A practical plan for stabilizing Norway''s energy consumption

Norway is rich in energy, exporting more energy than used internally, supplying more than 50% of its energy from hydroelectricity and being a country without a single commercial fossil fuelled power plant. Yet, nearly all political parties are going for stabilization of energy use in the 1990s, some favouring permanent stabilization and others stabilization until environment problems from energy use are solved. Stable energy consumption may be achieved through speeding up development of new energy technology (houses developed at home), modifying existing technology, developing less energy intensive industries, and, as a last resort, reducing man-hours per year as productivity increases.     

Risk assessment for civil engineering facilities: critical overview and discussion

The present paper should be seen as a basis for discussion of important aspects of risk analysis and assessment, as well as attempting to describe risk assessment in accordance with the present state of the art. Risk assessment is thus presented in an overview form from the viewpoint of being a means for decision-making and thus within the formal framework of decision theory. First the motivation for risk analysis is given and the theoretical basis together with the practical aspects, methodologies and techniques for the implementation of risk assessment in civil engineering applications are explained and discussed. The paper furthermore addresses the problems associated with risk acceptance criteria, risk aversion and value of human life and attempts to provide suggestions for the rational treatment of these aspects. Finally a number of problem areas are highlighted and the needs for further education, research and dissemination are stressed.     

Application of the principles of ILS to the development of cost effective maintenance strategies for existing building stock

Total spending on building maintenance in the UK has increased by 66% in the last 10 years (BMI, 1996). Total expenditure on maintenance in 1997 was £39.8 billion (BMI, 1998). Any significant reduction in building maintenance costs will therefore have a real impact on the national economy. This paper reports the results of a research project supported by the EPSRC at the University of Dundee, which sought to quantify the benefits of applying integrated logistics support (ILS) to the development of cost-effective maintenance strategies for existing building stock. ILS is a managerial and technical approach that ensures that the client/user will receive a building that will meet performance requirements (durability, reliability, maintainability, performance, etc.) at the lowest whole life cost. The principles of ILS are described and a systematic framework for selecting the most appropriate and cost-effective maintenance task for each individual element in a building is developed. The decision logic processes for identifying each failure consequence and for selecting the most applicable and cost-effective maintenance task are derived. The maintenance cost savings arising from the application of two ILS techniques - failure modes and effects analysis, and reliability centred maintenance - to a sample of 18 properties were calculated to be 18.5%.     

Measurement of smoking outcome expectancies in children: The Smoking Consequences Questionnaire-Child.

A measure of smoking outcome expectancies was developed for children ages 7-12 years. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine whether a 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-factor solution was most appropriate for the data set. CFA revealed that the 3-factor model produced the most adequate fit (Positive Reinforcement, Negative Consequences, and Weight Control). The resulting 15-item measure was named the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire-Child (SCQ-C). The fit of the 3-dimensional structure was then examined separately for 3 age groups representing young (7- to 8-year-old), middle (9- to 10-year-old), and old (11- to 13-year-old) children. Overall, the 3-factor structure fit the data well for the 3 groups. As such, we examined the relations of the 3 scales with antecedent variables for the entire sample. The Positive Reinforcement scale was associated with children's smoking behavior and having a family member or peers who smoked. The Negative Consequences scale was inversely related to having a family member or peer who smoked. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influences of motives to play and time spent gaming on the negative consequences of adolescent online computer gaming

In this study we examined the relation between gaming-time, motives to play, and negative consequences due to playing MMORPGs. A total of 7757 Swedish adolescents (3872 boys and 3885 girls) between 13 and 18 years of age completed a questionnaire during class hours. Results indicated that time spent on gaming was associated with negative consequences. This relation was further explained by motives to play. Gaming for fun and social motives were associated with a reduced risk whereas gaming to escape, to gain status, or due to demands from others were associated with an increased risk of negative consequences. Motives to play should be considered as a prime indicator for negative consequences, even more than time spent gaming. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.     

