Tracking Components and Maintenance History within a Facility Utilizing Radio Frequency Identification Technology

Limitations in data transfer between maintenance workers and a central facility management (FM) system result in lower data quality, longer service process times, and ineffective capturing of component maintenance history. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology provides an opportunity to meet the current needs for uniquely identifying facility components, storing some maintenance history information on the component, and accessing this information on-demand within a facility. There have not been any research studies that tested the performance of active ultrahigh frequency RFID technology on facility components during operations and maintenance phase repetitively over an extended period of time. The objectives of this study were to identify how RFID technology can improve current FM processes and to determine technological feasibility of using RFID within a facility repetitively on a daily basis. The writers tagged fire valves in a facility with RFID tags and conducted a longevity test for sixty consecutive days by simulating tag identification, data access, and entry in real-life conditions. The results demonstrate that current commercially available active RFID technology performs well in a building environment where metallic objects and different obstructions are present. The observed reading distances were approximately half of the reading range expected in open air provided that there are not any massive obstructions between the reader and the tag.     

Model for the 3D Location of Buried Assets Based on RFID Technology

As construction and renovation equipment excavate in the vicinity of utility lines, the buried infrastructure is likely to suffer some form of “attack,” be that simple mechanical abrasion or a major rupture. Damage to underground services can lead to widespread disruption and significant upstream (service provider) and downstream (end user) losses, often resulting in whole communities being isolated from emergency services and losing essential utilities such as water, gas, and electricity. The ability to physically determine on site the location of underground utilities is critical to reduce risk and consequence during excavation. For these reasons, the location and efficient maintenance of buried assets are a high priority, especially for utility companies. This paper presents the development of a model for the three-dimensional (3D) location of buried assets based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and findings from laboratory and field experiments. Passive, low frequency RFID devices were used during the research. Two approaches of this model, “Method A” and “Method B,” along with major experimental findings are discussed within the paper. In order to validate the applicability of each method, “real-world” field experiments were performed. The findings from this research demonstrated that applying RFID technology to locate buried assets has a great potential for facilitating the accurate 3D data of underground infrastructure.     

Predictors of caregiving in adult intimate relationships: An attachment theoretical perspective.

Romantic couples (N?=?194) participated in an investigation of caregiving processes in adulthood. In Phase 1, couple members completed questionnaires designed to identify attachment style differences in caregiving behavior and to explore the underlying (personal and relationship) mechanisms that lead people with different attachment styles to be effective or ineffective caregivers. Results revealed that social support knowledge, prosocial orientation, interdependence, trust, and egoistic motivation mediated the link between attachment style and caregiving. In Phase 2, responsive caregiving was assessed behaviorally by exposing one member of the couple to a stressful laboratory situation and experimentally manipulating his or her need for support. Results revealed that attachment style and mediating mechanisms identified in Phase 1 also predicted observable support behavior in a specific episode in which a partner had a clear need for support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A model of involvement in work-related learning and development activity: The effects of individual, situational, motivational, and age variables.

Eight hundred employees from across the U.S. work force participated in a detailed 13-month longitudinal study of involvement in learning and development activities. A new model was posited and tested in which the hypothesized sequence was as follows: worker age → individual and situational antecedents → perceived benefits of participation and self-efficacy for development → attitudes toward development → intentions to participate → participation. The results depict a person who is oriented toward employee development as having participated in development activities before, perceiving themselves as possessing qualities needed for learning, having social support for development at work and outside of work, being job involved, having insight into his or her career, and believing in the need for development, in his or her ability to develop skills and to receive intrinsic benefits from participating. Given the aging work force, a detailed treatment of age differences in development is presented. Implications for new ideas in practice and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rats with fimbria-fornix lesions are impaired in path integration: a role for the hippocampus in "sense of direction"

Animals can locate their present position in relation to a starting point and return to that starting point using cues generated by self-movement, a navigation strategy called dead-reckoning. Because contemporary research on spatial navigation suggests that some aspects of spatial navigation depend on the integrity of the hippocampal formation, whereas others do not, the present study examined whether dead-reckoning is hippocampally dependent. The task capitalized on the proclivity of foraging rats to carry large food pellets to a shelter for eating. Control rats and rats with fimbria-fornix (FF) lesions left a hidden burrow to search for one piece of food located somewhere on a circular table. The accuracy with which they returned to the burrow with the food was measured. In three experiments, rats received probe trials in which they (1) started from novel locations, (2) wore blindfolds to obscure visual cues, and (3) foraged under a condition in which surface cues, e.g., odors left by their outward searches, were displaced. Both sighted control and FF rats preferentially used visual cues for guidance when foraging from a familiar location. Control rats were accurate and FF rats were impaired in returning to novel starting locations (1) when sighted, (2) when blindfolded, and (3) when blindfolded in tests in which surface cues were displaced. These results, as well as detailed observations on the behavior of the animals, are consistent with the hypothesis that rats can use dead-reckoning to solve spatial problems, and this ability depends on the integrity of the hippocampal formation.     

