Decision Support for Dynamic Barrier Management for Offshore Operations

PresentationEffective safety barrier management is a fundamental principle for prevention and mitigation of major accidents in offshore drilling and production operations. Barrier management methods such as bow tie diagrams are commonly used for identifying safety barriers in the development of safety case documentation and the performance of major accident risk assessments. In addition to such applications for establishing design baselines for offshore installations, some organizations are taking safety barrier management into the operational regime by establishing measures for assessing barrier health and assigning barrier owners to ensure that barriers are continuously maintained. The next step in effective safety barrier management is to develop and implement methods to continuously monitor barriers in real time and provide decision guidance for operations, maintenance, and management personnel regarding actions to be taken when barriers are degraded or failed. A systematic approach has been developed by DNV GL for identifying information requirements for dynamic barrier management, instrumentation or other sources of data for providing that information, decision criteria for determining when barriers are degraded or failed, and guidance for actions to be taken to restore degraded barriers and to prevent major accidents and mitigate their consequences. The resulting information framework can be used to support communication, consensus, decision making and action across technical disciplines and organizational boundaries. This paper summarizes the approach for the development of decision support tools for dynamic barrier management, and insights gained from application of the approach to offshore production and drilling operations with multiple industry partners. In addition, the paper summarizes industry research and development activities that are needed for effective implementation of dynamic barrier management in the offshore oil and gas industry

Introducing offlineness: theorizing (digital) literacy engagements

In this Insights essay, we propose a new concept of offlineness that builds on current language around digital practices, yet addresses an element of young people’s experience that is not adequately represented in current research or educational discourse. This work is informed by a recent cross-national arts-based research project that highlighted the limitations of the discourse ascribed to the nature of young people’s engagement with digital literacies. We propose a (re)theorization, which builds on a critical review of current conceptual research and digital commentaries. Theorizing offlineness as a continuum between online and offline practices is tantamount to a paradigm shift toward more nuanced understandings of young people’s digital practices. It offers researchers and educators a more precise way to speak to young people’s digital experiences, providing a productive tool to (re)construct learning and inquiry spaces in literacy research and education

”Det är upp till var och en. Samtidigt...” – En studie om förhållningssätt till alkohol hos socialarbetare som arbetar med missbruk

Author: Mia Nelson Kurdve & Malin Törneld Title: “It’s up to each and everyone. But at the same time…” - A study about social workers’ approach to alcohol, when working with substance abuse. (Translated title) Supervisor: Hanna Wittrock Assessor: Malinda Andersson The purpose of this paper is to investigate if there are differences and contradictions between alcohol norms in society in general compared with the norms of social workers who works with substance abuse. During this research nine interviews were completed with social workers that work for the Social Services in six different municipalities in southern Sweden. The conclusions of the study are that it is possible to identify norms of the social workers that contradict against the norms of society. In social context, alcohol is both accepted and expected but the social workers give a more ambiguous picture. The interviewed social workers generally express that there is a limit to how much alcohol they can drink in public places but also in their private homes. They see themselves as representatives of the organization they work for and therefore their picture of alcohol is ambivalent. While the social workers state that everyone is free to decide if, and how much, alcohol they want to consume they also communicate that it is not acceptable for them to become noticeably intoxicated. The respondents in this study declare that some public places are problematic for them to appear in because of the connection to alcohol. To analyse the answers, the symbolic perspective in the theory about organization and the dramaturgical perspective have been used. In addition to these, the theories about role conflict and cognitive dissonance were used

Experiences of cervical screening participation and non-participation in women from minority ethnic populations in Scotland

Background: The introduction of screening in the UK and other high‐income countries led to a significant decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer and increase in survival rates. Minority ethnic groups are often underrepresented in screening participation for reasons that are poorly understood. Objective: To explore experiences of cervical screening participation and non‐participation of women from minority ethnic populations in Scotland and gain insights to support the development of interventions that could potentially support screening participation and thereby reduce inequalities. Design: Qualitative comparison group study using in‐depth, semi‐structured individual interviews that were thematically analysed. Setting and participants: This study took place in Scotland. Fifty women were purposively sampled from four ethnic minority groups: South Asian; East European; Chinese; and Black African or Caribbean. White Scottish women were also interviewed. Results: Many experiences described were common regardless of ethnicity, such as difficulties managing competing priorities, including work and care responsibilities. However, important differences existed across the groups. These included going abroad for more frequent screening, delayed introduction to screening and not accessing primary care services, language difficulties in health‐care settings despite proficiency in English and not being sexually active at screening commencement. Experiences of racism, ignorance and feeling shamed were also reported. Conclusions: Key differences exist in the experience of minority ethnic groups in Scotland. These offer potential opportunities to reduce disparity and support screening participation including maximizing co‐incidental interactions and developing outreach work

