Objective: Medicine administration is the last process of the medication cycle. However, errors can happen during this process. Children are at an increased risk from these errors. This has been extensively investigated but evidence is lacking on effective interventions. Therefore, the aim of this research is to propose safety measures to reduce medication administration errors (MAE) in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Method: The research was carried out over five studies; 1) systematic literature review, 2) national survey of PICU medication error interventions, 3) retrospective analysis of medication error incidents, 4) prospective observation of the administration practice, and 5) survey of PICU healthcare professionals' opinions on MAE contributory factors and safety measures. Results: Hospital MAE in children found in literature accounted for a mean of 50% of all reported medication error reports (n= 12552). It was also identified in a mean of 29% of doses observed (n= 8894). This study found MAE retrospectively in 43% of all medication incidents (n= 412). Additionally, a total of 269 MAEs were observed (32% per dose observation). The characteristics of the interventions used to reduce MAE are diverse but it illustrated that a single approach is not enough. Also for an intervention to be a success it is fundamental to build a safety culture. This is achieved by developing a culture of collaborative learning from errors without assigning blame. Furthermore, MAE contributing factors were found to include; interruptions, inadequate resources, working conditions and no pre-prepared infusions. The following safety measures were proposed to reduce MAE; 1) dose banding, 2) improved lighting conditions, 3) decision support tool with calculation aid, 4) use of pre-prepared infusions, 5) enhance the double-checking process, 6) medicine administration checklist, and 7) an intolerant culture to interruption. Conclusion: This is one of the first comprehensive study of to explore MAE in PICU from different perspectives. The aim and objectives of the research were fulfilled. Future research includes the need to implement the proposed safety measures and evaluate them in practice.

M.Cur

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Today, there is no way to ensure that the personnel working within the cockpit of an aircraft in flight are authorized to be there. The primary goal of this thesis is to propose a hypothetical design for the use of a nonintrusive mechanism on the flight deck of an aircraft to provide continuous or periodic authentication of authorized aircraft personnel. The mechanism should answer questions such as: "Is the person who is flying the plane actually the person who they say they are?" and "Is the correct person in control of the aircraft throughout the whole flight segment?" We will investigate biometrics as a possible security mechanism. In this thesis, various biometric methods are examined and their application in the flight deck is shown. Studies that have been conducted on real biometric devices are examined and their results are reported. Also examined are the current practices and procedures that take place in the flight deck, so that the proposed designs can be understood to not interfere with current activities therein. Two biometric solutions (i.e. proposed designs) to provide continuous or periodic authentication of authorized personnel in the flight deck are introduced. The proposed designs are general and can be used with different types of biometric device(s), and can be extended to include multi-biometrics. / Naval Postgraduate School author (civilian).

M.A. (Business Management) / Small businesses thrive in the developing economy of South Africa and address the important issue of unemployment and poverty that exist in the country. A large number of these business organisations can be found in the province of Gauteng because of the large and diverse economic contribution the province delivers to the economy of South Africa. With the increased use of technology in the small businesses of Gauteng and South Africa, the risks around cyber-security, information security and other IT-related threats that can harm the businesses increase. As part of the related IT risks comes the information security awareness of the businesses. Research findings show that little to no information security awareness exists in the small IT-dependent business organisations of Gauteng, South Africa. New knowledge has been gained from the information technology uses and information security awareness that exists in small business organisations. This knowledge is specific to the small business organisations of South Africa which places an African context to a global debate of information security awareness.

M.Ing. (Engineering Management) / The steel industry is considered a very harsh working environment that has been seen to be a major contributor to the occupational health and safety incidents occurring in the manufacturing sector. Due to the nature of the steel making process, the steel industry remains dangerous to employees. Leading key performance indicators of safety are a control mechanism that can be used in contributing to the improvement of safety performance. The aim of the research conducted was to determine if leading key performance indicators of safety are being utilised in organisations in the steel industry, to determine the KPI in use was informative of the root cause of the safety incident and to identify the initial KPI development requirements in a steel manufacturing organisation in South Africa. A literature review centred on leading key performance indicators of safety was conducted to establish the meaning of KPI and their application in other similar industries. A benchmark for the research was established from the literature review. The research was influenced by the methods that were applied by Grabowski, Ayalasomayajula, Wang, Merrick, Mc Cafferty, Meador & Kinney, 2007, that were successfully used in the derivation of leading KPI in the shipping industry. The research done by Toellner, 2001 on leading indicators of safety was also influential in conducting this study. The data was obtained through random sampling in a population of production staff, engineering, personnel, specialists and managerial staff, whose experience in the industry ranged from two years to forty years. The questionnaire was randomly distributed to a population consisting of fourteen supervisors, twelve engineering staff, eighty-six production personnel, twenty-one specialists and six management staff. The respondents’ level of experience in the industry varied from two years to forty years and a combined experience level of one-hundred and thirty-five years. It was found that the key performance indicators of safety that were being utilised have not evolved significantly over the past fifteen years and they do not provide insight to the root cause of the accident. This research provides the strategic requirements needing for developing leading key performance indicators of safety in a steel manufacturing organisation.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2013. / In this study a dose assessment is used to demonstrate conformance to national and international dose limits for workers and meets the Necsa ALARA goals for a radiological repair task. The dose assessment methodology is based on international standards, principles and criteria and involves the process of determining radiological dose, through the use of exposure scenarios, bioassay results, monitoring data, source term information, and pathway analysis. The radiological task is the replacement of the leaking steam coil on the radioactive effluent evaporator facility at Necsa. The effluent treatment facility, its operation, the origin of the radioactive effluent and hazards associated with the leaking coil are discussed. The dose assessment is supported by measurement of actual radiological conditions in the area where the task will be performed using suitable and calibrated instrumentation. The assumptions were limited to the physical phenomena associated with the behaviour of materials and available from national and international studies. The importance of proper planning of all the tasks associated with the replacement task as well as sources of inaccuracy and uncertainty associated with the calculated doses are discussed. The results of the assessment are evaluated in terms of ALARA, namely the safety fundamental principles of justification, optimisation and limitation of facilities and activities. Other dose reduction options, such as personal protective clothing and equipment, were considered to show that the doses conform to the ALARA objectives of Necsa and other operation optimisation measures.

