An Assurance Framework for Independent Co-assurance of Safety and Security

Integrated safety and security assurance for complex systems is difficult for many technical and socio-technical reasons such as mismatched processes, inadequate information, differing use of language and philosophies, etc.. Many co-assurance techniques rely on disregarding some of these challenges in order to present a unified methodology. Even with this simplification, no methodology has been widely adopted primarily because this approach is unrealistic when met with the complexity of real-world system development. This paper presents an alternate approach by providing a Safety-Security Assurance Framework (SSAF) based on a core set of assurance principles. This is done so that safety and security can be co-assured independently, as opposed to unified co-assurance which has been shown to have significant drawbacks. This also allows for separate processes and expertise from practitioners in each domain. With this structure, the focus is shifted from simplified unification to integration through exchanging the correct information at the right time using synchronisation activities

Optimal Calibration of PET Crystal Position Maps Using Gaussian Mixture Models

A method is developed for estimating optimal PET gamma-ray detector crystal position maps, for arbitrary crystal configurations, based on a binomial distribution model for scintillation photon arrival. The approach is based on maximum likelihood estimation of Gaussian mixture model parameters using crystal position histogram data, with determination of the position map taken from the posterior probability boundaries between mixtures. This leads to minimum probability of error crystal identification under the assumed model

Price Determinants of Ranch Horses Sold at Auction in Texas

A hedonic pricing model was used to determine parameters affecting ranch horse prices at two Texas auctions. Color, sex, age-sex interaction, sale order, and consigning ranch were all found to significantly affect price. Sire analysis found that progeny performance records did not significantly affect price.auction, hedonic model, ranch horses, Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries, C01, Q10,

Building Momentum to Sustain Social Change Evaluation of the of Katrina Women's Response Fund

In the time that has passed since powerful hurricanes decimated the Gulf Coast region in 2005, the recovery and rebuilding process continues to expose the deep vulnerabilities of a society that has not effectively addressed the legacy of racism. In response to the injustices, human suffering, destruction, and massive displacement caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Ms. Foundation for Women, WFN and its partner funds, with the $1.3 million support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, continued to strengthen the Katrina Women's Response Fund (KWRF)

A Profile of Top Performers on the Uniform CPA Exam

The Elijah Watt Sells Award, one of the most prestigious professional awards in the US, honors top performers on the Uniform CPA Examination. This article provides statistics by state and by gender of past award winners, from the first CPA exam in 1923 through the most recent available exam results for 2012. In addition, it presents a profile of the top performers based on the results of a survey administered by the authors to recent Sells Award winners. Specifically, the survey examined the recipient\u27s educational level, the amount and type of preparation, and the impact of the award on the winner\u27s career. It is hoped that future candidates and state boards of accountancy will find this information useful and that this discussion will further promote the award\u27s prestige. This discussion focused on winners of the Elijah Watt Sells Award for outstanding performance on the CPA exam, providing data by state and by gender for the period from 1924 through 2012

Are Bay County Florida Healthcare Facilities Ready for PAMA Imaging CDS Mandate?

The Electronic Health Record (EHR) has been a major player on the healthcare scene in recent years. Its use has ushered in a new phase of focus on quality healthcare combined with and aided by technological integration. Within this technological integration have come adjutant tools including Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tools. Among these applications are those focused on appropriate imaging by use of CDS designed according to Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC). The imaging CDS tools are available to aid the provider in selecting the appropriate imaging study for the clinical indications present. The Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) passed in April, 2014 outlined requirements to be directed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with a mandatory implementation of imaging CDS tools for certain providers with an initial deadline of January 2017. Although the deadline has been postponed, the PAMA mandate will be a requirement in the near future. With the imaging CDS mandate implementation looming in the future, affected facilities have an opportunity to prepare their facilities for it and provide education for physicians and staff. However, with the slow adoption rate of the certified EHR, it is likely that there is also that of imaging CDS even though its efficacy has been proven. A survey of affected healthcare facilities was conducted in Bay County, Florida to determine readiness for the impending mandate. While the response rate of the survey was not low, the available sample field was small. Still, the results yielded congruent information to the state adoption rates of the certified EHR and attitudes towards imaging CDS among affected providers. This evidence will be informative to affected facilities and specifically their HIM professionals by means of the information presented. In particular, the survey respondents will benefit from the literature accompanying the survey as some may be unaware of the CMS mandate

Domestic Violence, Liminality and Precarity in the British Borderlands Polish women’s experiences of abuse and service engagement in Edinburgh

Despite extensive attempts to tackle domestic violence, it remains a pervasive, insidious and pertinent issue. This applied anthropological study attends to several unchartered dimensions of domestic violence in a previously unexplored context – namely, Polish migrant women’s experiences of abuse and associated service engagement in the United Kingdom. Research was conducted between 2013 and 2015 via a multi-sited ethnography, across institutions that administered and provided support to women experiencing domestic violence in Edinburgh. Analysis focuses on the significance of political economy in the context of domestic violence, particularly on how political economic practices relating to British statecraft intersected with Polish women’s migrant identities and experiences. Accordingly, this work is foregrounded within an intersectional paradigm of borderlands. This perspective permits this text to demonstrate how markers of difference, engendered by nation states, shaped Polish women’s experiences of abuse and their help-seeking interactions. In constructing this analysis, I draw attention to the salience of political concerns that are not typically included in discussions about domestic violence, and reflect upon their practical, existential and subjective implications. This reveals various ways in which the UK border, ethnic categorisation, and welfare governance intersected with Polish women’s migrant identities, to forge specific domestic violence realities. Throughout my analysis liminality and precarity prove prominent themes, which I argue permeated women’s experiences, their political subjectivities, and ultimately, their ability to achieve safety and protection from abuse. Principally, this work serves to create a critical discourse, highlighting how political economic factors can engender greater marginalisation and risk of domestic violence for Polish women. The research that grounds this thesis is therefore situated in the under-explored field of the anthropology of domestic violence. Through the use of ethnography, this work elucidates Polish women’s lived experiences of domestic violence and service engagement, but also the nature of the British borderlands, in which Polish women are emplaced. In doing so, this thesis illustrates the potential of anthropology for informing understandings of domestic violence, and conversely the possibility of domestic violence research for contributing to perspectives in anthropology

Space shuttle orbiter leading-edge flight performance compared to design goals

Thermo-structural performance of the Space Shuttle orbiter Columbia's leading-edge structural subsystem for the first five (5) flights is compared with the design goals. Lessons learned from thse initial flights of the first reusable manned spacecraft are discussed in order to assess design maturity, deficiencies, and modifications required to rectify the design deficiencies. Flight data and post-flight inspections support the conclusion that the leading-edge structural subsystem hardware performance was outstanding for the initial five (5) flights

VHS notes

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