Risk assessment applied to comsumer products with reference to CE marking machines for use at work

New Approach’ Directives now govern the health and safety of most products whether destined for workplace or domestic use. These Directives have been enacted into UK law by various specific legislation principally relating to work equipment, machinery and consumer products. This research investigates whether the risk assessment approach used to ensure the safety of machinery may be applied to consumer products. Crucially, consumer products are subject to the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 1987, where there is no direct reference to “assessing risk”. This contrasts with the law governing the safety of products used in the workplace, where risk assessment underpins the approach. New Approach Directives are supported by European harmonised standards, and in the case of machinery, further supported by the risk assessment standard, EN 1050. The system regulating consumer product safety is discussed, its key elements identified and a graphical model produced. This model incorporates such matters as conformity assessment, the system of regulation, near miss and accident reporting. A key finding of the research is that New Approach Directives have a common feature of specifying essential performance requirements that provide a hazard prompt-list that can form the basis for a risk assessment (the hazard identification stage). Drawing upon 272 prosecution cases, and with thirty examples examined in detail, this research provides evidence that despite the high degree of regulation, unsafe consumer products still find their way onto the market. The research presents a number of risk assessment tools to help Trading Standards Officers (TSOs) prioritise their work at the initial inspection stage when dealing with subsequent enforcement action.

A prediction of outcomes: a psychological investigation into cognitive and affective development within the framework of adult literacy provision

This investigation seeks to explore the hypothesis, derived from observation and practice, that there is a strong relationship between the development of literacy skills and the growth of confidence in adult literacy students. Implicit in the developmental approach is the notion of progression towards some cognitive goal. Such a goal necessitates the establishment of a base line of existing attainment, together with subsequent assessment so that progress and development can be measured. The study includes an evaluation of existing formal and informal methods of initial and subsequent assessment and diagnosis available at the time for Adult Literacy Scheme Co-ordinators. Underlying the funding by Cheshire County Council for the project is the assumption that the results will be available for all practitioners and that the tools of measurement may be used by other Adult Literacy Co-ordinators in the County. It is intended, therefore, that this research should result in practical outcomes in which methods of assessment will involve active participation by students as well as by tutors, becoming part of the learning process. It is hypothesised that this kind of co-operation could lead ultimately to self-directed learning and student-independence. For the purposes of this research, a balance is attempted in the use of assessment tools, between standardised tests and informal methods. The study provides facts about students! reading habits; as well as their reading levels, their spelling levels, their handwriting, their writing skills and their writing habits. The study seeks to show the students' feelings towards education, their educational attainments and the type of school which they attended. The study also attempts to come to some measurement of those aspects of student personality which relate to confidence, by means of tests and questionnaires. The study concludes with an examination of the link between cognitive and affective progress.

Student response to a pub quiz style first year psychology assessment

The deterioration in staff-student ratios in UK higher education has had a disproportionate impact on assessment and feedback, meaning that contemporary students may have fewer assessments and much less feedback than a generation ago (Gibbs, 2006). Early use of a quiz assessment may offer a blend of social benefits (social comparison, shared problem solving leading to engagement, belonging and continuation), academic benefits (early formative assessment, immediate feedback) and administrative benefits (on-the-spot verbal marking and feedback to 230 students simultaneously). This study sought student views on the acceptability and contribution to learning of the quiz. Social benefits were apparent but difficulties in creating questions to elicit deeper reasoning and problem solving are discussed and the quiz had limited pedagogic value in the eyes of participants. The use of assertion-reason questions are considered as a way of taking the table quiz to a higher level and extending its pedagogic value.

Defining an OWL ontology that could be used to integrate mental-health risk information within a decision support system

In the field of mental health risk assessment, there is no standardisation between the data used in different systems. As a first step towards the possible interchange of data between assessment tools, an ontology has been constructed for a particular one, GRiST (Galatean Risk Screening Tool). We briefly introduce GRiST and its data structures, then describe the ontology and the benefits that have already been realised from the construction process. For example, the ontology has been used to check the consistency of the various trees used in the model. We then consider potential uses in integration of data from other sources. © 2009 IEEE.

How green is green? A framework for environmental performance assessment in operations

This paper presents a framework based upon a relationship between environmental benefits and the investments and costs needed to implement and run company operations. As the results of environmental management become more evident it is proposed that the benefits rather than the environmental impacts are measured in the analysis of environmental performance. Four categories, or stages, are defined in this paper: “creative-green”, “expensive-green”, “inefficient-green or beginner”, and finally, the “complacent” stage. The paper describes the characteristics of each category and provides examples of indicators that could be used to measure environmental benefits. Qualitative and quantitative methods are necessary to classify companies according to the framework. It is believed that this paper can assist companies and public organisations to assess operations and projects considering their level of sustainability. The proposed framework can impact FDI and environmental policies in the public arena, and foster innovation on environmental practices within the private sector.

