WorldWideScience

Sample records for venue management users

  1. Operations management and reform combining with the principles of public service of the university sports venue

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Keyi Jin

    2015-01-01

    Due to the low utilization rate of opening-use, backward management and unreasonable configurations, university sports venue cannot produce some economic benefits, which makes the operating expenses in college stadiums extremely tense. Even sometimes it comes to the precarious situation. Therefore, there should be an operations management reform for college sports venue. Firstly, the article analyzes the current situation of stadium operations management. Secondly, with the actual experience of the authors, this essay discussed on how to strengthen the operation and management of modem college sports venues and reform, which includes the way enhancing the training about modem operational management knowledge of college stadiums, strengthening the diversified operation of college stadiums, highlighting the "people-oriented" in college sports venue design concepts and vigorously developing the training services about stylistic aspects of youth and, etc.,

  2. Design and Implementation of Online Booking System of University Sports Venues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Can

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available To solve the imbalanced use of university sports venues, the online booking system of university sports venues based on the table tennis hall of Zhengzhou University is designed, combining the experience of the existing online booking systems, the main methods and the major ideal of building these systems both at home and aboard. The basic functions of the system are designed according to the general requirement analysis, including user’s registration and login, online venue booking, online payment, personal center, message board and database construction. The development of the system used Java programming language, JSP (a Web platform development technology, MySQL database processing technology, JDBC data access model, MyEclipse development platform and Tomcat server. The system has accomplished such functions as online booking, online payment and online message. The tests of the system are run in good conditions. The use of the system has made up for the current luck of sports venues management, solved the problems of the online booking function of university sports venues, improved the efficiency of the venues and meet the needs of efficient use of the venues. The system can be an experience of the management of the other college sports venues.

  3. Assessing knowledge and attitudes of owners or managers of hospitality venues regarding a policy banning indoor smoking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alaaeddine, G; Al Kuhaimi, T; Al Assaad, R; Dany, M; Diab, R; Hanna, E; Hirmas, N; Ismail, H; Mahmassani, D; Sleiman Tellawi, R; Nakkash, R

    2013-05-01

    In response to accumulating evidence on the detrimental health effects of second-hand smoke, governments throughout the world have adopted laws prohibiting indoor smoking in public places. Lebanon has recently enacted a law prohibiting indoor smoking in all of its forms, rendered effective as of 3 September 2012. This study examined the knowledge and attitudes of owners/managers of restaurants, cafes, pubs and nightclubs in Beirut towards the ban, three months before it came into effect. Self-administered cross-sectional survey. Data were derived from a self-administered cross-sectional survey conducted in June 2012. In total, 262 hospitality venues (restaurants, cafes, pubs and nightclubs) were sampled at random to participate. The response rate was 74% (194/262). Overall, 84% of owners/managers reported that they were aware of the ban, yet the average knowledge score was only 3.43/10. A general positive attitude was noted towards customer satisfaction (44.8%), law enforcement (61.1%) and employee protection from second-hand smoke (74%), while 55% of owners/managers were concerned that their revenues would decrease. However, 83.3% expressed their willingness to implement the law. This quantitative study is the first to examine the knowledge and attitudes of owners/managers of hospitality venues regarding the indoor smoking ban in Lebanon. Civil society and government bodies should use the findings to develop a campaign to address the knowledge and attitudes of owners/managers of hospitality venues to ensure successful enforcement. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Venue-level correlates of female sex worker registration status: A multilevel analysis of bars in Tijuana, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaines, Tommi L.; Rusch, Melanie L.A.; Brouwer, Kimberly C.; Goldenberg, Shira M.; Lozada, Remedios; Robertson, Angela M.; Perkins, Emily; Strathdee, Steffanie A.; Patterson, Thomas L.

    2013-01-01

    In Tijuana, Mexico, sex work is regulated by the municipal government, through registration cards issued to female sex workers (FSWs) for an annual fee. Registration has been associated with decreased drug use and increase condom use and HIV testing. Previously, it was demonstrated that FSWs operating in bars were more likely than street-based FSWs to be registered. This implies that certain venues may be more accessible to local authorities for the enforcement of this type of programme. Taking a novel multilevel approach, we examined whether venue characteristics of bars reflecting greater organised management and visibility affect registration status of FSWs. In an analysis of venue-level characteristics, predictors of being registered were availability of free condoms at work and distance to the main sex strip; however, these were not independently associated after inclusion of FSWs’ income, illicit drug use and history of HIV testing. Our findings suggest that sex work regulations may inadvertently exclude venues in which the more vulnerable and less visible FSWs, such as injection drug users and those with limited financial resources, are situated. Efforts to revise or reconsider sex work regulations to ensure that they best promote FSWs’ health, human and labour rights are recommended. PMID:23534477

  5. Venue-level correlates of female sex worker registration status: a multilevel analysis of bars in Tijuana, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaines, Tommi L; Rusch, Melanie L A; Brouwer, Kimberly C; Goldenberg, Shira M; Lozada, Remedios; Robertson, Angela M; Perkins, Emily; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Patterson, Thomas L

    2013-01-01

    In Tijuana, Mexico, sex work is regulated by the municipal government, through registration cards issued to female sex workers (FSWs) for an annual fee. Registration has been associated with decreased drug use and increase condom use and HIV testing. Previously, it was demonstrated that FSWs operating in bars were more likely than street-based FSWs to be registered. This implies that certain venues may be more accessible to local authorities for the enforcement of this type of programme. Taking a novel multilevel approach, we examined whether venue characteristics of bars reflecting greater organised management and visibility affect registration status of FSWs. In an analysis of venue-level characteristics, predictors of being registered were availability of free condoms at work and distance to the main sex strip; however, these were not independently associated after inclusion of FSWs' income, illicit drug use and history of HIV testing. Our findings suggest that sex work regulations may inadvertently exclude venues in which the more vulnerable and less visible FSWs, such as injection drug users and those with limited financial resources, are situated. Efforts to revise or reconsider sex work regulations to ensure that they best promote FSWs' health, human and labour rights are recommended.

  6. Commercial sex venues, syphilis and methamphetamine use among female sex workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Dianming; Liao, Meizhen; Jiang, Zhenxia; Zhang, Xijiang; Mao, Wenwen; Zhang, Ning; Tao, Xiaorun; Huang, Tao; Bi, Zhenqiang; Aliyu, Muktar; Wu, Pingsheng; Jiang, Baofa; Jia, Yujiang

    2011-06-01

    The objective of this study was to assess the factors associated with methamphetamine (MA) use, syphilis, and unprotected sex among female sex workers from different type of venues in Qingdao City, Shandong Province of China. Three consecutive cross-sectional surveys provided information on demographics, sexual and drug use behaviors, and HIV-related services. Of 1187 participants, 3.0% were infected with syphilis; 30.2% ever used MA; 58.3% ever had unprotected commercial sex in the past month. The prevalence rates of syphilis and MA use were 2.5% and 33.0% for participants recruited from saunas, night clubs, bars or hotels; 2.7% and 28.3% for hair/beauty salon-based participants; and 4.5% and 15.8% for street-based participants. Street-based MA users were more likely to be single, non-Shandong residents, have first lifetime sex act at younger age, and recruited in 2008 (vs. 2006). Saunas, night clubs, bars, or hotels-based MA users were more likely to be younger, sex debut at younger age, have longer duration of sex work, have unprotected commercial sex, and be syphilis-infected. Hair/beauty salon-based MA users were more likely to be non-Shandong residents, younger, and to have unprotected commercial sex. Syphilis among the sauna-, night club-, bar-, or hotel-based participants was associated with MA use and ever receipt of HIV testing. Syphilis among the hair/beauty salon-based participants was associated with longer duration of sex work. MA users who frequent commercial sex venues are engaging in high-risk behaviors and are at risk for syphilis/other sexually transmitted diseases. Better-targeted intervention efforts to curtail the epidemics of MA use and HIV/syphilis should therefore take cognizance of the role of commercial sex venues as focal points of MA use and syphilis/sexually transmitted disease transmission.

  7. User Innovation Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kanstrup, Anne Marie; Bertelsen, Pernille

    User Innovation Management (UIM) is a method for fo-opereation with users in innovation projects. The UIM method emphasizes the practice of a participatorty attitude.......User Innovation Management (UIM) is a method for fo-opereation with users in innovation projects. The UIM method emphasizes the practice of a participatorty attitude....

  8. Condoms and sexual health education as evidence: impact of criminalization of in-call venues and managers on migrant sex workers access to HIV/STI prevention in a Canadian setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, S; Shannon, K; Li, J; Lee, Y; Chettiar, J; Goldenberg, S; Krüsi, A

    2016-11-17

    Despite a large body of evidence globally demonstrating that the criminalization of sex workers increases HIV/STI risks, we know far less about the impact of criminalization and policing of managers and in-call establishments on HIV/STI prevention among sex workers, and even less so among migrant sex workers. Analysis draws on ethnographic fieldwork and 46 qualitative interviews with migrant sex workers, managers and business owners of in-call sex work venues in Metro Vancouver, Canada. The criminalization of in-call venues and third parties explicitly limits sex workers' access to HIV/STI prevention, including manager restrictions on condoms and limited onsite access to sexual health information and HIV/STI testing. With limited labour protections and socio-cultural barriers, criminalization and policing undermine the health and human rights of migrant sex workers working in -call venues. This research supports growing evidence-based calls for decriminalization of sex work, including the removal of criminal sanctions targeting third parties and in-call venues, alongside programs and policies that better protect the working conditions of migrant sex workers as critical to HIV/STI prevention and human rights.

  9. High-Risk Sexual Behavior at Social Venues in Madagascar

    Science.gov (United States)

    KHAN, MARIA R.; RASOLOFOMANANA, JUSTIN R.; McCLAMROCH, KRISTI J.; RALISIMALALA, ANDRIAMAMPIANINA; ZAFIMANJAKA, MAURICE G.; BEHETS, FRIEDA; WEIR, SHARON S.

    2018-01-01

    Background Persistent high levels of sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Madagascar indicate current prevention strategies are inadequate. STI/HIV prevention based in social venues may play an important role in reaching individuals at risk of infection. We identified venues where people meet sexual partners and measured the need and potential for venue-based prevention. Methods Interviews were conducted in 7 Madagascar towns with 1) community informants to identify social venues, 2) individuals socializing at a sample of venues to assess sexual behavior among venue patrons, and 3) venue representatives to assess the potential for venue-based intervention. Results Community informants identified numerous venues (range: 67–211 venues, depending on the town); streets, bars, and hotels were most commonly reported. Among 2982 individuals socializing at venues, 78% of men and 74% of women reported new sexual partnership or sex trade for money, goods, or services in the past 4 weeks and 19% of men and 18% of women reported symptoms suggestive of STI in the past 4 weeks. STI symptom levels were disproportionately high among respondents reporting either sex trade or new sexual partnership in the past 4 weeks. Twenty-eight percent of men and 41% of women reported condom use during the last sex act with a new partner. Although 24% to 45% of venues had hosted STI/HIV interventions, interventions were deemed possible at 73% to 90% venues according to 644 interviews with venue representatives. Conclusions Venue-based intervention is possible and would reach a spectrum of populations vulnerable to STI/HIV including sex workers, their clients, and other high-risk populations. PMID:18496471

  10. Visiting entertainment venues and sexual health in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Li; Wu, Zunyou; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane; Guan, Jihui; Yin, Yueping; Detels, Roger; Wu, Sheng; Lee, Sung-Jae; Cao, Haijun; Lin, Chunqing; Rou, Keming; Liu, Zhendong

    2009-10-01

    Entertainment venues in China are associated with risky sexual behavior. Most previous studies related to entertainment venues in China have focused on sex workers and commercial sex, but this study addressed sexual health in a sample of the general urban population. A randomly selected sample of market vendors (n = 4,510) from an eastern city was recruited and assessed to examine relationships between entertainment venue visits and sexual risk. Both behavioral (self-reports of unprotected sex) and biomedical (STD test results) measures were used. About 18% of the sample (26.8% of men and 9% of women) reported visiting entertainment venues in the past 30 days. Those who visited entertainment venues were more likely to be male, younger, single, with higher education, and to have more discretionary income. For both men and women, visiting entertainment venues was a significant predictor for unprotected sex and STD infection. Gender differences were observed in predicting unprotected sex and STD infections. Entertainment venues could be potential sites for place-based intervention programs and outreach for the general population.

  11. Shades of darkness : A pecking order of trading venues

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Menkveld, Albert J.; Yueshen, Bart Zhou; Zhu, Haoxiang

    2017-01-01

    We characterize the dynamic fragmentation of U.S. equity markets using a unique data set that disaggregates dark transactions by venue types. The “pecking order” hypothesis of trading venues states that investors “sort” various venue types, putting low-cost-low-immediacy venues on top and

  12. MOTION TO CHANGE VENUE. CASE STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragoş Lucian Rădulescu

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Change of venue is a remedy offered to a party, which in case of legitimate grounds for suspicion or public safety may require that proceedings belong to another court than the court first seized. But change of venue is not based on a case of material or territorial lack of jurisdiction of the court, taking into account exceptional circumstances or impartiality doubt regarding the case. Thus, article 140 of the Code of Civil Procedure stipulates the possible causes of change of venue, including further issues that will determine jurisdiction to hear by the courts of control.

  13. Environmental tobacco smoke in hospitality venues in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vardavas, Constantine I; Kondilis, Barbara; Travers, Mark J; Petsetaki, Elisabeth; Tountas, Yiannis; Kafatos, Anthony G

    2007-10-23

    Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is a major threat to public health. Greece, having the highest smoking prevalence in the European Union is seriously affected by passive smoking. The purpose of this study was to measure environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in the non smoking areas of hospitality venues and offices in Greece and to compare the levels of exposure to levels in the US, UK and Ireland before and after the implementation of a smoking ban. Experimental measurements of particulate matter 2.5 microm (PM2.5), performed during a cross sectional study of 49 hospitality venues and offices in Athens and Crete, Greece during February - March 2006. Levels of ETS ranged from 19 microg/m3 to 612 microg/m3, differing according to the place of measurement. The average exposure in hospitality venues was 268 microg/m3 with ETS levels found to be highest in restaurants with a mean value of 298 microg/m3 followed by bars and cafes with 271 microg/m3. ETS levels were 76% lower in venues in which smoking was not observed compared to all other venues (p hospitality venues while levels in Ireland with a total smoking ban are 89% lower and smoke-free communities in the US are 91 - 96% lower than levels in Greece. Designated non-smoking areas of hospitality venues in Greece are significantly more polluted with ETS than outdoor air and similar venues in Europe and the United States. The implementation of a total indoor smoking ban in hospitality venues has been shown to have a positive effect on workers and patrons' health. The necessity of such legislation in Greece is thus warranted.

  14. Major Sport Venues

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Homeland Security — The Major Public Venues dataset is composed of facilities that host events for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Indy Racing League, Major League...

  15. Taxonomy of Caribbean tourism alcohol venues: implications for HIV transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilamo-Ramos, Vincent; Jaccard, James; McCarthy, Katharine; Quiñones, Zahira; Lushin, Viktor; Skinner-Day, Molly; Padilla, Mark; Meisterlin, Leah

    2013-09-01

    Tourism areas represent ecologies of heightened HIV vulnerability characterized by a disproportionate concentration of alcohol venues. Limited research has explored how alcohol venues facilitate HIV transmission. We spatially mapped locations of alcohol venues in a Dominican tourism town and conducted a venue-based survey of key informants (n=135) focused on three facets of alcohol venues: structural features, type of patrons, and HIV risk behaviors. Using latent class analysis, we identified evidence-based typologies of alcohol venues for each of the three facets. Focused contrasts identified the co-occurrence of classes of structural features, classes of types of patrons, and classes of HIV risk behavior, thus elaborating the nature of high risk venues. We identified three categories of venue structural features, three for venue patrons, and five for HIV risk behaviors. Analysis revealed that alcohol venues with the greatest structural risks (e.g. sex work on-site with lack of HIV prevention services) were most likely frequented by the venue patron category characterized by high population-mixing between locals and foreign tourists, who were in turn most likely to engage in the riskiest behaviors. Our results highlight the stratification of venue patrons into groups who engage in behaviors of varying risk in structural settings that vary in risk. The convergence of high-risk patron groups in alcohol venues with the greatest structural risk suggests these locations have potential for HIV transmission. Policymakers and prevention scientists can use these methods and data to target HIV prevention resources to identified priority areas. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Taxonomy of Caribbean Tourism Alcohol Venues: Implications for HIV Transmission*

    Science.gov (United States)

    GUILAMO-RAMOS, Vincent; JACCARD, James; MCCARTHY, Katharine; QUIÑONES, Zahira; LUSHIN, Viktor; SKINNER-DAY, Molly; PADILLA, Mark; MEISTERLIN, Leah

    2013-01-01

    Background Tourism areas represent ecologies of heightened HIV vulnerability characterized by a disproportionate concentration of alcohol venues. Limited research has explored how alcohol venues facilitate HIV transmission. Methods We spatially mapped locations of alcohol venues in a Dominican tourism town and conducted a venue-based survey of key informants (n=135) focused on three facets of alcohol venues: structural features, type of patrons, and HIV risk behaviors. Using latent class analysis, we identified evidence-based typologies of alcohol venues for each of the three facets. Focused contrasts identified the co-occurrence of classes of structural features, classes of types of patrons, and classes of HIV risk behavior, thus elaborating the nature of high risk venues. Results We identified three categories of venue structural features, three for venue patrons, and five for HIV risk behaviors. Analysis revealed that alcohol venues with the greatest structural risks (e.g., sex work on site with lack of HIV prevention services) were most likely frequented by the venue patron category characterized by high population-mixing between locals and foreign tourists, who were in turn most likely to engage in the riskiest behaviors. Conclusion Our results highlight the stratification of venue patrons into groups who engage in behaviors of varying risk in structural settings that vary in risk. The convergence of high-risk patron groups in alcohol venues with the greatest structural risk suggests these locations have potential for HIV transmission. Policymakers and prevention scientists can use these methods and data to target HIV prevention resources to identified priority areas. PMID:23478154

  17. Second-hand smoke in indoor hospitality venues in Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaidi, S M A; Moin, O; Khan, J A

    2011-07-01

    Second-hand smoke (SHS) constitutes a significant public health threat in countries with a high smoking prevalence. However, data assessing the quality of indoor air at public venues in Pakistan are limited. To measure mean concentrations of PM(2.5) (particulate matter ≤2.5 microns in diameter), a sensitive indicator of SHS, in hospitality venues in Pakistan. Data were collected discreetly from 39 indoor venues such as cafes, restaurants and shisha (water-pipe) bars from three major cities in Pakistan. Data were recorded using a portable air quality monitoring device. The overall mean PM(2.5) value for the visited venues was 846 μg/m(3) (95%CI 484-1205). The mean PM(2.5) value was 101 μg/m(3) (95%CI 69-135 μg/m(3)) for non-smoking venues, 689 μg/m(3) (95%CI 241-1138) for cigarette smoking venues and 1745 μg/m(3) (95%CI 925-2565) for shisha smoking venues. The significant levels of SHS recorded in this study, in particular from shisha smoking venues, could represent a major public health burden in Pakistan. Appropriate legislation needs to be enforced to protect the health of those exposed to the hazards of second-hand tobacco smoke.

  18. Environmental tobacco smoke in hospitality venues in Greece

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tountas Yiannis

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is a major threat to public health. Greece, having the highest smoking prevalence in the European Union is seriously affected by passive smoking. The purpose of this study was to measure environmental tobacco smoke (ETS exposure in the non smoking areas of hospitality venues and offices in Greece and to compare the levels of exposure to levels in the US, UK and Ireland before and after the implementation of a smoking ban. Methods Experimental measurements of particulate matter 2.5 μm (PM2.5, performed during a cross sectional study of 49 hospitality venues and offices in Athens and Crete, Greece during February – March 2006. Results Levels of ETS ranged from 19 μg/m3 to 612 μg/m3, differing according to the place of measurement. The average exposure in hospitality venues was 268 μg/m3 with ETS levels found to be highest in restaurants with a mean value of 298 μg/m3 followed by bars and cafes with 271 μg/m3. ETS levels were 76% lower in venues in which smoking was not observed compared to all other venues (p Conclusion Designated non-smoking areas of hospitality venues in Greece are significantly more polluted with ETS than outdoor air and similar venues in Europe and the United States. The implementation of a total indoor smoking ban in hospitality venues has been shown to have a positive effect on workers and patrons' health. The necessity of such legislation in Greece is thus warranted.

  19. Toward zero waste: Composting and recycling for sustainable venue based events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hottle, Troy A.; Bilec, Melissa M.; Brown, Nicholas R.; Landis, Amy E.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Venues have billions of customers per year contributing to waste generation. • Waste audits of four university baseball games were conducted to assess venue waste. • Seven scenarios including composting were modeled using EPA’s WARM. • Findings demonstrate tradeoffs between emissions, energy, and landfill avoidance. • Sustainability of handling depends on efficacy of collection and treatment impacts. - Abstract: This study evaluated seven different waste management strategies for venue-based events and characterized the impacts of event waste management via waste audits and the Waste Reduction Model (WARM). The seven waste management scenarios included traditional waste handling methods (e.g. recycle and landfill) and management of the waste stream via composting, including purchasing where only compostable food service items were used during the events. Waste audits were conducted at four Arizona State University (ASU) baseball games, including a three game series. The findings demonstrate a tradeoff among CO 2 equivalent emissions, energy use, and landfill diversion rates. Of the seven waste management scenarios assessed, the recycling scenarios provide the greatest reductions in CO 2 eq. emissions and energy use because of the retention of high value materials but are compounded by the difficulty in managing a two or three bin collection system. The compost only scenario achieves complete landfill diversion but does not perform as well with respect to CO 2 eq. emissions or energy. The three game series was used to test the impact of staffed bins on contamination rates; the first game served as a baseline, the second game employed staffed bins, and the third game had non staffed bins to determine the effect of staffing on contamination rates. Contamination rates in both the recycling and compost bins were tracked throughout the series. Contamination rates were reduced from 34% in the first game to 11% on the second night (with the

  20. Toward zero waste: Composting and recycling for sustainable venue based events

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hottle, Troy A., E-mail: troy.hottle@asu.edu [Arizona State University, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, 370 Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 4 (ISTB4), 781 East Terrace Road, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004 (United States); Bilec, Melissa M., E-mail: mbilec@pitt.edu [University of Pittsburgh, Civil and Environmental Engineering, 153 Benedum Hall, 3700 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261-3949 (United States); Brown, Nicholas R., E-mail: nick.brown@asu.edu [Arizona State University, University Sustainability Practices, 1130 East University Drive, Suite 206, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Landis, Amy E., E-mail: amy.landis@asu.edu [Arizona State University, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, 375 Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 4 (ISTB4), 781 East Terrace Road, Tempe, AZ 85287-6004 (United States)

    2015-04-15

    Highlights: • Venues have billions of customers per year contributing to waste generation. • Waste audits of four university baseball games were conducted to assess venue waste. • Seven scenarios including composting were modeled using EPA’s WARM. • Findings demonstrate tradeoffs between emissions, energy, and landfill avoidance. • Sustainability of handling depends on efficacy of collection and treatment impacts. - Abstract: This study evaluated seven different waste management strategies for venue-based events and characterized the impacts of event waste management via waste audits and the Waste Reduction Model (WARM). The seven waste management scenarios included traditional waste handling methods (e.g. recycle and landfill) and management of the waste stream via composting, including purchasing where only compostable food service items were used during the events. Waste audits were conducted at four Arizona State University (ASU) baseball games, including a three game series. The findings demonstrate a tradeoff among CO{sub 2} equivalent emissions, energy use, and landfill diversion rates. Of the seven waste management scenarios assessed, the recycling scenarios provide the greatest reductions in CO{sub 2} eq. emissions and energy use because of the retention of high value materials but are compounded by the difficulty in managing a two or three bin collection system. The compost only scenario achieves complete landfill diversion but does not perform as well with respect to CO{sub 2} eq. emissions or energy. The three game series was used to test the impact of staffed bins on contamination rates; the first game served as a baseline, the second game employed staffed bins, and the third game had non staffed bins to determine the effect of staffing on contamination rates. Contamination rates in both the recycling and compost bins were tracked throughout the series. Contamination rates were reduced from 34% in the first game to 11% on the second night

  1. Rock and pop venues acoustic and architectural design

    CERN Document Server

    Adelman-Larsen, Niels Werner

    2014-01-01

    Popular music plays an substantial role in most people’s life. The demand and financial revenue of Rock and pop concerts is large and still increasing. Though 80% of the music turnover is done in Rock and Pop Music, books assess only Classical concert and opera houses. However, the requirements for pop music halls are different from classical Music and opera houses. This book closes this gap including the following features: In part one, the book A. Gives a objective methodology to assess Rock and Pop Music Venues B. Shows essential construction details and choices of building materials in the design of new venues or the renovation of old ones. In part two, the book C. Presents a set of famous European rock and pop venues, their architecture, their beauty and their properties. D. These Venues are assessed by a new and comparably simple method to objectively rate halls. Subjective data complete the assessment and give a full picture of the sound quality of a venue.

  2. Visiting Entertainment Venues and Sexual Health in China

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Li; Wu, Zunyou; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane; Guan, Jihui; Yin, Yueping; Detels, Roger; Wu, Sheng; Lee, Sung-Jae; Cao, Haijun; Lin, Chunqing; Rou, Keming; Liu, Zhendong

    2008-01-01

    Entertainment venues in China are associated with risky sexual behavior. Most previous studies related to entertainment venues in China have focused on sex workers and commercial sex, but this study addressed sexual health in a sample of the general urban population. A randomly selected sample of market vendors (n = 4,510) from an eastern city was recruited and assessed to examine relationships between entertainment venue visits and sexual risk. Both behavioral (self-reports of unprotected se...

  3. Gaming the Game: Honeypot Venues Against Cheaters in Location-based Social Networks

    OpenAIRE

    Pelechrinis, Konstantinos; Krishnamurthy, Prashant; Zhang, Ke

    2012-01-01

    The proliferation of location-based social networks (LBSNs) has provided the community with an abundant source of information that can be exploited and used in many different ways. LBSNs offer a number of conveniences to its participants, such as - but not limited to - a list of places in the vicinity of a user, recommendations for an area never explored before provided by other peers, tracking of friends, monetary rewards in the form of special deals from the venues visited as well as a chea...

  4. How important are venue-based HIV risks among male clients of female sex workers? A mixed methods analysis of the risk environment in nightlife venues in Tijuana, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldenberg, Shira M; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Gallardo, Manuel; Nguyen, Lucie; Lozada, Remedios; Semple, Shirley J; Patterson, Thomas L

    2011-05-01

    In 2008, 400 males ≥18 years old who paid or traded for sex with a female sex worker (FSW) in Tijuana, Mexico, in the past 4 months completed surveys and HIV/STI testing; 30 also completed qualitative interviews. To analyze environmental sources of HIV vulnerability among male clients of FSWs in Tijuana, we used mixed methods to investigate correlates of clients who met FSWs in nightlife venues and clients' perspectives on venue-based HIV risk. Logistic regression identified micro-level correlates of meeting FSWs in nightlife venues, which were triangulated with clients' narratives regarding macro-level influences. In a multivariate model, offering increased pay for unprotected sex and binge drinking were micro-level factors that were independently associated with meeting FSWs in nightlife venues versus other places. In qualitative interviews, clients characterized nightlife venues as high risk due to the following macro-level features: social norms dictating heavy alcohol consumption; economic exploitation by establishment owners; and poor enforcement of sex work regulations in nightlife venues. Structural interventions in nightlife venues are needed to address venue-based risks. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Violence prevention and municipal licensing of indoor sex work venues in the Greater Vancouver Area: narratives of migrant sex workers, managers and business owners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Solanna; Jia, Jessica Xi; Liu, Vivian; Chattier, Jill; Krüsi, Andrea; Allan, Sarah; Maher, Lisa; Shannon, Kate

    2015-01-01

    Using a socio-ecological, structural determinants framework, this study assesses the impact of municipal licensing policies and related policing practices across the Greater Vancouver Area (Canada) on the risk of violence within indoor sex work venues. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 46 migrant/immigrant sex workers, managers and owners of licensed indoor sex work establishments and micro-brothels. Findings indicate that policing practices and licensing requirements increase sex workers' risk of violence and conflict with clients and result in heightened stress, an inability to rely on police support, lost income and the displacement of sex workers to more hidden informal work venues. Prohibitive licensing and policing practices prevent sex workers, managers and owners from adopting safer workplace measures and exacerbate health and safety risks for sex workers. This study provides critical evidence of the negative public health implications of prohibitive municipal licensing in the context of a criminalised and enforcement-based approach to sex work. Workplace safety recommendations include the decriminalisation of sex work and the elimination of disproportionately high fees for licences, criminal record restrictions, door lock restrictions, employee registration requirements and the use of police as licensing inspectors.

  6. Secondhand tobacco smoke in public venues in three Indonesian cities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. J. Byron

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was to measure secondhand tobacco (including kretek smoke (SHS concentrations in public places in Jakarta, Bogor, and Palembang before laws banning smoking in public spaces went into effect.Methods: Particulate matter (PM2.5 was measured in 15 hospitals, 15 government offices, 30 restaurants, and 26 entertainment venues throughout the three cities. Also, in Jakarta, vapor-phase nicotine was measured in 5 schools, 5 hospitals, 5 government offices, 9 restaurants, and 10 entertainment venues. Data were analyzed descriptively. Differences by city and venue characteristics were analyzed by Student’s t-test, ANOVA, and Bonferroni pairwise statistical tests.Results: Geometric mean PM2.5 levels were highest in entertainment venues (96 μg/m3, followed by restaurants (78 μg/m3, government offices (57 μg/m3, and hospitals (46 μg/m3. Air nicotine levels in Jakarta were highest in designated smoking areas (4.71 μg/m3 and designated non-smoking areas (1.55 μg/m3 of entertainment venues. These were followed by government offices (0.30 μg/m3, designated smoking areas (0.24 μg/m3 and designated non-smoking areas (0.19 μg/m3 of restaurants, hospitals (0.01 μg/m3, and schools (0.01 μg/m3.Conclusion: SHS was detected in all venues in the three cities in Indonesia. High levels of air nicotine were found in non-smoking areas of restaurants and entertainment venues, indicating that designated smoking areas are not an effective solution to eliminate SHS. There is no safe level of SHS exposure and thus SHS in these venues increases the risk of adverse health effects among children and adults. These findings support the need for 100% smoke-free laws covering all public venues in these and other Indonesian cities. (Med J Indones. 2013;22:232-7. doi: 10.13181/mji.v22i4.606 Keywords: Cigarettes, kretek, protection, protect, secondhand smoke, smoke-free policy, tobacco

  7. Secondhand smoke in waterpipe tobacco venues in Istanbul, Moscow, and Cairo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Katherine A; Magid, Hoda; Torrey, Christine; Rule, Ana M; Ferguson, Jacqueline; Susan, Jolie; Sun, Zhuolu; Abubaker, Salahaddin; Levshin, Vladimir; Çarkoğlu, Aslı; Radwan, Ghada Nasr; El-Rabbat, Maha; Cohen, Joanna; Strickland, Paul; Navas-Acien, Ana; Breysse, Patrick N

    2015-10-01

    The prevalence of waterpipe tobacco smoking has risen in recent decades. Controlled studies suggest that waterpipe secondhand smoke (SHS) contains similar or greater quantities of toxicants than cigarette SHS, which causes significant morbidity and mortality. Few studies have examined SHS from waterpipe tobacco in real-world settings. The purpose of this study was to quantify SHS exposure levels and describe the characteristics of waterpipe tobacco venues. In 2012-2014, we conducted cross-sectional surveys of 46 waterpipe tobacco venues (9 in Istanbul, 17 in Moscow, and 20 in Cairo). We administered venue questionnaires, conducted venue observations, and sampled indoor air particulate matter (PM2.5) (N=35), carbon monoxide (CO) (N=23), particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (p-PAHs) (N=31), 4-methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) (N=43), and air nicotine (N=46). Venue characteristics and SHS concentrations were highly variable within and between cities. Overall, we observed a mean (standard deviation (SD)) of 5 (5) waterpipe smokers and 5 (3) cigarette smokers per venue. The overall median (25th percentile, 75th percentile) of venue mean air concentrations was 136 (82, 213) µg/m(3) for PM2.5, 3.9 (1.7, 22) ppm for CO, 68 (33, 121) ng/m(3) for p-PAHs, 1.0 (0.5, 1.9) ng/m(3) for NNK, and 5.3 (0.7, 14) µg/m(3) for nicotine. PM2.5, CO, and p-PAHs concentrations were generally higher in venues with more waterpipe smokers and cigarette smokers, although associations were not statistically significant. High concentrations of SHS constituents known to cause health effects indicate that indoor air quality in waterpipe tobacco venues may adversely affect the health of employees and customers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Integrated Approach to User Account Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesselman, Glenn; Smith, William

    2007-01-01

    IT environments consist of both Windows and other platforms. Providing user account management for this model has become increasingly diffi cult. If Microsoft#s Active Directory could be enhanced to extend a W indows identity for authentication services for Unix, Linux, Java and Macintosh systems, then an integrated approach to user account manag ement could be realized.

  9. Accessibility of Catering Service Venues and Adolescent Drinking in Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Shijun; Du, Songming; Ren, Zhoupeng; Zhao, Jing; Chambers, Christina; Wang, Jinfeng; Ma, Guansheng

    2015-06-26

    This study assessed the association between accessibility of catering service venues and adolescents' alcohol use over the previous 30 days. The data were collected from cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2014, 2223 students at 27 high schools in Chaoyang and Xicheng districts, Beijing using self-administered questionnaires to collect the adolescents information on socio-demographic characteristics and recent alcohol experiences. The accessibility of, and proximity to, catering service venues were summarized by weights, which were calculated by multiplication of the type-weight and the distance-weight. All sampled schools were categorized into three subgroups (low, middle, and high geographic density) based on the tertile of nearby catering service venues, and a multi-level logistic regression analysis was performed to explore variance between the school levels. Considering the setting characteristics, the catering service venues weighted value was found to account for 8.6% of the school level variance of adolescent alcohol use. The odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of drinking over the past 30-days among adolescents with medium and high accessibility of catering service venues were 1.17 (0.86, 1.57) and 1.47 (1.06, 2.02), respectively (p catering service venues around schools in China. Results suggest that the greater accessibility of catering service venues around schools is associated with a growing risk of recent drinking.

  10. Waste Management Information System (WMIS) User Guide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Broz, R.E.

    2008-01-01

    This document provides the user of the Waste Management Information System (WMIS) instructions on how to use the WMIS software. WMIS allows users to initiate, track, and close waste packages. The modular design supports integration and utilization of data through the various stages of waste management. The phases of the waste management work process include generation, designation, packaging, container management, procurement, storage, treatment, transportation, and disposal

  11. Waste Management Information System (WMIS) User Guide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    R. E. Broz

    2008-12-22

    This document provides the user of the Waste Management Information System (WMIS) instructions on how to use the WMIS software. WMIS allows users to initiate, track, and close waste packages. The modular design supports integration and utilization of data throuh the various stages of waste management. The phases of the waste management work process include generation, designation, packaging, container management, procurement, storage, treatment, transportation, and disposal.

  12. Food venue choice, consumer food environment, but not food venue availability within daily travel patterns are associated with dietary intake among adults, Lexington Kentucky 2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gustafson, Alison; Christian, Jay W; Lewis, Sarah; Moore, Kate; Jilcott, Stephanie

    2013-01-29

    The retail food environment may be one important determinant of dietary intake. However, limited research focuses on individuals' food shopping behavior and activity within the retail food environment. This study's aims were to determine the association between six various dietary indicators and 1) food venue availability; 2) food venue choice and frequency; and 3) availability of healthy food within food venue. In Fall, 2011, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults (n=121) age 18 years and over in Lexington, Kentucky. Participants wore a global position system (GPS) data logger for 3-days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend day) to track their daily activity space, which was used to assess food activity space. They completed a survey to assess demographics, food shopping behaviors, and dietary outcomes. Food store audits were conducted using the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey-Store Rudd (NEMS-S) in stores where respondents reported purchasing food (n=22). Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations between six dietary variables with food venue availability within activity space; food venue choice; frequency of shopping; and availability of food within food venue. 1) Food venue availability within activity space - no significant associations. 2) Food Venue Choice - Shopping at farmers' markets or specialty grocery stores reported higher odds of consuming fruits and vegetables (OR 1.60 95% CI [1.21, 2.79]). Frequency of shopping - Shopping at a farmers' markets and specialty stores at least once a week reported higher odds of consumption of fruits and vegetables (OR 1.55 95% CI [1.08, 2.23]). Yet, shopping frequently at a super market had higher odds of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (OR 1.39 95% CI [1.03, 1.86]). 3) Availability of food within store - those who shop in supermarkets with high availability of healthy food has lower odds of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (OR 0.65 95% CI [0.14, 0.83]). Interventions aimed at

  13. Accessibility of Catering Service Venues and Adolescent Drinking in Beijing, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shijun Lu

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This study assessed the association between accessibility of catering service venues and adolescents’ alcohol use over the previous 30 days. The data were collected from cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2014, 2223 students at 27 high schools in Chaoyang and Xicheng districts, Beijing using self-administered questionnaires to collect the adolescents information on socio-demographic characteristics and recent alcohol experiences. The accessibility of, and proximity to, catering service venues were summarized by weights, which were calculated by multiplication of the type-weight and the distance-weight. All sampled schools were categorized into three subgroups (low, middle, and high geographic density based on the tertile of nearby catering service venues, and a multi-level logistic regression analysis was performed to explore variance between the school levels. Considering the setting characteristics, the catering service venues weighted value was found to account for 8.6% of the school level variance of adolescent alcohol use. The odds ratios (OR and 95% confidence intervals (CI of drinking over the past 30-days among adolescents with medium and high accessibility of catering service venues were 1.17 (0.86, 1.57 and 1.47 (1.06, 2.02, respectively (p < 0.001 for trend test. This study addressed a gap in the adolescent drinking influence by the catering service venues around schools in China. Results suggest that the greater accessibility of catering service venues around schools is associated with a growing risk of recent drinking.

  14. User-Centered Data Management

    CERN Document Server

    Catarci, Tiziana; Kimani, Stephen

    2010-01-01

    This lecture covers several core issues in user-centered data management, including how to design usable interfaces that suitably support database tasks, and relevant approaches to visual querying, information visualization, and visual data mining. Novel interaction paradigms, e.g., mobile and interfaces that go beyond the visual dimension, are also discussed. Table of Contents: Why User-Centered / The Early Days: Visual Query Systems / Beyond Querying / More Advanced Applications / Non-Visual Interfaces / Conclusions

  15. Food venue choice, consumer food environment, but not food venue availability within daily travel patterns are associated with dietary intake among adults, Lexington Kentucky 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Objective The retail food environment may be one important determinant of dietary intake. However, limited research focuses on individuals’ food shopping behavior and activity within the retail food environment. This study’s aims were to determine the association between six various dietary indicators and 1) food venue availability; 2) food venue choice and frequency; and 3) availability of healthy food within food venue. Methods In Fall, 2011, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among adults (n=121) age 18 years and over in Lexington, Kentucky. Participants wore a global position system (GPS) data logger for 3-days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend day) to track their daily activity space, which was used to assess food activity space. They completed a survey to assess demographics, food shopping behaviors, and dietary outcomes. Food store audits were conducted using the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey-Store Rudd (NEMS-S) in stores where respondents reported purchasing food (n=22). Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations between six dietary variables with food venue availability within activity space; food venue choice; frequency of shopping; and availability of food within food venue. Results 1) Food venue availability within activity space – no significant associations. 2) Food Venue Choice – Shopping at farmers’ markets or specialty grocery stores reported higher odds of consuming fruits and vegetables (OR 1.60 95% CI [1.21, 2.79]). Frequency of shopping - Shopping at a farmers’ markets and specialty stores at least once a week reported higher odds of consumption of fruits and vegetables (OR 1.55 95% CI [1.08, 2.23]). Yet, shopping frequently at a super market had higher odds of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (OR 1.39 95% CI [1.03, 1.86]). 3) Availability of food within store – those who shop in supermarkets with high availability of healthy food has lower odds of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (OR 0.65 95

  16. Venues, Patrons, and Alcohol Use Dynamics: The Creation of a High Risk Sexual Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balán, Iván C.; Barreda, Victoria; Marone, Rubén; Ávila, María Mercedes; Carballo-Diéguez, Alex

    2014-01-01

    Venue-based HIV prevention interventions, especially in sex on premise venues, can disrupt high-risk sexual networks. However, prior to intervening, it is essential to understand the person-venue dynamics that contribute to HIV risk. As such, we conducted five ethnographic observations at each of six venues where alcohol is sold and sex occurs onsite (2 each porn theaters, sex clubs, and dance clubs) frequented by gay and other men who have sex with men (G&MSM) in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. Alcohol use, sexual behavior, and person-venue dynamics differed markedly across venue types. In dance clubs, substantial alcohol consumption often preceded visits to the darkroom for sex which, at times, included unprotected anal and vaginal intercourse. Condoms, although available, were not easily accessible. HIV prevention messaging was generally non-existent. These venues are in critical need of interventions to reduce HIV transmission risk. PMID:24691922

  17. Venues, patrons, and alcohol use dynamics: the creation of a high risk sexual environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balán, Iván C; Barreda, Victoria; Marone, Rubén; Avila, María Mercedes; Carballo-Diéguez, Alex

    2014-11-01

    Venue-based HIV prevention interventions, especially in sex on premise venues, can disrupt high-risk sexual networks. However, prior to intervening, it is essential to understand the person-venue dynamics that contribute to HIV risk. As such, we conducted five ethnographic observations at each of six venues where alcohol is sold and sex occurs onsite (2 each porn theaters, sex clubs, and dance clubs) frequented by gay and other men who have sex with men (G&MSM) in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. Alcohol use, sexual behavior, and person-venue dynamics differed markedly across venue types. In dance clubs, substantial alcohol consumption often preceded visits to the darkroom for sex which, at times, included unprotected anal and vaginal intercourse. Condoms, although available, were not easily accessible. HIV prevention messaging was generally non-existent. These venues are in critical need of interventions to reduce HIV transmission risk.

  18. [Second-hand smoke exposure in hospitality venues in Barcelona: measurement of respirable particles].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villarroel, Nazmy; López, María José; Sánchez-Martínez, Francesca; Fernández, Esteve; Nebot, Manel

    2011-01-01

    To quantify the concentration of respirable particles equal to or smaller than 2.5μm (PM(2.5)) as a marker of second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in a sample of hospitality venues in Barcelona 2 years after the Spanish smoking law came into effect. We performed a cross-sectional descriptive study from October to December 2007. The study population consisted of 40 hospitality venues in Barcelona selected by a random route sampling, with representation of the different types of smoking regulation included in the law (smoking allowed, smoking ban and venues with smoking areas). SHS levels were quantified by measuring PM(2.5) concentrations, which were measured using a laser photometer (Side Pack AM 510 Personal Aerosol Monitor). The measurements were carried out for 5 minutes outside the venue and for 30 minutes inside the venue. In addition, observational variables related to the characteristics of the venue and signs of tobacco consumption were recorded. The concentration of PM(2.5) in venues where smoking was still allowed was five times higher than that in venues where smoking was banned (182μg/m(3) and 34μg/m(3), respectively) and exceeded the concentration established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as harmful (35μg/m(3)). However, in venues where smoking was banned, the concentration was lower than the EPA standard and there were no significant differences with the outdoor PM(2.5) concentration. Two years after the introduction of the Spanish smoking law, SHS exposure in venues where smoking was allowed was q still very high, representing a significant health risk for hospitality workers. Copyright © 2010 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  19. Secondhand smoke exposure in hospitality venues in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez, Maria J; Nebot, Manel; Albertini, Marco; Birkui, Pierre; Centrich, Francesc; Chudzikova, Monika; Georgouli, Maria; Gorini, Giuseppe; Moshammer, Hanns; Mulcahy, Maurice; Pilali, Maria; Serrahima, Eulalia; Tutka, Piotr; Fernandez, Esteve

    2008-11-01

    Although in the last few years some European countries have implemented smoking bans in hospitality venues, the levels of secondhand smoke (SHS) in this occupational sector could still be extremely high in most countries. The aim of this study was to assess exposure to SHS in hospitality venues in 10 European cities. We included 167 hospitality venues (58 discotheques and pubs, 82 restaurants and cafeterias, and 27 fast-food restaurants) in this cross-sectional study. We carried out fieldwork in 10 European cities: Vienna (Austria), Paris (France), Athens (Greece), Florence and Belluno (Italy), Galway (Ireland), Barcelona (Spain), Warsaw and Lublin (Poland), and Bratislava (Slovak Republic). We measured vapor-phase nicotine as an SHS marker. We analyzed 504 samples and found nicotine in most samples (97.4%). We found the highest median concentrations in discos/pubs [32.99 microg/m(3); interquartile range (IQR), 8.06-66.84 microg/m(3)] and lower median concentrations in restaurants/cafeterias (2.09 microg/m(3); IQR, 0.49-6.73 microg/m(3)) and fast-food restaurants (0.31 microg/m(3); IQR, 0.11-1.30 microg/m(3)) (p Hospitality venues from European cities without smoking regulations have very high levels of SHS exposure. Monitoring of SHS on a regular basis as well as a total smoking ban in hospitality sector would be needed.

  20. Recreational user attitudes towards management strategies of Allegany State Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael Nisengard; Miklos Gratzer

    1998-01-01

    This project examines attitudes towards management strategies of four Allegany State Park recreational user groups: cabin users, recreational vehicle users, tent users, and day users. It investigates recreational user group attitude differences, and attitude change over a ten year time period, in regard to the following park management strategy categories: park...

  1. INTERMARS: User-controlled international management system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, Harrison H.

    1986-01-01

    Existing international space law as well as the best interest of all nations are consistent with the establishment of a user-based international organization, herein called INTERMARS. INTERMARS would provide access to facilities and services at a Martian base which would be of high functional potential, quality, safety, and reliability. These opportunities would be available on an open and nondiscriminatory basis to all peaceful users and investors. INTERMARS is a model organization concept tailored to provide cooperative international management of a Martian base for the benefit of its members, users, and investors. Most importantly, INTERMARS would provide such management through a sharing of both sovereignty and opportunity rather then unilateral control by any one nation or set of competing nations. Through an Assembly of Parties, a Board of Governors, a Board of Users and Investors, and a Director General, INTERMARS would meet its primary goal as it would be in the self-interest of all members, users, and investors to do so. The internal structure and philosophy of INTERMARS would provide not only for all participants to have representation in decisions affecting its activities, but also would insure effective and responsive management. Surely this is the precedent wished for, to establish for mankind at the now not-so-distant shores of the new ocean of space.

  2. Condoms and sexual health education as evidence: impact of criminalization of in-call venues and managers on migrant sex workers access to HIV/STI prevention in a Canadian setting

    OpenAIRE

    Anderson, S.; Shannon, K.; Li, J.; Lee, Y.; Chettiar, J.; Goldenberg, S.; Kr?si, A.

    2016-01-01

    Background Despite a large body of evidence globally demonstrating that the criminalization of sex workers increases HIV/STI risks, we know far less about the impact of criminalization and policing of managers and in-call establishments on HIV/STI prevention among sex workers, and even less so among migrant sex workers. Methods Analysis draws on ethnographic fieldwork and 46 qualitative interviews with migrant sex workers, managers and business owners of in-call sex work venues in Metro Vanco...

  3. Training Requirements and Information Management System. Software user guide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cillan, T.F.; Hodgson, M.A.

    1992-05-01

    This is the software user`s guide for the Training Requirements and Information Management System. This guide defines and describes the software operating procedures as they apply to the end user of the software program. This guide is intended as a reference tool for the user who already has an indepth knowledge of the Training Requirements and Information Management System functions and data reporting requirement.

  4. An Evaluation of Users' Satisfaction with Property Management ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Customer or user satisfaction is an overall attitude regarding a good or service ... that influence users' satisfaction with management of commercial properties. ... attention and value to teh performance measurement of users' satisfaction so as ...

  5. NASA Earthdata Forums: An Interactive Venue for Discussions of NASA Data and Earth Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hearty, Thomas J., III; Acker, James; Meyer, Dave; Northup, Emily A.; Bagwell, Ross E.

    2017-01-01

    We demonstrate how students and teachers can register to use the NASA Earthdata Forums. The NASA Earthdata forums provide a venue where registered users can pose questions regarding NASA Earth science data in a moderated forum, and have their questions answered by data experts and scientific subject matter experts connected with NASA Earth science missions and projects. Since the forums are also available for research scientists to pose questions and discuss pertinent topics, the NASA Earthdata Forums provide a unique opportunity for students and teachers to gain insight from expert scientists and enhance their knowledge of the many different ways that NASA Earth observations can be used in research and applications.

  6. Venue Recommendation and Web Search Based on Anchor Text

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    breweries, chocolate , art & enter- tainment, ticket sales, theater, galleries, arcades, venues, spas, massage, museums, jazz and blues, music venues, mini...query “how has african american music influence history ”. This is a long and fo- cused intent query, which could help us to gain a better un- derstanding...Figure 6: Query 276: “how has african american music in- fluence history .” E R R -I A @ 5 E R R -I A @ 10 E R R -I A @ 20 n D C G @ 5 n D C G @ 10 n

  7. What is the evidence for harm minimisation measures in gambling venues?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Rintoul

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The use of electronic gambling machines (EGMs in Australia and New Zealand constitutes the largest sector of the gambling industry. The costs arising from the harms of gambling detract significantly from its benefits, and in all Australian jurisdictions various policy measures have been implemented to reduce these harms. If successful, these would maximise the net benefits associated with EGM gambling. This article reviews the available evidence for a range of these practices, particularly those implemented within EGM venues via ‘codes of practice’. These codes of practice are intended to give effect to the principles of ‘responsible gambling’ within EGM venues. These measures are: self-exclusion, signage, messages, interaction with gamblers, the removal of ATMs from gambling venues, and ‘responsible gambling’ assessed overall in a venue context. In addition, we review the evidence in support of two major recommendations of the Productivity Commission’s 2010 report into gambling, pre-commitment and one-dollar maximum wagers. We conclude that there is a modest level of evidence supporting some measures, notably self-exclusion and, to a greater extent, the removal of ATMs. There is also some evidence that ‘responsible gambling’ measures have, collectively, reduced the harms associated with gambling. However, there is limited evidence to confirm the effectiveness of most individual ‘responsible gambling’ measures actually implemented in venues. Further, policy measures implemented outside the control of venues (such as ATM removal, reduction in bet limits, and the prohibition of smoking appear to be associated with more significant effects, based on analysis of EGM revenue data in Victoria. The evidence for prospective measures is necessarily limited since the ultimate test is post-implementation efficacy, but there is growing evidence to suggest that pre-commitment, one-dollar maximum bets or other machine design changes may

  8. Evaluation of a Modified User Guide for Hearing Aid Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caposecco, Andrea; Hickson, Louise; Meyer, Carly; Khan, Asaduzzaman

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated if a hearing aid user guide modified using best practice principles for health literacy resulted in superior ability to perform hearing aid management tasks, compared with the user guide in the original form. This research utilized a two-arm study design to compare the original manufacturer's user guide with a modified user guide for the same hearing aid--an Oticon Acto behind-the-ear aid with an open dome. The modified user guide had a lower reading grade level (4.2 versus 10.5), used a larger font size, included more graphics, and had less technical information. Eighty-nine adults ages 55 years and over were included in the study; none had experience with hearing aid use or management. Participants were randomly assigned either the modified guide (n = 47) or the original guide (n = 42). All participants were administered the Hearing Aid Management test, designed for this study, which assessed their ability to perform seven management tasks (e.g., change battery) with their assigned user guide. The regression analysis indicated that the type of user guide was significantly associated with performance on the Hearing Aid Management test, adjusting for 11 potential covariates. In addition, participants assigned the modified guide required significantly fewer prompts to perform tasks and were significantly more likely to perform four of the seven tasks without the need for prompts. The median time taken by those assigned the modified guide was also significantly shorter for three of the tasks. Other variables associated with performance on the Hearing Aid Management test were health literacy level, finger dexterity, and age. Findings indicate that the need to design hearing aid user guides in line with best practice principles of health literacy as a means of facilitating improved hearing aid management in older adults.

  9. Environmental secondhand smoke exposure and policy assessment at five venues in Zhejiang Province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yue; Wu, QingQing; Xu, ShuiYang; Xu, JinHang; Wan, Xia; Guo, YuJie

    2014-11-01

    The objective of this study was to assess environmental secondhand smoke exposure and tobacco control policy at 5 venues. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 134 settings and 2727 adults in Zhejiang, China. The results show that the proportions of venues that had complete smoking ban were as follows: health administrative organizations (71.9%), hospitals (70.0%), schools (66.7%), public transportation vehicles (24.0%), and government agencies (11.8%). The proportions of venues where smoking was noticed were as follows: public transportation vehicles (88.0%), government agencies (47.1%), hospitals (46.7%), health administrative organizations (40.6%), and schools (30.0%). Venues with completely indoor smoking ban were 5 times more likely to be smoke-free at the time of survey than other venues without smoking ban (odds ratio = 5.39, 95% confidence interval = 1.92-15.14). It indicated that implementation of indoor smoking ban can reduce indoor secondhand smoke exposure. © 2013 APJPH.

  10. Reported fire safety and first-aid amenities in Airbnb venues in 16 American cities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Hudson R; Jones, Vanya C; Gielen, Andrea

    2018-05-07

    Airbnb helps hosts rent all or part of their home to guests as an alternative to traditional hospitality settings. Airbnb venues are not uniformly regulated across the USA. This study quantified the reported prevalence of fire safety and first-aid amenities in Airbnb venues in the USA. The sample includes 120 691 venues in 16 US cities. Proportions of host-reported smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors, fire extinguishers and first-aid kits were calculated. The proportion of venues that reportedly contained amenities are as follows: smoke detectors 80% (n=96 087), CO detectors 57.5% (n=69 346), fire extinguishers 42% (n=50 884) and first-aid kits 36% (n=43 497). Among this sample of Airbnb venues, safety deficiencies were noted. While most venues had smoke alarms, approximately 1/2 had CO alarms and less than 1/2 reported having a fire extinguishers or first-aid kits. Local and state governments or Airbnb must implement regulations compliant with current National Fire Protection Association fire safety standards. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  11. Identifying User Experience Goals for Interactive Climate Management Business Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clemmensen, Torkil; Barlow, Stephanie

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents findings from interpretative phenomenological interviews about the user experience of interactive climate management with six growers and crop consultants. The focus of user experience research has been on quantitative studies of consumers’ initial usage experiences, for example...... of mobile phones or e-commerce websites. In contrast, this empirical paper provides an example of how to capture user experience in work contexts and with a qualitative methodology. We present a model of the essence of the emotional user experience of interactive climate management. Then we suggest...... of interactive climate management in this and other domains. The overall aim with the paper is to take the concept of user experience into the IS community and to describe and understand what are individual workers’ positive emotional use experiences when interacting with workplace systems....

  12. Diagnosis of energy-management-system user complaints

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hyfantis, J.

    There are a number of problems that require the joint effort of both users and vendors to resolve. User education is the pivotal factor, but only if the vendor community exercises self-restraint, and possibly self-regulation. In light of the ongoing media exposure of energy-management system difficulties and failures, it behooves the industry to set out to improve its image and to bring order to its rapid growth, both of which result in user confidence and satisfaction.

  13. APPLICATION OF INTERNAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IN BUDGETARY USER MANAGEMENT IN CROATIA

    OpenAIRE

    Vesna Vašiček; Verica Budimir; Mirjana Hladika

    2011-01-01

    The subject of this paper is to investigate the level of use of the internal financial statements of budgetary users in their management process. The main objective of this paper is to determine the importance of internal financial statements prepared according to the specific requirements of managers in decision making and budgetary user management. Another goal of this paper is to assess the implications of using a wide range of accounting information on efficiency of budgetary users manag...

  14. An SSH key management system: easing the pain of managing key/user/account associations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arkhipkin, D.; Betts, W.; Lauret, J.; Shiryaev, A.

    2008-07-01

    Cyber security requirements for secure access to computing facilities often call for access controls via gatekeepers and the use of two-factor authentication. Using SSH keys to satisfy the two factor authentication requirement has introduced a potentially challenging task of managing the keys and their associations with individual users and user accounts. Approaches for a facility with the simple model of one remote user corresponding to one local user would not work at facilities that require a many-to-many mapping between users and accounts on multiple systems. We will present an SSH key management system we developed, tested and deployed to address the many-to-many dilemma in the environment of the STAR experiment. We will explain its use in an online computing context and explain how it makes possible the management and tracing of group account access spread over many sub-system components (data acquisition, slow controls, trigger, detector instrumentation, etc.) without the use of shared passwords for remote logins.

  15. An SSH key management system: easing the pain of managing key/user/account associations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arkhipkin, D; Shiryaev, A; Betts, W; Lauret, J

    2008-01-01

    Cyber security requirements for secure access to computing facilities often call for access controls via gatekeepers and the use of two-factor authentication. Using SSH keys to satisfy the two factor authentication requirement has introduced a potentially challenging task of managing the keys and their associations with individual users and user accounts. Approaches for a facility with the simple model of one remote user corresponding to one local user would not work at facilities that require a many-to-many mapping between users and accounts on multiple systems. We will present an SSH key management system we developed, tested and deployed to address the many-to-many dilemma in the environment of the STAR experiment. We will explain its use in an online computing context and explain how it makes possible the management and tracing of group account access spread over many sub-system components (data acquisition, slow controls, trigger, detector instrumentation, etc.) without the use of shared passwords for remote logins

  16. Music venues and hearing loss: Opportunities for and barriers to improving environmental conditions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vogel, I.; Ploeg, C.P.B. van der; Brug, J.; Raat, H.

    2009-01-01

    This study explores the opportunities for and barriers to improving environmental conditions in order to reduce the risk for music-induced hearing loss in people who attend music venues. Individual semi-structured interviews were held with 20 representatives of music venues and of governmental

  17. Sex Venue-Based Network Analysis to Identify HIV Prevention Dissemination Targets for Men Who Have Sex with Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Rupa R; Luke, Douglas A; Proctor, Enola K; Powderly, William G; Chan, Philip A; Mayer, Kenneth H; Harrison, Laura C; Dhand, Amar

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to identify sex venue-based networks among men who have sex with men (MSM) to inform HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) dissemination efforts. Using a cross-sectional design, we interviewed MSM about the venues where their recent sexual partners were found. Venues were organized into network matrices grouped by condom use and race. We examined network structure, central venues, and network subgroups. Among 49 participants, the median age was 27 years, 49% were Black and 86% reported condomless anal sex (ncAS). Analysis revealed a map of 54 virtual and physical venues with an overlap in the ncAS and with condom anal sex (cAS) venues. In the ncAS network, virtual and physical locations were more interconnected. The ncAS venues reported by Blacks were more diffusely organized than those reported by Whites. The network structures of sex venues for at-risk MSM differed by race. Network information can enhance HIV prevention dissemination efforts among subpopulations, including PrEP implementation.

