Security analysis of socio-technical physical systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lenzini, Gabriele; Mauw, Sjouke; Ouchani, Samir

2015-01-01

Recent initiatives that evaluate the security of physical systems with objects as assets and people as agents – here called socio-technical physical systems – have limitations: their agent behavior is too simple, they just estimate feasibility and not the likelihood of attacks, or they do estimate

Applicability of Socio-Technical Model (STM in Working System of Modern Organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosmaini Tasmin

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Knowledge has been identified as one of the most important resources in organization that contributes to competitive advantages. Organizations around the world realize and put into practice an approach that bases on technological and sociological aspects to fill-up the gaps in their workplaces. The Socio-Technical Model (STM is an established organizational model introduced by Trist since 1960s at Tavistock Institute, London. It relates two most common components exist in all organizations, namely social systems (human and technological systems (information technology, machinery and equipment in organizations over many decades. This paper reviews the socio-technical model from various perspectives of its developmental stages and ideas written by researchers. Therefore, several literature reviews on socio-technical model have been compiled and discussed to justify whether its basic argument matches with required practices in Techno-Social environments. Through a socio-technical perspective on Knowledge Management, this paper highlights the interplay between social systems and technological system. It also suggests that management and leadership play critical roles in establishing the techno-social perspective for the effective assimilation of Knowledge Management practices.

Sociotechnical systems : towards an organizational learning approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Molleman, E; Broekhuis, M

2001-01-01

By means of three design principles (the sociotechnical criterion, the principle of minimal critical specification and the principle of joint optimization of the technical and social system), STS as a design theory is related to four organizational performance indicators (price, quality, flexibility

Capturing socio-technical systems with agent-based modelling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Dam, K.H.

2009-01-01

What is a suitable modelling approach for socio-technical systems? The answer to this question is of great importance to decision makers in large scale interconnected network systems. The behaviour of these systems is determined by many actors, situated in a dynamic, multi-actor, multi-objective and

Socio-technical Betwixtness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bossen, Claus

2017-01-01

the intrinsically social and technical interwovenness of design, and the necessity of including affected people and stakeholders in the design process. This betwixtness of socio-technical design is demonstrated by the analysis of two IT systems for healthcare: a foundational model for electronic healthcare records......This chapter focusses on two challenges for socio-technical design: Having to choose between different rationales for design, and the adequate understanding and depiction of the work to be redesigned. These two challenges betwixt the otherwise strong tenets of socio-technical design of pointing out......, and an IT system organizing hospital porters’ work. The conceptual background for the analysis of the cases is provided by a short introduction to different rationales for organizational design, and by pointing to the differences between a linear, rationalistic versus an interactional depiction of work....

Using communication norms in socio-technical systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weigand, H.; Whitworth, B.; de Moor, A.

2009-01-01

Often socio-technical systems are designed simply on the basis of what the user asks, and without considering explicitly whether the required process structure is right and wrong. However, poor communication may cause many problems. Therefore, a design cycle should always include diagnosis, and in

Agent-Based Modeling and Analysis of Socio-Technical Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sharpanskykh, O.

2011-01-01

Socio-technical systems are characterized by high structural and behavioral complexities, which impede understanding and modeling of such systems. In particular, reciprocal relations between diverse local system processes that determine global system dynamics are not well understood. In this article

From Autonomous Systems to Sociotechnical Systems: Designing Effective Collaborations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyle J. Behymer

Full Text Available Effectiveness in sociotechnical systems often depends on coordination among multiple agents (including both humans and autonomous technologies. This means that autonomous technologies must be designed to function as collaborative systems, or team players. In many complex work domains, success is beyond the capabilities of humans unaided by technologies. However, at the same time, human capabilities are often critical to ultimate success, as all automated control systems will eventually face problems their designers did not anticipate. Unfortunately, there is often an either/or attitude with respect to humans and technology that tends to focus on optimizing the separate human and autonomous components, with the design of interfaces and team processes as an afterthought. The current paper discusses the limitations of this approach and proposes an alternative where the goal of design is a seamless integration of human and technological capabilities into a well-functioning sociotechnical system. Drawing lessons from both the academic (SRK Framework and commercial (IBM’s Watson, video games worlds, suggestions for enriching the coupling between the human and automated systems by considering both technical and social aspects are discussed.

Formal Modelling and Analysis of Socio-Technical Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Probst, Christian W.; Kammüller, Florian; Rydhof Hansen, René; Probst, Christian W.; Hankin, Chris; Rydhof Hansen, René

2015-01-01

Attacks on systems and organisations increasingly exploit human actors, for example through social engineering. This non-technical aspect of attacks complicates their formal treatment and automatic identification. Formalisation of human behaviour is difficult at best, and attacks on socio-technical

Improving a health information system for real-time data entries: An action research project using socio-technical systems theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Adaba, Godfried Bakiyem; Kebebew, Yohannes

2018-03-01

This paper presents the findings of an action research (AR) project to improve a health information system (HIS) at the Operating Theater Department (OTD) of a National Health Service (NHS) hospital in South East England, the UK. Informed by socio-technical systems (STS) theory, AR was used to design an intervention to enhance an existing patient administration system (PAS) to enable data entries in real time while contributing to the literature. The study analyzed qualitative data collected through interviews, participant observations, and document reviews. The study found that the design of the PAS was unsuitable to the work of the three units of the OTD. Based on the diagnoses and STS theory, the project developed and implemented a successful intervention to enhance the legacy system for data entries in real time. The study demonstrates the value of AR from a socio-technical perspective for improving existing systems in healthcare settings. The steps adopted in this study could be applied to improve similar systems. A follow-up study will be essential to assess the sustainability of the improved system.

FRAM Modelling Complex Socio-technical Systems

CERN Document Server

Hollnagel, Erik

2012-01-01

There has not yet been a comprehensive method that goes behind 'human error' and beyond the failure concept, and various complicated accidents have accentuated the need for it. The Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) fulfils that need. This book presents a detailed and tested method that can be used to model how complex and dynamic socio-technical systems work, and understand both why things sometimes go wrong but also why they normally succeed.

Sociotechnical approaches to workplace safety: Research needs and opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, Michelle M.; Hettinger, Lawrence J.; Waterson, Patrick E.; Ian Noy, Y.; Dainoff, Marvin J.; Leveson, Nancy G.; Carayon, Pascale; Courtney, Theodore K.

2015-01-01

The sociotechnical systems perspective offers intriguing and potentially valuable insights into problems associated with workplace safety. While formal sociotechnical systems thinking originated in the 1950s, its application to the analysis and design of sustainable, safe working environments has not been fully developed. To that end, a Hopkinton Conference was organised to review and summarise the state of knowledge in the area and to identify research priorities. A group of 26 international experts produced collaborative articles for this special issue of Ergonomics, and each focused on examining a key conceptual, methodological and/or theoretical issue associated with sociotechnical systems and safety. In this concluding paper, we describe the major conference themes and recommendations. These are organised into six topic areas: (1) Concepts, definitions and frameworks, (2) defining research methodologies, (3) modelling and simulation, (4) communications and decision-making, (5) sociotechnical attributes of safe and unsafe systems and (6) potential future research directions for sociotechnical systems research. Practitioner Summary: Sociotechnical complexity, a characteristic of many contemporary work environments, presents potential safety risks that traditional approaches to workplace safety may not adequately address. In this paper, we summarise the investigations of a group of international researchers into questions associated with the application of sociotechnical systems thinking to improve worker safety. PMID:25728246

Modelling and Reasoning about Security Requirements in Socio-Technical Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Paja, Elda; Dalpiaz, Fabiano; Giorgini, Paolo

2015-01-01

Modern software systems operate within the context of larger socio-technical systems, wherein they interact—by exchanging data and outsourcing tasks—with other technical components, humans, and organisations. When interacting, these components (actors) operate autonomously; as such, they may

Dynamic Socio-technical System Design based on Stakeholder Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert Fleischmann

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In order to directly involve stakeholders in socio-technical system design, we argue for streamlining executable process specifications with business process modeling. Due to current agility requirements of organizations, socio-technical system development is considered one of the key activities of members of the organizations. Dynamic process adaptation enable handling the volatility of business operation and IT infrastructure. Subject-oriented process representations are key enablers to dynamic adaptation due to their capability for stakeholders to create directly executable models. In this way stakeholder can be involved in change management pro-actively. Subject-oriented models (i represent all relevant features required for system control and decision making, and (ii are executable on demand. This effectiveness enables organizational change in a creative and efficient way, while establishing innovative design and change management tools. Subject-oriented Business Process Management capabilities are reflected in this realm revealing benefits and potential for further research.

Model-Driven Information Security Risk Assessment of Socio-Technical Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ionita, Dan

2018-01-01

As more aspects of life transition to the digital domain, computer systems become increasingly complex but also more social. But assessing a socio-technical system is no trivial task: it often requires intimate knowledge of the system, awareness of the social dynamics and trust relationships of its

Work design issues in lean production from a sociotechnical systems perspective : Neo-Taylorism or the next step in sociotechnical design?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niepce, W; Molleman, E

The similarities and differences between two paradigms, Lean Production (LP) and Sociotechnical Systems (STS) thinking, which currently compete for the attention of managers and scholars interested in improving the design of work systems, are studied in this article. In order to find the logic

The everyday lives of energy transitions: Contested sociotechnical imaginaries in the American West.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Jessica M; Tidwell, Abraham Sd

2016-06-01

This article brings together two growing literatures - on sociotechnical imaginaries in science and technology studies and on resource materialities in anthropology - to explore how two energy-producing communities in the American West understand the moral salience of energy systems and the place of labor within them. Studies of energy sociotechnical imaginaries overwhelmingly focus on the role that state and transnational actors play in shaping perceptions of the 'good society', rather than how these imaginaries inform and are transformed in the lived experience of everyday people. We illuminate the contested dimension of sociotechnical imaginaries and their positioning within structures of power that inform visions of moral behavior and social order. Whereas the role of energy in national imaginaries is grounded almost entirely in the consumption it enables, examining the everyday ethics of people who live and work in Colorado's uranium-rich Western Slope and Wyoming's coal-rich Powder River Basin reveals an insistence that 'good' energy systems also provide opportunities for dignified and well-paid blue-collar work. This imaginary, we argue, remains 'bounded' at a local scale rather than circulating more widely to gain national or international traction. Theorizing this boundedness illustrates not only the contested nature of sociotechnical imaginaries, but also the constraints that material assemblages and sediments of the past place on imagined futures.

Assessing the impact of new technology on complex sociotechnical systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oosthuizen, R

2016-08-01

Full Text Available , South Africa roosthuizen@csir.co.za Department of Engineering and Technology Management University of Pretoria, South Africa Leon.Pretorius@up.ac.za ABSTRACT In complex sociotechnical systems, cognitive and social humans use technology...

Composite Socio-Technical Systems: A Method for Social Energy Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Yingchen [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); He, Fulin [Huazhong University of Science & Technology; Hao, Jun [University of Denver; Dai, Xiaoxiao [University of Denver; Zhang, Jun Jason [University of Denver; Wei, Jiaolong [Huazhong University of Science & Technology

2017-12-01

In order to model and study the interactions between social on technical systems, a systemic method, namely the composite socio-technical systems (CSTS), is proposed to incorporate social systems, technical systems and the interaction mechanism between them. A case study on University of Denver (DU) campus grid is presented in paper to demonstrate the application of the proposed method. In the case study, the social system, technical system, and the interaction mechanism are defined and modelled within the framework of CSTS. Distributed and centralized control and management schemes are investigated, respectively, and numerical results verifies the feasibility and performance of the proposed composite system method.

An analysis methodology for impact of new technology in complex sociotechnical systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oosthuizen, R

2013-11-01

Full Text Available in support of Systems Engineering efforts, which is difficult with complex Sociotechnical Systems. Cognitive Work Analysis and System Dynamics are two complementary approaches that can be applied within this context. The products of these methods assist...

Modelling methodology for assessing the impact of new technology on complex sociotechnical systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oosthuizen, R

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Developing complex sociotechnical systems often involves integrating new technology into existing systems by applying systems engineering processes. This requires an understanding of the problem space and the possible impact of the new technology...

A knock to the system: A new sociotechnical systems approach to sport-related concussion.

Science.gov (United States)

Clacy, Amanda; Goode, Natassia; Sharman, Rachael; Lovell, Geoff P; Salmon, Paul M

2017-11-01

Broader contextual factors that influence concussion management have tended to be overlooked. To address this, the present study used a sociotechnical systems approach to identify perceived responsibilities and applied strategies for three domains of concussion management (i.e., prevention, identification and treatment). Participants were 118 members of the community rugby union system in Australia (69.2% male). Participants from throughout the rugby system (e.g., players, parents, coaches, club management) were asked open-ended questions about their perceived responsibilities and the strategies they use for concussion management. It was found that (a) proper training, technique correction and education were recurrent prevention themes; (b) the majority of key stakeholders felt that they could consistently identify concussion; however, medical aids (medics) were the only system actors who stated a responsibility to use standardised concussion assessment measures and (c) less than one third of the respondents indicated their involvement in treating concussion. This study identifies specific junctures in the system that prevents effective concussion management strategies. A sociotechnical systems approach improves the understanding of concussion prevention, and management beliefs and behaviours.

Socio-Technical Implementation: Socio-technical Systems in the Context of Ubiquitous Computing, Ambient Intelligence, Embodied Virtuality, and the Internet of Things

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijholt, Antinus; Whitworth, B.; de Moor, A.

2009-01-01

In which computer science world do we design and implement our socio-technical systems? About every five or ten years new computer and interaction paradigms are introduced. We had the mainframe computers, the various generations of computers, including the Japanese fifth generation computers, the

Social engineering attacks: an augmentation of the socio-technical systems framework

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Shozi, A

2015-03-01

Full Text Available or organisation’s information. We analyse social engineering attacks as a Socio-technical System because it recognises the interaction between people and technology in a work environment. In the case of social engineering attacks, the social subsystem would...

A MIXED BLESSING: RESILIENCE IN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SOCIO-TECHNICAL SYSTEM OF BITCOIN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcel Morisse

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Studies of resilience highlight the tension between actions that allow a firm – and a system – to be robust and those that allows it to be flexible. Studies suggest that an entrepreneurial firm will prioritize flexibility, given resource constraints. However, what occurs when a number of firms are embedded in a common socio-technical system and an extreme event affects them collectively? This paper tests whether existing theory about resilience predicts the responses of entrepreneurs in such a system, with reference to an extreme event in the Bitcoin sociotechnical system: the much-publicized bankruptcy of Mt.Gox, a key player. It relies on indepth interviews with 8 entrepreneurs in Europe, triangulated with other data. We find that robustness is the dominant strategy for those interviewed. This is partly because the firms rely on pooled resources supplied by the collective, and partly because robustness builds trust, giving the firms a competitive advantage.

Extending Sociotechnical design to project conception

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampf, Constance

2009-01-01

between knowledge and technology through knowledge communication processes, cultural and rhetorical contexts. This connection is examined from a process point of view through the development of project goals and objectives to situate technology. The data comes from a Project Management course in which...... the students were asked to design and plan projects to situate a mobile phone game in the social context around a museum in Helsinki or their online course management system.   The paper traces the evolution of students' project goals and objectives with respect to knowledge communication theory, demonstrating...... the potential of knowledge communication concepts for socio-technical design processes, as well as the implications of socio-technical design processes in extending our understanding of knowledge communication. Keywords: Knowledge Communication, Knowledge Management, Socio-Technical Design, Project Management....

When paradigms collide at the road rail interface: evaluation of a sociotechnical systems theory design toolkit for cognitive work analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Read, Gemma J M; Salmon, Paul M; Lenné, Michael G

2016-09-01

The Cognitive Work Analysis Design Toolkit (CWA-DT) is a recently developed approach that provides guidance and tools to assist in applying the outputs of CWA to design processes to incorporate the values and principles of sociotechnical systems theory. In this paper, the CWA-DT is evaluated based on an application to improve safety at rail level crossings. The evaluation considered the extent to which the CWA-DT met pre-defined methodological criteria and aligned with sociotechnical values and principles. Both process and outcome measures were taken based on the ratings of workshop participants and human factors experts. Overall, workshop participants were positive about the process and indicated that it met the methodological criteria and sociotechnical values. However, expert ratings suggested that the CWA-DT achieved only limited success in producing RLX designs that fully aligned with the sociotechnical approach. Discussion about the appropriateness of the sociotechnical approach in a public safety context is provided. Practitioner Summary: Human factors and ergonomics practitioners need evidence of the effectiveness of methods. A design toolkit for cognitive work analysis, incorporating values and principles from sociotechnical systems theory, was applied to create innovative designs for rail level crossings. Evaluation results based on the application are provided and discussed.

How to Generate Security Cameras: Towards Defence Generation for Socio-Technical Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gadyatskaya, Olga

2016-01-01

Recently security researchers have started to look into automated generation of attack trees from socio-technical system models. The obvious next step in this trend of automated risk analysis is automating the selection of security controls to treat the detected threats. However, the existing

Developing and Validating the Socio-Technical Model in Ontology Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Silalahi, Mesnan; Indra Sensuse, Dana; Giri Sucahyo, Yudho; Fadhilah Akmaliah, Izzah; Rahayu, Puji; Cahyaningsih, Elin

2018-03-01

This paper describes results from an attempt to develop a model in ontology engineering methodology and a way to validate the model. The approach to methodology in ontology engineering is from the point view of socio-technical system theory. Qualitative research synthesis is used to build the model using meta-ethnography. In order to ensure the objectivity of the measurement, inter-rater reliability method was applied using a multi-rater Fleiss Kappa. The results show the accordance of the research output with the diamond model in the socio-technical system theory by evidence of the interdependency of the four socio-technical variables namely people, technology, structure and task.

Exploring How Technology Mediates the Types of Relationships Formed in Sociotechnical Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Kar-Hai

2012-01-01

This work presents an exploratory study of how technology mediates the different types of relationships that are formed in sociotechnical systems. More people each day are connecting with each other through social networks, online communities, and other forms of virtual environments. Whether for education, information seeking, friendship,…

A case study - Characteristics of work organization in lean production and sociotechnical systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niepce, W; Molleman, E

1996-01-01

Several human factors in the present and prospective situation of an automotive assembly shop were examined with respect to the concepts of lean production (LP) and sociotechnical systems. The work organization was evaluated by means of four principles: of ''minimal critical specification'' which

How a submarine returns to periscope depth: analysing complex socio-technical systems using Cognitive Work Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanton, Neville A; Bessell, Kevin

2014-01-01

This paper presents the application of Cognitive Work Analysis to the description of the functions, situations, activities, decisions, strategies, and competencies of a Trafalgar class submarine when performing the function of returning to periscope depth. All five phases of Cognitive Work Analysis are presented, namely: Work Domain Analysis, Control Task Analysis, Strategies Analysis, Social Organisation and Cooperation Analysis, and Worker Competencies Analysis. Complex socio-technical systems are difficult to analyse but Cognitive Work Analysis offers an integrated way of analysing complex systems with the core of functional means-ends analysis underlying all of the other representations. The joined-up analysis offers a coherent framework for understanding how socio-technical systems work. Data were collected through observation and interviews at different sites across the UK. The resultant representations present a statement of how the work domain and current activities are configured in this complex socio-technical system. This is intended to provide a baseline, from which all future conceptions of the domain may be compared. The strength of the analysis is in the multiple representations from which the constraints acting on the work may be analysed. Future research needs to challenge the assumptions behind these constraints in order to develop new ways of working. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

The interplay of institutions, actors and technologies in socio-technical systems - An analysis of transformations in the Australian urban water sector

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fuenfschilling, Lea; Truffer, Bernhard

2016-01-01

Literature on socio-technical transitions has primarily emphasized the co-determination of institutions and technologies. In this paper, we want to focus on how actors play a mediating role between these two pillars of a socio-technical system. By introducing the theoretical concept of institutional

Understanding the Modularity of Socio-technical Production Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thuesen, Christian Langhoff

This paper seeks to contribute to the development of Configurational Theory by offering a reinterpretation of the modularity concept from a socio-technical perspective in general and Actor Network Theory (ANT) in particular. By formulating modularity from an ANT perspective covering social...

A sociotechnical framework for understanding infrastructure breakdown and repair

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sims, Benjamin H [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2009-01-01

This paper looks at how and why infrastructure is repaired. With a new era of infrastructure spending underway, policymakers need to understand and anticipate the particular technical and political challenges posed by infrastructure repair. In particular, as infrastructure problems are increasingly in the public eye with current economic stimulus efforts, the question has increasingly been asked: why has it been so difficult for the United Statesto devote sustained resources to maintaining and upgrading its national infrastructure? This paper provides a sociotechnical framework for understanding the challenges of infrastructure repair, and demonstrates this framework using a case study of seismic retrofit of freeway bridges in California. The design of infrastructure is quite different from other types of design work even when new infrastructure is being designed. Infrastructure projects are almost always situated within, and must work with, existing infrastructure networks. As a result, compared to design of more discrete technological artifacts, the design of infrastructure systems requires a great deal of attention to interfaces as well as adaptation of design to the constraints imposed by existing systems. Also, because of their scale, infrastructural technologies engage with social life at a level where explicit political agendas may playa central role in the design process. The design and building of infrastructure is therefore often an enormously complex feat of sociotechnical engineering, in which technical and political agendas are negotiated together until an outcome is reached that allows the project to move forward. These sociotechnical settlements often result in a complex balancing of powerful interests around infrastructural artifacts; at the same time, less powerful interests have historically often been excluded or marginalized from such settlements.

Characterizing complexity in socio-technical systems: a case study of a SAMU Medical Regulation Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Righi, Angela Weber; Wachs, Priscila; Saurin, Tarcísio Abreu

2012-01-01

Complexity theory has been adopted by a number of studies as a benchmark to investigate the performance of socio-technical systems, especially those that are characterized by relevant cognitive work. However, there is little guidance on how to assess, systematically, the extent to which a system is complex. The main objective of this study is to carry out a systematic analysis of a SAMU (Mobile Emergency Medical Service) Medical Regulation Center in Brazil, based on the core characteristics of complex systems presented by previous studies. The assessment was based on direct observations and nine interviews: three of them with regulator of emergencies medical doctor, three with radio operators and three with telephone attendants. The results indicated that, to a great extent, the core characteristics of complexity are magnified) due to basic shortcomings in the design of the work system. Thus, some recommendations are put forward with a view to reducing unnecessary complexity that hinders the performance of the socio-technical system.

A socio-technical approach for the design of a production control system : towards controllable production units

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slomp, Jannes; Ruël, Gwenny C.

2000-01-01

In the design of a production control system much attention is usually paid to technicalaspects, whereas the elaboration upon social aspects remain underexposed. SociotechnicalSystems Theory (SST) emphasizes the importance of finding a joint optimization between the technical and the social systems

Socio-Technical Considerations for the Use of Blockchain Technology in Healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Ming Chao; Yee, Kwang Chien; Nøhr, Christian

2018-01-01

Blockchain technology is often considered as the fourth industrial revolution that will change the world. The enthusiasm of the transformative nature of blockchain technology has infiltrated healthcare. Blockchain is often seen as the much needed and perfect technology for healthcare, addressing the difficult and complex issues of security and inter-operability. More importantly, the "value" and trust-based system can deliver automated action and response via its smart contract mechanism. Healthcare, however, is a complex system. Health information technology (HIT) so far, has not delivered its promise of transforming healthcare due to its complex socio-technical and context sensitive interaction. The introduction of blockchain technology will need to consider a whole range of socio-technical issues in order to improve the quality and safety of patient care. This paper presents a discussion on these socio-technical issues. More importantly, this paper argues that in order to achieve the best outcome from blockchain technology, there is a need to consider a clinical transformation from "information" to "value " and trust. This paper argues that urgent research is needed to address these socio-technical issues in order to facilitate best outcomes for blockchain in healthcare. These socio-technical issues must then be further evaluated by means of working prototypes in the medical domain in coming years.

Socio-technical systems and interaction design - 21st century relevance.

Science.gov (United States)

Maguire, Martin

2014-03-01

This paper focuses on the relationship between the socio-technical system and the user-technology interface. It looks at specific aspects of the organisational context such as multiple user roles, job change, work processes and workflows, technical infrastructure, and the challenges they present for the interaction designer. The implications of trends such as more mobile and flexible working, the use of social media, and the growth of the virtual organisation, are also considered. The paper also reviews rapidly evolving technologies such as pervasive systems and artificial intelligence, and the skills that workers will need to engage with them. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Exploring Socio-Technical Features of Green Interior Design of Residential Buildings: Indicators, Interdependence and Embeddedness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Ning

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This research aims to develop indicators for assessing green interior design of new residential buildings in China, grounded in the socio-technical systems approach. The research was carried out through a critical literature review and two focus group studies. The results show that the boundaries of green interior design were identified with respect to three dimensions, namely performance, methodology and stakeholders. The socio-technical systems approach argues for the recognition of the interdependence between the systems elements and the feature of embeddedness. The interdependence of the systems elements exists within each of these three dimensions and across them. It is also found that the socio-technical systems of green interior design are embedded in the social, regulatory and geographic context. Taking interior design of residential buildings as the empirical setting, this study contributes to the literature of green building assessment by presenting a socio-technical systems approach.

Reaching a 1.5°C target: socio-technical challenges for a rapid transition to low-carbon electricity systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyre, Nick; Darby, Sarah J; Grünewald, Philipp; McKenna, Eoghan; Ford, Rebecca

2018-05-13

A 1.5°C global average target implies that we should no longer focus on merely incremental emissions reductions from the electricity system, but rather on fundamentally re-envisaging a system that, sooner rather than later, becomes carbon free. Many low-carbon technologies are surpassing mainstream predictions for both uptake and cost reduction. Their deployment is beginning to be disruptive within established systems. 'Smart technologies' are being developed to address emerging challenges of system integration, but their rates of future deployment remain uncertain. We argue that transition towards a system that can fully displace carbon generation sources will require expanding the focus of our efforts beyond technical solutions. Recognizing that change has social and technical dimensions, and that these interact strongly, we set out a socio-technical review that covers electricity infrastructure, citizens, business models and governance. It describes some of the socio-technical challenges that need to be addressed for the successful transition of the existing electricity systems. We conclude that a socio-technical understanding of electricity system transitions offers new and better insights into the potential and challenges for rapid decarbonization.This article is part of the theme issue 'The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Staging Sociotechnical Spaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Christian; Yoshinaka, Yutaka

2007-01-01

The management of innovation and product development is increasingly facing complex challenges of staging design processes across heterogeneous organisational spaces, with multiple actor-concerns and sources of knowledge. This paper addresses how insights from the Actor-Network Theory and political...... is elaborated as being an occasioning as well as a result of socio-technical choices and processes, and points to the role of socio-material as well as discursive practices, which frame and render particular spaces open to management and to the coordination of knowledge flows and ideas in early phases...... of product development. The concept of socio-technical spaces is further illustrated through actual examples from industry dealing with early conceptualisation in product development and the role played by management concepts in the configuration of spaces....

Rejecting renewables: The socio-technical impediments to renewable electricity in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sovacool, Benjamin K.

2009-01-01

If renewable power systems deliver such impressive benefits, why do they still provide only 3 percent of national electricity generation in the United States? As an answer, this article demonstrates that the impediments to renewable power are socio-technical, a term that encompasses the technological, social, political, regulatory, and cultural aspects of electricity supply and use. Extensive interviews of public utility commissioners, utility managers, system operators, manufacturers, researchers, business owners, and ordinary consumers reveal that it is these socio-technical barriers that often explain why wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectric power sources are not embraced. Utility operators reject renewable resources because they are trained to think only in terms of big, conventional power plants. Consumers practically ignore renewable power systems because they are not given accurate price signals about electricity consumption. Intentional market distortions (such as subsidies), and unintentional market distortions (such as split incentives) prevent consumers from becoming fully invested in their electricity choices. As a result, newer and cleaner technologies that may offer social and environmental benefits but are not consistent with the dominant paradigm of the electricity industry continue to face comparative rejection.

Rejecting renewables. The socio-technical impediments to renewable electricity in the United States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sovacool, Benjamin K. [Energy Governance Program, Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (Singapore)

2009-11-15

If renewable power systems deliver such impressive benefits, why do they still provide only 3 percent of national electricity generation in the United States? As an answer, this article demonstrates that the impediments to renewable power are socio-technical, a term that encompasses the technological, social, political, regulatory, and cultural aspects of electricity supply and use. Extensive interviews of public utility commissioners, utility managers, system operators, manufacturers, researchers, business owners, and ordinary consumers reveal that it is these socio-technical barriers that often explain why wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectric power sources are not embraced. Utility operators reject renewable resources because they are trained to think only in terms of big, conventional power plants. Consumers practically ignore renewable power systems because they are not given accurate price signals about electricity consumption. Intentional market distortions (such as subsidies), and unintentional market distortions (such as split incentives) prevent consumers from becoming fully invested in their electricity choices. As a result, newer and cleaner technologies that may offer social and environmental benefits but are not consistent with the dominant paradigm of the electricity industry continue to face comparative rejection. (author)

Rejecting renewables: The socio-technical impediments to renewable electricity in the United States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sovacool, Benjamin K., E-mail: bsovacool@nus.edu.s [Energy Governance Program, Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (Singapore)

2009-11-15

If renewable power systems deliver such impressive benefits, why do they still provide only 3 percent of national electricity generation in the United States? As an answer, this article demonstrates that the impediments to renewable power are socio-technical, a term that encompasses the technological, social, political, regulatory, and cultural aspects of electricity supply and use. Extensive interviews of public utility commissioners, utility managers, system operators, manufacturers, researchers, business owners, and ordinary consumers reveal that it is these socio-technical barriers that often explain why wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectric power sources are not embraced. Utility operators reject renewable resources because they are trained to think only in terms of big, conventional power plants. Consumers practically ignore renewable power systems because they are not given accurate price signals about electricity consumption. Intentional market distortions (such as subsidies), and unintentional market distortions (such as split incentives) prevent consumers from becoming fully invested in their electricity choices. As a result, newer and cleaner technologies that may offer social and environmental benefits but are not consistent with the dominant paradigm of the electricity industry continue to face comparative rejection.

Trust in technology a socio-technical perspective

CERN Document Server

Clarke, Karen; Rouncefield, Mark

2006-01-01

Encapsulates work done in the DIRC project (Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration in Dependability), bringing together a range of disciplinary approaches - computer science, sociology and software engineering - to produce a socio-technical systems perspective on the issues surrounding trust in technology in complex settings.

Sociotechnical Dimensions of Design and Innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

of technology). The paper thus challenges the orthodox linear and sequential model of innovation and diffusion, which fail to capture and problematise the complexity of the dynamics involved in sociotechnical change. The paper takes a relatively broad stance as to what constitutes sociotechnical dimensions...... of the sociotechnical dimensions of innovation processes. The paper’s analysis is itself guided by a reflexive stance as to the ‘social shaping of technology’, primarily drawing on an actor-network (ANT) understanding and perspectives based on the enculturation of innovations (e.g. inno-fusion or domestication......The paper addresses interdisciplinary approaches to the study of design and innovation processes, by gathering and critically examining research contributions to date from a number of different scholarly traditions and practices including constructivist studies, participative design activities...

Lowlands sociotechnical design theory and lean production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Christis, Jac; Soepenberg, Erik; Mohr, Bernard J.; van Amelsvoort, Pierre

2015-01-01

Lean Production (LP) can be regarded as a design approach in search of a theoretical foundation. In this paper we show that Lowlands’ Sociotechnical Design Theory (STSL) could function as such a foundation. To reach this goal, we first describe STSL as a system theoretical reformulation of Original

The Sociotechnical Mediation of Lower-Income Pregnancy: A User-Centered Approach to Improving a HCI Design Space

Science.gov (United States)

Peyton, Tamara Shirlene

2016-01-01

Developing and delivering contextually-sensitive user experiences in sociotechnical systems which are geared at helping lower-income women manage their pregnancies requires understanding the human, technological, and the sociotechnical perspectives that are embedded in the mediation of the experience. Yet most digital systems and tools for…

Modulation of sociotechnical change as climate change challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arentsen, M.J.; Eberg, J.W.

2001-01-01

Results of the MATRIC (Management of Technology Responses to the Climate Change Challenge) project are summarized. The project empirically studied technological change and innovation to learn more about the contingencies conditioning and influencing these processes with the aim to recommend national technology oriented climate change policies. The first chapter explains the background, the central research question, the structure and the methodology of Matric. The central research question was how to modulate the ongoing dynamics of socio-technical change to the climate change needs. Chapter two summarizes the core of the analytical framework of Matric. The fundamental idea of social embedding of technology has been the analytical point of departure of the Matric project. It says that innovations emerge and technology changes in close interaction with its social environment. The social environment turns out to be a strong conditioner of technological change and development and therefore, technology and its embedding social environment tend to co-evolve in the course of time. Co-evolution of technology and its social environment theoretically draws on evolutionary oriented economics and sociology. Both theoretical traditions are in turn inspired by biologically oriented. Chapter three summarizes the empirical findings of the analysis of socio-technical change patterns in three cases: electricity generation and use, car-based transport and mobility and eco-efficiency in industrial production. The cases have been selected for their climate change impact and for their social and economic significance. Chapter four comparatively analyzes the significance of the analytical and empirical findings of Matric for the central research question of the project. The chapter comparatively analysis the general pattern of the development, the change and development of the socio-technical regimes, the socio-technical governance arrangements and processes and the public policy

Assessing organizational culture in complex sociotechnical systems. Methodological evidence from studies in nuclear power plant maintenance organizations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiman, T.

2007-03-01

Failures in industrial organizations dealing with hazardous technologies can have widespread consequences for the safety of the workers and the general population. Psychology can have a major role in contributing to the safe and reliable operation of these technologies. Most current models of safety management in complex sociotechnical systems such as nuclear power plant maintenance are either non-contextual or based on an overly-rational image of an organization. Thus, they fail to grasp either the actual requirements of the work or the socially-constructed nature of the work in question. The general aim of the present study is to develop and test a methodology for contextual assessment of organizational culture in complex sociotechnical systems. This is done by demonstrating the findings that the application of the emerging methodology produces in the domain of maintenance of a nuclear power plant (NPP). The concepts of organizational culture and organizational core task (OCT) are operationalized and tested in the case studies

Assessing organizational culture in complex sociotechnical systems. Methodological evidence from studies in nuclear power plant maintenance organizations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reiman, T.

2007-03-15

Failures in industrial organizations dealing with hazardous technologies can have widespread consequences for the safety of the workers and the general population. Psychology can have a major role in contributing to the safe and reliable operation of these technologies. Most current models of safety management in complex sociotechnical systems such as nuclear power plant maintenance are either non-contextual or based on an overly-rational image of an organization. Thus, they fail to grasp either the actual requirements of the work or the socially-constructed nature of the work in question. The general aim of the present study is to develop and test a methodology for contextual assessment of organizational culture in complex sociotechnical systems. This is done by demonstrating the findings that the application of the emerging methodology produces in the domain of maintenance of a nuclear power plant (NPP). The concepts of organizational culture and organizational core task (OCT) are operationalized and tested in the case studies

Tool-based Risk Assessment of Cloud Infrastructures as Socio-Technical Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nidd, Michael; Ivanova, Marieta Georgieva; Probst, Christian W.

2015-01-01

Assessing risk in cloud infrastructures is difficult. Typical cloud infrastructures contain potentially thousands of nodes that are highly interconnected and dynamic. Another important component is the set of human actors who get access to data and computing infrastructure. The cloud infrastructure...... exercise for cloud infrastructures using the socio-technical model developed in the TRESPASS project; after showing how to model typical components of a cloud infrastructure, we show how attacks are identified on this model and discuss their connection to risk assessment. The technical part of the model...... is extracted automatically from the configuration of the cloud infrastructure, which is especially important for systems so dynamic and complex....

Systems scenarios: a tool for facilitating the socio-technical design of work systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Helen P N; Clegg, Chris W; Bolton, Lucy E; Machon, Lauren C

2017-10-01

The socio-technical systems approach to design is well documented. Recognising the benefits of this approach, organisations are increasingly trying to work with systems, rather than their component parts. However, few tools attempt to analyse the complexity inherent in such systems, in ways that generate useful, practical outputs. In this paper, we outline the 'System Scenarios Tool' (SST), which is a novel, applied methodology that can be used by designers, end-users, consultants or researchers to help design or re-design work systems. The paper introduces the SST using examples of its application, and describes the potential benefits of its use, before reflecting on its limitations. Finally, we discuss potential opportunities for the tool, and describe sets of circumstances in which it might be used. Practitioner Summary: The paper presents a novel, applied methodological tool, named the 'Systems Scenarios Tool'. We believe this tool can be used as a point of reference by designers, end-users, consultants or researchers, to help design or re-design work systems. Included in the paper are two worked examples, demonstrating the tool's application.

Socio-technical Spaces: Guiding Politics, Staging Design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Christian; Yoshinaka, Yutaka

2005-01-01

This article addresses how insights from the social shaping tradition and political process theory may contribute to an understanding of the sociotechnical design and implementation of change. This idea is pursued through the notion of 'socio-technical spaces' and its delineation, with respect...... political concerns. The paper tentatively points to some analytical implications and to challenges and possibilities for the 'bridging' between spaces otherwise rendered distinct....

Dreamscapes of modernity sociotechnical imaginaries and the fabrication of power

CERN Document Server

Kim, Sang-Hyun

2015-01-01

Dreamscapes of Modernity offers the first book-length treatment of sociotechnical imaginaries, a concept originated by Sheila Jasanoff and developed in close collaboration with Sang-Hyun Kim to describe how visions of scientific and technological progress carry with them implicit ideas about public purposes, collective futures, and the common good. The book presents a mix of case studies-including nuclear power in Austria, Chinese rice biotechnology, Korean stem cell research, the Indonesian Internet, US bioethics, global health, and more-to illustrate how the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries can lead to more sophisticated understandings of the national and transnational politics of science and technology. A theoretical introduction sets the stage for the contributors' wide-ranging analyses, and a conclusion gathers and synthesizes their collective findings. The book marks a major theoretical advance for a concept that has been rapidly taken up across the social sciences and promises to become central to...

Assessing innovation in emerging energy technologies: Socio-technical dynamics of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) in the USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stephens, Jennie C.; Jiusto, Scott

2010-01-01

This study applies a socio-technical systems perspective to explore innovation dynamics of two emerging energy technologies with potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electrical power generation in the United States: carbon capture and storage (CCS) and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). The goal of the study is to inform sustainability science theory and energy policy deliberations by examining how social and political dynamics are shaping the struggle for resources by these two emerging, not-yet-widely commercializable socio-technical systems. This characterization of socio-technical dynamics of CCS and EGS innovation includes examining the perceived technical, environmental, and financial risks and benefits of each system, as well as the discourses and actor networks through which the competition for resources - particularly public resources - is being waged. CCS and EGS were selected for the study because they vary considerably with respect to their social, technical, and environmental implications and risks, are unproven at scale and uncertain with respect to cost, feasibility, and life-cycle environmental impacts. By assessing the two technologies in parallel, the study highlights important social and political dimensions of energy technology innovation in order to inform theory and suggest new approaches to policy analysis.

The UK homeowner-retrofitter as an innovator in a socio-technical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galvin, Ray; Sunikka-Blank, Minna

2014-01-01

Policy on domestic thermal retrofits is usually designed as a top-down enterprise, setting standards and inducing homeowners to retrofit accordingly. Its underlying assumption is that correct retrofit technology is developed by experts and comes down through supply chains to households, who apply it as designed to their properties. However, this model is challenged by the insight from socio-technical systems studies (STST) that technology and society mutually form and influence each other at every level of society. Using this conceptual framework, this study investigated whether innovations are happening among retrofitting households, and what support these have for diffusion upwards into supply chains and outwards to other households. Qualitative data was gathered through semi-structured interviews among homeowner-retrofitters plus building professionals and citizens' initiatives which support these, in Cambridge, UK. Local innovation was found in the development of new retrofit technology and novel reconfiguring of existing solutions. Much of this was triggered by clashes between standard retrofit solutions and heritage or aesthetic values, economic necessity, or building professionals' lack of knowledge or experience. The findings suggest that instead of treating homeowners as passive recipients, UK thermal retrofit policy should broaden to identify useful innovations developed by homeowners and support them where appropriate. - Highlights: • Technology and innovations for thermal retrofitting are usually seen as top-down. • A socio-technical systems approach reveals a more active role of homeowners. • Interviews show them as innovators, inventors and teachers of retrofit technique. • Policy needs to identify, assess and disseminate appropriate innovations

BizWatts: A modular socio-technical energy management system for empowering commercial building occupants to conserve energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulbinas, R.; Jain, R.K.; Taylor, J.E.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We developed a socio-technical commercial building energy management system. • It was designed for directly engaging and connecting building occupants via feedback. • We collected an array of clickstream data for internal design validation. • A pilot study validated its ability to drive energy savings in commercial buildings. - Abstract: Commercial buildings represent a significant portion of energy consumption and environmental emissions worldwide. To help mitigate the environmental impact of building operations, building energy management systems and behavior-based campaigns designed to reduce energy consumption are becoming increasingly popular. In this paper, we describe the development of a modular socio-technical energy management system, BizWatts, which combines the two approaches by providing real-time, appliance-level power management and socially contextualized energy consumption feedback. We describe in detail the physical and virtual architecture of the system, which simultaneously engages building occupants and facility managers, as well as the main principles behind the interface design and component functionalities. A discussion about how the data collection capabilities of the system enable insightful commercial building energy efficiency studies and quantitative network analysis is also included. We conclude by commenting on the validation of the system, identifying current system limitations and introducing new research avenues that the development and deployment of BizWatts enables

Revealing the Socio-technical Design of Global e-businesses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampf, Constance Elizabeth

2012-01-01

Global e-businesses such as Google, Amazon and E-bay affect both users and society. How can we begin to understand this duality in the socio-technical affordances of e-business? This paper examines a digital art performance as an example of the tensions between capitalist businesses and the public...... of socio-technical design and using dimensions of transparency to understand technology based Internet business, positing global Internet business as having two levels of socio-technical design—1) the micro level, dealing with user interaction, and 2) the macro level, dealing with the social design...

