An increased focus on the development of autonomous safety-critical systems requiresmore attention at ensuring safety of humans and the environment. The mainobjective of this thesis is to explore the state of the art and to identify the safetyrelatedchallenges being addressed for using autonomy in safety-critical systems. Inparticular, the thesis explores the nature of these challenges, the different autonomylevels they address and the type of safety measures as proposed solutions. Above all,we focus on the safety measures by a degree of adaptiveness, time of being activeand their ability of decision making. Collection of this information is performedby conducting a Systematic Literature Review of publications from the past 9 years.The results showed an increase in publications addressing challenges related to theuse of autonomy in safety-critical systems. We managed to identify four high-levelclasses of safety challenges. The results also indicate that the focus of research wason finding solutions for challenges related to full autonomous systems as well assolutions that are independent of the level of autonomy. Furthermore, consideringthe amount of publications, results show that non-learning solutions addressing theidentified safety challenges prevail over learning ones, active over passive solutionsand decisive over supportive solutions.

Today, drones have been receiving a lot of notice from commercial businesses. Businesses (mainly companies that have delivery services) are trying to expand their productivity in order bring more satisfaction for their loyal customers. One-way companies can expand their delivery services are through the use of delivery drones. Drones are very powerful devices that are going through many evolutionary changes for their uses throughout the years. For many years, researchers in academia have been examining how drones can plan their paths along with avoiding collisions of other drones and certain obstacles in the civil airspace. However, researchers have not considered how the motion path planning can a ect the overall scheduling aspect of civilian drones. In this thesis, we propose an algorithm for a collision-free scheduling motion path planning of a set drones such that they avoid certain obstacles as well as maintaining a safety distance from each other. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (MTech (Consumer Science: Food and Nutrition))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2004 / Concems have been voiced regarding the food practices and dietary intake of students since residences changed from a catered to a self-catering food provision system. In this study, the purchasing, storage, food preparation practices and dietary intake of female students living in self-catering residences at the Cape Technikon in Cape Town, South Africa, were investigated. A sample of 60 students, representative of the female students living in self-catering residences, participated. A structured interview, together with direct observation, using an observational checklist, was used to determine whether food practices complied with food safety guidelines. As self-reported and actual behaviour may differ, the reported food safety behaviour was compared with the observed behaviour. The mean food and beverage intakes were determined using two 24-hour dietary recalls covering a week and weekend day. Intakes were compared with the recommendations of the Daily Food Guide and the South African Food-Based Dietary Guidelines. Nutrient intakes were analysed using dietary analysis software. Nutrient intakes were compared with the Dietary Reference Intakes for their gender and age grouping. Intakes of S 67% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance/Adequate Intakes or below were deemed as inadequate. The weight status of the students was also determined and compared to the health maintenance Body Mass Index range of 20 to 25 kg/m2 . Results indicated that some, but not all food safety guidelines were followed. Both positive and negative practices were reported and observed.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Environmental Health in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011 / The retail sector in South Africa is increasingly evolving into a dynamic industry, driven by changes in technology, saturating markets and globalisation. A major phenomenon in South Africa has been the evolution of hypermarkets, which sell large quantities of almost all consumer goods on a self-service basis. The South African consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious and, as such, the demand for wellness foods, health and convenience food has escalated. Convenience foods are expected to remain popular with consumers and supermarkets and will therefore increase the amount of ready-to-eat food items offered. As the retail industry has changed over the last two decades, so has the epidemiology of foodborne illnesses, with an increase in the incidence of bacterial infections caused by emerging organisms. In addition, there are certain food safety issues specifically associated with ready-to-eat foods. In recent years, incidences of enteric diseases associated with meat consumption have risen. The emergence of several new foodborne diseases has led to an increased focus attention on the issue of food safety by consumers and the industry. The most commonly implicated foods in these disease outbreaks have been meat and dairy products. The microbial load of eight convenience food manufacturing plants was determined by firstly sampling stainless steel food contact surfaces after they had been cleaned and sanitised at the end of a day‘s shift. The samples were analysed for Total Plate Count (TPC), Escherichia coli, Salmonella species and Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria. The results showed that 59 % of the total areas sampled for TPC failed to comply with the legal requirements for food surfaces specified in the South African Health Act (< 100 cfu.cm-2). Listeria was detected in 23 % of the samples taken and E.coli was found in 1.3 % of the samples, while S. aureus was not detected in any of the samples. Fifty percent of the plants applied conventional cleaning methods for cleaning and sanitation and the remaining 50 % used the low-pressure foam (LPF) method. The bacterial results of the two cleaning methods were statistically compared and a statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) was found between the TPC means of the cleaning methods after cleaning. No statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) was found in terms of the Listeria species counts after both cleaning processes. The LPF method proved to be the superior cleaning option for reducing TPC counts. Secondly surface samples were collected from washed and sanitised dominant hands of food handlers and analysed for the presence of total plate counts, S. aureus and E. coli. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of hand washing practices and sanitation before commencing work. A total of 230 samples were collected, involving 100 % of the food handlers in selected convenience food outlets. The highest bacterial count taken from handswas 7.4 x 10-3 cfu.cm-2 and the lowest showed no detectable growth. Forty percent of the TPC analysed complied with the legal limit of < 100 cfu.cm-2 and only 18 % of the food handlers had no detectable bacteria present on their hands. One hand sample tested positive for E. coli, which is generally viewed as an indication of faecal contamination. S. aureus could not be detected on the hands of any of the food handlers. The results of this study indicated that hand hygiene is unsatisfactory and underlined the importance of further training to improve food handlers‘ knowledge of good hand washing practices. The study also aimed to present data on the food hygiene knowledge and practices of food handlers based on a representative sample from convenience food outlets in the Gauteng area. The management, as well as food handlers, were interviewed without prior announcement and managers were interviewed prior to starting their shifts, followed by food handlers, after they had passed through the change room and hand wash facilities. Although the majority of food handlers adhered to basic hygiene principles, the results highlighted a need for proper and continuous training in hygiene practices, not only for food handlers, but also for management. Furthermore, all food handlers should adhere to a formal cleaning schedule and specific courses should be planned for food handlers. Most training is done away from the workplace and the workers might find it difficult to translate theory into practice. Although food safety training programmes are essential, behavioural changes will not occur merely as a result of having received training but rather continuous development of food handlers. In conclusion, the popularity of convenience food is bound to increase with the growing appeal for modern foods. Consumers in South Africa nowadays demand good quality and safe products at a reasonable cost. Due to continuous time constraints, convenience food is the food of the future for the working mother. It is clear that managing foodborne disease is a challenge and an economic problem subject to various constraints. Food safety has too often become a hit-or-miss gamble, with parents obliged to roll the dice when it comes to the safety of their children‘s food and consumers in general. The food industry therefore needs to improve food safety processes to prevent the contamination of foods and use methods to ensure safe food for consumers. Better training, more testing and better methods of tracking food must be utilised to verify that the processes are working. This study endeavoured to add to the understanding and improvement of hygiene processes as well as food handlers‘ practices in the convenience food industry in the Gauteng Province.

