sustainability and cost-effectiveness, while meeting programmatic (e.g. study) goals.

  15. ICT AND TEACHERS' PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF LESSON ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PROF. BARTH EKWEME

    Delivery Questionnaire (ICTTPLIDO) Developed by the researcher. The reliability estimate of ... teachers' performance in lesson preparation and delivery through the use of Information and ... information to accomplish the task, and evaluating ...

  16. Reliability and acceptability of a five-station multiple mini-interview model for residency program recruitment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julian Diaz Fraga

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Standard interviews are used by most residency programs in the United States for assessment of aptitude of the non-cognitive competencies, but variability of interviewer skill, interviewer bias, interviewer leniency or stringency, and context specificity limit reliability. Aim: To investigate reliability and acceptability of five-station multiple mini-interview (MMI model for resident selection into an internal medicine residency program in the United States. Setting: One independent academic medical center. Participants: Two hundred and thirty-seven applicants and 17 faculty interviewers. Program description: Five, 10-min MMI stations with five different interviewers blinded to the candidate's records and one traditional 20-min interview with the program director. Candidates were rated on two items: interpersonal and communication skills, and overall performance. Program evaluation: Generalizability data showed that the reliability of our process was high (>0.9. The results of anonymous surveys demonstrated that both applicants and interviewers consider the MMI as a fair and more effective tool to evaluate non-cognitive traits, and prefer the MMI to standard interviews. Discussion: The MMI process for residency interviews can generate reliable interview results using only five stations, and it is acceptable and preferred over standard interview modalities by the applicants and faculty members of one US residency program.

  17. Interim reliability evaluation program, Browns Ferry fault trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stewart, M.E.

    1981-01-01

    An abbreviated fault tree method is used to evaluate and model Browns Ferry systems in the Interim Reliability Evaluation programs, simplifying the recording and displaying of events, yet maintaining the system of identifying faults. The level of investigation is not changed. The analytical thought process inherent in the conventional method is not compromised. But the abbreviated method takes less time, and the fault modes are much more visible

  18. Rotary's PolioPlus Program: Lessons Learned, Transition Planning, and Legacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sever, John L; McGovern, Michael; Scott, Robert; Pandak, Carol; Edwards, Amy; Goodstone, David

    2017-07-01

    Hundreds of thousands of Rotary volunteers have provided support for polio eradication activities and continue to this day by making financial contributions to the Rotary PolioPlus program, participating in national immunization days, assisting with surveillance, working on local, national, and international advocacy programs for polio eradication, assisting at immunization posts and clinics, and mobilizing their communities for immunization activities (including poliovirus and other vaccines) and other health benefits. Rotary has contributed more than $1.61 billion for the global eradication of polio and has committed to provide an additional $35 million each year until 2018 (all dollar amounts represent US dollars). Its unwavering commitment to eradicate polio has been vital to the success of the program. Rotary is providing additional support for routine immunization and healthcare. When polio is finally gone, we will have the knowledge from the lessons learned with PolioPlus, such as the value of direct involvement by local Rotarians, the program for emergency funding, innovative tactics, and additional approaches for tackling other global issues, even those beyond public health. Rotary has already transitioned its grants program to include 6 areas of focus: disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, economic and community development, and peace and conflict prevention/resolution. Funding for these grants in 2015-2016 was $71 million. The legacy of the polio program will be the complete eradication of poliovirus and the elimination of polio for all time. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  19. The Emergence of Hospital Accreditation Programs in East Africa: Lessons from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey Lane

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this manuscript was to examine existing hospital accreditation systems in three East African countries (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, assess attitudes and opinions of key stakeholders regarding hospital accreditation systems in the region, and identify lessons regarding sustainable and effective implementation of hospital accreditation systems in resource-limited countries. National hospital accreditation systems were found in Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda’s accreditation system, known as Yellow Star, had been suspended. Attitudes and opinions of key stakeholders almost unanimously supported the idea of establishing new national hospital accreditation programs, but opinions differed regarding whether that system should be operated by the government or a private independent organization. Our analysis supports the following lessons regarding accreditation systems in the region: (1 self-funding mechanisms are critical to long-term success; (2 external assessments occurred more frequently in our focus countries than accreditation systems in developed countries; (3 Kenya has established framework for providing financial incentives to highly performing hospitals, but these links need to be strengthened; and (4 automatic accreditation of governmental health facilities in Kenya and Tanzania illustrate the potential hazard of public authorities overseeing accreditation programs.

  20. The Emergence of Hospital Accreditation Programs in East Africa: Lessons from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey Lane

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this manuscript was to examine existing hospital accreditation systems in three East African countries (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, assess attitudes and opinions of key stakeholders regarding hospital accreditation systems in the region, and identify lessons regarding sustainable and effective implementation of hospital accreditation systems in resource-limited countries. National hospital accreditation systems were found in Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda’s accreditation system, known as Yellow Star, had been suspended. Attitudes and opinions of key stakeholders almost unanimously supported the idea of establishing new national hospital accreditation programs, but opinions differed regarding whether that system should be operated by the government or a private independent organization. Our analysis supports the following lessons regarding accreditation systems in the region: (1 self--‐funding mechanisms are critical to long-term success; (2 external assessments occurred more frequently in our focus countries than accreditation systems in developed countries; (3 Kenya has established framework for providing financial incentives to highly performing hospitals, but these links need to be strengthened; and (4 automatic accreditation of governmental health facilities in Kenya and Tanzania illustrate the potential hazard of public authorities overseeing accreditation programs.

  1. Lessons learned: Evaluating the program fidelity of UNWomen Partnership for Peace domestic violence diversion program in the Eastern Caribbean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeremiah, Rohan D; Quinn, Camille R; Alexis, Jicinta M

    2018-08-01

    To date, there have been a plethora of punitive and diversion programs to address domestic violence around the world. However, the evaluative scholarship of such programs overwhelmingly reflects studies in developed countries while barely showcasing the realities of addressing domestic violence in developing countries. This paper features a multi-year (2008-2011) evaluation study that measured the fidelity of the United Nations Partnership for Peace (PfP) domestic violence diversion program in the Eastern Caribbean country of Grenada. Our findings illuminate organic engagement strategies that were built within existing multi-sectoral partnerships that included magistrate court judges, law enforcement officials, and social service agencies. Furthermore, we documented how the locally-devised implementation strategies ensured the program's fidelity within a resource-limited context. This paper contributes to the global evaluative scholarship, highlighting the lessons learned about implementing culturally-adapted and theoretically-driven domestic violence diversion within a developing country. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Reliability database development for use with an object-oriented fault tree evaluation program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heger, A. Sharif; Harringtton, Robert J.; Koen, Billy V.; Patterson-Hine, F. Ann

    1989-01-01

    A description is given of the development of a fault-tree analysis method using object-oriented programming. In addition, the authors discuss the programs that have been developed or are under development to connect a fault-tree analysis routine to a reliability database. To assess the performance of the routines, a relational database simulating one of the nuclear power industry databases has been constructed. For a realistic assessment of the results of this project, the use of one of existing nuclear power reliability databases is planned.

  3. Reliability assurance program for operational emergency ac power system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heineman, J.B.; Ragland, W.A.; Mueller, C.J.

    1985-01-01

    A comprehensive review of emergency ac power systems in nuclear generating plants (the vast majority of these plants contain redundant diesel generator systems) delineates several operational areas that can be improved by instituting a reliability assurance program (RAP), which initially upgrades the diesel generator performance and provides for ongoing monitoring and maintenance based upon alert levels

  4. INPO's role in the improvement of nuclear plant safety and reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pate, Z.T.

    1985-01-01

    The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) is a nonprofit, nongovernment corporation dedicated to promoting safe and reliable operation and quality construction of nuclear power plants. The institute is supported by the US nuclear utility industry. All US utilities building or operating nuclear power plants are INPO members. INPO's many activities fall within four major program areas: (1) Evaluations: INPO conducts detailed evaluations of all US operating plants, utility corporate support of nuclear programs, and nuclear projects under active construction. Events analysis and information exchange: INPO reviews plant reports of abnormal or unusual events and reports the lessons learned to the industry. INPO also fosters improved industry communications through a worldwide telecommunications network. (3) Training and accreditation: INPO assists utilities, including international participants, in developing quality training programs; and (4) Assistance: the Institute provides various forms of assistance to members and participants. INPO places emphasis on visits to facilities to aid members and participants in various program or operational areas

  5. Reliability and safety program plan outline for the operational phase of a waste isolation facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ammer, H.G.; Wood, D.E.

    1977-01-01

    A Reliability and Safety Program plan outline has been prepared for the operational phase of a Waste Isolation Facility. The program includes major functions of risk assessment, technical support activities, quality assurance, operational safety, configuration monitoring, reliability analysis and support and coordination meetings. Detailed activity or task descriptions are included for each function. Activities are time-phased and presented in the PERT format for scheduling and interactions. Task descriptions include manloading, travel, and computer time estimates to provide data for future costing. The program outlined here will be used to provide guidance from a reliability and safety standpoint to design, procurement, construction, and operation of repositories for nuclear waste. These repositories are to be constructed under the National Waste Terminal Storage program under the direction of the Office of Waste Isolation, Union Carbide Corp. Nuclear Division

  6. FTA Low-speed urban maglev research program lessons learned : March 2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-01

    In 1999, the Federal Transit Administration initiated the Low-Speed Urban Magnetic Levitation (UML) Program to develop magnetic levitation technology that offers a cost effective, reliable, and environmentally sound transit option for urban mass tran...

  7. Lessons learned from the scaling-up of a weekly multimicronutrient supplementation program in the integrated food security program (PISA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lechtig, Aarón; Gross, Rainer; Vivanco, Oscar Aquino; Gross, Ursula; López de Romaña, Daniel

    2006-01-01

    Weekly multimicronutrient supplementation was initiated as an appropriate intervention to protect poor urban populations from anemia. To identify the lessons learned from the Integrated Food Security Program (Programa Integrado de Seguridad Alimentaria [PISA]) weekly multimicronutrient supplementation program implemented in poor urban populations of Chiclayo, Peru. Data were collected from a 12-week program in which multimicronutrient supplements were provided weekly to women and adolescent girls 12 through 44 years of age and children under 5 years of age. A baseline survey was first conducted. Within the weekly multimicronutrient supplementation program, information was collected on supplement distribution, compliance, biological effectiveness, and cost. Supplementation, fortification, and dietary strategies can be integrated synergistically within a micronutrient intervention program. To ensure high cost-effectiveness of a weekly multimicronutrient supplementation program, the following conditions need to be met: the program should be implemented twice a year for 4 months; the program should be simultaneously implemented at the household (micro), community (meso), and national (macro) levels; there should be governmental participation from health and other sectors; and there should be community and private sector participation. Weekly multimicronutrient supplementation programs are cost effective options in urban areas with populations at low risk of energy deficiency and high risk of micronutrient deficiencies.

  8. Substation design improvement with a probabilistic reliability approach using the TOPASE program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bulot, M.; Heroin, G.; Bergerot, J-L.; Le Du, M. [Electricite de France (France)

    1997-12-31

    TOPASE, (the French acronym for Probabilistic Tools and Data Processing for the Analysis of Electric Systems), developed by Electricite de France (EDF) to perform reliability studies on transmission substations, was described. TOPASE serves a dual objective of assisting in the automation of HV substation studies, as well as enabling electrical systems experts who are not necessarily specialists in reliability studies to perform such studies. The program is capable of quantifying the occurrence rate of undesirable events and of identifying critical equipment and the main incident scenarios. The program can be used to improve an existing substation, to choose an HV structure during the design stage, or to choose a system of protective devices. Data collected during 1996 and 1997 will be analyzed to identify useful experiences and to validate the basic concepts of the program. 4 figs.

  9. A reliability simulation language for reliability analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deans, N.D.; Miller, A.J.; Mann, D.P.

    1986-01-01

    The results of work being undertaken to develop a Reliability Description Language (RDL) which will enable reliability analysts to describe complex reliability problems in a simple, clear and unambiguous way are described. Component and system features can be stated in a formal manner and subsequently used, along with control statements to form a structured program. The program can be compiled and executed on a general-purpose computer or special-purpose simulator. (DG)

  10. Lessons learned using a values-engaged approach to attend to culture, diversity, and equity in a STEM program evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyce, Ayesha S

    2017-10-01

    Evaluation must attend meaningfully and respectfully to issues of culture, race, diversity, power, and equity. This attention is especially critical within the evaluation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational programming, which has an explicit agenda of broadening participation. The purpose of this article is to report lessons learned from the implementation of a values-engaged, educative (Greene et al., 2006) evaluation within a multi-year STEM education program setting. This meta-evaluation employed a case study design using data from evaluator weekly systematic reflections, review of evaluation and program artifacts, stakeholder interviews, and peer review and assessment. The main findings from this study are (a) explicit attention to culture, diversity, and equity was initially challenged by organizational culture and under-developed evaluator-stakeholder professional relationship and (b) evidence of successful engagement of culture, diversity, and equity emerged in formal evaluation criteria and documents, and informal dialogue and discussion with stakeholders. The paper concludes with lessons learned and implications for practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Solid-State Lighting: Early Lessons Learned on the Way to Market

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sandahl, Linda J.; Cort, Katherine A.; Gordon, Kelly L.

    2013-12-31

    The purpose of this report is to document early challenges and lessons learned in the solid-state lighting (SSL) market development as part of the DOE’s SSL Program efforts to continually evaluate market progress in this area. This report summarizes early actions taken by DOE and others to avoid potential problems anticipated based on lessons learned from the market introduction of compact fluorescent lamps and identifies issues, challenges, and new lessons that have been learned in the early stages of the SSL market introduction. This study identifies and characterizes12 key lessons that have been distilled from DOE SSL program results.

  12. Design-reliability assurance program application to ACP600

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhichao, Huang; Bo, Zhao

    2012-01-01

    ACP600 is a newly nuclear power plant technology made by CNNC in China and it is based on the Generation III NPPs design experience and general safety goals. The ACP600 Design Reliability Assurance Program (D-RAP) is implemented as an integral part of the ACP600 design process. A RAP is a formal management system which assures the collection of important characteristic information about plant performance throughout each phase of its life and directs the use of this information in the implementation of analytical and management process which are specifically designed to meet two specific objects: confirm the plant goals and cost effective improvements. In general, typical reliability assurance program have 4 broad functional elements: 1) Goals and performance criteria; 2) Management system and implementing procedures; 3) Analytical tools and investigative methods; and 4) Information management. In this paper we will use the D-RAP technical and Risk-Informed requirements, and establish the RAM and PSA model to optimize the ACP600 design. Compared with previous design process, the D-RAP is more competent for the higher design targets and requirements, enjoying more creativity through an easier implementation of technical breakthroughs. By using D-RAP, the plants goals, system goals, performance criteria and safety criteria can be easier to realize, and the design can be optimized and more rational

  13. The implementation of school-based lesson study at elementary school

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Purnomo Purnomo

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to describe and interpret the implementation of school-based lesson study in SDN I Kretek. This study uses the qualitative research. The data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, field notes, and documentation. The data validity was determined through sources and techniques triangulation. The data were analyzed using the Interactive Analysis Model from Miles and Huberman. The results show: (1 the planning of school-based lesson study program at SDN 1 Kretek has been implemented from the beginning of the school year 2014/2015 by establishing school-based lesson study team. This team is responsible for planning, managing, and evaluating school-based lesson study program at SDN 1 Kretek, (2 school-based lesson study at SDN 1 Kretek is implemented in three phases, namely planning, implementation, and reflection, and (3 The evaluation of lesson study is conducted by each teacher who has conducted the open class and conducted thoroughly with a meeting by a team of school-based lesson study SDN 1 Kretek at the end of the school year.

  14. Recruitment Strategies and Lessons Learned from the Children’s Healthy Living Program Prevalence Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julianne M. Power

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The US Affiliated Pacific region’s childhood obesity prevalence has reached epidemic proportions. To guide program and policy development, a multi-site study was initiated, in collaboration with partners from across the region, to gather comprehensive information on the regional childhood obesity prevalence. The environmental and cultural diversity of the region presented challenges to recruiting for and implementing a shared community-based, public health research program. This paper presents the strategies used to recruit families with young children (n = 5775 for children 2 – 8 years old for obesity-related measurement across eleven jurisdictions in the US Affiliated Pacific Region. Data were generated by site teams that provided summaries of their recruitment strategies and lessons learned. Conducting this large multi-site prevalence study required considerable coordination, time and flexibility. In every location, local staff knowledgeable of the community was hired to lead recruitment, and participant compensation reflected jurisdictional appropriateness (e.g., gift cards, vouchers, or cash. Although recruitment approaches were site-specific, they were predominantly school-based or a combination of school- and community-based. Lessons learned included the importance of organization buy-in; communication, and advance planning; local travel and site peculiarities; and flexibility. Future monitoring of childhood obesity prevalence in the region should consider ways to integrate measurement activities into existing organizational infrastructures for sustainability and cost-effectiveness, while meeting programmatic (e.g. study goals.

  15. A summary of lessons learned activities conducted at the OECD Halden Reactor Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hallbert, B.P.

    1997-01-01

    A series of lessons learned studies have been conducted at the OECD Halden Reactor Project. The purpose of these lessons learned reports are to summarize knowledge and experience gained across a number of research project. This paper presents a summary of main issues addressed in four of these lessons learned projects. These are concerned with software development and quality assurance, software reliability, methods for test and evaluation of developed systems, and the evaluation of system design features

  16. National Workplace Literacy Program. Garment-Related Bilingual (English & Chinese) T.V. Broadcast Lessons. Book I: Episodes 1-15.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chinatown Manpower Project, Inc., New York, NY.

    This publication contains a series of 15 garment-related bilingual (English and Chinese) television broadcast lessons produced by the National Workplace Literacy Program of Chinatown Manpower Project, Inc. (Other partners were the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees and the Greater Blouse, Skirt and Undergarment Association in…

  17. Promoting high efficiency residential HVAC equipment: Lessons learned from leading utility programs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neme, C.; Peters, J.; Rouleau, D.

    1998-07-01

    The Consortium for Energy Efficiency recently sponsored a study of leading electric utility efforts to promote high efficiency residential HVAC equipment. Given growing concerns from some utilities about the level of expenditures associated with rebate programs, special emphasis was placed on assessing the success of financing and other non-rebate options for promoting efficiency. Emphasis was also placed on review of efforts--rebate or otherwise--to push the market to very high levels of efficiency (i.e., SEER 13). This paper presents the results of the study. It includes discussion of key lessons from the utility programs analyzed. It also examines program participation rates and other potential indicators of market impacts. One notable conclusion is that several utility programs have pushed market shares for SEER 12 equipment to about 50% (the national average is less than 20%). At least one utility program has achieved a 50% market share for SEER 13 equipment (the national average is less than 3%). In general, financing does not appear to have as broad an appeal as consumer rebates. However, one unique utility program which combines the other of customer financing with modest incentives to contractors--in the form of frequent seller points that can be redeemed for advertising, technician training, travel and other merchandise--offers some promise that high participation rates can be achieved without customer rebates.

  18. Addressing gender dynamics and engaging men in HIV programs: lessons learned from Horizons research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pulerwitz, Julie; Michaelis, Annie; Verma, Ravi; Weiss, Ellen

    2010-01-01

    In the field of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention, there has been increasing interest in the role that gender plays in HIV and violence risk, and in successfully engaging men in the response. This article highlights findings from more than 10 studies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America--conducted from 1997 through 2007 as part of the Horizons program--that have contributed to understanding the relationship between gender and men's behaviors, developing useful measurement tools for gender norms, and designing and evaluating the impact of gender-focused program strategies. Studies showed significant associations between support for inequitable norms and risk, such as more partner violence and less condom use. Programmatic lessons learned ranged from insights into appropriate media messages, to strategies to engage men in critically reflecting upon gender inequality, to the qualities of successful program facilitators. The portfolio of work reveals the potential and importance of directly addressing gender dynamics in HIV- and violence-prevention programs for both men and women.

  19. Two Approaches to Distance Education: Lessons Learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedlak, Robert A.; Cartwright, G. Phillip

    1997-01-01

    Outlines lessons learned by the University of Wisconsin-Stout in implementing two distance education programs, a technology program using interactive television and a hospitality program using Lotus Notes to deliver courses. Topics discussed include program concept vs. technology as stimulus for innovation, program planning/administration,…

  20. Pacemaker Primary Curriculum; Lesson Book Level B.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Dorothea M.; Ross, Sheila A.

    This lesson book, which is the second in a four-level program for young children with learning difficulties, describes the purpose of and equipment and procedures for teaching lessons in the following subjects areas on the primary grade level: arithmetic, reading, vocabulary, listening, planning, problem solving, social behavior, art, music, and…

  1. Pacemaker Primary Curriculum; Lesson Book Level A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Dorothea M.; Ross, Sheila A.

    This lesson book, which is the first in a four-level program for young children with learning difficulties, describes the purpose of and equipment and procedures for teaching lessons in the following subject areas on the kindergarten level: arithmetic concepts, number concepts, reading readiness, vocabulary, language, listening, social behavior,…

  2. Pacemaker Primary Curriculum; Lesson Book Level C.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Dorothea M.; Ross, Sheila A.

    This lesson book, which is the third in a four-level program for young children with learning difficulties, describes the purpose of and equipment and procedures for teaching lessons in the following subject areas on the primary grade level: arithmetic, reading, vocabulary, spelling, printing, listening, planning, problem solving, social behavior,…

  3. Pacemaker Primary Curriculum; Lesson Book Level D.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Dorothea M.; Ross, Sheila A.

    This lesson book, which is the last in a four-level program for young children with learning difficulties, describes the purpose of and equipment and procedures for teaching lessons in the following subject areas on the primary level: arithmetic, reading, vocabulary, spelling, printing, listening, planning and problem solving, social behavior,…

  4. Gross Domestic Pizza. Active Learning Lessons. Economics International.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaleskiene, Irena; Venger, Anatoly; MacDonald, Rich; Davis, Debbie

    This lesson plan was developed through "Economics International," an international program to help build economic education infrastructures in the emerging market economies. It provides a lesson description; appropriate age level; economic concepts; content standards and benchmarks; related subject areas; instructional objectives; time…

  5. Comparative reliability of structured versus unstructured interviews in the admission process of a residency program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blouin, Danielle; Day, Andrew G; Pavlov, Andrey

    2011-12-01

    Although never directly compared, structured interviews are reported as being more reliable than unstructured interviews. This study compared the reliability of both types of interview when applied to a common pool of applicants for positions in an emergency medicine residency program. In 2008, one structured interview was added to the two unstructured interviews traditionally used in our resident selection process. A formal job analysis using the critical incident technique guided the development of the structured interview tool. This tool consisted of 7 scenarios assessing 4 of the domains deemed essential for success as a resident in this program. The traditional interview tool assessed 5 general criteria. In addition to these criteria, the unstructured panel members were asked to rate each candidate on the same 4 essential domains rated by the structured panel members. All 3 panels interviewed all candidates. Main outcomes were the overall, interitem, and interrater reliabilities, the correlations between interview panels, and the dimensionality of each interview tool. Thirty candidates were interviewed. The overall reliability reached 0.43 for the structured interview, and 0.81 and 0.71 for the unstructured interviews. Analyses of the variance components showed a high interrater, low interitem reliability for the structured interview, and a high interrater, high interitem reliability for the unstructured interviews. The summary measures from the 2 unstructured interviews were significantly correlated, but neither was correlated with the structured interview. Only the structured interview was multidimensional. A structured interview did not yield a higher overall reliability than both unstructured interviews. The lower reliability is explained by a lower interitem reliability, which in turn is due to the multidimensionality of the interview tool. Both unstructured panels consistently rated a single dimension, even when prompted to assess the 4 specific domains

  6. Evaluation of a cross-cultural training program for Pakistani educators: Lessons learned and implications for program planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazur, Rebecca; Woodland, Rebecca H

    2017-06-01

    In this paper, we share the results of a summative evaluation of PEILI, a US-based adult professional development/training program for secondary school Pakistani teachers. The evaluation was guided by the theories of cultural competence (American Psychological Association, 2003; Bamberger, 1999; Wadsworth, 2001) and established frameworks for the evaluation of professional development/training and instructional design (Bennett, 1975; Guskey, 2002; King, 2014; Kirkpatrick, 1967). The explicit and implicit stakeholder assumptions about the connections between program resources, activities, outputs, and outcomes are described. Participant knowledge and skills were measured via scores on a pre/posttest of professional knowledge, and a standards-based performance assessment rubric. In addition to measuring short-term program outcomes, we also sought to incorporate theory-driven thinking into the evaluation design. Hence, we examined participant self-efficacy and access to social capital, two evidenced-based determinants or "levers" that theoretically explain the transformative space between an intervention and its outcomes (Chen, 2012). Data about program determinants were collected and analyzed through a pre/posttest of self-efficacy and social network analysis. Key evaluation findings include participant acquisition of new instructional skills, increased self-efficacy, and the formation of a nascent professional support network. Lessons learned and implications for the design and evaluation of cross-cultural teacher professional development programs are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Analysis and recommendations for a reliable programming of software based safety systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nunez McLeod, J.; Nunez McLeod, J.E.; Rivera, S.S.

    1997-01-01

    The present paper summarizes the results of several studies performed for the development of high software on i486 microprocessors, towards its utilization for control and safety systems for nuclear power plants. The work is based on software programmed in C language. Several recommendations oriented to high reliability software are analyzed, relating the requirements on high level language to its influence on assembler level. Several metrics are implemented, that allow for the quantification of the results achieved. New metrics were developed and other were adapted, in order to obtain more efficient indexes for the software description. Such metrics are helpful to visualize the adaptation of the software under development to the quality rules under use. A specific program developed to assist the reliability analyst on this quantification is also present in the paper. It performs the analysis of an executable program written in C language, disassembling it and evaluating its inter al structures. (author)

  8. Human reliability program: Components and effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baley-Downes, S.

    1986-01-01

    The term ''Human Reliability Program'' (HRP) is defined as a series of selective controls which are implemented and integrated to identify the ''insider threat'' from current and prospective employees who are dishonest, disloyal and unreliable. The HRP, although not a prediction of human behaviour, is an excellent tool for decision making and should compliment security and improve employee quality. The HRP consists of several component applications such as management evaluation; appropriate background investigative requirements; occupational health examination and laboratory testing; drug/alcohol screening; psychological testing and interviews; polygraph examination; job related aberrant behaviour recognition; on-going education and training; document control; drug/alcohol rehabilitation; periodic HRP audit; and implementation of an onsite central clearing house. The components and effects of HRP are discussed in further detail in this paper

  9. Research Data Curation Pilots: Lessons Learned

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Minor

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available In the spring of 2011, the UC San Diego Research Cyberinfrastructure (RCI Implementation Team invited researchers and research teams to participate in a research curation and data management pilot program. This invitation took the form of a campus-wide solicitation. More than two dozen applications were received and, after due deliberation, the RCI Oversight Committee selected five curation-intensive projects. These projects were chosen based on a number of criteria, including how they represented campus research, varieties of topics, researcher engagement, and the various services required. The pilot process began in September 2011, and will be completed in early 2014. Extensive lessons learned from the pilots are being compiled and are being used in the on-going design and implementation of the permanent Research Data Curation Program in the UC San Diego Library. In this paper, we present specific implementation details of these various services, as well as lessons learned. The program focused on many aspects of contemporary scholarship, including data creation and storage, description and metadata creation, citation and publication, and long term preservation and access. Based on the lessons learned in our processes, the Research Data Curation Program will provide a suite of services from which campus users can pick and choose, as necessary. The program will provide support for the data management requirements from national funding agencies.

  10. French power system reliability report 2008

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tesseron, J.M.

    2009-06-01

    / consumption), structure of the system and its design rules, other material measures contributing to operation; 5 - Evolution of measures contributing to reliability in the organizational and human domain: reliability culture, management of the human factor, training, iso 9001 certification - management system, feedback (organisation of feedback, evolution of the ESS scale), performance monitoring, crisis organisation, other organizational measures contributing to reliability; 6 - Lessons drawn from the year's events: lessons drawn from the ESS and from their analysis, feedback other than ESS, noteworthy facts concerning other power systems; 7 - reliability-related indicators: CRE chart of key indicators, RTE internal indicators, indicators for external communication on reliability; 8 - Progress actions underway: actions with the partners concerned (TSOS, users, etc.), main lines of research; 9 - RTE regulation and monitoring system: reliability audit programme, reliability audits; 10 - Conclusion and recommendations

  11. SRS SLUDGE BATCH QUALIFICATION AND PROCESSING; HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND LESSONS LEARNED

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cercy, M.; Peeler, D.; Stone, M.

    2013-09-25

    This report provides a historical overview and lessons learned associated with the SRS sludge batch (SB) qualification and processing programs. The report covers the framework of the requirements for waste form acceptance, the DWPF Glass Product Control Program (GPCP), waste feed acceptance, examples of how the program complies with the specifications, an overview of the Startup Program, and a summary of continuous improvements and lessons learned. The report includes a bibliography of previous reports and briefings on the topic.

  12. Reliability calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersen, K.E.

    1986-03-01

    Risk and reliability analysis is increasingly being used in evaluations of plant safety and plant reliability. The analysis can be performed either during the design process or during the operation time, with the purpose to improve the safety or the reliability. Due to plant complexity and safety and availability requirements, sophisticated tools, which are flexible and efficient, are needed. Such tools have been developed in the last 20 years and they have to be continuously refined to meet the growing requirements. Two different areas of application were analysed. In structural reliability probabilistic approaches have been introduced in some cases for the calculation of the reliability of structures or components. A new computer program has been developed based upon numerical integration in several variables. In systems reliability Monte Carlo simulation programs are used especially in analysis of very complex systems. In order to increase the applicability of the programs variance reduction techniques can be applied to speed up the calculation process. Variance reduction techniques have been studied and procedures for implementation of importance sampling are suggested. (author)

  13. A Customizable Model for Chronic Disease Coordination: Lessons Learned From the Coordinated Chronic Disease Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voetsch, Karen; Sequeira, Sonia; Chavez, Amy Holmes

    2016-03-31

    In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided funding and technical assistance to all states and territories to implement the Coordinated Chronic Disease Program, marking the first time that all state health departments had federal resources to coordinate chronic disease prevention and control programs. This article describes lessons learned from this initiative and identifies key elements of a coordinated approach. We analyzed 80 programmatic documents from 21 states and conducted semistructured interviews with 7 chronic disease directors. Six overarching themes emerged: 1) focused agenda, 2) identification of functions, 3) comprehensive planning, 4) collaborative leadership and expertise, 5) managed resources, and 6) relationship building. These elements supported 4 essential activities: 1) evidence-based interventions, 2) strategic use of staff, 3) consistent communication, and 4) strong program infrastructure. On the basis of these elements and activities, we propose a conceptual model that frames overarching concepts, skills, and strategies needed to coordinate state chronic disease prevention and control programs.

  14. Strategic Program Planning Lessons Learned in Developing the LTS S&T Roadmap

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duane Hanson; Brent Dixon; Gretchen Matthern

    2003-07-01

    Technology roadmapping is a strategic planning method used by companies to identify and plan the development of technologies necessary for new products. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has used this same method to refine requirements and identify knowledge and tools needed for completion of defined missions. This paper describes the process of applying roadmapping to clarify mission requirements and identify enhancing technologies for the Long-Term Stewardship (LTS) of polluted sites after site cleanup has been completed. The nature of some contamination problems is such that full cleanup is not achievable with current technologies and some residual hazards remain. LTS maintains engineered contaminant barriers and land use restriction controls, and monitors residual contaminants until they no longer pose a risk to the public or the environment. Roadmapping was used to clarify the breadth of the LTS mission, to identify capability enhancements needed to improve mission effectiveness and efficiency, and to chart out the research and development efforts to provide those enhancements. This paper is a case study of the application of roadmapping for program planning and technical risk management. Differences between the planned and actual application of the roadmapping process are presented along with lessons learned. Both the process used and lessons learned should be of interest for anyone contemplating a similar technology based planning effort.

  15. MPprimer: a program for reliable multiplex PCR primer design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Xiaolei

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Multiplex PCR, defined as the simultaneous amplification of multiple regions of a DNA template or multiple DNA templates using more than one primer set (comprising a forward primer and a reverse primer in one tube, has been widely used in diagnostic applications of clinical and environmental microbiology studies. However, primer design for multiplex PCR is still a challenging problem and several factors need to be considered. These problems include mis-priming due to nonspecific binding to non-target DNA templates, primer dimerization, and the inability to separate and purify DNA amplicons with similar electrophoretic mobility. Results A program named MPprimer was developed to help users for reliable multiplex PCR primer design. It employs the widely used primer design program Primer3 and the primer specificity evaluation program MFEprimer to design and evaluate the candidate primers based on genomic or transcript DNA database, followed by careful examination to avoid primer dimerization. The graph-expanding algorithm derived from the greedy algorithm was used to determine the optimal primer set combinations (PSCs for multiplex PCR assay. In addition, MPprimer provides a virtual electrophotogram to help users choose the best PSC. The experimental validation from 2× to 5× plex PCR demonstrates the reliability of MPprimer. As another example, MPprimer is able to design the multiplex PCR primers for DMD (dystrophin gene which caused Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which has 79 exons, for 20×, 20×, 20×, 14×, and 5× plex PCR reactions in five tubes to detect underlying exon deletions. Conclusions MPprimer is a valuable tool for designing specific, non-dimerizing primer set combinations with constrained amplicons size for multiplex PCR assays.

  16. Reusable Solid Rocket Motor - Accomplishment, Lessons, and a Culture of Success

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, D. R.; Phelps, W. J.

    2011-01-01

    The Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) represents the largest solid rocket motor (SRM) ever flown and the only human-rated solid motor. High reliability of the RSRM has been the result of challenges addressed and lessons learned. Advancements have resulted by applying attention to process control, testing, and postflight through timely and thorough communication in dealing with all issues. A structured and disciplined approach was taken to identify and disposition all concerns. Careful consideration and application of alternate opinions was embraced. Focus was placed on process control, ground test programs, and postflight assessment. Process control is mandatory for an SRM, because an acceptance test of the delivered product is not feasible. The RSRM maintained both full-scale and subscale test articles, which enabled continuous improvement of design and evaluation of process control and material behavior. Additionally RSRM reliability was achieved through attention to detail in post flight assessment to observe any shift in performance. The postflight analysis and inspections provided invaluable reliability data as it enables observation of actual flight performance, most of which would not be available if the motors were not recovered. RSRM reusability offered unique opportunities to learn about the hardware. NASA is moving forward with the Space Launch System that incorporates propulsion systems that takes advantage of the heritage Shuttle and Ares solid motor programs. These unique challenges, features of the RSRM, materials and manufacturing issues, and design improvements will be discussed in the paper.

  17. Reliability issues at the LHC

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva. Audiovisual Unit; Gillies, James D

    2002-01-01

    The Lectures on reliability issues at the LHC will be focused on five main Modules on five days. Module 1: Basic Elements in Reliability Engineering Some basic terms, definitions and methods, from components up to the system and the plant, common cause failures and human factor issues. Module 2: Interrelations of Reliability & Safety (R&S) Reliability and risk informed approach, living models, risk monitoring. Module 3: The ideal R&S Process for Large Scale Systems From R&S goals via the implementation into the system to the proof of the compliance. Module 4: Some Applications of R&S on LHC Master logic, anatomy of risk, cause - consequence diagram, decomposition and aggregation of the system. Module 5: Lessons learned from R&S Application in various Technologies Success stories, pitfalls, constrains in data and methods, limitations per se, experienced in aviation, space, process, nuclear, offshore and transport systems and plants. The Lectures will reflect in summary the compromise in...

  18. Pump performance and reliability follow-up by the French Safety Authorities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clausner, J.P.; De La Ronciere, X.; Scott de Martinville, E.; Courbiere, P.

    1990-12-01

    This paper will present, through actual examples, the methodology of the performance and reliability safety-related pumps evaluation applied by the French Safety Authorities and the lessons drawn from this evaluation

  19. Reliability Calculations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Kurt Erling

    1986-01-01

    Risk and reliability analysis is increasingly being used in evaluations of plant safety and plant reliability. The analysis can be performed either during the design process or during the operation time, with the purpose to improve the safety or the reliability. Due to plant complexity and safety...... and availability requirements, sophisticated tools, which are flexible and efficient, are needed. Such tools have been developed in the last 20 years and they have to be continuously refined to meet the growing requirements. Two different areas of application were analysed. In structural reliability probabilistic...... approaches have been introduced in some cases for the calculation of the reliability of structures or components. A new computer program has been developed based upon numerical integration in several variables. In systems reliability Monte Carlo simulation programs are used especially in analysis of very...

  20. Urban partnership agreement and congestion reduction demonstration programs : lessons learned on congestion pricing from the Seattle and Atlanta household travel behavior surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-04-01

    This paper presents lessons learned from household traveler surveys administered in Seattle and Atlanta as part of the evaluation of the Urban Partnership Agreement and Congestion Reduction Demonstration Programs. The surveys use a two-stage panel su...

  1. Constellation Lessons Learned Executive Summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, L. Dale; Neubek, Deb

    2011-01-01

    This slide presentation reviews the lessons learned from the Constellation Program (CxP) and identified several factors that contributed to the inability of the CxP to meet the cost and schedule commitments. The review includes a significant section on the context in which the CxP operated since new programs are likely to experience the same constraints.

  2. How to engage across sectors: lessons from agriculture and nutrition in the Brazilian School Feeding Program

    OpenAIRE

    Hawkes, Corinna; Brazil, Bettina Gerken; Castro, Inês Rugani Ribeiro de; Jaime, Patricia Constante

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To provide insights for nutrition and public health practitioners on how to engage with other sectors to achieve public health goals. Specifically, this study provides lessons from the example of integrating family farming and a nutrition into a legal framework in Brazil on how to successfully shift other sectors toward nutrition goals.\\ud \\ud METHODS: The study analyzed policy processes that led to a Brazilian law linking family farming with the National School Feeding Program. Ma...

  3. Creation of an instrument maintenance program at W. M. Keck Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, G. M.; Kwok, S. H.; Mader, J. A.; Wirth, G. D.; Dahm, S. E.; Goodrich, R. W.

    2014-08-01

    Until a few years ago, the W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO) did not have a systematic program of instrument maintenance at a level appropriate for a world-leading observatory. We describe the creation of such a program within the context of WMKO's lean operations model which posed challenges but also guided the design of the system and resulted in some unique and notable capabilities. These capabilities and the flexibility of the system have led to its adoption across the Observatory for virtually all PM's. The success of the Observatory in implementing the program and its impact on instrument reliability are presented. Lessons learned are reviewed and strategic implications discussed.

  4. Lessons learned applying CASE methods/tools to Ada software development projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumberg, Maurice H.; Randall, Richard L.

    1993-01-01

    This paper describes the lessons learned from introducing CASE methods/tools into organizations and applying them to actual Ada software development projects. This paper will be useful to any organization planning to introduce a software engineering environment (SEE) or evolving an existing one. It contains management level lessons learned, as well as lessons learned in using specific SEE tools/methods. The experiences presented are from Alpha Test projects established under the STARS (Software Technology for Adaptable and Reliable Systems) project. They reflect the front end efforts by those projects to understand the tools/methods, initial experiences in their introduction and use, and later experiences in the use of specific tools/methods and the introduction of new ones.

  5. Asymmetric Programming: A Highly Reliable Metadata Allocation Strategy for MLC NAND Flash Memory-Based Sensor Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Min; Liu, Zhaoqing; Qiao, Liyan

    2014-01-01

    While the NAND flash memory is widely used as the storage medium in modern sensor systems, the aggressive shrinking of process geometry and an increase in the number of bits stored in each memory cell will inevitably degrade the reliability of NAND flash memory. In particular, it's critical to enhance metadata reliability, which occupies only a small portion of the storage space, but maintains the critical information of the file system and the address translations of the storage system. Metadata damage will cause the system to crash or a large amount of data to be lost. This paper presents Asymmetric Programming, a highly reliable metadata allocation strategy for MLC NAND flash memory storage systems. Our technique exploits for the first time the property of the multi-page architecture of MLC NAND flash memory to improve the reliability of metadata. The basic idea is to keep metadata in most significant bit (MSB) pages which are more reliable than least significant bit (LSB) pages. Thus, we can achieve relatively low bit error rates for metadata. Based on this idea, we propose two strategies to optimize address mapping and garbage collection. We have implemented Asymmetric Programming on a real hardware platform. The experimental results show that Asymmetric Programming can achieve a reduction in the number of page errors of up to 99.05% with the baseline error correction scheme. PMID:25310473

  6. Asymmetric Programming: A Highly Reliable Metadata Allocation Strategy for MLC NAND Flash Memory-Based Sensor Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Huang

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available While the NAND flash memory is widely used as the storage medium in modern sensor systems, the aggressive shrinking of process geometry and an increase in the number of bits stored in each memory cell will inevitably degrade the reliability of NAND flash memory. In particular, it’s critical to enhance metadata reliability, which occupies only a small portion of the storage space, but maintains the critical information of the file system and the address translations of the storage system. Metadata damage will cause the system to crash or a large amount of data to be lost. This paper presents Asymmetric Programming, a highly reliable metadata allocation strategy for MLC NAND flash memory storage systems. Our technique exploits for the first time the property of the multi-page architecture of MLC NAND flash memory to improve the reliability of metadata. The basic idea is to keep metadata in most significant bit (MSB pages which are more reliable than least significant bit (LSB pages. Thus, we can achieve relatively low bit error rates for metadata. Based on this idea, we propose two strategies to optimize address mapping and garbage collection. We have implemented Asymmetric Programming on a real hardware platform. The experimental results show that Asymmetric Programming can achieve a reduction in the number of page errors of up to 99.05% with the baseline error correction scheme.

  7. LESSONS LEARNED IN TESTING OF SAFEGUARDS EQUIPMENT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pepper, S.; Farnitano, M.; Carelli, J.; Hazeltine, J.; Bailey, D.

    2001-01-01

    The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Department of Safeguards uses complex instrumentation for the application of safeguards at nuclear facilities around the world. Often, this equipment is developed through cooperation with member state support programs because the Agency's requirements are unique and are not met by commercially available equipment. Before approving an instrument or system for routine inspection use, the IAEA subjects it to a series of tests designed to evaluate its reliability. In 2000, the IAEA began to observe operational failures in digital surveillance systems. In response to the observed failures, the IAEA worked with the equipment designer and manufacturer to determine the cause of failure. An action plan was developed to correct the performance issues and further test the systems to make sure that additional operational issues would not surface later. This paper addresses the steps taken to address operation issues related to digital image surveillance systems and the lessons learned during this process

  8. Design for reliability: NASA reliability preferred practices for design and test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lalli, Vincent R.

    1994-01-01

    This tutorial summarizes reliability experience from both NASA and industry and reflects engineering practices that support current and future civil space programs. These practices were collected from various NASA field centers and were reviewed by a committee of senior technical representatives from the participating centers (members are listed at the end). The material for this tutorial was taken from the publication issued by the NASA Reliability and Maintainability Steering Committee (NASA Reliability Preferred Practices for Design and Test. NASA TM-4322, 1991). Reliability must be an integral part of the systems engineering process. Although both disciplines must be weighed equally with other technical and programmatic demands, the application of sound reliability principles will be the key to the effectiveness and affordability of America's space program. Our space programs have shown that reliability efforts must focus on the design characteristics that affect the frequency of failure. Herein, we emphasize that these identified design characteristics must be controlled by applying conservative engineering principles.

