Workplace screening programs for chronic disease prevention: a rapid review

This review examined the effectiveness of workplace screening programs for chronic disease prevention based on evidence retrieved from the main databases of biomedical and health economic literature published to March 2012, supplemented with relevant reports. The review found: 1. Strong evidence of effectiveness of HRAs (when used in combination with other interventions) in relation to tobacco use, alcohol use, dietary fat intake, blood pressure and cholesterol 2. Sufficient evidence for effectiveness of worksite programs to control overweight and obesity 3. Sufficient evidence of effectiveness for workplace HRAs in combination with additional interventions to have favourable impact on the use of healthcare services (such as reductions in emergency department visits, outpatient visits, and inpatient hospital days over the longer term) 4. Sufficient evidence for effectiveness of benefits-linked financial incentives in increasing HRA and program participation 5. Sufficient evidence that for every dollar invested in these programs an annual gain of $3.20 (range$1.40 to $4.60) can be achieved 6. Promising evidence that even higher returns on investment can be achieved in programs incorporating newer technologies such as telephone coaching of high risk individuals and benefits-linked financial incentive

At Issue

In this installment of At Issue, two of CiSE\u27s editorial board members describe the magazine\u27s current and future Web presence. We start with Bill Feiereisen\u27s discussion of science on the Web and what it could mean for CiSE ( Are We There Yet? ) and end with George Thiruvathukal\u27s discussion of the challenges therein ( If We Build It, Will They Come? ). CiSE\u27s official homepage is www.computer.org/cise; we gladly welcome comments with suggestions or feedback. You can contact lead editor (Jenny Stout; [email protected]) or write to either Bill or George (their email addresses appear at the end of their respective essays)

Mole drainage for increased productivity in the south west irrigation area

Heavy soils, with low rates of soil-water movement, such as those found in the South-West Irrigation Area (SWIA), require closely spaced (2-6 m apart) subsoil drainage systems to provide sufficient water movement to control the effects of salt-waterlogging on pastures. Such close spacing using traditional buried pipe or tile drainage systems is impractical. As a result, mole drainage systems, used in other parts of the world for over 50 years, have gained popularity in the SWIA in recent years. This Bulletin Farmnote reports the current ‘best-bet’ mole draining technique for SWIA conditions gathered from observations over a number of years from several mole drainage systems installed by Agriculture WA and members of the Dardanup and Wellesley LCDCs.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/bulletins/1123/thumbnail.jp

Entrepreneurial capacity, government intervention and diffusion of technologies in Uganda: Comparing the supply side of modern types of energy and mobile telephony technologies

The diffusion of modern technologies plays a critical role in job creation. Mobile Telephony Technology (MTT) has been successfully diffused in Uganda, within a short time, and with minimal government intervention. However, despite heavy government interventions, Modern Energy Technology (MET) remains outside the reach of most Ugandans. Low access to MET seems to be contributing to Uganda’s under-development and unemployment. Projects initiated to spur MET diffusion haven’t been very successful, and METs widely used in other developing countries and successfully piloted in Uganda have found minimal diffusion and failed to up-scale. Although policy makers are quick to blame poverty and ignorance for the slow diffusion of MET, the rapid diffusion of MTT in similar environments have put to doubt most these arguments. This study explored the diffusion of technologies in Uganda, using entrepreneurial capacity as an independent variable. By comparing the fast diffusing MTT with the slow diffusing MET, this study helps to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of technology diffusion in Uganda. Using government documents and a questionnaire survey targeting employees of MTT and MET vending firms, the study identifies differences in intervention related to governance, regulation and funding between MTT and MET vendors, which significantly affect some aspects of Entrepreneurial capacity. The study also found evidence of significant differences in the constructs of Entrepreneurial Capacity measured for MET and MTT vending firms that affect technology diffusion

Paper Session III-C - Accelerated Low cost Liquid Engine Stage Development for Critical Needs Missions

Based on near term mission needs for liquid engine target stages for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) Office, the Astronautcs Laboratory at Edwards AFB, California, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, have formed an unparalleled alliance to develop an accelerated low cost liquid engine target stage program. To satisfy high profile accelerated projects in support of SDIO near and long term missions, liquid target stage development is needed for a variety of mission support roles. The AL and JPL laboratories have brought to life a unique method and philosophy for creating an accelerated program to develop a liquid target stage. The philosphy utilizes inherent advantages present in surplus flight qualified components as the basis for a design start, then accelerating the design process using conservative constraints, fabricating structural components from preliminary released design drawings, and assembling the components from first release assembly drawings. Vehicle assembly is in structure specific stages, thereby allowing all design, fabrication, and assembly disciplines to run in parallel, developing a fast paced flow from ideas to assembled components. Integration is also broken into phases, with the final product assembled from the structure specific stages. By keeping multiple components and stage segments in parallel in each discipline, changes or problems can be accommodated with a minimum of disturbance, and be incorporated in final assembly with no loss of schedule