Spatial disorientation is the singular most common factor in human-error aviation accidents, and over ninety percent of those accidents are fatal. Despite advances in aviation over the past one hundred years in both technology and training, spatial disorientation mishaps continue at a steady pace, even though other incidents declining in frequency. Because spatial disorientation is a highly complex phenomena that involves the vestibular system, the visual system, and cognitive factors such as workload and attention, predicting spatial disorientation is extremely difficult. Likewise, exactly replicating spatial disorientation for training purposes is challenging as well as extremely dangerous and costly. The goal of this study was twofold: to understand if innate abilities can predict propensity for spatial disorientation, and to investigate the efficacy of using story-based vignettes – narratives – to train spatial disorientation to increase schematic learning in pilots. Results demonstrated that performance on a spatial orientation task such as the Direction Orientation Task (DOT) is not a reliable predictor for spatial disorientation recognition based on self-report spatial disorientation frequency. In addition, though story-based vignettes demonstrated potential for increased cue recognition over a control training event, significant differences were not found in novel spatial disorientation recognition, critical cue identification, or confidence. These findings indicate that spatial disorientation could be a completely perceptual (bottom-up) task rather than one that is both top-down and bottom-up and implies future research into the ways we describe and measure spatial disorientation in order to understand it as well as train for it.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / This research assesses the challenges faced by a diverse group of employees within the Safety and Security Directorate in a Municipality in the Western Cape, which is a service organisation. The manner in which Employment Equity (EE) is introduced and controlled in this organisation can have a great influence on the staff. Experts agree that there are many arguments in favour and against Employment Equity, making it a formidable and difficult task for any management team (Grogan, Stelzer, Jordaan & Maserumele, and 2005:94). It is imperative to grasp the understanding of staff and management on EE and other related issues to measure if any progress was made and how to perhaps improve on current employment equity related practices in the organisation. The research method comprises both the quantitative and qualitative methodology in the form of a questionnaire survey and a sample of the research population. The research revealed that although much progress has been made with employment equity in general, there are many challenges in this Municipality in the Western Cape. Specific recommendations are made to address these challenges. For further research, it is recommended that employment equity be investigated holistically in every department and directorate.

Recent research in the United Kingdom has indicated that many students experience high levels of fear of crime and victimisation on university campuses. Furthermore, research has recognised that positive feelings of safety can be engendered through changes to the physical environment of the campus. However, existing campus safety research focuses predominantly on student vulnerability and relies typically on quantitative methodologies.

Cities have always been the drivers of innovation, growth and change. Cities around the world are still rapidly expanding, especially on the African and Asian continents. Cape Town is one of those cities, where urbanisation rates are high, and crime is persisting at alarmingly high levels with crime rates being among the worst in the country and the world. Additionally, the city is home to 7 of 10 worst-performing police services in the country. Combining these factors, there is a need to look at ‘smart' ways of growth which includes facilitating a safe and secure city for citizens. Although Cape Town is pursuing smart initiatives, these have failed to place communities and individuals among the key stakeholders in the smart planning process. This research focuses on further researching smart city initiatives in Cape Town, placing citizens at the centre of the development process. As Cape Town's mobile phone penetration rate is high and access to Internet is rapidly expanding, this research aims to use crowdsourcing techniques for developing a smart mobile application prototype that is focused on enhancing community engagement and facilitating increased perceived feelings of safety and security for citizens. The study uses a Design Science Research method with Cape Town citizens as the main stakeholders, to propose an artifact based on their wishes, needs and current issues faced with regards to safety and security in the city. The proposed artifact focuses on enhancing community engagement, through a chat room and user-logged incident reports, as well as a customised safe route planning functionality where users can send emergency signals to comembers with the use of GPS live location tracking. The research shows participants are willing to adopt the use of the mobile application prototype, given there is substantial community buy-in, and the functionalities in the app are easy to use and quickly accessible. The study further identifies the need for better police follow up and involvement, as the city's police system could benefit from crowd-sourced crime-data in reducing the number of crimes in neighbourhoods to make citizens feel more safe and secure.

This master thesis called ''Nuclear devices in the view of law'', deals with the current legal arrangement of civil nuclear facilities (devices) in the Czech Republic. Due to the fact that the Czech Republic is bound by the international commitments and its membership in the EU, the master thesis also covers the international and European regulations. The master thesis is composed of four parts, which are subdivided into chapters and subchapters. The first part is devoted to the concept of the nuclear facilities, its kinds, position in the legal system and the relevant legal instruments. The second part deals with a particular legal framework of the nuclear law, which governs the issue, including the international, European and Czech regulations. A separate chapter discusses the principles, which are common to the all relevant branch of law. The third part is concerned with the life cycle of the operation of the nuclear facility and the conditions for execution of its particular stages. The final part deals with the safety and security of nuclear facility and its realization as the key issue of the nuclear facility legal regulation.

