THE SCIENTIST'S PERSPECTIVE ON RISK

Risk and Uncertainty,

Assessing V and V Processes for Automation with Respect to Vulnerabilities to Loss of Airplane State Awareness

Automation has contributed substantially to the sustained improvement of aviation safety by minimizing the physical workload of the pilot and increasing operational efficiency. Nevertheless, in complex and highly automated aircraft, automation also has unintended consequences. As systems become more complex and the authority and autonomy (A&A) of the automation increases, human operators become relegated to the role of a system supervisor or administrator, a passive role not conducive to maintaining engagement and airplane state awareness (ASA). The consequence is that flight crews can often come to over rely on the automation, become less engaged in the human-machine interaction, and lose awareness of the automation mode under which the aircraft is operating. Likewise, the complexity of the system and automation modes may lead to poor understanding of the interaction between a mode of automation and a particular system configuration or phase of flight. These and other examples of mode confusion often lead to mismanaging the aircraft"TM"s energy state or the aircraft deviating from the intended flight path. This report examines methods for assessing whether, and how, operational constructs properly assign authority and autonomy in a safe and coordinated manner, with particular emphasis on assuring adequate airplane state awareness by the flight crew and air traffic controllers in off-nominal and/or complex situations

Process and Systems: A cohort study to evaluate the impact of service centralisation for emergency admissions with acute heart failure

The aim of our study was to describe the impact of emergency care centralisation on unscheduled admissions with a primary discharge diagnosis of acute heart failure (HF). We carried out a retrospective cohort study of HF admissions 1 year before and 1 year after centralisation of three accident and emergency departments into one within a single large NHS trust. Outcomes included mortality, length of stay, readmissions, specialist inpatient input and follow-up, and prescription rates of stabilising medication. Baseline characteristics were similar for 211 patients before and for 307 following reconfiguration. Median length of stay decreased from 8 to 6 days (p=0.020) without an increase in readmissions (4.7% versus 4.2%, p=0.813). The proportion with specialist follow-up increased (60% to 72%, p=0.036). There was a trend towards decreased mortality (32.2% versus 27.7% at 90 days; p=0.266). Contact with the cardiology team was associated with decreased mortality. In conclusion, centralisation of specialist emergency care was associated with greater service efficiency and a trend towards reduced mortality

Modelling the migration patterns of radiography undergraduates

The rationale for this study is a follow up to the annual survey of the SCoR 'Analysis of Students and Recent Graduates'. Whilst the survey asks many pertinent questions relating to student experiences and pressures during their training it does not allow an assessment of migration patterns. The UCAS system enables applicants to apply to up to five Universities and most take advantage of this. Universities spend a great deal of time and money recruiting students but there is little evidence of large scale modelling to consider the value. This research therefore aims to compare a candidates home town with their University of study and first post workplace in order to assess geographical migration patterns.The evidence suggests that the population of University cities is likely to grow because whilst still conceptually they lose around twenty four per cent of students at the entry point to Higher Education, a small proportion return home, numbers are boosted by the seventy per cent of graduates who stay in the area. An implication for clinical practice and the NHS is that recruitment of newly qualified Radiographers is likely to continue to be more difficult in areas remote from University cities. This situation is exacerbated in areas where the number of graduates per University is far less than the number of available jobs in the area. In terms of student recruitment, Universities could seemingly be justified in focussing on local recruitment as this provides the dominate proportion of their cohorts

Responsibility with a Safety Net:Exploring the Medical Student to Junior Doctor Transition During COVID-19

INTRODUCTION: The Foundation Interim Year-one (FiY1) Programme was part of a UK strategy to increase the medical workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the strategy was introduced urgently without evidence. We sought to explore the transition experience of medical student to FiY1 to foundation doctor, with a view to inform future undergraduate education. METHODS: In this hermeneutic phenomenology study, semi-structured individual interviews were completed with nine foundation doctors who had experience of an FiY1 placement. A template analysis approach was taken, and themes reported. RESULTS: Participants reported that FiY1 tended to offer a positive experience of transition as a stepping stone to becoming a foundation doctor. Having a degree of clinical responsibility including the right to prescribe medication with supervision was highly valued, as was feeling a core member of the healthcare team. Participants perceived that FiY1 made them more prepared for the foundation transition, and more resilient to the challenges they faced during their first foundation job. DISCUSSION: The FiY1 fostered many opportunities for junior doctors to bridge the transition to foundation doctor. Aspects of the FiY1 programme, such as early licencing and increased team membership, should be considered for final-year students in the future

Effects of radiation damage on the critical resolved shear stresses in zirconium alloys for nuclear applications

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract