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The effects of the rolling process and microstructure on the brittle crack initiation and arrest of marine steel were systematically investigated. The microstructures of two steel plates produced by different rolling processes were observed and analyzed. The results demonstrated that the rolling process significantly influenced the microstructure. As the rolling temperature decreased, the grain size decreased, the high‐angle grain boundary (HAGB) content increased, and the average grain misorientation angle increased. The brittle crack initiation and the arrest abilities were evaluated by initiation fracture toughness and crack arrest toughness, respectively. The initiation fracture toughness and crack arrest toughness increased with the decreasing grain size and the increasing content of HAGBs. Finally, the influence of microstructure on the brittle crack initiation and arrest ability was explained from two aspects: (1) the critical event of crack initiation at low temperatures, and (2) the hindering effect of HAGB on the propagation of brittle cracks. Highlights: The average grain size decreased with the decreasing rolling temperature.The high‐angle grain boundary content and the grain misorientation angles increased with the decreasing rolling temperature.The critical fracture stress increased with the decrease in the critical crack size.The high‐angle grain boundary altered the brittle crack propagation path and improved the crack arrest ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: HealthPathways is a web-based platform designed for use during a consultation to offer health professionals locally agreed information to support clinical and referral decision making. This study aimed to investigate whether access to specific HealthPathways pages in the North Coast New South Wales (NSW) region increased during specific critical events. High pageviews is used as a proxy for platform usefulness, and/or trust as a source of up-to-date information. Methods: Data were extracted from Google Analytics from December 2015 to December 2021. Descriptive statistics were generated for the total number of pageviews for all pages by month and year (2015–2021); for the top 15 most viewed pages in 2019, February–March 2020 inclusive (early COVID-19 pandemic period), 10–24 March 2021 (North Coast NSW region local disaster declaration period) and 26 June–11 October 2021 (NSW COVID-19 lockdown period); and for monthly pageviews for the Influenza Immunisation pathway (2016–2021). Results: Access to specific pages in HealthPathways increased alongside the occurrence of critical events affecting the region. Spikes in access to specific pages were seen during COVID-19 lockdown periods, during natural disasters, as well as during the annual influenza season. Conclusions: HealthPathways is viewed as a useful and trusted source of information for health professionals in the North Coast NSW region. HealthPathways provides an opportunity for timely dissemination of information during critical events, including natural disasters and emergencies. What is known about the topic? Evidence from New Zealand suggests that HealthPathways is viewed as a useful and trusted source of information by health professionals during critical and emergency events, and when information needs are subject to frequent change. What does this paper add? This paper provides evidence in the Australian context that health professionals access specific pages in HealthPathways at higher rates during critical and emergency events. What are the implications for practitioners? HealthPathways has the capacity to provide timely and accurate information to health professionals during critical and emergency events, as well as to identify their emerging information needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The complexity of caring for patients with cancer has a direct impact on oncology nurses. When a patient with cancer experiences a critical health event, oncology nurses may have concerns about their ability to provide high-quality care for patients in the current healthcare environment. These concerns can negatively affect nurses' emotional well-being and lead to compassion fatigue and burnout. OBJECTIVES: This article aims to examine critical event debriefing and identify ways oncology nurses can implement a critical event debriefing framework into their clinical practice. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in CINAHL® and PubMed® databases for articles related to critical event debriefing and compassion fatigue and burnout among oncology nurses. A case study demonstrates the use of critical event debriefing on an oncology unit. FINDINGS: Critical event debriefing frameworks can enhance teamwork, help initiate process improvements, and offer psychological support to improve emotional well-being. Additional research is needed about the use of critical event debriefing as a solution to compassion fatigue and burnout among oncology nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay addresses the Chilean social uprising of 2019 through the experiences of Marta and Juan, two residents of the peripheries of Santiago, who became involved in this event despite having no previous experience of participation in social and political organizations. It explores this event's strength in triggering contentious actions on the urban margins, and repression by the police‐criminal apparatus of the state. Delving into the ethical and biographical dispositions facilitating this couple's politicization during the course of the revolt, it argues that the critical force of this event lies precisely in the entry of unexpected—even unwanted—actors into the political space. Through a biographical narrative approach, it details the shift of its protagonists. By way of subjectivation, this shift unfolds in them a critical attitude embodied in public interventions demanding equality and social justice and in acts of community and neighborhood solidarity. The