  9. Field observations and lessons learned

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nielsen, Joh B [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2010-01-01

    This presentation outlines observations and lessons learned from the Megaports program. It provides: (1) details of field and technical observations collected during LANL field activities at ports around the world and details of observations collected during radiation detections system testing at Los Alamos National Laboratory; (2) provides suggestions for improvement and efficiency; and (3) discusses possible program execution changes for more effective operations.

  10. Scaling-up public sector childhood diarrhea management program: Lessons from Indian states of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Sanjeev; Roy, Rajashree; Dutta, Sucharita

    2015-12-01

    Diarrhea remains a leading cause of death among children under five in India. Public health sector is an important source for diarrhea treatment with oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc. In 2010, Micronutrient Initiative started a project to improve service delivery for childhood diarrhea management through public health sector in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar. This paper aims to highlight feasible strategies, experiences and lessons learned from scaling-up zinc and ORS for childhood diarrhea management in the public sector in three Indian states. The project was implemented in six districts of Gujarat, 12 districts of UP and 15 districts of Bihar, which includes 10.5 million children. Program strategies included capacity building of health care providers, expanding service delivery through community health workers (CHWs), providing supportive supervision to CHWs, ensuring supplies and conducting monitoring and evaluation. The lessons described in this paper are based on program data, government documents and studies that were used to generate evidence and inform program scale-up. 140 000 health personnel, including CHWs, were trained in childhood diarrhea management. During three years, CHWs had sustained knowledge and have treated and reported more than three million children aged 2-59 months having diarrhea, of which 84% were treated with both zinc and ORS. The successful strategies were scaled-up. It is feasible and viable to introduce and scale-up zinc and ORS for childhood diarrhea treatment through public sector. Community-based service delivery, timely and adequate supplies, trained staff and pro-active engagement with government were essential for program success.

  11. Guide for monitoring effectiveness of utility Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Midgett, W.D.; Wilson, J.F.; Krochmal, D.F.; Owsenek, L.W.

    1991-02-01

    Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) programs help utilities optimize preventive maintenance efforts while improving plant safety and economy through increased dependability of plant components. The project team developed this guide and accompanying methodology based on status updates from the Ginna and San Onofre demonstration projects. These updates addressed areas ranging from system selection to the effectiveness of RCM program implementation. In addition, the team incorporated information from a 12-utility survey soliciting opinions on the need for a methodology to monitor RCM cost-effectiveness. An analysis of the 12-utility survey showed that no techniques had been developed to measure RCM program cost-effectiveness. Thus, this guide addresses two key areas: Pros and cons of various monitoring techniques available to assess the overall effectiveness of RCM and a methodology for specifically evaluating the cost-effectiveness of RCM programs. 1 fig

  12. 48 CFR 1852.246-70 - Mission Critical Space System Personnel Reliability Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Mission Critical Space... CONTRACT CLAUSES Texts of Provisions and Clauses 1852.246-70 Mission Critical Space System Personnel Reliability Program. As prescribed in 1846.370(a), insert the following clause: Mission Critical Space System...

  13. Probabilistic Analysis of Passive Safety System Reliability in Advanced Small Modular Reactors: Methodologies and Lessons Learned

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grabaskas, David; Bucknor, Matthew; Brunett, Acacia; Grelle, Austin

    2015-06-28

    Many advanced small modular reactor designs rely on passive systems to fulfill safety functions during accident sequences. These systems depend heavily on boundary conditions to induce a motive force, meaning the system can fail to operate as intended due to deviations in boundary conditions, rather than as the result of physical failures. Furthermore, passive systems may operate in intermediate or degraded modes. These factors make passive system operation difficult to characterize with a traditional probabilistic framework that only recognizes discrete operating modes and does not allow for the explicit consideration of time-dependent boundary conditions. Argonne National Laboratory has been examining various methodologies for assessing passive system reliability within a probabilistic risk assessment for a station blackout event at an advanced small modular reactor. This paper describes the most promising options: mechanistic techniques, which share qualities with conventional probabilistic methods, and simulation-based techniques, which explicitly account for time-dependent processes. The primary intention of this paper is to describe the strengths and weaknesses of each methodology and highlight the lessons learned while applying the two techniques while providing high-level results. This includes the global benefits and deficiencies of the methods and practical problems encountered during the implementation of each technique.

  14. Wave and tidal generation devices reliability and availability

    CERN Document Server

    Tavner, Peter John

    2017-01-01

    To some extent the wave and tidal generation industry is following in the wake of the wind industry, learning from the growing experience of offshore wind farm deployment. This book combines wind industry lessons with wave and tidal field knowledge to explore the main reliability and availability issues facing this growing industry.

  15. Reliability Analysis of RSG-GAS Primary Cooling System to Support Aging Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deswandri; Subekti, M.; Sunaryo, Geni Rina

    2018-02-01

    Multipurpose Research Reactor G.A. Siwabessy (RSG-GAS) which has been operating since 1987 is one of the main facilities on supporting research, development and application of nuclear energy programs in BATAN. Until now, the RSG-GAS research reactor has been successfully operated safely and securely. However, because it has been operating for nearly 30 years, the structures, systems and components (SSCs) from the reactor would have started experiencing an aging phase. The process of aging certainly causes a decrease in reliability and safe performances of the reactor, therefore the aging management program is needed to resolve the issues. One of the programs in the aging management is to evaluate the safety and reliability of the system and also screening the critical components to be managed.One method that can be used for such purposes is the Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). In this papers FTA method is used to screening the critical components in the RSG-GAS Primary Cooling System. The evaluation results showed that the primary isolation valves are the basic events which are dominant against the system failure.

  16. Reliability of an Automated High-Resolution Manometry Analysis Program across Expert Users, Novice Users, and Speech-Language Pathologists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Corinne A.; Hoffman, Matthew R.; Geng, Zhixian; Abdelhalim, Suzan M.; Jiang, Jack J.; McCulloch, Timothy M.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate inter- and intrarater reliability among expert users, novice users, and speech-language pathologists with a semiautomated high-resolution manometry analysis program. We hypothesized that all users would have high intrarater reliability and high interrater reliability. Method: Three expert…

  17. The rating reliability calculator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Solomon David J

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Rating scales form an important means of gathering evaluation data. Since important decisions are often based on these evaluations, determining the reliability of rating data can be critical. Most commonly used methods of estimating reliability require a complete set of ratings i.e. every subject being rated must be rated by each judge. Over fifty years ago Ebel described an algorithm for estimating the reliability of ratings based on incomplete data. While his article has been widely cited over the years, software based on the algorithm is not readily available. This paper describes an easy-to-use Web-based utility for estimating the reliability of ratings based on incomplete data using Ebel's algorithm. Methods The program is available public use on our server and the source code is freely available under GNU General Public License. The utility is written in PHP, a common open source imbedded scripting language. The rating data can be entered in a convenient format on the user's personal computer that the program will upload to the server for calculating the reliability and other statistics describing the ratings. Results When the program is run it displays the reliability, number of subject rated, harmonic mean number of judges rating each subject, the mean and standard deviation of the averaged ratings per subject. The program also displays the mean, standard deviation and number of ratings for each subject rated. Additionally the program will estimate the reliability of an average of a number of ratings for each subject via the Spearman-Brown prophecy formula. Conclusion This simple web-based program provides a convenient means of estimating the reliability of rating data without the need to conduct special studies in order to provide complete rating data. I would welcome other researchers revising and enhancing the program.

  18. Lessons learned from community-based approaches to sodium reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Heather; Strazza, Karen; Losby, Jan L; Lane, Rashon; Mugavero, Kristy; Anater, Andrea S; Frost, Corey; Margolis, Marjorie; Hersey, James

    2015-01-01

    This article describes lessons from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative encompassing sodium reduction interventions in six communities. A multiple case study design was used. This evaluation examined data from programs implemented in six communities located in New York (Broome County, Schenectady County, and New York City); California (Los Angeles County and Shasta County); and Kansas (Shawnee County). Participants (n = 80) included program staff, program directors, state-level staff, and partners. Measures for this evaluation included challenges, facilitators, and lessons learned from implementing sodium reduction strategies. The project team conducted a document review of program materials and semistructured interviews 12 to 14 months after implementation. The team coded and analyzed data deductively and inductively. Five lessons for implementing community-based sodium reduction approaches emerged: (1) build relationships with partners to understand their concerns, (2) involve individuals knowledgeable about specific venues early, (3) incorporate sodium reduction efforts and messaging into broader nutrition efforts, (4) design the program to reduce sodium gradually to take into account consumer preferences and taste transitions, and (5) identify ways to address the cost of lower-sodium products. The experiences of the six communities may assist practitioners in planning community-based sodium reduction interventions. Addressing sodium reduction using a community-based approach can foster meaningful change in dietary sodium consumption.

  19. Lessons Learned for Cx PRACA. Constellation Program Problem Reporting, Analysis and Corrective Action Process and System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelle, Pido I.; Ratterman, Christian; Gibbs, Cecil

    2009-01-01

    This slide presentation reviews the Constellation Program Problem Reporting, Analysis and Corrective Action Process and System (Cx PRACA). The goal of the Cx PRACA is to incorporate Lessons learned from the Shuttle, ISS, and Orbiter programs by creating a single tool for managing the PRACA process, that clearly defines the scope of PRACA applicability and what must be reported, and defines the ownership and responsibility for managing the PRACA process including disposition approval authority. CxP PRACA is a process, supported by a single information gathering data module which will be integrated with a single CxP Information System, providing interoperability, import and export capability making the CxP PRACA a more effective and user friendly technical and management tool.

  20. A review of the progress with statistical models of passive component reliability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lydell, Bengt O. Y. [Sigma-Phase Inc., Vail (United States)

    2017-03-15

    During the past 25 years, in the context of probabilistic safety assessment, efforts have been directed towards establishment of comprehensive pipe failure event databases as a foundation for exploratory research to better understand how to effectively organize a piping reliability analysis task. The focused pipe failure database development efforts have progressed well with the development of piping reliability analysis frameworks that utilize the full body of service experience data, fracture mechanics analysis insights, expert elicitation results that are rolled into an integrated and risk-informed approach to the estimation of piping reliability parameters with full recognition of the embedded uncertainties. The discussion in this paper builds on a major collection of operating experience data (more than 11,000 pipe failure records) and the associated lessons learned from data analysis and data applications spanning three decades. The piping reliability analysis lessons learned have been obtained from the derivation of pipe leak and rupture frequencies for corrosion resistant piping in a raw water environment, loss-of-coolant-accident frequencies given degradation mitigation, high-energy pipe break analysis, moderate-energy pipe break analysis, and numerous plant-specific applications of a statistical piping reliability model framework. Conclusions are presented regarding the feasibility of determining and incorporating aging effects into probabilistic safety assessment models.

  1. A Review of the Progress with Statistical Models of Passive Component Reliability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bengt O.Y. Lydell

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available During the past 25 years, in the context of probabilistic safety assessment, efforts have been directed towards establishment of comprehensive pipe failure event databases as a foundation for exploratory research to better understand how to effectively organize a piping reliability analysis task. The focused pipe failure database development efforts have progressed well with the development of piping reliability analysis frameworks that utilize the full body of service experience data, fracture mechanics analysis insights, expert elicitation results that are rolled into an integrated and risk-informed approach to the estimation of piping reliability parameters with full recognition of the embedded uncertainties. The discussion in this paper builds on a major collection of operating experience data (more than 11,000 pipe failure records and the associated lessons learned from data analysis and data applications spanning three decades. The piping reliability analysis lessons learned have been obtained from the derivation of pipe leak and rupture frequencies for corrosion resistant piping in a raw water environment, loss-of-coolant-accident frequencies given degradation mitigation, high-energy pipe break analysis, moderate-energy pipe break analysis, and numerous plant-specific applications of a statistical piping reliability model framework. Conclusions are presented regarding the feasibility of determining and incorporating aging effects into probabilistic safety assessment models.

  2. A review of the progress with statistical models of passive component reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lydell, Bengt O. Y.

    2017-01-01

    During the past 25 years, in the context of probabilistic safety assessment, efforts have been directed towards establishment of comprehensive pipe failure event databases as a foundation for exploratory research to better understand how to effectively organize a piping reliability analysis task. The focused pipe failure database development efforts have progressed well with the development of piping reliability analysis frameworks that utilize the full body of service experience data, fracture mechanics analysis insights, expert elicitation results that are rolled into an integrated and risk-informed approach to the estimation of piping reliability parameters with full recognition of the embedded uncertainties. The discussion in this paper builds on a major collection of operating experience data (more than 11,000 pipe failure records) and the associated lessons learned from data analysis and data applications spanning three decades. The piping reliability analysis lessons learned have been obtained from the derivation of pipe leak and rupture frequencies for corrosion resistant piping in a raw water environment, loss-of-coolant-accident frequencies given degradation mitigation, high-energy pipe break analysis, moderate-energy pipe break analysis, and numerous plant-specific applications of a statistical piping reliability model framework. Conclusions are presented regarding the feasibility of determining and incorporating aging effects into probabilistic safety assessment models

  3. Lessons learned in planning the Canadian Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephens, M.; Brooks, S.; Miller, J.; Neal, P.; Mason, R.

    2011-01-01

    In 2006, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) began implementing a $7B CDN, 70-year Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program (NLLP) to deal with legacy decommissioning and environmental issues at AECL nuclear sites. The objective of the NLLP is to safely and cost-effectively reduce the nuclear legacy liabilities and associated risks based on sound waste management and environmental principles in the best interest of Canadians. The NLLP comprises a number of interlinked decommissioning, waste management and environmental restoration activities that are being executed at different sites by various technical groups. Many lessons about planning and executing such a large, diverse Program have been learned in planning the initial five-year 'start-up' phase (concluded 2011 March), in planning the three-year second phase (currently being commenced), and in planning individual and interacting activities within the Program. The activities to be undertaken in the start-up phase were planned by a small group of AECL technical experts using the currently available information on the liabilities. Several internal and external reviews of the Program during the start-up phase examined progress and identified several improvements to planning. These improvements included strengthening communications among the groups within the Program, conducting more detailed advance planning of the interlinked activities, and being cautious about making detailed commitments for activities for which major decisions had yet to be made. The second phase was planned by a dedicated core team. More and earlier input was solicited from the suppliers than in the planning for the first phase. This was to ensure that the proposed program of work was feasible, and to be able to specify in more detail the resources that would be required to carry it out. The NLLP has developed several processes to assist in the detailed planning of the numerous projects and

  4. How to engage across sectors: Lessons on leveraging agriculture for nutrition from the Brazilian school meal program

    OpenAIRE

    Hawkes, C.; Jaime, P. C.; Rugani, I. C.; Brasil, B. G.

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE:\\ud To provide insights for nutrition and public health practitioners on how to engage with other sectors to achieve public health goals. Specifically, this study provides lessons from the example of integrating family farming and a nutrition into a legal framework in Brazil on how to successfully shift other sectors toward nutrition goals. \\ud METHODS: \\ud The study analyzed policy processes that led to a Brazilian law linking family farming with the National School Feeding Program...

  5. Indian program for development of technologies relevant to reliable, non-intrusive, concealed-contraband detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auluck, S.K.H.

    2007-01-01

    Generating capability for reliable, non-intrusive detection of concealed-contraband, particularly, organic contraband like explosives and narcotics, has become a national priority. This capability spans a spectrum of technologies. If a technology mission addressing the needs of a highly sophisticated technology like PFNA is set up, the capabilities acquired would be adequate to meet the requirements of many other sets of technologies. This forms the background of the Indian program for development of technologies relevant to reliable, non-intrusive, concealed contraband detection. One of the central themes of the technology development programs would be modularization of the neutron source and detector technologies, so that common elements can be combined in different ways for meeting a variety of application requirements. (author)

  6. An Assessment of Need for Instructional Professional Development for Middle School Science Teachers Using Interactive Lessons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton, Amanda

    Numerous studies on the impact of interactive lessons on student learning have been conducted, but there has been a lack of professional development (PD) programs at a middle school focusing on ways to incorporate interactive lessons into the science classroom setting. The purpose of this case study was to examine the instructional practices of science teachers to determine whether the need for an interactive lessons approach to teaching students exists. This qualitative case study focused on teachers' perceptions and pedagogy to determine whether the need to use interactive lessons to meet the needs of all students is present. The research question focused on identifying current practices and determining whether a need for interactive lessons is present. Qualitative data were gathered from science teachers at the school through interviews, lesson plans, and observations, all of which were subsequently coded using an interpretative analysis. The results indicated the need for a professional development (PD) program centered on interactive science lessons. Upon completion of the qualitative study, a detailed PD program has been proposed to increase the instructional practices of science teachers to incorporate interactive lessons within the science classroom. Implications for positive social change include improved teaching strategies and lessons that are more student-centered resulting in better understanding and comprehension, as well as performance on state-mandated tests.

  7. Adult Literacy: Policies, Programs and Practices. Lessons Learned. Final Report = Alphabetisation des adultes: politiques, programmes et pratiques. Etude bilan. Rapport final.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001

    Studies and reports examining the problems associated with adult literacy and efforts to address those problems were reviewed to identify lessons for adult literacy programs in Canada and elsewhere. Low literacy levels were linked to above-average rates of personal and/or learning difficulties, low self-esteem, associated social problems, and…

  8. Implementation and Sustainability of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense Nuclear Personnel Reliability Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lata, Vasiliy; Coates, Cameron W.

    2010-01-01

    Through a cooperative effort between the US Department of Energy and the Russian Federation (RF) Ministry of Defense (MOD) a Personnel Reliability Program (PRP) for the nuclear handlers within the RF MOD is at the stage of implementation. Sustaining the program is of major significance for long term success. This paper will discuss the elements of the RF PRP and the equipment needs for implementation. Program requirements, documentation needs, training, and assurances of appropriate equipment use will be addressed.

  9. Application of reliability methods in Ontario Hydro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeppesen, R.; Ravishankar, T.J.

    1985-01-01

    Ontario Hydro have established a reliability program in support of its substantial nuclear program. Application of the reliability program to achieve both production and safety goals is described. The value of such a reliability program is evident in the record of Ontario Hydro's operating nuclear stations. The factors which have contributed to the success of the reliability program are identified as line management's commitment to reliability; selective and judicious application of reliability methods; establishing performance goals and monitoring the in-service performance; and collection, distribution, review and utilization of performance information to facilitate cost-effective achievement of goals and improvements. (orig.)

  10. Arts Impact: Lessons from ArtsBridge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimshon-Santo, Amy R.

    2010-01-01

    Arts Impact summarizes lessons learned at the ArtsBridge Program. It is informed by in-depth participant observation, logic modeling, and quantitative evaluation of program impact on K-12 students in inner city schools and arts students at the University of California Los Angeles over a two year period. The case study frames its analysis through a…

  11. The Rise and Fall of Universal Salt Iodization in Vietnam: Lessons Learned for Designing Sustainable Food Fortification Programs With a Public Health Impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Codling, Karen; Quang, Nguyen Vinh; Phong, Le; Phuong, Do Hong; Quang, Nguyen Dinh; Bégin, France; Mathisen, Roger

    2015-12-01

    In 2005, more than 90% of Vietnamese households were using adequately iodized salt, and urinary iodine concentration among women of reproductive age was in the optimal range. However, household coverage declined thereafter to 45% in 2011, and urinary iodine concentration levels indicated inadequate iodine intake. To review the strengths and weaknesses of the Vietnamese universal salt iodization program from its inception to the current day and to discuss why achievements made by 2005 were not sustained. Qualitative review of program documents and semistructured interviews with national stakeholders. National legislation for mandatory salt iodization was revoked in 2005, and the political importance of the program was downgraded with consequential effects on budget, staff, and authority. The Vietnamese salt iodization program, as it was initially designed and implemented, was unsustainable, as salt iodization was not practiced as an industry norm but as a government-funded activity. An effective and sustainable salt iodization program needs to be reestablished for the long-term elimination of iodine deficiency, building upon lessons learned from the past and programs in neighboring countries. The new program will need to include mandatory legislation, including salt for food processing; industry responsibility for the cost of fortificant; government commitment for enforcement through routine food control systems and monitoring of iodine status through existing health/nutrition assessments; and intersectoral collaboration and management of the program. Many of the lessons would apply equally to universal salt iodization programs in other countries and indeed to food fortification programs in general. © The Author(s) 2015.

  12. Scaling–up public sector childhood diarrhea management program: Lessons from Indian states of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Sanjeev; Roy, Rajashree; Dutta, Sucharita

    2015-01-01

    Background Diarrhea remains a leading cause of death among children under five in India. Public health sector is an important source for diarrhea treatment with oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc. In 2010, Micronutrient Initiative started a project to improve service delivery for childhood diarrhea management through public health sector in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar. This paper aims to highlight feasible strategies, experiences and lessons learned from scaling–up zinc and ORS for childhood diarrhea management in the public sector in three Indian states. Methods The project was implemented in six districts of Gujarat, 12 districts of UP and 15 districts of Bihar, which includes 10.5 million children. Program strategies included capacity building of health care providers, expanding service delivery through community health workers (CHWs), providing supportive supervision to CHWs, ensuring supplies and conducting monitoring and evaluation. The lessons described in this paper are based on program data, government documents and studies that were used to generate evidence and inform program scale–up. Results 140 000 health personnel, including CHWs, were trained in childhood diarrhea management. During three years, CHWs had sustained knowledge and have treated and reported more than three million children aged 2–59 months having diarrhea, of which 84% were treated with both zinc and ORS. The successful strategies were scaled–up. Conclusion It is feasible and viable to introduce and scale–up zinc and ORS for childhood diarrhea treatment through public sector. Community–based service delivery, timely and adequate supplies, trained staff and pro–active engagement with government were essential for program success. PMID:26682047

  13. Reliability of a structured interview for admission to an emergency medicine residency program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blouin, Danielle

    2010-10-01

    Interviews are most important in resident selection. Structured interviews are more reliable than unstructured ones. We sought to measure the interrater reliability of a newly designed structured interview during the selection process to an Emergency Medicine residency program. The critical incident technique was used to extract the desired dimensions of performance. The interview tool consisted of 7 clinical scenarios and 1 global rating. Three trained interviewers marked each candidate on all scenarios without discussing candidates' responses. Interitem consistency and estimates of variance were computed. Twenty-eight candidates were interviewed. The generalizability coefficient was 0.67. Removing the central tendency ratings increased the coefficient to 0.74. Coefficients of interitem consistency ranged from 0.64 to 0.74. The structured interview tool provided good although suboptimal interrater reliability. Increasing the number of scenarios improves reliability as does applying differential weights to the rating scale anchors. The latter would also facilitate the identification of those candidates with extreme ratings.

  14. Designing time-of-use program based on stochastic security constrained unit commitment considering reliability index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikzad, Mehdi; Mozafari, Babak; Bashirvand, Mahdi; Solaymani, Soodabeh; Ranjbar, Ali Mohamad

    2012-01-01

    Recently in electricity markets, a massive focus has been made on setting up opportunities for participating demand side. Such opportunities, also known as demand response (DR) options, are triggered by either a grid reliability problem or high electricity prices. Two important challenges that market operators are facing are appropriate designing and reasonable pricing of DR options. In this paper, time-of-use program (TOU) as a prevalent time-varying program is modeled linearly based on own and cross elasticity definition. In order to decide on TOU rates, a stochastic model is proposed in which the optimum TOU rates are determined based on grid reliability index set by the operator. Expected Load Not Supplied (ELNS) is used to evaluate reliability of the power system in each hour. The proposed stochastic model is formulated as a two-stage stochastic mixed-integer linear programming (SMILP) problem and solved using CPLEX solver. The validity of the method is tested over the IEEE 24-bus test system. In this regard, the impact of the proposed pricing method on system load profile; operational costs and required capacity of up- and down-spinning reserve as well as improvement of load factor is demonstrated. Also the sensitivity of the results to elasticity coefficients is investigated. -- Highlights: ► Time-of-use demand response program is linearly modeled. ► A stochastic model is proposed to determine the optimum TOU rates based on ELNS index set by the operator. ► The model is formulated as a short-term two-stage stochastic mixed-integer linear programming problem.

  15. DSCOVR Contamination Lessons Learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graziani, Larissa

    2015-01-01

    The Triana observatory was built at NASA GSFC in the late 1990's, then placed into storage. After approximately ten years it was removed from storage and repurposed as the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). This presentation outlines the contamination control program lessons learned during the integration, test and launch of DSCOVR.

  16. A Rooster and a Bean Seed. Active Learning Lessons. Economics International.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lelyuk, Julia

    This lesson plan was developed through "Economics International," an international program to help build economic education infrastructures in the emerging market economies. It provides a description of the lesson; appropriate age level; economic concepts; content standards and benchmarks; related subject areas; instructional objectives;…

  17. New advances in human reliability using the EPRIHRA calculator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Julius, J. A.; Grobbelaar, J. F.

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes new advances in human reliability associated with the integration of HRA methods, lessons learned during the first few years of operation of the EPRI HRA / PRA Tools Users Group, and application of human reliability techniques in areas beyond the more traditional Level 1 internal events PRA. This paper is organized as follows. 1. EPRI HRA Users Group Overview (mission, membership, activities, approach) 2. HRA Methods Currently Used (selection, integration, and addressing dependencies) 3. New Advances in HRA Methods 4. Conclusions. (authors)

  18. Reliability of an interactive computer program for advance care planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schubart, Jane R; Levi, Benjamin H; Camacho, Fabian; Whitehead, Megan; Farace, Elana; Green, Michael J

    2012-06-01

    Despite widespread efforts to promote advance directives (ADs), completion rates remain low. Making Your Wishes Known: Planning Your Medical Future (MYWK) is an interactive computer program that guides individuals through the process of advance care planning, explaining health conditions and interventions that commonly involve life or death decisions, helps them articulate their values/goals, and translates users' preferences into a detailed AD document. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that (in the absence of major life changes) the AD generated by MYWK reliably reflects an individual's values/preferences. English speakers ≥30 years old completed MYWK twice, 4 to 6 weeks apart. Reliability indices were assessed for three AD components: General Wishes; Specific Wishes for treatment; and Quality-of-Life values (QoL). Twenty-four participants completed the study. Both the Specific Wishes and QoL scales had high internal consistency in both time periods (Knuder Richardson formula 20 [KR-20]=0.83-0.95, and 0.86-0.89). Test-retest reliability was perfect for General Wishes (κ=1), high for QoL (Pearson's correlation coefficient=0.83), but lower for Specific Wishes (Pearson's correlation coefficient=0.57). MYWK generates an AD where General Wishes and QoL (but not Specific Wishes) statements remain consistent over time.

  19. Reliability of an Interactive Computer Program for Advance Care Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levi, Benjamin H.; Camacho, Fabian; Whitehead, Megan; Farace, Elana; Green, Michael J

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Despite widespread efforts to promote advance directives (ADs), completion rates remain low. Making Your Wishes Known: Planning Your Medical Future (MYWK) is an interactive computer program that guides individuals through the process of advance care planning, explaining health conditions and interventions that commonly involve life or death decisions, helps them articulate their values/goals, and translates users' preferences into a detailed AD document. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that (in the absence of major life changes) the AD generated by MYWK reliably reflects an individual's values/preferences. English speakers ≥30 years old completed MYWK twice, 4 to 6 weeks apart. Reliability indices were assessed for three AD components: General Wishes; Specific Wishes for treatment; and Quality-of-Life values (QoL). Twenty-four participants completed the study. Both the Specific Wishes and QoL scales had high internal consistency in both time periods (Knuder Richardson formula 20 [KR-20]=0.83–0.95, and 0.86–0.89). Test-retest reliability was perfect for General Wishes (κ=1), high for QoL (Pearson's correlation coefficient=0.83), but lower for Specific Wishes (Pearson's correlation coefficient=0.57). MYWK generates an AD where General Wishes and QoL (but not Specific Wishes) statements remain consistent over time. PMID:22512830

  20. IMPROVING LECTURERS’ PAEDAGOGIC COMPETENCE THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LESSON STUDY IN FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION OF PAKUAN UNIVERSITY, INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eri Sarimanah

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This research is aimed at improving the lecturers of Faculty of Teacher Training and Education of Pakuan University paedagogic competence through the implementation of lesson study which covers learning management competence including developing chapter design and lesson design, media making, teaching and learning, evaluation, post evaluation follow-up and learning supervision. This research involves four study program. The method used in this research is qualitative descriptive. The data are collected through documentation, observation, interview and questionnaire. The data are analyzed descriptively to investigate the improvement of the lecturers’ paedagogic competence in teaching through the implementation of lesson study. Lesson study has been implemented for two years in Indonesian and Literature Education Study Program, English Education Study Program, Biology Education Study Program, and Primary Education Study Program. The findings show that there is an improvement of the lecturers paedagogic competence in developing chapter design and lesson design, developing material and designing media for learning (plan stage; running the lesson (do stage; and observing the lesson as well as evaluating and reflecting it (see stage. Besides, it is found the lecturers develop learning innovation to create students’ active learning. The colleagality among the lecturers is also develop well through the implementation of lesson study. The questionnaire result also shows that the implementation of lesson study can make the student become autonomous learners.

  1. Interactive reliability assessment using an integrated reliability data bank

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allan, R.N.; Whitehead, A.M.

    1986-01-01

    The logical structure, techniques and practical application of a computer-aided technique based on a microcomputer using floppy disc Random Access Files is described. This interactive computational technique is efficient if the reliability prediction program is coupled directly to a relevant source of data to create an integrated reliability assessment/reliability data bank system. (DG)

  2. Defining a risk-informed framework for whole-of-government lessons learned: A Canadian perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friesen, Shaye K; Kelsey, Shelley; Legere, J A Jim

    Lessons learned play an important role in emergency management (EM) and organizational agility. Virtually all aspects of EM can derive benefit from a lessons learned program. From major security events to exercises, exploiting and applying lessons learned and "best practices" is critical to organizational resilience and adaptiveness. A robust lessons learned process and methodology provides an evidence base with which to inform decisions, guide plans, strengthen mitigation strategies, and assist in developing tools for operations. The Canadian Safety and Security Program recently supported a project to define a comprehensive framework that would allow public safety and security partners to regularly share event response best practices, and prioritize recommendations originating from after action reviews. This framework consists of several inter-locking elements: a comprehensive literature review/environmental scan of international programs; a survey to collect data from end users and management; the development of a taxonomy for organizing and structuring information; a risk-informed methodology for selecting, prioritizing, and following through on recommendations; and standardized templates and tools for tracking recommendations and ensuring implementation. This article discusses the efforts of the project team, which provided "best practice" advice and analytical support to ensure that a systematic approach to lessons learned was taken by the federal community to improve prevention, preparedness, and response activities. It posits an approach by which one might design a systematic process for information sharing and event response coordination-an approach that will assist federal departments to institutionalize a cross-government lessons learned program.

  3. Reliability of lower limb alignment measures using an established landmark-based method with a customized computer software program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sled, Elizabeth A.; Sheehy, Lisa M.; Felson, David T.; Costigan, Patrick A.; Lam, Miu; Cooke, T. Derek V.

    2010-01-01

    The objective of the study was to evaluate the reliability of frontal plane lower limb alignment measures using a landmark-based method by (1) comparing inter- and intra-reader reliability between measurements of alignment obtained manually with those using a computer program, and (2) determining inter- and intra-reader reliability of computer-assisted alignment measures from full-limb radiographs. An established method for measuring alignment was used, involving selection of 10 femoral and tibial bone landmarks. 1) To compare manual and computer methods, we used digital images and matching paper copies of five alignment patterns simulating healthy and malaligned limbs drawn using AutoCAD. Seven readers were trained in each system. Paper copies were measured manually and repeat measurements were performed daily for 3 days, followed by a similar routine with the digital images using the computer. 2) To examine the reliability of computer-assisted measures from full-limb radiographs, 100 images (200 limbs) were selected as a random sample from 1,500 full-limb digital radiographs which were part of the Multicenter Osteoarthritis (MOST) Study. Three trained readers used the software program to measure alignment twice from the batch of 100 images, with two or more weeks between batch handling. Manual and computer measures of alignment showed excellent agreement (intraclass correlations [ICCs] 0.977 – 0.999 for computer analysis; 0.820 – 0.995 for manual measures). The computer program applied to full-limb radiographs produced alignment measurements with high inter- and intra-reader reliability (ICCs 0.839 – 0.998). In conclusion, alignment measures using a bone landmark-based approach and a computer program were highly reliable between multiple readers. PMID:19882339

  4. Consideration of a Learning Programming Process based on Software Design for Beginners

    OpenAIRE

    大村, 基将; 紅林, 秀治

    2016-01-01

    We considered a learning programming process based on software design for technology education. Lessons of computer program-aided measurement and control are for beginners to learn programming. These lessons are efficient to learn the step of programming, but the main of the lessons are works of typing the sample programming and debugging. Therefore, these lessons have a fundamental lack of the concept of design. Then we considered learning processes of programming and applied the process of ...

  5. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Analysis: Lessons Learned from Stationary Power Generation Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scott E. Grasman; John W. Sheffield; Fatih Dogan; Sunggyu Lee; Umit O. Koylu; Angie Rolufs

    2010-04-30

    This study considered opportunities for hydrogen in stationary applications in order to make recommendations related to RD&D strategies that incorporate lessons learned and best practices from relevant national and international stationary power efforts, as well as cost and environmental modeling of pathways. The study analyzed the different strategies utilized in power generation systems and identified the different challenges and opportunities for producing and using hydrogen as an energy carrier. Specific objectives included both a synopsis/critical analysis of lessons learned from previous stationary power programs and recommendations for a strategy for hydrogen infrastructure deployment. This strategy incorporates all hydrogen pathways and a combination of distributed power generating stations, and provides an overview of stationary power markets, benefits of hydrogen-based stationary power systems, and competitive and technological challenges. The motivation for this project was to identify the lessons learned from prior stationary power programs, including the most significant obstacles, how these obstacles have been approached, outcomes of the programs, and how this information can be used by the Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program to meet program objectives primarily related to hydrogen pathway technologies (production, storage, and delivery) and implementation of fuel cell technologies for distributed stationary power. In addition, the lessons learned address environmental and safety concerns, including codes and standards, and education of key stakeholders.

  6. Winning the Peace: Building a Strategic Level Lessons Learned Program

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    French, Daniel L

    2007-01-01

    The U.S. military has developed a robust, comprehensive system to capture, analyze, and disseminate tactical-level and operational-level lessons learned from training events and ongoing conflict operations...

  7. Lessons Learned From Community-Based Approaches to Sodium Reduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Heather; Strazza, Karen; Losby PhD, Jan L.; Lane, Rashon; Mugavero, Kristy; Anater, Andrea S.; Frost, Corey; Margolis, Marjorie; Hersey, James

    2017-01-01

    Purpose This article describes lessons from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative encompassing sodium reduction interventions in six communities. Design A multiple case study design was used. Setting This evaluation examined data from programs implemented in six communities located in New York (Broome County, Schenectady County, and New York City); California (Los Angeles County and Shasta County); and Kansas (Shawnee County). Subjects Participants (n = 80) included program staff, program directors, state-level staff, and partners. Measures Measures for this evaluation included challenges, facilitators, and lessons learned from implementing sodium reduction strategies. Analysis The project team conducted a document review of program materials and semi structured interviews 12 to 14 months after implementation. The team coded and analyzed data deductively and inductively. Results Five lessons for implementing community-based sodium reduction approaches emerged: (1) build relationships with partners to understand their concerns, (2) involve individuals knowledgeable about specific venues early, (3) incorporate sodium reduction efforts and messaging into broader nutrition efforts, (4) design the program to reduce sodium gradually to take into account consumer preferences and taste transitions, and (5) identify ways to address the cost of lower-sodium products. Conclusion The experiences of the six communities may assist practitioners in planning community-based sodium reduction interventions. Addressing sodium reduction using a community-based approach can foster meaningful change in dietary sodium consumption. PMID:24575726

  8. WHC significant lessons learned 1993--1995

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bickford, J.C.

    1997-12-12

    A lesson learned as defined in DOE-STD-7501-95, Development of DOE Lessons Learned Programs, is: A ``good work practice`` or innovative approach that is captured and shared to promote repeat applications or an adverse work practice or experience that is captured and shared to avoid a recurrence. The key word in both parts of this definition is ``shared``. This document was published to share a wide variety of recent Hanford experiences with other DOE sites. It also provides a valuable tool to be used in new employee and continuing training programs at Hanford facilities and at other DOE locations. This manual is divided into sections to facilitate extracting appropriate subject material when developing training modules. Many of the bulletins could be categorized into more than one section, however, so examination of other related sections is encouraged.

  9. Operational safety reliability research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, R.E.; Boccio, J.L.

    1986-01-01

    Operating reactor events such as the TMI accident and the Salem automatic-trip failures raised the concern that during a plant's operating lifetime the reliability of systems could degrade from the design level that was considered in the licensing process. To address this concern, NRC is sponsoring the Operational Safety Reliability Research project. The objectives of this project are to identify the essential tasks of a reliability program and to evaluate the effectiveness and attributes of such a reliability program applicable to maintaining an acceptable level of safety during the operating lifetime at the plant

  10. Exploring Ethograms in the Schoolyard: A Lesson on Animal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graszer, Christina L.; Gnau, Katie; Melber, Leah M.

    2012-01-01

    This article highlights a core lesson that has been used in a number of Lincoln Park Zoo educational programs. The lesson teaches students to conduct an ethological, or animal behavior, study on a bird. This study can be implemented in a variety of outdoor settings, including a park, schoolyard, or zoo. Using an ethogram, students will practice…

  11. A Summer Math and Physics Program for High School Students: Student Performance and Lessons Learned in the Second Year

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timme, Nicholas; Baird, Michael; Bennett, Jake; Fry, Jason; Garrison, Lance; Maltese, Adam

    2013-05-01

    For the past two years, the Foundations in Physics and Mathematics (FPM) summer program has been held at Indiana University in order to fulfill two goals: provide additional physics and mathematics instruction at the high school level, and provide physics graduate students with experience and autonomy in designing curricula and teaching courses. In this paper we will detail changes made to the program for its second year and the motivation for these changes, as well as implications for future iterations of the program. We gauge the impact of the changes on student performance using pre-/post-test scores, student evaluations, and anecdotal evidence. These data show that the program has a positive impact on student knowledge and this impact was greater in magnitude in the second year of the program. We attribute this improvement primarily to the inclusion of more inquiry-driven activities. All activities, worksheets, and lesson plans used in the program are available online.

  12. Department of Defense need for a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) reliability assessment program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zunino, James L., III; Skelton, Donald

    2005-01-01

    As the United States (U.S.) Army transforms into a lighter, more lethal, and more agile force, the technologies that support both legacy and emerging weapon systems must decrease in size while increasing in intelligence. Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are one such technology that the Army as well as entire DOD will heavily rely on in achieving these objectives. Current and future military applications of MEMS devices include safety and arming devices, guidance systems, sensors/detectors, inertial measurement units, tracking devices, radio frequency devices, wireless radio frequency identification (RFID), etc. Even though the reliance on MEMS devices has been increasing, there have been no studies performed to determine their reliability and failure mechanisms. Furthermore, no standardized test protocols exist for assessing reliability. Accordingly, the U.S. Army Corrosion Office at Picatinny, NJ has initiated the MEMS Reliability Assessment Program to address this issue.

  13. Lessons learned from new construction utility demand side management programs and their implications for implementing building energy codes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wise, B.K.; Hughes, K.R.; Danko, S.L.; Gilbride, T.L.

    1994-07-01

    This report was prepared for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Codes and Standards by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) through its Building Energy Standards Program (BESP). The purpose of this task was to identify demand-side management (DSM) strategies for new construction that utilities have adopted or developed to promote energy-efficient design and construction. PNL conducted a survey of utilities and used the information gathered to extrapolate lessons learned and to identify evolving trends in utility new-construction DSM programs. The ultimate goal of the task is to identify opportunities where states might work collaboratively with utilities to promote the adoption, implementation, and enforcement of energy-efficient building energy codes.

  14. Implementation of PATREC nuclear reliability program in PROLOG

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koen, B.V.; Koen, D.B.

    1987-01-01

    PROLOG, the de facto computer language for research in artificial intelligence in Japan, is a logical choice for research in the pattern recognition strategy for evaluating the reliability of complex systems expressed as fault trees. PROLOG's basic data type is the tree, and its basic control construct is pattern matching. It is also based on recursive programming and allows dynamic allocation of memory, both of which are essential for an efficient reduction of the input tree. Since the inference engine of PROLOG automatically examines the user-defined data base in a systematic order, an additional advantage of this language is that the largest known pattern will always be found first without coding complex tree searches of the pattern library as was required in other computer languages such as PL/1 and LISP

  15. John F. Kennedy Space Center, Safety, Reliability, Maintainability and Quality Assurance, Survey and Audit Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-01-01

    This document is the product of the KSC Survey and Audit Working Group composed of civil service and contractor Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance (SR&QA) personnel. The program described herein provides standardized terminology, uniformity of survey and audit operations, and emphasizes process assessments rather than a program based solely on compliance. The program establishes minimum training requirements, adopts an auditor certification methodology, and includes survey and audit metrics for the audited organizations as well as the auditing organization.

  16. Using lessons from breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening to inform the development of lung cancer screening programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, Katrina; Kim, Jane J; Halm, Ethan A; Ballard, Rachel M; Schnall, Mitchell D

    2016-05-01

    Multiple advisory groups now recommend that high-risk smokers be screened for lung cancer by low-dose computed tomography. Given that the development of lung cancer screening programs will face many of the same issues that have challenged other cancer screening programs, the National Cancer Institute-funded Population-based Research Optimizing Screening through Personalized Regimens (PROSPR) consortium was used to identify lessons learned from the implementation of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening that should inform the introduction of lung cancer screening. These lessons include the importance of developing systems for identifying and recruiting eligible individuals in primary care, ensuring that screening centers are qualified and performance is monitored, creating clear communication standards for reporting screening results to referring physicians and patients, ensuring follow-up is available for individuals with abnormal test results, avoiding overscreening, remembering primary prevention, and leveraging advances in cancer genetics and immunology. Overall, this experience emphasizes that effective cancer screening is a multistep activity that requires robust strategies to initiate, report, follow up, and track each step as well as a dynamic and ongoing oversight process to revise current screening practices as new evidence regarding screening is created, new screening technologies are developed, new biological markers are identified, and new approaches to health care delivery are disseminated. Cancer 2016;122:1338-1342. © 2016 American Cancer Society. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

  17. Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE), Version 5.0: Integrated Reliability and Risk Analysis System (IRRAS) reference manual. Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russell, K.D.; Kvarfordt, K.J.; Skinner, N.L.; Wood, S.T.; Rasmuson, D.M.

