From flood science to flood policy: The Foresight Future Flooding Project, seven years on.

Purpose: The Foresight Future Flooding (FFF) project researched flood risk in the UK to the year 2100 for central government, using scenarios and a national risk assessment model backed by qualitative analysis from panels of some 45 senior scientists. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of the project, both nationally and internationally. Design/methodology/approach: This paper assesses the impact of the FFF project, both nationally and internationally, using web searches, document analysis, and a questionnaire survey of key actors in the flood risk management policy field. Findings: It was found that the penetration of the project into professionals' consciousness was high in relation to other comparable projects and publications, and its impact on policy - both immediately and continuing - was profound. The FFF initiative did not create policy change, however, but facilitated its legitimation, adding impetus to what was already there, as one element of a part-catalytic and part-incremental process of policy evolution. Research limitations/implications: Special circumstances, internal and external to the project, mean that this cannot be a simple model for matching research to policymakers' needs in the future. Practical implications: Important lessons may be learnt from this project about both the methods of forward-looking foresight-type research, and the way that its results are disseminated to its target audiences. Originality/value: This is an innovative attempt to assess the impact of a new type of foresight project. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Web-based collaboration in horizontal construction

Web-based collaboration tools offer many benefits in the management of construction projects. These systems have become increasing popular in the vertical construction sector; however, they have not been widely implemented in the horizontal construction sector. Research was completed to determine how prevalent the use of web-based collaboration software is with state departments of transportations (DOT) and what needs exist within state DOTs for web-based collaboration. To learn how web-based collaboration could be implemented within state DOTs a pilot project was conducted with the Iowa DOT. This project focused on identifying the Iowa DOT\u27s project management needs on bridge projects and implementing web-based project management systems (WPMS) to meet these needs. Systems were implemented using an action research methodology in an iterative nature in order to meet the immediate needs of the Iowa DOT while working towards a long term solution. Through this process a commercial solution was selected and pilot tested on bridge construction projects. Based on previous iterations and a functional analysis of the Iowa DOT\u27s needs this solution focused on the management of contract documents, shop drawing submittals, and requests for information. Results of this pilot project and research will help provide the horizontal construction sector with information for successfully implementing WPMS. By targeting specific construction documents and beginning by initially implementing smaller scale systems, organizations may be able to improve the success of WPMS implementations and reduce the initial cost and risk of implementing WPMS

Evaluation Of An Open-Source Collaborative WebGIS Prototype In Risk Management With Students

Over the past decades, advancements in web services and web-based geospatial technologies have led to increasing delivery, access and analysis of rich spatial information over the web. With the use of open access data and open-source technology, it has become possible to make better, transparent and informed decisions for policy and decision makers. Under the framework of the European Marie Curie CHANGES project, a prototype web-based collaborative decision support platform was developed for the evaluation and selection of risk management strategies, mainly targeting flood and landslide hazards. The design of the conceptual framework was based on the initial feedback and observations obtained from field visits and stakeholder meetings of the case study areas of the project. A three-tier client-server architecture backed up by Boundless (OpenGeo) was applied with its client side development environment for rapid prototyping. The developed prototype was tested with university students to obtain feedback on the conceptual and technical aspects of the platform as well as to analyze how the application of interactive tools in the exercise could assist students in studying and understanding risk management. During the exercise, different roles (authorities, technicians, community) were assigned to each group of students for identification and selection of risk mitigation measures in the study area: Cucco village located in MalborghettoValbruna commune of North- Eastern Italy. Data were collected by means of written feedback forms on specific aspects of the platform and the exercise. A subsequent analysis of the feedback reveals that students with previous experience in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) responded positively and showed interests in performing exercises with such kinds of interactive tools for learning, compared to the ones with fewer or no GIS experience. These results also show that the prototype is useful and supportive as a decision support tool in risk management while userfriendliness, interactivity and practical aspects of the platform could be further improved

A Cloud-Based Tool for Integrating Occupational Risk Assessment Within Management Systems for {SMEs}