  18. Pediatric dentistry clinical education venues evaluation by pre and post-doctoral students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bimstein, E; Mayes, A; Mittal, Hc

    2014-01-01

    To evaluate dental students' perspectives about pre- and post-doctoral pediatric dentistry education venues. Surveys with visual analog scales (from 0 to 100) measuring the educational contribution of pediatric dentistry venues were conducted. The pre-doctoral venues included a 3rd year university twilight clinic (UTC), a 3rd year urban community based clinic (CBC) and 4th year mobile clinics (MCs). The post-doctoral venues included treatment of children under general anesthesia, oral sedations, a regular clinic (no sedations), seminars, journal club, case conferences and studding for the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. Analyses of variance between the scores indicated that the 3rd year CBC score (68.2 ± 4.5) was statistically significant higher (p= .007) than the one for the 3rd year UTC score (44.9 ± 6.1). The 4th year students' MCs score (61.4 ± 4.0) was statistically significant higher than their retrospective scores for the 3rd year CBC (56.4 ± 4.4) or UTC (42.2 ± 4.9) scores (p= .03 and .004 respectively). Among the didactic or clinical post-doctoral venues, the regular clinic and the seminars received the highest scores (84.3 ± 1.7 and 71.6 ± 2.8 respectively). pre-doctoral community-based clinical education and post-doctoral regular university based clinic are considered by students to provide the main contribution to pediatric dental education.

  19. Infrastructure Management Information System User Manual

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-10-01

    This publication describes and explains the user interface for the Infrastructure Management Information System (IMIS). The IMIS is designed to answer questions regarding public water supply, wastewater treatment, and census information. This publica...

  20. User experience management essential skills for leading effective UX teams

    CERN Document Server

    Lund, Arnie

    2011-01-01

    The role of UX manager is of vital importance -- it means leading a productive team, influencing businesses to adopt user-centered design, and delivering valuable products customers. Few UX professionals who find themselves in management positions have formal training in management. More often than not they are promoted to a management position after having proven themselves as an effective and successful practitioner.Yet as important as the position of manager is to the advancement of the field there are no books that specifically address the needs of user experience managers. Though informat

  1. Tritium as an indicator of venues for nuclear tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyakhova, O N; Lukashenko, S N; Mulgin, S I; Zhdanov, S V

    2013-10-01

    Currently, due to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons there is a highly topical issue of an accurate verification of nuclear explosion venues. This paper proposes to consider new method for verification by using tritium as an indicator. Detailed studies of the tritium content in the air were carried in the locations of underground nuclear tests - "Balapan" and "Degelen" testing sites located in Semipalatinsk Test Site. The paper presents data on the levels and distribution of tritium in the air where tunnels and boreholes are located - explosion epicentres, wellheads and tunnel portals, as well as in estuarine areas of the venues for the underground nuclear explosions (UNE). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Managing Dynamic User Communities in a Grid of Autonomous Resources

    CERN Document Server

    Alfieri, R; Gianoli, A; Spataro, F; Ciaschini, Vincenzo; dell'Agnello, L; Bonnassieux, F; Broadfoot, P; Lowe, G; Cornwall, L; Jensen, J; Kelsey, D; Frohner, A; Groep, DL; Som de Cerff, W; Steenbakkers, M; Venekamp, G; Kouril, D; McNab, A; Mulmo, O; Silander, M; Hahkala, J; Lhorentey, K

    2003-01-01

    One of the fundamental concepts in Grid computing is the creation of Virtual Organizations (VO's): a set of resource consumers and providers that join forces to solve a common problem. Typical examples of Virtual Organizations include collaborations formed around the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments. To date, Grid computing has been applied on a relatively small scale, linking dozens of users to a dozen resources, and management of these VO's was a largely manual operation. With the advance of large collaboration, linking more than 10000 users with a 1000 sites in 150 counties, a comprehensive, automated management system is required. It should be simple enough not to deter users, while at the same time ensuring local site autonomy. The VO Management Service (VOMS), developed by the EU DataGrid and DataTAG projects[1, 2], is a secured system for managing authorization for users and resources in virtual organizations. It extends the existing Grid Security Infrastructure[3] architecture with embedded VO ...

  3. Semantic Technologies for User-Centric Home Network Management

    OpenAIRE

    Ibrahim Rana, Annie

    2015-01-01

    Home area network (HAN) management is problematic for ordinary home users. Lack of user expertise, potential complexity of administration tasks, extreme diversity of network devices, price pressures producing devices with minimal feature sets, and highly dynamic requirements of user applications are some of the main challenges in HANs. As networking becomes enabled in many more HAN devices, these problems are set to increase. A viable solution to address these challenges lie...

  4. The User-Subjective Approach to Personal Information Management Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergman, Ofer; Beyth-Marom, Ruth; Nachmias, Rafi

    2003-01-01

    Explains personal information management (PIM) systems and suggests a user-subjective approach to PIM system design. Advocates that PIM systems relate to the subjective value-added attributes that the user gives the stored data so that the user can find information again, recall it when needed, and use it effectively in the next interaction.…

  5. Managing the Risks Associated with End-User Computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alavi, Maryam; Weiss, Ira R.

    1986-01-01

    Identifies organizational risks of end-user computing (EUC) associated with different stages of the end-user applications life cycle (analysis, design, implementation). Generic controls are identified that address each of the risks enumerated in a manner that allows EUC management to select those most appropriate to their EUC environment. (5…

  6. Automated Transportation Management System (ATMS) user's manual. Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, P.D.

    1994-01-01

    The Automated Transportation Management System (ATMS) Software User Guide (SUG) constitutes the user procedures for the ATMS System. Information in this document will be used by the user to operate the automated system. It is intended to be used as a reference manual to guide and direct the user(s) through the ATMS software product and its environment. The objectives of ATMS are as follows: to better support the Procurement function with freight rate information; to free Transportation Logistics personnel from routine activities such as the auditing and input of freight billing information; to comply with Headquarters Department of Energy-Inspector General (DOE-IG) audit findings to automate transportation management functions; to reduce the keying of data into the Shipment Mobility Accountability Collection (SMAC) database; and to provide automation for the preparing of Bill of Lading, Declaration of Dangerous Goods, Emergency Response Guide and shipping Labels using HM181 Retrieval of hazardous material table text information

  7. Activity Management System user reference manual. Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gates, T.A.; Burdick, M.B.

    1994-01-01

    The Activity Management System (AMS) was developed in response to the need for a simple-to-use, low-cost, user interface system for collecting and logging Hanford Waste Vitrification Plant Project (HWVP) activities. This system needed to run on user workstations and provide common user access to a database stored on a local network file server. Most important, users wanted a system that provided a management tool that supported their individual process for completing activities. Existing system treated the performer as a tool of the system. All AMS data is maintained in encrypted format. Users can feel confident that any activities they have entered into the database are private and that, as the originator, they retain sole control over who can see them. Once entered into the AMS database, the activities cannot be accessed by anyone other than the originator, the designated agent, or by authorized viewers who have been explicitly granted the right to look at specific activities by the originator. This user guide is intended to assist new AMS users in learning how to use the application and, after the initial learning process, will serve as an ongoing reference for experienced users in performing infrequently used functions. Online help screens provide reference to some of the key information in this manual. Additional help screens, encompassing all the applicable material in this manual, will be incorporated into future AMS revisions. A third, and most important, source of help is the AMS administrator(s). This guide describes the initial production version of AMS, which has been designated Revision 1.0

  8. Venues for Meeting Sex Partners and Partner HIV Risk Characteristics: HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN064) Women's HIV Seroincidence Study (ISIS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roman Isler, M; Golin, C; Wang, J; Hughes, J; Justman, J; Haley, D; Kuo, I; Adimora, A; Chege, W; Hodder, S

    2016-06-01

    Identifying venues where women meet sexual partners, particular partners who increase women's risk of acquiring HIV, could inform prevention efforts. We categorized venues where women enrolled in HPTN 064 reported meeting their last three sex partners as: (1) Formal, (2) Public, (3) Private, and (4) Virtual spaces. We used multinomial logistic regression to assess the association between these venues and women's individual characteristics and reports of their partners' HIV risk characteristics. The 2099 women reported meeting 3991 partners, 51 % at Public, 30 % Private, 17 % Formal and 3 % at Virtual venues. Women meeting partners at Formal venues reported more education and condom use than women meeting partners at other venues. Fewer partners met through Formal venues had "high" risk characteristics for HIV than through other venues and hence may pose less risk of HIV transmission. HIV prevention interventions can help women choose partners with fewer risk characteristics across all venue types.

  9. Acoustics of a Music Venue/Bar—A Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramani Ramakrishnan

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available A vacant unit, once used by a Portuguese Deli, was converted to a bar/music room in Toronto. The unit was divided into two spaces along its north-south axis. The western portion was designed as a music room that would provide a performance space from a solo artist to a Jazz combo to a small rock band. The eastern part was designed as a regular bar/dining area. The plan also called for a microbrewery unit at the back of the unit. The bar music can be loud, while the music room can be pianissimo to forte depending on the type of performance. The acoustical design aspects are critical for the music room. In addition, the acoustical separation between the two spaces is equally important. The music room/bar is currently in use. The design results are compared to actual field measurements. The results showed that the music venue performed satisfactorily. The acoustical separation between the music venue and the bar/restaurant was better than expected other than an installation deficiency of the south side sound lock doors. The background sound along the northern portion was NC-35 or less. However, the southern portion’s background sound exceeded NC-35 due to the hissing of the return air grille. The acoustical design and the performance results of the music venue-bar/restaurant are presented in this paper.

  10. The intelligent user interface for NASA's advanced information management systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, William J.; Short, Nicholas, Jr.; Rolofs, Larry H.; Wattawa, Scott L.

    1987-01-01

    NASA has initiated the Intelligent Data Management Project to design and develop advanced information management systems. The project's primary goal is to formulate, design and develop advanced information systems that are capable of supporting the agency's future space research and operational information management needs. The first effort of the project was the development of a prototype Intelligent User Interface to an operational scientific database, using expert systems and natural language processing technologies. An overview of Intelligent User Interface formulation and development is given.

  11. Exposure to ultrafine particles in hospitality venues with partial smoking bans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neuberger, Manfred; Moshammer, Hanns; Schietz, Armin

    2013-01-01

    Fine particles in hospitality venues with insufficient smoking bans indicate health risks from passive smoking. In a random sample of Viennese inns (restaurants, cafes, bars, pubs and discotheques) effects of partial smoking bans on indoor air quality were examined by measurement of count, size and chargeable surface of ultrafine particles (UFPs) sized 10-300 nm, simultaneously with mass of particles sized 300-2500 nm (PM2.5). Air samples were taken in 134 rooms unannounced during busy hours and analyzed by a diffusion size classifier and an optical particle counter. Highest number concentrations of particles were found in smoking venues and smoking rooms (median 66,011 pt/cm(3)). Even non-smoking rooms adjacent to smoking rooms were highly contaminated (median 25,973 pt/cm(3)), compared with non-smoking venues (median 7408 pt/cm(3)). The particle number concentration was significantly correlated with the fine particle mass (Phospitality premises. Health protection of non-smoking guests and employees from risky UFP concentration is insufficient, even in rooms labeled "non-smoking". Partial smoking bans with separation of smoking rooms failed.

  12. No Borders for Tobacco Smoke in Hospitality Venues in Vienna

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manfred Neuberger

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available In public places many countries banned smoking as the most important indoor source of fine airborne particulate matter. In Austria partial bans have been in force since 2009, with exemptions for the hospitality industry. From February to October 2010 we investigated PM2.5 concentrations in the breathing area of guests in well frequented Viennese establishments of all sizes, and compared these chance indoor samples with PM2.5 concentrations measured during the same half hour at the next outdoor monitoring station. The laser particle counter (OPC1.108, Grimm® used for indoor measurements had been calibrated by ß-attenuation (FH 62 I-R, Eberline®, which was used outdoors. 48% of 112 venues visited did not fully comply with the law, notwithstanding its weakness.  Highest median concentrations (in µg/m3 were found in bars (443.7, followed by nightclubs/discotheques (421.1, pubs (147.7, cafes (106.1 and restaurants (23.4. Concentrations increased with number of smokers present (p < 0.01, with medians of 282.4/241,3/67.6/6.9 µg/m³ in smoking venues/smoking rooms/adjacent non-smoking rooms/exclusive non-smoking venues. Only for the latter, a significant correlation was found with outdoor concentrations (r = 0.48, p < 0.01, while concentrations in non-smoking rooms were higher (p < 0.01 and unrelated to outdoor concentrations, but significantly dependent on concentrations in the adjacent smoking room (r = 0.64, p < 0.01. In conclusion, the partial smoking ban failed and guests of Viennese hospitality venues continue to risk disease from passive smoking, even in so-called “non-smoking rooms”, which are second-hand smoke rooms.

  13. Validity of self-reported exposure to second-hand smoke in hospitality venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galán, Iñaki; Mayo, Elga; López, María J; Pérez-Ríos, Mónica; Fu, Marcela; Martínez-Sánchez, Jose M; Schiaffino, Anna; Moncada, Albert; Montes, Agustín; Nebot, Manel; Fernández, Esteve

    2014-08-01

    The aim was to assess the validity of self-reported exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) in 50 hospitality venues of Madrid (Spain) in 2010, taking as a reference vapour-phase nicotine measured by active sampling. The questions posed in the questionnaire permitted distinguishing between the different levels of SHS. However, the moderate relationship found (Spearman׳s correlation=0.387, phospitality venues, based solely on self-reported information, should be used with caution. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Does Individual Gambling Behavior Vary across Gambling Venues with Differing Numbers of Terminals? An Empirical Real-World Study using Player Account Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagoe, Dominic; Pallesen, Ståle; Griffiths, Mark D; Mentzoni, Rune A; Leino, Tony

    2018-01-01

    Research examining gambling behavior via experiments, self-report, and/or observation presents many methodical challenges particularly in relation to objectivity. However, the use of player account-based gambling data provides purely objective data. Based on this real-world data, the primary aim of the present study was to examine gambling behavior in gambling venues with different numbers of gambling terminals (i.e., venues with one terminal; 2-5 terminals; 6-10 terminals; 11-16 terminals). Player account-based gambling data aggregated over a year (2015) amounting to 153,379 observations within 93,034 individual gamblers (males = 74%; mean age = 44.1, SD = 16.4 years) were analyzed. Gambling frequency was highest in venues with 2-5 terminals (54.5%) and lowest in venues with 11-16 terminals (1.6%). Approximately half of the sample (52.5%) gambled in only one venue category, with the majority (81.5%) preferring venues with 2-5 terminals present. Only 0.8% of the sample gambled in all four venue categories. Compared to venues with one terminal, venues with two or more terminals were associated with gamblers placing more bets, and spending more time and money per session. However, gamblers had higher losses (albeit small) in venues with one terminal compared to venues with 2-5 terminals. No differences in net outcome were found between venues with one terminal and those with 6-10 and 11-16 terminals. Overall, the present study demonstrates that in the natural gambling environment, gambling behavior is reinforced in venues with multiple terminals.

  15. Software process improvement: controlling developers, managers or users?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nørbjerg, Jacob

    1999-01-01

    The paper discusses how the latest trend in the management of software development: software process improvement (SPI) may affect user-developer relations. At the outset, SPI concerns the "internal workings" of software organisations, but it may also be interpreted as one way to give the developer...... organisation more control over the development process and the relations with the user organization....

  16. Evaluating user impacts and management controls: Implications for recreation choice behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harriet H. Christensen; Nanette J. Davis

    1985-01-01

    This paper describes potential factors affecting recreation choice behavior. Freedom and lack of constraints are experiences frequently sought by recreationists. Data in the paper are based on questionnaires completed by agency managers and informal conversations with users in the Mount Rainier area of Washington State. Managers' and users' perceptions of...

  17. Does Individual Gambling Behavior Vary across Gambling Venues with Differing Numbers of Terminals? An Empirical Real-World Study using Player Account Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dominic Sagoe

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Research examining gambling behavior via experiments, self-report, and/or observation presents many methodical challenges particularly in relation to objectivity. However, the use of player account-based gambling data provides purely objective data. Based on this real-world data, the primary aim of the present study was to examine gambling behavior in gambling venues with different numbers of gambling terminals (i.e., venues with one terminal; 2–5 terminals; 6–10 terminals; 11–16 terminals. Player account-based gambling data aggregated over a year (2015 amounting to 153,379 observations within 93,034 individual gamblers (males = 74%; mean age = 44.1, SD = 16.4 years were analyzed. Gambling frequency was highest in venues with 2–5 terminals (54.5% and lowest in venues with 11–16 terminals (1.6%. Approximately half of the sample (52.5% gambled in only one venue category, with the majority (81.5% preferring venues with 2–5 terminals present. Only 0.8% of the sample gambled in all four venue categories. Compared to venues with one terminal, venues with two or more terminals were associated with gamblers placing more bets, and spending more time and money per session. However, gamblers had higher losses (albeit small in venues with one terminal compared to venues with 2–5 terminals. No differences in net outcome were found between venues with one terminal and those with 6–10 and 11–16 terminals. Overall, the present study demonstrates that in the natural gambling environment, gambling behavior is reinforced in venues with multiple terminals.

  18. Knowledge and opinion about smoke-free laws and second-hand smoke among hospitality venue managers in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Vinay K; Arora, Monika; Sharma, Indrani; Nazar, Gaurang P; Modi, Bhavesh; Singh, Deepti; Millett, Christopher; Reddy, K Srinath

    2013-01-01

    India's Smoke-Free Law (SFL) was implemented in 2004 and reinforced on 2nd October 2008. This research attempts to understand the knowledge and opinion of hospitality venue (HV) managers about second-hand smoke (SHS) and SFL as well as self-reported compliance with SFL in two Indian states. A survey was conducted among 804 randomly sampled HVs from project STEPS (Strengthening of tobacco control efforts through innovative partnerships and strategies) in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, India. Four hundred and three HVs from two districts in Gujarat and 401 HVs from six districts in Andhra Pradesh were selected. The owner, manager or supervisor of each HV was interviewed using a pre-tested structured interview schedule. Association of opinion scales with respondents' background characteristics was assessed through the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. Out of the 403 respondents in Gujarat and 401 in Andhra Pradesh, 56.1% and 84.3% had knowledge about SFL respectively. Compliance of HVs with SFL was 21.8% in Gujarat and 31.2% in Andhra Pradesh as reported by the managers. Knowledge about SHS was noted among 39.7% of respondents in Gujarat and 25.4% in Andhra Pradesh. Bivariate results indicated that more educated HV managers showed higher support for smoke-free public places (P < 0.001) and were more concerned about the health effects of SHS exposure (P = 0.002). Complete self-reported compliance with, and knowledge of SFL as well as SHS was not found in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. The education level of HV managers is an important determinant to ensure compliance with SFL in public places.

  19. HIV-Risk Behaviors and Social Support Among Men and Women Attending Alcohol-Serving Venues in South Africa: Implications for HIV Prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velloza, Jennifer; Watt, Melissa H; Abler, Laurie; Skinner, Donald; Kalichman, Seth C; Dennis, Alexis C; Sikkema, Kathleen J

    2017-11-01

    Alcohol use is associated with increased HIV-risk behaviors, including unprotected sex and number of sex partners. Alcohol-serving venues can be places to engage in HIV-related sexual risk behaviors, but are also important sites of social support for patrons, which may mitigate risks. We sought to examine the relationship between alcohol-serving venue attendance, social support, and HIV-related sexual risk behavior, by gender, in South Africa. Adult patrons (n = 496) were recruited from six alcohol-serving venues and completed surveys assessing frequency of venue attendance, venue-based social support, and recent sexual behaviors. Generalized estimating equations tested associations between daily venue attendance, social support, and sexual behaviors, separately by gender. Interaction effects between daily attendance and social support were assessed. Models were adjusted for venue, age, education, and ethnicity. Daily attendance at venues was similar across genders and was associated with HIV-related risk behaviors, but the strength and direction of associations differed by gender. Among women, daily attendance was associated with greater number of partners and higher proportion of unprotected sex. Social support was a significant moderator, with more support decreasing the strength of the relationship between attendance and risk. Among men, daily attendance was associated with a lower proportion of unprotected sex; no interaction effects were found for attendance and social support. Frequent venue attendance is associated with additional HIV-related risks for women, but this risk is mitigated by social support in venues. These results were not seen for men. Successful HIV interventions in alcohol-serving venues should address the gendered context of social support and sexual risk behavior.

  20. The effect of Sao Paulo's smoke-free legislation on carbon monoxide concentration in hospitality venues and their workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Issa, Jaqueline S; Abe, Tania M O; Pereira, Alexandre C; Megid, Maria Cristina; Shimabukuro, Cristina E; Valentin, Luis Sergio O; Ferreira, Marizete M da C; Nobre, Moacyr R C; Lancarotte, Ines; Barretto, Antonio Carlos Pereira

    2011-03-01

    Studies have shown that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and there is a close link between SHS and the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the most important components present in SHS. To evaluate the impact of the smoking ban law in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on the CO concentration in restaurants, bars, night clubs and similar venues and in their workers. In the present study we measured CO concentration in 585 hospitality venues. CO concentration was measured in different environments (indoor, semi-open and open areas) from visited venues, as well as, in the exhaled air from approximately 627 workers of such venues. Measurements were performed twice, before and 12 weeks after the law implementation. In addition, the quality of the air in the city during the same period of our study was verified. RESULTS The CO concentration pre-ban and pot-ban in hospitality venues was indoor area 4.57 (3.70) ppm vs 1.35 (1.66) ppm (phospitality venues and in their workers, whether they smoke or not.

  1. User Requirements Model for University Timetable Management System

    OpenAIRE

    Ahmad Althunibat; Mohammad I. Muhairat

    2016-01-01

    Automated timetables are used to schedule courses, lectures and rooms in universities by considering some constraints. Inconvenient and ineffective timetables often waste time and money. Therefore, it is important to investigate the requirements and potential needs of users. Thus, eliciting user requirements of University Timetable Management System (TMS) and their implication becomes an important process for the implementation of TMS. On this note, this paper seeks to propose a m...

  2. Impact of post-event avoidance behavior on commercial facilities sector venues-literature review.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samsa, M. E.; Baldwin, T. E.; Berry, M. S.; Guzowski, L. B.; Martinez-Moyano, I.; Nieves, A. L.; Ramarasad, A. (Decision and Information Sciences)

    2011-03-24

    The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11), focused a great deal of interest and concern on how individual and social perceptions of risk change behavior and subsequently affect commercial sector venues. Argonne conducted a review of the literature to identify studies that quantify the direct and indirect economic consequences of avoidance behaviors that result from terrorist attacks. Despite a growing amount of literature addressing terrorism impacts, relatively little is known about the causal relationships between risk perception, human avoidance behaviors, and the economic effects on commercial venues. Nevertheless, the technical and academic literature does provide some evidence, both directly and by inference, of the level and duration of post-event avoidance behaviors on commercial venues. Key findings are summarized in this Executive Summary. Also included as an appendix is a more detailed summary table of literature findings reproduced from the full report.

  3. Contributions to early HIV diagnosis among patients linked to care vary by testing venue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trott Alexander T

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective Early HIV diagnosis reduces transmission and improves health outcomes; screening in non-traditional settings is increasingly advocated. We compared test venues by the number of new diagnoses successfully linked to the regional HIV treatment center and disease stage at diagnosis. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using structured chart review of newly diagnosed HIV patients successfully referred to the region's only HIV treatment center from 1998 to 2003. Demographics, testing indication, risk profile, and initial CD4 count were recorded. Results There were 277 newly diagnosed patients meeting study criteria. Mean age was 33 years, 77% were male, and 46% were African-American. Median CD4 at diagnosis was 324. Diagnoses were earlier via partner testing at the HIV treatment center (N = 8, median CD4 648, p = 0.008 and with universal screening by the blood bank, military, and insurance companies (N = 13, median CD4 483, p = 0.05 than at other venues. Targeted testing by health care and public health entities based on patient request, risk profile, or patient condition lead to later diagnosis. Conclusion Test venues varied by the number of new diagnoses made and the stage of illness at diagnosis. To improve the rate of early diagnosis, scarce resources should be allocated to maximize the number of new diagnoses at screening venues where diagnoses are more likely to be early or alter testing strategies at test venues where diagnoses are traditionally made late. Efforts to improve early diagnosis should be coordinated longitudinally on a regional basis according to this conceptual paradigm.

  4. Use of paired management action grids for ease in depicting differences between users' and managers' perceptions of problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    R. J. Steele; James E. Fletcher

    1992-01-01

    This research was to determine whether differences exist between users and managers concerning perceptions of actual and perceived problems in parks and primarily to present a method of graphically depicting the differing perceptions of problems which exist between users and park managers which can be easily employed by area managers and related to the public, upper...

  5. Attitudes towards community gambling venues and support for regulatory reform: an online panel study of residents in New South Wales, Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bestman, Amy; Thomas, Samantha L; Randle, Melanie; Pitt, Hannah; Daube, Mike

    2018-04-02

    Harmful gambling has been identified as an important public health issue that affects individuals, families and the broader community. One gambling product, electronic gambling machines (EGMs), has been associated with significant gambling harm in Australia. There has been limited research that has explored community perceptions of EGMs and attitudes towards reform. This study, conducted in NSW, Australia, aimed to explore community use of EGM venues (clubs and hotels containing EGMs), attitudes towards EGMs and whether the use of these venues influenced attitudes towards EGM reform. An online survey was conducted with 500 adults aged 16 years and over, representative of the population for age and gender. Discrete choice and open-ended questions were used to gather data on gambling behaviours, use of and attitudes towards EGMs and EGM venues and support for gambling harm reduction measures. Three quarters of participants had visited an EGM venue in the previous year. Participants who had attended such venues were significantly more likely to use EGMs at least once per month. Participants attended EGM venues for a range of reasons including use of non-gambling facilities such as restaurants, the social aspects of the venue and ease of access to the venue. Some participants also attended EGM venues specifically for the gambling facilities. Most participants identified some negative impacts of EGMs for local communities and were supportive of measures to reduce the number of EGMs and prevent children's exposure to EGMs in such venues. This study shows a high level of support for EGM reform amongst both individuals who attend EGM venues and also those who do not. There is potential for government to further regulate EGMs and the environments where they are located.

  6. A Survey of Health Management User Objectives Related to Diagnostic and Prognostic Metrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, Kevin R.; Kurtoglu, Tolga; Poll, Scott D.

    2010-01-01

    One of the most prominent technical challenges to effective deployment of health management systems is the vast difference in user objectives with respect to engineering development. In this paper, a detailed survey on the objectives of different users of health management systems is presented. These user objectives are then mapped to the metrics typically encountered in the development and testing of two main systems health management functions: diagnosis and prognosis. Using this mapping, the gaps between user goals and the metrics associated with diagnostics and prognostics are identified and presented with a collection of lessons learned from previous studies that include both industrial and military aerospace applications.

  7. User Behaviours Associated with Password Security and Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kay Bryant

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Control mechanisms established on the boundary of an information system are an important preliminary step to minimising losses from security breaches. The primary function of such controls is to restrict the use of information systems and resources to authorized users. Password-based systems remain the predominant method of user authentication despite the many sophisticated and viable security alternatives that have emerged from research and development. However, the literature shows that passwords are often compromised through the poor security and management practices of users. This paper examines user password composition and security practices for email accounts. The results of a survey that examines user practice in creating and using passwords are reported. The results show that many users know about the risks of hackers, viruses and so on and take preliminary steps to combat them such as having passwords longer than eight characters. However, this appears to be as far as many users are willing to accede to the probability that their information and computing resources can be compromised. This paper makes some recommendations for the education of users in creating and maintaining their passwords. The responsibility for these educational programs can be shared between governments, organisations, educational institutions at all levels, and software vendors.

  8. Dashboard Task Monitor for Managing ATLAS User Analysis on the Grid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sargsyan, L.; Andreeva, J.; Jha, M.; Karavakis, E.; Kokoszkiewicz, L.; Saiz, P.; Schovancova, J.; Tuckett, D.; Atlas Collaboration

    2014-06-01

    The organization of the distributed user analysis on the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) infrastructure is one of the most challenging tasks among the computing activities at the Large Hadron Collider. The Experiment Dashboard offers a solution that not only monitors but also manages (kill, resubmit) user tasks and jobs via a web interface. The ATLAS Dashboard Task Monitor provides analysis users with a tool that is independent of the operating system and Grid environment. This contribution describes the functionality of the application and its implementation details, in particular authentication, authorization and audit of the management operations.

  9. Dashboard task monitor for managing ATLAS user analysis on the grid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sargsyan, L; Andreeva, J; Karavakis, E; Saiz, P; Tuckett, D; Jha, M; Kokoszkiewicz, L; Schovancova, J

    2014-01-01

    The organization of the distributed user analysis on the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) infrastructure is one of the most challenging tasks among the computing activities at the Large Hadron Collider. The Experiment Dashboard offers a solution that not only monitors but also manages (kill, resubmit) user tasks and jobs via a web interface. The ATLAS Dashboard Task Monitor provides analysis users with a tool that is independent of the operating system and Grid environment. This contribution describes the functionality of the application and its implementation details, in particular authentication, authorization and audit of the management operations.

  10. The effect of São Paulo's smoke-free legislation on carbon monoxide concentration in hospitality venues and their workers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abe, Tania M O; Pereira, Alexandre C; Megid, Maria Cristina; Shimabukuro, Cristina E; Valentin, Luis Sergio O; da C Ferreira, Marizete M; Nobre, Moacyr R C; Lancarotte, Ines; Barretto, Antonio Carlos Pereira

    2010-01-01

    Background Studies have shown that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and there is a close link between SHS and the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the most important components present in SHS. Objective To evaluate the impact of the smoking ban law in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on the CO concentration in restaurants, bars, night clubs and similar venues and in their workers. Methods In the present study we measured CO concentration in 585 hospitality venues. CO concentration was measured in different environments (indoor, semi-open and open areas) from visited venues, as well as, in the exhaled air from approximately 627 workers of such venues. Measurements were performed twice, before and 12 weeks after the law implementation. In addition, the quality of the air in the city during the same period of our study was verified. Results The CO concentration pre-ban and pot-ban in hospitality venues was indoor area 4.57 (3.70) ppm vs 1.35 (1.66) ppm (phospitality venues and in their workers, whether they smoke or not. PMID:21109684

  11. Impact of the Spanish smoking law on exponsure to secondhand smoke in offices and hospitality venues: before-and-after study

    OpenAIRE

    Nebot, Manel; López, María José; Ariza, Carles; Pérez-Ríos, Mónica; Fu Balboa, Marcela; Schiaffino, Anna; Muñoz, Glòria; Saltó i Cerezuela, Esteve; Fernández Muñoz, Esteve; Borràs Andrés, Josep Maria

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: A smoking law was passed by the Spanish Parliament in December 2005 and was enforced by 1 January 2006. The law bans smoking in all indoor workplaces but only in some hospitality venues, because owners are allowed to establish a smoking zone (venues>100 m2) or to allow smoking without restrictions (venues

  12. Impact of the Spanish Smoking Law on Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in Offices and Hospitality Venues: Before-and-After Study

    OpenAIRE

    Nebot, Manel; L?pez, Maria J.; Ariza, Carles; P?rez-R?os, M?nica; Fu, Marcela; Schiaffino, Anna; Mu?oz, Gloria; Salt?, Esteve; Fern?ndez, Esteve

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: A smoking law was passed by the Spanish Parliament in December 2005 and was enforced by 1 January 2006. The law bans smoking in all indoor workplaces but only in some hospitality venues, because owners are allowed to establish a smoking zone (venues>100 m2) or to allow smoking without restrictions (venues

  13. Sex Behaviors as Social Cues Motivating Social Venue Patronage Among Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Lindsay E; Michaels, Stuart; Jonas, Adam; Khanna, Aditya S; Skaathun, Britt; Morgan, Ethan; Schneider, John A

    2017-10-01

    HIV prevention programs often focus on the physical social venues where men who have sex with men (MSM) frequent as sites where sex behaviors are assumed to be practiced and risk is conferred. But, how exactly these behaviors influence venue patronage is not well understood. In this study, we present a two-mode network analysis that determines the extent that three types of sex behaviors-condomless sex, sex-drug use, and group sex-influence the patronage of different types of social venues among a population sample of young Black MSM (YBMSM) (N = 623). A network analytic technique called exponential random graph modeling was used in a proof of concept analysis to verify how each sex behavior increases the likelihood of a venue patronage tie when estimated as either: (1) an attribute of an individual only and/or (2) a shared attribute between an individual and his peers. Findings reveal that sex behaviors, when modeled only as attributes possessed by focal individuals, were no more or less likely to affect choices to visit social venues. However, when the sex behaviors of peers were also taken into consideration, we learn that individuals were statistically more likely in all three behavioral conditions to go places that attracted other MSM who practiced the same behaviors. This demonstrates that social venues can function as intermediary contexts in which relationships can form between individuals that have greater risk potential given the venues attraction to people who share the same risk tendencies. As such, structuring interventions around these settings can be an effective way to capture the attention of YBMSM and engage them in HIV prevention.

  14. Prototype road weather performance management tool : installation instructions & user manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-07-20

    This document is the Installation Instructions and User Manual for the Road Weather Performance Management (RW-PM) Tool developed for the project on Development and Demonstration of a Prototype Road Weather Performance Management Application that Use...

  15. Emergency Management Standards for NCAA Division I-A Football Stadia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoogstra, Joshua R.

    2012-01-01

    In the best of times, emergency managers of athletic event venues struggle with the responsibilities of venue security. The possibility of terrorist threats exacerbates the situation, especially when security threats can involve a critical mass of spectators at an event. Emergency managers at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)…

  16. Internet Shop Users: Computer Practices and Its Relationship to E-Learning Readiness

    OpenAIRE

    Jasper Vincent Q. Alontaga

    2018-01-01

    Access to computer technology is essential in developing 21st century skills. One venue that serves to bridge the gap in terms of access is internet shops (also known cybercafés or internet cafés). As such, it is important to examine the type of activities internet shop users engage in and how they develop and relate to their e-learning readiness. This study examined the profile, computer practices and e-learning readiness of seventy one (71) internet shop users. A researcher-made internet sh...

  17. The management of radioactive wastes produced by radioisotope users

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1965-01-01

    This code of practice deals with the problem of handling the relatively small quantities of waste arising from the use of radionuclides in laboratories, hospitals and industry when no special facilities for radioactive waste disposal are available on the site. It stresses the need for proper governmental control of the arrangements made for receiving, using and disposing of radioactive materials. The document discusses waste management that can be left to the individual user, waste management in a central facility serving a number of users, and waste storage and environmental containment. A table showing the types of waste associated with some of the more common uses of a number of radionuclides is appended.

  18. Research of user key management mechanisms in the cloud

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Іван Федорович Аулов

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The results of comparison and recommendations on the use of existing user key management mechanisms in the cloud environment are given. New generation and installing mechanism of a private key pair between the N-means of key management in the cloud by using a modified Diffie-Hellman protocol is proposed

  19. Service user integration into social work education: lessons learned from nordic participatory action projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelin, Anna

    2015-01-01

    Service users have lacked substantial influence, access, and participation in social work education in Norway and Sweden. In this article the author presents comparative analyses of two participatory projects that have developed and implemented practices that integrate service users into academic social work education and empower service users. The Norwegian HUSK project and the Social Work as Mobilization and Entrepreneurship course, also known as the "Mobilization course," at Lund University in Sweden demonstrate collaboration between research, social work education, and service users. The conclusions focus on the importance of the empowering processes by including recognition and dialogue, co-learning in practice, and the use of neutral venues to ensure effective user participation. The inclusion of service users in social work education can improve both practice and education.

  20. Exposure to secondhand smoke in terraces and other outdoor areas of hospitality venues in eight European countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López, Maria J; Fernández, Esteve; Gorini, Giuseppe; Moshammer, Hanns; Polanska, Kinga; Clancy, Luke; Dautzenberg, Bertrand; Delrieu, Agnes; Invernizzi, Giovanni; Muñoz, Glòria; Precioso, Jose; Ruprecht, Ario; Stansty, Peter; Hanke, Wojciech; Nebot, Manel

    2012-01-01

    Outdoor secondhand smoke (SHS) concentrations are usually lower than indoor concentrations, yet some studies have shown that outdoor SHS levels could be comparable to indoor levels under specific conditions. The main objectives of this study were to assess levels of SHS exposure in terraces and other outdoor areas of hospitality venues and to evaluate their potential displacement to adjacent indoor areas. Nicotine and respirable particles (PM2.5) were measured in outdoor and indoor areas of hospitality venues of 8 European countries. Hospitality venues of the study included night bars, restaurants and bars. The fieldwork was carried out between March 2009 and March 2011. We gathered 170 nicotine and 142 PM2.5 measurements during the study. The median indoor SHS concentration was significantly higher in venues where smoking was allowed (nicotine 3.69 µg/m3, PM2.5: 120.51 µg/m3) than in those where smoking was banned (nicotine: 0.48 µg/m3, PM2.5: 36.90 µg/m3). The median outdoor nicotine concentration was higher in places where indoor smoking was banned (1.56 µg/m3) than in venues where smoking was allowed (0.31 µg/m3). Among the different types of outdoor areas, the highest median outdoor SHS levels (nicotine: 4.23 µg/m3, PM2.5: 43.64 µg/m3) were found in the semi-closed outdoor areas of venues where indoor smoking was banned. Banning indoor smoking seems to displace SHS exposure to adjacent outdoor areas. Furthermore, indoor settings where smoking is banned but which have a semi-closed outdoor area have higher levels of SHS than those with open outdoor areas, possibly indicating that SHS also drifts from outdoors to indoors. Current legislation restricting indoor SHS levels seems to be insufficient to protect hospitality workers--and patrons--from SHS exposure. Tobacco-free legislation should take these results into account and consider restrictions in the terraces of some hospitality venues to ensure effective protection.

  1. Occupational noise exposure and regulatory adherence in music venues in the United Kingdom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher Barlow

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Noise in most working environments is an unwanted by-product of the process. In most countries, noise exposure for workers has been controlled by legislation for many years. In the music industry the "noise" is actually the "desired" product, and for a long time the UK entertainment industry was exempt from these regulations. From April 2008, however, it became regulated under the Noise at Work Regulations 2005, meaning that employers from orchestras to nightclubs are legally required to adhere to the same requirements (based on ISO 9612:2009 for controlling noise exposure for their staff that have been applied to other industries for many years. A key question is to what degree, 2 years after implementation, these employers are complying with their legal responsibilities to protect the staff from noise? This study assessed four public music venues where live and/or recorded music is regularly played. Thirty staff members in different roles in the venues were monitored using noise dosimetry to determine noise exposure. Questionnaires were used to determine work patterns, attitudes to noise and hearing loss, and levels of training about noise risk. Results showed that the majority of staff (70% in all venues exceeded the daily noise exposure limit value in their working shift. Use of hearing protection was rare (<30% and not enforced by most venues. The understanding of the hazard posed by noise was low, and implementation of the noise regulations was haphazard, with staff regularly exceeding regulatory limits. The implication is that the industry is failing to meet regulatory requirements.

  2. The Computer as Rorschach: Implications for Management and User Acceptance

    OpenAIRE

    Kaplan, Bonnie

    1983-01-01

    Different views of the computer held by different participants in a medical computing project make it difficult to gain wide acceptance of an application. Researchers', programmers', and clinicians' views illustrate how users project their views onto the computer. Effects of these different views on user acceptance and implications for the management of computer projects are presented.

  3. Examining differences in types and location of recruitment venues for young males and females from urban neighborhoods: findings from a multi-site HIV prevention study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chutuape, Kate S; Ziff, Mauri; Auerswald, Colette; Castillo, Marné; McFadden, Antionette; Ellen, Jonathan

    2009-01-01

    Finding and accessing members of youth subpopulations, such as young men who have sex with men (YMSM) of color or young females of color, for behavioral or disease surveillance or study recruitment, pose particular challenges. Venue-based sampling strategies--which hinge on where individuals congregate or "hang out" rather than where they live--appear to be effective alternatives. Methods used to identify venues focus on engaging members of social networks to learn where targeted populations congregate. However, it is not always clear if and how these methods differ according to gender, whether the youth accessed at a venue are actually from neighborhoods in which the venues are found, and whether the location of venues relative to neighborhoods of residence is different for young men and young women. This study illustrates the gender differences in venue type and venue location where eligible youth study participants from high-risk neighborhoods could be accessed for HIV research across 15 research sites (sites). The findings indicate that the study's method led to identifying venues where one quarter or more of the youth were eligible study participants and from the high-risk neighborhoods. Sites targeting young women of color had a higher proportion of eligible study participants who were also from the high-risk neighborhoods than sites targeting YMSM. Clubs were most commonly identified by sites targeting YMSM as recruitment venues, whereas neighborhood-based service or commercial centers were more common venues for young women of color. This study reveals how venue-based recruitment strategies can be tailored and resources maximized by understanding the key differences in the types of venues preferred by males and females and by recognizing that female-preferred venues are more likely to be closer to home.

  4. Ecological user interface for emergency management decision support systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, V.

    2003-01-01

    The user interface for decision support systems is normally structured for presenting relevant data for the skilled user in order to allow fast assessment and action of the hazardous situation, or for more complex situations to present the relevant rules and procedures to be followed in order to ...... of this paper is to discuss the possibility of using the same principles for emergency management with the aim of improved performance in complex and unanticipated situations....

  5. Management strategies for aligning higher education accomodation with the user needs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theo van der Voordt; Ronald Beckers; Geert Dewulf

    2015-01-01

    Purpose This paper aims to explore the management strategies of facility managers and corporate real estate managers to align corporate real estate (CRE) with the needs of their organization and the end users in a changing context. Design/methodology/approach The paper first outlines the

  6. Study on User Authority Management for Safe Data Protection in Cloud Computing Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Su-Hyun Kim

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In cloud computing environments, user data are encrypted using numerous distributed servers before storing such data. Global Internet service companies, such as Google and Yahoo, recognized the importance of Internet service platforms and conducted self-research and development to create and utilize large cluster-based cloud computing platform technology based on low-priced commercial nodes. As diverse data services become possible in distributed computing environments, high-capacity distributed management is emerging as a major issue. Meanwhile, because of the diverse forms of using high-capacity data, security vulnerability and privacy invasion by malicious attackers or internal users can occur. As such, when various sensitive data are stored in cloud servers and used from there, the problem of data spill might occur because of external attackers or the poor management of internal users. Data can be managed through encryption to prevent such problems. However, existing simple encryption methods involve problems associated with the management of access to data stored in cloud environments. Therefore, in the present paper, a technique for data access management by user authority, based on Attribute-Based Encryption (ABE and secret distribution techniques, is proposed.

  7. Management strategies for aligning higher education accommodation with the user needs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beckers, R; van der Voordt, Theo; Dewulf, G

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – This paper aims to explore the management strategies of facility managers and corporate real estate managers to align corporate real estate (CRE) with the needs of their organization and the end users in a changing context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper first outlines the

  8. Innovation Management, Lead Users and Social Media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ernst, M.; Brem, Alexander; Voigt, K.-I.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose — With the rise of social media, the practice of innovation management is changing rapidly as well. While the opening up of corporate innovation processes can be observed in literature as well as in practice (commonly known as “Open Innovation”), we draw the reader’s attention...... to the strategic potential of social media in innovation management. For this, a conceptual framework will be introduced. Design/methodology/approach — In this chapter, we compare established concepts of knowledge management to potentials of social media in this field, which offer more efficient and promising ways...... social media applications is developed and introduced. Originality/value — The unique conceptual framework derived in this chapter is enriched with a discussion of the challenges resulting from the implementation of Lead-User integration along with social media in corporate innovation management...

  9. Realizing User-Relevant Conceptual Model for the Ski Jump Venue of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teakles, Andrew; Mo, Ruping; Dierking, Carl F.; Emond, Chris; Smith, Trevor; McLennan, Neil; Joe, Paul I.

    2014-01-01

    As was the case for most other Olympic competitions, providing weather guidance for the ski jump and Nordic combined events involved its own set of unique challenges. The extent of these challenges was brought to light before the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics during a series of outflow wind events in the 2008/2009 winter season. The interactions with the race officials during the difficult race conditions brought on by the outflows provided a new perspective on the service delivery requirements for the upcoming Olympic Games. In particular, the turbulent nature of the winds and its impact on the ski jump practice events that season highlighted the need of race officials for nowcasting advice at very short time scales (from 2 min to 1 h) and forecast products tailored to their decision-making process. These realizations resulted in last minute modifications to the monitoring strategy leading up to the Olympic Games and required forecasters' conceptual models for flow within the Callaghan Valley to be downscaled further to reflect the evolution of turbulence at the ski jump site. The SNOW-V10 (Science of Nowcasting Olympic Weather for Vancouver 2010) team provided support for these efforts by supplying diagnostic case analyses of important events using numerical weather data and by enhancing the real-time monitoring capabilities at the ski jump venue.

  10. Second-hand smoke exposure in outdoor hospitality venues: Smoking visibility and assessment of airborne markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sureda, Xisca; Bilal, Usama; Fernández, Esteve; Valiente, Roberto; Escobar, Francisco J; Navas-Acien, Ana; Franco, Manuel

    2018-08-01

    After the implementation of smoke-free policies in indoor hospitality venues (including bars, cafeterias, restaurants, and pubs), smokers may have been displaced to their outdoor areas. We aimed to study smoking visibility and second-hand smoke exposure in outdoor hospitality venues. We collected information on signs of tobacco consumption on entrances and terraces of hospitality venues in 2016 in the city of Madrid, Spain. We further measured airborne nicotine concentrations and particulate matter of less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) in terraces with monitors by active sampling during 30 min. We calculated the medians and the interquartile ranges (IQR) of nicotine and PM2.5 concentrations, and fitted multivariate models to characterize their determinants. We found 202 hospitality venues between May and September (summer), and 83 between October and December 2016 (fall) that were opened at the time of observation. We found signs of tobacco consumption on 78.2% of the outdoor main entrances and on 95.1% of outdoor terraces. We measured nicotine and PM2.5 concentrations in 92 outdoor terraces (out of the 123 terraces observed). Overall median nicotine concentration was 0.42 (IQR: 0.14-1.59) μg/m 3 , and overall PM2.5 concentration was 10.40 (IQR: 6.76-15.47) μg/m 3 (statistically significantly higher than the background levels). Multivariable analyses showed that nicotine and PM2.5 concentrations increased when the terraces were completely closed, and when tobacco smell was noticed. Nicotine concentrations increased with the presence of cigarette butts, and when there were more than eight lit cigarettes at a time. Outdoor hospitality venues are areas where non-smokers, both employees and patrons, continue to be exposed to second-hand smoke. These spaces should be further studied and considered in future tobacco control interventions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus, Pig-Tailed Macaque (Macaca nemestrina and Tiger (Panthera tigris Populations at Tourism Venues in Thailand and Aspects of Their Welfare.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Schmidt-Burbach

    Full Text Available This study focused on determining the size and welfare aspects of Asian elephant, pig-tailed macaque and tiger populations at facilities open to tourists in Thailand. Data were gathered from 118 venues through direct observations and interviews with staff. A score sheet-based welfare assessment was used to calculate scores between 1 and 10, indicating each venue's welfare situation. Factors such as freedom of movement for the animals, access to veterinary care, environmental noise quality, hygiene standards and work intensity were included in the score sheet. 1688 elephants, 371 macaques and 621 tigers were found at the venues. 89 venues exclusively kept elephants, 9 designated 'Monkey schools' offered macaque shows, 4 venues kept primarily tigers, mostly for petting and photo opportunities, and the remaining venues kept a mix of these animals. A strong imbalance in female to male gender ratios was recorded with about 4:1 for adult elephants and 1:4 for adult macaques. Severely inadequate welfare conditions were common, with 75% of macaques and 99% of tigers being kept at venues with scores less than 5. 86% of elephants were kept in inadequate conditions at venues with scores between 3 and 5, but a significant number of venues with scores above 5 were found. 4.6% of elephants were provided commendable conditions, reaching assessment scores of 8 and above. 71% of venues did not offer any sort of education about animals to visitors. This study is the first to assess welfare aspects of captive wild animals at tourism venues across Thailand. It concludes that significant concerns exist about the welfare of wild animals in the tourism sector of Thailand. Urgent attention needs to be given to address these concerns and prevent further suffering. But also to ensure the demand for wild animals doesn't have a negative impact on wild populations.

  12. Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Pig-Tailed Macaque (Macaca nemestrina) and Tiger (Panthera tigris) Populations at Tourism Venues in Thailand and Aspects of Their Welfare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt-Burbach, Jan; Ronfot, Delphine; Srisangiam, Rossukon

    2015-01-01

    This study focused on determining the size and welfare aspects of Asian elephant, pig-tailed macaque and tiger populations at facilities open to tourists in Thailand. Data were gathered from 118 venues through direct observations and interviews with staff. A score sheet-based welfare assessment was used to calculate scores between 1 and 10, indicating each venue's welfare situation. Factors such as freedom of movement for the animals, access to veterinary care, environmental noise quality, hygiene standards and work intensity were included in the score sheet. 1688 elephants, 371 macaques and 621 tigers were found at the venues. 89 venues exclusively kept elephants, 9 designated 'Monkey schools' offered macaque shows, 4 venues kept primarily tigers, mostly for petting and photo opportunities, and the remaining venues kept a mix of these animals. A strong imbalance in female to male gender ratios was recorded with about 4:1 for adult elephants and 1:4 for adult macaques. Severely inadequate welfare conditions were common, with 75% of macaques and 99% of tigers being kept at venues with scores less than 5. 86% of elephants were kept in inadequate conditions at venues with scores between 3 and 5, but a significant number of venues with scores above 5 were found. 4.6% of elephants were provided commendable conditions, reaching assessment scores of 8 and above. 71% of venues did not offer any sort of education about animals to visitors. This study is the first to assess welfare aspects of captive wild animals at tourism venues across Thailand. It concludes that significant concerns exist about the welfare of wild animals in the tourism sector of Thailand. Urgent attention needs to be given to address these concerns and prevent further suffering. But also to ensure the demand for wild animals doesn't have a negative impact on wild populations.

  13. Managing a Safe and Successful Multi-User Spaceport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dacko, Taylor; Ketterer, Kirk; Meade, Phillip

    2016-01-01

    Encouraged by the creation of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation within the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1984 and the Commercial Space Act of 1998, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) now relies on an extensive network of support from commercial companies and organizations. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), this collaboration opens competitive opportunities for launch providers, including repurposing underutilized Shuttle Program resources, constructing new facilities, and utilizing center services and laboratories. The resulting multi-user spaceport fosters diverse activity, though it engenders risk from hazards associated with various spaceflight processing activities. The KSC Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) Directorate, in coordination with the center's Spaceport Integration and Center Planning & Development organizations, has developed a novel approach to protect NASA's workforce, critical assets, and the public from hazardous, space-related activity associated with KSC's multi-user spaceport. For NASA KSC S&MA, the transformation to a multi-user spaceport required implementing methods to foster safe and successful commercial activity while resolving challenges involving: Retirement of the Space Shuttle program; Co-location of multiple NASA programs; Relationships between the NASA programs; Complex relationships between NASA programs and commercial partner operations in exclusive-use facilities; Complex relationships between NASA programs and commercial partner operations in shared-use facilities. NASA KSC S&MA challenges were met with long-term planning and solutions involving cooperation with the Spaceport Integration and Services Directorate. This directorate is responsible for managing active commercial partnerships with customer advocacy and services management, providing a dedicated and consistent level of support to a wide array of commercial operations. This paper explores these solutions, their

  14. Prototype road weather performance management (RWPM) tool installation instructions & user manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-07-20

    This document is the Installation Instructions and User Manual for the Road Weather Performance Management (RW-PM) Tool developed for the project on Development and Demonstration of a Prototype Road Weather Performance Management Application that Use...

  15. Two graphical user interfaces for managing and analyzing MODFLOW groundwater-model scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banta, Edward R.

    2014-01-01

    Scenario Manager and Scenario Analyzer are graphical user interfaces that facilitate the use of calibrated, MODFLOW-based groundwater models for investigating possible responses to proposed stresses on a groundwater system. Scenario Manager allows a user, starting with a calibrated model, to design and run model scenarios by adding or modifying stresses simulated by the model. Scenario Analyzer facilitates the process of extracting data from model output and preparing such display elements as maps, charts, and tables. Both programs are designed for users who are familiar with the science on which groundwater modeling is based but who may not have a groundwater modeler’s expertise in building and calibrating a groundwater model from start to finish. With Scenario Manager, the user can manipulate model input to simulate withdrawal or injection wells, time-variant specified hydraulic heads, recharge, and such surface-water features as rivers and canals. Input for stresses to be simulated comes from user-provided geographic information system files and time-series data files. A Scenario Manager project can contain multiple scenarios and is self-documenting. Scenario Analyzer can be used to analyze output from any MODFLOW-based model; it is not limited to use with scenarios generated by Scenario Manager. Model-simulated values of hydraulic head, drawdown, solute concentration, and cell-by-cell flow rates can be presented in display elements. Map data can be represented as lines of equal value (contours) or as a gradated color fill. Charts and tables display time-series data obtained from output generated by a transient-state model run or from user-provided text files of time-series data. A display element can be based entirely on output of a single model run, or, to facilitate comparison of results of multiple scenarios, an element can be based on output from multiple model runs. Scenario Analyzer can export display elements and supporting metadata as a Portable

  16. Venues for Meeting Sex Partners and Partner HIV Risk Characteristics: HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN064) Women's HIV Seroincidence Study (ISIS)

    OpenAIRE

    Isler, M. Roman; Golin, C.; Wang, J.; Hughes, J.; Justman, J.; Haley, D.; Kuo, I.; Adimora, A.; Chege, W.; Hodder, S.

    2016-01-01

    Identifying venues where women meet sexual partners, particular partners who increase women's risk of acquiring HIV, could inform prevention efforts. We categorized venues where women enrolled in HPTN 064 reported meeting their last three sex partners as: (1) Formal, (2) Public, (3) Private, and (4) Virtual spaces. We used multinomial logistic regression to assess the association between these venues and women's individual characteristics and reports of their partners' HIV risk characteristic...

  17. User and group storage management the CMS CERN T2 centre

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerminara, G.; Franzoni, G.; Pfeiffer, A.

    2015-12-01

    A wide range of detector commissioning, calibration and data analysis tasks is carried out by CMS using dedicated storage resources available at the CMS CERN Tier-2 centre. Relying on the functionalities of the EOS disk-only storage technology, the optimal exploitation of the CMS user/group resources has required the introduction of policies for data access management, data protection, cleanup campaigns based on access pattern, and long term tape archival. The resource management has been organised around the definition of working groups and the delegation to an identified responsible of each group composition. In this paper we illustrate the user/group storage management, and the development and operational experience at the CMS CERN Tier-2 centre in the 2012-2015 period.

  18. User and group storage management the CMS CERN T2 centre

    CERN Document Server

    Cerminara, G; Pfeiffer, A

    2015-01-01

    A wide range of detector commissioning, calibration and data analysis tasks is carried out by CMS using dedicated storage resources available at the CMS CERN Tier-2 centre. Relying on the functionalities of the EOS disk-only storage technology, the optimal exploitation of the CMS user/group resources has required the introduction of policies for data access management, data protection, cleanup campaigns based on access pattern, and long term tape archival. The resource management has been organised around the definition of working groups and the delegation to an identified responsible of each group composition. In this paper we illustrate the user/group storage management, and the development and operational experience at the CMS CERN Tier-2 centre in the 2012-2015 period.

  19. Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Pig-Tailed Macaque (Macaca nemestrina) and Tiger (Panthera tigris) Populations at Tourism Venues in Thailand and Aspects of Their Welfare

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt-Burbach, Jan; Ronfot, Delphine; Srisangiam, Rossukon

    2015-01-01

    This study focused on determining the size and welfare aspects of Asian elephant, pig-tailed macaque and tiger populations at facilities open to tourists in Thailand. Data were gathered from 118 venues through direct observations and interviews with staff. A score sheet-based welfare assessment was used to calculate scores between 1 and 10, indicating each venue’s welfare situation. Factors such as freedom of movement for the animals, access to veterinary care, environmental noise quality, hygiene standards and work intensity were included in the score sheet. 1688 elephants, 371 macaques and 621 tigers were found at the venues. 89 venues exclusively kept elephants, 9 designated ‘Monkey schools’ offered macaque shows, 4 venues kept primarily tigers, mostly for petting and photo opportunities, and the remaining venues kept a mix of these animals. A strong imbalance in female to male gender ratios was recorded with about 4:1 for adult elephants and 1:4 for adult macaques. Severely inadequate welfare conditions were common, with 75% of macaques and 99% of tigers being kept at venues with scores less than 5. 86% of elephants were kept in inadequate conditions at venues with scores between 3 and 5, but a significant number of venues with scores above 5 were found. 4.6% of elephants were provided commendable conditions, reaching assessment scores of 8 and above. 71% of venues did not offer any sort of education about animals to visitors. This study is the first to assess welfare aspects of captive wild animals at tourism venues across Thailand. It concludes that significant concerns exist about the welfare of wild animals in the tourism sector of Thailand. Urgent attention needs to be given to address these concerns and prevent further suffering. But also to ensure the demand for wild animals doesn’t have a negative impact on wild populations. PMID:26407173

  20. Impact of the Spanish smoking law on exposure to secondhand smoke in offices and hospitality venues: before-and-after study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nebot, Manel; López, Maria J; Ariza, Carles; Pérez-Ríos, Mónica; Fu, Marcela; Schiaffino, Anna; Muñoz, Gloria; Saltó, Esteve; Fernández, Esteve

    2009-03-01

    A smoking law was passed by the Spanish Parliament in December 2005 and was enforced by 1 January 2006. The law bans smoking in all indoor workplaces but only in some hospitality venues, because owners are allowed to establish a smoking zone (venues>100 m2) or to allow smoking without restrictions (venueshospitality venues. The study design is a before-and-after evaluation. We studied workplaces and hospitality venues from eight different regions of Spain. We took repeated samples of vapor-phase nicotine concentration in 398 premises, including private offices (162), public administration offices (90), university premises (43), bars and restaurants (79), and discotheques and pubs (24). In the follow-up period, SHS levels were markedly reduced in indoor offices. The median decrease in nicotine concentration ranged from 60.0% in public premises to 97.4% in private areas. Nicotine concentrations were also markedly reduced in bars and restaurants that became smoke-free (96.7%) and in the no-smoking zones of venues with separate spaces for smokers (88.9%). We found no significant changes in smoking zones or in premises allowing smoking, including discotheques and pubs. Overall, this study shows the positive impact of the law on reducing SHS in indoor workplaces. However, SHS was substantially reduced only in bars and restaurants that became smoke-free. Most hospitality workers continue to be exposed to very high levels of SHS. Therefore, a 100% smoke-free policy for all hospitality venues is required.

  1. Double-Blind Review in Software Engineering Venues : The Community’s Perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bacchelli, A.; Beller, M.M.

