Understanding safety and production risks in rail engineering planning and protection

Much of the published human factors work on risk is to do with safety and within this is concerned with prediction and analysis of human error and with human reliability assessment. Less has been published on human factors contributions to understanding and managing project, business, engineering and other forms of risk and still less jointly assessing risk to do with broad issues of ‘safety’ and broad issues of ‘production’ or ‘performance’. This paper contains a general commentary on human factors and assessment of risk of various kinds, in the context of the aims of ergonomics and concerns about being too risk averse. The paper then describes a specific project, in rail engineering, where the notion of a human factors case has been employed to analyse engineering functions and related human factors issues. A human factors issues register for potential system disturbances has been developed, prior to a human factors risk assessment, which jointly covers safety and production (engineering delivery) concerns. The paper concludes with a commentary on the potential relevance of a resilience engineering perspective to understanding rail engineering systems risk. Design, planning and management of complex systems will increasingly have to address the issue of making trade-offs between safety and production, and ergonomics should be central to this. The paper addresses the relevant issues and does so in an under-published domain – rail systems engineering work.

The school and the social-emotional adjustment of hearing-impaired adolescents

This paper reviews the social and emotional issues of hearing impaired adolescents.

Digitisation, representation, and formalisation - Digital libraries of mathematics

One of the main tasks of the mathematical knowledge management community must surely be to enhance access to mathematics on digital systems. In this paper we present a spectrum of approaches to solving the various problems inherent in this task, arguing that a variety of approaches is both necessary and useful. The main ideas presented are about the differences between digitised mathematics, digitally represented mathematics and formalised mathematics. Each has its part to play in managing mathematical information in a connected world. Digitised material is that which is embodied in a computer file, accessible and displayable locally or globally. Represented material is digital material in which there is some structure (usually syntactic in nature) which maps to the mathematics contained in the digitised information. Formalised material is that in which both the syntax and semantics of the represented material, is automatically accessible. Given the range of mathematical information to which access is desired, and the limited resources available for managing that information, we must ensure that these resources are applied to digitise, form representations of or formalise, existing and new mathematical information in such a way as to extract the most benefit from the least expenditure of resources. We also analyse some of the various social and legal issues which surround the practical tasks.

Tropospheric planetary wave dynamics and mixture modeling: Two preferred regimes and a regime shift

Investigation of preferred structures of planetary wave dynamics is addressed using multivariate Gaussian mixture models. The number of components in the mixture is obtained using order statistics of the mixing proportions, hence avoiding previous difficulties related to sample sizes and independence issues. The method is first applied to a few low-order stochastic dynamical systems and data from a general circulation model. The method is next applied to winter daily 500-hPa heights from 1949 to 2003 over the Northern Hemisphere. A spatial clustering algorithm is first applied to the leading two principal components (PCs) and shows significant clustering. The clustering is particularly robust for the first half of the record and less for the second half. The mixture model is then used to identify the clusters. Two highly significant extratropical planetary-scale preferred structures are obtained within the first two to four EOF state space. The first pattern shows a Pacific-North American (PNA) pattern and a negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and the second pattern is nearly opposite to the first one. It is also observed that some subspaces show multivariate Gaussianity, compatible with linearity, whereas others show multivariate non-Gaussianity. The same analysis is also applied to two subperiods, before and after 1978, and shows a similar regime behavior, with a slight stronger support for the first subperiod. In addition a significant regime shift is also observed between the two periods as well as a change in the shape of the distribution. The patterns associated with the regime shifts reflect essentially a PNA pattern and an NAO pattern consistent with the observed global warming effect on climate and the observed shift in sea surface temperature around the mid-1970s.