    1994-07-01

    The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) refers to a set of several microcomputer programs that were developed to create and analyze probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs), primarily for nuclear power plants. The Integrated Reliability and Risk Analysis System (IRRAS) is a state-of-the-art, microcomputer-based probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) model development and analysis tool to address key nuclear plant safety issues. IRRAS is an integrated software tool that gives the use the ability to create and analyze fault trees and accident sequences using a microcomputer. This program provides functions that range from graphical fault tree construction to cut set generation and quantification to report generation. Version 1.0 of the IRRAS program was released in February of 1987. Since then, many user comments and enhancements have been incorporated into the program providing a much more powerful and user-friendly system. This version has been designated IRRAS 5.0 and is the subject of this Reference Manual. Version 5.0 of IRRAS provides the same capabilities as earlier versions and ads the ability to perform location transformations, seismic analysis, and provides enhancements to the user interface as well as improved algorithm performance. Additionally, version 5.0 contains new alphanumeric fault tree and event used for event tree rules, recovery rules, and end state partitioning

  18. The Reliability of Multisource Feedback in Competency-Based Assessment Programs: The Effects of Multiple Occasions and Assessor Groups

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moonen-van Loon, J.M.; Overeem, K.; Govaerts, M.J.; Verhoeven, B.H.; Vleuten, C.P.M. van der; Driessen, E.W.

    2015-01-01

    PURPOSE: Residency programs around the world use multisource feedback (MSF) to evaluate learners' performance. Studies of the reliability of MSF show mixed results. This study aimed to identify the reliability of MSF as practiced across occasions with varying numbers of assessors from different

  19. ELPSA AS A LESSON DESIGN FRAMEWORK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tom Lowrie

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper offers a framework for mathematics lesson design that is consistent with the way we learn about, and discover, most things in life. In addition, the framework provides a structure for identifying how mathematical concepts and understanding are acquired and developed. This framework is called ELPSA and represents five learning components, namely: Experience, Language, Pictorial, Symbolic and Applications. This framework has been used in developing lessons and teacher professional programs in Indonesia since 2012 in cooperation with the World Bank. This paper describes the theory that underlines the framework in general and in relation to each inter-connected component. Two explicit learning sequences for classroom practice are described, associated with Pythagoras theorem and probability. This paper then concludes with recommendations for using ELPSA in various institutional contexts.Keywords: ELPSA, lesson design framework, Pythagoras theorem, probability DOI: dx.doi.org/10.22342/jme.62.77

  20. Preservice teachers' use of lesson study in teaching nature of science

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDowell, Amy Virginia

    The purpose of this study was to explore preservice teachers' lived experiences in a lesson study focused on teaching and learning nature of science (NOS). The body of knowledge about shifting pre- and in-service novice NOS understandings is substantial. The focus of science education research is now exploring ways to move these informed NOS understandings into classroom practice (Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000b). The research questions guiding the study were (a) how do preservice teachers' understandings of NOS shift as a result of the lesson study experience?, and (b) how does the reflective practice that occurs in lesson study influence preservice teachers' transition of NOS tenets into classroom practice? The participants in this study represented a sample of graduate preservice teachers, who were part of a middle and secondary science teaching alternative certification program in a southeastern university. In the first summer semester of this certification program, the participants were immersed in reform based science instruction; a section of which included NOS teachings (INTASC, 2002). In the following semester, participants were placed in a practicum setting; where the exploration of the preservice teachers' teaching of NOS was supported through the modified lesson study framework. Data sources included the Views on Nature of Science-Form B (VNOS-b), interviews, and lesson study portfolios. Analysis of NOS understandings was guided by instruments found in literature associated with the VNOS-b (Lederman et al., 2002) and reflection (Ward & McCotter, 2004). Results showed successful transfer of NOS into classroom practice using the modified lesson study framework, with less success in the deepening of participants' NOS understandings. Of particular significance was that results indicated a deepening of NOS pedagogical content knowledge for those participants functioning at higher levels of reflection. The study's results contributes to two knowledge bases

  1. Finnish Students’ Engagement in Science Lessons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janna Linnansaari

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The decreasing number of students who are engaged in science learning has been recognised as a problem. The pre-conditions of engagement and actual engagement were examined using a novel research method to obtain detailed information on Finnish students’ engagement in different situations and to gain a better understanding of this phenomenon. The study’s participants consisted of 68 students (31 girls, 37 boys from 9th grade and 67 students (46 girls, 21 boys from 1st grade in upper secondary school. The research aimed to answer the following question: How does Finnish students’ engagement occur in exact and life science lessons? Participants received smartphones equipped with a smartphone application that included an experience sampling method questionnaire. The smartphones were programmed to emit a signal during every science lesson and otherwise randomly during the day (from 8 am to 8 pm. The results reveal that situation and grade had significant effects on students’ pre-conditions of engagement and actual engagement. Our results also show that girls had the highest interest in life science lessons and boys in exact science lessons.

  2. PENINGKATAN KOMPETENSI PEDAGOGIK GURU DAN KEMAMPUAN AKADEMIK SISWA MELALUI LESSON STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eka Andriani

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to improve teachers' pedagogical competence and academic achievement of students through lesson study based learning. The design of this study is classroom action research method of observation and written tests. The data were analyzed by quantitative descriptive. The research was conducted on a geography teacher and students of class XI social science programe specialization courses in high school. The results showed an increase pedagogical competence of teachers of the first cycle to the second cycle. This can be seen from the ability of teachers prepare lesson plans and implementing learning. Based learning lesson study also impact on improving the academic skills of students in the form of activity and learning outcomes. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kompetensi pedagogik guru dan prestasi akademik siswa melalui pembelajaran berbasis lesson study. Rancangan penelitian ini adalah penelitian tindakan kelas dengan metode observasi dan tes tertulis. Data dianalisis secara deskriptif kuantitatif. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada guru Geografi dan siswa kelas XI program peminatan ilmu sosial di SMA. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan adanya peningkatan kompetensi pedagogik guru dari siklus I ke siklus II. Hal ini bisa dilihat dari kemampuan guru menyusun RPP dan melaksanakan pembelajaran. Pembelajaran berbasis lesson study juga berdampak pada peningkatan kemampuan akademis siswa berupa aktivitas dan hasil belajar.

  3. NDT with the structural weld overlay program. Recent field experience and lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rishel, R.; Lenz, H.; Turley, G.; Newton, B.

    2007-01-01

    Structural weld overlay (SWOL) has become a predominant mitigation technique within the Alloy 600 program. For the pressurizer nozzles, MRP-139 requires volumetric examination by year end 2007. Many nozzles are un-inspectable due to geometry and material limitations that preclude interrogation of the required examination volume. SWOL therefore is the mitigation technique which overcomes these limitations. SWOL of the pressurizer nozzles has been a challenge for all the vendors. Alloy 52 has proven to be difficult to weld under field conditions. The NDT technique chosen to demonstrate the integrity of the overlay needs to be adapted to the specific repair process and nozzle geometry. The purpose of this paper will be to present Westinghouse's integrated approach for SWOL with the focus on the NDT aspects. Topics will include main repair process steps, NDT qualification, recent field experience and lessons learned. (author)

  4. Implementing a lessons learned process at Sandia National Laboratories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fosshage, Erik D.; Drewien, Celeste A.; Eras, Kenneth; Hartwig, Ronald Craig; Post, Debra S.; Stoecker, Nora Kathleen

    2016-01-01

    The Lessons Learned Process Improvement Team was tasked to gain an understanding of the existing lessons learned environment within the major programs at Sandia National Laboratories, identify opportunities for improvement in that environment as compared to desired attributes, propose alternative implementations to address existing inefficiencies, perform qualitative evaluations of alternative implementations, and recommend one or more near-term activities for prototyping and/or implementation. This report documents the work and findings of the team.

  5. Lessons Learned: A review of utility experience with conservation and load management programs for commercial and industrial customers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nadel, S.

    1990-10-01

    This report examines utility experience with conservation and load management (C LM) programs of commercial and industrial (C I) customers in order to summarize the lessons learned from program experiences to date and what these teach us about how to operate successful programs in the future. This analysis was motivated by a desire to learn about programs which achieve high participation rates and high electricity savings while remaining cost effective. Also, we wanted to review the very latest experiences with innovative program approaches -- approaches that might prove useful to utilities as they scale up their C LM activities. Specific objectives of this phase of the study are threefold: (1) To disseminate information on utility C LM experience to a nationwide audience. (2) To review current New York State utility programs and make suggestions on how these programs can be improved. (3) To collect data for the final phase of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy/New York State Energy Research and Development Authority project, which will examine the savings that are achievable if C LM programs are pushed to the limit'' of current knowledge on how to structure and run cost-effective C LM programs. 19 tabs.

  6. An efficient particle swarm approach for mixed-integer programming in reliability-redundancy optimization applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos Coelho, Leandro dos

    2009-01-01

    The reliability-redundancy optimization problems can involve the selection of components with multiple choices and redundancy levels that produce maximum benefits, and are subject to the cost, weight, and volume constraints. Many classical mathematical methods have failed in handling nonconvexities and nonsmoothness in reliability-redundancy optimization problems. As an alternative to the classical optimization approaches, the meta-heuristics have been given much attention by many researchers due to their ability to find an almost global optimal solutions. One of these meta-heuristics is the particle swarm optimization (PSO). PSO is a population-based heuristic optimization technique inspired by social behavior of bird flocking and fish schooling. This paper presents an efficient PSO algorithm based on Gaussian distribution and chaotic sequence (PSO-GC) to solve the reliability-redundancy optimization problems. In this context, two examples in reliability-redundancy design problems are evaluated. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed PSO-GC is a promising optimization technique. PSO-GC performs well for the two examples of mixed-integer programming in reliability-redundancy applications considered in this paper. The solutions obtained by the PSO-GC are better than the previously best-known solutions available in the recent literature

  7. An efficient particle swarm approach for mixed-integer programming in reliability-redundancy optimization applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos Coelho, Leandro dos [Industrial and Systems Engineering Graduate Program, LAS/PPGEPS, Pontifical Catholic University of Parana, PUCPR, Imaculada Conceicao, 1155, 80215-901 Curitiba, Parana (Brazil)], E-mail: leandro.coelho@pucpr.br

    2009-04-15

    The reliability-redundancy optimization problems can involve the selection of components with multiple choices and redundancy levels that produce maximum benefits, and are subject to the cost, weight, and volume constraints. Many classical mathematical methods have failed in handling nonconvexities and nonsmoothness in reliability-redundancy optimization problems. As an alternative to the classical optimization approaches, the meta-heuristics have been given much attention by many researchers due to their ability to find an almost global optimal solutions. One of these meta-heuristics is the particle swarm optimization (PSO). PSO is a population-based heuristic optimization technique inspired by social behavior of bird flocking and fish schooling. This paper presents an efficient PSO algorithm based on Gaussian distribution and chaotic sequence (PSO-GC) to solve the reliability-redundancy optimization problems. In this context, two examples in reliability-redundancy design problems are evaluated. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed PSO-GC is a promising optimization technique. PSO-GC performs well for the two examples of mixed-integer programming in reliability-redundancy applications considered in this paper. The solutions obtained by the PSO-GC are better than the previously best-known solutions available in the recent literature.

  8. [Knowledge of university students in Szeged, Hungary about reliable contraceptive methods and sexually transmitted diseases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devosa, Iván; Kozinszky, Zoltán; Vanya, Melinda; Szili, Károly; Fáyné Dombi, Alice; Barabás, Katalin

    2016-04-03

    Promiscuity and lack of use of reliable contraceptive methods increase the probability of sexually transmitted diseases and the risk of unwanted pregnancies, which are quite common among university students. The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge of university students about reliable contraceptive methods and sexually transmitted diseases, and to assess the effectiveness of the sexual health education in secondary schools, with specific focus on the education held by peers. An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire survey was carried out in a randomized sample of students at the University of Szeged (n = 472, 298 women and 174 men, average age 21 years) between 2009 and 2011. 62.1% of the respondents declared that reproductive health education lessons in high schools held by peers were reliable and authentic source of information, 12.3% considered as a less reliable source, and 25.6% defined the school health education as irrelevant source. Among those, who considered the health education held by peers as a reliable source, there were significantly more females (69.3% vs. 46.6%, p = 0.001), significantly fewer lived in cities (83.6% vs. 94.8%, p = 0.025), and significantly more responders knew that Candida infection can be transmitted through sexual intercourse (79.5% versus 63.9%, p = 0.02) as compared to those who did not consider health education held by peers as a reliable source. The majority of respondents obtained knowledge about sexual issues from the mass media. Young people who considered health educating programs reliable were significantly better informed about Candida disease.

  9. Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration lessons learned: 1993 technology demonstrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kostelnik, K.M.; Owens, K.J.

    1994-01-01

    An integrated technology demonstration was conducted by the Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration (BWID) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Cold Test Pit in the summer of 1993. This program and demonstration was sponsored by the US Department of Energy Office of Technology Development. The demonstration included six technologies representing a synergistic system for the characterization and retrieval of a buried hazardous waste site. The integrated technology demonstration proved very successful and a summary of the technical accomplishments is presented. Upon completion of the integrated technology demonstration, cognizant program personnel participated in a lessons learned exercise. This exercise was conducted at the Simplot Decision Support Center at Idaho State University and lessons learned activity captured additional information relative to the integration of technologies for demonstration purposes. This information will be used by BWID to enhance program planning and strengthen future technology demonstrations

  10. Criticality Safety Lessons Learned in a Deactivation and Decommissioning Environment [A Guide for Facility and Project Managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nirider, L. Tom

    2003-08-06

    This document was designed as a reference and a primer for facility and project managers responsible for Deactivation and Decommissioning (D&D) processes in facilities containing significant inventories of fissionable materials. The document contains lessons learned and guidance for the development and management of criticality safety programs. It also contains information gleaned from occurrence reports, assessment reports, facility operations and management, NDA program reviews, criticality safety experts, and criticality safety evaluations. This information is designed to assist in the planning process and operational activities. Sufficient details are provided to allow the reader to understand the events, the lessons learned, and how to apply the information to present or planned D&D processes. Information is also provided on general lessons learned including criticality safety evaluations and criticality safety program requirements during D&D activities. The document also explores recent and past criticality accidents in operating facilities, and it extracts lessons learned pertinent to D&D activities. A reference section is included to provide additional information. This document does not address D&D lessons learned that are not pertinent to criticality safety.

  11. Critical Media Literacy: TV Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henry, Laurie

    Television programming has a huge impact on the lives of children. This lesson focuses on the stereotypical and racial messages that are portrayed through television programming with a focus on situational comedies. During the four 45-minute lessons, grade 6-8 students will: analyze portrayals of different groups of people in the media;…

  12. Strategic Program Planning Lessons Learned In Developing The Long-Term Stewardship Science and Technology Roadmap

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dixon, B.W.; Hanson, D.J.; Matthern, G.E.

    2003-04-24

    Technology roadmapping is a strategic planning method used by companies to identify and plan the development of technologies necessary for new products. The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management has used this same method to refine requirements and identify knowledge and tools needed for completion of defined missions. This paper describes the process of applying roadmapping to clarify mission requirements and identify enhancing technologies for the Long-Term Stewardship (LTS) of polluted sites after site cleanup has been completed. The nature of some contamination problems is such that full cleanup is not achievable with current technologies and some residual hazards remain. LTS maintains engineered contaminant barriers and land use restriction controls, and monitors residual contaminants until they no longer pose a risk to the public or the environment. Roadmapping was used to clarify the breadth of the LTS mission, to identify capability enhancements needed to improve mission effectiveness and efficiency, and to chart out the research and development efforts to provide those enhancements. This paper is a case study of the application of roadmapping for program planning and technical risk management. Differences between the planned and actual application of the roadmapping process are presented along with lessons learned. Both the process used and lessons learned should be of interest for anyone contemplating a similar technology based planning effort.

  13. Seeking Comfort: How and Why Preservice Teachers Use Internet Resources for Lesson Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawyer, Amanda G.; Myers, Joy

    2018-01-01

    This study examined 158 lesson plans at one institution across two teacher education programs, inclusive early childhood and elementary education, to determine the impact of Internet usage as inspiration on preservice teachers' lesson plans. Fisher's exact test determined statistically significant differences between the Internet use of preservice…

  14. Lesson learned from PSA in the design improvement program of KSNP+

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, M.R.; Lim, H.K.; Kang, S.K.; Park, K.S.

    2001-01-01

    KOPEC (Korea Power Engineering Co.) in conjunction with the client KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corp.) has been developing a highly competitive Improved Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant named KSNP+. From the beginning of Design Improvement Program, PSA was carried out to assure that the safety level of KSNP+ is maintained or improved in comparison with that of KSNP, the Korean Standard NPP. To achieve the safety goal of KSNP+, PSA team reviewed all design changes that might affect the plant safety. Design vulnerabilities were identified from the PSA results and safety improvement items were recommended to the system designers. Through the Design Improvement Program, KSNP+ became more reliable, safer and economically competitive than KSNP. This was achieved by systematic approach for design optimization and effective use of PSA technology based on past experience and expertise of nuclear power plant. (author)

  15. The Effects of the Rope Jump Training Program in Physical Education Lessons on Strength, Speed and VO[subscript 2] Max in Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eler, Nebahat; Acar, Hakan

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study is to examine the effects of rope-jump training program in physical education lessons on strength, speed and VO[subscript 2] max in 10-12 year old boys. 240 male students; rope-jump group (n = 120) and control group (n = 120) participated in the study. Rope-Jump group continued 10 weeks of regular physical education and sport…

  16. When do Armed Revolts Succeed: Lessons from Lanchester Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-01

    When do Armed Revolts Succeed: Lessons from Lanchester Theory Michael P. Atkinson 1, Alexander Gutfraind 2, Moshe Kress 1 Abstract Major revolts have...classic Lanchester theory of combat. The model accounts for the split in the population between those loyal to the regime and those favoring the...Lessons from Lanchester Theory 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f

  17. Equipment Reliability Process in Krsko NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gluhak, M.

    2016-01-01

    To ensure long-term safe and reliable plant operation, equipment operability and availability must also be ensured by setting a group of processes to be established within the nuclear power plant. Equipment reliability process represents the integration and coordination of important equipment reliability activities into one process, which enables equipment performance and condition monitoring, preventive maintenance activities development, implementation and optimization, continuous improvement of the processes and long term planning. The initiative for introducing systematic approach for equipment reliability assuring came from US nuclear industry guided by INPO (Institute of Nuclear Power Operations) and by participation of several US nuclear utilities. As a result of the initiative, first edition of INPO document AP-913, 'Equipment Reliability Process Description' was issued and it became a basic document for implementation of equipment reliability process for the whole nuclear industry. The scope of equipment reliability process in Krsko NPP consists of following programs: equipment criticality classification, preventive maintenance program, corrective action program, system health reports and long-term investment plan. By implementation, supervision and continuous improvement of those programs, guided by more than thirty years of operating experience, Krsko NPP will continue to be on a track of safe and reliable operation until the end of prolonged life time. (author).

  18. Intraobserver and intermethod reliability for using two different computer programs in preoperative lower limb alignment analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Kenawey

    2016-12-01

    Conclusion: Computer assisted lower limb alignment analysis is reliable whether using graphics editing program or specialized planning software. However slight higher variability for angles away from the knee joint can be expected.

  19. The United States nuclear plant reliability data program: Its description and status

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wise, M.J.

    1975-01-01

    The American National Standards Institute Subcommittee N18-20 has developed and implemented the United States Nuclear Plant Reliability Data System (NPRDS). The NPRDS is designed to accumulate, store, analyse, and report reliability and failure statistics on systems and components of nuclear power plants related to nuclear safety. Input data to the NPRDS consist of engineering, operating, and failure information submitted on a voluntary basis by participating utilities. Prior to entry into the computerized data base, the data are thoroughly checked for accuracy by both the submitting organizations and the NPRDS operating contractor. The data base is the source of various periodic output reports to the nuclear power industry and is utilized to produce special reports upon request. The present data base represents data accumulated from about thirty nuclear units with additional units expected to begin submitting data immediately. The objective is to have essentially all operating nuclear units in the United States of America participating in the program by the end of 1975. The first NPRDS annual reports containing meaningful reliability and failure statistics are expected to be produced following the end of 1975. (author)

  20. Cost-effective facility disposition planning with safety and health lessons learned and good practices from the Oak Ridge Decontamination and Decommissioning Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-05-01

    An emphasis on transition and safe disposition of DOE excess facilities has brought about significant challenges to managing worker, public, and environmental risks. The transition and disposition activities involve a diverse range of hazardous facilities that are old, poorly maintained, and contain radioactive and hazardous substances, the extent of which may be unknown. In addition, many excess facilities do not have historical facility documents such as operating records, plant and instrumentation diagrams, and incident records. The purpose of this report is to present an overview of the Oak Ridge Decontamination and Decommissioning (D and D) Program, its safety performance, and associated safety and health lessons learned and good practices. Illustrative examples of these lessons learned and good practices are also provided. The primary focus of this report is on the safety and health activities and implications associated with the planning phase of Oak Ridge facility disposition projects. Section 1.0 of this report provides the background and purpose of the report. Section 2.0 presents an overview of the facility disposition activities from which the lessons learned and good practices discussed in Section 3.0 were derived

  1. Lessons Learned from Past and Ongoing Construction Projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tabatabai, Omid

    2011-01-01

    Full text of publication follows: The nuclear industry in the U.S. faced many construction quality and design issues in the 1970's and 1980's. In 1984, the NRC issued NUREG-1055, 'Improving Quality and the Assurance of Quality in the Design and Construction of Nuclear Power Plants,' to document the lessons learned from nuclear power plant (NPP) construction in the U.S. In recent years, several countries have begun either planning for or actually constructing new NPPs. For instance, in the U.S., the nuclear industry has submitted several combined license and design certification applications to the NRC for licensing reviews and approval to build 30+ new NPP units. Latest construction experience from countries that are currently building new NPPs indicate that these countries are dealing with challenges that are similar to those issues that caused major quality assurance problems, delays, or even termination of several projects in U.S. in the 70's and 80's. The U.S. NRC is pro-actively taking measures to improve its regulatory programs as well as construction oversight activities before new NPPs construction begin in the U.S. In late 2007, the U.S. NRC's Office of New Reactors established a construction experience program (ConE) to obtain and evaluate construction and operating experience events and to identify the lessons learned from these events. In March 2009, the NRC published an Office Instruction to provide a process for incorporating the lessons learned and insights from the design, construction, and operation of the international and domestic NPPs into the licensing reviews, inspections, and construction of new reactors in the U.S. Additionally, the ConE program staff developed a Web-enabled database to store, manage, and make construction experience information available to all NRC technical reviewers as well as inspectors. Because this database contains information from other countries' regulators that are considered

  2. Systems analysis programs for hands-on integrated reliability evaluations (SAPHIRE) version 5.0, technical reference manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russell, K.D.; Atwood, C.L.; Galyean, W.J.; Sattison, M.B.; Rasmuson, D.M.

    1994-07-01

    The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) refers to a set of several microcomputer programs that were developed to create and analyze probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs), primarily for nuclear power plants. This volume provides information on the principles used in the construction and operation of Version 5.0 of the Integrated Reliability and Risk Analysis System (IRRAS) and the System Analysis and Risk Assessment (SARA) system. It summarizes the fundamental mathematical concepts of sets and logic, fault trees, and probability. This volume then describes the algorithms that these programs use to construct a fault tree and to obtain the minimal cut sets. It gives the formulas used to obtain the probability of the top event from the minimal cut sets, and the formulas for probabilities that are appropriate under various assumptions concerning repairability and mission time. It defines the measures of basic event importance that these programs can calculate. This volume gives an overview of uncertainty analysis using simple Monte Carlo sampling or Latin Hypercube sampling, and states the algorithms used by these programs to generate random basic event probabilities from various distributions. Further references are given, and a detailed example of the reduction and quantification of a simple fault tree is provided in an appendix

  3. Lessons from a Train-the-Trainer Professional Development Program: The Sustainable Trainer Engagement Program (STEP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shupla, Christine; Gladney, Alicia; Dalton, Heather; LaConte, Keliann; Truxillo, Jeannette; Shipp, Stephanie

    2015-11-01

    The Sustainable Trainer Engagement Program (STEP) is a modified train-the-trainer professional development program being conducted by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI). STEP has provided two cohorts of 6-8th grade science specialists and lead teachers in the Houston region with in-depth Earth and Space Science (ESS) content, activities, and pedagogy over 15 days each, aligned with Texas science standards. This project has two over-arching goals: to improve middle school ESS instruction, and to create and test an innovative model for Train-the-Trainer.This poster will share details regarding STEP’s activities and resources, program achievements, and its main findings to date. STEP is being evaluated by external evaluators at the Research Institute of Texas, part of the Harris County Department of Education. External evaluation shows an increase after one year in STEP participants’ knowledge (cohort 1 showed a 10% increase; cohort 2 showed a 20% increase), confidence in teaching Earth and Space Science effectively (cohort 1 demonstrated a 10% increase; cohort 2 showed a 20% increase), and confidence in preparing other teachers (cohort 1 demonstrated a 12% increase; cohort 2 showed a 20% increase). By September 2015, STEP participants led (or assisted in leading) approximately 40 workshops for about 1800 science teachers in Texas. Surveys of teachers attending professional development conducted by STEP participants show very positive responses, with averages for conference workshop evaluations ranging from 3.6 on a 4 point scale, and other evaluations averaging from 4.1 to 5.0 on a 5 point scale.Main lessons for the team on the train-the-trainer model include: a lack of confidence by leaders in K-12 science education in presenting ESS professional development, difficulties in arranging for school or district content-specific professional development, the minimal duration of most school and district professional development sessions, and uncertainties in

  4. Lessons learned from the PMI case study: the community perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hare, M L; Orians, C E; Kennedy, M G; Goodman, K J; Wijesinha, S; Seals, B F

    2000-03-01

    This summary report presents the lessons learned during the two-part qualitative case study on the efficacy of the Prevention Marketing Initiative (PMI) in its implementation of an HIV prevention program. About 179 community participants were included in the PMI program, which discussed topics ranging from organizing initial planning committees to financially sustaining federal demonstration programs. One of the successes observed was the development of rapport with schools and churches; however, during the course of its implementation, the program realized the necessity of 1) approaching the program as an ongoing process; 2) going beyond studying the target population through formative research; 3) changing the role of a community coalition as the project matures; 4) reexamining the composition of coalition in the light of the target audience; 5) advocating the project as a community resource that promotes collaboration; 6) attending the needs of coalition members; and 7) using the media in the campaign. Likewise, several lessons were also learned in the areas of youth involvement, intervention development, program implementation, and maintenance of PMI activities.

  5. "Elements of Astronomy": A Television Course of 30 Lessons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, J. P. D.; Del Pozo, E. P. G.; Rodriguez, R. R. T.; Mendez, A. M. B.; Rodriguez, E. R. F.; Gamez, R. G. D.

    2006-08-01

    It was broadcasted to all Cuba from March to December 2005, one lesson per week, transmitting three times each lesson, this means 90 hours of broadcasting. It was one of the courses of the Program "University for All", that Educative Channel produced. The Thematic: Sky Coordinates and Constellations; Astronomical Instruments; Solar System; Planets and their Moons; Comets, Asteroids and Meteoroids; Sun; Cosmic Environment and Space Weather; Stars; Galaxy and Quasars; Observable Universe; Life, Intelligent Life and Civilizations in the Universe; and History of Astronomy in Cuba. The professor staff was a group of 5 researchers of the Astronomy Department. They did an effort that each lesson had the best information level with a minimum of mathematical expressions. And were used more than 60 slides and various astronomical films fragments per lesson. To make one lesson was analyzed several astronomical films, selected a group of fragments and pre-edited into various blocks with the TV specialists, later a power point presentation was conformed using all available information on-line and bibliography. Then the lesson was recorded by the TV specialist at the Educative Channel and latter reviewed and improved by one AVID edition. The Course groundwork began in April 2003, with the first list of 12 lessons, later in June was increased to18 lessons, and started the work of "Tabloide" making; it is a journal-type book of 32 pages, equivalent to about 120 normal pages including 64 illustrations. At December 2004 the Course was increased to 30 lessons and the "Tabloide" was send to editor, later 200,000 exemplars was published. Many people followed Course and "Tabloide" was shopped in some months.

  6. Reliability and integrity management program for PBMR helium pressure boundary components - HTR2008-58036

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleming, K. N.; Gamble, R.; Gosselin, S.; Fletcher, J.; Broom, N.

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study to establish strategies for the reliability and integrity management (RIM) of passive metallic components for the PBMR. The RIM strategies investigated include design elements, leak detection and testing approaches, and non-destructive examinations. Specific combinations of strategies are determined to be necessary and sufficient to achieve target reliability goals for passive components. This study recommends a basis for the RIM program for the PBMR Demonstration Power Plant (DPP) and provides guidance for the development by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) of RIM requirements for Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (MHRs). (authors)

  7. Keeping an eye on reliability : The organizational requirements of future renewable energy systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scholten, D.J.

    2012-01-01

    The reliable operation of energy infrastructures is more than just a technical matter. It is also dependent upon the organizational structure that enables and constrains entities in their management of operations. Yet this lesson seems forgotten in our planning of future renewable energy systems.

  8. Educating for Freedom and Responsibility: Lessons From the First Amendment Schools Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Cynthia

    2016-01-01

    The First Amendment Schools project holds rich lessons in how to change school cultures into "laboratories of democracy"--as well as in how to increase the odds of success for any school reform effort. School reform programs of any sort need to make sure to build in sustainability, to provide ways to spread their lessons beyond the…

  9. Once is not enough : Establishing reliability criteria for teacher evaluation based on classroom observations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Lans, Rikkert; van de Grift, Wim; van Veen, Klaas

    2016-01-01

    Classroom observation is the most implemented method to evaluate teaching. To ensure reliability, researchers often train observers extensively. However, schools have limited resources to train observers and often lesson observation is performed by limitedly trained or untrained colleagues. In this

  10. Lesson Study-Building Communities of Learning Among Pre-Service Science Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamzeh, Fouada

    Lesson Study is a widely used pedagogical approach that has been used for decades in its country of origin, Japan. It is a teacher-led form of professional development that involves the collaborative efforts of teachers in co-planning and observing the teaching of a lesson within a unit for evidence that the teaching practices used help the learning process (Lewis, 2002a). The purpose of this research was to investigate if Lesson Study enables pre-service teachers to improve their own teaching in the area of science inquiry-based approaches. Also explored are the self-efficacy beliefs of one group of science pre-service teachers related to their experiences in Lesson Study. The research investigated four questions: 1) Does Lesson Study influence teacher preparation for inquiry-based instruction? 2) Does Lesson Study improve teacher efficacy? 3) Does Lesson Study impact teachers' aspiration to collaborate with colleagues? 4) What are the attitudes and perceptions of pre-service teachers to the Lesson Study idea in Science? The 12 participants completed two pre- and post-study surveys: STEBI- B, Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (Enochs & Riggs, 1990) and ASTQ, Attitude towards Science Teaching. Data sources included student teaching lesson observations, lesson debriefing notes and focus group interviews. Results from the STEBI-B show that all participants measured an increase in efficacy throughout the study. This study added to the body of research on teaching learning communities, professional development programs and teacher empowerment.

  11. Safety and reliability of automatization software

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kapp, K; Daum, R [Karlsruhe Univ. (TH) (Germany, F.R.). Lehrstuhl fuer Angewandte Informatik, Transport- und Verkehrssysteme

    1979-02-01

    Automated technical systems have to meet very high requirements concerning safety, security and reliability. Today, modern computers, especially microcomputers, are used as integral parts of those systems. In consequence computer programs must work in a safe and reliable mannter. Methods are discussed which allow to construct safe and reliable software for automatic systems such as reactor protection systems and to prove that the safety requirements are met. As a result it is shown that only the method of total software diversification can satisfy all safety requirements at tolerable cost. In order to achieve a high degree of reliability, structured and modular programming in context with high level programming languages are recommended.

  12. BiteScis: Connecting K-12 teachers with science graduate students to produce lesson plans on modern science research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battersby, Cara

    2016-01-01

    Many students graduate high school having never learned about the process and people behind modern science research. The BiteScis program addresses this gap by providing easily implemented lesson plans that incorporate the whos, whats, and hows of today's scienctific discoveries. We bring together practicing scientists (motivated graduate students from the selective communicating science conference, ComSciCon) with K-12 science teachers to produce, review, and disseminate K-12 lesson plans based on modern science research. These lesson plans vary in topic from environmental science to neurobiology to astrophysics, and involve a range of activities from laboratory exercises to art projects, debates, or group discussion. An integral component of the program is a series of short, "bite-size" articles on modern science research written for K-12 students. The "bite-size" articles and lesson plans will be made freely available online in an easily searchable web interface that includes association with a variety of curriculum standards. This ongoing program is in its first year with about 15 lesson plans produced to date.

  13. Lessons learned from the special inspection program for emergency operating procedures: Conducted March--October 1988

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-04-01

    The results of the team inspections conducted during 1988 for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Emergency Operating Procedures (EOPs) Inspection Program are summarized in this report. Inspection results are discussed in relation to past staff guidance provided to utilities for upgrade of EOPs. In this report the NRC presents information of particular interest to the nuclear power industry regarding concerns that were identified during the EOP team inspections and restates the staff's previous guidance in a format that more clearly illustrates the consequences of programmatic weaknesses. The information contained in this report is provided so that licensees may take advantage of the lessons learned from the EOP inspection effort. This report does not impose any new requirements related to the upgrading of EOPs. 7 refs

  14. Software reliability models for critical applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pham, H.; Pham, M.

    1991-12-01

    This report presents the results of the first phase of the ongoing EG&G Idaho, Inc. Software Reliability Research Program. The program is studying the existing software reliability models and proposes a state-of-the-art software reliability model that is relevant to the nuclear reactor control environment. This report consists of three parts: (1) summaries of the literature review of existing software reliability and fault tolerant software reliability models and their related issues, (2) proposed technique for software reliability enhancement, and (3) general discussion and future research. The development of this proposed state-of-the-art software reliability model will be performed in the second place. 407 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

  15. Software reliability models for critical applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pham, H.; Pham, M.

    1991-12-01

    This report presents the results of the first phase of the ongoing EG G Idaho, Inc. Software Reliability Research Program. The program is studying the existing software reliability models and proposes a state-of-the-art software reliability model that is relevant to the nuclear reactor control environment. This report consists of three parts: (1) summaries of the literature review of existing software reliability and fault tolerant software reliability models and their related issues, (2) proposed technique for software reliability enhancement, and (3) general discussion and future research. The development of this proposed state-of-the-art software reliability model will be performed in the second place. 407 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

  16. Energy-efficient appliance labeling in China: Lessons for successful labeling programs in varied markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Jiang; Townend, Jeanne; Fridley, David; McNeil, Gary; Silva, Tony; Clark, Robin

    2002-08-20

    Appliance ownership and production has increased dramatically in China in the past two decades. From extremely low levels in 1980, China's appliance industry has become one of the largest in the world, with sales topping U.S. $14.4 billion in 2000. In 1981, less than 1 percent of urban Chinese households owned a refrigerator; by 1998, that number had increased to over 75 percent. This dramatic increase in sales and ownership leads to an excellent opportunity to impact energy consumption in China by affecting the energy efficiency of appliances being bought and sold. In general, Chinese consumers value energy efficiency and are knowledgeable about the operating costs of major appliances. However, the Chinese marketplace does not provide information that consumers trust about the energy consumption of specific products. Thus, several interdependent organizations have emerged in China to provide information and market supports for energy efficiency. This paper describes the appliance market in China and the evolution of its standards and labeling programs and the agencies that implement them. It discusses the authors' work with these organizations in developing energy efficiency criteria and supporting an energy efficiency endorsement labeling program in China. It describes how the authors have used their experience with ENERGY STAR{reg_sign} and other programs in the U.S. to work with China to develop a successful program specific to Chinese conditions, with a particular emphasis on refrigerators. It then gives the author's market assessment of the Chinese refrigerator market and recommendations for a successful labeling program and transferable lessons for developing energy efficiency labeling programs in varied markets. This paper is based on the authors' market research, their support in setting energy efficiency criteria in China, interviews with Chinese manufacturers, retailers, and sales staff, and the development and implementation of

  17. Development of reliability and probabilistic safety assessment program RiskA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Yican

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • There are four parts in the structure of RiskA. User input part lets users input the PSA model and some necessary data by GUI or model transformation tool. In calculation engine part, fault tree analysis, event tree analysis, uncertainty analysis, sensitivity analysis, importance analysis and failure mode and effects analysis are supplied. User output part outputs the analysis results, user customized reports and some other data. The last part includes reliability database, some other common tools and help documents. • RiskA has several advanced features. Extensible framework makes it easy to add any new functions, making RiskA to be a large platform of reliability and probabilistic safety assessment. It is very fast to analysis fault tree in RiskA because many advanced algorithm improvement were made. Many model formats can be imported and exported, which made the PSA model in the commercial software can be easily transformed to adapt RiskA platform. Web-based co-modeling let several users in different places work together whenever they are online. • The comparison between RiskA and other mature PSA codes (e.g. CAFTA, RiskSpectrum, XFTA) has demonstrated that the calculation and analysis of RiskA is correct and efficient. Based on the development of this code package, many applications of safety and reliability analysis of some research reactors and nuclear power plants were performed. The development of RiskA appears to be of realistic and potential value for academic research and practical operation safety management of nuclear power plants in China and abroad. - Abstract: PSA (probabilistic safety assessment) software, the indispensable tool in nuclear safety assessment, has been widely used. An integrated reliability and PSA program named RiskA has been developed by FDS Team. RiskA supplies several standard PSA modules including fault tree analysis, event tree analysis, uncertainty analysis, failure mode and effect analysis and reliability

  18. Lessons in a Box Make a Difference for Head Start Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunkel, Kelly K.; Hurtado, Ghaffar A.; Conrad, Stephanie; Routh, Brianna; Joeng, Ju Ri; Harrison, Megan

    2014-01-01

    This article examines the health education implications of targeted nutrition lesson plans at Head Start programs in south central Minnesota. The Head Start program in Mankato and the University of Minnesota Extension collaborated to deliver and evaluate a nutrition education program directed at preschool children and their families. Nine lesson…

  19. A Lesson in Classroom Size Reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hymon, Steve

    1997-01-01

    The goal of California's classroom size reduction (CSR) program is to have 20 or fewer students in kindergarten through grade 3 classrooms. Districts receive $650 for each student in a reduced classroom. Describes how districts implemented the plan and offers five lessons from struggles and successes with CSR. A table displays average elementary…

  20. Denmark's Master of Public Governance Program: Assessment and Lessons Learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greve, Carsten; Pedersen, Anne Reff

    2017-01-01

    This paper focuses on Denmark's Master of Public Governance and its assessments and lessons learned. Denmark is seen to have an efficient economy and public sector, a digitalized public service delivery system, and an advanced work-life balance. The Danish government invested substantial resources into developing a Master of Public Governance…

  1. Criticality Safety Lessons Learned in a Deactivation and Decommissioning Environment [A Guide for Facility and Project Managers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    NIRIDER, L.T.

    2003-01-01

    This document was designed as a reference and a primer for facility and project managers responsible for Deactivation and Decommissioning (D and D) processes in facilities containing significant inventories of fissionable materials. The document contains lessons learned and guidance for the development and management of criticality safety programs. It also contains information gleaned from occurrence reports, assessment reports, facility operations and management, NDA program reviews, criticality safety experts, and criticality safety evaluations. This information is designed to assist in the planning process and operational activities. Sufficient details are provided to allow the reader to understand the events, the lessons learned, and how to apply the information to present or planned D and D processes. Information is also provided on general lessons learned including criticality safety evaluations and criticality safety program requirements during D and D activities. The document also explores recent and past criticality accidents in operating facilities, and it extracts lessons learned pertinent to D and D activities. A reference section is included to provide additional information. This document does not address D and D lessons learned that are not pertinent to criticality safety

  2. Wikiwijs: An unexpected journey and the lessons learned towards OER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Schuwer

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has funded a five years program to encourage the use, creation and sharing of Open Educational Resources (OER by teachers from various types of education. This program is known as Wikiwijs. Ultimo 2013, the program has come to an end. As some of the assumptions at the start of Wikiwijs proved to work out in unexpected ways the lessons learned could fuel the next steps in developing Wikiwijs. Besides, other national initiatives on opening up education may also benefit from the lessons learned reported here. The main conclusion from five years Wikiwijs was that to accomplish mainstreaming OER, the Wikiwijs program should go along with other interventions that are more oriented toward prescriptive policies and regulations. In particular: the Dutch government should be more directive in persuading executive boards and teachers on schools to adopt OER as an important part of educational reform and the acquisition of 21st century skills.

  3. Beyond "Initiate-Build-Operate-Transfer" strategy for creating sustainable telemedicine programs: lesson from the first decade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latifi, Rifat; Dasho, Erion; Lecaj, Ismet; Latifi, Kalterina; Bekteshi, Flamur; Hadeed, Molly; Doarn, Charles R; Merrell, Ronald C

    2012-06-01

    December 10, 2012 will mark the 10th anniversary of the implementation of telemedicine in the Balkans. This first decade of development and function is due to the passion, creativity, experience, and implementation know-how of the award-winning concept of the International Virtual e-Hospital (IVeH) Foundation. The objective of this article is to analyze the results of the IVeH's core strategy, "Initiate-Build-Operate-Transfer" (IBOT), which has been instrumental in establishing telemedicine in the Balkans and has been adopted by many other countries worldwide, and to describe the lessons learned that go beyond IBOT. A retrospective review of the results of IVeH engagement in establishing telemedicine in developing countries was conducted. Using IBOT, the IVeH has successfully established two national programs: one in Kosova and one in Albania. Together, they have connected 16 hospitals. Currently IVeH is in the process of creating such programs in many countries around the world. During the analysis of the first decade, we have identified eight factors that should be considered when establishing telemedicine programs. IBOT has been successful, but further studies are needed to demonstrate its effectiveness in countries beyond the Balkans.

  4. The attitudes of classroom teacher candidates towards physical education lesson

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gönül Tekkurşun Demir

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim: It is aimed to determine the attitudes of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade classroom teacher candidates towards the physical education lesson according to various variables. Material and Methods: For the current study, the screening method, one of the quantitative research models, was used. The research consists of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade, totally164 university students, 106 (%64,6 females, 58 (%35,4 males, attending Uşak University, Classroom Teaching Program in 2016-2017 academic year. The first-grade students were not included in this research, because the physical education and play teaching lessons are given to classroom student candidates in the second-grade at Uşak University, Classroom Teaching Program. “Personal information form" and “Physical Education Lesson Attitude Scale for Classroom Teacher Candidates" were used as data collection tools. Before analysis, the data were evaluated using the values of Skewness and Skewness (normal distribution of the data and Levene (equality of variance tests. In the analysis of the data; frequency, arithmetic mean, standard deviation; t-test, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation test were used. Results: When examined the total score of the teacher candidates obtained from Physical Education Lesson Attitude Scale for Classroom Teacher Candidates and age variable by the Pearson Moment Correlation analysis, it was found that there was a statistically significant negative relationship between the received scores at low level. It was determined that the attitudes of the classroom teacher candidates towards the physical education lessons did not show any significant difference according to the gender variable, but there was a significant difference when examined their class levels. While no significant difference was found in the attitudes of the classroom teacher candidates, who played and did not play sports in their past life, towards physical education lessons, no significant difference was found

  5. Status of the reliability centered maintenance program at Ontario Hydro's Bruce 'A' Nuclear Division

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, I.

