Word from the Horizon-2020 EU ESFR-SMART Project Coordinator

This Special Issue of the ASME Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science includes 2 editorials and 25 technical papers presenting main achievements of the Horizon-2020 European Union ESFR-SMART project (European Sodium Fast Reactor Safety Measures Assessment and Research Tools) supported by the EURATOM grant and launched in September 2017. ESFR-SMART gathers a consortium of 19 organizations (see Figure 1): Research centres, industries, universities, Technical and Scientific Support Organizations as well as Small to Medium Enterprise aiming at enhancing further the safety of Generation-IV Sodium Fast Reactors (SFRs) and, in particular, of the commercial-size European Sodium Fast Reactor (ESFR) in accordance with the European Sustainable Nuclear Industrial Initiative (ESNII) roadmap.

Patient and Family Engagement

British Columbia Mental Health and Substance Use Services (BCMHSUS) provides mental health services, education, and health promotion initiatives to people with mental health and substance use issues across the province of BC. As a Project Coordinator in the Patient and Community Engagement portfolio, I performed a variety of work to support patient and family engagement under the newly created Patient Engagement Framework. Engaging patients and families as active participants and co-designers of their own care is an important component of patient-centred care that improves healthcare quality, health outcomes, and overall experiences of care at a system level. To work towards this goal, I developed a trauma-informed policy and procedure for BCMHSUS on patient and family engagement to serve as a guideline for giving patients and families a voice in the design and delivery of their mental health care. I also drafted two patient engagement playbooks called Managing Conflict and Respecting Emotions and Engaging Mandated and Incarcerated Patients, which focus on barriers and solutions to engaging patients in vulnerable circumstances. Moreover, I worked with provincial stakeholders to write the annual report for the BC Partners, which is a collaborative mental health promotion partnership between BCMHSUS and 7 provincial organizations with different mental health and substance use specialties (e.g. BC Schizophrenia Society, The Mood Disorders Association of BC, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, etc.). I also performed a literature review of the evidence supporting family engagement in patient- and family-centred care, and I made infographics and other visual designs to translate research and knowledge in visually appealing ways. Overall, my practicum helped me contribute towards advancing public mental health by valuing patients' knowledge, skills, and lived experience in the health system and working on a variety of initiatives to promote mental health in the province.

Mobile Veterinary Clinic: an innovative approach to promote calf health

Background: Calf morbidity and mortality are of great concern for dairyman all over the world including Bangladesh. A mobile Veterinary Clinic (MVC) was established to identify the diseases associated with morbidity and mortality and provide veterinary services at farmers’ door step to promote calf health. Methods: A MVC was established and run from October 2011 to October 2014 to promote calf health. A total of 500 farmers from small and large holder private farms having at least two crossbred cattle were selected. A motorcycle and a mobile phone were provided to each research assistant (RA). The farmers were linked with RAs through mobile number. The ULO/VS were linked with the RA of the respective upazila for immediate treatment of the affected animal(s). The farms were under routine surveillance of the RA. In case of sickness or mortality, RA immediately contacted with ULO/VS and project coordinator/principal investigator at Bangladesh Agricultural University. Necessary advices were given by ULO/VS/consultants to solve the problem as required. Health cards were distributed to the selected farmers for recording the health status of cattle. Diseases were confirmed by clinical and laboratory methods. Farmers were trained on better calf health management. Early disease diagnosis and treatment, routine de-worming and vaccination of cows and calves were performed regularly. Results: Before implementing MVC services, the overall mortality at herd level was 11.5% which was 8.2% and 14.7% in Muktagacha and Shahjadpur respectively. The overall morbidity was 48.5% which was higher in Shahjadpur (57.94%) than Muktagacha (33.81%). The most common causes of calf mortality were pneumonia (66.2%), unknown (17.4%), adverse drug effect (5.3%), FMD (2.6%) and sudden death (2.4%). Due to MVC at farmers’ door step, the overall herd level mortality reduced significantly from 11.5 to 2.9% which were 8.2 to 2.3% in Muktagacha and 14.7 to 3.6% in Shahjadpur. Conclusion: Measures to control pneumonia and FMD in calves should be undertaken. The unknown etiology of mortality should be explored. Cautions should be taken before administering drugs in calves. As MVC was successful in reducing calf mortality, we recommend replicating in other parts of the country.

Psychosocial Factors That May Help Make Exercise Programs For Prostate Cancer Patients Self-Sustaining: Two Case Studies

PurposeProstate cancer (PCa) patients benefit from regular exercise, but it is difficult for patients to maintain an exercise regime. We examined two exercise programs that have proven to be self-sustaining with the goal of identifying features they share that may contribute to their success.MethodsWe compared the FC Prostata football (soccer) league in Denmark and the “Butts in a Boat” (BIAB) dragon-boating team in Canada. The FC Prostata project coordinator and the BIAB leaders provided information on the programs’ histories and structures.ResultsBoth programs are team-based with regular, intense exercise at their core. In both cases, social activities spontaneously evolved, starting with the men going out for food and/or drinks after practices. The sustainability of these programs appears to be driven by the regular socialization that is linked to the fitness activities.ConclusionsOur two case studies suggest that exercise programs for prostate cancer patients may have a good chance of being self-sustaining, if they are: 1) centered around intense exercise, 2) of a team nature, 3) structured to promote egalitarianism and avoid one-on-one competition within teams, yet 4) have some competitions between teams.Informal socialization organized by patients after team practice appears particularly important for building fellowship and strengthening patients’ commitment to exercise for themselves and social support for others.

