Prioritizing Regulatory Policy in Pipeline Safety

This paper presents a regulatory priority model and its operationalization for pipeline safety. It begins with a brief discussion of pipeline systems and regulatory legislation associated with pipeline safety. The systems transport natural gas, liquid crude oil, gasoline and other liquid hazardous petroleum products. The regulations relate to technologies to be used, human factors, research requirements and environmental protection considerations. The legislative focus is on public safety, property damage and, most recently, environmental protection. Using a risk assessment approach to operationalize the model requires integration of concepts from engineering, economics and ecology. The specific measures applied include reliability, vulnerability and resiliency. Congressional, private industry and Department of Transportation (DOT) regulatory priorities are compared. The paper concludes with the risk assessment implementation strategy by the DOT Office of Pipeline Safety.     

The effect of alternative product-label design on warning compliance

Many potentially hazardous products are packaged in small containers. Because of the limited amount of space available on these containers for warnings and other information, manufacturers often reduce the size and amount of printed material on the labels. This frequently impairs the message's legibility, noticeability and comprehensibility. Recently, several alternative label designs have been investigated using preference ratings, but whether the designs facilitate safer behaviour has not been determined. In the present experiment, two alternative designs (tag and wings) were compared with a conventional (control) design for their effect on behavioural compliance with a warning on a very small container of glue. Participants performed a parts-assembly task using the glue without being informed of the study's real purpose. Whether participants wore protective gloves as directed by the warning was measured. Results showed that the tag design produced significantly greater compliance than the other two designs. Measures of noticing, reading and recall of the warning mirrored the compliance results. While participants generally preferred the control label, they most preferred the tag warning. Overall, the results suggest that alternative designs like the tag can enhance warning communication and compliance in cases where surface area is limited.     

Carpe diem, Carpe ampulla: A numerical model as an aid to the design of child-resistant closures

The population of most developed countries is ageing. Despite continuing medical advances, ageing brings with it a host of issues, not least a loss in strength and dexterity. One major area of concern is the ability of elderly consumers to access packaged goods such as food and medicines. In previous studies, the authors developed a numerical model of a human hand that was used to investigate the effect of physical dimensions and choice of grip on joint stresses to aid the understanding between physical effort, ability and discomfort. This previous work was supported by ethnographic studies and led to recommendations for packaging design. In this paper, a small ethnographic study is undertaken which identifies the grip types used to access to a product that is known to cause particular difficulties for the elderly, the "squeeze and turn" child-resistant closure or CRC, commonly used on medicines and cleaning products. One of the grip types used was chosen to be modelled using the numerical model developed in previous studies by the author. Model geometry and loading were adapted to simulate the "squeeze and turn" nature of the initial opening for closures of this type. A series of studies were then undertaken using different hand geometries; an average male hand, an average female hand and a fifth percentile female hand. The prediction from the model here is that female users with smaller hands will experience more discomfort when accessing squeeze and turn CRC's and that the turn process whilst maintaining the squeeze is problematic.     

A market-driven requirements engineering process: Results from an industrial process improvement programme

In market-driven software evolution, the objective of a requirements engineering process include the envisioning and fostering of new requirements on existing packaged software products in a way that ensures competitiveness in the marketplace. This paper describes an industrial, market-driven requirements engineering process which incorporates continuous requirements elicitation and prioritisation together with expert cost estimation as a basis for release planning. The company has gained a measurable improvement in delivery precision and product quality of their packaged software. The described process will act as a baseline against which promising new techniques can be evaluated in the continuation of the improvement programme.     

HP's International Cryptography Framework: compromise or threat?