Valuing Alzheimer's Disease drugs:A health technology assessment perspective on outcomes

ObjectivesDue to the nature of Alzheimer's disease (AD), health technology assessment (HTA) agencies might face considerable challenges in choosing appropriate outcomes and outcome measures for drugs that treat the condition. This study sought to understand which outcomes informed previous HTAs, to explore possible reasons for prioritizations, and derive potential implications for future assessments of AD drugs.MethodWe conducted a literature review of studies that analyzed decisions made in HTAs (across disease areas) in three European countries: England, Germany, and The Netherlands. We then conducted case studies of technology assessments conducted for AD drugs in these countries.ResultsOverall, outcomes measured using clinical scales dominated decisions or recommendations about whether to fund AD drugs, or price negotiations. HTA processes did not always allow the inclusion of outcomes relevant to people with AD, their carers, and families. Processes did not include early discussion and agreement on what would constitute appropriate outcome measures and cut-off points for effects.ConclusionsWe conclude that in order to ensure that future AD drugs are valued appropriately and timely, early agreement with various stakeholders about outcomes, outcome measures, and cut-offs is important

Conducting public involvement in dementia research:The contribution of the European Working Group of People with Dementia to the ROADMAP project

Background Dementia outcomes include memory loss, language impairment, reduced quality of life and personality changes. Research suggests that outcomes selected for dementia clinical trials might not be the most important to people affected. Objective One of the goals of the ‘Real world Outcomes across the Alzheimer's Disease spectrum for better care: Multi‐modal data Access Platform’ (ROADMAP) project was to identify important outcomes from the perspective of people with dementia and their caregivers. We review how ROADMAP's Public Involvement shaped the programme, impacted the research process and gave voice to people affected by dementia. Design The European Working Group of People with Dementia (EWGPWD) were invited to participate. In‐person consultations were held with people with dementia and caregivers, with advance information provided on ROADMAP activities. Constructive criticism of survey content, layout and accessibility was sought, as were views and perspectives on terminology and key concepts around disease progression. Results The working group provided significant improvements to survey accessibility and acceptability. They promoted better understanding of concepts around disease progression and how researchers might approach measuring and interpreting findings. They effectively expressed difficult concepts through real‐world examples. Conclusions The role of the EWGPWD in ROADMAP was crucial, and its impact was highly influential. Involvement from the design stage helped shape the ethos of the programme and ultimately its meaningfulness. Public contribution People with dementia and their carers were involved through structured consultations and invited to provide feedback on project materials, methods and insight into terminology and relevant concepts

Drug-Induced Liver Injury due to Flucloxacillin:Relevance of Multiple Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles

© 2019 The Authors Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics © 2019 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Some patients prescribed flucloxacillin (~0.01%) develop drug-induced liver injury (DILI). HLA-B*57:01 is an established genetic risk factor for flucloxacillin DILI. To consolidate this finding, identify additional genetic factors, and assess relevance of risk factors for flucloxacillin DILI in relation to DILI due to other penicillins, we performed a genomewide association study involving 197 flucloxacillin DILI cases and 6,835 controls. We imputed single-nucleotide polymorphism and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotypes. HLA-B*57:01 was the major risk factor (allelic odds ratio (OR)=36.62; P=2.67×10−97). HLA-B*57:03 also showed an association (OR=79.21; P=1.2×10−6). Within the HLA-B protein sequence, imputation showed valine97, common to HLA-B*57:01 and HLA-B*57:03, had the largest effect (OR=38.1; P=9.7×10−97). We found no HLA-B*57 association with DILI due to other isoxazolyl penicillins (n=6) or amoxicillin (n=15) and no significant non-HLA signals for any penicillin-related DILI

Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – Do laypersons perceive them the way, we researchers believe?

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