case sheds light on a rarely explored dimension of social revolts: the way certain actors collectively experience these critical events through a politics of care, bringing the polis into the domestic space, and from such politicization of the oikos, opens an unusual way of challenging the police order of their world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between October 2019 and March 2020 Chile experienced the most massive and heavily repressed cycle of social protests in its post‐dictatorship (1973–90) history. This essay explores the social uprising as a critical event of political subjectivation through the story of Ricardo, an ordinary young medical technician with no background of political affiliation who fully immersed himself in the forefront of confrontation with the police in the ground zero protest zone while also providing first‐aid assistance to those injured. Two vectors triggering Ricardo's unexpected and sudden transformation into an activist are identified: the intergenerational potency of antidictatorial memories and the power of the spontaneous multitude in demonstration. In recalling the dictatorship, Ricardo and his friends used to ask themselves, "What would I have done if I'd been there?" In the face of the social uprising, Ricardo brings to the present that generation‐specific question and responds with total exposure, defending the multitude and healing the wounded. We argue that the event's critical nature is interpreted in the light of the past. Ricardo's involvement becomes an ethical imperative in his time and in his own history. This duty fuels his mobilization and desire for social transformation, blurring the analytical boundaries between ethics and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to understand the experience of second victim certified registered nurse anesthetists regarding the critical events in which they were involved, and the support received following the event. This was a mixed methods study and the quantitative portion consisted of the post-traumatic stress checklist-5 (PCL-5) survey deployed to random American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology members, two copies were completed; one with the stress levels and symptoms at the time of the critical event and the second was completed with the stress level and symptoms experienced regarding the event at the time of the study. The qualitative portion utilized hermeneutic phenomenology as its basis. The PCL-5 surveys were analyzed using the Wilcoxon matched-pair signed-rank test and a repeatedmeasures linear generalized estimating equations model was developed. The qualitative data supported the findings of the quantitative data. Initially stress levels were high but decreased over time. Stress levels may have fallen for a variety of reasons: support from colleagues and friends, increased event clarity. This study demonstrated that stress levels related to critical events decreased over time. Possible reasons for this are increased clarity about the event and other life-related distractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to understand the experience of second victim certified registered nurse anesthetists regarding the critical events in which they were involved, and the support received following the event. This was a mixed methods study and the quantitative portion consisted of the post-traumatic stress checklist-5 (PCL-5) survey deployed to random American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology members, two copies were completed; one with the stress levels and symptoms at the time of the critical event and the second was completed with the stress level and symptoms experienced regarding the event at the time of the study. The qualitative portion utilized hermeneutic phenomenology as its basis. The PCL-5 surveys were analyzed using the Wilcoxon matched-pair signed-rank test and a repeatedmeasures linear generalized estimating equations model was developed. The qualitative data supported the findings of the quantitative data. Initially stress levels were high but decreased over time. Stress levels may have fallen for a variety of reasons: support from colleagues and friends, increased event clarity. This study demonstrated that stress levels related to critical events decreased over time. Possible reasons for this are increased clarity about the event and other life-related distractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on in-depth interviews with six Chinese Mingshi (expert teachers), this qualitative study examined how these teachers became Mingshi through three decades of endeavors. Using 53 critical events as landmarks, we found that these teachers first stood "up" as effective teachers in classrooms, next stood "out" as leading teachers in local communities, and then stood "ahead" as model teachers in the country under the influence of an array of personal, interpersonal, and institutional factors. The research findings constitute a Chinese model of teacher development, which contributes scholarly new insights and suggests practical implications to the field of teacher education. • Chinese Mingshi is a vital but understudied group of teachers. • Chinese Mingshi seek career development by climbing the teacher career ladder. • Personal, interpersonal, and institutional factors influence teacher career development. • Critical events are a catalyst and an underlying mechanism of teacher career development. • Proposes a Chinese-context-specific model for teacher career development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication is critical to safe patient care. In this issue of the British Journal of Anaesthesia, Jaulin and colleagues show that use of a Post-Anaesthesia Team Handover (PATH) checklist is associated with fewer hypoxaemia events in the PACU, reduced handover interruptions, and other important metrics related to improved communication. The PATH checklist provides a link within a broader chain of safety checklists and other interventions that