Risk assessment of organised crime groups can assess different types of risk at a group- or individual-level. Operational definitions of key concepts, units of analysis and type of data are a few issues prevalent in risk assessment (RA) instruments when assessing risk in gangs on a group-level. Do these methodological issues also affect risk assessment in OCG members on an individual level? This review will also focus on how risk assessment instruments are used when assessing individual risk in gang members. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Five databases were included in the review. The abstract screening process yielded 47 studies suitable for full-text screening. Only 8 studies qualified for inclusion after applying the eligibility criteria. A narrative synthesis revealed that risk assessment in OCG members were focused on an adolescent population within a mainly western cultural setting. The RA tools were mostly used in custody settings but also took place in the community and in schools. Variations on RA instruments based on Level of Service Inventory (Andrews & Bonta, 2010) were the most common ones, but other frameworks and models assessing risk were also used. Similar methodological issues were observed on an individual-risk assessment level as on a group level, resulting in a negative impact on validity of RA instruments when used on OCG members.

In the fields of water safety, food safety, and public communications, the overarching goal is to improve public health. Thus, this dissertation focuses on risk assessment and applying novel methods for exposure assessments and dose responses to contaminants in drinking water and foods. Factors that greatly impact contaminant exposures and human dose response include: population susceptibility (i.e., healthy adults or children), different routes of exposures (i.e., ingestion or inhalation), carrier matrices (i.e., water or food), and intricacies of chemical and biological mixtures. Chemical spills, such as the 2014 crude MCHM spill in Charleston, WV, revealed the complexities of both minor and major components in the chemical mixture. Slight shifts in geometric structures (isomers) can affect the fate and transport properties of the chemical mixture and as a result, the level of human exposure and dose response to each component in the chemical mixture. Odorous properties of both minor and major components can affect human inhalation exposure, especially during showering, and can be as detrimental as the ingestion route exposure and are different for healthy adults versus for children. Food contaminants, such as Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in beef products, can be mitigated through a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) framework that follows a farm-to-fork model. Methods to ensure greatest microbial reduction include: employed intervention strategies at slaughter plants (i.e., water washing of beef carcass), improved cooking times and temperature methods at the consumer and retail level, and assessed minimum effective dose response modeling for different population susceptibilities. Current public communication tools, including the Drinking Water Taste-and-Odor Wheel or Consumer Confidence Reports (better known as water quality reports), should be redeveloped to uphold water safety. Furthermore, public health campaigns that uses social media strategies and informative websites can better educate the public on food contaminants. Ultimately, the objective is to prevent human illnesses due to water contaminants and foodborne pathogens and to bridge the communication gap between the consumers and the experts concerned with water and food safety. / Ph. D. / In the fields of water safety, food safety, and public communications, the overarching goal is to improve public health. Thus, this dissertation focuses on risk assessment and applying novel methods for exposure assessments and dose responses to contaminants in drinking water and foods. Factors that greatly impact contaminant exposures and human dose response include: population susceptibility (i.e., healthy adults or children), different routes of exposures (i.e., ingestion or inhalation), carrier matrices (i.e., water or food), and intricacies of chemical and biological mixtures. Chemical spills, such as the 2014 crude MCHM spill in Charleston, WV, revealed the complexities of both minor and major components in the chemical mixture. Slight shifts in geometric structures (isomers) can affect the fate and transport properties of the chemical mixture and as a result, the level of human exposure and dose response to each component in the chemical mixture. Odorous properties of both minor and major components can affect human inhalation exposure, especially during showering, and can be as detrimental as the ingestion route exposure and are different for healthy adults versus for children. Food contaminants, such as Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in beef products, can be mitigated through a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) framework that follows a farm-to-fork model. Methods to ensure greatest microbial reduction include: employed intervention strategies at slaughter plants (i.e., water washing of beef carcass), improved cooking times and temperature methods at the consumer and retail level, and assessed minimum effective dose response modeling for different population susceptibilities. Current public communication tools, including the Drinking Water Taste-and-Odor Wheel or Consumer Confidence Reports (better known as water quality reports), should be redeveloped to uphold water safety. Furthermore, public health campaigns that uses social media strategies and informative websites can better educate the public on food contaminants. Ultimately, the objective is to prevent human illnesses due to water contaminants and foodborne pathogens and to bridge the communication gap between the consumers and the experts concerned with water and food safety.