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has developed the International Cryptography Framework (ICF), the strongest encryption system approved for export by the US government to date. The hardware-software system provides various levels of encryption strength, depending on government regulations in the USA and importing countries. In some cases, ICF will allow US manufacturers to export stronger encryption products than regulations have permitted in the past. The US computer industry has said this is necessary for it to compete more effectively in the international marketplace. However, some say ICF may prove to be a Trojan horse in the war over electronic communications privacy. They contend that millions of people will buy ICF-enabled equipment that has weak encryption and that would permit the US government to decrypt data transmissions easily     

Brazil's implementation of TRIPS flexibilities: ambitious missions,early implementation,and the plans for reform

The flexibilities introduced in the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement were aimed at providing the developing countries with the option to adopt suitable measures to address access to patent-protected pharmaceutical products. The flexibilities include the grant of compulsory licences, exceptions to the exclusive right conferred by patent, allowing for parallel imports, and defining the criteria of patentability to achieve the goal of public health. While these flexibilities are available to all developing countries, only a few have implemented the flexibilities into their patent legislation. This paper examines the TRIPS compliant patent laws introduced in Brazil in the post-TRIPS era. It will be argued that the TRIPS Agreement was implemented too soon in Brazil, and the TRIPS flexibilities, although available had not been fully utilised due to pressure from transnational pharmaceutical corporations backed by developed countries, fear of exclusion from major trading blocs, and also due to a gap in the knowledge economy. It will also be argued that the World Trade Organization did not create a level playing field in the TRIPS negotiation in the lead up to the entry into force of the Agreement in 1995, which effectively handed over the advantage to the developed countries, thereby creating a two-tier system in the intellectual property rights arena and making it impossible for developing countries and least-developed countries to achieve the objective of access to affordable medicines.     

Dijkstra Algorithm and the Application of theOptimal Path in the GIS System

If there is no timely,accurate fire and rescue when toxic and harmful substances leak,which will seriously threaten the safety of enterprises and people.Based on the fire and rescue after toxic and hazardous substances leaking,this paper optimizes the classical Dijkstra algorithm from the two aspects of algorithm and memory structure,and the optimized algorithm is applied to GIS for the best path.The final results show that using the optimized algorithm in the GIS can facilitate the workers to avrive at the scene of accident quickly and accurately and impement emergency fire and rescue measures.     

树木三维形态结构的计算机建模

文章在L系统的基础上,考虑树木的分生器官一些重要现象如顶端分生、趋光性和屈地性,建立一个数据量较少、适用于工程设计中自然场景模拟的三维树的结构形态模型。     

Experimental and numerical modeling of attenuated total reflectance method in the process of hazard substances contact detection

Investigations about hazardous substances traces detection by using absorption infrared spectroscopy are described in this work. Method of numerical modeling of hazardous substances tracesradiation interaction based on attenuated total reflectance effect is calculated. Results of researches were used in explosives traces detection device elaboration. As a substance carrier fingerprints, paper etc. can be used. Diffracting array is used as a spectral analyzer.     

Relative importance of evaluation criteria for enterprise systems: a conjoint study

Abstract.  While a large body of research exists on the development and implementation of software, organizations are increasingly acquiring enterprise software packages [e.g. enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems] instead of custom developing their own software applications. To be competitive in the marketplace, software package development firms must manage the three-pronged trade-off between cost, quality and functionality. Surprisingly, prior research has made little attempt to investigate the characteristics of packaged software that influence management information system (MIS) managers' likelihood of recommending purchase. As a result, both the criteria by which MIS managers evaluate prospective packaged systems and the attributes that lead to commercially competitive ERP software products are poorly understood. This paper examines this understudied issue through a conjoint study. We focus on ERP systems, which are among the largest and most complex packaged systems that are purchased by organizations. In a conjoint study, 1008 evaluation decisions based on hypothetical ERP software package profiles were completed by managers in 126 organizations. The study represents the first empirical investigation of the relative importance that managers ascribe to various factors that are believed to be important in evaluating packaged software. The results provide important insights for both organizations that acquire such systems and those that develop them. The results show that functionality, reliability, cost, ease of use and ease of customization are judged to be important criteria, while ease of implementation and vendor reputation were not found to be significant. Functionality and reliability were found to be the most heavily weighted factors. We conclude the paper with a detailed discussion of the results and their implications for software acquisition and development practice.     