On the Quality of Collective Decisions in Sociotechnical Systems: Transparency, Fairness, and Efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Porello, Daniele

The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for evaluating the quality of collective decisions in sociotechnical systems (STS). We propose using a foundational ontology for conceptualizing the complex hierarchy of information involved in decisions in STS (e.g., normative, conceptual, factual, perceptual). Moreover, we introduce the concept of transparency of decisions as a necessary condition in order to assess the quality of decision-making in STS. We further view transparency as an entitlement of the agent affected by the decision: i.e., the collective decision should be justified.

Hybrid causal methodology and software platform for probabilistic risk assessment and safety monitoring of socio-technical systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Groth, Katrina, E-mail: kgroth@umd.ed [Center for Risk and Reliability, 0151 Glenn L. Martin Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Wang Chengdong; Mosleh, Ali [Center for Risk and Reliability, 0151 Glenn L. Martin Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

2010-12-15

This paper introduces an integrated framework and software platform for probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) and safety monitoring of complex socio-technical systems. An overview of the three-layer hybrid causal logic (HCL) modeling approach and corresponding algorithms, implemented in the Trilith software platform, are provided. The HCL approach enhances typical PRA methods by quantitatively including the influence of soft causal factors introduced by human and organizational aspects of a system. The framework allows different modeling techniques to be used for different aspects of the socio-technical system. The HCL approach combines the power of traditional event sequence diagram (ESD)event tree (ET) and fault tree (FT) techniques for modeling deterministic causal paths, with the flexibility of Bayesian belief networks for modeling non-deterministic cause-effect relationships among system elements (suitable for modeling human and organizational influences). Trilith enables analysts to construct HCL models and perform quantitative risk assessment and management of complex systems. The risk management capabilities included are HCL-based risk importance measures, hazard identification and ranking, precursor analysis, safety indicator monitoring, and root cause analysis. This paper describes the capabilities of the Trilith platform and power of the HCL algorithm by use of example risk models for a type of aviation accident (aircraft taking off from the wrong runway).

Hybrid causal methodology and software platform for probabilistic risk assessment and safety monitoring of socio-technical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groth, Katrina; Wang Chengdong; Mosleh, Ali

2010-01-01

This paper introduces an integrated framework and software platform for probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) and safety monitoring of complex socio-technical systems. An overview of the three-layer hybrid causal logic (HCL) modeling approach and corresponding algorithms, implemented in the Trilith software platform, are provided. The HCL approach enhances typical PRA methods by quantitatively including the influence of soft causal factors introduced by human and organizational aspects of a system. The framework allows different modeling techniques to be used for different aspects of the socio-technical system. The HCL approach combines the power of traditional event sequence diagram (ESD)event tree (ET) and fault tree (FT) techniques for modeling deterministic causal paths, with the flexibility of Bayesian belief networks for modeling non-deterministic cause-effect relationships among system elements (suitable for modeling human and organizational influences). Trilith enables analysts to construct HCL models and perform quantitative risk assessment and management of complex systems. The risk management capabilities included are HCL-based risk importance measures, hazard identification and ranking, precursor analysis, safety indicator monitoring, and root cause analysis. This paper describes the capabilities of the Trilith platform and power of the HCL algorithm by use of example risk models for a type of aviation accident (aircraft taking off from the wrong runway).

A Socio-Technical Approach to Preventing, Mitigating, and Recovering from Ransomware Attacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Sittig, Dean F; Singh, Hardeep

2016-01-01

Recently there have been several high-profile ransomware attacks involving hospitals around the world. Ransomware is intended to damage or disable a user's computer unless the user makes a payment. Once the attack has been launched, users have three options: 1) try to restore their data from backup; 2) pay the ransom; or 3) lose their data. In this manuscript, we discuss a socio-technical approach to address ransomware and outline four overarching steps that organizations can undertake to secure an electronic health record (EHR) system and the underlying computing infrastructure. First, health IT professionals need to ensure adequate system protection by correctly installing and configuring computers and networks that connect them. Next, the health care organizations need to ensure more reliable system defense by implementing user-focused strategies, including simulation and training on correct and complete use of computers and network applications. Concomitantly, the organization needs to monitor computer and application use continuously in an effort to detect suspicious activities and identify and address security problems before they cause harm. Finally, organizations need to respond adequately to and recover quickly from ransomware attacks and take actions to prevent them in future. We also elaborate on recommendations from other authoritative sources, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Similar to approaches to address other complex socio-technical health IT challenges, the responsibility of preventing, mitigating, and recovering from these attacks is shared between health IT professionals and end-users.

International Socio-Technical Challenges for Geological Disposal (InSOTEC): Project Aims and Preliminary Results - 12236

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergmans, Anne; Schroeder, Jantine [University of Antwerp, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, 2000 Antwerp (Belgium); Simmons, Peter [University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences, NR4 7TJ Norwich (United Kingdom); Barthe, Yannick; Meyer, Morgan [CNRS, Ecole des Mines, 75272 Paris (France); Sundqvist, Goeran [Universitetet i Oslo, Centre for Studies of Technology, Innovation and Culture, 0851 Oslo (Norway); Martell, Merixell [MERIENCE Strategic Thinking, 08734 Olerdola (Spain); Kallenbach-Herbert, Beate [Oeko Institut, 64295 Darmstadt (Germany)

2012-07-01

InSOTEC is a social sciences research project which aims to generate a better understanding of the complex interplay between the technical and the social in radioactive waste management and, in particular, in the design and implementation of geological disposal. It currently investigates and analyses the most striking socio-technical challenges to implementing geological disposal of radioactive waste in 14 national programs. A focus is put on situations and issues where the relationship between the technical and social components is still unstable, ambiguous and controversial, and where negotiations are taking place in terms of problem definitions and preferred solutions. Such negotiations can vary from relatively minor contestation, over mild commotion, to strong and open conflicts. Concrete examples of socio-technical challenges are: the question of siting, introducing the notion of reversibility / retrievability into the concept of geological disposal, or monitoring for confidence building. In a second stage the InSOTEC partners aim to develop a fine-grained understanding of how the technical and the social influence, shape, build upon each other in the case of radioactive waste management and the design and implementation of geological disposal. How are socio-technical combinations in this field translated and materialized into the solutions finally adopted? With what kinds of tools and instruments are they being integrated? Complementary to providing better theoretical insight into these socio-technical challenges/combinations, InSOTEC aims to provide concrete suggestions on how to address these within national and international contexts. To this end, InSOTEC will deliver insights into how mechanisms for interaction between the technical community and a broad range of socio-political actors could be developed. (authors)

Approaching socio-technical issues in Knowledge Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampf, Constance; Islas Sedano, Carolina

2008-01-01

This paper looks at the connection between technology, knowledge management and knowledge communication theory from a process perspective. Knowledge management and knowledge communication processes are examined through the iterations in creating project goals and objectives which connect the social...... and objectives with respect to knowledge communication theory, demonstrating the potential of knowledge communication concepts for socio-technical design processes, as well as the implications of socio-technical design processes in extending our understanding of knowledge communication....

A socio-technical approach to teaching the social impacts of technological development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Per Langå; Broberg, Ole

2001-01-01

This paper describes a socio-technical approach to teach work environment in an en-gineering education as an alternative to a science-based presentation of each potential harmful factor. The socio-technical approach emphasizes that work environment must be understood in a social context and that ......This paper describes a socio-technical approach to teach work environment in an en-gineering education as an alternative to a science-based presentation of each potential harmful factor. The socio-technical approach emphasizes that work environment must be understood in a social context...

A socio-technical approach for improving a Brazilian shoe manufacturing system.

Science.gov (United States)

Renner, J S; de M Guimarães, L B; de Oliveira, P A B

2012-01-01

This article presents a macroergonomic intervention in a footwear company in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to improve both the quality of life of the employees and productivity by optimizing the traditional Taylor/Ford work organization. Multi-functionality and team working were implemented as means of making tasks more flexible and richer and the working hours were changed. The results showed a reduction in human and material resource costs and a consequent improvement in health and workers quality of life. Although middle managerial staff displayed strong resistance to the project and to breaking traditional production paradigms, the socio-technical system has been implemented throughout the plant and is expected to end up becoming the benchmark for other companies in the sector. Macro-ergonomics, footwear industry, organization work.

Transferring Codified Knowledge: Socio-Technical versus Top-Down Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Guzman, Gustavo; Trivelato, Luiz F.

2008-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse and evaluate the transfer process of codified knowledge (CK) performed under two different approaches: the "socio-technical" and the "top-down". It is argued that the socio-technical approach supports the transfer of CK better than the top-down approach. Design/methodology/approach: Case study methodology was…

Analysing the Efficacy of Security Policies in Cyber-Physical Socio-Technical Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lenzini, Gabriele; Mauw, Sjouke; Ouchani, Samir; Barthe, Gilles; Markatos, Evangelos; Samarati, Pierangela

2016-01-01

A crucial question for an ICT organization wishing to improve its security is whether a security policy together with physical access controls protects from socio-technical threats. We study this question formally. We model the information flow defined by what the organization’s employees do (copy,

Complex socio-technical systems: Characterization and management guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Righi, Angela Weber; Saurin, Tarcisio Abreu

2015-09-01

Although ergonomics has paid increasing attention to the perspective of complexity, methods for its operationalization are scarce. This study introduces a framework for the operationalization of the "attribute view" of complexity, which involves: (i) the delimitation of the socio-technical system (STS); (ii) the description of four complexity attributes, namely a large number of elements in dynamic interactions, a wide diversity of elements, unexpected variability, and resilience; (iii) the assessment of six management guidelines, namely design slack, give visibility to processes and outcomes, anticipate and monitor the impacts of small changes, monitor the gap between prescription and practice, encourage diversity of perspectives when making decisions, and create an environment that supports resilience; and (iv) the identification of leverage points for improving the STS design, based on both the analysis of relationships among the attributes and their classification as irreducible/manageable complexity, and liability/asset. The use of the framework is illustrated by the study of an emergency department of a University hospital. Data collection involved analysis of documents, observations of work at the front-line, interviews with employees, and the application of questionnaires. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Socio-technicality, Human Work Interaction Design (HWID), and Work Engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clemmensen, Torkil; Campos, Pedro; Abdelnour-Nocera, José

the sociotechnical tradition, however, tells us that looking at work engagement only or mainly from a technical design side is the wrong way to go; instead the social and the technical need to be considered on an equal footing. We give the theoretical motivation and background in sociotechnical thinking for our...

Designing water demand management schemes using a socio-technical modelling approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Baki, Sotiria; Rozos, Evangelos; Makropoulos, Christos

2018-05-01

Although it is now widely acknowledged that urban water systems (UWSs) are complex socio-technical systems and that a shift towards a socio-technical approach is critical in achieving sustainable urban water management, still, more often than not, UWSs are designed using a segmented modelling approach. As such, either the analysis focuses on the description of the purely technical sub-system, without explicitly taking into account the system's dynamic socio-economic processes, or a more interdisciplinary approach is followed, but delivered through relatively coarse models, which often fail to provide a thorough representation of the urban water cycle and hence cannot deliver accurate estimations of the hydrosystem's responses. In this work we propose an integrated modelling approach for the study of the complete socio-technical UWS that also takes into account socio-economic and climatic variability. We have developed an integrated model, which is used to investigate the diffusion of household water conservation technologies and its effects on the UWS, under different socio-economic and climatic scenarios. The integrated model is formed by coupling a System Dynamics model that simulates the water technology adoption process, and the Urban Water Optioneering Tool (UWOT) for the detailed simulation of the urban water cycle. The model and approach are tested and demonstrated in an urban redevelopment area in Athens, Greece under different socio-economic scenarios and policy interventions. It is suggested that the proposed approach can establish quantifiable links between socio-economic change and UWS responses and therefore assist decision makers in designing more effective and resilient long-term strategies for water conservation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The structuration of socio-technical regimes - Conceptual foundations from institutional theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fuenfschilling, Lea; Truffer, Bernhard|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/6603148005

2014-01-01

In recent years, socio-technical transitions literature has gained importance in addressing long-term, transformative change in various industries. In order to account for the inertia and path-dependency experienced in these sectors, the concept of the socio-technical regime has been formulated.

Socio-Technical Perspective on Interdisciplinary Interactions During the Development of Complex Engineered Systems

Science.gov (United States)

McGowan, Anna-Maria R.; Daly, Shanna; Baker, Wayne; Papalambros, panos; Seifert, Colleen

2013-01-01

This study investigates interdisciplinary interactions that take place during the research, development, and early conceptual design phases in the design of large-scale complex engineered systems (LaCES) such as aerospace vehicles. These interactions, that take place throughout a large engineering development organization, become the initial conditions of the systems engineering process that ultimately leads to the development of a viable system. This paper summarizes some of the challenges and opportunities regarding social and organizational issues that emerged from a qualitative study using ethnographic and survey data. The analysis reveals several socio-technical couplings between the engineered system and the organization that creates it. Survey respondents noted the importance of interdisciplinary interactions and their benefits to the engineered system as well as substantial challenges in interdisciplinary interactions. Noted benefits included enhanced knowledge and problem mitigation and noted obstacles centered on organizational and human dynamics. Findings suggest that addressing the social challenges may be a critical need in enabling interdisciplinary interactions

Beyond human error taxonomies in assessment of risk in sociotechnical systems: a new paradigm with the EAST 'broken-links' approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Stanton, Neville A; Harvey, Catherine

2017-02-01

Risk assessments in Sociotechnical Systems (STS) tend to be based on error taxonomies, yet the term 'human error' does not sit easily with STS theories and concepts. A new break-link approach was proposed as an alternative risk assessment paradigm to reveal the effect of information communication failures between agents and tasks on the entire STS. A case study of the training of a Royal Navy crew detecting a low flying Hawk (simulating a sea-skimming missile) is presented using EAST to model the Hawk-Frigate STS in terms of social, information and task networks. By breaking 19 social links and 12 task links, 137 potential risks were identified. Discoveries included revealing the effect of risk moving around the system; reducing the risks to the Hawk increased the risks to the Frigate. Future research should examine the effects of compounded information communication failures on STS performance. Practitioner Summary: The paper presents a step-by-step walk-through of EAST to show how it can be used for risk assessment in sociotechnical systems. The 'broken-links' method takes a systemic, rather than taxonomic, approach to identify information communication failures in social and task networks.

A Socio-Technical Analysis of Patient Accessible Electronic Health Records.

Science.gov (United States)

Hägglund, Maria; Scandurra, Isabella

2017-01-01

In Sweden, and internationally, there is a movement towards increased transparency in healthcare including giving patients online access to their electronic health records (EHR). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Swedish patient accessible EHR (PAEHR) service using a socio-technical framework, to increase the understanding of factors that influence the design, implementation, adoption and use of the service. Using the Sitting and Singh socio-technical framework as a basis for analyzing the Swedish PAEHR system and its context indicated that there are many stakeholders engaged in these types of services, with different driving forces and incentives that may influence the adoption and usefulness of PAEHR services. The analysis was useful in highlighting important areas that need to be further explored in evaluations of PAEHR services, and can act as a guide when planning evaluations of any PAEHR service.

The Systemic and Global Dimension of Business Resilience in a Socio-Technical Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo Garrido

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes to augment the concept of a business resilience improving process by enlarging such a process with a dimension of external action that addresses the vaster frame of systemic resilience of our societies. To this aim, I propose to widen the concept of socio-technical system (STS to human societies, based on the idea that the development and survival of human societies has necessary social and technical factors. I also propose a concept of resilience in terms of dealing with failures of STS. Two particular cases of very large failure avoidance are considered: nuclear war and civilizational collapse, and I propose that such cases should be present in the referred dimension of external action of any business resilience program. Because the action of public governments and their cooperation is crucial for advancing global systemic resilience, I suggest that businesses should analyze and model the decisions of governments in a wider context of naturally occurring cooperating and conflicting human groups.

Constructing Sociotechnical Transitions Toward Sustainable Agriculture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Charao Marques, F.; Kessler Dal Soglio, F.; Ploeg, van der J.D.

2010-01-01

This paper provides an analysis of knowledge generation and ‘novelty production’ into new social arrangements within a sociotechnical transition scenario. The purpose is to contribute to the debate about convergences between creativity, learning and collective action for enhancing the sustainability

Creating the environment for driver distraction: A thematic framework of sociotechnical factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Parnell, Katie J; Stanton, Neville A; Plant, Katherine L

2018-04-01

As modern society becomes more reliant on technology, its use within the vehicle is becoming a concern for road safety due to both portable and built-in devices offering sources of distraction. While the effects of distracting technologies are well documented, little is known about the causal factors that lead to the drivers' engagement with technological devices. The relevance of the sociotechnical system within which the behaviour occurs requires further research. This paper presents two experiments, the first aims to assess the drivers self-reported decision to engage with technological tasks while driving and their reasoning for doing so with respect to the wider sociotechnical system. This utilised a semi-structured interview method, conducted with 30 drivers to initiate a discussion on their likelihood of engaging with 22 different tasks across 7 different road types. Inductive thematic analysis provided a hierarchical thematic framework that detailed the self-reported causal factors that influence the drivers' use of technology whilst driving. The second experiment assessed the relevance of the hierarchical framework to a model of distraction that was established from within the literature on the drivers use of distracting technologies while driving. The findings provide validation for some relationships studied in the literature, as well as providing insights into relationships that require further study. The role of the sociotechnical system in the engagement of distractions while driving is highlighted, with the causal factors reported by drivers suggesting the importance of considering the wider system within which the behaviour is occurring and how it may be creating the conditions for distraction to occur. This supports previous claims made within the literature based model. Recommendations are proposed that encourage a movement away from individual focused countermeasures towards systemic actors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The dynamics of transitions in socio-technical systems: a multi-level analysis of the transition pathway from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles (1860-1930)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geels, F.W.

2005-01-01

This article investigates transitions at the level of societal functions (e.g. transport, communication, housing). Societal functions are fulfilled by socio-technical systems, which consist of a cluster of aligned elements, e.g. artefacts, knowledge, user practices and markets, regulation, cultural

Opening the Black-Box in Lifelong E-Learning for Employability: A Framework for a Socio-Technical E-Learning Employability System of Measurement (STELEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan-Francisco Martínez-Cerdá

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Human beings must develop many skills to cope with the large amount of challenges that currently exist in the world: media empowerment for an active and democratic citizenship, knowledge acquisition and conversion for lifelong and life-wide learning, 21st century skills for matching demand and supply in labor markets, and dispositional employability for unpredictable future career success. One of the tools for achieving these is online education, in which students have the chance to manage their own time, content, and goals. Thus, this paper analyzes these issues from the perspective of skills gained through e-learning and validates the Socio-Technical E-learning Employability System of Measurement (STELEM framework. The research was carried out with former students of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses validate several consistent and reliable scales in two areas: (i employability, based on educational social capital, media empowerment, knowledge acquisition, knowledge conversion, literacy, digitalness, collaboration, resilience, proactivity, identity, openness, motivation, organizational culture, and employment security; and (ii socio-technical systems existing in this open online university, based on its information and communications technology (ICT, learning tasks, as well as student-centered and organizational approaches. The research provides two new psychometrical scales that are useful for the evaluation, monitoring, and assessment of relationships and influences between socio-technical e-learning organizations and employability skills development, and proposes a set of indicators related to human and social capital, valid in employability contexts.

Sociotechnical factors influencing unsafe use of hospital information systems: A qualitative study in Malaysian government hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Salahuddin, Lizawati; Ismail, Zuraini; Hashim, Ummi Rabaah; Raja Ikram, Raja Rina; Ismail, Nor Haslinda; Naim Mohayat, Mohd Hariz

2018-03-01

The objective of this study is to identify factors influencing unsafe use of hospital information systems in Malaysian government hospitals. Semi-structured interviews with 31 medical doctors in three Malaysian government hospitals implementing total hospital information systems were conducted between March and May 2015. A thematic qualitative analysis was performed on the resultant data to deduce the relevant themes. A total of five themes emerged as the factors influencing unsafe use of a hospital information system: (1) knowledge, (2) system quality, (3) task stressor, (4) organization resources, and (5) teamwork. These qualitative findings highlight that factors influencing unsafe use of a hospital information system originate from multidimensional sociotechnical aspects. Unsafe use of a hospital information system could possibly lead to the incidence of errors and thus raises safety risks to the patients. Hence, multiple interventions (e.g. technology systems and teamwork) are required in shaping high-quality hospital information system use.

How "Sociotechnical" is our IS Research?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sarker, Suprateek; Chatterjee, Sutirtha; Xiao, Xiao

2013-01-01

This paper seeks to offer an assessment on the extent to which we, as IS academics, have been faithful to sociotechnical paradigm, often considered as a fundamental guiding frame for the discipline. As a first step, the paper identifies eight ways in which the technical and the social are featured...

The role of socio-technical principles in leveraging meaningful benefits from IT investments.

Science.gov (United States)

Doherty, Neil F

2014-03-01

In recent years there has been a great deal of academic and practitioner interest in the role of 'benefits realisation management' [BRM] approaches, as a means of proactively leveraging value from IT investments. This growing body of work owes a very considerable, but as yet unacknowledged, debt to the work of Ken Eason, and other early socio-technical theorists. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate, using the literature, how many of the principles, practices and techniques of BRM have evolved either directly or indirectly from socio-technical approaches to systems design. In so doing, this article makes a further important contribution to the literature by explicitly identifying the underlying principles and key practices of benefits realisation management. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Modelling Socio-Technical Aspects of Organisational Security

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ivanova, Marieta Georgieva

Identification of threats to organisations and risk assessment often take into consideration the pure technical aspects, overlooking the vulnerabilities originating from attacks on a social level, for example social engineering, and abstracting away the physical infrastructure. However, attacks...... would close this gap, however, it would also result in complicating the formal treatment and automatic identification of attacks. This dissertation shows that applying a system modelling approach to sociotechnical systems can be used for identifying attacks on organisations, which exploit various levels...... process calculus, we develop a formal analytical approach that generates attack trees from the model. The overall goal of the framework is to predict, prioritise and minimise the vulnerabilities in organisations by prohibiting the overall attack or at least increasing the difficulty and cost of fulfilling...

What do we actually mean by 'sociotechnical'? On values, boundaries and the problems of language.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Lisl

2014-03-01

The term 'sociotechnical' was first coined in the context of industrial democracy. In comparing two projects on shipping in Esso to help define the concept, the essential categories were found to be where systems boundaries were set, and what factors were considered to be relevant 'human' characteristics. This is often discussed in terms of values. During the nineteen-sixties and seventies sociotechnical theory related to the shop-floor work system, and contingency theory to the organisation as a whole, the two levels being distinct. With the coming of information technology, this distinction became blurred; the term 'socio-structural' is proposed to describe the whole system. IT sometimes is the operating technology, it sometimes supports the operating technology, or it may sometimes be mistaken for the operating technology. This is discussed with reference to recent air accidents. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

The governance of sustainable socio-technical transitions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smith, A.G.; Stirling, A.C.; Berkhout, F.G.H.

2005-01-01

A quasi-evolutionary model of socio-technical transitions is described in which regimes face selection pressures continuously. Differentiated transition contexts determine the form and direction of regime change in response to these pressures. The articulation of pressures, and the degree to which

Facilitating computer supported cooperative work with socio-technical self-descriptions

OpenAIRE

Kunau, Gabriele

2006-01-01

How can the concept of self-description from newer systems theory be used for improving the co-evolvement of software engineering and organizational change in CSCW-projects? This thesis suggests transferring the concept of self-description into a concept of socio-technical self-description allowing an organization to describe its own computer supported work processes. The presentation of results is organized in four steps: First, a theoretical foundation is elaborated; second, an initial meth...

Exploring the impact of socio-technical core-periphery structures in open source software development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Amrit, Chintan Amrit; van Hillegersberg, Jos

2010-01-01

In this paper we apply the social network concept of core-periphery structure to the socio-technical structure of a software development team. We propose a socio-technical pattern that can be used to locate emerging coordination problems in Open Source projects. With the help of our tool and method

Socio-Technical Security Metrics (Dagstuhl Seminar 14491)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gollmann, Dieter; Herley, Cormac; Koenig, Vincent; Pieters, Wolter; Sasse, Martina Angela

2015-01-01

This report documents the program and the outcomes of Dagstuhl Seminar 14491 "Socio-Technical Security Metrics". In the domain of safety, metrics inform many decisions, from the height of new dikes to the design of nuclear plants. We can state, for example, that the dikes should be high enough to

A Sociotechnical Negotiation Mechanism to Support Component Markets in Software Ecosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Santos

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Organizations have opened up their software platforms and reusable assets to others, including partners and third-party developers around the world, creating software ecosystems (SECOs. This perspective can contribute to minimize nontechnical barriers of software reuse in industry because it explores potential benefits from the relations among companies and stakeholders. An inhibitor is the complexity in defining value for reusable assets in a scenario where producers try to meet customers’ expectations, and vice-versa. In this paper, we present a value-based mechanism to support component negotiation and socialization processes in a reuse repository in the SECO context as an extension of the Brechó-EcoSys environment. Social resources were integrated into the mechanism in order to aid component negotiation. An evaluation of the negotiation mechanism was initially performed based on an analysis of its elements and functions against critical factors in the negotiation within a SECO, identified in a previous systematic literature review. In addition, an analysis of the social resources supporting the negotiation mechanism was performed against popular sociotechnical elements for SECOs, identified in a previous survey with experts in the field. Finally, the negotiation process and the potential support provided by sociotechnical resources were investigated through an observational study where participants were engaged in some tasks playing as consumer and producers using the sociotechnical negotiation mechanism at Brechó-EcoSys environment. We concluded that sociotechnical resources (e.g., forum and tag cloud support component producers and consumers with useful information from the SECO community.

EMuRgency: Socio-technical innovations to save lives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kalz, Marco

2013-01-01

Kalz, M. (2013, 18 September). EMuRgency: Socio-technical innovations to save lives. Presentation provided during the workshop on 21st century learning in the health and emergency sectors in conjunction with the 8th European Conference on Technology-Enhanced Learning (ECTEL 2013). Paphos, Cyprus.

Understanding critical barriers to implementing a clinical information system in a nursing home through the lens of a socio-technical perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Or, Calvin; Dohan, Michael; Tan, Joseph

2014-09-01

This paper addresses key barriers to implementing a clinical information system (CIS) in a Hong Kong nursing home setting, from a healthcare specific socio-technical perspective. Data was collected through field observations (n = 12) and semi-structured individual interviews (n = 18) of CIS stakeholders in a Hong Kong nursing home, and analyzed using the immersion/crystallization approach. Complex interactions relevant to our case were contextualized and interpreted within the perspective of the Sittig-Singh Healthcare Socio-Technical Framework (HSTF). Three broad clusters of implementation barriers from the eight HSTF dimensions were identified: (a) Infrastructure-based barriers, which relate to conflict between government regulations and system functional needs of users; lack of financial support; inconsistency between workflow, work policy, and procedures; and inadequacy of hardware-software infrastructural and technical support; (b) Process-based barriers, which relate to mismatch between the technology, existing work practice and workflow, and communication; low system speed, accessibility, and stability; deficient computer literacy; more experience in health care profession; clinical content inadequacy and unavailability; as well as poor system usefulness and user interface design; and (c) Outcome-based barriers, which relate to the lack of measurement and monitoring of system effectiveness. Two additional dimensions underlining the importance of the ability of a CIS to change are proposed to extend the Sittig-Singh HSTF. First, advocacy would promote the articulation and influence of changes in the system and subsequent outcomes by CIS stakeholders, and second, adaptability would ensure the ability of the system to adjust to emerging needs. The broad set of discovered implementation shortcomings expands prior research on why CIS can fail in nursing home settings. Moreover, our investigation offers a knowledge base and recommendations that can serve

Sociotechnical systems as a framework for regulatory system design and evaluation: Using Work Domain Analysis to examine a new regulatory system.

Science.gov (United States)

Carden, Tony; Goode, Natassia; Read, Gemma J M; Salmon, Paul M

2017-03-15

Like most work systems, the domain of adventure activities has seen a series of serious incidents and subsequent calls to improve regulation. Safety regulation systems aim to promote safety and reduce accidents. However, there is scant evidence they have led to improved safety outcomes. In fact there is some evidence that the poor integration of regulatory system components has led to adverse safety outcomes in some contexts. Despite this, there is an absence of methods for evaluating regulatory and compliance systems. This article argues that sociotechnical systems theory and methods provide a suitable framework for evaluating regulatory systems. This is demonstrated through an analysis of a recently introduced set of adventure activity regulations. Work Domain Analysis (WDA) was used to describe the regulatory system in terms of its functional purposes, values and priority measures, purpose-related functions, object-related processes and cognitive objects. This allowed judgement to be made on the nature of the new regulatory system and on the constraints that may impact its efficacy following implementation. Importantly, the analysis suggests that the new system's functional purpose of ensuring safe activities is not fully supported in terms of the functions and objects available to fulfil them. Potential improvements to the design of the system are discussed along with the implications for regulatory system design and evaluation across the safety critical domains generally. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Co-evolution of intelligent socio-technical systems modelling and applications in large scale emergency and transport domains

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

As the interconnectivity between humans through technical devices is becoming ubiquitous, the next step is already in the making: ambient intelligence, i.e. smart (technical) environments, which will eventually play the same active role in communication as the human players, leading to a co-evolution in all domains where real-time communication is essential. This topical volume, based on the findings of the Socionical European research project, gives equal attention to two highly relevant domains of applications: transport, specifically traffic, dynamics from the viewpoint of a socio-technical interaction and evacuation scenarios for large-scale emergency situations. Care was taken to investigate as much as possible the limits of scalability and to combine the modeling using complex systems science approaches with relevant data analysis.

Development of an Instrument to Measure Health Center (HC) Personnel's Computer Use, Knowledge and Functionality Demand for HC Computerized Information System in Thailand

OpenAIRE

Kijsanayotin, Boonchai; Pannarunothai, Supasit; Speedie, Stuart

2005-01-01

Knowledge about socio-technical aspects of information technology (IT) is vital for the success of health IT projects. The Thailand health administration anticipates using health IT to support the recently implemented national universal health care system. However, the national knowledge associate with the socio-technical aspects of health IT has not been studied in Thailand. A survey instrument measuring Thai health center (HC) personnel’s computer use, basic IT knowledge a...

Sociotechnical Challenges of Developing an Interoperable Personal Health Record

Science.gov (United States)

Gaskin, G.L.; Longhurst, C.A.; Slayton, R.; Das, A.K.

2011-01-01

Objectives To analyze sociotechnical issues involved in the process of developing an interoperable commercial Personal Health Record (PHR) in a hospital setting, and to create guidelines for future PHR implementations. Methods This qualitative study utilized observational research and semi-structured interviews with 8 members of the hospital team, as gathered over a 28 week period of developing and adapting a vendor-based PHR at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University. A grounded theory approach was utilized to code and analyze over 100 pages of typewritten field notes and interview transcripts. This grounded analysis allowed themes to surface during the data collection process which were subsequently explored in greater detail in the observations and interviews. Results Four major themes emerged: (1) Multidisciplinary teamwork helped team members identify crucial features of the PHR; (2) Divergent goals for the PHR existed even within the hospital team; (3) Differing organizational conceptions of the end-user between the hospital and software company differentially shaped expectations for the final product; (4) Difficulties with coordination and accountability between the hospital and software company caused major delays and expenses and strained the relationship between hospital and software vendor. Conclusions Though commercial interoperable PHRs have great potential to improve healthcare, the process of designing and developing such systems is an inherently sociotechnical process with many complex issues and barriers. This paper offers recommendations based on the lessons learned to guide future development of such PHRs. PMID:22003373

Extending Sociotechnical Design to Project Conception

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampf, Constance Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Project management processes offer specific sites for understanding the interplay of the social and the technical. This article focuses on the connection between knowledge and technology through knowledge communication processes, cultural & rhetorical contexts in projects, and the iterative process...... and the Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus, Denmark. The analysis demonstrates the potential of knowledge communication concepts for social technical design and highlights the cultural context of the designers as a key factor to consider in socio-technical design....

Development of an instrument to measure health center (HC) personnel's computer use, knowledge and functionality demand for HC computerized information system in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Kijsanayotin, Boonchai; Pannarunothai, Supasit; Speedie, Stuart

2005-01-01

Knowledge about socio-technical aspects of information technology (IT) is vital for the success of health IT projects. The Thailand health administration anticipates using health IT to support the recently implemented national universal health care system. However, the national knowledge associate with the socio-technical aspects of health IT has not been studied in Thailand. A survey instrument measuring Thai health center (HC) personnel's computer use, basic IT knowledge and HC computerized information system functionality needs was developed. The instrument reveals acceptable test-retest reliability and reasonable internal consistency of the measures. The future nation-wide demonstration study will benefit from this study.

Building a house on shifting sand: methodological considerations when evaluating the implementation and adoption of national electronic health record systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takian Amirhossein

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A commitment to Electronic Health Record (EHR systems now constitutes a core part of many governments’ healthcare reform strategies. The resulting politically-initiated large-scale or national EHR endeavors are challenging because of their ambitious agendas of change, the scale of resources needed to make them work, the (relatively short timescales set, and the large number of stakeholders involved, all of whom pursue somewhat different interests. These initiatives need to be evaluated to establish if they improve care and represent value for money. Methods Critical reflections on these complexities in the light of experience of undertaking the first national, longitudinal, and sociotechnical evaluation of the implementation and adoption of England’s National Health Service’s Care Records Service (NHS CRS. Results/discussion We advance two key arguments. First, national programs for EHR implementations are likely to take place in the shifting sands of evolving sociopolitical and sociotechnical and contexts, which are likely to shape them in significant ways. This poses challenges to conventional evaluation approaches which draw on a model of baseline operations → intervention → changed operations (outcome. Second, evaluation of such programs must account for this changing context by adapting to it. This requires careful and creative choice of ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions. Summary New and significant challenges are faced in evaluating national EHR implementation endeavors. Based on experiences from this national evaluation of the implementation and adoption of the NHS CRS in England, we argue for an approach to these evaluations which moves away from seeing EHR systems as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT projects requiring an essentially outcome-centred assessment towards a more interpretive approach that reflects the situated and evolving nature of EHR seen within

Building a house on shifting sand: methodological considerations when evaluating the implementation and adoption of national electronic health record systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Takian, Amirhossein; Petrakaki, Dimitra; Cornford, Tony; Sheikh, Aziz; Barber, Nicholas

2012-04-30

A commitment to Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems now constitutes a core part of many governments' healthcare reform strategies. The resulting politically-initiated large-scale or national EHR endeavors are challenging because of their ambitious agendas of change, the scale of resources needed to make them work, the (relatively) short timescales set, and the large number of stakeholders involved, all of whom pursue somewhat different interests. These initiatives need to be evaluated to establish if they improve care and represent value for money. Critical reflections on these complexities in the light of experience of undertaking the first national, longitudinal, and sociotechnical evaluation of the implementation and adoption of England's National Health Service's Care Records Service (NHS CRS). We advance two key arguments. First, national programs for EHR implementations are likely to take place in the shifting sands of evolving sociopolitical and sociotechnical and contexts, which are likely to shape them in significant ways. This poses challenges to conventional evaluation approaches which draw on a model of baseline operations → intervention → changed operations (outcome). Second, evaluation of such programs must account for this changing context by adapting to it. This requires careful and creative choice of ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions. New and significant challenges are faced in evaluating national EHR implementation endeavors. Based on experiences from this national evaluation of the implementation and adoption of the NHS CRS in England, we argue for an approach to these evaluations which moves away from seeing EHR systems as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) projects requiring an essentially outcome-centred assessment towards a more interpretive approach that reflects the situated and evolving nature of EHR seen within multiple specific settings and reflecting a constantly changing milieu of policies

15 years of protest and media technologies scholarship: A sociotechnical timeline

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Neumayer, Christina; Rossi, Luca

2016-01-01

and techniques, and the social phenomena under investigation. The article concludes by identifying major trends in protest and media technologies scholarship over the past 15 years. The sociotechnical timeline enhances our understanding of academic discourse at the intersection of protest and media technologies......This article investigates the relationship between the invention of new media technologies and scholarship concerning protest and political engagement. Building on an innovative approach that moves beyond a systematic literature review, this article contributes to our understanding of scholarship...... concerning digital communication technologies and how they may have been adopted and shaped protest movements and political engagement. Based on visualisations, we draw a sociotechnical timeline of protest and media technology scholarship within three dimensions: Technological development, methods...

A mechanism to assess the relationship between socio-technical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A mechanism to assess the relationship between socio-technical congruence and project performance in incremental model. W.A.W.M. Sobri, S.S.M. Fauzi, M.H.N.M. Nasir, R Ahmad, A.J. Suali. Abstract. No Abstract. Keywords: coordination; software development; software project; software engineering project; ...

The role of organisational support in teleworker wellbeing: a socio-technical systems approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Bentley, T A; Teo, S T T; McLeod, L; Tan, F; Bosua, R; Gloet, M

2016-01-01

The prevalence of telework and other forms of mobile working enabled by digital technology is increasing markedly. Following a socio-technical systems approach, this study aims to examine the role of organisational social support and specific support for teleworkers in influencing teleworker wellbeing, the mediating role of social isolation, potentially resulting from a person-environment mismatch in these relationships, and possible differences in these relationships between low-intensity and hybrid teleworkers. Teleworkers' (n = 804) perceptions of support and telework outcomes (psychological strain, job satisfaction, and social isolation) were collected using an on-line survey of teleworking employees distributed within 28 New Zealand organisations where knowledge work was undertaken. Organisational social support and teleworker support was associated with increased job satisfaction and reduced psychological strain. Social isolation mediated the relationship between organisational social support and the two outcome variables, and some differences were observed in the structural relationships for hybrid and low-intensity teleworker sub-samples. These findings suggest that providing the necessary organisational and teleworker support is important for enhancing the teleworker-environment fit and thereby ensuring desirable telework outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Ordering theories: Typologies and conceptual frameworks for sociotechnical change

Science.gov (United States)

Sovacool, Benjamin K; Hess, David J

2017-01-01

What theories or concepts are most useful at explaining socio technical change? How can – or cannot – these be integrated? To provide an answer, this study presents the results from 35 semi-structured research interviews with social science experts who also shared more than two hundred articles, reports and books on the topic of the acceptance, adoption, use, or diffusion of technology. This material led to the identification of 96 theories and conceptual approaches spanning 22 identified disciplines. The article begins by explaining its research terms and methods before honing in on a combination of fourteen theories deemed most relevant and useful by the material. These are: Sociotechnical Transitions, Social Practice Theory, Discourse Theory, Domestication Theory, Large Technical Systems, Social Construction of Technology, Sociotechnical Imaginaries, Actor-Network Theory, Social Justice Theory, Sociology of Expectations, Sustainable Development, Values Beliefs Norms Theory, Lifestyle Theory, and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. It then positions these theories in terms of two distinct typologies. Theories can be placed into five general categories of being centered on agency, structure, meaning, relations or norms. They can also be classified based on their assumptions and goals rooted in functionalism, interpretivism, humanism or conflict. The article lays out tips for research methodology before concluding with insights about technology itself, analytical processes associated with technology, and the framing and communication of results. An interdisciplinary theoretical and conceptual inventory has much to offer students, analysts and scholars wanting to study technological change and society. PMID:28641502

The socio-technical design of a library and information science collaboratory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassi, Monica; Sonnenwald, Diane H.