Reflections on practical approaches to involving children and young people in the data analysis process

This article reflects on key methodological issues emerging from children and young people's involvement in data analysis processes. We outline a pragmatic framework illustrating different approaches to engaging children, using two case studies of children's experiences of participating in data analysis. The article highlights methods of engagement and important issues such as the balance of power between adults and children, training, support, ethical considerations, time and resources. We argue that involving children in data analysis processes can have several benefits, including enabling a greater understanding of children's perspectives and helping to prioritise children's agendas in policy and practice. (C) 2007 The Author(s). Journal compilation (C) 2007 National Children's Bureau.

Overview and response to reviewers of The Singing Neanderthals

Why are humans musical? Why do people in all cultures sing or play instruments? Why do we appear to have specialized neurological apparatus for hearing and interpreting music as distinct from other sounds? And how does our musicality relate to language and to our evolutionary history? Anthropologists and archaeologists have paid little attention to the origin of music and musicality — far less than for either language or ‘art’. While art has been seen as an index of cognitive complexity and language as an essential tool of communication, music has suffered from our perception that it is an epiphenomenal ‘leisure activity’, and archaeologically inaccessible to boot. Nothing could be further from the truth, according to Steven Mithen; music is integral to human social life, he argues, and we can investigate its ancestry with the same rich range of analyses — neurological, physiological, ethnographic, linguistic, ethological and even archaeological — which have been deployed to study language. In The Singing Neanderthals Steven Mithen poses these questions and proposes a bold hypothesis to answer them. Mithen argues that musicality is a fundamental part of being human, that this capacity is of great antiquity, and that a holistic protolanguage of musical emotive expression predates language and was an essential precursor to it. This is an argument with implications which extend far beyond the mere origins of music itself into the very motives of human origins. Any argument of such range is bound to attract discussion and critique; we here present commentaries by archaeologists Clive Gamble and Iain Morley and linguists Alison Wray and Maggie Tallerman, along with Mithen's response to them. Whether right or wrong, Mithen has raised fascinating and important issues. And it adds a great deal of charm to the time-honoured, perhaps shopworn image of the Neanderthals shambling ineffectively through the pages of Pleistocene prehistory to imagine them humming, crooning or belting out a cappella harmonies as they went.

Mediterranean ecosystems: problems and tools for conservation

Mediterranean ecosystems rival tropical ecosystems in terms of plant biodiversity. The Mediterranean Basin (MB) itself hosts 25 000 plant species, half of which are endemic. This rich biodiversity and the complex biogeographical and political issues make conservation a difficult task in the region. Species, habitat, ecosystem and landscape approaches have been used to identify conservation targets at various scales: ie, European, national, regional and local. Conservation decisions require adequate information at the species, community and habitat level. Nevertheless and despite recent improvements/efforts, this information is still incomplete, fragmented and varies from one country to another. This paper reviews the biogeographic data, the problems arising from current conservation efforts and methods for the conservation assessment and prioritization using GIS. GIS has an important role to play for managing spatial and attribute information on the ecosystems of the MB and to facilitate interactions with existing databases. Where limited information is available it can be used for prediction when directly or indirectly linked to externally built models. As well as being a predictive tool today GIS incorporate spatial techniques which can improve the level of information such as fuzzy logic, geostatistics, or provide insight about landscape changes such as 3D visualization. Where there are limited resources it can assist with identifying sites of conservation priority or the resolution of environmental conflicts (scenario building). Although not a panacea, GIS is an invaluable tool for improving the understanding of Mediterranean ecosystems and their dynamics and for practical management in a region that is under increasing pressure from human impact.

Construction management contracts: law and practice

The context of construction management (CM) reveals that this method of procurement is as much a management philosophy as a contract structure. It is important to consider legal and contractual issues in this context. The interplay between management and law is complex and often misunderstood. Before considering specific issues, the use of contractual remedies in business agreements is discussed. In addition, the extent to which standardising a form of contract detracts or contributes to the success of projects is also considered. The dearth of judicial decisions, and the lack of a standard form, render it difficult to be specific about legal issues. Therefore, the main discussion of legal issues is centred around a recently completed research project which involved eliciting the views of a cross-section of experienced construction management clients, consultants and trade contractors. These interviews are used as the basis for highlighting some of the most important legal points to consider when setting up CM projects. The interviews revealed that the advantage of CM is the proximity of the client to the trade contractors and the disadvantage is that it depends on a high degree of professionalism and experience; qualities which are unfortunately difficult to find in the UK construction industry.