    2017-01-01

    The peer review process is central to the scientific method, the advancement and spread of research, as well as crucial for individual careers. However, the single-blind review mode currently used in most Software Engineering (SE) venues is susceptible to apparent and hidden biases, since reviewers

  2. Dynamic boundaries of user communities: exploiting synergies rather than managing dilemmas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragsdahl Lauritzen, Ghita; Salomo, Søren; La Cour, Anders

    2013-01-01

    literature characterises such tensions as dilemmas between competing demands that firms must balance to encourage and benefit from user contributions. This paper brings in a systems theory perspective to show that what is currently described as trade-offs that must be managed are in fact synergies......A large body of literature indicates that innovation not only stems from a firm’s internal investments but also relies on input from external sources. This is also reflected in an increasing interest in user innovation. In particular, users, who increasingly gather in communities, can offer...

  3. ERP as an organization innovation : Key users and cross-boundary knowledge management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maas, J.-B.; van Fenema, P.C.; Soeters, J.M.M.L.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide more insight in the ways key users act as knowledge managers and boundary spanners during the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system usage phase. Despite the recognized importance of key users during the implementation phase of an ERP system, little

  4. Q&A. Does lack of product management impact the users of open source?

    OpenAIRE

    Paul Young

    2008-01-01

    Most commercial software companies employ product managers to handle the planning and marketing of software products, whereas few open source projects have a product manager. Does lack of product management impact the users of open source?

  5. Local differences in human immunodeficiency virus prevalence: a comparison of social venue patrons, antenatal patients, and sexually transmitted infection patients in eastern kinshasa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mwandagalirwa, Kashamuka; Jackson, Elizabeth F; McClamroch, Kristi; Bollinger, Robert; Ryder, Robert W; Weir, Sharon S

    2009-07-01

    This study compares the sexual behavior and HIV prevalence of men and women at social venues where people meet new sexual partners in Eastern Kinshasa with that of sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment and antenatal clinic (ANC) patients in the same area. ANC patients, STI clinic patients, and social venue patrons were interviewed, asked to provide a blood sample on-site, and provided with information about obtaining test results. Every patron at identified social venues in the study area was invited to participate. One thousand one hundred sixteen pregnant women; 66 male and 229 female STI clinic patients; and 952 male and 247 female patrons of social venues were interviewed and tested for HIV. HIV prevalence differed by group: ANC patients (4%); female venue patrons (12%); female STI patients (16%); male venue patrons (2%); and male STI patients (23%). HIV prevalence among sex workers at social venues (29%) was higher than HIV prevalence among other female patrons with new or multiple partnerships in the past four weeks (19%) and higher than HIV prevalence among female patrons denying sex work (6%). However, the absolute number of infected women was higher among women reporting recent new or multiple partnerships than among the smaller group of sex workers (23 vs. 18). Two-thirds of the infected female STI patients (24/36) reported no more than one and no new sexual partner in the past year. Improving prevention programs in Kinshasa is essential. Prevention efforts should not neglect women at social venues who do not self-identify as sex workers but who have high rates of new sexual partnership formation.

  6. Comparing two anesthesia information management system user interfaces: a usability evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wanderer, Jonathan P; Rao, Anoop V; Rothwell, Sarah H; Ehrenfeld, Jesse M

    2012-11-01

    Anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) have been developed by multiple vendors and are deployed in thousands of operating rooms around the world, yet not much is known about measuring and improving AIMS usability. We developed a methodology for evaluating AIMS usability in a low-fidelity simulated clinical environment and used it to compare an existing user interface with a revised version. We hypothesized that the revised user interface would be more useable. In a low-fidelity simulated clinical environment, twenty anesthesia providers documented essential anesthetic information for the start of the case using both an existing and a revised user interface. Participants had not used the revised user interface previously and completed a brief training exercise prior to the study task. All participants completed a workload assessment and a satisfaction survey. All sessions were recorded. Multiple usability metrics were measured. The primary outcome was documentation accuracy. Secondary outcomes were perceived workload, number of documentation steps, number of user interactions, and documentation time. The interfaces were compared and design problems were identified by analyzing recorded sessions and survey results. Use of the revised user interface was shown to improve documentation accuracy from 85.1% to 92.4%, a difference of 7.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] for the difference 1.8 to 12.7). The revised user interface decreased the number of user interactions by 6.5 for intravenous documentation (95% CI 2.9 to 10.1) and by 16.1 for airway documentation (95% CI 11.1 to 21.1). The revised user interface required 3.8 fewer documentation steps (95% CI 2.3 to 5.4). Airway documentation time was reduced by 30.5 seconds with the revised workflow (95% CI 8.5 to 52.4). There were no significant time differences noted in intravenous documentation or in total task time. No difference in perceived workload was found between the user interfaces. Two user interface

  7. Occupational noise exposure and regulatory adherence in music venues in the United Kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barlow, Christopher; Castilla-Sanchez, Francisco

    2012-01-01

    Noise in most working environments is an unwanted by-product of the process. In most countries, noise exposure for workers has been controlled by legislation for many years. In the music industry the "noise" is actually the "desired" product, and for a long time the UK entertainment industry was exempt from these regulations. From April 2008, however, it became regulated under the Noise at Work Regulations 2005, meaning that employers from orchestras to nightclubs are legally required to adhere to the same requirements (based on ISO 9612:2009) for controlling noise exposure for their staff that have been applied to other industries for many years. A key question is to what degree, 2 years after implementation, these employers are complying with their legal responsibilities to protect the staff from noise? This study assessed four public music venues where live and/or recorded music is regularly played. Thirty staff members in different roles in the venues were monitored using noise dosimetry to determine noise exposure. Questionnaires were used to determine work patterns, attitudes to noise and hearing loss, and levels of training about noise risk. Results showed that the majority of staff (70%) in all venues exceeded the daily noise exposure limit value in their working shift. Use of hearing protection was rare (industry is failing to meet regulatory requirements.

  8. Tobacco smoke exposure and impact of smoking legislation on rural and non-rural hospitality venues in North Dakota.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buettner-Schmidt, Kelly; Lobo, Marie L; Travers, Mark J; Boursaw, Blake

    2015-08-01

    The purpose of this cross-sectional study in a stratified random sample of 135 bars and restaurants in North Dakota was to describe factors that influenced tobacco smoke pollution levels in the venues; to compare the quantity of tobacco smoke pollution by rurality and by presence of local ordinances; and to assess compliance with state and local laws. In data collection in 2012, we measured the indoor air quality indicator of particulate matter (2.5 microns aerodynamic diameter or smaller), calculated average smoking density and occupant density, and determined compliance with state and local smoking ordinances using observational methods. As rurality increased, tobacco smoke pollution in bars increased. A significant association was found between stringency of local laws and level of tobacco smoke pollution, but the strength of the association varied by venue type. Compliance was significantly lower in venues in communities without local ordinances. Controlling for venue type, 69.2% of smoke-free policy's impact on tobacco smoke pollution levels was mediated by observed smoking. This study advances scientific knowledge on the factors influencing tobacco smoke pollution and informs public health advocates and decision makers on policy needs, especially in rural areas. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Indoor air pollution (PM2.5) due to secondhand smoke in selected hospitality and entertainment venues of Karachi, Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nafees, Asaad Ahmed; Taj, Tahir; Kadir, Muhammad Masood; Fatmi, Zafar; Lee, Kiyoung; Sathiakumar, Nalini

    2012-09-01

    To determine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM(2.5)) levels at various hospitality and entertainment venues of Karachi, Pakistan. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at various locations in Karachi, during July 2009. Sampling was performed at 20 enclosed public places, including hospitality (restaurants and cafés) and entertainment (snooker/billiard clubs and gaming zones) venues. PM(2.5) levels were measured using an aerosol monitor. All entertainment venues had higher indoor PM(2.5) levels as compared to the immediate outdoors. The indoor PM(2.5) levels ranged from 25 to 390 μg/m(3) and the outdoor PM(2.5) levels ranged from 18 to 96 μg/m(3). The overall mean indoor PM(2.5) level was 138.8 μg/m(3) (± 112.8). Among the four types of venues, the highest mean indoor PM(2.5) level was reported from snooker/billiard clubs: 264.7 μg/m(3) (± 85.4) and the lowest from restaurants: 66.4 μg/m(3) (± 57.6) while the indoor/outdoor ratio ranged from 0.97 to 10.2, highest being at the snooker/billiard clubs. The smoking density ranged from 0.21 to 0.57, highest being at gaming zones. The indoor PM(2.5) concentration and smoking density were not significantly correlated (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.113; p = 0.636). This study demonstrates unacceptably high levels of PM(2.5) exposure associated with secondhand smoke (SHS) at various entertainment venues of Karachi even after 8 years since the promulgation of smoke-free ordinance (2002) in Pakistan; however, better compliance may be evident at hospitality venues. The results of this study call for effective implementation and enforcement of smoke-free environment at public places in the country.

  10. Impact of the 2011 Spanish smoking ban in hospitality venues: indoor secondhand smoke exposure and influence of outdoor smoking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López, María J; Fernández, Esteve; Pérez-Rios, Mónica; Martínez-Sánchez, Jose M; Schiaffino, Anna; Galán, Iñaki; Moncada, Albert; Fu, Marcela; Montes, Agustín; Saltó, Esteve; Nebot, Manel

    2013-05-01

    The Spanish tobacco control law of 2006 was modified in January 2011, banning smoking in all hospitality venues. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of the 2011 Spanish smoking ban on secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in hospitality venues, and to analyze the potential impact of outdoor smokers close to entrances on indoor SHS levels after the law came into force. Before-and-after evaluation study with repeated measures. The study was carried out in three regions of Spain (Catalonia, Galicia, and Madrid) and included a random sample of 178 hospitality venues. We measured vapor-phase nicotine and particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter (PM2.5) as SHS markers at baseline (November-December 2010) and at follow-up (April-June 2011). We also recorded tobacco consumption variables such as the presence of butts, ashtrays, and smokers. In the posttest assessment, we also recorded the number of outdoor smokers close to the entrance. A total of 351 nicotine and 160 PM2.5 measurements were taken. Both nicotine and PM2.5 concentrations decreased by more than 90% (nicotine from 5.73 to 0.57 µg/m(3), PM2.5 from 233.38 to 18.82 µg/m(3)). After the law came into force, both nicotine and PM2.5 concentrations were significantly higher in venues with outdoor smokers close to the entrance than in those without outdoor smokers. All the observational tobacco consumption variables significantly decreased (p hospitality venues dramatically decreased after the 2011 Spanish smoking ban. SHS from outdoor smokers close to entrances seems to drift inside venues. Smoking control legislation should consider outdoor restrictions to ensure complete protection against SHS.

  11. Q&A. Does lack of product management impact the users of open source?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Young

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Most commercial software companies employ product managers to handle the planning and marketing of software products, whereas few open source projects have a product manager. Does lack of product management impact the users of open source?

  12. Association between Secondhand Smoke in Hospitality Venues and Urinary 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol Concentrations in Non-Smoking Staff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jeonghoon; Lee, Kiyoung; Kwon, Ho-Jang; Lee, Do Hoon; Kim, KyooSang

    2016-11-08

    The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between urinary cotinine and total 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) concentrations in non-smoking staff and the indoor levels of fine particles (PM 2.5 ) in hospitality venues that allow smoking, with respect to demographic and indoor environmental factors. We evaluated 62 hospitality venues that allowed smoking in Seoul, Korea. A real-time aerosol monitor was used to measure indoor PM 2.5 concentrations. Field technicians recorded indoor environmental characteristics. One non-smoking staff member in each hospitality venue was tested for urinary cotinine and total NNAL concentrations. Demographic characteristics were obtained from self-reported staff questionnaires. Natural-log (ln)-transformed PM 2.5 concentrations were significantly correlated with the ln-transformed cotinine ( r = 0.31) and the total NNAL concentrations ( r = 0.32). In multivariable regression analysis, the urinary cotinine concentrations of the staff members were significantly correlated with indoor PM 2.5 concentrations; those with the highest concentrations were more likely to be women or staff members that worked in venues with a volume hospitality venues that allow smoking.

  13. Understanding the Effects of Users' Behaviors on Effectiveness of Different Exogenous Regulatory Common Pool Resource Management Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madani, K.; Dinar, A.

    2013-12-01

    Tragedy of the commons is generally recognized as one of the possible destinies for common pool resources (CPRs). To avoid the tragedy of the commons and prolonging the life of CPRs, users may show different behavioral characteristics and use different rationales for CPR planning and management. Furthermore, regulators may adopt different strategies for sustainable management of CPRs. The effectiveness of different regulatory exogenous management institutions cannot be evaluated through conventional CPR models since they assume that either users base their behavior on individual rationality and adopt a selfish behavior (Nash behavior), or that the users seek the system's optimal solution without giving priority to their own interests. Therefore, conventional models fail to reliably predict the outcome of CPR problems in which parties may have a range of behavioral characteristics, putting them somewhere in between the two types of behaviors traditionally considered. This work examines the effectiveness of different regulatory exogenous CPR management institutions through a user-based model (as opposed to a system-based model). The new modeling framework allows for consideration of sensitivity of the results to different behavioral characteristics of interacting CPR users. The suggested modeling approach is applied to a benchmark groundwater management problem. Results indicate that some well-known exogenous management institutions (e.g. taxing) are ineffective in sustainable management of CPRs in most cases. Bankruptcy-based management can be helpful, but determination of the fair level of cutbacks remains challenging under this type of institution. Furthermore, some bankruptcy rules such as the Constrained Equal Award (CEA) method are more beneficial to wealthier users, failing to establish social justice. Quota-based and CPR status-based management perform as the most promising and robust regulatory exogenous institutions in prolonging the CPR's life and

  14. Climate Change and Water Working Group - User Needs to Manage Hydrclimatic Risk from Days to Decades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raff, D. A.; Brekke, L. D.; Werner, K.; Wood, A.; White, K. D.

    2012-12-01

    The Federal Climate Change Water Working Group (CCAWWG) provides engineering and scientific collaborations in support of water management. CCAWWG objectives include building working relationships across federal science and water management agencies, provide a forum to share expertise and leverage resources, develop education and training forums, to work with water managers to understand scientific needs and to foster collaborative efforts across the Federal and non-Federal water management and science communities to address those needs. Identifying and addressing water management needs has been categorized across two major time scales: days to a decade and multi-decadal, respectively. These two time periods are termed "Short-Term" and "Long-Term" in terms of the types of water management decisions they support where Short-Term roughly correlates to water management operations and Long-Term roughly correlates to planning activities. This presentation will focus on portraying the identified water management user needs across these two time periods. User Needs for Long-Term planning were identified in the 2011 Reclamation and USACE "Addressing Climate Change in Long-Term Water Resources Planning and Management: User Needs for Improving Tools and Information." User needs for Long-Term planning are identified across eight major categories: Summarize Relevant Literature, Obtain Climate Change Information, Make Decisions About How to Use the Climate Change Information, Assess Natural Systems Response, Assess Socioeconomic and Institutional Response, Assess System Risks and Evaluate Alternatives, Assess and Characterize Uncertainties, and Communicating Results and Uncertainties to Decisionmakers. User Needs for Short-Term operations are focused on needs relative to available or desired monitoring and forecast products from the hydroclimatic community. These needs are presenting in the 2012 USACE, Reclamation, and NOAA - NWS "Short-Term Water Management Decisions: User

  15. Game-Theoretic Energy Management for Residential Users with Dischargeable Plug-in Electric Vehicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bingtuan Gao

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The plug-in electric vehicle (PEV has attracted more and more attention because of the energy crisis and environmental pollution, which is also the main shiftable load of the residential users’ demand side management (DSM system in the future smart grid (SG. In this paper, we employ game theory to provide an autonomous energy management system among residential users considering selling energy back to the utility company by discharging the PEV’s battery. By assuming all users are equipped with smart meters to execute automatic energy consumption scheduling (ECS and the energy company can adopt adequate pricing tariffs relating to time and level of energy usage, we formulate an energy management game, where the players are the residential users and the strategies are their daily schedules of household appliance use. We will show that the Nash equilibrium of the formulated energy management game can guarantee the global optimization in terms of minimizing the energy costs, where the depreciation cost of PEV’s battery because of discharging and selling energy back is also considered. Simulation results verify that the proposed game-theoretic approach can reduce the total energy cost and individual daily electricity payment. Moreover, since plug-in electric bicycles (PEBs are currently widely used in China, simulation results of residential users owing household appliances and bidirectional energy trading of PEBs are also provided and discussed.

  16. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2010-2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantmeier, Cindy, Ed.; Yu, Xiucheng, Ed.; Bishop, Tracy Van, Ed.

    2011-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles and books published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It treats any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order by author,…

  17. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2015-2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Shenika, Ed.; Bernales, Carolina, Ed.; Romero-Ghiretti, Gabriela, Ed.; Dolosic, Haley, Ed.; Liu, Huan, Ed.; Van Bishop, Tracy, Ed.

    2016-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It treats any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each with a complete…

  18. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2012-2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantmeier, Cindy, Ed.; Van Bishop, Tracy, Ed.; Yu, Xiucheng, Ed.; Davis, Stacy, Ed.

    2013-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles and books published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It deals with any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each…

  19. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2013-2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantmeier, Cindy; Schultz, Lyndsie; Aquino-Sterling, Cristian; Van Bishop, Tracy

    2014-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles and books published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It treats any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each with a…

  20. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2014-2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantmeier, Cindy, Ed.; Dolosic, Haley, Ed.; Schultz, Lyndsie, Ed.; Aquino-Sterling, Cristian, Ed.; Van Bishop, Tracy, Ed.

    2015-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL"). It treats any topic within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each with a complete…

  1. Akuna: An Open Source User Environment for Managing Subsurface Simulation Workflows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freedman, V. L.; Agarwal, D.; Bensema, K.; Finsterle, S.; Gable, C. W.; Keating, E. H.; Krishnan, H.; Lansing, C.; Moeglein, W.; Pau, G. S. H.; Porter, E.; Scheibe, T. D.

    2014-12-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is investing in development of a numerical modeling toolset called ASCEM (Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management) to support modeling analyses at legacy waste sites. ASCEM is an open source and modular computing framework that incorporates new advances and tools for predicting contaminant fate and transport in natural and engineered systems. The ASCEM toolset includes both a Platform with Integrated Toolsets (called Akuna) and a High-Performance Computing multi-process simulator (called Amanzi). The focus of this presentation is on Akuna, an open-source user environment that manages subsurface simulation workflows and associated data and metadata. In this presentation, key elements of Akuna are demonstrated, which includes toolsets for model setup, database management, sensitivity analysis, parameter estimation, uncertainty quantification, and visualization of both model setup and simulation results. A key component of the workflow is in the automated job launching and monitoring capabilities, which allow a user to submit and monitor simulation runs on high-performance, parallel computers. Visualization of large outputs can also be performed without moving data back to local resources. These capabilities make high-performance computing accessible to the users who might not be familiar with batch queue systems and usage protocols on different supercomputers and clusters.

  2. AsyncStageOut: Distributed user data management for CMS Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riahi, H.; Wildish, T.; Ciangottini, D.; Hernández, J. M.; Andreeva, J.; Balcas, J.; Karavakis, E.; Mascheroni, M.; Tanasijczuk, A. J.; Vaandering, E. W.

    2015-12-01

    AsyncStageOut (ASO) is a new component of the distributed data analysis system of CMS, CRAB, designed for managing users' data. It addresses a major weakness of the previous model, namely that mass storage of output data was part of the job execution resulting in inefficient use of job slots and an unacceptable failure rate at the end of the jobs. ASO foresees the management of up to 400k files per day of various sizes, spread worldwide across more than 60 sites. It must handle up to 1000 individual users per month, and work with minimal delay. This creates challenging requirements for system scalability, performance and monitoring. ASO uses FTS to schedule and execute the transfers between the storage elements of the source and destination sites. It has evolved from a limited prototype to a highly adaptable service, which manages and monitors the user file placement and bookkeeping. To ensure system scalability and data monitoring, it employs new technologies such as a NoSQL database and re-uses existing components of PhEDEx and the FTS Dashboard. We present the asynchronous stage-out strategy and the architecture of the solution we implemented to deal with those issues and challenges. The deployment model for the high availability and scalability of the service is discussed. The performance of the system during the commissioning and the first phase of production are also shown, along with results from simulations designed to explore the limits of scalability.

  3. AsyncStageOut: Distributed User Data Management for CMS Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Riahi, H. [CERN; Wildish, T. [Princeton U.; Ciangottini, D. [Perugia U.; Hernández, J. M. [Madrid, CIEMAT; Andreeva, J. [CERN; Balcas, J. [Vilnius U.; Karavakis, E. [CERN; Mascheroni, M. [INFN, Milan Bicocca; Tanasijczuk, A. J. [UC, San Diego; Vaandering, E. W. [Fermilab

    2015-12-23

    AsyncStageOut (ASO) is a new component of the distributed data analysis system of CMS, CRAB, designed for managing users' data. It addresses a major weakness of the previous model, namely that mass storage of output data was part of the job execution resulting in inefficient use of job slots and an unacceptable failure rate at the end of the jobs. ASO foresees the management of up to 400k files per day of various sizes, spread worldwide across more than 60 sites. It must handle up to 1000 individual users per month, and work with minimal delay. This creates challenging requirements for system scalability, performance and monitoring. ASO uses FTS to schedule and execute the transfers between the storage elements of the source and destination sites. It has evolved from a limited prototype to a highly adaptable service, which manages and monitors the user file placement and bookkeeping. To ensure system scalability and data monitoring, it employs new technologies such as a NoSQL database and re-uses existing components of PhEDEx and the FTS Dashboard. We present the asynchronous stage-out strategy and the architecture of the solution we implemented to deal with those issues and challenges. The deployment model for the high availability and scalability of the service is discussed. The performance of the system during the commissioning and the first phase of production are also shown, along with results from simulations designed to explore the limits of scalability.

  4. Readings on L2 Reading: Publications in Other Venues 2011-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brantmeier, Cindy, Ed.; Van Bishop, Tracy, Ed.; Yu, Xiucheng, Ed.; Anderson, Britta, Ed.

    2012-01-01

    This feature offers an archive of articles and books published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL") treating topics within the scope of "RFL" and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order by author, each with a complete reference as…

  5. Monitoring and controlling ATLAS data management: The Rucio web user interface

    OpenAIRE

    Lassnig, Mario; Beermann, Thomas Alfons; Vigne, Ralph; Barisits, Martin-Stefan; Garonne, Vincent; Serfon, Cedric

    2015-01-01

    The monitoring and controlling interfaces of the previous data management system DQ2 followed the evolutionary requirements and needs of the ATLAS collaboration. The new data management system, Rucio, has put in place a redesigned web-based interface based upon the lessons learnt from DQ2, and the increased volume of managed information. This interface encompasses both a monitoring and controlling component, and allows easy integration for user-generated views. The interface follows three des...

  6. Hanford ground-water data base management guide and user's manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitchell, P.J.; Argo, R.S.; Bradymire, S.L.; Newbill, C.A.

    1985-05-01

    This management guide and user's manual is a working document for the computerized Hanford Ground-water Data Base maintained by the Geosciences Research and Engineering Department at Pacific Northwest Laboratory for the Hanford Ground-Water Surveillance Program. The program is managed by the Occupational and Environmental Protection Department for the US Department of Energy. The data base is maintained to provide rapid access to data that are rountinely collected from ground-water monitoring wells at the Hanford site. The data include water levels, sample analyses, geologic descriptions and well construction information of over 3000 existing or destroyed wells. These data are used to monitor water quality and for the evaluation of ground-water flow and pollutant transport problems. The management guide gives instructions for maintenance of the data base on the Digital Equipment Corporation PDP 11/70 Computer using the CIRMIS (Comprehensive Information Retrieval and Model Input Sequence) data base management software developed at Pacific Northwest Laboratory. Maintenance activities include inserting, modifying and deleting data, making back-up copies of the data base, and generating tables for annual monitoring reports. The user's guide includes instructions for running programs to retrieve the data in the form of listings of graphical plots. 3 refs

  7. Location and Venue | The Metastatic Niche: Models, Mechanisms and Targeting Targets into Therapeutics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Location and Venue **EVENT CHANGE OF LOCATION:  **Building 10 (Clinical Center) - Masur Auditorium** Helpful links to locate the Masur Auditorium on the NIH campus:  https://www.ors.od.nih.gov/maps/Pages/NIH-Visitor-Map.aspx

  8. Graphical User Interface Development and Design to Support Airport Runway Configuration Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Debra G.; Lenox, Michelle; Onal, Emrah; Latorella, Kara A.; Lohr, Gary W.; Le Vie, Lisa

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this effort was to develop a graphical user interface (GUI) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) System Oriented Runway Management (SORM) decision support tool to support runway management. This tool is expected to be used by traffic flow managers and supervisors in the Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities.

  9. Users manual data base MATSURV. Reactor pressure vessel material surveillance data management system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kenworthy, L.D.; Tether, C.D.

    1980-02-01

    This Users Guide to the data management system MATSURV has been prepared to assist the user in all facets of the task of processing data related to reactor pressure vessel materials surveillance; preparation of raw data for input, input of data, modification of existing data, retrieval and display of data, and the creation of data reports. MATSURV is structured upon the System 2000 data base management system which is maintained on the IBM 370/168 computer at National Institutes of Health. An overview of System 2000 is provided

  10. SRIM Scheme: An Impression-Management Scheme for Privacy-Aware Photo-Sharing Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fenghua Li

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available With the development of online social networks (OSNs and modern smartphones, sharing photos with friends has become one of the most popular social activities. Since people usually prefer to give others a positive impression, impression management during photo sharing is becoming increasingly important. However, most of the existing privacy-aware solutions have two main drawbacks: ① Users must decide manually whether to share each photo with others or not, in order to build the desired impression; and ② users run a high risk of leaking sensitive relational information in group photos during photo sharing, such as their position as part of a couple, or their sexual identity. In this paper, we propose a social relation impression-management (SRIM scheme to protect relational privacy and to automatically recommend an appropriate photo-sharing policy to users. To be more specific, we have designed a lightweight face-distance measurement that calculates the distances between users’ faces within group photos by relying on photo metadata and face-detection results. These distances are then transformed into relations using proxemics. Furthermore, we propose a relation impression evaluation algorithm to evaluate and manage relational impressions. We developed a prototype and employed 21 volunteers to verify the functionalities of the SRIM scheme. The evaluation results show the effectiveness and efficiency of our proposed scheme. Keywords: Impression management, Relational privacy, Photo sharing, Policy recommendation, Proxemics

  11. Operation management system evaluation in the central Finland health care district - end users' view of system implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemmetty, Kaisa; Häyrinen, Eija

    2005-01-01

    In this paper we evaluate the implementation of the operation management system in the Central Finland Health Care District. The implementation of the operation management system changed the practice of operation management for the surgical clinic and concerned 500 personnel in total. A survey was carried out to investigate the end users' views on the system's usefulness, usability and the training and user support provided. The users' possibilities to accomplish their tasks and the kind of obstacles they face in operation management were explored. The assessment revealed that more end support is needed after the system implementation, even though a generally positive attitude towards the system was manifested among the staff.

  12. Routines and rituals: a grounded theory of the pain management of drug users in acute care settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCreaddie, May; Lyons, Imogen; Watt, Debbie; Ewing, Elspeth; Croft, Jeanette; Smith, Marion; Tocher, Jennifer

    2010-10-01

    This study reviewed the perceptions and strategies of drug users and nurses with regard to pain management in acute care settings. Drug users present unique challenges in acute care settings with pain management noted to be at best suboptimal, at worst non-existent. Little is known about why and specifically how therapeutic effectiveness is compromised. Qualitative: constructivist grounded theory. A constructivist grounded theory approach incorporating a constant comparative method of data collection and analysis was applied. The data corpus comprised interviews with drug users (n = 11) and five focus groups (n = 22) of nurses and recovering drug users. Moral relativism as the core category both represents the phenomenon and explains the basic social process. Nurses and drug users struggle with moral relativism when addressing the issue of pain management in the acute care setting. Drug users lay claim to expectations of compassionate care and moralise via narration. Paradoxically, nurses report that the caring ideal and mutuality of caring are diminished. Drug users' individual sensitivities, anxieties and felt stigma in conjunction with opioid-induced hyperalgesia complicate the processes. Nurses' and hospitals' organisational routines challenge drug user rituals and vice versa leading both protagonists to become disaffected. Consequently, key clinical issues such as preventing withdrawal and managing pain are left unaddressed and therapeutic effectiveness is compromised. This study provides a robust account of nurses' and drug users' struggle with pain management in the acute care setting. Quick technological fixes such as urine screens, checklists or the transient effects of (cognitive-based) education (or training) are not the answer. This study highlights the need for nurses to engage meaningfully with this perceptibly 'difficult' group of patients. The key aspects likely to contribute to problematic interactions with this patient cohort are outlined so that

  13. A Collaborative Extensible User Environment for Simulation and Knowledge Management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freedman, Vicky L.; Lansing, Carina S.; Porter, Ellen A.; Schuchardt, Karen L.; Guillen, Zoe C.; Sivaramakrishnan, Chandrika; Gorton, Ian

    2015-06-01

    In scientific simulation, scientists use measured data to create numerical models, execute simulations and analyze results from advanced simulators executing on high performance computing platforms. This process usually requires a team of scientists collaborating on data collection, model creation and analysis, and on authorship of publications and data. This paper shows that scientific teams can benefit from a user environment called Akuna that permits subsurface scientists in disparate locations to collaborate on numerical modeling and analysis projects. The Akuna user environment is built on the Velo framework that provides both a rich client environment for conducting and analyzing simulations and a Web environment for data sharing and annotation. Akuna is an extensible toolset that integrates with Velo, and is designed to support any type of simulator. This is achieved through data-driven user interface generation, use of a customizable knowledge management platform, and an extensible framework for simulation execution, monitoring and analysis. This paper describes how the customized Velo content management system and the Akuna toolset are used to integrate and enhance an effective collaborative research and application environment. The extensible architecture of Akuna is also described and demonstrates its usage for creation and execution of a 3D subsurface simulation.

  14. Perceived Case Management Needs and Service Preferences of Frequent Emergency Department Users: Lessons Learned in a Large Urban Centre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahan, Deborah; Poremski, Daniel; Wise-Harris, Deborah; Pauly, Daniel; Leszcz, Molyn; Wasylenki, Donald; Stergiopoulos, Vicky

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to explore the service needs and preferences of frequent emergency department users with mental health and addictions concerns who participated in a brief intensive case management intervention. We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 20 frequent emergency department users with mental health and addictions challenges, 13 service providers involved in the delivery of a brief case management intervention, and a focus group with intervention case managers. Thematic analysis was used to explore perceived service user profiles, service needs and preferences of care. Service users experienced complex health and social needs and social isolation, while exhibiting resilience and the desire to contribute. They described multiple instances of stigmatization in interactions with healthcare professionals. Components of the brief intensive case management intervention perceived to be helpful included system navigation, advocacy, intermediation, and practical needs assistance. Frequent service users valued relational responsiveness, a non-judgmental stance, and a recovery orientation in case managers. Interventions for frequent service users in mental health may be enhanced by focusing on the engagement of formal and informal social supports, practical needs assistance, system navigation, advocacy and intermediation, and attention to the recovery goals of service users.

  15. Perceived Case Management Needs and Service Preferences of Frequent Emergency Department Users: Lessons Learned in a Large Urban Centre.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deborah Kahan

    Full Text Available This study aimed to explore the service needs and preferences of frequent emergency department users with mental health and addictions concerns who participated in a brief intensive case management intervention.We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 20 frequent emergency department users with mental health and addictions challenges, 13 service providers involved in the delivery of a brief case management intervention, and a focus group with intervention case managers. Thematic analysis was used to explore perceived service user profiles, service needs and preferences of care.Service users experienced complex health and social needs and social isolation, while exhibiting resilience and the desire to contribute. They described multiple instances of stigmatization in interactions with healthcare professionals. Components of the brief intensive case management intervention perceived to be helpful included system navigation, advocacy, intermediation, and practical needs assistance. Frequent service users valued relational responsiveness, a non-judgmental stance, and a recovery orientation in case managers.Interventions for frequent service users in mental health may be enhanced by focusing on the engagement of formal and informal social supports, practical needs assistance, system navigation, advocacy and intermediation, and attention to the recovery goals of service users.

  16. Challenges Imposed by User's Mobility in Future HetNet: Offloading and Mobility Management

    OpenAIRE

    Mahbas, Ali

    2017-01-01

    The users' mobility imposes challenges to mobility management and, the offloading process, which hinder the conventional heterogeneous networks (HetNets) in meeting the huge data traffic requirements of the future. In this thesis, a trio-connectivity (TC), which includes a control-plane (C-plane), a user-plane (U-plane) and an indication-plane (I-plane), is proposed to tackle these challenges. Especially, the I-plane is created as an indicator to help the user equipment (UE) identify and...

  17. Management of radioactive wastes produced by users of radioactive materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-01-01

    This report is intended as a document to provide guidance for regulatory, administrative and technical authorities who are responsible for, or are involved in, planning, approving, executing and reviewing national waste management programmes related to the safe use of radioactive materials in hospitals, research laboratories, industrial and agricultural premises and the subsequent disposal of the radioactive wastes produced. It provides information and guidance for waste management including treatment techniques that may be available to establishments and individual users

  18. Gambling and the Multidimensionality of Accessibility: More than Just Proximity to Venues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Anna Christina; Bates, Glen; Moore, Susan; Kyrios, Michael; Meredyth, Denise; Jessop, Glenn

    2011-01-01

    Accessibility to gambling has been linked to gambling behaviour but remains poorly understood. This study used data from semi-structured focus groups and interviews with 38 participants (Median age 42 years) to explore wider aspects of accessibility. People preferred venues which were open long hours and located close to home, work or regular…

  19. Adoption of Library 2.0 Functionalities by Academic Libraries and Users: A Knowledge Management Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yong-Mi; Abbas, June

    2010-01-01

    This study investigates the adoption of Library 2.0 functionalities by academic libraries and users through a knowledge management perspective. Based on randomly selected 230 academic library Web sites and 184 users, the authors found RSS and blogs are widely adopted by academic libraries while users widely utilized the bookmark function.…

  20. Is anyone around me using condoms? Site-specific condom-use norms and their potential impact on condomless sex across various gay venues and websites in The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Boom, Wijnand; Stolte, Ineke G.; Roggen, Astrid; Sandfort, Theo; Prins, Maria; Davidovich, Udi

    2015-01-01

    To investigate site-specific condom-use norms as assumed by visitors of gay venues and websites across The Netherlands and their association with men's own use of condoms. In 2010, men who have sex with men (MSM) visiting 18 sex venues (e.g., saunas), 30 nonsex venues (e.g., bars), 6 dating

  1. The Role of the Super User in Achieving Business Process Management Maturity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rizoto-Vidala-Pesoa Laila Māra

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Many process improvement initiatives and companies’ strategic projects do not have their benefits reached in its full potential for different reasons. First, there is a weak or inexistent understanding of the company’s level of Maturity in Business Process Management (BPM. Second, the organisation is not ready to deal with most “soft” aspects of process-related initiatives: change management, internalisation of new knowledge and people’s willingness to apply new solutions to everyday work. The paper presents two ways for the companies to resolve these issues. The first is a self-assessment model of BPM Maturity measurement, the model BPM 6×5 (6 by 5. The second is the concept of Super User role with an extended scope of work: it is not only support to the users of the system, but also a deep understanding of the process and knowledge management within the department.

  2. The role of diffusive architectural surfaces on auditory spatial discrimination in performance venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Philip W; Pätynen, Jukka; Lokki, Tapio; Jang, Hyung Suk; Jeon, Jin Yong; Xiang, Ning

    2013-06-01

    In musical or theatrical performance, some venues allow listeners to individually localize and segregate individual performers, while others produce a well blended ensemble sound. The room acoustic conditions that make this possible, and the psycho-acoustic effects at work are not fully understood. This research utilizes auralizations from measured and simulated performance venues to investigate spatial discrimination of multiple acoustic sources in rooms. Signals were generated from measurements taken in a small theater, and listeners in the audience area were asked to distinguish pairs of speech sources on stage with various spatial separations. This experiment was repeated with the proscenium splay walls treated to be flat, diffusive, or absorptive. Similar experiments were conducted in a simulated hall, utilizing 11 early reflections with various characteristics, and measured late reverberation. The experiments reveal that discriminating the lateral arrangement of two sources is possible at narrower separation angles when reflections come from flat or absorptive rather than diffusive surfaces.

  3. Secondhand smoke concentrations in hospitality venues in the Pacific Basin: findings from American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Brian A; Dube, Shanta R; Ko, Jean Y

    2011-01-01

    Secondhand smoke (SHS) from burning tobacco products causes disease and premature death among nonsmokers. Although the number of laws prohibiting smoking in indoor public places continues to increase, millions of nonsmokers in the United States (US) and its territories remain exposed to SHS. This study assessed indoor air pollution from SHS in hospitality venues in three US Pacific Basin territories. Air monitors were used to assess PM2.5, an environmental marker for SHS, in 19 smoke-permitted and 18 smoke- free bars and restaurants in American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Guam. Observational logs were used to record smoking and other sources of air pollution. Differences in average PM2.5 concentrations were determined using bivariate statistics. The average PM2.5 level in venues where smoking was always permitted [arithmetic mean (AM)=299.98 μg/m3; geometric mean (GM)=200.39 μg/ m3] was significantly higher (p<0.001) than smoke-free venues [AM=8.33 μg/m3; GM=6.14 μg/m3]. In venues where smoking was allowed only during certain times, the average level outside these times [AM=42.10 μg/m3; GM=41.87 μg/m3] was also significantly higher (p<0.001) than smoke-free venues. Employees and patrons of smoke-permitted bars and restaurants are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution from SHS, even during periods when active smoking is not occurring. Prohibiting smoking in all public indoor areas, irrespective of the venue type or time of day, is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from SHS exposure in these environments.

  4. User-centered design of a mobile medication management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedlmayr, Brita; Schöffler, Jennifer; Prokosch, Hans-Ulrich; Sedlmayr, Martin

    2018-03-05

    The use of a nationwide medication plan has been promoted as an effective strategy to improve patient safety in Germany. However, the medication plan only exists as a paper-based version, which is related to several problems, that could be circumvented by an electronic alternative. The main objective of this study was to report on the development of a mobile interface concept to support the management of medication information. The human-centered design (UCD) process was chosen. First the context of use was analyzed, and personas and an interaction concept were designed. Next, a paper prototype was developed and evaluated by experts. Based on those results, a medium-fidelity prototype was created and assessed by seven end-users who performed a thinking-aloud test in combination with a questionnaire based on the System Usability Scale (SUS). Initially for one persona/user type, an interface design concept was developed, which received an average SUS-Score of 92.1 in the user test. Usability problems have been solved so that the design concept could be fixed for a future implementation. Contribution: The approach of the UCD process and the methods involved can be applied by other researchers as a framework for the development of similar applications.

  5. A users guide for the radioactive waste management code 'SIMULATION 2'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, D.; Tymons, B.J.

    1984-09-01

    This report is a users' guide to the radioactive waste management program SIMULATION. It gives a complete description of the calculational method used (with worked examples) a specification of the input data requirements, and samples of printout from the program. (author)

  6. Impact of a smoking ban in hospitality venues on second hand smoke exposure: a comparison of exposure assessment methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajkumar, Sarah; Huynh, Cong Khanh; Bauer, Georg F; Hoffmann, Susanne; Röösli, Martin

    2013-06-04

    In May 2010, Switzerland introduced a heterogeneous smoking ban in the hospitality sector. While the law leaves room for exceptions in some cantons, it is comprehensive in others. This longitudinal study uses different measurement methods to examine airborne nicotine levels in hospitality venues and the level of personal exposure of non-smoking hospitality workers before and after implementation of the law. Personal exposure to second hand smoke (SHS) was measured by three different methods. We compared a passive sampler called MoNIC (Monitor of NICotine) badge, to salivary cotinine and nicotine concentration as well as questionnaire data. Badges allowed the number of passively smoked cigarettes to be estimated. They were placed at the venues as well as distributed to the participants for personal measurements. To assess personal exposure at work, a time-weighted average of the workplace badge measurements was calculated. Prior to the ban, smoke-exposed hospitality venues yielded a mean badge value of 4.48 (95%-CI: 3.7 to 5.25; n = 214) cigarette equivalents/day. At follow-up, measurements in venues that had implemented a smoking ban significantly declined to an average of 0.31 (0.17 to 0.45; n = 37) (p = 0.001). Personal badge measurements also significantly decreased from an average of 2.18 (1.31-3.05 n = 53) to 0.25 (0.13-0.36; n = 41) (p = 0.001). Spearman rank correlations between badge exposure measures and salivary measures were small to moderate (0.3 at maximum). Nicotine levels significantly decreased in all types of hospitality venues after implementation of the smoking ban. In-depth analyses demonstrated that a time-weighted average of the workplace badge measurements represented typical personal SHS exposure at work more reliably than personal exposure measures such as salivary cotinine and nicotine.

  7. Assessment of food offerings and marketing strategies in the food-service venues at California Children's Hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesser, Lenard I; Hunnes, Dana E; Reyes, Phedellee; Arab, Lenore; Ryan, Gery W; Brook, Robert H; Cohen, Deborah A

    2012-01-01

    Marketing strategies and food offerings in hospital cafeterias can impact dietary choices. Using a survey adapted to assess food environments, the purpose of this study was to assess the food environment available to patients, staff, and visitors at the food-service venues in all 14 California children's hospitals. We modified a widely-used tool to create the Nutritional Environment Measures Survey for Cafeterias (NEMS-C) by partnering with a hospital wellness committee. The NEMS-C summarizes the number of healthy items offered, whether calorie labeling is present, if there is signage promoting healthy or unhealthy foods, pricing structure, and the presence of unhealthy combination meals. The range of possible scores is zero (unhealthy) to 37 (healthy). We directly observed the food-service venues at all 14 tertiary care children's hospitals in California and scored them. Inter-rater reliability showed 89% agreement on the assessed items. For the 14 hospitals, the mean score was 19.1 (SD = 4.2; range, 13-30). Analysis revealed that nearly all hospitals offered diet drinks, low-fat milk, and fruit. Fewer than one-third had nutrition information at the point of purchase and 30% had signs promoting healthy eating. Most venues displayed high calorie impulse items such as cookies and ice cream at the registers. Seven percent (7%) of the 384 entrees served were classified as healthy according to NEMS criteria. Most children's hospitals' food venues received a mid-range score, demonstrating there is considerable room for improvement. Many inexpensive options are underused, such as providing nutritional information, incorporating signage that promotes healthy choices, and not presenting unhealthy impulse items at the register. Copyright © 2012 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Testosterone and cortisol responses in male soccer players: The effect of home and away venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fothergill, Melissa; Wolfson, Sandy; Neave, Nick

    2017-08-01

    The present studies examined the influence of playing venue on psychobiological responses in male soccer players. Many studies have demonstrated the existence of a home advantage, wherein teams perform better at home than away. A recent focus has attempted to explain this advantage from a psychobiological perspective, with studies showing hormonal differences with regard to venue, game outcome, dominance and perceived stress. Two studies investigated testosterone and cortisol responses in relation to home and away venues. In an initial study of 18 male elite Premier League academy soccer players (age, 17.47, SD, 64), salivary cortisol levels were monitored in two competitive matches, both at home and away. Higher post-game cortisol levels were observed at home (p=0.002), with the team winning all its games. In a second study involving a 12 semi-professional group of players (age, 23.17, SD, 3.8), the same post-game cortisol findings at home were replicated (p=0.001), with this team losing all its games. No effects were observed for testosterone in either study. The results extend earlier research findings on the complex relationship which surrounds the psychobiological impact on the home advantage. The findings suggest that higher levels of stress are experienced by home players in their home matches. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Secondhand Smoke Concentrations in Hospitality Venues in the Pacific Basin: Findings from American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Brian A; Dube, Shanta R; Ko, Jean Y

    2015-01-01

    Introduction Secondhand smoke (SHS) from burning tobacco products causes disease and premature death among nonsmokers. Although the number of laws prohibiting smoking in indoor public places continues to increase, millions of nonsmokers in the United States (US) and its territories remain exposed to SHS. This study assessed indoor air pollution from SHS in hospitality venues in three US Pacific Basin territories. Methods Air monitors were used to assess PM2.5, an environmental marker for SHS, in 19 smoke-permitted and 18 smoke-free bars and restaurants in American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Guam. Observational logs were used to record smoking and other sources of air pollution. Differences in average PM2.5 concentrations were determined using bivariate statistics. Results The average PM2.5 level in venues where smoking was always permitted [arithmetic mean (AM)=299.98 μg/m3; geometric mean (GM)=200.39 μg/m3] was significantly higher (p<0.001) than smoke-free venues [AM=8.33 μg/m3; GM=6.14 μg/m3]. In venues where smoking was allowed only during certain times, the average level outside these times [AM=42.10 μg/m3; GM=41.87 μg/m3] was also significantly higher (p<0.001) than smoke-free venues. Conclusions Employees and patrons of smoke-permitted bars and restaurants are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution from SHS, even during periods when active smoking is not occurring. Prohibiting smoking in all public indoor areas, irrespective of the venue type or time of day, is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from SHS exposure in these environments. PMID:22393958

  10. The Johnson Space Center management information systems: User's guide to JSCMIS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bishop, Peter C.; Erickson, Lloyd

    1990-01-01

    The Johnson Space Center Management Information System (JSCMIS) is an interface to computer data bases at the NASA Johnson Space Center which allows an authorized user to browse and retrieve information from a variety of sources with minimum effort. The User's Guide to JSCMIS is the supplement to the JSCMIS Research Report which details the objectives, the architecture, and implementation of the interface. It is a tutorial on how to use the interface and a reference for details about it. The guide is structured like an extended JSCMIS session, describing all of the interface features and how to use them. It also contains an appendix with each of the standard FORMATs currently included in the interface. Users may review them to decide which FORMAT most suits their needs.

  11. ISS National Laboratory Education Project: Enhancing and Innovating the ISS as an Educational Venue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melvin, Leland D.

    2011-01-01

    The vision is to develop the ISS National Laboratory Education Project (ISS NLE) as a national resource for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, utilizing the unique educational venue of the International Space Station per the NASA Congressional Authorization Act of 2005. The ISS NLE will serve as an educational resource which enables educational activities onboard the ISS and in the classroom. The ISS NLE will be accessible to educators and students from kindergarten to post-doctoral studies, at primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities. Additionally, the ISS NLE will provide ISS-related STEM education opportunities and resources for learners of all ages via informal educational institutions and venues Though U.S. Congressional direction emphasized the involvement of U.S. students, many ISS-based educational activities have international student and educator participation Over 31 million students around the world have participated in several ISS-related education activities.

  12. End-user satisfaction analysis on library management system unnes using technology acceptance model towards national standard of integrated library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardyanto, W.; Purwinarko, A.; Adhi, M. A.

    2018-03-01

    The library which is the gate of the University should be supported by the existence of an adequate information system, to provide excellent service and optimal to every user. Library management system that has been in existence since 2009 needs to be re-evaluated so that the system can meet the needs of both operator and Unnes user in particular, and users from outside Unnes in general. This study aims to evaluate and improve the existing library management system to produce a system that is accountable and able to meet the needs of end users, as well as produce a library management system that is integrated Unnes. Research is directed to produce evaluation report with Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) approach and library management system integrated with the national standard.

  13. Sports Venue Security: Public Policy Options for Sear 4-5 Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-06-01

    team which commands the highest attendance is the world-renowned New York Yankees franchise . The Yankees games average 10,300 people per pre-season...spectator-patron buy -in to partner with the government and private sector for funding SEAR 4–5 venue security. As shown in Chapter III, the sports...now. Further, the sports ticket buying public has also accepted the purely for profit convenience fees already attached to sporting event ticket

  14. A new service support tool for COSMO-SkyMed: civil user coordination service and civil request management optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daraio, M. G.; Battagliere, M. L.; Sacco, P.; Fasano, L.; Coletta, A.

    2015-10-01

    COSMO-SkyMed is a dual-use program for both civilian and defense provides user community (institutional and commercial) with SAR data in several environmental applications. In the context of COSMO-SkyMed data and User management, one of the aspects carefully monitored is the user satisfaction level, it is links to satisfaction of submitted user requests. The operational experience of the first years of operational phase, and the consequent lessons learnt by the COSMO-SkyMed data and user management, have demonstrated that a lot of acquisition rejections are due to conflicts (time conflicts or system conflicts) among two or more civilian user requests, and they can be managed and solved implementing an improved coordination of users and their requests on a daily basis. With this aim a new Service Support Tool (SST) has been designed and developed to support the operators in the User Request coordination. The Tool allow to analyze conflicts among Acquisition Requests (ARs) before the National Rankization phase and to elaborate proposals for conflict resolution. In this paper the most common causes of the occurred rejections will be showed, for example as the impossibility to aggregate different orders, and the SST functionalities will be described, in particular how it works to remove or minimize the conflicts among different orders.

  15. Knowledge, opinions and compliance related to the 100% smoke-free law in hospitality venues in Kampala, Uganda: cross-sectional results from the KOMPLY Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gravely, Shannon; Nyamurungi, Kellen Namusisi; Kabwama, Steven Ndugwa; Okello, Gabriel; Robertson, Lindsay; Heng, Kelvin Khow Chuan; Ndikum, Achiri Elvis; Oginni, Adeniyi Samuel; Rusatira, Jean Christophe; Kakoulides, Socrates; Huffman, Mark D; Yusuf, Salim; Bianco, Eduardo

    2018-01-05

    This study evaluated knowledge, opinions and compliance related to Uganda's comprehensive smoke-free law among hospitality venues in Kampala Uganda. This multi-method study presents cross-sectional findings of the extent of compliance in the early phase of Uganda's comprehensive smoke-free law (2 months postimplementation; pre-enforcement). Bars, pubs and restaurants in Kampala Uganda. A two-stage stratified cluster sampling procedure was used to select hospitality sites stratified by all five divisions in Kampala. A total of 222 establishments were selected for the study. One hospitality representative from each of the visited sites agreed to take part in a face-to-face administered questionnaire. A subsample of hospitality venues were randomly selected for tobacco air quality testing (n=108). Data were collected between June and August 2016. Knowledge and opinions of the smoke-free law among hospitality venue staff and owners. The level of compliance with the smoke-free law in hospitality venues through: (1) systematic objective observations (eg, active smoking, the presence of designated smoking areas, 'no smoking' signage) and (2) air quality by measuring the levels of tobacco particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) in both indoor and outdoor venues. Active smoking was observed in 18% of venues, 31% had visible 'no smoking' signage and 47% had visible cigarette remains. Among interviewed respondents, 57% agreed that they had not been adequately informed about the smoke-free law; however, 90% were supportive of the ban. Nearly all respondents (97%) agreed that the law will protect workers' health, but 32% believed that the law would cause financial losses at their establishment. Indoor PM 2.5 levels were hazardous (267.6 µg/m 3 ) in venues that allowed smoking and moderate (29.6 µg/m 3 ) in smoke-free establishments. In the early phase of Uganda's smoke-free law, the level of compliance in hospitality venues settings in Kampala was suboptimal. Civil society and the

  16. A framework for implementation of user-centric identity management systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Adjei, Joseph K.; Olesen, Henning

    2010-01-01

    Users increasingly become part of electronic transactions, which take place instantaneously without direct user involvement. This leads to the risk of data manipulation, identity theft and privacy violation, and it has become a major concern for individuals and businesses around the world. Gov......-ernments in many countries are implementing identity man-agement systems (IdMS) to curtail these incidences and to offer citizens the power to exercise informational self-determination. Using concepts from technology adoption and fit-viability theo-ries as well as the laws of identity, this paper analyzes...... the crite-ria for successful implementation and defines a framework for a citizen-centric national IdMS. Results from a survey con-ducted in Ghana are also included....

  17. MSAT wide-area fleet management: End-user requirements and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedersen, Allister

    1995-01-01

    MSAT (Mobile SATellite) Services will become a reality in North America in 1995. MSAT will provide wide-area voice, data and fax services to land, marine and aeronautical mobile users anywhere in North America including 200 nautical miles off the coasts and into the Arctic waters. MSAT will also convey GPS position information from mobiles to dispatch centers. One broad application of MSAT is Wide Area Fleet Management (WAFM). This paper defines WAFM, outlines end-user requirements and identifies potential applications of MSAT WAFM. The paper draws from information obtained in several preMSAT WAFM field trials in land, marine and aeronautical mobile environments. The paper concludes with an outline of the potential benefits of MSAT WAFM.

  18. User involvement in structured violence risk management within forensic mental health facilities -- a systematic literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eidhammer, Gunnar; Fluttert, Frans A J; Bjørkly, Stål

    2014-10-01

    To examine empirical literature on user involvement in collaboration between patients and nurses. The scope of the review was limited to structured violence risk management interventions in forensic mental health settings. Violence in forensic mental health settings represents a significant problem for patients and staff. Structured violence risk management interventions in forensic mental health have been reported to ignore patient participation, despite the growing attention on user involvement in clinical practice. A systematic review. Searches were conducted in six databases: the Cochrane Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE, CINAHL, ProQuest, ScienceDirect and PsycINFO. Papers were assessed according to a predetermined set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. After searches of the reference lists of retrieved articles were conducted, only three papers met the inclusion criteria. This review has shown that empirical research on the topic of risk management interventions in which patients are involved is scarce. There is barely any research evidence of the clinical effect of user involvement approaches on violence risk management in forensic mental health practice. Therefore, we suggest that clinicians may learn from positive experiences concerning user involvement in general psychiatry and carefully adapt and test them out in the forensic treatment context. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Optimization Models and Methods for Demand-Side Management of Residential Users: A Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antimo Barbato

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The residential sector is currently one of the major contributors to the global energy balance. However, the energy demand of residential users has been so far largely uncontrollable and inelastic with respect to the power grid conditions. With the massive introduction of renewable energy sources and the large variations in energy flows, also the residential sector is required to provide some flexibility in energy use so as to contribute to the stability and efficiency of the electric system. To address this issue, demand management mechanisms can be used to optimally manage the energy resources of customers and their energy demand profiles. A very promising technique is represented by demand-side management (DSM, which consists in a proactive method aimed at making users energy-efficient in the long term. In this paper, we survey the most relevant studies on optimization methods for DSM of residential consumers. Specifically, we review the related literature according to three axes defining contrasting characteristics of the schemes proposed: DSM for individual users versus DSM for cooperative consumers, deterministic DSM versus stochastic DSM and day-ahead DSM versus real-time DSM. Based on this classification, we provide a big picture of the key features of different approaches and techniques and discuss future research directions.

  20. [Secondhand smoke in hospitality venues. Exposure, body burden, economic and health aspects in conjunction with smoking bans].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fromme, H; Kuhn, J; Bolte, G

    2009-04-01

    Secondhand smoke was classified by national and international organisations as a known cause of cancer in humans and has many adverse health effects, especially cardiovascular diseases and lung tumours. Global studies have clearly shown that hospitality venues have the highest levels of indoor air pollution containing different substances that are clearly carcinogenic--such as tobacco-related chemicals--compared with other, smoke-free indoor spaces. Data from the human biomonitoring of non-smoking employees in the food service industry confirm this high exposure level. Non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke in these environments are at increased risk for adverse health effects. The consistent protection of non-smokers in public places such as restaurants and bars through a smoking ban results in a significant reduction of the pollutants in the air (mostly > 90%) and clearly reduces the internal body burden for users and employees. Furthermore, health complaints by non-smoking employees are reduced and the higher risk for lung tumours of employees in the food service industry compared with the general population can be effectively reduced as well. According to current standards of knowledge, other measures such as spatial separation of smoking areas or the use of mechanical venting systems do not achieve a comparably high and effective pollutant reduction under field conditions. Studies concerning the economic effects of prohibiting smoking in public places conducted in various countries have shown that beverage-focused gastronomic enterprises experience a short-term down trend but that food-focused gastronomic enterprises do not experience any negative or even positive effects. The positive effects of a ban on smoking in public places on the general population are a decline in cigarette consumption and the reduction of secondhand smoke exposure by non-smokers. Smoking bans in hospitality venues are not necessarily linked with a shift of the tobacco consumption to

  1. What do service users with bipolar disorder want from a web-based self-management intervention? A qualitative focus group study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todd, Nicholas J; Jones, Steven H; Lobban, Fiona A

    2013-01-01

    Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic and recurrent severe mental health problem. A web-based self-management intervention provides the opportunity to widen access to psychological interventions. This qualitative study aims to identify what an ideal web-based intervention would look like for service users with BD. Twelve service users with BD were recruited in the UK and took part in a series of focus groups to inform and refine the development of a web-based self-management intervention. Reported here is a subset analysis of data gathered with the primary aim of identifying the needs and desires of service users for such an intervention for BD. We analysed service users' responses to questions about content, outcomes, format, barriers and support. Focus groups were transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was employed. The data were ordered into four key themes: (1) gaining an awareness of and managing mood swings; (2) not just about managing mood swings: the importance of practical and interpersonal issues; (3) managing living within mood swings without losing the experience; (4) internet is the only format: freely accessible, instant and interactive; (5) professional and peer support to overcome low motivation and procrastination difficulties. The small group of participants are not representative of those living with BD. These findings have significantly enhanced our understanding of what service users with BD want from a web-based self-management intervention and have clear implications for the future development of such approaches. Service users desire a web-based self-management approach that gives them the techniques they need to not only manage their moods but also manage their lives alongside the disorder, including interpersonal and practical issues. Service users describe their primary outcome, not as a cure or reduction in their symptoms, but instead being able to live a fulfilling life alongside their condition. Service users see the internet as their

  2. INFORMATION IN THE SYSTEM OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING AND ITS USERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aneliya Galinova

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In an market economy, where each entity has autonomy in developing their production programs, production plans and social development to identify strategies pricing policy has significantly increased the responsibility of the management of taken by them management decisions. In order to develop effective and operative decisions managers need reliable information for both the production and the financial position of the company. As is known, traditional accounting, which covers much of the existing information systems do not provide managers at all levels of operational information, and this is achieved through management accounting. Namely the creation of nontraditional systems for forming information about production costs and the financial results, the use of new methods to management, the increased value of the information obtained for decision making appears at present one of the most actual problems of accounting, control and analysis of economic activity. In this article we aim to define the concept of management information, to systematize the information needs of different users and qualitative characteristics that should have useful information.

  3. Case Management Reduces Length of Stay, Charges, and Testing in Emergency Department Frequent Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jameel Sughair

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Case management is an effective, short-term means to reduce emergency department (ED visits in frequent users of the ED. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of case management on frequent ED users, in terms of reducing ED and hospital length of stay (LOS, accrued costs, and utilization of diagnostic tests. Methods: The study consisted of a retrospective chart review of ED and inpatient visits in our hospital’s ED case management program, comparing patient visits made in the one year prior to enrollment in the program, to the visits made in the one year after enrollment in the program. We examined the LOS, use of diagnostic testing, and monetary charges incurred by these patients one year prior and one year after enrollment into case management. Results: The study consisted of 158 patients in case management. Comparing the one year prior to enrollment to the one year after enrollment, ED visits decreased by 49%, inpatient admissions decreased by 39%, the use of computed tomography imaging decreased 41%, the use of ultrasound imaging decreased 52%, and the use of radiographs decreased 38%. LOS in the ED and for inpatient admissions decreased by 39%, reducing total LOS for these patients by 178 days. ED and hospital charges incurred by these patients decreased by 5.8 million dollars, a 41% reduction. All differences were statistically significant. Conclusion: Case management for frequent users of the ED is an effective method to reduce patient visits, the use of diagnostic testing, length of stay, and cost within our institution.

