Benefits, challenges and success factors of water safety plan implementation: A review

Drinking water supply is a preeminent to public health, environmental protection, quality of life, economic activity, and sustainable development. Many disasters are being recorded due to poor water quality every day. In this case, it is essential to assure safe water demand through continuous enhancement and improvement of all practices and processes related to the water supply. The Water Safety Plan (WSP) concept has become a globally recognized and accepted approach to drinking water supply management and operation. This study aims at reviewing the WSP as a risk management approach and the implementation status around the world. In addition, the four success factors of WSP implementation are discussed. The benefits, difficulties, as well as recommendation from recent studies that implemented WSP is presented. The benefits include Improved operational efficiency, improved water quality, reduced consumers, reduced production cost and reduced potential hazardous incidents. However, the main difficulties for effective WSP implementation were lack of staff training, insufficient time and fund were the main challenges. According to a literature scan, the water utilities in Arab gulf region countries do not implement WSP, thus, the author encourages water utilities in these countries to conduct WSP to improve water quality management. © 2022 Global NEST

A comparison of processing techniques for producing prototype injection moulding inserts.

This project involves the investigation of processing techniques for producing low-cost moulding inserts used in the particulate injection moulding (PIM) process. Prototype moulds were made from both additive and subtractive processes as well as a combination of the two. The general motivation for this was to reduce the entry cost of users when considering PIM. PIM cavity inserts were first made by conventional machining from a polymer block using the pocket NC desktop mill. PIM cavity inserts were also made by fused filament deposition modelling using the Tiertime UP plus 3D printer. The injection moulding trials manifested in surface finish and part removal defects. The feedstock was a titanium metal blend which is brittle in comparison to commodity polymers. That in combination with the mesoscale features, small cross-sections and complex geometries were considered the main problems. For both processing methods, fixes were identified and made to test the theory. These consisted of a blended approach that saw a combination of both the additive and subtractive processes being used. The parts produced from the three processing methods are investigated and their respective merits and issues are discussed

A Practice Improvement Project to Improve Knowledge and Perceptions of Palliative Care among Patients with Heart Failure and Cancer in the Acute Setting Using Video Enhanced Education

Background: Clear communication of the purpose and benefits of palliative care can reduce barriers to acceptance of such services for patients and families. The purpose of this practice improvement project was to assess and improve knowledge and perceptions of palliative care among patients with a diagnosis of heart failure and cancer in the acute setting using a video enhanced education intervention. Methods: This practice improvement project took place at a 555 bed teaching hospital. 18 patients referred to an inpatient palliative care consult service in the acute care setting with a diagnosis of either heart failure or cancer participated. Result: Paired sample t-tests were conducted to examine the effectiveness of the intervention in patients’ scores assessing level of palliative care awareness (Table 2). There was a significant positive difference in the scores for level of palliative care awareness before (M = 2.56, SD = 1.25) and after (M = 3.72, SD = 1.179) a five-minute video describing palliative care; t(17) = 3.82 p = .001. Discussion: Video interventions delivered at the point of care in the acute setting may be an effective tool for improving knowledge and perceptions of palliative care among patient with diagnoses of heart failure or cancer. Conclusion: The benefits of video education may be enhanced when delivered with the addition of face to face interaction by a member of the healthcare team versus a video self-administered by the patient. Further evaluation is needed

Current issues in medically assisted reproduction and genetics in Europe: research, clinical practice, ethics, legal issues and policy. European Society of Human Genetics and European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

In March 2005, a group of experts from the European Society of Human Genetics and European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology met to discuss the interface between genetics and assisted reproductive technology (ART), and published an extended background paper, recommendations and two Editorials. Seven years later, in March 2012, a follow-up interdisciplinary workshop was held, involving representatives of both professional societies, including experts from the European Union Eurogentest2 Coordination Action Project. The main goal of this meeting was to discuss developments at the interface between clinical genetics and ARTs. As more genetic causes of reproductive failure are now recognised and an increasing number of patients undergo testing of their genome before conception, either in regular health care or in the context of direct-to-consumer testing, the need for genetic counselling and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) may increase. Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) thus far does not have evidence from randomised clinical trials to substantiate that the technique is both effective and efficient. Whole-genome sequencing may create greater challenges both in the technological and interpretational domains, and requires further reflection about the ethics of genetic testing in ART and PGD/PGS. Diagnostic laboratories should be reporting their results according to internationally accepted accreditation standards (International Standards Organisation - ISO 15189). Further studies are needed in order to address issues related to the impact of ART on epigenetic reprogramming of the early embryo. The legal landscape regarding assisted reproduction is evolving but still remains very heterogeneous and often contradictory. The lack of legal harmonisation and uneven access to infertility treatment and PGD/PGS fosters considerable cross-border reproductive care in Europe and beyond. The aim of this paper is to complement previous publications and provide an update of selected topics that have evolved since 2005

The EU food regulatory policy making: Indirect effects on the food chain governance

The perpetual expansion of the EU regulatory policy making, especially in the late 1980s, created new demands regarding the governance of these policies within the EU but also at the global level. This paper examines the specific case of the EU food chain regulatory framework and investigates its implications on the food chain governance. It specifically examines how the EU food chain regulatory framework emerged with the scope to ensure higher quality, healthy and safe food along with promoting innovation and the use of modern technologies which is also part of the Commission's "Better regulation‟ agenda. Based on the regulatory governance theories, the analysis reveals that the regulating of the food chain has a two fold effect on the modes of governance and organisation in the sector at the global level. Firstly, regulating the EU food chain (process and content - requirements and levels of application) directly determines the standards and the levels in the sector that they have to comply with or "what‟ (is regulated) and "who‟ (is regulated); and secondly the politics involved in regulating affects indirectly how those regulated (the "who‟) become interdependent and interconnected in new modes of governance

A more efficient match between firms’ demand, VET supply and human capital capacities through bottom-up, participative governance

One of the main challenges facing EU territories is the development of strategies to better adapt to changing global socio-economic trends. Lifelong education and training is a main strategic tool and a key component in the achievement of EU goals. One component of the lifelong education concept is Vocational Education and Training (VET), aimed at closing the gap between workers’ skills and qualification and changing demand in labour markets. Although local partnerships seem to be an adequate tool to implement VET strategies, some authors identify obstacles that can be attributed to bad practices. Thus, more evidence is needed to support the idea that local development and public-private partnerships are optimal organisational environments for the design and implementation of VET strategies and actions at local and sub-regional levels. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to an analysis of the state of the art as regards local VET partnerships in Europe and to provide recommendations for the process of initiation and management of expert VET partnerships

A Framework of Information Systems Development Concepts

Background: Information Systems Development (ISD) is responsible for designing and implementing information systems that support organizational strategy, leveraging business models and processes. Several perspectives on this activity can be found in the literature, addressing – often in an undifferentiated manner – approaches, lifecycles, methodologies, and process models, among others. Objectives: The vast diversity of ideas and concepts surrounding ISD and the multiple underlying views on the subject make it harder for researchers and practitioners to understand the relevant aspects of this important activity. This article aims to systematize and organize ISD’s main concepts to create a coherent perspective. Methods/Approach: We conducted a literature review and thematic analysis of ISD\u27s main concepts. Results: To contribute to filling the research gap, this article proposes a new framework that addresses the key aspects related to ISD. Conclusions: The framework comprises ISD’s core concepts, such as lifecycles, process models, deployment approaches, and methodologies