Livestock services and the poor

This paper reviews the economic framework for the delivery of livestock services to the poor. It is argued that the demand for livestock products is likely to increase rapidly and the ability of the poor to participate in the opportunities presented by this growth is linked critically to the availability of good service support, both on the input and output side. Governments therefore have a responsibility to supply the necessary public goods (including the institutions and legal frameworks), and the market infrastructure for facilitating the emergence of efficient markets for livestock services. The paper further argues that the dynamics of public policy in developing countries are much more complex than the simple application of economic logic. It is the larger political economy that often dictates policy choices. It is therefore important to integrate political economy and governance issues into the economic debate on livestock service delivery. The paper also reviews the context in which the markets for livestock services will need to function. Different countries are facing very different sets of issues, and the identification of possible interventions in livestock service markets would require careful field research and analysis. In this context, the paper suggests the elements of a research agenda for the next few years.

Mediterranean ecosystems: problems and tools for conservation

Mediterranean ecosystems rival tropical ecosystems in terms of plant biodiversity. The Mediterranean Basin (MB) itself hosts 25 000 plant species, half of which are endemic. This rich biodiversity and the complex biogeographical and political issues make conservation a difficult task in the region. Species, habitat, ecosystem and landscape approaches have been used to identify conservation targets at various scales: ie, European, national, regional and local. Conservation decisions require adequate information at the species, community and habitat level. Nevertheless and despite recent improvements/efforts, this information is still incomplete, fragmented and varies from one country to another. This paper reviews the biogeographic data, the problems arising from current conservation efforts and methods for the conservation assessment and prioritization using GIS. GIS has an important role to play for managing spatial and attribute information on the ecosystems of the MB and to facilitate interactions with existing databases. Where limited information is available it can be used for prediction when directly or indirectly linked to externally built models. As well as being a predictive tool today GIS incorporate spatial techniques which can improve the level of information such as fuzzy logic, geostatistics, or provide insight about landscape changes such as 3D visualization. Where there are limited resources it can assist with identifying sites of conservation priority or the resolution of environmental conflicts (scenario building). Although not a panacea, GIS is an invaluable tool for improving the understanding of Mediterranean ecosystems and their dynamics and for practical management in a region that is under increasing pressure from human impact.

Building operational energy consumption of Chongqing and its exergy assessment

Building energy consumption(BEC) accounting and assessment is fundamental work for building energy efficiency(BEE) development. In existing Chinese statistical yearbook, there is no specific item for BEC accounting and relevant data are separated and mixed with other industry consumption. Approximate BEC data can be acquired from existing energy statistical yearbook. For BEC assessment, caloric values of different energy carriers are adopted in energy accounting and assessment field. This methodology obtained much useful conclusion for energy efficiency development. While the traditional methodology concerns only on the energy quantity, energy classification issue is omitted. Exergy methodology is put forward to assess BEC. With the new methodology, energy quantity and quality issues are both concerned in BEC assessment. To illustrate the BEC accounting and exergy assessment, a case of Chongqing in 2004 is shown. Based on the exergy analysis, BEC of Chongqing in 2004 accounts for 17.3% of the total energy consumption. This result is quite common to that of traditional methodology. As far as energy supply efficiency is concerned, the difference is highlighted by 0.417 of the exergy methodology to 0.645 of the traditional methodology.