Sensing and Field Data Capture for Construction and Facility Operations

Collection of accurate, complete, and reliable field data is not only essential for active management of construction projects involving various tasks, such as material tracking, progress monitoring, and quality assurance, but also for facility and infrastructure management during the service lives of facilities and infrastructure systems. Limitations of current manual data collection approaches in terms of speed, completeness, and accuracy render these approaches ineffective for decision support in highly dynamic environments, such as construction and facility operations. Hence, a need exists to leverage the advancements in automated field data capture technologies to support decisions during construction and facility operations. These technologies can be used not only for acquiring data about the various operations being carried out at construction and facility sites but also for gathering information about the context surrounding these operations and monitoring the workflow of activities during these operations. With this, it is possible for project and facility managers to better understand the effect of environmental conditions on construction and facility operations and also to identify inefficient processes in these operations. This paper presents an overview of the various applications of automated field data capture technologies in construction and facility fieldwork. These technologies include image capture technologies, such as laser scanners and video cameras; automated identification technologies, such as barcodes and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags; tracking technologies, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) and wireless local area network (LAN); and process monitoring technologies, such as on-board instruments (OBI). The authors observe that although applications exist for capturing construction and facility fieldwork data, these technologies have been underutilized for capturing the context at the fieldwork sites as well as for monitoring the workflow of construction and facility operations.     

"The piano trio" Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms]

The relationship between the pianist and composer Clara Schumann and the composers Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms has for a century been an interesting topic. Clara and Robert Schumann both suffered separation from their mothers during early childhood. Johannes Brahms was intensely spoiled by his mother. Robert Schumann needed a structuring wife in his adult life, while Johannes Brahms turned to be afraid of intrusive women. Robert Schumann's psychotic breakdown in February 1854 had a complex background: a hypomanic state, some marital problems, a stressful journey with musical appearances, and possibly a difficulty in differentiating between himself and his new friend Johannes Brahms. As for Clara Schumann, who lost her mother before the age of five, musical activities became her way of overcoming the difficulties of life. She was able to support Robert in his lunatic asylum and their seven children growing up in three separate towns. The chronic diseases of the sons: schizophrenia, polyarthritis and tuberculosis made a deep impression on her and her fingers and hands were periodically immobilised with severe pain. For four decades Johannes was her able "son" and Clara was his "mother", at a safe distance.     

The influence of acid on astringency of alum and phenolic compounds

For any physician, sympathetic interaction with his/her patients should remain a central concern. It is his/her task to understand the patient's hopes, fears, anxieties and social situation, as well as to understand himself and his own motives and attitudes, which can often be identified as helplessness. Continually advancing technology, rationalization, time, and the pressure for success leave less and less room for such considerations in medical practice. While patients often consider their medical care as very good, they, however, complain that the emotional support is often insufficient. Thus, for the benefit of both the doctor and the patient, every physician has to assure compassion in his relationship with the patients. Medical doctors taking care of cancer patients do not need only thorough medical training but also additional training in psychosomatic medicine.     

Providing and maintaining jobs for psychiatric patients--how can it be done?

An innovative project has produced some good results in the placement of psychically disabled people in the general labour market. The "foster colleague model" provides support for the client directly at her or his place of work by a specially trained member of company staff (the "foster colleague"). This method has so far managed to provide 18 formerly psychically ill people with employment and helped to keep them in work.     

Need satisfaction and involvement in personal projects: Toward an integrative model of subjective well-being.