    1995-01-01

    Bruce A started a preventive maintenance (PM) quality improvement program in August of 1991. This initiative was taken to address the concerns expressed by the AECB and the Peer Audits finding. The concerns were on the quality of the Bruce A PM Program and its execution in the field. Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) analysis was selected as the PM program quality improvement and optimization technique. Therefore, RCM became a key component of Bruce A's Integrated PM program and maintenance strategy. As a result of RCM implementation, and improvements in the work planning and scheduling process, Bruce A is seeing downward trends in the corrective maintenance work load, maintenance preventable forced outages, overdue/missed PM tasks and corrective maintenance backlog. Control Room Operators have reported observing an improvement in systems and equipment response to transients. Other benefits include a documented, controlled and traceable PM program. In addition, the team approach required by RCM has started to improve staff confidence in the PM program which, in turn, is improving the compliance with the PM program. (author)

  6. HiRel: Hybrid Automated Reliability Predictor (HARP) integrated reliability tool system, (version 7.0). Volume 1: HARP introduction and user's guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bavuso, Salvatore J.; Rothmann, Elizabeth; Dugan, Joanne Bechta; Trivedi, Kishor S.; Mittal, Nitin; Boyd, Mark A.; Geist, Robert M.; Smotherman, Mark D.

    1994-01-01

    The Hybrid Automated Reliability Predictor (HARP) integrated Reliability (HiRel) tool system for reliability/availability prediction offers a toolbox of integrated reliability/availability programs that can be used to customize the user's application in a workstation or nonworkstation environment. HiRel consists of interactive graphical input/output programs and four reliability/availability modeling engines that provide analytical and simulative solutions to a wide host of reliable fault-tolerant system architectures and is also applicable to electronic systems in general. The tool system was designed to be compatible with most computing platforms and operating systems, and some programs have been beta tested, within the aerospace community for over 8 years. Volume 1 provides an introduction to the HARP program. Comprehensive information on HARP mathematical models can be found in the references.

  7. State Support for Clean Energy Deployment. Lessons Learned for Potential Future Policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kubert, Charles [Clean Energy States Alliance, Montpelier, VT (United States); Sinclair, Mark [Clean Energy States Alliance, Montpelier, VT (United States)

    2011-04-01

    Proposed federal clean energy initiatives and climate legislation have suggested significant increases to federal funding for clean energy deployment and investment. Many states and utilities have over a decade of experience and spend billions of public dollars every year to support EE/RE deployment through programs that reduce the cost of technologies, provide financing for EE/RE projects, offer technical assistance, and educate market participants. Meanwhile, constraints on public expenditures at all levels of government continue to call upon such programs to demonstrate their value. This report reviews the results of these programs and the specific financial incentives and financing tools used to encourage clean energy investment. Lessons from such programs could be used to inform the future application of EE/RE incentives and financing tools. These lessons learned apply to use of distributed resources and the historical focus of these EE/RE programs.

  8. State Support for Clean Energy Deployment: Lessons Learned for Potential Future Policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kubert, C.; Sinclair, M.

    2011-04-01

    Proposed federal clean energy initiatives and climate legislation have suggested significant increases to federal funding for clean energy deployment and investment. Many states and utilities have over a decade of experience and spend billions of public dollars every year to support EE/RE deployment through programs that reduce the cost of technologies, provide financing for EE/RE projects, offer technical assistance, and educate market participants. Meanwhile, constraints on public expenditures at all levels of government continue to call upon such programs to demonstrate their value. This report reviews the results of these programs and the specific financial incentives and financing tools used to encourage clean energy investment. Lessons from such programs could be used to inform the future application of EE/RE incentives and financing tools. These lessons learned apply to use of distributed resources and the historical focus of these EE/RE programs.

  9. Value-Added Models for Teacher Preparation Programs: Validity and Reliability Threats, and a Manageable Alternative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, Michael P.; Heiser, Lawrence A.; McCormick, Jazarae K.; Forgan, James

    2016-01-01

    High-stakes standardized student assessments are increasingly used in value-added evaluation models to connect teacher performance to P-12 student learning. These assessments are also being used to evaluate teacher preparation programs, despite validity and reliability threats. A more rational model linking student performance to candidates who…

  10. Atomic bomb suffering and Chernobyl accident lessons learnt from international medical aid programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamashita, Shunichi

    2005-01-01

    The cooperative medical projects between Nagasaki University and countries of the former USSR have had being performed in mainly two regions: Chernobyl and Semipalatinsk since 1990 and 1995, respectively. The 21 st Center of Excellence (COE) program of ''International Consortium for Medical Care of Hibakusha and Radiation Life Science'' recently established in Nagasaki University can now serve our knowledge and experience much more directly. Its activity can be further extended to the radiocontaminated areas around the world, and based on the lessons of the past, it can indeed contribute to the future planning of the Network of Excellence (NOE) for Radiation Education Program as well as Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance under the auspices of the WHO-REMPAN. Within the frame of International Consortium of Radiation Research, a molecular epidemiology of thyroid diseases are now conducted in our departments in addition to international medical assistance. The clue of radiation-associated thyroid carcinogenesis may give us a new concept on experimental and epidemiological approaches to low dose radiation effects on human health, including those of internal radiation exposure. Concerning the role and responsibility of our work to the public, to avoid unnecessary radiophobia and to correctly understand radiation hazard and safety, we must build a bridge between basic research and widely open public education. Therefore, it is of high necessity to continuously work on clarification of the effects of ionizing radiation on human beings worldwide and to contribute the development of general guideline of radiation safety and radiation hazard, and to strive for the creation of substantiated radiation protection programs. (author)

  11. Atomic bomb suffering and Chernobyl accident lessons learnt from international medical aid programs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamashita, Shunichi [Nagasaki Univ. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Inst., Dept. of Molecular Medicine, Nagasaki (Japan)

    2005-03-01

    The cooperative medical projects between Nagasaki University and countries of the former USSR have had being performed in mainly two regions: Chernobyl and Semipalatinsk since 1990 and 1995, respectively. The 21{sup st} Center of Excellence (COE) program of ''International Consortium for Medical Care of Hibakusha and Radiation Life Science'' recently established in Nagasaki University can now serve our knowledge and experience much more directly. Its activity can be further extended to the radiocontaminated areas around the world, and based on the lessons of the past, it can indeed contribute to the future planning of the Network of Excellence (NOE) for Radiation Education Program as well as Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance under the auspices of the WHO-REMPAN. Within the frame of International Consortium of Radiation Research, a molecular epidemiology of thyroid diseases are now conducted in our departments in addition to international medical assistance. The clue of radiation-associated thyroid carcinogenesis may give us a new concept on experimental and epidemiological approaches to low dose radiation effects on human health, including those of internal radiation exposure. Concerning the role and responsibility of our work to the public, to avoid unnecessary radiophobia and to correctly understand radiation hazard and safety, we must build a bridge between basic research and widely open public education. Therefore, it is of high necessity to continuously work on clarification of the effects of ionizing radiation on human beings worldwide and to contribute the development of general guideline of radiation safety and radiation hazard, and to strive for the creation of substantiated radiation protection programs. (author)

  12. Empirically Derived Lessons Learned about What Makes Peer-Led Exercise Groups Flourish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Kathlyn E; Ertl, Kristyn; Ruffalo, Leslie; Harris, LaTamba; Whittle, Jeff

    2017-01-01

    Physical exercise confers many health benefits, but it is difficult to motivate people to exercise. Although community exercise groups may facilitate initiation and persistence in an exercise program, reports regarding factors that allow such groups to flourish are limited. We performed a prospective qualitative evaluation of our experience starting a program of community-based, peer-led exercise groups for military veterans to identify important lessons learned. We synthesized data from structured observations, post-observation debriefings, and focus groups. Our participants were trained peer leaders and exercise group members. Our main outcomes consisted of empirically derived lessons learned during the implementation of a peer-led group exercise program for veterans at multiple community sites. We collected and analyzed data from 40 observation visits (covering 14 sites), 7 transcribed debriefings, and 5 focus groups. We identified five lessons learned. (1) The camaraderie and social aspect of the exercise groups provided motivation for people to stay involved. (2) Shared responsibility and commitment to each other by the group members was instrumental to success. (3) Regular meeting times encouraged participation. (4) Variety, especially getting outdoors, was very popular for some groups. (5) Modest involvement of professionals encouraged ongoing engagement with the program. Both social and programmatic issues influence implementation of group exercise programs for older, predominantly male, veterans. These results should be confirmed in other settings.

  13. Lessons learned in planning the Canadian Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephens, Michael E.; Brooks, Sheila M.; Miller, Joan M.; Mason, Robert A.

    2011-01-01

    In 2006, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) began implementing a $7B CDN, 70-year Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program (NLLP) to deal with legacy decommissioning and environmental issues at AECL nuclear sites. The objective of the NLLP is to safely and cost-effectively reduce the nuclear legacy liabilities and associated risks based on sound waste management and environmental principles in the best interest of Canadians. The liabilities include shutdown research and prototype power reactors, fuel handling facilities, radiochemical laboratories, support buildings, radioactive waste storage facilities, and contaminated lands at several sites located across eastern Canada from Quebec to Manitoba. The largest site, Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) in Ontario, will continue as an operational nuclear site for the foreseeable future. Planning and delivery of the Program is managed by the Liability Management Unit (LMU), a group that was formed within AECL for the purpose. The composition and progress of the NLLP has been reported in recent conferences. The NLLP comprises a number of interlinked decommissioning, waste management and environmental restoration activities that are being executed at different sites, and by various technical groups as suppliers to the LMU. Many lessons about planning and executing such a large, diverse Program have been learned in planning the initial five-year 'start-up' phase (which will conclude 2011 March), in planning the five-year second phase (which is currently being finalized), and in planning individual and interacting activities within the Program. The activities to be undertaken in the start-up phase were planned by a small group of AECL technical experts using the currently available information on the liabilities. Progress in executing the Program was slower than anticipated due to less than ideal alignment between some planned technical solutions and the actual requirements, as well as the

  14. Implementation lessons: the importance of assessing organizational "fit" and external factors when implementing evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demby, Hilary; Gregory, Alethia; Broussard, Marsha; Dickherber, Jennifer; Atkins, Shantice; Jenner, Lynne W

    2014-03-01

    In recent years, the demand for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs has increased, but practitioners often struggle to replicate and implement them as designed in real-world community settings. The purpose of this article is to describe the barriers and facilitators encountered during pilot year attempts to implement an evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program within three types of organizations: (1) small community-based organizations; (2) a school-based organization; and (3) a large decentralized city-sponsored summer youth program. We frame our discussion of these experiences within the context of a systemic, multilevel framework for implementation consisting of (1) core implementation components; (2) organizational components; and (3) external factors. This article explores the organizational and external implementation factors we experienced during the implementation process, describes our lessons learned throughout this process, and offers strategies for other practitioners to proactively address these factors from the start of program planning. These findings may provide useful insight for other organizations looking to implement multi-session, group-level interventions with fidelity. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.

  15. From promise to crisis : lessons for Atlantic Canada from Ontario's electricity liberalisation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adams, T.

    2000-01-01

    This report synthesized some lessons learned from Ontario's electric power restructuring and showed how they can be applied to reform the Atlantic Canada's electricity sector. Since the opening of Ontario electricity markets to competition, numerous problems have threatened the potential of the power sector to deliver reasonably priced, reliable and environmentally responsible electricity to consumers in Ontario. The original vision of power restructuring in Ontario called for the break-up of Ontario Hydro, the privatisation of major components of the power system, major regulatory improvements, more stringent environmental rules, the creation of an independent agency responsible for power system reliability, and the opening of electricity markets to competition. This original vision has failed for many reasons, including failure to establish a firm date for the opening of the electricity market, a lack of financial accountability, continued subsidies to industrial customers, local distribution rate shock, lack of investment, politicizing transmission tariffs, aggressive marketers exploiting consumer uncertainty and ill-advised deregulation of fossil emissions. It was emphasized that Atlantic Canada could benefit from any eventual electricity restructuring by avoiding these mistakes made in Ontario. This report also described the contents of an 8 point program that was recommended by the author. 21 refs

  16. NDE reliability and advanced NDE technology validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doctor, S.R.; Deffenbaugh, J.D.; Good, M.S.; Green, E.R.; Heasler, P.G.; Hutton, P.H.; Reid, L.D.; Simonen, F.A.; Spanner, J.C.; Vo, T.V.

    1989-01-01

    This paper reports on progress for three programs: (1) evaluation and improvement in nondestructive examination reliability for inservice inspection of light water reactors (LWR) (NDE Reliability Program), (2) field validation acceptance, and training for advanced NDE technology, and (3) evaluation of computer-based NDE techniques and regional support of inspection activities. The NDE Reliability Program objectives are to quantify the reliability of inservice inspection techniques for LWR primary system components through independent research and establish means for obtaining improvements in the reliability of inservice inspections. The areas of significant progress will be described concerning ASME Code activities, re-analysis of the PISC-II data, the equipment interaction matrix study, new inspection criteria, and PISC-III. The objectives of the second program are to develop field procedures for the AE and SAFT-UT techniques, perform field validation testing of these techniques, provide training in the techniques for NRC headquarters and regional staff, and work with the ASME Code for the use of these advanced technologies. The final program's objective is to evaluate the reliability and accuracy of interpretation of results from computer-based ultrasonic inservice inspection systems, and to develop guidelines for NRC staff to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of inservice inspections conducted on nuclear power reactors. This program started in the last quarter of FY89, and the extent of the program was to prepare a work plan for presentation to and approval from a technical advisory group of NRC staff

  17. A Framework for Analysis of Case Studies of Reading Lessons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlisle, Joanne F.; Kelcey, Ben; Rosaen, Cheryl; Phelps, Geoffrey; Vereb, Anita

    2013-01-01

    This paper focuses on the development and study of a framework to provide direction and guidance for practicing teachers in using a web-based case studies program for professional development in early reading; the program is called Case Studies Reading Lessons (CSRL). The framework directs and guides teachers' analysis of reading instruction by…

  18. A reliability program for emergency diesel generators at nuclear power plants: Maintenance, surveillance, and condition monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lofgren, E.V.; Henderson, W.; Burghardt, D.; Kripps, L.; Rothleder, B.

    1988-12-01

    This report is a companion report on NUREG/CR-5078, Volume 1, ''A Reliability Program for Emergency Diesel Generators at Nuclear Power Plants: Program Structure.'' The purpose of this report is to provide technical findings and insights related to: failure evaluation, troubleshooting, maintenance, surveillance, and condition monitoring. Examples and recommendations are provided for each of these areas based on actual emergency diesel generator (EDG) operating experience and the opinions of diesel generator experts. This report expands the more general guidance provided in Volume 1. In addition, a discussion of EDG interactions with other plant systems (e.g., instrument, air, service water, dc power) is provided since experience has shown that these support systems and their operation can adversely affect EDG reliability. Portions of this report have been designed for use by onsite personnel for evaluating operational characteristics of EDGs. 5 refs., 8 figs., 7 tabs

  19. Video training and certification program improves reliability of postischemic neurologic deficit measurement in the rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taninishi, Hideki; Pearlstein, Molly; Sheng, Huaxin; Izutsu, Miwa; Chaparro, Rafael E; Goldstein, Larry B; Warner, David S

    2016-12-01

    Scoring systems are used to measure behavioral deficits in stroke research. Video-assisted training is used to standardize stroke-related neurologic deficit scoring in humans. We hypothesized that a video-assisted training and certification program can improve inter-rater reliability in assessing neurologic function after middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats. Three expert raters scored neurologic deficits in post-middle cerebral artery occlusion rats using three published systems having different complexity levels (3, 18, or 48 points). The system having the highest point estimate for the correlation between neurologic score and infarct size was selected to create a video-assisted training and certification program. Eight trainee raters completed the video-assisted training and certification program. Inter-rater agreement ( Κ: score) and agreement with expert consensus scores were measured before and after video-assisted training and certification program completion. The 48-point system correlated best with infarct size. Video-assisted training and certification improved agreement with expert consensus scores (pretraining = 65 ± 10, posttraining = 87 ± 14, 112 possible scores, P  0.4 (pretraining = 4, posttraining = 9), and number of categories with an improvement in the Κ: score from pretraining to posttraining (n = 6). Video-assisted training and certification improved trainee inter-rater reliability and agreement with expert consensus behavioral scores in rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion. Video-assisted training and certification may be useful in multilaboratory preclinical studies. © The Author(s) 2015.

  20. Reliability Centered Maintenance - Methodologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kammerer, Catherine C.

    2009-01-01

    Journal article about Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) methodologies used by United Space Alliance, LLC (USA) in support of the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center. The USA Reliability Centered Maintenance program differs from traditional RCM programs because various methodologies are utilized to take advantage of their respective strengths for each application. Based on operational experience, USA has customized the traditional RCM methodology into a streamlined lean logic path and has implemented the use of statistical tools to drive the process. USA RCM has integrated many of the L6S tools into both RCM methodologies. The tools utilized in the Measure, Analyze, and Improve phases of a Lean Six Sigma project lend themselves to application in the RCM process. All USA RCM methodologies meet the requirements defined in SAE JA 1011, Evaluation Criteria for Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) Processes. The proposed article explores these methodologies.

  1. Steam generator reliability improvement project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blomgren, J.C.; Green, S.J.

    1987-01-01

    Upon successful completion of its research and development technology transfer program, the Electric Power Research Institute's Steam Generator Owners Group (SGOG II) will disband in December 1986 and be replaced in January 1987 by a successor project, the Steam Generator Reliability Project (SGRP). The new project, funded in the EPRI base program, will continue the emphasis on reliability and life extension that was carried forward by SGOG II. The objectives of SGOG II have been met. Causes and remedies have been identified for tubing corrosion problems, such as stress corrosion cracking and pitting, and steam generator technology has been improved in areas such as tube wear prediction and nondestructive evaluation (NDE). These actions have led to improved reliability of steam generators. Now the owners want to continue with a centrally managed program that builds on what has been learned. The goal is to continue to improve steam generator reliability and solve small problems before they become large problems

  2. Steam generator reliability improvement project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blomgren, J.C.; Green, S.J.

    1987-01-01

    Upon successful completion of its research and development technology transfer program, the Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI's) Steam Generator Owners Group (SGOG II) will disband in December 1986, and be replaced in January 1987, by a successor project, the Steam Generator Reliability Project (SGRP). The new project, funded in the EPRI base program, will continue to emphasize reliability and life extension, which were carried forward by SGOG II. The objectives of SGOG II have been met. Causes and remedies have been identified for tubing corrosion problems such as stress corrosion cracking and pitting, and steam generator technology has been improved in areas such as tube wear prediction and nondestructive evaluation. These actions have led to improved reliability of steam generators. Now the owners want to continue with a centrally managed program that builds on what has been learned. The goal is to continue to improve steam generator reliability and to solve small problems before they become large problems

  3. Post-earthquake building safety inspection: Lessons from the Canterbury, New Zealand, earthquakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, J.; Jaiswal, Kishor; Gould, N.; Turner, F.; Lizundia, B.; Barnes, J.

    2013-01-01

    The authors discuss some of the unique aspects and lessons of the New Zealand post-earthquake building safety inspection program that was implemented following the Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010–2011. The post-event safety assessment program was one of the largest and longest programs undertaken in recent times anywhere in the world. The effort engaged hundreds of engineering professionals throughout the country, and also sought expertise from outside, to perform post-earthquake structural safety inspections of more than 100,000 buildings in the city of Christchurch and the surrounding suburbs. While the building safety inspection procedure implemented was analogous to the ATC 20 program in the United States, many modifications were proposed and implemented in order to assess the large number of buildings that were subjected to strong and variable shaking during a period of two years. This note discusses some of the key aspects of the post-earthquake building safety inspection program and summarizes important lessons that can improve future earthquake response.

  4. Breathing Life into Engineering: A Lesson Study Life Science Lesson

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, Maria; Yang, Li-Ling; Briggs, May; Hession, Alicia; Koussa, Anita; Wagoner, Lisa

    2016-01-01

    A fifth grade life science lesson was implemented through a lesson study approach in two fifth grade classrooms. The research lesson was designed by a team of four elementary school teachers with the goal of emphasizing engineering practices consistent with the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS) (Achieve Inc. 2013). The fifth…

  5. A cost-efficient and reliable energy management of a micro-grid using intelligent demand-response program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Safamehr, Hossein; Rahimi-Kian, Ashkan

    2015-01-01

    Providing a cost-efficient and reliable energy is one of the main issues in human societies of the 21st century. In response to this demand, new features of micro grid technology have provided huge potentials, specifically by the capability of having an interactive coordination between energy suppliers and consumers. Accordingly, this paper offers an improved model for achieving an optimal Demand Response programing. To solve the proposed multi-objective optimization problem, Artificial Bee Colony algorithm and quasi-static technique are utilized. The considered objectives in this paper are minimizing the overall cost of energy consumption and also improving the technical parameters of micro grid over a time horizon. This optimization is subject to several constraints such as satisfying the energy balance and the operating constraints of each energy supply sources. Manageable load or load as source is another enabling feature existing in smart energy networks, which is considered in this paper and its effect on cost reduction and reliability improvement is studied. Trying to examine the performance of the proposed Demand Response Programing in real conditions, the uncertainties are also analyzed by stochastic methods. The results show significant improvements which are obtained by applying just intelligent programming and management. - Highlights: • This paper presents a cost-efficient and reliable energy management of a micro-grid. • New models of battery and manageable loads are formulated. • Artificial Bee Colony algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem. • Quasi-static technique is used to simplify the solving procedure. • The uncertainties are also analyzed by stochastic methods.

  6. Sample Lesson Plans. Management for Effective Teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairfax County Public Schools, VA. Dept. of Instructional Services.

    This guide is part of the Management for Effective Teaching (MET) support kit, a pilot project developed by the Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools to assist elementary school teachers in planning, managaing, and implementing the county's curriculum, Program of Studies (POS). In this guide, a sample lesson plan of a teaching-learning activity…

  7. Lessons from Canada's health program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terris, M

    1990-01-01

    The Canadian health program is described and analyzed. Positive features include financing through progressive taxation; complete coverage of physician and hospital services; complete absence of deductibles, copayments, and extra charges by physicians and hospitals; lower administrative costs because private insurance companies are excluded from the program; and avoidance of the straitjacket of a single federal program by decentralization to the provinces. Negative features include ever-rising costs due to the almost complete dominance of fee-for-service payment to physicians; failure to monitor the quality of care; and neglect of serious support for preventive services and improved living standards--the two most important determinants of health status. Recommendations are made for a U.S. national health program that would incorporate the positive features of the Canadian program and avoid its deficiencies.

  8. ELPSA as A Lesson Design Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tom Lowrie

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper offers a framework for mathematics lesson design that is consistent with the way we learn about, and discover, most things in life. In addition, the framework provides a structure for identifying how mathematical concepts and understanding are acquired and developed. This framework is called ELPSA and represents five learning components, namely: Experience, Language, Pictorial, Symbolic and Applications. This framework has been used in developing lessons and teacher professional programs in Indonesia since 2012 in cooperation with the World Bank. This paper describes the theory that underlines the framework in general and in relation to each inter-connected component. Two explicit learning sequences for classroom practice are described, associated with Pythagoras theorem and probability. This paper then concludes with recommendations for using ELPSA in various institutional contexts.

  9. Implementation of PATREC nuclear reliability program in LISP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patterson-Hine, F.A.; Koen, B.V.

    1985-01-01

    The reliability of large systems can be represented by reliability fault trees that contain the failure probabilities for the individual elements in the original network and the logical connectives that describe the interdependence of those probabilities. The PATREC 1 computer code was written to demonstrate the feasibility of using list processing techniques for the resolution of a reliability fault tree by pattern recognition. PATREC 1 was written in PL/1 and is used widely in France. The fault tree is expressed as a linked data structure, oriented, mapped into an end-ordered traverse, and used to retrieve known patterns stored as a linked-tree library. The basic idea of pattern recognition is to prune the fault tree by identifying known patterns, retrieving the corresponding mathematical equation, and evaluating the replacement leaves. This process is repeated until the original tree is reduced to a single leaf - the system reliability

  10. The Knitting Lesson.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Pamela

    1987-01-01

    Based on Jean-Francois Millet's 1869 painting, "The Knitting Lesson," this lesson's goal is to introduce students in grades seven through nine to genre (everyday life) painting the nineteenth century. The lesson is also designed to show that some aspects of genre may be timeless. (BSR)

  11. How to engage across sectors: lessons from agriculture and nutrition in the Brazilian School Feeding Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkes, Corinna; Brazil, Bettina Gerken; Castro, Inês Rugani Ribeiro de; Jaime, Patricia Constante

    2016-08-11

    To provide insights for nutrition and public health practitioners on how to engage with other sectors to achieve public health goals. Specifically, this study provides lessons from the example of integrating family farming and a nutrition into a legal framework in Brazil on how to successfully shift other sectors toward nutrition goals. The study analyzed policy processes that led to a Brazilian law linking family farming with the National School Feeding Program. Main actors involved with the development of the law were interviewed and their narratives were analyzed using a well-established theoretical framework. The study provides five key lessons for promoting intersectorality. First, nutrition and health practitioners can afford to embrace bold ideas when working with other sectors. Second, they should engage with more powerful sectors (or subsectors) and position nutrition goals as providing solutions that meet the interests of these sector. Third is the need to focus on a common goal - which may not be explicitly nutrition-related - as the focus of the intersectoral action. Fourth, philosophical, political, and governance spaces are needed to bring together different sectors. Fifth, evidence on the success of the intersectoral approach increases the acceptance of the process. This study on policy processes shows how a convergence of factors enabled a link between family farming and school feeding in Brazil. It highlights that there are strategies to engage other sectors toward nutrition goals which provides benefits for all sectors involved.

  12. Pearl Harbor: lessons for the dam safety community

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martin, T.E. [AMEC Earth and Environmental Ltd., Burnaby, BC (Canada)

    2001-10-01

    Every good dam safety program must be based on surveillance and emergency response planning. The same principles apply to the gathering of information for military intelligence and the planning of defence tactics. Lessons learned from failure have spurred the advancement of dam engineering. Dam safety experts can benefit from the inadequacies encountered by the military community, with the most famous occurring on December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor. Both intelligence gathering and contingency response planning failed miserably. The data was not properly disseminated, interpreted, analysed. The proper response to the situation was not initiated. Human error and failure to communicate are the two main reasons that explain the debacle. The inquiries into the tragedy at Pearl Harbor provided valuable lessons, related to individual and organizational failures, which the authors shared in this presentation. The relevance to dam safety was made. All Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents must read the lessons drawn from Pearl Harbor, as they have responsibility for dam safety. 4 refs.

  13. Characterizing reliability in a product/process design-assurance program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kerscher, W.J. III [Delphi Energy and Engine Management Systems, Flint, MI (United States); Booker, J.M.; Bement, T.R.; Meyer, M.A. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

    1997-10-01

    Over the years many advancing techniques in the area of reliability engineering have surfaced in the military sphere of influence, and one of these techniques is Reliability Growth Testing (RGT). Private industry has reviewed RGT as part of the solution to their reliability concerns, but many practical considerations have slowed its implementation. It`s objective is to demonstrate the reliability requirement of a new product with a specified confidence. This paper speaks directly to that objective but discusses a somewhat different approach to achieving it. Rather than conducting testing as a continuum and developing statistical confidence bands around the results, this Bayesian updating approach starts with a reliability estimate characterized by large uncertainty and then proceeds to reduce the uncertainty by folding in fresh information in a Bayesian framework.

  14. Graduate students teaching elementary earth science through interactive classroom lessons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caswell, T. E.; Goudge, T. A.; Jawin, E. R.; Robinson, F.

    2014-12-01

    Since 2005, graduate students in the Brown University Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Studies have volunteered to teach science to second-grade students at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School in Providence, RI. Initially developed to bring science into classrooms where it was not explicitly included in the curriculum, the graduate student-run program today incorporates the Providence Public Schools Grade 2 science curriculum into weekly, interactive sessions that engage the students in hypothesis-driven science. We will describe the program structure, its integration into the Providence Public Schools curriculum, and 3 example lessons relevant to geology. Lessons are structured to develop the students' ability to share and incorporate others' ideas through written and oral communication. The volunteers explain the basics of the topic and engage the students with introductory questions. The students use this knowledge to develop a hypothesis about the upcoming experiment, recording it in their "Science Notebooks." The students record their observations during the demonstration and discuss the results as a group. The process culminates in the students using their own words to summarize what they learned. Activities of particular interest to educators in geoscience are called "Volcanoes!", "The "Liquid Race," and "Phases of the Moon." The "Volcanoes!" lesson explores explosive vs. effusive volcanism using two simulated volcanoes: one explosive, using Mentos and Diet Coke, and one effusive, using vinegar and baking soda (in model volcanoes that the students construct in teams). In "Liquid Race," which explores viscosity and can be integrated into the "Volcanoes!" lesson, the students connect viscosity to flow speed by racing liquids down a ramp. "Phases of the Moon" teaches the students why the Moon has phases, using ball and stick models, and the terminology of the lunar phases using cream-filled cookies (e.g., Oreos). These lessons, among many others

  15. HiRel: Hybrid Automated Reliability Predictor (HARP) integrated reliability tool system, (version 7.0). Volume 4: HARP Output (HARPO) graphics display user's guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sproles, Darrell W.; Bavuso, Salvatore J.

    1994-01-01

    The Hybrid Automated Reliability Predictor (HARP) integrated Reliability (HiRel) tool system for reliability/availability prediction offers a toolbox of integrated reliability/availability programs that can be used to customize the user's application in a workstation or nonworkstation environment. HiRel consists of interactive graphical input/output programs and four reliability/availability modeling engines that provide analytical and simulative solutions to a wide host of highly reliable fault-tolerant system architectures and is also applicable to electronic systems in general. The tool system was designed at the outset to be compatible with most computing platforms and operating systems and some programs have been beta tested within the aerospace community for over 8 years. This document is a user's guide for the HiRel graphical postprocessor program HARPO (HARP Output). HARPO reads ASCII files generated by HARP. It provides an interactive plotting capability that can be used to display alternate model data for trade-off analyses. File data can also be imported to other commercial software programs.

  16. The Effects of Instruction of Creative Invention on Students' Situational Interest in Physics Lesson

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Tim

    There are a few empirical studies (Palmer, 2008; Dohn, 2010) or intervention programs (Hidi & Harackiewicz, 2000) about students' situational interest in physics lessons, although the declining interest in physics among students has been well documented in the research literature (Gardner, 1998 ; International Bureau for Education, 2001; European Commission, 2007; Oon & Subramaniam, 2011). Even in the research area of science education, yet little is known about how to trigger students' catching and holding situational interest in a physics lesson. In this study, five intervention lessons of creative invention were developed. Each lesson consists of three parts including Eberle's (1971, 1972) SCAMPER technique on the creative thinking, knowledge and concepts of physics curriculum, hands-on activities related to both SCAMPER technique and physics concepts. Two surveys were developed and used to measure the situational interest and individual interest of students in physics lessons. Qualitative conversational interviews were used to interpret the sources of situational interest of students in physics lessons. Results in this study indicate that new inventive products and television programs or films related to SCAMPER can trigger the catching interest in physics lessons. Meaningful hands-on activities related to both SCAMPER technique and physics concepts can trigger the holding interest in physics lessons. There is no significant difference in situational interest among students with different academic abilities except in the topic related to electronic components. The students with lower academic ability have greater situational interest than the students with higher academic ability in learning the topic related to electronic components. There is no significant difference in situational interest between boys and girls except in the topic related to revolving paper lantern. Girls have higher situational interest than boys in learning the topic related to revolving

  17. The history of a lesson

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Mikkel Vedby

    2003-01-01

    and emphasises the need to study the history of lessons rather than the lessons of history. This approach shows that Munich is the end point of a constitutive history that begins in the failure of the Versailles treaty to create a durable European order following the First World War. The Munich lesson is thus......The article investigates the concept of lessons in IR. By means of a constructivist critique of the 'lessons literature', the article analyses one of the most important of IR lessons: that of Munich. Examining how the Munich lesson came about, the article shows the praxeological nature of lessons...... one element of the lesson of Versailles, which is a praxeology that defines how the West is to make peace, and against whom peace must be defended. The lesson of Versailles has been, at least in part, constitutive of the outbreak of the Cold War, and it continues to define the Western conception...

  18. Lessons learned from the Galileo and Ulysses flight safety review experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bennett, Gary L.

    1998-01-01

    In preparation for the launches of the Galileo and Ulysses spacecraft, a very comprehensive aerospace nuclear safety program and flight safety review were conducted. A review of this work has highlighted a number of important lessons which should be considered in the safety analysis and review of future space nuclear systems. These lessons have been grouped into six general categories: (1) establishment of the purpose, objectives and scope of the safety process; (2) establishment of charters defining the roles of the various participants; (3) provision of adequate resources; (4) provision of timely peer-reviewed information to support the safety program; (5) establishment of general ground rules for the safety review; and (6) agreement on the kinds of information to be provided from the safety review process

  19. Lesson Learning at JPL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oberhettinger, David

    2011-01-01

    A lessons learned system is a hallmark of a mature engineering organization A formal lessons learned process can help assure that valuable lessons get written and published, that they are well-written, and that the essential information is "infused" into institutional practice. Requires high-level institutional commitment, and everyone's participation in gathering, disseminating, and using the lessons

  20. Results and lessons learned from UMANG program: A large scale community-managed supplementary feeding program in India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chockalingham, David; Gnanaraj, Grana Pu Selvi; Indriani, Esther

    2014-01-01

    feeding program called “UMANG” (Urgent Management & Action for Nutrition Growth) was developed and implemented across 84 ADPs. Through this program a malnourished child gets an additional feeding (one full meal and healthy snack), apart from what is provided at home and through the Government run Anganwadi Centre (an Indian policy to provide free mid-day meal to the children, but recent review shows varying degree of quality and attendance). UMANG menu meets one third of the daily requirement of children using locally available low cost nutritious food provided for a period of 90 days. Through UMANG mothers were educated and trained on healthy cooking, feeding and caring practices. Within the period of October 2012 to May 2013, as many as 24,154 children were enrolled in UMANG, and 44% have graduated to normal nutritional status at the end of 90 days program. Review of the program revealed that UMANG has increased the knowledge of mothers on malnutrition, contributed to the formation of common interest groups and enhanced the co-ordination of the frontline workers in addressing malnutrition. The presentation will highlight lessons learned from the 90-day implementation of this large scale community-managed supplementary feeding program. (author)

  1. A comparative study of the effectiveness of "Star Show" vs. "Participatory Oriented Planetarium" lessons in a middle school Starlab setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Platco, Nicholas L.., Jr.

    2005-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of "Star Show" and the "Participatory Oriented Planetarium" (POP) instructional programs in a middle school Starlab setting. The Star Show is a planetarium program that relies heavily on an audiovisual/lecture format to impart information, while the POP method of instruction is an inquiry, activity-based approach to teaching astronomy. All Star Show and POP lessons were conducted in a Starlab planetarium. This study examined the effectiveness of the two methods on the attainment of astronomy knowledge, changes in student attitudes toward astronomy, retention of knowledge, and gender differences. A pilot study (N = 69) was conducted at a middle school near King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The main study (N = 295) was conducted at a middle school near Reading, Pennsylvania. All students were pretested and posttested in both studies. The testing instruments included a 60-question paper-and-pencil content test and a 22-item Likert-style science attitude test. The content test was judged to be valid and reliable by a panel of science educators. The attitude test is a field-tested attitude survey developed by Michael Zeilik. The topics included in the Star Show and POP lessons were seasons, moon phases, eclipses, stars, and constellations. The Star Show programs used in this study are professionally prepared planetarium programs from Jeff Bowen Productions. Several planetarium educators who have been involved with planetarium training workshops throughout the United States developed the POP lessons used in this study. The Star Show was clearly the more effective method for improving student knowledge in both the pilot and main studies. Both methods were equally effective for improving student attitudes toward astronomy. The POP method was the more effective method of instruction when retention of knowledge was examined four weeks after the treatments ended. Gender did not have any significant effect on this study

  2. Systems analysis programs for hands-on integrated reliability evaluations (SAPHIRE), Version 5.0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russell, K.D.; Kvarfordt, K.J.; Hoffman, C.L.

    1995-10-01

    The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) refers to a set of several microcomputer programs that were developed to create and analyze probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs), primarily for nuclear power plants. The Graphical Evaluation Module (GEM) is a special application tool designed for evaluation of operational occurrences using the Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) program methods. GEM provides the capability for an analyst to quickly and easily perform conditional core damage probability (CCDP) calculations. The analyst can then use the CCDP calculations to determine if the occurrence of an initiating event or a condition adversely impacts safety. It uses models and data developed in the SAPHIRE specially for the ASP program. GEM requires more data than that normally provided in SAPHIRE and will not perform properly with other models or data bases. This is the first release of GEM and the developers of GEM welcome user comments and feedback that will generate ideas for improvements to future versions. GEM is designated as version 5.0 to track GEM codes along with the other SAPHIRE codes as the GEM relies on the same, shared database structure

  3. Lesson study: Professional development and its impact on science teacher self-efficacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Megan Rae

    This study focuses on an analysis of a professional development program known as lesson study via data obtained during an in-service professional development program for secondary school science teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the self-efficacy beliefs of one group of science teachers related to their experiences in a lesson study. Another purpose for this research, aligned with the first, included a theoretical analysis of the lesson study construct to see if its design promoted positive self-efficacy beliefs of its participants. The research is framed within the context of social constructivism and self-efficacy and is qualitative in nature and utilized descriptive analysis as a means of research. Case studies were conducted detailing two of the six participants. Data sources included researcher field notes and transcriptions of all planning and debriefing sessions; individual interviews with each participant and the schools' principal; a participant questionnaire, and the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument. Themes that emerged included the positive perceptions of lesson study as a collaborative and teacher-centered experience; the understanding that lesson study can instill a sense of professionalism to those who participate in the process; the sense that discussing student learning using objective observations from classroom is a powerful way to assess learning and uncover personal teacher beliefs; and the insight that the time commitment that lesson study requires can inhibit teachers and schools from sustaining it as a form of on-going professional development. Although these themes are consistent with the research on lesson study in Japan and elsewhere in the United States, they also extend the research on self-efficacy and science teacher professional development. In the end, this study supported some of the conclusions of the self-efficacy research as it relates to professional development while also adding that interpersonal

  4. Lessons Learned in Pilot Testing Specialty Consultations to Benefit Individuals with Lower Limb Loss

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Elnitsky

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Telerehabilitation technologies enable the delivery of rehabilitation services from providers to people with disabilities as well as specialty care consultations. This article discusses the barriers experienced when planning and pilot testing a telerehabilitation multi-site specialty consultation for specialists in their medical centers, and the lessons learned. The barriers included integration and participation, coordination across organizational units, and privacy and information security. Lessons learned included the need for collaboration across multiple departments, telerehabilitation equipment back-ups, and anonymous and private communication protocols. Despite delays resulting from coordination at multiple levels of a national organization, we developed a program plan and successfully implemented a pilot test of the southeast region program.  Specialty consultation using telerehabilitation delivery methods requires identifying provider preferences for technological features. Lessons learned could inform development of outpatient telerehabilitation for patients with amputations and studies of patients and providers involved in telerehabilitation.

  5. Ideologies of aid, practices of power: lessons for Medicaid managed care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Nancy L

    2005-03-01

    The articles in this special issue teach valuable lessons based on what happened in New Mexico with the shift to Medicaid managed care. By reframing these lessons in broader historical and cultural terms with reference to aid programs, we have the opportunity to learn a great deal more about the relationship between poverty, public policy, and ideology. Medicaid as a state and federal aid program in the United States and economic development programs as foreign aid provide useful analogies specifically because they exhibit a variety of parallel patterns. The increasing concatenation of corporate interests with state and nongovernmental interests in aid programs is ultimately producing a less centralized system of power and responsibility. This process of decentralization, however, is not undermining the sources of power behind aid efforts, although it does make the connections between intent, planning, and outcome less direct. Ultimately, the devolution of power produces many unintended consequences for aid policy. But it also reinforces the perspective that aid and the need for it are nonpolitical issues.

  6. BASIC Programming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennings, Carol Ann

    Designed for use by both secondary- and postsecondary-level business teachers, this curriculum guide consists of 10 units of instructional materials dealing with Beginners All-Purpose Symbol Instruction Code (BASIC) programing. Topics of the individual lessons are numbering BASIC programs and using the PRINT, END, and REM statements; system…

  7. Lessons Learned from the Node 1 Temperature and Humidity Control Subsystem Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, David E.

    2010-01-01

    Node 1 flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on Flight 2A during December 1998. To date the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has learned a lot of lessons from this module based on its history of approximately two years of acceptance testing on the ground and currently its twelve years on-orbit. This paper will provide an overview of the ISS Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) design of the Node 1 Temperature and Humidity Control (THC) subsystem and it will document some of the lessons that have been learned to date for this subsystem and it will document some of the lessons that have been learned to date for these subsystems based on problems prelaunch, problems encountered on-orbit, and operational problems/concerns. It is hoped that documenting these lessons learned from ISS will help in preventing them in future Programs. 1

  8. Competitive power markets and grid reliability : keeping the promise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goulding, D.

    2005-01-01

    This white paper discussed various links between restructuring, competitive markets and reliability in the consolidation of electricity markets in Ontario. A historical approach was used, and the first section of the paper reviewed how reliability was managed in the pre-market period. The second section discussed the current reliability model and some of the general issues it has raised, as well as lessons learned. Structural reforms were reviewed. It was noted that currently dominant generators hold more market share than is compatible with ideas of workable competition. Issues concerning the mitigation of market power were discussed, with specific reference to the importance of public opinion. The need for mandatory standards and inclusive processes was emphasized, as well as the implementation of effective communication strategies and consumer education. A resource adequacy mechanism was recommended. The role of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) was reviewed. Issues concerning consumer protection were examined. Future priorities included investment in infrastructure and reliability, as well as a realignment of markets. It was suggested that energy and reserve trading are critical for ensuring reliability in the market paradigm. Markets and inter-regional trading were discussed in terms of promoting reliability. Improvements in infrastructure were recommended, as well as a reduction in trade barriers. It was concluded that an over-arching, industry-wide commitment to investing in reliability is essential for managing the restructuring and reliability relationship in the years ahead. 15 refs

  9. Program of technical assistance to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - lessons learned from the U.S. program of technical assistance to IAEA safeguards. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-06-01

    The Defense Nuclear Agency is sponsoring a technical study of the requirements of a vehicle to meet the OPCW`s future needs for enhanced chemical weapons verification capabilities. This report provides information about the proven mechanisms by which the U.S. provided both short- and long-term assistance to the IAEA to enhance its verification capabilities. Much of the technical assistance has generic application to international organizations verifying compliance with disarmament treaties or conventions. In addition, some of the equipment developed by the U.S. under the existing arrangements can be applied in the verification of other disarmament treaties or conventions. U.S. technical assistance to IAEA safeguards outside of the IAEA`s regular budget proved to be necessary. The U.S. technical assistance was successful in improving the effectiveness of IAEA safeguards for its most urgent responsibilities and in providing the technical elements for increased IAEA {open_quotes}readiness{close_quotes} for the postponed responsibilities deemed important for U.S. policy objectives. Much of the technical assistance was directed to generic subjects and helped to achieve a system of international verification. It is expected that the capabilities of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to verify a state`s compliance with the {open_quotes}Chemical Weapons Convention{close_quotes} will require improvements. This report presents 18 important lessons learned from the experience of the IAEA and the U.S. Program of Technical Assistance to IAEA Safeguards (POTAS), organized into three tiers. Each lesson is presented in the report in the context of the difficulty, need and history in which the lesson was learned. Only the most important points are recapitulated in this executive summary.