  4. Comparison of risk behaviors and socio-cultural profile of men who have sex with men survey respondents recruited via venues and the internet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lau Joseph TF

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Increasingly more men who have sex with men (MSM are using the internet to seek sex partners, and many HIV-related studies targeting MSM collect data from gay venues in order to inform the design of prevention programs. However, internet-based MSM may have different HIV risk behaviors and associated factors from those attending venues. This study examined differences in risk behaviors and socio-cultural profiles between MSM recruited from venues (e.g., gay bars/saunas and from the internet respectively. Methods An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted. A total of 566 Chinese MSM (340 recruited from gay-venues and 226 recruited from the internet who self-reported having had anal or oral sex with another man in the last 12 months completed a structured questionnaire. Results Internet-based MSM were more likely than venue-based MSM to have engaged in unprotected anal intercourse (53.3% vs. 33.8% or commercial sex (as clients: 12.8% vs. 5.3%; as sex workers: 6.2% vs. 1.5%, to have sought MSM partners from the internet (51.3% vs. 20.9%, and to have contracted sexually transmitted diseases (STD in the last 12 months (4.4% vs. 0.3%. On the other hand, internet-based MSM were less likely to have multiple sex partners (58.4% vs. 75.6% and to have used psychoactive substances (7.1% vs. 15.6% or drunk alcohol before sex (8.8% vs. 16.2%. Moreover, internet-based MSM reported poor acceptance of their own sexual orientation, felt more discriminated against, and received less social support than venue-recruited MSM. Conclusions Significant differences were observed between the two groups of MSM. Segmentation and targeted interventions are recommended when designing preventive interventions.

  5. Comparison of risk behaviors and socio-cultural profile of men who have sex with men survey respondents recruited via venues and the internet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsui, Hi Yi; Lau, Joseph T F

    2010-05-06

    Increasingly more men who have sex with men (MSM) are using the internet to seek sex partners, and many HIV-related studies targeting MSM collect data from gay venues in order to inform the design of prevention programs. However, internet-based MSM may have different HIV risk behaviors and associated factors from those attending venues. This study examined differences in risk behaviors and socio-cultural profiles between MSM recruited from venues (e.g., gay bars/saunas) and from the internet respectively. An anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted. A total of 566 Chinese MSM (340 recruited from gay-venues and 226 recruited from the internet) who self-reported having had anal or oral sex with another man in the last 12 months completed a structured questionnaire. Internet-based MSM were more likely than venue-based MSM to have engaged in unprotected anal intercourse (53.3% vs. 33.8%) or commercial sex (as clients: 12.8% vs. 5.3%; as sex workers: 6.2% vs. 1.5%), to have sought MSM partners from the internet (51.3% vs. 20.9%), and to have contracted sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in the last 12 months (4.4% vs. 0.3%). On the other hand, internet-based MSM were less likely to have multiple sex partners (58.4% vs. 75.6%) and to have used psychoactive substances (7.1% vs. 15.6%) or drunk alcohol before sex (8.8% vs. 16.2%). Moreover, internet-based MSM reported poor acceptance of their own sexual orientation, felt more discriminated against, and received less social support than venue-recruited MSM. Significant differences were observed between the two groups of MSM. Segmentation and targeted interventions are recommended when designing preventive interventions.

  6. Correlates of HIV infection among street-based and venue-based sex workers in Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le, Thuy Tc; Nguyen, Quoc C; Tran, Ha Tt; Schwandt, Michael; Lim, Hyun J

    2016-10-01

    Commercial sex work is one of the driving forces of the HIV epidemic across the world. In Vietnam, although female sex workers (FSWs) carry a disproportionate burden of HIV, little is known about the risk profile and associated factors for HIV infection among this population. There is a need for large-scale research to obtain reliable and representative estimates of the measures of association. This study involved secondary data analysis of the 'HIV/STI Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance' study in Vietnam in 2009-2010 to examine the correlates of HIV among FSWs. Data collected from 5298 FSWs, including 2530 street-based sex workers and 2768 venue-based sex workers from 10 provinces in Vietnam, were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. HIV prevalence among the overall FSW population was 8.6% (n = 453). However, when stratified by FSW subpopulations, HIV prevalence was 10.6% (n = 267) for street-based sex workers and 6.7% (n = 186) for venue-based sex workers. Factors independently associated with HIV infection in the multivariate analysis, regardless of sex work types, were injecting drug use, high self-perceived HIV risk, and age ≥ 25 years. Additional factors independently associated with HIV risk within each FSW subpopulation included having ever been married among street-based sex workers and inconsistent condom use with clients and having sex partners who injected drugs among venue-based sex workers. Apart from strategies addressing modifiable risk behaviours among all FSWs, targeted strategies to address specific risk behaviours within each FSW subpopulation should be adopted. © The Author(s) 2016.

  7. Efficient User Authentication and Key Management for Peer-to-Peer Live Streaming Systems

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LIU Xuening; YIN Hao; LIN Chuang; DU Changlai

    2009-01-01

    Recent development of the peer-to-peer (P2P) live streaming technique has brought unprece-dented new momentum to the Internet with the characters of effective, scalable, and low cost. However, be-fore these applications can be successfully deployed as commercial applications, efficient access control mechanisms are needed. This work based on earlier research of the secure streaming architecture in Trust-Stream, analyzes how to ensure that only authorized users can access the original media in the P2P live streaming system by adopting a user authentication and key management scheme. The major features of this system include (1) the management server issues each authorized user a unique public key certificate,(2) the one-way hash chain extends the certificate's lifetime, (3) the original media is encrypted by the ses-sion key and delivered to the communication group, and (4) the session key is periodically updated and dis-tributed with the media. Finally, analyses and test results show that scheme provides a secure, scalable, re-liable, and efficient access control solution for P2P live streaming systems.

  8. Support for and reported compliance among smokers with smoke-free policies in air-conditioned hospitality venues in Malaysia and Thailand: findings from the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yong, Hua-Hie; Foong, Kin; Borland, Ron; Omar, Maizurah; Hamann, Stephen; Sirirassamee, Buppha; Fong, Geoffrey T; Fotuhi, Omid; Hyland, Andrew

    2010-01-01

    This study examined support for and reported compliance with smoke-free policy in air-conditioned restaurants and other similar places among adult smokers in Malaysia and Thailand. Baseline data (early 2005) from the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Survey (ITC-SEA), conducted face-to-face in Malaysia and Thailand (n = 4005), were used. Among those attending venues, reported total smoking bans in indoor air-conditioned places such as restaurants, coffee shops, and karaoke lounges were 40% and 57% in Malaysia and Thailand, respectively. Support for a total ban in air-conditioned venues was high and similar for both countries (82% Malaysian and 90% Thai smokers who believed there was a total ban), but self-reported compliance with bans in such venues was significantly higher in Thailand than in Malaysia (95% vs 51%, P air-conditioned venues was associated with a greater support for a ban in such venues in both countries.

  9. The Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's advice to ministers on the problems of 'small users' of radioactive materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-09-01

    The Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee (RWMAC) is the independent body that advises the UK Government, including the devolved administrations for Scotland and Wales, on issues relating to the management of civil radioactive waste. Radioactive wastes are produced by the civil nuclear industry, by the Ministry of Defence, and by a varied group of organisations known as 'Small Users'. Small Users include hospitals, universities and some non-nuclear industries, which use radioactive materials and, in turn, produce radioactive waste. In 1991, and again in 1996, RWMAC provided the Government with advice on the problems encountered by Small Users. These difficulties were associated both with specific aspects of the radioactive waste management required and with the controls exercised by the regulators. As part of its work programme for 1999-2000, Ministers asked the Committee to return to these issues. In volume, Small User radioactive wastes make up only a small part of the total UK inventory. However, like those produced by the nuclear and defence sectors, it is vital that they are managed properly, as some carry the potential for considerable harm. Equally, it is important that the financial costs imposed on Small Users as a result of regulation are commensurate with the actual health risk involved. Otherwise, for example, the benefits accruing from use of radioactive materials in medicine might be prejudiced. We have tried to strike an appropriate balance in arriving at the views set out in our report. The report draws attention to a number of areas that Government could usefully consider in respect of Small User waste management, possibly as part of its forthcoming radioactive waste management policy review. A key issue is the need to get to grips with the problem of historic redundant radioactive sources held under registration by Small Users. Many such sources are in the public sector and, under current funding arrangements, Small Users encounter

  10. Data management and its role in delivering science at DOE BES user facilities - Past, Present, and Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Stephen D.; Herwig, Kenneth W.; Ren, Shelly; Vazhkudai, Sudharshan S.; Jemian, Pete R.; Luitz, Steffen; Salnikov, Andrei A.; Gaponenko, Igor; Proffen, Thomas; Lewis, Paul; Green, Mark L.

    2009-07-01

    The primary mission of user facilities operated by Basic Energy Sciences under the Department of Energy is to produce data for users in support of open science and basic research [1]. We trace back almost 30 years of history across selected user facilities illustrating the evolution of facility data management practices and how these practices have related to performing scientific research. The facilities cover multiple techniques such as X-ray and neutron scattering, imaging and tomography sciences. Over time, detector and data acquisition technologies have dramatically increased the ability to produce prolific volumes of data challenging the traditional paradigm of users taking data home upon completion of their experiments to process and publish their results. During this time, computing capacity has also increased dramatically, though the size of the data has grown significantly faster than the capacity of one's laptop to manage and process this new facility produced data. Trends indicate that this will continue to be the case for yet some time. Thus users face a quandary for how to manage today's data complexity and size as these may exceed the computing resources users have available to themselves. This same quandary can also stifle collaboration and sharing. Realizing this, some facilities are already providing web portal access to data and computing thereby providing users access to resources they need [2]. Portal based computing is now driving researchers to think about how to use the data collected at multiple facilities in an integrated way to perform their research, and also how to collaborate and share data. In the future, inter-facility data management systems will enable next tier cross-instrument-cross facility scientific research fuelled by smart applications residing upon user computer resources. We can learn from the medical imaging community that has been working since the early 1990's to integrate data from across multiple modalities to achieve

  11. Data management and its role in delivering science at DOE BES user facilities - Past, Present, and Future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, Stephen D; Herwig, Kenneth W; Ren, Shelly; Vazhkudai, Sudharshan S; Jemian, Pete R; Luitz, Steffen; Salnikov, Andrei A; Gaponenko, Igor; Proffen, Thomas; Lewis, Paul; Green, Mark L

    2009-01-01

    The primary mission of user facilities operated by Basic Energy Sciences under the Department of Energy is to produce data for users in support of open science and basic research. We trace back almost 30 years of history across selected user facilities illustrating the evolution of facility data management practices and how these practices have related to performing scientific research. The facilities cover multiple techniques such as X-ray and neutron scattering, imaging and tomography sciences. Over time, detector and data acquisition technologies have dramatically increased the ability to produce prolific volumes of data challenging the traditional paradigm of users taking data home upon completion of their experiments to process and publish their results. During this time, computing capacity has also increased dramatically, though the size of the data has grown significantly faster than the capacity of one's laptop to manage and process this new facility produced data. Trends indicate that this will continue to be the case for yet some time. Thus users face a quandary for how to manage today's data complexity and size as these may exceed the computing resources users have available to themselves. This same quandary can also stifle collaboration and sharing. Realizing this, some facilities are already providing web portal access to data and computing thereby providing users access to resources they need. Portal based computing is now driving researchers to think about how to use the data collected at multiple facilities in an integrated way to perform their research, and also how to collaborate and share data. In the future, inter-facility data management systems will enable next tier cross-instrument-cross facility scientific research fuelled by smart applications residing upon user computer resources. We can learn from the medical imaging community that has been working since the early 1990's to integrate data from across multiple modalities to achieve better

  12. Data Management and its Role in Delivering Science at DOE BES User Facilities - Past, Present, and Future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, Stephen D.; Herwig, Kenneth W.; Ren, Shelly; Vazhkudai, Sudharshan S.; Jemian, Pete R.; Luitz, Steffen; Salnikov, Andrei; Gaponenko, Igor; Proffen, Thomas; Lewis, Paul; Hagen, Mark E.

    2009-01-01

    The primary mission of user facilities operated by Basic Energy Sciences under the Department of Energy is to produce data for users in support of open science and basic research. We trace back almost 30 years of history across selected user facilities illustrating the evolution of facility data management practices and how these practices have related to performing scientific research. The facilities cover multiple techniques such as X-ray and neutron scattering, imaging and tomography sciences. Over time, detector and data acquisition technologies have dramatically increased the ability to produce prolific volumes of data challenging the traditional paradigm of users taking data home upon completion of their experiments to process and publish their results. During this time, computing capacity has also increased dramatically, though the size of the data has grown significantly faster than the capacity of one's laptop to manage and process this new facility produced data. Trends indicate that this will continue to be the case for yet some time. Thus users face a quandary for how to manage today's data complexity and size as these may exceed the computing resources users have available to themselves. This same quandary can also stifle collaboration and sharing. Realizing this, some facilities are already providing web portal access to data and computing thereby providing users access to resources they need. Portal based computing is now driving researchers to think about how to use the data collected at multiple facilities in an integrated way to perform their research, and also how to collaborate and share data. In the future, inter-facility data management systems will enable next tier cross-instrument-cross facility scientific research fuelled by smart applications residing upon user computer resources. We can learn from the medical imaging community that has been working since the early 1990's to integrate data from across multiple modalities to achieve better

  13. Data Management and Its Role in Delivering Science at DOE BES User Facilities Past, Present, and Future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, Stephen D.; Herwig, Kenneth W.; Ren, Shelly; Vazhkudai, Sudharshan S.

    2009-01-01

    The primary mission of user facilities operated by Basic Energy Sciences under the Department of Energy is to produce data for users in support of open science and basic research (1). We trace back almost 30 years of history across selected user facilities illustrating the evolution of facility data management practices and how these practices have related to performing scientific research. The facilities cover multiple techniques such as X-ray and neutron scattering, imaging and tomography sciences. Over time, detector and data acquisition technologies have dramatically increased the ability to produce prolific volumes of data challenging the traditional paradigm of users taking data home upon completion of their experiments to process and publish their results. During this time, computing capacity has also increased dramatically, though the size of the data has grown significantly faster than the capacity of one's laptop to manage and process this new facility produced data. Trends indicate that this will continue to be the case for yet some time. Thus users face a quandary for how to manage today's data complexity and size as these may exceed the computing resources users have available to themselves. This same quandary can also stifle collaboration and sharing. Realizing this, some facilities are already providing web portal access to data and computing thereby providing users access to resources they need (2). Portal based computing is now driving researchers to think about how to use the data collected at multiple facilities in an integrated way to perform their research, and also how to collaborate and share data. In the future, inter-facility data management systems will enable next tier cross-instrument-cross facility scientific research fuelled by smart applications residing upon user computer resources. We can learn from the medical imaging community that has been working since the early 1990's to integrate data from across multiple modalities to achieve

  14. Semantic Oriented Agent based Approach towards Engineering Data Management, Web Information Retrieval and User System Communication Problems

    OpenAIRE

    Ahmed, Zeeshan; Gerhard, Detlef

    2010-01-01

    The four intensive problems to the software rose by the software industry .i.e., User System Communication / Human Machine Interface, Meta Data extraction, Information processing & management and Data representation are discussed in this research paper. To contribute in the field we have proposed and described an intelligent semantic oriented agent based search engine including the concepts of intelligent graphical user interface, natural language based information processing, data management...

  15. Factors that influence attitude and enforcement of the smoke-free law in Turkey: a survey of hospitality venue owners and employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aherrera, Angela; Çarkoğlu, Asli; Hayran, Mutlu; Ergör, Gül; Eirüder, Toker; Kaplan, Bekir; Susan, Jolie; Zheng, Laura; Cohen, Joanna E; Navas-Acien, Ana

    2016-09-01

    In 2009, Turkey extended the smoke-free legislation to hospitality venues. Compliance, however, remains low in some hospitality venues. We identified characteristics associated with knowledge of health effects that can be prevented by the smoke-free law, the attitude towards and enforcement of the law. In 2014, we conducted 400 interviews with hospitality venue owners and employees in 7 cities in Turkey. The venues were identified based on a random sampling strategy in a previous phase of the study. Over one-third (37.3%) of hospitality owners and employees had adequate knowledge of the health effects from secondhand smoke (SHS), 71.3% had a positive attitude towards the law and 19.5% had personally enforced the law. Participants who worked 70 hours or more per week were more likely to have a positive attitude towards the law. Older individuals, women, participants working in bars/nightclubs, venue owners receiving fines for non-compliance and current smokers were less likely to have a positive attitude towards the law. Participants working in traditional coffee houses, former smokers, and participants with a high school education or greater were more likely to enforce the law. Smokers who quit or reduced smoking because of the law were more likely to enforce the law compared with those who were not influenced by the law. Although the attitude towards the law was positive, interventions are needed to increase knowledge on the health effects of SHS and facilitate enforcement of the law, particularly among subgroups less likely to have a positive attitude and enforce the law. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  16. Using soft constraints to guide users in flexible business process management systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stefansen, Christian; Borch, Signe Ellegård

    2008-01-01

    Current Business Process Management Systems (BPMS) allow designers to specify processes in highly expressive languages supporting numerous control flow constructs, exceptions, complex predicates, etc., but process specifications are expressed in terms of hard constraints, and this leads...... to an unfortunate trade off: information about preferred practices must either be abandoned or promoted to hard constraints. If abandoned, the BPMS cannot guide its users; if promoted to hard constraints, it becomes a hindrance when unanticipated deviations occur. Soft constraints can make this trade-off less...... painful. Soft constraints specify what rules can be violated and by how much. With soft constraints, the BPMS knows what deviations it can permit, and it can guide the user through the process. The BPMS should allow designers to easily specify soft goals and allow its users to immediately see...

  17. Indoor air quality in hospitality venues before and after implementation of a clean indoor air law--Western New York, 2003.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-11-12

    Secondhand smoke (SHS) contains more than 50 carcinogens. SHS exposure is responsible for an estimated 3,000 lung cancer deaths and more than 35,000 coronary heart disease deaths among never smokers in the United States each year, and for lower respiratory infections, asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, and chronic ear infections among children. Even short-term exposures to SHS, such as those that might be experienced by a patron in a restaurant or bar that allows smoking, can increase the risk of experiencing an acute cardiovascular event. Although population-based data indicate declining SHS exposure in the United States over time, SHS exposure remains a common but preventable public health hazard. Policies requiring smoke-free environments are the most effective method of reducing SHS exposure. Effective July 24, 2003, New York implemented a comprehensive state law requiring almost all indoor workplaces and public places (e.g., restaurants, bars, and other hospitality venues) to be smoke-free. This report describes an assessment of changes in indoor air quality that occurred in 20 hospitality venues in western New York where smoking or indirect SHS exposure from an adjoining room was observed at baseline. The findings indicate that, on average, levels of respirable suspended particles (RSPs), an accepted marker for SHS levels, decreased 84% in these venues after the law took effect. Comprehensive clean indoor air policies can rapidly and effectively reduce SHS exposure in hospitality venues.

  18. CMS users data management service integration and first experiences with its NoSQL data storage

    CERN Document Server

    Riahi, H; Cinquilli, M; Hernandez, J M; Konstantinov, P; Mascheroni, M; Santocchia, A

    2014-01-01

    The distributed data analysis workflow in CMS assumes that jobs run in a different location to where their results are finally stored. Typically the user outputs must be transferred from one site to another by a dedicated CMS service, AsyncStageOut. This new service is originally developed to address the inefficiency in using the CMS computing resources when transferring the analysis job outputs, synchronously, once they are produced in the job execution node to the remote site.The AsyncStageOut is designed as a thin application relying only on the NoSQL database (CouchDB) as input and data storage. It has progressed from a limited prototype to a highly adaptable service which manages and monitors the whole user files steps, namely file transfer and publication. The AsyncStageOut is integrated with the Common CMS/Atlas Analysis Framework. It foresees the management of nearly 200k users files per day of close to 1000 individual users per month with minimal delays, and providing a real time monitoring and repor...

  19. User Management with LDAP(Light weight Directory Access Protocolfor access to technology and Information Services in Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Teodoro Mejía Viteri

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to conduct an analysis of management services information and users with LDAP (Lightweight / Simplified Directory Access Protocol, their interaction with other technology services company, allowing it to be accessed through a single user and password. This study allowed us to collect information through a literature review on the LDAP service and its ability to interact with your user directory Open source technology services; also with Windows Server and Active Directory service is used by companies for their ease of management and access resources on Windows clients; is intended to provide an alternative for the implementation of each of the services required by public and private companies with tools free use and access to services for management and administration can be done by integrating or synchronizing with the directory LDAP.

  20. Managing preconceived expectations: mental health service users experiences of going home from hospital: a grounded theory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keogh, B; Callaghan, P; Higgins, A

    2015-11-01

    What is known on the subject? The time of discharge from a mental health hospital can be challenging for mental health service users, with high rates of readmission in the immediate months following discharge. Although some research exists that explores service users' perspectives of being discharged, little evidence exists that explores the processes influencing or used by service users' to adapt to the transition from in-patient acute mental health service. What this papers adds to existing knowledge? The findings of this grounded theory study demonstrates the strategies service users used to managed their own, as well as their social audiences, preconceived expectations arising from their new identity as 'psychiatric patients' following their discharge from hospital. While there is a move to develop recovery-orientated mental health services, key indicators of recovery-oriented practices were often absent from service users' experiences of service provision. What are the implications for practice? Nurses and other mental health professionals need to recognize their contribution to the architecture of stigma that transcends the physical structures of hospital or ward and are entrenched within attitudes, interactions and practices. The findings of this study can provide guidance to those working with service users and help them to understand the complexities of their experiences when using mental health services, which go far beyond the management of their symptoms. Following a period of hospitalization, the transition to home can result in increased vulnerability and a source of stress for mental health service users. Readmission rates have been suggested as one indicator of the success of the transition from hospital to community care. Despite knowledge of some of the factors that impact on service users following discharge, no coherent model or theoretical framework could be located in the literature, which explains or aides an in-depth understanding of the

  1. Confidentiality Protection of User Data and Adaptive Resource Allocation for Managing Multiple Workflow Performance in Service-Based Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Ho

    2012-01-01

    In this dissertation, two interrelated problems of service-based systems (SBS) are addressed: protecting users' data confidentiality from service providers, and managing performance of multiple workflows in SBS. Current SBSs pose serious limitations to protecting users' data confidentiality. Since users' sensitive data is sent in…

  2. [Study on HIV-1 subtype among elderly male clients and female sex workers of low-cost venues in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Y Q; Li, J J; Fang, N Y; Wang, B; Wang, J W; Liang, S S; Shen, Z Y; Lan, G H; Zhang, H M; Wu, X H; Lu, H X; Ge, X M

    2017-03-10

    Objective: To understand HIV-1 subtype characteristics and transmission clusters in elderly male clients and female sex workers (FSWs) of low-cost commercial sex venues in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted in FSWs and elderly male clients (≥50 years) of low-cost commercial sex venues in 4 cities and 9 counties in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region by convenient sampling in 2012. The blood sample was collected from each case for HIV-1 antibody detection. The pol gene fragments were amplified and sequenced from viral RNA template extracted from plasma samples. The phylogenetic tree was constructed and the subtypes were identified. Results: A total of 4 048 elderly male clients and 784 FSWs were surveyed, and 116 HIV-1 infections were detected, the positive rate was 2.5% (103/4 048) in the clients and 1.7% (13/784) in FSWs. The gene amplification and sequencing of HIV-1 detected in 84 blood samples indicated that 53 pol gene sequences were successfully determined (48 blood samples from elderly male clients and 5 blood samples from FSWs). Among 53 pol sequences, 48(90.6% ), 4(7.5% ), and 1(1.9% ) sequences were identified as CRF01_AE, CRF08_BC, and CRF07_BC, respectively. Two transmission clusters were identified among CRF01_AE, including 4 sub-clusters. One transmission cluster was identified among CRF08_BC. The transmission cluster or sub-cluster were from the infected individuals at same low-cost commercial sex venue, or different low-cost commercial sex venues in the same town, or same place, or adjacent villages and towns. Conclusions: CRF01_AE was the predominant HIV-1 subtype among elderly male clients and FSWs of low-cost commercial sex venues in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, circulating in same venue or adjacent villages and towns. The HIV-1 positive male clients and FSWs might play an important role in the spread of the strains.

  3. User Preferences and Design Recommendations for an mHealth App to Promote Cystic Fibrosis Self-Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilliard, Marisa E; Hahn, Amy; Ridge, Alana K; Eakin, Michelle N; Riekert, Kristin A

    2014-10-24

    mHealth apps hold potential to provide automated, tailored support for treatment adherence among individuals with chronic medical conditions. Yet relatively little empirical research has guided app development and end users are infrequently involved in designing the app features or functions that would best suit their needs. Self-management apps may be particularly useful for people with chronic conditions like cystic fibrosis (CF) that have complex, demanding regimens. The aim of this mixed-methods study was to involve individuals with CF in guiding the development of engaging, effective, user-friendly adherence promotion apps that meet their preferences and self-management needs. Adults with CF (n=16, aged 21-48 years, 50% male) provided quantitative data via a secure Web survey and qualitative data via semi-structured telephone interviews regarding previous experiences using apps in general and for health, and preferred and unwanted features of potential future apps to support CF self-management. Participants were smartphone users who reported sending or receiving text messages (93%, 14/15) or emails (80%, 12/15) on their smartphone or device every day, and 87% (13/15) said it would be somewhat or very hard to give up their smartphone. Approximately one-half (53%, 8/15) reported having health apps, all diet/weight-related, yet many reported that existing nutrition apps were not well-suited for CF management. Participants wanted apps to support CF self-management with characteristics such as having multiple rather than single functions (eg, simple alarms), being specific to CF, and minimizing user burden. Common themes for desired CF app features were having information at one's fingertips, automation of disease management activities such as pharmacy refills, integration with smartphones' technological capabilities, enhancing communication with health care team, and facilitating socialization within the CF community. Opinions were mixed regarding gamification and

  4. The GRIN-Global Information Management System – A Preview and Opportunity for Public User Input

    Science.gov (United States)

    The GRIN-Global Information Management System, under development for the past two years, will provide the world's crop genebanks and plant genetic resource (PGR) users with a powerful, flexible, easy-to-use PGR information management system. Developed jointly by the USDA Agricultural Research Servi...

  5. "Recovery" in bipolar disorder: how can service users be supported through a self-management intervention? A qualitative focus group study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Todd, Nicholas J; Jones, Steven H; Lobban, Fiona A

    2012-04-01

    Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic and recurrent affective disorder. Recovery is defined as the process by which people can live fulfilling lives despite experiencing symptoms. To explore how an opportunistically recruited group of service users with BD experience recovery and self-management to understand more about how a service users' recovery may be supported. Twelve service users with BD took part in a series of focus groups. Service users' responses to questions about their personal experiences of self-management and recovery were analysed. Focus groups were transcribed verbatim and thematic analysis ([ Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101]) was employed to identify common themes in the data. Four key themes were identified: (1) Recovery is not about being symptom free; (2) Recovery requires taking responsibility for your own wellness; (3) Self-management: building on existing techniques; (4) Overcoming barriers to recovery: negativity, stigma and taboo. Service users with BD have provided further support for the concept of recovery and have suggested a number of ways recovery can be supported. A self-management approach informed by the recovery literature has been proposed as a way to support service users' recovery.

  6. User Interaction with User-Adaptive Information Filters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    H. Cramer; V. Evers; M. van Someren; B. Wielinga; S. Besselink; L. Rutledge (Lloyd); N. Stash; L. Aroyo (Lora)

    2007-01-01

    htmlabstractUser-adaptive information filters can be a tool to achieve timely delivery of the right information to the right person, a feat critical in crisis management. This paper explores interaction issues that need to be taken into account when designing a user-adaptive information filter. Two

  7. Determinants of eating at local and western fast-food venues in an urban Asian population: a mixed methods approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naidoo, Nasheen; van Dam, Rob M; Ng, Sheryl; Tan, Chuen Seng; Chen, Shiqi; Lim, Jia Yi; Chan, Mei Fen; Chew, Ling; Rebello, Salome A

    2017-05-25

    Like several Southeast Asian countries, Singapore has a complex eating-out environment and a rising eating-out prevalence. However the determinants and drivers of eating-out in urban Asian environments are poorly understood. We examined the socio-demographic characteristics of persons who frequently ate away from home in local eateries called hawker centres and Western fast-food restaurants, using data from 1647 Singaporean adults participating in the National Nutrition Survey (NNS) 2010. We also assessed the underlying drivers of eating out and evaluated if these were different for eating at local eateries compared to Western fast-food restaurants using 18 focus group discussions of women (130 women). Participants reported a high eating-out frequency with 77.3% usually eating either breakfast, lunch or dinner at eateries. Main venues for eating-out included hawker centres (61.1% usually ate at least 1 of 3 daily meals at this venue) and school/workplace canteens (20.4%). A minority of participants (1.9%) reported usually eating at Western fast-food restaurants. Younger participants and those of Chinese and Malay ethnicity compared to Indians were more likely to eat at Western fast-food restaurants. Chinese and employed persons were more likely to eat at hawker centres. The ready availability of a large variety of affordable and appealing foods appeared to be a primary driver of eating out, particularly at hawker centres. Our findings highlight the growing importance of eating-out in an urban Asian population where local eating venues play a more dominant role compared with Western fast-food chains. Interventions focusing on improving the food quality at venues for eating out are important to improve the diet of urban Asian populations.

  8. [Impact of the new smoke-free legislation (law 42/2010) on levels of second-hand smoke in hospitality venues].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Córdoba, Rodrigo; Nerín, Isabel; Galindo, Virginia; Alayeto, Carmen; Villaverde-Royo, M A Victoria; Sanz, Concepción

    2013-01-01

    To evaluate pollution by second-hand smoke in a sample of hospitality venues before and after the implementation of smoke-free legislation. A cross sectional, before-after study was conducted in 2008 and 2011 after the total ban. A SidePack Aerosol monitor was used both inside and outside the hospitality venues to measure fine breathable particles (PM2.5). A total of 43 places with pre- and post-legislation measurements were included. The median indoor pollution in hospitality venues was 204.2μg/m(3) in 2008 and 18.82μg/m(3) in 2011; the average outdoor PM2.5 concentration was 47.04μg/m(3) in 2008 and 18.82μg/m(3) in 2011. Pollution was higher in bars and cafeterias, followed by pubs and discos. Before the law was implemented, pollution was 4.34 times higher indoors than outdoors; in 2011 the average indoor PM2.5 concentration decreased by 90.88%. Only a complete ban is able to protect workers and customers against the health risks of second-hand smoke exposure. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  9. [Design and application of user managing system of cardiac remote monitoring network].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shouqiang; Zhang, Jianmin; Yuan, Feng; Gao, Haiqing

    2007-12-01

    According to inpatient records, data managing demand of cardiac remote monitoring network and computer, this software was designed with relative database ACCESS. Its interface, operational button and menu were designed in VBA language assistantly. Its design included collective design, amity, practicability and compatibility. Its function consisted of registering, inquiring, statisticing and printing, et al. It could be used to manage users effectively and could be helpful to exerting important action of cardiac remote monitoring network in preventing cardiac-vascular emergency ulteriorly.

  10. Managing user queries using cloud services: KAUST library experience

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.

    2017-03-01

    The provision of reference and information services are one of the major activities for academic libraries. Answering questions and providing relevant and timely answers for library users are just one of such services. Questions come in many format: in person, phone, email and even on social media platforms. The type of questions may also differ from simple, directional to complicated ones. One of the challenges for libraries is the capturing and managing of these inquiries. Libraries need to address some of these points: •\\tHow the questions will be captured •\\tHow the questions will be answered •\\tWho will answer these questions •\\tWhat is the turn-around time for answering these questions •\\tWhat kind of statistics to monitor •\\tHow are these statistics communicated to internal library staff and other stakeholders This paper describe the initiatives undertaken by KAUST, a brand new Graduate Research Library located in Saudi Arabia. This initiatives include the implementation of LibAnswers to assist the library in capturing and managing all inquiries. We are tracking inquiries coming in via email or widgets (such as online form), converting received questions into FAQ entries, creating and maintaining a public knowledge base for our users. In addition, it will also describe future plans in store to expand reference services for our library users. KAUST: (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) is a graduate research university located along the shores of the Red Sea. The university was inaugurated in September 2009. The main areas of study are: Mathematics and Computer Science, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences. The university library is situated at the heart of the campus. It is a digitally born library with collections comprising of print and electronic resources. The library has: •\\t310,000 e-book titles •\\tOver 50,000 e-journal titles •\\tOver 30 scientific databases •\\tAbout 3,500 print titles

  11. User interaction with user-adaptive information filters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cramer, H.S.M.; Evers, V.; Someren, van M.W.; Wielinga, B.J.; Besselink, S.; Rutledge, L.W.; Stash, N.; Aroyo, L.M.; Aykin, N.M.

    2007-01-01

    User-adaptive information filters can be a tool to achieve timely delivery of the right information to the right person, a feat critical in crisis management. This paper explores interaction issues that need to be taken into account when designing a user-adaptive information filter. Two case studies

  12. An exploration of service user involvement in the assessment of students

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naylor, S.; Harcus, J.; Elkington, M.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: This paper is an exploration of service user involvement in assessing first year diagnostic radiography students' ability to practise and interact with the public safely prior to attending placement. Service users took the role of patients during a simulation exercise undertaken in a general X-ray room. In recent years the importance of involving service users in all aspects of healthcare has been promoted; this includes being involved in the education of healthcare workers. The evaluation of service user involvement in the education of healthcare workers is limited, as is any literature about service user involvement outside nursing, mental health, and social work. Method: Feedback was obtained via email and face to face via a focus group from academic staff, service users and students using open questions. Results: The benefits of service user involvement were that it made the exercise more relevant and meaningful. It was perceived as a valuable exercise for the students to interact with service users in terms of developing, and for assessing, patient care, communication and positioning skills. The service users valued the experience. Issues highlighted include travel to the venue and the physical demands on the service user. Concerns highlighted by previous authors of preparation of the service users for their role, and remuneration had been addressed prior to the exercise. Conclusion: There is increasing diversity in the ways in which service users are involved in education. Service user involvement as patients in a simulation exercise for student assessment was deemed successful in this setting. - Highlights: • There is limited literature about service user involvement outside nursing, mental health and social work. • There are benefits to involving service users in the assessment of student diagnostic radiographers. • There are challenges to involving service users in the assessment of student diagnostic radiographers

  13. Marketing the HIV test to MSM: ethnic differences in preferred venues and sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lechuga, Julia; Owczarzak, Jill T; Petroll, Andrew E

    2013-05-01

    Lack of awareness of HIV status is associated with an increased likelihood of HIV transmission. We surveyed 633 men who have sex with men (MSM) from diverse ethnic groups recruited from a variety of community venues in a U.S. Midwestern city with rising HIV infection rates. Our first aim was to describe patterns of sexual risk, annual HIV testing frequency, and venues where information about HIV and HIV testing could be disseminated to inner-city MSM. Our second aim was to identify preferred sources to receive information about HIV testing and determine whether these preferences differed by ethnic background. Results indicated that despite similar proportions of high-sexual risk behaviors, compared with African American and Latino MSM, smaller proportions of non-Hispanic White MSM had received an HIV test in the last 12 months. Despite ethnic differences in health care access, a physician's office was the most common HIV testing site. Overall, a majority conveyed a preference to see advertisements in mainstream media outlets. However, when preferences were stratified by ethnicity, African American MSM were the least likely to prefer receiving information from mainstream media and conveyed a stronger preference to receive information from authority figures than non-Hispanic White and Hispanic MSM.

  14. URBAN FRESHWATER USERS WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR UPLAND DEGRADED WATERSHED MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF DECHATU IN DIRE DAWA ADMINISTRATION, ETHIOPIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alem MEZGEBO

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The study assesses urban freshwater users’ perception of watershed degradation and users' willingness to pay for upland degraded watershed management. Cross sectional data was collected from 282 urban freshwater users. A number of causes and effects of watershed degradation and water supply problems are identified. Economic instruments and mechanisms are also identified as the basis of charging and collecting the fee for watershed management, respectively. Besides, contingent valuation result shows that about 82 percent of the respondents were willing to pay for upland degraded watershed management. The mean willingness to pay from the spike model was computed to be 97 Ethiopian birr (ETB per annum for five years whereas the mean willingness to pay from the open-ended elicitation method was computed 70 ETB per year. Urban freshwater user willingness to pay is affected by total income, initial bids, marital status, ownership of house and educational levels. The study recommends that any watershed management activities need to consider the socio-economic variables of the affected respondents. Besides, it is worthy to consider the demand of the urban dweller (downstream users for any upland degraded watershed management.

  15. What makes end-user training successful? : a mixed method study of a business process management system implementation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Benny de Waal; Ronald Batenburg

    2012-01-01

    Under what conditions is end-user training (EUT) as part of the implementation of a business process management (BPM) system successful? This question is addressed in this paper. Based on the literature on EUT and implementation success, we first argue that user involvement with, and attitude

  16. What makes end-user training successful? A mixed method study of a business process management system implementation.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Waal, B.M.E. de; Batenburg, R.

    2012-01-01

    Under what conditions is end-user training (EUT) as part of the implementation of a business process management (BPM) system successful? This question is addressed in this paper. Based on the literature on EUT and implementation success, we first argue that user involvement with, and attitude

  17. Ganga: User-friendly Grid job submission and management tool for LHC and beyond

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vanderster, D C; Gaidoz, B; Maier, A; Moscicki, J T; Muraru, A; Brochu, F; Cowan, G; Egede, U; Reece, W; Williams, M; Elmsheuser, J; Harrison, K; Slater, M; Tan, C L; Lee, H C; Liko, D; Pajchel, K; Samset, B; Soroko, A

    2010-01-01

    Ganga has been widely used for several years in ATLAS, LHCb and a handful of other communities. Ganga provides a simple yet powerful interface for submitting and managing jobs to a variety of computing backends. The tool helps users configuring applications and keeping track of their work. With the major release of version 5 in summer 2008, Ganga's main user-friendly features have been strengthened. Examples include a new configuration interface, enhanced support for job collections, bulk operations and easier access to subjobs. In addition to the traditional batch and Grid backends such as Condor, LSF, PBS, gLite/EDG a point-to-point job execution via ssh on remote machines is now supported. Ganga is used as an interactive job submission interface for end-users, and also as a job submission component for higher-level tools. For example GangaRobot is used to perform automated, end-to-end testing of distributed data analysis. Ganga comes with an extensive test suite covering more than 350 test cases. The development model involves all active developers in the release management shifts which is an important and novel approach for the distributed software collaborations. Ganga 5 is a mature, stable and widely-used tool with long-term support from the HEP community.

  18. Identity management and privacy languages technologies: Improving user control of data privacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    García, José Enrique López; García, Carlos Alberto Gil; Pacheco, Álvaro Armenteros; Organero, Pedro Luis Muñoz

    The identity management solutions have the capability to bring confidence to internet services, but this confidence could be improved if user has more control over the privacy policy of its attributes. Privacy languages could help to this task due to its capability to define privacy policies for data in a very flexible way. So, an integration problem arises: making work together both identity management and privacy languages. Despite several proposals for accomplishing this have already been defined, this paper suggests some topics and improvements that could be considered.

  19. Assessment of personal exposures to optical radiation in large entertainment venues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonner, R.; O'Hagan, J. B.; Khazova, M.

    2012-01-01

    Workplace exposure to optical radiation from artificial sources is regulated in Europe under the Artificial Optical Radiation Directive 2006/25/EC implemented in the UK as The Control of Artificial Optical Radiation at Work Regulations 2010. The entertainment environment often presents an extremely complex situation for the assessment of occupational exposures. Multiple illumination sources, continuously changing illumination conditions and people moving during performances add further complexity to the assessment. This document proposes a methodology for assessing the risks arising from exposure to optical radiation and presents detailed case studies of practical assessment for two large entertainment venues. (authors)

  20. Drinking reasons and alcohol problems by work venue among female sex workers in Guangxi, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yiyun; Li, Xiaoming; Shen, Zhiyong; Zhou, Yuejiao; Tang, Zhenzhu

    2015-04-01

    Alcohol use is a key determinant of sexual risk behaviors, but pathways to alcohol use in the context of commercial sex still remain unclear. The present study explores reasons for drinking and their roles on alcohol use problems among female sex workers (FSWs) in different types of commercial sex venues. In 2009, a sample of 1,022 FSWs from Guangxi, China completed a survey containing a 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and a 28-item measure of reasons for drinking. Factor analysis revealed five reasons for drinking: suppression, disinhibition, work requirement, sexual enhancement, and confidence booster. All identified reasons except confidence booster appeared to be related to a higher tendency of developing alcohol use problems among FSWs. Types of commercial sex venues moderated the relationship between work requirement and alcohol use problems. Alcohol-risk reduction interventions among this population need to provide them with alternative approaches to regulate emotions and modify their misconceptions about alcohol's sexual enhancing function. More attention is needed to FSWs' vulnerability to the negative influence of occupational drinking.

  1. Reforming the Regulation of Trading Venues in the EU under the Proposed MiFID II – Levelling the Playing Field and Overcoming Fragmentation?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Nis Jul; Sørensen, Karsten Engsig

    2012-01-01

    The Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFID 2004), adopted in 2004, brought about substantial changes in the market. Competition between trading venues has increased and a substantial portion of trade in financial instruments has moved from regulated markets to other trading venues....... This has created an unlevel playing field between regulated markets on the one hand and other trading venues on the other. At the same time, the fragmentation of trade has led to problems for ensuring investor protection and market surveillance. The Commission has recently proposed a reform of the Mi......FID regime (MiFID II) to address these two problems. In this article there is an analysis of how and to what extent the proposed MiFID II will solve these problems. It is concluded that MiFID II will solve the problem of the unlevel playing field between regulated markets and multilateral trading facilities...

  2. End User and Implementer Experiences of mHealth Technologies for Noncommunicable Chronic Disease Management in Young Adults: Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slater, Helen; Campbell, Jared M; Stinson, Jennifer N; Burley, Megan M; Briggs, Andrew M

    2017-12-12

    Chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as asthma, diabetes, cancer, and persistent musculoskeletal pain impose an escalating and unsustainable burden on young people, their families, and society. Exploring how mobile health (mHealth) technologies can support management for young people with NCDs is imperative. The aim of this study was to identify, appraise, and synthesize available qualitative evidence on users' experiences of mHealth technologies for NCD management in young people. We explored the perspectives of both end users (young people) and implementers (health policy makers, clinicians, and researchers). A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies. Eligibility criteria included full reports published in peer-reviewed journals from January 2007 to December 2016, searched across databases including EMBASE, MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, and PsycINFO. All qualitative studies that evaluated the use of mHealth technologies to support young people (in the age range of 15-24 years) in managing their chronic NCDs were considered. Two independent reviewers identified eligible reports and conducted critical appraisal (based on the Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument: JBI-QARI). Three reviewers independently, then collaboratively, synthesized and interpreted data through an inductive and iterative process to derive emergent themes across the included data. External validity checking was undertaken by an expert clinical researcher and for relevant content, a health policy expert. Themes were subsequently subjected to a meta-synthesis, with findings compared and contrasted between user groups and policy and practice recommendations derived. Twelve studies met our inclusion criteria. Among studies of end users (N=7), mHealth technologies supported the management of young people with diabetes, cancer, and asthma. Implementer studies (N=5) covered the management of cognitive and communicative disabilities, asthma

  3. IoT-based user-driven service modeling environment for a smart space management system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Hoan-Suk; Rhee, Woo-Seop

    2014-11-20

    The existing Internet environment has been extended to the Internet of Things (IoT) as an emerging new paradigm. The IoT connects various physical entities. These entities have communication capability and deploy the observed information to various service areas such as building management, energy-saving systems, surveillance services, and smart homes. These services are designed and developed by professional service providers. Moreover, users' needs have become more complicated and personalized with the spread of user-participation services such as social media and blogging. Therefore, some active users want to create their own services to satisfy their needs, but the existing IoT service-creation environment is difficult for the non-technical user because it requires a programming capability to create a service. To solve this problem, we propose the IoT-based user-driven service modeling environment to provide an easy way to create IoT services. Also, the proposed environment deploys the defined service to another user. Through the personalization and customization of the defined service, the value and dissemination of the service is increased. This environment also provides the ontology-based context-information processing that produces and describes the context information for the IoT-based user-driven service.

  4. Food Shopping Venues, Neighborhood Food Environment, and Body Mass Index Among Guyanese, Black, and White Adults in an Urban Community in the US.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosler, Akiko S; Michaels, Isaac H; Buckenmeyer, Erin M

    2016-06-01

    To investigate relationships among food shopping venues, food environment, and body mass index (BMI). Cross-sectional survey data and directly assessed food environment data were linked at the neighborhood level. Schenectady, NY. A sample of Guyanese, black, and white adults (n = 226, 485, and 908, respectively). BMI. Linear regression models were constructed with 10 food shopping venues and neighborhood food environment as explanatory variables, controlling for sociodemographics, dietary behavior, physical activity, and perception of healthy food access. On average, respondents used 3.5 different food shopping venues. Supermarkets and ethnic markets were associated with a lower BMI in Guyanese adults. Among black adults, farmers' markets were associated with a lower BMI, whereas supermarkets, wholesale clubs, and food pantries were associated with a higher BMI. Among white adults, food coops and supermarkets were associated with a lower BMI and wholesale clubs were associated with a higher BMI. Neighborhoods with less a favorable food environment (longer travel distance to a supermarket) were associated with a lower BMI in Guyanese adults. Both primary (ie, supermarkets) and secondary food shopping venues could be independent determinants of BMI. The observed variations by race and ethnicity provided insights into a culturally tailored approach to address obesity. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. XUIMS the X-Window User Interface Management System at CERN

    CERN Document Server

    Van den Eynden, M

    1995-01-01

    The CERN X-Window User Interface Management System (XUIMS) is a modular and highly configurable software development environment allowing the interactive design, prototyping, and production of OSF/Motif Human Computer Interfaces (HCI). Fully compliant with the X11R5 and OSF/Motif industry standards, XUIMS covers complex software areas like the development of schematics, the visualization and on-line interactions with 2D and 3D scientific data, the display of relational database data, and the direct access to CERN SPS and LEP accelerators equipment. The guarantee of consistency across the applications and the encapsulation of complex functionality in re-usable and user-friendly components has also been implemented through the development of home made graphical objects (widgets) and templates. The XUIMS environment is built with commercial software products integrated in the CERN SPS and LEP controls infrastructure with a very limited home-made effort. Productivity and quality have been improved through less co...

  6. A randomized study of contingency management and spirometric lung age for motivating smoking cessation among injection drug users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drummond, Michael B; Astemborski, Jacquie; Lambert, Allison A; Goldberg, Scott; Stitzer, Maxine L; Merlo, Christian A; Rand, Cynthia S; Wise, Robert A; Kirk, Gregory D

    2014-07-28

    Even after quitting illicit drugs, tobacco abuse remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in former injection drug users. An important unmet need in this population is to have effective interventions that can be used in the context of community based care. Contingency management, where a patient receives a monetary incentive for healthy behavior choices, and incorporation of individual counseling regarding spirometric "lung age" (the age of an average healthy individual with similar spirometry) have been shown to improve cessation rates in some populations. The efficacy of these interventions on improving smoking cessation rates has not been studied among current and former injection drug users. In a randomized, factorial design study, we recruited 100 active smokers from an ongoing cohort study of current and former injection drug users to assess the impact of contingency management and spirometric lung age on smoking cessation. The primary outcome was 6-month biologically-confirmed smoking cessation comparing contingency management, spirometric lung age or both to usual care. Secondary outcomes included differences in self-reported and biologically-confirmed cessation at interim visits, number of visits attended and quit attempts, smoking rates at interim visits, and changes in Fagerstrom score and self-efficacy. Six-month biologically-confirmed smoking cessations rates were 4% usual care, 0% lung age, 14% contingency management and 0% for combined lung age and contingency management (p = 0.13). There were no differences in secondary endpoints comparing the four interventions or when pooling the lung age groups. Comparing contingency management to non-contingency management, 6-month cessation rates were not different (7% vs. 2%; p = 0.36), but total number of visits with exhaled carbon monoxide-confirmed abstinence were higher for contingency management than non-contingency management participants (0.38 vs. 0.06; p = 0.03), and more contingency management

  7. Who is afraid of the big bad ban? An evaluation of the effects of the Spanish clean air law on expenditure at hospitality venues

    OpenAIRE

    Garcia Villar, Jaume; López-Nicolás, Ángel

    2014-01-01

    Background:In January 2011 Spain modified clean air legislation in force since 2006, removing all existing exceptions applicable to hospitality venues. Although this legal reform was backed by all political parties with parliamentary representation, the government's initiative was contested by the tobacco industry and its allies in the hospitality industry. One of the most voiced arguments against the reform was its potentially disruptive effect on the revenue of hospitality venues. This pape...

  8. Product Manager C4ISR On-The-Move Experimentation

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Utroska, William; Langan, Russell; Amabile, Michael

    2006-01-01

    Product Manager C4ISR On-The-Move (PM C4ISR OTM) provides a relevant operational field experimentation venue for the purpose of assessing emerging technologies in a System-of- Systems (SoS) environment...

  9. Distributed demand-side management optimisation for multi-residential users with energy production and storage strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emmanuel Chifuel Manasseh

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This study considers load control in a multi-residential setup where energy scheduler (ES devices installed in smart meters are employed for demand-side management (DSM. Several residential end-users share the same energy source and each residential user has non-adjustable loads and adjustable loads. In addition, residential users may have storage devices and renewable energy sources such as wind turbines or solar as well as dispatchable generators. The ES devices exchange information automatically by executing an iterative distributed algorithm to locate the optimal energy schedule for each end-user. This will reduce the total energy cost and the peak-to-average ratio (PAR in energy demand in the electric power distribution. Users possessing storage devices and dispatchable generators strategically utilise their resources to minimise the total energy cost together with the PAR. Simulation results are provided to evaluate the performance of the proposed game theoretic-based distributed DSM technique.

  10. Office of university affairs management information system: Users guide and documentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Distin, J.; Goodwin, D.; Greene, W. A.

    1977-01-01

    Data on the NASA-University relationship are reported that encompass research in over 600 schools through several thousand grants and contracts. This user-driven system is capable of producing a variety of cyclical and query-type reports describing the total NASA-University profile. The capabilities, designed as part of the system, require a minimum of user maintenance in order to ensure system efficiency and data validity to meet the recurrent Statutory and Executive Branch information requirements as well as ad hoc inquiries from NASA general management, Congress, other Federal agencies, private sector organizations, universities and individuals. The data base contains information on each university, the individual projects and the financial details, current and historic, on all contracts and grants. Complete details are given on the system from its unique design features to the actual steps required for daily operation.

  11. Linking a Medical User Survey to Management for Library Effectiveness: II, A Checkland Soft Systems Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brember, V. L.

    1985-01-01

    Presents Checkland's soft systems methodology, discusses it in terms of the systems approach, and illustrates how it was used to relate evidence of user survey to practical problems of library management. Difficulties in using methodology are described and implications for library management and information science research are presented. (8…

  12. Derivation and Implementation of a Model Teaching the Nature of Science Using Informal Science Education Venues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spector, Barbara S.; Burkett, Ruth; Leard, Cyndy

    2012-01-01

    This paper introduces a model for using informal science education venues as contexts within which to teach the nature of science. The model was initially developed to enable university education students to teach science in elementary schools so as to be consistent with "National Science Education Standards" (NSES) (1996) and "A Framework for…

  13. Factors affecting collective action for forest fire management: a comparative study of community forest user groups in central Siwalik, Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sapkota, Lok Mani; Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad; Jourdain, Damien; Shivakoti, Ganesh P

    2015-01-01

    The attributes of social ecological systems affect the management of commons. Strengthening and enhancing social capital and the enforcement of rules and sanctions aid in the collective action of communities in forest fire management. Using a set of variables drawn from previous studies on the management of commons, we conducted a study across 20 community forest user groups in Central Siwalik, Nepal, by dividing the groups into two categories based on the type and level of their forest fire management response. Our study shows that the collective action in forest fire management is consistent with the collective actions in other community development activities. However, the effectiveness of collective action is primarily dependent on the complex interaction of various variables. We found that strong social capital, strong enforcement of rules and sanctions, and users' participation in crafting the rules were the major variables that strengthen collective action in forest fire management. Conversely, users' dependency on a daily wage and a lack of transparency were the variables that weaken collective action. In fire-prone forests such as the Siwalik, our results indicate that strengthening social capital and forming and enforcing forest fire management rules are important variables that encourage people to engage in collective action in fire management.

  14. The comparability of men who have sex with men recruited from venue-time-space sampling and facebook: a cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez-Romieu, Alfonso C; Sullivan, Patrick S; Sanchez, Travis H; Kelley, Colleen F; Peterson, John L; Del Rio, Carlos; Salazar, Laura F; Frew, Paula M; Rosenberg, Eli S

    2014-07-17

    Recruiting valid samples of men who have sex with men (MSM) is a key component of the US human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) surveillance and of research studies seeking to improve HIV prevention for MSM. Social media, such as Facebook, may present an opportunity to reach broad samples of MSM, but the extent to which those samples are comparable with men recruited from venue-based, time-space sampling (VBTS) is unknown. The objective of this study was to assess the comparability of MSM recruited via VBTS and Facebook. HIV-negative and HIV-positive black and white MSM were recruited from June 2010 to December 2012 using VBTS and Facebook in Atlanta, GA. We compared the self-reported venue attendance, demographic characteristics, sexual and risk behaviors, history of HIV-testing, and HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence between Facebook- and VTBS-recruited MSM overall and by race. Multivariate logistic and negative binomial models estimated age/race adjusted ratios. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess 24-month retention. We recruited 803 MSM, of whom 110 (34/110, 30.9% black MSM, 76/110, 69.1% white MSM) were recruited via Facebook and 693 (420/693, 60.6% black MSM, 273/693, 39.4% white MSM) were recruited through VTBS. Facebook recruits had high rates of venue attendance in the previous month (26/34, 77% among black and 71/76, 93% among white MSM; between-race P=.01). MSM recruited on Facebook were generally older, with significant age differences among black MSM (P=.02), but not white MSM (P=.14). In adjusted multivariate models, VBTS-recruited MSM had fewer total partners (risk ratio [RR]=0.78, 95% CI 0.64-0.95; P=.01) and unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) partners (RR=0.54, 95% CI 0.40-0.72; PFacebook, to 77% for black and 78% for white MSM recruited at venues. There was no statistically significant differences in retention between the four groups (log-rank P=.64). VBTS and Facebook recruitment methods yielded similar samples of MSM in

  15. Implementation and Analysis of ISM 2.4 GHz Wireless Sensor Network Systems in Judo Training Venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez-Iturri, Peio; Aguirre, Erik; Azpilicueta, Leyre; Astrain, José Javier; Villadangos, Jesús; Falcone, Francisco

    2016-08-06

    In this work, the performance of ISM 2.4 GHz Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) deployed in judo training venues is analyzed. Judo is a very popular martial art, which is practiced by thousands of people not only at the competition level, but also as part of physical education programs at different school levels. There is a great variety of judo training venues, and each one has specific morphological aspects, making them unique scenarios in terms of radio propagation due to the presence of furniture, columns, equipment and the presence of human beings, which is a major issue as the person density within this kind of scenarios could be high. Another key aspect is the electromagnetic interference created by other wireless systems, such as WiFi or other WSNs, which make the radio planning a complex task in terms of coexistence. In order to analyze the impact of these features on the radio propagation and the performance of WSNs, an in-house developed 3D ray launching algorithm has been used. The obtained simulation results have been validated with a measurement campaign carried out in the sport facilities of the Public University of Navarre. The analysis is completed with the inclusion of an application designed to monitor biological constants of judokas, aimed to improve their training procedures. The application, that allows the simultaneous monitoring of multiple judokas (collective workouts) minimizing the efforts of the coach and medical supervisor, is based on commercial off-the-shelf products. The presented assessment of the presence of interfering wireless systems and the presence of human beings within judo training venues shows that an in-depth radio planning is required as these issues can have a great impact in the overall performance of a ISM 2.4 GHz WSN, affecting negatively the potential applications supported by wireless channel.

  16. Implementation and Analysis of ISM 2.4 GHz Wireless Sensor Network Systems in Judo Training Venues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peio Lopez-Iturri

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available In this work, the performance of ISM 2.4 GHz Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs deployed in judo training venues is analyzed. Judo is a very popular martial art, which is practiced by thousands of people not only at the competition level, but also as part of physical education programs at different school levels. There is a great variety of judo training venues, and each one has specific morphological aspects, making them unique scenarios in terms of radio propagation due to the presence of furniture, columns, equipment and the presence of human beings, which is a major issue as the person density within this kind of scenarios could be high. Another key aspect is the electromagnetic interference created by other wireless systems, such as WiFi or other WSNs, which make the radio planning a complex task in terms of coexistence. In order to analyze the impact of these features on the radio propagation and the performance of WSNs, an in-house developed 3D ray launching algorithm has been used. The obtained simulation results have been validated with a measurement campaign carried out in the sport facilities of the Public University of Navarre. The analysis is completed with the inclusion of an application designed to monitor biological constants of judokas, aimed to improve their training procedures. The application, that allows the simultaneous monitoring of multiple judokas (collective workouts minimizing the efforts of the coach and medical supervisor, is based on commercial off-the-shelf products. The presented assessment of the presence of interfering wireless systems and the presence of human beings within judo training venues shows that an in-depth radio planning is required as these issues can have a great impact in the overall performance of a ISM 2.4 GHz WSN, affecting negatively the potential applications supported by wireless channel.