2013-01-01

Introduction. We present a prototype collaboratory, a socio-technical platform to support sharing research data collection instruments in library and information science. No previous collaboratory has attempted to facilitate sharing digital research data collection instruments among library...... and information science researchers.  Method. We have taken a socio-technical approach to design, which includes a review of previous research on collaboratories; an empirical study of specific needs of library and information science researchers; and a use case design method to design the prototype collaboratory....... Scenarios of future interactions, use cases, were developed using an analytically-driven approach to scenario design. The use cases guided the implementation of the prototype collaboratory in the MediaWiki software package.  Results. The prototype collaboratory design is presented as seven use cases, which...

Defining the methodological challenges and opportunities for an effective science of sociotechnical systems and safety

Science.gov (United States)

Waterson, Patrick; Robertson, Michelle M.; Cooke, Nancy J.; Militello, Laura; Roth, Emilie; Stanton, Neville A.

2015-01-01

An important part of the application of sociotechnical systems theory (STS) is the development of methods, tools and techniques to assess human factors and ergonomics workplace requirements. We focus in this paper on describing and evaluating current STS methods for workplace safety, as well as outlining a set of six case studies covering the application of these methods to a range of safety contexts. We also describe an evaluation of the methods in terms of ratings of their ability to address a set of theoretical and practical questions (e.g. the degree to which methods capture static/dynamic aspects of tasks and interactions between system levels). The outcomes from the evaluation highlight a set of gaps relating to the coverage and applicability of current methods for STS and safety (e.g. coverage of external influences on system functioning; method usability). The final sections of the paper describe a set of future challenges, as well as some practical suggestions for tackling these. Practitioner Summary: We provide an up-to-date review of STS methods, a set of case studies illustrating their use and an evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. The paper concludes with a ‘roadmap’ for future work. PMID:25832121

A Novel Interdisciplinary Approach to Socio-Technical Complexity

Science.gov (United States)

Bassetti, Chiara

The chapter presents a novel interdisciplinary approach that integrates micro-sociological analysis into computer-vision and pattern-recognition modeling and algorithms, the purpose being to tackle socio-technical complexity at a systemic yet micro-grounded level. The approach is empirically-grounded and both theoretically- and analytically-driven, yet systemic and multidimensional, semi-supervised and computable, and oriented towards large scale applications. The chapter describes the proposed approach especially as for its sociological foundations, and as applied to the analysis of a particular setting --i.e. sport-spectator crowds. Crowds, better defined as large gatherings, are almost ever-present in our societies, and capturing their dynamics is crucial. From social sciences to public safety management and emergency response, modeling and predicting large gatherings' presence and dynamics, thus possibly preventing critical situations and being able to properly react to them, is fundamental. This is where semi/automated technologies can make the difference. The work presented in this chapter is intended as a scientific step towards such an objective.

Modeling Interdependent Socio-technical Networks via ABM Smart Grid Case

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Worm, D.T.H.; Langley, D.J.; Becker, J.M.

2013-01-01

The objective of this paper is to improve scientific modeling of interdependent socio-technical networks. In these networks the interplay between technical or infrastructural elements on the one hand and social and behavioral aspects on the other hand, is of importance. Examples include electricity

Developing e-banking services for rural India: making use of socio-technical prototypes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dittrich, Yvonne; Vaidyanathan, Lakshmi; Gonsalves, Timothy A

2017-01-01

an experience report based on systematic debriefing of involved project leaders and initiators, triangulated with additional documentation. The concept of Socio-Technical Prototype is developed and used to show how to mitigate the challenges of ICT based banking service provision for socially constrained...... communities. The concept of Socio-Technical Prototype extends the notion of prototypes, as it implies a full functioning implementation of the service including all relevant stakeholders. In order to not only prototype end-user functionality but also the interaction of the solution with the specific social......, technical and physical environment. The implications for software engineering in the development of such large-scale prototypes and pilots are outlined....

Incorporating organizational factors into Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) of complex socio-technical systems: A hybrid technique formalization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohaghegh, Zahra; Kazemi, Reza; Mosleh, Ali

2009-01-01

This paper is a result of a research with the primary purpose of extending Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) modeling frameworks to include the effects of organizational factors as the deeper, more fundamental causes of accidents and incidents. There have been significant improvements in the sophistication of quantitative methods of safety and risk assessment, but the progress on techniques most suitable for organizational safety risk frameworks has been limited. The focus of this paper is on the choice of 'representational schemes' and 'techniques.' A methodology for selecting appropriate candidate techniques and their integration in the form of a 'hybrid' approach is proposed. Then an example is given through an integration of System Dynamics (SD), Bayesian Belief Network (BBN), Event Sequence Diagram (ESD), and Fault Tree (FT) in order to demonstrate the feasibility and value of hybrid techniques. The proposed hybrid approach integrates deterministic and probabilistic modeling perspectives, and provides a flexible risk management tool for complex socio-technical systems. An application of the hybrid technique is provided in the aviation safety domain, focusing on airline maintenance systems. The example demonstrates how the hybrid method can be used to analyze the dynamic effects of organizational factors on system risk

Socio-technical considerations in epilepsy electronic patient record implementation.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Mc Quaid, Louise

2010-05-01

Examination of electronic patient record (EPR) implementation at the socio-technical interface. This study was based on the introduction of an anti-epileptic drug (AED) management module of an EPR in an epilepsy out-patient clinic. The objective was to introduce the module to a live clinical setting within strictly controlled conditions to evaluate its usability and usefulness.

Socio-Technical Deliberation about Free and Open Source Software: Accounting for the Status of Artifacts in Public Life

Science.gov (United States)

Benoit-Barne, Chantal

2007-01-01

This essay investigates the rhetorical practices of socio-technical deliberation about free and open source (F/OS) software, providing support for the idea that a public sphere is a socio-technical ensemble that is discursive and fluid, yet tangible and organized because it is enacted by both humans and non-humans. In keeping with the empirical…

Integrated System Design: Promoting the Capacity of Sociotechnical Systems for Adaptation through Extensions of Cognitive Work Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Naikar, Neelam; Elix, Ben

2016-01-01

This paper proposes an approach for integrated system design, which has the intent of facilitating high levels of effectiveness in sociotechnical systems by promoting their capacity for adaptation. Building on earlier ideas and empirical observations, this approach recognizes that to create adaptive systems it is necessary to integrate the design of all of the system elements, including the interfaces, teams, training, and automation, such that workers are supported in adapting their behavior as well as their structure, or organization, in a coherent manner. Current approaches for work analysis and design are limited in regard to this fundamental objective, especially in cases when workers are confronted with unforeseen events. A suitable starting point is offered by cognitive work analysis (CWA), but while this framework can support actors in adapting their behavior, it does not necessarily accommodate adaptations in their structure. Moreover, associated design approaches generally focus on individual system elements, and those that consider multiple elements appear limited in their ability to facilitate integration, especially in the manner intended here. The proposed approach puts forward the set of possibilities for work organization in a system as the central mechanism for binding the design of its various elements, so that actors can adapt their structure as well as their behavior-in a unified fashion-to handle both familiar and novel conditions. Accordingly, this paper demonstrates how the set of possibilities for work organization in a system may be demarcated independently of the situation, through extensions of CWA, and how it may be utilized in design. This lynchpin, conceptualized in the form of a diagram of work organization possibilities (WOP), is important for preserving a system's inherent capacity for adaptation. Future research should focus on validating these concepts and establishing the feasibility of implementing them in industrial contexts.

Renewable energies in transition: from their social acceptability to their socio-technical feasibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zelem, M.C.

2012-01-01

The increasing recourse to renewable energies presents an opportunity to guarantee the smooth passage from an energy guzzling and carbon emitting system to one with more reasonable characteristics, allowing our societal structures to aspire for longer durability. This process entails putting aside the notion of social acceptability, which tends to place the weight of responsibility for our energy devouring life styles on consumers, replacing it by the notion of socio-technical feasibility which forces questioning the meaning of technology and political choices in energy matters. (author)

A socio-technical approach to improving retail energy efficiency behaviours.

Science.gov (United States)

Christina, Sian; Waterson, Patrick; Dainty, Andrew; Daniels, Kevin

2015-03-01

In recent years, the UK retail sector has made a significant contribution to societal responses on carbon reduction. We provide a novel and timely examination of environmental sustainability from a systems perspective, exploring how energy-related technologies and strategies are incorporated into organisational life. We use a longitudinal case study approach, looking at behavioural energy efficiency from within one of the UK's leading retailers. Our data covers a two-year period, with qualitative data from a total of 131 participants gathered using phased interviews and focus groups. We introduce an adapted socio-technical framework approach in order to describe an existing organisational behavioural strategy to support retail energy efficiency. Our findings point to crucial socio-technical and goal-setting factors which both impede and/or enable energy efficient behaviours, these include: tensions linked to store level perception of energy management goals; an emphasis on the importance of technology for underpinning change processes; and, the need for feedback and incentives to support the completion of energy-related tasks. We also describe the evolution of a practical operational intervention designed to address issues raised in our findings. Our study provides fresh insights into how sustainable workplace behaviours can be achieved and sustained over time. Secondly, we discuss in detail a set of issues arising from goal conflict in the workplace; these include the development of a practical energy management strategy to facilitate secondary organisational goals through job redesign. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Analysis Testing of Sociocultural Factors Influence on Human Reliability within Sociotechnical Systems: The Algerian Oil Companies.

Science.gov (United States)

Laidoune, Abdelbaki; Rahal Gharbi, Med El Hadi

2016-09-01

The influence of sociocultural factors on human reliability within an open sociotechnical systems is highlighted. The design of such systems is enhanced by experience feedback. The study was focused on a survey related to the observation of working cases, and by processing of incident/accident statistics and semistructured interviews in the qualitative part. In order to consolidate the study approach, we considered a schedule for the purpose of standard statistical measurements. We tried to be unbiased by supporting an exhaustive list of all worker categories including age, sex, educational level, prescribed task, accountability level, etc. The survey was reinforced by a schedule distributed to 300 workers belonging to two oil companies. This schedule comprises 30 items related to six main factors that influence human reliability. Qualitative observations and schedule data processing had shown that the sociocultural factors can negatively and positively influence operator behaviors. The explored sociocultural factors influence the human reliability both in qualitative and quantitative manners. The proposed model shows how reliability can be enhanced by some measures such as experience feedback based on, for example, safety improvements, training, and information. With that is added the continuous systems improvements to improve sociocultural reality and to reduce negative behaviors.

The socio-technical transition of distributed electricity storage into future networks—System value and stakeholder views

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grünewald, Philipp H.; Cockerill, Timothy T.; Contestabile, Marcello; Pearson, Peter J.G.

2012-01-01

Whole system models for the GB electricity system suggest that distributed electricity storage has the potential to significantly reduce the system integration cost for future system scenarios. From a policy perspective, this poses the question why this value should not be realised within existing market structures. Opinion among stakeholders is divided. Some believe that storage deployment constitutes a ‘special case’ in need of policy support. Others insist that markets can provide the necessary platform to negotiate contracts, which reward storage operators for the range of services they could provide. This paper seeks to inform this debate with a process of stakeholder engagement using a perspective informed by socio-technical transition literatures. This approach allows the identification of tensions among actors in the electricity system and of possibilities for co-evolution in the deployment of storage technologies during a transition towards a low carbon electricity system. It also draws attention to policy-related challenges of technology lock-in and path dependency resulting from poor alignment of incumbent regimes with the requirements for distributed electricity storage. - Highlights: ► Electricity storage is poorly aligned with existing regimes in the electricity system. ► Stakeholders perceive electricity storage as “somebody else's problem”. ► Combining stakeholder views and transition theory provides new insight. ► Transition from network to operational benefits poses regulatory challenge. ► Value aggregation made difficult due to institutional barriers.

EMuRgency: Addressing cardiac arrest with socio-technical innovation in a smart learning region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabina Jeschke

2013-08-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces the EMuRgency project. The project has the goal to increase awareness and competences regarding the problem of cardiac arrest in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR and to use socio-technical innovations to transfer it into a smart learning region. Based on the conscious competence framework solutions for stakeholders on different levels of the framework are introduced, namely a public display network, mobile learning apps and a volunteer notification system. Finally, a future research outlook is given.

The Socio-Technical Design of a Library and Information Science Collaboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Lassi, Monica; Sonnenwald, Diane H.

2013-01-01

Introduction: We present a prototype collaboratory, a socio-technical platform to support sharing research data collection instruments in library and information science. No previous collaboratory has attempted to facilitate sharing digital research data collection instruments among library and information science researchers. Method: We have…

Health care multidisciplinary teams: The sociotechnical approach for an integrated system-wide perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsilio, Marta; Torbica, Aleksandra; Villa, Stefano

The current literature on the enabling conditions of multidisciplinary teams focuses on the singular dimensions of the organizations (i.e., human resources, clinical pathways, objects) without shedding light on to the way in which these organizational factors interact and mutually influence one another. Drawing on a system perspective of organizations, the authors analyze the organizational patterns that promote and support multidisciplinary teams and how they interrelate and interact to enforce the organization work system. The authors develop a modified sociotechnical system (STS) model to understand how the two dimensions of technical (devices/tools, layout/organization of space, core process standardization) and social (organizational structure, management of human resources and operations) can facilitate the implementation of multidisciplinary teams in health care. The study conducts an empirical analysis based on a sample of hospital adopters of transcatheter aortic valve implantation using the revised STS model. The modified STS model applied to the case studies improves our understanding of the critical implementation factors of a multidisciplinary approach and the importance of coordinating radical changes in the technical and the social subsystems of health care organizations. The analysis informs that the multidisciplinary effort is not a sequential process and that the interplay between the two subsystems needs to be managed efficaciously as an integrated organizational whole to deliver the goals set. Hospital managers must place equal focus on the closely interrelated technical and social dimensions by investing in (a) shared layouts and spaces that cross the boundaries of the specialized health care units, (b) standardization of the core processes through the implementation of local clinical pathways, (c) structured knowledge management mechanisms, (d) the creation of clinical directorates, and (e) the design of a planning and budgeting system that

Incorporating organizational factors into Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) of complex socio-technical systems: A hybrid technique formalization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohaghegh, Zahra [Center for Risk and Reliability, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)], E-mail: mohagheg@umd.edu; Kazemi, Reza; Mosleh, Ali [Center for Risk and Reliability, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

2009-05-15

This paper is a result of a research with the primary purpose of extending Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) modeling frameworks to include the effects of organizational factors as the deeper, more fundamental causes of accidents and incidents. There have been significant improvements in the sophistication of quantitative methods of safety and risk assessment, but the progress on techniques most suitable for organizational safety risk frameworks has been limited. The focus of this paper is on the choice of 'representational schemes' and 'techniques.' A methodology for selecting appropriate candidate techniques and their integration in the form of a 'hybrid' approach is proposed. Then an example is given through an integration of System Dynamics (SD), Bayesian Belief Network (BBN), Event Sequence Diagram (ESD), and Fault Tree (FT) in order to demonstrate the feasibility and value of hybrid techniques. The proposed hybrid approach integrates deterministic and probabilistic modeling perspectives, and provides a flexible risk management tool for complex socio-technical systems. An application of the hybrid technique is provided in the aviation safety domain, focusing on airline maintenance systems. The example demonstrates how the hybrid method can be used to analyze the dynamic effects of organizational factors on system risk.

Can the Adoption of Desalination Technology Lead to Aquifer Preservation? A Case Study of a Sociotechnical Water System in Baja California Sur, Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamie McEvoy

2015-09-01

Full Text Available There is growing concern about the sustainability of groundwater supplies worldwide. In many regions, desalination—the conversion of saline water to freshwater—is viewed as a way to increase water supplies and reduce pressure on overdrawn aquifers. Using data from reports, articles, interviews, a survey, and a focus group, this paper examines if, and how, the adoption of desalination technology can lead to aquifer preservation in Baja California Sur (BCS, Mexico. The paper outlines existing institutional arrangements (i.e., laws, rules, norms, or organizations surrounding desalination in BCS and concludes that there are currently no effective mechanisms to ensure aquifer preservation. Four mechanisms that could be implemented to improve groundwater management are identified, including: 1 integrated water-and land-use planning; 2 creation of an institute responsible for coordinated and consistent planning; 3 improved groundwater monitoring; and 4 implementation of water conservation measures prior to the adoption of desalination technology. This paper concludes that viewing water technologies, including desalination, as sociotechnical systems—i.e., a set of technological components that are embedded in complex social, political, and economic contexts—has the potential to create a more sustainable human–environment–technology relationship. By assessing desalination technology as a sociotechnical system, this study highlights the need to focus on institutional development and capacity building, especially within local water utilities and urban planning agencies.

Socio-technical issues and challenges in implementing safe patient handovers: insights from ethnographic case studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Balka, Ellen; Tolar, Marianne; Coates, Shannon; Whitehouse, Sandra

2013-12-01

Ineffective handovers in patient care, including those where information loss occurs between care providers, have been identified as a risk to patient safety. Computerization of health information is often offered as a solution to improve the quality of care handovers and decrease adverse events related to patient safety. The purpose of this paper is to broaden our understanding of clinical handover as a patient safety issue, and to identify socio-technical issues which may come to bear on the success of computer based handover tools. Three in depth ethnographic case studies were undertaken. Field notes were transcribed and analyzed with the aid of qualitative data analysis software. Within case analysis was performed on each case, and subsequently, cross case analyses were performed. We identified five types of socio-technical issues which must be addressed if electronic handover tools are to succeed. The inter-dependencies of these issues are addressed in relation to arenas in which health care work takes place. We suggest that the contextual nature of information, ethical and medico-legal issues arising in relation to information handover, and issues related to data standards and system interoperability must be addressed if computerized health information systems are to achieve improvements in patient safety related to handovers in care. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reflecting socio-technical combinations in radioactive waste management. Results from the InSOTEC European research project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kallenbach-Herbert, Beate; Bergmans, Anne; Martell, Meritxell; Schroeder, Jantine

2015-01-01

InSOTEC is a three-year collaborative social sciences research project funded under the European Atomic Energy Community's 7th Framework Programme FP7. The project aims to generate a better understanding of the complex interplay between the technical and the social in the context of geological disposal of radioactive waste. In doing so, InSOTEC has moved beyond the social and technical division that is frequently being found in this context by - investigating the consideration of social sciences and the recognition of socio-technical combinations in research programs on geological disposal, - analyzing the socio-technical entanglement in selected contexts like siting, reversibility and retrievability, demonstrating safety and technology transfer on the basis of case studies, and - exploring the integration of diverse stakeholders in technology oriented networks. The analyses reveal that activities in the context of geological disposal, whether related to research, planning, siting etc., rather support the divide of social and technical aspects than fostering the consideration of their entanglement. Reasons identified for this are manifold. The wish to reduce complexity by focusing stakeholder involvement on social questions and fixing the technical part ''when acceptance is reached'' is only one of them. However, the analyses also show that over the long timescales of repository planning and implementation, robust management strategies must provide the flexibility to adapt to both technical and social developments and demands. Understanding the socio-technical interplay and creating structures for its consideration provides the basis for dealing with this challenge. This presentation will focus on the main findings of the InSOTEC project with regard to the consideration of socio-technical combinations in practice. These insights are currently under development and will be finalized at the end of the project in June 2014. We will reflect on

Reflecting socio-technical combinations in radioactive waste management. Results from the InSOTEC European research project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kallenbach-Herbert, Beate [Oeko-Institut e.V., Darmstadt (Germany); Bergmans, Anne [Antwerp Univ. (Belgium); Martell, Meritxell [Merience Strategic Thinking, Olerdola (Spain); Schroeder, Jantine [Antwerp Univ. (Belgium); SCK - CEN, Mol (Belgium)

2015-07-01

InSOTEC is a three-year collaborative social sciences research project funded under the European Atomic Energy Community's 7th Framework Programme FP7. The project aims to generate a better understanding of the complex interplay between the technical and the social in the context of geological disposal of radioactive waste. In doing so, InSOTEC has moved beyond the social and technical division that is frequently being found in this context by - investigating the consideration of social sciences and the recognition of socio-technical combinations in research programs on geological disposal, - analyzing the socio-technical entanglement in selected contexts like siting, reversibility and retrievability, demonstrating safety and technology transfer on the basis of case studies, and - exploring the integration of diverse stakeholders in technology oriented networks. The analyses reveal that activities in the context of geological disposal, whether related to research, planning, siting etc., rather support the divide of social and technical aspects than fostering the consideration of their entanglement. Reasons identified for this are manifold. The wish to reduce complexity by focusing stakeholder involvement on social questions and fixing the technical part ''when acceptance is reached'' is only one of them. However, the analyses also show that over the long timescales of repository planning and implementation, robust management strategies must provide the flexibility to adapt to both technical and social developments and demands. Understanding the socio-technical interplay and creating structures for its consideration provides the basis for dealing with this challenge. This presentation will focus on the main findings of the InSOTEC project with regard to the consideration of socio-technical combinations in practice. These insights are currently under development and will be finalized at the end of the project in June 2014. We will reflect on

Personal health records in the South African healthcare landscape: a socio-technical analysis

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mxoli, A

2014-11-01

Full Text Available and control non-communicable lifestyle diseases. Despite numerous benefits adoption rates are low, and little is known regarding the factors that affect adoption in the South African context. This exploratory paper highlights socio-technical factors that can...

'The biggest legal battle in UK casino history': Processes and politics of 'cheating' in sociotechnical networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Mark R

2018-04-01

Previous literature on cheating has focused on defining the concept, assigning responsibility to individual players, collaborative social processes or technical faults in a game's rules. By contrast, this paper applies an actor-network perspective to understanding 'cheating' in games, and explores how the concept is rhetorically effective in sociotechnical controversies. The article identifies human and nonhuman actors whose interests and properties were translated in a case study of 'edge sorting' - identifying minor but crucial differences in tessellated patterns on the backs of playing cards, and using these to estimate their values. In the ensuing legal controversy, the defending actors - casinos - retranslated the interests of actors to position edge sorting as cheating. This allowed the casinos to emerge victorious in a legal battle over almost twenty million dollars. Analyzing this dispute shows that cheating is both sociotechnically complex as an act and an extremely powerful rhetorical tool for actors seeking to prevent changes to previously-established networks. Science and Technology Studies (STS) offers a rich toolkit for examining cheating, but in addition the cheating discourse may be valuable to STS, enlarging our repertoire of actor strategies relevant to sociotechnical disputes.

Health information technology and sociotechnical systems: a progress report on recent developments within the UK National Health Service (NHS).

Science.gov (United States)

Waterson, Patrick

2014-03-01

This paper summarises some of the research that Ken Eason and colleagues at Loughborough University have carried out in the last few years on the introduction of Health Information Technologies (HIT) within the UK National Health Service (NHS). In particular, the paper focuses on three examples which illustrate aspects of the introduction of HIT within the NHS and the role played by the UK National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT). The studies focus on stages of planning and preparation, implementation and use, adaptation and evolution of HIT (e.g., electronic patient records, virtual wards) within primary, secondary and community care settings. Our findings point to a number of common themes which characterise the use of these systems. These include tensions between national and local strategies for implementing HIT and poor fit between healthcare work systems and the design of HIT. The findings are discussed in the light of other large-scale, national attempts to introduce similar technologies, as well as drawing out a set of wider lessons learnt from the NPfIT programme based on Ken Eason's earlier work and other research on the implementation of large-scale HIT. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Assessing socio-technical mindsets: Public deliberations on carbon capture and storage in the context of energy sources and climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Einsiedel, Edna F.; Boyd, Amanda D.; Medlock, Jennifer; Ashworth, Peta

2013-01-01

The adaptation and transition to new configurations of energy systems brought on by challenges of climate change, energy security, and sustainability have encouraged more integrative approaches that bring together the social and technical dimensions of technology. The perspectives of energy systems and climate change play an important role in the development and implementation of emerging energy technologies and attendant policies on greenhouse gas reduction. This research examines citizens’ views on climate change and a number of energy systems, with a specific focus on the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a technology to address greenhouse gas emissions. An all-day workshop with 82 local participants was held in the city of Calgary in Alberta, Canada to explore the views of climate change, energy and CCS. Participants were provided the opportunity to ask experts questions and discuss in small groups their views of climate change policy and energy systems. Results demonstrate that participants’ assessments of energy systems are influenced by social–political–institutional–economic contexts such as trust in industry and government, perception of parties benefiting from the technology, and tradeoffs between energy systems. We discuss our findings in the context of understanding social learning processes as part of socio-technical systems change. - Highlight: ► Energy systems are judged in the context of wider socio-technical system dimensions. ► Skepticism about climate change may affect support for CCS. ► Concerns about CCS include: CO 2 leaks, accuracy of monitoring and costs.

Modeling interdependent socio-technical networks: The smart grid—an agent-based modeling approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Worm, D.; Langley, D.J.; Becker, J.

2014-01-01

The aim of this paper is to improve scientific modeling of interdependent socio-technical networks. In these networks the interplay between technical or infrastructural elements on the one hand and social and behavioral aspects on the other hand, plays an important role. Examples include electricity

A socio-technical analysis of work with ideas in NPD: an industrial case study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gish, Liv; Hansen, Claus Thorp

2013-01-01

on piecing together a number of ideas that were developed and disseminated in a large industrial company. We do this through an in-depth case study of the development of the energy-labeled circulation pump Alpha Pro, developed by one of the world’s leading pump manufacturers, Grundfos. Using a socio-technical...... approach, we focus especially on the actors involved and the contextual factors, and less on the detailed development of technical ideas. In our study, we observe that (1) ideas are pieced together from previous ideas and results; (2) ideas are implemented through continuous mobilization of support...... and development of legitimate arguments; and (3) idea work is also a socio-technical process, because contextual factors matter. We observe that idea work is an ongoing process undertaken across different projects, actors, departments, strategies, and visions within Grundfos, while also involving external actors...

What hinder the further development of wind power in China?—A socio-technical barrier study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Zhen-Yu; Chang, Rui-Dong; Chen, Yu-Long

2016-01-01

Promoting wind power is a long-term strategy of China to respond to both energy shortage and environmental pollution. Stimulated by various incentive policies, wind power generation in China has achieved tremendous growth, with the cumulative installed capacity being the largest worldwide for five consecutive years since 2010. However, obstructed by various barriers, wind power provides only 2.6% of national electricity generation in China, despite the strong support from the government. From a socio-technical transition perspective, this paper aims to systematically analyze the barriers hindering the further development of China's wind power. A wind power niche model is established to illustrate the complex interactions among actors in the wind power industry and electricity supply regime. Then, qualitative content analysis is adopted to process the related evidence and data, and four categories of socio-technical barriers are identified, including technology, governance, infrastructure and culture barriers. The study shows that various interrelated barriers form a blocking mechanism which prohibits the further development of wind power in China. Policy suggestions are proposed to eliminate the barriers and further empower the wind power niche. The lesson learned from China can offer useful references for other economies to promote wind power industries of their own. - Highlights: • Use wind power niche model to illustrate the interactions among actors in the industry. • Analyze technological, governance, infrastructural and cultural barriers. • Multidimensionality and interconnectedness of the barriers are illustrated. • Policy suggestions are proposed to deal with the wind power development barriers.

A socio-technical perspective on the electrification of the automobile: Niche and regime interaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijk, Marc

2014-01-01

This paper offers a socio-technical perspective on how the introduction of various alternatives to the internal combustion engine, especially the full-electric vehicle, influences the established propulsion technology (ICE). This perspective helps to move beyond the well-known incremental vs.

Autonomy and Control when Working with Humans—A Reflection on Sociotechnical Concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nina Amble

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The sociotechnical concepts of responsible autonomy and to be in control were originally developed from men’s work in order to describe and develop mostly industrial work. This article explores how these conceptions may be useful in modern service work, when working with humans. It is based on a set of development projects in mainly municipal care institutions in Norway, between 2000 and 2011. The projects were theoretically grounded in the Norwegian and international sociotechnical system theory (STS tradition. It argues that there are many valuable lessons to be learnt from this tradition also concerning nursing and care work in the municipalities. However, the article points to a need for development of the concept control as autonomy to embrace “working with humans.” A central finding is that assistance and support from and to colleagues are prerequisites for “being in control.” Moreover, that development of trust through communication alongside work is necessary in order to establish relations of mutual support. Trust and mutual support point to the social relations at work; so in this way it takes the concept control as autonomy from an individual to a more collective concept as Trist et al. (1963 and Herbst (1974/1993 defined their concept of control as collective responsible autonomy. In a prospective perspective, the article sets up the hypothesis that an organization that combines the two, an individual together with a more collective scope on autonomy when working with humans, will meet what Kira (2006 calls as regenerative work. This means sustainability—in resources involved; health, quality, and milieu—through the staff ’s dominion over the conditions of their work.

Evaluating Safety Culture Under the Socio-Technical Complex Systems Perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemos, F. L. de

2016-01-01

itself as a quality of a social system, the proposed approach integrates the safety culture traits into the control structure of a broader system, the socio-technical complex system. A practical example, based on the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant head degradation event, is presented. (author)

Education, Rationality and Emotion in Tessitura of Socio-Technical Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fátima Kzam Damaceno de Lacerda

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This work aims to reflect on the concepts of Humberto Maturana, a Chilean biologist, who rescues the crossover tension between emotion and rationality, based on the proposals of two doctoral studies in an environmental multidisciplinary program, at UERJ (PPGMA. The issue of Eco-subjectivities and Distance Education will be analyzed in the light of the ideas of anthropology of science and of techniques as a contribution to the restoration of the sociotechnical network of emotion in educational processes.

Double-Loop Health Technology: Enabling Socio-technical Design of Personal Health Technology in Clinical Practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bardram, Jakob Eyvind; Frost, Mads

2018-01-01

present a case of designing personal health technology for mental health, which is integrated into hospital-based treatment. This system helps patients to manage their disease by tracking and correlation behavior and disease progression and provide feedback to them, while also deployed as part......Personal health technology is rapidly emerging as a response to the challenges associated with significant increase in chronic noncommunicable diseases. The overall design paradigm behind most of these applications is to manually and automatically sample data from sensors and smartphones and use...... this to provide patients with an awareness of their illness and give recommendation for treatment, care, and healthy living. Few of these systems are, however, designed to be part of a complex socio-technical care and treatment processes in existing healthcare systems and clinical pathways. In this chapter, we...

Informing the design of clinical decision support services for evaluation of children with minor blunt head trauma in the emergency department: a sociotechnical analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheehan, Barbara; Nigrovic, Lise E; Dayan, Peter S; Kuppermann, Nathan; Ballard, Dustin W; Alessandrini, Evaline; Bajaj, Lalit; Goldberg, Howard; Hoffman, Jeffrey; Offerman, Steven R; Mark, Dustin G; Swietlik, Marguerite; Tham, Eric; Tzimenatos, Leah; Vinson, David R; Jones, Grant S; Bakken, Suzanne

2013-10-01

Integration of clinical decision support services (CDSS) into electronic health records (EHRs) may be integral to widespread dissemination and use of clinical prediction rules in the emergency department (ED). However, the best way to design such services to maximize their usefulness in such a complex setting is poorly understood. We conducted a multi-site cross-sectional qualitative study whose aim was to describe the sociotechnical environment in the ED to inform the design of a CDSS intervention to implement the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) clinical prediction rules for children with minor blunt head trauma. Informed by a sociotechnical model consisting of eight dimensions, we conducted focus groups, individual interviews and workflow observations in 11 EDs, of which 5 were located in academic medical centers and 6 were in community hospitals. A total of 126 ED clinicians, information technology specialists, and administrators participated. We clustered data into 19 categories of sociotechnical factors through a process of thematic analysis and subsequently organized the categories into a sociotechnical matrix consisting of three high-level sociotechnical dimensions (workflow and communication, organizational factors, human factors) and three themes (interdisciplinary assessment processes, clinical practices related to prediction rules, EHR as a decision support tool). Design challenges that emerged from the analysis included the need to use structured data fields to support data capture and re-use while maintaining efficient care processes, supporting interdisciplinary communication, and facilitating family-clinician interaction for decision-making. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A case study evaluation of a Critical Care Information System adoption using the socio-technical and fit approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Yusof, Maryati Mohd

2015-07-01

Clinical information systems have long been used in intensive care units but reports on their adoption and benefits are limited. This study evaluated a Critical Care Information System implementation. A case study summative evaluation was conducted, employing observation, interview, and document analysis in operating theatres and 16-bed adult intensive care units in a 400-bed Malaysian tertiary referral centre from the perspectives of users (nurses and physicians), management, and information technology staff. System implementation, factors influencing adoption, fit between these factors, and the impact of the Critical Care Information System were evaluated after eight months of operation. Positive influences on system adoption were associated with technical factors, including system ease of use, usefulness, and information relevancy; human factors, particularly user attitude; and organisational factors, namely clinical process-technology alignment and champions. Organisational factors such as planning, project management, training, technology support, turnover rate, clinical workload, and communication were barriers to system implementation and use. Recommendations to improve the current system problems were discussed. Most nursing staff positively perceived the system's reduction of documentation and data access time, giving them more time with patients. System acceptance varied among doctors. System use also had positive impacts on timesaving, data quality, and clinical workflow. Critical Care Information Systems is crucial and has great potentials in enhancing and delivering critical care. However, the case study findings showed that the system faced complex challenges and was underutilised despite its potential. The role of socio-technical factors and their fit in realizing the potential of Critical Care Information Systems requires continuous, in-depth evaluation and stakeholder understanding and acknowledgement. The comprehensive and specific evaluation

The Shaping of the Scandinavian Socio-technical IS Research Tradition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørn-Andersen, Niels; Clemmensen, Torkil

2017-01-01

voice of the autoethnographer and the questioning voice of a younger researcher, the second author, who wants to bridge S/T into the future. The main contributions of this paper are to provide: 1) insights into career development in IS in general and in one of the Scandinavian IS pioneers in particular......This paper relates stories instrumental in shaping the career of an individual and which have also contributed to shaping of the IS field in general and the ‘Scandinavian Socio-Technical (S/T) Information Systems Research Tradition’ in particular. The method in this paper is an autoethnography......; 2) a historic account of some of the key events in the early days of S/T IS in Scandinavia; 3) an account of the experiences and the challenges in creating a new research field such as IS; and 4) a summary of Niels’s key learnings hopefully relevant to young and mid-career IS researchers....

Socio-technical Systems as Place-specific Matters of Concern

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, J. S.; Fratini, C. F.; Cashmore, M. A.

2016-01-01

that urban governance of the wastewater system was influenced by a particular concern with developing attractive and competitive urban spaces. The wastewater system emerged as a ‘place-bound’ and even ‘place-making’ governance concern; as such, the boundaries and functions of the system were subject...... to continuous redefinition at the city level. This urban framing conflicted with the national-level, efficiency-oriented framing of the wastewater system as homogenous, without regard to place-specific differences. The research findings suggest that a distinct characteristic of urban-level governance is concern...... for place-specific development; this concern can be transformative because it leads to ongoing reinterpretation of traditional boundaries and dependencies between large-scale systems and local contexts....

The Role of Socio-technical Devices in Framing the Current Strategic Issues and Future States of the Service Market

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tryggestad, Kjell

2004-01-01

The aim of this paper is to inquire into the role of socio-technical devices like value metrics and accounting in organizing the service market. The authors provide a case on how such devices participates in framing the market for transportation during the introduction of large-scale bridges....... In addition to the traditional role of accounting as a representation device, the authors also show how these devices participate in performing the service economy - undermining and redrawing organizational boundaries in unexpected ways. The presence of multiple connections with socio-technical devices...... are then brought into an explanation of the overflowing and reconfiguration of the transportation market....

Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste: A Long-Term Socio-Technical Experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Schröder, Jantine

2016-06-01

In this article we investigate whether long-term radioactive waste management by means of geological disposal can be understood as a social experiment. Geological disposal is a rather particular technology in the way it deals with the analytical and ethical complexities implied by the idea of technological innovation as social experimentation, because it is presented as a technology that ultimately functions without human involvement. We argue that, even when the long term function of the 'social' is foreseen to be restricted to safeguarding the functioning of the 'technical', geological disposal is still a social experiment. In order to better understand this argument and explore how it could be addressed, we elaborate the idea of social experimentation with the notion of co-production and the analytical tools of delegation, prescription and network as developed by actor-network theory. In doing so we emphasize that geological disposal inherently involves relations between surface and subsurface, between humans and nonhumans, between the social, material and natural realm, and that these relations require recognition and further elaboration. In other words, we argue that geological disposal concurrently is a social and a technical experiment, or better, a long-term socio-technical experiment. We end with proposing the idea of 'actor-networking' as a sensitizing concept for future research into what geological disposal as a socio-technical experiment could look like.

The sociotechnical configuration of the problem of Patient Safety

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danholt, Peter

2010-01-01

Abstract. This paper presents and discusses two approaches to “the sociotechnical”, one coming from the Tavistock tradition and the other from actor network theory. These two differ in important ways and from the latter it follows that what patient safety means must be scrutinized and unpacked....... The paper thus rudimentarily discusses central contributions to the problematization of patient safety. Last it is argued that research that provide data on the processes of medical interventions where events, decisions and entities become transformed through their interactions is needed in order to further...... nuance the problem of patient safety. Keywords. Sociotechnical, patient safety, actor network theory, adverse events....

Socio-technical Issues for Ubiquitous Information Society in 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Funabashi, Motohisa; Homma, Koichi; Sasaki, Toshiro; Sato, Yoshinori; Kido, Kunihiko; Fukumoto, Takashi; Yano, Koujin

Impact of the ubiquitous information technology on our society is so significant that directing technological development and preparing institutional apparatus are quite important and urgent. The present paper elaborates, with the efforts by both humanity and engineering disciplines, to find out the socio-technical issues of ubiquitous information society in 2010 by inspecting social implications of emerging technology as well as social expectations. In order to deliberate the issues, scenarios are developed that describes possible life in ubiquitous information society. The derived issues cover integrating information technology and human body, producing smart sharable environment, protecting individual rights, fostering new service business, and forming community.

Socio-technical barriers to the use of energy-efficient timber drying technology in New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bell, Martha; Carrington, Gerry; Lawson, Rob; Stephenson, Janet

2014-01-01

This study of industrial energy behaviours identifies barriers to the use of energy-efficient drying technology in the New Zealand timber industry, and explores these barriers through the “energy cultures” lens. Vented kiln dryers were preferred by larger firms and heat pump kiln dryers were used by smaller firms. Although few firms could specify all their costs, we found no significant differences in the average operating costs, drying costs or commercial success of the larger and smaller firms. We found that socio-technical barriers create “energy cultures” at the level of both the firm and the sector, supporting the dominance of vented kiln dryers. The prevailing technologies, practices and norms at the sector level strongly support vented kilns, the status quo being embedded in the socio-technical context, hindering technological learning, improved energy efficiency and innovation. Influential stakeholders in the industry were thus part of, and locked into, the industry-wide energy culture, and were not in a position to effect change. We conclude that actors external to the prevailing industry energy culture need to leverage change in the industry norms, practices and/or technologies in order to reap the advantages of energy-efficient drying technology, assist its continued evolution and avoid the risks of path-dependency. - Highlights: • Firms processing timber in New Zealand use two main drying technologies. • Relatively inefficient vented dryers dominate over energy-efficient heat pumps. • Operating costs are similar but the socio-technical regime supports vented dryers. • Stasis is created by fixed energy cultures both within firms and across the sector. • Stasis hampers technical development in heat pump drying and business innovation

Developing e-banking services for rural India: making use of socio-technical prototypes

OpenAIRE

Dittrich, Yvonne; Vaidyanathan, Lakshmi; Gonsalves, Timothy A; Jhunjhunwala, Ashok

2017-01-01

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is one of the key enablers for including underserved communities in economic and societal development across the world. Our research analyzes several banking service projects developing technical solutions for rural India. This poster presents an experience report based on systematic debriefing of involved project leaders and initiators, triangulated with additional documentation. The concept of Socio-Technical Prototype is developed and used to ...