Estruturas e processos de desenvolvimento de programas computacionais e estruturas e processos organizacionais que incluem os programas, quando considerados separadamente, resultam em estudos de segurança de programas computacionais que, em geral, levam em conta apenas ambientes e organizações tradicionais. Ambientes e organizações virtuais podem ser utilizados para representar a regulação entre diferentes estruturas e processos, resultando em melhores interpretações sobre o desenvolvimento da segurança de programas computacionais. Esta atividade de pesquisa explora temas de conteúdo, práticas e artefatos como componentes da cultura de segurança em uma organização virtual de pequeno porte voltada para a inovação. Os temas de conteúdo propostos para a organização virtual específica são: adaptabilidade, dependabilidade, compatibilidade, credibilidade, confiança e mobilidade. As práticas e artefatos identificados envolvem, entre outros, a comunicação entre projetistas, desenvolvedores e usuários, a coordenação colaborativa de atividades, a gestão de dependências e o manejo de mudanças e da adaptação. A atividade de pesquisa foi baseada na metodologia Grounded Theory ou Teoria Fundamentada em Dados e identifica como desafios: a falta de adaptação dos programas computacionais a novas circunstâncias do ambiente, a falta de correspondência entre o programa computacional e a realidade, e a falta de credibilidade e confiança nos programas. As conclusões despertam a atenção para a exploração de limites de segurança na relação entre pessoas e programas computacionais, e especificamente, para a mudança de condições perigosas, para a possibilidade da mobilidade virtual em diferentes estruturas e processos, e para a necessidade de apoio à perspectiva de inteligência do ambiente. / Software development structures and processes and organizational structures and processes that include the programs, when considered separately, result in studies of software safety and security that, in general, take into account only traditional environments and organizations. Virtual environments and organizations may be utilized to represent the regulation between different structures and processes, resulting in better interpretations of software safety and security development. This research activity explores content themes, practices and artifacts as components of the safety and security culture in a small virtual organization dedicated to innovation. Content themes proposed for the specific virtual organization are: adaptability, dependability, compatibility, credibility, trust and mobility. Practices and artifacts identified involve, among others, the communication between designers, developers and users, the collaborative coordination of activities, the dependencies management and the handling of changes and adaptation. The research activity is based on Grounded Theory methodology and identifies as challenges: the absence of software adaptation to new ambient circumstances, the absence of correspondence between software and reality, and the absence of credibility and confidence in software. Conclusions call the attention to the exploration of safety and security limits to the relation between people and software and specifically, to the change of dangerous conditions, to the possibility of virtual mobility in different structures and processes, and to the necessity of supporting the ambient intelligence perspective.

Estruturas e processos de desenvolvimento de programas computacionais e estruturas e processos organizacionais que incluem os programas, quando considerados separadamente, resultam em estudos de segurança de programas computacionais que, em geral, levam em conta apenas ambientes e organizações tradicionais. Ambientes e organizações virtuais podem ser utilizados para representar a regulação entre diferentes estruturas e processos, resultando em melhores interpretações sobre o desenvolvimento da segurança de programas computacionais. Esta atividade de pesquisa explora temas de conteúdo, práticas e artefatos como componentes da cultura de segurança em uma organização virtual de pequeno porte voltada para a inovação. Os temas de conteúdo propostos para a organização virtual específica são: adaptabilidade, dependabilidade, compatibilidade, credibilidade, confiança e mobilidade. As práticas e artefatos identificados envolvem, entre outros, a comunicação entre projetistas, desenvolvedores e usuários, a coordenação colaborativa de atividades, a gestão de dependências e o manejo de mudanças e da adaptação. A atividade de pesquisa foi baseada na metodologia Grounded Theory ou Teoria Fundamentada em Dados e identifica como desafios: a falta de adaptação dos programas computacionais a novas circunstâncias do ambiente, a falta de correspondência entre o programa computacional e a realidade, e a falta de credibilidade e confiança nos programas. As conclusões despertam a atenção para a exploração de limites de segurança na relação entre pessoas e programas computacionais, e especificamente, para a mudança de condições perigosas, para a possibilidade da mobilidade virtual em diferentes estruturas e processos, e para a necessidade de apoio à perspectiva de inteligência do ambiente. / Software development structures and processes and organizational structures and processes that include the programs, when considered separately, result in studies of software safety and security that, in general, take into account only traditional environments and organizations. Virtual environments and organizations may be utilized to represent the regulation between different structures and processes, resulting in better interpretations of software safety and security development. This research activity explores content themes, practices and artifacts as components of the safety and security culture in a small virtual organization dedicated to innovation. Content themes proposed for the specific virtual organization are: adaptability, dependability, compatibility, credibility, trust and mobility. Practices and artifacts identified involve, among others, the communication between designers, developers and users, the collaborative coordination of activities, the dependencies management and the handling of changes and adaptation. The research activity is based on Grounded Theory methodology and identifies as challenges: the absence of software adaptation to new ambient circumstances, the absence of correspondence between software and reality, and the absence of credibility and confidence in software. Conclusions call the attention to the exploration of safety and security limits to the relation between people and software and specifically, to the change of dangerous conditions, to the possibility of virtual mobility in different structures and processes, and to the necessity of supporting the ambient intelligence perspective.