  17. Development of services for irrigation management: the experience with the users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vuolo, Francesco; Neugebauer, Nikolaus; D'Urso, Guido; De Michele, Carlo

    2014-05-01

    Irrigated agriculture is the main user of freshwater resources (30% in Central Europe, 60% in the South). Efficient water management is therefore of essential importance, especially where water scarcity and water quality are becoming severe challenges. To achieve a successful and effective use of resources, farmers and water managers require easy-to-use decision support tools and reliable information. Our approach is based on Earth observation (EO) techniques and decision support tools. Generally, the service concept is based on two main components: i) the processing of time-series of high spatial resolution (10-30-m pixel size) images from satellite, currently available from public and commercial data providers, to timely monitor the crop growth and to estimate the crop water requirements throughout the growing season; ii) the adaptation and integration in local management practices & tools of easy to use geo-spatial technologies to make the information available to users and to support the decision-making process in near-real-time. The participation and feedback we receive from the users is fundamental to develop and provide easy-to-use technologies that can be embedded in standard approaches. In this paper, we briefly describe some examples of pre- and fully operational applications at field and irrigation scheme level and report some success stories of cooperation between decision makers and scientists. The paper includes the outcomes of ongoing activities such as Irrisat (www.irrisat.it), a regional operational service supported by rural development funds in Southern Italy and EO4Water (www.eo4water.com), a case study of knowledge and technology transfer in Eastern Austria funded by the Austrian Space Application Programme. The new capacities we develop to assist farmers in monitoring their crops are a step towards a better integration of tools and production. More technical advice and recommendation regarding sustainable land and resource use could then be

  18. Schools as potential vaccination venue for vaccines outside regular EPI schedule: results from a school census in Pakistan

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Soofi, S.B.; Haq, I.U.; Khan, M.I.; Siddiqui, M.B.; Mirani, M.; Tahir, R.; Hussain, I.; Puri, M.K.; Suhag, Z.H.; Khowaja, A.R.; Lasi, A.R.; Clemens, J.D.; Favorov, M.; Ochiai, R.L.; Bhutta, Z.A.

    2012-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Vaccines are the most effective public health intervention. Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) provides routine vaccination in developing countries. However, vaccines that cannot be given in EPI schedule such as typhoid fever vaccine need alternative venues. In areas where school

  19. Alcohol Advertising Exposure Among Middle School-Age Youth: An Assessment Across All Media and Venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Rebecca L; Martino, Steven C; Kovalchik, Stephanie A; Becker, Kirsten M; Shadel, William G; D'Amico, Elizabeth J

    2016-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to quantify middle school youth's exposure to alcohol advertisements across media and venues, determine venues of greatest exposure, and identify characteristics of youth who are most exposed. Over a 10-month period in 2013, 589 Los Angeles-area youth ages 11-14 from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds completed a short paper-and-pencil survey assessing background characteristics and then participated in a 14-day ecological momentary assessment, logging all exposures to alcohol advertisements on handheld computers as they occurred. African American and Hispanic youth were exposed to an average of 4.1 and 3.4 advertisements per day, respectively, nearly two times as many as non-Hispanic White youth, who were exposed to 2.0 advertisements per day. Girls were exposed to 30% more advertisements than boys. Most exposures were to outdoor advertisements, with television advertisements a close second. Exposure to alcohol advertising is frequent among middle school-age youth and may put them at risk for earlier or more frequent underage drinking. Greater restrictions on alcohol advertising outdoors and on television should be considered by regulators and by the alcohol industry and should focus particularly on reducing exposure among minority youth.

  20. A gLite FTS based solution for managing user output in CMS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cinquilli, M. [CERN; Riahi, H. [INFN, Perugia; Spiga, D. [CERN; Grandi, C. [INFN, Bologna; Mancinelli, V. [CERN; Mascheroni, M. [CERN; Pepe, F. [INFN, Bologna; Vaandering, E. [Fermilab

    2012-01-01

    The CMS distributed data analysis workflow assumes that jobs run in a different location from where their results are finally stored. Typically the user output must be transferred across the network from one site to another, possibly on a different continent or over links not necessarily validated for high bandwidth/high reliability transfer. This step is named stage-out and in CMS was originally implemented as a synchronous step of the analysis job execution. However, our experience showed the weakness of this approach both in terms of low total job execution efficiency and failure rates, wasting precious CPU resources. The nature of analysis data makes it inappropriate to use PhEDEx, the core data placement system for CMS. As part of the new generation of CMS Workload Management tools, the Asynchronous Stage-Out system (AsyncStageOut) has been developed to enable third party copy of the user output. The AsyncStageOut component manages glite FTS transfers of data from the temporary store at the site where the job ran to the final location of the data on behalf of that data owner. The tool uses python daemons, built using the WMCore framework, and CouchDB, to manage the queue of work and FTS transfers. CouchDB also provides the platform for a dedicated operations monitoring system. In this paper, we present the motivations of the asynchronous stage-out system. We give an insight into the design and the implementation of key features, describing how it is coupled with the CMS workload management system. Finally, we show the results and the commissioning experience.

  1. Perspectives on User Satisfaction Surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullen, Rowena

    2001-01-01

    Discusses academic libraries, digital environments, increasing competition, the relationship between service quality and user satisfaction, and user surveys. Describes the SERVQUAL model that measures service quality and user satisfaction in academic libraries; considers gaps between user expectations and managers' perceptions of user…

  2. Do Service Users with Intellectual Disabilities Want to Be Involved in the Risk Management Process? A Thematic Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilcommons, Aoiffe M.; Withers, Paul; Moreno-Lopez, Agueda

    2012-01-01

    Background: Involving ID service users in risk decision making necessitates consideration of an individual's ability to assess the implications and associated risks and thus make an informed choice. This calls for research on service users' awareness and understanding of risk management (RM). Method: Thirteen people in a residential ID service who…

  3. Indirect effect of management support on users' compliance behaviour towards information security policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humaidi, Norshima; Balakrishnan, Vimala

    2018-01-01

    Health information systems are innovative products designed to improve the delivery of effective healthcare, but they are also vulnerable to breaches of information security, including unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction, and duplication of passwords. Greater openness and multi-connectedness between heterogeneous stakeholders within health networks increase the security risk. The focus of this research was on the indirect effects of management support (MS) on user compliance behaviour (UCB) towards information security policies (ISPs) among health professionals in selected Malaysian public hospitals. The aim was to identify significant factors and provide a clearer understanding of the nature of compliance behaviour in the health sector environment. Using a survey design and stratified random sampling method, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 454 healthcare professionals in three hospitals. Drawing on theories of planned behaviour, perceived behavioural control (self-efficacy (SE) and MS components) and the trust factor, an information system security policies compliance model was developed to test three related constructs (MS, SE and perceived trust (PT)) and their relationship to UCB towards ISPs. Results showed a 52.8% variation in UCB through significant factors. Partial least squares structural equation modelling demonstrated that all factors were significant and that MS had an indirect effect on UCB through both PT and SE among respondents to this study. The research model based on the theory of planned behaviour in combination with other human and organisational factors has made a useful contribution towards explaining compliance behaviour in relation to organisational ISPs, with trust being the most significant factor. In adopting a multidimensional approach to management-user interactions via multidisciplinary concepts and theories to evaluate the association between the integrated management-user

  4. User Centric Policy Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheek, Gorrell P.

    2013-01-01

    Internet use, in general, and online social networking sites, in particular, are experiencing tremendous growth with hundreds of millions of active users. As a result, there is a tremendous amount of privacy information and content online. Protecting this information is a challenge. Access control policy composition is complex, laborious and…

  5. Targeting Parents for Childhood Weight Management: Development of a Theory-Driven and User-Centered Healthy Eating App.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis, Kristina Elizabeth; Lahiri, Sudakshina; Brown, Katherine Elizabeth

    2015-06-18

    The proliferation of health promotion apps along with mobile phones' array of features supporting health behavior change offers a new and innovative approach to childhood weight management. However, despite the critical role parents play in children's weight related behaviors, few industry-led apps aimed at childhood weight management target parents. Furthermore, industry-led apps have been shown to lack a basis in behavior change theory and evidence. Equally important remains the issue of how to maximize users' engagement with mobile health (mHealth) interventions where there is growing consensus that inputs from the commercial app industry and the target population should be an integral part of the development process. The aim of this study is to systematically design and develop a theory and evidence-driven, user-centered healthy eating app targeting parents for childhood weight management, and clearly document this for the research and app development community. The Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) framework, a theoretically-based approach for intervention development, along with a user-centered design (UCD) philosophy and collaboration with the commercial app industry, guided the development process. Current evidence, along with a series of 9 focus groups (total of 46 participants) comprised of family weight management case workers, parents with overweight and healthy weight children aged 5-11 years, and consultation with experts, provided data to inform the app development. Thematic analysis of focus groups helped to extract information related to relevant theoretical, user-centered, and technological components to underpin the design and development of the app. Inputs from parents and experts working in the area of childhood weight management helped to identify the main target behavior: to help parents provide appropriate food portion sizes for their children. To achieve this target behavior, the behavioral diagnosis revealed the need for eliciting change in

  6. Monitoring and controlling ATLAS data management: The Rucio web user interface

    CERN Document Server

    Lassnig, Mario; The ATLAS collaboration; Vigne, Ralph; Barisits, Martin-Stefan; Garonne, Vincent; Serfon, Cedric

    2015-01-01

    The monitoring and controlling interfaces of the previous data management system DQ2 followed the evolutionary requirements and needs of the ATLAS collaboration. The new data management system, Rucio, has put in place a redesigned web-based interface based upon the lessons learnt from DQ2, and the increased volume of managed information. This interface encompasses both a monitoring and controlling component, and allows easy integration for user-generated views. The interface follows three design principles. First, the collection and storage of data from internal and external systems is asynchronous to reduce latency. This includes the use of technologies like ActiveMQ or Nagios. Second, analysis of the data into information is done massively parallel due to its volume, using a combined approach with an Oracle database and Hadoop MapReduce. Third, sharing of the information does not distinguish between human or programmatic access, making it easy to access selective parts of the information both in constrained...

  7. Evaluating the usability of a virtual reality-based Android application in managing the pain experience of wheelchair users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spyridonis, Fotios; Gronli, Tor-Morten; Hansen, Jarle; Ghinea, Gheorghita

    2012-01-01

    Pain constitutes an important medical concern that can have severe implications to a wheelchair user's quality of life. Results from studies indicate that pain is a common problem in this group of individuals, having a reported frequency of always (12%) and everyday (33%). This incidence signifies the need for more applicable and effective pain management clinical tools. As a result, in this paper we present an Android application (PainDroid) that has been enhanced with Virtual Reality (VR) technology for the purpose of improving the management of pain. Our evaluation with a group of wheelchair users revealed that PainDroid demonstrated high usability among this population, and is foreseen that it can make an important contribution in research on the assessment and management of pain.

  8. Managing dysphonia in occupational voice users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behlau, Mara; Zambon, Fabiana; Madazio, Glaucya

    2014-06-01

    Recent advances with regard to occupational voice disorders are highlighted with emphasis on issues warranting consideration when assessing, training, and treating professional voice users. Findings include the many particularities between the various categories of professional voice users, the concept that the environment plays a major role in occupational voice disorders, and that biopsychosocial influences should be analyzed on an individual basis. Assessment via self-evaluation protocols to quantify the impact of these disorders is mandatory as a component of an evaluation and to document treatment outcomes. Discomfort or odynophonia has evolved as a critical symptom in this population. Clinical trials are limited and the complexity of the environment may be a limitation in experiment design. This review reinforced the need for large population studies of professional voice users; new data highlighted important factors specific to each group of voice users. Interventions directed at student teachers are necessities to not only improving the quality of future professionals, but also to avoid the frustration and limitations associated with chronic voice problems. The causative relationship between the work environment and voice disorders has not yet been established. Randomized controlled trials are lacking and must be a focus to enhance treatment paradigms for this population.

  9. Economic Cost of an Algae Bloom Cleanup in China's 2008 Olympic Sailing Venue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, X. H.; Li, L.; Bao, X.; Zhao, L. D.

    2009-07-01

    In the summer of 2008, an algae bloom struck the coast of Qingdao, China, where the 2008 Olympic sailing events were to be held. The bloom was caused by the drift and proliferation of the green algae Enteromorpha (see http://precedings.nature.com/documents/2352/version/1). It lasted for more than 1 month and covered nearly the entire sailing venue. The Enteromorpha bloom was so intense that national and local governments invested a tremendous amount of labor and resources in a cleanup effort in order to achieve Olympic Games standards [Hu and He, 2008].

  10. User's Manual for the Object User Interface (OUI): An Environmental Resource Modeling Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markstrom, Steven L.; Koczot, Kathryn M.

    2008-01-01

    The Object User Interface is a computer application that provides a framework for coupling environmental-resource models and for managing associated temporal and spatial data. The Object User Interface is designed to be easily extensible to incorporate models and data interfaces defined by the user. Additionally, the Object User Interface is highly configurable through the use of a user-modifiable, text-based control file that is written in the eXtensible Markup Language. The Object User Interface user's manual provides (1) installation instructions, (2) an overview of the graphical user interface, (3) a description of the software tools, (4) a project example, and (5) specifications for user configuration and extension.

  11. Waste treatability guidance program. User`s guide. Revision 0

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toth, C.

    1995-12-21

    DOE sites across the country generate and manage radioactive, hazardous, mixed, and sanitary wastes. It is necessary for each site to find the technologies and associated capacities required to manage its waste. One role of DOE HQ Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management is to facilitate the integration of the site- specific plans into coherent national plans. DOE has developed a standard methodology for defining and categorizing waste streams into treatability groups based on characteristic parameters that influence waste management technology needs. This Waste Treatability Guidance Program automates the Guidance Document for the categorization of waste information into treatability groups; this application provides a consistent implementation of the methodology across the National TRU Program. This User`s Guide provides instructions on how to use the program, including installations instructions and program operation. This document satisfies the requirements of the Software Quality Assurance Plan.

  12. Developing a personalised self-management system for post stroke rehabilitation; utilising a user-centred design methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mawson, Susan; Nasr, Nasrin; Parker, Jack; Zheng, Huiru; Davies, Richard; Mountain, Gail

    2014-11-01

    To develop and evaluate an information and communication technology (ICT) solution for a post-stroke Personalised Self-Managed Rehabilitation System (PSMrS). The PSMrS translates current models of stroke rehabilitation and theories underpinning self-management and self-efficacy into an ICT-based system for home-based post-stroke rehabilitation. The interdisciplinary research team applied a hybrid of health and social sciences research methods and user-centred design methods. This included a series of home visits, focus groups, in-depth interviews, cultural probes and technology biographies. The iterative development of both the content of the PSMrS and the interactive interfaces between the system and the user incorporates current models of post-stroke rehabilitation and addresses the factors that promote self-managed behaviour and self-efficacy such as mastery, verbal persuasion and physiological feedback. The methodological approach has ensured that the interactive technology has been driven by the needs of the stroke survivors and their carers in the context of their journey to both recovery and adaptation. Underpinned by theories of motor relearning, neuroplasticity, self-management and behaviour change, the PSMrS developed in this study has resulted in a personalised system for self-managed rehabilitation, which has the potential to change motor behaviour and promote the achievement of life goals for stroke survivors.

  13. Exploring representations and experiences of case-management users: towards difficulties and solutions to leading qualitative interviews with older people with complex living conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balard, Frédéric; Corre, Stéphanie Pin Le; Trouvé, Hélène; Saint-Jean, Olivier; Somme, Dominique

    2013-01-01

    By matching needs to resource services, case management could be a useful tool for improving the care of older people with complex living conditions. Collecting and analysing the users' experiences represents a good way to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of a case-management service. However, in the literature, fieldwork is very rarely considered and the users included in qualitative research seem to be the most accessible. This study was undertaken to describe the challenges of conducting qualitative research with older people with complex living conditions in order to understand their experiences with case-management services. Reflective analysis was applied to describe the process of recruiting and interviewing older people with complex living conditions in private homes, describing the protocol with respect to fieldwork chronology. The practical difficulties inherent in this type of study are addressed, particularly in terms of defining a sample, the procedure for contacting the users and conducting the interview. The users are people who suffer from a loss of autonomy because of cognitive impairment, severe disease and/or psychiatric or social problems. Notably, most of them refuse care and assistance. Reflective analysis of our protocol showed that the methodology and difficulties encountered constituted the first phase of data analysis. Understanding the experience of users of case management to analyse the outcomes of case-management services requires a clear methodology for the fieldwork.

  14. Alcohol Advertising Exposure Among Middle School–Age Youth: An Assessment Across All Media and Venues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Rebecca L.; Martino, Steven C.; Kovalchik, Stephanie A.; Becker, Kirsten M.; Shadel, William G.; D’Amico, Elizabeth J.

    2016-01-01

    Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantify middle school youth’s exposure to alcohol advertisements across media and venues, determine venues of greatest exposure, and identify characteristics of youth who are most exposed. Method: Over a 10-month period in 2013, 589 Los Angeles–area youth ages 11–14 from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds completed a short paper-and-pencil survey assessing background characteristics and then participated in a 14-day ecological momentary assessment, logging all exposures to alcohol advertisements on handheld computers as they occurred. Results: African American and Hispanic youth were exposed to an average of 4.1 and 3.4 advertisements per day, respectively, nearly two times as many as non-Hispanic White youth, who were exposed to 2.0 advertisements per day. Girls were exposed to 30% more advertisements than boys. Most exposures were to outdoor advertisements, with television advertisements a close second. Conclusions: Exposure to alcohol advertising is frequent among middle school–age youth and may put them at risk for earlier or more frequent underage drinking. Greater restrictions on alcohol advertising outdoors and on television should be considered by regulators and by the alcohol industry and should focus particularly on reducing exposure among minority youth. PMID:27172570

  15. Is the contribution of community forest users financially efficient? A household level benefit-cost analysis of community forest management in Nepal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajesh Kumar Rai

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Community forestry in Nepal is considered an exemplary forest management regime. However, the economics behind managing a community forest is not fully studied. This study examines whether the benefits generated from community forest management justify the contributions of forest users. The study is based on a survey of community forest users in Chitwan, Nepal. A household level benefit-cost analysis was performed to quantify and compare the costs and benefits from community forest management. Only direct benefits were included in the analysis. The study shows that older forest user groups derive more benefits to households compared to more recently established ones. The extent of timber harvesting also substantially influences the size of the household benefits. In addition, redistribution of benefits at the household level, in terms of income generating activities and payment for involvement in forest management activities, also enhances household benefits. Sensitivity analysis suggests that the current practice of community forest management enhances the welfare of rural households in this subsistence community. However, this finding is sensitive to assumptions regarding the opportunity cost of time. The study also found that the household costs of community forest management depend upon two factors – the area of community forest and the size of the forest area relative to the number of households.

  16. A user's manual to the PMBOK guide

    CERN Document Server

    Stackpole Snyder, Cynthia

    2013-01-01

    The must-have manual to understand and use the latest edition of the Fifth Edition The professional standard in the field of project management, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide-Fifth Edition) published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) serves as the ultimate resource for professionals and as a valuable studying and training device for students taking the PMP® Exam. A User''s Manual to the PMBOK® Guide takes the next logical step to act as a true user''s manual. With an accessible format and easy-to-understand language, it helps to not only distill es

  17. Development and Evaluation of Disaster Information Management System Using Digital Pens and Tabletop User Interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukada, Hidemi; Kobayashi, Kazue; Satou, Kenji; Kawana, Hideyuki; Masuda, Tomohiro

    Most traditional disaster information systems are necessary to post expert staff with high computer literacy to operate the system quickly and correctly in the tense situation when a disaster occurs. However, in the current disaster response system of local governments, it is not easy for local governments to post such expert staff because they are struggling with staff cuts due to administrative and fiscal reform. In this research, we propose a disaster information management system that can be easily operated, even under the disorderly conditions of a disaster, by municipal personnel in charge of disaster management. This system achieves usability enabling easy input of damage information, even by local government staff with no expertise, by using a digital pen and tabletop user interface. Evaluation was conducted by prospective users using a prototype, and the evaluation results are satisfactory with regard to the function and operationality of the proposed system.

  18. CMS users data management service integration and first experiences with its NoSQL data storage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riahi, H; Spiga, D; Cinquilli, M; Boccali, T; Ciangottini, D; Santocchia, A; Hernàndez, J M; Konstantinov, P; Mascheroni, M

    2014-01-01

    The distributed data analysis workflow in CMS assumes that jobs run in a different location to where their results are finally stored. Typically the user outputs must be transferred from one site to another by a dedicated CMS service, AsyncStageOut. This new service is originally developed to address the inefficiency in using the CMS computing resources when transferring the analysis job outputs, synchronously, once they are produced in the job execution node to the remote site. The AsyncStageOut is designed as a thin application relying only on the NoSQL database (CouchDB) as input and data storage. It has progressed from a limited prototype to a highly adaptable service which manages and monitors the whole user files steps, namely file transfer and publication. The AsyncStageOut is integrated with the Common CMS/Atlas Analysis Framework. It foresees the management of nearly nearly 200k users' files per day of close to 1000 individual users per month with minimal delays, and providing a real time monitoring and reports to users and service operators, while being highly available. The associated data volume represents a new set of challenges in the areas of database scalability and service performance and efficiency. In this paper, we present an overview of the AsyncStageOut model and the integration strategy with the Common Analysis Framework. The motivations for using the NoSQL technology are also presented, as well as data design and the techniques used for efficient indexing and monitoring of the data. We describe deployment model for the high availability and scalability of the service. We also discuss the hardware requirements and the results achieved as they were determined by testing with actual data and realistic loads during the commissioning and the initial production phase with the Common Analysis Framework.

  19. CMS users data management service integration and first experiences with its NoSQL data storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riahi, H.; Spiga, D.; Boccali, T.; Ciangottini, D.; Cinquilli, M.; Hernàndez, J. M.; Konstantinov, P.; Mascheroni, M.; Santocchia, A.

    2014-06-01

    The distributed data analysis workflow in CMS assumes that jobs run in a different location to where their results are finally stored. Typically the user outputs must be transferred from one site to another by a dedicated CMS service, AsyncStageOut. This new service is originally developed to address the inefficiency in using the CMS computing resources when transferring the analysis job outputs, synchronously, once they are produced in the job execution node to the remote site. The AsyncStageOut is designed as a thin application relying only on the NoSQL database (CouchDB) as input and data storage. It has progressed from a limited prototype to a highly adaptable service which manages and monitors the whole user files steps, namely file transfer and publication. The AsyncStageOut is integrated with the Common CMS/Atlas Analysis Framework. It foresees the management of nearly nearly 200k users' files per day of close to 1000 individual users per month with minimal delays, and providing a real time monitoring and reports to users and service operators, while being highly available. The associated data volume represents a new set of challenges in the areas of database scalability and service performance and efficiency. In this paper, we present an overview of the AsyncStageOut model and the integration strategy with the Common Analysis Framework. The motivations for using the NoSQL technology are also presented, as well as data design and the techniques used for efficient indexing and monitoring of the data. We describe deployment model for the high availability and scalability of the service. We also discuss the hardware requirements and the results achieved as they were determined by testing with actual data and realistic loads during the commissioning and the initial production phase with the Common Analysis Framework.

  20. The gross anatomy laboratory: a novel venue for critical thinking and interdisciplinary teaching in dental education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowland, Kevin C; Joy, Anita

    2015-03-01

    Reports on the status of dental education have concluded that there is a need for various types of curricular reform, making recommendations that include better integration of basic, behavioral, and clinical sciences, increased case-based teaching, emphasis on student-driven learning, and creation of lifelong learners. Dental schools faced with decreasing contact hours, increasing teaching material, and technological advancements have experimented with alternate curricular strategies. At Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine, curricular changes have begun with a series of integrated biomedical sciences courses. During the process of planning and implementing the integrated courses, a novel venue-the gross anatomy laboratory-was used to introduce all Year 1 students to critical thinking, self-directed learning, and the scientific method. The venture included student-driven documentation of anatomical variations encountered in the laboratory using robust scientific methods, thorough literature review, and subsequent presentation of findings in peer review settings. Students responded positively, with over 75% agreeing the experience intellectually challenged them. This article describes the process of re-envisioning the gross anatomy laboratory as an effective venue for small group-based, student-driven projects that focus on key pedagogical concepts to encourage the development of lifelong learners.

  1. Gender, Race, and Risk: Intersectional Risk Management in the Sale of Sex Online.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moorman, Jessica D; Harrison, Kristen

    2016-09-01

    Sex worker experience of risk (e.g., physical violence or rape) is shaped by race, gender, and context. For web-based sex workers, experience of risk is comparatively minimal; what is unclear is how web-based sex workers manage risk and if online advertising plays a role in risk management. Building on intersectionality theory and research exploring risk management in sex work, we content-analyzed 600 escort advertisements from Backpage.com ( http://www.backpage.com ) to explore risk management in web-based sex work. To guide our research we asked: Do advertisements contain risk management messages? Does the use of risk management messaging differ by sex worker race or gender? Which groups have the highest overall use of risk management messages? Through a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) we found that advertisements contained risk management messages and that uses of these phrases varied by race and gender. Blacks, women, and transgender women drove the use of risk management messages. Black and White transgender women had the highest overall use of these phrases. We conclude that risk management is an intersectional practice and that the use of risk management messages is a venue-specific manifestation of broader risk management priorities found in all venues where sex is sold.

  2. Resource Allocation Management for Broadcast/Multicast Services

    OpenAIRE

    Fuente Iglesias, Alejandro de la; Pérez Leal, Raquel; García-Armada, Ana

    2015-01-01

    Ponencia presentada en: XXX Simposium Nacional de la Unión Científica Internacional de Radio, los dias 2 y 4 septiembre 2015, en Pamplona (españa). Video services are expected to become more than 70% of the mobile traffic in 2020. Broadcast and multicast service is the most efficient mechanism to deliver the same content to many users. Not only focusing on venue casting, but also distributing many other media such as software updates and breaking news, 5G broadcasting is a key driver to a...

  3. Characteristics of a self-management support programme applicable in primary health care: a qualitative study of users' and health professionals' perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solberg, Hilde Strøm; Steinsbekk, Aslak; Solbjør, Marit; Granbo, Randi; Garåsen, Helge

    2014-11-08

    Development of more self-management support programmes in primary health care has been one option used to enhance positive outcomes in chronic disease management. At present, research results provide no consensus on what would be the best way to develop support programmes into new settings. The aim of the present study was therefore to explore users' and health professionals' perceptions of what would be the vital elements in a self - management support programme applicable in primary health care, how to account for them, and why. Four qualitative, semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted in Central Norway. The informants possessed experience in development, provision, or participation in a self-management support programme. Data was analysed by the Systematic Text Condensation method. The results showed an overall positive expectation to the potential benefits of development of a self-management support programme in primary health care. Despite somewhat different arguments and perspectives, the users and the health professionals had a joint agreement on core characteristics; a self-management support programme in primary health care should therefore be generic, not disease specific, and delivered in a group- based format. A special focus should be on the everyday- life of the participants. The most challenging aspect was a present lack of competence and experience among health professionals to moderate self-management support programmes. The development and design of a relevant and applicable self-management support programme in primary health care should balance the interests of the users with the possibilities and constraints within each municipality. It would be vital to benefit from the closeness of the patients' every-day life situations. The user informants' perception of a self-management support programme as a supplement to regular medical treatment represented an expanded understanding of the self-management support concept. An exploring

  4. User internface for rail traffic control system

    OpenAIRE

    Križaj, Blaž

    2013-01-01

    The thesis represents a solution to the problem of remote access to a server application, its management, and graphical user interface (GUI) build above console application. The TRIS Server operates in the UNIX environment without a graphical user interface as a service. Access to the application, archive files and management without graphical user interface is user unfriendly, as it requires knowledge of UNIX environment and Bash scripting language. Remote access via the internet represen...

  5. Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus: A NASA tool for building and managing graphical user interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szczur, Martha R.

    1993-01-01

    The Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus, developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is an advanced portable user interface development which simplifies the process of creating and managing complex application graphical user interfaces (GUI's). TAE Plus supports the rapid prototyping of GUI's and allows applications to be ported easily between different platforms. This paper will discuss the capabilities of the TAE Plus tool, and how it makes the job of designing and developing GUI's easier for application developers. TAE Plus is being applied to many types of applications, and this paper discusses how it has been used both within and outside NASA.

  6. Mort User's Manual: For use with the Management Oversight and Risk Tree analytical logic diagram

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knox, N.W.; Eicher, R.W.

    1992-02-01

    This report contains the User's Manual for MORT (Management Oversight and Risk Tree), a logic diagram in the form of a work sheet'' that illustrates a long series of interrelated questions. MORT is a comprehensive analytical procedure that provides a disciplined method for determining the causes and contributing factors of major accidents. Alternatively, it serves as a tool to evaluate the quality of an existing system. While similar in many respects to fault tree analysis, MORT is more generalized and presents over 1500 specific elements of an ideal universal'' management program for optimizing environment, safety and health, and other programs. This User's Manual is intended to be used with the MORT diagram dated February 1992.

  7. Drinking Games as a Venue for Sexual Competition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liana S. E. Hone

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Based on sexual selection theory, we hypothesized that sex differences in mating effort and social competitiveness—and subsequent sex differences in sexual and competitive motivations for participating in drinking games—are responsible for the well-documented sex differences in college students' drinking game behaviors. Participants in a cross-sectional study were 351 women and 336 men aged 17 to 26. In a mediation model, we tested sex differences in mating effort, social competitiveness, sexual and competitive motivations for participating in drinking games, drinking game behaviors, and alcohol-related problems. Men participated in drinking games more frequently, consumed more alcohol while participating in drinking games, and experienced more problems associated with drinking. These sex differences appeared to be partially mediated by mating effort, social competitiveness, and sexual and competitive motivations for participating in drinking games. Drinking games are a major venue in which college students engage in heavy episodic drinking, which is a risk factor for college students' behavioral and health problems. Thus, the functional perspective we used to analyze them here may help to inform public health and university interventions and enable better identification of at-risk students.

  8. Management, leadership, and user control in self-advocacy: an english case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilley, Elizabeth

    2013-12-01

    This paper presents findings from a qualitative research project on an English self-advocacy organization. In light of recent political and economic developments that have threatened the sustainability of a number of self-advocacy groups for people with intellectual disability, I seek to explore how one particular organization managed to survive and grow. In particular, the paper explores themes of management, leadership, and user control, linking these to external perceptions about self-advocacy organizations. The organization in my study developed an "interdependent" governance model based on key organizational roles for nondisabled advisors and self-advocates, which proved popular with external funders. Despite the organization's notable achievements, its success raises questions for the wider self-advocacy movement, notably how leadership capacity can be developed among self-advocates.

  9. Use of an holistic approach for effective adoption of User-Centred-Design techniques in diabetes disease management: Experiences in user need elicitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fico, Giuseppe; Arredondo, Maria Teresa

    2015-01-01

    One of the most important challenges of designing eHealth tools for Chronic Disease Management is to understand how transforming cutting-edge innovations in something that can impact the current clinical practice and improve the performance of the health care systems. The adoption of User Centered Design techniques is fundamental in order to integrate these systems in an effective and successful way. The work presented in this paper describe the methodologies used in the context of two multidisciplinary research projects, METABO and MOSAIC. The adoption of the methodologies have been driven by the CeHRes Roamap, a holistic framework that support participatory development of eHealth. The work reported in this paper describes the results of the first two (out of the five) phases in eliciting user needs.

  10. Environmental epigenetics: A promising venue for developing next-generation pollution biomonitoring tools in marine invertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suarez-Ulloa, Victoria; Gonzalez-Romero, Rodrigo; Eirin-Lopez, Jose M

    2015-09-15

    Environmental epigenetics investigates the cause-effect relationships between specific environmental factors and the subsequent epigenetic modifications triggering adaptive responses in the cell. Given the dynamic and potentially reversible nature of the different types of epigenetic marks, environmental epigenetics constitutes a promising venue for developing fast and sensible biomonitoring programs. Indeed, several epigenetic biomarkers have been successfully developed and applied in traditional model organisms (e.g., human and mouse). Nevertheless, the lack of epigenetic knowledge in other ecologically and environmentally relevant organisms has hampered the application of these tools in a broader range of ecosystems, most notably in the marine environment. Fortunately, that scenario is now changing thanks to the growing availability of complete reference genome sequences along with the development of high-throughput DNA sequencing and bioinformatic methods. Altogether, these resources make the epigenetic study of marine organisms (and more specifically marine invertebrates) a reality. By building on this knowledge, the present work provides a timely perspective highlighting the extraordinary potential of environmental epigenetic analyses as a promising source of rapid and sensible tools for pollution biomonitoring, using marine invertebrates as sentinel organisms. This strategy represents an innovative, groundbreaking approach, improving the conservation and management of natural resources in the oceans. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Managing the safe mobility of older road users: How to cope with their diversity?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haustein, Sonja; Marin-Lamellet, Claude

    2014-01-01

    Against the background of an ageing population, the management of older people's safe mobility is becoming an increasingly important issue. Mobility is vital for older people's quality of life and several examples of good practice that support older people's safe mobility already exist. However...... groups who are already users and improve their (safe) use of the preferred transport mode. However, they do not seem to succeed in increasing mobility options, e.g. by encouraging car-reliant users to cycle or use public transport or by helping older women to continue to drive. We advise that existing...... systems, a lack of programmes to increase perceived security, as well as a comprehensive scheme for older drivers who have to stop driving....

  12. De-MA: a web Database for electron Microprobe Analyses to assist EMP lab manager and users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allaz, J. M.

    2012-12-01

    Lab managers and users of electron microprobe (EMP) facilities require comprehensive, yet flexible documentation structures, as well as an efficient scheduling mechanism. A single on-line database system for managing reservations, and providing information on standards, quantitative and qualitative setups (element mapping, etc.), and X-ray data has been developed for this purpose. This system is particularly useful in multi-user facilities where experience ranges from beginners to the highly experienced. New users and occasional facility users will find these tools extremely useful in developing and maintaining high quality, reproducible, and efficient analyses. This user-friendly database is available through the web, and uses MySQL as a database and PHP/HTML as script language (dynamic website). The database includes several tables for standards information, X-ray lines, X-ray element mapping, PHA, element setups, and agenda. It is configurable for up to five different EMPs in a single lab, each of them having up to five spectrometers and as many diffraction crystals as required. The installation should be done on a web server supporting PHP/MySQL, although installation on a personal computer is possible using third-party freeware to create a local Apache server, and to enable PHP/MySQL. Since it is web-based, any user outside the EMP lab can access this database anytime through any web browser and on any operating system. The access can be secured using a general password protection (e.g. htaccess). The web interface consists of 6 main menus. (1) "Standards" lists standards defined in the database, and displays detailed information on each (e.g. material type, name, reference, comments, and analyses). Images such as EDS spectra or BSE can be associated with a standard. (2) "Analyses" lists typical setups to use for quantitative analyses, allows calculation of mineral composition based on a mineral formula, or calculation of mineral formula based on a fixed

  13. Data Quality, Provenance and IPR Management services: their role in empowering geospatial data suppliers and users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millard, Keiran

    2015-04-01

    This paper looks at current experiences of geospatial users and geospatial suppliers and how they have been limited by suitable frameworks for managing and communicating data quality, data provenance and intellectual property rights (IPR). Current political and technological drivers mean that increasing volumes of geospatial data are available through a plethora of different products and services, and whilst this is inherently a good thing it does create a new generation of challenges. This paper consider two examples of where these issues have been examined and looks at the challenges and possible solutions from a data user and data supplier perspective. The first example is the IQmulus project that is researching fusion environments for big geospatial point clouds and coverages. The second example is the EU Emodnet programme that is establishing thematic data portals for public marine and coastal data. IQmulus examines big geospatial data; the data from sources such as LIDAR, SONAR and numerical simulations; these data are simply too big for routine and ad-hoc analysis, yet they could realise a myriad of disparate, and readily useable, information products with the right infrastructure in place. IQmulus is researching how to deliver this infrastructure technically, but a financially sustainable delivery depends on being able to track and manage ownership and IPR across the numerous data sets being processed. This becomes complex when the data is composed of multiple overlapping coverages, however managing this allows for uses to be delivered highly-bespoke products to meet their budget and technical needs. The Emodnet programme delivers harmonised marine data at the EU scale across seven thematic portals. As part of the Emodnet programme a series of 'check points' have been initiated to examine how useful these services and other public data services actually are to solve real-world problems. One key finding is that users have been confused by the fact that often

  14. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL, POLICY AND PHYSICAL VENUE FEATURES AND SOCIAL COHESION ON CONDOM USE FOR PREGNANCY PREVENTION AMONG SEX WORKERS: A SAFER INDOOR WORK ENVIRONMENT SCALE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duff, Putu; Shoveller, Jean; Dobrer, Sabina; Ogilvie, Gina; Montaner, Julio; Chettiar, Jill; Shannon, Kate

    2015-01-01

    Background This study aims to: report on a newly developed ‘Safer Indoor Work Environmental Scale’ that characterizes the social, policy and physical features of indoor venues and social cohesion; and using this scale, longitudinally evaluate the association between these features on sex workers’ (SWs’) condom use for pregnancy prevention. Methods Drawing on a prospective open cohort of female SWs working in indoor venues, a newly-developed ‘Safer Indoor Work Environment Scale’ was used to build six multivariable models with generalized estimating equations (GEE), to determine the independent effects of social, policy and venue-based features and social cohesion on condom use. Results Of 588 indoor SWs, 63.6% used condoms for pregnancy prevention in the last month. In multivariable GEE analysis, the following venue-based features were significantly correlated with barrier contraceptive use for pregnancy prevention: managerial practices and venue safety policies (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR)=1.09; 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI) 1.01–1.17) access to sexual and reproductive health services/supplies (AOR=1.10; 95%CI 1.00–1.20) access to drug harm reduction (AOR=1.13; 95%CI 1.01–1.28), and social cohesion among workers (AOR=1.05; 95%CI 1.03–1.07). Access to security features was marginally associated with condom use (AOR=1.13; 95%CI 0.99–1.29). Conclusion The findings of the current study highlight how work environment and social cohesion among SWs are related to improved condom use. Given global calls for the decriminalization of sex work, and potential legislative reforms in Canada, this study points to the critical need for new institutional arrangements (e.g., legal and regulatory frameworks; labour standards) to support safer sex workplaces. PMID:25678713

  15. The relationship between social, policy and physical venue features and social cohesion on condom use for pregnancy prevention among sex workers: a safer indoor work environment scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duff, Putu; Shoveller, Jean; Dobrer, Sabina; Ogilvie, Gina; Montaner, Julio; Chettiar, Jill; Shannon, Kate

    2015-07-01

    This study aims to report on a newly developed Safer Indoor Work Environmental Scale that characterises the social, policy and physical features of indoor venues and social cohesion; and using this scale, longitudinally evaluate the association between these features on sex workers' (SWs') condom use for pregnancy prevention. Drawing on a prospective open cohort of female SWs working in indoor venues, a newly developed Safer Indoor Work Environment Scale was used to build six multivariable models with generalised estimating equations (GEE), to determine the independent effects of social, policy and physical venue-based features and social cohesion on condom use. Of 588 indoor SWs, 63.6% used condoms for pregnancy prevention in the last month. In multivariable GEE analysis, the following venue-based features were significantly correlated with barrier contraceptive use for pregnancy prevention: managerial practices and venue safety policies (adjusted OR (AOR)=1.09; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.17), access to sexual and reproductive health services/supplies (AOR=1.10; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.20), access to drug harm reduction (AOR=1.13; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.28) and social cohesion among workers (AOR=1.05; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.07). Access to security features was marginally associated with condom use (AOR=1.13; 95% CI 0.99 to 1.29). The findings of the current study highlight how work environment and social cohesion among SWs are related to improved condom use. Given global calls for the decriminalisation of sex work, and potential legislative reforms in Canada, this study points to the critical need for new institutional arrangements (eg, legal and regulatory frameworks; labour standards) to support safer sex workplaces. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  16. User-centered design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baik, Joo Hyun; Kim, Hyeong Heon

    2008-01-01

    The simplification philosophy, as an example, that both of EPRI-URD and EUR emphasize is treated mostly for the cost reduction of the nuclear power plants, but not for the simplification of the structure of user's tasks, which is one of the principles of user-centered design. A user-centered design is a philosophy based on the needs and interests of the user, with an emphasis on making products usable and understandable. However, the nuclear power plants offered these days by which the predominant reactor vendors are hardly user-centered but still designer-centered or technology-centered in viewpoint of fulfilling user requirements. The main goal of user-centered design is that user requirements are elicited correctly, reflected properly into the system requirements, and verified thoroughly by the tests. Starting from the user requirements throughout to the final test, each requirement should be traceable. That's why requirement traceability is a key to the user-centered design, and main theme of a requirement management program, which is suggested to be added into EPRI-URD and EUR in the section of Design Process. (author)

  17. User-interactive sediment budgets in a browser: A web application for river science and management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sibley, David M.; Topping, David; Hines, Megan K.; Garner, Bradley D.

    2015-01-01

    Decision-support tools providing accurate, near-real-time data and user-friendly interactive visualizations are of critical value to resource managers tasked with planning and carrying out management programs in their domain. Creating a system to continuously aggregate datasets and recompute derived values is difficult and error-prone when attempted by hand. To address this need for river managers in support of sediment budgeting, we have created a web-based, open source suite of tools and processes that 1) continually aggregate data of interest, 2) recompute derived values based upon latest available data, and 3) update visualizations on-demand, providing simple front-end tools available to resource managers and the public. For the first time, engineers and scientists can access these tools freely over the web to assist them with planning and adaptive management decisions.

  18. Participatory Design of an Online Self-Management Tool for Users With Spinal Cord Injury: Qualitative Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepherd, John; Tomasone, Jennifer; Munce, Sarah; Linassi, Gary; Hossain, Saima Noreen; Jaglal, Susan

    2018-01-01

    Background Rehospitalization rates resulting from secondary conditions in persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are high. Self-management programs for many chronic conditions have been associated with decreases in hospital readmissions. However, in the SCI community, evidence suggests that satisfaction with traditional self-management programs is low. Users with SCI have indicated preference for programs that are online (rather than in-person), that target SCI-specific concerns, and are led by peers with SCI. There is currently no program with all of these features, which addresses self-management of secondary conditions after SCI. Objective The aim of this study was to provide details of a participatory design (PD) process for an internet-mediated self-management program for users with SCI (called SCI & U) and illustrate how it has been used to define design constraints and solutions. Methods Users were involved in development as codesigners, codevelopers, and key informants. Codesigners and codevelopers were recruited from consumer advocacy groups and worked with a core development team. Key informants were recruited from geographically distributed advocacy groups to form a product advisory council that met regularly with the core team. During meetings, codesigners and informants walked through stages of work that typify PD processes such as exploration, discovery, and prototyping. This paper details the process by analyzing 10 meetings that took place between August 2015 and May 2016. Meetings were recorded, transcribed, and subjected to an inductive thematic analysis; resulting themes were organized according to their relationship to PD stages. Results A total of 16 individuals participated in meeting discussions, including 7 researchers and 9 persons with SCI from 4 Canadian provinces. Themes of trust, expertise, and community emerged in every group discussion. The exploration stage revealed interest in online self-management resources coupled with concerns

  19. Towards risk-based drought management in the Netherlands: making water supply levels transparent to water users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maat Judith, Ter; Marjolein, Mens; Vuren Saskia, Van; der Vat Marnix, Van

    2016-04-01

    To prepare the Dutch Delta for future droughts and water scarcity, a nation-wide 4-year project, called Delta Programme, assessed the impact of climate change and socio-economic development, and explored strategies to deal with these impacts. The Programme initiated a joint approach to water supply management with stakeholders and developed a national adaptation plan that is able to adapt to future uncertain conditions. The adaptation plan consists of a set of preferred policy pathways - sequences of possible actions and measures through time - to achieve targets while responding in a flexible manner to uncertain developments over time, allowing room to respond to new opportunities and insights. With regard to fresh water allocation, the Delta Programme stated that supplying water of sufficient quality is a shared responsibility that requires cohesive efforts among users in the main and regional water system. The national and local authorities and water users involved agreed that the water availability and, where relevant, the water quality should be as transparent and predictable as possible under normal, dry and extremely dry conditions. They therefore introduced the concept of "water supply service levels", which should describe water availability and quality that can be delivered with a certain return period, for all regions and all relevant water users in the Netherlands. The service levels form an addition to the present policy and should be decided on by 2021. At present water allocation during periods of (expected) water shortage occurs according to a prearranged ranking system (a water hierarchy scheme based on a list of priorities), if water availability drops below a critical low level. The aim is to have supply levels available that are based on the probability of occurrence and economic impact of water shortage, and that are transparent for all water users in the regional water systems and the main water system. As part of the European project

  20. (Un)organizing equal collaboration between users and professionals: on management of patient education in Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stokken, Roar

    2013-03-01

    This is an article about how patient education is managed in Norway, but it also addresses a matter of broader relevance that of how an organization imbued with a request for rational choices is able to take on board a contradictory ideology. In Norway, patient education under the auspice of hospitals is to be conducted as an equal collaboration between users and professionals, posing challenges to the ethos of rationally justified choices within the hospital sector. This calls for an exploration of how the organization copes with the contradictory demands. A theoretical approach on the basis of theories from Scandinavian institutional theory and science and technology studies, informed by documents, interviews and experiences from national, regional and local levels in Norway. The field of patient education is divided into three decoupled domains: one at management level, one at the practical level, and in the middle a domain that acts as an interface between management and practice. This interface mediates the relationship between ideas and practice, without making overt the fact that ideas might not be possible to put into practice and that practice might not reflect ideas. The decoupling of practice and management allows patient education as equal collaboration between users and professionals to thrive as an idea, not subjugated by practical challenges. Thus, it can exist as a guiding star that both management and practitioners can attune to, but this situation might now be threatened by the demand for quality assurance in the field. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  1. Key factors of case management interventions for frequent users of healthcare services: a thematic analysis review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudon, Catherine; Chouinard, Maud-Christine; Lambert, Mireille; Diadiou, Fatoumata; Bouliane, Danielle; Beaudin, Jérémie

    2017-10-22

    The aim of this paper was to identify the key factors of case management (CM) interventions among frequent users of healthcare services found in empirical studies of effectiveness. Thematic analysis review of CM studies. We built on a previously published review that aimed to report the effectiveness of CM interventions for frequent users of healthcare services, using the Medline, Scopus and CINAHL databases covering the January 2004-December 2015 period, then updated to July 2017, with the keywords 'CM' and 'frequent use'. We extracted factors of successful (n=7) and unsuccessful (n=6) CM interventions and conducted a mixed thematic analysis to synthesise findings. Chaudoir's implementation of health innovations framework was used to organise results into four broad levels of factors: (1) ,environmental/organisational level, (2) practitioner level, (3) patient level and (4) programme level. Access to, and close partnerships with, healthcare providers and community services resources were key factors of successful CM interventions that should target patients with the greatest needs and promote frequent contacts with the healthcare team. The selection and training of the case manager was also an important factor to foster patient engagement in CM. Coordination of care, self-management support and assistance with care navigation were key CM activities. The main issues reported by unsuccessful CM interventions were problems with case finding or lack of care integration. CM interventions for frequent users of healthcare services should ensure adequate case finding processes, rigorous selection and training of the case manager, sufficient intensity of the intervention, as well as good care integration among all partners. Other studies could further evaluate the influence of contextual factors on intervention impacts. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted

  2. Advanced parking management systems : a cross-cutting study : taking the stress out of parking

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-01-01

    This study examines advanced parking management systems (APMSs) in three venues: airports, central business districts, and transit park-and-ride locations. Specifically, the systems examined in this study provide directional and space availability in...

  3. Action Information Management System (AIMS): a User's View

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiskerchen, M.

    1984-01-01

    The initial approach used in establishing a user-defined information system to fulfill the needs of users at NASA Headquarters was unsuccessful in bringing this pilot endeaveor to full project status. The persistence of several users and the full involvement of the Ames Research Center were the ingredients needed to make the AIMS project a success. The lesson learned from this effort is that NASA should always work from its organizational strengths as a Headquarters-Center partnership.

  4. User-Aware Location Management of Prosumed Micro-services

    OpenAIRE

    Klein, Bernhard; López-de-Ipiña, Diego; Guggenmos, Christian; Pérez-Velasco, Jorge

    2014-01-01

    The MUGGES mobile service prosuming platform aims at enabling user-aware service provision and consumption from the very mobile devices in a true peer-to-peer manner, still providing centralized support to user- and location-aware micro-service searching. Thus, users will not only provide contents but also launch and host services from their own mobile devices. Explorative field trials in Spain and Finland assessing the potential of the ‘prosuming concept' were carried out for several weeks w...

  5. Standards for the user interface - Developing a user consensus. [for Space Station Information System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moe, Karen L.; Perkins, Dorothy C.; Szczur, Martha R.

    1987-01-01

    The user support environment (USE) which is a set of software tools for a flexible standard interactive user interface to the Space Station systems, platforms, and payloads is described in detail. Included in the USE concept are a user interface language, a run time environment and user interface management system, support tools, and standards for human interaction methods. The goals and challenges of the USE are discussed as well as a methodology based on prototype demonstrations for involving users in the process of validating the USE concepts. By prototyping the key concepts and salient features of the proposed user interface standards, the user's ability to respond is greatly enhanced.

  6. User participation in implementation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fleron, Benedicte; Rasmussen, Rasmus; Simonsen, Jesper

    2012-01-01

    Systems development has been claimed to benefit from user participation, yet user participation in implementation activities may be more common and is a growing focus of participatory-design work. We investigate the effect of the extensive user participation in the implementation of a clinical...... experienced more uncertainty and frustration than management and non-participating staff, especially concerning how to run an implementation process and how to understand and utilize the configuration possibilities of the system. This suggests that user participation in implementation introduces a need...

  7. User Privacy and Empowerment: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dhotre, Prashant Shantaram; Olesen, Henning; Khajuria, Samant

    2018-01-01

    to the service providers. Considering business models that are slanted towards service provid-ers, privacy has become a crucial issue in today’s fast growing digital world. Hence, this paper elaborates personal information flow between users, service providers, and data brokers. We also discussed the significant...... privacy issues like present business models, user awareness about privacy and user control over per-sonal data. To address such issues, this paper also identified challenges that com-prise unavailability of effective privacy awareness or protection tools and the ef-fortless way to study and see the flow...... of personal information and its manage-ment. Thus, empowering users and enhancing awareness are essential to compre-hending the value of secrecy. This paper also introduced latest advances in the domain of privacy issues like User Managed Access (UMA) can state suitable requirements for user empowerment...

  8. [Medical doctors driving technological innovation: questions about and innovation management approaches to incentive structures for lead users].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bohnet-Joschko, Sabine; Kientzler, Fionn

    2010-01-01

    Management science defines user-generated innovations as open innovation and lead user innovation. The medical technology industry finds user-generated innovations profitable and even indispensable. Innovative medical doctors as lead users need medical technology innovations in order to improve patient care. Their motivation to innovate is mostly intrinsic. But innovations may also involve extrinsic motivators such as gain in reputation or monetary incentives. Medical doctors' innovative activities often take place in hospitals and are thus embedded into the hospital's organisational setting. Hospitals find it difficult to gain short-term profits from in-house generated innovations and sometimes hesitate to support them. Strategic investment in medical doctors' innovative activities may be profitable for hospitals in the long run if innovations provide first-mover competitive advantages. Industry co-operations with innovative medical doctors offer chances but also bear potential risks. Innovative ideas generated by expert users may result in even higher complexity of medical devices; this could cause mistakes when applied by less specialised users and thus affect patient safety. Innovations that yield benefits for patients, medical doctors, hospitals and the medical technology industry can be advanced by offering adequate support for knowledge transfer and co-operation models.

  9. Who are mobile app users from healthy lifestyle websites? Analysis of patterns of app use and user characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elavsky, Steriani; Smahel, David; Machackova, Hana

    2017-12-01

    The use of online communities and websites for health information has proliferated along with the use of mobile apps for managing health behaviors such as diet and exercise. The scarce evidence available to date suggests that users of these websites and apps differ in significant ways from non-users but most data come from US- and UK-based populations. In this study, we recruited users of nutrition, weight management, and fitness-oriented websites in the Czech Republic to better understand who uses mobile apps and who does not, including user sociodemographic and psychological profiles. Respondents aged 13-39 provided information on app use through an online survey (n = 669; M age = 24.06, SD = 5.23; 84% female). Among users interested in health topics, respondents using apps for managing nutrition, weight, and fitness (n = 403, 60%) were more often female, reported more frequent smartphone use, and more expert phone skills. In logistic regression models, controlling for sociodemographics, web, and phone activity, mHealth app use was predicted by levels of excessive exercise (OR 1.346, 95% CI 1.061-1.707, p users, we found differences in types of apps used by gender, age, and weight status. Controlling for sociodemographics and web and phone use, drive for thinness predicted the frequency of use of apps for healthy eating (β = 0.14, p user characteristics of mHealth app users from nutrition, weight management, and fitness websites, helping inform subsequent design of mHealth apps and mobile intervention strategies.

  10. Large Scale Management of Physicists Personal Analysis Data Without Employing User and Group Quotas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norman, A.; Diesbug, M.; Gheith, M.; Illingworth, R.; Lyon, A.; Mengel, M.

    2015-01-01

    The ability of modern HEP experiments to acquire and process unprecedented amounts of data and simulation have lead to an explosion in the volume of information that individual scientists deal with on a daily basis. Explosion has resulted in a need for individuals to generate and keep large personal analysis data sets which represent the skimmed portions of official data collections, pertaining to their specific analysis. While a significant reduction in size compared to the original data, these personal analysis and simulation sets can be many terabytes or 10s of TB in size and consist of 10s of thousands of files. When this personal data is aggregated across the many physicists in a single analysis group or experiment it can represent data volumes on par or exceeding the official production samples which require special data handling techniques to deal with effectively.In this paper we explore the changes to the Fermilab computing infrastructure and computing models which have been developed to allow experimenters to effectively manage their personal analysis data and other data that falls outside of the typically centrally managed production chains. In particular we describe the models and tools that are being used to provide the modern neutrino experiments like NOvA with storage resources that are sufficient to meet their analysis needs, without imposing specific quotas on users or groups of users. We discuss the storage mechanisms and the caching algorithms that are being used as well as the toolkits are have been developed to allow the users to easily operate with terascale+ datasets. (paper)

  11. Control Freaks: How User-Generated Content is Managed in Advertising Campaigns. The Romanian Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodica Maria SĂVULESCU

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The advent of Web 2.0 has brought about a paradigm shift in communication: from an informational Web to an editable one. Consequently, the “one-to-many” communication model of the mass media industry has been replaced by one that involves “many-to-many”. Web 2.0 enables those who were formerly conceptualized as audiences/consumers to be part of an open-source movement that means participating into the production of brands and their meanings. It is an era of convergence, of overlapping roles between producers and users/consumers – in short, of “produsage”, “prosumption” and “user-generated content” (UGC. This article investigates how this new paradigm influences marketing communication by addressing the specific case of the Romanian advertising industry. By using in depth-interviews with 20 advertising professionals, it points out to the fact that in communication campaigns with user-generated content there is still a high degree of control from the brand management and agency teams that cannot quite grasp the concept of brand communication democratization.

  12. Monitoring and controlling ATLAS data management: The Rucio web user interface

    CERN Document Server

    Lassnig, Mario; The ATLAS collaboration; Barisits, Martin-Stefan; Serfon, Cedric; Vigne, Ralph; Garonne, Vincent

    2015-01-01

    The monitoring and controlling interfaces of the previous data management system DQ2 followed the evolutionary requirements and needs of the ATLAS collaboration. The new system, Rucio, has put in place a redesigned web-based interface based upon the lessons learnt from DQ2, and the increased volume of managed information. This interface encompasses both a monitoring and controlling component, and allows easy integration for user-generated views. The interface follows three design principles. First, the collection and storage of data from internal and external systems is asynchronous to reduce latency. This includes the use of technologies like ActiveMQ or Nagios. Second, analysis of the data into information is done massively parallel due to its volume, using a combined approach with an Oracle database and Hadoop MapReduce. Third, sharing of the information does not distinguish between human or programmatic access, making it easy to access selective parts of the information both in constrained frontends like ...

  13. Measuring the User Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harry B. Santoso

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the current study is to develop an adapted version of User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ and evaluate a learning management system. Although there is a growing interest on User Experience, there are still limited resources (i.e. measurement tools or questionnaires available to measure user experience of any products, especially learning management systems. Two hundreds and thirteen computer science students participated and completed the adapted version of UEQ. In the study, the researchers used a learning management system named Student Centered e-Learning Environment (SCELE. Several types of learning materials are posted in SCELE such as audio files, simulations, PowerPoint slides, multimedia contents, and webpage links. Most of the lecturers use discussion forums in their courses to encourage students to participate in active learning setting. Staff and lecturers sometimes post academic-related announcements on the SCELE homepage. Two hundred thirteen students enrolled in Computer Science program were invited to evaluate the SCELE. This study will benefit UX practitioners, HCI educators, program and center of learning resources administrators, and learning management system developers. Findings of the present study may also be valuable for universities and high schools which are using computer-based learning environments.

  14. User rights management of the CSNS control system client

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Zhuoyu; Liu Minqian; Chu Yuanping; Zhuang Jian; Hu Lei; Jin Dapeng

    2012-01-01

    The China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) will become the first pulsed spallation neutron source owned by China, CSS (Control System Studio), used as the the target station and spectrometer control system client, is mainly responsible for equipment controlling and parameter monitoring. In order to ensure the safety of the control system, the advanced GUI and important operating parameters must be restricted to ordinary users, only senior experts have the rights to view and modify them, so we must divide CSS users into different groups and give different rights to different groups. Based on user roles, CSS can implicit workbench contents and widgets, to ensure that users can seamlessly log into different clients. This article mainly talk about the JAAS authentication and authorization services in CSS, and deploy user information and master-slave synchronization information on the LDAP server, and use the Eclipse activity extension points to accomplish GUI explicit-implicit control according to the logged in user. (authors)

  15. Scaling Task Management in Space and Time: Reducing User Overhead in Ubiquitous-Computing Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-03-28

    RETSINA framework, with applications in domains such as financial portfolio management, ecommerce and military logistics [88]; and more recently Carnegie...relaxed, working, in distress…), privacy (who else is in the vicinity), etc. There is a considerable body of work in sensing such variables (e.g...infrastructure interfaces with complementary research. The four subsections below discuss issues related to the impact of user mobility on privacy , to

  16. DIRAC: Secure web user interface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casajus Ramo, A; Sapunov, M

    2010-01-01

    Traditionally the interaction between users and the Grid is done with command line tools. However, these tools are difficult to use by non-expert users providing minimal help and generating outputs not always easy to understand especially in case of errors. Graphical User Interfaces are typically limited to providing access to the monitoring or accounting information and concentrate on some particular aspects failing to cover the full spectrum of grid control tasks. To make the Grid more user friendly more complete graphical interfaces are needed. Within the DIRAC project we have attempted to construct a Web based User Interface that provides means not only for monitoring the system behavior but also allows to steer the main user activities on the grid. Using DIRAC's web interface a user can easily track jobs and data. It provides access to job information and allows performing actions on jobs such as killing or deleting. Data managers can define and monitor file transfer activity as well as check requests set by jobs. Production managers can define and follow large data productions and react if necessary by stopping or starting them. The Web Portal is build following all the grid security standards and using modern Web 2.0 technologies which allow to achieve the user experience similar to the desktop applications. Details of the DIRAC Web Portal architecture and User Interface will be presented and discussed.