About 67% of workers employed in the industrial and service sectors in the European Union are currently contracted by Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which represent the economic heart of the European economy. However, this strength is counterbalanced by a considerably higher overall accident rate compared to Large Enterprises (LEs), and this trend seems to be confirmed worldwide. Moreover, most available tools for risk assessment and occupational health and safety (OHS) management are originally designed to fit the needs of LEs, resulting in a gap for SMEs. Therefore, the effective management of OHS in SMEs has become a crucial issue for researchers, practitioners and policymakers, aiming to improve the social and economic sustainability of small companies. The main purpose of this study is to provide guidelines to implement effective risk assessment processes and integrate them with OHS management systems in SMEs. A literature analysis of risk assessment and OHS management in SMEs highlights the main findings and gaps. Then, the three-phases methodology adopted is presented, outlining the main steps and outputs of the project. Finally, the web-based software tool for OHS risk analysis and management, designed to answer the specific needs of SMEs, is presented

Developing Data Extraction and Dynamic Data Visualization (Styling) Modules for Web GIS Risk Assessment System (WGRAS)

Interactive web-GIS tools play an important role in determining disaster risk assessment which ultimately result in reduction of unexpected damages, cost and saves millions of lives. Disaster management practitioners largely benefited information at their disposal about location where possible incidents are eminent, anticipate the impact and project possible outcomes to help mitigate and organize proper response. It is also important to note that, accurate and timely information is critical for coherent coordination in response to disasters. All the above can be achieved through proper data collection combined with computer assisted modelling, analysis, production and timely dissemination of spatial information. This Master’s thesis aims to extend features of Web GIS for Risk Assessment (WGRAS) project conducted at the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science at Lund University. The work includes development of tools for geospatial data acquisition and extraction from freely available external open non-commercial sources and dynamic, user-oriented map Visualization allowing user-defined symbolization and coloring resulting flexible visual portrayal of geospatial data in the web environment. In this regard, solutions are driven based upon open source, open data and implementation strictly complies with open web standard protocols and web services. As a result, WGRAS is furnished with easy and user driven raw geo-spatial data extracts for an area of interest from OpenStreetMap (OSM). Thus, data is automatically stored for later use for different spatial modelling and analysis. The second most important contribution of this thesis is the feature developed to solve visualization of geographic information through a map server where maps are generated with a pre-defined style that limits user’s visual needs. Visualization module enables dynamic definition of style (symbolization and coloring) data which assist non-GIS expert to produce instant and meaningful presentation of maps to the end user. Overall, the work in this practical thesis adds value to disaster management and analysis in terms of easy provision of data and enabling clear dissection of disaster prone areas using effective visualization mechanism.Interactive web-GIS tools play an important role in determining disaster risk assessment which ultimately result in reduction of unexpected damages, cost and saves millions of lives. Disaster management practitioners largely benefited information at their disposal about location where possible incidents are eminent, anticipate the impact and project possible outcomes to help mitigate and organized response. It is also important to note that, accurate and timely information is critical for coherent coordination in response to disasters. This can be achieved through proper data collection combined with computer assisted modelling, analysis, production and timely dissemination of spatial information. This Master’s thesis aims to extend features of Web GIS for Risk Assessment (WGRAS) project conducted at the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science at Lund University. Modules are developed to enable easy integration of geospatial data extraction from freely available sources which are open to use and non-commercial. Implementation is facilitated with intuitive user interface which allows extracts for an area by location name(s) or area defined by two latitude and two longitude values. The other major contribution of the study focuses on visualization of geographic information in the web environment. Currently, map servers use pre-defined styling mechanism which virtually doesn’t satisfy user’s visual needs. This module enable dynamic and user-oriented map visualization allowing non-GIS experts to define (symbolization and colouring) and produce instant and meaningful presentation of maps to the end user. As recommendation, visualization of geographic data in the web environment should further be examined, especially the map servers in use should integrate powerful and meaningful dynamic styling on top existing pre-defined style. In conclusion, this thesis adds value for disaster management and analysis in terms of easy provision of geographic data and enabling clear dissection of disaster prone areas using effective visualization mechanism