The purpose of this project was to investigate the safety of urban arterial non-access controlled roads in Worcester, Massachusetts. An investigation into the dependent variable proved inconclusive and the historical accident rate was used. The best functional form for these roads was unclear so both linear and log-linear models were developed. A linear model was developed that predicted the total accident crash rate and log-linear model was developed to predict the same thing. A second linear model was developed to predict the total injury accident crash rate. The models were validated using independent data where the linear total accident crash rate model was found to be the most robust of the three in that both state primary roads and other arterial roads could have crash rates predicted to a better than fifty percent error.

Time-Difference-of-Arrival (TDOA) location estimation is central to an OFDM based Precision Personnel Locator system being developed at WPI. Here we describe a component of the effort towards characterizing the performance of such a system and verifying the functionality of hardware and software implementations. The performance degradations due to noise in the received signal and misalignments between transmitter and receiver clock and heterodyne frequencies are investigated. This investigation involves development of a MATLAB simulator for the entire system, experimental measures using a prototype implementation and linearized analytic analysis of specific subsystems. The three types of characterizations are compared, confirming agreement, and analytic results are used to demonstrate construction of a system engineering design tool.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries / Department: Regional and Community Planning.

Thesis. 1978. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Edward M. Cluss, Jr. / M.S.

Thesis (Sc.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE. / Bibliography: leaves 333-336. / by Hsueh-Rong Chang. / Sc.D.

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Education published revised guidelines for emergency response planning for colleges and universities in the United States. These guidelines reflect the collective work of numerous government intelligence, law enforcement, and preparedness agencies that have taken into account the past successes and failures of schools in response to natural disasters and man-made disasters such as cyber hacking and targeted violent incidents on campuses. With a collective enrollment of over 20 million students annually and valuable physical resources such as libraries, stadiums, and medical centers at institutions of higher education (IHE), an effort to identify the current safety personnel, practices, and services was conducted. The purpose of this research was to identify areas of IHE compliance with the government guidelines and to identify differences, if any, by school enrollment size and region of the country. A cross-sectional design was used to describe compliance with the government guidelines and examine the differences based on a random sample drawn from all accredited 4- year public colleges and universities (n=708) in the United States. A sample of 17% of all eligible institutions was selected (n=120), and a 70.8% response rate was obtained (n=85). Directors of public safety were interviewed by telephone and reported information regarding their school’s availability of mental health counseling, crime prevention programs, emergency communications plans, emergency operations plans, and personnel training. The major findings of this study revealed that only 64 (75%) schools offered disaster response presentations to new students and staff, while 9 (11%) reported that their written emergency operations plans were not available to their communities, and that only 53 (62.4%) offered presentations regarding cyber-security and safeguarding online information. This study also revealed that 40 (47%) of the respondents either did not have or did not know if their school had an emergency operations plan for dealing with database theft, and 55 (64.7%) either did not have or did not know if there was a plan in place to safeguard the private contact information used in their emergency communications systems. With an estimated 300,000+ college students annually studying abroad, only 44 (51.3%) respondents reported offering travel safety presentations to their communities. Few differences were identified based on enrollment or regional location. The implications are discussed within the context of increasing national trends of gun violence, armed civilians and officers on campuses, cyber hacking, and increased participation by students and researchers traveling abroad.