Combining qualitative and quantitative reasoning to support hazard identification by computer

This thesis investigates the proposition that use must be made of quantitative information to control the reporting of hazard scenarios in automatically generated HAZOP reports. HAZOP is a successful and widely accepted technique for identification of process hazards. However, it requires an expensive commitment of time and personnel near the end of a project. Use of a HAZOP emulation tool before conventional HAZOP could speed up the examination of routine hazards, or identify deficiencies I in the design of a plant. Qualitative models of process equipment can efficiently model fault propagation in chemical plants. However, purely qualitative models lack the representational power to model many constraints in real plants, resulting in indiscriminate reporting of failure scenarios. In the AutoHAZID computer program, qualitative reasoning is used to emulate HAZOP. Signed-directed graph (SDG) models of equipment are used to build a graph model of the plant. This graph is searched to find links between faults and consequences, which are reported as hazardous scenarios associated with process variable deviations. However, factors not represented in the SDG, such as the fluids in the plant, often affect the feasibility of scenarios. Support for the qualitative model system, in the form of quantitative judgements to assess the feasibility of certain hazards, was investigated and is reported here. This thesis also describes the novel "Fluid Modelling System" (FMS) which now provides this quantitative support mechanism in AutoHAZID. The FMS allows the attachment of conditions to SDG arcs. Fault paths are validated by testing the conditions along their arcs. Infeasible scenarios are removed. In the FMS, numerical limits on process variable deviations have been used to assess the sufficiency of a given fault to cause any linked consequence. In a number of case studies, use of the FMS in AutoHAZID has improved the focus of the automatically generated HAZOP results. This thesis describes qualitative model-based methods for identifying process hazards by computer, in particular AutoHAZID. It identifies a range of problems where the purely qualitative approach is inadequate and demonstrates how such problems can be tackled by selective use of quantitative information about the plant or the fluids in it. The conclusion is that quantitative knowledge is' required to support the qualitative reasoning in hazard identification by computer

A discourse analysis of Lacanian psychoanalysts conceptualisation of child psychopathology

This study explores how Lacanian Psychoanalysts understand child psychopathology. Addressing this question in line with the principles of the methodological approach that was adopted for the study meant conducting a review of the literature pertaining to the dominant discourses that construct the concepts ‘child’ and ‘psychopathology’. The discourses found to be most influentially to the construction of childhood, historically and contemporaneously, were those of religion, philosophy, and developmental psychology. A review of the literature concerning psychopathology revealed how developmental psychopathology and psychiatry remain the dominant models in research and the clinical treatment of children experiencing mental health problems. The most prominent methods of clinical treatment are also addressed as part of the literature review. This served as the backdrop against which the subject of Lacanian psychoanalysis with children is being explored. Lacanian psychoanalysis provides a coherent theory, with an emphasis on subjectivity, the unconscious, discourse and early childhood as factors that structure the individual. It is these elements that enable practitioners to conduct a form of treatment that is described as ‘one-by-one’, always unique and original to each case. Six semi-structured interviews were carried out with the participants and the interview data was transcribed and analysed using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA). FDA was used to explore how the participants constructed their understanding of child psychopathology by paying attention to the discourses they used in discussing this subject. The study outlines the role of contemporary culture in the conceptualisation of childhood and psychopathology according to the participants and reveals a radically different way of conducting treatment to the dominant models, those that are addressed in the literature review. These findings from the study advocate for a more nuanced approach to treating children with mental health difficulties that recognises the unique individual qualities of each child and takes account of their social and cultural experience in devising and delivering programmes of treatment

Is It Time For An Exchange Traded Futures Contract Based On A Housing Price Index?

There is not a good hedging instrument to absorb housing price risk. An exchange traded futures contract based on a hedonic or repeat sale housing price index would help homeowners, originators, home builders, and others hedge housing price risk, but it does not exist, yet. We discuss the need and why it may be time for its introduction

Black Symposium_Correspondence between Stephen Hughes and Rhody McCoy on Participating in Symposium on Black America

A letter from University faculty member Stephen Hughes, written on January 8, 1969 to Rhody McCoy, Unit Administrator of Ocean Hill-Brownsville Demonstration School District in Brooklyn New York, to participate in the Symposium on Black America. Rhody McCoy responded on January 15, 1969 accepting the invitation to speak at the Symposium. After the Symposium Stephen Hughes wrote to Rhody McCoy on February 24, 1969 to give thanks for participating in the Symposium and included a check of payment. The last page is a poster created to showcase Rhody McCoy\u27s talk at the University on Monday February 17 at Eight PM in 137 Bennett Hall continuing the series of the Symposium on Black America.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/racial_justice/1015/thumbnail.jp