Opportunities and challenges in high pressure processing of foods

Consumers increasingly demand convenience foods of the highest quality in terms of natural flavor and taste, and which are freedom additives and preservatives. This demand has triggered the need for the development of a number of nonthermal approaches to food processing, of which high-pressure technology has proven to be very valuable. A number of recent publications have demonstrated novel and diverse uses of this technology. Its novel features, which include destruction of microorganisms at room temperature or lower, have made the technology commerically attractive. Enzymes forming bacteria can be by the application of pressure-thermal combinations. This review aims to identify the opportunities and challenges associated with this technology. In addition to discussing the effects of high pressure on food components, this review covers the combined effects of high pressure processing with: gamma irradiation, alternating current, ultrasound, and carbon dioxide or anti-microbial treatment. Further, the applications of this technology in various sectors-fruits and vegetables, dairy and meat processing-have been dealt with extensively. The integration of high-pressure with other matured processing operations such as blanching, dehydration, osmotic dehydration, rehyrdration, frying, freezing/thawing and solid-liquid extraction has been shown to open up new processing options. The key challenges identified include: heat transfer problems and resulting non-uniformity in processing, obtaining reliable and reproducible data, for process validation, lack of detailed knowledge about the interaction between high pressure, and a number of food constituents, packaging and statutory issues.

Bioactive peptides from food proteins: new opportunities and challenges

Food proteins such as milk and soy are a rich source of bioactive peptides. In the last decade, research into this area has intensified and new bioactive peptide sequences have been discovered with a range of apparent biological functions; for example, antihypertensive, antioxidant, and antimicrobial effects and opiate-like qualities have been reported. These peptides could therefore lead to the development of important functional food products and ingredients for the prevention and even treatment of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Peptides can be produced by fermentation with dairy starters for instance, and by enzymatic hydrolysis with pancreatic and microbial enzymes. Further purification is typically carried out by membrane filtration and/or chromatographic methods. The production of novel bioactive peptides and their incorporation into functional food products poses several technological challenges as well as regulatory and marketing issues. Proof of efficacy is of paramount importance; this should be verified by conducting appropriate tests in vivo in animals and in humans. In addition, tests for cytotoxicity and allergenicity must be conducted. Despite all of these hurdles, scientific evidence is increasingly demonstrating the health benefits of diet-based disease prevention, and therefore new developments in this area are likely to continue both at the research and the commercialisation level.

Absorption of isoflavones in humans: effects of food matrix and processing

If soy isoflavones are to be effective in preventing or treating a range of diseases, they must be bioavailable, and thus understanding factors which may alter their bioavailability needs to be elucidated. However, to date there is little information on whether the pharmacokinetic profile following ingestion of a defined dose is influenced by the food matrix in which the isoflavone is given or by the processing method used. Three different foods (cookies, chocolate bars and juice) were prepared, and their isoflavone contents were determined. We compared the urinary and serum concentrations of daidzein, genistein and equol following the consumption of three different foods, each of which contained 50 mg of isoflavones. After the technological processing of the different test foods, differences in aglycone levels were observed. The plasma levels of the isoflavone precursor daidzein were not altered by food matrix. Urinary daidzein recovery was similar for all three foods ingested with total urinary output of 33-34% of ingested dose. Peak genistein concentrations were attained in serum earlier following consumption of a liquid matrix rather than a solid matrix, although there was a lower total urinary recovery of genistein following ingestion of juice than that of the two other foods. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of learning condition on perceptual anticipation, awareness, and visual search

The efficacy of explicit and implicit learning paradigms was examined during the very early stages of learning the perceptual-motor anticipation task of predicting ball direction from temporally occluded footage of soccer penalty kicks. In addition, the effect of instructional condition on point-of-gaze during learning was examined. A significant improvement in horizontal prediction accuracy was observed in the explicit learning group; however, similar improvement was evident in a placebo group who watched footage of soccer matches. Only the explicit learning intervention resulted in changes in eye movement behaviour and increased awareness of relevant postural cues. Results are discussed in terms of methodological and practical issues regarding the employment of implicit perceptual training interventions. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.