The journey towards decarbonization: Exploring socio-technical transitions in the electricity sector in the province of Ontario (1885–2013) and potential low-carbon pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenbloom, Daniel; Meadowcroft, James

2014-01-01

This article employs the multi-level perspective on socio-technical transitions to explore the historical evolution of the electricity regime in the province of Ontario from 1885-2013 and to interpret the potential for future movement towards decarbonization. With an emphasis on the political and social dimensions of transitions, this analysis traces the key features influencing change within Ontario's electricity system over the past century. This paper uses multiple criteria (the phase of electrification; role of the electricity system in economic development; structures of ownership, market and regulation; dominant technologies; and the relative stability of arrangements) to characterize distinct regime configurations and periods of instability which separate relatively stable system orientations. Lessons are drawn from the historical case with implications for future decarbonization in the province, including the importance of: (1) residual momentum; (2) embedded guiding principles; and, (3) politico-economic coalitions. - Highlights: • Investigates transitions in the electricity sector using the multi-level perspective. • Explores the socio-technical evolution of the electricity system in Ontario. • Draws lessons relevant for low-carbon transitions. • Poses key questions for the development of low-carbon pathways in Ontario. • Provides insights on the political dimensions of low-carbon transitions

Computing the English Middle Ages: A Sociotechnical Study of Medievalists' Engagement with Digital Humanities

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Grant Leyton

2017-01-01

With few exceptions, digital humanities projects and objects have been described rather than studied. This dissertation attempts to advance that discourse by empirically studying, from a sociotechnical point of view, DH projects and the products they produce, specifically those within the realm of Old and Middle English language and literature.…

Passive houses in Austria: the role of intermediary organisations for the successful transformation of a socio-technical system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ornetzeder, Michael (Inst. of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Austria)); Rohracher, Harald (IFZ - Inter-Univ. Research Centre for Technology, Work and Culture (Austria))

2009-07-01

In Austria, the first passive house was built in 1996. Since then the market for passive houses has rapidly increased. Statistics show that there were more than 4000 residential units with about 10,000 passive house residents at the end of 2006 - more per capita than in any other country of the world. Sustainability requirements, however, have led to profound shifts in the need for collaboration between the actors involved in planning, constructing and using buildings. This paper draws on a qualitative case study to analyse the development and dissemination of passive houses in Austria by focussing on the role of intermediate organisations. Empirically, the paper is based on qualitative interviews with representatives of relevant organisations as well as the analysis of various documentary sources. The case study shows that new types of buildings, such as 'passive houses', have given rise to new actors and organisations to organise integrative planning processes, to set standards and market the passive house concept, to certify components, to transfer knowledge to professionals, to assist consumers in choosing architects, installers and technologies or to organise participation processes. New interest organisations mediate between producers and the policy level, energy agencies act as system builders to transfer these new technologies and practices into the mainstream building sectors, etc. Intermediation processes fulfilled by a broad range of organisations turned out to be of crucial importance for the coordination and shaping of the socio-technical system.

The synergic role of sociotechnical and personal characteristics on work injuries in mines.

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, P S; Maiti, J

2008-05-01

Occupational injuries in mines are attributed to many factors. In this study, an attempt was made to identify the various factors related to work injuries in mines and to estimate their effects on work injuries to mine workers. An accident path model was developed to estimate the pattern and strength of relationships amongst the personal and sociotechnical variables in accident/injury occurrences. The input data for the model were the correlation matrix of 18 variables, which were collected from the case study mines. The case study results showed that there are sequential interactions amongst the sociotechnical and personal factors leading to accidents/injuries in mines. Amongst the latent endogenous constructs, job dissatisfaction and safe work behaviour show a significant positive and negative direct relationship with work injury, respectively. However, the construct safety environment has a significant negative indirect relationship with work injury. The safety environment is negatively affected by work hazards and positively affected by social support. The safety environment also shows a significant negative relationship with job stress and job dissatisfaction. However, negative personality has no significant direct or indirect effect on work injury, but it has a significant negative relationship with safe work behaviour. The endogenous construct negative personality is positively influenced by job stress and negatively influenced by social support.

Case study on the role of socio-technical influences on the implementation and success of nuclear power in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jedani, T.

2004-01-01

To fully understand a technological development one must appreciate social, political and economic factors in addition to the technological components (Hughes, 1991). The systems perspective, asserted by Hughes, implies that technologies cannot be understood in isolation, but only in their contexts, especially in their systemic contexts. This theory is illustrated through an examination of France's implementation of its nuclear power program in the early 1970's. Nuclear power provided France with the opportunity to achieve energy independence and, as a result, political control over its energy supply. The scope of this case study is limited to consideration of the socio-technical influences on the rise of nuclear power in France and includes an examination of the technical aspects of the innovation. In considering the socio-technical system encompassing France's adoption of nuclear power, this case study will contemplate: how France was able to persuade its people to accept nuclear power; what it is about French culture and politics that allowed them to succeed where most other countries have failed; the breakthroughs that led to the broad commercialization of nuclear power in France in the 1970's; and how France achieved its status as one of the world's top producers of nuclear energy. The time period during which this study is based is limited to the early 1970's, when France was reliant upon external energy supplies, up until the present day, where nuclear power has become France's main source of energy, thus contributing to France's autonomy in terms of its energy supply. This study will not address the issue of nuclear waste or the nuclear power safety debate which is also beyond the scope of this study. (author)

Integration of a nationally procured electronic health record system into user work practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cresswell Kathrin M

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Evidence suggests that many small- and medium-scale Electronic Health Record (EHR implementations encounter problems, these often stemming from users' difficulties in accommodating the new technology into their work practices. There is the possibility that these challenges may be exacerbated in the context of the larger-scale, more standardised, implementation strategies now being pursued as part of major national modernisation initiatives. We sought to understand how England's centrally procured and delivered EHR software was integrated within the work practices of users in selected secondary and specialist care settings. Methods We conducted a qualitative longitudinal case study-based investigation drawing on sociotechnical theory in three purposefully selected sites implementing early functionality of a nationally procured EHR system. The complete dataset comprised semi-structured interview data from a total of 66 different participants, 38.5 hours of non-participant observation of use of the software in context, accompanying researcher field notes, and hospital documents (including project initiation and lessons learnt reports. Transcribed data were analysed thematically using a combination of deductive and inductive approaches, and drawing on NVivo8 software to facilitate coding. Results The nationally led "top-down" implementation and the associated focus on interoperability limited the opportunity to customise software to local needs. Lack of system usability led users to employ a range of workarounds unanticipated by management to compensate for the perceived shortcomings of the system. These had a number of knock-on effects relating to the nature of collaborative work, patterns of communication, the timeliness and availability of records (including paper and the ability for hospital management to monitor organisational performance. Conclusions This work has highlighted the importance of addressing potentially adverse

Overcoming the socio-technical divide: A long-term source of hope in feminist studies of computer science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corinna Bath

2008-07-01

Full Text Available The dichotomy of the technical and the social is strongly gendered in western thought. Therefore, potential dissolutions of the socio-technical divide have always been a source of hope from a feminist point of view. The starting point of this contribution are recent trends in the computer science discipline, such as the new interaction paradigm and the concept of ‘social machines’, which seem to challenge the borderline of the technical as opposed to the social and, thereby, refresh promises for changes in the gender-technology relationship. The paper primarily explores the entanglement between the socio-technical divide and the structural-symbolic gender order on the basis of historical academic discourses in German computer science. Thereby, traditions of critical thinking in the German computer science discipline and related feminist voices are introduced. A reflection of these historical discourses indicates that ‘interaction’ and ‘social machines’ are contested zones, which call for feminist intervention.

Electronic collaboration across organizational borders in the health care sector: Design and deployment from a national perspective

OpenAIRE

Heimly, Vigdis

2012-01-01

The purpose of this thesis is to make a contribution to the improvement of electronic collaboration across organizational borders in the health care sector. I have studied this problem from a sociotechnical1 point of view and have tried to find out what we can learn from the process and how lessons learned could potentially influence further development and deployment of collaboration systems at a national level. I have used electronic referrals as a case. Practice consultants are General Pra...

Socio-technical assessment of solar photovoltaic systems implemented for rural electrification in selected villages of Sundarbans region of India

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Rashmi Murali

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The power situation in rural India continues to remain poor with around one-third of the rural population without access to any form of electricity. The consequence of which is kerosene being used as a major source of lighting for un-electrified households as well as households with intermittent access to electricity in rural areas. While grid based electrification has been the most common approach, decentralized renewable energy options especially, solar PV systems have also been adopted as a cost effective mode of electrification. This paper presents the results of socio-technical assessment of solar photovoltaic interventions namely, solar home systems, solar mini-grid and solar AC pico-grids, which have been used to electrify selected villages in Sundarbans region of India. The study is focused on technical, financial, and institutional aspects along with the social impact assessment of PV based electrification in the Sundarbans region. The results of the study elucidate that, in general, the impacts of the solar PV solutions used for electrification have been largely positive, especially benefits of reduced kerosene consumption, ease in studying and cooking and reduced health effects. The study also finds that technology is not the only factor on which the viability of a program depends, but institutional and financial aspects also play a significant role. The need of the hour is to develop a strong institutional framework and enabling policies for achieving higher success rates in PV programs.

Conceptualising Digital Materiality and its Socio-Technical Implications through the Phenomenon of Crowdsourcing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia Morizio

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Digital materiality is a relatively new concept in the information systems literature that attempts to give “substance” to, or explain the material properties of, digital artefacts. These artefacts, such as software programs, are challenging our traditional assumptions of what is “materiality”. Crowdsourcing or the aggregation of publicly-reported data for a variety of purposes – from tracking instances of violence within a geographic area, to coordinating information for aid agencies working in humanitarian emergency situations – is an example technology that transcends the line of a purely physical or digital object. This paper will briefly touch on the definition of digital materiality within IS thought, followed by a discussion of how crowdsourcing fits into its conceptualisation, namely in terms of its characteristics and organisational consequences. The purpose is to instantiate the more theoretical notion of digital materiality through a tangible technology with far-reaching socio-technical implications.

A Socio-technical Mapping and Analysis of Dominant Design Materialization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, John K.; Varnes, Claus

the importance of high market shares for defining a wining dominating design, but despite the electric vehicle’s higher market share in the years 1899-1900 it was surpassed by the internal combustion vehicle. The socio-technical analysis departs from a narrative based on historical accounts on the competition...... between the electric vehicle and the internal combustion vehicle from late 1890 - until 1909. The analysis shows that the electric vehicle did not successfully attract new allies or overcome resistance from anti-programs to the same degree as the internal combustion vehicle. Findings suggest that some...... of the issues with few allies and anti-programs that emerged already during the late 1890'ties is still active in today's market and haunts the electric vehicle....

In Hot Water. A study on sociotechnical intervention models and practices of water use in smallholder agriculture, Nyanyadzi catchment, Zimbabwe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bolding, J.A.

2004-01-01

This study focuses on intervention processes in smallholder agriculture in the Nyanyadzi river catchment, located in Chimanimani district, Manicaland Province Zimbabwe. In particular it concerns itself with sociotechnical interventions that were implemented by Agritex, the local extension and

Greenlandic water and sanitation systems-identifying system constellation and challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hendriksen, Kåre; Hoffmann, Birgitte

2017-01-01

" (United Nations 2015). This obviously raises the question of how this can be achieved considering the very different conditions and cultures around the globe. This article presents the Greenlandic context and elucidates the current Greenland water supply system and wastewater management system from......A good water supply and wastewater management is essential for a local sustainable community development. This is emphasized in the new global goals of the UN Sustainable Development, where the sixth objective is to: "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all...... a socio-technical approach, focusing on the geographic, climatic and cultural challenges. The article identifies a diverse set of system constellations in different parts of Greenland and concludes with a discussion of health and quality of life implications....

Socio-technical systems analysis of waste to energy from municipal solid waste in developing economies: a case for Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iyamu Hope O.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Waste generation is an inevitable by-product of human activity, and it is on the rise due to rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, increased wealth and population. The composition of municipal solid waste (MSW in developed and developing economies differ, especially with the organic fraction. Research shows that the food waste stream of MSW in developing countries is over 50%. The case study for this investigation, Nigeria, has minimal formal recycling or resource recovery programs. The average composition of waste from previous research in the country is between 50–70% putrescible and 30–50% non-putrescible, presenting significant resource recovery potential in composting and biogas production. Waste-to-energy (WtE is an important waste management solution that has been successfully implemented and operated in most developed economies. This contribution reports the conditions that would be of interest before WtE potentials of MSW is harnessed, in an efficient waste management process in a developing economy like Nigeria. The investigation presents a set of socio-technical parameters and transition strategy model that would inform a productive MSW management and resource recovery, in which WtE can be part of the solution. This model will find application in the understanding of the interactions between the socio-economic, technical and environmental system, to promote sustainable resource recovery programs in developing economies, among which is WtE.

Doing Systems Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Christian; Mathiasen, John Bang

2014-01-01

Systems development of wind turbine control is competitive with respect to innovation, time and cost. So how can learning possibly occur under such circumstances? Dewey’s pragmatist approach to learning is adopted, emphasising reciprocity between the systems developer’s individual experience...... and the sociotechnical practice. The framework involves the concepts of sociotechnical practice, anchoring of indeterminate situation, and strip of doings towards determinate situation. An ethnographic study was made of four cases of systems development and learning do occur in the cases, enabled by converging anchoring...... of the indeterminate situation and the systems developers different experience. However, an extreme case reveals initiated learning processes and that the interchanges between materiality of the artefacts and systems developers block the learning processes due to a customer with imprecise demands and unclear system...

The socio-technical barriers to Solar Home Systems (SHS) in Papua New Guinea: 'Choosing pigs, prostitutes, and poker chips over panels'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sovacool, Benjamin K.; D'Agostino, Anthony L.; Jain Bambawale, Malavika

2011-01-01

This study explores the socio-technical barriers to Solar Home Systems (SHS) in Papua New Guinea. The authors collected primary data through semi-structured research interviews conducted over the course of February 2010-April 2010. Respondents included government officials, financiers, planners, commercial distributors and companies, teachers and rural villagers in addition to members of civil society, academics, consultants, and trainers. These interviews were supplemented with site visits to Port Moresby, Goroka, and Madang, and field research in the villages of Akameku, Asaroka, Lufa, Kundiawa, Okifa, Simbu, and Talidig. The study draws from these interviews and visits to discuss four types of barriers. Technical barriers relate to substandard equipment and logistical problems. Economic barriers include high rates of poverty, misconceptions about the role of currency, and lack of financing. Political barriers include poor institutional capacity and a government commitment to fossil-fueled grid electrification. Social barriers encompass unrealistic expectations about what SHS can provide along with jealousy, theft, vandalism, and unfamiliarity with solar technology. - Research highlights: → Solar Home Systems (SHS) are impeded by a collection of different barriers in Papua New Guinea. → Technical barriers relate to substandard equipment and logistical problems. → Economic barriers include high rates of poverty, misconceptions about the role of currency, and lack of financing.→ Political barriers include poor institutional capacity and a government commitment to fossil-fueled grid electrification. → Social barriers encompass unrealistic expectations about what SHS can provide along with jealousy, theft, vandalism, and unfamiliarity with solar technology.

Organizational learning in the implementation and adoption of national electronic health records: case studies of two hospitals participating in the National Programme for Information Technology in England.

Science.gov (United States)

Takian, Amirhossein; Sheikh, Aziz; Barber, Nicholas

2014-09-01

To explore the role of organizational learning in enabling implementation and supporting adoption of electronic health record systems into two English hospitals. In the course of conducting our prospective and sociotechnical evaluation of the implementation and adoption of electronic health record into 12 "early adopter" hospitals across England, we identified two hospitals implementing virtually identical versions of the same "off-the-shelf" software (Millennium) within a comparable timeframe. We undertook a longitudinal qualitative case study-based analysis of these two hospitals (referred to hereafter as Alpha and Omega) and their implementation experiences. Data included the following: 63 in-depth interviews with various groups of internal and external stakeholders; 41-h on-site observation; and content analysis of 218 documents of various types. Analysis was both inductive and deductive, the latter being informed by the "sociotechnical changing" theoretical perspective. Although Alpha and Omega shared a number of contextual similarities, our evaluation revealed fundamental differences in visions of electronic health record and the implementation strategy between the hospitals, which resulted in distinct local consequences of electronic health record implementation and impacted adoption. Both hospitals did not, during our evaluation, see the hoped-for benefits to the organization as a result of the introduction of electronic health record, such as speeding-up tasks. Nonetheless, the Millennium software worked out to be easier to use at Omega. Interorganizational learning was at the heart of this difference. Despite the turbulent overall national "roll out" of electronic health record systems into the English hospitals, considerable opportunities for organizational learning were offered by sequential delivery of the electronic health record software into "early adopter" hospitals. We argue that understanding the process of organizational learning and its

Environmental and natural resource implications of sustainable urban infrastructure systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bergesen, Joseph D.; Suh, Sangwon; Baynes, Timothy M.; Kaviti Musango, Josephine

2017-12-01

As cities grow, their environmental and natural resource footprints also tend to grow to keep up with the increasing demand on essential urban services such as passenger transportation, commercial space, and thermal comfort. The urban infrastructure systems, or socio-technical systems providing these services are the major conduits through which natural resources are consumed and environmental impacts are generated. This paper aims to gauge the potential reductions in environmental and resources footprints through urban transformation, including the deployment of resource-efficient socio-technical systems and strategic densification. Using hybrid life cycle assessment approach combined with scenarios, we analyzed the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water use, metal consumption and land use of selected socio-technical systems in 84 cities from the present to 2050. The socio-technical systems analyzed are: (1) bus rapid transit with electric buses, (2) green commercial buildings, and (3) district energy. We developed a baseline model for each city considering gross domestic product, population density, and climate conditions. Then, we overlaid three scenarios on top of the baseline model: (1) decarbonization of electricity, (2) aggressive deployment of resource-efficient socio-technical systems, and (3) strategic urban densification scenarios to each city and quantified their potentials in reducing the environmental and resource impacts of cities by 2050. The results show that, under the baseline scenario, the environmental and natural resource footprints of all 84 cities combined would increase 58%-116% by 2050. The resource-efficient scenario along with strategic densification, however, has the potential to curve down GHG emissions to 17% below the 2010 level in 2050. Such transformation can also limit the increase in all resource footprints to less than 23% relative to 2010. This analysis suggests that resource-efficient urban infrastructure and decarbonization of

Defining "The Weakest Link" Comparative Security in Complex Systems of Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieters, Wolter

2013-01-01

Cloud architectures are complex socio-technical systems of systems, consisting not only of technological components and their connections, but also of physical premises and employees. When analysing security of such systems and considering countermeasures, the notion of "weakest link" often appears.

EO Model for Tacit Knowledge Externalization in Socio-Technical Enterprises

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Shreyas Suresh Rao

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Aim/Purpose: A vital business activity within socio-technical enterprises is tacit knowledge externalization, which elicits and explicates tacit knowledge of enterprise employees as external knowledge. The aim of this paper is to integrate diverse aspects of externalization through the Enterprise Ontology model. Background: Across two decades, researchers have explored various aspects of tacit knowledge externalization. However, from the existing works, it is revealed that there is no uniform representation of the externalization process, which has resulted in divergent and contradictory interpretations across the literature. Methodology\t: The Enterprise Ontology model is constructed step-wise through the conceptual and measurement views. While the conceptual view encompasses three patterns that model the externalization process, the measurement view employs certainty-factor model to empirically measure the outcome of the externalization process. Contribution: The paper contributes towards knowledge management literature in two ways. The first contribution is the Enterprise Ontology model that integrates diverse aspects of externalization. The second contribution is a Web application that validates the model through a case study in banking. Findings: The findings show that the Enterprise Ontology model and the patterns are pragmatic in externalizing the tacit knowledge of experts in a problem-solving scenario within a banking enterprise. Recommendations for Practitioners\t: Consider the diverse aspects (what, where, when, why, and how during the tacit knowledge externalization process. Future Research:\tTo extend the Enterprise Ontology model to include externalization from partially automated enterprise systems.

Inquiries into Malaysia's socio-technical disasters: recommendations and lessons learnt.

Science.gov (United States)

Said, Aini Mat; Ahmadun, Fakhru'l-Razi; Abdul Kadir, Razali; Daud, Mohamed

2009-04-01

Most democratic countries hold inquiries into disasters. One of their key functions is to establish the cause of an event and to learn lessons in order to prevent a recurrence. In addition, they offer an opportunity for communal catharsis, permitting the public to vent anger, distress and frustration and to exert pressure for policy changes. Malaysia has experienced six landmark socio-technical disasters since 1968, which resulted in the proposal or amendment of various safety/emergency acts and regulations. The authors used a grounded theory approach utilising a constant comparative method to analyse the recommendations made by the inquiries into these events. Data indicate that social and technical recommendations comprise 85 and 15 per cent, respectively, of the total recommendations made by the inquiry committees. This paper offers suggestions for improving the management of inquiry tribunals, as they will remain a valuable source of information for society and corporations to learn from past incidents.

The socio-technical barriers to Solar Home Systems (SHS) in Papua New Guinea: 'Choosing pigs, prostitutes, and poker chips over panels'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sovacool, Benjamin K., E-mail: bsovacool@nus.edu.s [Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, 469C Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259772 (Singapore); D' Agostino, Anthony L.; Jain Bambawale, Malavika [Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, 469C Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259772 (Singapore)

2011-03-15

This study explores the socio-technical barriers to Solar Home Systems (SHS) in Papua New Guinea. The authors collected primary data through semi-structured research interviews conducted over the course of February 2010-April 2010. Respondents included government officials, financiers, planners, commercial distributors and companies, teachers and rural villagers in addition to members of civil society, academics, consultants, and trainers. These interviews were supplemented with site visits to Port Moresby, Goroka, and Madang, and field research in the villages of Akameku, Asaroka, Lufa, Kundiawa, Okifa, Simbu, and Talidig. The study draws from these interviews and visits to discuss four types of barriers. Technical barriers relate to substandard equipment and logistical problems. Economic barriers include high rates of poverty, misconceptions about the role of currency, and lack of financing. Political barriers include poor institutional capacity and a government commitment to fossil-fueled grid electrification. Social barriers encompass unrealistic expectations about what SHS can provide along with jealousy, theft, vandalism, and unfamiliarity with solar technology. - Research highlights: {yields} Solar Home Systems (SHS) are impeded by a collection of different barriers in Papua New Guinea. {yields} Technical barriers relate to substandard equipment and logistical problems. {yields} Economic barriers include high rates of poverty, misconceptions about the role of currency, and lack of financing.{yields} Political barriers include poor institutional capacity and a government commitment to fossil-fueled grid electrification. {yields} Social barriers encompass unrealistic expectations about what SHS can provide along with jealousy, theft, vandalism, and unfamiliarity with solar technology.

Why are you satisfied with an online game?:exploring game attractiveness and gaming climate from a socio-technical perspective

OpenAIRE

Zuo, W. (Wangjing)

2016-01-01

Abstract Some online games are prosperous and have attracted a large number of players, while others cannot sustain. Both technical and social factors likely affect a player’s satisfaction with an online game. However, there is a clear dearth of studies in which have investigated online games from a socio-technical perspective. This article seeks to address this gap through an empirical study on technical factors (manifesti...

New Methods for Analysis of Systems-of-Systems and Policy : The Power of Systems Theory, Crowd Sourcing and Data Management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chmieliauskas, A.; Chappin, E.J.L.; Davis, C.B.; Nikolic, I.; Dijkema, G.P.J.

2012-01-01

Our world is a complex socio-technical system-of-systems (Chappin & Dijkema, 2007; Nikolic, 2009). Embedded within the geological, chemical and biological planetary context, the physical infrastructures, such as power grids or transport networks span the globe with energy and material flows. Social

Implementing UPDM to develop command and control systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oosthuizen, R

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Systems engineering is an established approach to develop systems, including complex sociotechnical systems such as Command and Control (C2) Systems. These systems often occur through introduction of a new technology into an existing system...

In Hot Water. A study on sociotechnical intervention models and practices of water use in smallholder agriculture, Nyanyadzi catchment, Zimbabwe

OpenAIRE

Bolding, J.A.

2004-01-01

This study focuses on intervention processes in smallholder agriculture in the Nyanyadzi river catchment, located in Chimanimani district, Manicaland Province Zimbabwe. In particular it concerns itself with sociotechnical interventions that were implemented by Agritex, the local extension and irrigation service, in the mid-1990s. Despite a flurry of interventions and agrarian policies directed at the intensification of agricultural production and promotion of commercial agriculture in communa...

Facilitating energy transition through energy commons : An application of socio-ecological systems framework for integrated community energy systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Acosta, Cristina; Ortega, Mariana; Bunsen, Till; Koirala, B.P.; Ghorbani, A.

2018-01-01

Integrated Community Energy Systems (ICES) are an emerging local energy system focusing on the collective use of distributed energy resources (DER). These socio-technical systems (STSs) have a high potential to advance the transition towards socially inclusive, environmentally-friendly energy

Facilitating energy transition through energy commons : An application of socio-ecological systems framework for integrated community energy systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Acosta, Cristina; Ortega, Mariana; Bunsen, Till; Koirala, Binod Prasad; Ghorbani, Amineh

2018-01-01

Integrated Community Energy Systems (ICES) are an emerging local energy system focusing on the collective use of distributed energy resources (DER). These socio-technical systems (STSs) have a high potential to advance the transition towards socially inclusive, environmentally-friendly energy

From Safe Systems to Patient Safety

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aarts, J.; Nøhr, C.

2010-01-01

for the third conference with the theme: The ability to design, implement and evaluate safe, useable and effective systems within complex health care organizations. The theme for this conference was "Designing and Implementing Health IT: from safe systems to patient safety". The contributions have reflected...... and implementation of safe systems and thus contribute to the agenda of patient safety? The contributions demonstrate how the health informatics community has contributed to the performance of significant research and to translating research findings to develop health care delivery and improve patient safety......This volume presents the papers from the fourth International Conference on Information Technology in Health Care: Socio-technical Approaches held in Aalborg, Denmark in June 2010. In 2001 the first conference was held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands with the theme: Sociotechnical' approaches...

A national control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsson, A.

1975-01-01

An effective control of nuclear fissionable material is dependent on three different kinds of control, the industry - laboratory management, a national control system and an international safeguards system. The national systems of control differ greatly between various industrialized countries. Two principal reasons for fact can be mentioned. The type and the amounts for nuclear material may be different depending upon the stage of development of the nuclear industry in the country in question. Another reason may be that the country may wish to establish a very elaborate national system of control in order to minimize the IAEA control as much as possible. The two safeguards agreements between the Agency and Sweden on one hand and the Agency and Japan on the other hand can serve as examples for the understanding of the latitude of the IAEA safeguards system under NPT due to the influence of the national control system. If it thus is apparent that the national control system is strongly interrelated to the international safeguards system it is equally influenced by the control and accountancy systems which exist at the nuclear plants and development laboratories. A detailed study of national control systems and their relations to plant management control would fall outside the scope of this article. Some important features will however be examined. (author)

National Renewable Policies in an International Electricity Market : A Socio-Technical Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Iychettira, K.K.

2018-01-01

The current regulatory framework under which the support schemes for Renewable energy sources specifically for electricity (RES-E) operate, is provided for by the Directive 2009/28/EC. It sets a 20% target for energy consumption, while relying on legally binding, national targets until 2020. The

Hustle and Brand: The Sociotechnical Shaping of Influence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Carter

2016-08-01

Full Text Available While social media platforms are often assumed to be sites of speaking, they are also important sites of knowing, where businesses use content produced by individuals in order to understand markets and make predictions and where individuals understand their own position and importance. This article considers social knowledge production in the context of influencer marketing, a growing industry in which social media users are ranked according to measures of influence and compensated for promoting products online. Working from industry press, technical documentation and interviews with tool developers, marketing professionals, and social media users, it traces the sociotechnical shaping of influence, moving from computer scientists’ optimal solutions through technical constraints and business needs to the practices of marketing professionals and individual users. In doing so, it identifies two conceptions of influence. The first is connected to celebrities and practices of branding, while the second, more novel conception is associated with less prominent social media users who make themselves and their willingness to work visible to marketers through practices I describe as hustling. While social influence is conventionally conceptualized in relation to extensive, naturally occurring networks of individuals, in this context it is evaluated in relation to much simpler networks that bring together users who may never interact directly. In this context, users understand and manipulate their influence by positioning their followers (branding and by explicitly affiliating themselves with non-human entities such as brands and topical hashtags (hustling.

DESIGNING AN INTEGRATED OPEN INNOVATION SYSTEM: TOWARDS ORGANIZATIONAL WHOLENESS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baka, Vasiliki

2014-01-01

sociotechnical arrangement within the paradigm of open innovation. We explore how effectively technological platforms address emergent collaboration and innovation practices within and across organizations and to which extent existing technologies act as strategic catalysts of open innovation. We argue...... that in embracing wholeness and in treating technologies as inseparable constitutive parts of organizational architecture, we foster organizational and institutional collaboration and encourage innovative practices. The focus of the paper is on how the design of sociotechnical systems as wholes, that is systems...... that are concurrently acting as corporate websites, internal collaboration spaces, extranets and social media aggregators, actively promotes open innovation in practice. We close with a presentation of six cases that are illustrative of how such a system could be applicable within the open innovation paradigm, namely...

Critical Incident Reporting Systems: Perceived Competing Social ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The safe operation of complex socio-technical systems is dependent upon the reporting of safety critical incidents by operators within a system. Through the action of reporting, systems develop the capability as a learning organisation to improve human and organisational performance. The aim of the study is therefore to ...

Rendering Systems Visible for Design: Synthesis Maps as Constructivist Design Narratives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Jones

Full Text Available Synthesis maps integrate research evidence, system expertise, and design proposals into visual narratives. These narratives support communication and decision-making among stakeholders. Synthesis maps evolved from earlier visualization tools in systemics and design. They help stakeholders to understand design options for complex sociotechnical systems. Other visual approaches map complexity for effective collaboration across perspectives and knowledge domains. These help stakeholder groups to work in higher-order design contexts for sociotechnical or human-ecological systems. This article describes a constructivist pedagogy for collaborative learning in small teams of mixed-discipline designers. Synthesis mapping enables these teams to learn systems methods for design research in complex problem domains. Synthesis maps integrate knowledge from research cycles and iterative sensemaking to define a coherent design narrative. While synthesis maps may include formal system modeling techniques, they do not require them. Synthesis maps tangibly render research observations and design choices. As a hybrid system design method, synthesis maps are a contribution to the design genre of visual systems thinking.

The Design of Large Technological Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pineda, Andres Felipe Valderrama

implies a reconfiguration of the designing team, the supporting actors and the diverse user groups. By tracing material scripts, the author accounts for the unfolding of visions, politics and materialities that constitute the system. The analysis contributes to understanding the complex sociotechnical...

Knowledge Management System Model for Learning Organisations

Science.gov (United States)

Amin, Yousif; Monamad, Roshayu

2017-01-01

Based on the literature of knowledge management (KM), this paper reports on the progress of developing a new knowledge management system (KMS) model with components architecture that are distributed over the widely-recognised socio-technical system (STS) aspects to guide developers for selecting the most applicable components to support their KM…

Urban Transportation Systems in Bogotá and Copenhagen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pineda, Andres Felipe Valderrama; Jørgensen, Ulrik

2008-01-01

In this paper we explore the socio-technical dynamics of developing new urban transport systems. Based on the analysis of empirical material from the study of the Transmilenio in Bogotá and the Metro in Copenhagen, we propose that the design, construction and operation of urban transport systems...

Actor Network Theory Approach and its Application in Investigating Agricultural Climate Information System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Sharifzadeh

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Actor network theory as a qualitative approach to study complex social factors and process of socio-technical interaction provides new concepts and ideas to understand socio-technical nature of information systems. From the actor network theory viewpoint, agricultural climate information system is a network consisting of actors, actions and information related processes (production, transformation, storage, retrieval, integration, diffusion and utilization, control and management, and system mechanisms (interfaces and networks. Analysis of such systemsembody the identification of basic components and structure of the system (nodes –thedifferent sources of information production, extension, and users, and the understanding of how successfully the system works (interaction and links – in order to promote climate knowledge content and improve system performance to reach agricultural development. The present research attempted to introduce actor network theory as research framework based on network view of agricultural climate information system.

The Places of National Innovation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Ole Henning

1998-01-01

The paper contains a review and comparison of four different approaches to national systems of innovation. These approaches are "National Systems of Innovation" (Freeman, 1995), "National Innovation Systems" (Nelson, 1993), "National Systems of Innovation" (Lundvall, 1992) and "The Competitive...... Advantage of Nations" (Porter, 1990). The paper develops a discussion of time, space and place in order to discuss critically the different theories. It is asserted that a process of globalization is leading to a new production of time-space perceptions and practices where localization and globalization...... is becoming increasingly important....

Higher Education Provision Using Systems Thinking Approach--Case Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Dhukaram, Anandhi Vivekanandan; Sgouropoulou, Cleo; Feldman, Gerald; Amini, Ardavan

2018-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexities involved in higher education provision and how systems thinking and socio-technical systems (STS) thinking approach can be used to understand the education ecosystem. Systems thinking perspective is provided using two case studies: the development of European Learner Mobility (EuroLM)…

Analyzing Information Systems Development: A Comparison and Analysis of Eight IS Development Approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Iivari, Juhani; Hirschheim, Rudy

1996-01-01

Analyzes and compares eight information systems (IS) development approaches: Information Modelling, Decision Support Systems, the Socio-Technical approach, the Infological approach, the Interactionist approach, the Speech Act-based approach, Soft Systems Methodology, and the Scandinavian Trade Unionist approach. Discusses the organizational roles…

Airport Managers' Perspectives on Security and Safety Management Systems in Aviation Operations: A Multiple Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Willie L., Jr.

Global terrorism continues to persist despite the great efforts of various countries to protect and safely secure their citizens. As airports form the entry and exit ports of a country, they are one of the most vulnerable locations to terror attacks. Managers of international airports constantly face similar challenges in developing and implementing airport security protocols. Consequently, the technological advances of today have brought both positive and negative impacts on security and terrorism of airports, which are mostly managed by the airport managers. The roles of the managers have greatly increased over the years due to technological advances. The developments in technology have had different roles in security, both in countering terrorism and, at the same time, increasing the communication methods of the terrorists. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to investigate the perspectives of airport managers with regard to societal security and social interactions in the socio-technical systems of the National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS). Through the data gained regarding managers' perception and experiences, the researcher hoped to enable the development of security measures and policies that are appropriate for airports as socio-technical systems. The researcher conducted interviews with airport managers to gather relevant data to fulfill the rationale of the study. Ten to twelve airport managers based in three commercial aviation airports in Maryland, United States participated in the study. The researcher used a qualitative thematic analysis procedure to analyze the data responses of participants in the interview sessions.

Chaordic systems for holonic organizational renewal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eijnatten, van F.M.; Pasmore, W.A.; Woodman, R.W.

2001-01-01

Socio-Technical Systems Design has a long-standing reputation as an integral approach to organization design. One of its local brands is known as the Dutch approach to Integral Organizational Renewal of the firm (IOR). Central in IOR is an attempt to integrate both business process design,

Geographical National Condition and Complex System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WANG Jiayao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The significance of studying the complex system of geographical national conditions lies in rationally expressing the complex relationships of the “resources-environment-ecology-economy-society” system. Aiming to the problems faced by the statistical analysis of geographical national conditions, including the disunity of research contents, the inconsistency of range, the uncertainty of goals, etc.the present paper conducted a range of discussions from the perspectives of concept, theory and method, and designed some solutions based on the complex system theory and coordination degree analysis methods.By analyzing the concepts of geographical national conditions, geographical national conditions survey and geographical national conditions statistical analysis, as well as investigating the relationships between theirs, the statistical contents and the analytical range of geographical national conditions are clarified and defined. This investigation also clarifies the goals of the statistical analysis by analyzing the basic characteristics of the geographical national conditions and the complex system, and the consistency between the analysis of the degree of coordination and statistical analyses. It outlines their goals, proposes a concept for the complex system of geographical national conditions, and it describes the concept. The complex system theory provides new theoretical guidance for the statistical analysis of geographical national conditions. The degree of coordination offers new approaches on how to undertake the analysis based on the measurement method and decision-making analysis scheme upon which the complex system of geographical national conditions is based. It analyzes the overall trend via the degree of coordination of the complex system on a macro level, and it determines the direction of remediation on a micro level based on the degree of coordination among various subsystems and of single systems. These results establish

Democratisation of Water and Sanitation Governance by Means of Socio-Technical Innovation. Assessment of Appropriate Water and Sanitation Technologies in Vulnerable Communities in the Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (In Portuguese)

OpenAIRE

Britto, Ana Lucia; Maiello, Antonella; Quintslr, Suyá

2015-01-01

Final Report from the UE funded Project DESAFIO (Democratisation of Water and Sanitation Governance by Means of Socio-Technical Innovation), 2013-2015. www.desafioglobal.org. Published as WATERLAT-GOBACIT Working Papers, Vol. 2, No 8 (http://waterlat.org/WPapers/WPSPIDES28.pdf).

Systems analysis made simple computerbooks

CERN Document Server

Antill, Lyn

1980-01-01

Systems Analysis: Made Simple Computerbooks introduces the essential elements of information systems analysis and design and teaches basic technical skills required for the tasks involved. The book covers the aspects to the design of an information system; information systems and the organization, including the types of information processing activity and computer-based information systems; the role of the systems analyst; and the human activity system. The text also discusses information modeling, socio-technical design, man-machine interface, and the database design. Software specification

Framing in innovation. Towards sustainable agro-food systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zwartkruis, J.V.

2013-01-01

Sustainability issues in the agro-food sector have become increasingly important, and in order to deal with these sustainability issues, innovations are deemed necessary. Only introducing new technologies is not enough, system innovations are needed in which changes in the whole socio-technical

System dynamics analysis of factors impacting on command and control technology acceptance for anti-poaching operations

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oosthuizen, R

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Introducing a new technology into a complex sociotechnical system will have planned as well as unplanned impact. Dynamic interaction between the technology, people, and environment may result in counter intuitive systemic effects. Modelling...

Contextual-Analysis for Infrastructure Awareness Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ramos, Juan David Hincapie; Tabard, Aurelien; Alt, Florian

Infrastructures are persistent socio-technical systems used to deliver different kinds of services. Researchers have looked into how awareness of infrastructures in the areas of sustainability [6, 10] and software appropriation [11] can be provided. However, designing infrastructure-aware systems...... has specific requirements, which are often ignored. In this paper we explore the challenges when developing infrastructure awareness systems based on contextual analysis, and propose guidelines for enhancing the design process....

Workspace design: Integrating ergonomics into the design of production systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Broberg, Ole

2006-01-01

The work practice of ergonomists in workplace-making processes was studied by a socio-technical framework. This resulted in the term ‘political reflective navigator’ as a conceptualization of the identified work practice and competencies. In order to strengthen the impact of ergonomists it was fo......The work practice of ergonomists in workplace-making processes was studied by a socio-technical framework. This resulted in the term ‘political reflective navigator’ as a conceptualization of the identified work practice and competencies. In order to strengthen the impact of ergonomists...... it was found that new ways and tools for influencing the design of production systems are needed. The concept of workspace design and ‘staging the workspace design’ is suggested as a new framework for seeing and guiding ergonomists when taking part in design of workplaces and production systems....

Technology for national asset storage systems

Science.gov (United States)

Coyne, Robert A.; Hulen, Harry; Watson, Richard

1993-01-01

An industry-led collaborative project, called the National Storage Laboratory, was organized to investigate technology for storage systems that will be the future repositories for our national information assets. Industry participants are IBM Federal Systems Company, Ampex Recording Systems Corporation, General Atomics DISCOS Division, IBM ADSTAR, Maximum Strategy Corporation, Network Systems Corporation, and Zitel Corporation. Industry members of the collaborative project are funding their own participation. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory through its National Energy Research Supercomputer Center (NERSC) will participate in the project as the operational site and the provider of applications. The expected result is an evaluation of a high performance storage architecture assembled from commercially available hardware and software, with some software enhancements to meet the project's goals. It is anticipated that the integrated testbed system will represent a significant advance in the technology for distributed storage systems capable of handling gigabyte class files at gigabit-per-second data rates. The National Storage Laboratory was officially launched on 27 May 1992.

Recommender Systems for Technology Enhanced Learning: Research Trends & Applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Manouselis, Nikos; Verbert, Katrien; Drachsler, Hendrik; Santos, Olga

2014-01-01

As an area, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) aims to design, develop and test socio-technical innovations that will support and enhance learning practices of individuals and organizations. Information retrieval is a pivotal activity in TEL and the deployment of recommender systems has attracted

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System Project

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — There is an increasing need to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) to perform missions of vital importance to national security...

Systems fragility: The sociology of chaos.

Science.gov (United States)

Hodges, Lori R

2016-01-01

This article examines the concept of community fragility in emergency management from a systems perspective. Using literature that addresses fragility in four areas of complex systems, including ecosystems, social systems, sociotechnical systems, and complex adaptive systems, a theoretical framework focused on the emergency management field is created. These findings illustrate how community fragility factors can be used in the emergency management field to not only improve overall outcomes after disaster but also build less fragile systems and communities in preparation for future disasters.

76 FR 81359 - National Security Personnel System

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-28

... Security Personnel System AGENCY: Department of Defense; Office of Personnel Management. ACTION: Final rule... concerning the National Security Personnel System (NSPS). Section 1113 of the National Defense Authorization... National Security Personnel System (NSPS) in regulations jointly prescribed by DOD and OPM (Office of...

Modelling situation awareness relations in a multiagent system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blom, H.A.P.; Sharpanskykh, A.