Adrenal lesions found incidentally: how to improve clinical and cost-effectiveness

Introduction Adrenal incidentalomas are lesions that are incidentally identified while scanning for other conditions. While most are benign and hormonally non-functional, around 20% are malignant and/or hormonally active, requiring prompt intervention. Malignant lesions can be aggressive and life-threatening, while hormonally active tumours cause various endocrine disorders, with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite this, management of patients with adrenal incidentalomas is variable, with no robust evidence base. This project aimed to establish more effective and timely management of these patients. Methods We developed a web-based, electronic Adrenal Incidentaloma Management System (eAIMS), which incorporated the evidence-based and National Health Service–aligned 2016 European guidelines. The system captures key clinical, biochemical and radiological information necessary for adrenal incidentaloma patient management and generates a pre-populated outcome letter, saving clinical and administrative time while ensuring timely management plans with enhanced safety. Furthermore, we developed a prioritisation strategy, with members of the multidisciplinary team, which prioritised high-risk individuals for detailed discussion and management. Patient focus groups informed process-mapping and multidisciplinary team process re-design and patient information leaflet development. The project was partnered by University Hospital of South Manchester to maximise generalisability. Results Implementation of eAIMS, along with improvements in the prioritisation strategy, resulted in a 49% reduction in staff hands-on time, as well as a 78% reduction in the time from adrenal incidentaloma identification to multidisciplinary team decision. A health economic analysis identified a 28% reduction in costs. Conclusions The system’s in-built data validation and the automatic generation of the multidisciplinary team outcome letter improved patient safety through a reduction in transcription errors. We are currently developing the next stage of the programme to proactively identify all new adrenal incidentaloma cases

MetaGrey Europe, A Proposal in the aftermath of EAGLE-SIGLE

In the aftermath of EAGLE, the objective of the MetaGrey Europe project is to organize a new network of European leading organisations for the collection and dissemination of grey research literature, to facilitate the access to European grey literature through a unique web-interface (metasearch engine), to increase its international visibility and to safeguard the former SIGLE records and integrate them in the new network in an OAI-PMH compliant format. The communication describes the project scope, assesses the resources, contains a risk analysis and an outline of costs and benefits and provides information about project management, communication strategy and planning.La communication décrit le projet d'un métamoteur de recherche pour la littérature grise européenne, un projet qui se situe dans la suite du reseau EAGLE et de la base de données bibliographiques SIGLE

Managing Large Scale Project Analysis Teams through a Web Accessible Database

Large scale space programs analyze thousands of requirements while mitigating safety, performance, schedule, and cost risks. These efforts involve a variety of roles with interdependent use cases and goals. For example, study managers and facilitators identify ground-rules and assumptions for a collection of studies required for a program or project milestone. Task leaders derive product requirements from the ground rules and assumptions and describe activities to produce needed analytical products. Disciplined specialists produce the specified products and load results into a file management system. Organizational and project managers provide the personnel and funds to conduct the tasks. Each role has responsibilities to establish information linkages and provide status reports to management. Projects conduct design and analysis cycles to refine designs to meet the requirements and implement risk mitigation plans. At the program level, integrated design and analysis cycles studies are conducted to eliminate every 'to-be-determined' and develop plans to mitigate every risk. At the agency level, strategic studies analyze different approaches to exploration architectures and campaigns. This paper describes a web-accessible database developed by NASA to coordinate and manage tasks at three organizational levels. Other topics in this paper cover integration technologies and techniques for process modeling and enterprise architectures

The Impact of Remote work During the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Development of Competences in Selected Areas of Project Management

