Customer Acceptance of Biometric Technology

Information intensive industries, such as the hospitality industry, are attempting to turn back the customer service clock by creating more personalized experiences for their guests. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems have enabled organizations to record and gain insight into the relationship it has with each one of its clients. The act of face and name recognition continues to remain an essential ingredient in creating positive customer service experiences. A biometric recognition system could assist hotel employees by providing an on-demand history of customers’ behaviors and preferences. A prototype was developed to simulate a hotel facial recognition system with a fingerprint identification application. The experiment also included a survey instrument to measure the likelihood of customer acceptance of biometric technology. This study concluded that user intention to adopt depended on the attractiveness of the innovation and new product attributes

Risks from Past, Current, and Potential Hanford Single Shell Tank Leaks

Due to significant delays in constructing and operating the Waste Treatment Plant, which is needed to support retrieval of waste from Hanford’s single shell tanks (SSTs), SSTs may now be required to store tank waste for two to three more decades into the future. Many SSTs were built almost 70 years ago, and all SSTs are well beyond their design lives. Recent examination of monitoring data suggests several of the tanks, which underwent interim stabilization a decade or more ago, may be leaking small amounts (perhaps 150–300 gallons per year) to the subsurface environment. A potential leak from tank T-111 is estimated to have released approximately 2,000 gallons into the subsurface. Observations of past leak events, recently published simulation results, and new simulations all suggest that recent leaks are unlikely to affect underlying groundwater above regulatory limits. However, these recent observations remind us that much larger source terms are still contained in the tanks and are also present in the vadose zone from historical intentional and unintentional releases. Recently there have been significant improvements in methods for detecting and characterizing soil moisture and contaminant releases, understanding and controlling mass-flux, and remediating deep vadose zone and groundwater plumes. To ensure extended safe storage of tank waste in SSTs, the following actions are recommended: 1) Improve capabilities for intrusion and leak detection. 2) Develop defensible conceptual models of intrusion and leak mechanisms. 3) Apply enhanced subsurface characterization methods to improve detection and quantification of moisture changes beneath tanks. 4) Maintain a flux-based assessment of past, present, and potential tank leaks to assess risks and to maintain priorities for applying mitigation actions. 5) Implement and maintain effective mitigation and remediation actions to protect groundwater resources. These actions will enable limited resources to be applied to the most beneficial actions. A systems-based approach will support extended safe storage of tank waste, reduce the risks from tank leaks, and protect human health and the environment

Implementation Plan for the Deep Vadose Zone-Applied Field Research Center

The Long-Range Deep Vadose Zone Program Plan was published in October 2010. It summarized the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) state-of-knowledge about the contaminant remediation challenges facing the deep vadose zone (DVZ) beneath the Central Plateau of the Hanford Site and their approach to solving those challenges. Developing an implementation plan is the next step to address the knowledge and capabilities required to solve DVZ challenges when needed. This multi-year plan (FY-11 through FY-20) identifies the short to long-term research, management, and execution plans required to solve those problems facing the DVZ-Applied Field Research Center (DVZ-AFRC). The schedule supporting implementation overlies existing activities and milestones from Hanford’s DOE-Environmental Management (EM) end-user projects. Success relies upon multi-project teams focused on coordinated subsurface projects undertaken across the DOE Complex combined with facilitated, problem-focused, research investments implemented through the DVZ-AFRC

Implementation Plan for the Deep Vadose Zone-Applied Field Research Center

The Long-Range Deep Vadose Zone Program Plan was published in October 2010. It summarized the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) state-of-knowledge about the contaminant remediation challenges facing the deep vadose zone (DVZ) beneath the Central Plateau of the Hanford Site and their approach to solving those challenges. Developing an implementation plan is the next step to address the knowledge and capabilities required to solve DVZ challenges when needed. This multi-year plan (FY-11 through FY-20) identifies the short to long-term research, management, and execution plans required to solve those problems facing the DVZ-Applied Field Research Center (DVZ-AFRC). The schedule supporting implementation overlies existing activities and milestones from Hanford’s DOE-Environmental Management (EM) end-user projects. Success relies upon multi-project teams focused on coordinated subsurface projects undertaken across the DOE Complex combined with facilitated, problem-focused, research investments implemented through the DVZ-AFRC