No description available.

Disagreements regarding to what degree right-turn lanes improve or worsen the safety of intersections and driveways provided the motivation and the need for this study. The objectives of this study were to: a) carry out an in-depth study to determine the safety impacts of right-turn movements in different contexts, and b) develop safety-based volume warrants for right-turn lanes if safety indeed improves. Lack of adequate study on the applicability of past warrants and guidelines for the specific context of right-turn movements made from major uncontrolled approaches at unsignalized intersections, and particularly driveways, on two-lane roadways provided the scope for this study. Five-year historical data of statewide traffic crashes reported on Minnesota's twolane trunk highways were analyzed using binary/multinomial logistic regressions. Conflicts due to right turns were analyzed by fitting least squares conflict prediction models based on the data obtained from field surveys and traffic simulations. The safety impacts of rightturn lanes were determined through crash-conflict relationships, crash injury severity, and crash and construction costs. The study found that the probabilities of right-turn movement related crash ranged from 1.6 to 17.2% at intersections and from 7.8 to 38.7% at driveways. Rear-end, samedirection- sideswipe, right-angle and right-turn crash types constituted 96% of right-turn movement related crashes. Rear-end crash probabilities varied from 13.7 to 46.4% at approaches with right-turn lanes and from 37.9 to 76.9% otherwise. The ratios of rearend/ same-direction-sideswipe crashes to conflicts were 0.759 x 10-6 at approaches with right-turn lanes and 1.547 x 10-6 otherwise. iv Overall, right-turn lanes reduced right-turn movement related crash occurrences and conflicts by 85% and 80%, respectively. Right-turn lanes also reduced crash injury severity, hence, reducing the economic cost by 26%. Safety benefits, in dollars, realized with the use of right-turn lanes at driveways were 29% and 7% higher compared to those at intersections at low and high speed conditions respectively for similar traffic conditions. Depending on roadway conditions, interest rate and construction costs, the safety-based volume thresholds ranged from 3 to 200 right turns per hour during the design hour at intersection approaches, and from 2 to 175 right turns at driveway approaches. / Civil and Environmental Engineering / College of Engineering

The huge financial and societal cost associated with traffic crashes and the fact that more than half of them occur at junctions, revealed the need for further research in the field of junction safety. This research aims to investigate the quantitative impact of junctions in relation to other selected parameters, on the frequency of road crashes in urban areas in the State of Florida. Mathematical models were developed with the use of loglinear analysis method for different traffic volumes in and out of junction. In addition, sensitivity analysis was performed in order to better understand the impact of selected parameters to the total number of crashes. The analysis has led to several conclusions such as that angle and left turn collisions have much higher probability of occurrence at junctions and that crashes which occur at junctions are much more probable for low and medium volumes compared to no-junctions. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (MTech (Chemistry))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Radiostrontium (90Sr and 89Sr) has been released to the environment by global fall-out following atmospheric nuclear explosions, by waste discharges and fall-out from the Chernobyl. 89Sr, with a half-life of 50.5 days, quickly decays to undetectable levels, while 90Sr is radiobiologically more important because of its longer half-life of 28.78 years, and because it behaves chemically similar to Ca, and accumulates in bones and teeth. Cost effective and relatively simple procedures for determination of radiostrontium are desirable. An accurate determination of radionuclides from various sources in the environment is essential for assessment of the potential hazards and suitable countermeasures both in case of accidents, authorised releases and routine surveillances. Reliable radiochemical separation and detection techniques are needed for accurate determination of alpha and beta emitters. Rapid analytical methods are needed in case of an accident for early decision-making. At the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station (KNPS), 90Sr analysis are performed on liquid effluent samples making use of the traditional fuming nitric acid method, and subsequent counting of particulate samples on an alpha/beta proportional counter. This method is often at times very time – consuming, and involves many precipitation steps. The use of fuming nitric acid is also very dangerous and could lead to severe personnel injuries in the event of an accident. This project focussed on the application of Sr-Spec resin in the analysis of 90Sr. This work presents the methods for 90Sr analysis for both effluent samples as well as environmental samples. This research also focussed on the calibration of the different radiometric instruments, which are the Liquid Scintillation Counter, the Alpha/Beta Counter as well as the Gamma Detector.