  17. Participatory Design of an Online Self-Management Tool for Users With Spinal Cord Injury: Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allin, Sonya; Shepherd, John; Tomasone, Jennifer; Munce, Sarah; Linassi, Gary; Hossain, Saima Noreen; Jaglal, Susan

    2018-03-21

    Rehospitalization rates resulting from secondary conditions in persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are high. Self-management programs for many chronic conditions have been associated with decreases in hospital readmissions. However, in the SCI community, evidence suggests that satisfaction with traditional self-management programs is low. Users with SCI have indicated preference for programs that are online (rather than in-person), that target SCI-specific concerns, and are led by peers with SCI. There is currently no program with all of these features, which addresses self-management of secondary conditions after SCI. The aim of this study was to provide details of a participatory design (PD) process for an internet-mediated self-management program for users with SCI (called SCI & U) and illustrate how it has been used to define design constraints and solutions. Users were involved in development as codesigners, codevelopers, and key informants. Codesigners and codevelopers were recruited from consumer advocacy groups and worked with a core development team. Key informants were recruited from geographically distributed advocacy groups to form a product advisory council that met regularly with the core team. During meetings, codesigners and informants walked through stages of work that typify PD processes such as exploration, discovery, and prototyping. This paper details the process by analyzing 10 meetings that took place between August 2015 and May 2016. Meetings were recorded, transcribed, and subjected to an inductive thematic analysis; resulting themes were organized according to their relationship to PD stages. A total of 16 individuals participated in meeting discussions, including 7 researchers and 9 persons with SCI from 4 Canadian provinces. Themes of trust, expertise, and community emerged in every group discussion. The exploration stage revealed interest in online self-management resources coupled with concerns about information credibility. In

  18. Hypoglycemia Prevention and User Acceptance of an Insulin Pump System with Predictive Low Glucose Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Choudhary, Pratik; Olsen, Birthe S; Conget, Ignacio

    2016-01-01

    was avoided with this strategy, as well as to assess user acceptance of the system and its insulin management features. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty subjects with type 1 diabetes used the system for 4 weeks. We retrospectively evaluated performance of the system, using downloaded pump and sensor data......, and evaluated user acceptance via questionnaires. RESULTS: There were 2,322 suspend before low events (2.1 per subject-day). The mean (± SD) duration of pump suspension events was 56.4 ± 9.6 min, and the mean subsequent sensor glucose (SG) nadir was 71.8 ± 5.2 mg/dL. SG values following 1,930 (83...

  19. An Ontology-Based Framework for Modeling User Behavior

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Razmerita, Liana

    2011-01-01

    and classifies its users according to their behavior. The user ontology is the backbone of OntobUMf and has been designed according to the Information Management System Learning Information Package (IMS LIP). The user ontology includes a Behavior concept that extends IMS LIP specification and defines...... characteristics of the users interacting with the system. Concrete examples of how OntobUMf is used in the context of a Knowledge Management (KM) System are provided. This paper discusses some of the implications of ontology-based user modeling for semantically enhanced KM and, in particular, for personal KM....... The results of this research may contribute to the development of other frameworks for modeling user behavior, other semantically enhanced user modeling frameworks, or other semantically enhanced information systems....

  20. Danish User-Centered Innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeppesen, Lars Bo

    2007-01-01

    Danish User-centered Innovation Lab (DUCI lab) is a collaboration between faculty at Copenhagen Business School, Aarhus School of Business and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, based at Copenhagen Business School. DUCI lab is a unique effort to understand the issues involved in user innovation...... processes, with particular emphasis on managing user driven innovation. The project takes advantage of CBS location in Denmark. Denmark has been at the forefront in creating policies that favor user driven innovation. CBS's location at the heart of one of the world's most vibrant user driven regions...... companies and on how such practices can be diffused broadly for the benefit of start-ups, SME's and other types of organizations....

  1. How Helpful Are Error Management and Counterfactual Thinking Instructions to Inexperienced Spreadsheet Users' Training Task Performance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caputi, Peter; Chan, Amy; Jayasuriya, Rohan

    2011-01-01

    This paper examined the impact of training strategies on the types of errors that novice users make when learning a commonly used spreadsheet application. Fifty participants were assigned to a counterfactual thinking training (CFT) strategy, an error management training strategy, or a combination of both strategies, and completed an easy task…

  2. SLIMS--a user-friendly sample operations and inventory management system for genotyping labs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Rossum, Thea; Tripp, Ben; Daley, Denise

    2010-07-15

    We present the Sample-based Laboratory Information Management System (SLIMS), a powerful and user-friendly open source web application that provides all members of a laboratory with an interface to view, edit and create sample information. SLIMS aims to simplify common laboratory tasks with tools such as a user-friendly shopping cart for subjects, samples and containers that easily generates reports, shareable lists and plate designs for genotyping. Further key features include customizable data views, database change-logging and dynamically filled pre-formatted reports. Along with being feature-rich, SLIMS' power comes from being able to handle longitudinal data from multiple time-points and biological sources. This type of data is increasingly common from studies searching for susceptibility genes for common complex diseases that collect thousands of samples generating millions of genotypes and overwhelming amounts of data. LIMSs provide an efficient way to deal with this data while increasing accessibility and reducing laboratory errors; however, professional LIMS are often too costly to be practical. SLIMS gives labs a feasible alternative that is easily accessible, user-centrically designed and feature-rich. To facilitate system customization, and utilization for other groups, manuals have been written for users and developers. Documentation, source code and manuals are available at http://genapha.icapture.ubc.ca/SLIMS/index.jsp. SLIMS was developed using Java 1.6.0, JSPs, Hibernate 3.3.1.GA, DB2 and mySQL, Apache Tomcat 6.0.18, NetBeans IDE 6.5, Jasper Reports 3.5.1 and JasperSoft's iReport 3.5.1.

  3. 78 FR 8544 - Training Program for Regulatory Project Managers; Information Available to Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-06

    ...] Training Program for Regulatory Project Managers; Information Available to Industry AGENCY: Food and Drug... Brum, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave... to industry's drug development processes and (2) a venue for sharing information about project...

  4. Monitoring and controlling ATLAS data management: The Rucio web user interface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lassnig, M.; Beermann, T.; Vigne, R.; Barisits, M.; Garonne, V.; Serfon, C.

    2015-12-01

    The monitoring and controlling interfaces of the previous data management system DQ2 followed the evolutionary requirements and needs of the ATLAS collaboration. The new data management system, Rucio, has put in place a redesigned web-based interface based upon the lessons learnt from DQ2, and the increased volume of managed information. This interface encompasses both a monitoring and controlling component, and allows easy integration for usergenerated views. The interface follows three design principles. First, the collection and storage of data from internal and external systems is asynchronous to reduce latency. This includes the use of technologies like ActiveMQ or Nagios. Second, analysis of the data into information is done massively parallel due to its volume, using a combined approach with an Oracle database and Hadoop MapReduce. Third, sharing of the information does not distinguish between human or programmatic access, making it easy to access selective parts of the information both in constrained frontends like web-browsers as well as remote services. This contribution will detail the reasons for these principles and the design choices taken. Additionally, the implementation, the interactions with external systems, and an evaluation of the system in production, both from a technological and user perspective, conclude this contribution.

  5. User Types in Online Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ion IVAN

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Online applications are presented in the context of information society. Online applications characteristics are analyzed. Quality characteristics are presented in relation to online applications users. Types of users for AVIO application are presented. Use cases for AVIO application are identified. The limitations of AVIO application are defined. Types of users in online applications are identified. The threedimensional matrix of access to the online application resources is built. The user type-oriented database is structured. Access management of the fields related to the database tables is analyzed. The classification of online applications users is done.

  6. Management of the licensing of users of radioactive materials should be improved

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1976-01-01

    Radioactive material licenses are required for manufacturing nuclear fuel for reactors and for industrial, commercial, medical, and educational uses of radioactive materials. This type of license is not for constructing or operating nuclear power reactors and facilities for processing used nuclear fuels. This report discusses the need for better management improvements in the NRC's program for licensing the users. As of December 31, 1974, there were 8,253 active NRC-issued material licenses held by 6,310 licensees. The study reviewed NRC's policies, procedures, and practices, and examined recent evaluations of state programs to identify problems encountered by the states

  7. cisPath: an R/Bioconductor package for cloud users for visualization and management of functional protein interaction networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Likun; Yang, Luhe; Peng, Zuohan; Lu, Dan; Jin, Yan; McNutt, Michael; Yin, Yuxin

    2015-01-01

    With the burgeoning development of cloud technology and services, there are an increasing number of users who prefer cloud to run their applications. All software and associated data are hosted on the cloud, allowing users to access them via a web browser from any computer, anywhere. This paper presents cisPath, an R/Bioconductor package deployed on cloud servers for client users to visualize, manage, and share functional protein interaction networks. With this R package, users can easily integrate downloaded protein-protein interaction information from different online databases with private data to construct new and personalized interaction networks. Additional functions allow users to generate specific networks based on private databases. Since the results produced with the use of this package are in the form of web pages, cloud users can easily view and edit the network graphs via the browser, using a mouse or touch screen, without the need to download them to a local computer. This package can also be installed and run on a local desktop computer. Depending on user preference, results can be publicized or shared by uploading to a web server or cloud driver, allowing other users to directly access results via a web browser. This package can be installed and run on a variety of platforms. Since all network views are shown in web pages, such package is particularly useful for cloud users. The easy installation and operation is an attractive quality for R beginners and users with no previous experience with cloud services.

  8. Space Telescope Control System science user operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dougherty, H. J.; Rossini, R.; Simcox, D.; Bennett, N.

    1984-01-01

    The Space Telescope science users will have a flexible and efficient means of accessing the capabilities provided by the ST Pointing Control System, particularly with respect to managing the overal acquisition and pointing functions. To permit user control of these system functions - such as vehicle scanning, tracking, offset pointing, high gain antenna pointing, solar array pointing and momentum management - a set of special instructions called 'constructs' is used in conjuction with command data packets. This paper discusses the user-vehicle interface and introduces typical operational scenarios.

  9. User analysis of LHCb data with Ganga

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maier, Andrew; Gaidioz, Benjamin; Moscicki, Jakub; Muraru, Adrian; Ster, Daniel van der; Brochu, Frederic; Cowan, Greg; Egede, Ulrik; Reece, Will; Williams, Mike; Elmsheuser, Johannes; Harrison, Karl; Slater, Mark; Tan, Chun Lik; Lee, Hurng-Chun; Liko, Dietrich; Pajchel, Katarina; Samset, Bjoern; Soroko, Alexander

    2010-01-01

    GANGA (http://cern.ch/ganga) is a job-management tool that offers a simple, efficient and consistent user analysis tool in a variety of heterogeneous environments: from local clusters to global Grid systems. Experiment specific plug-ins allow GANGA to be customised for each experiment. For LHCb users GANGA is the officially supported and advertised tool for job submission to the Grid. The LHCb specific plug-ins allow support for end-to-end analysis helping the user to perform his complete analysis with the help of GANGA. This starts with the support for data selection, where a user can select data sets from the LHCb Bookkeeping system. Next comes the set up for large analysis jobs: with tailored plug-ins for the LHCb core software, jobs can be managed by the splitting of these analysis jobs with the subsequent merging of the resulting files. Furthermore, GANGA offers support for Toy Monte-Carlos to help the user tune their analysis. In addition to describing the GANGA architecture, typical usage patterns within LHCb and experience with the updated LHCb DIRAC workload management system are presented.

  10. Seeing the System through the End Users' Eyes: Shadow Expert Technique for Evaluating the Consistency of a Learning Management System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holzinger, Andreas; Stickel, Christian; Fassold, Markus; Ebner, Martin

    Interface consistency is an important basic concept in web design and has an effect on performance and satisfaction of end users. Consistency also has significant effects on the learning performance of both expert and novice end users. Consequently, the evaluation of consistency within a e-learning system and the ensuing eradication of irritating discrepancies in the user interface redesign is a big issue. In this paper, we report of our experiences with the Shadow Expert Technique (SET) during the evaluation of the consistency of the user interface of a large university learning management system. The main objective of this new usability evaluation method is to understand the interaction processes of end users with a specific system interface. Two teams of usability experts worked independently from each other in order to maximize the objectivity of the results. The outcome of this SET method is a list of recommended changes to improve the user interaction processes, hence to facilitate high consistency.

  11. User-Generated Services Composition in Smart Multi-User Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincenzo Catania

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The increasing complexity shown in Smart Environments, together with the spread of social networks, is increasingly moving the role of users from simple information and services consumers to actual producers. In this work, we focus on security issues raised by a particular kind of services: those generated by users. User-Generated Services (UGSs are characterized by a set of features that distinguish them from conventional services. To cope with UGS security problems, we introduce three different policy management models, analyzing benefits and drawbacks of each approach. Finally, we propose a cloud-based solution that enables the composition of multiple UGSs and policy models, allowing users’ devices to share features and services in Internet of Things (IoT based scenarios.

  12. 77 FR 10538 - Training Program for Regulatory Project Managers; Information Available to Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-22

    ...] Training Program for Regulatory Project Managers; Information Available to Industry AGENCY: Food and Drug... Brum, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave...) Firsthand exposure to industry's drug development processes and (2) a venue for sharing information about...

  13. CONSUME: users guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    R.D. Ottmar; M.F. Burns; J.N. Hall; A.D. Hanson

    1993-01-01

    CONSUME is a user-friendly computer program designed for resource managers with some working knowledge of IBM-PC applications. The software predicts the amount of fuel consumption on logged units based on weather data, the amount and fuel moisture of fuels, and a number of other factors. Using these predictions, the resource manager can accurately determine when and...

  14. Speaking of users: on user discourses in the field of public libraries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ase Hedemark

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. The aim of the study reported is to examine user discourses identified in the Swedish public library field. The following questions are posed: What user discourses can be found and what characterises them? How are users categorised and what does this categorisation imply? The departure point in this paper is that the ways users are categorised influence their information behaviour. Plausible consequences for the relation between the interest of the public library and the users are discussed. Method. The empirical focus of the paper is a discourse analysis with a starting-point in Ernesto Laclaus and Chantal Mouffes discourse theory. Analysis. Sixty-two articles from three established Swedish library journals are analysed through a model in four phases. These phases include designations of users, user categories, themes within which users are described and user discourses. Results. Four user discourses are revealed: a general education discourse, a pedagogical discourse, an information technology discourse and an information management discourse. Conclusion. The discourses hold both levels of idealizing and experience related rhetoric. The dominant general education discourse is based on a tradition of fostering and refining as well as educating the general public and thereby reproduces inequality between the user and the library.

  15. Surgical Management of Common Disorders of Feedlot Calves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miesner, Matt D; Anderson, David E

    2015-11-01

    Procedures to improve animal and handler safety, shape production parameters, and directly address the prosperity of individuals in need of assistance are performed routinely. Techniques to accomplish these tasks have been described in many venues. Painful procedures are expected in feedlot practice. Assessing and managing pain and welfare for these procedures has strengthened significantly over the past decade to address increased public concerns and also to support the desires of the operators/managers to progress. Methods to perform common procedures are described, including evidence and techniques for managing the pain and distress while performing them. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  16. New books highlight diverse ways ICTs contribute to development ...

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

    3 juin 2015 ... ... of technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones in everyday life. ... venues enhanced job prospects for white-collar and office workersin Rwanda. In Malaysia, rural users of public access venues were able to expand ...

  17. An information management system for patients with tuberculosis: usability assessment with end-users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darby, Jonathan; Black, Jim; Morrison, David; Buising, Kirsty

    2012-01-01

    Information systems with clinical decision support (CDS) offer great potential to assist the co-ordination of patients with chronic diseases and to improve patient care. Despite this, few have entered routine clinical use. Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection of public health importance. It has complex interactions with many comorbid conditions, requires close supervised care and prolonged treatment for effective cure. These features make it suitable for use with an information management system with CDS features. In close consultation with key stakeholders, a clinical application was developed for the management of TB patients in Victoria. A formal usability assessment using semi-structured case-scenario based exercises was performed. Subjects were 12 individuals closely involved in the care of TB patients, including Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Physicians, and Public Health Nurses. Two researchers conducted the sessions, independently analysed responses and discrepancies compared to the voice record for validity. Despite varied computer experience, responses were positive regarding user interface and content. Data location was not always intuitive, however this improved with familiarity of the program. Decision support was considered valuable, with useful suggestions for expansion of these features. Automated reporting for correspondence and notification to the Health Department were felt worth the initial investment in data entry. An important workflow-based issue regarding dismissal of alerts and several errors were detected. Usability assessment validated many design elements of the system, provided a unique insight into workflow issues faced by users and hopefully will impact on its ultimate clinical utility.

  18. An Object-Oriented Architecture for User Interface Management in Distributed Applications

    OpenAIRE

    Denzer, Ralf

    2017-01-01

    User interfaces for large distributed applications have to handle specific problems: the complexity of the application itself and the integration of online-data into the user interface. A main task of the user interface architecture is to provide powerful tools to design and augment the end-user system easily, hence giving the designer more time to focus on user requirements. Our experiences developing a user interface system for a process control room showed that a lot of time during the dev...

  19. Search-User Interface Design

    CERN Document Server

    Wilson, Max

    2011-01-01

    Search User Interfaces (SUIs) represent the gateway between people who have a task to complete, and the repositories of information and data stored around the world. Not surprisingly, therefore, there are many communities who have a vested interest in the way SUIs are designed. There are people who study how humans search for information, and people who study how humans use computers. There are people who study good user interface design, and people who design aesthetically pleasing user interfaces. There are also people who curate and manage valuable information resources, and people who desi

  20. Popularity framework for monitoring user workload

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Molfetas, Angelos; Dimitrov, Gancho; Lassnig, Mario; Garonne, Vincent; Stewart, Graeme; Barisits, Martin; Beermann, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes a monitoring framework for large scale data management systems with frequent data access. This framework allows large data management systems to generate meaningful information from collected tracing data and to be queried on demand for specific user usage patterns in respect to source and destination locations, period intervals, and other searchable parameters. The feasibility of such a system at the petabyte scale is demonstrated by describing the implementation and operational experience of a real world management information system for the ATLAS experiment employing the proposed framework. Our observations suggest that the proposed user monitoring framework is capable of scaling to meet the needs of very large data management systems.

  1. Developing framework for agent- based diabetes disease management system: user perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammadzadeh, Niloofar; Safdari, Reza; Rahimi, Azin

    2014-02-01

    One of the characteristics of agents is mobility which makes them very suitable for remote electronic health and tele medicine. The aim of this study is developing a framework for agent based diabetes information management at national level through identifying required agents. The main tool is a questioner that is designed in three sections based on studying library resources, performance of major organizations in the field of diabetes in and out of the country and interviews with experts in the medical, health information management and software fields. Questionnaires based on Delphi methods were distributed among 20 experts. In order to design and identify agents required in health information management for the prevention and appropriate and rapid treatment of diabetes, the results were analyzed using SPSS 17 and Results were plotted with FREEPLANE mind map software. ACCESS TO DATA TECHNOLOGY IN PROPOSED FRAMEWORK IN ORDER OF PRIORITY IS: mobile (mean 1/80), SMS, EMAIL (mean 2/80), internet, web (mean 3/30), phone (mean 3/60), WIFI (mean 4/60). In delivering health care to diabetic patients, considering social and human aspects is essential. Having a systematic view for implementation of agent systems and paying attention to all aspects such as feedbacks, user acceptance, budget, motivation, hierarchy, useful standards, affordability of individuals, identifying barriers and opportunities and so on, are necessary.

  2. Integrating care for frequent users of emergency departments: implementation evaluation of a brief multi-organizational intensive case management intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahan, Deborah; Leszcz, Molyn; O'Campo, Patricia; Hwang, Stephen W; Wasylenki, Donald A; Kurdyak, Paul; Wise Harris, Deborah; Gozdzik, Agnes; Stergiopoulos, Vicky

    2016-04-27

    Addressing the needs of frequent users of emergency departments (EDs) is a health system priority in many jurisdictions. This study describes stakeholder perspectives on the implementation of a multi-organizational brief intervention designed to support integration and continuity of care for frequent ED users with mental health and addictions problems, focusing on perceived barriers and facilitators to early implementation in a large urban centre. Coordinating Access to Care from Hospital Emergency Departments (CATCH-ED) is a brief case management intervention bridging hospital, primary and community care for frequent ED users experiencing mental illness and addictions. To examine barriers and facilitators to early implementation of this multi-organizational intervention, between July and October 2012, 47 stakeholders, including direct service providers, managers and administrators participated in 32 semi-structured qualitative interviews and one focus group exploring their experience with the intervention and factors that helped or hindered successful early implementation. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Stakeholders valued the intervention and its potential to support continuity of care for this population. Service delivery system factors, including organizational capacity and a history of collaborative relationships across the healthcare continuum, and support system factors, such as training and supervision, emerged as key facilitators of program implementation. Operational challenges included early low program referral rates, management of a multi-organizational initiative, variable adherence to the model among participating organizations, and scant access to specialty psychiatric resources. Factors contributing to these challenges included lack of dedicated staff in the ED and limited local system capacity to support this population, and insufficient training and technical assistance available to participating organizations. A multi

  3. Providing earplugs to young adults at risk encourages protective behaviour in music venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, Elizabeth Francis; Nielsen, Lillian; Gilliver, Megan

    2016-06-01

    For some young people, nightclubs and other music venues are a major source of noise exposure, arising from a combination of very high noise levels; relatively long attendance duration; and frequent, sustained participation over several years. Responsibility for hearing protection is largely left to individuals, many of whom choose not to wear earplugs. In order to encourage earplug use in these settings, a new approach is needed. The aim of the study was to examine whether presentation of hearing health information would result in increased use of earplugs, or whether provision of earplugs alone would be sufficient to change behaviour. A total of 51 regular patrons of music venues were allocated to either a low-information (lo-info) or high-information (hi-info) group. Both groups completed a survey about their current noise exposure, earplug usage and perceived risk of hearing damage. Both groups were also provided with one-size-fits-all filtered music earplugs. The hi-info group was also provided with audio-visual and written information about the risks of excessive noise exposure. After 4 weeks, and again after an additional 12 weeks, participants were asked about their recent earplug usage, intention to use earplugs in the future, and perceived risk of hearing damage. The results showed that after 4 weeks, the hi-info group's perceived personal risk of hearing damage was significantly higher than that of the lo-info group. After 16 weeks, these differences were no longer evident; however, at both 4 and 16 weeks, both the lo- and hi-info groups were using the earplugs equally often; and both groups intended to use earplugs significantly more often in the future. This suggests that the information was unnecessary to motivate behavioural change. Rather, the simple act of providing access to earplugs appears to have effectively encouraged young at-risk adults to increase their earplug use. © The Author(s) 2015.

  4. A Systems Model for Teaching Human Resource Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George R. Greene

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Efficient and effective human resource management is a complex, involved, and interactive process. This article presents and discusses a unique systems approach model for teaching human resource (people management processes, and the important inter-relationships within that process. The model contains two unique components related to key sub-processes: incentives management and performance evaluation. We have not observed a model applying a systems thinking paradigm presented in any textbook, journal article, business publication, or other literature addressing the topic. For nearly three decades, the model has been used in teaching a comprehensive, meaningful understanding of the human resource management process that can be effectively implemented in both corporate and academic learning venues.

  5. On-Line Real-Time Management Information Systems and Their Impact Upon User Personnel and Organizational Structure in Aviation Maintenance Activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1979-12-01

    ON USER PERSONNEL AND ORGANIZATINAL STRUCTUREl E REAL-TIME COMPUTER-BASED MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM ARE EXPLORED MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SRVICE...PERSONNEL AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE IN A LOGY INTO AN ORGANIZATION CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THE ORGANIZATION#S EFFECTIVENES ONNEL AND ORGANIZATINAL ...bureau- cracy and bolster upper level leadership . His view considered the computer system informa- tion specialists as support personel only and

  6. An SML Driven Graphical User Interface and Application Management Toolkit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    White, Greg R

    2002-01-01

    In the past, the features of a user interface were limited by those available in the existing graphical widgets it used. Now, improvements in processor speed have fostered the emergence of interpreted languages, in which the appropriate method to render a given data object can be loaded at runtime. XML can be used to precisely describe the association of data types with their graphical handling (beans), and Java provides an especially rich environment for programming the graphics. We present a graphical user interface builder based on Java Beans and XML, in which the graphical screens are described textually (in files or a database) in terms of their screen components. Each component may be a simple text read back, or a complex plot. The programming model provides for dynamic data pertaining to a component to be forwarded synchronously or asynchronously, to the appropriate handler, which may be a built-in method, or a complex applet. This work was initially motivated by the need to move the legacy VMS display interface of the SLAC Control Program to another platform while preserving all of its existing functionality. However the model allows us a powerful and generic system for adding new kinds of graphics, such as Matlab, data sources, such as EPICS, middleware, such as AIDA[1], and transport, such as XML and SOAP. The system will also include a management console, which will be able to report on the present usage of the system, for instance who is running it where and connected to which channels

  7. If you want to benefit from users - don't be a chicken!

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dragsdahl Lauritzen, Ghita

    2015-01-01

    to overcome internal resistance and constraints when firms introduce user-centric business models. Using a lens of paradox, this article offers a novel model of management that explains how managers can leverage their innovation capabilities and provide long-term relief from tensions arising from user...... communities. Proposing mechanisms to be implemented, the model helps managers to benefit from the distinct characteristics of firms and users and to encourage synergies. Finally, I develop propositions and suggest implications for user innovation practice and research....

  8. It's complicated: Facebook users' political participation in the 2008 election.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitak, Jessica; Zube, Paul; Smock, Andrew; Carr, Caleb T; Ellison, Nicole; Lampe, Cliff

    2011-03-01

    In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, social network sites such as Facebook allowed users to share their political beliefs, support specific candidates, and interact with others on political issues. But do political activities on Facebook affect political participation among young voters, a group traditionally perceived as apathetic in regard to civic engagement? Or do these activities represent another example of feel-good participation that has little real-world impact, a concept often referred to as "slacktivism"? Results from a survey of undergraduate students (N = 683) at a large public university in the Midwestern United States conducted in the month prior to the election found that students tend to engage in lightweight political participation both on Facebook and in other venues. Furthermore, two OLS regressions found that political activity on Facebook (e.g., posting a politically oriented status update, becoming a "fan" of a candidate) is a significant predictor of other forms of political participation (e.g., volunteering for an organizing, signing a paper or online petition), and that a number of factors--including intensity of Facebook use and the political activity users see their friends performing on the site--predict political activity on Facebook. Students' perceptions regarding the appropriateness of political activity on Facebook, as well as the specific kinds of political activities they engaged in and witnessed within the site, were also explored.

  9. Targeting Parents for Childhood Weight Management: Development of a Theory-Driven and User-Centered Healthy Eating App

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahiri, Sudakshina; Brown, Katherine Elizabeth

    2015-01-01

    Background The proliferation of health promotion apps along with mobile phones' array of features supporting health behavior change offers a new and innovative approach to childhood weight management. However, despite the critical role parents play in children’s weight related behaviors, few industry-led apps aimed at childhood weight management target parents. Furthermore, industry-led apps have been shown to lack a basis in behavior change theory and evidence. Equally important remains the issue of how to maximize users’ engagement with mobile health (mHealth) interventions where there is growing consensus that inputs from the commercial app industry and the target population should be an integral part of the development process. Objective The aim of this study is to systematically design and develop a theory and evidence-driven, user-centered healthy eating app targeting parents for childhood weight management, and clearly document this for the research and app development community. Methods The Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) framework, a theoretically-based approach for intervention development, along with a user-centered design (UCD) philosophy and collaboration with the commercial app industry, guided the development process. Current evidence, along with a series of 9 focus groups (total of 46 participants) comprised of family weight management case workers, parents with overweight and healthy weight children aged 5-11 years, and consultation with experts, provided data to inform the app development. Thematic analysis of focus groups helped to extract information related to relevant theoretical, user-centered, and technological components to underpin the design and development of the app. Results Inputs from parents and experts working in the area of childhood weight management helped to identify the main target behavior: to help parents provide appropriate food portion sizes for their children. To achieve this target behavior, the behavioral diagnosis

  10. Policy options evaluation tool for managed lanes (POET-ML) users guide and methodology description : Federal Highway Administration HOV lane performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-12-01

    Users guide for a sketch planning tool for exploring policy alternatives. It is intended for an audience of transportation professionals responsible for planning, designing, funding, operating, enforcing, monitoring, and managing HOV and HOT lanes...

  11. User experience analysis of e-TB Manager, a nationwide electronic tuberculosis recording and reporting system in Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niranjan Konduri

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Ukraine has successfully implemented e-TB Manager nationwide as its mandatory national tuberculosis registry after first introducing it in 2009. Our objective was to perform an end-of-programme evaluation after formal handover of the registry administration to Ukraine's Centre for Disease Control in 2015. We conducted a nationwide, cross-sectional, anonymous, 18-point user experience survey, and stratified the registry's transaction statistics to demonstrate usability. Contrary to initial implementation experience, older users (aged >50 years, often with limited or no computer proficiency prior to using the registry, had significantly better user experience scores for at least six of the 12 measures compared to younger users (aged 18–29 years. Using the registry for >3 years was associated with significantly higher scores for having capacity, adequacy of training received and satisfaction with the registry. Of the 5.9 million transactions over a 4-year period, nine out of 24 oblasts (regions and Kiev city accounted for 62.5% of all transactions, and corresponded to 59% of Ukraine's tuberculosis burden. There were 437 unique active users in 486 rayons (districts of Ukraine, demonstrating extensive reach. Our key findings complement the World Health Organization and European Respiratory Society's agenda for action on digital health to help implement the End TB Strategy.

  12. Water users associations and irrigation water productivity in northern China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhang, L.; Heerink, N.; Dries, L.K.E.; Qu, F.

    2013-01-01

    Traditional irrigation water management systems in China are increasingly replaced by user-based, participatory management through water users associations (WUAs) with the purpose to promote, economically and ecologically beneficial, water savings and increase farm incomes. Existing research shows

  13. Wilderness uses, users, values, and management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alan Watson; David N. Cole; Gregory T. Friese; John C. Hendee; Peter Landres; Thoms F. Geary; Gerald L. Stokes; Jeff Jarvis; Wes Henry

    1999-01-01

    This chapter is a compendium of six papers written to add further depth to our national assessment of Wilderness, begun with the previous chapter. The first three papers summarize research and experience about the identity of Wilderness users and how Wilderness is used, use of Wilderness for personal growth, and changes of Wilderness values. The second three papers...

  14. The impact of the Cyprus comprehensive smoking ban on air quality and economic business of hospitality venues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christophi Costas A

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Several countries, including Cyprus, have passed smoke-free legislations in recent years. The goal of this study was to assess the indoor levels of particulate matter in hospitality venues in Cyprus before and after the implementation of the law on 1/1/2010, evaluate the role of enforcement, and examine the legislation’s effect on revenue and employment. Methods Several hospitality venues (n = 35 were sampled between April 2007 and January 2008, and 21 of those were re-sampled after the introduction of the smoking ban, between March and May 2010. Data on enforcement was provided by the Cyprus Police whereas data on revenue and employment within the hospitality industry of Cyprus were obtained from the Cyprus Statistical Service; comparisons were made between the corresponding figures before and after the implementation of the law. Results The median level of PM2.5 associated with secondhand smoking was 161 μg/m3 pre-ban and dropped to 3 μg/m3 post-ban (98% decrease, p  Conclusion Smoke free legislations, when enforced, are highly effective in improving the air quality and reducing the levels of indoor PM2.5. Strict enforcement plays a key role in the successful implementation of smoking bans. Even in nations with high smoking prevalence comprehensive smoking laws can be effectively implemented and have no negative effect on accommodation, food, and beverage services.

  15. VIERS- User Preference Service

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Veterans Affairs — The Preferences service provides a means to store, retrieve, and manage user preferences. The service supports definition of enterprise wide preferences, as well as...

  16. Promoting Service User Inclusion in Risk Assessment and Management: A Pilot Project Developing a Human Rights-Based Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenhill, Beth; Whitehead, Richard

    2011-01-01

    Recent reports highlight the extent to which many people with learning disabilities are not afforded access to their basic human rights. In addition, traditional approaches to risk management often focus on professional assessments of risks and challenging behaviour and exclude service user perspectives. In this paper, we outline what we believe…

  17. Profiting from innovative user communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeppesen, Lars Bo

    Modding - the modification of existing products by consumers - is increasingly exploited by manufacturers to enhance product development and sales. In the computer games industry modding has evolved into a development model in which users act as unpaid `complementors' to manufacturers' product pl......, a manufacturer can incorporate and commercialize the best complements found in the user communities. Keywords: innovation, modding, user communities, software platform, business model. JEL code(s): L21; L23; O31; O32...... platforms. This article explains how manufacturers can profit from their abilities to organize and facilitate a process of innovation by user communities and capture the value of the innovations produced in such communities. When managed strategically, two distinct, but not mutually exclusive business...... models appear from the production of user complements: firstly, a manufacturer can let the (free) user complements `drift' in the user communities, where they increase the value to consumers of owning the given platform and thus can be expected to generate increased platform sales, and secondly...

  18. Fundamental Science with Pulsed Power: Research Opportunities and User Meeting.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mattsson, Thomas Kjell Rene [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Wootton, Alan James [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sinars, Daniel Brian [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Spaulding, Dylan [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Winget, Don [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2014-10-01

    The fifth Fundamental Science with Pulsed Power: Research Opportunities and User Meeting was held in Albuquerque, NM, July 20-­23, 2014. The purpose of the workshop was to bring together leading scientists in four research areas with active fundamental science research at Sandia’s Z facility: Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF), Planetary Science, Astrophysics, and Material Science. The workshop was focused on discussing opportunities for high-­impact research using Sandia’s Z machine, a future 100 GPa class facility, and possible topics for growing the academic (off-Z-campus) science relevant to the Z Fundamental Science Program (ZFSP) and related projects in astrophysics, planetary science, MagLIF- relevant magnetized HED science, and materials science. The user meeting was for Z collaborative users to: a) hear about the Z accelerator facility status and plans, b) present the status of their research, and c) be provided with a venue to meet and work as groups. Following presentations by Mark Herrmann and Joel Lash on the fundamental science program on Z and the status of the Z facility where plenary sessions for the four research areas. The third day of the workshop was devoted to breakout sessions in the four research areas. The plenary-­ and breakout sessions were for the four areas organized by Dan Sinars (MagLIF), Dylan Spaulding (Planetary Science), Don Winget and Jim Bailey (Astrophysics), and Thomas Mattsson (Material Science). Concluding the workshop were an outbrief session where the leads presented a summary of the discussions in each working group to the full workshop. A summary of discussions and conclusions from each of the research areas follows and the outbrief slides are included as appendices.

  19. Integrating the patient portal into the health management work ecosystem: user acceptance of a novel prototype

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eschler, Jordan; Meas, Perry Lin; Lozano, Paula; McClure, Jennifer B.; Ralston, James D.; Pratt, Wanda

    2016-01-01

    People with a chronic illness must manage a myriad of tasks to support their health. Online patient portals can provide vital information and support in managing health tasks through notification and reminder features. However, little is known about the efficacy of these features in managing health tasks via the portal. To elicit feedback about reminder and notification features in patient portals, we employed a patient-centered approach to design new features for managing health tasks within an existing portal tool. We tested three iteratively designed prototypes with 19 patients and caregivers. Our findings provide insights into users’ attitudes, behavior, and motivations in portal use. Design implications based on these insights include: (1) building on positive aspects of clinician relationships to enhance engagement with the portal; (2) using face-to-face visits to promote clinician collaboration in portal use; and (3) allowing customization of portal modules to support tasks based on user roles. PMID:28269850

  20. User's guide : pavement marking management system database.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-01

    Pavement markings play a critical role in maintaining a safe and efficient driving environment for road users, especially during nighttime conditions. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) spends millions of dollars each year for installatio...

  1. Trouble in paradise: The crime and health outcomes of the Surfers Paradise licensed venue lockout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Andrade, Dominique; Homel, Ross; Townsley, Michael

    2016-09-01

    The lockout intervention has become embedded in Australian alcohol policy with little scientific evidence of its effectiveness in reducing violence and disorder. This paper reports an evaluation of the Queensland lockout pilot in Surfers Paradise. Patrons could not enter or re-enter licensed venues after 3 am, while patrons inside at this time could stay until close. Using police and ambulance data, time series analyses examined the impact of tourism seasons and the lockout on rates of crime, violence, injury and intoxication. Additional analyses were also conducted to show spatial and temporal changes in crime over time. Both police and ambulance data showed that the lockout introduction had no statistically significant impact on rates of crime, violence, head and neck injuries, and intoxication over the 2 years following lockout. Hot spot maps indicated limited spatial shift of crime within Surfers Paradise following the lockout introduction, with evidence of a temporary intensification of crime in already established hot spots. We found a moderate statistically significant change in the 24 h distribution of crime after the lockout implementation, suggesting temporal displacement of crime. Results support the small existing body of evidence on lockouts that indicates they are largely ineffective in reducing crime and injuries in entertainment districts. As multi-pronged strategies that include a lockout gain in popularity, further investigation should focus on identifying the key drivers of successful interventions such as the Newcastle strategy, to better refine these interventions for replication and evaluation elsewhere. [De Andrade D, Homel R, Townsley M. Trouble in paradise: The crime and health outcomes of the Surfers Paradise licensed venue lockout. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:564-572]. © 2016 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  2. Correlates of condomless anal sex among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Tijuana, Mexico: The role of public sex venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semple, Shirley J; Pitpitan, Eileen V; Goodman-Meza, David; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Chavarin, Claudia V; Rangel, Gudelia; Torres, Karla; Patterson, Thomas L

    2017-01-01

    Condomless anal sex between male partners is the primary risk factor for HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM). Correlates of condomless anal sex have been well-studied in developed countries, but they have received less attention in lower-to-middle income countries (LMIC), where MSM are often subject to stigma, discrimination, intolerance, and even the criminalization of same sex behavior. In Mexico, a LMIC where traditional views on homosexuality are common, HIV prevalence among MSM is high (16.9%), yet little research has been conducted on the correlates of condomless anal sex in this high-risk population. The present study examined correlates of condomless anal sex among 201 MSM recruited in Tijuana, Mexico, with a focus on the role of public sex venues in relation to sexual risk behavior. Eligibility requirements were: biologically male, 18 years of age or older, resident of Tijuana, and self-reported anal or oral sex with a male partner in the past year. Participants completed an interviewer-administered, demographic and psychosocial survey, and were tested for HIV and syphilis. A hierarchical multiple linear regression model was tested to identify correlates of condomless anal sex. Thirty-eight percent of participants (N = 76) reported condomless anal sex with a male partner in the past 2 months. Higher levels of condomless anal sex were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, greater sexual compulsivity, and more frequent seeking out of sex partners in a public venue in the past 2 months. In view of these findings, we recommend the development of multi-level, "combination" interventions, which in the Mexican context should include enhanced condom promotion and distribution, improved availability and access to mental health treatment and counseling services, and expanded HIV/STI testing in public venues.

  3. Who is afraid of smoking bans? An evaluation of the effects of the Spanish clean air law on expenditure at hospitality venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Villar, Jaume; López-Nicolás, Ángel

    2015-11-01

    In January 2011 Spain modified clean air legislation in force since 2006, removing all existing exceptions applicable to hospitality venues. Although this legal reform was backed by all political parties with parliamentary representation, the government's initiative was contested by the tobacco industry and its allies in the hospitality industry. One of the most voiced arguments against the reform was its potentially disruptive effect on the revenue of hospitality venues. This paper evaluates the impact of this reform on household expenditure at restaurants and bars and cafeterias. We used household expenditure micro-data for years 2006-2012 to estimate models for the probability of observing expenditures and the expected level of expenditure. We applied a before-after analysis with a wide range of controls for confounding factors and a flexible modeling of time effects in order to identify the effects of the reform. Our results suggest that the reform caused a 2% reduction in the proportion of households containing smokers but did not cause reductions in households' expenditures on restaurant services or on bars and cafeteria services.

  4. Reputation system for User Generated wireless podcasting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hu, Liang; Dittmann, Lars; Le Boudec, J-Y

    2008-01-01

    The user-generated podcasting service over mobile opportunistic networks can facilitate the user generated content dissemination while humans are on the move. However, in such a distributed and dynamic network environment, the design of efficient content forwarding and cache management schemes...

  5. Event-based user classification in Weibo media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Liang; Wang, Wendong; Cheng, Shiduan; Que, Xirong

    2014-01-01

    Weibo media, known as the real-time microblogging services, has attracted massive attention and support from social network users. Weibo platform offers an opportunity for people to access information and changes the way people acquire and disseminate information significantly. Meanwhile, it enables people to respond to the social events in a more convenient way. Much of the information in Weibo media is related to some events. Users who post different contents, and exert different behavior or attitude may lead to different contribution to the specific event. Therefore, classifying the large amount of uncategorized social circles generated in Weibo media automatically from the perspective of events has been a promising task. Under this circumstance, in order to effectively organize and manage the huge amounts of users, thereby further managing their contents, we address the task of user classification in a more granular, event-based approach in this paper. By analyzing real data collected from Sina Weibo, we investigate the Weibo properties and utilize both content information and social network information to classify the numerous users into four primary groups: celebrities, organizations/media accounts, grassroots stars, and ordinary individuals. The experiments results show that our method identifies the user categories accurately.

  6. NERIES: Seismic Data Gateways and User Composed Datasets Metadata Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spinuso, Alessandro; Trani, Luca; Kamb, Linus; Frobert, Laurent

    2010-05-01

    One of the NERIES EC project main objectives is to establish and improve the networking of seismic waveform data exchange and access among four main data centers in Europe: INGV, GFZ, ORFEUS and IPGP. Besides the implementation of the data backbone, several investigations and developments have been conducted in order to offer to the users the data available from this network, either programmatically or interactively. One of the challenges is to understand how to enable users` activities such as discovering, aggregating, describing and sharing datasets to obtain a decrease in the replication of similar data queries towards the network, exempting the data centers to guess and create useful pre-packed products. We`ve started to transfer this task more and more towards the users community, where the users` composed data products could be extensively re-used. The main link to the data is represented by a centralized webservice (SeismoLink) acting like a single access point to the whole data network. Users can download either waveform data or seismic station inventories directly from their own software routines by connecting to this webservice, which routes the request to the data centers. The provenance of the data is maintained and transferred to the users in the form of URIs, that identify the dataset and implicitly refer to the data provider. SeismoLink, combined with other webservices (eg EMSC-QuakeML earthquakes catalog service), is used from a community gateway such as the NERIES web portal (http://www.seismicportal.eu). Here the user interacts with a map based portlet which allows the dynamic composition of a data product, binding seismic event`s parameters with a set of seismic stations. The requested data is collected by the back-end processes of the portal, preserved and offered to the user in a personal data cart, where metadata can be generated interactively on-demand. The metadata, expressed in RDF, can also be remotely ingested. They offer rating

  7. UIMX: A User Interface Management System For Scientific Computing With X Windows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foody, Michael

    1989-09-01

    Applications with iconic user interfaces, (for example, interfaces with pulldown menus, radio buttons, and scroll bars), such as those found on Apple's Macintosh computer and the IBM PC under Microsoft's Presentation Manager, have become very popular, and for good reason. They are much easier to use than applications with traditional keyboard-oriented interfaces, so training costs are much lower and just about anyone can use them. They are standardized between applications, so once you learn one application you are well along the way to learning another. The use of one reinforces the common elements between applications of the interface, and, as a result, you remember how to use them longer. Finally, for the developer, their support costs can be much lower because of their ease of use.

  8. User involvement and supporting tools in business-to-business service innovations: Insights from Facility Management services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nardelli, Giulia

    is the generalizability of the findings to other business-to-business service sectors. More research conducted both in FM services and other service sectors would help to shed light on the generalizability of these findings. Originality/value – The study contributes with new and detailed insights into the complexity......Purpose – This article investigates and conceptualizes user involvement in business-to-business service innovations as well as the tools that are used to support interactions in such a service innovation process. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a qualitative research approach to answer...... the research question. By following Miles and Huberman (1984)’s this study started with a literature review of studies investigating service innovation, service innovations models, user roles and tools in service innovation in general, to conduct an empirical investigation in facility management (FM) services...

  9. Accounting narratives and impression management on social media

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Jessica Hong; Liu, Siwen

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we examine the defensive and assertive impression management strategies and the impact of firm performance on accounting narratives by investigating the earnings disclosures of FTSE 100 companies on Twitter. Social media has become the prevailing venue for organisational self-presentation because it provides firms with more control over the image they intend to establish and maintain through the communication and content they deliver online. Our findings show that firms minimis...

  10. Coastal dynamics vs beach users attitudes and perceptions to enhance environmental conservation and management effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aretano, Roberta; Parlagreco, Luca; Semeraro, Teodoro; Zurlini, Giovanni; Petrosillo, Irene

    2017-10-15

    This work carries out a landscape analysis for the last 60years to compare the degree of preservation of two areas on the same Italian coastline characterized by different environmental protection levels: a National designated protected areas and a highly tourist coastal destination. The conversion of natural land-covers into human land uses were detected for protected and unprotected coastal stretches highlighting that the only establishment of a protected area is not enough to stem undesirable land-use outcomes. A survey analysis was also conducted to assess attitudes of beach users and to evaluate their perception of natural habitats, beach and coastal water quality, and coastal dynamic over time. The results of 2071 questionnaires showed that there is similarity between subjective and objective data. However, several beach users perceived a bad quality of coastal water in the legally unprotected coastal area. The implications from a planning and management perspective are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. User analysis of LHCb data with Ganga

    CERN Document Server

    Maier, A; Cowan, G; Egede, U; Elmsheuser, J; Gaidioz, B; Harrison, K; Lee, H -C; Liko, D; Moscicki, J; Muraru, A; Pajchel, K; Reece, W; Samset, B; Slater, M; Soroko, A; van der Ster, D; Williams, M; Tan, C L

    2010-01-01

    GANGA (http://cern.ch/ganga) is a job-management tool that offers a simple, efficient and consistent user analysis tool in a variety of heterogeneous environments: from local clusters to global Grid systems. Experiment specific plug-ins allow GANGA to be customised for each experiment. For LHCb users GANGA is the officially supported and advertised tool for job submission to the Grid. The LHCb specific plug-ins allow support for end-to-end analysis helping the user to perform his complete analysis with the help of GANGA. This starts with the support for data selection, where a user can select data sets from the LHCb Bookkeeping system. Next comes the set up for large analysis jobs: with tailored plug-ins for the LHCb core software, jobs can be managed by the splitting of these analysis jobs with the subsequent merging of the resulting files. Furthermore, GANGA offers support for Toy Monte-Carlos to help the user tune their analysis. In addition to describing the GANGA architecture, typical usage patterns with...

  12. Unwanted Sexual Attention in Licensed Venues: Considering LGBTIQ Young Adults’ Experiences and Perceptions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bianca Fileborn

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Sexual violence within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ communities remains largely under-researched and under-theorised. Yet, emerging research suggests that sexual violence is a significant issue within the LGBTIQ communities. Additionally, the occurrence of sexual violence and unwanted sexual attention within specific social and cultural contexts is, for the most part, insufficiently examined. This article draws on research exploring young LGBTIQ adults’ perceptions and experiences of unwanted sexual attention in licensed venues. Firstly, I consider the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of ‘unwanted sexual attention’ as a category of analysis. I then move on to consider participants’ use of licensed venues, the particular significance of pubs and clubs to LGBTIQ young people, and their perceptions and experiences of unwanted sexual attention. Finally, I discuss the implications of these findings for theoretical and conceptual understandings of unwanted sexual attention and sexual violence. En general, se ha investigado y teorizado muy poco sobre la violencia sexual dentro de las comunidades de lesbianas, gays, bisexuales, transgénero / transexuales, intersex y queer (LGBTIQ. Sin embargo, investigaciones recientes sugieren que la violencia sexual es un problema importante en estas comunidades. Además, la incidencia de la violencia sexual y atención sexual no deseada dentro de contextos sociales y culturales específicos no está, en su mayor parte, suficientemente examinada. Este artículo se basa en la investigación de la percepción y experiencias de atención sexual no deseada en locales con licencia para vender alcohol. En primer lugar, se tienen en cuenta los fundamentos teóricos y conceptuales de “atención sexual no deseada” como una categoría de análisis. A continuación, se considera el uso de locales con licencia por parte de los participantes, el significado

  13. Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS) user's manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-10-01

    The Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS) is a consolidated set of automated resources that effectively manage the data gathered during environmental monitoring and restoration of the Hanford Site. The HEIS includes an integrated database that provides consistent and current data to all users and promotes sharing of data by the entire user community. Data stored in the HEIS are collected under several regulatory programs. Currently these include the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA); the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA); and the Ground-Water Environmental Surveillance Project, managed by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The HEIS is an information system with an inclusive database. The manual, the HEIS User's Manual, describes the facilities available to the scientist, engineer, or manager who uses the system for environmental monitoring, assessment, and restoration planning; and to the regulator who is responsible for reviewing Hanford Site operations against regulatory requirements and guidelines

  14. EXPERIMEDIA: Innovate in New Media - a multi-venue experimentation service supporting technology innovation thrugh new forms of social interaction and user experience

    OpenAIRE

    Boniface, M.J.; Modafferi, Stefano; Voulodimos, Athanasios; Salama, David; Murg, Sandra

    2014-01-01

    New media applications and services are revolutionising social interaction and user experience in both society and in wide ranging industry sectors. The rapid emergence of pervasive human and environment sensing technologies, novel immersive presentation devices and high performance, globally connected network and cloud infrastructures is generating huge opportunities for application providers, service provider and content providers. These new applications are driving convergence across devic...

  15. User acceptance of mobile notifications

    CERN Document Server

    Westermann, Tilo

    2017-01-01

    This book presents an alternative approach to studying smartphone-app user notifications. It starts with insights into user acceptance of mobile notifications in order to provide tools to support users in managing these. It extends previous research by investigating factors that influence users’ perception of notifications and proposes tools addressing the shortcomings of current systems. It presents a technical framework and testbed as an approach for evaluating the usage of mobile applications and notifications, and then discusses a series of studies based on this framework that investigate factors influencing users’ perceptions of mobile notifications. Lastly, a set of design guidelines for the usage of mobile notifications is derived that can be employed to support users in handling notifications on smartphones.

  16. Traumatic stress and the mediating role of alcohol use on HIV-related sexual risk behavior: results from a longitudinal cohort of South African women who attend alcohol-serving venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abler, Laurie; Sikkema, Kathleen J; Watt, Melissa H; Pitpitan, Eileen V; Kalichman, Seth C; Skinner, Donald; Pieterse, Desiree

    2015-03-01

    In South Africa, alcohol contributes to the HIV epidemic, in part, by influencing sexual behaviors. For some, high levels of alcohol consumption may be driven by previous traumatic experiences that result in traumatic stress. The purpose of this study was to quantify the longitudinal association between traumatic stress and unprotected sex among women who attend drinking venues and to assess whether this association was explained by mediation through alcohol use. Data were collected in 4 waves over a year from a prospective cohort of 560 women who regularly attended alcohol-serving venues in a Cape Town township. Longitudinal mixed models examined (1) the relationship between traumatic stress and counts of unprotected sex and (2) whether alcohol use mediated the association between traumatic stress and unprotected sex. Most women reported elevated traumatic stress (80%) and hazardous alcohol use (88%) at least once during the study period. In models adjusted for covariates, traumatic stress was associated with unprotected sex (b = 0.28, SE = 0.06, t = 4.82, P traumatic stress was associated with alcohol use (b = 0.27, SE = 0.02, t = 14.25, P traumatic stress on unprotected sex. These results highlight the need to address traumatic stress among female venue patrons as an important precursor of HIV risk due to alcohol use.

  17. The Third Annual NASA Science Internet User Working Group Conference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lev, Brian S. (Editor); Gary, J. Patrick (Editor)

    1993-01-01

    The NASA Science Internet (NSI) User Support Office (USO) sponsored the Third Annual NSI User Working Group (NSIUWG) Conference March 30 through April 3, 1992, in Greenbelt, MD. Approximately 130 NSI users attended to learn more about the NSI, hear from projects which use NSI, and receive updates about new networking technologies and services. This report contains material relevant to the conference; copies of the agenda, meeting summaries, presentations, and descriptions of exhibitors. Plenary sessions featured a variety of speakers, including NSI project management, scientists, and NSI user project managers whose projects and applications effectively use NSI, and notable citizens of the larger Internet community. The conference also included exhibits of advanced networking applications; tutorials on internetworking, computer security, and networking technologies; and user subgroup meetings on the future direction of the conference, networking, and user services and applications.

  18. Perspective View with Landsat Overlay, Salt Lake City Olympics Venues, Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-01-01

    The 2002 Winter Olympics are hosted by Salt Lake City at several venues within the city, in nearby cities, and within the adjacent Wasatch Mountains. This computer generated perspective image provides a northward looking 'view from space' that includes all of these Olympic sites. In the south, next to Utah Lake, Provo hosts the ice hockey competition. In the north, northeast of the Great Salt Lake, Ogden hosts curling, and the nearby Snow Basin ski area hosts the downhill events. In between, southeast of the Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City hosts the Olympic Village and the various skating events. Further east, across the Wasatch Mountains, the Park City area ski resorts host the bobsled, ski jumping, and snowboarding events. The Winter Olympics are always hosted in mountainous terrain. This view shows the dramatic landscape that makes the Salt Lake City region a world-class center for winter sports.This 3-D perspective view was generated using topographic data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and a Landsat 5 satellite image mosaic. Topographic expression is exaggerated four times.For a full-resolution, annotated version of this image, please select Figure 1, below: [figure removed for brevity, see original site] Landsat has been providing visible and infrared views of the Earth since 1972. SRTM elevation data matches the 30-meter (98-foot) resolution of most Landsat images and will substantially help in analyzing the large and growing Landsat image archive, managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).Elevation data used in this image was acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect 3-D measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60

  19. Event-Based User Classification in Weibo Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Guo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Weibo media, known as the real-time microblogging services, has attracted massive attention and support from social network users. Weibo platform offers an opportunity for people to access information and changes the way people acquire and disseminate information significantly. Meanwhile, it enables people to respond to the social events in a more convenient way. Much of the information in Weibo media is related to some events. Users who post different contents, and exert different behavior or attitude may lead to different contribution to the specific event. Therefore, classifying the large amount of uncategorized social circles generated in Weibo media automatically from the perspective of events has been a promising task. Under this circumstance, in order to effectively organize and manage the huge amounts of users, thereby further managing their contents, we address the task of user classification in a more granular, event-based approach in this paper. By analyzing real data collected from Sina Weibo, we investigate the Weibo properties and utilize both content information and social network information to classify the numerous users into four primary groups: celebrities, organizations/media accounts, grassroots stars, and ordinary individuals. The experiments results show that our method identifies the user categories accurately.

  20. The Influence of External User Interdependence of Financial Statements, Possibility of Clients Facing Financial Difficulties, and Auditor Evaluation of Management Integrity To Acceptable Audit Risk.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andini Sih Afsari Utami

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to analyze. Analyses the influence of external users reliance on financial statements, likelihood of financial difficulties and management integrity toward acceptable audit risk were performed with 10 public accountant office who had listed from Direktorat IAPI 2013. The sample used the “Gay” theory. The analyzed method in this research uses multiple linear. The result shown that performing external users reliance on financial statements significantly influences toward acceptable audit risk, likelihood of financial difficulties significantly influences toward acceptable audit risk, and management integrity significantly influences toward acceptable audit risk.

  1. User interface to administrative DRMS within a distributed environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, L. D.; Kirk, R. D.

    1983-01-01

    The implementation of a data base management system (DBMS) into a communications office to control and report on communication leased service contracts is discussed. The system user executes online programs to update five files residing on a UNIVAC 1100/82, through the forms mode features of the Tektronix 4025 terminal and IMSAI 8080 microcomputer. This user can select the appropriate form to the Tektronix 4025 screen, and enter new data, update existing data, or discontinue service. Selective online printing of 40 reports is accomplished by the system user to satisfy management, budget, and bill payment reporting requirements.

  2. Exposición al humo ambiental de tabaco en locales de hostelería de Barcelona: medición de partículas respirables Second-hand smoke exposure in hospitality venues in Barcelona: measurement of respirable particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nazmy Villarroel

    2011-06-01

    in a sample of hospitality venues in Barcelona 2 years after the Spanish smoking law came into effect. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional descriptive study from October to December 2007. The study population consisted of 40 hospitality venues in Barcelona selected by a random route sampling, with representation of the different types of smoking regulation included in the law (smoking allowed, smoking ban and venues with smoking areas. SHS levels were quantified by measuring PM2.5 concentrations, which were measured using a laser photometer (Side Pack AM 510 Personal Aerosol Monitor. The measurements were carried out for 5 minutes outside the venue and for 30minutes inside the venue. In addition, observational variables related to the characteristics of the venue and signs of tobacco consumption were recorded. Results: The concentration of PM2.5 in venues where smoking was still allowed was five times higher than that in venues where smoking was banned (182 µg/m³ and 34 µg/m³, respectively and exceeded the concentration established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA as harmful (35 µg/m³. However, in venues where smoking was banned, the concentration was lower than the EPA standard and there were no significant differences with the outdoor PM2.5 concentration. Conclusions: Two years after the introduction of the Spanish smoking law, SHS exposure in venues where smoking was allowed was q still very high, representing a significant health risk for hospitality workers.

  3. User-Centric Innovations in New Product Development – Systematic Identification of Lead Users Harnessing Interactive and Collaborative Online-Tools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bilgram, V.; Brem, Alexander; Voigt, K.-I.

    2008-01-01

    Corporate innovation management geared to long-term success calls for a strategy to grow innovations into a substantial competitive advantage. This, however, coincides with an enormous failure-rate at the market, especially in the field of breakthrough innovations. Hence, in recent times, compani...... for the online identification of lead users: being ahead of a market trend, high expected benefits, user expertise and motivation, extreme user needs as well as opinion leadership and an online commitment....

  4. A user's guide to coping with estuarine management bureaucracy: An Estuarine Planning Support System (EPSS) tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lonsdale, Jemma; Nicholson, Rose; Weston, Keith; Elliott, Michael; Birchenough, Andrew; Sühring, Roxana

    2018-02-01

    Estuaries are amongst the most socio-economically and ecologically important environments however, due to competing and conflicting demands, management is often challenging with a complex legislative framework managed by multiple agencies. To facilitate the understanding of this legislative framework, we have developed a GISbased Estuarine Planning Support System tool. The tool integrates the requirements of the relevant legislation and provides a basis for assessing the current environmental state of an estuary as well as informing and assessing new plans to ensure a healthy estuarine state. The tool ensures that the information is easily accessible for regulators, managers, developers and the public. The tool is intended to be adaptable, but is assessed using the Humber Estuary, United Kingdom as a case study area. The successful application of the tool for complex socio-economic and environmental systems demonstrates that the tool can efficiently guide users through the complex requirements needed to support sustainable development. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Metadata: A user`s view

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bretherton, F.P. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Singley, P.T. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

    1994-12-31

    An analysis is presented of the uses of metadata from four aspects of database operations: (1) search, query, retrieval, (2) ingest, quality control, processing, (3) application to application transfer; (4) storage, archive. Typical degrees of database functionality ranging from simple file retrieval to interdisciplinary global query with metadatabase-user dialog and involving many distributed autonomous databases, are ranked in approximate order of increasing sophistication of the required knowledge representation. An architecture is outlined for implementing such functionality in many different disciplinary domains utilizing a variety of off the shelf database management subsystems and processor software, each specialized to a different abstract data model.