In recent years transportation professionals have shown increasing interest in evacuation planning. With the advances in computing technologies it is possible to simulate urban transportation networks with great detail. These details from the traffic simulation model can be used for devising strategies for evacuation and emergency response in case of a disaster. This thesis describes the modeling, calibration, and validation of the VISSIM traffic simulation model coded for downtown San Jose. The network is then used to test various evacuation scenarios to assess evacuation strategies that would be effective in case of a human-caused disaster. The network modeled in the simulation software VISSIM required a large amount of data regarding network geometry, signal timings, signal coordination schemes, and turning movement volumes. Turning movement counts at intersections were used to validate the network with an empirical formula to assess the differences between observed and simulated counts. For freeways the simulation model was validated using the actual travel time information. Once the base network was validated, various scenarios were tested to estimate evacuation and emergency response vehicle arrival times. It was found that in the event of coordinated terrorist attacks (specified in the disaster scenario) simultaneously occurring at four locations in the downtown San Jose area, severe bottlenecks would result due to evacuee traffic. To alleviate the congestion, contraflow lanes should be used on Montgomery Street (which becomes Bird Avenue) to help reduce congestion. While contraflow lanes helped the situation, traffic incidents potentially resulting from all the chaos could complicate evacuations. The investigators found that reducing the number of vehicles on the road through public transit ridership would be the optimal approach, while leaving area roads uncongested for the emergency response personnel. In the scenario where 30% of the evacuees used transit at Diridon Transit Center, the travel times for the remaining evacuees, as well as the first responders, were minimized. None the less, the other scenarios were also critical to this study, since they provided a response strategy in case the transit station is affected by the attacks.

Requirement engineering is the most significant part of the software development life cycle. Until now great emphasis has been put on the maturity of the functional requirements. But with the passage of time it reveals that the success of software development does not only pertain to the functional requirements rather non-functional requirements should also be taken into consideration. Among the non-functional requirements usability, performance, safety and security are considered important. Further it reveals that there exist so many modeling and testing techniques for functional requirements but the area of non-functional requirements is still deprived off. This is mainly due to difficulty, diversity in nature and hard to express for being domain-specific. Hence emphasis is put to the development of these models or testing techniques. While developing these models or testing techniques it is found that all the four areas of usability, performance, safety and security are not only closely related but rather depend on one another up to some extent. This meant that they all should be tackled while keeping into consideration of the related from among them. For the purpose it seemed necessary to collect in one artefact all the available modeling and testing techniques related to the four core areas of non-functional requirements may be collected and compared. This work at first provides an understanding of the problem domain while describing aspects of the non-functional requirements. Then possibly the available related models or testing techniques are collected and discussed. Finally in the last they are compared with respect to diversified aspects.

Abstract When examining management from the viewpoint of systems approach, the main elements are the overall management systems of a company and the related ESSQ matters and other critical success factors, depending on their theme. Excellent business management e.g. by taking advantage of quality award models is also becoming one of the cornerstones of the success of an organisation. Companies increasingly need more efficient and productive systems to maintain their competitiveness. These kinds of systems should continuously improve the company's operations and increase the satisfaction of customers and other interest groups. A qualitative approach is mainly applied in this dissertation. This dissertation is composed of five research papers, in which qualitative approach is also used. The empirical data of this dissertation were obtained through interviews and a questionnaire among experienced industrial managers. All individual interview results and replies to the questionnaire were analysed and, when appropriate, compared to the literature. Finally, conclusions and synthesis were drawn based on the analysis. As a general conclusion, it can be stated that combining issues that fall under different themes is reasonable because, on one hand, the causes of problems may be common to all areas and, on the other hand, solving one separate problem may easily lead to problems in other fields of business. Business-orientedness can be further increased by taking maturity models into consideration. Organisations, which apply holistic management systems that take all essential success factors of business into consideration, approach the natural functioning of an organisation. The integration of different operational areas into one system will facilitate the management of operations, increase internal co-operation and save resources, time and costs. The starting point of holistic management is that needs can be fully addressed only when all relevant variables of the entire organisational system are taken into consideration. Systematically integrated management systems that cover different operating models in an extensive manner and that function well are not yet common, but there is a clear trend towards the integration of different systems. This dissertation indicates that the ultimate purpose and genuine contribution to business of Integrated ESSQ Management and maturity models is to provide a framework, which helps companies to better understand and incorporate these issues as a part of their overall Operational and Business Management. In principle, every company should develop its own management model that is tailored to meet the needs of the organisation in question.