Download or read book Engineering a Safer World written by Nancy G. Leveson and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2012-01-13 with total page 555 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new approach to safety, based on systems thinking, that is more effective, less costly, and easier to use than current techniques. Engineering has experienced a technological revolution, but the basic engineering techniques applied in safety and reliability engineering, created in a simpler, analog world, have changed very little over the years. In this groundbreaking book, Nancy Leveson proposes a new approach to safety—more suited to today's complex, sociotechnical, software-intensive world—based on modern systems thinking and systems theory. Revisiting and updating ideas pioneered by 1950s aerospace engineers in their System Safety concept, and testing her new model extensively on real-world examples, Leveson has created a new approach to safety that is more effective, less expensive, and easier to use than current techniques. Arguing that traditional models of causality are inadequate, Leveson presents a new, extended model of causation (Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes, or STAMP), then shows how the new model can be used to create techniques for system safety engineering, including accident analysis, hazard analysis, system design, safety in operations, and management of safety-critical systems. She applies the new techniques to real-world events including the friendly-fire loss of a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter in the first Gulf War; the Vioxx recall; the U.S. Navy SUBSAFE program; and the bacterial contamination of a public water supply in a Canadian town. Leveson's approach is relevant even beyond safety engineering, offering techniques for “reengineering” any large sociotechnical system to improve safety and manage risk.
Download or read book Decision Making Under Uncertainty written by Mykel J. Kochenderfer and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2015-07-24 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to decision making under uncertainty from a computational perspective, covering both theory and applications ranging from speech recognition to airborne collision avoidance. Many important problems involve decision making under uncertainty—that is, choosing actions based on often imperfect observations, with unknown outcomes. Designers of automated decision support systems must take into account the various sources of uncertainty while balancing the multiple objectives of the system. This book provides an introduction to the challenges of decision making under uncertainty from a computational perspective. It presents both the theory behind decision making models and algorithms and a collection of example applications that range from speech recognition to aircraft collision avoidance. Focusing on two methods for designing decision agents, planning and reinforcement learning, the book covers probabilistic models, introducing Bayesian networks as a graphical model that captures probabilistic relationships between variables; utility theory as a framework for understanding optimal decision making under uncertainty; Markov decision processes as a method for modeling sequential problems; model uncertainty; state uncertainty; and cooperative decision making involving multiple interacting agents. A series of applications shows how the theoretical concepts can be applied to systems for attribute-based person search, speech applications, collision avoidance, and unmanned aircraft persistent surveillance. Decision Making Under Uncertainty unifies research from different communities using consistent notation, and is accessible to students and researchers across engineering disciplines who have some prior exposure to probability theory and calculus. It can be used as a text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in fields including computer science, aerospace and electrical engineering, and management science. It will also be a valuable professional reference for researchers in a variety of disciplines.
Download or read book Proactive Risk Management in a Dynamic Society written by Jens Rasmussen and published by . This book was released on 2010-09 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Literature and Sustainability written by Adeline Johns-Putra and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How might literary scholarship engage with the sustainability debate? Aimed at research scholars and advanced students in literary and environmental studies, this collection brings together twelve essays by leading and up-coming scholars on the theme of literature and sustainability. In today's sociopolitical world, sustainability has become a ubiquitous term, yet one potentially driven to near meaninglessness by the extent of its usage. While much has been written on sustainability in various domains, this volume sets out to foreground the contributions literary scholarship might make to notions of sustainability, both as an idea with a particular history and as an attempt to reconceptualise the way we live. Essays in this volume take a range of approaches, using the tools of literary analysis to interrogate sustainability's various paradoxes and to examine how literature in its various forms might envisage notions of sustainability.
Download or read book In the Service of the Reich written by Wilhelm Keitel and published by Scarborough House. This book was released on 1979 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Problem with Space Travel written by Herman Noordung and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1995-03 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A translation from German of a 1929 treatise by the author. Deals with the problem of the space travel. Expresses ideas about rocketry and space travel. Extensive treatment of the engineering aspects of a space station. Extensive bibliography. 100 drawings.
Download or read book An Introduction to Synchrotron Radiation written by Philip Willmott, PhD and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-06-15 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book introduces the reader to the basic concepts of the generation and manipulation of synchrotron light, its interaction with matter, and the application of synchrotron light in the “classical” techniques, while including some of the most modern technological developments. As much as possible, complicated mathematical derivations and formulas are avoided. A more heuristic approach is adopted, whereby the general physical reasoning behind the equations is highlighted. Key features: A general introduction to synchrotron radiation and experimental techniques using synchrotron radiation Contains many detailed “worked examples” from the literature Of interest for a broad audience - synchrotrons are possibly one of the best examples of multidisciplinary research Four-colour presentation throughout
Download or read book Hitler Democrat written by Léon Degrelle and published by . This book was released on 2012-07-01 with total page 566 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collection of writings by General Leon Degrelle on the role and influence of Adolph Hitler in the 20th century.
Download or read book Friendly Fire written by Scott A. Snook and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-09-19 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On April 14, 1994, two U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters accidentally shot down two U.S. Army Black Hawk Helicopters over Northern Iraq, killing all twenty-six peacekeepers onboard. In response to this disaster the complete array of military and civilian investigative and judicial procedures ran their course. After almost two years of investigation with virtually unlimited resources, no culprit emerged, no bad guy showed himself, no smoking gun was found. This book attempts to make sense of this tragedy--a tragedy that on its surface makes no sense at all. With almost twenty years in uniform and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior, Lieutenant Colonel Snook writes from a unique perspective. A victim of friendly fire himself, he develops individual, group, organizational, and cross-level accounts of the accident and applies a rigorous analysis based on behavioral science theory to account for critical links in the causal chain of events. By explaining separate pieces of the puzzle, and analyzing each at a different level, the author removes much of the mystery surrounding the shootdown. Based on a grounded theory analysis, Snook offers a dynamic, cross-level mechanism he calls "practical drift"--the slow, steady uncoupling of practice from written procedure--to complete his explanation. His conclusion is disturbing. This accident happened because, or perhaps in spite of everyone behaving just the way we would expect them to behave, just the way theory would predict. The shootdown was a normal accident in a highly reliable organization.