Interactive and experiential design in smart textile products and applications

The technical textiles industry in the USA and the EU is growing. As we advance into the knowledge age, objects and material technology will disappear into our material environment, turning unintelligent objects into active and intelligent participants in our lives. As much of our environment is made up from textile materials, they will be the targets of smart engineering. The future of smart textiles will rely on the convergence of electrochemistry and textiles in order to process electronic polymers into fibres and fabrics. The integration of smart functionality into clothing and other textile products will radically change the culture surrounding these products, fundamentally altering people’s relationships with them and the way they use them. Smart functionality will also have an impact on the way products are designed and the materials developed.     

Project Development in Complex Environments: Assessing Safety in Design and Decision‐Making

How can we be sure that safety risks are adequately dealt with in the design of complex, innovative projects? In The Netherlands, a number of recent innovative project initiatives have made this a relevant question. These initiatives include projects such as the construction of tunnels using new technologies, the construction of underground facilities that combine several functions, i.e. shopping, parking and transport, and the development of a transport corridor in which rail, road and waterway have been or will be combined. These projects combine several functions and have been, or will be, realised in densely built and populated areas. Although safety regulations for products and systems have been institutionalised through legislation and professional design practices, recent project proposals link systems and their environment in new and complex ways. The risks evolving from these links are unknown and the extent to which they are covered by existing safety approaches is uncertain. In this contribution, we examine how the attention paid to safety can be increased and maintained in the design process of infrastructural projects. First, we discuss the need to reorganise the safety focus in the design process. Then we describe the role of the design process in decision‐making for major projects with regard to utility building, town planning and the construction of infrastructures. Third, we elaborate how the focus on safety can be organised within this context, given developments in the field of interactive decision‐making and the design and management of interaction processes. We then outline a safety risk management method that can be used to achieve this and, finally, address the conditions that influence the use of this method.     

A computer-based system for risk management support

The scale and complexity of present day industrial operations involving hazardous substances are such that managers are faced with increasingly demanding decision problems. They must simultaneously consider technological, economic, environmental and sociopolitical factors. As a response to this problem a computer based decision support system is being developed to support risk management activities, with special emphasis given to hazardous chemicals. The IRIMS (Ispra Risk Management Support) system is an attempt to integrate a number of data bases, containing information relevant to risk management, with several existing simulation models which can be used to address problems of environmental assessment, risk analysis and system optimisation. The system is designed to be user friendly and results are displayed through high resolution colour graphics allowing the non specialised user to obtain a “feel” for the problem under investigation. The paper describes the current prototype system, which is geared to handle problems on a European scale, and plans for further developments which will allow more detailed studies on particular countries or regions.     

The Treatment of Electronic Contracts and Torts in Private International Law under European Community Legislation

This paper conducts a detailed examination of the current effects of European Community (EC) legislation on private international law in relation to contracts concluded or performed electronically and other electronic activities. It concludes that, as regards electronic consumer contracts, EC Regulation 44/2001 (on civil jurisdiction) and the Rome Convention 1980 (on choice of law) provide satisfactory rules. As regards business-to-business contracts requiring performance by electronic means, the paper criticises the increased uncertainty and confusion arising from the revised rule founding jurisdiction on the place of performance laid down by the Regulation. It hopes that any Community measure dealing with choice-of-law in tort will attend adequately to the electronic environment.     