Telic theories locate well-being in the attainment of desired end states (i.e., in need satisfaction) whereas autotelic theories locate well-being in the movement toward such end states (i.e., in the experience of involvement). This article outlines a model of subjective well-being which integrates these two approaches. It is proposed that need satisfaction and involvement are conceptually distinct sources of feelings of subjective well-being which derive, in part, from common origins such as the perception of opportunities for need satisfaction. The strengths of the relationships implied by this model were estimated using data obtained from 39 adult subjects who reported on their 10 most important personal projects (B. Little; see record 1983-26972-001). Results from within-subjects analyses supported the model when positive but not negative affect was used as a measure of well-being. Evidence is also presented to support the adoption of personal projects as a useful way of representing how persons structure and experience their lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shoshin syndrome: two case reports representing opposite ends of the same disease spectrum

The purpose of this article is to describe how nurses can assist the new mother of a high-risk infant, especially a preterm infant, in identifying and obtaining the social support needed to help the family adapt in the first few weeks after the birth. The interventions recommended are based on a research study conducted by the authors and colleagues and summarized within this article. Because support was more important than these mothers expected it to be, it is important that nurses in prenatal, postpartum, neonatal, home health, and extended care settings recognize the need to assist women in identifying their support needs. In addition, nurses can help the mothers identify individuals within their social network who could assist them with those needs. Meeting the social support needs of a mother is important for her own mental and physical health and well-being. It also helps her meet the social and developmental needs of her infant.     

Updating geographical knowledge: Principles of coherence and inertia.

In 2 experiments, the authors investigated how representations of global geography are updated when people learn new location information about individual cities. Participants estimated the latitude of cities in North America (Experiment 1) and in the Old and New Worlds (Experiment 2). After making their first estimates, participants were given information about the latitudes of 2 cities and asked to make a second set of estimates. Both the first and second estimates revealed evidence for psychologically distinct geographical subregions that were coordinated, in an ordinal sense, across the Atlantic Ocean. Further, the second estimates were affected by the nature of the physical adjacency between regions (e.g., the southern U.S. and Mexico) and by accurate location information about distant, but coordinated, subregions (e.g., the southern U.S. and Mediterranean Europe). The data provide support for a framework for making geographical estimates in which people strike a balance between 2 principles: the need to keep their knowledge base coherent, and the inertial tendency to resist changing the knowledge base unless it is necessary to maintain coherence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social and institutional factors in adjustment to traumatic brain injury.

ABSTRACT. A longitudinal case study of a working-class heterosexual White man who sustained a traumatic brain injury in a motor vehicle accident is used to delineate social and institutional factors that play a role in adjustment to brain injury. Data gathered from multiple sources (e.g., medical records, neuropsychological assessment, participant observation, and interviews) and sustained contact with the participant and his family over a 10-month time span reveal a complex and multidetermined view of the adjustment process. The case illustrates the critical need for an advocate, a requirement that becomes particularly acute when cognitive disabilities interfere with a person's ability to function effectively on his or her own. The factors that people with brain injuries and advocates must face include shifting of responsibilities, time, paperwork, negotiation of finances, and issues related to class and disability status. Moving beyond the individual focus on deficits and impairments to looking at the institutional, social, and cultural factors that influence the adjustment process will give clinicians and researchers a broader context for understanding brain injury and helping patients adjust. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exercise and sports in the adolescent with chronic pulmonary disease

Every young person with a respiratory disability should be given the opportunity to maximize his or her exercise potential. Conditions such as asthma, affecting some 14 to 15 million people and cystic fibrosis (CF), affecting about 30,000 people in the U.S., may exclude young people from sports participation. And yet regular aerobic exercise and weight training have been shown to provide significant psychological and physical benefits to people with lung disease and diseases of the respiratory muscles and chest wall. The authors document the effects of asthma, CF, and neuromuscular diseases on aerobic exercise to prevent unnecessary limitations on participation due to inaccurate preconceived notions of sports of exercise capacity in chronically ill adolescents.     

L'évaluation des relations parents-enfants.

Parents have an influence on the evolution of their child and his/her successes in school, sports or music. Their support by example is critical. Some of their behaviours can also have a negative impact. Research aiming at better defining parents/child relations and their influence on the successes and the well-being of the child is needed. To this end, the use of a questionnaire is profitable. But there are few valid tools available in French. The existing tools do not focus on the evaluation of essential dimensions of child development. To palliate this deficiency, this article aims at validating the QéRPE (Questionnaire d'évaluation des relations parents/enfant), the French translation of the EMBU (Egna Minnen Betr?ffende Uppfostran, Perris et al., 1980). It underscores the level of support, overprotection and reject felt by the child by his parents. It is applied here in a relation parents/sport. The factor pattern (exploratory and confirmatory analysis) and the internal consistency of the QéRPE have been tested, and an external validation has been made. Results show that the psychometrics quality of the QéRPE is very acceptable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of the relationship between the Black client and the White therapist.