  10. NDE reliability and SAFT-UT final development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doctor, S.R.; Deffenbaugh, J.D.; Good, M.S.; Green, E.R.; Heasler, P.G.; Reid, L.D.; Simonen, F.A.; Spanner, J.C.; Taylor, T.T.; Vo, T.V.

    1990-01-01

    The Evaluation and Improvement of NDE Reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors (NDE Reliability) program at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) was established by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to determine the reliability of current inservice inspection (ISI) techniques and to develop recommendations that will ensure a suitably high inspection reliability. This is a progress report covering the programmatic work from October 1987 through September 1988. The program for Validation and Technology Transfer for SAFT-UT is designed to accomplish the final step of moving research results into beneficial application. Accomplishments for FY88 in Synthetic Aperture Focusing of Ultrasonic Test data (SAFT-UT) under this program are discussed in this paper. The information is treated under the copies of Code Activities, Field Validation, and Seminars. (orig.)

  11. Lessons learned implementing environmental regulations at non-Department of Energy sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Craig, R.B.; Dippo, G.L.

    1991-01-01

    The Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program (HAZWRAP) has been involved in the implementation of environmental regulations at non-Department of Energy (DOE) facilities for > 5 years. If any common thread has been identified in working at these sites, it is that no two sites can be treated the same. Each site and its associated wastes, governing regulations, and environmental conditions are different. The list of technical lessons learned is long, and their applicability to other sites must be looked at for each specific case. That is far too large a task to undertake here. The most important lesson HAZWRAP learned is not technical. Implementing environmental regulations at non-DOE sites is not any different from implementing regulations or anything else done at DOE facilities. The key to success lies in quality, planning, and communication. Taking the time to implement a good quality program based on sound planning and open communication will ensure program success

  12. Space reactor safety, 1985--1995 lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marshall, A.C.

    1995-01-01

    Space reactor safety activities and decisions have evolved over the last decade. Important safety decisions have been made in the SP-100, Space Exploration Initiative, NEPSTP, SNTP, and Bimodal Space Reactor programs. In addition, international guidance on space reactor safety has been instituted. Space reactor safety decisions and practices have developed in the areas of inadvertent criticality, reentry, radiological release, orbital operation, programmatic, and policy. In general, the lessons learned point out the importance of carefully reviewing previous safety practices for appropriateness to space nuclear programs in general and to the specific mission under consideration

  13. Space reactor safety, 1985--1995 lessons learned

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marshall, A.C.

    1995-12-31

    Space reactor safety activities and decisions have evolved over the last decade. Important safety decisions have been made in the SP-100, Space Exploration Initiative, NEPSTP, SNTP, and Bimodal Space Reactor programs. In addition, international guidance on space reactor safety has been instituted. Space reactor safety decisions and practices have developed in the areas of inadvertent criticality, reentry, radiological release, orbital operation, programmatic, and policy. In general, the lessons learned point out the importance of carefully reviewing previous safety practices for appropriateness to space nuclear programs in general and to the specific mission under consideration.

  14. Canada and Missions for Peace: Lessons from Nicaragua ...

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

    ... recommendations to guide future policy and programing in peacebuilding. Perhaps it is too early to tell if a concern for international security can be combined with a concern for human security and well-being to form a new peacebuilding "architecture." The lessons and insight contained in Canada and Missions for Peace, ...

  15. HiRel: Hybrid Automated Reliability Predictor (HARP) integrated reliability tool system, (version 7.0). Volume 3: HARP Graphics Oriented (GO) input user's guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bavuso, Salvatore J.; Rothmann, Elizabeth; Mittal, Nitin; Koppen, Sandra Howell

    1994-01-01

    The Hybrid Automated Reliability Predictor (HARP) integrated Reliability (HiRel) tool system for reliability/availability prediction offers a toolbox of integrated reliability/availability programs that can be used to customize the user's application in a workstation or nonworkstation environment. HiRel consists of interactive graphical input/output programs and four reliability/availability modeling engines that provide analytical and simulative solutions to a wide host of highly reliable fault-tolerant system architectures and is also applicable to electronic systems in general. The tool system was designed at the outset to be compatible with most computing platforms and operating systems, and some programs have been beta tested within the aerospace community for over 8 years. This document is a user's guide for the HiRel graphical preprocessor Graphics Oriented (GO) program. GO is a graphical user interface for the HARP engine that enables the drawing of reliability/availability models on a monitor. A mouse is used to select fault tree gates or Markov graphical symbols from a menu for drawing.

  16. DATMAN: A reliability data analysis program using Bayesian updating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, M.; Feltus, M.A.

    1996-01-01

    Preventive maintenance (PM) techniques focus on the prevention of failures, in particular, system components that are important to plant functions. Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) improves on the PM techniques by introducing a set of guidelines by which to evaluate the system functions. It also minimizes intrusive maintenance, labor, and equipment downtime without sacrificing system performance when its function is essential for plant safety. Both the PM and RCM approaches require that system reliability data be updated as more component failures and operation time are acquired. Systems reliability and the likelihood of component failures can be calculated by Bayesian statistical methods, which can update these data. The DATMAN computer code has been developed at Penn State to simplify the Bayesian analysis by performing tedious calculations needed for RCM reliability analysis. DATMAN reads data for updating, fits a distribution that best fits the data, and calculates component reliability. DATMAN provides a user-friendly interface menu that allows the user to choose from several common prior and posterior distributions, insert new failure data, and visually select the distribution that matches the data most accurately

  17. Human factors reliability benchmark exercise, report of the SRD participation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waters, Trevor

    1988-01-01

    Within the scope of the Human Factors Reliability Benchmark Exercise, organised by the Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy, the Safety and Reliability Directorate (SRD) team has performed analysis of human factors in two different activities - a routine test and a non-routine operational transient. For both activities, an 'FMEA-like' task, potential errors, and the factors which affect performance. For analysis of the non-routine activity, which involved a significant amount of cognitive processing, such as diagnosis and decision making, a new approach for qualitative analysis has been developed. Modelling has been performed using both event trees and fault trees and examples are provided. Human error probabilities were estimated using the methods Absolute Probability Judgement (APJ), Human Cognitive Reliability Method (HCR), Human Error and Assessment and Reduction Technique (HEART), Success-Likelihood Index Method (SLIM), Technica Empiriza Stima Eurori Operatori (TESEO), and Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction (THERP). A discussion is provided of the lessons learnt in the course of the exercise and unresolved difficulties in the assessment of human reliability. (author)

  18. Human Factors Throughout the Life Cycle: Lessons Learned from the Shuttle Program. [Human Factors in Ground Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanki, Barbara G.

    2011-01-01

    With the ending of the Space Shuttle Program, it is critical that we not forget the Human Factors lessons we have learned over the years. At every phase of the life cycle, from manufacturing, processing and integrating vehicle and payload, to launch, flight operations, mission control and landing, hundreds of teams have worked together to achieve mission success in one of the most complex, high-risk socio-technical enterprises ever designed. Just as there was great diversity in the types of operations performed at every stage, there was a myriad of human factors that could further complicate these human systems. A single mishap or close call could point to issues at the individual level (perceptual or workload limitations, training, fatigue, human error susceptibilities), the task level (design of tools, procedures and aspects of the workplace), as well as the organizational level (appropriate resources, safety policies, information access and communication channels). While we have often had to learn through human mistakes and technological failures, we have also begun to understand how to design human systems in which individuals can excel, where tasks and procedures are not only safe but efficient, and how organizations can foster a proactive approach to managing risk and supporting human enterprises. Panelists will talk about their experiences as they relate human factors to a particular phase of the shuttle life cycle. They will conclude with a framework for tying together human factors lessons-learned into system-level risk management strategies.

  19. After reliability centred maintenance. Preventive maintenance living program implementation at Bruce Power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harazim, Michael L.; Ferguson, Brian J.

    2003-01-01

    Industrial preventive maintenance (PM) programs represent a large part of plant O and M costs. PM Optimization (PMO) projects represent an effective mechanism for identifying unnecessary PM, extending PM intervals and infusing predictive maintenance (PdM) methods. However, once optimized, what process prevents the PM program from returning to a state of disarray? This is the function of a PM living program (PMLP). In 1997, an independent performance assessment identified concerns with the applicability and effectiveness of all Ontario Power Generation, Inc. (OPGI) PM programs. In response, OPGI instituted an Integrated Maintenance Program (IMP) including Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) and a PMLP. It should be noted that the PMLP was developed for the 3 OPGI nuclear Sites (i.e. Bruce, Pickering, and Darlington). Effective 1 May 2001, the Bruce Site has been leased to a group of investors lead by British Energy. This paper is written in historical context and therefore refers to the Bruce Site as part of OPGI. The PMLP is made up of five elements: 1) process control, 2) change control, 3) worker feedback, 4) program performance metrics, and 5) deferral module. A PMLP software tool, originally applied to Duke Energy nuclear plants, was enhanced and customized specifically for the OPGI PMLP, and then implemented at all three of OPGI's nuclear sites. The objective of the OPGI PMLP was to: Provide processes/procedures for continual optimization of all site PM tasks, Ensure effective and timely revision of PM tasks in the work management system, Ensure PM tasks remain applicable/effective at all times, Maintain and enhance PM consistency on a component, system and Site basis, Ensure that new predictive maintenance techniques are applied and integrated with the PM program, Ensure that mandated PM tasks are identified and executed, Provide a mechanism for craft feedback, Meet regulatory requirements for PM program effectiveness, and Provide PM task deferral

  20. Evolutionary Acquisition of the Global Command and Control System: Lessons Learned

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Wallis, Johnathan

    1998-01-01

    This paper summarizes a "lessons learned" study that reviews DoD's approach to managing the GCCS program on behalf on the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (ASD/C3I...

  1. Complete Lesson 9: All Together Now - Air, Water, Food, and Shelter

    Science.gov (United States)

    In this final lesson, the students will review the key concepts from the program and pledge, both as a class and individually, to take action to create a healthier environment for themselves and their community.

  2. 1000 days on orbit: lessons learned from the ACTEX-I flight experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erwin, R. Scott; Denoyer, Keith K.

    2000-06-01

    This paper presents a review of the Air Force Research Laboratory advanced controls technology experiment program. Representing the first space-demonstration of smart structures technology, the ACTEX-I program has met or exceeded all program goals at each stage, beginning with the program initiation in 1991 through launch in 1996 to the conclusion of the Guest Investigator program and program conclusion in 1999. This paper will provide a summary of the ACTEX-I program from the AFRL perspective, focusing on lessons learned from the program both positive and negative.

  3. Towards higher safety and reliability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takekuro, I. [Tokyo Electric Power Company, Tokyo (Japan)

    2001-06-01

    Japanese electric power companies are now positioning themselves to gain a stronger position in the liberalised electricity market. Nuclear power in particular plays an important role in satisfying a large part of domestic electricity demand and its performance has continued to improve as a result of enhanced safety operation and tough maintenance programmes. Although the criticality accident which occurred in 1999 shocked not only the public but also the nuclear industry itself, the accident provided an opportunity for the industry and the regulators to learn lessons and look again at safety issues. Japanese electric power companies are now eager to be seen as front-runners in the safe, reliable, and efficient generation of nuclear power for the twenty-first century. (author)

  4. Addressing the Neglected Tropical Disease Podoconiosis in Northern Ethiopia: Lessons Learned from a New Community Podoconiosis Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomczyk, Sara; Tamiru, Abreham; Davey, Gail

    2012-01-01

    Background Despite its great public health importance, few control initiatives addressing podoconiosis (non-filarial elephantiasis, a geochemical neglected tropical disease) exist. In June 2010, the first podoconiosis program in Northern Ethiopia, consisting of prevention, awareness, and care and support activities, began in Debre Markos, Northern Ethiopia. This study aims to document and disseminate the lessons learned from a new community podoconiosis program in Debre Markos. Methods/Principal Findings We used a content analysis approach to examine and evaluate data from a series of sources. These sources include conducted interview transcripts, a focus group discussion transcript and secondary sources including monitoring and evaluation field reports, observation notes, and research obtained from a literature review. Themes were identified and grouped into matrix tables. Overall, sixteen program steps were identified and grouped into 6 domains: Initial preparation, training and sensitization, foundation building, treatment activity implementation, awareness, and follow-up. Emphasis is placed on the need for baseline data, effective training, local leadership, experience-sharing, mass-awareness, cross-cutting sector issues (i.e., water and waste management), and integration with government health systems. Related successes and challenges are also described, as are stakeholder roles and misconceptions and socio-cultural challenges affecting the program start-up. Many of the identified successes and challenges are relevant to the aim of the podoconiosis program to be sustainable and community-led. Conclusions/Significance Much of this information has already been used to improve the Debre Markos program. We also anticipate that the domains and steps identified will be useful in guiding new programs in other settings where podoconiosis is highly prevalent. We hope to encourage partnerships and collaboration among podoconiosis stakeholders in future growth and

  5. Addressing the neglected tropical disease podoconiosis in Northern Ethiopia: lessons learned from a new community podoconiosis program.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Tomczyk

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Despite its great public health importance, few control initiatives addressing podoconiosis (non-filarial elephantiasis, a geochemical neglected tropical disease exist. In June 2010, the first podoconiosis program in Northern Ethiopia, consisting of prevention, awareness, and care and support activities, began in Debre Markos, Northern Ethiopia. This study aims to document and disseminate the lessons learned from a new community podoconiosis program in Debre Markos. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used a content analysis approach to examine and evaluate data from a series of sources. These sources include conducted interview transcripts, a focus group discussion transcript and secondary sources including monitoring and evaluation field reports, observation notes, and research obtained from a literature review. Themes were identified and grouped into matrix tables. Overall, sixteen program steps were identified and grouped into 6 domains: Initial preparation, training and sensitization, foundation building, treatment activity implementation, awareness, and follow-up. Emphasis is placed on the need for baseline data, effective training, local leadership, experience-sharing, mass-awareness, cross-cutting sector issues (i.e., water and waste management, and integration with government health systems. Related successes and challenges are also described, as are stakeholder roles and misconceptions and socio-cultural challenges affecting the program start-up. Many of the identified successes and challenges are relevant to the aim of the podoconiosis program to be sustainable and community-led. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Much of this information has already been used to improve the Debre Markos program. We also anticipate that the domains and steps identified will be useful in guiding new programs in other settings where podoconiosis is highly prevalent. We hope to encourage partnerships and collaboration among podoconiosis stakeholders in

  6. Introduction to quality and reliability engineering

    CERN Document Server

    Jiang, Renyan

    2015-01-01

    This book presents the state-of-the-art in quality and reliability engineering from a product life cycle standpoint. Topics in reliability include reliability models, life data analysis and modeling, design for reliability and accelerated life testing, while topics in quality include design for quality, acceptance sampling and supplier selection, statistical process control, production tests such as screening and burn-in, warranty and maintenance. The book provides comprehensive insights into two closely related subjects, and includes a wealth of examples and problems to enhance reader comprehension and link theory and practice. All numerical examples can be easily solved using Microsoft Excel. The book is intended for senior undergraduate and post-graduate students in related engineering and management programs such as mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering and engineering management programs, as well as for researchers and engineers in the quality and reliability fields. D...

  7. Design reliability assurance program for Korean next generation reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Beom-Su; Han, Jin-Kyu; Na, Jang Hwan; Yoo, Kyung Yeong

    1997-01-01

    The Korean Next Generation Reactor (KNGR) project is to develop standardized nuclear power plant design for the construction of future nuclear power plants in Korea. The main purpose of the KNGR project is to develop the advanced nuclear power plants, which enhance safety and economics significantly through the incorporation of design concepts for severe accident prevention and mitigation, supplementary passive safety concept, simplification and application of modularization and so on. For those, Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) and availability study will be performed at the early stage of the design, and the Design Reliability Assurance Program (D-RAP) is applied in the development of the KNGR to ensure that the safety and availability evaluated in the PSA and availability study at the early phase of the design is maintained through the detailed design, construction, procurement and operation of the plants. This paper presents the D-RAP concept that could be applied at the stage of the basic design of the nuclear power plants, based on the models for the reference plants and/or similar plants. 4 refs., 1 fig

  8. Reliability and concurrent validity of a motor skill competence test among 4- to 12-year old children

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoeboer, Joris; Krijger-Hombergen, Michiel; Savelsbergh, Geert; De Vries, Sanne

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability, internal consistency and concurrent validity of the Athletic Skills Track (AST). During a regular PE lesson, 930 4- to 12-year old children (448 girls, 482 boys) completed two motor skill competence tests: (1) the

  9. Reservation Application System Of Private Lesson At Easyspeak Denpasar Based On Web And Android

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ferry yudhitama putra

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract— English Private lessons institutes are now widely facilitates a person to develop English skills in speaking and writing. Currently the service users private lessons English book private lessons manually, that is by coming directly to the place as well as through the telephone service, but with the operator even then still have difficulties in user validation that requires a long time. To facilitate the user in terms of the reservation, then the system will be built based on web and Android. Development of private lessons reservation application built with PHP and Java programming language using CodeIgniter framework on the web side , while on the Android using Eclipse tools , and MySQL as database storage media . Applications reservation private lessons has several functions to make a reservation time and tutor can be done by the student of Easyspeak and on the side of the tutor application can provide information about the student will be taught , as well as on the side of the operator to provide ease in setting booking private lessons because it computerized not manually as before. Applications reservation private lessons are also equipped with a reminder or reminders are made on the side of Android apps , using alarmmanager system.

  10. Teacher Learning and Mathematics Manipulatives: A Collective Case Study about Teacher Use of Manipulatives in Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Lessons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puchner, Laurel; Taylor, Ann; O'Donnell, Barbara; Fick, Kathleen

    2008-01-01

    This collective case study analyzes the use of manipulatives in math lessons developed and taught by 4 groups of elementary teachers (K-8) involved in lesson study as part of a professional development program. The study found that in three of four lessons studied manipulative use was turned into an end in and of itself, rather than a tool, and…

  11. Lessons Learned from A System-Wide Evidence-Based Practice Program Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-04-25

    incorporating scientific evidence, clinical expertise and the patient’s values and preferences to provide quality healthcare . Despite growing...MEMORANDUM FOR ST DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE 59TH MEDICAL WING (AETC) JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO - LACKLAND TEXAS ATTN: LT COL JACQUELINE KILLIAN...FROM: 59 MDW/SGVU SUBJECT: Professional Presentation Approval 14 FEB 2017 1. Your paper, entitled Lesson Learned From A System-Wide Evidence- Based

  12. Status of an operating reliability program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.A.

    1985-01-01

    This paper deals with productivity improvement programs (PIP) for nuclear generating plants. The PIP was implemented in 1979 as a joint effort between Commonwealth Edison's (CECo's) operating nuclear stations and the Station Nuclear Engineering Department. Goals were set to reduce nonproductivity by 10% over a 5 year period. This goal was accomplished December 31, 1983. Topics of discussion are program method, problem analysis and resolution, program results, program improvements, and proposed additions to the PIP. The program is providing CECo with greater electrical generating productivity

  13. High-Reliability Health Care: Getting There from Here

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chassin, Mark R; Loeb, Jerod M

    2013-01-01

    Context Despite serious and widespread efforts to improve the quality of health care, many patients still suffer preventable harm every day. Hospitals find improvement difficult to sustain, and they suffer “project fatigue” because so many problems need attention. No hospitals or health systems have achieved consistent excellence throughout their institutions. High-reliability science is the study of organizations in industries like commercial aviation and nuclear power that operate under hazardous conditions while maintaining safety levels that are far better than those of health care. Adapting and applying the lessons of this science to health care offer the promise of enabling hospitals to reach levels of quality and safety that are comparable to those of the best high-reliability organizations. Methods We combined the Joint Commission's knowledge of health care organizations with knowledge from the published literature and from experts in high-reliability industries and leading safety scholars outside health care. We developed a conceptual and practical framework for assessing hospitals’ readiness for and progress toward high reliability. By iterative testing with hospital leaders, we refined the framework and, for each of its fourteen components, defined stages of maturity through which we believe hospitals must pass to reach high reliability. Findings We discovered that the ways that high-reliability organizations generate and maintain high levels of safety cannot be directly applied to today's hospitals. We defined a series of incremental changes that hospitals should undertake to progress toward high reliability. These changes involve the leadership's commitment to achieving zero patient harm, a fully functional culture of safety throughout the organization, and the widespread deployment of highly effective process improvement tools. Conclusions Hospitals can make substantial progress toward high reliability by undertaking several specific

  14. Use of reliability in the LMFBR industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Penland, J.R.; Smith, A.M.; Goeser, D.K.

    1977-01-01

    This mission of a Reliability Program for an LMFBR should be to enhance the design and operational characteristics relative to safety and to plant availability. Successful accomplishment of this mission requires proper integration of several reliability engineering tasks--analysis, testing, parts controls and program controls. Such integration requires, in turn, that the program be structured, planned and managed. This paper describes the technical integration necessary and the management activities required to achieve mission success for LMFBR's

  15. EDF/EPRI collaborative program on operator reliability experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villemeur, A.; Meslin, T.; Mosneron, F.; Worledge, D.H.; Joksimovich, V.; Spurgin, A.J.

    1988-01-01

    Electricite de France (EDF) and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have been involved in human reliability studies over the last few years, in the context of improvements in human reliability assessment (HRA) methodologies, and have been following a systematic process since 1982 which consists of addressing the following five ingredients: - First, classify human interactions into a limited number of classes. - Second, introduce an acceptable framework to organize the application of HRA to PRA studies. - Third, select approach(es) to quantification. - Fourth, test promising models. - Fifth, establish an appropriate data base for tested model(s) with regard to specific applications. EPRI has just recently completed Phase I of the fourth topic. This primarily focused on testing the fundamental hypotheses behing the human cognitive reliability (HCR) correlation, using power plant simulators. EDF has been carrying out simulator studies since 1980, both for man-machine interface validation and HRA data collection. This background of experience provided a stepping stone for the EPRI project. On the other hand, before 1986, EDF had mainly been concentrating on getting qualitative insights from the tests and lacked experience in quantitative analysis and modeling, while EPRI had made advances in this latter area. Before the EPRI Operator Reliability Experiments (ORE) project was initiated, it was abundantly clear to EPRI and EDF that cooperation between the two could be useful and that both parties could gain from the cooperation

  16. Reliability constrained decision model for energy service provider incorporating demand response programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahboubi-Moghaddam, Esmaeil; Nayeripour, Majid; Aghaei, Jamshid

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The operation of Energy Service Providers (ESPs) in electricity markets is modeled. • Demand response as the cost-effective solution is used for energy service provider. • The market price uncertainty is modeled using the robust optimization technique. • The reliability of the distribution network is embedded into the framework. • The simulation results demonstrate the benefits of robust framework for ESPs. - Abstract: Demand response (DR) programs are becoming a critical concept for the efficiency of current electric power industries. Therefore, its various capabilities and barriers have to be investigated. In this paper, an effective decision model is presented for the strategic behavior of energy service providers (ESPs) to demonstrate how to participate in the day-ahead electricity market and how to allocate demand in the smart distribution network. Since market price affects DR and vice versa, a new two-step sequential framework is proposed, in which unit commitment problem (UC) is solved to forecast the expected locational marginal prices (LMPs), and successively DR program is applied to optimize the total cost of providing energy for the distribution network customers. This total cost includes the cost of purchased power from the market and distributed generation (DG) units, incentive cost paid to the customers, and compensation cost of power interruptions. To obtain compensation cost, the reliability evaluation of the distribution network is embedded into the framework using some innovative constraints. Furthermore, to consider the unexpected behaviors of the other market participants, the LMP prices are modeled as the uncertainty parameters using the robust optimization technique, which is more practical compared to the conventional stochastic approach. The simulation results demonstrate the significant benefits of the presented framework for the strategic performance of ESPs.

  17. Soft computing approach for reliability optimization: State-of-the-art survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gen, Mitsuo; Yun, Young Su

    2006-01-01

    In the broadest sense, reliability is a measure of performance of systems. As systems have grown more complex, the consequences of their unreliable behavior have become severe in terms of cost, effort, lives, etc., and the interest in assessing system reliability and the need for improving the reliability of products and systems have become very important. Most solution methods for reliability optimization assume that systems have redundancy components in series and/or parallel systems and alternative designs are available. Reliability optimization problems concentrate on optimal allocation of redundancy components and optimal selection of alternative designs to meet system requirement. In the past two decades, numerous reliability optimization techniques have been proposed. Generally, these techniques can be classified as linear programming, dynamic programming, integer programming, geometric programming, heuristic method, Lagrangean multiplier method and so on. A Genetic Algorithm (GA), as a soft computing approach, is a powerful tool for solving various reliability optimization problems. In this paper, we briefly survey GA-based approach for various reliability optimization problems, such as reliability optimization of redundant system, reliability optimization with alternative design, reliability optimization with time-dependent reliability, reliability optimization with interval coefficients, bicriteria reliability optimization, and reliability optimization with fuzzy goals. We also introduce the hybrid approaches for combining GA with fuzzy logic, neural network and other conventional search techniques. Finally, we have some experiments with an example of various reliability optimization problems using hybrid GA approach

  18. Lessons Learned From Implementation of Westinghouse Owners Group Risk-Informed Inservice Inspection Methodology for Piping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevenson, Paul R.; Haessler, Richard L.; McNeill, Alex; Pyne, Mark A.; West, Raymond A.

    2006-01-01

    Risk-informed inservice inspection (ISI) programs have been in use for over seven years as an alternative to current regulatory requirements in the development and implementation of ISI programs for nuclear plant piping systems. Programs using the Westinghouse Owners Group (WOG) (now known as the Pressurized Water Reactor Owners Group - PWROG) risk-informed ISI methodology have been developed and implemented within the U.S. and several other countries. Additionally, many plants have conducted or are in the process of conducting updates to their risk-informed ISI programs. In the development and implementation of these risk-informed ISI programs and the associated updates to those programs, the following important lessons learned have been identified and are addressed. Concepts such as 'loss of inventory', which are typically not modeled in a plant's probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) model for all systems. The importance of considering operator actions in the identification of consequences associated with a piping failure and the categorization of segments as high safety significant (HSS) or low safety significant (LSS). The impact that the above considerations have had on the large early release frequency (LERF) and categorization of segments as HSS or LSS. The importance of automation. Making the update process more efficient to reduce costs associated with maintaining the risk-informed ISI program. The insights gained are associated with many of the steps in the risk-informed ISI process including: development of the consequences associated with piping failures, categorization of segments, structural element selection and program updates. Many of these lessons learned have impacted the results of the risk-informed ISI programs and have impacted the updates to those programs. This paper summarizes the lessons learned and insights gained from the application of the WOG risk-informed ISI methodology in the U.S., Europe and Asia. (authors)

  19. Lessons learned in digital upgrade projects digital control system implementation at US nuclear power stations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelley, S.; Bolian, T. W.

    2006-01-01

    AREVA NP has gained significant experience during the past five years in digital upgrades at operating nuclear power stations in the US. Plants are seeking modernization with digital technology to address obsolescence, spare parts availability, vendor support, increasing age-related failures and diminished reliability. New systems offer improved reliability and functionality, and decreased maintenance requirements. Significant lessons learned have been identified relating to the areas of licensing, equipment qualification, software quality assurance and other topics specific to digital controls. Digital control systems have been installed in non safety-related control applications at many utilities within the last 15 years. There have also been a few replacements of small safety-related systems with digital technology. Digital control systems are proving to be reliable, accurate, and easy to maintain. Digital technology is gaining acceptance and momentum with both utilities and regulatory agencies based upon the successes of these installations. Also, new plants are being designed with integrated digital control systems. To support plant life extension and address obsolescence of critical components, utilities are beginning to install digital technology for primary safety-system replacement. AREVA NP analyzed operating experience and lessons learned from its own digital upgrade projects as well as industry-wide experience to identify key issues that should be considered when implementing digital controls in nuclear power stations

  20. Automation of testing the metrological reliability of nondestructive control systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhukov, Yu.A.; Isakov, V.B.; Karlov, Yu.K.; Kovalevskij, Yu.A.

    1987-01-01

    Opportunities of microcomputers are used to solve the problem of testing control-measuring systems. Besides the main program the program of data processing when characterizing the nondestructive control systems is written in the microcomputer. The program includes two modules. The first module contains tests-programs, by which accuracy of functional elements of the microcomputer and interface elements with issuing a message to the operator on readiness of the elements for operation and failure of a certain element are determined. The second module includes: calculational programs when determining metrological reliability of measuring channel reliability, a calculational subprogram for random statistical measuring error, time instability and ''dead time''. Automation of testing metrological reliability of the nondestructive control systems increases reliability of determining metrological parameters and reduces time of system testing

  1. Reliability engineering for nuclear and other high technology systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lakner, A.A.; Anderson, R.T.

    1985-01-01

    This book is written for the reliability instructor, program manager, system engineer, design engineer, reliability engineer, nuclear regulator, probability risk assessment (PRA) analyst, general manager and others who are involved in system hardware acquisition, design and operation and are concerned with plant safety and operational cost-effectiveness. It provides criteria, guidelines and comprehensive engineering data affecting reliability; it covers the key aspects of system reliability as it relates to conceptual planning, cost tradeoff decisions, specification, contractor selection, design, test and plant acceptance and operation. It treats reliability as an integrated methodology, explicitly describing life cycle management techniques as well as the basic elements of a total hardware development program, including: reliability parameters and design improvement attributes, reliability testing, reliability engineering and control. It describes how these elements can be defined during procurement, and implemented during design and development to yield reliable equipment. (author)

  2. Issues in benchmarking human reliability analysis methods: A literature review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boring, Ronald L.; Hendrickson, Stacey M.L.; Forester, John A.; Tran, Tuan Q.; Lois, Erasmia

    2010-01-01

    There is a diversity of human reliability analysis (HRA) methods available for use in assessing human performance within probabilistic risk assessments (PRA). Due to the significant differences in the methods, including the scope, approach, and underlying models, there is a need for an empirical comparison investigating the validity and reliability of the methods. To accomplish this empirical comparison, a benchmarking study comparing and evaluating HRA methods in assessing operator performance in simulator experiments is currently underway. In order to account for as many effects as possible in the construction of this benchmarking study, a literature review was conducted, reviewing past benchmarking studies in the areas of psychology and risk assessment. A number of lessons learned through these studies is presented in order to aid in the design of future HRA benchmarking endeavors.

  3. Issues in benchmarking human reliability analysis methods : a literature review.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lois, Erasmia (US Nuclear Regulatory Commission); Forester, John Alan; Tran, Tuan Q. (Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID); Hendrickson, Stacey M. Langfitt; Boring, Ronald L. (Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID)

    2008-04-01

    There is a diversity of human reliability analysis (HRA) methods available for use in assessing human performance within probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). Due to the significant differences in the methods, including the scope, approach, and underlying models, there is a need for an empirical comparison investigating the validity and reliability of the methods. To accomplish this empirical comparison, a benchmarking study is currently underway that compares HRA methods with each other and against operator performance in simulator studies. In order to account for as many effects as possible in the construction of this benchmarking study, a literature review was conducted, reviewing past benchmarking studies in the areas of psychology and risk assessment. A number of lessons learned through these studies are presented in order to aid in the design of future HRA benchmarking endeavors.

  4. Training benefits of research on operator reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Worledge, D.H.

    1989-01-01

    The purpose of the EPRI Operator Reliability Experiments (ORE) Program is to collect data for use in reliability and safety studies of nuclear power plant operation which more realistically take credit for operator performance in preventing core damage. The three objectives in fulfilling this purpose are: to obtain quantitative/qualitative performance data on operating crew responses in the control room for potential accident sequences by using plant simulators; to test the human cognitive reliability (HCR) correlation; and to develop a data collection analysis procedure. This paper discusses the background to this program, data collection and analysis, and the results of quantitative/qualitative insights stemming from initial work. Special attention is paid to how this program impacts upon simulator use and assessment of simulator fidelity. Attention is also paid to the use of data collection procedures to assist training departments in assessing the quality of their training programs

  5. An integrated reliability-based design optimization of offshore towers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karadeniz, Halil; Togan, Vedat; Vrouwenvelder, Ton

    2009-01-01

    After recognizing the uncertainty in the parameters such as material, loading, geometry and so on in contrast with the conventional optimization, the reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) concept has become more meaningful to perform an economical design implementation, which includes a reliability analysis and an optimization algorithm. RBDO procedures include structural analysis, reliability analysis and sensitivity analysis both for optimization and for reliability. The efficiency of the RBDO system depends on the mentioned numerical algorithms. In this work, an integrated algorithms system is proposed to implement the RBDO of the offshore towers, which are subjected to the extreme wave loading. The numerical strategies interacting with each other to fulfill the RBDO of towers are as follows: (a) a structural analysis program, SAPOS, (b) an optimization program, SQP and (c) a reliability analysis program based on FORM. A demonstration of an example tripod tower under the reliability constraints based on limit states of the critical stress, buckling and the natural frequency is presented.

  6. An integrated reliability-based design optimization of offshore towers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karadeniz, Halil [Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands)], E-mail: h.karadeniz@tudelft.nl; Togan, Vedat [Department of Civil Engineering, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon (Turkey); Vrouwenvelder, Ton [Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands)

    2009-10-15

    After recognizing the uncertainty in the parameters such as material, loading, geometry and so on in contrast with the conventional optimization, the reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) concept has become more meaningful to perform an economical design implementation, which includes a reliability analysis and an optimization algorithm. RBDO procedures include structural analysis, reliability analysis and sensitivity analysis both for optimization and for reliability. The efficiency of the RBDO system depends on the mentioned numerical algorithms. In this work, an integrated algorithms system is proposed to implement the RBDO of the offshore towers, which are subjected to the extreme wave loading. The numerical strategies interacting with each other to fulfill the RBDO of towers are as follows: (a) a structural analysis program, SAPOS, (b) an optimization program, SQP and (c) a reliability analysis program based on FORM. A demonstration of an example tripod tower under the reliability constraints based on limit states of the critical stress, buckling and the natural frequency is presented.

  7. Software reliability and programming language

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ehrenberger, W.

    1983-01-01

    When discussing advantages and drawbacks of programming languages, it is sometimes suggested to use these languages also for safety-related tasks. The author states the demands to be made on programming languages for this purpose. His recommendations are based on the work of TC7 of the European Workshop on Industrial Computer Systems and WG A3 of IEC SC 45a. (orig./HP) [de

  8. The Value of Identifying and Recovering Lost GN&C Lessons Learned: Aeronautical, Spacecraft, and Launch Vehicle Examples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dennehy, Cornelius J.; Labbe, Steve; Lebsock, Kenneth L.

    2010-01-01

    Within the broad aerospace community the importance of identifying, documenting and widely sharing lessons learned during system development, flight test, operational or research programs/projects is broadly acknowledged. Documenting and sharing lessons learned helps managers and engineers to minimize project risk and improve performance of their systems. Often significant lessons learned on a project fail to get captured even though they are well known 'tribal knowledge' amongst the project team members. The physical act of actually writing down and documenting these lessons learned for the next generation of NASA GN&C engineers fails to happen on some projects for various reasons. In this paper we will first review the importance of capturing lessons learned and then will discuss reasons why some lessons are not documented. A simple proven approach called 'Pause and Learn' will be highlighted as a proven low-impact method of organizational learning that could foster the timely capture of critical lessons learned. Lastly some examples of 'lost' GN&C lessons learned from the aeronautics, spacecraft and launch vehicle domains are briefly highlighted. In the context of this paper 'lost' refers to lessons that have not achieved broad visibility within the NASA-wide GN&C CoP because they are either undocumented, masked or poorly documented in the NASA Lessons Learned Information System (LLIS).

  9. Reliability Data for Piping Components in Nordic Nuclear Power Plants 'R-Book'. Project Phase 1. Rev 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lydell, Bengt; Olsson, Anders

    2008-01-01

    This report constitutes a planning document for a new RandD project to develop a piping component reliability parameter handbook for use in probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) and related activities. The Swedish acronym for this handbook is 'R-Book.' The objective of the project is to utilize the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency 'OECD Pipe Failure Data Exchange Project' (OPDE) database to derive piping component failure rates and rupture probabilities for input to internal flooding probabilistic safety assessment, high-energy line break' (HELB) analysis, risk-informed in-service inspection (RI-ISI) program development, and other activities related to PSA. This new RandD project is funded by member organizations of the Nordic PSA Group (NPSAG) - Forsmark AB, OKG AB, Ringhals AB, and the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI). The history behind the current effort to produce a handbook of piping reliability parameters goes back to 1994 when SKI funded a 5-year RandD project to explore the viability of establishing an international database on the service experience with piping system components in commercial nuclear power plants. An underlying objective behind this 5-year program was to investigate the different options and possibilities for deriving pipe failure rates and rupture probabilities directly from service experience data as an alternative to probabilistic fracture mechanics. The RandD project culminated in an international piping reliability seminar held in the fall of 1997 in Sigtuna (Sweden) and a pilot project to demonstrate an application of the pipe failure database to the estimation of loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) frequency (SKI Report 98:30). A particularly important outcome of the 5-year project was a decision by SKI to transfer the pipe failure database including the lessons learned to an international cooperative effort under the auspices of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. Following on information exchange and planning meetings that were

  10. 49 Stories That Make an Ultimate STEM Lesson Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehta, Swati; Mehta, Rohit; Berzina-Pitcher, Inese; Seals, Christopher; Mishra, Punya

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we reviewed what 49 large urban public school district STEM teachers enrolled in a year-long graduate certificate and fellowship program at a large Midwestern university considered as their amazing teaching moments. They were asked to share their amazing teaching moments that would make an Ultimate Lesson Plan in STEM. In smaller…

  11. The Howard University Program in Atmospheric Sciences (HUPAS): A Program Exemplifying Diversity and Opportunity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Vernon R.; Joseph, Everette; Smith, Sonya; Yu, Tsann-wang

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses experiences and lessons learned from developing an interdisciplinary graduate program (IDP) during the last 10 y: The Howard University Graduate Program in Atmospheric Sciences (HUPAS). HUPAS is the first advanced degree program in the atmospheric sciences, or related fields such as meteorology and earth system sciences,…

  12. Lessons that Last: Former Youth Organizers' Reflections on What and How They Learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conner, Jerusha

    2014-01-01

    This study examines the learning outcomes and learning environment of a youth organizing program that has been effective in promoting individual as well as social change. Drawing on interviews with 25 former youth organizers from the program, this study explores the lessons that stay with them as they transition to young adulthood and the factors…

  13. Ways That Preservice Teachers Integrate Children's Literature into Mathematics Lessons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Rachelle Meyer; Cooper, Sandi; Nesmith, Suzanne M.; Purdum-Cassidy, Barbara

    2015-01-01

    Children's literature involving mathematics provides a common, natural context for the sharing of mathematics. To learn more about how preservice teachers included children's literature in their mathematics lessons, a study was conducted over two semesters during a required field experience component of an undergraduate teacher education program.…

  14. Lessons learned in testing of Safeguards equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pepper, Susan; Farnitano, Michael; Carelli, Joseph

    2001-01-01

    Full text: During the 1990s, the IAEA Department of Safeguards began a transition from analog to digital equipment. This included surveillance equipment, seals, NDA measurement systems, and other instruments. The transition to digital equipment was intended to facilitate compatibility between and integration of instruments, remote communication of data, improved data storage, and modernization. Many of the instruments are designed to operate on battery power during loss of facility power, and therefore, are designed to consume minimal power. In 2000, the IAEA experienced a number of failures in digital image surveillance (DIS) equipment. A study of the performance data revealed that the failures occurred in 'high risk' environments where the systems were exposed to neutrons. As a supporter of IAEA equipment development and implementation, the U.S. Support Program worked with the IAEA, the equipment designer, and the equipment manufacturer in special meetings on DIS to determine the cause of the failures. It was as a result of these meetings that single event upset (SEU) was determined to be the root cause of the failures. The meeting participants also identified a list of actions to improve the reliability of DIS systems. As a result of the DIS meetings and the identified actions, the U.S. Support Program approved a request from the IAEA and established Task E.125, 'Remote Monitoring and Unattended Digital Surveillance Systems.' This task is an umbrella task intended to provide a mechanism for response to IAEA needs related to improving the reliability of unattended, remote monitoring and DIS equipment. Subtasks approved under this task include: E.125.1, 'SDIS Software Consolidation and DCM-14 Audit' - This subtask involves the consolidation of a number of individual upgrades to the SDIS and review of the DCM-14 software. As the sponsor of the design of the DCM-14 by Dr. Neumann, the German Support Program is also a participant in this subtask; E.125.2, 'DIS

  15. Applying lessons learned to enhance human performance and reduce human error for ISS operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nelson, W.R.

    1998-09-01

    A major component of reliability, safety, and mission success for space missions is ensuring that the humans involved (flight crew, ground crew, mission control, etc.) perform their tasks and functions as required. This includes compliance with training and procedures during normal conditions, and successful compensation when malfunctions or unexpected conditions occur. A very significant issue that affects human performance in space flight is human error. Human errors can invalidate carefully designed equipment and procedures. If certain errors combine with equipment failures or design flaws, mission failure or loss of life can occur. The control of human error during operation of the International Space Station (ISS) will be critical to the overall success of the program. As experience from Mir operations has shown, human performance plays a vital role in the success or failure of long duration space missions. The Department of Energy`s Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is developed a systematic approach to enhance human performance and reduce human errors for ISS operations. This approach is based on the systematic identification and evaluation of lessons learned from past space missions such as Mir to enhance the design and operation of ISS. This paper describes previous INEEL research on human error sponsored by NASA and how it can be applied to enhance human reliability for ISS.

  16. The Rise of Forensic Pathology in Human Medicine: Lessons for Veterinary Forensic Pathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollanen, M S

    2016-09-01

    The rise of forensic pathology in human medicine has greatly contributed to the administration of justice, public safety and security, and medical knowledge. However, the evolution of human forensic pathology has been challenging. Veterinary forensic pathologists can learn from some of the lessons that have informed the growth and development of human forensic pathology. Three main observations have emerged in the past decade. First, wrongful convictions tell us to use a truth-seeking stance rather than an a priori "think dirty" stance when investigating obscure death. Second, missed homicides and concealed homicides tell us that training and certification are the beginning of reliable forensic pathology. Third, failure of a sustainable institutional arrangement that fosters a combination of service, research, and teaching will lead to stagnation of knowledge. Forensic pathology of humans and animals will flourish, help protect society, and support justice if we embrace a modern biomedical scientific model for our practice. We must build training programs, contribute to the published literature, and forge strong collaborative institutions. © The Author(s) 2016.