2015-01-01

There is broad consensus that situation awareness (SA) plays a key role in agent-based modelling of complex sociotechnical systems. However in the social sciences and human factors literature there are different views on what SA is and how it could be modelled. More specifically, one school of

Work systems, Quality of Working Life and Attitudes of Workers. An Empirical Study towards the effects of Team and non-Teamwork

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.J. Steijn (Bram)

2001-01-01

textabstractIn this article four different work systems are distinguished: the traditional Tayloristic system, ???lean??? teamwork, ???sociotechnical??? teamwork, and the professional work system. Using a survey design the association with several employee outcome variables is analysed. The results

Modelling the impact of technology on anti poaching command and control systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oosthuizen, R

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Introducing a new technology into a complex sociotechnical system will have planned as well as unplanned impact. The need for a new technology may arise from new technology available for improved performance (technology push) or changes...

A Simplified Approach to Risk Assessment Based on System Dynamics: An Industrial Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Garbolino, Emmanuel; Chery, Jean-Pierre; Guarnieri, Franck

2016-01-01

Seveso plants are complex sociotechnical systems, which makes it appropriate to support any risk assessment with a model of the system. However, more often than not, this step is only partially addressed, simplified, or avoided in safety reports. At the same time, investigations have shown that the complexity of industrial systems is frequently a factor in accidents, due to interactions between their technical, human, and organizational dimensions. In order to handle both this complexity and changes in the system over time, this article proposes an original and simplified qualitative risk evaluation method based on the system dynamics theory developed by Forrester in the early 1960s. The methodology supports the development of a dynamic risk assessment framework dedicated to industrial activities. It consists of 10 complementary steps grouped into two main activities: system dynamics modeling of the sociotechnical system and risk analysis. This system dynamics risk analysis is applied to a case study of a chemical plant and provides a way to assess the technological and organizational components of safety. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

Smart Cities and National Energy Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thellufsen, Jakob Zinck

Energy system analysis follows two tracks, either through plans for future transitions of national energy systems, or local development of smart cities and regions. These two tracks seldom overlap. National plans neglect the local implementation of intermittent renewable technology and use of local...... resources, and smart cities and local development do not relate to national targets and fail to evaluate sub-optimization. Thus, there is a need for approaches that help researchers creating links between country analyses and local energy system transitions. This paper investigates the effects...... of such an approach, by investigating Western Denmark. By splitting Western Denmark into regions, it is possible to create individual energy systems for each region. Through interconnection, these regions can exchange electricity with each other. This enables analyses of interaction between smart cities and national...

Complexity in practice: understanding primary care as a complex adaptive system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beverley Ellis

2010-06-01

Conclusions The results are real-world exemplars of the emergent properties of complex adaptive systems. Improving clinical governance in primary care requires both complex social interactions and underpinning informatics. The socio-technical lessons learned from this research should inform future management approaches.

National Emission Information System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sajtakova, E.; Spisakova, K.

2005-01-01

In this presentation the Slovak National Emission Information System (NEIS) is presented. The NEIS represents hierarchical oriented modular system of acquisition, verification, saving and reporting of data about annual emissions and payments for pollution of atmosphere

Assessing command and control system vulnerabilities in underdeveloped, degraded and denied operational environments

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oosthuizen, R

2013-06-01

Full Text Available not always be clearly understood within the setting of a complex sociotechnical system. Humans may have the ability to develop work-around strategies to accomplish a task in the absence of some technical supports. Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA...

The joint use of resilience engineering and lean production for work system design: A study in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosso, Caroline Brum; Saurin, Tarcisio Abreu

2018-09-01

Although lean production (LP) has been increasingly adopted in healthcare systems, its benefits often fall short of expectations. This might be partially due to the failure of lean to account for the complexity of healthcare. This paper discusses the joint use of principles of LP and resilience engineering (RE), which is an approach for system design inspired by complexity science. Thus, a framework for supporting the design of socio-technical systems, which combines insights from LP and RE, was developed and tested in a system involving a patient flow from an emergency department to an intensive care unit. Based on this empirical study, as well as on extant theory, eight design propositions that support the framework application were developed. Both the framework and its corresponding propositions can contribute to the design of socio-technical systems that are at the same time safe and efficient. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Return-to-Work Within a Complex and Dynamic Organizational Work Disability System

OpenAIRE

Jetha, Arif; Pransky, Glenn; Fish, Jon; Hettinger, Lawrence J.

2015-01-01

Background Return-to-work (RTW) within a complex organizational system can be associated with suboptimal outcomes. Purpose To apply a sociotechnical systems perspective to investigate complexity in RTW; to utilize system dynamics modeling (SDM) to examine how feedback relationships between individual, psychosocial, and organizational factors make up the work disability system and influence RTW. Methods SDMs were developed within two companies. Thirty stakeholders including senior managers, an...

Can weak-resilience-signals (WRS) reveal obstacles compromising (rail-)system resilience?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Siegel, A.W.; Schraagen, J.M.C.

2015-01-01

Analysis of accidents in socio-technical systems frequently reveals unnoticed obstacles, which have grown to become the main cause of incubation and surprise at failure (Dekker, 2011). Thus far, it has proven to be a challenge to identify those unnoticed obstacles upfront among the tremendous number

Addressing the social dimensions of citizen observatories: The Ground Truth 2.0 socio-technical approach for sustainable implementation of citizen observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Wehn, Uta; Joshi, Somya; Pfeiffer, Ellen; Anema, Kim; Gharesifard, Mohammad; Momani, Abeer

2017-04-01

Owing to ICT-enabled citizen observatories, citizens can take on new roles in environmental monitoring, decision making and co-operative planning, and environmental stewardship. And yet implementing advanced citizen observatories for data collection, knowledge exchange and interactions to support policy objectives is neither always easy nor successful, given the required commitment, trust, and data reliability concerns. Many efforts are facing problems with the uptake and sustained engagement by citizens, limited scalability, unclear long-term sustainability and limited actual impact on governance processes. Similarly, to sustain the engagement of decision makers in citizen observatories, mechanisms are required from the start of the initiative in order to have them invest in and, hence, commit to and own the entire process. In order to implement sustainable citizen observatories, these social dimensions therefore need to be soundly managed. We provide empirical evidence of how the social dimensions of citizen observatories are being addressed in the Ground Truth 2.0 project, drawing on a range of relevant social science approaches. This project combines the social dimensions of citizen observatories with enabling technologies - via a socio-technical approach - so that their customisation and deployment is tailored to the envisaged societal and economic impacts of the observatories. The projects consists of the demonstration and validation of six scaled up citizen observatories in real operational conditions both in the EU and in Africa, with a specific focus on flora and fauna as well as water availability and water quality for land and natural resources management. The demonstration cases (4 EU and 2 African) cover the full 'spectrum' of citizen-sensed data usage and citizen engagement, and therefore allow testing and validation of the socio-technical concept for citizen observatories under a range of conditions.

Agent-based modeling and simulation of emergent behavior in air transportation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouarfa, S.; Blom, H.A.P.; Curran, R.; Everdij, M.H.C.

2013-01-01

Purpose Commercial aviation is feasible thanks to the complex socio-technical air transportation system, which involves interactions between human operators, technical systems, and procedures. In view of the expected growth in commercial aviation, significant changes in this socio-technical system

Does National Culture Impact Capital Budgeting Systems?

OpenAIRE

Peter J. Graham; Milind Sathye

2017-01-01

We examine how national culture impacts organisational selection of capital budgeting systems to develop our understanding of what influence a holistic formulation of national culture has on capital budgeting systems. Such an understanding is important as it would not only provide a clearer link between national culture and capital budgeting systems and advance extant literature but would also help multinational firms that have business relationships with Indonesian firms in suita...

Actor-Network Theory as a sociotechnical lens to explore the relationship of nurses and technology in practice: methodological considerations for nursing research.

Science.gov (United States)

Booth, Richard G; Andrusyszyn, Mary-Anne; Iwasiw, Carroll; Donelle, Lorie; Compeau, Deborah

2016-06-01

Actor-Network Theory is a research lens that has gained popularity in the nursing and health sciences domains. The perspective allows a researcher to describe the interaction of actors (both human and non-human) within networked sociomaterial contexts, including complex practice environments where nurses and health technology operate. This study will describe Actor-Network Theory and provide methodological considerations for researchers who are interested in using this sociotechnical lens within nursing and informatics-related research. Considerations related to technology conceptualization, levels of analysis, and sampling procedures in Actor-Network Theory based research are addressed. Finally, implications for future nursing research within complex environments are highlighted. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

SPP Toolbox: Supporting Sustainable Public Procurement in the Context of Socio-Technical Transitions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Cayolla Trindade

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Public procurement can shape production and consumption trends and represents a stimulus for both innovation and diversification in products and services, through a direct increase in demand. In recent years, the interest in demand-side policies has grown and several approaches have emerged, such as Green Public Procurement (GPP, Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP and Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI, representing strategic goals to be achieved through public procurement. In this context, there is a need to guide and support public organizations in the uptake of GPP, SPP and PPI practices. To respond to the challenges raised by the operationalization of such strategies, this paper proposes a new tool—the SPP Toolbox—for guiding public organizations as they re-think the procurement process, raising their ambitions and broadening their vision, thus changing the organizational approach towards culture, strategies, structures and practices. This toolbox integrates insights from GPP, SPP and PPI objectives and practices, in the context of the emergence of socio-technical transitions. The toolbox coherently links GPP, SPP and PPI, allowing flexibility in terms of goals, yet promoting an increasing complexity of institutionalized practices and skills—from GPP to SPP and then from SPP to PPI, organized in a framework fully integrated into the organizational strategy.

National Innovation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundvall, Bengt-Åke

2007-01-01

The term national system of innovation has been around for more than 20 years and today it has become widely spread among policy makers as well as among scholars all over the world. This paper takes stock and looks ahead from a somewhat personal point of view. It also gives some insight into how...... and why the concept came about. The paper argues that a key to progress is to get a better understanding of knowledge and learning as the basis for innovation and to understand how difference modes of innovation complement each other and find support in the specific national context. A core...... of the innovation system is defined and it is illustrated that it is necessary both to understand micro-behaviour in the core and understand "the wider setting" within which the core operates. Concepts used in organization theory referring to fit and misfit may be used to enrich the understanding of the performance...

Toward quantifying metrics for rail-system resilience : Identification and analysis of performance weak resilience signals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Regt, A. de; Siegel, A.W.; Schraagen, J.M.C.

2016-01-01

This paper aims to enhance tangibility of the resilience engineering concept by facilitating understanding and operationalization of weak resilience signals (WRSs) in the rail sector. Within complex socio-technical systems, accidents can be seen as unwanted outcomes emerging from uncontrolled

The Pedagogy of Complex Work Support Systems: Infrastructuring Practices and the Production of Critical Awareness in Risk Auditing

Science.gov (United States)

Mathisen, Arve; Nerland, Monika

2012-01-01

This paper employs a socio-technical perspective to explore the role of complex work support systems in organising knowledge and providing opportunities for learning in professional work. Drawing on concepts from infrastructure studies, such systems are seen as work infrastructures which connect information, knowledge, standards and work…

National Satellite Forest Monitoring systems for REDD+

Science.gov (United States)

Jonckheere, I. G.

2012-12-01

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development. "REDD+" goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. In the framework of getting countries ready for REDD+, the UN-REDD Programme assists developing countries to prepare and implement national REDD+ strategies. For the monitoring, reporting and verification, FAO supports the countries to develop national satellite forest monitoring systems that allow for credible measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of REDD+ activities. These are among the most critical elements for the successful implementation of any REDD+ mechanism. The UN-REDD Programme through a joint effort of FAO and Brazil's National Space Agency, INPE, is supporting countries to develop cost- effective, robust and compatible national monitoring and MRV systems, providing tools, methodologies, training and knowledge sharing that help countries to strengthen their technical and institutional capacity for effective MRV systems. To develop strong nationally-owned forest monitoring systems, technical and institutional capacity building is key. The UN-REDD Programme, through FAO, has taken on intensive training together with INPE, and has provided technical help and assistance for in-country training and implementation for national satellite forest monitoring. The goal of the support to UN-REDD pilot countries in this capacity building effort is the training of technical forest people and IT persons from interested REDD+ countries, and to set- up the national satellite forest monitoring systems. The Brazilian forest monitoring system, TerraAmazon, which is used as a basis for this initiative, allows

Recommender Systems for Learning

CERN Document Server

Manouselis, Nikos; Verbert, Katrien; Duval, Erik

2013-01-01

Technology enhanced learning (TEL) aims to design, develop and test sociotechnical innovations that will support and enhance learning practices of both individuals and organisations. It is therefore an application domain that generally covers technologies that support all forms of teaching and learning activities. Since information retrieval (in terms of searching for relevant learning resources to support teachers or learners) is a pivotal activity in TEL, the deployment of recommender systems has attracted increased interest. This brief attempts to provide an introduction to recommender systems for TEL settings, as well as to highlight their particularities compared to recommender systems for other application domains.

36 CFR 261.55 - National Forest System trails.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false National Forest System trails... PROHIBITIONS Prohibitions in Areas Designated by Order § 261.55 National Forest System trails. When provided by... National Forest System trail: (a) Being on a trail. (b) Using any type of vehicle prohibited by the order...

Electricity in flux : sociotechnical change in the Dutch electricity system, 1970-2000

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofman, Peter; Marquart, N.E.

2001-01-01

This report is part of a project funded by the Dutch National Research Programme on Global Air Pollution and Climate Change (NRP) called MATRIC: Management of Technology Responses to the Climate Challenge. Central to the Matric project is the question "How to modulate the ongoing dynamics of

An analytical framework for common-pool resource–large technical system (CPR-LTS constellations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pär Blomkvist

2013-02-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces an analytical framework for a special phenomenon: when a common-pool resource (CPR institution and a large technical system (LTS are connected and mutually interdependent. The CPR in this case is a node managed by its appropriators within a centrally planned and managed system; here named CPR-LTS constellations. Our framework is empirically derived from two historical investigations of CPR institutions within two LTSs, the agricultural-technical system and the road transport system of Sweden. By comparing similarities and differences it is possible to identify paths to successes and failures. To understand why one survived and the other disappeared we connect Elinor Ostrom’s theories about management of CPRs with Thomas P. Hughes’s theories about LTSs. We are proposing a framework that can bridge the gap between theories about management of CPRs and LTSs. By combining the two theories it should be possible to better understand how small-scale producers using bottom-up CPRs can be linked to top-down LTSs.We will argue that to fit within an LTS, a CPR needs alignment between different parts or components within the constellation/system and alignment with other systems and institutions in society. We propose three analytical levels to deal with the phenomenon of aligning a CPR project to an existing, large sociotechnical system:Local alignment (CPR: How are CPRs organized and managed at local sites?Sociotechnical alignment (CPR-LTS: How are CPRs connected to the sociotechnical system?Contextual alignment: How are CPR-LTS constellations aligned with neighboring institutions and systems in society?Our work indicates that for successful management of a CPR-LTS constellation it is important that the CPR be included in legislation and that government agencies support the CPR in alignment with the LTS. Legislators must recognize the CPR-part in the CPR-LTS constellation so that its institutional body is firmly established in

A National MagLev Transportation System

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Michael R.

2003-01-01

The case for a national high-speed magnetic-levitation (MagLev) transportation system is presented. Focus is on current issues facing the country, such as national security, the economy, transportation, technology, and the environment. NASA s research into MagLev technology for launch assist is also highlighted. Further, current socio-cultural norms regarding motor-vehicle-based transportation systems are questioned in light of the problems currently facing the U.S. The multidisciplinary benefits of a long-distance MagLev system support the idea that such a system would be an important element of a truly multimodal U.S. transportation infrastructure.

Computing handbook information systems and information technology

CERN Document Server

Topi, Heikki

2014-01-01

Disciplinary Foundations and Global ImpactEvolving Discipline of Information Systems Heikki TopiDiscipline of Information Technology Barry M. Lunt and Han ReichgeltInformation Systems as a Practical Discipline Juhani IivariInformation Technology Han Reichgelt, Joseph J. Ekstrom, Art Gowan, and Barry M. LuntSociotechnical Approaches to the Study of Information Systems Steve Sawyer and Mohammad Hossein JarrahiIT and Global Development Erkki SutinenUsing ICT for Development, Societal Transformation, and Beyond Sherif KamelTechnical Foundations of Data and Database ManagementData Models Avi Silber

National Outbreak Reporting System

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) is a web-based platform designed to support reporting to CDC by local, state, and territorial health departments in the...

中国电力系统低碳转型的路径探析——基于社会技术转型思路%Exploring Transition Pathways for a Decarbonized Electricity System in China——Based on the Socio-technical Transition Approach

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

陈卓淳; 姚遂

2012-01-01

The Multi-lever Perspective (MLP) of socio-technical transition is the new development of transition theory. It claims that transition is a non-linear and evolutional process through three interlocking levers (technological niches in micro-lever, socio-technical regime in meso-lever, landscape in macro-lever) , and seeks to understand the long time changes of the socio-technical regime by analyzing the interaction between technological and social factors. Drawing upon MLP approach and its typology of transition pathways, this paper first describes and analyses the dynamitic changes that have taken place in the electricity system in China . Then it proposes a conceptual framework of the transition pathways for a decarbonized electricity system, in short-term, mid-term and long-term dimensions. Along the short-term transformation path, the electricity system continues and extends existing institutional structures and governance models. It will achieve the government' s 2020 emission reduction targets and renewable energy targets, through the regime actors' conscious adjustment of their innovation and development directions, which will mitigate the internal conflicts and pressures in the regime. Along the mid-term reconfiguration path, electricity system will experience substantive changes in electricity resource structure. Thermal power gradually decreases. Its dominance will be challenged by the renewable energy generation. The power system will turn out to be diversified mode. With the final breakthroughs of innovation of new low-carbon energy technologies, high-carbon coal power system will eventually be replaced by low-carbon system along the long-term re-alignment path. Theoretically and methodologically, this analysis will enrich the debates on low-carbon transition in China. It will also be useful informing policy-makers and other stakeholders

Developing software to "track and catch" missed follow-up of abnormal test results in a complex sociotechnical environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, M; Murphy, D; Laxmisan, A; Sittig, D; Reis, B; Esquivel, A; Singh, H

2013-01-01

Abnormal test results do not always receive timely follow-up, even when providers are notified through electronic health record (EHR)-based alerts. High workload, alert fatigue, and other demands on attention disrupt a provider's prospective memory for tasks required to initiate follow-up. Thus, EHR-based tracking and reminding functionalities are needed to improve follow-up. The purpose of this study was to develop a decision-support software prototype enabling individual and system-wide tracking of abnormal test result alerts lacking follow-up, and to conduct formative evaluations, including usability testing. We developed a working prototype software system, the Alert Watch And Response Engine (AWARE), to detect abnormal test result alerts lacking documented follow-up, and to present context-specific reminders to providers. Development and testing took place within the VA's EHR and focused on four cancer-related abnormal test results. Design concepts emphasized mitigating the effects of high workload and alert fatigue while being minimally intrusive. We conducted a multifaceted formative evaluation of the software, addressing fit within the larger socio-technical system. Evaluations included usability testing with the prototype and interview questions about organizational and workflow factors. Participants included 23 physicians, 9 clinical information technology specialists, and 8 quality/safety managers. Evaluation results indicated that our software prototype fit within the technical environment and clinical workflow, and physicians were able to use it successfully. Quality/safety managers reported that the tool would be useful in future quality assurance activities to detect patients who lack documented follow-up. Additionally, we successfully installed the software on the local facility's "test" EHR system, thus demonstrating technical compatibility. To address the factors involved in missed test results, we developed a software prototype to account for

Resilience Management System And Development Of Resilience Capability On Site Workers

OpenAIRE

Komatsubara, Akinori

2013-01-01

When we consider the safety of socio-technical or safety critical systems, discussions from three layers are required; safety strategy, safety management and safety activity. In this study, development of resilience safety from the three layers is discussed. For the safety management layer, this study proposes resilience management system (RMS) as the style of safety management system (SMS) for resilience safety approach. Two cases at Japanese companies to enhance attitude and non-technical s...

Large scale wind power penetration in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karnøe, Peter

2013-01-01

he Danish electricity generating system prepared to adopt nuclear power in the 1970s, yet has become the world's front runner in wind power with a national plan for 50% wind power penetration by 2020. This paper deploys a sociotechnical perspective to explain the historical transformation...... of "networks of power" via the interactions of politics, the techno-physics of electrons, and the market setting. The Danish case is about how an assemblage of new agencies has reorganized and reshaped society by building a new sociotechnical network. This has rendered developments highly unpredictable...... and highly experimental. The transformation process can be followed through the way successive technical engineering reports have represented the challenges associated with the penetration of wind power. The iteration shows how novel technical phenomena emerge and are assimilated, and how new engineering...

Developing the information management system for safeguards national inspection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, S. J.; Jeon, I.; Park, W. S.; Min, K. S.

2003-01-01

The inspection information management system for safeguards national inspection is aimed to do the national safeguards inspection with efficiency, and to decrease the inspector's load to write inspection report by systematizing the inspection jobs and sharing the inspection data. National safeguards inspection is consisted two large jobs. The first is the national safeguards supporting job of managing to support the national inspection mission. The other is the writing a national inspection report after completing the national inspection. Before the developing of inspection information management system, the official tools(spread sheet, word processor) are usually used. But there is problem to share the data, to produce the statistics data. To solve the these problem, we developed the inspection information management system that process the job from initial to final inspection work, and opened user education. This paper explain the procedure of developing the inspection information management system for safeguards national inspection

Development of a new national innovation system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domazet Dragan S.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The paper describes a reference model of the national innovation system of Serbia planned to be gradually developed. The model presented is not complete, but is sufficient to illustrate its usage. The development of a national innovation system may be achieved by implementing a phased and segmented approach. This means that parts of the innovation system that are related to specific industrial sectors may be developed separately according to national priorities. Also, the system may be improved and expanded in later phases of its development. The approach suggested is demonstrated in the case of the innovation system of the software industry. The necessary programs and measures for supporting the development of the software industry are listed. Once these programs and measures are implemented, the software industry in Serbia may be able to reach global competitiveness.

Developing the information management system for safeguards national inspection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, S. J.; Jeon, I.; Park, W. S.; Min, K. S. [KAERI, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

2003-10-01

The inspection information management system for safeguards national inspection is aimed to do the national safeguards inspection with efficiency, and to decrease the inspector's load to write inspection report by systematizing the inspection jobs and sharing the inspection data. National safeguards inspection is consisted two large jobs. The first is the national safeguards supporting job of managing to support the national inspection mission. The other is the writing a national inspection report after completing the national inspection. Before the developing of inspection information management system, the official tools(spread sheet, word processor) are usually used. But there is problem to share the data, to produce the statistics data. To solve the these problem, we developed the inspection information management system that process the job from initial to final inspection work, and opened user education. This paper explain the procedure of developing the inspection information management system for safeguards national inspection.

77 FR 21161 - National Forest System Land Management Planning

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-09

... 219 National Forest System Land Management Planning; Final Rule #0;#0;Federal Register / Vol. 77 , No... Forest Service 36 CFR Part 219 RIN 0596-AD02 National Forest System Land Management Planning AGENCY... Agriculture is adopting a new National Forest System land management planning rule (planning rule). The new...

Does National Culture Impact Capital Budgeting Systems?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter J. Graham

2017-06-01

Full Text Available We examine how national culture impacts organisational selection of capital budgeting systems to develop our understanding of what influence a holistic formulation of national culture has on capital budgeting systems. Such an understanding is important as it would not only provide a clearer link between national culture and capital budgeting systems and advance extant literature but would also help multinational firms that have business relationships with Indonesian firms in suitably designing strategies. We conducted semi-structured interviews of selected finance managers of listed firms in Indonesia and Australia. Consistent with the contingency theory, we found that economic, political, legal and social uncertainty impact on the use of capital budgeting systems. The levels of uncertainty were higher in Indonesia than Australia and need to be reckoned in the selection of capital budgeting systems used by firms. We also found that firms are influenced by project size and complexity, when selecting capital budgeting systems.

[The national health system in Peru].

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez-Moreno, Francisco

2014-01-01

In 1975, a group of professionals in Peru who were experts on national health systems began a process that led the country to be the first in South America to initiate a modern organization of the health system. This pioneering development meant that the creation of the National Health Services System [in Peru] in 1978 occurred before the health system reforms in Chile (1980), Brazil (1990), Colombia (1993), and Ecuador (2008). This encouraging start has had permanent reformist fluctuations since then, with negative development because of the lack of a State policy. Current features of the Peruvian system are inefficient performance, discontinuity, and lack of assessment, which creates a major setback in comparison with other health systems in America. In the 21st century, significant technical efforts have been missed to modernize the system and its functions. The future is worrying and the role of new generations will be decisive.

REGULATION OF NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna A. Muravyeva

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper looks into the diverse aspects of qualifications system regulation, designed for balancing the supply and demand in the labor and educational service markets. Both the objects and mechanisms of such regulation are described. Special attention is given to institutions, involved in regulation of qualifications, and their jurisdiction. Another emphasis is on the industry-related regulation of qualifications which proved to be effective both on the national and European level. Such structures were first established on the national levels to regulate the qualifications and ensure their comparability and compatibility, given the economic globalization and growing labor and academic mobility. The author points out the role of the ministries of education and labor in maintaining a steady qualifications system, and outlines the positive experience of Great Britain using the industry councils for continuing development of qualifications system.

Building an integrative framework for national systems of innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Yuandi; Zhou, Zhao

2011-01-01

development of functional view of national systems of innovation, and the effective approach. Design/methodology/approach – As a theoretical research paper, the paper reviews and analyses intensive literature on national system of innovation from the perspectives of functional, structural, and effectiveness......Purpose – This paper proposes a way to integrate three different analytical approaches into a consistent framework of national systems of innovation that can benefit academia and policy makers. The approaches include the traditional structural method of national systems of innovation, the new...... approaches. Findings – The paper argues that these three approaches reflect different perspectives of national systems of innovation. Instead of contradicting each other, they could be integrated into a coherent framework. Originality/value – The paper builds an integrative framework to bring different...

National Recordal System IK holder catalogue process

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Pretorius, R

2012-10-01

Full Text Available good, based on IK.? Subsequently, the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST) created a National Indigenous Knowledge Systems Office (NIKSO) that is taking the lead on interfacing IKS with other recognised knowledge holders... is to illustrate the South African National Recordal Systems (NRS) process whereby Indigenous Knowledge (IK) holder?s information is captured in a registry, as specified in South Africa?s Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Policy, through an IK cataloguing...

Developing Software to “Track and Catch” Missed Follow-up of Abnormal Test Results in a Complex Sociotechnical Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, M.; Murphy, D.; Laxmisan, A.; Sittig, D.; Reis, B.; Esquivel, A.; Singh, H.

2013-01-01

Summary Background Abnormal test results do not always receive timely follow-up, even when providers are notified through electronic health record (EHR)-based alerts. High workload, alert fatigue, and other demands on attention disrupt a provider’s prospective memory for tasks required to initiate follow-up. Thus, EHR-based tracking and reminding functionalities are needed to improve follow-up. Objectives The purpose of this study was to develop a decision-support software prototype enabling individual and system-wide tracking of abnormal test result alerts lacking follow-up, and to conduct formative evaluations, including usability testing. Methods We developed a working prototype software system, the Alert Watch And Response Engine (AWARE), to detect abnormal test result alerts lacking documented follow-up, and to present context-specific reminders to providers. Development and testing took place within the VA’s EHR and focused on four cancer-related abnormal test results. Design concepts emphasized mitigating the effects of high workload and alert fatigue while being minimally intrusive. We conducted a multifaceted formative evaluation of the software, addressing fit within the larger socio-technical system. Evaluations included usability testing with the prototype and interview questions about organizational and workflow factors. Participants included 23 physicians, 9 clinical information technology specialists, and 8 quality/safety managers. Results Evaluation results indicated that our software prototype fit within the technical environment and clinical workflow, and physicians were able to use it successfully. Quality/safety managers reported that the tool would be useful in future quality assurance activities to detect patients who lack documented follow-up. Additionally, we successfully installed the software on the local facility’s “test” EHR system, thus demonstrating technical compatibility. Conclusion To address the factors involved in missed

National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Glossary

Science.gov (United States)

... navigation Search form Search « Back to Search National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Glossary Published: March 31, ... This document is the glossary for the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), including terms from ...

Do socio-technical systems cognise?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blomberg, Olle

2009-01-01

The view that an agent’s cognitive processes sometimes include proper parts found outside the skin and skull of the agent is gaining increasing acceptance in philosophy of mind. One main empirical touchstone for this so-called active externalism is Edwin Hutchins’ theory of distributed cognition ...

Nuclear Medicine National Headquarter System

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Nuclear Medicine National HQ System database is a series of MS Excel spreadsheets and Access Database Tables by fiscal year. They consist of information from all...

VA National Bed Control System

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The VA National Bed Control System records the levels of operating, unavailable and authorized beds at each VAMC, and it tracks requests for changes in these levels....

The Green Experiment: Cities, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Sustainability

OpenAIRE

Christopher M. Chini; James F. Canning; Kelsey L. Schreiber; Joshua M. Peschel; Ashlynn S. Stillwell

2017-01-01

Green infrastructure is a unique combination of economic, social, and environmental goals and benefits that requires an adaptable framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating. In this study, we propose an experimental framework for policy, implementation, and subsequent evaluation of green stormwater infrastructure within the context of sociotechnical systems and urban experimentation. Sociotechnical systems describe the interaction of complex systems with quantitative and qualitative...

The Higher Education System in Malaysia: Metropolitan, Cross-National, Peripheral or National?

Science.gov (United States)

Selvaratnam, V.

1985-01-01

Burton Clark's theory of higher education institutions as academic organization governed by unique elements and disciplinary logic is outlined and applied to Malaysia. The theory's weakness in underplaying the role of national policies and environmental factors in determining a national higher education system is noted. (MSE)

36 CFR 212.10 - Maximum economy National Forest System roads.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Forest System roads. 212.10 Section 212.10 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... economy National Forest System roads. The Chief may acquire, construct, reconstruct, improve, and maintain National Forest System roads within and near the National Forests and other lands administered by the...

National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) - National Cardiovascular Disease Surveillance Data

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 2000 forward. NVSS is a secure, web-based data management system that collects and disseminates the Nation's official vital statistics. Indicators from this data...

Inserting environment into the national accounting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

del Giudice, R.

1992-01-01

The article is an analysis of the problem of incorporating the environment in the national accounting system as an essential part of a country's revenue. Revenue is defined here as the value which is necessary for the prudent management of a nation's expenses and balances. After a first analysis of the importance of properly structuring national accounting systems, methods used in certain countries such as France, Japan and Germany were considered in order to single out the limitations and merits of these methods. The purpose is to find a standard method which would allow for comparison with the situation in various countries and, in this way, indicate directives for better management of the environment in all of its aspects

A Review of Accident Modelling Approaches for Complex Critical Sociotechnical Systems

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Qureshi, Zahid H

2008-01-01

.... This report provides a review of key traditional accident modelling approaches and their limitations, and describes new system-theoretic approaches to the modelling and analysis of accidents in safety-critical systems...

Socio-technical transition as a co-evolutionary process: Innovation and the role of niche markets in the transition to motor vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Birky, Alicia K.

2008-10-01

Significant reductions in greenhouse emissions from personal transportation will require a transition to an alternative technology regime based on renewable energy sources. Two bodies of research, the quasi-evolutionary (QE) model and the multi-level perspective (MLP) assert that processes within niches play a fundamental role in such transitions. This research asks whether the description of transitions based on this niche hypothesis and its underlying assumptions is consistent with the historical U.S. transition to motor vehicles at the beginning of the 20th century. Unique to this dissertation is the combination of the perspective of the entrepreneur with co-evolutionary approaches to socio-technical transitions. This approach is augmented with concepts from the industry life-cycle model and with a taxonomy of mechanisms of learning. Using this analytic framework, I examine specifically the role of entrepreneurial behavior and processes within and among firms in the co-evolution of technologies and institutions during the transition to motor vehicles. I find that niche markets played an important role in the development of the technology, institutions, and the industry. However, I also find that the diffusion of the automobile is not consistent with the niche hypothesis in the following ways: (1) product improvements and cost reductions were not realized in niche markets, but were achieved simultaneously with diffusion into mass markets; (2) in addition to learning-by-doing and learning-by-interacting with users, knowledge spillovers and interacting with suppliers were critical in this process; (3) cost reductions were not automatic results of expanding markets, but rather arose from the strategies of entrepreneurs based on personal perspectives and values. This finding supports the use of a behavioral approach with a micro-focus in the analysis of socio-technical change. I also find that the emergence and diffusion of the motor vehicle can only be understood by

36 CFR 261.54 - National Forest System roads.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false National Forest System roads... PROHIBITIONS Prohibitions in Areas Designated by Order § 261.54 National Forest System roads. When provided by...) Use by any type of traffic prohibited by the order. (c) Using a road for commercial hauling without a...

On Chinese National Continuous Operating Reference Station System of GNSS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CHEN Junyong

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: Global navigation satellite system (GNSS Continuous Operating Reference Station (CORS System can maintain a accurate, 3D, geocentric and dynamic reference coordinate frame in the corresponding area, can provide positioning and navigation service. It can also serve for the meteorology, geodynamics, earthquake monitoring and Location Based services (LBS etc in the same area. Until now, our country can’t provide a facing National CORS System serving for every profession and trade, and the national sharing platform of CORS System resources has not been established. So this paper discusses some valuable insight how to construct the National CORS System in China. Method: Constructing goal、Service object、CORS distribution、CORS geographic、geology and communication environment and other factors, are major considerations for the Constructing the National CORS System. Moreover, constructing GNSS CORS is more specific, mainly from four aspects, namely site-selection、civil construction、security measures and equipment-selection for consideration. Outcome: The project of the Constructing Global navigation satellite system (GNSS Continuous Operating Reference Station (CORS System in china is put forward, and is discussed from goal、principle、project and other for construction. Some meaning thought how to construct the National CORS System is submitted Conclusion: The Global navigation satellite system (GNSS Continuous Operating Reference Station (CORS System in china is the lack of a unified planning and design in the national level. So far, the national CORS system serving all walks of life has not been provided, and the national sharing platform of CORS System resources has not been established The primary mission of the Global navigation satellite system (GNSS Continuous Operating Reference Station (CORS System in china is as follows: using data set of GNSS and receiving, transport, process, integration, transmit information and

Political culture, national identity and nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayer, F.

2013-01-01

The paper 'Political culture, national identity and nuclear energy. The austrian controversy on nuclear energy between 1978 and 1986 within the national assembly' identifies the roots of the broad rejection of nuclear technologies in contemporary Austria within the controversy on neclear energy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The close result of the referendum in November 1978 on the commissioning of the nuclear power plant in Zwentendorf - understood as a moment of severe polarisation - serves as a starting point for the investigation. In recent studies the explosion of the reactor in Chernobyl in April 1986 is considered the turning point of the austrian controversy and therefore marks the end of the examined period. Reviewing the history of nuclear energy in Austria the paper sheds light on events and aspects which turn out to be important for the rejection of nuclear technologies in contemporary Austria. On the one hand the analysis of the nuclear debate within the national assembly focuses on ways in which nuclear technologies were made sense of and ascribed with meaning and describes them as a sociotechnical imaginary. Next to highlighting the construction of national identity within these processes the analysis on the other hand explores the role of consensus and mutual action within the political culture of the Second Republic and its implications for the nuclear controversy. The integration of different perspectives enables to pinpoint several key aspects of the austrian nuclear controversy for the development of a broad rejection of nuclear technologies in the post-chernobyl era: the obligation to reach a consensus between the political parties, a specific set of ideas described as the imaginary of a ‘nuclear free Austria’ and its specific relations to national identity. (author) [de

Work Systems, Quality of Working Life and Attitudes of Workers: An Empirical Study towards the Effects of Team and Non-teamwork.

Science.gov (United States)

Steijn, Bram

2001-01-01

Four types of work organization--Taylorism, lean teamwork, sociotechnical teamwork, and professional work systems--were studied in a survey of 835 Dutch workers. Taylorism had detrimental effects on well-being, autonomy, stress, job satisfaction, and work commitment. Either type of teamwork or substantial professional autonomy had positive…

National high-level waste systems analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kristofferson, K.; O'Holleran, T.P.

1996-01-01

Previously, no mechanism existed that provided a systematic, interrelated view or national perspective of all high-level waste treatment and storage systems that the US Department of Energy manages. The impacts of budgetary constraints and repository availability on storage and treatment must be assessed against existing and pending negotiated milestones for their impact on the overall HLW system. This assessment can give DOE a complex-wide view of the availability of waste treatment and help project the time required to prepare HLW for disposal. Facilities, throughputs, schedules, and milestones were modeled to ascertain the treatment and storage systems resource requirements at the Hanford Site, Savannah River Site, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, and West Valley Demonstration Project. The impacts of various treatment system availabilities on schedule and throughput were compared to repository readiness to determine the prudent application of resources. To assess the various impacts, the model was exercised against a number of plausible scenarios as discussed in this paper

37th National Systems Conference

CERN Document Server

Yadav, Sandeep; Adhikari, Bibhas; Seshadri, Harinipriya; Fulwani, Deepak

2015-01-01

The book is a collection of peer-reviewed scientific papers submitted by active researchers in the 37th National System Conference (NSC 2013). NSC is an annual event of the Systems Society of India (SSI), primarily oriented to strengthen the systems movement and its applications for the welfare of humanity. A galaxy of academicians, professionals, scientists, statesman and researchers from different parts of the country and abroad are invited to attend the conference. The book presents research articles in the areas of system’s modelling, complex network modelling, cyber security, sustainable systems design, health care systems, socio-economic systems, and clean and green technologies. The book can be used as a tool for further research.

Building National Health Research Information Systems (COHRED ...

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

Building National Health Research Information Systems (COHRED). This grant will allow the Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED) to create, host and maintain a web-based resource on national health research in low- and middle-income countries in partnership with institutions in the South. Called ...

Co-evolutionary and multi-level dynamics in transitions: The transformation of aviation systems and the shift from propeller to turbojet (1930-1970)

OpenAIRE

Geels, F. W.

2006-01-01

This article deals with system innovation in Freeman and Perez's innovation typology (incremental, radical, system, techno-economic paradigm). This article conceptualises these changes as transitions from one socio-technical system to another. These transitions are co-evolution processes that are not only about technological discontinuities, but also about markets, user practices, regulation, culture, infrastructure and science. In a critical discussion of co-evolution literatures, the articl...

National Energy Outlook Modelling System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Volkers, C.M. [ECN Policy Studies, Petten (Netherlands)

2013-12-15

For over 20 years, the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) has been developing the National Energy Outlook Modelling System (NEOMS) for Energy projections and policy evaluations. NEOMS enables 12 energy models of ECN to exchange data and produce consistent and detailed results.

CPSC’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS)

Data.gov (United States)

US Consumer Product Safety Commission — CPSC’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) is a national probability sample of hospitals in the U.S. and its territories. Patient information is...

Formal Analysis of Graphical Security Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aslanyan, Zaruhi

, software components and human actors interacting with each other to form so-called socio-technical systems. The importance of socio-technical systems to modern societies requires verifying their security properties formally, while their inherent complexity makes manual analyses impracticable. Graphical...... models for security offer an unrivalled opportunity to describe socio-technical systems, for they allow to represent different aspects like human behaviour, computation and physical phenomena in an abstract yet uniform manner. Moreover, these models can be assigned a formal semantics, thereby allowing...... formal verification of their properties. Finally, their appealing graphical notations enable to communicate security concerns in an understandable way also to non-experts, often in charge of the decision making. This dissertation argues that automated techniques can be developed on graphical security...

Product Service System Innovation in the Smart City

OpenAIRE

Cook, Matthew

2018-01-01

Product service systems (PSS) may usefully form part of the mix of innovations necessary to move society toward more sustainable futures. However, despite such potential, PSS implementation is highly uneven and limited. Drawing on an alternate socio-technical perspective of innovation, this paper provides fresh insights, on among other things the role of context in PSS innovation, to address this issue. Case study research is presented focusing on a use orientated PSS in an urban environment:...

Origins of a national seismic system in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Filson, John R.; Arabasz, Walter J.

2016-01-01

This historical review traces the origins of the current national seismic system in the United States, a cooperative effort that unifies national, regional, and local‐scale seismic monitoring within the structure of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS). The review covers (1) the history and technological evolution of U.S. seismic networks leading up to the 1990s, (2) factors that made the 1960s and 1970s a watershed period for national attention to seismology, earthquake hazards, and seismic monitoring, (3) genesis of the vision of a national seismic system during 1980–1983, (4) obstacles and breakthroughs during 1984–1989, (5) consensus building and convergence during 1990–1992, and finally (6) the two‐step realization of a national system during 1993–2000. Particular importance is placed on developments during the period between 1980 and 1993 that culminated in the adoption of a charter for the Council of the National Seismic System (CNSS)—the foundation for the later ANSS. Central to this story is how many individuals worked together toward a common goal of a more rational and sustainable approach to national earthquake monitoring in the United States. The review ends with the emergence of ANSS during 1999 and 2000 and its statutory authorization by Congress in November 2000.