There is an unprecedented need to manage our deteriorating water infrastructure systems effectively to mitigate the enormous consequences of their premature failure such as loss of service, money, time, damage to other infrastructure, and damage to property. Most of the water utilities understand this need and are implementing asset management approaches and technologies to increase the overall service life of their assets. However, to indeed achieve sustainable water infrastructure systems, there is a requirement to implement a risk-based asset management program which provides a more comprehensive approach to manage these aging assets. A risk-based asset management program assesses and manages the risk of failure associated with the water infrastructure assets and helps water utilities in prioritizing their assets for renewal. This program identifies the critical assets for renewal and saves the money and time invested in the renewal of 'not so critical' assets. This research incorporates an extensive literature and practice review on risk-based asset management of pipes, valves, and hydrants. The risk-based asset management consist of the following four major components: (1) understanding the deterioration modes and mechanisms, (2) implementing risk assessment and management approaches, (3) implementing condition assessment approaches and technologies, and (4) implementing asset renewal approaches and technologies. This research aims to provide enhanced guidelines based on the EPA 10 step asset management program which will help water utilities in developing a risk-based asset management program as well as in improving their existing asset management program. This research combines the in-depth knowledge gained through a state-of-the-art literature review and practice review. The practice review is conducted to capture the real world application of the risk-based asset management through interviews with the water utilities across the united states. This research has also compiled the knowledge gained by already published case studies to provide a more comprehensive overview of the current practices and trend in the risk-based asset management of drinking water pipelines, valves, and hydrants. / Master of Science / America’s drinking water infrastructure is deteriorating and there is an unprecedented need to manage our deteriorating water infrastructure systems effectively to mitigate the enormous impacts of their premature failure such as loss of service, money, time, damage to other infrastructure, and damage to property. In order to achieve sustainable water infrastructure systems, there is a requirement to implement a risk-based asset management program which is a comprehensive approach to manage these aging assets. A risk-based asset management program assesses and manages the risk of failure associated with the water infrastructure assets and helps water utilities in prioritizing their assets for renewal. This program identifies the critical assets for renewal and saves the money and time invested in the renewal of “not so critical” assets. This research aims to provide enhanced guidelines based on the EPA 10 step asset management program which will help water utilities in developing a risk-based asset management program as well as in improving their existing asset management program. This research combines the in-depth knowledge gained through a state-of-the-art literature review and practice review. The practice review is conducted to capture the real-world application of the risk-based asset management through interviews with the water utilities across the united states. This research has also compiled the knowledge gained by already published case studies to provide a more comprehensive overview of the current practices and trend in the risk-based asset management of drinking water pipelines, valves, and hydrants.

Yes / In a dynamic business environment like the energy sector, power plants face several complex risks, including both technical and non-technical risks. These risks are not isolated, as their impact may affect a series of interrelated risks. Those risks may change with time, which in turn, makes the strategic decision-making process less effective. Understanding the dynamic behaviour of a complex system is very important to achieve a more sustainable overall performance of the power plants. Thus, it is important to further develop a systematic risk assessment methodology that could help to identify and analyse the interdependencies among risks and to understand the dynamics of these risks in complex systems. This paper develops a system dynamics (SD) methodology to support the development of risk assessment models. This paper highlights the environmental perspective. The first step to develop a SD model will be applied, while the final SD model will be discussed in another paper.