  17. Human Systems Integration in Practice: Constellation Lessons Learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zumbado, Jennifer Rochlis

    2012-01-01

    NASA's Constellation program provided a unique testbed for Human Systems Integration (HSI) as a fundamental element of the Systems Engineering process. Constellation was the first major program to have HSI mandated by NASA's Human Rating document. Proper HSI is critical to the success of any project that relies on humans to function as operators, maintainers, or controllers of a system. HSI improves mission, system and human performance, significantly reduces lifecycle costs, lowers risk and minimizes re-design. Successful HSI begins with sufficient project schedule dedicated to the generation of human systems requirements, but is by no means solely a requirements management process. A top-down systems engineering process that recognizes throughout the organization, human factors as a technical discipline equal to traditional engineering disciplines with authority for the overall system. This partners with a bottoms-up mechanism for human-centered design and technical issue resolution. The Constellation Human Systems Integration Group (HSIG) was a part of the Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) organization within the program office, and existed alongside similar groups such as Flight Performance, Environments & Constraints, and Integrated Loads, Structures and Mechanisms. While the HSIG successfully managed, via influence leadership, a down-and-in Community of Practice to facilitate technical integration and issue resolution, it lacked parallel top-down authority to drive integrated design. This presentation will discuss how HSI was applied to Constellation, the lessons learned and best practices it revealed, and recommendations to future NASA program and project managers. This presentation will discuss how Human Systems Integration (HSI) was applied to NASA's Constellation program, the lessons learned and best practices it revealed, and recommendations to future NASA program and project managers on how to accomplish this critical function.

  18. Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) Quality Assurance Manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    C. L. Smith; R. Nims; K. J. Kvarfordt; C. Wharton

    2008-08-01

    The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) is a software application developed for performing a complete probabilistic risk assessment using a personal computer running the Microsoft Windows operating system. SAPHIRE is primarily funded by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The role of the INL in this project is that of software developer and tester. This development takes place using formal software development procedures and is subject to quality assurance (QA) processes. The purpose of this document is to describe how the SAPHIRE software QA is performed for Version 6 and 7, what constitutes its parts, and limitations of those processes.

  19. Reliability and availability of redundant systems: Computational program and the use of nomograms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Signoret, J.P.

    1975-01-01

    A rigorous mathematical approach to determining the reliability and availability of repairable actively redundant systems - (r/m) systems - is considered for the case where the m units comprising the system are identical and the failure and repair rates, lambda and μ respectively, are constant. The method used involves the Markov processes, operator calculus and matrix calculus. All the results of the study are handled by the FIDIAS program, which is a practical tool for calculating with a high degree of precision the reliability or availability of such (r/m) systems whatever the values of m and r. In the FIDIAS-TC version of FIDIAS it is possible to plot curves with a Benson plotter, so that nomograms are produced for rapid and simple determination of the probabilities of failure or non-availability of the (r/m) systems considered. The practical application of nomograms is of interest because (2/3) and (2/4) actively redundant systems are very often used in the control circuits of power reactors. It is shown how easily one can compare these two systems using nomograms and how one can determine lambda or μ as a function of the anticipated result

  20. Habitability and Human Factors: Lessons Learned in Long Duration Space Flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baggerman, Susan D.; Rando, Cynthia M.; Duvall, Laura E.

    2006-01-01

    This study documents the investigation of qualitative habitability and human factors feedback provided by scientists, engineers, and crewmembers on lessons learned from the ISS Program. A thorough review and understanding of this data is critical in charting NASA's future path in space exploration. NASA has been involved in ensuring that the needs of crewmembers to live and work safely and effectively in space have been met throughout the ISS Program. Human factors and habitability data has been collected from every U.S. crewmember that has resided on the ISS. The knowledge gained from both the developers and inhabitants of the ISS have provided a significant resource of information for NASA and will be used in future space exploration. The recurring issues have been tracked and documented; the top 5 most critical issues have been identified from this data. The top 5 identified problems were: excessive onsrbit stowage; environment; communication; procedures; and inadequate design of systems and equipment. Lessons learned from these issues will be used to aid in future improvements and developments to the space program. Full analysis of the habitability and human factors data has led to the following recommendations. It is critical for human factors to be involved early in the design of space vehicles and hardware. Human factors requirements need to be readdressed and redefined given the knowledge gained during previous ISS and long-duration space flight programs. These requirements must be integrated into vehicle and hardware technical documentation and consistently enforced. Lastly, space vehicles and hardware must be designed with primary focus on the user/operator to successfully complete missions and maintain a safe working environment. Implementation of these lessons learned will significantly improve NASA's likelihood of success in future space endeavors.

  1. Lessons learned from the Maintenance Rule implementation at Northeast Utilities operating plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hastings, K.B.; Khalil, Y.F.; Johnson, W.

    1996-01-01

    The Maintenance Rule as described in 10CFR50.65 requires holders of all operating nuclear power plants to monitor the performance of structures, systems, and components (SSCs) against licensee-established performance criteria. The Industry with the assistance of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) developed a guideline, which includes all parts of the Maintenance Rule, to establish these performance criteria while incorporating safety and reliability of the operating plants. The NUMARC 93-01 Guideline introduced the term ''Risk Significant'' to categorize subsets of the SSCs which would require increased focus, from a Maintenance Rule perspective, in setting their performance criteria. Northeast Utilities Company (NU) operates five nuclear plants three at Millstone Station in Waterford, Connecticut; the Connecticut Yankee plant in Haddam Neck, Connecticut; and the Seabrook Station in Seabrook, New Hampshire. NU started the implementation process of the Maintenance Rule program at its five operating plants since early 1994, and have identified a population of risk significant SSCs at each plant. Recently, Northeast Utilities' Maintenance Rule Team re-examined the initial risk significant determinations to further refine these populations, and to establish consistencies among its operating units. As a result of the re-examination process, a number of inconsistencies and areas for improvement have been identified. The lessons learned provide valuable insights to consider in the future as one implements more risk based initiatives such as Graded QA and Risk-Based ISI and IST. This paper discusses the risk significance criteria, how Northeast Utilities utilized NUMARC 93-01 Guideline to determine the risk significant SSCs for its operating plants, and lessons learned. The results provided here do not include the Seabrook Station

  2. Lessons Learned from Independent Technical Reviews of U.S. Department of Energy Low-Level Radioactive Waste Landfills/Disposal Facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adams, V.; Gupta, D.C.; Smegal, J.S.

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes the lessons learned from a series of independent technical reviews (ITRs) of waste management operations conducted at existing and proposed low-level radioactive waste landfills/disposal facilities at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites. The evaluated waste disposal programs include those at Hanford, Idaho, Savannah River Site, Oak Ridge, Portsmouth, Paducah, and the Nevada Test Site. Based on these evaluations, cost-effective lessons learned were identified to improve reliability and effectiveness of DOE on-site disposal facilities. Key recommendations covered a wide range of issues, including the following: complex-wide applied research effort is needed to evaluate settlement behavior of DOE wastes and how they may affect cover performance; there is a need for unbiased assessment of relevance of liners for different climates and wastes to evaluate where and when liners should be used; there is a need to develop information to demonstrate attenuation capability of modern liner materials and to understand the attenuation capability of liners during performance assessment; a review of historical data on demolition volumes and logistics from past DOE projects can provide valuable insight that can be helpful in planning capacity of future on-site disposal facilities; and operating procedures need to be reviewed and updated on a regular basis so that procedures remain consistent with changes in requirements and take advantage of improvements in technology. The complex-wide independent reviews have assisted DOE sites in considering lessons learned regarding common technical, regulatory, and management issues. Facility management and their operating contractors have begun implementing the applicable recommendations within the context of the DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management. (authors)

  3. Developing an evaluation framework for clinical redesign programs: lessons learnt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samaranayake, Premaratne; Dadich, Ann; Fitzgerald, Anneke; Zeitz, Kathryn

    2016-09-19

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present lessons learnt through the development of an evaluation framework for a clinical redesign programme - the aim of which was to improve the patient journey through improved discharge practices within an Australian public hospital. Design/methodology/approach The development of the evaluation framework involved three stages - namely, the analysis of secondary data relating to the discharge planning pathway; the analysis of primary data including field-notes and interview transcripts on hospital processes; and the triangulation of these data sets to devise the framework. The evaluation framework ensured that resource use, process management, patient satisfaction, and staff well-being and productivity were each connected with measures, targets, and the aim of clinical redesign programme. Findings The application of business process management and a balanced scorecard enabled a different way of framing the evaluation, ensuring measurable outcomes were connected to inputs and outputs. Lessons learnt include: first, the importance of mixed-methods research to devise the framework and evaluate the redesigned processes; second, the need for appropriate tools and resources to adequately capture change across the different domains of the redesign programme; and third, the value of developing and applying an evaluative framework progressively. Research limitations/implications The evaluation framework is limited by its retrospective application to a clinical process redesign programme. Originality/value This research supports benchmarking with national and international practices in relation to best practice healthcare redesign processes. Additionally, it provides a theoretical contribution on evaluating health services improvement and redesign initiatives.

  4. Reliability of nine programs of topological predictions and their application to integral membrane channel and carrier proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, Abhinay; Cho, Jaehoon; Ling, Sam; Reddy, Vamsee; Shlykov, Maksim; Saier, Milton H

    2014-01-01

    We evaluated topological predictions for nine different programs, HMMTOP, TMHMM, SVMTOP, DAS, SOSUI, TOPCONS, PHOBIUS, MEMSAT-SVM (hereinafter referred to as MEMSAT), and SPOCTOPUS. These programs were first evaluated using four large topologically well-defined families of secondary transporters, and the three best programs were further evaluated using topologically more diverse families of channels and carriers. In the initial studies, the order of accuracy was: SPOCTOPUS > MEMSAT > HMMTOP > TOPCONS > PHOBIUS > TMHMM > SVMTOP > DAS > SOSUI. Some families, such as the Sugar Porter Family (2.A.1.1) of the Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS; TC #2.A.1) and the Amino Acid/Polyamine/Organocation (APC) Family (TC #2.A.3), were correctly predicted with high accuracy while others, such as the Mitochondrial Carrier (MC) (TC #2.A.29) and the K(+) transporter (Trk) families (TC #2.A.38), were predicted with much lower accuracy. For small, topologically homogeneous families, SPOCTOPUS and MEMSAT were generally most reliable, while with large, more diverse superfamilies, HMMTOP often proved to have the greatest prediction accuracy. We next developed a novel program, TM-STATS, that tabulates HMMTOP, SPOCTOPUS or MEMSAT-based topological predictions for any subdivision (class, subclass, superfamily, family, subfamily, or any combination of these) of the Transporter Classification Database (TCDB; www.tcdb.org) and examined the following subclasses: α-type channel proteins (TC subclasses 1.A and 1.E), secreted pore-forming toxins (TC subclass 1.C) and secondary carriers (subclass 2.A). Histograms were generated for each of these subclasses, and the results were analyzed according to subclass, family and protein. The results provide an update of topological predictions for integral membrane transport proteins as well as guides for the development of more reliable topological prediction programs, taking family-specific characteristics into account. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  5. Evaluating the reliability of uranium concentration and isotope ratio measurements via an interlaboratory comparison program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira Junior, Olivio Pereira de; Oliveira, Inez Cristina de; Pereira, Marcia Regina; Tanabe, Eduardo

    2009-01-01

    The nuclear fuel cycle is a strategic area for the Brazilian development because it is associated with the generation of electricity needed to boost the country economy. Uranium is one the chemical elements in this cycle and its concentration and isotope composition must be accurately known. In this present work, the reliability of the uranium concentration and isotope ratio measurements carried out at the CTMSP analytical laboratories is evaluated by the results obtained in an international interlaboratory comparison program. (author)

  6. Classroom Management and Lesson Planning(4)

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2006-01-01

    Lesson PlanningTask 1As teachers,we all need to plan our lessons before we teach.Make a list of things that you think need tobe included in a lesson plan.Then compare and discuss your list with another teacher.Also think about reasonswhy we need to plan our lessons.

  7. Denmark’s Master of Public Governance Program

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Greve, Carsten; Pedersen, Anne Reff

    2017-01-01

    This paper focuses on Denmark’s Master of Public Governance and its assessments and lessons learned. Denmark is seen to have an efficient economy and public sector, a digitalized public service delivery system, and an advanced work–life balance. The Danish government invested substantial resources...... into developing a Master of Public Governance program – a flexible and modular program for public managers to take over a period of up to six years. The paper focuses on the Copenhagen version of the Master of Public Governance program. More than 1000 public managers from central, regional and local government...... are now active in pursuing an executive public management education through this program. The development, structure, content and the innovative teaching ideas are presented. The available data, including an official evaluation of the MPG program, is used to assess the program and present some lessons...

  8. Institutionalizing planning, enactment and reflection of daily lessons through appropriate organizational restructuring

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Raval, Harini; McKenney, Susan; Pieters, Julius Marie

    2011-01-01

    This study describes a professional development program aimed at supporting para-teachers in an Indian educational NGO to adopt learner-centered approaches. Organizational factors inhibiting para-teacher learning were modified. A routine of lesson planning before, and reflection after daily

  9. Classroom Management and Lesson Planning(4)

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2006-01-01

    @@ Lesson Planning Task 1 As teachers,we all need to plan our lessons before we teach.Make a list of things that you think need to be included in a lesson plan.Then compare and discuss your list with another teacher.Also think about reasons why we need to plan our lessons.

  10. Lesson Planning the Kodaly Way.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boshkoff, Ruth

    1991-01-01

    Discusses the contribution of Zoltan Kodaly to music lesson planning. Emphasizes preparation, presentation, and practice as the three important strategies in teaching concepts and skills to be included in a lesson plan. Includes a sample lesson plan covering a semester and advice on choosing song material. (DK)

  11. Creating comics in physics lessons: an educational practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albrecht, Evonir; Voelzke, Marcos Rincon

    2012-06-01

    This article presents the results from an intervention program with 119 students during physics and astronomy lessons. This program has taken place in the public school "Colônia dos Pescadores" in the City of Caraguatatuba, State of São Paulo. The goal is to show the importance and possibility of learning with support materials, either in the classroom or at home,created by the learners themselves. The results show that students can demonstrate their creativity while building up their own knowledge related to Astronomy as they are able to produce comic strips about the theme afterwards.

  12. An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Teacher Study Guides Used in Conjunction with Educational Television Lessons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gross, Lynne Schafer

    One of three different types of study guide materials was given to teachers whose classes watched televised music lessons. One guide provided a description of the program content, suggested activities to be performed before and after the program, and other supplementary material; a second guide provided only a description of the program content;…

  13. Recruitment and Lessons Learned from a Community-Based Intervention Program: The Learning Families Project in Hong Kong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna T. W. Chu

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundRecruitment is central to any research project, and recruitment itself should be well documented and researched. We describe our recruitment efforts for a community-based research project—entitled the Learning Families Project—conducted in Hong Kong.MethodsIn collaboration with community stakeholders, residents from a public housing estate were recruited to participate in family programs aimed at enhancing family well-being. Various recruitment strategies were employed including the distribution of 19,200 leaflets, 688 posters, a banner, a kick-off ceremony, 10 promotion activities, 1,000 direct calls, word of mouth, 51 mobile counters, and 10 door-to-door visits. Drawing on field notes, research logs, short questionnaires, and focus group conducted with our community partners and residents, we describe and discuss our recruitment strategies, challenges, and lessons learned.ResultsOver a 9-month period, 980 participants were recruited and participated in our study, exceeding our recruitment goal (860 participants. Several observations were made including active recruitment strategies (i.e., door-to-door and mobile counter being more effective than passive strategies (i.e., posters and leaflets; the importance of raising project awareness to facilitate recruitment; and the challenges encountered (i.e., burn-out and loss of motivation of staff, decreased community capacity in collaborating in research projects.ConclusionThe lessons learned include the importance of engaging Chinese communities, utilizing a positive outreach approach, and setting realistic expectations. Although similar recruitment strategies have been reported the West, a number of cultural differences should be taken into account when working with Chinese population. Further research is needed to examine the effectiveness of tailoring recruitment strategies to various populations.

  14. Recruitment and Lessons Learned from a Community-Based Intervention Program: The Learning Families Project in Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Joanna T W; Wan, Alice; Stewart, Sunita M; Ng, Kwok Tung; Lam, Tai Hing; Chan, Sophia S

    2018-01-01

    Recruitment is central to any research project, and recruitment itself should be well documented and researched. We describe our recruitment efforts for a community-based research project-entitled the Learning Families Project-conducted in Hong Kong. In collaboration with community stakeholders, residents from a public housing estate were recruited to participate in family programs aimed at enhancing family well-being. Various recruitment strategies were employed including the distribution of 19,200 leaflets, 688 posters, a banner, a kick-off ceremony, 10 promotion activities, 1,000 direct calls, word of mouth, 51 mobile counters, and 10 door-to-door visits. Drawing on field notes, research logs, short questionnaires, and focus group conducted with our community partners and residents, we describe and discuss our recruitment strategies, challenges, and lessons learned. Over a 9-month period, 980 participants were recruited and participated in our study, exceeding our recruitment goal (860 participants). Several observations were made including active recruitment strategies (i.e., door-to-door and mobile counter) being more effective than passive strategies (i.e., posters and leaflets); the importance of raising project awareness to facilitate recruitment; and the challenges encountered (i.e., burn-out and loss of motivation of staff, decreased community capacity in collaborating in research projects). The lessons learned include the importance of engaging Chinese communities, utilizing a positive outreach approach, and setting realistic expectations. Although similar recruitment strategies have been reported the West, a number of cultural differences should be taken into account when working with Chinese population. Further research is needed to examine the effectiveness of tailoring recruitment strategies to various populations.

  15. Probabilistic safety assessment of Tehran Research Reactor using systems analysis programs for hands-on integrated reliability evaluations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hosseini, M.H.; Nematollahi, M.R.; Sepanloo, K.

    2004-01-01

    Probabilistic safety assessment application is found to be a practical tool for research reactor safety due to intense involvement of human interactions in an experimental facility. In this document the application of the probabilistic safety assessment to the Tehran Research Reactor is presented. The level 1 practicabilities safety assessment application involved: Familiarization with the plant, selection of accident initiators, mitigating functions and system definitions, event tree constructions and quantifications, fault tree constructions and quantification, human reliability, component failure data base development and dependent failure analysis. Each of the steps of the analysis given above is discussed with highlights from the selected results. Quantification of the constructed models is done using systems analysis programs for hands-on integrated reliability evaluations software

  16. Recruitment of Older Adult Patient-Caregiver Dyads for an Online Caregiver Resource Program: Lessons Learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nahm, Eun-Shim; Orwig, Denise; Resnick, Barbara; Magaziner, Jay; Bellantoni, Michele; Sterling, Robert

    2012-01-12

    Hip fracture is a significant health problem for older adults and generally requires surgery followed by intensive rehabilitation. Informal caregivers (CGs) can provide vital assistance to older adults recovering from hip fracture. Caregiving is a dyadic process that affects both CGs and care recipients (CRs). In a feasibility study, we assessed the effects of using a theory-based online hip fracture resource program for CGs on both CGs and CRs. In this article, we discuss our recruitment process and the lessons learned. Participants were recruited from six acute hospitals, and CGs used the online resource program for 8 weeks. A total of 256 hip fracture patients were screened, and 164 CRs were ineligible. CG screening was initiated when CRs were determined to be eligible. Among 41 eligible dyads, 36 dyads were recruited. Several challenges to the recruitment of these dyads for online studies were identified, including a low number of eligible dyads in certain hospitals and difficulty recruiting both the CR and the CG during the short hospital stay. Field nurses often had to make multiple trips to the hospital to meet with both the CR and the CG. Thus, when a subject unit is a dyad recruited from acute settings, the resources required for the recruitment may be more than doubled. These challenges could be successfully alleviated with careful planning, competent field staff members, collaboration with hospital staff members, and efficient field operations.

  17. Equipment reliability improvement process; implementation in Almaraz NPP and Trillo NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Risquez Bailon, Aranzazu; Gutierrez Fernandez, Eduardo

    2010-01-01

    The Equipment Reliability Improvement Process (INPO AP-913) is a non-regulatory process developed by the US Nuclear Industry for improving Plants Availability. This Process integrates and coordinates a broad range of equipment reliability activities into one process, performed by the Plant in a non-centralized way. The integration and coordination of these activities will allow plant personnel to evaluate the trends of important station equipment, develop and implement long-term equipment health plans, monitor equipment performance and condition, and make adjustments to preventive maintenance tasks and frequencies based on equipment operating experience, if necessary, arbitrating operational and design improvements, to reach a Failure-free Operation. This paper describes the methodology of Equipment Reliability Improvement Process, being focused on main aspects of the implementation process, relating to the scope and establishment of an Equipment Reliability Monitoring Plan, which should include and complement the existing mechanisms and organizations in the Plant to monitor the condition and performance of the equipments, with the common aim of achieving an operation free of failures. The paper will describe the tools that Iberdrola Ingenieria has developed to support the implementation and monitoring of the Equipment Reliability Improvement Process, as well as the results and lessons learned from its implementation in Almaraz NPP and Trillo NPP. (authors)

  18. An Overview of NASA Automotive Component Reliability Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampson, Michael J.

    2016-01-01

    The results of NASAs studies into the appropriateness of using US Automotive electronic parts in NASA spaceflight systems will be presented. The first part of the presentation provides an overview of the United States Automotive Electronics Councils AECQ standardization program, the second part provides a summary of the results of NASAs procurement and testing experiences and other lessons learned along with preliminary test results.

  19. Lessons learnt from WLCG service deployment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shiers, J D

    2008-01-01

    This paper summarises the main lessons learnt from deploying WLCG production services, with a focus on Reliability, Scalability, Accountability, which lead to both manageability and usability. Each topic is analysed in turn. Techniques for zero-user-visible downtime for the main service interventions are described, together with pathological cases that need special treatment. The requirements in terms of scalability are analysed, calling for as much robustness and automation in the service as possible. The different aspects of accountability - which covers measuring/tracking/logging/monitoring what is going on - and has gone on - is examined, with the goal of attaining a manageable service. Finally, a simple analogy is drawn with the Web in terms of usability - what do we need to achieve to cross the chasm from small-scale adoption to ubiquity?

  20. Modular and extensible lesson on fiber optics for youths

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Nicholas H. L.; Tong, Amy S. K.; Posner, Matthew T.; Ravagli, Andrea

    2017-08-01

    Fiber optics and its application in telecommunications are rarely encountered by students until they reach tertiary education. While some secondary/middle school curricula may include coverage of basic geometrical optics concepts such as reflection and refraction, few if any go further to elaborate on how these eventually relate to global telecommunications. One could say that the science is made accessible for early-stage students, but discussions about applications are often reserved till later stages. In working through a PhD student-led optics educational outreach program called the "Lightwave Roadshow", we have observed, via engagements with young students and the public at school visits and fairs, that many youths (as well as parents) do have a basic appreciation that the internet is somehow based on light signals. However, few know how the two are related, much less how they work. To address this, our team of `ambassadors' in the Lightwave program has designed a self-contained lesson to introduce youths, aged 11 to 18 years, to fiber optics and optical fiber communications, drawing inspiration from various educational resources such as LASER ClassroomTM and the Exploratorium(R). The lesson is modularized into several parts, starting with using light to communicate Morse code, and then going into advanced concepts, such as total internal reflection and multiuser communications based on wavelength-division multiplexing. The latter can be treated as extensions whose inclusion can be tailored based on the youths' educational levels. A feature of this lesson is that it takes amore phenomenological than theoretical approach, and uses materials that are easily obtainable or craftable as well as interesting for youths, including colored gelatin, LED sources, and water as a waveguide. We outline a lesson and pedagogical method which contains hands-on experiments that can be carried out by educators in formal or informal classes, students learning independently, or

  1. Analysing the integration of engineering in science lessons with the Engineering-Infused Lesson Rubric

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterman, Karen; Daugherty, Jenny L.; Custer, Rodney L.; Ross, Julia M.

    2017-09-01

    Science teachers are being called on to incorporate engineering practices into their classrooms. This study explores whether the Engineering-Infused Lesson Rubric, a new rubric designed to target best practices in engineering education, could be used to evaluate the extent to which engineering is infused into online science lessons. Eighty lessons were selected at random from three online repositories, and coded with the rubric. Overall results documented the strengths of existing lessons, as well as many components that teachers might strengthen. In addition, a subset of characteristics was found to distinguish lessons with the highest level of engineering infusion. Findings are discussed in relation to the potential of the rubric to help teachers use research evidence-informed practice generally, and in relation to the new content demands of the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards, in particular.

  2. THE ROLE OF THE "GEOSPACE” FORMATION PROGRAM IN DEVELOPING GEOGRAPHY TEACHERS’ COMPETENCE, IN RAISING THE DEGREE OF LESSON ATTRACTIVENESS AND IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ RESULTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IULIU VESCAN

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper starts from the analysis of needs of specialty training for Geography teachers when confronted with the scientific evolution of the field and considering the challenges imposed by an ever changing educational system. Within this framework, the Faculty of Geography at “Babeş-Bolyai” University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, as a supplier of teacher training courses, organized a training course in the field of Geomatics. We analyzed the necessity and usefulness of this type of training course considering the number of teachers interested in this training course and an evaluation form of the course. Additionally, we evaluated the way in which the competences obtained during the formation program in Geomatics were put into practice on two separate components: an increase in the degree of attractiveness in Geography lessons and the improvement of students’ school performance. The efficiency of the training program was evaluated by comparing the knowledge taught during a reference lesson in which the teaching was carried out in two different ways. The following step was to apply a unique test to two different student groups with a similar level of knowledge, which revealed that the best results belonged to the students in the group in which the methods and techniques used to deliver the teaching were the ones acquired during the training course. By validating the initial hypothesis, we reached the conclusion that it was necessary to introduce these GIS-TIC contents in the educational context for preuniversity education.

  3. Health communication: lessons from research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanmugam, A V

    1981-01-01

    In discussing the lessons learned from research in the area of health communication, focus is on basic strategic issues; the scope of health communications in terms of audience, information, education and motivation approaces and India's satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE). Health communication is the process by which a health idea is transferred from a source, such as a primary health center, to a receiver, community, with the intention of changing the community's behavior. This involves the formulation of specific strategies for the conduct of health and family welfare communication. In the processs of health communication, it has been a common practice in India as well as in other developing countries to depend upon a plethora of communication media. Yet, despite maximum utilization of the mass media and interpersonal channels of communication, questions remain about the efficacy of the system in bringing about change. Thus, the need to draw upon lessons from research becomes obvious. Communication effectiveness researches have concentrated on 3 basic strategic issues: the question of physical reception of messages by the audience; interpretation or understanding of messages on the part of the audience in accordance with the intention of the communicator; and effectiveness of communication on the cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions of the audience. Innumberable researches in communication have provided several lessons which have expanded the scope of health communication. This expansion can be observed in terms of audiences reached, information disseminated, education undertaken, and motivation provided. Research has identified several distinct groups to whom specific health messages have to be addressed. These include government and political elites, health and family welfare program administrators, and the medical profession and clinical staff. Information on health needs to include both the concept of health and the pertinent ideas

  4. High-reliability health care: getting there from here.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chassin, Mark R; Loeb, Jerod M

    2013-09-01

    Despite serious and widespread efforts to improve the quality of health care, many patients still suffer preventable harm every day. Hospitals find improvement difficult to sustain, and they suffer "project fatigue" because so many problems need attention. No hospitals or health systems have achieved consistent excellence throughout their institutions. High-reliability science is the study of organizations in industries like commercial aviation and nuclear power that operate under hazardous conditions while maintaining safety levels that are far better than those of health care. Adapting and applying the lessons of this science to health care offer the promise of enabling hospitals to reach levels of quality and safety that are comparable to those of the best high-reliability organizations. We combined the Joint Commission's knowledge of health care organizations with knowledge from the published literature and from experts in high-reliability industries and leading safety scholars outside health care. We developed a conceptual and practical framework for assessing hospitals' readiness for and progress toward high reliability. By iterative testing with hospital leaders, we refined the framework and, for each of its fourteen components, defined stages of maturity through which we believe hospitals must pass to reach high reliability. We discovered that the ways that high-reliability organizations generate and maintain high levels of safety cannot be directly applied to today's hospitals. We defined a series of incremental changes that hospitals should undertake to progress toward high reliability. These changes involve the leadership's commitment to achieving zero patient harm, a fully functional culture of safety throughout the organization, and the widespread deployment of highly effective process improvement tools. Hospitals can make substantial progress toward high reliability by undertaking several specific organizational change initiatives. Further research

  5. Reliability in the design phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siahpush, A.S.; Hills, S.W.; Pham, H.; Majumdar, D.

    1991-12-01

    A study was performed to determine the common methods and tools that are available to calculated or predict a system's reliability. A literature review and software survey are included. The desired product of this developmental work is a tool for the system designer to use in the early design phase so that the final design will achieve the desired system reliability without lengthy testing and rework. Three computer programs were written which provide the first attempt at fulfilling this need. The programs are described and a case study is presented for each one. This is a continuing effort which will be furthered in FY-1992. 10 refs

  6. With Interest It Comes To...Unconscionable Clauses in Sales Contracts. A Student's Lesson Plan [and] A Teacher's Lesson Plan [and] A Lawyer's Lesson Plan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Estelle; And Others

    One of a series of secondary level teaching units presenting case studies with pro and con analysis of particular legal problems, the document presents a student's lesson plan, a teacher's lesson plan, and a lawyer's lesson plan on unconscionable clauses in sales contracts. The unit acquaints students with the operation of sales contracts and…

  7. Chernobyl: lessons of the decade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsaregorodtsev, A.D.

    1996-01-01

    The Chernobyl accident led to a drastic increase the incidents of thyroid cancer in children living at territories contaminated with radionuclides. The incidents of hemoblastoses which are etiologically closely related to radiation did not change after the incident. The lessons of the decade that passed since the accident necessitate measures aimed at alleviation of the medical consequences of the accident which are to be implemented for many years. The program of such measures should be based on a strictly scientific evaluation of each factor, that will be conductive to a most adequate state financing of this work [ru

  8. Reliability and Failure in NASA Missions: Blunders, Normal Accidents, High Reliability, Bad Luck

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Harry W.

    2015-01-01

    NASA emphasizes crew safety and system reliability but several unfortunate failures have occurred. The Apollo 1 fire was mistakenly unanticipated. After that tragedy, the Apollo program gave much more attention to safety. The Challenger accident revealed that NASA had neglected safety and that management underestimated the high risk of shuttle. Probabilistic Risk Assessment was adopted to provide more accurate failure probabilities for shuttle and other missions. NASA's "faster, better, cheaper" initiative and government procurement reform led to deliberately dismantling traditional reliability engineering. The Columbia tragedy and Mars mission failures followed. Failures can be attributed to blunders, normal accidents, or bad luck. Achieving high reliability is difficult but possible.

  9. SAPHIRE6.64, System Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: SAPHIRE is a collection of programs developed for the purpose of performing those functions necessary to create and analyze a complete Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) primarily for nuclear power plants. The programs included in this suite are the Integrated Reliability and Risk Analysis System (IRRAS), the System Analysis and Risk Assessment (SARA) system, the Models And Results Database (MAR-D) system, and the Fault tree, Event tree and P and ID (FEP) editors. Previously these programs were released as separate packages. These programs include functions to allow the user to create event trees and fault trees, to define accident sequences and basic event failure data, to solve system and accident sequence fault trees, to quantify cut sets, and to perform uncertainty analysis on the results. Also included in this program are features to allow the analyst to generate reports and displays that can be used to document the results of an analysis. Since this software is a very detailed technical tool, the user of this program should be familiar with PRA concepts and the methods used to perform these analyses. 2 - Methods: SAPHIRE is written in MODULA-2 and uses an integrated commercial graphics package to interactively construct and edit fault trees. The fault tree solving methods used are industry recognized top down algorithms. For quantification, the program uses standard methods to propagate the failure information through the generated cut sets. SAPHIRE includes a separate module called the Graphical Evaluation Module (GEM). GEM provides a highly specialized user interface with SAPHIRE which automates the process for evaluating operational events at commercial nuclear power plants. Using GEM an analyst can estimate the risk associated with operational events (that is, perform a Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 analysis for operational events) in a very efficient and expeditious manner. This on-line reference guide will

  10. Over a Decade of Lessons Learned from an REU Program in the Science of Global Change and Sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hersh, E. S.; James, E. W.; Banner, J. L.

    2014-12-01

    and lessons learned over twelve years, such as strategies to increase cohort diversity, innovative activities, and results from long-term program evaluation on attitudes toward STEM careers and program outcomes.

  11. Blended Learning of Programming in the Internet Age

    Science.gov (United States)

    Djenic, S.; Krneta, R.; Mitic, J.

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents an advanced variant of learning programming by the use of the Internet and multimedia. It describes the development of a blended learning environment, which, in addition to classroom (face-to-face) lessons, introduces lessons delivered over the Internet: the use of multimedia teaching material with completely dynamic…

  12. Lessons learned from decommissioning projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salazar, M.

    1995-01-01

    This paper describes lessons learned over the last 20 years from 12 decommissioning projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory. These lessons relate both to overall program management and to management of specific projects during the planning and operations phases. The issues include waste management; the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA); contracting; public involvement; client/customer interface; and funding. Key elements of our approach are to be proactive; follow the observation method; perform field activities concurrently; develop strategies to keep reportable incidents from delaying work; seek and use programs, methods, etc., in existence to shorten learning curves; network to help develop solutions; and avoid overstudying and overcharacterizing. This approach results in preliminary plans that require very little revision before implementation, reasonable costs and schedules, early acquisition of permits and NEPA documents, preliminary characterization reports, and contracting documents. Our track record is good -- the last four projects (uranium and plutonium-processing facility and three research reactors) have been on budget and on schedule

  13. QA support for TFTR reliability improvement program in preparation for DT operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parsells, R.F.; Howard, H.P.

    1987-01-01

    As TFTR approaches experiments in the Q=1 regime, machine reliability becomes a major variable in achieving experimental objectives. This paper describes the methods used to quantify current reliability levels, levels required for D-T operations, proposed methods for reliability growth and improvement, and tracking of reliability performance in that growth. Included in this scope are data collection techniques and short comings, bounding current reliability on the upper end, and requirements for D-T operations. Problem characterization through Pareto diagrams provides insight into recurrent failure modes and the use of Duane plots for charting of reliability changes both cumulative and instantaneous, is explained and demonstrated

  14. Nondestructive Examination (NDE) Reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doctor, S.R.; Diaz, A.A.; Friley, J.R.; Greenwood, M.S.; Heasler, P.G.; Kurtz, R.J.; Simonen, F.A.; Spanner, J.C.; Vo, T.V.

    1993-11-01

    The Evaluation and Improvement of NDE Reliability for Inservice inspection of Light Water Reactors (NDE Reliability) Program at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory was established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the reliability of current inservice inspection (ISI) techniques and to develop recommendations that will ensure a suitably high inspection reliability. The objectives of this program include determining the reliability of ISI performed on the primary systems of commercial light-water reactors (LWRs);using probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis to determine the impact of NDE unreliability on system safety; and evaluating reliability improvements that can be achieved with improved and advanced technology. A final objective is to formulate recommended revisions to the Regulatory and ASME Code requirements, based on material properties, service conditions, and NDE uncertainties. The program scope is limited to ISI of the primary systems including the piping, vessel and other components inspected in accordance with Section XI of the ASME Code. This is a programs report covering the programmatic work from April 1992 through September 1992

  15. The Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario (CAHO) Adopting Research to Improve Care (ARTIC) Program: Reach, Sustainability, Spread and Lessons Learned from an Implementation Funding Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Julia E; Grouchy, Michelle; Graham, Ian D; Shandling, Maureen; Doyle, Winnie; Straus, Sharon E

    2016-05-01

    Despite evidence on what works in healthcare, there is a significant gap in the time it takes to bring research into practice. The Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario's Adopting Research to Improve Care program addresses this research-to-practice gap by incorporating the following components into its funding program: strategic selection of evidence for implementation, education and training for implementation, implementation supports, executive champions and governance, and evaluation. Funded projects have been sustained (76% reported full sustainability) and spread to over 200 new sites. Lessons learned include the following: assess readiness, develop tailored implementation materials, consider characteristics of implementation supports, protect champion time and consider evaluation feasibility. Copyright © 2016 Longwoods Publishing.

  16. Pedagogy and second language learning: Lessons learned from Intensive French

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joan Netten

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Through research and classroom observation undertaken while conceptualizing and implementing the Intensive French program in Canada, many new insights were gained into the development of communication skills in a classroom situation. Five lessons learned about the development of spontaneous oral communication are presented in this article: the ineffectiveness of core French in primary school; the minimum number of intensive hours necessary to develop spontaneous oral communication; the need to develop implicit competence rather than explicit knowledge; the distinction between accuracy as knowledge and accuracy as skill; and the importance of teaching strategies focusing on language use. These lessons have implications for our understanding of how oral competence in an L2 develops and for the improvement of communicative language pedagogy.

  17. Lessons for Teaching Art Criticism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Terry, Ed.; Clark, Gilbert, Ed.

    This collection of lessons is meant to be a practical guide to help teachers engage children in art criticism. The lessons generally follow a similar format. Most suggest an age group but may be modified for use with younger or older students. Several authors suggest variations and extensions for lessons that include studio activities. A broad…

  18. "Frankenstein." [Lesson Plan].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Melanie

    Based on Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that active readers interpret a novel (its characters, plot, setting, and theme) in different ways; and the great literature can be and has been adapted in many ways over time. The main activity of the lesson involves students…

  19. The safety problems of the nuclear power. The lessons of Chernobyl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prister, B.S.; Klyuchnikov, A.A.; Shestopalov, V.M.; Kukhar', V.P.

    2013-01-01

    The problems of nuclear safety as a complex system are considered. It is shown that the reliability and safety of a nuclear power plant determined does not only reliable structures of the main equipment and qualification of the staff, but especially strict compliance with the priorities of the Security over the economic, political and other factors. Failure to observe this principle has become a real cause of several accidents in the global nuclear power industry, accompanied by the release of radionuclides into the environment. The lessons of Chernobyl remain unlearned, what confirmed the accident at the Fukushima-1 in Japan. The most important of these is the readiness to respond and protect the public, not only from radiation, but also from a psychological stress. For specialists in the field of nuclear and radiation safety, radiobiology, ecology, environment, agriculture, graduates and university students

  20. Phagocytosis: history's lessons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garg, Manish; Chandawarkar, Rajiv Y

    2013-01-01

    The assimilation of lessons from the past is an essential component of education for scientists of tomorrow. These lessons are not easy to find. History books on science are few and usually highly dramatized and biographies of scientists tend to exaggerate the pomp of scientific discovery. Both underplay the hard and laborious work that is integral to any scientific pursuit. Here we illustrate one such example. A century ago, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to two scientists: Ilya Metchnikoff, a Russian zoologist, for the discovery ofphagocytosis-a cell-mediated ingestion ofmicrobes; and Paul Ehrlich, a distinguished physician-scientist, for discovering a highly antigen-specific serum-derived antibody-based immune defense. These two diametrically opposing views of the host-pathogen interaction set the stage for a strife that led to seminal advancements in immunology. Mirrored in this journey are important lessons for scientists today--ubiquitously as applicable to modern scientific life as they were a century ago. This commentaryhighlights these lessons--a fitting centenary to a well-deserved recognition.

  1. Mississippi Curriculum Framework for Welding (Program CIP: 48.0508--Welder/Welding Technologist). Secondary Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mississippi Research and Curriculum Unit for Vocational and Technical Education, State College.

    This document, which reflects Mississippi's statutory requirement that instructional programs be based on core curricula and performance-based assessment, contains outlines of the instructional units required in local instructional management plans and daily lesson plans for welding I and II. Presented first are a program description and course…

  2. Tailoring an educational program on the AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators to meet stakeholder needs: lessons learned in the VA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Marlena H; Rivard, Peter E; Shwartz, Michael; Borzecki, Ann; Yaksic, Enzo; Stolzmann, Kelly; Zubkoff, Lisa; Rosen, Amy K

    2018-02-14

    program were positive. Conducting a formative evaluation was a highly important process in program development. The useful information that we collected through the interviews and surveys allowed us to tailor the program to stakeholders' needs and interests. Our experiences, particularly with the formative evaluation process, yielded valuable lessons that can guide others when developing and implementing similar educational programs.

  3. Reliability tasks from prediction to field use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guyot, Christian.

    1975-01-01

    This tutorial paper is part of a series intended to sensitive on reliability prolems. Reliability probabilistic concept, is an important parameter of availability. Reliability prediction is an estimation process for evaluating design progress. It is only by the application of a reliability program that reliability objectives can be attained through the different stages of work: conception, fabrication, field use. The user is mainly interested in operational reliability. Indication are given on the support and the treatment of data in the case of electronic equipment at C.E.A. Reliability engineering requires a special state of mind which must be formed and developed in a company in the same way as it may be done for example for safety [fr

  4. Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) Version 5.0: Data loading manual. Volume 10

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    VanHorn, R.L.; Wolfram, L.M.; Fowler, R.D.; Beck, S.T.; Smith, C.L.

    1995-04-01

    The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) suite of programs can be used to organize and standardize in an electronic format information from probabilistic risk assessments or individual plant examinations. The Models and Results Database (MAR-D) program of the SAPHIRE suite serves as the repository for probabilistic risk assessment and individual plant examination data and information. This report demonstrates by examples the common electronic and manual methods used to load these types of data. It is not a stand alone document but references documents that contribute information relative to the data loading process. This document provides a more detailed discussion and instructions for using SAPHIRE 5.0 only when enough information on a specific topic is not provided by another available source

  5. NAPAP: A lesson in science, policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russell, M.

    1993-01-01

    Perplexing environmental questions, such as acid rain and global warming, cry out for policy solutions based upon solid scientific evidence. Scientists and politicians agree on this but have trouble finding an effective way to do it. Milton Russell of the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory describes a major, but only partially successful, effort that he believes contains valuable lessons for scientists and policy makers in the future. It is the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP), launched in 1980 to generate the latest scientific evidence to guide national debate on clean-air legislation. The program open-quotes created an unprecedented body of scientific research on an environmental issue of the first order,close quotes Russell says. Yet, he admits, its influence was virtually nil on the legislation that ultimately emerged on the subject. Russell blames this lack of influence on NAPAP's failure to provide adequate assessment of its research findings, its failure to communicate the results on a timely and effective basis, and on open-quotes political forces that sought legislation rather than a full explication of issues.close quotes Out of the experience, Russell finds lessons for the future: open-quotes First, if the scientific finding are to have an impact on policy, assessment must become a priority as important as scientific research. Second, for projects designed to help decision makers, scientific research must be considered a resource, not an end product. Third, timely, lucid communication must be an essential element of the project, not a marginal activity.close quotes NAPAP, Russell concludes, open-quotes proved a long-term scientific success and a short-term policy disappointment.close quotes Then he warns, open-quotes Future science programs ignore the NAPAP experience at their own risk.close quotes

  6. Stalin's Big Fleet Program

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Mauner, Milan

    2002-01-01

    Although Dr. Milan Hauner's study 'Stalin's Big Fleet program' has focused primarily on the formation of Big Fleets during the Tsarist and Soviet periods of Russia's naval history, there are important lessons...