Download or read book History of Contra Costa County California written by and published by . This book was released on 1926 with total page 1116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Life of Johann Wolfgang Goethe written by James Sime and published by London, Walter Scott. This book was released on 1888 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Learning from High Reliability Organisations written by Andrew Hopkins and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This eBook is an in-depth analysis into what makes a high reliability organisation. Combining research from OHS experts, including Professor Andrew Hopkins, learn what these organisations are doing that enables them to operate safely and what your organisation can do to avoid hazards and disasters."--Wolters Kluwer CCH Website.
Download or read book History of Contra Costa County California written by and published by . This book was released on 1882 with total page 856 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Facsimile reprint of the 1882 ed. published by W.A. Slocum, San Francisco.
Download or read book Explaining War and Peace written by Jack Levy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2007-06-18 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume focuses on the use of ‘necessary condition counterfactuals’ in explaining two key events in twentieth century history, the origins of the First World War and the end of the Cold War. Containing essays by leading figures in the field, this book analyzes the causal logics of necessary and sufficient conditions, demonstrates the variety of different ways in which necessary condition counterfactuals are used to explain the causes of individual events, and identifies errors commonly made in applying this form of causal logic to individual events. It includes discussions of causal chains, contingency, critical junctures, and ‘powder keg’ explanations, and the role of necessary conditions in each. Explaining War and Peace will be of great interest to students of qualitative analysis, the First World War, the Cold War, international history and international relations theory in general.
Download or read book Flexibility in Engineering Design written by Richard De Neufville and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011-08-12 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guide to using the power of design flexibility to improve the performance of complex technological projects, for designers, managers, users, and analysts. Project teams can improve results by recognizing that the future is inevitably uncertain and that by creating flexible designs they can adapt to eventualities. This approach enables them to take advantage of new opportunities and avoid harmful losses. Designers of complex, long-lasting projects—such as communication networks, power plants, or hospitals—must learn to abandon fixed specifications and narrow forecasts. They need to avoid the “flaw of averages,” the conceptual pitfall that traps so many designs in underperformance. Failure to allow for changing circumstances risks leaving significant value untapped. This book is a guide for creating and implementing value-enhancing flexibility in design. It will be an essential resource for all participants in the development and operation of technological systems: designers, managers, financial analysts, investors, regulators, and academics. The book provides a high-level overview of why flexibility in design is needed to deliver significantly increased value. It describes in detail methods to identify, select, and implement useful flexibility. The book is unique in that it explicitly recognizes that future outcomes are uncertain. It thus presents forecasting, analysis, and evaluation tools especially suited to this reality. Appendixes provide expanded explanations of concepts and analytic tools.
Download or read book Applied State Estimation and Association written by Chaw-Bing Chang and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2016-07-08 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rigorous introduction to the theory and applications of state estimation and association, an important area in aerospace, electronics, and defense industries. Applied state estimation and association is an important area for practicing engineers in aerospace, electronics, and defense industries, used in such tasks as signal processing, tracking, and navigation. This book offers a rigorous introduction to both theory and application of state estimation and association. It takes a unified approach to problem formulation and solution development that helps students and junior engineers build a sound theoretical foundation for their work and develop skills and tools for practical applications. Chapters 1 through 6 focus on solving the problem of estimation with a single sensor observing a single object, and cover such topics as parameter estimation, state estimation for linear and nonlinear systems, and multiple model estimation algorithms. Chapters 7 through 10 expand the discussion to consider multiple sensors and multiple objects. The book can be used in a first-year graduate course in control or system engineering or as a reference for professionals. Each chapter ends with problems that will help readers to develop derivation skills that can be applied to new problems and to build computer models that offer a useful set of tools for problem solving. Readers must be familiar with state-variable representation of systems and basic probability theory including random and stochastic processes.
Download or read book A Human Error Approach to Aviation Accident Analysis written by Douglas A. Wiegmann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-12-22 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human error is implicated in nearly all aviation accidents, yet most investigation and prevention programs are not designed around any theoretical framework of human error. Appropriate for all levels of expertise, the book provides the knowledge and tools required to conduct a human error analysis of accidents, regardless of operational setting (i.e. military, commercial, or general aviation). The book contains a complete description of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), which incorporates James Reason's model of latent and active failures as a foundation. Widely disseminated among military and civilian organizations, HFACS encompasses all aspects of human error, including the conditions of operators and elements of supervisory and organizational failure. It attracts a very broad readership. Specifically, the book serves as the main textbook for a course in aviation accident investigation taught by one of the authors at the University of Illinois. This book will also be used in courses designed for military safety officers and flight surgeons in the U.S. Navy, Army and the Canadian Defense Force, who currently utilize the HFACS system during aviation accident investigations. Additionally, the book has been incorporated into the popular workshop on accident analysis and prevention provided by the authors at several professional conferences world-wide. The book is also targeted for students attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University which has satellite campuses throughout the world and offers a course in human factors accident investigation for many of its majors. In addition, the book will be incorporated into courses offered by Transportation Safety International and the Southern California Safety Institute. Finally, this book serves as an excellent reference guide for many safety professionals and investigators already in the field.