comprise a perioperative chain of survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines responses to the 2015 terror attack on Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine, amongst students in a secondary school in Berlin-Neukölln, Germany. The Charlie Hebdo attack occurred in the final weeks of a 19-month ethnographic study in the community. By analyzing the responses in the school to this critical event, we identify what is at stake for Muslim students. Students presented many explanations for why the attack happened, and opinions on whether the attackers' actions were justified. Staff were alarmed about students' viewpoints that they considered "extreme". These dynamics resulted in conflicts and misunderstandings amongst students, and between students and staff. Yet, we show that, rather than the violence itself, or questions about its legitimacy, it was everyday processes in students' lives – e.g., bullying, peer pressure and discrimination, and feelings of being misrepresented and misunderstood – that were central to students' reactions to the event. We suggest that to understand students' reactions, both the immediate and the broader socio-political contexts must be considered, particularly rising xenophobia and processes of polarization in Germany and Europe at large. We thus conclude that to understand young people's reactions to terrorist acts, we need to look beyond initial statements and explore ethnographically how wider contexts shape the actions, reactions, and future orientations of young Muslims in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: The purpose of this paper is to enhance nursing and collaborative practice by presenting a concept analysis of clinical debriefing and introducing an operational definition. Background: Debriefing has taken many forms, using a variety of approaches. Variations and inconsistencies in clinical debriefing, and its related terms, still exist in the clinical setting. Design: Concept analysis. Methods: Walker and Avant's eight‐step approach to concept analysis. Results: The defining attributes of clinical debriefing identified in this analysis are described as the five E's: educated/experienced facilitator, environment, education, evaluation and emotions. Antecedents identified in this analysis include the critical event, the desire or need to review such an event and the organizational awareness to execute clinical debriefs. The consequences of clinical debriefings are primarily advantageous and positively impact involved nurses, healthcare teams, patients and organizations. Empirical referents of clinical debriefing are complex and multifactorial. The productivity of a clinical debrief can be enhanced through a series of proposed questions. Together, the defining attributes, antecedents and consequences shape a proposed operational definition of clinical debriefing. Conclusion: Clinical debriefing is a valuable tool within healthcare organizations. Debriefing can be a holistic, interprofessional, collaborative experience when all five defining attributes are present. Further investigation is required to standardise debriefing practices in clinical settings. Relevance to clinical practice: A concept analysis on clinical debriefing promotes uniformity of debriefing practices, reflective practice among nurses and healthcare teams, and contributes to nursing science by creating a platform for the development of practice standards, research and theory development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Failures in situation awareness cause two-thirds of anaesthesia complications. Avatar-based patient monitoring may promote situation awareness in critical situations.Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomised, high-fidelity simulation study powered for non-inferiority. We used video analysis to grade anaesthesia teams managing three 10 min emergency scenarios using three randomly assigned monitoring modalities: only conventional, only avatar, and split-screen showing both modalities side by side. The primary outcome was time to performance of critical tasks. Secondary outcomes were time to verbalisation of vital sign deviations and the correct cause of the emergency, perceived workload, and usability. We used mixed Cox and linear regression models adjusted for various potential confounders. The non-inferiority margin was 10%, or hazard ratio (HR) 0.9.Results: We analysed 52 teams performing 154 simulations. For performance of critical tasks during a scenario, split-screen was non-inferior to conventional (HR=1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96-1.33; not significant in test for superiority); the result for avatar was inconclusive (HR=0.98; 95% CI, 0.83-1.15). Avatar was associated with a higher probability for verbalisation of the cause of the emergency (HR=1.78; 95% CI, 1.13-2.81; P=0.012). We found no evidence for a monitor effect on perceived workload. Perceived usability was lower for avatar (coefficient=-23.0; 95% CI, -27.2 to -18.8; P<0.0001) and split-screen (-6.7; 95% CI, -10.9 to -2.4; P=0.002) compared with conventional.Conclusions: This study showed non-inferiority of split-screen compared with conventional monitoring for performance of critical tasks during anaesthesia crisis situations. The patient avatar improved verbalisation of the correct cause of the emergency. These results should be interpreted considering participants' minimal avatar but extensive conventional monitoring experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic aortic rupture (TAR) is a highly fatal injury mechanism resulting from blunt deceleration forces against the descending aorta. The mechanism of TAR is directly attributed to the aorta suffering damage by indirect shearing forces. The descending aorta remains fixed to the posterior chest wall, while the heart and ascending aorta are exerted forward, thus causing the intimal tear. A characteristic triad presents as increased blood pressure in the upper extremities, decreased blood pressure in the lower extremities, and a wid- ened mediastinum on radiography. Early recognition of signs and symptoms of the mechanism of injury is key to initiating early damage control surgery and ultimately decreasing morbidity and mortality. This case report describes the intraoperative management of an elderly female patient with TAR following a motor vehicle collision in a remote location in rural Pennsylvania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel Phaytagorean fuzzy DEMATEL approach is introduced. • Phaytagorean fuzzy DEMATEL is addressed qualitative fuzziness and subjectivity. • The presented method is validated by three different mathematical methods. • A collapse in typical offshore facility platform is considered as a case study. Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) techniques methodically assess the likelihood, impact, and subsequently the risk of adverse events. In a typical QRA method, one of the main intentions is to identify the critical root events which mostly contribute to the risk of the top event (TE) and requiring subsequent corrective actions (CAs). Finding the critical events which contribute to the risk is significantly dependent on the assumptions and methods applied to integrate the probabilities of different events and these events may have really low probability of occurrence. Thus, the probability reduction of the critical root events and subsequently the system's failure does not lead to an optimal solution. For this reason, ranking the CAs without consideration of several aspects such as their influence on root events probability, inter-relationships, and direct/indirect cost, is not an appropriate approach. This study aims to introduce an approach to deal with the aforementioned situations. A novel extension to DEMATEL (decision making trial and evaluation laboratory) named Pythagorean fuzzy DEMATEL is proposed on a common probabilistic safety analysis. As a case study, a collapse in an offshore facility platform (including 42 basic events and corresponding 30 CAs) is considered to illustrate the effectiveness of the presented approach. The application of the model confirms its robustness in prioritizing critical root events and CAs compared with a conventional model, consideration of the influencing factors, and a dynamic and flexible structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent decades, rapid transit system (RTS) plays a significant key role to form most affordable and comfort travel zone to humans. With increase in population and usage of RTS, safety measures are concerned to be most notable factor in the world. Moreover, during emergency cases internal wired safety setups of any RTS does not prevents drastic disaster and allows negative impact for on-demand reliable changes. As an alternative to other expensive technologies, wireless sensor network (WSN) system provides fast communicative and compact applications to RTS. Inorder to reduce causalities, designing such a network application to RTS always poses challenging problems in terms of fault tolerance and time bounded packet delivery. Integrated fuzzy-logic based synchronized data transmission (IFSDT) algorithm has been designed to optimize those challenges, especially in RTS. IFSDT is a synchronized energy aware algorithm that prevents the occurrence of potential faults during unexpected emergencies in the coaches of RTS and ensures the fast transmission of critical broadcast signal and response in a limited time span. Furthermore, the results of the proposed design performs better than the existing reliable and energy optimized WSN design and exhibits the optimized response time for broadcasting emergency signals which is below 0.02 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early recognition of intraoperative critical events is essential in optimizing the health outcomes of surgical patients. Use of simulation in nurse anesthesia education allows students to practice recognizing changes in the patient's condition in a safe learning environment. Second- and third-year student registered nurse anesthetists were randomly assigned to 2 groups to explore differences in recognizing intraoperative myocardial infarction (MI) using highfidelity mannequin simulation vs virtual simulation. One group participated in a virtual simulation first, followed by a high-fidelity mannequin simulation. The other group participated in a high-fidelity mannequin simulation first, then virtual simulation. Second-year students recognized an intraoperative MI faster when using high-fidelity mannequin simulation than when using virtual simulation. However, there was no significant difference among third-year students in the time it took to recognize a critical event when using high-fidelity mannequin simulation vs virtual simulation. These findings indicate that both simulation modalities are useful in evaluating student registered nurse anesthetists' timely recognition of intraoperative critical events such as MI. However, for students with less didactic and clinical practicum experience in the program, such as second-year students, the use of high-fidelity mannequin simulation for recognizing an intraoperative MI may be more beneficial than virtual simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil moisture is a key state variable in terrestrial water cycles, which links various land surface and hydrological processes. Owing to the significant spatiotemporal variability in soil moisture, collecting sufficient soil moisture data for relevant studies can be an astonishingly difficult task. Here, a statistical method based on the concept of depth functions was used to define Critical Events (CE) of soil moisture, which was hypothesized to contain disproportionally more system information on soil moisture dynamics. To test the feasibility of applying the CE concept for quantifying soil moisture dynamics, a long-term soil moisture dataset was retrieved from the Automated Weather Data Network (AWDN) located in the continental United States. The method