Black Symposium Correspondence between Stephen Hughes and Rhody McCoy on Participating in Symposium on Black America

A letter from University faculty member Stephen Hughes, written on January 8, 1969 to Rhody McCoy, Unit Administrator of Ocean Hill-Brownsville Demonstration School District in Brooklyn New York, to participate in the Symposium on Black America. Rhody McCoy responded on January 15, 1969 accepting the invitation to speak at the Symposium. After the Symposium Stephen Hughes wrote to Rhody McCoy on February 24, 1969 to give thanks for participating in the Symposium and included a check of payment. The last page is a poster created to showcase Rhody McCoy\u27s talk at the University on Monday February 17 at Eight PM in 137 Bennett Hall continuing the series of the Symposium on Black America

Aztreonam (for inhalation solution) for the treatment of chronic lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis: an evidence-based review

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease caused by abnormal chloride transport across cellular membranes. In the respiratory tract, this molecular defect causes obstruction of the airways by mucus and chronic endobronchial infection. The majority of patients suffer early death from chronic respiratory disease. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the predominant chronic airway pathogen in older children and adults with CF and is associated with worse outcomes. However, overall survival in CF has been greatly improved in recent decades due in large part to the aggressive treatment of chronic infections such as P. aeruginosa. While intravenous and oral antibiotics are commonly used in the management of CF respiratory infections, inhaled anti-infective therapies offer the benefit of delivering the drug directly to the site of infection and avoiding potential toxicities associated with systemic absorption. Aztreonam lysine (AZLI) has recently been developed as an inhaled antibiotic for chronic use in CF patients with endobronchial P. aeruginosa infection. This paper reviews background data and the clinical studies which contributed to AZLI’s formal FDA approval and growing role in the management of CF pulmonary disease

Global health security and the health-security nexus: principles, politics and praxis

The past four decades have seen a steady rise of references to 'security' by health academics, policy-makers and practitioners, particularly in relation to threats posed by infectious disease pandemics. Yet, despite an increasingly dominant health security discourse, the many different ways in which health and security issues and actors intersect have remained largely unassessed and unpacked in current critical global health scholarship. This paper discusses the emerging and growing health-security nexus in the wake of COVID-19 and the international focus on global health security. In recognising the contested and fluid concept of health security, this paper presents two contrasting approaches to health security: neocolonial health security and universal health security. Building from this analysis, we present a novel heuristic that delineates the multiple intersections and entanglements between health and security actors and agendas to broaden our conceptualisation of global health security configurations and practices and to highlight the potential for harmful unintended consequences, the erosion of global health norms and values, and the risk of health actors being co-opted by the security sector

State-based modelling in hazard identification

The signed directed graph (SDG) is the most commonly used type of model for automated hazard identification in chemical plants. Although SDG models are efficient in simulating the plant, they have some weaknesses, which are discussed here in relation to typical process industry examples. Ways to tackle these problems are suggested, and the view is taken that a state-based formalism is needed, to take account of the discrete components in the system, their connection together, and their behaviour over time. A strong representation for operations and actions is also needed, to make the models appropriate for modelling batch processes. A research prototype for HAZOP studies on batch plants (CHECKOP) is also presented, as an illustration of the suggested approach to modelling

You Are Your Best intervention: Utilizing Person-of-the-Therapist Training in Financial Therapy

The field of financial therapy recognizes the importance of the therapist\u27s self in facilitating effective client outcomes. Self-exploration involves a comprehensive exploration of the therapist\u27s relationship with money, allowing them to leverage their experiences, financial flashpoints, and money scripts ethically and effectively. By engaging in self-exploration, financial therapists become role models for their clients, inspiring them to embark on their personal growth journeys. However, therapists must exercise caution to avoid projecting their beliefs onto clients. This paper explores how one specific program on the self-of-the-therapist exploration, the person-of-the-therapist model (POTT; Aponte, 1982), can be applied to financial therapy self-work. This approach to self-exploration highlights the significance of self-knowledge, awareness, and management in facilitating effective financial therapy. It emphasizes discovering one’s signature theme (patterns, thoughts, or emotions that create challenges in functioning) and their role in shaping therapists\u27 client interactions. Additionally, the use of one’s own and their client’s genogram can facilitate insights. This article introduces a hypothetical case illustration to demonstrate POTT’s application to financial therapy. By embracing the POTT framework, financial therapists can enhance their self-awareness, manage their personal experiences, and optimize their therapeutic effectiveness, thus contributing to clients\u27 financial well-being and personal growth potential