ISLAM, PANCASILA AND VALUE SYSTEMS OF INDONESIAN NATIONAL EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DR. Martha Catherine Beck

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper intends to show that the Pancasila (five principles of state and the Pillarsof Islam (the five religious value system has synergy to build Indonesia's nationaleducation values system. To explore the relation between religion and politics inPancasila, Martha Beck used Alfred North Whitehead's process philosophy, CarlGustav Jung's archetypes psychology and Ervin Laszlo‟s systems theory. To approvethat Pancasila and Pillars of Islam has synergy to Indonesia‟s national education,Irawan used the concept of scientia sacra by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. The results showedthat the Indonesian national education system consistently present in a triangularrelationship between religion (spiritual humanism, politics (democracy and cultural(multicultural and tolerance. The relationship manifested in Indonesian NationalEducation System, which is always grounded philosophically and aims at threethings; 1 form human who believe, cautious and has noble character; 2 master ofscience and technology; and 3 actively participate in creating order and peace in theworld, even a blessing for the entire universe. Indonesia's national education systemcould be a new alternative in building a more holistic education systems around theworld because considered crucial interconnection between science, religion, interestsof state and demands of the global. This is known as a moderate Islamic education.

National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) is a reporting standard that fire departments use to uniformly report on the full range of their activities, from...

National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) provides states and communities with a clearer understanding of violent deaths to guide local decisions about...

National Breeding System of Dairy Cattle Husbandry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anneke Anggraeni

1999-05-01

Full Text Available The husbandry of domestic dairy cattle as one of the components of livestock sub-sector development is hopefully to increase numerously the capacity and the quality on its milk production, to gradually meet national milk demand and face the competitiveness at the global. The achievement of this purpose should be supported by the production of dairy breeding stock in good quality and sufficient number to increase efficiency of both quantity and quality of domestic milk production. One of important aspect that should be prepared is in determining national breeding system of dairy cattle that can function effectively as guidance and regulation for producing, distributing, and using dairy cattle as “domestic breeding stock”. As in other livestock, breeding system of dairy cattle basically constituted of three main subsystems, i.e. production , distribution and marketing, and quality establishment subsystem. The paper discusses some aspects of these three subsystems to give considerable input in preparing the national concept of dairy cattle breeding system. enterprise (Animal Production 1(2: 43-55 (1999 KeyWords: dairy cattle, breeding stock, milk production.

National Breeding System of Dairy Cattle Husbandry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Diwyanto

1999-05-01

Full Text Available The husbandry of domestic dairy cattle as one of the components of  livestock sub-sector development is hopefully to increase numerously the capacity and the quality on its milk production, to gradually meet national milk demand and face the competitiveness at the global. The achievement of this purpose should be supported by the production of dairy breeding stock in good quality and sufficient number to increase efficiency of both quantity and quality of domestic milk production. One of important aspect that should be prepared is in determining national breeding system of dairy cattle that can function effectively as guidance and regulation for producing, distributing, and using dairy cattle as “domestic breeding stock”. As in other livestock, breeding system of dairy cattle basically constituted of three main subsystems, i.e. production , distribution and marketing, and quality establishment subsystem. The paper discusses some aspects of these three subsystems to give considerable input in preparing the national concept of dairy cattle breeding system. enterprise (Animal Production 1(2: 43-55 (1999   KeyWords: dairy cattle, breeding stock, milk production.

Imaginaries of nuclear energy in the Portuguese parliament: Between promise, risk, and democracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos Pereira, Tiago; Carvalho, António; Fonseca, Paulo F C

2017-04-01

This article explores the evolution of the nuclear energy debate and its associated controversies in the Portuguese parliament. The analysis focuses on the dictatorial regime of the New State (from the beginning of the nuclear program in 1951 until the 1974 revolution) and on the democratic period (post-1974). Portugal, as an exporting country of uranium minerals, significantly invested in the development of a national capacity in nuclear research, but never developed an endogenous nuclear power infrastructure. Through the analysis of parliamentary debates, this article characterizes the dynamic evolution of the Portuguese sociotechnical imaginary on nuclear energy and technology interlinked with ambivalent representations, including the promise of nuclear energy as key for the constitution of a technological Nation or as prompting new sociotechnical risks.

Service Robotics in Healthcare: A Perspective for Information Systems Researchers?

OpenAIRE

Garmann-Johnsen, Niels Frederik; Mettler, Tobias; Sprenger, Michaela

2014-01-01

Recent advances in electronics and telecommunication have paved the way for service robots to enter the clinical world. While service robotics has long been a core research theme in computer science and other engineering-related fields, it has attracted little interest of Information Systems (IS) researchers so far. We argue that service robotics represents an interesting area of investigation, especially for healthcare, since current research lacks a thorough examination of socio-technical p...

Optimal service using Matlab - simulink controlled Queuing system at call centers

Science.gov (United States)

Balaji, N.; Siva, E. P.; Chandrasekaran, A. D.; Tamilazhagan, V.

2018-04-01

This paper presents graphical integrated model based academic research on telephone call centres. This paper introduces an important feature of impatient customers and abandonments in the queue system. However the modern call centre is a complex socio-technical system. Queuing theory has now become a suitable application in the telecom industry to provide better online services. Through this Matlab-simulink multi queuing structured models provide better solutions in complex situations at call centres. Service performance measures analyzed at optimal level through Simulink queuing model.

Towards an evaluation framework for Laboratory Information Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Yusof, Maryati M; Arifin, Azila

Laboratory testing and reporting are error-prone and redundant due to repeated, unnecessary requests and delayed or missed reactions to laboratory reports. Occurring errors may negatively affect the patient treatment process and clinical decision making. Evaluation on laboratory testing and Laboratory Information System (LIS) may explain the root cause to improve the testing process and enhance LIS in supporting the process. This paper discusses a new evaluation framework for LIS that encompasses the laboratory testing cycle and the socio-technical part of LIS. Literature review on discourses, dimensions and evaluation methods of laboratory testing and LIS. A critical appraisal of the Total Testing Process (TTP) and the human, organization, technology-fit factors (HOT-fit) evaluation frameworks was undertaken in order to identify error incident, its contributing factors and preventive action pertinent to laboratory testing process and LIS. A new evaluation framework for LIS using a comprehensive and socio-technical approach is outlined. Positive relationship between laboratory and clinical staff resulted in a smooth laboratory testing process, reduced errors and increased process efficiency whilst effective use of LIS streamlined the testing processes. The TTP-LIS framework could serve as an assessment as well as a problem-solving tool for the laboratory testing process and system. Copyright © 2016 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS SYSTEM AS A FACTOR OF TRANSFORMATION OF NATIONAL CURRENCY SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrii Oliinyk

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to analyze theoretical and practical aspects of the features of the IFI influence on transformation of national currency systems of such organizations’ member states. Defining features of interaction policy among national economies and IFI in the monetary sphere, considering countries’ socio-economic parameters of development, will allow monetary authorities to achieve the optimum level of development of its economy. Methodology. Theoretical base of the study are the provisions of general scientific theory of knowledge studied phenomena and processes, in particular: methods of induction and deduction (in determining classification criteria of IFIs impact on national currency system, analysis and synthesis (in determining the features and priorities of national currency system, comparisons, associations and analogies (the justification of characteristics of advantages and disadvantages of IFI. The information base for scientific research is scientific papers and publications of domestic and foreign scientists-economists, materials of scientific-practical conferences, legislative and normative documents, the IMF, World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank materials. Results. Theoretical approaches to the definition of the national currency system and international financial organizations, including its classification, are proposed. It is proved that the IMF makes active impact on national currency policy formation through regulation and supervision, while the World Bank and AIIB are related in a passive way. The IFI regulation trends are to implement floating exchange regime, liberal currency transactions, cancel currency restrictions in member countries. Although it refers to all countries, some of them with large population, trading, underdeveloped institutions of democracy could avoid some IFI pressure. Practical implications. The study accents attention on the specifics of the IFI activity in terms of

77 FR 60107 - National Estuarine Research Reserve System

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-02

... awareness and community involvement in stewardship, incompatible use by visitors, and ecological impacts of... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Estuarine Research Reserve System AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management...

Transition towards Circular Economy in the Food System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra Jurgilevich

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Growing population and increased demand for food, inefficient resource use and food distribution, environmental impacts, and high rates of food wasted at all stages of the food system are all calling for transition towards more sustainable practices. In this article we apply the concept of circular economy to the case of a sustainable food system. Furthermore, we explore the transition towards a circular food system through the lens of socio-technical transition theory towards sustainability. We discuss challenges and potential solutions for the production stage (focusing on nutrient flow, the consumption stage (focusing on meat consumption, and food waste and surplus management and prevention.

National Recordal System IK holder catalogue process

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Pretorius, R

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this poster is to illustrate the South African National Recordal Systems (NRS) process whereby Indigenous Knowledge (IK) holder’s information is captured in a registry, as specified in South Africa’s Indigenous Knowledge Systems Policy...

Multi-Barrier Protection of Drinking Water Systems in Ontario: A Comparison of First Nation and Non-First Nation Communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Budhendra Singh

2012-11-01

Full Text Available In some way or another, all levels of government in Canada and First Nations share responsibility to implement multi-barrier protection of drinking water. The goal is to protect water from source to tap to minimize risk so that people have access to adequate and safe drinking water. The federal government has committed to assist First Nations achieve comparable levels of service standards available to non-First Nation communities. However, several recent reports on the status of drinking water services standards in First Nations indicate that people in these communities often experience greater health risks than those living off reserves. Using the federal drinking water risk evaluation guidelines, the capacities of First Nations and non-First Nations in Ontario to implement multi-barrier protection of their drinking water systems are compared. The Risk Level Evaluation Guidelines for Water and Wastewater Treatment in First Nation Communities rank drinking water systems as low, medium, or high risk based on information about source water, system design, system operation, reporting, and operator expertise. The risk evaluation scores for First Nations drinking water systems were obtained from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. A survey based on the federal Risk Level Evaluation Guidelines was sent to non-First Nation communities throughout Ontario with 54 communities responding. The capacity among First Nations was variable throughout the province, whereas all of the municipalities were in the low risk category, even small and northern non-First Nation community water systems. It is clear that the financial and technological capacity issues should be addressed regardless of the legislative and regulatory regime that is established. The current governance and management structure does not appear to be significantly reducing the gap in service standards despite financial investment. Exploring social or other underlying determinants

U.S. national nuclear material control and accounting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, S; Terentiev, V G

1998-01-01

Issues related to nuclear material control and accounting and illegal dealing in these materials were discussed at the April 19--20, 1996 Moscow summit meeting (G7 + Russia). The declaration from this meeting reaffirmed that governments are responsible for the safety of all nuclear materials in their possession and for the effectiveness of the national control and accounting system for these materials. The Russian delegation at this meeting stated that ''the creation of a nuclear materials accounting, control, and physical protection system has become a government priority''. Therefore, in order to create a government nuclear material control and accounting system for the Russian Federation, it is critical to study the structure, operating principles, and regulations supporting the control and accounting of nuclear materials in the national systems of nuclear powers. In particular, Russian specialists have a definite interest in learning about the National Nuclear Material Control and Accounting System of the US, which has been operating successfully as an automated system since 1968

European Metroscapes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Ole B.

as environments for mundane flows. In fact it is in the crossing between such top-down orchestration of mobility and the everyday life performances that the socio-technical metro systems produce culture. Much more than moving people from A to B, the socio-technical metro systems facilitate the meaningful......In this paper the aim is to show a mobile ethnographic account for the way lived everyday life mobilities are produced within the socio-technical systems of the Metros in Copenhagen, London and Paris. By drawing upon field studies of the physical orchestration of passenger flows as well...... ‘real passengers' as well as imaginary ‘mobile subjects'. On the other hand the everyday life mobility practices are not completely determined by such top-down systems as they are played out and performed in multiple ways and thus creating lacunas of ‘other ways' of perceiving the systems...

Technology Transmission Across National Innovation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haakonsson, Stine Jessen; Slepniov, Dmitrij

This paper advances our understanding of how technology upgrading in the Chinese wind turbine industry is linked to internationalisation of Danish component suppliers. In order to grasp the interlinkages and implications hereof, the paper combines perspectives of global value chains (GVC), national.......e. linking up with global suppliers in the wind turbine global value chain, and the new role of component suppliers as technology transmitters across national innovation systems into emerging markets. Conceptually, the paper contributes to understanding how technological catching up in value chains links...

Technology Transmission Across National Innovation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haakonsson, Stine Jessen; Slepniov, Dmitrij

2018-01-01

This paper advances our understanding of how technology upgrading in the Chinese wind turbine industry is linked to internationalisation of Danish component suppliers. In order to grasp the interlinkages and implications hereof, the paper combines perspectives of global value chains (GVC), national.......e. linking up with global suppliers in the wind turbine global value chain, and the new role of component suppliers as technology transmitters across national innovation systems into emerging markets. Conceptually, the paper contributes to understanding how technological catching up in value chains links...

Licensing telemedicine: the need for a national system.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, P D; Selvin, E

2000-01-01

The expansion of information technology has shattered geographic boundaries, allowing for extraordinarily increased access to health information and expanded opportunities for telemedicine practice across state boundaries. But despite its recent growth, telemedicine technology remains embedded in a state-based licensure system that places severe limits on its expansion. The current system of medical licensure is based primarily on statutes written at the turn of the 20th century. This system is inadequate to address the emerging medical practices and future uses of medical technology in the telecommunications age. To respond to the changes offered by the telecommunications revolution, we need to design a new regulatory structure for the 21st century. The purpose of this article is to propose a policy of national telemedicine licensure. The primary goal here is not to simply develop a policy proposal, but to discuss the rationale for national licensure and place it on the policy agenda. A national licensure system will expand the market for telemedicine, promote both the use and development of new technologies, and simultaneously eliminate many of the legal and regulatory ambiguities that plague and constrain the present system.

The Chiasmus of Design: Paradoxical Outcomes in the e-Government Reform of UK Children's Services

Science.gov (United States)

Wastell, David; White, Sue; Broadhurst, Karen

This paper describes a detailed ethnographic study of the design problems of a major national IT system in the UK- The Integrated Children’s System (ICS). The implementation of the ICS has disrupted social work practice and engendered growing professional resistance, prompting a fundamental review of its design. Marshall McLuhan’s concept of chiasmus is a central feature of our analysis of the vicissitudes of ICS. Chiasmus refers to the tendency of any system, when pushed too far, to produce unintended contradictory effects, and is an intrinsic feature of the behaviour of complex, socio-technical systems. The dysfunctions of the ICS provide a pertinent, large-scale example. The ICS constitutes an attempt, via technological means, to re-organize child welfare services in the UK. Whilst aimed at improving child safety, the ICS has had the opposite effect of increasing the potential for error. This chiasmus has been exposed through the multi-site ethnography reported here, which shows how rigidly designed processes, enforced by IT systems, force social work professionals into unsafe investigative and recording practices which increase the risk of errors. The paper ends by proposing an alternative approach to design, based on socio-technical precepts, emphasizing the principles of minimum critical specification, user-centeredness and local autonomy.

National high-level waste systems analysis report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kristofferson, K.; Oholleran, T.P.; Powell, R.H.

1995-09-01

This report documents the assessment of budgetary impacts, constraints, and repository availability on the storage and treatment of high-level waste and on both existing and pending negotiated milestones. The impacts of the availabilities of various treatment systems on schedule and throughput at four Department of Energy sites are compared to repository readiness in order to determine the prudent application of resources. The information modeled for each of these sites is integrated with a single national model. The report suggests a high-level-waste model that offers a national perspective on all high-level waste treatment and storage systems managed by the Department of Energy.

National high-level waste systems analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kristofferson, K.; Oholleran, T.P.; Powell, R.H.

1995-09-01

This report documents the assessment of budgetary impacts, constraints, and repository availability on the storage and treatment of high-level waste and on both existing and pending negotiated milestones. The impacts of the availabilities of various treatment systems on schedule and throughput at four Department of Energy sites are compared to repository readiness in order to determine the prudent application of resources. The information modeled for each of these sites is integrated with a single national model. The report suggests a high-level-waste model that offers a national perspective on all high-level waste treatment and storage systems managed by the Department of Energy

Restructuring energy systems for sustainability? Energy transition policy in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kern, Florian; Smith, Adrian

2008-01-01

Increasingly, researchers and policy makers are confronting the challenge of restructuring energy systems into more sustainable forms. A 'transition management' model, and its adoption in the Netherlands, is attracting attention. Starting from the socio-technical multi-level theory that informs 'transition management', we analyse the 'energy transition' project carried out by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. Despite considerable achievements, their approach risks capture by the incumbent energy regime, thereby undermining original policy ambitions for structural innovation of the energy system. This experience presents generic dilemmas for transitions approaches

CNSS: Interagency Partnering to Protect Our National Security Systems

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Grimes, John G

2008-01-01

.... The CNSS performs the vital function of mobilizing the full, interagency National Security Community for the protection of telecommunications and information systems that support U.S. national security...

Building National Capacity To Implement National Forest Monitoring System In Africa By GLAD

Science.gov (United States)

Lola Amani, P. K.

2017-12-01

Earth Observation data provide numerous information on the earth and its phenomena from space/satellite. They also offer the ability to compile and analyze information at global or local scales in a timely manner. However, to use them, it is important to develop methods that can enable the extraction of the desired information. Such methods should be robust and consistent enough to be considered for national monitoring systems. At the University of Maryland, the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) Laboratory, led by Dr. Hansen, has developed automatic methods using Landsat data that have been applied for the Global Forest Change (GFC) in collaboration with the World Resources Institute (WRI), Google and others to providing information on tree cover loss throughout the global on a yearly basis, and on a daily basis a tree cover loss alert system to improve transparency and accessible at GFW Initiative (Global Forest Watch) website. Following the increasing interest in utilizing the GFC data, the GLAD Laboratory is working closely with national governments of different countries to reinforce their capacities in using the data in the best way and implementing the methodological framework for supporting their national forest monitoring, notification, and reporting (MNV) system. More precisely, the Lab supports step by step the countries in developing their reference emission levels and/or forest reference levels based on the country-specific needs, goals, and requirements, including the definition of the forest. Once in place, the methodology can easily be extended to different applications, such as monitoring the droughts events, etc. Here, we present the work accomplished with the national agencies of some countries in Africa, like Cameroon, Republic of Congo and Madagascar with the support of the Silva-Carbon and USAID-CARPE Programs and WRI. These countries are mainly engaged at different levels of the REDD+ process. Keywords: Earth Observation, Landsat data

TJC: HCOs need to be on alert for HIT problems related to sociotechnical factors, take steps to improve safety culture, process, and leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-01

Noting that too many errors related to health information technology (HIT) are resulting in adverse consequences, The Joint Commission (TJC) has issued a Sentinel Event Alert, urging health care providers to take steps to improve their safety culture, approach to process improvement, and leadership in this area. In this latest alert, the accrediting agency is taking particular aim at risks posed by sociotechnical factors--or the ways in which HIT is implemented and used. Experts say that many of these risks are, in fact, exemplified at a higher level in the emergency setting, where providers are under constant pressure to see more patients and move them though the system faster. In an analysis of 3,375 sentinel events that resulted in permanent patient harm or death between January 1, 2010, and June 20, 2013, The Joint Commission (TJC) found that 120 events included HIT-related contributing factors. Many of the problems cited by TJC relate to orders or medicines being prescribed for the wrong patients. These can result from toggling errors or pop-up screens where providers are asked to click on the appropriate patient or medicine, and they mistakenly click on the wrong selection. In the ED, experts recommend the creation of a multidisciplinary performance improvement group to continuously monitor the ED information system (EDIS), recognize problems, and work with the vendor to resolve them. Also important is a quick and easy way for providers to report HIT-related problems. Experts add that emergency providers need to be fully engaged in the process of selecting HIT that they will be using, and that health care organizations should arrange for usability assessments before purchasing HIT.

Radiometric system for clinical applications in the National Health System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mesa Perez, G.; Arteche Diaz, R.; Camejo Batista, A.; Fonfria Bragado, C.

2013-01-01

In this paper it is presented the radiometric detection system SRNIC-02, manufactured at CEADEN. The system has three major components: a well-type Nal(TI) scintillator detector with its collimator, a measurement module, and the application software, which allows fixing the working parameters of the system, as well as the acquisition and processing of data. The system has two main applications in the National Health System, one for the quality control in Radiopharmacy, and in RIA/IRMA blood tests. There are 16 systems installed, in 13 provinces of the country up to this date. (Author)

Designing for the Don't Cares: A story about a sociotechnical system

OpenAIRE

Sommerville, Ian

2014-01-01

This article discusses the difficulties that arose when attempting to specify and design a large scale digital learning environment for Scottish schools. This had a potential user base of about 1 million users and was intended to replace an existing, under-used system. We found that the potential system users were not interested in engaging with the project and that there were immense problems with system governance. The only technique that we found to be useful were user stories, presenting ...

TOP TAX SYSTEM - A common tax system for all nations

OpenAIRE

VIJAYA KRUSHNA VARMA

2011-01-01

TOP Tax system is a new tax system which can be used as a common tax system for all nations. This new tax system will be without present tax system’s all Direct and Indirect taxes accompanied by tax laws, tax exemptions, multiple tax collection departments to relieve 7 billion people of the world from the cobweb of ambiguous and complex tax structures, plethora of tax laws, mandatory and cumbersome accounting, auditing, tax returns and consequent quagmire of all tax related cases. Taxation, t...

Visually Augmented Analysis of Socio-Technical Networks in Engineering Systems Design Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Storga, M.; Stankovic, T.; Cash, Philip

2013-01-01

In characterizing systems behaviour, complex-systems scientists use tools from a variety of disciplines, including nonlinear dynamics, information theory, computation theory, evolutionary biology and social network analysis, among others. All of these topics have been studied for some time......, but only fairly recently has the study of networks in general become a major topic of research in complex engineering systems. The research reported in this paper is discussing how the visually augmented analysis of complex socio-networks (networks of people and technology engaged in a product...

National critical incident reporting systems relevant to anaesthesia: a European survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, S; Arnal, D; Frank, O; Gomez-Arnau, J I; Hansen, J; Lester, O; Mikkelsen, K L; Rhaiem, T; Rosenberg, P H; St Pierre, M; Schleppers, A; Staender, S; Smith, A F

2014-03-01

Critical incident reporting is a key tool in the promotion of patient safety in anaesthesia. We surveyed representatives of national incident reporting systems in six European countries, inviting information on scope and organization, and intelligence on factors determining success and failure. Some systems are government-run and nationally conceived; others started out as small, specialty-focused initiatives, which have since acquired a national reach. However, both national co-ordination and specialty enthusiasts seem to be necessary for an optimally functioning system. The role of reporting culture, definitional issues, and dissemination is discussed. We make recommendations for others intending to start new systems and speculate on the prospects for sharing patient safety lessons relevant to anaesthesia at European level.

Survey, Research And Prospect Of Signage Systems In National Parks In Yunnan Province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

wenjuan XU

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The Signage System is essential to establishing a national park. The authors conducted surveys, analysis and research of identification signs, informational sign, directional signs and functional signs from the signage systems adopted by five national parks in Yunnan Province. Relying on the results, with reference to industry experience, years of research related to national park, successful cases of overseas national parks and the current signage systems across China’s national parks, the paper aims to explore future development strategies of national park signage systems that are suitable for China.

National inquiry system of radiological events: a viable proposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xavier, Ana Maria; Cavalcante, Vera Lucia.

1996-01-01

The SINAER- National Inquiry System of Radiological Events is a supportive structure devised to deal with the request of help or complaints that involve sources of ionizing radiations in the national territory

Systems reliability analysis for the national ignition facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majumdar, K.C.; Annese, C.E.; MacIntyre, A.T.; Sicherman, A.

1996-01-01

A Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) analysis was initiated for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The NIF is an inertial confinement fusion research facility designed to achieve controlled thermonuclear reaction; the preferred site for the NIF is the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The NIF RAM analysis has three purposes: (1) to allocate top level reliability and availability goals for the systems, (2) to develop an operability model for optimum maintainability, and (3) to determine the achievability of the allocated goals of the RAM parameters for the NIF systems and the facility operation as a whole. An allocation model assigns the reliability and availability goals for front line and support systems by a top-down approach; reliability analysis uses a bottom-up approach to determine the system reliability and availability from component level to system level

77 FR 3123 - Special Regulations, Areas of the National Park System, Cape Hatteras National Seashore-Off-Road...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-23

..., Areas of the National Park System, Cape Hatteras National Seashore--Off-Road Vehicle Management AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This rule designates off-road vehicle (ORV... operation of motor vehicles off of roads within areas [[Page 3124

US national material control and accounting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, C.N.

1984-01-01

The State System of Accounting and Control (SSAC) for fuel cycle facilities in the licensed, commercial sector of the US nuclear community, and details of the material control and accounting measures dealing with the national safeguards program are discussed. The concept and role of the Fundamental Nuclear Material Control (FNMC) Plan is discussed. Also, the relationship between the national safeguards program and the international safeguards program of the US SSAC are described

General framework and key technologies of national nuclear emergency system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Feng; Li Xudong; Zhu Guangying; Song Yafeng; Zeng Suotian; Shen Lifeng

2014-01-01

Nuclear emergency is the important safeguard for the sustainable development of nuclear energy, and is the significant part of national public crisis management. The paper gives the definition of nuclear emergency system explicitly based on the analysis of the characteristics of the nuclear emergency, and through the research of the structure and general framework, the general framework of the national nuclear emergency management system (NNEMS) is obtained, which is constructed in four parts, including one integrative platform, six layers, eight applications and two systems, then the paper indicate that the architecture of national emergency system that should be laid out by three-tiers, i.e. national, provincial and organizations with nuclear facilities, and also describe the functions of the NNEMS on the nuclear emergency's workflow. Finally, the paper discuss the key technology that NNIEMS needed, such as WebGIS, auxiliary decision-making, digitalized preplan and the conformity and usage of resources, and analyze the technical principle in details. (authors)

77 FR 472 - National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-05

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule; Correction AGENCY: USDA Forest Service. ACTION... for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1 (800) 877-8339 between 8...

A Socio-technical study of an Ubiquitous CPOE-system in Local Use

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wentzer, Helle; Böttger, Ulrich; Boye, Niels

2006-01-01

, transformation in competencies, and less time spent at the bedside for nurses and doctors, as a system - constructed for ubiquitous drug-order entries and handling - was implemented for local use. This study throws light on problems of patient continuity, patient-related and IT-system-related error...

The Brazilian national system of forest permanent plots

Science.gov (United States)

Yeda Maria Malheiros de Oliveira; Maria Augusta Doetzer Rosot; Patricia Povoa de Mottos; Joberto Veloso de Freitas; Guilherme Luis Augusto Gomide; < i> et al< /i>

2009-01-01

The Brazilian National System of Forest Permanent Plots (SisPP) is a governmental initiative designed and being implemented in partnership by the Ministry of Environment (MMA), represented by the National Forest Programme (PNF) and the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB) and the Embrapa Forestry (a research center of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - Embrapa...

A nuclear fuel cycle system dynamic model for spent fuel storage options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brinton, Samuel; Kazimi, Mujid

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Used nuclear fuel management requires a dynamic system analysis study due to its socio-technical complexity. • Economic comparison of local, regional, and national storage options is limited due to the public financial information. • Local and regional options of used nuclear fuel management are found to be the most economic means of storage. - Abstract: The options for used nuclear fuel storage location and affected parameters such as economic liabilities are currently a focus of several high level studies. A variety of nuclear fuel cycle system analysis models are available for such a task. The application of nuclear fuel cycle system dynamics models for waste management options is important to life-cycle impact assessment. The recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee on America’s Nuclear Future led to increased focus on long periods of spent fuel storage [1]. This motivated further investigation of the location dependency of used nuclear fuel in the parameters of economics, environmental impact, and proliferation risk. Through a review of available literature and interactions with each of the programs available, comparisons of post-reactor fuel storage and handling options will be evaluated based on the aforementioned parameters and a consensus of preferred system metrics and boundary conditions will be provided. Specifically, three options of local, regional, and national storage were studied. The preliminary product of this research is the creation of a system dynamics tool known as the Waste Management Module (WMM) which provides an easy to use interface for education on fuel cycle waste management economic impacts. Initial results of baseline cases point to positive benefits of regional storage locations with local regional storage options continuing to offer the lowest cost

A socio-technical, probabilistic risk assessment model for surgical site infections in ambulatory surgery centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bish, Ebru K; El-Amine, Hadi; Steighner, Laura A; Slonim, Anthony D

2014-10-01

To understand how structural and process elements may affect the risk for surgical site infections (SSIs) in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) environment, the researchers employed a tool known as socio-technical probabilistic risk assessment (ST-PRA). ST-PRA is particularly helpful for estimating risks in outcomes that are very rare, such as the risk of SSI in ASCs. Study objectives were to (1) identify the risk factors associated with SSIs resulting from procedures performed at ASCs and (2) design an intervention to mitigate the likelihood of SSIs for the most common risk factors that were identified by the ST-PRA for a particular surgical procedure. ST-PRA was used to study the SSI risk in the ASC setting. Both quantitative and qualitative data sources were utilized, and sensitivity analysis was performed to ensure the robustness of the results. The event entitled "fail to protect the patient effectively" accounted for 51.9% of SSIs in the ambulatory care setting. Critical components of this event included several failure risk points related to skin preparation, antibiotic administration, staff training, proper response to glove punctures during surgery, and adherence to surgical preparation rules related to the wearing of jewelry, watches, and artificial nails. Assuming a 75% reduction in noncompliance on any combination of 2 of these 5 components, the risk for an SSI decreased from 0.0044 to between 0.0027 and 0.0035. An intervention that targeted the 5 major components of the major risk point was proposed, and its implications were discussed.

Small World: Access to Higher Education between Methodological Nationalism and International Organisations

Science.gov (United States)

Goastellec, Gaele

2010-01-01

What do the shared norms emerging in the regulation of access reveal about the higher education internationalisation process? The history of access norms brings to light two characteristics of this process: the spreading of sociotechnic tools and the emergence of moral entrepreneurs. Based on case studies carried out in France, the US, South…

FINANCIAL STABILITY OF THE UKRAINE NATIONAL SYSTEM OF PENSION INSURANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Khemii

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The system of pension insurance is a combination of created by the state legal, economic and organizational institutions and norms, providing financial support to citizens in the form of pensions. In the article analyzing the demographic situation and the condition of pension payments in the country today. In the terms of economic and social reforms, the level of financial stability the pension system is low. Therefore important is the analysis and exploring new methods to ensure financial stability of the Ukraine national system of pension insurance. The main institution of the national pension insurance is the National Pension Fund of Ukraine.

Parallel dispatch: a new paradigm of electrical power system dispatch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Jun Jason; Wang, Fei-Yue; Wang, Qiang; Hao, Dazhi; Yang, Xiaojing; Gao, David Wenzhong; Zhao, Xiangyang; Zhang, Yingchen

2018-01-01

Modern power systems are evolving into sociotechnical systems with massive complexity, whose real-time operation and dispatch go beyond human capability. Thus, the need for developing and applying new intelligent power system dispatch tools are of great practical significance. In this paper, we introduce the overall business model of power system dispatch, the top level design approach of an intelligent dispatch system, and the parallel intelligent technology with its dispatch applications. We expect that a new dispatch paradigm, namely the parallel dispatch, can be established by incorporating various intelligent technologies, especially the parallel intelligent technology, to enable secure operation of complex power grids, extend system operators U+02BC capabilities, suggest optimal dispatch strategies, and to provide decision-making recommendations according to power system operational goals.

Socio-Environmental Resilience and Complex Urban Systems Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Deal, Brian; Petri, Aaron; Pan, Haozhi; Goldenberg, Romain; Kalantari, Zahra; Cvetkovic, Vladimir

2017-04-01

The increasing pressure of climate change has inspired two normative agendas; socio-technical transitions and socio-ecological resilience, both sharing a complex-systems epistemology (Gillard et al. 2016). Socio-technical solutions include a continuous, massive data gathering exercise now underway in urban places under the guise of developing a 'smart'(er) city. This has led to the creation of data-rich environments where large data sets have become central to monitoring and forming a response to anomalies. Some have argued that these kinds of data sets can help in planning for resilient cities (Norberg and Cumming 2008; Batty 2013). In this paper, we focus on a more nuanced, ecologically based, socio-environmental perspective of resilience planning that is often given less consideration. Here, we broadly discuss (and model) the tightly linked, mutually influenced, social and biophysical subsystems that are critical for understanding urban resilience. We argue for the need to incorporate these sub system linkages into the resilience planning lexicon through the integration of systems models and planning support systems. We make our case by first providing a context for urban resilience from a socio-ecological and planning perspective. We highlight the data needs for this type of resilient planning and compare it to currently collected data streams in various smart city efforts. This helps to define an approach for operationalizing socio-environmental resilience planning using robust systems models and planning support systems. For this, we draw from our experiences in coupling a spatio-temporal land use model (the Landuse Evolution and impact Assessment Model (LEAM)) with water quality and quantity models in Stockholm Sweden. We describe the coupling of these systems models using a robust Planning Support System (PSS) structural framework. We use the coupled model simulations and PSS to analyze the connection between urban land use transformation (social) and water

Study of national registration systems for health records of radiation workers. National radiation dose registration system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagawa, Haruo; Kanda, Keiji

1999-01-01

A national radiation dose registration system is proposed in this paper. In Japan, only one radiation dose registration system is partly effective. It is applied for workers in nuclear power plants which are under control of regulatory laws for nuclear reactors. The total system was proposed previously by the Committee for Compensation Claims of Nuclear Accidents. The reason for the delay in establishing a registration system for all radiation workers is supposedly a lack of effort to adjust differences among items in radiation protection laws and the promotion of public acceptance to atomic power. Items about dose recordings, record keeping and dose-record reporting in all of the radiation regulatory laws are compared to each other, and items were extracted for revision. (author)

MAPPING INNOVATION

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thuesen, Christian Langhoff; Koch, Christian

2011-01-01

By adopting a theoretical framework from strategic niche management research (SNM) this paper presents an analysis of the innovation system of the Danish Construction industry. Theories within SNM look upon innovation in a sector as a socio-technical phenomenon and identifies three levels of socio......-technical interaction within which sectorial innovation can be explained. The analysis shows a multifaceted landscape of innovation around an existing regime, built in the existing ways of working and developing over generations. The regime is challenged from various niches and the sociotechnical landscape through...... trends as globalization. Three niches (Lean Construction, BIM and System Deliveries) are subject to a detailed analysis showing partly incompatible rationales and various degrees of innovation potential. The paper further discusses how existing policymaking operates in a number of tensions one being...

Simultaneous consideration of TQM and TPM influence on production performance: A case study on multicolor offset machine using SD Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nagaraj H. Kamath

2016-09-01

Full Text Available An attempt is made in this research to show the relevance of System Dynamics (SD as a tool for simultaneously considering TQM and TPM environment in a offset machine of a commercial printing press. By controlling the TQM and TPM variables, this model will attempt to simulate or predict the behavior of an efficient printing operation. Identifying other scenarios pertaining to Human factors, affecting the socio-technical variables is the future research work of this paper. The practical implication concerns the efficient decision making system in multi-colour sheet feed offset printing, by controlling the socio-technical variables. This is a novel approach of combining different socio-technical variables SD and Cased based approach for obtaining a productive environment in print operation called “Total Production Management”.

Formative Evaluation of a Sociotechnical System Intervention at an Army Maintenance Depot

Science.gov (United States)

1986-07-01

periodically reassess itself to determine if the balance between the technical and social systems remains adaptive and responsive to the requirements...developed a comprehensive set of recommendations for improving the balance between the social and technical systems of the depot. During 1983, most of...ity and quality of worklife . However, the nature and extent of the impact is highly elusive and resistant to quantification. 1-4 FORMATIVE

Using Interaction Scenarios to Model Information Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bækgaard, Lars; Bøgh Andersen, Peter

The purpose of this paper is to define and discuss a set of interaction primitives that can be used to model the dynamics of socio-technical activity systems, including information systems, in a way that emphasizes structural aspects of the interaction that occurs in such systems. The primitives...... a number of case studies that indicate that interaction primitives can be useful modeling tools for supplementing conventional flow-oriented modeling of business processes....... are based on a unifying, conceptual definition of the disparate interaction types - a robust model of the types. The primitives can be combined and may thus represent mediated interaction. We present a set of visualizations that can be used to define multiple related interactions and we present and discuss...

Getting what they need when they need it. Identifying barriers to information needs of family caregivers to manage dementia-related behavioral symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, Nicole E; Stanislawski, Barbara; Marx, Katherine A; Watkins, Daphne C; Kobayashi, Marissa; Kales, Helen; Gitlin, Laura N

2017-02-22

Consumer health informatics (CHI) such as web-based applications may provide the platform for enabling the over 15 million family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's Disease or related dementias the information they need when they need it to support behavioral symptom management. However, for CHI to be successful, it is necessary that it be designed to meet the specific information needs of family caregivers in the context in which caregiving occurs. A sociotechnical systems approach to CHI design can help to understand the contextual complexities of family caregiving and account for those complexities in the design of CHI for family caregivers. This study used a sociotechnical systems approach to identify barriers to meeting caregivers' information needs related to the management of dementia-related behavioral symptoms, and to derive design implications that overcome barriers for caregiver-focused web-based platforms. We have subsequently used these design implications to inform the development of a web-based platform, WeCareAdvisor,TM which provides caregivers with information and an algorithm by which to identify and manage behavioral symptoms for which they seek management strategies. We conducted 4 focus groups with family caregivers (N=26) in a Midwestern state. Qualitative content analysis of the data was guided by a sociotechnical systems framework. We identified nine categories of barriers that family caregivers confront in obtaining needed information about behavioral symptom management from which we extrapolated design implications for a web-based platform. Based on interactions within the sociotechnical system, three critical information needs were identified: 1) timely access to information, 2) access to information that is tailored or specific to caregiver's needs and contexts, and 3) usable information that can directly inform how caregivers' manage behaviors. The sociotechnical system framework is a useful approach for identifying information

Modernisation strategy for National Irrigation Systems in the Philippines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Delos Reyes, Mona Liza Fortunado

2017-01-01

The performance of publicly funded canal irrigation systems or more commonly called national irrigation systems (NIS) in the Philippines remained below expectations despite considerable system rehabilitation and improvement efforts. The continued suboptimal performances were attributed to

China's numerical management system for reducing national energy intensity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Huimin; Zhao, Xiaofan; Yu, Yuqing; Wu, Tong; Qi, Ye

2016-01-01

In China, the national target for energy intensity reduction, when integrated with target disaggregation and information feedback systems, constitutes a numerical management system, which is a hallmark of modern governance. This paper points out the technical weaknesses of China's current numerical management system. In the process of target disaggregation, the national target cannot be fully disaggregated to local governments, sectors and enterprises without omissions. At the same time, governments at lower levels face pressure for reducing energy intensity that exceeds their respective jurisdictions. In the process of information feedback, information failure is inevitable due to statistical inaccuracy. Furthermore, the monitoring system is unable to correct all errors, and data verification plays a limited role in the examination system. To address these problems, we recommend that the government: use total energy consumption as the primary indicator of energy management; reform the accounting and reporting of energy statistics toward greater consistency, timeliness and transparency; clearly define the responsibility of the higher levels of government. - Highlights: •We assess drawbacks of China's numerical management system for energy intensity. •The national energy intensity target cannot be fully disaggregated without omissions. •Data distortion is due to failures in statistics, monitoring and examination system. •Lower-level governments’ ability to meet energy target is weaker than their pressure. •We provide three policy recommendations for China's policy-makers.

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund National Information Management System Reports

Science.gov (United States)

The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) National Information Management System collects information that provide a record of progress and accountability for the program at both the State and National level.

The Jordanian National Tourism System

OpenAIRE

Alrawadieh, Ziad

2009-01-01

Summary The study of National Tourism System in Jordan aims to shed some light on the structure of tourism industry in Jordan by illustrating the real resources present in the country, assessing the quality of services, and then exploring the management efficiency, ie. Governance dimension. The work has been based on the structure provided by the Resource-based Theory (RBT) which gives a significant weight to the existed resources in the territory and considers them as an important fac...

National Weather Service (NWS) Station Information System (SIS), Version 2

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — National Weather Service (NWS) Station Information System (SIS) contains observing station metadata from November 2016 to present. These are renditions are used for...

National Geothermal Data System Hub Deployment Timeline (Appendix E-1-d)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caudill, Christy [Executive Office of the State of Arizona (Arizona Geological Survey)

2015-12-20

Excel spreadsheet describing activity, spending, and development for the four data hubs (Arizona Geoloical Survey, Kentucky Geological Survey, Illinois Geological Survey, and Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology) serving data for the National Geothermal Data System under the State Contributions to the National Geothermal Data System Project.