A GIS-based risk assessment of hydrogen transport: Case study in Yokohama City

This study proposes a method of assessing the risk of hydrogen transport via road considering spatial features of a transport route, based on a geographic information system (GIS); a case study of Yokohama, Japan was considered in the assessment. The risk determined by multiplying the frequency of accidents with their consequences was estimated using road segments constituting the entire transport route. The effects of road structure, traffic volumes, and population information were reflected in the estimation of the risk for each road segment by using GIS. In the case study, the risks of transport route were assessed at an acceptable level under risk criteria. The results indicated that the risks fluctuated according to the road segments, indicating that spatial features of a transport route significantly affect the corresponding risks. Analyzing this importance indicates the transport routing to avoid high risk road segments as countermeasures.     

Do desirability ratings moderate the validity of probability ratings on the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire.

Smokers' responses to the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire--Adult (A. L. Copeland, T. H. Brandon, and E. P. Quinn, 1995) were used to determine whether smoking outcome expectancies are moderated by subjective evaluations (desirability ratings) in their effect on smoking-related variables. Hierarchical regression in a reanalysis of data from A. L. Copeland et al indicated that the product of probability and desirability ratings accounted for a significant amount of variance in smoking rate, nicotine dependence, saliva cotinine, and posttreatment smoking status above that accounted for by probability and desirability ratings alone. Results indicate that desirability ratings serve as moderators to probability ratings in explaining current smoking, nicotine dependence, and continued smoking. Effects were modest in magnitude but suggest that it may be important to address subjective evaluations of outcomes in smoking cessation and relapse prevention efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A system view of the No Fault Found (NFF) phenomenon

When a unit is tested outside a technical system, it has normally been removed due to a fault. However, in some cases the external test may not discover any fault and a No Fault Found (NFF) event may occur. The NFF phenomenon is a major problem when dealing with complex technical systems, and its consequences may be manifested in decreased safety and dependability and increased life cycle costs. There are multiple interacting causes of NFF, demanding tough requirements for successful solutions. The purpose of this paper is to describe the phenomenon of NFF and to highlight possible improvements for the prevention of causes of NFF and the reduction of its consequences. The study was performed as an explorative literature study, and the analysis was based on a holistic system view. The identified causes and solutions are related to life cycle stages, availability performance factors, and system stakeholders.     

Prevalence and work-related risk factors for reduced activities and absenteeism due to low back symptoms

Although quite a lot is known about the risk factors for low back symptoms (LBS), less is known about the risk factors for the consequences of LBS. A sample of 3003 men and women randomly selected from the New Zealand Electoral Roll, were interviewed by telephone about self reported physical, psychosocial, organizational, environmental factors and the consequences of LBS (i.e. self-reported reduced activities and absenteeism). The 12-month period prevalence of reduced activities and absenteeism were 18% and 9%, respectively. Lifting (OR 1.79 95% CI 1.16-2.77) increased the risk of reduced activities. Working in awkward/tiring positions (OR 2.11 95% CI 1.20-3.70) and in a cold/damp environment (OR 2.18 95% CI 1.11-4.28) increased the risk of absenteeism. Among those with LBS, reduced activities increased with working in a hot/warm environment (OR 2.14 95% CI 1.22-3.76) and absenteeism was increased with work in awkward/tiring positions (OR 2.06 95% CI 1.13-3.77), tight deadlines (OR 1.89 95% CI 1.02-3.50), and a hot/warm environment (OR 3.35 95% CI 1.68-6.68). Interventions to reduce the consequences of LBS should aim to reduce awkward/tiring positions, lifting and work in a cold/damp environment. For individuals with LBS, additional focus should be to reduce tight deadlines, and work in hot/warm environments.     

On the reducibility of hypotheses and consequences

This paper only tries to shed some additional light on the concepts of hypotheses and consequences, introduced by Trillas et al. [E. Trillas, S. Cubillo, and E. Castiñeira, On conjectures in orthocomplemented lattices, Artificial Intelligence, 117 (2) (2000) 255-275] as particular cases of the more general concept of conjecture. The definitions of reducible hypothesis and reducible consequence are presented, and it is shown that in orthomodular lattices all hypotheses and consequences are reducible, but that this is not necessarily the case in proper ortholattices. In addition, the sets of reducible hypotheses and consequences are characterized, both for general ortholattices as well as for the particular case of orthomodular lattices.