  6. The impact of the Cyprus comprehensive smoking ban on air quality and economic business of hospitality venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christophi, Costas A; Paisi, Martha; Pampaka, Despina; Kehagias, Martha; Vardavas, Constantine; Connolly, Gregory N

    2013-01-27

    Several countries, including Cyprus, have passed smoke-free legislations in recent years. The goal of this study was to assess the indoor levels of particulate matter in hospitality venues in Cyprus before and after the implementation of the law on 1/1/2010, evaluate the role of enforcement, and examine the legislation's effect on revenue and employment. Several hospitality venues (n = 35) were sampled between April 2007 and January 2008, and 21 of those were re-sampled after the introduction of the smoking ban, between March and May 2010. Data on enforcement was provided by the Cyprus Police whereas data on revenue and employment within the hospitality industry of Cyprus were obtained from the Cyprus Statistical Service; comparisons were made between the corresponding figures before and after the implementation of the law. The median level of PM2.5 associated with secondhand smoking was 161 μg/m3 pre-ban and dropped to 3 μg/m3 post-ban (98% decrease, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, in the year following the ban, the hotel turnover rate increased by 4.1% and the restaurant revenue by 6.4%; employment increased that same year by 7.2% and 1.0%, respectively. Smoke free legislations, when enforced, are highly effective in improving the air quality and reducing the levels of indoor PM2.5. Strict enforcement plays a key role in the successful implementation of smoking bans. Even in nations with high smoking prevalence comprehensive smoking laws can be effectively implemented and have no negative effect on accommodation, food, and beverage services.

  7. The Users Office turns 20

    CERN Multimedia

    2009-01-01

    20 years ago, in the summer of 1989, an office was created to assist the thousands of users who come to CERN each year, working over the broad range of projects and collaborations. Chris Onions (right), head of the Users’ Office, with Bryan Pattison (left), the Office’s founder.Before the inception of the Users Office, it was common for users to spend at least an entire day moving from office to office in search of necessary documentation and information in order to make their stay official. "Though the Office has undergone various changes throughout its lifetime, it has persisted in being a welcoming bridge to facilitate the installation of visitors coming from all over the world", says Chris Onions, head of the Users Office. This September, the Office will celebrate its 20-year anniversary with a drink offered to representatives of the User community, the CERN management and staff members from the services with whom the Office is involved. &...

  8. Exposure to secondhand smoke in Germany: air contamination due to smoking in German restaurants, bars, and other venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Sven; Seibold, Bjoern; Schunk, Susanne; Jentzsch, Elmar; Pötschke-Langer, Martina; Dresler, Carolyn; Travers, Mark J; Hyland, Andrew

    2008-03-01

    This study quantified exposure to secondhand smoke in German restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues by determining the concentration of respirable suspended particles measuring 2.5 microm or less (PM2.5) in indoor air. The measurements were taken using an inconspicuous device placed on the investigator's table in the venue. The concentration of particulate matter in the indoor air was measured for a minimum of 30 min. A total of 39 restaurants, 20 coffee bars, 12 bars, 9 discothèques, and 20 restaurant cars in trains were visited throughout Germany from September 30 to October 31, 2005. The readings disclosed a median PM2.5 of 260 microg/m3 and an arithmetic mean PM2.5 of 333 microg/m3. Median values were 378 microg/m3 in bars, 131 microg/m3 in cafes, and 173 microg/m3 in restaurants. The highest medians were measured in discothèques and restaurant cars, with values averaging 432 microg/m3 and 525 microg/m3 PM2.5, respectively. This study was the first to show the magnitude and extent of exposure to secondhand smoke on such an extensive scale in Germany. The contaminated air due to smoking is a human carcinogenic and major health hazard, which would be prevented most effectively and completely by implementing a ban on smoking. This study is important for the ongoing national debate in Germany as well as for debates in all countries without smoke-free air legislation, which includes most countries around the world.

  9. Mental health and HIV sexual risk behavior among patrons of alcohol serving venues in Cape Town, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sikkema, Kathleen J; Watt, Melissa H; Meade, Christina S; Ranby, Krista W; Kalichman, Seth C; Skinner, Donald; Pieterse, Desiree

    2011-07-01

    Alcohol-serving venues in South Africa provide a location for HIV prevention interventions due to risk factors of patrons in these establishments. Understanding the association between mental health and risk behaviors in these settings may inform interventions that address alcohol use and HIV prevention. Participants (n = 738) were surveyed in 6 alcohol-serving venues in Cape Town to assess post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms, traumatic experiences, sexual behavior, and substance use. Logistic regression models examined whether traumatic experiences predicted PTSD and depression. Generalized linear models examined whether substance use, PTSD, and depressive symptoms predicted unprotected sexual intercourse. Men and women were analyzed separately. Participants exhibited high rates of traumatic experiences, PTSD, depression, alcohol consumption, and HIV risk behaviors. For men, PTSD was associated with being hit by a sex partner, physical child abuse, sexual child abuse and HIV diagnosis; depression was associated with being hit by a sex partner, forced sex and physical child abuse. For women, both PTSD and depression were associated with being hit by a sex partner, forced sex, and physical child abuse. Unprotected sexual intercourse was associated with age, frequency and quantity of alcohol use, drug use, and PTSD for men and frequency and quantity of alcohol use, depression, and PTSD for women. Mental health in this setting was poor and was associated with sexual risk behavior. Treating mental health and substance-use problems may aid in reducing HIV infection. Sexual assault prevention and treatment after sexual assault may strengthen HIV prevention efforts.

  10. National water management in the Republic of South Africa — Towards a consultative partnership with diverse users in a semi-arid country

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conley, Alan H.; Midgley, Desmond C.

    1988-07-01

    A resourceful holistic water management strategy has been developed for ensuring equitable provision of adequate quantities of water of satisfactory quality at acceptable risk and affordable cost to a wide international range of competing user groups subject to adverse physical and hydrological factors and under rapidly changing social conditions. Scarce resource allocation strategies, based on scientific studies and supported by modern data processing facilities, focus primarily on supply, demand and quality. Supply management implies creation of the best combination of affordable elements of infrastructure for bulk water supplies from available runoff, groundwater, re-use, imports and unconventional sources, sized to meet determinable requirements with appropriate degrees of assurance, coupled with continuous optimization of system operation. Demand management seeks optimum allocation of available supplies to towns, power generation, industry, mining, agriculture, forestry, recreation and ecology, according to priority criteria determined from scientific, economic and socioeconomic studies. Quality management strategies relate to the control of salination, eutrophication and pollution from both diffuse and point sources. As the combined demands of complex First and Third World societies and economies on the available resources rise, increasing attention has to be paid to finding practical compromises to facilitate handling of conflict between legitimate users having widely divergent interests, aspirations and levels of sophistication. For optimum joint utilization, the central regulating authority is striving to forge a consultative partnership within which to promote, among the widest possible spectrum of users, enlightened understanding of the opportunities and limitations in handling complex international, social, political, legal, economic and financial issues associated with water development. These cannot readily be resolved by the methods of traditional

  11. Duty of Care and Autonomy: How Support Workers Managed the Tension between Protecting Service Users from Risk and Promoting Their Independence in a Specialist Group Home

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, R.; Redley, M.; Holland, A. J.

    2011-01-01

    Background: In the UK those paid to support adults with intellectual disabilities must manage two potentially conflicting duties that are set out in policy documents as being vital to their role: protecting service users (their duty of care) and recognising service users' autonomy. This study focuses specifically on the support of people with the…

  12. Intelligent Systems and Advanced User Interfaces for Design, Operation, and Maintenance of Command Management Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Christine M.

    1998-01-01

    Historically Command Management Systems (CMS) have been large, expensive, spacecraft-specific software systems that were costly to build, operate, and maintain. Current and emerging hardware, software, and user interface technologies may offer an opportunity to facilitate the initial formulation and design of a spacecraft-specific CMS as well as a to develop a more generic or a set of core components for CMS systems. Current MOC (mission operations center) hardware and software include Unix workstations, the C/C++ and Java programming languages, and X and Java window interfaces representations. This configuration provides the power and flexibility to support sophisticated systems and intelligent user interfaces that exploit state-of-the-art technologies in human-machine systems engineering, decision making, artificial intelligence, and software engineering. One of the goals of this research is to explore the extent to which technologies developed in the research laboratory can be productively applied in a complex system such as spacecraft command management. Initial examination of some of the issues in CMS design and operation suggests that application of technologies such as intelligent planning, case-based reasoning, design and analysis tools from a human-machine systems engineering point of view (e.g., operator and designer models) and human-computer interaction tools, (e.g., graphics, visualization, and animation), may provide significant savings in the design, operation, and maintenance of a spacecraft-specific CMS as well as continuity for CMS design and development across spacecraft with varying needs. The savings in this case is in software reuse at all stages of the software engineering process.

  13. Short-Term Impact of a Comprehensive Smoke-Free Law Following a Partial Smoke-Free Law on PM₂.₅ Concentration Levels at Hospitality Venues on the Peripheries of College Campuses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Sol; Yang, Wonho; Lee, Kiyoung; Kim, Sungcheon; Ha, Kwonchul; Kim, Sungroul

    2015-11-02

    Tobacco-free policies on college campuses are spreading in Korea. However, the impact of the smoking ban legislation at venues on the boundary of a college campus is still limited. This study aimed to assess short-term changes in PM2.5 concentrations before and after the enactment of the smoking ban legislation to evaluate the impact. In this cross-sectional study, PM2.5 measurements (pre-ban: n = 99, post-ban: n = 64) were conducted in randomly selected billiards, pubs, and computer game rooms on the peripheries of college campuses in October 2013, prior to implementation of the smoking ban, and in May 2014, after the ban. The median (interquartile range, IQR) of the PM2.5 concentration for all venues was 31 μg/m³ (0-80 μg/m³) in the pre-ban period and 11 μg/m³ (0-36 μg/m³) in the post-ban period implying indoor PM2.5 concentration levels of the peripheries of college campuses likely decreased one year after implementation of the ban. However, the differences were not significant yet. The results support the introduction of more rigorous monitoring of SHS exposure levels toward the ultimate goal of encouraging a complete smoking ban in hospitality venues, including billiards, pubs, and computer game rooms located on the peripheries of college campuses.

  14. Living Well With a Long-Term Condition: Service Users' Perspectives of a Self-Management Intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenberg, Nicola; Furness, Penny J

    2017-03-01

    The outcomes of self-management interventions are commonly assessed using quantitative measurement tools, and few studies ask people with long-term conditions to explain, in their own words, what aspects of the intervention they valued. In this Grounded Theory study, a Health Trainers service in the north of England was evaluated based on interviews with eight service-users. Open, focused, and theoretical coding led to the development of a preliminary model explaining participants' experiences and perceived impact of the service. The model reflects the findings that living well with a long-term condition encompassed social connectedness, changed identities, acceptance, and self-care. Health trainers performed four related roles that were perceived to contribute to these outcomes: conceptualizer, connector, coach, and champion. The evaluation contributes a grounded theoretical understanding of a personalized self-management intervention that emphasizes the benefits of a holistic approach to enable cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and social adjustments.

  15. End-user interest in geotechnical data management systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-12-01

    In conducting geotechnical site investigations, large volumes of subsurface information and associated test data : are generated. The current practice relies on paper-based filing systems that are often difficult and cumbersome : to access by users. ...

  16. User-Location Aware Downlink Performance Analysis of LTE Networks

    OpenAIRE

    Olaifa, John Olorunfemi

    2016-01-01

    In order to evaluate the performance of Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, system-level simulation with detailed focus on network related effects such as mobility, scheduling and interference management must be emphasized. Existing studies evaluate user throughput and dimension LTE networks usually assuming uniform distribution of users within the cell. These studies report average user throughputs over the cell and the 5th percentile throughputs as estimates of the performance of the users ...

  17. Smart grids or smart users? Involving users in developing a low carbon electricity economy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verbong, Geert P.J.; Beemsterboer, Sjouke; Sengers, Frans

    2013-01-01

    This article analyses practices and perceptions of stakeholders on including users in smart grids experiments in the Netherlands. In-depth interviews have been conducted and smart grid projects have been analysed, using a Strategic Niche Management framework. The analysis shows that there is a clear trend to pay more attention to users in new smart grid projects. However, too much focus on technology and economic incentives can become a barrier. Some institutional barriers have been identified. New innovative business models should be developed to explore different options to involve users. The many pilot and demonstration projects that are taking shape or are being planned offer an excellent opportunity for such an exploration. Learning on the social dimensions of smart grids, and the international exchange of experiences can prevent a premature lock-in in a particular pathway. - Highlights: ► State of the art of smart grids experiments in the Netherlands. ► Focus on role and position of users. ► Trend is to active involvement of users. ► Several barriers have been identified.

  18. LANCE Usage and User Analysis: Creating a Better System that Meets User Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, D.; Boller, R. A.; Schmaltz, J. E.; Murphy, K. J.; Ilavajhala, S.; Ullah, A.; Joshi, T.

    2012-12-01

    This paper describes known uses of NASA's Land Atmosphere Near-real time Capability for EOS (LANCE) data and imagery and summarizes findings from informal interviews with LANCE users, undertaken to better understand their needs. LANCE, the NRT component of EOSDIS, provides products from MODIS, AIRS, OMI and MLS within 3 hours of satellite observation. LANCE has in excess of 50,000 unique anonymous users per month using data and imagery for wildfire management, air quality measurements, shipping, agricultural forecasting as well as monitoring volcanic plumes, dust storms, smoke plumes and floods etc. Users can be categorized as end users or as brokers who may repackage the imagery and pass it on to their own end users. Interactions with a sample of end users found the following: users like MODIS Rapid Response imagery but do not want to be confined to pre-defined subsets; they want a broader selection of imagery and those with higher bandwidth want the capability to pull in imagery in to their own web-mapping or GIS applications. Users with lower bandwidth want the capability to define their own areas-of-interest for simple download of an image file. Users also expressed a desire to see historic as well as near-real time data, so they can compare the current situation to the recent past. Users want download capabilities to enable information to be shared quickly and easily. These and other findings are being fed back to EOSDIS developers who are creating tools and services to better meet user needs. The findings from users have been valuable in ensuring that developers are on track. The most recent offerings, available http://earthdata.nasa.gov/lance, are Worldview - a web-based client which provides capability to interactively browse full-resolution, global, near real-time satellite imagery from 50+ data products from LANCE, and the Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) which enables both users and brokers to pull the latest imagery in to their own web mapping

  19. The importance of service-users' perspectives: A systematic review of qualitative evidence reveals overlooked critical features of weight management programmes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutcliffe, Katy; Melendez-Torres, G J; Burchett, Helen E D; Richardson, Michelle; Rees, Rebecca; Thomas, James

    2018-03-14

    Extensive research effort shows that weight management programmes (WMPs) targeting both diet and exercise are broadly effective. However, the critical features of WMPs remain unclear. To develop a deeper understanding of WMPs critical features, we undertook a systematic review of qualitative evidence. We sought to understand from a service-user perspective how programmes are experienced, and may be effective, on the ground. We identified qualitative studies from existing reviews and updated the searches of one review. We included UK studies capturing the views of adult WMP users. Thematic analysis was used inductively to code and synthesize the evidence. Service users were emphatic that supportive relationships, with service providers or WMP peers, are the most critical aspect of WMPs. Supportive relationships were described as providing an extrinsic motivator or "hook" which helped to overcome barriers such as scepticism about dietary advice or a lack confidence to engage in physical activity. The evidence revealed that service-users' understandings of the critical features of WMPs differ from the focus of health promotion guidance or descriptions of evaluated programmes which largely emphasize educational or goal setting aspects of WMPs. Existing programme guidance may not therefore fully address the needs of service users. The study illustrates that the perspectives of service users can reveal unanticipated intervention mechanisms or underemphasized critical features and underscores the value of a holistic understanding about "what happens" in complex psychosocial interventions such as WMPs. © 2017 The Authors Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Research of user access control for networked manufacturing system

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZHENG Xiao-lin; LEI Yu; CHEN De-ren

    2006-01-01

    An integrated user access control method was proposed to address the issues of security and management in networked manufacturing systems (NMS).Based on the analysis of the security issues in networked manufacturing system,an integrated user access control method composed of role-based access control (RBAC),task-based access control (TBAC),relationship-driven access control (RDAC)and coalition-based access control (CBAC) was proposed,including the hierarchical user relationship model,the reference model and the process model.The elements and their relationships were defined,and the expressions of constraints authorization were given.The extensible access control markup language (XACML) was used to implement this method.This method was used in the networked manufacturing system in the Shaoxing spinning region of China.The results show that the integrated user access control method can reduce the costs of system security maintenance and management.

  1. Our Deming Users' Group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinklocker, Christina

    1992-01-01

    After training in the Total Quality Management concept, a suburban Ohio school district created a Deming Users' Group to link agencies, individuals, and ideas. The group has facilitated ongoing school/business collaboration, networking among individuals from diverse school systems, mentoring and cooperative learning activities, and resource…

  2. Designing Privacy Notices: Supporting User Understanding and Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, Patrick Gage

    2013-01-01

    Users are increasingly expected to manage complex privacy settings in their normal online interactions. From shopping to social networks, users make decisions about sharing their personal information with corporations and contacts, frequently with little assistance. Current solutions require consumers to read long documents or go out of their way…

  3. Short-Term Impact of a Comprehensive Smoke-Free Law Following a Partial Smoke-Free Law on PM2.5 Concentration Levels at Hospitality Venues on the Peripheries of College Campuses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Sol; Yang, Wonho; Lee, Kiyoung; Kim, Sungcheon; Ha, Kwonchul; Kim, Sungroul

    2015-01-01

    Tobacco-free policies on college campuses are spreading in Korea. However, the impact of the smoking ban legislation at venues on the boundary of a college campus is still limited. This study aimed to assess short-term changes in PM2.5 concentrations before and after the enactment of the smoking ban legislation to evaluate the impact. In this cross-sectional study, PM2.5 measurements (pre-ban: n = 99, post-ban: n = 64) were conducted in randomly selected billiards, pubs, and computer game rooms on the peripheries of college campuses in October 2013, prior to implementation of the smoking ban, and in May 2014, after the ban. The median (interquartile range, IQR) of the PM2.5 concentration for all venues was 31 μg/m3 (0–80 μg/m3) in the pre-ban period and 11 μg/m3 (0–36 μg/m3) in the post-ban period implying indoor PM2.5 concentration levels of the peripheries of college campuses likely decreased one year after implementation of the ban. However, the differences were not significant yet. The results support the introduction of more rigorous monitoring of SHS exposure levels toward the ultimate goal of encouraging a complete smoking ban in hospitality venues, including billiards, pubs, and computer game rooms located on the peripheries of college campuses. PMID:26540063

  4. Short-Term Impact of a Comprehensive Smoke-Free Law Following a Partial Smoke-Free Law on PM2.5 Concentration Levels at Hospitality Venues on the Peripheries of College Campuses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sol Yu

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Tobacco-free policies on college campuses are spreading in Korea. However, the impact of the smoking ban legislation at venues on the boundary of a college campus is still limited. This study aimed to assess short-term changes in PM2.5 concentrations before and after the enactment of the smoking ban legislation to evaluate the impact. In this cross-sectional study, PM2.5 measurements (pre-ban: n = 99, post-ban: n = 64 were conducted in randomly selected billiards, pubs, and computer game rooms on the peripheries of college campuses in October 2013, prior to implementation of the smoking ban, and in May 2014, after the ban. The median (interquartile range, IQR of the PM2.5 concentration for all venues was 31 μg/m3 (0–80 μg/m3 in the pre-ban period and 11 μg/m3 (0–36 μg/m3 in the post-ban period implying indoor PM2.5 concentration levels of the peripheries of college campuses likely decreased one year after implementation of the ban. However, the differences were not significant yet. The results support the introduction of more rigorous monitoring of SHS exposure levels toward the ultimate goal of encouraging a complete smoking ban in hospitality venues, including billiards, pubs, and computer game rooms located on the peripheries of college campuses.

  5. A THEORETICAL MODEL OF SUPPORTING OPEN SOURCE FRONT END INNOVATION THROUGH IDEA MANAGEMENT

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aagaard, Annabeth

    2013-01-01

    to overcome these various challenges companies are looking for new models to support FEI. This theoretical paper explores in what way idea management may be applied as a tool in facilitation of front end innovation and how this facilitation may be captured in a conceptual model. First, I show through...... a literature study, how idea management and front end innovation are related and how they may support each other. Secondly, I present a theoretical model of how idea management may be applied in support of the open source front end of new product innovations. Thirdly, I present different venues of further...... exploration of active facilitation of open source front end innovation through idea management....

  6. End-User Driven Business Process Composition

    OpenAIRE

    Stoitsev, Todor

    2009-01-01

    Business Process Management (BPM) solutions enable enterprises to consolidate and optimize their business operations and to gain competitive advantage in the fast evolving global market. Often, the only ones to understand the matter and complexity of business processes are the end users of enterprise software, who execute them on a daily basis. The need to involve end users in business process composition during the implementation of BPM solutions in enterprises is clearly perceived. However,...

  7. Implementation of the chemicals regulation REACH : Exploring the impact on occupational health and safety management among Swedish downstream users

    OpenAIRE

    Schenk, Linda; Antonsson, Ann-Beth

    2015-01-01

    In the present study we have examined how the European chemicals regulation Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) has influenced occupational risk management of chemicals at Swedish downstream user companies. The data were collected through interviews with occupational health and safety professionals, safety representatives and authority employees. The results show that most of the informants had scarce knowledge about REACH and that REACH implementation...

  8. Depression and its correlations with health-risk behaviors and social capital among female migrants working in entertainment venues in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Qiaohong; Operario, Don; Zaller, Nickolas; Huang, Wen; Dong, Yanyan; Zhang, Hongbo

    2018-01-01

    Among the dramatic increased internal migration in China in past three decades, a considerable proportion of young females migrated to urban areas and found employment in "entertainment venues", who may be vulnerable to psychological distress. This study examines the prevalence of depression and explores its associations with health-risk behaviors and social capital among this subgroup. 358 female migrants were recruited from entertainment venues in a rapidly growing urban city in China. A survey which included measures of depressive symptoms, health-risk behaviors, social capital, and socio-demographic characteristics was administered. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to identify the independent correlates of depression. Of participants, 31.0% had clinically significant depressive symptoms (CES-D score ≥ 16). In multivariable models, greater likelihood of depressive symptoms was associated with working in massage centers/hotels (OR = 3.20, 95% CI: 1.80-5.70), having probable alcohol dependence (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.22-4.16), self-reported lifetime use of illicit drugs (OR = 2.98, 95% CI: 1.26-7.06), growing up in a non-nuclear family (OR = 2.46, 95% CI: 1.18-5.16), and poor social capital (OR = 6.01, 95% CI = 2.02-17.87). Intervention strategies to address the high prevalence of depression among female migrants are needed, and should also aim to reduce problematic alcohol and drug use, improve social capital, and target women working in massage centers or hotels.

  9. The Effects of Rewarding User Engagement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Claussen, Jörg; Kretschmer, Tobias; Mayrhofer, Philip

    2013-01-01

    We study the market for apps on Facebook, the dominant social networking platform, and make use of a rule change by Facebook by which highly engaging apps were rewarded with further opportunities to engage users. The rule change led to new applications with significantly higher user ratings being...... declined less rapidly with age. Our results show that social media channels do not necessarily have to be managed through hard exclusion of participants but can also be steered through “softer” changes in reward and incentive systems.......We study the market for apps on Facebook, the dominant social networking platform, and make use of a rule change by Facebook by which highly engaging apps were rewarded with further opportunities to engage users. The rule change led to new applications with significantly higher user ratings being...

  10. Service Users' Involvement and Engagement in Interprofessional Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaini, B K

    2016-01-01

    Interprofessional care is joint working between health care professionals by pooling their skills, knowledge and expertise, to make joint decisions and learn from each other for the benefits of service users and healthcare professionals. Service users involvement is considered as one of the important aspects of planning, management and decision making process in the delivery of health care to service users. Service users' involvement is not the same as public involvement and partnership arrangements in health care. The active involvement and engagement of service users in health care positively contributes to improve quality of care, to promote better health and to shape the future of health services. Service users are always at the centre of health care professionals' values, work ethics and roles. Moreover, service users centred interprofessional team collaboration is very important to deliver effective health services.

  11. Smart grids or smart users? : involving users in developing a low carbon electricity economy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verbong, G.P.J.; Beemsterboer, S.F.L.; Sengers, F.

    2013-01-01

    This article analyses practices and perceptions of stakeholders on including users in smart grids experiments in the Netherlands. In-depth interviews have been conducted and smart grid projects have been analysed, using a Strategic Niche Management framework. The analysis shows that there is a clear

  12. User localization during human-robot interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonso-Martín, F; Gorostiza, Javi F; Malfaz, María; Salichs, Miguel A

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a user localization system based on the fusion of visual information and sound source localization, implemented on a social robot called Maggie. One of the main requisites to obtain a natural interaction between human-human and human-robot is an adequate spatial situation between the interlocutors, that is, to be orientated and situated at the right distance during the conversation in order to have a satisfactory communicative process. Our social robot uses a complete multimodal dialog system which manages the user-robot interaction during the communicative process. One of its main components is the presented user localization system. To determine the most suitable allocation of the robot in relation to the user, a proxemic study of the human-robot interaction is required, which is described in this paper. The study has been made with two groups of users: children, aged between 8 and 17, and adults. Finally, at the end of the paper, experimental results with the proposed multimodal dialog system are presented.

  13. The Australian SKA Pathfinder: operations management and user engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvey-Smith, Lisa

    2016-07-01

    This paper describes the science operations model for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. ASKAP is a radio interferometer currently being commissioned in Western Australia. It will be operated by a dedicated team of observatory staff with the support of telescope monitoring, control and scheduling software. These tools, as well as the proposal tools and data archive will enable the telescope to operate with little direct input from the astronomy user. The paper also discusses how close engagement with the telescope user community has been maintained throughout the ASKAP construction and commissioning phase, leading to positive outcomes including early input into the design of telescope systems and a vibrant early science program.

  14. Sampling Key Populations for HIV Surveillance: Results From Eight Cross-Sectional Studies Using Respondent-Driven Sampling and Venue-Based Snowball Sampling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, Amrita; Stahlman, Shauna; Hargreaves, James; Weir, Sharon; Edwards, Jessie; Rice, Brian; Kochelani, Duncan; Mavimbela, Mpumelelo; Baral, Stefan

    2017-10-20

    In using regularly collected or existing surveillance data to characterize engagement in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) services among marginalized populations, differences in sampling methods may produce different pictures of the target population and may therefore result in different priorities for response. The objective of this study was to use existing data to evaluate the sample distribution of eight studies of female sex workers (FSW) and men who have sex with men (MSM), who were recruited using different sampling approaches in two locations within Sub-Saharan Africa: Manzini, Swaziland and Yaoundé, Cameroon. MSM and FSW participants were recruited using either respondent-driven sampling (RDS) or venue-based snowball sampling. Recruitment took place between 2011 and 2016. Participants at each study site were administered a face-to-face survey to assess sociodemographics, along with the prevalence of self-reported HIV status, frequency of HIV testing, stigma, and other HIV-related characteristics. Crude and RDS-adjusted prevalence estimates were calculated. Crude prevalence estimates from the venue-based snowball samples were compared with the overlap of the RDS-adjusted prevalence estimates, between both FSW and MSM in Cameroon and Swaziland. RDS samples tended to be younger (MSM aged 18-21 years in Swaziland: 47.6% [139/310] in RDS vs 24.3% [42/173] in Snowball, in Cameroon: 47.9% [99/306] in RDS vs 20.1% [52/259] in Snowball; FSW aged 18-21 years in Swaziland 42.5% [82/325] in RDS vs 8.0% [20/249] in Snowball; in Cameroon 15.6% [75/576] in RDS vs 8.1% [25/306] in Snowball). They were less educated (MSM: primary school completed or less in Swaziland 42.6% [109/310] in RDS vs 4.0% [7/173] in Snowball, in Cameroon 46.2% [138/306] in RDS vs 14.3% [37/259] in Snowball; FSW: primary school completed or less in Swaziland 86.6% [281/325] in RDS vs 23.9% [59/247] in Snowball, in Cameroon 87.4% [520/576] in RDS vs 77.5% [238/307] in Snowball) than the snowball

  15. User Defined Geo-referenced Information

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Konstantas, Dimitri; Villalba, Alfredo; di Marzo Serugendo, Giovanna

    2009-01-01

    . In this paper we present two novel mobile and wireless collaborative services and concepts, the Hovering Information, a mobile, geo-referenced content information management system, and the QoS Information service, providing user observed end-to-end infrastructure geo-related QoS information....

  16. SDN Based User-Centric Framework for Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhaoming Lu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the rapid growth of mobile data traffic, more and more basestations and access points (APs have been densely deployed to provide users with ubiquitous network access, which make current wireless network a complex heterogeneous network (HetNet. However, traditional wireless networks are designed with network-centric approaches where different networks have different quality of service (QoS strategies and cannot easily cooperate with each other to serve network users. Massive network infrastructures could not assure users perceived network and service quality, which is an indisputable fact. To address this issue, we design a new framework for heterogeneous wireless networks with the principle of user-centricity, refactoring the network from users’ perspective to suffice their requirements and preferences. Different from network-centric approaches, the proposed framework takes advantage of Software Defined Networking (SDN and virtualization technology, which will bring better perceived services quality for wireless network users. In the proposed user-centric framework, control plane and data plane are decoupled to manage the HetNets in a flexible and coadjutant way, and resource virtualization technology is introduced to abstract physical resources of HetNets into unified virtualized resources. Hence, ubiquitous and undifferentiated network connectivity and QoE (quality of experience driven fine-grained resource management could be achieved for wireless network users.

  17. Smarter Grid through Collective Intelligence: User Awareness for Enhanced Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcel Macarulla

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – This paper examines the scenario of a university campus, and the impact on energy consumption of the awareness of building managers and users (lecturers, students and administrative staff.Design/methodology/approach – This study draws a comparison between direct fruition of the information by both skilled (building managers and unskilled (users recipients, and the effect of peer pressure and beneficial competition between users in applying the good practices. In fact, the usage of edutainment, implemented by the automatic publication on the Twitter platform of energy consumption data from different users, can promote general users’ awareness on best practices and their effect on energy consumption. In addition, the use of a social network platform allows the interaction between users, sharing experiences and increasing the collective intelligence in the energy efficiency field.Findings – Tests revealed that enhanced awareness helped managers to identify strategies that, if implemented in the whole building, could reduce energy consumption by about 6%. The tests on university users’ awareness hint that the expected energy savings can reach 9%, in addition to the previous 6%. In fact, the measures were implemented in one of the three common rooms, and at building level the total energy consumption decreased by 3.42%, proving that a large deal of energy can be saved by capillary actions targeting society at large. The emerging collective intelligence of the final users ends up having a stronger effect on energy saving than the actions of more educated professionals.Practical implications – The approach used in this paper moved the burden of evolving the energy saving strategies to new scenarios onto the collective intelligence of the users, by connecting the users – and their experiences in new scenarios – using a social network to provide guidelines to other users involved in the same decision processes

  18. Implementation of enterprise resource planning systems: a user perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reitsma, E.; Hilletofth, P.; Mukhtar, U.

    2018-04-01

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate critical success factors (CSFs) for the implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from a user perspective. Users play a vital role when implementing an ERP system, but their perspective has been neglected in the literature. A better understanding of their perspective promises to contribute to the design of more effective ERP systems, its implementation, and management. In order to identify the user perspective, a survey was conducted within three Pakistani companies that recently have implemented a new ERP system. The questionnaire was developed based on thirteen CSFs deduced from literature. Based on each CSF’s level of importance, they are ranked in order of importance and divided into three groups: most important, important and not important. Findings reveal that users believe that management should prioritize the following four CSFs when implementing an ERP system: education and training, strategic decision-making, communication, and business process alignment.

  19. A User-Centric System for Verified Identities on the Bitcoin Blockchain

    OpenAIRE

    Augot, Daniel; Chabanne, Hervé; Chenevier, Thomas; George, William; Lamber, Laurent

    2017-01-01

    International audience; We present an identity management scheme built into the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing for identities that are as indelible as the blockchain itself. Moreover, we take advantage of Bitcoin's decentralized nature to facilitate a shared control between users and identity providers, allowing users to directly manage their own identities, fluidly coordinating identities from different providers, even as identity providers can revoke identities and impose controls.

  20. Keeping it wild in the National Park Service: A user guide to integrating wilderness character into park planning, management, and monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peter Landres; Suzy Stutzman; Wade Vagias; Carol Cook; Christina Mills; Tim Devine; Sandee Dingman; Adrienne Lindholm; Miki Stuebe; Melissa Memory; Ruth Scott; Michael Bilecki; Ray O' Neil; Chris Holbeck; Frank Turina; Michael Haynie; Sarah Craighead; Chip Jenkins; Jeremy Curtis; Karen Trevino

    2014-01-01

    This User Guide was developed to help National Park Service (NPS) staff effectively and efficiently fulfill the mandate from the 1964 Wilderness Act and NPS policy to "preserve wilderness character" now and into the future. This mandate applies to all congressionally designated wilderness and other park lands that are, by policy, managed as wilderness,...

  1. Small supermarket management system

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    曹正

    2016-01-01

    This system USES the Java language in the MyEclipse platform development tool, SQL2005 as the database platform for data and data, the SQL2005 required for the user operating system. It mainly implements the daily management of goods, including purchase management, inventory management, sales management, personnel management and supplier management. The system can also complete the functions of browsing, querying, adding, deleting and modifying relevant information. This topic is the core of the stock management, inventory management and sales management, at the same time, the system also has the full user management and permissions management function..

  2. User's guide for PRISM (Plant Risk Status Information Management System) Arkansas Nuclear One-Unit 1: Volume 1, Program for inspectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campbell, D.J.; Guthrie, V.H.; Kirchner, J.R.; Kirkman, J.Q.; Paula, H.M.; Ellison, B.C.; Dycus, F.M.; Farquharson, J.A.; Flanagan, G.F.

    1988-03-01

    This user's guide is a two-volume document designed to teach NRC inspectors and NRC regulators how to access probabilistic risk assessment information from the two Plant Risk Status Information Management System (PRISIM) programs developed for Arkansas Nuclear One -- Unit One (ANO-1). This document, Volume 1, describes how the PRA information available in Version 1.0 of PRISIM is useful for planning inspections. Using PRISIM, inspectors can quickly access PRA information and use that information to update risk analysis results, reflecting a plant's status at any particular time. Both volumes are stand-alone documents, and each volume presents several sample computer sessions designed to lead the user through a variety of PRISIM applications used to obtain PRA-related information for monitoring and controlling plant risk

  3. ARCA : A contextual, strategic, operational and financial analysis of a Business Project for a Food & Beverage/Recreational venue in Lisbon, Portugal.

    OpenAIRE

    Barreira-Silva, Miguel; Forjaz, José Maria

    2015-01-01

    Our thesis consists of developing a Business Plan for our business idea: a food and beverage venue in Lisbon, Portugal. In this theoretical section of our body of work we will be reviewing some of the existing literature on the subject. In order to facilitate the reader’s understanding of our literature review and its structure, it seems logical to introduce it with a brief explanation of what ARCA is about. ARCA is a product of the imagination of four ambitious Lisbon locals in their early t...

  4. Knowledge management roles of librarians for transformative user ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    It was found that the KM roles of librarians consisted of the knowledge processes or activities in identifying the needs of users, capturing knowledge resources to meet those needs, organizing knowledge resource s available in the library for their academic work or research. It was found that for librarians to play their KM ...

  5. Bridging the gap connecting users to digital contents

    CERN Document Server

    Lee, Sul H

    2013-01-01

    The amount of digital information that libraries need to manage effectively for the benefit of users is constantly increasing. This book discusses in detail how library administrators can better handle this growing abundance of information, as well as effective ways to allow library users easy access. Respected leaders in the field of librarianship explore various aspects of how librarians are meeting the challenges of delivering more digital information to a changing user base, including preservation demands, licensing agreements, digitizing and making available collections unique to speci

  6. Nutrient Tracking Tool - A user-friendly tool for evaluating the water and air quality and quantity as affected by various agricultural management practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saleh, A.; Niraula, R.; Gallego, O.; Osei, E.; Kannan, N.

    2017-12-01

    The Nutrient Tracking Tool (NTT) is a user-friendly web-based computer program that estimate nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment losses from fields managed under a variety of cropping patterns and management practices. The NTT includes a user-friendly web-based interface and is linked to the Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) model. It also accesses USDA-NRCS's Web Soil Survey to obtain field, weather, and soil information. NTT provides producers, government officials, and other users with a fast and efficient method of estimating the nutrient, sediment, and atmosphoric gases (N2o, Co2, and NH4) losses, and crop production under different conservation practices regims at the farm-level. The information obtained from NTT can help producers to determine the most cost-effective conservation practice(s) to reduce the nutrient and sediment losses while optimizing the crop production. Also, the recent version of NTT (NTTg3) has been developed for those coutries without access to national databasis, such as soils and wether. The NTTg3 also has been designed as easy to use APEX interface. NTT is currently being evaluated for trading and other programs at Cheaseapea Bay regions and numerous states in US. During this presentation the new capabilities of NTTg3 will be described and demonstrated.

  7. Audit result and its users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shalimova Nataliya S.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article identifies essence of the “audit result” and “users of audit result” notions and characteristics of the key audit results user. It shows that in order to give a wide characteristic of users it is expedient to unite all objects, which could be used (audit report, fact of refusal to conduct audit and information that is submitted to managers in the process of audit with the term “audit result” and classify it depending on the terms of submission by final and intermediate result. The article offers to define audit results user as a person, persons or category of persons for whom the auditor prepares the audit report and, in cases, envisaged by international standards of the audit and domestic legislative and regulatory acts, provides other additional information concerning audit issues. In order to identify the key audit results user the article distributes all audit tasks into two groups depending on possibilities of identification of users. The article proves that the key user should be identified especially in cases of a mandatory audit and this process should go in interconnection with the mechanism of allocation of a key user of financial reports. It offers to consider external users with direct financial interests, who cannot request economic subjects directly to provide information and who should rely on general financial reports and audit report when receiving significant portion of information they need, as the key user. The article makes proposals on specification of the categorical mechanism in the sphere of audit, which are the basis for audit quality assessment, identification of possibilities and conditions of appearance of the necessary and sufficient trust to the auditor opinion.

  8. Case management for high-intensity service users: towards a relational approach to care co-ordination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEvoy, Phil; Escott, Diane; Bee, Penny

    2011-01-01

    This study is based on a formative evaluation of a case management service for high-intensity service users in Northern England. The evaluation had three main purposes: (i) to assess the quality of the organisational infrastructure; (ii) to obtain a better understanding of the key influences that played a role in shaping the development of the service; and (iii) to identify potential changes in practice that may help to improve the quality of service provision. The evaluation was informed by Gittell's relational co-ordination theory, which focuses upon cross-boundary working practices that facilitate task integration. The Assessment of Chronic Illness Care Survey was used to assess the organisational infrastructure and qualitative interviews with front line staff were conducted to explore the key influences that shaped the development of the service. A high level of strategic commitment and political support for integrated working was identified. However, the quality of care co-ordination was variable. The most prominent operational factor that appeared to influence the scope and quality of care co-ordination was the pattern of interaction between the case managers and their co-workers. The co-ordination of patient care was much more effective in integrated co-ordination networks. Key features included clearly defined, task focussed, relational workspaces with interactive forums where case managers could engage with co-workers in discussions about the management of interdependent care activities. In dispersed co-ordination networks with fewer relational workspaces, the case managers struggled to work as effectively. The evaluation concluded that the creation of flexible and efficient task focused relational workspaces that are systemically managed and adequately resourced could help to improve the quality of care co-ordination, particularly in dispersed networks. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  9. Manager Information Management and Innovation Services | IDRC ...

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

    Manager Information Management and Innovation Services ... manages research services for end users, ensures that internal clients know how to access ... in order to ensure that services provided meet a high level of quality and client needs ...

  10. Typology of Nightclubs in São Paulo, Brazil: Alcohol and Illegal Drug Consumption, Sexual Behavior and Violence in the Venues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlini, Claudia M; Sanchez, Zila M

    2018-02-21

    Nightclubs are venues in which excessive alcohol use and illegal drug consumption occur in addition to other high-risk behaviors, such as violence and sexual risk behaviors. Environmental factors common in nightclubs and the personal characteristics of patrons might increase the risk of these events. To better understand the relationship between these factors, typologies were formulated that clustered nightclubs according to definite profiles to identify differences to be taken into consideration in preventive interventions. The present study aim was to construct a typology of nightclubs in São Paulo, Brazil. This typology was constructed using mixed methods research through the triangulation of several data sources as follows: 307 hours of ethnographic observation at 31 nightclubs, 8 focus group sessions with nightclub patrons (n = 34) and 30 semi-structured interviews with nightclub employees. Content analysis and qualitative typology were used. Four nightclub types were defined based on four analyzed thematic axes (Intoxicating, Violent, Dancing and Highly Sexualized nightclubs). Excessive alcohol use was detected in almost all of the investigated nightclubs, and drug use was observed in approximately one-third of them. Triangulation of the data revealed a relationship among environmental factors (especially alcohol sales strategies and promotion and the availability of areas for sex) and a more considerable presence of high-risk behaviors. The study shows that nightclubs are settings in which high-risk behaviors are potentiated by facilitating environmental factors as well as by the lack of laws restricting excessive alcohol use stimulated by the promotion strategies applied at these venues.

  11. Bridge Management Strategy Based on Extreme User Costs for Bridge Network Condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ladislaus Lwambuka

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a practical approach for prioritization of bridge maintenance within a given bridge network. The maintenance prioritization is formulated as a multiobjective optimization problem where the simultaneous satisfaction of several conflicting objectives includes minimization of maintenance costs, maximization of bridge deck condition, and minimization of traffic disruption and associated user costs. The prevalence of user cost during maintenance period is twofold; the first case refers to the period of dry season where normally the traffic flow is diverted to alternative routes usually resurfaced to regain traffic access. The second prevalence refers to the absence of alternative routes which is often the case in the least developed countries; in this case the user cost referred to results from the waiting time while the traffic flow is put on hold awaiting accomplishment of the maintenance activity. This paper deals with the second scenario of traffic closure in the absence of alternative diversion routes which in essence results in extreme user cost. The paper shows that the multiobjective optimization approach remains valid for extreme cases of user costs in the absence of detour roads as often is the scenario in countries with extreme poor road infrastructure.

  12. Residential Consumption Scheduling Based on Dynamic User Profiling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangiatordi, Federica; Pallotti, Emiliano; Del Vecchio, Paolo; Capodiferro, Licia

    Deployment of household appliances and of electric vehicles raises the electricity demand in the residential areas and the impact of the building's electrical power. The variations of electricity consumption across the day, may affect both the design of the electrical generation facilities and the electricity bill, mainly when a dynamic pricing is applied. This paper focuses on an energy management system able to control the day-ahead electricity demand in a residential area, taking into account both the variability of the energy production costs and the profiling of the users. The user's behavior is dynamically profiled on the basis of the tasks performed during the previous days and of the tasks foreseen for the current day. Depending on the size and on the flexibility in time of the user tasks, home inhabitants are grouped in, one over N, energy profiles, using a k-means algorithm. For a fixed energy generation cost, each energy profile is associated to a different hourly energy cost. The goal is to identify any bad user profile and to make it pay a highest bill. A bad profile example is when a user applies a lot of consumption tasks and low flexibility in task reallocation time. The proposed energy management system automatically schedules the tasks, solving a multi-objective optimization problem based on an MPSO strategy. The goals, when identifying bad users profiles, are to reduce the peak to average ratio in energy demand, and to minimize the energy costs, promoting virtuous behaviors.

  13. Detection of mobile user location on next generation wireless networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schou, Saowanee; Olesen, Henning

    2005-01-01

    This paper proposes a novel conceptual mechanism for detecting the location of a mobile user on next generation wireless networks. This mechanism can provide location information of a mobile user at different levels of accuracy, by applying the movement detection mechanism of Mobile IPv6 at both...... macro- and micromobility level. In this scheme, an intradomain mobility management protocol (IDMP) is applied to manage the location of the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal needs two care-of addresses, a global care-of address (GCoA) and a local care-of address (LCoA). The current location...... of a Mobile IPv6 device can be determined by mapping the geographical location information with the two care-of-addresses and the physical address of the access point where the user is connected. Such a mechanism makes location services for mobile entities available on a global IP network. The end-users can...

  14. Assessing the Quality of a Local Authority Conference and Hospitality Venue Using the ServQual Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donnelly Mike

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The close attention paid to service quality by successful private companies has become part of the environment within which most public service organizations now operate. The ServQual model has been used with success to help companies quantify customers' expectations and perceptions of their service and to use this analysis as the basis for improvement. More recently, the ServQual approach has been applied in public service contexts with mixed reliability and validity. This paper reports on the application of the ServQual model to a conference and hospitality venue operated by a Scottish local authority. The study investigates five distinct customer segments: conferences, meetings, receptions, performances, and weddings. The expectations-perceptions gaps are assessed for each of these segments using the ServQual model and the size and antecedents of ServQual Gap 1 is also examined.

  15. MORT User's Manual for use with the Management Oversight and Risk Tree analytical logic diagram. [Contains a list of System Safety Development Center publications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knox, N.W.; Eicher, R.W.

    1992-02-01

    This report contains the User's Manual for MORT (Management Oversight and Risk Tree), a logic diagram in the form of a work sheet'' that illustrates a long series of interrelated questions. MORT is a comprehensive analytical procedure that provides a disciplined method for determining the causes and contributing factors of major accidents. Alternatively, it serves as a tool to evaluate the quality of an existing system. While similar in many respects to fault tree analysis, MORT is more generalized and presents over 1,500 specific elements of an ideal universal'' management program for optimizing environment, safety and health, and other programs. This User's Manual is intended to be used with the MORT diagram dated February 1992.

  16. Collective innovative practice through user-centred design thinking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Søren Bolvig; Lassen, Astrid Heidemann; Wandahl, Søren

    2012-01-01

    Establishing a collective innovative practice within a value chain is vital as competition often takes place between supply chains rather than individual companies (Lambert, 2006). This requires new new innovative approaches and an adaptive learning culture (Tyre and von Hippel 1997). User driven...... innovation has added significant aspects to the field of innovation management (e.g. Chesbrough, 2003) and companies can innovate with user collaboration or amplified notion of user together with hybrid collaborative constellations and new ways of working (von Hippel 2005). This paper examines how design...

  17. Artificial intelligence techniques for modeling database user behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanner, Steve; Graves, Sara J.

    1990-01-01

    The design and development of the adaptive modeling system is described. This system models how a user accesses a relational database management system in order to improve its performance by discovering use access patterns. In the current system, these patterns are used to improve the user interface and may be used to speed data retrieval, support query optimization and support a more flexible data representation. The system models both syntactic and semantic information about the user's access and employs both procedural and rule-based logic to manipulate the model.

  18. USERS' AWARENESS AND SATISFACTION WITH THE ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    wemafr

    regions of Tanzania. Mixed research design was used in which techniques such as ... both qualitative and quantitative data. The key findings ... average of two users per day, a scenario that created concern among its managers. In view of.

  19. Goober: A fully integrated and user-friendly microarray data management and analysis solution for core labs and bench biologists

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luo Wen

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Despite the large number of software tools developed to address different areas of microarray data analysis, very few offer an all-in-one solution with little learning curve. For microarray core labs, there are even fewer software packages available to help with their routine but critical tasks, such as data quality control (QC and inventory management. We have developed a simple-to-use web portal to allow bench biologists to analyze and query complicated microarray data and related biological pathways without prior training. Both experiment-based and gene-based analysis can be easily performed, even for the first-time user, through the intuitive multi-layer design and interactive graphic links. While being friendly to inexperienced users, most parameters in Goober can be easily adjusted via drop-down menus to allow advanced users to tailor their needs and perform more complicated analysis. Moreover, we have integrated graphic pathway analysis into the website to help users examine microarray data within the relevant biological content. Goober also contains features that cover most of the common tasks in microarray core labs, such as real time array QC, data loading, array usage and inventory tracking. Overall, Goober is a complete microarray solution to help biologists instantly discover valuable information from a microarray experiment and enhance the quality and productivity of microarray core labs. The whole package is freely available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/goober. A demo web server is available at http://www.goober-array.org.

  20. Users as innovators:exploring the limitations of user-driven innovation

    OpenAIRE

    Trott, Paul; Duin, Patrick Van Der; Hartmann, Dap

    2013-01-01

    Considering users as innovators has gained considerable support over the past 30 years. Eric von Hippel’s work in this area forms a significant part of the theoretical underpinning and evidence behind this concept. Many further studies have been undertaken to support it. It has contributed to our understanding of innovation management in general and new product development in particular. Even so, Lüthje and Herstatt emphasise that empirical findings are scarce and that the most radical innova...

  1. Managing user queries using cloud services: KAUST library experience

    KAUST Repository

    Ramli, Rindra M.; Ba-Rayyan, Faten A.

    2017-01-01

    The provision of reference and information services are one of the major activities for academic libraries. Answering questions and providing relevant and timely answers for library users are just one of such services. Questions come in many format

  2. Extracting Insights from Experience Designers to Enhance User Experience Design

    OpenAIRE

    Kremer, Simon; Lindemann, Udo

    2016-01-01

    User Experience (UX) summarizes how a user expects, perceives and assesses an encounter with a product. User Experience Design (UXD) aims at creating meaningful experiences. While UXD is a rather young discipline with-in product development and traditional processes predominate, other disciplines traditionally focus on creating experiences. We engaged with experience de-signers from the fields of arts, movies, sports, music and event management. By analyzing their working processes via interv...

  3. Using tritium as an indicator for development effective radionuclide methods for identification of nuclear testing venues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lyakhova, O.; Lukashenko, S.; Larionova, N.; Timonova, L. [Institute of radiation safety and ecology (Kazakhstan)

    2014-07-01

    scene of the explosion, is a few and tens of Bq/m3. In particular, the tritium content in the atmosphere near the one of the boreholes was 70 Bq/m{sup 3}. Research of level and distribution of tritium in the different object of ecosystems within the nuclear test venues has also been done. In accordance with results the tritium content in water was about 1.10{sup 5} Bq/l, in the air was up to 1 400 Bq/m{sup 3}, in vegetation - up to 1.10{sup 6} Bq/l, in the snow cover was about 500 Bq/kg, in soil - up to 50 000 Bq/kg. Based on all of the data will be held on the selection of the most effective elements of the ecosystem, which could be used as an indicator of nuclear test. Studies have shown the fundamental possibility of determining the tritium in the different ecosystem objects and the most importantly that the tritium was detected on the surface above the nuclear testing venues. All of this confirms the possibility of using radionuclide tritium as an indicator of underground nuclear explosion venues, even after dozens of years after nuclear events. Document available in abstract form only. (authors)

  4. Users' satisfaction with the use of electronic database in university ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Users' satisfaction with the use of electronic database in university libraries in north ... file of digitized information (bibliographic records, abstracts, full-text documents, ... managed with the aid of database management system (DBMS) software.

  5. Food Enterprise Web Design Based on User Experience

    OpenAIRE

    Fei Wang

    2015-01-01

    Excellent auxiliary food enterprise web design conveyed good visual transmission effect through user experience. This study was based on the food enterprise managers and customers as the main operating object to get the performance of the web page creation, web page design not only focused on the function and work efficiency, the most important thing was that the user experience in the process of web page interaction.

  6. Hanford inventory program user's manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hinkelman, K.C.

    1994-01-01

    Provides users with instructions and information about accessing and operating the Hanford Inventory Program (HIP) system. The Hanford Inventory Program is an integrated control system that provides a single source for the management and control of equipment, parts, and material warehoused by Westinghouse Hanford Company in various site-wide locations. The inventory is comprised of spare parts and equipment, shop stock, special tools, essential materials, and convenience storage items. The HIP replaced the following systems; ACA, ASP, PICS, FSP, WSR, STP, and RBO. In addition, HIP manages the catalog maintenance function for the General Supplies inventory stocked in the 1164 building and managed by WIMS

  7. Knowledge, opinions and compliance related to the 100% smoke-free law in hospitality venues in Kampala, Uganda: cross-sectional results from the KOMPLY Project

    OpenAIRE

    Gravely, Shannon; Nyamurungi, Kellen Namusisi; Kabwama, Steven Ndugwa; Okello, Gabriel; Robertson, Lindsay; Heng, Kelvin Khow Chuan; Ndikum, Achiri Elvis; Oginni, Adeniyi Samuel; Rusatira, Jean Christophe; Kakoulides, Socrates; Huffman, Mark D; Yusuf, Salim; Bianco, Eduardo

    2018-01-01

    Objective This study evaluated knowledge, opinions and compliance related to Uganda’s comprehensive smoke-free law among hospitality venues in Kampala Uganda. Design This multi-method study presents cross-sectional findings of the extent of compliance in the early phase of Uganda’s comprehensive smoke-free law (2 months postimplementation; pre-enforcement). Setting Bars, pubs and restaurants in Kampala Uganda. Procedure and participants A two-stage stratified cluster sampling procedure was us...

  8. New Head of the Users Office

    CERN Multimedia

    Anaïs Schaeffer

    2011-01-01

    Doris Chromek-Burckhart took over as Head of the Users Office on 1 June. She succeeds Chris Onions, who held the post for more than ten years before retiring in 2010, and Jose Salicio Diez, who replaced him temporarily.   Doris Chromek-Burckhart photographed by Pierre Gildemyn. Doris Chromek-Burckhart arrived at CERN about thirty years ago after completing a physics degree at Mainz University in Germany, and began her career with the Organization working on data acquisition systems for the experiments. She then joined ATLAS, where she took part in the development, commissioning and operation of the experiment's own data acquisition system. Her appointment as Head of the Users Office was preceded by two years as CERN's Equal Opportunities Officer from 2009 to 2010. The Users Office, which has now been in existence for over twenty years, manages administrative procedures and generally makes life easier for the 10,000 or more users from around a hundred different countries, in collaboration with CER...

  9. Personalization for Specific Users : Designing Decision Support Systems to Support Stimulating Learning Environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maruster, Laura; Faber, Niels R.; van Haren, Rob J.; Salvendy, G; Smith, MJ

    2009-01-01

    Creating adaptive systems becomes increasingly attractive in the context of specific groups of users, such as agricultural users. This group of users seems to differ with respect to information processing, knowledge management and learning styles. In this work we aim to offer directions toward

  10. Development of a national sport event risk management training program for college command groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Stacey A

    2013-01-01

    The US Department of Homeland Security identified college sport venues as terrorist targets due to the potential for mass casualties and catastrophic social and economic impact. Therefore, it is critical for college sport safety and security personnel to implement effective risk management practices. However, deficiencies have been identified in the level of preparedness of college sport event security personnel related to risk management training and effective emergency response capabilities. To address the industry need, the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security designed, developed, and evaluated a national sport event risk management training program for National Collegiate Athletic Association command groups. The purpose of this article was to provide an overview of the design, development, and evaluation process.

  11. Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS). Volume 1, User`s guide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-01-14

    The Hanford Environmental Information System (HEIS) is a consolidated set of automated resources that effectively manage the data gathered during environmental monitoring and restoration of the Hanford Site. HEIS includes an integrated database that provides consistent and current data to all users and promotes sharing of data by the entire user community. HEIS is an information system with an inclusive database. Although the database is the nucleus of the system, HEIS also provides user access software: query-by-form data entry, extraction, and browsing facilities; menu-driven reporting facilities; an ad hoc query facility; and a geographic information system (GIS). These features, with the exception of the GIS, are described in this manual set. Because HEIS contains data from the entire Hanford Site, many varieties of data are included and have.been divided into subject areas. Related subject areas comprise several volumes of the manual set. The manual set includes a data dictionary that lists all of the fields in the HEIS database, with their definitions and a cross reference of their locations in the database; definitions of data qualifiers for analytical results; and a mapping between the HEIS software functions and the keyboard keys for each of the supported terminals or terminal emulators.

  12. Reinforcing user data analysis with Ganga in the LHC era: scalability, monitoring and user-support

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elmsheuser, Johannes; Ebke, Johannes; Brochu, Frederic; Dzhunov, Ivan; Kokoszkiewicz, Lukasz; Maier, Andrew; Mościcki, Jakub; Tuckett, David; Vanderster, Daniel; Egede, Ulrik; Reece, Will; Williams, Michael; Jha, Manoj Kumar; Lee, Hurng-Chun; München, Tim; Samset, Bjorn; Slater, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Ganga is a grid job submission and management system widely used in the ATLAS and LHCb experiments and several other communities in the context of the EGEE project. The particle physics communities have entered the LHC operation era which brings new challenges for user data analysis: a strong growth in the number of users and jobs is already noticeable. Current work in the Ganga project is focusing on dealing with these challenges. In recent Ganga releases the support for the pilot job based grid systems Panda and Dirac of the ATLAS and LHCb experiment respectively have been strengthened. A more scalable job repository architecture, which allows efficient storage of many thousands of jobs in XML or several database formats, was recently introduced. A better integration with monitoring systems, including the Dashboard and job execution monitor systems is underway. These will provide comprehensive and easy job monitoring. A simple to use error reporting tool integrated at the Ganga command-line will help to improve user support and debugging user problems. Ganga is a mature, stable and widely-used tool with long-term support from the HEP community. We report on how it is being constantly improved following the user needs for faster and easier distributed data analysis on the grid.

  13. Improving the Drupal User Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel Vacek

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Drupal is a powerful, but complex, Web Content Management System, being adopted by many libraries. Installing Drupal typically involves adding additional modules for flexibility and increased functionality. Although installing additional modules does increase functionality, it inevitably complicates usability. At the University of Houston Libraries, the Web Services department researched what modules work well together to accomplish a simpler interface while simultaneously providing the flexibility and advanced tools needed to create a successful user experience within Drupal. This article explains why particular modules were chosen or developed, how the design enhanced the user experience, how the CMS architecture was created, and how other library systems were integrated into Drupal.

  14. Social capital in water user organizations of the Ecuadorian Highlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoogesteger van Dijk, J.D.

    2013-01-01

    In this article, I explore how new water user organizations have developed in formerly state managed irrigation systems in the Ecuadorian highlands since the 1990s. The article is based on an in-depth case study of the Pillaro irrigation system and illustrations of other cases. These water user

  15. Distributed user interfaces for clinical ubiquitous computing applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bång, Magnus; Larsson, Anders; Berglund, Erik; Eriksson, Henrik

    2005-08-01

    Ubiquitous computing with multiple interaction devices requires new interface models that support user-specific modifications to applications and facilitate the fast development of active workspaces. We have developed NOSTOS, a computer-augmented work environment for clinical personnel to explore new user interface paradigms for ubiquitous computing. NOSTOS uses several devices such as digital pens, an active desk, and walk-up displays that allow the system to track documents and activities in the workplace. We present the distributed user interface (DUI) model that allows standalone applications to distribute their user interface components to several devices dynamically at run-time. This mechanism permit clinicians to develop their own user interfaces and forms to clinical information systems to match their specific needs. We discuss the underlying technical concepts of DUIs and show how service discovery, component distribution, events and layout management are dealt with in the NOSTOS system. Our results suggest that DUIs--and similar network-based user interfaces--will be a prerequisite of future mobile user interfaces and essential to develop clinical multi-device environments.