Towards effective online review systems in the Chinese context: A cross-cultural empirical study

Online reviews, as one kind of quality indicator of products or service, are becoming increasingly important in influencing purchase decisions of prospective consumers on electronic commerce websites. With the fast growth of the Chinese e-commerce industry, it is thus indispensable to design effective online review systems for e-commerce websites in the Chinese context, by taking into account cultural factors. In this paper, we conduct two empirical studies on online reviews. Firstly, we study how culture differences across countries (i.e., China and the USA) impact the way in which consumers provide online reviews. Secondly, we investigate the impact of online reviews on product sales in the Chinese context, and show that directly copying the ideas of successful online review systems in the USA will deteriorate the effectiveness of the systems in China. Finally, we propose several suggestions for the development of effective online review systems in the Chinese context based on the results of our two empirical studies and the findings in previous studies.     

绿色制造在摩托罗拉——环境数据管理体系介绍

环境保护正日益成为国际贸易中的重要准则,绿色产品在国际竞争中占有越来越重要的地位,不符合环境保护标准的产品将最终被淘汰出国际市场。作为世界最大的电子制造商之一,摩托罗拉公司一直致力于环境友好型电子产品的研发与销售。本文着重介绍了摩托罗拉对于材料中风险物质的控制策略、EcoMOTO概念,并举例说明摩托罗拉在危害物质控制与废弃产品回收方面做出的阶段性进展,并以期通过介绍普及绿色制造经验,推动绿色电子产业在我国的进一步发展。     

Differences between inexperienced and experienced safety supervisors in identifying construction hazards: Seeking insights for training the inexperienced

The hazard identification ability of frontline safety supervisors is essential to ensure site safety. As experience can benefit the identification performance, this study investigates the gaps between inexperienced and experienced safety supervisors. Thirty-five experienced safety supervisors and 35 novices were invited to identify hazards in 18 virtual construction sites created by 360-degree panoramas. Their identification results, attention allocation, and adopted scanpaths during the identification process were compared. It is found that the experienced significantly spent more fixation time, had more fixations, and gave a larger proportion of attention to hazardous areas. In contrast, the inexperienced had no idea about where might exist hazards in a scenario. They missed hazards due to ignoring the hazardous areas. Besides, it was hard for the inexperienced to recognize hazards requiring in-depth knowledge of safety regulations. They significantly identified fewer hazards except for the relatively obvious hazards: improper use of PPE and struck-by hazards. The scanpaths were more consistent among the experienced. They observed the scene sequentially, without consciously adopting any specific searching patterns from which the novices could learn. Therefore, it is suggested to train the inexperienced to be aware of hazardous areas in workplaces in addition to educating them on safety norms; and provide them chances to practice hazard identification to retain their learned knowledge. The findings reveal the gaps between inexperienced and experienced safety supervisors, providing insights for training the inexperienced and thus helping ensure the job site safety.     

Applying genetic algorithm to a new bi-objective stochastic model for transportation,location, and allocation of hazardous materials

In 2013, approximately 15,600 HAZMAT accidents with 158 injuries and fatalities have been reported in the USA (“Transportation Statistics Bureau”). Managing hazardous material (HAZMAT) transportation and locating the disposal sites for these materials properly can significantly reduce the risk of accidents and its environmental and social aspects. In this research, a new stochastic model for transportation, location, and allocation of hazardous materials is proposed. The cost of transportation is considered to be of a stochastic nature. The objective function minimizes the total cost and risk of locating facilities and transportation of HAZMATs. The decisions which have to be made are: (1) where to open the facilities and disposal sites; (2) to which facilities every customer should be assigned; (3) to which disposal site each facility should be assigned; and (4) which routes a facility should choose to reach the customers and disposal sites. A novel genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to the model. The results show the efficiency of the proposed GA in terms of finding high quality solutions in a short time.     

美国信息安全发展对中国发展战略的启示

近两年,美国总统奥巴马执政以来出台了一系列网络安全战略,使之成为美国国家安全战略的一部分。国家层面的战略计划、法律法规也相继出炉,体现了美国将迎来信息安全政策的重大调整。本文主要介绍了近两年以来美国的信息安全战略部署和信息安全立法动向,为我国的信息安全战略调整提出了几点借鉴的启示。