Modelling coordination in hospital emergency departments through social network analysis

Coordination theory provides a theoretical framework for analysing complex processes of project groups working towards a common goal. In this study, we explore the relationship between coordination and social networks for the development of a network-based coordination model. This model is applied to measure the performance and quality of complex and dynamic project coordination such as in hospital emergency departments. The dataset used for the study was collected by the 2004 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey--a national probability sample survey of visits to emergency and outpatient departments of non-Federal, short-stay and general hospitals in the United States. Using social network analysis, this study allows us to understand the possible causes of inefficient coordination performance and coordination quality resulting in access blocks.     

Community attitudes toward forest conservation programs through collaborative protected area management in Bangladesh

The formulation of conservation policies with options for creating protected areas is significantly influenced by the social factors of the surrounding communities. Therefore, indigenous knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of the local communities need to be explored during the planning and implementation stages of conservation projects. A government-initiated experiment in co-management was conducted in the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh. This paper analyzes the attitudes toward conservation by members of local communities living in and around the wildlife sanctuary. Training incentives on alternative income-generating (AIG) activities and allotment of agricultural lands were distributed among the Forest User Groups. It is of interest to policy makers and resource managers whether this technique leads to improved attitudes on the part of local people. Although there were different attitudes toward protected areas and conservation, overall, a favorable attitude of the respondents was observed. The opinions of respondents also varied based on factors such as village position, village dependency level on forest resources, ethnicity and gender. Increase in annual income resulting from the augmented skills by trainings on AIG activities and getting agricultural lands leased from the Forest Department contributed significantly to the variation in respondents’ conservation attitudes. It is suggested that eliminating inequity and inequality in incentive distribution, discovering and launching training on more need-based livelihood activities, and liberalizing the restriction of resource extraction from the protected area by fixing the harvesting limit would encourage the community to be more cordially and actively involved in the conservation efforts of the sanctuary.     

Do financial development,trade openness,economic development,and energy consumption affect carbon emissions for an emerging country?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - It is agreeable that the rapid progress of civilization throughout the years came at a great price for severe environmental damages. Currently, human...     

A methodology for calculating sample size to assess localized corrosion of process components

This paper proposes a methodology to estimate the required sample size to assess, with a specified precision, the localized corrosion of process components. The proposed methodology uses the extreme value and bootstrap methods. The results of estimated sample size ensure that the predicted maximum localized corrosion with the extreme value method is within an acceptable margin of error at a specified confidence level. Using the results of the proposed methodology, an equation is introduced to calculate sample size as a function of the acceptable margin of error, the population size, the standard deviation of corrosion data and the required confidence level. The probability of exceedance of critical limit of localized corrosion is also estimated. The methodology is explained through a case study of localized corrosion in process piping.     

Probabilistic health risk assessment of toxic metals in chickens from the largest production areas of Dhaka,Bangladesh

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Chicken is one of the major protein sources and more affordable for the population of Bangladesh. Its quality monitoring is of high priority for food...     

Optimization of microwave treatment for dewaterability enhancement of electroplating sludge

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this study, the dewaterability characteristics of electroplating sludge have been investigated after treatment with microwave irradiation. While...     

Dust explosion risk moderation for flocculent dusts

The research presented in this paper is focused on dust explosions of coarse and fine flocculent (or fibrous) samples of wood and polyethylene. Hybrid mixtures of fibrous polyethylene and admixed ethylene were also studied. Experimentation was conducted by following standardized test procedures and using standardized apparatus for determination of maximum explosion pressure, size-normalized maximum rate of pressure rise, minimum explosible concentration, minimum ignition energy, and minimum ignition temperature. A general trend was observed of enhanced explosion likelihood and consequence severity with a decrease in material diameter, as well as enhanced consequence severity with admixture of a flammable gas to the combustion atmosphere. The same phenomena are well-established for dusts composed of spherical particles; this highlights the importance of inherently safer design and the principle of moderation in avoiding the generation of fine sizes of flocculent dusts and hybrid mixtures of such materials with flammable gases.In addition to presenting experimental findings, the paper describes phenomenological modelling efforts for the flocculent polyethylene using four geometric equivalence models: radial equivalence, volumetric equivalence, surface area equivalence, and specific surface area equivalence. The surface area equivalence model was found to yield the best estimates of maximum rate of pressure rise for the flocculent polyethylene samples investigated experimentally.     

Environmental variables and fisheries diversity of the Naaf River Estuary,Bangladesh

The Naaf River estuary is one of the large estuaries in the Bangladesh coastal region not to have been affected by extensive human disturbance. This research provides information about the fisheries diversity status by Estuarine Set Bag Net (ESBN) sampling relation to physicochemical variables in both spatio-temporal scales. About 25 km of the lower estuary was divided into six zones for sample collection by considering the accessibility and availability of the ESBN operation, fish landing centers and location of the fishing villages. In total 48 samples have been analyzed which were taken throughout March to October 2006. To quantify the species diversity, all fisheries data were analyzed by using EstimateS and EcoSim software which accounts the different diversity indices viz., species richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity Index, Dominance and Evenness index. The research results demonstrate that the Naaf River estuary is a habitat of 161 (species richness, Sobs = 161, Choa 1 = 162 ± 2.34, ACE = 161.73) different species which belong to 98 fin fishes, 23 shrimps and prawns, 13 crabs, 11 molluscs, 3 echinoderms, 4 other crustaceans; while 9 remain unidentified. Results on the aquatic environment, mainly salinity and turbidity were found to have a major influence on their occurrence and distribution. All the findings indicated that the Naaf River estuary is a highly productive system and provides a favourable environment for large variety of estuarine species assemblages.