Developing and maintaining national food safety control systems ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The establishment of effective food safety systems is pivotal to ensuring the safety of the national food supply as well as food products for regional and international trade. The development, structure and implementation of modern food safety systems have been driven over the years by a number of developments.

Alternative Monetary Systems in the Context of Managing the National Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vartsaba Vira I.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to investigate alternative monetary systems, each of which can be an algorithm for managing the national economy. By analyzing, systematizing and summarizing the scientific works of both foreign and domestic scientists, it is established that money is a phenomenon capable of managing the socio-economic relations in the time and space development coordinates following the institutionalized functioning algorithms. There justified the informational nature of money, i.e., that money is artificial information, a peculiar way of understanding social and economic relations, since the monetary subsystem is algorithmizing social and economic relations and is a derivative of the functioning and development of the national economy. The effectiveness of the national currency depends on the built-in algorithms of its functioning, which are realized in the model of the national economy. The study reflects the basic variations of potential alternative monetary systems. In particular, world money, the issuers of which are highly developed countries; S. Gesell’s “free money”; S. Sharapov’s “absolute money”; money secured by commodity values; private money; virtual money — electronic money and crypto currency, etc. Given that the socio-economic system of Ukraine as a synergetic system have been in a state of bifurcation for a long time, the article considers and proposes the most effective way of the development and functioning of the monetary system in the context of a harmonious interrelations with the national economy in time and space coordinates by direct emission of money for innovative projects of development of the national economy. Prospects for further research are the trans-scientific paradigm of managing the national economy.

Anything but engaged: user involvement in the context of a national electronic health record implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cresswell, Kathrin; Morrison, Zoe; Crowe, Sarah; Robertson, Ann; Sheikh, Aziz

2011-01-01

The absence of meaningful end user engagement has repeatedly been highlighted as a key factor contributing to 'failed' implementations of electronic health records (EHRs), but achieving this is particularly challenging in the context of national scale initiatives. In 2002, the National Health Service (NHS) embarked on a so-called 'top-down' national implementation strategy aimed at introducing commercial, centrally procured, EHRs into hospitals throughout England. We aimed to examine approaches to, and experiences of, user engagement in the context of a large-scale EHR implementation across purposefully selected hospital care providers implementing early versions of nationally procured software. We conducted a qualitative, case-study based, socio-technically informed, longitudinal investigation, purposefully sampling and collecting data from four hospitals. Our data comprised a total of 123 semi-structured interviews with users and managers, 15 interviews with additional stakeholders, 43 hours of non-participant observations of meetings and system use, and relevant organisation-specific documents from each case study site. Analysis was thematic, building on an existing model of user engagement that was originally developed in the context of studying the implementation of relatively simple technologies in commercial settings. NVivo8 software was used to facilitate coding. Despite an enduring commitment to the vision of shared EHRs and an appreciation of their potential benefits, meaningful end user engagement was never achieved. Hospital staff were not consulted in systems choice, leading to frustration; they were then further alienated by the implementation of systems that they perceived as inadequately customised. Various efforts to achieve local engagement were attempted, but these were in effect risk mitigation strategies. We found the role of clinical champions to be important in these engagement efforts, but progress was hampered by the hierarchical structures

Major Components of the National TRU Waste System Optimization Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moody, D.C.; Bennington, B.; Sharif, F.

2002-01-01

The National Transuranic (TRU) Program (NTP) is being optimized to allow for disposing of the legacy TRU waste at least 10 years earlier than originally planned. This acceleration will save the nation an estimated $713. The Department of Energy's (DOE'S) Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) has initiated the National TRU Waste System Optimization Project to propose, and upon approvaI, implement activities that produce significant cost saving by improving efficiency, thereby accelerating the rate of TRU waste disposal without compromising safety. In its role as NTP agent of change, the National TRU Waste System Optimization Project (the Project) (1) interacts closely with all NTP activities. Three of the major components of the Project are the Central Characterization Project (CCP), the Central Confirmation Facility (CCF), and the MobiIe/Modular Deployment Program.

A data automation system at Los Alamos National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Betts, S.E.; Schneider, C.M.; Pickrell, M.M.

2001-01-01

Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) has developed an automated computer program, Data Review Expert System (DRXS), for reviewing nondestructive assay (NDA) data. DRXS significantly reduces the data review time needed to meet characterization requirements for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is in the process of developing a computer program, Software System Logic for Intelligent Certification (SSLIC), to automate other tasks associa ted with characterization of Transuranic Waste (TRU) samples. LANL has incorporated a version of DRXS specific to LANL's isotopic data into SSLIC. This version of SSLIC was audited by the National Transuranic Program on October, 24, 2001. This paper will present the results of the audit, and discuss future plans for SSLIC including the integration on the INEELLANL developed Rule Editor.

Two methods for decreasing the flexibility gap in national energy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batas Bjelić, Ilija; Rajaković, Nikola; Krajačić, Goran; Duić, Neven

2016-01-01

More variable renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures create an additional flexibility gap and require a novel energy planning method for sustainable national energy systems. The firstly presented method uses only EnergyPLAN tool in order to decrease the flexibility gap in a national energy system. Generic Optimization program (GenOpt"®) is an optimization program for the minimization of a cost function that is evaluated by an external simulation program, such as EnergyPLAN, which was used as the second method in this research. Successful strategies to decrease the flexibility gap are verified on the case of the Serbian national energy system using two methods for its structure design: (1) the iterative method, based on heuristics and manual procedure of using only EnergyPLAN, and (2) the optimization method, based on soft-linking of EnergyPLAN with GenOpt"®. The latter method, named EPOPT (EnergyPlan-genOPT), found the solution for the structure of the sustainable national energy system at the total cost of 8190 M€, while the iterative method was only able to find solutions at the cost in the range of 8251–8598 M€ by targeting only one sustainability goal. The advantages of the EPOPT method are its accuracy, user-friendliness and minimal costs, are valuable for planners. - Highlights: • Heuristic and optimization method for sustainable national energy system structure. • The same input assumptions resulting in different energy system structure. • Both methods are successful in decreasing of the flexibility gap. • The EPOPT method advantages are in the speed, accuracy and planner comfort. • Advanced method for the sustainable national energy policy planning.

Higher education provision using systems thinking approach - case studies

Science.gov (United States)

Dhukaram, Anandhi Vivekanandan; Sgouropoulou, Cleo; Feldman, Gerald; Amini, Ardavan

2018-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexities involved in higher education provision and how systems thinking and socio-technical systems (STS) thinking approach can be used to understand the education ecosystem. Systems thinking perspective is provided using two case studies: the development of European Learner Mobility (EuroLM) service and the delivery of Enterprise System Management (ESM) course at the Birmingham City University, UK. The case studies present how systems thinking using STS approaches like applied organisational change and Cognitive Work Analysis can be used to capture a conceptual model of the education system for understanding the interactions and relationships between the people, technology, processes and the organisations. Using systems thinking perspective, EuroLM has developed a set of technical standards addressed to the European systems developers and ESM delivery ensures that students communicate and collaborate.

Rosatom's Crisis Response Centre within the national nuclear safety system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smirnov, S.N.; Komarovskij, A.V.; Moskalev, V.A.

2011-01-01

The Rosatom Corporation includes a number of subsidiaries associated with nuclear energy use as well as with the military, scientific, technological, nuclear and radiation safety management aspects. The Rosatom Corporation has a well-established and efficient industry-wide system of emergency prevention and response, whose purpose is to ensure safe functioning of the nuclear industry, protection of personnel, the public and nature from potential dangers; it is also a functional subsystem of the unified national system of emergency prevention and response. Overall management of the system is performed by Director General of the Rosatom Corporation, overall methodological management - by the Department of Licensing, Nuclear and Radiation Safety; everyday management of the emergency prevention and response system, round-the-clock monitoring and informational support - by the Rosatom Crisis and Response Centre (CRC). CRC acts as the national focal point for warning and communication in Russia, which provides continuous round-the-clock preparedness to cooperate with the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Centre using the formats of the ENATOM international emergency response system, similar national crisis response centres abroad [ru

Staff roster for 1979: National Center for Analysis of Energy Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-01-01

This publication is a compilation of resumes from the current staff of the National Center for Analysis of Energy Systems. The Center, founded in January 1976, is one of four areas within the Department of Energy and Environment at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The emphasis of programs at the Center is on energy policy and planning studies at the regional, national, and international levels, involving quantitative, interdisciplinary studies of the technological, economic, social, and environmental aspects of energy systems. To perform these studies the Center has assembled a staff of experts in the areas of science, technology, economics planning, health and safety, information systems, and quantitative analysis.

Adoption of E-Voting System to Enhance the Electoral Process in Developing Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agbesi, Samuel

2018-01-01

The literature reviewed confirm challenges in the electoral process in developing countries like Ghana. These challenges are mainly Institutional and Technical Challenges. The Institutional challenges come from the electoral commission, security agencies such as the Police, and civil society groups...... that are not well equipped to lend their full support to the electoral process, and also electoral challenges can be identified in three stages, pre-election, during an election, and after the election. And it is assumed that e-voting system when adopted will resolve this electoral challenges, but the system design...... should be approached from the Socio-technical perspective so that the system will not fail after implementation....

User’s manual to update the National Wildlife Refuge System Water Quality Information System (WQIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Chojnacki, Kimberly A.; Vishy, Chad J.; Hinck, Jo Ellen; Finger, Susan E.; Higgins, Michael J.; Kilbride, Kevin

2013-01-01

National Wildlife Refuges may have impaired water quality resulting from historic and current land uses, upstream sources, and aerial pollutant deposition. National Wildlife Refuge staff have limited time available to identify and evaluate potential water quality issues. As a result, water quality–related issues may not be resolved until a problem has already arisen. The National Wildlife Refuge System Water Quality Information System (WQIS) is a relational database developed for use by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff to identify existing water quality issues on refuges in the United States. The WQIS database relies on a geospatial overlay analysis of data layers for ownership, streams and water quality. The WQIS provides summary statistics of 303(d) impaired waters and total maximum daily loads for the National Wildlife Refuge System at the national, regional, and refuge level. The WQIS allows U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff to be proactive in addressing water quality issues by identifying and understanding the current extent and nature of 303(d) impaired waters and subsequent total maximum daily loads. Water quality data are updated bi-annually, making it necessary to refresh the WQIS to maintain up-to-date information. This manual outlines the steps necessary to update the data and reports in the WQIS.

Advances in complex societal, environmental and engineered systems

CERN Document Server

Essaaidi, Mohammad

2017-01-01

This book addresses recent technological progress that has led to an increased complexity in many natural and artificial systems. The resulting complexity research due to the emergence of new properties and spatio-temporal interactions among a large number of system elements - and between the system and its environment - is the primary focus of this text. This volume is divided into three parts: Part one focuses on societal and ecological systems, Part two deals with approaches for understanding, modeling, predicting and mastering socio-technical systems, and Part three includes real-life examples. Each chapter has its own special features; it is a self-contained contribution of distinguished experts working on different fields of science and technology relevant to the study of complex systems. Advances in Complex Systems of Contemporary Reality: Societal, Environmental and Engineered Systems will provide postgraduate students, researchers and managers with qualitative and quantitative methods for handling th...

National high-level waste systems analysis plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kristofferson, K.; Oholleran, T.P.; Powell, R.H.; Thiel, E.C.

1995-05-01

This document details the development of modeling capabilities that can provide a system-wide view of all US Department of Energy (DOE) high-level waste (HLW) treatment and storage systems. This model can assess the impact of budget constraints on storage and treatment system schedules and throughput. These impacts can then be assessed against existing and pending milestones to determine the impact to the overall HLW system. A nation-wide view of waste treatment availability will help project the time required to prepare HLW for disposal. The impacts of the availability of various treatment systems and throughput can be compared to repository readiness to determine the prudent application of resources or the need to renegotiate milestones

Approach for Establishing a National Nuclear Forensics System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jaekwang; Hyung, Sangcheol

2014-01-01

The increasing number could give rise to posing a potential threat to national infrastructure which is very vulnerable to radiological sabotage with the materials. International community has been emphasizing the importance of nuclear forensics through the Nuclear Security Summit process as a countermeasure against nuclear terrorism. Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism(GICNT) and nuclear forensics International Technology Working Group(ITWG) suggest the establishment of national nuclear forensics system which has a law enforcement for forensic management and maintenance of nuclear forensics database including nuclear material and other radioactive materials. We suggest the legal and institutional system through this paper in an effort to set up a multi expert group and the nuclear forensics DB which can contribute to effective Core capabilities

Approach for Establishing a National Nuclear Forensics System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jaekwang; Hyung, Sangcheol [Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

The increasing number could give rise to posing a potential threat to national infrastructure which is very vulnerable to radiological sabotage with the materials. International community has been emphasizing the importance of nuclear forensics through the Nuclear Security Summit process as a countermeasure against nuclear terrorism. Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism(GICNT) and nuclear forensics International Technology Working Group(ITWG) suggest the establishment of national nuclear forensics system which has a law enforcement for forensic management and maintenance of nuclear forensics database including nuclear material and other radioactive materials. We suggest the legal and institutional system through this paper in an effort to set up a multi expert group and the nuclear forensics DB which can contribute to effective Core capabilities.

The national system of nuclear material control development and challenges. Vol. 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badawy, I.

1996-01-01

This paper presents the major factors which may affect the implementation of the National System of Nuclear Material Accounting and Safeguards in Egypt. Developments of this National System-being a division of the Nuclear Regulatory Body in the country-are discussed. Also, recent requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency within the policy of strengthening its regime of international nuclear control are reviewed. The challenges facing the National System are indicated taking in consideration the anticipated growth in the nuclear field in Egypt by the year 2000 and after. 2 figs

The national system of nuclear material control development and challenges. Vol. 3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badawy, I [National Centre for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Control, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

1996-03-01

This paper presents the major factors which may affect the implementation of the National System of Nuclear Material Accounting and Safeguards in Egypt. Developments of this National System-being a division of the Nuclear Regulatory Body in the country-are discussed. Also, recent requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency within the policy of strengthening its regime of international nuclear control are reviewed. The challenges facing the National System are indicated taking in consideration the anticipated growth in the nuclear field in Egypt by the year 2000 and after. 2 figs.

36 CFR 261.56 - Use of vehicles off National Forest System roads.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Forest System roads. 261.56 Section 261.56 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT... National Forest System roads. When provided by an order, it is prohibited to possess or use a vehicle off National Forest System roads. [42 FR 2957, Jan. 14, 1977, as amended at 66 FR 3218, Jan. 12, 2001] ...

METHODOLOGY FOR ANALYSIS OF DECISION MAKING IN AIR NAVIGATION SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Volodymyr Kharchenko

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract. In the research of Air Navigation System as a complex socio-technical system the methodologyof analysis of human-operator's decision-making has been developed. The significance of individualpsychologicalfactors as well as the impact of socio-psychological factors on the professional activities of ahuman-operator during the flight situation development from normal to catastrophic were analyzed. On thebasis of the reflexive theory of bipolar choice the expected risks of decision-making by the Air NavigationSystem's operator influenced by external environment, previous experience and intentions were identified.The methods for analysis of decision-making by the human-operator of Air Navigation System usingstochastic networks have been developed.Keywords: Air Navigation System, bipolar choice, human operator, decision-making, expected risk, individualpsychologicalfactors, methodology of analysis, reflexive model, socio-psychological factors, stochastic network.

Biodiversity information system of the national parks administration of Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonidas Lizarraga

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction The Biodiversity Information System (BIS of the National Parks Administration of Argentina (NPA was launched in 2002, with the support of the Global Environmental Fund (GEF through the Biodiversity Conservation Project in Argentina. The BIS consists of a set of thematic databases and Geographic Information System (GIS set to support management decisions, and to provide information to the general public on the national protected areas of Argentina. Currently, the BIS-NPA progr...

Cultura tecnológica e redes sociotécnicas: um estudo sobre o portal da rede municipal de ensino de São Paulo Technological culture and sociotechnical networks: a study of the São Paulo municipal school system web portal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zulmira Medeiros

2008-04-01

change, situating in this context the educator and his/her appropriation of the technological culture. It then deals with the constitution of sociotechnical networks in the educational environment, having the Internet as a facilitator. In so doing, the text also touches on the issues of social networks and educational web portals. The fieldwork investigated the process of constitution of a sociotechnical network in a municipal school system. Observations, assessments, questionnaires, and interviews built a case study, in which it was possible to follow the creation, implementation, and use of an Internet portal as a new space for the communication, interaction, and exchange of information among the school community. The investigation centered on the figure of the educator and of his/her perception of this space. Based on the assumption that our relationship to technology entails a process of appropriation of the technological culture, which directly influences our actions in this networked society, we conclude that educational web portals can be used by schools in a productive way, in collaboration among the various agents of the educational community, once this process takes into account, amongst other factors, the technological culture of that particular community.

The national response system: Where do we go from here?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, R.C.

1993-01-01

The response to the Exxon Valdez incident showed that the nation needs to be better prepared to respond to a spill of that magnitude. In research conducted on the Valdez response, several inadequacies were noted in the National Response System (NRS). A key deficiency identified was the critical need for a standardized management system to direct the response effort more effectively and efficiently. The most pressing question for preparedness planners in improving the NRS is open-quotes where do we go from here?close quotes. In answering this question, planners must address another question, open-quotes how long is it going to take?close quotes. There has been wide spread failure to put existing knowledge into practice. To fill the management void identified in the NRS, it is imperative that a response management system be adopted as soon as possible. Once adopted, it can be modified and refined to provide a more effective response. The system proposed in this paper uses the sound management practices of an incident command system and modifies and/or expands these practices to fit onto the foundation built by the NRS. This response management system could be used for all spills from minor ones to large, catastrophic spills of national significance (SONS)

Rassyn: National radiological safety data management system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Domenech Nieves, Haydee; Valdez Ramso, Maryzury; Jova Sed, Luis; De la Fuente, Andres

1996-01-01

The paper describes the menu, screens data files, programs and classifications of the systems, for keeping a record of their institutions, inspection and authorization, the personal register of incidents and accidents, and the national inventory of radiation protection sources and equipment. By making use of it, a comparison can be made of existing data of a practice with its requirements and a questionnaire of the inspection, (Checking list), the development and results of the inspection can be reported on, the program and notification of the inspection can be prepared and the information on the radiological situation- whether at a national or at a territorial level- can be evaluated

A socio-technical system framework for risk-informed performance-based building regulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meacham, B.J.; Straalen, IJ.J. van

2017-01-01

Building regulatory systems have been evolving in recent decades, first with a transition to a functional or performance basis, and more recently with the introduction of new societal objectives, including those related to sustainability and climate change resiliency. Various policy and technical

Modelling Social-Technical Attacks with Timed Automata

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

David, Nicolas; David, Alexandre; Hansen, Rene Rydhof

2015-01-01

. In this paper we develop an approach towards modelling socio-technical systems in general and socio-technical attacks in particular, using timed automata and illustrate its application by a complex case study. Thanks to automated model checking and automata theory, we can automatically generate possible attacks...... in our model and perform analysis and simulation of both model and attack, revealing details about the specific interaction between attacker and victim. Using timed automata also allows for intuitive modelling of systems, in which quantities like time and cost can be easily added and analysed....

A Complex Systems Approach to Energy Poverty in sub-Saharan Africa: Nigeria as a Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Chidebell Emordi, Chukwunonso

Energy poverty is pervasive in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria, located in sub-Saharan West Africa, is the world's seventh largest oil exporting country and is a resource-rich nation. It however experiences the same levels of energy poverty as most of its neighboring countries. Attributing this paradox only to corruption or the "Dutch Disease", where one sector booms at the expense of other sectors of the economy, is simplistic and enervates attempts at reform. In addition, data on energy consumption is aggregated at the national level via estimates, disaggregated data is virtually non-existent. Finally, the wave of decentralization of vertically integrated national utilities sweeping the developing world has caught on in sub-Saharan Africa. However, little is known of the economic and social implications of these transitions within the unique socio-technical system of the region's electricity sector, especially as it applies to energy poverty. This dissertation proposes a complex systems approach to measuring and mitigating energy poverty in Nigeria due to its multi-dimensional nature. This is done via a three-fold approach: the first section of the study delves into causation by examining the governance institutions that create and perpetuate energy poverty; the next section proposes a context-specific minimum energy poverty line based on field data collected on energy consumption; and the paper concludes with an indicator-based transition management framework encompassing institutional, economic, social, and environmental themes of sustainable transition within the electricity sector. This work contributes to intellectual discourse on systems-based mitigation strategies for energy poverty that are widely applicable within the sub-Saharan region, as well as adds to the knowledge-base of decision-support tools for addressing energy poverty in its complexity.

Modeling of battery energy storage in the National Energy Modeling System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swaminathan, S.; Flynn, W.T.; Sen, R.K. [Sentech, Inc., Bethesda, MD (United States)

1997-12-01

The National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) developed by the U.S. Department of Energy`s Energy Information Administration is a well-recognized model that is used to project the potential impact of new electric generation technologies. The NEMS model does not presently have the capability to model energy storage on the national grid. The scope of this study was to assess the feasibility of, and make recommendations for, the modeling of battery energy storage systems in the Electricity Market of the NEMS. Incorporating storage within the NEMS will allow the national benefits of storage technologies to be evaluated.

Gateway National Weather Service (NWS) Service Records and Retention System (SRRS)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Service Records Retention System (SRRS) was developed to store weather observations, summaries, forecasts, warnings, and advisories provided by the U.S. National...

MODELING OF BEHAVIORAL ACTIVITY OF AIR NAVIGATION SYSTEM'S HUMAN-OPERATOR IN FLIGHT EMERGENCIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Volodymyr Kharchenko

2012-09-01

Full Text Available  The Air Navigation System is presented as a complex socio-technical system. The influence on decision-making by Air Navigation System's human-operator of the professional factors as well as the factors of non-professional nature has been defined. Logic determined and stochastic models of decision-making by the Air Navigation System's human-operator in flight emergencies have been developed. The scenarios of developing a flight situation in case of selecting either the positive or negative pole in accordance with the reflexive theory have been obtained. The informational support system of the operator in the unusual situations on the basis of Neural Network model of evaluating the efficiency of the potential alternative of flight completion has been built.

A Complexity Approach to Evaluating National Scientific Systems through International Scientific Collaborations

Science.gov (United States)

Zelnio, Ryan J.

2013-01-01

This dissertation seeks to contribute to a fuller understanding of how international scientific collaboration has affected national scientific systems. It does this by developing three methodological approaches grounded in social complexity theory and applying them to the evaluation of national scientific systems. The first methodology identifies…

28 CFR 16.74 - Exemption of National Security Division Systems-limited access.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... National Security Division Systems—limited access. (a) The following system of records is exempted from... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Exemption of National Security Division Systems-limited access. 16.74 Section 16.74 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PRODUCTION OR...

76 FR 37356 - 2011 Scientific Meeting of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System; Public...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-06-27

... animal and retail sampling methods for the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS... Web site at http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AntimicrobialResistance/National...] 2011 Scientific Meeting of the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System; Public Meeting...

The roles of users in shaping transitions to new energy systems

Science.gov (United States)

Schot, Johan; Kanger, Laur; Verbong, Geert

2016-05-01

Current government information policies and market-based instruments aimed at influencing the energy choices of consumers often ignore the fact that consumer behaviour is not fully reducible to individuals making rational conscious decisions all the time. The decisions of consumers are largely configured by shared routines embedded in socio-technical systems. To achieve a transition towards a decarbonized and energy-efficient system, an approach that goes beyond individual consumer choice and puts shared routines and system change at its centre is needed. Here, adopting a transitions perspective, we argue that consumers should be reconceptualized as users who are important stakeholders in the innovation process shaping new routines and enacting system change. We review the role of users in shifts to new decarbonized and energy-efficient systems and provide a typology of user roles.

Sandia National Laboratories, California Environmental Management System program manual.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, Barbara L.

2013-04-01

The Sandia National Laboratories, California (SNL/CA) Environmental Management System (EMS) Program Manual documents the elements of the site EMS Program. The SNL/CA EMS Program conforms to the International Standard on Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14001:2004 and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 436.1.

Sandia National Laboratories, California Environmental Management System program manual

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, Barbara L.

2014-04-01

The Sandia National Laboratories, California (SNL/CA) Environmental Management System (EMS) Program Manual documents the elements of the site EMS Program. The SNL/CA EMS Program conforms to the International Standard on Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14001:2004 and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 436.1.

NATIONAL PAYMENT SYSTEM ORGANIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDAMENTALS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. V. Zaytseva

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Rapid development of national payment systems (NPS is determined with such main factors as globalization of economic relations, application of newest information technologies, structural changes in the banking sphere and growth of the role of central banks. NPS should be considered as integral functional and institutional component of the country’s monetary system. Among main criteria that determine NPS development possibility there are its integrity, stability and flexibility. NPS may be regarded at as structure composed of the basic, organizational and regulating blocks.

Preliminary systems engineering evaluations for the National Ecological Observatory Network.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robertson, Perry J.; Kottenstette, Richard Joseph; Crouch, Shannon M.; Brocato, Robert Wesley; Zak, Bernard Daniel; Osborn, Thor D.; Ivey, Mark D.; Gass, Karl Leslie; Heller, Edwin J.; Dishman, James Larry; Schubert, William Kent; Zirzow, Jeffrey A.

2008-11-01

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is an ambitious National Science Foundation sponsored project intended to accumulate and disseminate ecologically informative sensor data from sites among 20 distinct biomes found within the United States and Puerto Rico over a period of at least 30 years. These data are expected to provide valuable insights into the ecological impacts of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species in these various biomes, and thereby provide a scientific foundation for the decisions of future national, regional, and local policy makers. NEON's objectives are of substantial national and international importance, yet they must be achieved with limited resources. Sandia National Laboratories was therefore contracted to examine four areas of significant systems engineering concern; specifically, alternatives to commercial electrical utility power for remote operations, approaches to data acquisition and local data handling, protocols for secure long-distance data transmission, and processes and procedures for the introduction of new instruments and continuous improvement of the sensor network. The results of these preliminary systems engineering evaluations are presented, with a series of recommendations intended to optimize the efficiency and probability of long-term success for the NEON enterprise.

A metric and frameworks for resilience analysis of engineered and infrastructure systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francis, Royce; Bekera, Behailu

2014-01-01

In this paper, we have reviewed various approaches to defining resilience and the assessment of resilience. We have seen that while resilience is a useful concept, its diversity in usage complicates its interpretation and measurement. In this paper, we have proposed a resilience analysis framework and a metric for measuring resilience. Our analysis framework consists of system identification, resilience objective setting, vulnerability analysis, and stakeholder engagement. The implementation of this framework is focused on the achievement of three resilience capacities: adaptive capacity, absorptive capacity, and recoverability. These three capacities also form the basis of our proposed resilience factor and uncertainty-weighted resilience metric. We have also identified two important unresolved discussions emerging in the literature: the idea of resilience as an epistemological versus inherent property of the system, and design for ecological versus engineered resilience in socio-technical systems. While we have not resolved this tension, we have shown that our framework and metric promote the development of methodologies for investigating “deep” uncertainties in resilience assessment while retaining the use of probability for expressing uncertainties about highly uncertain, unforeseeable, or unknowable hazards in design and management activities. - Highlights: • While resilience is a useful concept, its diversity in usage complicates its interpretation and measurement. • We proposed a resilience analysis framework whose implementation is encapsulated within resilience metric incorporating absorptive, adaptive, and restorative capacities. • We have shown that our framework and metric can support the investigation of “deep” uncertainties in resilience assessment or analysis. • We have discussed the role of quantitative metrics in design for ecological versus engineered resilience in socio-technical systems. • Our resilience metric supports

77 FR 25910 - National Trails System Act and Railroad Rights-of-Way

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-02

...] National Trails System Act and Railroad Rights-of-Way AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT. ACTION...) for rail banking and interim trail use under the National Trails System Act (Trails Act). New rules are adopted that require the parties jointly to notify the Board when an interim trail use/rail...

Brookhaven National Laboratory's multiparticle spectrometer drift chamber system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Etkin, A.; Kramer, M.A.

1979-01-01

A system of drift chambers is being built to replace the present spark chambers in the Brookhaven National Laboratory's Multiparticle Spectrometer. This system will handle a beam of approx. 3 million particles per second and have a resolution of 200 μm. A summary of the status of the chambers and the custom integrated circuits is presented. The data acquisition system is described. Prototype chambers have been built and tested with results that are consistent with the expected chamber properties

75 FR 23306 - Establishment of Advisory Committee on the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-03

... Advisory Committee on the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System AGENCY: Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Justice. ACTION: Notice of establishment of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) Advisory Board. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System...

National Ignition Facility environmental protection systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mintz, J.M.; Reitz, T.C.; Tobin, M.T.

1994-06-01

The conceptual design of Environmental Protection Systems (EPS) for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is described. These systems encompass tritium and activated debris handling, chamber, debris shield and general decontamination, neutron and gamma monitoring, and radioactive, hazardous and mixed waste handling. Key performance specifications met by EPS designs include limiting the tritium inventory to 300 Ci and total tritium release from NIF facilities to less than 10 Ci/yr. Total radiation doses attributable to NIF shall remain below 10 mrem/yr for any member of the general public and 500 mrem/yr for NIF staff. ALARA-based design features and operational procedures will, in most cases, result in much lower measured exposures. Waste minimization, improved cycle time and reduced exposures all result from the proposed CO2 robotic arm cleaning and decontamination system, while effective tritium control is achieved through a modern system design based on double containment and the proven detritiation technology

Characterization optimization for the National TRU waste system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basabilvazo, George T.; Countiss, S.; Moody, D.C.; Jennings, S.G.; Lott, S.A.

2002-01-01

On March 26, 1999, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) received its first shipment of transuranic (TRU) waste. On November 26, 1999, the Hazardous Waste Facility Permit (HWFP) to receive mixed TRU waste at WIPP became effective. Having achieved these two milestones, facilitating and supporting the characterization, transportation, and disposal of TRU waste became the major challenges for the National TRU Waste Program. Significant challenges still remain in the scientific, engineering, regulatory, and political areas that need to be addressed. The National TRU Waste System Optimization Project has been established to identify, develop, and implement cost-effective system optimization strategies that address those significant challenges. Fundamental to these challenges is the balancing and prioritization of potential regulatory changes with potential technological solutions. This paper describes some of the efforts to optimize (to make as functional as possible) characterization activities for TRU waste.

76 FR 8992 - National Trails System Act and Railroad Rights-of-Way

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-16

...] National Trails System Act and Railroad Rights-of-Way AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board, DOT. ACTION... procedures regarding the use of railroad rights-of-way for railbanking and interim trail use under the National Trails System Act (Trails Act). DATES: Comments are due by April 12, 2011; replies are due by May...

Understanding key factors affecting electronic medical record implementation: a sociotechnical approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Cucciniello, Maria; Lapsley, Irvine; Nasi, Greta; Pagliari, Claudia

2015-07-17

Recent health care policies have supported the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) but examples of failed ICT projects in this sector have highlighted the need for a greater understanding of the processes used to implement such innovations in complex organizations. This study examined the interaction of sociological and technological factors in the implementation of an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system by a major national hospital. It aimed to obtain insights for managers planning such projects in the future and to examine the usefulness of Actor Network Theory (ANT) as a research tool in this context. Case study using documentary analysis, interviews and observations. Qualitative thematic analysis drawing on ANT. Qualitative analyses revealed a complex network of interactions between organizational stakeholders and technology that helped to shape the system and influence its acceptance and adoption. The EMR clearly emerged as a central 'actor' within this network. The results illustrate how important it is to plan innovative and complex information systems with reference to (i) the expressed needs and involvement of different actors, starting from the initial introductory phase; (ii) promoting commitment to the system and adopting a participative approach; (iii) defining and resourcing new roles within the organization capable of supporting and sustaining the change and (iv) assessing system impacts in order to mobilize the network around a common goal. The paper highlights the organizational, cultural, technological, and financial considerations that should be taken into account when planning strategies for the implementation of EMR systems in hospital settings. It also demonstrates how ANT may be usefully deployed in evaluating such projects.

36th national systems conference on recent advancements in system modelling applications

CERN Document Server

Krishnan, J

2013-01-01

The book is a collection of peer-reviewed scientific papers submitted by active researchers in the 36th National System Conference (NSC 2012). NSC is an annual event of the Systems Society of India (SSI), primarily oriented to strengthen the systems movement and its applications for the welfare of humanity. A galaxy of academicians, professionals, scientists, statesman and researchers from different parts of the country and abroad are invited to attend the Conference. The book presents various research articles in the area of system modelling in all disciplines of engineering sciences as well as socio-economic systems. The book can be used as a tool for further research.

National Innovation Systems in Brazil, Russia, India, China and ...

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

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) have put innovation at the centre of their development strategies. In each case, however, there exists scant knowledge about the national innovation system and its impact on the economy. This grant will support a comparative analysis of innovation systems in the five ...

Status of Data Base Management Systems at Argonne National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuja, P.M.; Lindeman, A.J.

1978-01-01

Argonne National Laboratory has been using the System 2000 data base management system for the past two years. It has been used for technical as well as administrative applications. This paper describes some of the experience gained relating to advantages and disadvantages of data base management systems as well as of System 2000 in particular

Interaction between national and international information systems: The case of AGRIS and CARIS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samaha, E.K.

1990-05-01

The international cooperative information system as exemplified by IAEA's INIS and FAO's AGRIS and CARIS is based on national partnership. A unique type of interaction exists between this system and national systems. This paper outlines this relationship with examples drawn from AGRIS and CARIS, and looks at future prospects in the 1990s

National Ignition Facility Cryogenic Target Systems Interim Management Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warner, B

2002-01-01

Restricted availability of funding has had an adverse impact, unforeseen at the time of the original decision to projectize the National Ignition Facility (NIF) Cryogenic Target Handling Systems (NCTS) Program, on the planning and initiation of these efforts. The purpose of this document is to provide an interim project management plan describing the organizational structure and management processes currently in place for NCTS. Preparation of a Program Execution Plan (PEP) for NCTS has been initiated, and a current draft is provided as Attachment 1 to this document. The National Ignition Facility is a multi-megajoule laser facility being constructed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in the Department of Energy (DOE). Its primary mission is to support the Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) by performing experiments studying weapons physics, including fusion ignition. NIF also supports the missions of weapons effects, inertial fusion energy, and basic science in high-energy-density physics. NIF will be operated by LLNL under contract to the University of California (UC) as a national user facility. NIF is a low-hazard, radiological facility, and its operation will meet all applicable federal, state, and local Environmental Safety and Health (ES and H) requirements. The NCTS Interim Management Plan provides a summary of primary design criteria and functional requirements, current organizational structure, tracking and reporting procedures, and current planning estimates of project scope, cost, and schedule. The NIF Director controls the NIF Cryogenic Target Systems Interim Management Plan. Overall scope content and execution schedules for the High Energy Density Physics Campaign (SSP Campaign 10) are currently undergoing rebaselining and will be brought into alignment with resources expected to be available throughout the NNSA Future Years National Security Plan (FYNSP). The revised schedule for

DEVELOPMENT OF OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS FOR ADVANCED SMRs: THE ROLE OF COGNITIVE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacques Hugo; David Gertman

2014-04-01

Advanced small modular reactors (AdvSMRs) will use advanced digital instrumentation and control systems, and make greater use of automation. These advances not only pose technical and operational challenges, but will inevitably have an effect on the operating and maintenance (O&M) cost of new plants. However, there is much uncertainty about the impact of AdvSMR designs on operational and human factors considerations, such as workload, situation awareness, human reliability, staffing levels, and the appropriate allocation of functions between the crew and various automated plant systems. Existing human factors and systems engineering design standards and methodologies are not current in terms of human interaction requirements for dynamic automated systems and are no longer suitable for the analysis of evolving operational concepts. New models and guidance for operational concepts for complex socio-technical systems need to adopt a state-of-the-art approach such as Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE) that gives due consideration to the role of personnel. This approach we report on helps to identify and evaluate human challenges related to non-traditional concepts of operations. A framework - defining operational strategies was developed based on the operational analysis of Argonne National Laboratory’s Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II), a small (20MWe) sodium-cooled reactor that was successfully operated for thirty years. Insights from the application of the systematic application of the methodology and its utility are reviewed and arguments for the formal adoption of CSE as a value-added part of the Systems Engineering process are presented.

ERP systems in multi-national companies: support, maintenance and further development

OpenAIRE

Vymetal, Dominik; Matysek, Stanislav

2007-01-01

Multi-national companies introduce centralized or centrally administered ERP systems to cope with challenges of globalization. Introduction of such systems need careful planning. The planning should take not only the project and its deployment into consideration. Very important are the support and maintenance rules. The paper deals with rules used in case of a large multi-national company and resulting reaction of users in several subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe. The statistics obt...

Distributed Cognition on the road: Using EAST to explore future road transportation systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, Victoria A; Stanton, Neville A; Burnett, Gary; Hermawati, Setia

2018-04-01

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) are set to revolutionise the way in which we use our transportation system. However, we do not fully understand how the integration of wireless and autonomous technology into the road transportation network affects overall network dynamism. This paper uses the theoretical principles underlying Distributed Cognition to explore the dependencies and interdependencies that exist between system agents located within the road environment, traffic management centres and other external agencies in both non-connected and connected transportation systems. This represents a significant step forward in modelling complex sociotechnical systems as it shows that the principles underlying Distributed Cognition can be applied to macro-level systems using the visual representations afforded by the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST) method. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

76 FR 40338 - National Estuarine Research Reserve System

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-08

... coastal issues of the reserve related to water quality (non-point source pollution), invasive species... Reserve System AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.... ACTION: Notice of Approval and Availability for Revised Management Plans for ACE Basin, SC National...

78 FR 50038 - National Estuarine Research Reserve System

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-16

....33(c), the revised plan meets the reserve's requirements for compliance. The Wells Reserve Management... Reserve System AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.... ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period for the Wells, Maine National Estuarine Research Reserve...

National Strategy for Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products

Science.gov (United States)

This National Strategy for Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products sets forth a vision for ensuring that the federal regulatory system is prepared to efficiently assess the risks, if any, of the future products of biotechnology.

Nationality, Migration and Post-Marriage in Legal Systems of Different Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeid Barzegarkouchaksaraei

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Inside the eighteenth century a school known as "Unity System of Nationality" specified the hypothesis that ladies should discover the nationality with their spouses after marriage. Also, the nationality of men ought to be authorized on ladies. In any case, in the twentieth century, a development distinguished as women's liberation surfaced which brought about the framing of a school called known as "Arrangement of Nationality Independence". This school upheld the separating of marriage and nationality and accepted that ladies' nationality ought not change following marriage. These legitimate schools experienced distinctive signs in the positive laws and directions of various nations and it is some of the time hard to characterize them into an individual lawful school. The legitimate frameworks of nations can be classified into two groups: lawful frameworks pushing the burden of spouses' nationality on wives; lawful frameworks restricting the inconvenience of husbands' nationality on wives. This paper tries to involve distinctive frameworks of connection amongst marriage and nationality.

National oceanographic information system

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Desai, B.N.; Kunte, P.D.; Bhargava, R.M.S.

Ocean study is inherently interdisciplinary and therefore calls for a controlled and integrated approach for information generation, processing and decision making. In this context, Indian National Oceanographic Data Centre (INODC) of National...

Assessing the Potential for Renewable Energy on National Forest System Lands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2005-01-01

This technical report and CD for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (USFS), evaluates the potential for renewable energy resource development on National Forest System (NFS) lands. USFS can use the report findings to consider potential for development of solar and wind energy resources on NFS lands, in land management decisions. The Geographical Information System (GIS) based analysis resulted in the following findings: (1) Ninety-nine National Forest Units have high potential for power production from one or more of these solar and wind energy sources; and (2) Twenty National Forest Units in nine states have high potential for power production from two or more of these solar and wind energy sources.

Etoile Project : Social Intelligent ICT-System for very large scale education in complex systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bourgine, P.; Johnson, J.

2009-04-01

The project will devise new theory and implement new ICT-based methods of delivering high-quality low-cost postgraduate education to many thousands of people in a scalable way, with the cost of each extra student being negligible (Socially Intelligent Resource Mining system to gather large volumes of high quality educational resources from the internet; new methods to deconstruct these to produce a semantically tagged Learning Object Database; a Living Course Ecology to support the creation and maintenance of evolving course materials; systems to deliver courses; and a ‘socially intelligent assessment system'. The system will be tested on one to ten thousand postgraduate students in Europe working towards the Complex System Society's title of European PhD in Complex Systems. Étoile will have a very high impact both scientifically and socially by (i) the provision of new scalable ICT-based methods for providing very low cost scientific education, (ii) the creation of new mathematical and statistical theory for the multiscale dynamics of complex systems, (iii) the provision of a working example of adaptation and emergence in complex socio-technical systems, and (iv) making a major educational contribution to European complex systems science and its applications.

