An investigation into health and safety management by SMEs and the risk of corporate manslaughter prosecution

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.The construction industry is consistently considered one of the most dangerous industries in the United Kingdom (UK) and the rest of the world due to reported work-related fatalities and injuries. The majority of these incidents are attributed to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as they perform a significant role in the UK construction supply chain. There is a common belief that safety performance in these types of organisations is strongly linked to the effectiveness of the implementation of safety management systems. Whilst the industry has made an outstanding effort to improve health and safety (H&S) practices, there are some areas which still need refinement. The legal system is one of the approaches considered for the improvement of H&S management in the industry. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (CMCHA) was passed with the intention of improving the law on corporate criminal liability for poor H&S management. Since the Act came to force in 2008, over 30 percent of the convictions are attributable to the construction industry. Interestingly, all convictions for corporate manslaughter are attributable to SMEs. This therefore suggests that the size of the company is a major factor in the degree of exposure to corporate criminal liability. Since SMEs are labelled as risky in terms of exposure to hazards and death in the workplace, it is of importance to investigate their H&S management practices. However, not much attention has been given to the way SMEs manage H&S in the working environment and how they are influenced by recent H&S regulations. This study employed a mixed methods approach over two stages to investigate the level of implementation of the basic elements of a Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) H&S management system UK construction SMEs and assess to what extent they were aware of the legal obligations towards their employees. The study also seeks to explore how the CMCHA influences their management activities. The first stage conducted a questionnaire survey to gather relevant data from construction SMEs in the UK. From the analysis of data, it was found that these types of organisations are currently implementing, albeit to a certain level, a structured health and safety management system in the workplace. However, there was evidence of a lack of balance between the different stages of the PDCA cycle, showing potential room for improvement. This research revealed that SMEs should put more attention into seeking a fair balance between H&S, time, cost and quality as well as involving workers in H&S matters and monitoring ill-health. There were also causal interactions between the implementation of a H&S management system in SMEs and the level of awareness of their duties of care to their employees and persons other than employees. Furthermore, it was concluded that the CMCHA had ‘some’ influence in the way SMEs manage H&S. During the second stage, the study looked further into these results by conducting interviews to experts in the senior management level of SMEs. Findings from this stage added that morality and the wellbeing of the employees is one of the main factors that drive SMEs to improve their safety performance. Interviewees highlighted that significant change is yet to be seen from the CMCHA as prosecuting large organisations remains a challenge. In the view of the findings, organisations should devote resources to orientate and motivate their senior level to improve their H&S management systems in respect of the flaws identified. It is also important that they monitor their H&S practices, thus it would be possible to identify possible areas of improvement and ensure compliance with legislation

Aplicación web con estrategia lúdica para alumnos de tercer grado asignatura “Ciencias Naturales” unidad II parcial I, escuela “Carlos Fonseca Amador”, Matagalpa año 2013

La presente investigación, está basada en el desarrollo de una aplicación web informática lúdica en la asignatura Ciencias Naturales unidad II, para alumnos de tercer grado, escuela “Carlos Fonseca amador” Matagalpa, con el objetivo de evaluar el proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje de la asignatura Ciencias Naturales unidad II, la importancia de esta aplicación es que ayudara a reforzar los conocimientos trasmitidos por el docente a los niños; ya que contar con tecnología adecuada favorece el aprendizaje de los alumnos. En el proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje las técnicas y estrategias que utiliza el docente para impartir la clase son de manera tradicional como exposiciones, preguntas y participación de los alumnos; no se utiliza herramientas tecnológica para tener una clase alegre y llamativa. Para lograr el diseño de la aplicación con estrategias lúdicas fue de vital importancia conocer las dificultades en el proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje en la asignatura Ciencias Naturales, además estudiar el comportamiento de todos los alumnos de tercer grado mediante métodos como la observación y entrevista, al realizar este estudio se pudo determinar que existen algunas dificultades dentro del aula de clase como, dificultades económicas, técnicas, recursos humanos y, tecnológicas. Al finalizar la investigación se propone la implementación de la aplicación web informática lúdica para alumnos de tercer grado de la escuela “Carlos Fonseca Amador” Matagalpa, la cual vendrá a apoyar la labor del docente y a beneficiar a los estudiantes en el conocimiento de estudio