Offsite construction skills evolution: an Australian case study

Purpose The construction industry is currently responding to pressures of industrialisation happening across all sectors. Consequently, offsite construction (OSC) has become a vehicle to achieve industrialisation. This requires changes in traditional construction processes resulting in possible changes in construction skill requirements. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to identify and review prevailing OSC practices and skills in the Australian construction industry. This study aims to critically analyse the existing skill profile classifications through a single case study and identify the need for an OSC specific skill classification. Design/methodology/approach This study follows a case study design, with an in-depth analysis of a single construction project. Only one case study was studied because scientifically, one example was enough to prove that the prevailing skill classifications do not represent OSC skills in a modern context. Data was retrospectively collected through semi-structured interviews of project stakeholders representing design, manufacture and assembly. Content analysis was conducted to analyse the collected data and produce findings. Findings This study identifies the inadequacy of the existing classification system, unavailability and the need of OSC specific skill categorisation. It highlights new skills that enter OSC; building information modelling engineer, three-dimensional draftsperson, OSC project manager and project coordinator, which are not identified in the available Australian skill classifications. These, together with existing skills need to be carved in to create a new skill classification. Originality/value This study is the first of its kind where a comprehensive OSC project is evaluated as a case study to determine OSC skill classification requirements in Australia.

On the Global International Comparison of GDP for Reference Year 2017

The article outlines main results of global international comparison of GDP on purchasing power parities (PPPs) for 2017 published by the World Bank in July 2020. This comparison is the project of international statistics, which secures unique data on the world economy, on the place of countries in the world and regional economies, on standards of living in different countries, on differences between purchasing power parities and exchange rates, and so forth. These data are of interest to the government in relation to the development of economic policy. This comparison required collaboration between the World Bank as the overall project coordinator, regional coordinators and statistical offices producing baseline data on GDP in national currency.In the body of the article, the authors consistently consider the following issues: the basic methodology used in the International Comparison Program, main findings, limitations and the degree of reliability of the results of the international global comparisons. In this context issues of methodology of comparison and features of direct binary and multilateral comparisons are considered, in particular the formula for the computation of PPPs, which ensures transitivity (mutual consistency of results).The article concludes by emphasizing the multifaceted tasks of the International Comparison Program based on purchasing power parities, led by the World Bank.

Razvoj kompetenčnega modela projektne pisarne Biotehniškega centra Naklo

The paper presents the process of setting up the competency model of the Project Management Office of the Naklo Biotechnical Centre where professional generic and professional specific competencies are identified and defined for individual work posts: project office manager, project manager, project coordinator and expert. The complexity of the competencies of the employees are of large range and highly dispersed. They often manage several roles at the same time and their work involves coordination of number interrelated fields and phases of project work in order to achieve the objectives and results of the project. The identification and description of individual competencies enables the set-up of the first competency model of the Project Management Office of the Naklo Biotechnical Centre, which is a database of competencies. Combinations of knowledge, skills, behaviour and personal characteristics are defined and expected to be mastered by the project office employees. For the organisation, the model represents the adequate tool for further development of different staff providing systems and management of the work of the project office employees.

Tough choices for an agile open source international development project: the Libre LAS Case

© 2017, Association for Information Technology Trust. In June 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) started a three-year trust fund project to develop and pilot open source cadastre and registration software. This project was called Libre Land Administration System (Libre LAS), and its aim was to make computerised cadastre and registration systems more affordable and more sustainable in developing countries. The first stage of the Libre LAS project was undertaken at FAO headquarters (HQ) in Rome. Generic cadastre and registration processes were defined and software requirements and software architecture documents prepared. Development of the Libre LAS software began in early 2011. An international team of software developers assembled at FAO HQ and proceeded to create the generic software platform using an Agile Scrum methodology. By early 2012, the first release of Libre LAS was ready and pilot implementations began in Ghana, Nepal, and Samoa to validate and prove the Libre LAS concept. This case study tracks the initial development and implementation of Libre LAS in the pilot countries from 2011 to late 2012. It is presented from the standpoint of Brett, the Libre LAS Project Coordinator, and discusses organisational, cultural, stakeholder, and financial issues that conspired to derail the project. Ultimately, Brett is left to make some tough decisions around the pilot implementations to ensure the success of the overall project.

Tough choices for an agile open source international development project: the Libre LAS Case

© 2017, Association for Information Technology Trust. In June 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) started a three-year trust fund project to develop and pilot open source cadastre and registration software. This project was called Libre Land Administration System (Libre LAS), and its aim was to make computerised cadastre and registration systems more affordable and more sustainable in developing countries. The first stage of the Libre LAS project was undertaken at FAO headquarters (HQ) in Rome. Generic cadastre and registration processes were defined and software requirements and software architecture documents prepared. Development of the Libre LAS software began in early 2011. An international team of software developers assembled at FAO HQ and proceeded to create the generic software platform using an Agile Scrum methodology. By early 2012, the first release of Libre LAS was ready and pilot implementations began in Ghana, Nepal, and Samoa to validate and prove the Libre LAS concept. This case study tracks the initial development and implementation of Libre LAS in the pilot countries from 2011 to late 2012. It is presented from the standpoint of Brett, the Libre LAS Project Coordinator, and discusses organisational, cultural, stakeholder, and financial issues that conspired to derail the project. Ultimately, Brett is left to make some tough decisions around the pilot implementations to ensure the success of the overall project.