  7. Implementation of a personnel reliability program as a facilitator of biosafety and biosecurity culture in BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Jacki J; Weaver, Patrick; Fitch, J Patrick; Johnson, Barbara; Pearl, R Marene

    2013-06-01

    In late 2010, the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) implemented a Personnel Reliability Program (PRP) with the goal of enabling active participation by its staff to drive and improve the biosafety and biosecurity culture at the organization. A philosophical keystone for accomplishment of NBACC's scientific mission is simultaneous excellence in operations and outreach. Its personnel reliability program builds on this approach to: (1) enable and support a culture of responsibility based on human performance principles, (2) maintain compliance with regulations, and (3) address the risk associated with the insider threat. Recently, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) governing use and possession of biological select agents and toxins (BSAT) was amended to require a pre-access suitability assessment and ongoing evaluation for staff accessing Tier 1 BSAT. These 2 new requirements are in addition to the already required Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Security Risk Assessment (SRA). Two years prior to the release of these guidelines, NBACC developed its PRP to supplement the SRA requirement as a means to empower personnel and foster an operational environment where any and all work with BSAT is conducted in a safe, secure, and reliable manner.

  8. Are parents just treading water? The impact of participation in swim lessons on parents' judgments of children's drowning risk, swimming ability, and supervision needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrongiello, Barbara A; Sandomierski, Megan; Schwebel, David C; Hagel, Brent

    2013-01-01

    Drowning is a leading cause of child mortality globally. Strategies that have been suggested to reduce pediatric drowning risk include increased parental awareness of children's swimming ability and drowning risk, improved adult supervision of child swimmers, and providing swim lessons to children. This study explored how parents' beliefs relevant to children's drowning risk, perception of children's swimming ability, and judgments of supervision needs changed as children aged two through 5 years accumulated experience in swim lessons, and compared a parent group who received regular, detailed feedback about their child's swim skills with one that did not. Parents completed questionnaire measures near the beginning and end of a series of 10 weekly swim lessons. Results revealed that parental accuracy in judging children's swimming abilities remained relatively poor even though it improved from the beginning to the end of the swim lessons. Supervision needs were underestimated and did not vary with program or change over the course of swim lessons. Children's ability to keep themselves from drowning was overestimated and did not change over lessons or vary with program; parents believed that children could save themselves from drowning by the age of 6.21 years. Parents who had experienced a close call for drowning showed greater awareness of children's drowning risk and endorsed more watchful and proximal supervision. Results suggest that expanding learn-to-swim programs to include a parent-focused component that provides detailed tracking of swim skills and delivers messaging targeting perceptions of children's drowning risk and supervision needs may serve to maximize the drowning protection afforded by these programs. Delivering messaging in the form of 'close-call' drowning stories may prove especially effective to impact parents' supervision practices in drowning risk situations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. International Space Station Passive Thermal Control System Analysis, Top Ten Lessons-Learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iovine, John

    2011-01-01

    The International Space Station (ISS) has been on-orbit for over 10 years, and there have been numerous technical challenges along the way from design to assembly to on-orbit anomalies and repairs. The Passive Thermal Control System (PTCS) management team has been a key player in successfully dealing with these challenges. The PTCS team performs thermal analysis in support of design and verification, launch and assembly constraints, integration, sustaining engineering, failure response, and model validation. This analysis is a significant body of work and provides a unique opportunity to compile a wealth of real world engineering and analysis knowledge and the corresponding lessons-learned. The analysis lessons encompass the full life cycle of flight hardware from design to on-orbit performance and sustaining engineering. These lessons can provide significant insight for new projects and programs. Key areas to be presented include thermal model fidelity, verification methods, analysis uncertainty, and operations support.

  10. An analytical framework for reliability growth of one-shot systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, J. Brian; Mosleh, Ali

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, we introduce a new reliability growth methodology for one-shot systems that is applicable to the case where all corrective actions are implemented at the end of the current test phase. The methodology consists of four model equations for assessing: expected reliability, the expected number of failure modes observed in testing, the expected probability of discovering new failure modes, and the expected portion of system unreliability associated with repeat failure modes. These model equations provide an analytical framework for which reliability practitioners can estimate reliability improvement, address goodness-of-fit concerns, quantify programmatic risk, and assess reliability maturity of one-shot systems. A numerical example is given to illustrate the value and utility of the presented approach. This methodology is useful to program managers and reliability practitioners interested in applying the techniques above in their reliability growth program

  11. Evolving Reliability and Maintainability Allocations for NASA Ground Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munoz, Gisela; Toon, T.; Toon, J.; Conner, A.; Adams, T.; Miranda, D.

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes the methodology and value of modifying allocations to reliability and maintainability requirements for the NASA Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) programs subsystems. As systems progressed through their design life cycle and hardware data became available, it became necessary to reexamine the previously derived allocations. This iterative process provided an opportunity for the reliability engineering team to reevaluate allocations as systems moved beyond their conceptual and preliminary design phases. These new allocations are based on updated designs and maintainability characteristics of the components. It was found that trade-offs in reliability and maintainability were essential to ensuring the integrity of the reliability and maintainability analysis. This paper discusses the results of reliability and maintainability reallocations made for the GSDO subsystems as the program nears the end of its design phase.

  12. An evaluation of the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant preventive maintenance program based on reliability centered maintenance analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCullough, C.L.; McCullough, C.A.

    1989-01-01

    Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) techniques were used to support a preventative maintenance (PM) upgrade program (PMUP) performed at TVA Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFNP). The purpose of the RCM analysis was to identify critical equipment based on risk and economic importance and to evaluate the PM activities applicable to that equipment. The analysis may be conveniently divided into three steps, which will be outlined in the Approach section of this paper. The net benefit of the RCM approach was a prioritization of the focus of the PM upgrade program so that plant components receive attention proportional to their importance, and assurance that PM activities properly address the most likely component failure causes

  13. Reliability improvement of multiversion software by exchanging modules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shima, Kazuyuki; Matsumoto, Ken-ichi; Torii, Koji

    1996-01-01

    In this paper, we proposes a method to improve reliability of multiversion software. In CER proposed in, checkpoints are put in versions of program and errors of versions are detected and recovered at the checkpoints. It prevent versions from failing and improve the reliability of multiversion software. But it is point out that CER decreases the reliability of the multiversion software if the detection and recovery of errors are assumed to be able to fail. In the method proposed in this paper, versions of program are developed following the same module specifications. When failures of versions of program are detected, faulty modules are identified and replaced them to other modules. It create versions without faulty modules and improve the reliability of multiversion software. The failure probability of multiversion software is estimated to become about a hundredth of the failure probability by the proposed method where the failure probability of each version is 0.000698, the number of versions is 5 and the number of modules is 20. (author)

  14. Resolution of GSI B-56 - Emergency diesel generator reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serkiz, A.W.

    1989-01-01

    The need for an emergency diesel generator (EDG) reliability program has been established by 10 CFR Part 50, Section 50.63, Loss of All Alternating Current Power, which requires that licensees assess their station blackout coping and recovery capability. EDGs are the principal emergency ac power sources for avoiding a station blackout. Regulatory Guide 1.155, Station Blackout, identifies a need for (1) a nuclear unit EDG reliability level of at least 0.95, and (2) an EDG reliability program to monitor and maintain the required EDG reliability levels. NUMARC-8700, Guidelines and Technical Bases for NUMARC Initiatives Addressing Station Blackout at Light Water Reactors, also provides guidance on such needs. The resolution of GSI B-56, Diesel Reliability will be accomplished by issuing Regulatory Guide 1.9, Rev. 3, Selection, Design, Qualification, Testing, and Reliability of Diesel Generator Units Used as Onsite Electric Power Systems at Nuclear Plants. This revision will integrate into a single regulatory guide pertinent guidance previously addressed in R.G. 1.9, Rev. 2, R.G. 1.108, and Generic Letter 84-15. R.G. 1.9 has been expanded to define the principal elements of an EDG reliability program for monitoring and maintaining EDG reliability levels selected for SBO. In addition, alert levels and corrective actions have been defined to detect a deteriorating situation for all EDGs assigned to a particular nuclear unit, as well as an individual problem EDG

  15. Integration of nondestructive examination reliability and fracture mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doctor, S.R.; Bates, D.J.; Charlot, L.A.

    1985-01-01

    The primary pressure boundaries (pressure vessels and piping) of nuclear power plants are in-service inspected (ISI) according to the rules of ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section XI. Ultrasonic techniques are normally used for these inspections, which are periodically performed on a sampling of welds. The Integration of Nondestructive Examination (NDE) Reliability and Fracture Mechanics (FM) Program at Pacific Northwest Laboratory was established to determine the reliability of current ISI techniques and to develop recommendations that will ensure a suitably high inspection reliability. The objectives of this NRC program are to: 1) determine the reliability of ultrasonic ISI performed on commercial light-water reactor primary systems; 2) using probabilistic FM analysis, determine the impact of NDE unreliability on system safety and determine the level of inspection reliability required to ensure a suitably low failure probability; 3) evaluate the degree of reliability improvement that could be achieved using improved and advanced NDE techniques; and 4) based on material properties, service conditions, and NDE uncertainties, formulate recommended revisions to ASME Code, Section XI, and Regulatory Requirements needed to ensure suitably low failure probabilities

  16. Nondestructive examination (NDE) reliability for inservice inspection of light water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doctor, S.R.; Deffenbaugh, J.D.; Good, M.S.; Green, E.R.; Heasler, P.G.; Simonen, F.A.; Spanner, J.C.; Taylor, T.T.

    1989-10-01

    The Evaluation and Improvement of NDE Reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors (NDE Reliability) Program at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory was established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the reliability of current inservice inspection (ISI) techniques and to develop recommendations that will ensure a suitably high inspection reliability. The objectives of this program include determining the reliability of ISI performed on the primary systems of commercial light-water reactors (LWRs); using probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis to determine the impact of NDE unreliability on system safety; and evaluating reliability improvement that can be achieved with improved and advanced technology. A final objective is to formulate recommended revisions to ASME Code and Regulatory requirements based on material properties, service conditions, and NDE capabilities and uncertainties. The program scope is limited to ISI of the primary systems including the piping, vessel, and other inspected components. This is a progress report covering the programmatic work from October 1987 through March 1988. 21 refs., 28 figs., 2 tabs

  17. Nondestructive examination (NDE) reliability for inservice inspection of light waters reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doctor, S.R.; Deffenbaugh, J.D.; Good, M.S.; Green, E.R.; Heasler, P.G.; Simonen, F.A.; Spanner, J.C.; Taylor, T.T.

    1989-11-01

    Evaluation and Improvement of NDE Reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors (NDE Reliability) Program at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory was established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the reliability of current inservice inspection (ISI) techniques and to develop recommendations that will ensure a suitably high inspection reliability. The objectives of this program include determining the reliability of ISI performed on the primary systems of commercial light-water reactors (LWRs); using probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis to determine the impact of NDE unreliability on system safety; and evaluating reliability improvements that can be achieved with improved and advanced technology. A final objective is to formulate recommended revisions to ASME Code and Regulatory requirements, based on material properties, service conditions, and NDE uncertainties. The program scope is limited to ISI of the primary systems including the piping, vessel, and other inspected components. This is a progress report covering the programmatic work from April 1988 through September 1988. 33 refs., 70 figs., 12 tabs

  18. Nondestructive Examination (NDE) Reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doctor, S.R.; Diaz, A.A.; Friley, J.R.

    1993-09-01

    The Evaluation and Improvement of NDE Reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors (NDE Reliability) Program at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory was established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the reliability of current inservice inspection (ISI) techniques and to develop recommendations that will ensure a suitably high inspection reliability. The objectives of this program include determining the reliability of ISI performed on the primary systems of commercial light-water reactors (LWRs); using probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis to determine the impact of NDE unreliability on system safety; and evaluating reliability improvements that can be achieved with improved and advanced technology. A final objective is to formulate recommended revisions to ASME Code and Regulatory requirements, based on material properties, service conditions, and NDE uncertainties. The program scope is limited to ISI of the primary systems including the piping, vessel, and other components inspected in accordance with Section XI of the ASME Code. This is a progress report covering the programmatic work from October 1991 through March 1992

  19. Improving reliability of state estimation programming and computing suite based on analyzing a fault tree

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kolosok Irina

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Reliable information on the current state parameters obtained as a result of processing the measurements from systems of the SCADA and WAMS data acquisition and processing through methods of state estimation (SE is a condition that enables to successfully manage an energy power system (EPS. SCADA and WAMS systems themselves, as any technical systems, are subject to failures and faults that lead to distortion and loss of information. The SE procedure enables to find erroneous measurements, therefore, it is a barrier for the distorted information to penetrate into control problems. At the same time, the programming and computing suite (PCS implementing the SE functions may itself provide a wrong decision due to imperfection of the software algorithms and errors. In this study, we propose to use a fault tree to analyze consequences of failures and faults in SCADA and WAMS and in the very SE procedure. Based on the analysis of the obtained measurement information and on the SE results, we determine the state estimation PCS fault tolerance level featuring its reliability.

  20. Inspiring Creativity in Urban School Leaders: Lessons from the Performing Arts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaimal, Girija; Drescher, Jon; Fairbank, Holly; Gonzaga, Adele; White, George P.

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents an analysis of how guided engagement with the arts can provide leadership lessons for school leaders and administrators. The study was conducted as part of two projects funded by the School Leadership Program (SLP) grants from the U.S. Department of Education. The principal interns and practicing school leaders participated in…

  1. Lessons learned: Managing the development of a corporate Ada training project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackmon, Linda F.

    1986-01-01

    The management lessons learned during the implementation of a corporate mandate to develop and deliver an effective Ada training program to all divisions are discussed. The management process involved in obtaining cooperation from all levels in the development of a corporate-wide project is described. The problem areas are identified along with some possible solutions.

  2. Mississippi Curriculum Framework for Automotive Mechanics (Program CIP: 47.0604--Auto/Automotive Mechanic/Tech). Secondary Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mississippi Research and Curriculum Unit for Vocational and Technical Education, State College.

    This document, which reflects Mississippi's statutory requirement that instructional programs be based on core curricula and performance-based assessment, contains outlines of the instructional units required in local instructional management plans and daily lesson plans for automotive mechanics I and II. Presented first are a program description…

  3. CADRIGS--computer aided design reliability interactive graphics system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwik, R.J.; Polizzi, L.M.; Sticco, S.; Gerrard, P.B.; Yeater, M.L.; Hockenbury, R.W.; Phillips, M.A.

    1982-01-01

    An integrated reliability analysis program combining graphic representation of fault trees, automated data base loadings and reference, and automated construction of reliability code input files was developed. The functional specifications for CADRIGS, the computer aided design reliability interactive graphics system, are presented. Previously developed fault tree segments used in auxiliary feedwater system safety analysis were constructed on CADRIGS and, when combined, yielded results identical to those resulting from manual input to the same reliability codes

  4. Lesson study in prospective mathematics teacher education: didactic and paradidactic technology in the post-lesson reflection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Klaus

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a detailed analysis of the post-lesson reflection, carried out in the context of eight cases of lesson study conducted by teams of Danish, lower secondaryprospective teachers and their supervisors. The participants, representing different institutions, were all new to the less...... and concern to the whole profession of mathematics teachers and the analysis adds to our insight into the potential of lesson study in prospective education as a meeting place where pertinent actors contribute to the expansion and dissemination of shared professional knowledge......This paper presents a detailed analysis of the post-lesson reflection, carried out in the context of eight cases of lesson study conducted by teams of Danish, lower secondaryprospective teachers and their supervisors. The participants, representing different institutions, were all new to the lesson...... study format. Nevertheless, it is demonstrated how their interaction shape the development of discourse about mathematical learning. The anthropological theory of the didactic is employed as the theoretical approach to analyse the mathematical and primarily didactical praxeologies developed...

  5. Lessons learned from IRIS EPO program evaluations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taber, J.; Hubenthal, M.

    2012-12-01

    Evaluating the overall impact of EPO programs that include activities ranging from formal education through broad public outreach, is a complex issue. The impact of education activities targeted at narrowly defined audiences is generally easier to quantify than the national impact of outreach activities conducted by a relatively small program. For educational activities, our approach has been to leverage the best-practices identified through research and to continuously assess the individual elements internally with the intention of making improvements based on the data generated and the existing research. By constructing our elements on the best practices identified by the research community we feel that internal formative evaluation is a valid means to determine if an activity is effective, particularly when the results are compared to similar programs. For example, effective practices of professional development are well documented in the literature. As a result, this allows us to shape our programs and our evaluations to monitor elements that have been identified as key by the educational research community. Further, such actions allow us to avoid allocating significant resources with the intention of pinning down direct causal relationships between our programs and consumers, when similar interventions (conducted by others) have already shown such relationships. Ongoing review by an EPO advisory committee also provides regular oversight of program impact. While we find internal and external formative evaluation extremely useful in shaping the program and documenting its impact, we also recognize the value of a summative evaluation process. For example, an external summative evaluation of the IRIS EPO program was conducted in 2009, followed by an external panel review, as part of the regular review of IRIS programs. We found that the most valuable part of the external evaluation was our preparation, including clarifying the goals of each of the elements of the

  6. Systems analysis programs for hands-on integrated reliability evaluations (SAPHIRE) version 5.0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russell, K.D.; Kvarfordt, K.J.; Skinner, N.L.; Wood, S.T.

    1994-07-01

    The Systems Analysis Programs for Hands-on Integrated Reliability Evaluations (SAPHIRE) refers to a set of several microcomputer programs that were developed to create and analyze probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs), primarily for nuclear power plants. This volume is the reference manual for the Systems Analysis and Risk Assessment (SARA) System Version 5.0, a microcomputer-based system used to analyze the safety issues of a open-quotes familyclose quotes [i.e., a power plant, a manufacturing facility, any facility on which a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) might be performed]. The SARA database contains PRA data primarily for the dominant accident sequences of a family and descriptive information about the family including event trees, fault trees, and system model diagrams. The number of facility databases that can be accessed is limited only by the amount of disk storage available. To simulate changes to family systems, SARA users change the failure rates of initiating and basic events and/or modify the structure of the cut sets that make up the event trees, fault trees, and systems. The user then evaluates the effects of these changes through the recalculation of the resultant accident sequence probabilities and importance measures. The results are displayed in tables and graphs that may be printed for reports. A preliminary version of the SARA program was completed in August 1985 and has undergone several updates in response to user suggestions and to maintain compatibility with the other SAPHIRE programs. Version 5.0 of SARA provides the same capability as earlier versions and adds the ability to process unlimited cut sets; display fire, flood, and seismic data; and perform more powerful cut set editing

  7. Reliability issues in PACS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taira, Ricky K.; Chan, Kelby K.; Stewart, Brent K.; Weinberg, Wolfram S.

    1991-07-01

    Reliability is an increasing concern when moving PACS from the experimental laboratory to the clinical environment. Any system downtime may seriously affect patient care. The authors report on the several classes of errors encountered during the pre-clinical release of the PACS during the past several months and present the solutions implemented to handle them. The reliability issues discussed include: (1) environmental precautions, (2) database backups, (3) monitor routines of critical resources and processes, (4) hardware redundancy (networks, archives), and (5) development of a PACS quality control program.

  8. A general software reliability process simulation technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tausworthe, Robert C.

    1991-01-01

    The structure and rationale of the generalized software reliability process, together with the design and implementation of a computer program that simulates this process are described. Given assumed parameters of a particular project, the users of this program are able to generate simulated status timelines of work products, numbers of injected anomalies, and the progress of testing, fault isolation, repair, validation, and retest. Such timelines are useful in comparison with actual timeline data, for validating the project input parameters, and for providing data for researchers in reliability prediction modeling.

  9. Social support and child protection: Lessons learned and learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Ross A

    2015-03-01

    Social support has been a topic of research for nearly 50 years, and its applications to prevention and intervention have grown significantly, including programs advancing child protection. This article summarizes the central conclusions of the 1994 review of research on social support and the prevention of child maltreatment prepared for the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, and surveys advances in the field since its publication. Among the lessons learned twenty years ago are (a) the diversity of the social support needs of at-risk families and their association with child endangerment, (b) the need to supplement the emotionally affirmative aspects of social support with efforts to socialize parenting practices and monitor child well-being, (c) the desirability of integrating formal and informal sources of social support for recipients, and (d) the importance of considering the complex recipient reactions to receiving support from others. The lessons we are now learning derive from research exploring the potential of online communication to enhance social support, the neurobiology of stress and its buffering through social support, and the lessons of evaluation research that are identifying the effective ingredients of social support interventions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Impact of inservice inspection on the reliability of nuclear piping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woo, H.H.

    1983-12-01

    The reliability of nuclear piping is a function of piping quality as fabricated, service loadings and environments, plus programs of continuing inspection during operation. This report presents the results of a study of the impact of inservice inspection (ISI) programs on the reliability of specific nuclear piping systems that have actually failed in service. Two major factors are considered in the ISI programs: one is the capability of detecting flaws; the other is the frequency of performing ISI. A probabilistic fracture mechanics model issued to estimate the reliability of two nuclear piping lines over the plant life as functions of the ISI programs. Examples chosen for the study are the PWR feedwater steam generator nozzle cracking incident and the BWR recirculation reactor vessel nozzle safe-end cracking incident

  11. Preliminary Analysis of LORAN-C System Reliability for Civil Aviation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1981-09-01

    overviev of the analysis technique. Section 3 describes the computerized LORAN-C coverage model which is used extensively in the reliability analysis...Xth Plenary Assembly, Geneva, 1963, published by International Telecomunications Union. S. Braff, R., Computer program to calculate a Karkov Chain Reliability Model, unpublished york, MITRE Corporation. A-1 I.° , 44J Ili *Y 0E 00 ...F i8 1110 Prelim inary Analysis of Program Engineering & LORAN’C System ReliabilityMaintenance Service i ~Washington. D.C.

  12. Insights from the interim reliability evaluation program pertinent to reactor safety issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlson, D.D.

    1983-01-01

    The Interim Reliability Evaluation Program (IREP) consisted of concurrent probabilistic analyses of four operating nuclear power plants. This paper presents and integrated view of the results of the analyses drawing insights pertinent to reactor safety. The importance to risk of accident sequences initiated by transients and small loss-of-coolant accidents was confirmed. Support systems were found to contribute significantly to the sets of dominant accident sequences, either due to single failures which could disable one or more mitigating systems or due to their initiating plant transients. Human errors in response to accidents also were important risk contributors. Consideration of operator recovery actions influences accident sequence frequency estimates, the list of accident sequences dominating core melt, and the set of dominant risk contributors. Accidents involving station blackout, reactor coolant pump seal leaks and ruptures, and loss-of-coolant accidents requiring manual initiation of coolant injection were found to be risk significant

  13. Lessons Learned from a Decade of Sudden Oak Death in California: Evaluating Local Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Janice; Lee, Christopher A.

    2010-09-01

    Sudden Oak Death has been impacting California’s coastal forests for more than a decade. In that time, and in the absence of a centrally organized and coordinated set of mandatory management actions for this disease in California’s wildlands and open spaces, many local communities have initiated their own management programs. We present five case studies to explore how local-level management has attempted to control this disease. From these case studies, we glean three lessons: connections count, scale matters, and building capacity is crucial. These lessons may help management, research, and education planning for future pest and disease outbreaks.

  14. Reliability of instruments in a cooperative, multisite study: employment intervention demonstration program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salyers, M P; McHugo, G J; Cook, J A; Razzano, L A; Drake, R E; Mueser, K T

    2001-09-01

    Reliability of well-known instruments was examined in 202 people with severe mental illness participating in a multisite vocational study. We examined interrater reliability of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the PANSS, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36), and the Quality of Life Interview. Most scales had good levels of reliability, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficient alphas above .70. However, the SF-36 scales were generally less stable over time, particularly Social Functioning (ICC = .55). Test-retest reliability was lower among less educated respondents and among ethnic minorities. We recommend close monitoring of psychometric issues in future multisite studies.

  15. Reliability of containment and safety-related structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nessim, M.A.

    1995-09-01

    A research program on Reliability of Containment and Safety-related Structures has been developed and is described in this document. This program is designed to support AECB's regulatory activities aimed at ensuring the safety of these structures. These activities include evaluating submissions by operators and requesting special assessments when necessary. The results of the proposed research will also be useful in revising and enhancing the CSA design standards for containment and safety-related structures. The process of developing the research program started with an information collection and review phase. The sources of information included C-FER's previous work in the area, various recent research publications, regulatory documents and relevant design standards, and a detailed discussion with AECB staff. The second step was to outline the process of reliability evaluation, and identify the required models and parameters. Comparison between the required and available information was used to identify gaps in the state-of-the-art, and the research program was designed to fill these gaps. The program is organized in four major topics, namely: development of an approach for reliability analysis; compilation and development of the required analysis tools; application to specific problems related to design, assessment, maintenance and testing of structures; and testing and validation. It is suggested that the program should be supported by an on-going process of communication and consultation between AECB staff and industry experts. This will lend credibility to the results and facilitate their future application. (author). 1 fig

  16. Implosion lessons from national security, high reliability spacecraft, electronics, and the forces which changed them

    CERN Document Server

    Temple, L Parker

    2012-01-01

    Implosion is a focused study of the history and uses of high-reliability, solid-state electronics, military standards, and space systems that support our national security and defense. This book is unique in combining the interdependent evolution of and interrelationships among military standards, solid-state electronics, and very high-reliability space systems. Starting with a brief description of the physics that enabled the development of the first transistor, Implosion covers the need for standardizing military electronics, which began during World War II and continu

  17. Nondestructive examination (NDE) Reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doctor, S.R.; Good, M.S.; Heasler, P.G.; Hockey, R.L.; Simonen, F.A.; Spanner, J.C.; Taylor, T.T.; Vo, T.V.

    1992-07-01

    The Evaluation and Improvement of NDE reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors (NDE Reliability) Program at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory was established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the reliability of current inservice inspection (ISI) techniques and to develop recommendations that will ensure a suitably high inspection reliability. The objectives of this program include determining the reliability of ISI performed on the primary systems of commercial light-water reactors (LWRs); using probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis to determine the impact of NDE unreliability on system safety; and evaluating reliability improvements that can be achieved with improved and advanced technology. A final objective is to formulate recommended revisions to the Regulatory and ASME Code requirements, based on material properties, service conditions, and NDE uncertainties

  18. Climate change in the classroom: Reaching out to middle school students through science and math suitcase lessons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobo, A. C.; Collay, R.; Harris, R. N.; de Silva, L.

    2011-12-01

    We have formed a link between the Increasing Diversity in Earth Sciences (IDES) program with the Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences (SMILE) program, both at Oregon State University. The IDES mission is to strengthen the understanding of Earth Sciences and their relevance to society among broad and diverse segments of the population and the SMILE mission is to provide science and math enrichment for underrepresented and other educationally underserved students in grades 4-12. Traditionally, underserved schools do not have enough time or resources to spend on science and mathematics. Furthermore, numerous budget cuts in many Oregon school districts have negatively impacted math and science cirriculum. To combat this trend we have designed suitcase lessons in climate change that can be carried to a number of classrooms. These lesson plans are scientifically rich and economically attractive. These lessons are designed to engage students in math and science through climate change presentations, group discussions, and hands-on activities. Over the past year we have familiarized ourselves with the academic ability of sixth and seventh graders through in-class observation in Salem Oregon. One of the suit case lessons we developed focuses on climate change by exploring the plight of polar bears in the face of diminishing sea ice. Our presentation will report the results of this activity.

  19. A case study review of technical and technology issues for transition of a utility load management program to provide system reliability resources in restructured electricity markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Weller, G.H.

    2001-07-15

    Utility load management programs--including direct load control and interruptible load programs--were employed by utilities in the past as system reliability resources. With electricity industry restructuring, the context for these programs has changed; the market that was once controlled by vertically integrated utilities has become competitive, raising the question: can existing load management programs be modified so that they can effectively participate in competitive energy markets? In the short run, modified and/or improved operation of load management programs may be the most effective form of demand-side response available to the electricity system today. However, in light of recent technological advances in metering, communication, and load control, utility load management programs must be carefully reviewed in order to determine appropriate investments to support this transition. This report investigates the feasibility of and options for modifying an existing utility load management system so that it might provide reliability services (i.e. ancillary services) in the competitive markets that have resulted from electricity industry restructuring. The report is a case study of Southern California Edison's (SCE) load management programs. SCE was chosen because it operates one of the largest load management programs in the country and it operates them within a competitive wholesale electricity market. The report describes a wide range of existing and soon-to-be-available communication, control, and metering technologies that could be used to facilitate the evolution of SCE's load management programs and systems to provision of reliability services. The fundamental finding of this report is that, with modifications, SCE's load management infrastructure could be transitioned to provide critical ancillary services in competitive electricity markets, employing currently or soon-to-be available load control technologies.

  20. Suitability of a structured Fundamental Movement Skills program for long day care centres: a process evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrunoff, Nick; Lloyd, Beverley; Watson, Natalie; Morrisey, David

    2009-04-01

    Early childhood presents an opportunity to encourage development of Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS). Implementation of a structured program in the Long Day Care (LDC) setting presents challenges. Implementation of a structured FMS program FunMoves was assessed in LDC in metropolitan New South Wales. LDC staff attended a training session conducted by trained Health Promotion Officers (HPOs) and completed an evaluation. During implementation HPOs completed lesson observations. De-identified attendance data was collected and director and staff feedback on the program including barriers to implementation was obtained via questionnaire. Qualitative information relevant to process evaluation was obtained via open questions on questionnaires, and a de-brief diary recording feedback from directors and staff. Knowledge of FMS and FunMoves and staff confidence to deliver the program were high after training. On average, staff stated they ran lessons more than the suggested twice weekly and the majority of children attended 1-3 lessons per week. However, lesson delivery was not as designed, and staff found FunMoves disruptive and time consuming. Six directors and the majority of staff thought that FunMoves could be improved. Structured program delivery was hampered by contextual issues including significant staff turnover and program length and structure being at odds with the setting. Implementation could be enhanced by guidelines for more flexible delivery options including less structured approaches, shorter and simpler lessons, ongoing conversations with the early childhood sector, in-centre engagement of staff and post-training support.

  1. Multidisciplinary System Reliability Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahadevan, Sankaran; Han, Song; Chamis, Christos C. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The objective of this study is to develop a new methodology for estimating the reliability of engineering systems that encompass multiple disciplines. The methodology is formulated in the context of the NESSUS probabilistic structural analysis code, developed under the leadership of NASA Glenn Research Center. The NESSUS code has been successfully applied to the reliability estimation of a variety of structural engineering systems. This study examines whether the features of NESSUS could be used to investigate the reliability of systems in other disciplines such as heat transfer, fluid mechanics, electrical circuits etc., without considerable programming effort specific to each discipline. In this study, the mechanical equivalence between system behavior models in different disciplines are investigated to achieve this objective. A new methodology is presented for the analysis of heat transfer, fluid flow, and electrical circuit problems using the structural analysis routines within NESSUS, by utilizing the equivalence between the computational quantities in different disciplines. This technique is integrated with the fast probability integration and system reliability techniques within the NESSUS code, to successfully compute the system reliability of multidisciplinary systems. Traditional as well as progressive failure analysis methods for system reliability estimation are demonstrated, through a numerical example of a heat exchanger system involving failure modes in structural, heat transfer and fluid flow disciplines.

  2. The individual teacher in lesson study collaboration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skott, Charlotte Krog; Møller, Hanne

    2017-01-01

    used in lesson study research. Design/methodology/approach The authors use collective case studies. By being participant observers the authors provide detailed descriptions of two selected teachers’ lived experiences of lesson study collaboration. In addition to gain first-hand insights, the authors...... in the participation of each of the two teachers during a two-year lesson study project. By comparing these shifts the authors identify significant conditions for their individual learning. Research limitations/implications Although the study is small scale, both the insights into the different ways in which teachers...... participated and the theoretical insights might be valuable for other lesson study research approaches. Practical implications This paper provides valuable insights into conditions that might influence teachers’ participation in lesson study activities, especially in cultures with little experience of lesson...

  3. Teacher Improvement Projects in Guinea: Lessons Learned from Taking a Program to National Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwille, John; Dembele, Martial; Diallo, Alpha Mahmoudou

    2001-01-01

    Highlights lessons learned from a small, grant-funded teacher improvement project in Guinea that went nationwide, including: it is possible to make such a system work on a national scale in a resource-scarce country; effective initial and continued training is critical for all participants; it is difficult to provide close-to-school assistance…

  4. TIGER reliability analysis in the DSN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunn, J. M.

    1982-01-01

    The TIGER algorithm, the inputs to the program and the output are described. TIGER is a computer program designed to simulate a system over a period of time to evaluate system reliability and availability. Results can be used in the Deep Space Network for initial spares provisioning and system evaluation.

  5. Nondestructive Examination (NDE) Reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doctor, S.R.; Diaz, A.A.; Friley, J.R.; Good, M.S.; Greenwood, M.S.; Heasler, P.G.; Hockey, R.L.; Kurtz, R.J.; Simonen, F.A.; Spanner, J.C.; Taylor, T.T.; Vo, T.V.

    1992-07-01

    The Evaluation and Improvement of NDE Reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors (NDE Reliability) Program at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory was established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the reliability of current inservice inspection (ISI) techniques and to develop recommendations that will ensure a suitably high inspection reliability. The objectives of this program include determining the reliability of ISI performed on the primary systems of commercial light-water reactors (LWR's); using probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis to determine the impact of NDE unreliability on system safety; and evaluating reliability improvements that can be achieved with improved and advanced technology. A final objective is to formulate recommended revisions to the Regulatory and ASME Code requirements, based on material properties, service conditions, and NDE uncertainties. The program scope is limited to ISI of the primary systems including the piping, vessel, and other components inspected in accordance with Section XI of the ASME Code. This is a progress report covering the programmatic work from April 1991 through September 1991

  6. Nondestructive examination (NDE) reliability for inservice inspection of light water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doctor, S.R.; Good, M.S.; Green, E.R.; Heasler, P.G.; Simonen, F.A.; Spanner, J.C.; Taylor, T.T.; Vo, T.V.

    1991-08-01

    The Evaluation and Improvement of NDE Reliability for Inservice Inspection of Light Water Reactors (NDE Reliability) Program at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory was established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the reliability of current inservice inspection (ISI) techniques and to develop recommendations that will ensure a suitably high inspection reliability. The objectives of this program include determining the reliability of ISI performed on the primary systems of commercial light-water reactors (LWRs); using probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis to determine the impact of NDE unreliability on system safety; and evaluating reliability improvements that can be achieved with improved and advanced technology. A final objective is to formulate recommended revisions to ASME Code and Regulatory requirements, based on material properties, service conditions, and NDE uncertainties. The program scope is limited to ISI of the primary systems including the piping, vessel, and other components inspected in accordance with Section 6 of the ASME Code. This is a progress report covering the pro grammatic work from April 1989 through September 1989. 12 refs., 4 figs. 5 tabs

  7. Computer-Aided Corrosion Program Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDowell, Louis

    2010-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation reviews Computer-Aided Corrosion Program Management at John F. Kennedy Space Center. The contents include: 1) Corrosion at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC); 2) Requirements and Objectives; 3) Program Description, Background and History; 4) Approach and Implementation; 5) Challenges; 6) Lessons Learned; 7) Successes and Benefits; and 8) Summary and Conclusions.

  8. Effectiveness of different approaches to disseminating traveler information on travel time reliability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    The second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Reliability program aims to improve trip time reliability by reducing the frequency and effects of events that cause travel times to fluctuate unpredictably. Congestion caused by unreliable, or n...

  9. What Happens at the Lesson Start?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saloviita, Timo

    2016-01-01

    Transitional periods, such as lesson starts, are necessary steps from one activity to another, but they also compete with time for actual learning. The aim of the present study was to replicate a previous pilot study on lesson starts and explore possible disturbances. In total, 130 lesson starts in Finnish basic education in grades 1-9 were…

  10. U.S.-Russian Cooperation in Science and Technology: A Case Study of the TOPAZ Space-Based Nuclear Reactor International Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dabrowski, Richard S.

    2014-08-01

    The TOPAZ International Program (TIP) was the final name given to a series of projects to purchase and test the TOPAZ-II, a space-based nuclear reactor of a type that had been further developed in the Soviet Union than in the United States. In the changing political situation associated with the break-up of the Soviet Union it became possible for the United States to not just purchase the system, but also to employ Russian scientists, engineers and testing facilities to verify its reliability. The lessons learned from the TIP illuminate some of the institutional and cultural challenges to U.S. - Russian cooperation in technology research which remain true today.

  11. Achieving a SALP-1 radiation protection program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersen, R.L.; Slider, J.E.

    1992-01-01

    In 1987, the Detroit Edison Company embarked on an ambitious program to raise the performance of the radiation protection (RP) program at its Fermi-2 nuclear plant. The target chosen was a systematic assessment of licensee's performance (SALP)-1 rating by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This goal was achieved in the spring of 1990. This paper summarizes key parts of the improvement program undertaken by Detroit Edison, lessons learned from this experience, and recommendations about applying the lessons learned at other sites. This information may be particularly helpful to commercial and federal government sites wishing to upgrade the performance of their RP programs. Excellence does not necessarily require great expenditures on new equipment or additional staff. It requires a willingness and ability to examine all functions of the RP department and an honest assessment of the most efficient means to accomplish those functions

  12. Validation of an observation tool to assess physical activity-promoting physical education lessons in high schools: SOFIT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairclough, Stuart J; Weaver, R Glenn; Johnson, Siobhan; Rawlinson, Jack

    2018-05-01

    SOFIT+ is an observation tool to measure teacher practices related to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) promotion during physical education (PE). The objective of the study was to examine the validity of SOFIT+ during high school PE lessons. This cross-sectional, observational study tested the construct validity of SOFIT+ in boys' and girls' high school PE lessons. Twenty-one PE lessons were video-recorded and retrospectively coded using SOFIT+. Students wore hip-mounted accelerometers during lessons as an objective measure of MVPA. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the likelihood of students engaging in MVPA during different teacher practices represented by observed individual codes and a combined SOFIT+ index-score. Fourteen individual SOFIT+ variables demonstrated a statistically significant relationship with girls' and boys' MVPA. Observed lesson segments identified as high MVPA-promoting were related to an increased likelihood of girls engaging in 5-10 (OR=2.86 [95% CI 2.41-3.40]), 15-25 (OR=7.41 [95% CI 6.05-9.06]), and 30-40 (OR=22.70 [95% CI 16.97-30.37])s of MVPA. For boys, observed high-MVPA promoting segments were related to an increased likelihood of engaging in 5-10 (OR=1.71 [95% CI 1.45-2.01]), 15-25 (OR=2.69 [95% CI 2.31-3.13]) and 30-40 (OR=4.26 [95% CI 3.44-5.29])s of MVPA. Teacher practices during high school PE lessons are significantly related to students' participation in MVPA. SOFIT+ is a valid and reliable tool to examine relationships between PE teacher practices and student MVPA during PE. Copyright © 2017 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Primary health care lessons from the northeast of Brazil: the Agentes de Saúde Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cufino Svitone, E; Garfield, R; Vasconcelos, M I; Araujo Craveiro, V

    2000-05-01

    Market-led economic reforms are usually viewed as being in conflict with government-stimulated socioeconomic development for disadvantaged groups. Nevertheless, Ceará, a poor state in the Northeast of Brazil, has since 1987 pursued both of those strategies simultaneously. One part of that approach has been a program of nurse-directed auxiliary health workers serving about 5 million people--almost all the persons outside the capital city and half of those in the capital. The system requires that the auxiliaries, called agentes de saúde, live in the local communities that they serve. The health agents visit each home once a month to carry out a small number of priority health activities. While health agent positions are in high demand, the minimum-wage salary that the agents receive makes up only a small portion of the state budget. A key aspect of the system is timely and comprehensive information, which is based on agent visits and is managed by trained nurses. Since the health agents system was launched, there has been a rapid decline in infant mortality, a rapid rise in immunization, identification of bottlenecks limiting the utilization of other medical resources, and timely interventions in times of crisis. The health agents system has combined administrative decentralization with financial centralization during a period of electoral democratization. The system has strengthened Ceará's commitment to primary care even as market-oriented changes have reduced the overall role of government. The Ceará program is being copied throughout the Northeast and other regions of Brazil. The key role that nurses play in the Ceará program in organizing and leading a system of basic primary care in poor neighborhoods and rural areas may provide useful lessons for other countries. In addition, Ceará does not have many of the favorable characteristics of other countries that have successfully invested in primary health care. Ceará thus represents a more achievable model

  14. Lessons learned: program messaging in gender-transformative work with men and boys in South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viitanen, Amanda P.; Colvin, Christopher J.

    2015-01-01

    Background Adherence to traditional notions of masculinity has been identified as an important driver in the perpetuation of numerous health and social problems, including gender-based violence and HIV. With the largest generalized HIV epidemic in the world and high rates of violence against women, the need for gender-transformative work in South Africa is broadly accepted in activist circles and at the national and community level. Because of the integral role men play in both of these epidemics, initiatives and strategies that engage men in promoting gender equality have emerged over the last decade and the evidence base supporting the effectiveness of masculinities-based interventions is growing. However, little research exists on men's receptivity to the messages delivered in these programs. Objective This article examines the current practices among a set of gender-transformation initiatives in South Africa to see what lessons can be derived from them. We look at how South African men participating in these programs responded to three thematic messages frequently found in gender-transformative work: 1) the ‘costs of masculinity’ men pay for adherence to harmful gender constructs; 2) multiple forms of masculinity; and 3) the human rights framework and contested rights. Design This article synthesizes qualitative findings from in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and ethnographic research with men participating in several gender- and health-intervention programs in South Africa. The data were collected between 2007 and 2011 and synthesized using some of the basic principles of meta-ethnography. Results and conclusions Overall, men were receptive to the three thematic messages reviewed; they were able to see them in the context of their own lives and the messages facilitated rich dialog among participants. However, some men were more ambivalent toward shifting gender notions and some even adamantly resisted engaging in discussions over gender

  15. Lessons learned: program messaging in gender-transformative work with men and boys in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viitanen, Amanda P; Colvin, Christopher J

    2015-01-01

    Adherence to traditional notions of masculinity has been identified as an important driver in the perpetuation of numerous health and social problems, including gender-based violence and HIV. With the largest generalized HIV epidemic in the world and high rates of violence against women, the need for gender-transformative work in South Africa is broadly accepted in activist circles and at the national and community level. Because of the integral role men play in both of these epidemics, initiatives and strategies that engage men in promoting gender equality have emerged over the last decade and the evidence base supporting the effectiveness of masculinities-based interventions is growing. However, little research exists on men's receptivity to the messages delivered in these programs. This article examines the current practices among a set of gender-transformation initiatives in South Africa to see what lessons can be derived from them. We look at how South African men participating in these programs responded to three thematic messages frequently found in gender-transformative work: 1) the 'costs of masculinity' men pay for adherence to harmful gender constructs; 2) multiple forms of masculinity; and 3) the human rights framework and contested rights. This article synthesizes qualitative findings from in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and ethnographic research with men participating in several gender- and health-intervention programs in South Africa. The data were collected between 2007 and 2011 and synthesized using some of the basic principles of meta-ethnography. Overall, men were receptive to the three thematic messages reviewed; they were able to see them in the context of their own lives and the messages facilitated rich dialog among participants. However, some men were more ambivalent toward shifting gender notions and some even adamantly resisted engaging in discussions over gender equality. More research is needed to gauge the long-term impact

  16. Lesson study i Danmark?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Arne

    2009-01-01

    Der beskrives et japansk lesson study forløb, og det diskuteres i hvilket omfang, de gode japanske erfaringer kan overføres til dansk matematikundervisning.......Der beskrives et japansk lesson study forløb, og det diskuteres i hvilket omfang, de gode japanske erfaringer kan overføres til dansk matematikundervisning....