Hazardous waste systems analysis at Los Alamos National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urioste, J.

1997-01-01

Los Alamos National Laboratory produces routine and non-routine hazardous waste as a by-product of mission operations. Hazardous waste commonly generated at the Laboratory includes many types of laboratory research chemicals, solvents, acids, bases, carcinogens, compressed gases, metals, and other solid waste contaminated with hazardous waste. The Los Alamos National Laboratory Environmental Stewardship Office has established a Hazardous Waste Minimization Coordinator to specifically focus on routine and non-routine RCRA, TSCA, and other administratively controlled wastes. In this process, the Waste Minimization Coordinator has developed and implemented a systems approach to define waste streams, estimate waste management costs and develop plans to implement avoidance practices, and develop projects to reduce or eliminate the waste streams at the Laboratory. The paper describes this systems approach

Annual Forest Monitoring as part of Indonesia's National Carbon Accounting System

Science.gov (United States)

Kustiyo, K.; Roswintiarti, O.; Tjahjaningsih, A.; Dewanti, R.; Furby, S.; Wallace, J.

2015-04-01

Land use and forest change, in particular deforestation, have contributed the largest proportion of Indonesia's estimated greenhouse gas emissions. Indonesia's remaining forests store globally significant carbon stocks, as well as biodiversity values. In 2010, the Government of Indonesia entered into a REDD+ partnership. A spatially detailed monitoring and reporting system for forest change which is national and operating in Indonesia is required for participation in such programs, as well as for national policy reasons including Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV), carbon accounting, and land-use and policy information. Indonesia's National Carbon Accounting System (INCAS) has been designed to meet national and international policy requirements. The INCAS remote sensing program is producing spatially-detailed annual wall-to-wall monitoring of forest cover changes from time-series Landsat imagery for the whole of Indonesia from 2000 to the present day. Work on the program commenced in 2009, under the Indonesia-Australia Forest Carbon Partnership. A principal objective was to build an operational system in Indonesia through transfer of knowledge and experience, from Australia's National Carbon Accounting System, and adaptation of this experience to Indonesia's requirements and conditions. A semi-automated system of image pre-processing (ortho-rectification, calibration, cloud masking and mosaicing) and forest extent and change mapping (supervised classification of a 'base' year, semi-automated single-year classifications and classification within a multi-temporal probabilistic framework) was developed for Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM+. Particular attention is paid to the accuracy of each step in the processing. With the advent of Landsat 8 data and parallel development of processing capability, capacity and international collaborations within the LAPAN Data Centre this processing is being increasingly automated. Research is continuing into improved

From resistance to relational inertia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scheuer, John Damm

-network-theory as a point of departure a new concept – relational inertia – is developed. In this view change agents are theorized as translators who interacts with humans as well as non-humans (objects) in order to construct different types of socio-technical systems which are constructed to perform certain “wished...... inertia that had to be handled in order to succeed with constructing a performative socio-technical risk-management system in practice. Finally it is discussed how this view supplements the resistance to change view and other views with a focus on barriers to change....

76 FR 16795 - The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System Strategic Plan 2011-2015; Request for...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-25

...] The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System Strategic Plan 2011-2015; Request for Comments..., FDA requested comments on a document for the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System....fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AntimicrobialResistance/NationalAntimicrobialResistance...

Establishing a national safeguards system at the State level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez Lizana, Fernando

2001-01-01

This paper is the guide to a workshop designed to enable the participants to gain a better understanding of National Safeguards Systems and their functions. The workshop provides an opportunity to address the requirements for the organization that has to carry out the system functions at the State level in a country having a research reactor and ancillary laboratories

Guidelines for a national epidemiological surveillance system of thyroid cancer in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-10-01

At the request of the French Department of Health, a multidisciplinary Thyroid Cancer Committee, coordinated by the French Public Health Agency analysed the observed increase of thyroid cancer incidence in France and outlined the limits of the present case registration system. This Committee set up guidelines to improve the national surveillance system of thyroid cancer. The Committee analysed 4 models for the incidence survey, 3 of which have been excluded: a poor cost-benefit ratio precludes the constitution of a national registry dedicated to thyroid cancer; however, the Committee has recommended this model that still exists for thyroid cancer of the youth(under 19 years old), a national system base exclusively on pathological data would only be relevant after significant improvement of data collection, obligatory of all cases of thyroid cancer is inappropriate considering the fit prognosis of this cancer. A two level system is proposed with continuous registration of incident caes through the National Hospital Discharge survey, specific focused analysis of clinical and pathological data in case of a cluster alert in any given area. Whatever the system, it seems necessary to in general: propose a unique health registration number per patient, improve access to medical data, organize a national standardised collection of pathological findings, follow up the diagnosis practices related to thyroid cancer that have an impact on incidence rates. In conclusion, a reliable incidence survey and a follow up of diagnostic practices and of risk factors may provide a relevant model of epidemiological survey of thyroid cancers in France but such a system requires a long lasting strategic and financial involvement. (author)

Bridging the Gap Between the Social and the Technical: The Enrolment of Socio-Technical Information Architects to Cope with the Two-Level Model of EPR Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, Rune

2017-01-01

This is a project proposal derived from an urge to re-define the governance of ICT in healthcare towards regional and national standardization of the patient pathways. The focus is on a two-levelled approach for governing EPR systems where the clinicians' model structured variables and patient pathways. The overall goal is a patient centric EPR portfolio. This paper define and enlighten the need for establishing the socio- technical architect role necessary to obtain the capabilities of a modern structured EPR system. Clinicians are not capable to moderate between the technical and the clinical.

Proceedings of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Wind Energy Systems Engineering Workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dykes, K.

2014-12-01

The second National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Wind Energy Systems Engineering Workshop was held in Broomfield, Colorado, from January 29 to February 1, 2013. The event included a day-and-a-half workshop exploring a wide variety of topics related to system modeling and design of wind turbines and plants. Following the workshop, 2 days of tutorials were held at NREL, showcasing software developed at Sandia National Laboratories, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Glenn Laboratories, and NREL. This document provides a brief summary of the various workshop activities and includes a review of the content and evaluation results from attendees.

Bottom-up and middle-out approaches to electronic patient information systems: a focus on healthcare pathways

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ken Eason

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background A study is reported that examines the use of electronic health record (EHR systems in two UK local health communities.Objective These systems were developed locally and the aim of the study was to explore how well they were supporting the coordination of care along healthcare pathways that cross the organisational boundaries between the agencies delivering health care.Results The paper presents the findings for two healthcare pathways; the Stroke Pathway and a pathway for the care of the frail elderly in their own homes. All the pathways examined involved multiple agencies and many locally tailored EHR systems are in use to aid the coordination of care. However, the ability to share electronic patient information along the pathways was patchy. The development of systems that enabled effective sharing of information was characterised by sociotechnical system development, i.e. associating the technical development with process changes and organisational changes, with local development teams that drew on all the relevant agencies in the local health community and on evolutionary development, as experience grew of the benefits that EHR systems could deliver.Conclusions The study concludes that whilst there may be a role for a national IT strategy, for example, to set standards for systems procurement that facilitate data interchange, most systems development work needs to be done at a ‘middle-out’ level in the local health community, where joint planning between healthcare agencies can occur, and at the local healthcare pathway level where systems can be matched to specific needs for information sharing.

75 FR 39168 - Special Regulations; Areas of the National Park System

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-08

...; Areas of the National Park System AGENCY: National Park Service. ACTION: Final Rule. SUMMARY: The... activities. We removed historic wallpaper from the dining room and upstairs bedroom areas for cleaning... comment on this rule would be unnecessary and contrary to the public interest, we find under the...

Sandia National Laboratories, California Environmental Management System Program Manual.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2009-04-01

The Sandia National Laboratories, California (SNL/CA) Environmental Management System (EMS) Program Manual documents the elements of the site EMS Program. The SNL/CA EMS Program conforms to the International Standard on Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14001:2004 and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 450.1. Sandia National Laboratories, California (SNL/CA) has maintained functional environmental programs to assist with regulatory compliance for more than 30 years. During 2005, these existing programs were rolled into a formal environmental management system (EMS) that expands beyond the traditional compliance focus to managing and improving environmental performance and stewardship practices for all site activities. An EMS is a set of inter-related elements that represent a continuing cycle of planning, implementing, evaluating, and improving processes and actions undertaken to achieve environmental policy and goals. The SNL/CA EMS Program conforms to the International Standard for Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14001:2004 (ISO 2004). The site received ISO 14001 certification in September 2006. SNL/CA's EMS Program is applicable to the Sandia, Livermore site only. Although SNL/CA operates as one organizational division of the overall Sandia National Laboratories, the EMS Program is site-specific, with site-specific objectives and targets. SNL/CA (Division 8000) benefits from the organizational structure as it provides corporate level policies, procedures, and standards, and established processes that connect to and support elements of the SNL/CA EMS Program. Additionally, SNL/CA's EMS Program benefits from two corporate functional programs (Facilities Energy Management and Fleet Services Environmental programs) that maintain responsibility for energy management and fleet services for all Sandia locations. Each EMS element is further enhanced with site-specific processes and standards. Division 8000 has several groups operating at Sandia

Sandia National Laboratories, California Environmental Management System program manual.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, Barbara L.

2012-03-01

The Sandia National Laboratories, California (SNL/CA) Environmental Management System (EMS) Program Manual documents the elements of the site EMS Program. The SNL/CA EMS Program conforms to the International Standard on Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14001:2004and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 436.1. Sandia National Laboratories, California (SNL/CA) has maintained functional environmental programs to assist with regulatory compliance for more than 30 years. During 2005, these existing programs were rolled into a formal environmental management system (EMS) that expands beyond the traditional compliance focus to managing and improving environmental performance and stewardship practices for all site activities. An EMS is a set of inter-related elements that represent a continuing cycle of planning, implementing, evaluating, and improving processes and actions undertaken to achieve environmental policy and goals. The SNL/CA EMS Program conforms to the International Standard for Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14001:2004 (ISO 2004). The site first received ISO 14001 certification in September 2006 and recertification in 2009. SNL/CA's EMS Program is applicable to the Sandia, Livermore site only. Although SNL/CA operates as one organizational division of the overall Sandia National Laboratories, the EMS Program is site-specific, with site-specific objectives and targets. SNL/CA (Division 8000) benefits from the organizational structure as it provides corporate level policies, procedures, and standards, and established processes that connect to and support elements of the SNL/CA EMS Program. Additionally, SNL/CA's EMS Program benefits from two corporate functional programs (Facilities Energy and Water Resource Management and Fleet Services programs) that maintain responsibility for energy management and fleet services for all Sandia locations. Each EMS element is further enhanced with site-specific processes and standards. Division 8000 has

Sandia National Laboratories, California Environmental Management System Program Manual.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, Barbara L.

2011-04-01

The Sandia National Laboratories, California (SNL/CA) Environmental Management System (EMS) Program Manual documents the elements of the site EMS Program. The SNL/CA EMS Program conforms to the International Standard on Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14001:2004and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 450.1. Sandia National Laboratories, California (SNL/CA) has maintained functional environmental programs to assist with regulatory compliance for more than 30 years. During 2005, these existing programs were rolled into a formal environmental management system (EMS) that expands beyond the traditional compliance focus to managing and improving environmental performance and stewardship practices for all site activities. An EMS is a set of inter-related elements that represent a continuing cycle of planning, implementing, evaluating, and improving processes and actions undertaken to achieve environmental policy and goals. The SNL/CA EMS Program conforms to the International Standard for Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14001:2004 (ISO 2004). The site received ISO 14001 certification in September 2006. SNL/CA's EMS Program is applicable to the Sandia, Livermore site only. Although SNL/CA operates as one organizational division of the overall Sandia National Laboratories, the EMS Program is site-specific, with site-specific objectives and targets. SNL/CA (Division 8000) benefits from the organizational structure as it provides corporate level policies, procedures, and standards, and established processes that connect to and support elements of the SNL/CA EMS Program. Additionally, SNL/CA's EMS Program benefits from two corporate functional programs (Facilities Energy Management and Fleet Services programs) that maintain responsibility for energy management and fleet services for all Sandia locations. Each EMS element is further enhanced with site-specific processes and standards. Division 8000 has several groups operating at Sandia National Laboratories

Elements of a national emergency response system for nuclear accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickerson, M.H.

1987-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to suggest elements for a general emergency response system, employed at a national level, to detect, evaluate and assess the consequences of a radiological atmospheric release occurring within or outside of national boundaries. These elements are focused on the total aspect of emergency response ranging from providing an initial alarm to a total assessment of the environmental and health effects. Elements of the emergency response system are described in such a way that existing resources can be directly applied if appropriate; if not, newly developed or an expansion of existing resources can be employed. The major thrust of this paper is toward a philosophical discussion and general description of resources that would be required to implementation. If the major features of this proposal system are judged desirable for implementation, then the next level of detail can be added. The philosophy underlying this paper is preparedness - preparedness through planning, awareness and the application of technology. More specifically, it is establishment of reasonable guidelines including the definition of reference and protective action levels for public exposure to accidents involving nuclear material; education of the public, government officials and the news media; and the application of models and measurements coupled to computer systems to address a series of questions related to emergency planning, response and assessment. It is the role of a proven national emergency response system to provide reliable, quality-controlled information to decision makers for the management of environmental crises

76 FR 81911 - National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-29

...; and 7. Offer recommendations for integrating the land management planning process with landscape scale... National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule AGENCY: USDA Forest Service. ACTION: Notice of intent... Management Planning Rule (Committee). In accordance with provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act...

Laboratory directed research development annual report. Fiscal year 1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-05-01

This document comprises Pacific Northwest National Laboratory`s report for Fiscal Year 1996 on research and development programs. The document contains 161 project summaries in 16 areas of research and development. The 16 areas of research and development reported on are: atmospheric sciences, biotechnology, chemical instrumentation and analysis, computer and information science, ecological science, electronics and sensors, health protection and dosimetry, hydrological and geologic sciences, marine sciences, materials science and engineering, molecular science, process science and engineering, risk and safety analysis, socio-technical systems analysis, statistics and applied mathematics, and thermal and energy systems. In addition, this report provides an overview of the research and development program, program management, program funding, and Fiscal Year 1997 projects.

Economic Impacts of Future Changes in the Energy System - National Perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glynn, James; Fortes, Patrícia; Krook-Riekkola, Anna

2015-01-01

climate change. This chapter summarises modelling methodologies developed in the ETSAP community to assess economic impacts of decarbonising energy systems at a national level. The preceding chapter focuses on a global perspective. The modelling studies outlined here show that burden sharing rules...... and national revenue recycling schemes for carbon tax are critical for the long-term viability of economic growth and equitable engagement on combating climate change. Traditional computable general equilibrium models and energy systems models solved in isolation can misrepresent the long run carbon cost...

Discussion of the enabling environments for decentralised water systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Moglia, M; Alexander, K S; Sharma, A

2011-01-01

Decentralised water supply systems are becoming increasingly affordable and commonplace in Australia and have the potential to alleviate urban water shortages and reduce pollution into natural receiving marine and freshwater streams. Learning processes are necessary to support the efficient implementation of decentralised systems. These processes reveal the complex socio-technical and institutional factors to be considered when developing an enabling environment supporting decentralised water and wastewater servicing solutions. Critical to the technological transition towards established decentralised systems is the ability to create strategic and adaptive capacity to promote learning and dialogue. Learning processes require institutional mechanisms to ensure the lessons are incorporated into the formulation of policy and regulation, through constructive involvement of key government institutions. Engagement of stakeholders is essential to the enabling environment. Collaborative learning environments using systems analysis with communities (social learning) and adaptive management techniques are useful in refining and applying scientists' and managers' knowledge (knowledge management).

Achieving best practices in national standardisation. A benchmarking study of the national standardisation systems of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonner, P.; Potter, D.

2000-01-01

The national standardisation systems of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Italy have been benchmarked in a study that has sought to identify best practices for improving the performance of all participating bodies. This study has been funded by the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Finland with some assistance from the European Commission. It has involved a series of 27 interviews of some 120 participants at different levels in the standardisation and wider stakeholder communities. This report details the features of each national system and describes more than 50 best practices identified during the course of the study, together with more than 25 recommendations for further improvements that are drawn from best practices in other organisations. The report starts by identifying best practices in the national standardisation systems and their structures and processes before moving onto the participation in European and international standardisation, with their challenges of influence, management and delivery. The relationship with government, at national level and within European programmes, is then addressed before moving onto the financing of standardisation activities within each of the national systems. The focus then starts moving more towards the national standards bodies (SFS,SIS,DS,UNI/CEI) by looking into issues relating to publications and onto customer services, sales and marketing. Management issues and the benefits of a long term strategic approach are then covered before moving on to the issues associated with communications and outreach, not only to those outside of the standards community but also those within it and on its edges. Moreover, trends during the last five years and those expected within the next two are dealt with briefly. A number of recommendations are common to all of the participating bodies. More detailed recommendations and suggested priorities have been made privately in a further set of reports delivered to the participating bodies

78 FR 79005 - Charter Renewal for the National Park System Advisory Board

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-27

... amended. Certification: I hereby certify that the renewal of the National Park System Advisory Board is... of the Interior by the National Park Service Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), and other statutes...

Methodology and key determinants of building an efficient national innovation system of a country

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viktoriia Gurova

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper represents a research of theoretical principles for determining national innovation systems, as well as analyzes performance results displayed by national innovation systems of the leading countries in the global innovation space, while also describing characteristic features thereof and formulating recommendations for NIS build-up based on the same, implementation of which should serve as the basis of the national innovation system effective performance. It has been determined that at the current stage of global economy development such factors as science, technology and innovation play an important role in formation of a competitive economy. It has been established that the overall funding level with respect to science proves one of the key characteristics of an innovative country, and therefore NIS performance analysis was carried out based on the national expenditure indicator regarding research and development as well as on the country's position in the Global Innovation Index. The analysis carried out showed that the NISs of certain countries were more efficient than those of the others due to peculiarities of the innovative system elements that can be further referred to as determinants of building an effective national innovation system of a country

The stuttering energy transition in Germany: Wind energy policy and feed-in tariff lock-in

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nordensvärd, Johan; Urban, Frauke

2015-01-01

This article aims to examine whether the formulation of specific low carbon policy such as the feed-in tariff for wind energy in Germany can partly be a barrier to a comprehensive energy transition (Energiewende). Despite their short and medium-term success, these policies could create a long-term lock-in if they are formulated in a way that leads to a stagnation of systems innovation. The research finds that while the share of wind energy has increased rapidly over time, the feed-in-tariff and other low carbon policies and incentives have not been sufficient to achieve a socio-technical regime transition in Germany yet. We suggest that the German feed-in-tariff has incorporated wind energy (a niche-innovation) and wind energy actors (pathway newcomers) into a slightly modified socio-technical regime that is rather similar to the earlier ‘fossil fuel dominant’ socio-technical regime. -- Highlights: •Feed-in tariff favours specific wind innovation, rather than energy transition. •Wind energy incorporated into a slightly modified socio-technical regime. •The outdated grid infrastructure is a bottleneck for the wind energy sector

78 FR 68811 - National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-15

... following business will be conducted: 1. Present finalized recommendations; 2. Look back on what has been... National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of... Management Planning Rule will meet in Arlington, VA, on November 21, 2013. Attendees may also participate via...

77 FR 50985 - National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-23

... following business will be conducted: (1) Determine the scope and initial tasks of the committee, (2) ethics... National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of... Management Planning Rule will meet in Washington, DC. The committee operates in compliance with the Federal...

Save Maritime Systems Testbed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bolles André

2014-06-01

Full Text Available ‘Safe voyage from berth to berth’ — this is the goal of all e-navigation strains, driven by new technologies, new infrastructures and new organizational structures on bridge, on shore as well as in the cloud. To facilitate these efforts suitable engineering and safety/risk assessment methods have to be applied. Understanding maritime transportation as a sociotechnical system allows system engineering methods to be applied. Formal and simulation based verification and validation of e-navigation technologies are important methods to obtain system safety and reliability. The modelling and simulation toolset HAGGIS provides methods for system specification and formal risk analysis. It provides a modelling framework for processes, fault trees and generic hazard specification and a physical world and maritime traffic simulation system. HAGGIS is accompanied by the physical test bed LABSKAUS which implements a reference port and waterway. Additionally, it contains an experimental Vessel Traffic Services (VTS implementation and a mobile integrated bridge enabling in situ experiments for technology evaluation, testing, ground research and demonstration. This paper describes an integrated seamless approach for developing new e-navigation technologies starting with virtual simulation based assessment and ending in physical real world demonstrations.

The Dynamics of the Economic-Financial Performance of the Corporate System of National Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riabokin Taras V.

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The article is aimed at analyzing the dynamics of the economic-financial performance of the national corporate system, identifying trends in its development. An allocation of the corporate system as a structured object and its research will contribute to understanding of the dynamic properties of the corporate system itself, its actors, and the economy as a whole. An analysis of the dynamics of the economic-financial performance of the corporate system of national economy has been carried out. The national accounts of Ukraine for 2008-2015, in particular, in the sectors of both non-financial and financial corporations as the major subsystems of the corporate system, have been analyzed. Trends as to releasing goods and services, intermediate consumption, gross value added, and net value added, incomes, savings, net lending (+, and net borrowing (-, have been highlighted. Future researches should address a deeper analysis of the performance indicators of individual corporations, the corporate structures, constituting a part of the core corporate system, including the financial core, as well as efficiency of the State administration of national economy

Transitioning to low carbon communities-from behaviour change to systemic change: Lessons from Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moloney, Susie; Horne, Ralph E.; Fien, John

2010-01-01

Transitioning to low carbon communities requires an understanding of community practices and resultant emissions, as well as the technologies, infrastructures and institutions associated with and accessed by communities. Moreover, it requires an understanding of the connections between these integrated system components, its dynamics, a defined transition and potential 'levers' involved in 'transitioning'. This paper accepts the notion that 'levers' include programmes designed to achieve practice or behaviour change in households which result in less carbon intensive lifestyles, and focuses on the factors that shape human behaviour and influence householder energy consumption. Research to date by the authors and others indicates that a comprehensive socio-technical framework that considers both individual psychological factors as well as the systems, standards and norms under which individuals operate is fundamental to the development of successful strategies to shift towards low carbon communities. A database has been compiled of over one hundred local programmes aimed at realising carbon neutral communities across Australia largely through approaches to behaviour change. This paper presents the findings of an analysis of these programmes, particularly with regard to the extent to which they take account of a socio-technical framework or understanding of domestic consumption behaviours and whether they are aware of or aim to influence changing standards and expectations around consumption practices within the home. While a number of exemplary community-based programmes adopt an integrated approach to addressing both technical and behavioural dimensions in the shift to low carbon communities, it was found that most fail to take sufficient account of the systems, standards and norms shaping consumption. Conclusions include directions for policy and programme design based on the study findings.

National innovation system of Russia: state of the art and prospects of development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viktoriya K. Makhortova

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objective to characterize the national innovative system of Russia to identify its main features opportunities threats strengths and weaknesses the causes for the lag in innovation to formulate development priorities as well as the key principles for improving the national innovation system of Russia. Methods in this work were applied scientific methods of cognition generalization of the logical method analysis method of economic analysis method of expert estimations. Results SWOT analysis is compiled for the national innovation system of Russia its characteristic features and peculiarities are determined. The necessity of optimization and improvement of construction principles of the national innovation system of Russia is proved. Recommendations are given. Scientific novelty new recommendations for state innovation management are given and the existing ones are improved. In addition the proposed list of principles is grouped by significance. Practical value the possibility to optimize measures of the state innovation management in Russia to accelerate its exit from unsustainable status in this field and to strengthen the growth of innovative development.

Sociotechnical Human Factors Involved in Remote Online Usability Testing of Two eHealth Interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wozney, Lori M; Baxter, Pamela; Fast, Hilary; Cleghorn, Laura; Hundert, Amos S; Newton, Amanda S

2016-02-03

Research in the fields of human performance technology and human computer interaction are challenging the traditional macro focus of usability testing arguing for methods that help test moderators assess "use in context" (ie, cognitive skills, usability understood over time) and in authentic "real world" settings. Human factors in these complex test scenarios may impact on the quality of usability results being derived yet there is a lack of research detailing moderator experiences in these test environments. Most comparative research has focused on the impact of the physical environment on results, and rarely on how the sociotechnical elements of the test environment affect moderator and test user performance. Improving our understanding of moderator roles and experiences with conducting "real world" usability testing can lead to improved techniques and strategies To understand moderator experiences of using Web-conferencing software to conduct remote usability testing of 2 eHealth interventions. An exploratory case study approach was used to study 4 moderators' experiences using Blackboard Collaborate for remote testing sessions of 2 different eHealth interventions. Data collection involved audio-recording iterative cycles of test sessions, collecting summary notes taken by moderators, and conducting 2 90-minute focus groups via teleconference. A direct content analysis with an inductive coding approach was used to explore personal accounts, assess the credibility of data interpretation, and generate consensus on the thematic structure of the results. Following the convergence of data from the various sources, 3 major themes were identified: (1) moderators experienced and adapted to unpredictable changes in cognitive load during testing; (2) moderators experienced challenges in creating and sustaining social presence and untangling dialogue; and (3) moderators experienced diverse technical demands, but were able to collaboratively troubleshoot with test users

Review of the FAA 1982 National Airspace System plan

Science.gov (United States)

1982-08-01

The National Airspace (NAS) Plan outlines the Federal Aviation Administration's most recent proposals for modernizing the facilities and equipment that make up the air traffic control (ATC) system. This review of the NAS Plan examines the Plan at two...

Evaluation of a new method for assessing resilience in urban aquatic social-ecological systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan P. Moores

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Urban aquatic social-ecological systems (SESs comprise socio-technical elements, the built environment and its management, and natural elements (water bodies that provide ecosystem services. Changed hydrology, poor stormwater quality, and the modification of water bodies associated with urban development brings challenges for maintaining ecosystem services provision in an urban aquatic SES. Water sensitive urban design (WSUD has emerged as a form of development that aims to better support the provision of ecosystem services. Resilience concepts provide a basis for discriminating between WSUD and conventional development approaches. Building on an existing decision support system, a new, preliminary method for assessing resilience based on the combination of the socio-technical capacity (STC and natural capacity (NC of urban aquatic SESs has been developed. The STC score reflects a multicriteria assessment of the characteristics of stormwater infrastructure and management. The NC score reflects an assessment of the state and trajectory of biophysical attributes of the system associated with the provision of ecosystem services. By modeling a series of future urban development scenarios in Auckland, New Zealand, the method has been shown to discriminate between scenario outcomes within constraints associated with the biophysical and built characteristics modeled. Results are consistent with key concepts of resilience theory: outcomes are grouped in regimes and exhibit hysteresis, with the ability of WSUD to improve the state of the system strongly influenced by the presence of legacy effects. The method provides a source of additional, valuable information that complements other indicators by providing a snapshot of the interaction of catchment management effort and outcomes and indicating the likely future state of the SES. Recognizing that the method is limited to providing a relative assessment of resilience and adopts certain simplistic

The 1978 National Fire-Danger Rating System: technical documentation

Science.gov (United States)

Larry S. Bradshaw; John E. Deeming; Robert E. Burgan; Jack D. Cohen

1984-01-01

The National Fire-Danger Rating System (NFDRS), implemented in 1972, has been revised and reissued as the 1978 NFDRS. This report describes the full developmental history of the NFDRS, including purpose, technical foundation, and structure. Includes an extensive bibliography and appendixes.

A comparative analysis of national food recall systems

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Gaetano Liuzzo

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Food recall and withdrawal is a fundamental tool for risk management and different countries stated the mandatory application of a system for food; the present work is an analysis of different systems applied in different countries. The main objective of analysed systems is the consumer’s health protection through an audit system and the application of system to rapidly recall/withdraw food on the part of producers. The comparative analysis of different national systems [i.e. European Union (EU, Australia, Canada, US and China] shows differences both of the terminological and legal aspects; the words recall and withdrawal have different meaning in EU legislation than in other counties’ legislations; from a legal point of view, two main recall/withdrawal systems could be identified: a mandatory one (EU and China and a voluntary one (USA, Canada and Australia; all the investigated systems have a co-operative approach between authority and food business operator, but different functions on their respective roles could be identified.

Mobile Systems Development: An Empirical Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hosbond, J. H.

As part of an ongoing study on mobile systems development (MSD), this paper presents preliminary findings of research-in-progress. The debate on mobility in research has so far been dominated by mobile HCI, technological innovations, and socio-technical issues related to new and emerging mobile...... work patterns. This paper is about the development of mobile systems.Based on an on-going empirical study I present four case studies of companies each with different products or services to offer and diverging ways of establishing and sustaining a successful business in the mobile industry. From...... the case studies I propose a five-layered framework for understanding the structure and segmentation of the industry. This leads to an analysis of the different modes of operation within the mobile industry, exemplified by the four case studies.The contribution of this paper is therefore two-fold: (1) I...

Energy-efficient mortgages and home energy rating systems: A report on the nation`s progress

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farhar, B.C.; Eckert, J.

1993-09-01

This report summarizes progress throughout the nation in establishing voluntary programs linking home energy rating systems (HERS) and energy-efficient mortgages (EEMs). These programs use methods for rating the energy efficiency of new and existing homes and predicting energy cost savings so lenders can factor in energy cost savings when underwriting mortgages. The programs also encourage lenders to finance cost-effective energy-efficiency improvements to existing homes with low-interest mortgages or other instruments. The money saved on utility bills over the long term can more than offset the cost of such energy-efficiency improvements. The National Collaborative on HERS and EEMs recommended that this report be prepared.

Visitor Assessment of the Mandatory Alternative Transportation System at Zion National Park

Science.gov (United States)

Mace, Britton L.; Marquit, Joshua D.; Bates, Scott C.

2013-11-01

Transportation infrastructure in national parks has historically been designed for the automobile. With more vehicles in the parks, visitors found themselves in circumstances more reminiscent of a city than a park. Traffic jams, overcrowding, illegal parking, horn honking, and idling vehicles became common, creating stress and contributing to air and noise pollution, the very things visitors were hoping to get away from. Park managers began searching for alternatives, including shuttle systems. Many national parks have implemented optional shuttle systems, but relatively few have completely closed roads to vehicles, transporting visitors on mandatory shuttles. Zion National Park instituted a mandatory shuttle system in May 2000 to relieve crowding and congestion in the main canyon and to protect natural resources. Taking a longitudinal approach, attributes of the shuttle (e.g., crowding, accessibility, freedom, efficiency, preference, and success) were assessed with experiential park factors (e.g., scenic beauty, naturalness, solitude, tranquility, air quality, and soundscape) in 2000, 2003, and 2010 by surveying shuttle-riding park visitors. While visitors initially reported a few reservations about the shuttle system, by 2003, the majority rated the system successful. Ratings of all shuttle-related variables, except crowding, improved over the decade. Improvements were greatest for freedom, accessibility, and efficiency. Multiple regression found overall shuttle success to be mediated by preference, freedom, accessibility, efficiency, and comfort. Experiential variables assessing park conditions followed a similar pattern, with improved ratings as the decade progressed. Results provide important insights into the visitor experience with mandatory alternative shuttle systems in national parks.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road: Websites as Catalysts for National Development

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Pearson Broome

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Small-island developing states (SIDS enhance their competitiveness by advertising development initiatives that promote and encourage direct foreign inward investment opportunities in major markets. Failure to make use of information communication technologies (ICTs can undermine national development initiatives with transformative potential. Based on this logic, some Caribbean governments have followed international best practices of businesses and have moved towards the creation of websites and the establishment of portals or gateway sites on the World Wide Web to announce their presence.  One of the practical implications of such initiatives is based on the assumption that once websites are built, persons will come. Although for many, the development of a website appears to be an innocuous endeavour this mistaken perception in most cases has led to several sites being designed and commissioned as technical projects mostly employing techno-centric approaches. These policies often ignore the accompanying important socio-technical institutional considerations, such as the importance of timely and accurate information to potential business clients or prospective developers, language capabilities, and a range of standards, guidelines, rules and legislative changes. The central thesis of this conceptual paper is that if member states of the region properly conceptualise and design websites and portals they can be used to achieve strategic national and international development objectives of egovernance in its broadest meaning. The arguments are intended to stimulate thought among policy makers and the private sector alike in the Caribbean with a view to bringing about change that will promote sustainable development.

Aquaculture Thesaurus: Descriptors Used in the National Aquaculture Information System.

Science.gov (United States)

Lanier, James A.; And Others

This document provides a listing of descriptors used in the National Aquaculture Information System (NAIS), a computer information storage and retrieval system on marine, brackish, and freshwater organisms. Included are an explanation of how to use the document, subject index terms, and a brief bibliography of the literature used in developing the…

Actualization the risks local payment systems on the present stage of the national payment system

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Korobeinikova Olga Mikhailovna

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In the article presented and estimated systematically possibilities of minimization the general and specific risks local payment systems and their participants, which actualized due to the activation of formation of national payment system in Russia amid increasing global political and financial risks and the need for economic security.

National information network and database system of hazardous waste management in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma Hongchang [National Environmental Protection Agency, Beijing (China)

1996-12-31

Industries in China generate large volumes of hazardous waste, which makes it essential for the nation to pay more attention to hazardous waste management. National laws and regulations, waste surveys, and manifest tracking and permission systems have been initiated. Some centralized hazardous waste disposal facilities are under construction. China`s National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) has also obtained valuable information on hazardous waste management from developed countries. To effectively share this information with local environmental protection bureaus, NEPA developed a national information network and database system for hazardous waste management. This information network will have such functions as information collection, inquiry, and connection. The long-term objective is to establish and develop a national and local hazardous waste management information network. This network will significantly help decision makers and researchers because it will be easy to obtain information (e.g., experiences of developed countries in hazardous waste management) to enhance hazardous waste management in China. The information network consists of five parts: technology consulting, import-export management, regulation inquiry, waste survey, and literature inquiry.

Evaluating the Impact of Unrestricted Operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the National Airspace System

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) can be used for scientific, emergency management, and defense missions, among others. The existing federal air regulations,...

Quality system in Malaysian National Tissue Bank

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Go Boon Thong; Firdaus, M. N.; Abd Rani Shamsudin

1999-01-01

Quality System in Malaysian National Tissue Bank is based on the Quality Manual which has been drawn up by the chairman, who is the Dean, School of Medical Sciences. The Quality Manual include general standard for Tissue Banking in University Science of Malaysia which describe and explain a set of general standard similar to the EATB standard. The primary aim of the quality system is to produce a safe and effective tissue graft for successful clinical use and to ensure the safety of tissue bank operators. The Quality Manual also related the role of a Technical Manual, which explain the standard of technical aspect of tissue bank in a Quality Assurance. The safe working environment and Good Laboratory Practice is highlight in Quality System. Documentation of tissue bank activities is the key to the administration to tissue bank. Finally Quality System in tissue banking will never be complete without a Tissue Bank Auditing System which allow the tissue bank coordinator and staff to look into the problem and further enhance the progress of the tissue bank

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project FY16 Annual Review

Science.gov (United States)

Grindle, Laurie; Hackenberg, Davis

2016-01-01

This presentation gives insight into the research activities and efforts being executed in order to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system. This briefing is to inform others of the UAS-NAS FY16 progress and future directions.

5th CIRP international conference on industrial product-service systems

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

“An Industrial Product-Service System is characterized by the integrated and mutually  determined planning, development, provision and use of product and service shares including its immanent software components in Business-to-Business applications and represents a knowledge-intensive socio-technical system.” – Meier, Roy, Seliger (2010) Since the first conference in 2009, the CIRP International Conference on Industrial Product-Service Systems has become a well-established international forum for the review and discussion of advances, research results and industrial improvements. Researchers from all over the world have met at previous IPS² conferences in Cranfield (2009), Linköping (2010), Braunschweig (2011) and Tokyo (2012). In 2013, the 5th CIRP International Conference on Industrial Product-Service Systems is held in Bochum. Important topics of IPS² research presented at the conference are: planning and development, sustainability, business models, operation, service engineering, knowledge mana...

Strategic vectors of transformational shifts in the national tourism system of Ukraine

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Alla OKHRIMENKO

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The article determines transformational factors, which influence a national tourism system (NTS of Ukraine and proposes strategical vectors of its development. Research of the NTS as an economic system is a pre-condition for formation of strategic vectors of development. Transformational driving forces principally change scales, components, and proportions between external and internal factors of development of the NTS. Correspondingly, the mentioned processes objectively encourage modernization of the national tourism system and application of innovative managerial methods. The following Strategical vectors of transformational shifts in the NTS were grounded: 1 Safety of tourists and investors; 2 The normative and legislative framework of the NTS development; 3 Development of infrastructure of the NTS component; 4 Human resources development; 5 A marketing policy of the NTS promotion; 6 Ecological and cultural policies. Their implementation will improve efficiency and competitiveness of the NTS and the national economy.

Nation vs. region: tensions in Venezuela’s post-collapse party system

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Iñaki SAGARZAZU

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The collapse of the Venezuelan party system stirred controversy because it was considered one of the most consolidated political systems of Latin America. Several studies have analyzed the causes that contributed to this collapse. None, however, have studied the restructuring process that happened later. Through a study of all the electoral processes since 1958 this article shows the existence of tensions between forces that promote nationalization and regionalization strategies. With this analysis it’s possible to understand that partisan strategy has been essential in the nationalization/regionalization process of the different post-collapse parties.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project KDP-C Review

Science.gov (United States)

Grindle, Laurie; Sakahara, Robert; Hackenberg, Davis; Johnson, William

2017-01-01

The topics discussed are the UAS-NAS project life-cycle and ARMD thrust flow down, as well as the UAS environments and how we operate in those environments. NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, CA, is leading a project designed to help integrate unmanned air vehicles into the world around us. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System project, or UAS in the NAS, will contribute capabilities designed to reduce technical barriers related to safety and operational challenges associated with enabling routine UAS access to the NAS. The project falls under the Integrated Systems Research Program office managed at NASA Headquarters by the agency's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. NASA's four aeronautics research centers - Armstrong, Ames Research Center, Langley Research Center, and Glenn Research Center - are part of the technology development project. With the use and diversity of unmanned aircraft growing rapidly, new uses for these vehicles are constantly being considered. Unmanned aircraft promise new ways of increasing efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing safety and saving lives 460265main_ED10-0132-16_full.jpg Unmanned aircraft systems such as NASA's Global Hawks (above) and Predator B named Ikhana (below), along with numerous other unmanned aircraft systems large and small, are the prime focus of the UAS in the NAS effort to integrate them into the national airspace. Credits: NASA Photos 710580main_ED07-0243-37_full.jpg The UAS in the NAS project envisions performance-based routine access to all segments of the national airspace for all unmanned aircraft system classes, once all safety-related and technical barriers are overcome. The project will provide critical data to such key stakeholders and customers as the Federal Aviation Administration and RTCA Special Committee 203 (formerly the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) by conducting integrated, relevant system-level tests to adequately address

Integrated Display and Environmental Awareness System - System Architecture Definition

Science.gov (United States)

Doule, Ondrej; Miranda, David; Hochstadt, Jake

2017-01-01

The Integrated Display and Environmental Awareness System (IDEAS) is an interdisciplinary team project focusing on the development of a wearable computer and Head Mounted Display (HMD) based on Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components for the specific application and needs of NASA technicians, engineers and astronauts. Wearable computers are on the verge of utilization trials in daily life as well as industrial environments. The first civil and COTS wearable head mounted display systems were introduced just a few years ago and they probed not only technology readiness in terms of performance, endurance, miniaturization, operability and usefulness but also maturity of practice in perspective of a socio-technical context. Although the main technical hurdles such as mass and power were addressed as improvements on the technical side, the usefulness, practicality and social acceptance were often noted on the side of a broad variety of humans' operations. In other words, although the technology made a giant leap, its use and efficiency still looks for the sweet spot. The first IDEAS project started in January 2015 and was concluded in January 2017. The project identified current COTS systems' capability at minimum cost and maximum applicability and brought about important strategic concepts that will serve further IDEAS-like system development.

Factors affecting the utilisation of electronic medical records system ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Malawi Medical Journal 29 (3): September 2017. Electronic medical ... care, as they enable storage of large amounts of data and ... EMRs. This study assessed factors that affect the use of EMRs in Malawi, particularly at Queen Elizabeth and Kamuzu Central ..... paperless hospitals in Norway : A socio-technical perspective.

78 FR 49479 - Updates to List of National System of Marine Protected Areas MPAs

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-14

... System of Marine Protected Areas MPAs AGENCY: National Marine Protected Areas Center (MPA Center), Office... Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). SUMMARY: The National System of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) provides a... Protected Areas Center (MPA Center). The managing agencies listed above were then asked to make a final...

National audit of a system for rectal contact brachytherapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)