Epic Human Failure on June 30, 2013

Nineteen Prescott Fire Department, Granite Mountain Hot Shot (GMHS) wildland firefighters and supervisors (WFF), perished on the June 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire (YHF) in Arizona. The firefighters left their Safety Zone during forecast, outflow winds, triggering explosive fire behavior in drought-stressed chaparral. Why would an experienced WFF Crew, leave ‘good black’ and travel downslope through a brush-filled chimney, contrary to their training and experience? An organized Serious Accident Investigation Team (SAIT) found, “… no indication of negligence, reckless actions, or violations of policy or protocol.” Despite this, many WFF professionals deemed the catastrophe, “… the final, fatal link, in a long chain of bad decisions with good outcomes.” This paper is a theoretical and realistic examination of plausible, faulty, human decisions with prior good outcomes; internal and external impacts, influencing the GMHS; and two explanations for this catastrophe: Individual Blame Logic and Organizational Function Logic, and proposed preventive mitigations

Evidence-Based Dialogue Maps as a research tool to evaluate the quality of school pupils’ scientific argumentation

This pilot study focuses on the potential of Evidence-based Dialogue Mapping as a participatory action research tool to investigate young teenagers’ scientific argumentation. Evidence-based Dialogue Mapping is a technique for representing graphically an argumentative dialogue through Questions, Ideas, Pros, Cons and Data. Our research objective is to better understand the usage of Compendium, a Dialogue Mapping software tool, as both (1) a learning strategy to scaffold school pupils’ argumentation and (2) as a method to investigate the quality of their argumentative essays. The participants were a science teacher-researcher, a knowledge mapping researcher and 20 pupils, 12-13 years old, in a summer science course for “gifted and talented” children in the UK. This study draws on multiple data sources: discussion forum, science teacher-researcher’s and pupils’ Dialogue Maps, pupil essays, and reflective comments about the uses of mapping for writing. Through qualitative analysis of two case studies, we examine the role of Evidence-based Dialogue Maps as a mediating tool in scientific reasoning: as conceptual bridges for linking and making knowledge intelligible; as support for the linearisation task of generating a coherent document outline; as a reflective aid to rethinking reasoning in response to teacher feedback; and as a visual language for making arguments tangible via cartographic conventions

Redefining the performing arts archive

This paper investigates representations of performance and the role of the archive. Notions of record and archive are critically investigated, raising questions about applying traditional archival definitions to the performing arts. Defining the nature of performances is at the root of all difficulties regarding their representation. Performances are live events, so for many people the idea of recording them for posterity is inappropriate. The challenge of creating and curating representations of an ephemeral art form are explored and performance-specific concepts of record and archive are posited. An open model of archives, encouraging multiple representations and allowing for creative reuse and reinterpretation to keep the spirit of the performance alive, is envisaged as the future of the performing arts archive

Research to develop Spiritual Pedagogy, Awareness and Change

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in British Journal of Guidance and Counselling on 21-4-16, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2016.1174976A co-operative inquiry group consisting of 8 counsellors met for 11 months to explore their experience of spirituality in their counselling training and in their work with clients (Swinton, 2010; 2015). The aim was to explore whether spirituality was absent from the process of counselling training, specifically to discover (1) how counsellors perceived and described their experience of spirituality in their training and (2) with a view to developing spiritual pedagogy; how spirituality could be incorporated into the training process of practitioner

Does the UTTO model of technology transfer fit public sector healthcare services?

Public sector healthcare services are both large users and innovators of health technologies. In the UK's National Health Service (NHS) initiatives have been developed to manage the process of technological innovation more effectively. This has two main aims, to maximize potential commercial returns from innovations developed within the NHS; and to improve levels of patient care through appropriate diffusion of innovations. The initiatives have been devised using approaches and processes already used in other public sector organizations, in particular, universities. Central to the approach taken by many universities is the setting up of a university technology transfer office (UTTO) to provide innovation management services. This paper assesses the extent to which the UTTO-based approach to technology transfer matches the needs of the NHS. Several significant factors are identified that suggest that the two sectors merit different approaches to innovation management. An agenda for further research into health service innovation management processes is suggested that emphasises issues including: the relative roles of formal and informal innovation processes; contingent variables affecting design of innovation processes; limitations of technology-push approaches to managing practice-based innovation; and cultural fit of innovation management models

Using participatory and creative methods to facilitate emancipatory research with people facing multiple disadvantage: a role for health and care professionals

Participatory and creative research methods are a powerful tool for enabling active engagement in the research process of marginalised people. It can be particularly hard for people living with multiple disadvantage, such as disabled people from ethnic minority backgrounds, to access research projects that are relevant to their lived experience. This article argues that creative and participatory methods facilitate the co-researchers’ engagement in the research process, which thus becomes more empowering. Exploring the congruence of these methods with their professional ethos, health and care professionals can use their skills to develop them further. Both theory and practice examples are presented

Older people and research partnerships

Increasing consumer consultation is a priority for those involved in health and social care research and practice, with promoting greater public participation being widely accepted as 'a good thing' (Reason, 1994: 3). However, whilst such consultation may improve the quality of research and practice, there is a need to recognise the considerable investment of time and energy that is required for success (Baxter et al., 2001). Given the extra resources needed, it is important to understand how consultation and user involvement can work to benefit all parties. This paper describes our experiences of working together on a research project exploring people's involvement in decision-making processes when using care services in later life. When we started the project in March 2001 each of us could draw on a range of experiences that we hoped would make a valuable contribution. We have now worked together for over two years and this paper describes how our combined efforts have not only enhanced the overall quality of the research but also had personal benefits that we did not anticipate when we started ou

A comparative study of nuclear technology and direct energy conversion methods for space power systems

The objectives of this thesis are to investigate the theory of direct energy conversion, research the development of space nuclear power systems, evaluate the status of current systems, and draw conclusions about the feasibility and merit of using nuclear power for future space missions. Development of the earliest systems began in 1955 with the Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power (SNAP) Program and Project Rover. A detailed review of system design and performance is provided for the reactors and radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG's) of past and current programs. Thermoelectric and thermionic energy conversion techniques have been used predominantly in space nuclear power systems. The theory of these direct energy conversion methods is analyzed. Also, the safety review procedures and regulations governing the launch of nuclear sources into space are characterized. Conclusions compare accomplished levels of system performance to theoretically predicted limits and comment on the usefulness of space nuclear power for space applicationshttp://archive.org/details/acomparativestud109458110Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited