Twenty-year follow-up of a Pu/Am inhalation case

In 1983 a technician inhaled a mixture of Pu/Am aerosols in an accidental situation in the hotlab of Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). This case is of interest for long-term follow-up since the technician was relatively young (26 y) at the time of intake, no chelating agent was used to alter retention and excretion and the inhaled activity was rather high (≈20 kBq of alpha emitters). The results obtained from periodic lung counts, urinary and faecal excretions as well as from some bone and liver measurements up to the year 2003 are presented. The measurements were mainly made at PSI but also at FZK Karlsruhe, Germany, and PNNL Hanford, USA. The evaluation and dose estimation of this case was done by several institutions, such as FZK, PNNL and NRPB in addition to PSI. Elements of the case were used in international biokinetic model validation programs by EURADOS/EULEP and IAEA and the 241Am data are given as example in Annex E of the ICRP ‘Guide for the Practical Application of the ICRP Human Respiratory Tract Model'. An overview is given on the various results obtained by the different institutions using their models and methods for interpretation of the measured data. While estimation of intake varies by more than an order of magnitude, final estimation of effective committed dose varies only in the range of 0.5-1.5 S

Examining Possible Challenges in the Recruitment and Retention of Female Police Officers in the Southeast Texas Region

Despite progress in other career fields, women remain underrepresented in law enforcement by a large margin, and recent numbers have been stable. Issues for women in law enforcement have been well researched; however, few recent studies have detailed female police officers’ personal experiences. The study problem concerned the challenges and barriers faced by women who choose law enforcement as a career and their underrepresentation. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of female police officers, recruits, and applicants living in southeastern Texas and their perceptions of challenges and barriers for women in the field. Data were collected to understand women’s experiences using in-depth interviews and a qualitative questionnaire. The research questions concerned the participants’ perceptions of factors contributing to low representation, the barriers that they faced during the academy and hiring process, as officers, and while remaining in policing. The theoretical framework used to interpret results included labeling and conflict theories. A purposeful sample of seven full-time women police officers from three law enforcement agencies participated. The data analysis consisted of coding and theming, followed by describing the findings in a narrative form. Four themes emerged from the analysis: gender discrimination, sexual harassment and assault, family and personal factors, and leadership. The results may contribute to positive social change by raising awareness of women officers’ employment, discrimination and harassment concerns, and accomplishments in law enforcement. Additionally, findings may assist police administrators and legislators in creating policies and procedures that reflect awareness of female officers’ needs

Innovationsmanagement in der IT Beratung und Systemintegration

In der Dienstleistungsdomäne der IT-Beratung und Systemintegration wird das Innovationsmanagement nur unzureichend zur Sicherung zukünftiger Erfolgspotenziale eingesetzt. Mit meiner interpretativ-kritischen Forschungsarbeit möchte ich den aktuellen Stand zu diesem Thema auf Grundlage meines ethnographischen Hintergrunds sowie ausgewählter qualitativer Fallstudien aufzeigen. Ziel meiner Forschung ist, diesen Status Quo überwinden zu helfen. Im Rahmen von Aktionsforschung habe ich bei einem IT-Dienstleister einen Ansatz des Innovationsmanagements für ein Unternehmen der IT-Beratung und der Systemintegration entwickelt. Ein deduktiv hergeleitetes Domänenmodell hilft mir die Grundlagen zu Innovation und Innovationsmanagement spezifisch für die IT-Beratung und Systemintegration zu definieren. Ich zeige, dass die Industrie vornehmlich ein am Technologie- und Produkteinsatz orientiertes Innovationsmanagement ("Technology-Push") einsetzt und leiste einen Beitrag zum Verständnis der Gestaltung und Wirkung des heute üblichen Innovationsmanagements in IT-Unternehmen. Aus meiner Sicht muss dieses mit einem am fachlichen Kundennutzen orientierten Innovationsmanagement ("Market-Pull") ergänzt werden, für das ich mögliche Managementinstrumente einführe. Abschließend schlage ich Wege zum erfolgreichen Zusammenspiel dieser beiden Formen des Innovationsmanagement vor und diskutiere die noch offenen Forschungsfragen

RATIONAL POINTS ON SOME FAMILIES OF ELLIPTIC CURVES

Let E_m be the family of elliptic curves given by y^2=x^3-x+m^2, which has rank 2 when regarded as an elliptic curve over Q(m). (Here Q represents the field of rational numbers.) Brown and Myers show that a certain quadratic polynomial m(t) has the property that E_m(t) contains an additional rational point that is independent from the two original generators. This implies that there are infinitely many rational numbers n such that E_n(Q) has rank at least 3. We generalize this result, showing that every nonzero rational number n has the property that E_n sits inside such a subfamily of rank 3. Moreover, given any rational point P in E_n, there exists a quadratic polynomial m(t) and a Q(t)-point R(t) in E_m(t) that is independent from the original generators, such that the specialization to t=0 gives m(0)=n and R(0)=P. Such subfamilies can be intersected to increase the rank, demonstrating the existence of a rational subfamily of rank 4 over Q(t), and infinitely many rational numbers n such that E_n(Q) has rank at least 5. Shioda's theory of Mordell-Weil lattices is used to find the generators of such E_m(t) over both Qbar(t) and Q(t) in these cases. (Here Qbar represents the algebraic closure of Q.) All quadratic polynomials m(t) are classified by whether or not E_m(t) contains an additional rational point of low degree. Results similar to these are also obtained for other families of elliptic curves

Technical Note: On the Production and Accuracy of CNC-Manufactured Hydraulic Scale Models

This Technical Note addresses the workflow for the production of hydraulic scale models using a Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) production technique and investigates the possibilities to accurately reproduce topographical roughness features. Focusing on the construction of three scale models of unlined rock blasted tunnels, their accuracy is evaluated based on the comparison of differences between scaled prototype point clouds obtained by terrestrial laser scanning, spatially filtered meshes that served as input for the milling of the models, and digital twins of the constructed models that were created by Structure from Motion photogrammetry. The direct comparison between the point clouds and meshes as well as the comparison of derived statistical parameters show that the models could be reproduced with a high degree of accuracy. Observed deviations between the point clouds of the milled models and the milling meshes, as well as the scaled original point cloud, are identified and discussed in light of the production technique and the accuracy of the applied methods for the comparison

Low temperature transport on surface conducting diamond

Magneto-transport measurements were performed on surface conducting hydrogen-terminated diamond (100) hall bars at temperatures between 0.1-5 K in magnetic fields up to 8T.Comment: 2 pages Optoelectronic and Microelectronic Materials & Devices (COMMAD), 2012 Conferenc