Discusses the psychological issues involved in having White therapists treat Black clients. The topics examined are the importance of the White therapist understanding his or her own feelings, countertransference, the detrimental effect of therapist guilt, and the impact of the therapist's need to be powerful. Also explored are the need for awareness of client–therapist interpersonal similarity and the need for an understanding of our social system for effective psychotherapy. Concrete suggestions are offered for helping therapists deal more effectively with Black clients. The White therapist–Black client relationship is proposed as a paradigm of how people with differing values learn to help each other. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect.

This article presents a theory of how different types of discrepancies between self-state representations are related to different kinds of emotional vulnerabilities. One domain of the self (actual; ideal; ought) and one standpoint on the self (own; significant other) constitute each type of self-state representation. It is proposed that different types of self-discrepancies represent different types of negative psychological situations that are associated with different kinds of discomfort. Discrepancies between the actual/own self-state (i.e., the self-concept) and ideal self-states (i.e., representations of an individual's beliefs about his or her own or a significant other's hopes, wishes, or aspirations for the individual) signify the absence of positive outcomes, which is associated with dejection-related emotions (e.g., disappointment, dissatisfaction, sadness). In contrast, discrepancies between the actual/own self-state and ought self-states (i.e., representations of an individual's beliefs about his or her own or a significant other's beliefs about the individual's duties, responsibilities, or obligations) signify the presence of negative outcomes, which is associated with agitation-related emotions (e.g., fear, threat, restlessness). Differences in both the relative magnitude and the accessibility of individuals' available types of self-discrepancies are predicted to be related to differences in the kinds of discomfort people are likely to experience. Correlational and experimental evidence supports the predictions of the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling of Functional Construction Requirements for Constructability Analysis

Evaluating construction requirements should be an indispensable part of improving the constructability of a facility project. However, a number of existing function analysis approaches focus mainly on the final functions with respect to the finished facility. The construction industry still lacks methodologies to represent and evaluate the functional construction requirements for constructability analysis. This paper develops the concept of intermediate functions for representing the construction requirements from three perspectives, namely, function user, function provider, and the temporal and spatial relationships between the user and the provider. This is followed by the development of an in-progress product model to abstract the construction lifecycle of a facility product utilizing the concept of component state. Furthermore, the reference relationships among such perspectives as in-progress product, intermediate function, resource, and process are addressed. Based on these reference relationships, the bottleneck states for providing the intermediate functions can be detected. A case study of constructing the deck of a bridge using the balanced cantilever approach is presented to illustrate the utilization of this concept and representation.     

Genetic counseling: should side issues become main issues?

Three people applied for genetic counselling, but during the consultations the clinical geneticist discovered other problems for which advice could have been given but was not asked. This caused a serious dilemma. The first person was a woman who wanted to know the risks of epilepsy for her potential offspring, but then it became clear that she appeared to have Huntington's disease in the family. The second person was a man who wanted to know about the genetic risks for his offspring of a borderline psychiatric disorder, but the geneticist, seeing that the partner had severe limb defects, wondered whether these were caused by a genetic disorder. The third patient was a pregnant woman who came asking about the risks caused by mental retardation in one of her ancestors, but who appeared to be a heavy drinker and user of cocaine and ecstasy. In dealing with such 'secondary' problems, it should be kept in mind that persons seeking advice must decide for themselves whether or not they want to be informed regarding these problems or not.     

Application of MintDrive Automatic Precision Positioning System

It is very important to locate batteries accurately and quickly during automatic battery production.Unstable or inaccurate location will negatively influence battery's consistency, quality and finished product rate.A traditional way is using sensor to detect and locate batteries directly , but because of the detecting tolerance, setting them on a fixed point exactly is almost impossible.This problem could be completely solved by the application of mint drive automatic accurate servo locating system.Firstly operating software WorkBench test was applied to collocate the servo locating driver for a most optimized control.Then based on the requirement of real location, program and test the locating action with a programming software and finally upload all the locating information to MicroLogix 1200 PLC, the PLC will control the running on each station telling when to locate, where is the location and how to eliminate bad parts.For this intelligent servo locating system has the advantages of powerful function, simple operation, high controlling and locating accuracy and easy maintenance, it is very suitable to be adopted by automatic battery making line.It is regarded as a very advanced method of control currently for reducing waste material due to inaccurate location and tough adjustment.