  16. Recommendations for the user-specific enhancement of flood maps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Meyer

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The European Union Floods Directive requires the establishment of flood maps for high risk areas in all European member states by 2013. However, the current practice of flood mapping in Europe still shows some deficits. Firstly, flood maps are frequently seen as an information tool rather than a communication tool. This means that, for example, local stocks of knowledge are not incorporated. Secondly, the contents of flood maps often do not match the requirements of the end-users. Finally, flood maps are often designed and visualised in a way that cannot be easily understood by residents at risk and/or that is not suitable for the respective needs of public authorities in risk and event management. The RISK MAP project examined how end-user participation in the mapping process may be used to overcome these barriers and enhance the communicative power of flood maps, fundamentally increasing their effectiveness.

    Based on empirical findings from a participatory approach that incorporated interviews, workshops and eye-tracking tests, conducted in five European case studies, this paper outlines recommendations for user-specific enhancements of flood maps. More specific, recommendations are given with regard to (1 appropriate stakeholder participation processes, which allow incorporating local knowledge and preferences, (2 the improvement of the contents of flood maps by considering user-specific needs and (3 the improvement of the visualisation of risk maps in order to produce user-friendly and understandable risk maps for the user groups concerned. Furthermore, "idealised" maps for different user groups are presented: for strategic planning, emergency management and the public.

  17. Monitoring cocaine use and abstinence among cocaine users for contingency management interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holtyn, August F; Knealing, Todd W; Jarvis, Brantley P; Subramaniam, Shrinidhi; Silverman, Kenneth

    2017-06-01

    During contingency management interventions, reinforcement of cocaine abstinence is arranged by delivering an incentive when a urine sample tests cocaine-negative. The use of qualitative versus quantitative urinalysis testing may have important implications for effects on cocaine abstinence. Qualitative testing (i.e., testing that solely identifies whether a particular substance is present or absent) may not detect short-term cocaine abstinence because a single instance of cocaine use can result in cocaine-positive urine over many days. Quantitative testing (i.e., testing that identifies how much of a substance is present) may be more sensitive to short-term cocaine abstinence; however, the selection of a criterion for distinguishing new use versus carryover from previous use is an important consideration. The present study examined benzoylecgonine concentrations, the primary metabolite of cocaine, in urine samples collected three times per week for 30 weeks from 28 cocaine users who were exposed to a cocaine abstinence contingency. Of the positive urine samples (benzoylecgonine concentration >300 ng/ml), 29%, 21%, 14%, and 5% of the samples decreased in benzoylecgonine concentration by more than 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% per day, respectively. As the size of the decrease increased, the likelihood of that sample occurring during a period leading to a cocaine-negative urine sample (benzoylecgonine concentration ≤300 ng/ml) also increased. The number of days required to produce a cocaine-negative sample following a positive sample ranged from 1 to 10 days and was significantly correlated with the starting benzoylecgonine level ( r = 0.43, p contingency management interventions.

  18. Lead user udvikling af Firefox - styring af decentrale udviklingsprocesser

    OpenAIRE

    Hoffmann, Sebastian Erbo

    2008-01-01

    Firefox is an open source internet browser, and it’s developed by a large amount of voluntary developers around the world, in an ongoing development process. Through this process Mozilla Firefox get sticky information’s about users needs and the users own solutions to the problems or needs. But how do Mozilla Firefox control and manage this process, when development is depended on a large amount of users that develop for free and are not committed by contract? Eric von Hippel’s(2002,2005), an...

  19. Quality management

    OpenAIRE

    Forrest, Diana

    1997-01-01

    scen Scenario Interactive Media Element This mini-case study walks users through a scenario and user must make business decisions for a company that looks at the issues of quality and cost. GB3042 Operations Management

  20. A user interface development tool for space science systems Transportable Applications Environment (TAE) Plus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szczur, Martha R.

    1990-01-01

    The Transportable Applications Environment Plus (TAE PLUS), developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is a portable What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) user interface development and management system. Its primary objective is to provide an integrated software environment that allows interactive prototyping and development that of user interfaces, as well as management of the user interface within the operational domain. Although TAE Plus is applicable to many types of applications, its focus is supporting user interfaces for space applications. This paper discusses what TAE Plus provides and how the implementation has utilized state-of-the-art technologies within graphic workstations, windowing systems and object-oriented programming languages.

  1. User innovation in public service broadcasts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khajeheian, Datis; Tadayoni, Reza

    2016-01-01

    and develop user innovations into professional content. This study follows a qualitative approach with a document study of Denmark's public service broadcast and two interviews. Findings indicate that the commitment to quality and professional content prevents managers of PSBs from outsourcing......This research aims to understand how public service media can encourage media entrepreneurship in the society to enrich user innovations as a source of ideas, products, contents, talent and creativity. The assumption is that media entrepreneurs turn users into sources of external creativity...... their production to media entrepreneurs, but they trust large media companies as external producers. This research contributes to the field by proposing that public service media can foster media entrepreneurship in a society indirectly and by creating demand for external sources of creativity. Large media...

  2. Quick Link Selection Method by Using Pricing Strategy Based on User Equilibrium for Implementing an Effective Urban Travel Demand Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahriar Afandizadeh Zargari

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a two-stage model of optimization as a quick method to choose the best potential links for implementing urban travel demand management (UTDM strategy like road pricing. The model is optimized by minimizing the hidden cost of congestion based on user equilibrium (MHCCUE. It forecasts the exact amount of flows and tolls for links in user equilibrium condition to determine the hidden cost for each link to optimize the link selection based on the network congestion priority. The results show that not only the amount of total cost is decreased, but also the number of selected links for pricing is reduced as compared with the previous toll minimization methods. Moreover, as this model just uses the traffic assignment data for calculation, it could be considered as a quick and optimum solution for choosing the potential links.

  3. The Feasibility and Acceptability of a Web-Based Alcohol Management Intervention in Community Sports Clubs: A Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFadyen, Tameka; Wolfenden, Luke; Wiggers, John; Tindall, Jenny; Yoong, Sze Lin; Lecathelinais, Christophe; Gillham, Karen; Sherker, Shauna; Rowland, Bosco; McLaren, Nicola; Kingsland, Melanie

    2017-06-30

    The implementation of comprehensive alcohol management strategies can reduce excessive alcohol use and reduce the risk of alcohol-related harm at sporting venues. Supporting sports venues to implement alcohol management strategies via the Web may represent an effective and efficient means of reducing harm caused by alcohol in this setting. However, the feasibility and acceptability of such an approach is unknown. This study aimed to identify (1) the current access to and use of the Web and electronic devices by sports clubs; (2) the perceived usefulness, ease of use, and intention to use a Web-based program to support implementation of alcohol management policies in sports clubs; (3) the factors associated with intention to use such a Web-based support program; and (4) the specific features of such a program that sports clubs would find useful. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with club administrators of community football clubs in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Perceived usefulness, ease of use and intention to use a hypothetical Web-based alcohol management support program was assessed using the validated Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) instrument. Associations between intention to use a Web-based program and club characteristics as well as perceived ease of use and usefulness was tested using Fisher's exact test and represented using relative risk (RR) for high intention to use the program. Of the 73 football clubs that were approached to participate in the study, 63 consented to participate and 46 were eligible and completed the survey. All participants reported having access to the Web and 98% reported current use of electronic devices (eg, computers, iPads/tablets, smartphones, laptops, televisions, and smartboards). Mean scores (out of a possible 7) for the TAM constructs were high for intention to use (mean 6.25, SD 0.87), perceived ease of use (mean 6.00, SD 0.99), and perceived usefulness (mean 6.17, SD 0.85). Intention to use the Web

  4. Dairy Analytics and Nutrient Analysis (DANA) Prototype System User Manual

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sam Alessi; Dennis Keiser

    2012-10-01

    parameters be held and managed in a single managed data repository, while allows users to customize standard values and perform individual analysis. Server-based calculations can be easily extended, versions and upgrades managed, and any changes are immediately available to all users. This user manual describes how to use and/or modify input database tables, run DANA, view and modify reports.

  5. Listener Habits and Choices — and Their Implications for Public Performance Venues

    Science.gov (United States)

    DODD, G.

    2001-01-01

    An 11-year longitudinal survey of patterns and preferences in music listening has revealed that a large majority of people would prefer to listen to music performed live but that only a small percentage of their exposure to music actually occurs at live performances. An initial analysis of the first few years of the survey suggests that choices concerning music can be influenced by cultural background, and that predominant music sources change as new technology becomes available. Reasons given by listeners for preferring to listen to a traditional, mechanical instrument rather than an electro-acoustic version of it indicate they are sensitive to an “originality” criterion. As a consequence, concert halls should be designed to operate as passive acoustics spaces. Further, listeners' reasons for electing to attend a live performance rather than listen to a recording or a live broadcast suggest that hall designers should try to maximize the sense of two-way communication between performers and listeners. An implication of this is that where active acoustics systems are to be incorporated in variable acoustics auditoria, those active systems which use a non-in-line approach are to be preferred over in-line schemes. However, listener evolution and new expectations may require a fundamental change in our approach to the acoustics of live performance venues.

  6. The wound dressing supply chain within England's National Health Service: unravelling the context for users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Browne, Natasha; Grocott, Patricia; Cowley, Sarah

    2004-01-01

    To explore the representation of user needs (nurses and patients, both individuals and groups) at the industrial (wound dressing manufacture) and National Health Service interface. The wound dressing supply chain is outlined, tracking organizational changes. The methods that are used to transfer user information between industries that produce dressings and those using the products are reviewed in terms of their ability to communicate what users need from dressings. Organizational policies and systems are outlined, with the focus on their role in facilitating the communication of user needs. Methods for generating user information that can directly inform dressing design are needed together with interactive communication routes within the supply chain, specifically between users, manufacturers, purchasers and suppliers. This will facilitate dual benefits for nursing management through improvements in purchasing decisions and nurses' management of wound care.

  7. User's guide for remote access of the Performance Assessment Center

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, C.R.; Kostelnik, K.M.

    1991-03-01

    The Performance Assessment Center (PAC) was established by the Department of Energy's National Low-Level Waste Management Program to provide technical assistance to support the development of low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities. This user's manual provides guidance to remote users of the PAC. Information is presented on how remote users may most effectively access and use the systems available at the Performance Assessment Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Access requirements and operating procedures are presented to assist the first-time PAC user. This manual also provides brief descriptions of each code available on the system

  8. EPRI fuel performance data base: user's manual. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simpson, J.; Lee, S.; Rumble, E.

    1980-10-01

    This user's manual provides instructions for accessing the data in the EPRI fuel performance data base (FPDB) and manipulating that data to solve specific problems that the user wishes to specify. The user interacts with the FPDB through the Relational Information Management System (RIMS) computer program. The structure and format of the FPDB and the general syntax of the data base commands are described. Instructions follow for the use of each command. Appendixes provide more detailed information about the FPDB and its software. The FPDB currently resides on a PRIME-750 computer

  9. A Practical Guide for Building a Digital Library: User-Focused Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Qin; Guevara, Sophia

    2009-01-01

    With changing user expectations, many libraries are moving toward digital content. Accessible from anywhere at any time, digital content provides users with efficient, on-demand information experiences. Accordingly, librarians are presented with challenges and opportunities to build, manage, and implement outreach strategies that promote their…

  10. Interaction Control Protocols for Distributed Multi-user Multi-camera Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gareth W Daniel

    2003-10-01

    Full Text Available Video-centred communication (e.g., video conferencing, multimedia online learning, traffic monitoring, and surveillance is becoming a customary activity in our lives. The management of interactions in such an environment is a complicated HCI issue. In this paper, we present our study on a collection of interaction control protocols for distributed multiuser multi-camera environments. These protocols facilitate different approaches to managing a user's entitlement for controlling a particular camera. We describe a web-based system that allows multiple users to manipulate multiple cameras in varying remote locations. The system was developed using the Java framework, and all protocols discussed have been incorporated into the system. Experiments were designed and conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of these protocols, and to enable the identification of various human factors in a distributed multi-user and multi-camera environment. This work provides an insight into the complexity associated with the interaction management in video-centred communication. It can also serve as a conceptual and experimental framework for further research in this area.

  11. IAC user manual

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vos, R. G.; Beste, D. L.; Gregg, J.

    1984-01-01

    The User Manual for the Integrated Analysis Capability (IAC) Level 1 system is presented. The IAC system currently supports the thermal, structures, controls and system dynamics technologies, and its development is influenced by the requirements for design/analysis of large space systems. The system has many features which make it applicable to general problems in engineering, and to management of data and software. Information includes basic IAC operation, executive commands, modules, solution paths, data organization and storage, IAC utilities, and module implementation.

  12. Volatility Spillovers Across User-Generated Content and Stock Market Performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. van Dieijen (Myrthe); A. Borah (Abhishek); G.J. Tellis (Gerard); Ph.H.B.F. Franses (Philip Hans)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractVolatility is an important metric of financial performance, indicating uncertainty or risk. So, predicting and managing volatility is of interest to both company managers and investors. This study investigates whether volatility in user-generated content (UGC) can spill over to

  13. THE SEGMENTATION OF FACEBOOK USERS FROM ROMANIA BY WOM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANA RALUCA CHIOSA

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The novelty of the research is the study of the Facebook eWOM behavior of Romanian users. The study was conducted on 640 respondents aged between 19 and 45 years old and it is representative for the population of internet users in urban areas of Romania. Statistical analysis aimed to identify the profile of Facebook users by grouping them into clusters. The analysis was performed in the SPSS software. The most important variable is “the actual process of using Facebook to seek product recommendation is pleasant” (cluster 1, followed by “seeking product recommendation on Facebook is enjoyable” (cluster 2. Dayly time spent on Facebook (cluster 3 is the variable with the slightest importance. The research results showed two consumer segments with different characteristics regarding eWOM behavior on Facebook. This information will help the marketing manager to adapt the social media communication and the promotion strategy according to the profile of each target. The companies should pay attention to their brand pages, to interact with users and to encourage them to recommend their products. Facebook brand page managers can launch creative contests or promotions, initiate interesting discussions or interactive activities, offer coupons or gifts.

  14. Electronic referrals: what matters to the users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Jim; Gu, Yulong; Day, Karen; White, Sue; Pollock, Malcolm

    2012-01-01

    Between September 2010 and May 2011 we evaluated three implementations of electronic referral (eReferral) systems at Hutt Valley, Northland and Canterbury District Health Boards in New Zealand. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered through project documentation, database records and stakeholder interviews. This paper reports on the user perspectives based on interviews with 78 clinical, management and operational stakeholders in the three regions. Themes that emerge across the regions are compared and synthesised. Interviews focused on pre-planned domains including quality of referral, ease of use and patient safety, but agendas were adapted progressively to elaborate and triangulate on themes emerging from earlier interviews and to clarify indications from analysis of database records. The eReferral users, including general practitioners, specialists and administrative staff, report benefits in the areas of: (1) availability and transparency of referral-related data; (2) work transformation; (3) improved data quality and (4) the convenience of auto-population from the practice management system into the referral forms. eReferral provides enhanced visibility of referral data and status within the limits of the implementation (which only goes to the hospital door in some cases). Users in all projects indicated the desire to further exploit IT to enhance two-way communication between community and hospital. Reduced administrative handling is a clear work transformation benefit with mixed feedback regarding clinical workload impact. Innovations such as GP eReferral triaging teams illustrate the further potential for workflow transformation. Consistent structure in eReferrals, as well as simple legibility, enhances data quality. Efficiency and completeness is provided by auto-population of forms from system data, but opens issues around data accuracy. All three projects highlight the importance of user involvement in design, implementation and refinement. In

  15. User's manual for the reactor burnup system, REBUS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olson, A.P.; Regis, J.P.; Meneley, D.A.; Hoover, L.J.

    1972-01-01

    A user's manual for the REBUS System (REactor BUrnup System) is presented. Its primary purpose is to provide sufficient information about the REBUS capability to the user to ensure its efficient utilization. The current REBUS System either solves for the infinite time (equilibrium) operating conditions of a recycle system under fixed conditions, or solves for operating conditions during a single time step (non-equilibrium). The capability of studying various in-reactor fuel management and ex-reactor fuel management schemes has been included. REBUS has been operated with one- and two-dimensional diffusion theory neutronics solutions up to the present time. The model was specifically designed for extension to other neutronics models such as three-dimensional diffusion or transport theory and direct or synthesis solutions

  16. VMTL: a language for end-user model transformation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Acretoaie, Vlad; Störrle, Harald; Strüber, Daniel

    2016-01-01

    , these languages are largely ill-equipped for adoption by end-user modelers in areas such as requirements engineering, business process management, or enterprise architecture. We aim to introduce a model transformation language addressing the skills and requirements of end-user modelers. With this contribution, we......Model transformation is a key enabling technology of Model-Driven Engineering (MDE). Existing model transformation languages are shaped by and for MDE practitioners—a user group with needs and capabilities which are not necessarily characteristic of modelers in general. Consequently...... hope to broaden the application scope of model transformation and MDE technology in general. We discuss the profile of end-user modelers and propose a set of design guidelines for model transformation languages addressing them. We then introduce Visual Model Transformation Language (VMTL) following...

  17. Operating the EOSDIS at the land processes DAAC managing expectations, requirements, and performance across agencies, missions, instruments, systems, and user communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalvelage, T.A.; ,

    2002-01-01

    NASA developed the Earth Observing System (EOS) during the 1990'S. At the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), located at the USGS EROS Data Center, the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is required to support heritage missions as well as Landsat 7, Terra, and Aqua. The original system concept of the early 1990'S changed as each community had its say - first the managers, then engineers, scientists, developers, operators, and then finally the general public. The systems at the LP DAAC - particularly the largest single system, the EOSDIS Core System (ECS) - are changing as experience accumulates, technology changes, and each user group gains influence. The LP DAAC has adapted as contingencies were planned for, requirements and therefore plans were modified, and expectations changed faster than requirements could hope to be satisfied. Although not responsible for Quality Assurance of the science data, the LP DAAC works to ensure the data are accessible and useable by influencing systems, capabilities, and data formats where possible, and providing tools and user support as necessary. While supporting multiple missions and instruments, the LP DAAC also works with and learns from multiple management and oversight groups as they review mission requirements, system capabilities, and the overall operation of the LP DAAC. Stakeholders, including the Land Science community, are consulted regularly to ensure that the LP DAAC remains cognizant and responsive to the evolving needs of the user community. Today, the systems do not look or function as originally planned, but they do work, and they allow customers to search and order of an impressive amount of diverse data.

  18. HANARO user support and training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Eun Joo; Kim, K. Y.; Kim, B. K.

    2009-06-01

    This project is aimed to support external users for the effective use of HANARO. The total number of projects selected as the beneficiary of the supporting program by MEST was 21 including this project in this year. We supported 1,850 hr measurements for the 24 requests of the 16 projects selected on the field of neutron beam utilization. In the field of materials and nuclear fuel irradiation test the 2 projects were selected and supported for 108 samples. In the fields of neutron activation analysis and radioisotope production the number of selected and supported projects was 1 respectively. In order to broaden potential user base, maximize instrument utilization, and enhance cooperation with industries, universities and institutes, practice-oriented HANARO user training courses were held for neutron beam utilization and materials and nuclear fuel irradiation fields. The online neutron beam time allocation system was developed and applied successfully for the HRPD in this year. We are planing to apply this system to other neutron beam instruments in the near future. This project is a kind of the user-based supporting program for the maximize of HANARO utilization. The development products and the ideas and suggestions of users obtained through this projects will be collected and applied to the development of next new facilities. Also, by using the 'HANARO utilization and research information management system(HANARO4U)' we construct the research network among users at industries, universities and institutes. This network is expected to increase HANARO utilization and enhance productivity of the facilities

  19. Data base management study

    Science.gov (United States)

    1976-01-01

    Data base management techniques and applicable equipment are described. Recommendations which will assist potential NASA data users in selecting and using appropriate data base management tools and techniques are presented. Classes of currently available data processing equipment ranging from basic terminals to large minicomputer systems were surveyed as they apply to the needs of potential SEASAT data users. Cost and capabilities projections for this equipment through 1985 were presented. A test of a typical data base management system was described, as well as the results of this test and recommendations to assist potential users in determining when such a system is appropriate for their needs. The representative system tested was UNIVAC's DMS 1100.

  20. The Effect of Password Management Procedures on the Entropy of User Selected Passwords

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enamait, John D.

    2012-01-01

    Maintaining the security of information contained within computer systems poses challenges for users and administrators. Attacks on information systems continue to rise. Specifically, attacks that target user authentication are increasingly popular. These attacks are based on the common perception that traditional alphanumeric passwords are weak…

  1. Influência do subsídio financeiro e do local da realização do curso de suporte avançado de vida em cardiologia, no aprendizado da emergência cardiovascular Influence of financial subsidy and venue on advanced cardiac life support courses, in the learning of cardiovascular emergency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heberth C. Miotto

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available FUNDAMENTO: O sucesso no aprendizado da emergência depende de muitos fatores que podem ser resumidos como: aluno, instrutores e curso. OBJETIVO: Avaliar a influência do subsídio financeiro e do local da realização do curso no aprendizado da emergência cardiovascular. MÉTODOS: Analisaram-se dados referentes aos cursos de Suporte Avançado de Vida em Cardiologia (ACLS no período de dezembro de 2005 a dezembro de 2006. De acordo com o subsídio financeiro, foram divididos em: grupo 1 - subsídio integral; grupo 2 - subsídio de 50%; e grupo 3 - sem subsídio. Quanto ao local do curso, foram divididos em: local A - curso em cidade com > 1 milhão de habitantes; e local B - curso em cidade com BACKGROUND: The success in learning of emergency depends on many factors that can be summarized as: student, instructors and course. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of financial subsidy and venue of course in learning cardiovascular emergency. METHODS: Data were analyzed regarding the courses of Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS in the period from December 2005 to December 2006. In agreement with the financial subsidy, they were divided in: group 1 - integral subsidy; group 2 - subsidy of 50%; and group 3 - without subsidy. As for the venue of the course, they were divided in: locality A - study in city with> 1 million inhabitants; and locality B - study in city with <1 million inhabitants. The practical and theoretical approval and the theoretical average were compared. RESULTS: 819 students participated in ACLS: 199 (24% in group 1, 122 (15% in 2 and 498 (61% in 3. The practical and theoretical approval and the average in the theoretical exam were greater in group 3 than in other groups (p <0.05. Four hundred and eighty two (482 took the course in venue A (59% and 337 (41% in venue B. The practical approval was similar for both groups (p = 0.33, however the theoretical approval was greater in venue A (73% vs. 65% - p = 0.021 - OR = 1.44 and IC

  2. User Support of Electron Irradiation Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, S. H.; Cha, H. K.; Lee, B. C.

    2007-06-01

    The KAERI (Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute) high-power electron beam irradiation facility, operating at the energies between 0.3 MeV and 10 MeV,has provided irradiation services to users in industries, universities, and institutes via 'Project of utilization and cooperation of users of a large research facility' since 2004. A great attraction of many researchers, almost 750 persons so far according to surveys, to e-beam irradiation technology as well as the growth of participants on Workshop on Electron Beam Applications from 121 to 176 indicate the increase of demands of irradiation service. Comparing to the cases of advanced nations in this area, such as America, Japan, China, and Russia, Korea is relatively much behind in radiation technology. It is mainly due to the lack of governmental supports and investments. Active support and investment on construction and operation of electron beam user facilities would be principal factors on developments of advanced technologies. In this project, we would like to satisfy users' requests by developing the effective managing and operating system for prompt services, processes, and QA and to ultimately assist users to create additional new results, by maximizing the utilization of all available resources and activating the developments of technologies of electron beam processing

  3. Training Requirements and Information Management System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cillan, T.F.; Hodgson, M.A.

    1992-05-01

    This is the software user's guide for the Training Requirements and Information Management System. This guide defines and describes the software operating procedures as they apply to the end user of the software program. This guide is intended as a reference tool for the user who already has an indepth knowledge of the Training Requirements and Information Management System functions and data reporting requirement.

  4. 7 CFR 650.25 - Flood-plain management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... user how alternative land use decisions may affect the aquatic and terrestial ecosystems, human safety... Flood-plain management. Through proper planning, flood plains can be managed to reduce the threat to... encourages sound flood-plain management decisions by land users. (a) Policy—(1) General. NRCS provides...

  5. Information resource management concepts for records managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seesing, P.R.

    1992-10-01

    Information Resource Management (ERM) is the label given to the various approaches used to foster greater accountability for the use of computing resources. It is a corporate philosophy that treats information as it would its other resources. There is a reorientation from simply expenditures to considering the value of the data stored on that hardware. Accountability for computing resources is expanding beyond just the data processing (DP) or management information systems (MIS) manager to include senior organization management and user management. Management`s goal for office automation is being refocused from saving money to improving productivity. A model developed by Richard Nolan (1982) illustrates the basic evolution of computer use in organizations. Computer Era: (1) Initiation (computer acquisition), (2) Contagion (intense system development), (3) Control (proliferation of management controls). Data Resource Era: (4) Integration (user service orientation), (5) Data Administration (corporate value of information), (6) Maturity (strategic approach to information technology). The first three stages mark the growth of traditional data processing and management information systems departments. The development of the IRM philosophy in an organization involves the restructuring of the DP organization and new management techniques. The three stages of the Data Resource Era represent the evolution of IRM. This paper examines each of them in greater detail.

  6. A User-Centric View of Intelligent Environments: User Expectations, User Experience and User Role in Building Intelligent Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eija Kaasinen

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Our everyday environments are gradually becoming intelligent, facilitated both by technological development and user activities. Although large-scale intelligent environments are still rare in actual everyday use, they have been studied for quite a long time, and several user studies have been carried out. In this paper, we present a user-centric view of intelligent environments based on published research results and our own experiences from user studies with concepts and prototypes. We analyze user acceptance and users’ expectations that affect users’ willingness to start using intelligent environments and to continue using them. We discuss user experience of interacting with intelligent environments where physical and virtual elements are intertwined. Finally, we touch on the role of users in shaping their own intelligent environments instead of just using ready-made environments. People are not merely “using” the intelligent environments but they live in them, and they experience the environments via embedded services and new interaction tools as well as the physical and social environment. Intelligent environments should provide emotional as well as instrumental value to the people who live in them, and the environments should be trustworthy and controllable both by regular users and occasional visitors. Understanding user expectations and user experience in intelligent environments, and providing users with tools to influence the environments can help to shape the vision of intelligent environments into meaningful, acceptable and appealing service entities for all those who live and act in them.

  7. Configuring a Graphical User Interface for Managing Local HYSPLIT Model Runs Through AWIPS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, mark M.; Blottman, Peter F.; Sharp, David W.; Hoeth, Brian; VanSpeybroeck, Kurt M.

    2009-01-01

    Responding to incidents involving the release of harmful airborne pollutants is a continual challenge for Weather Forecast Offices in the National Weather Service. When such incidents occur, current protocol recommends forecaster-initiated requests of NOAA's Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model output through the National Centers of Environmental Prediction to obtain critical dispersion guidance. Individual requests are submitted manually through a secured web site, with desired multiple requests submitted in sequence, for the purpose of obtaining useful trajectory and concentration forecasts associated with the significant release of harmful chemical gases, radiation, wildfire smoke, etc., into local the atmosphere. To help manage the local HYSPLIT for both routine and emergency use, a graphical user interface was designed for operational efficiency. The interface allows forecasters to quickly determine the current HYSPLIT configuration for the list of predefined sites (e.g., fixed sites and floating sites), and to make any necessary adjustments to key parameters such as Input Model. Number of Forecast Hours, etc. When using the interface, forecasters will obtain desired output more confidently and without the danger of corrupting essential configuration files.

  8. Do Smartphone Power Users Protect Mobile Privacy Better than Nonpower Users? Exploring Power Usage as a Factor in Mobile Privacy Protection and Disclosure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Hyunjin; Shin, Wonsun

    2016-03-01

    This study examines how consumers' competence at using smartphone technology (i.e., power usage) affects their privacy protection behaviors. A survey conducted with smartphone users shows that power usage influences privacy protection behavior not only directly but also indirectly through privacy concerns and trust placed in mobile service providers. A follow-up experiment indicates that the effects of power usage on smartphone users' information management can be a function of content personalization. Users, high on power usage, are less likely to share personal information on personalized mobile sites, but they become more revealing when they interact with nonpersonalized mobile sites.

  9. Water markets between Mexican water user associations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kloezen, W.H.

    1998-01-01

    Internationally, introducing water markets is regarded as a strong alternative institutional arrangement for managing irrigation water more effectively. Also in Mexico, the National Water Law of 1992 allows individual farmers as well as water user associations (WUA) to trade water. Although farmer

  10. Managing the uncontrollable: Empirical studies of user-generated content online

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lee, H.H.

    2014-01-01

    Addressing "uncontrollability' of online buzz, this thesis examines unstructured user-generated content in response to corporate social responsibility communications in the blogosphere and explores the content of company-administered co-creation communities. Analyzing text-based content online, the

  11. Programmes for tobacco and alcohol users in Australian work-places.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richmond, R; Heather, N; Holt, P

    1996-12-01

    This article presents findings from a survey of programmes available for tobacco and alcohol users working in 455 of Australia's top 600 companies. Companies were twice as likely to have programmes for smokers (43%) as for problem drinkers (24%) and these programmes were more apparent in large companies. The majority of programmes for smoking were delivered within a health promotion context which included other life-style issues, such as nutrition, exercise, weight management and stress management. Although Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) were the most commonly available type of work-place programme for excessive drinkers and other drug users, followed by Alcoholics Anonymous and local hospital clinics, only 6% had an EAP for alcohol. Only 21% of programmes for smokers and 12% for excessive alcohol users were evaluated. Around one-quarter of companies knew the costs of smoking programmes, and 9% reported costs of conducting programmes for excessive alcohol consumers.

  12. HANARO user support and training

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seong, Baek Seok; Lee, J. S.; Sim, C. M. [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2006-10-15

    The purpose of this project is to support external users to promote shared-use of HANARO effectively. To this end, external manpower was recruited and trained. Also, in order to broaden HANARO user-base, practice-oriented training was given. The total number of projects selected as a part of this program was 36 this year. These composed of four broad fields: neutron beam utilization, materials and nuclear fuel irradiation test, neutron activation analysis and radioisotope production. In each field, the number of projects was 22, 4, 6 and 4 respectively. The HANARO user supports used for these projects were carried out 40 events with 355 samples for neutron beam utilization, 16 events with 1,404 hr for materials and nuclear fuel irradiation test, 8 events with 369 samples and 4 events for radioisotope production. In order to broaden HANARO's potential user-base and increase the utilization of the HANARO experimental facility, practice-oriented HANARO user training was given. All participants from industry, academia, and national labs trained on working instruments of various fields such as neutron beam applications, materials and nuclear fuel irradiation test, and neutron activation analysis. 'HANARO (utilization and research) information management system' has been developed in an effort to create a single database. By having it available on the net, it will serve as HANARO's important 'Information Platform' along with HANARO web site

  13. Eye gaze in intelligent user interfaces gaze-based analyses, models and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Nakano, Yukiko I; Bader, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    Remarkable progress in eye-tracking technologies opened the way to design novel attention-based intelligent user interfaces, and highlighted the importance of better understanding of eye-gaze in human-computer interaction and human-human communication. For instance, a user's focus of attention is useful in interpreting the user's intentions, their understanding of the conversation, and their attitude towards the conversation. In human face-to-face communication, eye gaze plays an important role in floor management, grounding, and engagement in conversation.Eye Gaze in Intelligent User Interfac

  14. User's guide for PRISM (Plant Risk Status Information Management System) Arkansas Nuclear One-Unit 1: Volume 1, Program for inspectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Campbell, D.J.; Guthrie, V.H.; Kirchner, J.R.; Kirkman, J.Q.; Paula, H.M.; Ellison, B.C.; Dycus, F.M.; Farquharson, J.A.; Flanagan, G.F.

    1988-03-01

    This user's guide is a two-volume document designed to teach NRC inspectors and NRC regulators how to access probabilistic risk assessment information from the two Plant Risk Status Information Management System (PRISIM) programs developed for Arkansas Nuclear One -- Unit One (ANO-1). This document, Volume 1, describes how the PRA information available in Version 1.0 of PRISIM is useful for planning inspections. Using PRISIM, inspectors can quickly access PRA information and use that information to update risk analysis results, reflecting a plant's status at any particular time. Both volumes are stand-alone documents, and each volume presents several sample computer sessions designed to lead the user through a variety of PRISIM applications used to obtain PRA-related information for monitoring and controlling plant risk.

  15. Verbal learning and memory in adolescent cannabis users, alcohol users and non-users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solowij, Nadia; Jones, Katy A; Rozman, Megan E; Davis, Sasha M; Ciarrochi, Joseph; Heaven, Patrick C L; Lubman, Dan I; Yücel, Murat

    2011-07-01

    Long-term heavy cannabis use can result in memory impairment. Adolescent users may be especially vulnerable to the adverse neurocognitive effects of cannabis. In a cross-sectional and prospective neuropsychological study of 181 adolescents aged 16-20 (mean 18.3 years), we compared performance indices from one of the most widely used measures of learning and memory--the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test--between cannabis users (n=52; mean 2.4 years of use, 14 days/month, median abstinence 20.3 h), alcohol users (n=67) and non-user controls (n=62) matched for age, education and premorbid intellectual ability (assessed prospectively), and alcohol consumption for cannabis and alcohol users. Cannabis users performed significantly worse than alcohol users and non-users on all performance indices. They recalled significantly fewer words overall (pmemory performance after controlling for extent of exposure to cannabis. Despite relatively brief exposure, adolescent cannabis users relative to their age-matched counterparts demonstrated similar memory deficits to those reported in adult long-term heavy users. The results indicate that cannabis adversely affects the developing brain and reinforce concerns regarding the impact of early exposure.

  16. PIMS-Universal Payload Information Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elmore, Ralph; McNair, Ann R. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    As the overall manager and integrator of International Space Station (ISS) science payloads and experiments, the Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) at Marshall Space Flight Center had a critical need to provide an information management system for exchange and management of ISS payload files as well as to coordinate ISS payload related operational changes. The POIC's information management system has a fundamental requirement to provide secure operational access not only to users physically located at the POIC, but also to provide collaborative access to remote experimenters and International Partners. The Payload Information Management System (PIMS) is a ground based electronic document configuration management and workflow system that was built to service that need. Functionally, PIMS provides the following document management related capabilities: 1. File access control, storage and retrieval from a central repository vault. 2. Collect supplemental data about files in the vault. 3. File exchange with a PMS GUI client, or any FTP connection. 4. Files placement into an FTP accessible dropbox for pickup by interfacing facilities, included files transmitted for spacecraft uplink. 5. Transmission of email messages to users notifying them of new version availability. 6. Polling of intermediate facility dropboxes for files that will automatically be processed by PIMS. 7. Provide an API that allows other POIC applications to access PIMS information. Functionally, PIMS provides the following Change Request processing capabilities: 1. Ability to create, view, manipulate, and query information about Operations Change Requests (OCRs). 2. Provides an adaptable workflow approval of OCRs with routing through developers, facility leads, POIC leads, reviewers, and implementers. Email messages can be sent to users either involving them in the workflow process or simply notifying them of OCR approval progress. All PIMS document management and OCR workflow controls are

  17. Federal Emergency Management Information system (FEMIS) data management guide. Version 1.2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burnett, R.A.; Downing, T.R.; Gaustad, K.L.; Johnson, S.M.; Loveall, R.M.; Winters, C.

    1996-05-01

    The Federal Emergency Management Information System (FEMIS) is an emergency management planning and analysis tool that is being developed under the direction of the US Army Chemical and Biological Defense Command. The FEMIS Data Management Guide provides the background, as well as the operations and procedures needed to generate and maintain the data resources in the system. Database administrators, system administrators, and general users can use this guide to manage the data files and database that support the administrative, user-environment, database management, and operational capabilities of FEMIS. This document provides a description of the relational and spatial information present in FEMIS. It describes how the data was assembled, how it is loaded, and how it is managed while the system is in operation.

  18. Progress Report Phase I: Use, access, and fire/fuels management attitudes and preferences of user groups concerning the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) and adjacent areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurt F. Anschuetz; Carol B. Raish

    2010-01-01

    This document represents a progress report of activities completed during Phase I of the study titled, Use, Access, and Fire/Fuels Management Attitudes and Preferences of User Groups Concerning the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP) and Adjacent Areas, and the preliminary findings of this work.

  19. HANARO user support and training

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Shin Ae; Kim, K. Y.; Kim, B. K. (and others)

    2008-06-15

    This project is aimed to support external users for the effective use of HANARO. The total number of projects selected as the beneficiary of the supporting program by MEST was 21 including this project in this year. We supported 2,339 hr measurements for the 31 requests of the 14 projects selected on the field of neutron beam utilization. In the field of materials and nuclear fuel irradiation test the 3 projects were selected and supported for 80 samples. In the fields of neutron activation analysis and radioisotope production the number of selected and supported projects were 1 and 2 respectively. In order to broaden potential user base, maximize instrument utilization, and enhance cooperation with industries, universities and institutes, practice-oriented HANARO user training courses were held for neutron beam utilization and materials and nuclear fuel irradiation fields. In the fields of neutron activation analysis 3 times training courses were held for the university students. The online neutron beam time allocation system was developed and applied successfully for the HRPD in this year. We are planing to apply this system to other neutron beam instruments in the near future. This project is a kind of the user-based supporting program for the maximize of HANARO utilization. The development products and the ideas and suggestions of users obtained through this projects will be collected and applied to the development of next new facilities. Also, by using the 'HANARO utilization and research information management system(HANARO4U)' we construct the research network among users at industries, universities and institutes. This network is expected to increase HANARO utilization and enhance productivity of the facilities.

  20. 76 FR 18554 - Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and Recommendations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-04

    ... and screen 1500 injection drug users and 1500 high-risk heterosexuals using venue- based, convenience sampling methods. For the clinic survey, we intend to recruit and screen 2400 HIV-positive individuals...

  1. Wildlife Co-management defined: The Beverly and Kaminuriak Caribou Management Board

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donald C. Thomas

    1991-10-01

    Full Text Available A comparison of indigenous and scientific forms of wildlife data gathering and conservation/management reveals similarities and differences. The two systems are needed to effectively manage wildlife in northern Canada, particularly migratory, trans-boundary species. The Beverly and Kaminuriak Caribou Management Board brought multi-jurisdictional caribou users and managers together to co-manage two large herds of caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlan-dicus. The advisory Board's principal duties and responsibilities are communication and to maintain the two herds at population levels that will meet user needs. Goals, objectives, and principles are set out in a management plan. Board activities are structured in 15 action plans under major categories of communication, supply of caribou, use of caribou, and habitat. Board successes are attributed to use of the plan to guide actions; to the Chairmen and vice-Chairmen; to the quality of founding members and their continuity; to effective vehicles of communication such as a newspaper, radio, video, and community meetings; to a spirit of cooperation; and to high caribou numbers because of high productivity combined with poor accessibility. Problem areas include technical limitations, members' decreasing powers and increasing turnover, inadequate communication of Board objectives and activities within the communities, and accountability. Future challenges include the management of caribou shortages, obtaining better herd data, and the need for more intensive management as user populations grow.

  2. Users' experiences of an emergency department patient admission predictive tool: A qualitative evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jessup, Melanie; Crilly, Julia; Boyle, Justin; Wallis, Marianne; Lind, James; Green, David; Fitzgerald, Gerard

    2016-09-01

    Emergency department overcrowding is an increasing issue impacting patients, staff and quality of care, resulting in poor patient and system outcomes. In order to facilitate better management of emergency department resources, a patient admission predictive tool was developed and implemented. Evaluation of the tool's accuracy and efficacy was complemented with a qualitative component that explicated the experiences of users and its impact upon their management strategies, and is the focus of this article. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 pertinent users, including bed managers, after-hours managers, specialty department heads, nurse unit managers and hospital executives. Analysis realised dynamics of accuracy, facilitating communication and enabling group decision-making Users generally welcomed the enhanced potential to predict and plan following the incorporation of the patient admission predictive tool into their daily and weekly decision-making processes. They offered astute feedback with regard to their responses when faced with issues of capacity and communication. Participants reported an growing confidence in making informed decisions in a cultural context that is continually moving from reactive to proactive. This information will inform further patient admission predictive tool development specifically and implementation processes generally. © The Author(s) 2015.

  3. Business Performer-Centered Design of User Interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sousa, Kênia; Vanderdonckt, Jean

    Business Performer-Centered Design of User Interfaces is a new design methodology that adopts business process (BP) definition and a business performer perspective for managing the life cycle of user interfaces of enterprise systems. In this methodology, when the organization has a business process culture, the business processes of an organization are firstly defined according to a traditional methodology for this kind of artifact. These business processes are then transformed into a series of task models that represent the interactive parts of the business processes that will ultimately lead to interactive systems. When the organization has its enterprise systems, but not yet its business processes modeled, the user interfaces of the systems help derive tasks models, which are then used to derive the business processes. The double linking between a business process and a task model, and between a task model and a user interface model makes it possible to ensure traceability of the artifacts in multiple paths and enables a more active participation of business performers in analyzing the resulting user interfaces. In this paper, we outline how a human-perspective is used tied to a model-driven perspective.

  4. Information resource management concepts for records managers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seesing, P.R.

    1992-10-01

    Information Resource Management (ERM) is the label given to the various approaches used to foster greater accountability for the use of computing resources. It is a corporate philosophy that treats information as it would its other resources. There is a reorientation from simply expenditures to considering the value of the data stored on that hardware. Accountability for computing resources is expanding beyond just the data processing (DP) or management information systems (MIS) manager to include senior organization management and user management. Management's goal for office automation is being refocused from saving money to improving productivity. A model developed by Richard Nolan (1982) illustrates the basic evolution of computer use in organizations. Computer Era: (1) Initiation (computer acquisition), (2) Contagion (intense system development), (3) Control (proliferation of management controls). Data Resource Era: (4) Integration (user service orientation), (5) Data Administration (corporate value of information), (6) Maturity (strategic approach to information technology). The first three stages mark the growth of traditional data processing and management information systems departments. The development of the IRM philosophy in an organization involves the restructuring of the DP organization and new management techniques. The three stages of the Data Resource Era represent the evolution of IRM. This paper examines each of them in greater detail.

  5. Development of a Web-Based Self-management Intervention for Intermittent Urinary Catheter Users With Spinal Cord Injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilde, Mary H; Fairbanks, Eileen; Parshall, Robert; Zhang, Feng; Miner, Sarah; Thayer, Deborah; Harrington, Brian; Brasch, Judith; McMAHON, James M

    2015-11-01

    While Web-based interventions have proliferated recently, information in the literature is often lacking about how the intervention was developed. In response to that gap, this is a report of the development of a Web-based self-management intervention for intermittent urinary catheter users and pretesting with four adults with spinal cord injury living in the community. Two Web sites were created, one for recruitment and the other for the intervention itself. The intervention involved developing new Web-based technology, including an interactive urinary diary (with fluid intake/urine output and a journal), extensive catheter products information, three intervention nurse phone call consultations, and user-community discussion forums. Study participants completed an online survey and were interviewed twice about the enrollment process and their perceptions of their involvement in the intervention. Suggestions from the pretesting participants were used to revise the Web site applications prior to the next stage of research (a feasibility study). Numerous recommendations and comments were received related to content, interactivity of components, and usability. This article provides a description of how the Web sites were developed (including the technology and software programs used), issues encountered and what was done to address them, and how the Web-based intervention was modified for improvements.

  6. Electronic health record "super-users" and "under-users" in ambulatory care practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rumball-Smith, Juliet; Shekelle, Paul; Damberg, Cheryl L

    2018-01-01

    This study explored variation in the extent of use of electronic health record (EHR)-based health information technology (IT) functionalities across US ambulatory care practices. Use of health IT functionalities in ambulatory care is important for delivering high-quality care, including that provided in coordination with multiple practitioners. We used data from the 2014 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics survey. The responses of 30,123 ambulatory practices with an operational EHR were analyzed to examine the extent of use of EHR-based health IT functionalities for each practice. We created a novel framework for classifying ambulatory care practices employing 7 domains of health IT functionality. Drawing from the survey responses, we created a composite "use" variable indicating the extent of health IT functionality use across these domains. "Super-user" practices were defined as having near-full employment of the 7 domains of health IT functionalities and "under-users" as those with minimal or no use of health IT functionalities. We used multivariable logistic regression to investigate how the odds of super-use and under-use varied by practice size, type, urban or rural location, and geographic region. Seventy-three percent of practices were not using EHR technologies to their full capability, and nearly 40% were classified as under-users. Under-user practices were more likely to be of smaller size, situated in the West, and located outside a metropolitan area. To achieve the broader benefits of the EHR and health IT, health systems and policy makers need to identify and address barriers to full use of health IT functionalities.

  7. Save medical personnel's time by improved user interfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindler, H

    1997-01-01

    Common objectives in the industrial countries are the improvement of quality of care, clinical effectiveness, and cost control. Cost control, in particular, has been addressed through the introduction of case mix systems for reimbursement by social-security institutions. More data is required to enable quality improvement, increases in clinical effectiveness and for juridical reasons. At first glance, this documentation effort is contradictory to cost reduction. However, integrated services for resource management based on better documentation should help to reduce costs. The clerical effort for documentation should be decreased by providing a co-operative working environment for healthcare professionals applying sophisticated human-computer interface technology. Additional services, e.g., automatic report generation, increase the efficiency of healthcare personnel. Modelling the medical work flow forms an essential prerequisite for integrated resource management services and for co-operative user interfaces. A user interface aware of the work flow provides intelligent assistance by offering the appropriate tools at the right moment. Nowadays there is a trend to client/server systems with relational databases or object-oriented databases as repository. The work flows used for controlling purposes and to steer the user interfaces must be represented in the repository.

  8. Gender-based violence and HIV sexual risk behavior: alcohol use and mental health problems as mediators among women in drinking venues, Cape Town.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitpitan, Eileen V; Kalichman, Seth C; Eaton, Lisa A; Sikkema, Kathleen J; Watt, Melissa H; Skinner, Donald

    2012-10-01

    Gender-based violence is a key determinant of HIV infection among women in South Africa as elsewhere. However, research has not examined potential mediating processes to explain the link between experiencing abuse and engaging in HIV sexual risk behavior. Previous studies suggest that alcohol use and mental health problems may explain how gender-based violence predicts sexual risk. In a prospective study, we examined whether lifetime history of gender-based violence indirectly affects future sexual risk behavior through alcohol use, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a high-risk socio-environmental context. We recruited a cohort of 560 women from alcohol drinking venues in a Cape Town, South African township. Participants completed computerized interviews at baseline and 4 months later. We tested prospective mediating associations between gender-based violence, alcohol use, depression, PTSD, and sexual risk behavior. There was a significant indirect effect of gender-based violence on sexual risk behavior through alcohol use, but not mental health problems. Women who were physically and sexually abused drank more, which in turn predicted more unprotected sex. We did not find a mediated relationship between alcohol use and sexual risk behavior through the experience of recent abuse or mental health problems. Alcohol use explains the link between gender-based violence and sexual risk behavior among women attending drinking venues in Cape Town, South Africa. Efforts to reduce HIV risk in South Africa by addressing gender-based violence must also address alcohol use. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. User guide to power management for PCs and monitors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nordman, B.; Piette, M.A.; Kinney, K.; Webber, C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab., CA (United States). Environmental Energy Technologies Div.

    1997-01-01

    Power management of personal computers (PCs) and monitors has the potential to save significant amounts of electricity as well as deliver other economic and environmental benefits. The Environmental Protection Agency`s ENERGY STAR{reg_sign} program has transformed the PC market so that equipment capable of power management is now widely available. However, previous studies have found that many Energy Star compliant computer systems are not accomplishing energy savings. The principal reasons for this are systems not being enabled for power management or a circumstance that prevents power management from operating. This guide is intended to provide information to computer support workers to increase the portion of systems that successfully power manage. The guide introduces power management concepts and the variety of benefits that power management can bring. It then explains how the parts of a computer system work together to enter and leave power management states. Several common computer system types are addressed, as well as the complications that networks bring to power management. Detailed instructions for checking and configuring several system types are provided, along with trouble shooting advice. The guide concludes with a discussion of how to purchase Energy Star compliant systems and future directions for power management of PCs and related equipment.

  10. User interface user's guide for HYPGEN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Ing-Tsau

    1992-01-01

    The user interface (UI) of HYPGEN is developed using Panel Library to shorten the learning curve for new users and provide easier ways to run HYPGEN for casual users as well as for advanced users. Menus, buttons, sliders, and type-in fields are used extensively in UI to allow users to point and click with a mouse to choose various available options or to change values of parameters. On-line help is provided to give users information on using UI without consulting the manual. Default values are set for most parameters and boundary conditions are determined by UI to further reduce the effort needed to run HYPGEN; however, users are free to make any changes and save it in a file for later use. A hook to PLOT3D is built in to allow graphics manipulation. The viewpoint and min/max box for PLOT3D windows are computed by UI and saved in a PLOT3D journal file. For large grids which take a long time to generate on workstations, the grid generator (HYPGEN) can be run on faster computers such as Crays, while UI stays at the workstation.

  11. The use of Graphic User Interface for development of a user-friendly CRS-Stack software

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sule, Rachmat; Prayudhatama, Dythia; Perkasa, Muhammad D.; Hendriyana, Andri; Fatkhan; Sardjito; Adriansyah

    2017-04-01

    The development of a user-friendly Common Reflection Surface (CRS) Stack software that has been built by implementing Graphical User Interface (GUI) is described in this paper. The original CRS-Stack software developed by WIT Consortium is compiled in the unix/linux environment, which is not a user-friendly software, so that a user must write the commands and parameters manually in a script file. Due to this limitation, the CRS-Stack become a non popular method, although applying this method is actually a promising way in order to obtain better seismic sections, which have better reflector continuity and S/N ratio. After obtaining successful results that have been tested by using several seismic data belong to oil companies in Indonesia, it comes to an idea to develop a user-friendly software in our own laboratory. Graphical User Interface (GUI) is a type of user interface that allows people to interact with computer programs in a better way. Rather than typing commands and module parameters, GUI allows the users to use computer programs in much simple and easy. Thus, GUI can transform the text-based interface into graphical icons and visual indicators. The use of complicated seismic unix shell script can be avoided. The Java Swing GUI library is used to develop this CRS-Stack GUI. Every shell script that represents each seismic process is invoked from Java environment. Besides developing interactive GUI to perform CRS-Stack processing, this CRS-Stack GUI is design to help geophysicists to manage a project with complex seismic processing procedures. The CRS-Stack GUI software is composed by input directory, operators, and output directory, which are defined as a seismic data processing workflow. The CRS-Stack processing workflow involves four steps; i.e. automatic CMP stack, initial CRS-Stack, optimized CRS-Stack, and CRS-Stack Supergather. Those operations are visualized in an informative flowchart with self explanatory system to guide the user inputting the

  12. User habits and multimodal route planning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Géza Katona

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The results of route planning researches are monitored by logistic and automotive industries. The economic aspects of the cost saving are in the focus of the attention. An optimal route could cause time or fuel savings. An effective driving or an optimal route is a good basis to achieve an economical aim. Moreover the spread of new automotive solutions especially in case of electric cars the optimisation has particular significance regarding the limited battery storage. Additionally the autonomous car development could not be neglected. As a result the society could expect safer roads, better space usage and effective resource management. Nevertheless the requirements of users are extremely diverse, which is not negligible. Supporting these aims, in this paper the connection between the multimodal route planning and the user requirements are investigated. The examination is focused to a sensitivity analysis and a survey to evaluate the data and support the settings of a user habit effect to the final route.

  13. Continuous Briefing and User Participation in Building Projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Per Anker

    2006-01-01

    and the methods for user participation, identifies problem areas and point out possible improvements. The author has been actively involved in the project as deputy project director with re-sponsibility for the briefing process until spring 2005 and is now a researcher.......Briefing is not just about specifying needs as requirements but also about evaluating how well design pro-posals fulfill the needs and aspirations. Furthermore, briefing is not only about building design. Briefing starts at the pre-project stage to create a basis for the project decision...... into the building is required. A building project is often part of a change process of the organisation that is going to occupy the building, and this change process should be management carefully to reach a successful result. An important aspect of briefing is to manage the par-ticipation of the coming users...

  14. Transformation Strategies for the Operation and Management of Local Cultural Museums in Nantou County

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuo-Wei Hsu

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Affected by economic recession, reductions in government subsidies, and changes in visitors’ needs and contributions, museums in Taiwan have begun to strengthen their recreational and economic functions. Nantou, which has 13 museums that showcase local cultural industries, is the county most obviously affected by declining tourist numbers and reduced cultural consumption and cultural tourism. Through surveys and interviews, this study examines the current conditions of operational management of these venues and proposes feasible strategies for their future development. Specifically, it reveals that the operation and management of Nantou’s local cultural museums are negatively impacted by the lack of (1 relevant management experience, (2 inter-museum coordination and integration, and (3 financing mechanisms. The recommended development strategies include the establishment of cross-disciplinary value-added platforms.

  15. Impact of a smoking ban in public places: a rapid assessment in the Seychelles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viswanathan, Bharathi; Plumettaz, Chloé; Gedeon, Jude; Bovet, Pascal

    2011-11-01

    We assessed the impact of a smoking ban in hospitality venues in the Seychelles 9 months after legislation was implemented. Survey officers observed compliance with the smoking ban in 38 most popular hospitality venues and administered a structured questionnaire to two customers, two workers and one manager in each venue. Virtually no customers or workers were seen smoking in the indoor premises. Patrons, workers and managers largely supported the ban. The personnel of the hospitality venues reported that most smokers had no difficulty refraining from smoking. However, a third of workers did not systematically request customers to stop smoking and half of them did not report adequate training. Workers reported improved health. No substantial change in the number of customers was noted. A ban on public smoking was generally well implemented in hospitality venues but some less than optimal findings suggest the need for adequate training of workers and strengthened enforcement measures. The simple and inexpensive methodology used in this rapid survey may be a useful approach to evaluate the implementation and impact of clean air policy in low and middle-income countries.

  16. Interactive ontology-based user modelling for personalized learning content management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Denaux, R.O.; Dimitrova, V.; Aroyo, L.M.; Aroyo, L.; Tasso, C.

    2004-01-01

    This position paper discusses the need for using interactive ontology-based user modeling to empower on the fly adaptation in learning information systems. We outline several open issues related to adaptive learning content delivery and present an approach to deal with these issues based on the

  17. Wellness and illness self-management skills in community corrections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Patricia J; Ramaswamy, Megha; Chen, Hsiang-Feng; Denny, Donald

    2015-02-01

    Community corrections provide a readjustment venue for re-entry between incarceration and home for inmates in the US corrections system. Our goal was to determine how self-management skills, an important predictor of re-entry success, varied by demographic and risk factors. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed responses of 675 clients from 57 community corrections programs run by the regional division of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. A self-administered survey collected data on self-management skills, demographics, and risk factors; significant associations were applied in four regression models: the overall self-management score and three self-management subscales: coping skills, goals, and drug use. Over one-quarter (27.2%/146) of participants had a mental health history. White race, no mental health history and high school education were associated with better overall self-management scores; mental health history and drug use in the past year were associated with lower coping scores; female gender and high school education were associated with better self-management goals; female gender was associated with better self-management drug use scores. Self-management programs may need to be individualized for different groups of clients. Lower scores for those with less education suggest an area for targeted, nurse-led interventions.

  18. Self-Perception of HIV Risk and Candidacy for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Men Who Have Sex with Men Testing for HIV at Commercial Sex Venues in New York City.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Timothy; Link, Lauren; Ramos, Michael; Bottger, Edward; Aberg, Judith; Daskalakis, Demetre

    2014-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of men who have sex with men (MSM) testing for HIV at commercial sex venues to assess the following: their candidacy for pre-exposure chemoprophylaxis (PrEP) as defined by meeting entry criteria for the iPrEx (Iniciativa Profilaxis Pre-Exposición) phase III clinical trial of PrEP, and their perception of their own HIV risk and candidacy for PrEP. Interviewers surveyed 629 MSM at three NYC commercial sex venues from June 2011 through June 2012. Questions focused on demographics, sexual activity, and drug use in the three months prior to testing, as well as perceived risk of HIV acquisition and perceived candidacy for PrEP use. Data were analyzed by Chi square and Fisher's exact test. Results show that a majority of clients (80.3%) met entry criteria for the iPrEX. Most of these men (78.0%), however, did not perceive their risk to be significant enough to warrant PrEP use (P=.000). Factors were identified which associated with a risk perception that correlated with eligibility for iPrEX.

  19. A Proposal of Product Development Collaboration Method Using User Support Information and its Experimental Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Mitsuru; Kataoka, Masatoshi; Koizumi, Hisao

    As the market changes more rapidly and new products continue to get more complex and multifunctional, product development collaboration with competent partners and leading users is getting more important to come up with new products that are successful in the market in a timely manner. ECM (engineering chain management) and SCM (supply chain management) are supply-side approaches toward this collaboration. In this paper, we propose a demand-side approach toward product development collaboration with users based on the information gathered through user support interactions. The approach and methodology proposed here was applied to a real data set, and its effectiveness was verified.

  20. Software Tools Streamline Project Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    Three innovative software inventions from Ames Research Center (NETMARK, Program Management Tool, and Query-Based Document Management) are finding their way into NASA missions as well as industry applications. The first, NETMARK, is a program that enables integrated searching of data stored in a variety of databases and documents, meaning that users no longer have to look in several places for related information. NETMARK allows users to search and query information across all of these sources in one step. This cross-cutting capability in information analysis has exponentially reduced the amount of time needed to mine data from days or weeks to mere seconds. NETMARK has been used widely throughout NASA, enabling this automatic integration of information across many documents and databases. NASA projects that use NETMARK include the internal reporting system and project performance dashboard, Erasmus, NASA s enterprise management tool, which enhances organizational collaboration and information sharing through document routing and review; the Integrated Financial Management Program; International Space Station Knowledge Management; Mishap and Anomaly Information Reporting System; and management of the Mars Exploration Rovers. Approximately $1 billion worth of NASA s projects are currently managed using Program Management Tool (PMT), which is based on NETMARK. PMT is a comprehensive, Web-enabled application tool used to assist program and project managers within NASA enterprises in monitoring, disseminating, and tracking the progress of program and project milestones and other relevant resources. The PMT consists of an integrated knowledge repository built upon advanced enterprise-wide database integration techniques and the latest Web-enabled technologies. The current system is in a pilot operational mode allowing users to automatically manage, track, define, update, and view customizable milestone objectives and goals. The third software invention, Query