Long-term declines in salmonid populations observed in California Central Valley have prompted efforts to enhance the understanding of how environmental stressors impact sensitive species. Bifenthrin, a current-use insecticide, has been consistently detected throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) and has been linked to detrimental effects in salmon. Traditionally, aqueous concentration is used in toxicological studies to evaluate the effects of pesticides on aquatic organisms, which assumes that concentration of the toxicant in water is a valid surrogate for dose. The critical body residue approach was established as an improved technique for assessing toxicity of hydrophobic contaminants, but there is a lack of data to support the application of this method in assessing risk of contaminant exposure in the environment. The current study creates a response spectrum model (RSM) demonstrating the relationship between internal residue and effects observed in Chinook Salmon from laboratory-based exposures. To develop the RSM, a series of behavioral and physiological endpoints were measured using bifenthrin-dosed Chinook Salmon to use with previously generated mortality data for incorporation in the model. The most sensitive endpoints were locomotion and shoaling behavior, followed by anxiety, growth, swim performance, upper thermal sensitivity, olfactory response, and lethality. The RSM endpoints were compared to bifenthrin residues in field-collected juvenile Chinook Salmon collected in 2019-2020 as part of our earlier studies. We found bifenthrin tissue residues were at similar levels to the most sensitive endpoints featured in the RSM, suggesting that bifenthrin exposure in the field is likely to cause behavioral effects to salmon as they out-migrate through the Delta. The developed RSM is a tool that could be used by water quality managers to evaluate the extent to which bifenthrin exposure may impact behavior and performance in juvenile salmon, providing a field-based verification of its effects on outmigration.

Yes / Falls are the most common safety incident reported by acute hospitals. In England national guidance recommends delivery of a multifactorial falls risk assessment (MFRA) and interventions tailored to address individual falls risk factors. However, there is variation in how these practices are implemented. This study aimed to explore the variation by examining what supports or constrains delivery of MFRAs and tailored interventions in acute hospitals. A realist review of literature was conducted with searches completed in three stages: (1) to construct hypotheses in the form of Context, Mechanism, Outcome configurations (CMOc) about how MFRAs and interventions are delivered, (2) to scope the breadth and depth of evidence available in Embase to test the CMOcs, and (3) following prioritisation of CMOcs, to refine search strategies for use in multiple databases. Citations were managed in EndNote; titles, s, and full texts were screened, with 10% independently screened by two reviewers. Two CMOcs were prioritised for testing labelled: Facilitation via MFRA tools, and Patient Participation in interventions. Analysis indicated that MFRA tools can prompt action, but the number and type of falls risk factors included in tools differ across organisations leading to variation in practice. Furthermore, the extent to which tools work as prompts is influenced by complex ward conditions such as changes in patient condition, bed swaps, and availability of falls prevention interventions. Patient participation in falls prevention interventions is more likely where patient directed messaging takes individual circumstances into account, e.g., not wanting to disturb nurses by using the call bell. However, interactions that elicit individual circumstances can be resource intensive and patients with cognitive impairment may not be able to participate despite appropriately directed messaging. Organisations should consider how tools can be developed in ways that better support consistent and comprehensive identification of patients' individual falls risk factors and the complex ward conditions that can disrupt how tools work as facilitators. Ward staff should be supported to deliver patient directed messaging that is informed by their individual circumstances to encourage participation in falls prevention interventions, where appropriate. PROSPERO: CRD42020184458. / This research is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme (project number NIHR129488).

京都大学 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(工学) / 乙第13616号 / 論工博第4213号 / 新制||工||2002(附属図書館) / (主査)教授 高木 郁二, 教授 佐々木 隆之, 教授 米田 稔 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Lam, Yee Man. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese.

"Over the years, risk analysis methodologies have been developed and implemented by many industries. NASA has implemented a cost efficient Continuous Risk Analysis methodology with good results. The U. S. Department of Transportation also states that a continuous risk analysis is the key in identifying, addressing, and handling risks before they become threats to success. However, current practices seldom incorporate this concept into real transportation projects. In general, risk is simply disregarded in feasibility studies. One of primary reasons is the lack of a feasible and effective risk analysis approach to guide efficient implementation in real projects. This thesis reviews current risk analysis practices used in public transportation projects. Using a case study, it also explores potential obstacles encountered in the implementation of systematic risk analysis. Finally, this thesis presents a preliminary risk analysis framework developed through the case study and enriched subsequently by incorporating material documented in the literature. The proposed risk analysis approach is to help achieve continuous risk analysis in transportation projects by enabling early start, frequent implementation, extensive application and flexible adoption."

Yeung Sai Mo, Simon. / "June 2002." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-278). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.