Theoretical background: The growing importance of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the development of competences in selected areas of project management prompted the authors to conduct research on a group of 82 respondents working remotely on projects at the Project Management Institute Poland Chapter (PMI PC).Purpose of the article: The aim of the article is to show the impact of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of competences in selected areas of project management. The study is theoretical and empirical in nature. The theoretical part shows the factors influencing the development of competences and the conditions of remote work. In the empirical part of the survey, employees' opinions on the impact of remote (online) work during the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of competences in selected areas of project management were presented. Five areas of project management were analysed, including: working time, communication, labour costs, risk and conditions for teamwork.Research methods: Literature review and critical analysis of web research. Factor analysis was used for statistical analyses. To isolate the analysed factors, the principal components method was adopted, and the VARIMAX procedure was used as the rotation method.Main findings: The conclusions of the research confirm the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on remote work, in particular on employee competences, work time and costs, motivation, effective communication and mutual relations between employees. The results of the research broaden the knowledge on the impact of various factors on remote work and the development of competences in selected areas of project management

Development of a web application for solving the problem of project management methodology selection with fuzzy input data

Проведен анализ последних исследований и публикаций, посвященных проблеме выбора методологии управления для определенного проекта и исследованию влияния применяемой методологии на успех проекта. На основе проведенного анализа установлена необходимость автоматизации решения задачи выбора методологии для конкретного проекта. В качестве подхода для решения задачи использован метод выбора методологии управления проектом на основе нечетких представлений. В методе применена анкета с вопросами, касающимися количества людей, вовлеченных в проект, опыта работы заказчика с командой, оценки компетентности команды проекта менеджером проекта, отчетности по проекту, вероятности появления рисковых событий. Для каждой ситуации, заданной в анкете, с помощью опроса экспертов определены функции принадлежности всех рассматриваемых методологий управления проектами, т.е. их применимость к конкретной ситуации. В соответствии с ответами на вопросы анкеты по проекту, формируются функции принадлежности оценки проекта по каждому его параметру. Для всех рассматриваемых методологий рассчитываются их суммарные взвешенные расстояния от оценки проекта по анкете при использовании расстояний Хэмминга и Евклида. Выбирается тот подход, для которого вычисленные расстояния являются минимальными. Разработано веб-приложение решения задачи выбора методологии управления проектом при нечетких исходных данных "PMGuide". Данное веб-приложение применено для выбора методологии управления проектом по разработке программного обеспечения оптимизации содержания проекта "PTCQR Optimization". Исходя из результатов расчета расстояний Евклида и Хемминга от проекта до каждой из семи альтернатив (PMBOK, PRINCE2, ISO21500, SWEBOK, SCRUM, XP и KANBAN), выбрана гибкая методология SCRUM, как лучшая для условий рассматриваемого проекта. На тестовом примере подтверждена корректность работы веб-приложения для выбора методологии управления проектом "PMGuide".The analysis of the latest research and publications devoted to the problem of choosing a management methodology for a particular project and studying the influence of the applied methodology on the project's success has been carried out. On the basis of the analysis performed, the necessity of automatization of the methodology selection problem’s solution is established. The method for choosing a project management methodology based on fuzzy concepts was used as an approach for solving the problem. The method uses a questionnaire with questions regarding the number of people involved in the project, the customer’s working experience with the team, the assessment of the project team’s competence by the project manager, project reporting, and the likelihood of risk events. For each situation specified in the questionnaire, with the help of the survey of experts, the membership functions of all considered project management methodologies are defined, i.e. their applicability to a specific situation. In accordance with the answers to the questions of the project questionnaire, the membership functions of the project evaluation for each of its parameters are formed. For all considered methodologies, their total weighted distances from the evaluation of the project by the questionnaire are calculated using Hamming and Euclidean distances. The approach, for which the calculated distances are minimal, is chosen. A web application PMGuide has been developed to solve the problem of choosing a project management methodology with fuzzy input data. This web application is used to select a project management methodology for developing PTCQR Optimization software to optimize the scope of the project. Based on the results of calculating, the Euclidean and Hamming distances from this project to each of the seven alternatives (PMBOK, PRINCE2, ISO21500, SWEBOK, SCRUM, XP, and KANBAN), the flexible SCRUM methodology was chosen as the best alternative for the conditions of the considered project. The test case confirmed the correctness of PMGuide web application for choosing the project management methodology