  17. Reliability and validity of a novel Kinect-based software program for measuring posture, balance and side-bending.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grooten, Wilhelmus Johannes Andreas; Sandberg, Lisa; Ressman, John; Diamantoglou, Nicolas; Johansson, Elin; Rasmussen-Barr, Eva

    2018-01-08

    Clinical examinations are subjective and often show a low validity and reliability. Objective and highly reliable quantitative assessments are available in laboratory settings using 3D motion analysis, but these systems are too expensive to use for simple clinical examinations. Qinematic™ is an interactive movement analyses system based on the Kinect camera and is an easy-to-use clinical measurement system for assessing posture, balance and side-bending. The aim of the study was to test the test-retest the reliability and construct validity of Qinematic™ in a healthy population, and to calculate the minimal clinical differences for the variables of interest. A further aim was to identify the discriminative validity of Qinematic™ in people with low-back pain (LBP). We performed a test-retest reliability study (n = 37) with around 1 week between the occasions, a construct validity study (n = 30) in which Qinematic™ was tested against a 3D motion capture system, and a discriminative validity study, in which a group of people with LBP (n = 20) was compared to healthy controls (n = 17). We tested a large range of psychometric properties of 18 variables in three sections: posture (head and pelvic position, weight distribution), balance (sway area and velocity in single- and double-leg stance), and side-bending. The majority of the variables in the posture and balance sections, showed poor/fair reliability (ICC validity (Spearman reliability (ICC =0.898), excellent validity (r = 0.943), and Qinematic™ could differentiate between LPB and healthy individuals (p = 0.012). This paper shows that a novel software program (Qinematic™) based on the Kinect camera for measuring balance, posture and side-bending has poor psychometric properties, indicating that the variables on balance and posture should not be used for monitoring individual changes over time or in research. Future research on the dynamic tasks of Qinematic™ is warranted.

  18. Hype, harmony and human factors: applying user-centered design to achieve sustainable telehealth program adoption and growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossos, P G; St-Cyr, O; Purdy, B; Toenjes, C; Masino, C; Chmelnitsky, D

    2015-01-01

    Despite decades of international experience with the use of information and communication technologies in healthcare delivery, widespread telehealth adoption remains limited and progress slow. Escalating health system challenges related to access, cost and quality currently coincide with rapid advancement of affordable and reliable internet based communication technologies creating unprecedented opportunities and incentives for telehealth. In this paper, we will describe how Human Factors Engineering (HFE) and user-centric elements have been incorporated into the establishment of telehealth within a large academic medical center to increase acceptance and sustainability. Through examples and lessons learned we wish to increase awareness of HFE and its importance in the successful implementation, innovation and growth of telehealth programs.

  19. QA lessons learned for parameter control from the WIPP Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richards, R.R.

    1998-01-01

    This paper provides a summary of lessons learned from experiences on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WJPP) Project in implementation of quality assurance controls surrounding inputs for performance assessment analysis. Since the performance assessment (PA) process is inherent in compliance determination for any waste repository, these lessons-learned are intended to be useful to investigators, analysts, and Quality Assurance (QA) practitioners working on high level waste disposal projects. On the WIPP Project, PA analyses for regulatory-compliance determination utilized several inter-related computer programs (codes) that mathematically modeled phenomena such as radionuclide release, retardation, and transport. The input information for those codes are the parameters that are the subject of this paper. Parameters were maintained in a computer database, which was then queried electronically by the PA codes whenever input was needed as the analyses were run

  20. Engineering Design Handbook: Development Guide for Reliability. Part Three. Reliability Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    1976-01-01

    to t is pa(t)=l-qa(t) (10-6) This is the reliability of being closed, defined for this interval. 2 The probability that a contact viH be open...Monte Carlo simulation. Few people can know all about all available programs. Special- ists can assist in selecting a few from the avail- able many

  1. Results of the reliability benchmark exercise and the future CEC-JRC program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amendola, A.

    1985-01-01

    As a contribution towards identifying problem areas and for assessing probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) methods and procedures of analysis, JRC has organized a wide-range Benchmark Exercise on systems reliability. This has been executed by ten different teams involving seventeen organizations from nine European countries. The exercise has been based on a real case (Auxiliary Feedwater System of EDF Paluel PWR 1300 MWe Unit), starting from analysis of technical specifications, logical and topological layout and operational procedures. Terms of references included both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The subdivision of the exercise into different phases and the rules adopted allowed assessment of the different components of the spread of the overall results. It appeared that modelling uncertainties may overwhelm data uncertainties and major efforts must be spent in order to improve consistency and completeness of qualitative analysis. After successful completion of the first exercise, CEC-JRC program has planned separate exercises on analysis of dependent failures and human factors before approaching the evaluation of a complete accident sequence

  2. Reliability of supply in competitive electricity markets: The Nordic electricity Market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Balbir

    2005-12-01

    An overview of the current regulation and performance of the network utilities with respect to the reliability of supply across Europe in general indicates wide variation. On the regional level the situation in the Nordic market is no exception. Can the variation in reliability of supply in Nordic region be explained by differences in regulatory frameworks in the Nordic countries and is it possible to draw any best practice lessons for other countries and regions? The Norwegian regulation and performance with respect to reliability criterion is encouraging, however it must be emphasized that the Norwegian experience with reliability regulation in its current form covers a period of 3 years, a period that is too short to evaluate the Norwegian model. A closer examination of the Norwegian model reveals dynamic trade off in reliability performance, which if permanent may endanger the reliability of supply in the long-run. Last, but not the least important is the criterion that choice of regulation should be based on a careful social cost-benefit analysis of the regulatory model where both cost incurred by the regulatory agencies and the compliance costs incurred by the regulated utilities are included. A preliminary analysis of regulatory agencies in the Nordic market indicates that Norwegian model of network regulation is quite resource incentive. While it is premature to draw conclusions about the national regulatory mechanisms, the Nordic cross border regulation through voluntary arrangements under the auspices of NORDEL provides a good example of an arrangement that is useful when implementation of a formal regulatory regime across different jurisdiction is not possible

  3. Practical experience from the Office of Adolescent Health's large scale implementation of an evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margolis, Amy Lynn; Roper, Allison Yvonne

    2014-03-01

    After 3 years of experience overseeing the implementation and evaluation of evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs in a diversity of populations and settings across the country, the Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) has learned numerous lessons through practical application and new experiences. These lessons and experiences are applicable to those working to implement evidence-based programs on a large scale. The lessons described in this paper focus on what it means for a program to be implementation ready, the role of the program developer in replicating evidence-based programs, the importance of a planning period to ensure quality implementation, the need to define and measure fidelity, and the conditions necessary to support rigorous grantee-level evaluation. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  4. A study of adopting maintenance rule under the periodic safety review and reliability centered maintenance program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kilyoo, Kim

    2001-01-01

    U.S Maintenance Rule (MR) has three main functions. One is to monitor the performance changes of SSCs (Structure, System, and Component) caused by risk informed applications. Periodic Safety Review (PSR) program is widely adopted in Europe while it is not adopted in U. S. A where MR and new oversight program are instead used. Recently, in Korea, it was determined to adopt PSR, and the first PSR program has started this year for Kori unit 1 as a pilot plant. Also, a traditional Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) has been performed for 4 systems of YGN unit 1 and 2 and it will be applied to the other nuclear power plants in Korea. However, since MR is adopting many useful concept of RCM, traditional RCM could not be further performed without being associated with MR. Thus, MR, RCM and PSR have recently become hot issue policies which should be well associated each other in Korea, and this paper suggests a desirable new maintenance process which would embrace the concepts of the three policies, and also discusses whether U.S. MR is necessary even though a PSR program is already adopted, and if necessary, then how cost-effectively it can be introduced to. (author)

  5. Reliability Data for Piping Components in Nordic Nuclear Power Plants 'R-Book'. Project Phase 1. Rev 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lydell, Bengt (Scandpower Risk Management Inc., Houston, TX (US)); Olsson, Anders (Relcon Scandpower AB, Stockholm (SE))

    2008-01-15

    This report constitutes a planning document for a new RandD project to develop a piping component reliability parameter handbook for use in probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) and related activities. The Swedish acronym for this handbook is 'R-Book.' The objective of the project is to utilize the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency 'OECD Pipe Failure Data Exchange Project' (OPDE) database to derive piping component failure rates and rupture probabilities for input to internal flooding probabilistic safety assessment, high-energy line break' (HELB) analysis, risk-informed in-service inspection (RI-ISI) program development, and other activities related to PSA. This new RandD project is funded by member organizations of the Nordic PSA Group (NPSAG) - Forsmark AB, OKG AB, Ringhals AB, and the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI). The history behind the current effort to produce a handbook of piping reliability parameters goes back to 1994 when SKI funded a 5-year RandD project to explore the viability of establishing an international database on the service experience with piping system components in commercial nuclear power plants. An underlying objective behind this 5-year program was to investigate the different options and possibilities for deriving pipe failure rates and rupture probabilities directly from service experience data as an alternative to probabilistic fracture mechanics. The RandD project culminated in an international piping reliability seminar held in the fall of 1997 in Sigtuna (Sweden) and a pilot project to demonstrate an application of the pipe failure database to the estimation of loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) frequency (SKI Report 98:30). A particularly important outcome of the 5-year project was a decision by SKI to transfer the pipe failure database including the lessons learned to an international cooperative effort under the auspices of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. Following on information exchange and planning

  6. Lessons for Implementation from the World's Most Successful Programme: The Global Eradication of Smallpox.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pratt, David

    1999-01-01

    Focuses on lessons educators might learn from the Intensified Campaign for the Global Eradication of Smallpox. Outlines the history of smallpox eradication. Discusses the eradication effort's obstacles, campaign, and costs and benefits. Considers five factors relevant to the successful implementation of educational programs. (CMK)

  7. A Relevant Lesson: Hitler Goes to the Mall

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerwin, David

    2003-01-01

    A "Motivation" eliciting the "Aim" of each lesson initiates each lesson in the orthodox "developmental lesson-plan" that has dominated classroom instruction in NYC public schools for at least the past half-century. An action-research study of 38 lesson-plans (over 5 each from 5 teachers) drawn from student-teaching…

  8. Lessons Learned from FUSRAP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Castillo, Darina [U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management; Carpenter, Cliff [U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management; Miller, Michele [Navarro Research and Engineering

    2016-03-06

    The US DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) is the long-term steward for 90 sites remediated under numerous regulatory regimes including the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) sites. In addition, LM holds considerable historical information, gathered in the 1970s, to determine site eligibility for remediation under FUSRAP. To date, 29 FUSRAP sites are in LM’s inventory of sites for long-term surveillance and maintenance (LTS&M), and 25 are with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for remediation or in the process of being transitioned to LM. It is forecasted that 13 FUSRAP sites will transfer from the USACE to LM over the next 10 years; however, the timing of the transfers is strongly dependent upon federal funding of the ongoing remedial actions. Historically, FUSRAP sites were generally cleaned up for “unrestricted” industrial use or remediated to the “cleanup standards” at that time, and their use remained unchanged. Today, these sites as well as the adjacent properties are now changing or envisioned to have changes in land use, typically from industrial to commercial or residential uses. The implication of land-use change affects DOE’s LTS&M responsibility for the sites under LM stewardship as well as the planning for the additional sites scheduled to transition in time. Coinciding with land-use changes at or near FUSRAP sites is an increased community awareness of these sites. As property development increases near FUSRAP sites, the general public and interested stakeholders regularly inquire about the sufficiency of cleanups that impact their neighborhoods and communities. LM has used this experience to address a series of lessons learned to improve our program management in light of the changing conditions of our sites. We describe these lessons learned as (1) improved stakeholder relations, (2) enhanced LTS&M requirements for the sites, and (3) greater involvement in the transition process.

  9. Mass and Reliability System (MaRS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    The Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) Directorate is responsible for mitigating risk, providing system safety, and lowering risk for space programs from ground to space. The S&MA is divided into 4 divisions: The Space Exploration Division (NC), the International Space Station Division (NE), the Safety & Test Operations Division (NS), and the Quality and Flight Equipment Division (NT). The interns, myself and Arun Aruljothi, will be working with the Risk & Reliability Analysis Branch under the NC Division's. The mission of this division is to identify, characterize, diminish, and communicate risk by implementing an efficient and effective assurance model. The team utilizes Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) and Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to ensure decisions concerning risks are informed, vehicles are safe and reliable, and program/project requirements are realistic and realized. This project pertains to the Orion mission, so it is geared toward a long duration Human Space Flight Program(s). For space missions, payload is a critical concept; balancing what hardware can be replaced by components verse by Orbital Replacement Units (ORU) or subassemblies is key. For this effort a database was created that combines mass and reliability data, called Mass and Reliability System or MaRS. The U.S. International Space Station (ISS) components are used as reference parts in the MaRS database. Using ISS components as a platform is beneficial because of the historical context and the environment similarities to a space flight mission. MaRS uses a combination of systems: International Space Station PART for failure data, Vehicle Master Database (VMDB) for ORU & components, Maintenance & Analysis Data Set (MADS) for operation hours and other pertinent data, & Hardware History Retrieval System (HHRS) for unit weights. MaRS is populated using a Visual Basic Application. Once populated, the excel spreadsheet is comprised of information on ISS components including

  10. Computer-aided reliability and risk assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leicht, R.; Wingender, H.J.

    1989-01-01

    Activities in the fields of reliability and risk analyses have led to the development of particular software tools which now are combined in the PC-based integrated CARARA system. The options available in this system cover a wide range of reliability-oriented tasks, like organizing raw failure data in the component/event data bank FDB, performing statistical analysis of those data with the program FDA, managing the resulting parameters in the reliability data bank RDB, and performing fault tree analysis with the fault tree code FTL or evaluating the risk of toxic or radioactive material release with the STAR code. (orig.)

  11. Beautiful Beads: A Lesson in Making Beads with Friendly Clay. AMACO[R] Lesson.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamble, Harriet; Gamble, David

    This lesson resource includes a brief summary of the history of bead making and historic fascination with beads as adornment. A focus on design elements, color theory, craftsmanship, and technical skill in bead making is encouraged. The plan includes lesson goals and objectives; background preparation; a glossary of terms; a list of supplies; and…

  12. Enhancement of on-site emergency diesel generator reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boner, G.L.; Hanners, H.W.

    1979-01-01

    The University of Dayton Research Institute has concluded a program designed to provide NRC/DOR with technical assistance in evaluating the factors leading to improved reliability of on-site emergency diesel generator (DG) units. The program consisted of a comprehensive review of DG maintenance and operating experience and a comparative evaluation of the DG manufacturer's recommendations. This information, will enable the NRC to improve the basis on which it makes regulatory decisions. The primary goal of the program is to better identify the main problem areas which decrease the reliability of the DG units and make recommendations. The report has attained the program objectives by identifying and discussing the more significant problems and presenting the recommended corrective actions. The identified problems have been categorized into three groups as a function of their significance

  13. Reliability parameters of distribution networks components

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gono, R.; Kratky, M.; Rusek, S.; Kral, V. [Technical Univ. of Ostrava (Czech Republic)

    2009-03-11

    This paper presented a framework for the retrieval of parameters from various heterogenous power system databases. The framework was designed to transform the heterogenous outage data in a common relational scheme. The framework was used to retrieve outage data parameters from the Czech and Slovak republics in order to demonstrate the scalability of the framework. A reliability computation of the system was computed in 2 phases representing the retrieval of component reliability parameters and the reliability computation. Reliability rates were determined using component reliability and global reliability indices. Input data for the reliability was retrieved from data on equipment operating under similar conditions, while the probability of failure-free operations was evaluated by determining component status. Anomalies in distribution outage data were described as scheme, attribute, and term differences. Input types consisted of input relations; transformation programs; codebooks; and translation tables. The system was used to successfully retrieve data from 7 distributors in the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic between 2000-2007. The database included 301,555 records. Data were queried using SQL language. 29 refs., 2 tabs., 2 figs.

  14. Reflection after teaching a lesson: Experiences of secondary school science teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halstead, Melissa A.

    Secondary science teachers spend most of their time planning, collaborating, and teaching, but spend little time reflecting after teaching a single lesson. The theoretical framework of the adult learning theory and the transformative learning theory was the basis of this study. This qualitative research study was conducted to understand the reflective experiences of secondary science educators after teaching a single or several lessons. The collection of data consisted of interviews from a group of purposefully selected secondary science teachers who met the criteria set forth by the researcher. Through a qualitative analysis of interviews and field notes, the researcher determined that the secondary science teachers in this study shared similar as well as different experiences regarding collaborative and individual reflection after teaching a single or several lessons. The findings from this study also suggested that secondary science educators prefer to collaboratively reflect and then reflect alone to allow for further thought. Additionally, a supportive school culture increases the secondary science teacher’s desire to engage in collaborative as well as individual reflection. The information from this study could be used to close the gaps that exist in the teacher professional development programs.

  15. Teen worker safety training: methods used, lessons taught, and time spent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zierold, Kristina M

    2015-05-01

    Safety training is strongly endorsed as one way to prevent teens from performing dangerous tasks at work. The objective of this mixed methods study was to characterize the safety training that teenagers receive on the job. From 2010 through 2012, focus groups and a cross-sectional survey were conducted with working teens. The top methods of safety training reported were safety videos (42 percent) and safety lectures (25 percent). The top lessons reported by teens were "how to do my job" and "ways to spot hazards." Males, who were more likely to do dangerous tasks, received less safety training than females. Although most teens are getting safety training, it is inadequate. Lessons addressing safety behaviors are missing, training methods used are minimal, and the time spent is insignificant. More research is needed to understand what training methods and lessons should be used, and the appropriate safety training length for effectively preventing injury in working teens. In addition, more research evaluating the impact of high-quality safety training compared to poor safety training is needed to determine the best training programs for teens. © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

  16. Trial application of reliability technology to emergency diesel generators at the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wong, S.M.; Boccio, J.L.; Karimian, S.; Azarm, M.A.; Carbonaro, J.; DeMoss, G.

    1986-01-01

    In this paper, a trial application of reliability technology to the emergency diesel generator system at the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant is presented. An approach for formulating a reliability program plan for this system is being developed. The trial application has shown that a reliability program process, using risk- and reliability-based techniques, can be interwoven into current plant operational activities to help in controlling, analyzing, and predicting faults that can challenge safety systems. With the cooperation of the utility, Portland General Electric Co., this reliability program can eventually be implemented at Trojan to track its effectiveness

  17. Lessons in Commercial PACE Leadership: The Path from Legislation to Launch

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leventis, G; Schwartz, LC; Kramer, C; Deason, J

    2018-02-27

    Nonresidential buildings are responsible for over a quarter of primary energy consumption in the United States. Efficiency improvements in these buildings could result in significant energy and utility bill savings. To unlock those potential savings, a number of market barriers to energy efficiency must be addressed. Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing programs can help overcome several of these barriers with minimal investment from state and local governments. With programs established or under development in 22 states, and at least $521 million in investments so far, other state and local governments are interested in bringing the benefits of C-PACE to their jurisdictions. Lessons in Commercial PACE Leadership: The Path from Legislation to Launch, aims to fast track the set-up of C-PACE programs for state and local governments by capturing the lessons learned from leaders. The report examines the list of potential program design options and important decision points in setting up a C-PACE program, tradeoffs for available options, and experiences of stakeholders that have gone through (or are going through) the process. C-PACE uses a voluntary special property assessment to facilitate energy and other improvements in commercial buildings. For example: - Long financing terms under C-PACE can produce cash flow-positive -- projects to help overcome a focus on short paybacks. - Payment obligations can transfer to subsequent owners, mitigating concern about investing in improvements for a building that may be sold before the return on the investment is fully realized. - 100% of both hard and soft costs can be financed. To capture the benefits of C-PACE financing, state and local governments must navigate numerous decision points and engage with stakeholders to set-up or join a program. Researchers interviewed experts (including state and local sponsors, program administrators, capital providers and industry experts) on their lessons learned and

  18. LMFBR fuel analysis. Task C. Reliability aspects of LMFBRs. Final report, July 1, 1975--September 30, 1976

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Apostolakis, G.E.; Cave, L.; Epler, E.P.; Ilberg, D.; Kastenberg, W.E.

    1976-11-01

    The reliability program which was established for the Clinch River Fast Breeder Reactor Project is reviewed. The review reveals several problems and uncertainties which need to be appropriately addressed by the reliability program. The main problems are stated to be the choice of the reliability criterion, the prospects of attaining high reliabilities of systems and critical structures, the role of external phenomena as well as the verification by tests and the reliability assurance program

  19. Reliability in individual monitoring service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mod Ali, N

    2011-03-01

    As a laboratory certified to ISO 9001:2008 and accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, the Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory (SSDL)-Nuclear Malaysia has incorporated an overall comprehensive system for technical and quality management in promoting a reliable individual monitoring service (IMS). Faster identification and resolution of issues regarding dosemeter preparation and issuing of reports, personnel enhancement, improved customer satisfaction and overall efficiency of laboratory activities are all results of the implementation of an effective quality system. Review of these measures and responses to observed trends provide continuous improvement of the system. By having these mechanisms, reliability of the IMS can be assured in the promotion of safe behaviour at all levels of the workforce utilising ionising radiation facilities. Upgradation of in the reporting program through a web-based e-SSDL marks a major improvement in Nuclear Malaysia's IMS reliability on the whole. The system is a vital step in providing a user friendly and effective occupational exposure evaluation program in the country. It provides a higher level of confidence in the results generated for occupational dose monitoring of the IMS, thus, enhances the status of the radiation protection framework of the country.

  20. TFTR CAMAC power supplies reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Camp, R.A.; Bergin, W.

    1989-01-01

    Since the expected life of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) has been extended into the early 1990's, the issues of equipment wear-out, when to refurbish/replace, and the costs associated with these decisions, must be faced. The management of the maintenance of the TFTR Central Instrumentation, Control and Data Acquisition System (CICADA) power supplies within the CAMAC network is a case study of a set of systems to monitor repairable systems reliability, costs, and results of action. The CAMAC network is composed of approximately 500 racks, each with its own power supply. By using a simple reliability estimator on a coarse time interval, in conjunction with determining the root cause of individual failures, a cost effective repair and maintenance program has been realized. This paper describes the estimator, some of the specific causes for recurring failures and their correction, and the subsequent effects on the reliability estimator. By extension of this program the authors can assess the continued viability of CAMAC power supplies into the future, predicting wear-out and developing cost effective refurbishment/replacement policies. 4 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  1. Integration of NDE Reliability and Fracture Mechanics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Becker, F. L.; Doctor, S. R.; Heas!er, P. G.; Morris, C. J.; Pitman, S. G.; Selby, G. P.; Simonen, F. A.

    1981-03-01

    The Pacific Northwest Laboratory is conducting a four-phase program for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness and reliability of in-service inspection (lSI} performed on the primary system piping welds of commercial light water reactors (LWRs). Phase I of the program is complete. A survey was made of the state of practice for ultrasonic rsr of LWR primary system piping welds. Fracture mechanics calculations were made to establish required nondestrutive testing sensitivities. In general, it was found that fatigue flaws less than 25% of wall thickness would not grow to failure within an inspection interval of 10 years. However, in some cases failure could occur considerably faster. Statistical methods for predicting and measuring the effectiveness and reliability of lSI were developed and will be applied in the "Round Robin Inspections" of Phase II. Methods were also developed for the production of flaws typical of those found in service. Samples fabricated by these methods wilI be used in Phase II to test inspection effectiveness and reliability. Measurements were made of the influence of flaw characteristics {i.e., roughness, tightness, and orientation) on inspection reliability. These measurernents, as well as the predictions of a statistical model for inspection reliability, indicate that current reporting and recording sensitivities are inadequate.

  2. International R&M/Safety Cooperation Lessons Learned Between NASA and JAXA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, Rene; Havenhill, Maria T.; Zampino, Edward J.; Kiefer, Dwayne E.

    2013-01-01

    Presented are a number of important experiences gained and lessons learned from the collaboration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on the CoNNeCT (Communications, Navigation, and Networking re-Configurable Testbed) project. Both space agencies worked on the CoNNeCT Project to design, assemble, test, integrate, and launch a communications testbed facility mounted onto the International Space Station (ISS) truss. At the 2012 RAMS, two papers about CoNNeCT were presented: one on Ground Support Equipment Reliability & System Safety, and the other one on combined application of System Safety & Reliability for the flight system. In addition to the logistics challenges present when two organizations are on the opposite side of the world, there is also a language barrier. The language barrier encompasses not only the different alphabet, it encompasses the social interactions; these were addressed by techniques presented in the paper. The differences in interpretation and application of Spaceflight Requirements will be discussed in this paper. Although many, but definitely not all, of JAXA's Spaceflight Requirements were inspired by NASA, there were significant and critically important differences in how they were interpreted and applied. This paper intends to summarize which practices worked and which did not for an international collaborative effort so that future missions may benefit from our experiences. The CoNNeCT flight system has been successfully assembled, integrated, tested, shipped, launched and installed on the ISS without incident. This demonstrates that the steps taken to facilitate international understanding, communication, and coordination were successful and warrant discussion as lessons learned.

  3. Next Generation Launch Technology Program Lessons Learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Stephen; Tyson, Richard

    2005-01-01

    In November 2002, NASA revised its Integrated Space Transportation Plan (ISTP) to evolve the Space Launch Initiative (SLI) to serve as a theme for two emerging programs. The first of these, the Orbital Space Plane (OSP), was intended to provide crew-escape and crew-transfer functions for the ISS. The second, the NGLT Program, developed technologies needed for safe, routine space access for scientific exploration, commerce, and national defense. The NGLT Program was comprised of 12 projects, ranging from fundamental high-temperature materials research to full-scale engine system developments (turbine and rocket) to scramjet flight test. The Program included technology advancement activities with a broad range of objectives, ultimate applications/timeframes, and technology maturity levels. An over-arching Systems Engineering and Analysis (SE&A) approach was employed to focus technology advancements according to a common set of requirements. Investments were categorized into three segments of technology maturation: propulsion technologies, launch systems technologies, and SE&A.

  4. MDP: Reliable File Transfer for Space Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rash, James; Criscuolo, Ed; Hogie, Keith; Parise, Ron; Hennessy, Joseph F. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    This paper presents work being done at NASA/GSFC by the Operating Missions as Nodes on the Internet (OMNI) project to demonstrate the application of the Multicast Dissemination Protocol (MDP) to space missions to reliably transfer files. This work builds on previous work by the OMNI project to apply Internet communication technologies to space communication. The goal of this effort is to provide an inexpensive, reliable, standard, and interoperable mechanism for transferring files in the space communication environment. Limited bandwidth, noise, delay, intermittent connectivity, link asymmetry, and one-way links are all possible issues for space missions. Although these are link-layer issues, they can have a profound effect on the performance of transport and application level protocols. MDP, a UDP-based reliable file transfer protocol, was designed for multicast environments which have to address these same issues, and it has done so successfully. Developed by the Naval Research Lab in the mid 1990's, MDP is now in daily use by both the US Post Office and the DoD. This paper describes the use of MDP to provide automated end-to-end data flow for space missions. It examines the results of a parametric study of MDP in a simulated space link environment and discusses the results in terms of their implications for space missions. Lessons learned are addressed, which suggest minor enhancements to the MDP user interface to add specific features for space mission requirements, such as dynamic control of data rate, and a checkpoint/resume capability. These are features that are provided for in the protocol, but are not implemented in the sample MDP application that was provided. A brief look is also taken at the status of standardization. A version of MDP known as NORM (Neck Oriented Reliable Multicast) is in the process of becoming an IETF standard.

  5. Closure of a mixed waste landfill: Lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phifer, M.A.

    1990-01-01

    Much experience has been gained during the closure of the Mixed Waste Management Facility (MWMF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) and many lessons were learned. This knowledge was applied to other closures at SRS yielding decreased costs, schedule enhancement, and increased overall project efficiency. The next major area of experience to be gained at SRS in the field of waste site closures will be in the upkeep, maintenance, and monitoring of clay caps. Further test programs will be required to address these requirements

  6. Reliability and Availability Analysis of Some Systems with Common-Cause Failures Using SPICE Circuit Simulation Program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Taher Abuelma'atti

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available The effectiveness of SPICE circuit simulation program in calculating probabilities, reliability, steady-state availability and mean-time to failure of repairable systems described by Markov models is demonstrated. Two examples are presented. The first example is a warm standby system with common-cause failures and human errors. The second example is a non-identical unit parallel system with common-cause failures. In both cases recourse to numerical solution is inevitable to obtain the Laplace transforms of the probabilities. Results obtained using SPICE are compared with previously published results obtained using the Laplace transform method. Full SPICE listings are included.

  7. 2002 reliability report on the French power system; Bilan 2002 de la surete du systeme electrique francais

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-07-01

    Ensuring the reliability of the power system is one of the main responsibilities entrusted to RTE, the French transmission system operator, by the Act of February 10, 2000. Reliability must be maintained, both now and in the future. This means that RTE is required to: ensure the normal operation of the power system, limit the number of incidents and avoid major incidents, limit the consequences of major incidents when they do occur. By publishing a yearly reliability report on the French power system, RTE is clearly showing its ambition to encourage long-term supervision of all aspects of system reliability development. By this approach, RTE's intention is to help develop a reliability culture, by all the actors concerned (both RTE and network users) more aware of their role in establishing reliability, and by promoting reliability issues and comparisons with international transmission system operator associations (UCTE , ETSO ). The annual reliability report is drawn up around the following themes: a broad overview of changes in the internal and external environment that have implications for reliability, developments in the various elements that make up the reliability referential during the course of the year, developments on measures aimed at promoting reliability, in terms of equipment, organisation and human resources, lessons learned from events that took place over the year, the presentation of reliability-related indicators, RTE's control loop, and the developments under way at present.

  8. Achieving public acceptance. Lessons from national repository programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Isaacs, Tom

    2008-01-01

    Essentially all countries pursuing nuclear waste repository programs have had long and dynamic histories. There have had changes in policies, programs, and national laws, many successes and more failures. Most continue to pursue the siting and development of geologic repositories for the ultimate disposal of the spent nuclear fuel (or reprocessed wastes) arising from the operation of nuclear power plants. And while many have had very strong repository science and technology programs, they have continued to find significant challenges associated with the societal acceptance issues required for such programs to be successful. Over recent years repository programs have developed and implemented rather different approaches to managing the non-technical (e.g. societal, political, and institutional) aspects of repository program development. This is not unexpected as programs have had different histories, operate under different laws, reside in countries with different cultures and values, and are managed under different formulations. For example, the U.S. program is implemented by a branch of the Department of Energy while in several other countries the program is managed by a separate corporation on behalf of the nuclear waste owners or dedicated quasi-governmental organizations. These similar, but different programs, and their rich histories and current work, provide an excellent opportunity to investigate features that have and have not proven successful in helping to achieve public acceptance. This paper will review some of the compelling aspects and provide some guidelines for applications in other national circumstances. Recent experiences will be evaluated to discern emerging trends for achieving public acceptance in nuclear repository development and in the broader dimensions associated with the potential renaissance of nuclear power. (author)

  9. Proceedings for air quality management programs: A workshop on lessons learned

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Streit, G.E. [comp.

    1993-06-01

    The coordinators of this project at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo proposed a workshop to bring together an international group of experts to present both the lessons of history and the current practices in air quality management around the world. The workshop would also serve as a forum for presenting the accomplishments and plans of this project and for receiving comments from the assembled group. The workshop was favored with an outstanding set of speakers who represented a broad spectrum of experience. Their papers are presented in this volume. The total attendance was forty-four (see List of Participants) with representation from numerous interested Mexican institutions. Individual reports are processed separately for the database.

  10. Proceedings for air quality management programs: A workshop on lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Streit, G.E.

    1993-06-01

    The coordinators of this project at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo proposed a workshop to bring together an international group of experts to present both the lessons of history and the current practices in air quality management around the world. The workshop would also serve as a forum for presenting the accomplishments and plans of this project and for receiving comments from the assembled group. The workshop was favored with an outstanding set of speakers who represented a broad spectrum of experience. Their papers are presented in this volume. The total attendance was forty-four (see List of Participants) with representation from numerous interested Mexican institutions. Individual reports are processed separately for the database

  11. Building technological capability within satellite programs in developing countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Danielle; Weigel, Annalisa

    2011-12-01

    This paper explores the process of building technological capability in government-led satellite programs within developing countries. The key message is that these satellite programs can learn useful lessons from literature in the international development community. These lessons are relevant to emerging satellite programs that leverage international partnerships in order to establish local capability to design, build and operate satellites. Countries with such programs include Algeria, Nigeria, Turkey, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. The paper first provides background knowledge about space activity in developing countries, and then explores the nuances of the lessons coming from the international development literature. Developing countries are concerned with satellite technology because satellites provide useful services in the areas of earth observation, communication, navigation and science. Most developing countries access satellite services through indirect means such as sharing data with foreign organizations. More countries, however, are seeking opportunities to develop satellite technology locally. There are objective, technically driven motivations for developing countries to invest in satellite technology, despite rich debate on this topic. The paper provides a framework to understand technical motivations for investment in satellite services, hardware, expertise and infrastructure in both short and long term. If a country decides to pursue such investments they face a common set of strategic decisions at the levels of their satellite program, their national context and their international relationships. Analysis of past projects shows that countries have chosen diverse strategies to address these strategic decisions and grow in technological capability. What is similar about the historical examples is that many countries choose to leverage international partnerships as part of their growth process. There are also historical examples from

  12. HYPNOTEACHING IN HISTORY LESSON

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agus Budianto

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Hypnoteaching in History Lesson. Historical learning is a science that can’t be separated in educating the younger generation. Through this lesson, teachers in secondary schools can provide the foundation of nationality through important events in the study of the social sciences. Many of the problems that occur in learning history, such as the boring and make sleepy. Everyone must have heard the term hypnosis, hypnotism, or hypnotherapy. Each person must also have a different view or understanding when hearing these terms. Hypnoteaching is one of the learning methods by using the art of communicating to influence learners. Hypnoteaching is a combination of five teaching-learning methods such as quantum learning, accelerate learning, power teaching, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP and hypnosis. Hypnoteaching can be done using informal hypnosis as well as formal hypnosis. Informal hypnosis is also called indirect hypnosis ie teachers can naturally make the Critical Area learners become no longer critical, through a very persuasive communication pattern. Here's what the teacher can do in Informal hypnosis: (1 get attention; (2 establishing Themes; (3 presenting the structure and regulations; (4 building relationships. If the learners are already comfortable and interested, the next step is to do a formal hypnosis before the lesson begins. Here are the steps that must be done: (1 Induction; (2 Deepening; (3 Deep level test; (4 Suggestion, and; (5 Termination.   Keywords: Historical learning, hypnoteaching, hypnosis, hypnotism, hypnotherapy, history Abstrak: Hipnoteaching dalam Pembelajaran Sejarah. Pelajaran sejarah tidak bisa dihilangkan dalam mendidik para generasi muda. Melalui pembelajaran ini, guru pada sekolah menengah pertama dapat memberikan pondasi rasa nasionalisme melalui peristiwa peristiwa penting dalam pelajaran ilmu pengetahuan social. Masalah yang sering muncul pada pembelajaran ini adalah kebosanan siswa dan

  13. Integrated reliability condition monitoring and maintenance of equipment

    CERN Document Server

    Osarenren, John

    2015-01-01

    Consider a Viable and Cost-Effective Platform for the Industries of the Future (IOF) Benefit from improved safety, performance, and product deliveries to your customers. Achieve a higher rate of equipment availability, performance, product quality, and reliability. Integrated Reliability: Condition Monitoring and Maintenance of Equipment incorporates reliable engineering and mathematical modeling to help you move toward sustainable development in reliability condition monitoring and maintenance. This text introduces a cost-effective integrated reliability growth monitor, integrated reliability degradation monitor, technological inheritance coefficient sensors, and a maintenance tool that supplies real-time information for predicting and preventing potential failures of manufacturing processes and equipment. The author highlights five key elements that are essential to any improvement program: improving overall equipment and part effectiveness, quality, and reliability; improving process performance with maint...

  14. Lessons Learned from the Node 1 Atmosphere Control and Storage and Water Recovery and Management Subsystem Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, David E.

    2011-01-01

    Node 1 flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on Flight 2A during December 1998. To date the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has learned a lot of lessons from this module based on its history of approximately two years of acceptance testing on the ground and currently its twelve years on-orbit. This paper will provide an overview of the ISS Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) design of the Node 1 Atmosphere Control and Storage (ACS) and Water Recovery and Management (WRM) subsystems and it will document some of the lessons that have been learned to date for these subsystems based on problems prelaunch, problems encountered on-orbit, and operational problems/concerns. It is hoped that documenting these lessons learned from ISS will help in preventing them in future Programs.

  15. Analysing the Integration of Engineering in Science Lessons with the Engineering-Infused Lesson Rubric

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterman, Karen; Daugherty, Jenny L.; Custer, Rodney L.; Ross, Julia M.

    2017-01-01

    Science teachers are being called on to incorporate engineering practices into their classrooms. This study explores whether the Engineering-Infused Lesson Rubric, a new rubric designed to target best practices in engineering education, could be used to evaluate the extent to which engineering is infused into online science lessons. Eighty lessons…

  16. Creating a Community of Practice: Lessons Learned from the Center for Astronomy Education (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brissenden, G.

    2009-12-01

    The Center for Astronomy Education (CAE) is devoted to improving teaching and learning in Astro 101. To accomplish this, a vital part of CAE is our broader community of practice which includes over 1000 instructors, graduate and undergraduate students, and postdocs. It is this greater community of practice that supports each other, helps, and learns from each other beyond what would be possible without it. As our community of practice has grown, we at CAE have learned many lessons about how different facets of CAE can best be used to promote and support our community both as a whole and for individual members. We will discuss the various facets of CAE, such as our online discussion group Astrolrner@CAE (http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov/discussion) and its Guest Moderator program, our CAE Regional Teaching Exchange Coordinator program, our CAE Workshop Presenter Apprenticeship Training program, our online This Month’s Teaching Strategy, monthly newsletters, and various types of socializing and networking sessions we hold at national meetings. But more importantly, we will discuss the lessons we’ve learned about what does and does not work in building community within each of these facets.

  17. The Problem about Technology in STEM Education: Some Findings from Action Research on the Professional Development & Integrated STEM Lessons in Informal Fields

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomoki Saito

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Since 2013, the authors’ Japanese team in the Department of Science Education at Shizuoka University has held trials of STEM Education in informal fields as participatory action research (e.g., Science museum in Shizuoka, Lifelong Learning Center in Fujieda City, and STEM Summer camp for the preparation for implementing STEM education in public schools and for proposing science education reform in a Japanese context. Problems in preparing STEM lessons include numerous new instructional materials and programs and emerging specialized schools. In addition, while most of these initiatives address one or more of the STEM subjects separately, there are increasing calls for emphasizing connections between and among the subjects (Honey, Pearson and Schweingruber, 2014. Unfamiliar problems for Japanese teachers are, What is Engineering? What is Design? and How can they be implemented in lessons? While gathering STEM learning materials to implement in their STEM Summer Camp, the authors noticed a pattern with which to develop a STEM lesson and developed a template “T-SM-E” in reference to prior STEM studies. After the STEM Summer Camp, the authors introduced the model in the pre-service teacher preparation program. As a result, the authors received suggestions about how teachers can develop integrated STEM lessons, how undergraduate (UG teachers can implement it in their lessons, and how teachers can assess student learning in their STEM lessons. From standard based student assessments and reflections written by the UG teachers, the authors found that it was difficult for the UG teachers to include technology in their lessons, and their assessment also indicated that the students did not show performance proficiency in technology. The authors discuss this existing problem in the Japanese education system.

  18. Massachusetts nuclear power referendum: Lessons learned from the campaign trail

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allen, S.R.

    1989-01-01

    Last November, Massachusetts voters cast their ballots on a binding initiative which, if passed, would have prohibited the production of high-level waste, thereby permanently shutting down the state's two nuclear power plants: Yankee and Pilgrim. Question 4, as the initiative became known, posed an unprecedented challenge for the state's six major utilities. Essentially, Question 4 was defeated for two reasons: compelling arguments and a well-founded strategy for communicating those arguments. One part of that strategy was the use of debates and public-speaking engagements before both civic groups and on radio/television. These debates and presentations were clearly the most interesting part of the campaign and provided many insights that may be applied to long-term public policy and informational programs. Obviously, there is a significant difference between an intense, focused campaign and an ongoing, diverse public information program-but many of the principles are the same. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the key lessons learned from over 300 debates and presentations in the highly emotional atmosphere of the Question 4 campaign. Throughout the campaign, debaters and speakers submitted after action reports, and it is from these as well as the overall campaign results that the lessons and anecdotes are derived

  19. Designing and Assessing the Validity and Reliability of the Hospital Readiness Assessment Tools to Conducting Quality Improvement Program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamal Gholipoor

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Background and objectives : Identifying the readiness of hospital and its strengths and weaknesses can be useful in developing appropriate planning and situation analyses and management to getting effective in clinical audit programs. The aim of this study was to design and assess the validity of the Hospital Readiness Assessment Tools to conduct quality improvement and clinical audit programs. Material and Methods: In this study, based on the results of a systematic review of literature, an initial questionnaire with 77 items was designed. Questionnaire content validity was reviewed by experts in the field of hospital management and quality improvement in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. For this purpose, 20 questionnaires were sent to experts. Finally, 15 participants returned completed questionnaire. Questionnaire validity was reviewed and confirmed based on Content Validity Index and Content Validity Ratio. Questionnaire reliability was confirmed based on Cronbach's alpha index (α = 0.96 in a pilot study by participation of 30 hospital managers. Results: The results showed that the final questionnaire contains 54 questions as nine category as: data and information (9 items, teamwork (12 questions, resources (5 questions, patient and education (5, intervention design and implementation (5 questions, clinical audit management (4 questions, human resources (6 questions, evidence and standard (4 items and evaluation and feedback (4 items. The final questionnaire content validity index was 0.91 and final questionnaire Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.96. Conclusion: Considering the relative good validity and reliability of the designed tool in this study, it appears that the questionnaire can be used to identify and assess the readiness of hospitals for quality improvement and clinical audit program implementation

  20. Quantized hopfield networks for reliability optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nourelfath, Mustapha; Nahas, Nabil

    2003-01-01

    The use of neural networks in the reliability optimization field is rare. This paper presents an application of a recent kind of neural networks in a reliability optimization problem for a series system with multiple-choice constraints incorporated at each subsystem, to maximize the system reliability subject to the system budget. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear binary integer programming problem and characterized as an NP-hard problem. Our design of neural network to solve efficiently this problem is based on a quantized Hopfield network. This network allows us to obtain optimal design solutions very frequently and much more quickly than others Hopfield networks