Planning Robust Strategies for Constructing Multi-object Arrangements

A crucial challenge in robotics is achieving reliable results in spite of sensing and control uncertainty. A prominent strategy for dealing with uncertainty is to construct a feedback policy, where actions are chosen as a function of the current state estimate. However, constructing such policies is computationally very difficult. An alternative strategy is conformant planning which finds open-loop action sequences that achieve the goal for all input states and action outcomes. In this work, we investigate the conformant planning approach to robot manipulation. In particular, we tackle the problem of pushing multiple objects simultaneously to achieve a specified arrangement. Conformant planning is a belief-state planning problem. A belief state is the set of all possible states of the world, and the goal is to find a sequence of actions that will bring an initial belief state to a goal belief state To do forward belief-state planning, we created a deterministic belief-state transition model from supervised learning based on physics simulations. A key pitfall in conformant planning is that the complexity of the belief state tends to increase with each operation, making it increasingly harder to compute the effect of actions. This work explores the idea that we can construct conformant plans for robot manipulation by only using actions resulting in compact belief states

DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERIZATION OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES TO HARVEST SOLAR ENERGY FOR FLAPPING WING AERIAL VEHICLES

Flapping Wing Aerial Vehicles (FWAVs) have the capability to combine the benefits of both fixed wing vehicles and rotary vehicles. However, flight time is limited due to limited on-board energy storage capacity. For most Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operators, frequent recharging of the batteries is not ideal due to lack of nearby electrical outlets. This imposes serious limitations on FWAV flights. The approach taken to extend the flight time of UAVs was to integrate photovoltaic solar cells onto different structures of the vehicle to harvest and use energy from the sun. Integration of the solar cells can greatly improve the energy capacity of an UAV; however, this integration does effect the performance of the UAV and especially FWAVs. The integration of solar cells affects the ability of the vehicle to produce the aerodynamic forces necessary to maintain flight. This PhD dissertation characterizes the effects of solar cell integration on the performance of a FWAV. Robo Raven, a recently developed FWAV, is used as the platform for this work. An additive manufacturing technique was developed to integrate photovoltaic solar cells into the wing and tail structures of the vehicle. An approach to characterizing the effects of solar cell integration to the wings, tail, and body of the UAV is also described. This approach includes measurement of aerodynamic forces generated by the vehicle and measurements of the wing shape during the flapping cycle using Digital Image Correlation. Various changes to wing, body, and tail design are investigated and changes in performance for each design are measured. The electrical performance from the solar cells is also characterized. A new multifunctional performance model was formulated that describes how integration of solar cells influences the flight performance. Aerodynamic models were developed to describe effects of solar cell integration force production and performance of the FWAV. Thus, performance changes can be predicted depending on changes in design. Sensing capabilities of the solar cells were also discovered and correlated to the deformation of the wing. This demonstrated that the solar cells were capable of: (1) Lightweight and flexible structure to generate aerodynamic forces, (2) Energy harvesting to extend operational time and autonomy, (3) Sensing of an aerodynamic force associated with wing deformation. Finally, different flexible photovoltaic materials with higher efficiencies are investigated, which enable the multifunctional wings to provide enough solar power to keep the FWAV aloft without batteries as long as there is enough sunlight to power the vehicle

Nutrient stocks, flows and balances for the Bolivian agri-food system: Can recycling human excreta close the nutrient circularity gap?