Risk management in enterprise resource planning implementation:a new risk assessment framework

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects are risky. But if they are implemented appropriately, they can provide competitive advantage to organisations. Therefore, ERP implementation has become one of the most critical aspects of today's information management research. The main purpose of this article is to describe a new ERP risk assessment framework (RAF) that can be used to increase the success of ERP implementation. In this article, through a case study based in a leading UK-based energy service provider, we demonstrate the new RAF, which has been shown to help identify and mitigate risks in ERP implementation. In contrast to other research, this RAF identifies risks hierarchically in external engagement, programme management, work stream and work package levels across technical, schedule, operational, business and organisational categories. This not only helped to develop responses to mitigate risks but also facilitates on-going risk control.

Engaging employers as partners in work-based learning assessment:proposal for a quality enhancement framework

This paper seeks to advance research and practice related to the role of employers in all stages of the assessment process of work-based learning (WBL) within a tripartite relationship of higher education institution (HEI), student and employer. It proposes a research-informed quality enhancement framework to develop good practice in engaging employers as partners in assessment. The Enhancement Framework comprises three dimensions, each of which includes elements and questions generated by the experiences of WBL students, HEI staff and employers. The three dimensions of the Enhancement Framework are: 1. ‘premises of assessment’ encompassing issues of learning, inclusion, standards and value; 2. ‘practice’, encompassing stages of assessment made up of course design, assessment task, responsibilities, support, grading and feedback; 3. ‘communication of assessment’ with the emphasis on role clarity, language and pathways. With its prompt questions, the Enhancement Framework may be used as a capacity-building tool for promoting, sustaining, benchmarking and evaluating productive dialogue and critical reflection about assessment between WBL partners. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for professional development as well as policy and research development, so that assessment in WBL can more closely correspond to the potentially transformative nature of the learning experience.

The framework of the virtual laser tracker - A systematic approach to the assessment of error sources and uncertainty in laser tracker measurement

Laser trackers have been widely used in many industries to meet increasingly high accuracy requirements. In laser tracker measurement, it is complex and difficult to perform an accurate error analysis and uncertainty evaluation. This paper firstly reviews the working principle of single beam laser trackers and state-of- The- Art of key technologies from both industrial and academic efforts, followed by a comprehensive analysis of uncertainty sources. A generic laser tracker modelling method is formulated and the framework of the virtual tracker is proposed. The VLS can be used for measurement planning, measurement accuracy optimization and uncertainty evaluation. The completed virtual laser tracking system should take all the uncertainty sources affecting coordinate measurement into consideration and establish an uncertainty model which will behave in an identical way to the real system. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.

Practical assessment of neural network applications

This paper reports the initial results of a joint research project carried out by Aston University and Lloyd's Register to develop a practical method of assessing neural network applications. A set of assessment guidelines for neural network applications were developed and tested on two applications. These case studies showed that it is practical to assess neural networks in a statistical pattern recognition framework. However there is need for more standardisation in neural network technology and a wider takeup of good development practice amongst the neural network community.

Time series analysis in the assessment of ICT impact at the aggregate level – lessons and implications for the new economy

The major role of information and communication technology (ICT) in the new economy is well documented: countries worldwide are pouring resources into their ICT infrastructure despite the widely acknowledged “productivity paradox”. Evaluating the contribution of ICT investments has become an elusive but important goal of IS researchers and economists. But this area of research is fraught with complexity and we have used Solow's Residual together with time-series analysis tools to overcome some methodological inadequacies of previous studies. Using this approach, we conduct a study of 20 countries to determine if there was empirical evidence to support claims that ICT investments are worthwhile. The results show that ICT contributes to economic growth in many developed countries and newly industrialized economies (NIEs), but not in developing countries. We finally suggest ICT-complementary factors, in an attempt to rectify possible flaws in ICT policies as a contribution towards improvement in global productivity.

Whole life performance assessment: critical success factors

Whole life costing (WLC) has become the best practice in construction procurement and it is likely to be a major issue in predicting whole life costs of a construction project accurately. However, different expectations from different organizations throughout a project's life and the lack of data, monitoring targets, and long-term interest for many key players are obstacles to be overcome if WLC is to be implemented. A questionnaire survey was undertaken to investigate a set of ten common factors and 188 individual factors. These were grouped into eight critical categories (project scope, time, cost, quality, contract/administration, human resource, risk, and health and safety) by project phase, as perceived by the clients, contractors and subcontractors in order to identify critical success factors for whole life performance assessment (WLPA). Using a relative importance index, the top ten critical factors for each category, from the perspective of project participants, were analyzed and ranked. Their agreement on those categories and factors were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation. All participants identify “Type of Project” as the most common critical factor in the eight categories for WLPA. Using the relative index ranking technique and weighted average methods, it was found that the most critical individual factors in each category were: “clarity of contract” (scope); “fixed construction period” (time); “precise project budget estimate” (cost); “material quality” (quality); “mutual/trusting relationships” (contract/administration); “leadership/team management” (human resource); and “management of work safety on site” (health and safety). There was relatively a high agreement on these categories among all participants. Obviously, with 80 critical factors of WLPA, there is a stronger positive relationship between client and contactor rather than contractor and subcontractor, client and subcontractor. Putting these critical factors into a criteria matrix can facilitate an initial framework of WLPA in order to aid decision making in the public sector in South Korea for evaluation/selection process of a construction project at the bid stage.

