Accounting for Disposition: A Comparative Case Study of Appraisal Documentation at the National Archives and Records Administration in the United States, Library and Archives Canada, and the National Archives of Australia

Society delegates responsibility for the selection and preservation of records of continuing value to archivists. In accepting this charge, the archival profession enters into a relationship with society in which ensuring public trust through accounting to society for the responsible management of records becomes essential. For archivists to maintain this public trust and to be accountable for appraisal, they must create, maintain, and provide access to documentation of how this process is carried out and of why particular disposition decisions are reached. Documentation that reflects that archivists have weighed relevant legislation, institutional policies, professional best practice, and societal values during the appraisal decision-making process enables archivists to demonstrate that they have arrived at responsible decisions in their selection of records for disposal or for continued retention in archives. Appraisal documentation serves as a safeguard which ensures that disposition of records occurs according to standard procedures and protects against the arbitrary and capricious destruction of records. This dissertation explores the relationship between appraisal documentation and archival accountability through a comparative case study of the units tasked with making disposition decisions at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the United States, Library and Archives Canada (LAC), and the National Archives of Australia (NAA). The research developed detailed descriptions of how appraisal is documented at each of the host institutions. Using a content analysis of documentation and interviews with archivists at NARA, LAC, and NAA regarding the appraisal documentation produced by their respective institutions, the study also assessed archivists' views regarding what constitutes documentation of appraisal that is adequate to permit archivists to be held accountable for appraisal in government archives. This comparative analysis produced preliminary guidelines for accountable documentation of appraisal that serve as a starting point for future research related to archival accountability for this core professional function

Lessons Learned: Solutions for Workplace Safety and Health

Provides case studies of workplace health hazards, regulatory actions taken, and solutions, including product and design alternatives; a synthesis of findings and lessons learned; and federal- and state-level recommendations

TRACKING AND ESTIMATING THE COMMINGLING OF MISSING U.S. SERVICE PERSONNEL: A GIS AND FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH

During times of war, the remains of fallen U.S. military service members overseas are often difficult to track postmortem as they move from their recovery location to a permanent cemetery. After a recovery, remains are typically sent to multiple temporary cemeteries, morgues, and/or identification points before reaching their final resting place. Repeated disinterments and reinterments among vast numbers of remains in multiple temporary locations may lead to unintended commingling. This analysis is meant to examine the postmortem movement of multiple U.S. military members and assess their potential for commingling based on historical records and identification reports supplied by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). The movements of five individuals are depicted using a geographic ArcGIS map where the association between individual remains can be assessed visually. When the data are available, these movements can be tracked to a grave plot-specific level. Placing basic cemetery templates over the satellite image of actual temporary and permanent cemeteries creates an interactive visual tool for assessing potential commingling by assessing possible mixture/commingling with nearby plots. This visual aid will be paired with temporal data regarding the affiliation between a set of remains and a temporary location in order to better determine the chance for any overlap between two individuals based on proximity of grave plots and commingling. This project is useful in DPAA accessioned cases where extra skeletal elements (e.g., two left ulnae) may be present or when DNA analysis determines that one case has remains from two or more individuals or is inconsistent with a proposed name association. Advisor: William R. Belche

Barriers to Electronic Records Management (ERM): An Exploratory Case Study Investigating ERM in the Deployed Environment during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom

Corporate and government organizations can use electronic records as an important strategic resource, if the records are managed properly. In addition to meeting legal requirements, electronic records can play a vital role in the management and operation of an organization\u27s activities. Corporate America is facing challenges in managing electronic records, and so too is the U.S. Air Force (USAF). The deployed environment is particularly problematic for electronic records management (ERM). This research, thus, investigates ERM in the deployed environment to identify and characterize the barriers faced by USAF personnel who deployed to locations supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. This investigation was conducted through a qualitative approach, drawing much of its rich data from in-depth interviews. An exploratory case study was designed using a socio-technical framework and inductive analysis was used to proceed from particular facts to general conclusions. The analysis revealed 15 barriers to ERM. All 15 barriers were determined to exist throughout the entire records lifecycle and were categorized based on common overarching themes. This research reveals some unique barriers contained within the context of a deployed location, while also showing that the barriers are similar to known ERM challenges

Organizational Strategies for the Adoption of Electronic Medical Records: Toward an Understanding of Outcome Variation in Nursing Homes

[Excerpt] An important element in president-elect Obama\u27s economic stimulus proposal is his plan to invest a significant proportion of federal dollars in installing electronic medical records (EMR) in U.S. healthcare institutions. In emphasizing the need for EMR, Obama is following the advice of numerous healthcare experts who have pointed out that the healthcare sector lags behind other industries in the use of computer technology. They believe the widespread use of EMR would help reduce medical errors, control the costs of healthcare, and lead to significant improvements in the quality of care Americans receive. In this paper we present preliminary results of an ongoing study of the introduction of EMR in 20 nursing homes in the New York City area. Although most observers believe EMR holds great promise for the improvement of healthcare, in fact recent studies have found mixed evidence regarding the effect of EMR on patient outcomes. The evidence we have gathered to date suggests that whether EMR has beneficial effects on the costs and quality of healthcare depends very much on the purposes and objectives nursing home managers and administrators intend to achieve through its use. That is, management strategy and style, we believe, strongly influences healthcare outcomes associated with technological innovation

Role of social organizers in assisting farmer-managed irrigation systems: Proceedings of a regional workshop of the Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems Network held at Khon Kaen, Thailand from 15-20 May 1989

Farmer managed irrigation systemsRural sociologySocial participationOrganizations

A Flight Simulation Study of the Simultaneous Non-interfering Aircraft Approach

Using a new implementation of a NASA flight simulation of the Quiet Short-Haul Research Aircraft, autopilots were designed to be capable of flying both straight in (ILS) approaches, and circling (SNI) approaches. A standard glideslope coupler was sufficient for most conditions, but a standard Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) based localizer tracker was not sufficient for maintaining a lateral track on the SNI course. To track the SNI course, a feed-forward system, using GPS steering provided much better results. NASA and the FAA embrace the concept of a Simultaneous, Non-Interfering (SNI) approach as a way to increase airport throughput while reducing the noise footprints of aircraft on approach. The NASA concept for the SNI approach for Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) aircraft involves a straight in segment flown above the flight path of a normal approach, followed by a spiraling descent to the runway. As this is a procedure that would be utilized by regional airliners, it is assumed that it would be conducted under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). GPS or INS guidance would be required to fly this approach, and it is likely that it would be necessary to fly the approach with a coupled autopilot: a stabilized, curving, instrument approach to decision altitude would be exceedingly difficult to fly. The autopilots in many current commuter and general aviation aircraft, however, were designed before the event of GPS, and do not have provisions for tracking curved paths. This study identifies problem areas in implementing the SNI circling approach on aircraft and avionics as they stand today and also gives examples of what can be done for the SNI approach to be successful