Analysis of the current state of nutrient stocks, flows, and balances of a territory is necessary to inform strategies that can transition the agri-food sector to a circular economy model. In this study, we quantified the nitrogen and phosphorus budgets for the Bolivian agri-food system at national and regional scales by way of agroecological zoning. We performed nutrient balances to calculate indicators for sufficiency (extent of nutrient deficit/surplus) and circularity (proportion of nutrients recirculated). We also evaluated the potential of renewable stocks (human excreta and livestock manure) to meet nutrient deficits in the system. Our results showed that there are apparent deficits of 32 kt N and 8 kt P in the system that cannot be accounted for using available data. We estimate the real deficits required to bring yields of 45 crops grown in Bolivia to parity with those of neighbouring countries to be 110 kt N and 33 kt P. About 44% of nitrogen and 74% of phosphorus is currently recirculated in the system, with the major nutrient inputs being biological nitrogen fixation, livestock manure, and crop residues. However, nutrient recycling is likely to decrease in the future because the national strategy to address nutrient deficits is to increase domestic production of synthetic fertilisers. Our analysis also shows that there is a sufficient stock of nutrients already available in human excreta (39 kt N and 5 kt P) to cover 100% of the nitrogen deficit and 64% of the phosphorus deficit. The low-altitude zone of Chiquitania-Pantanal alone accounts for 65% of cultivation and 80% of the nutrient demand in the country. Here, export-oriented crops like soybean and sorghum are grown, but less than 25% of the nitrogen is recirculated. In contrast, there are nutrient surpluses of 41 kt N and 34 kt P in agroecological zones like the Valleys and Altiplano where traditional agriculture is practiced, and the majority of food is grown for local consumption. Overall, we find that recycling of human excreta, combined with transfer of regional nutrient surpluses, could be an effective strategy to reduce the overall nutrient deficit in the system

Inferior Outcomes of EU Versus US Patients Treated With CD19 CAR-T for Relapsed/Refractory Large B-cell Lymphoma: Association With Differences in Tumor Burden, Systemic Inflammation, Bridging Therapy Utilization, and CAR-T Product Use

B-cell lymphoma; Tumor burden; Systemic inflammationLinfoma de células B; Carga tumoral; Inflamación sistémicaLimfoma de cèl·lules B; Càrrega tumoral; Inflamació sistèmicaReal-world evidence suggests a trend toward inferior survival of patients receiving CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in Europe (EU) and with tisagenlecleucel. The underlying logistic, patient- and disease-related reasons for these discrepancies remain poorly understood. In this multicenter retrospective observational study, we studied the patient-individual journey from CAR-T indication to infusion, baseline features, and survival outcomes in 374 patients treated with tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) or axicabtagene-ciloleucel (axi-cel) in EU and the United States (US). Compared with US patients, EU patients had prolonged indication-to-infusion intervals (66 versus 50 d; P < 0.001) and more commonly received intermediary therapies (holding and/or bridging therapy, 94% in EU versus 74% in US; P < 0.001). Baseline lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (median 321 versus 271 U/L; P = 0.02) and ferritin levels (675 versus 425 ng/mL; P = 0.004) were significantly elevated in the EU cohort. Overall, we observed inferior survival in EU patients (median progression-free survival [PFS] 3.1 versus 9.2 months in US; P < 0.001) and with tisa-cel (3.2 versus 9.2 months with axi-cel; P < 0.001). On multivariate Lasso modeling, nonresponse to bridging, elevated ferritin, and increased C-reactive protein represented independent risks for treatment failure. Weighing these variables into a patient-individual risk balancer (high risk [HR] balancer), we found higher levels in EU versus US and tisa-cel versus axi-cel cohorts. Notably, superior PFS with axi-cel was exclusively evident in patients at low risk for progression (according to the HR balancer), but not in high-risk patients. These data demonstrate that inferior survival outcomes in EU patients are associated with longer time-to-infusion intervals, higher tumor burden/LDH levels, increased systemic inflammatory markers, and CAR-T product use.This work was supported by a Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) research grant provided within the Sonderforschungbereich SFB-TRR 388/1 2021 – 452881907, and DFG research grant 451580403 (to MS). The work was further supported by the Bavarian Elite Graduate Training Network (to MS), the Wilhelm-Sander Stiftung (to MS, project no. 2018.087.1), the Else-Kröner-Fresenius Stiftung (to MS), the Bavarian Center for Cancer Research (BZKF), and NCI Cancer Center Support Grant P30 CA076292. VLB, KR, and VB were funded by the Else-Kröner Forschungskolleg (EKFK) within the Munich Clinician Scientist Program (MCSP)

