Barriers to Electronic Records Management (ERM): An Exploratory Case Study Investigating ERM in the Deployed Environment during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom

Corporate and government organizations can use electronic records as an important strategic resource, if the records are managed properly. In addition to meeting legal requirements, electronic records can play a vital role in the management and operation of an organization\u27s activities. Corporate America is facing challenges in managing electronic records, and so too is the U.S. Air Force (USAF). The deployed environment is particularly problematic for electronic records management (ERM). This research, thus, investigates ERM in the deployed environment to identify and characterize the barriers faced by USAF personnel who deployed to locations supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. This investigation was conducted through a qualitative approach, drawing much of its rich data from in-depth interviews. An exploratory case study was designed using a socio-technical framework and inductive analysis was used to proceed from particular facts to general conclusions. The analysis revealed 15 barriers to ERM. All 15 barriers were determined to exist throughout the entire records lifecycle and were categorized based on common overarching themes. This research reveals some unique barriers contained within the context of a deployed location, while also showing that the barriers are similar to known ERM challenges

The use of building simulation within an architectural practice

This paper documents the development and implementation and use of simulation within an architectural practice and reports how its use facilitates the practice's commitment to Sustainable Design

Experience of using building simulation within the design process of an architectural practice

This paper documents work that follows on from a previous study [Morbitzer et al 2001] on the implementation of a simulation-tool into anarchitectural practice at outline design stage. Theuse of simulation is now pervasively and routinely undertaken by designers within the company toevaluate energy and environmental performance oftheir design concepts. The paper documents the changes to the interface, based on the feedback from designers. It includes a case study of how these improvements have impacted on the degree-of-use of the simulation tool by designers, the impact of the tool on the design process and the design outcome, a discussion on the development of the simulation tool, and the issues facing the architectural practice with use of simulation

International Product Differentiation Through a Country Brand: An Economic Analysis of National Branding as a Marketing Strategy for Agricultural Products

branding, marketing, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Optimizing Pulsar Timing Arrays to Maximize Gravitational Wave Single Source Detection: a First Cut

Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs) use high accuracy timing of a collection of low timing noise pulsars to search for gravitational waves in the microhertz to nanohertz frequency band. The sensitivity of such a PTA depends on (a) the direction of the gravitational wave source, (b) the timing accuracy of the pulsars in the array and (c) how the available observing time is allocated among those pulsars. Here, we present a simple way to calculate the sensitivity of the PTA as a function of direction of a single GW source, based only on the location and root-mean-square residual of the pulsars in the array. We use this calculation to suggest future strategies for the current North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) PTA in its goal of detecting single GW sources. We also investigate the affects of an additional pulsar on the array sensitivity, with the goal of suggesting where PTA pulsar searches might be best directed. We demonstrate that, in the case of single GW sources, if we are interested in maximizing the volume of space to which PTAs are sensitive, there exists a slight advantage to finding a new pulsar near where the array is already most sensitive. Further, the study suggests that more observing time should be dedicated to the already low noise pulsars in order to have the greatest positive effect on the PTA sensitivity. We have made a web-based sensitivity mapping tool available at http://gwastro.psu.edu/ptasm.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Ap

International Product Differentiation through a Country Brand: An Economic Analysis of National Branding as a Marketing Strategy for Agricultural Products

Trade policy initiatives of developed country governments are in flux. Governments’ need for new trade policy measures has arisen partly because of constraints imposed on the use of export subsidies by the Agreement on Agriculture reached as part of the Uruguay Round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1994. Further disciplines on export subsidies and other policy measures may be agreed on in the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, accentuating the need for new policy measures. While the Doha Round may not successfully reach an agreement, the current modalities show provisional agreement on the elimination of multiple forms of export subsidies. There is provisional agreement on more stringent restrictions on the use of export credit programs. Controls on exporting state trading agencies’ ability to subsidize exports are tentatively agreed (Furtan, 2005). Food aid, which can also be used to circumvent disciplines on export subsidies, is also likely to be subject to WTO disciplines.International Relations/Trade,

Disaster education in the UK

The seminar series brought together emergency management specialists and educationalists to explore how disaster management knowledge, innovation and education can contribute to building a culture of safety and resilience in the UK. The series was primarily focussed on ways of understanding UK disaster reduction contexts, though informed by contributions from other parts of the world. The strengthening of debate on practical and policy developments for disaster education helped exchange experiences and ideas about dealing with changing hazards and vulnerabilities. This contributed to wider and strengthened interest in disaster risk reduction engagement through associated educational needs. The series analysed conceptual, practical and policy issues surrounding UK disaster education. Institutional partners were The universities of Northumbria (lead), Glamorgan, UCL and Kyoto served as partners with significant inputs from practice institutions, including in hosting of seminars. This facilitated a rich mix of learning cultures from within and without the academy for open debate and awareness building regards learning and education in disaster reduction. There are consequent developments for further activities beyond the life of this grant, such as ongoing additional conference sessions on disaster education, an EU project, and a DFID funded disaster education and community resilience programme in Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. These also feed back into the UK context. The series exposed a deeply held interest in disaster education from within the UK emergency management sector. Key conclusions were the need to develop in depth grounded learning processes, integrated institutional development and mixed qualitative and quantitative tools for the job