An assessment of the industry cluster approach as a tool for local economic development:the case of the new media industry in Birmingham

Industry cluster policies are a current trend in local economic development programmes and represent a major shift from traditional approaches. This trend has been coupled by an increasing interest in new media industry as a significant focus for regional development strategies. In England clusters and new media industry have therefore come to be seen as important tools in promoting local and regional economic development. This study aimed to ascertain the success of these policies. In order to achieve the aims of the study, the Birmingham new media industry was chosen for the study. In addition to an extensive review of the literature, semi-structured interviews were conducted with new media firms and Business Support Agencies (BSAs) offering programmes to promote the development of the new media industry cluster. The key findings of the thesis are that the concerns of new media industry when choosing their location do not conform to the industry cluster theory. Moreover, close proximity in geographical location of the industries does not mean there is collaboration and any costs saved as a result of close proximity to similar firms are at present seen as irrelevant because of the type of products they offer. Building trust between firms is the key in developing the new media industry cluster and the BSAs can act as a broker and provide neutral ground to develop it. The key policy recommendations are that new media industry is continually changing and research must continuously track and analyse cluster dynamics in order to be aware of emerging trends and future developments that can positively and negatively affect the cluster. Policy makers need to keep in mind that there is no uniform tool kit to foster the different sectors in cluster development. It is also important for them to be winning support and trust of new media firms since this is key in the success of the cluster. When cluster programs are introduced they must explain their benefits to industries more effectively in order to encourage them to participate in programmes. The general conclusions of the thesis are that clusters are a potentially important tool in local economic development policy and that the new media industry has a considerable growth potential. The kinds of relationships which cluster theory suggests develop between do not, as yet, appear to exist within the new media cluster. There are however, steps that the BSAs can take to encourage their development. Thus, the BSAs need to ensure that they establish an environment that enables growth of the industry.

Applying quantitative methods in the assessment of outcomes of pharmacotherapy of psoriasis

Healthcare providers and policy makers are faced with an ever-increasing number of medical publications. Searching for relevant information and keeping up to date with new research findings remains a constant challenge. It has been widely acknowledged that narrative reviews of the literature are susceptible to several types of bias and a systematic approach may protect against these biases. The aim of this thesis was to apply quantitative methods in the assessment of outcomes of topical therapies for psoriasis. In particular, to systematically examine the comparative efficacy, tolerability and cost-effectiveness of topical calcipotriol in the treatment of mild-to-moderate psoriasis. Over the years, a wide range of techniques have been used to evaluate the severity of psoriasis and the outcomes from treatment. This lack of standardisation complicates the direct comparison of results and ultimately the pooling of outcomes from different clinical trials. There is a clear requirement for more comprehensive tools for measuring drug efficacy and disease severity in psoriasis. Ideally, the outcome measures need to be simple, relevant, practical, and widely applicable, and the instruments should be reliable, valid and responsive. The results of the meta-analysis reported herein show that calcipotriol is an effective antipsoriatic agent. In the short-tenn, the pooled data found calcipotriol to be more effective than calcitriol, tacalcitol, coal tar and short-contact dithranol. Only potent corticosteroids appeared to have comparable efficacy, with less short-term side-effects. Potent corticosteroids also added to the antipsoriatic effect of calcipotriol, and appeared to suppress the occurrence of calcipotriol-induced irritation. There was insufficient evidence to support any large effects in favour of improvements in efficacy when calcipotriol is used in combination with systemic therapies in patients with severe psoriasis. However, there was a total absence of long-term morbidity data on the effectiveness of any of the interventions studied. Decision analysis showed that, from the perspective of the NHS as payer, the relatively small differences in efficacy between calcipotriol and short-contact dithranol lead to large differences in the direct cost of treating patients with mildto-moderate plaque psoriasis. Further research is needed to examine the clinical and economic issues affecting patients under treatment for psoriasis in the UK. In particular, the maintenance value and cost/benefit ratio for the various treatment strategies, and the assessment of patient's preferences has not yet been adequately addressed for this chronic recurring disease.

Knowledge engineering for mental-health risk assessment and decision support

Mental-health risk assessment practice in the UK is mainly paper-based, with little standardisation in the tools that are used across the Services. The tools that are available tend to rely on minimal sets of items and unsophisticated scoring methods to identify at-risk individuals. This means the reasoning by which an outcome has been determined remains uncertain. Consequently, there is little provision for: including the patient as an active party in the assessment process, identifying underlying causes of risk, and eecting shared decision-making. This thesis develops a tool-chain for the formulation and deployment of a computerised clinical decision support system for mental-health risk assessment. The resultant tool, GRiST, will be based on consensual domain expert knowledge that will be validated as part of the research, and will incorporate a proven psychological model of classication for risk computation. GRiST will have an ambitious remit of being a platform that can be used over the Internet, by both the clinician and the layperson, in multiple settings, and in the assessment of patients with varying demographics. Flexibility will therefore be a guiding principle in the development of the platform, to the extent that GRiST will present an assessment environment that is tailored to the circumstances in which it nds itself. XML and XSLT will be the key technologies that help deliver this exibility.