Comunicación interoperable, experiencias de éxito del FNR

Actualmente en Uruguay el Fondo Nacional de Recursos realiza acciones día a día para contribuir con la interoperabilidad y cooperar con los distintos actores del Sistema Nacional Integrado de Salud. Mediante el uso de estándares, se han desarrollado procesos que permiten el intercambio de documentos clínicos con los distintos actores de este sistema. Hoy en día se realizan envíos electrónicos de documentos clínicos para diálisis, procedimiento cardiológicos intervencionistas (PCI) y estudios de tomografía por emisión de positrones (PET – SCAN); y se continúa trabajando en la implementación de procesos que permitan la comunicación de nuevos actos médicos y tratamientos.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Juventudes latino-americanas: desafios e potencialidades no contexto da pandemia

Este texto presenta el dossier “Juventudes latinoamericanas: desafíos y potencialidades en el contexto de la pandemia”, cuyo principal objetivo es visibilizar las experiencias de los jóvenes latinoamericanos durante el período de la pandemia, ofreciendo aportes a la resolución de los problemas emergentes y que se profundizaron durante el período. El Dossier reúne diez estudios sobre cinco países de América Latina que abordan los siguientes temas: el desplazamiento y la importancia del tiempo, el espacio y las perspectivas de futuro entre los jóvenes durante la pandemia, las desigualdades educativas emergentes y persistentes durante el período, especialmente em lo referido al acceso desigual a las TICs, la precaria vinculación al mercado laboral y la participación política de los jóvenes. Consideramos el Dossier como un hito en el campo de los estudios de juventudes latinoamericanas y como un registro singular de los modos en los que la pandemia ha impactado en sus vidas.This text presents the dossier “Latin American youth: challenges and potentialities in the context of the pandemic” whose main objective is to make visible the experience of Latin American youth during the pandemic, offering contributions to the resolution of the revealed and deepened problems in this period. The Dossier brings together ten studies on five Latin American countries that address the themes: the displacement and importance of time, space and perspectives for the future among young people during the pandemic, inequality in the use of ICTs in the area of education, growth in precarious jobs and the political participation of youth. Due to the important contributions, we consider the Dossier as a landmark in the field of studies on Latin American youth and as a unique record of how the pandemic has impacted the lives of youth.Este texto apresenta o dossiê “Juventudes latino-americanas: desafios e potencialidades no contexto da pandemia” que tem como objetivo principal visibilizar as vivências das juventudes latino-americanas durante o período da pandemia, oferecendo aportes para a resolução dos problemas revelados e aprofundados nesse tempo. O dossiê reúne dez estudos sobre cinco países da América Latina que abordam os seguintes temas: o deslocamento e a importância do tempo, do espaço e das perspectivas para o futuro entre os jovens durante a pandemia, as desigualdades educacionais reveladas e aprofundadas durante o período, especialmente, por conta do acesso desigual às Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TICs), a vinculação precária ao mercado de trabalho e a participação política das juventudes. Por conta das importantes contribuições, consideramos o dossiê como um marco no campo de estudos sobre as juventudes latino-americanas e como um registro ímpar de como a pandemia impactou a vida das juventudes.Fil: Perez, Olívia Cristina. Universidade Federal Do Piaui.; BrasilFil: Vommaro, Pablo Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales; Argentin

Comunicación interoperable, experiencias de éxito del FNR

Actualmente en Uruguay el Fondo Nacional de Recursos realiza acciones día a día para contribuir con la interoperabilidad y cooperar con los distintos actores del Sistema Nacional Integrado de Salud. Mediante el uso de estándares, se han desarrollado procesos que permiten el intercambio de documentos clínicos con los distintos actores de este sistema. Hoy en día se realizan envíos electrónicos de documentos clínicos para diálisis, procedimiento cardiológicos intervencionistas (PCI) y estudios de tomografía por emisión de positrones (PET – SCAN); y se continúa trabajando en la implementación de procesos que permitan la comunicación de nuevos actos médicos y tratamientos.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