of Temporal Stability Analysis (TSA) was adopted to examine the information embedded in soil moisture data that were collected under different conditions. The results showed that similar information on the relative as well as absolute wetness conditions at the AWDN sites was extracted from the entire time series and CEs of soil moisture, the latter of which contained much less soil moisture observations. Finally, the field data revealed that the occurrence of CEs of soil moisture in the study area was mainly affected by soil depth and interannual variability in precipitation. The number of CEs of soil moisture tended to be larger at deeper soil depths as well as in either dry or wet years than in normal years, suggesting that more soil moisture measurements under those conditions were needed to provide adequate information on soil moisture systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The current state of health care encompasses highly acute, complex patients, managed with ever-changing technology. The ability to function proficiently in critical care relies on knowledge, technical skills, and interprofessional teamwork. Integration of these factors can improve patient outcomes. Simulation provides "hands-on" practice and allows for the integration of teamwork into knowledge/skill training. However, simulation can require a significant investment of time, effort, and financial resources. The Institute of Medicine recommendations from 2015 include "strengthening the evidence base for interprofessional education (IPE)" and "linking IPE with changes in collaborative behavior." In one surgical-trauma-burn intensive care unit (STBICU), no IPE existed. The highly acute and diverse nature of the patients served by the unit highlights the importance of appropriate training. This is heightened during critical event situations where patients deteriorate rapidly and the team intervenes swiftly. Purpose: The aims of this study were to (1) evaluate knowledge retention and analyze changes in perceptions of teamwork among nurses and resident physicians in a STBICU setting after completion of an interprofessional critical event simulation and (2) provide insight for future interprofessional simulations (IPSs), including the ideal frequency of such training, associated cost, and potential effect on nursing turnover. Design: A comparison-cohort pilot study was developed to evaluate knowledge retention and analyze changes in perceptions of teamwork. Methods: A 1-hour critical event IPS was held for nurses and resident physicians in a STBICU setting. A traumatic brain injury patient with elevated intracranial pressure, rapid deterioration, and cardiac arrest was utilized for the simulation scenario. The simulation required the team to use interventions to reduce elevated intracranial pressure and then perform cardiac resuscitation according to Advanced Cardiac Life Support guidelines. A semistructured debriefing guided by the TENTS tool highlighted important aspects of teamwork. Participants took knowledge and Teamwork Skills Scale (TSS) pretests, posttests, and 1-month posttests. Mean scores were calculated for each time point (pre, post, and 1-month post), and paired t tests were used to evaluate changes. Results: Mean knowledge test and TSS scores both significantly increased after the simulation and remained significantly elevated at 1-month follow-up. Participants recommended retraining intervals of 3 to 6 months. Cost of each simulation was estimated to be $324.44. Analysis of nursing turnover rates did not demonstrate a statistically significant reduction in turnover; however, confounding factors were not controlled for. Conclusion: Significant improvements on both knowledge test and TSS scores demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention, and retention of the information gained and teamwork skills learned. Participants valued the intervention and recommended to increase the frequency of training. Future studies should develop a framework for "best practice" IPS, analyze the relationship with nursing turnover, and ultimately seek correlations between IPS and improved patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the ongoing presence of the 1972 expulsion of the racialized Asian population by former president Idi Amin in contemporary Uganda. The expulsion was a "critical event" and thus the paper uses an "anthropology of the event" approach to focus on the architecture of silence and historical consciousness of the event in urban Kampala. The four arenas of focus are: (1) official state narratives; (2) community mobilization and public forums on urban African-Asian relations; (3) memories, adventure tales, and narratives expressed by Ugandan Asian men; and (4) the infrastructure and material culture of 1970s Asian property expropriation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carboniferous-Permian (C-P) coal seams experienced multiple burial and uplift events, which result in complex gas adsorption and desorption processes. Therefore, the understanding of the adsorption history and its dominant factors contribute to determining present-day coalbed methane (CBM) storage and enhance the development of deep CBM. In this paper, we first reconstructed the burial history using the basin model and synchronously conducted the isothermal adsorption experiment. Then an adsorption model was achieved from regression analysis about Langmuir parameters, and therefore, the adsorption history was rebuilt, accompanied by temperature, pressure, and maturity. Lastly, incorporated with the hydrocarbon generation history and adsorption history, we divided the actual adsorbed stages and further analyzed the dominant factors controlling the actual adsorption amount. The results indicate that: (1) based on the adsorption model calculated using regression analysis, a real critical depth of adsorption capacity (approximately 2000 m) is obtained; (2) coal-bearing sequences experience three temperature, pressure, and hydrocarbon generation processes, and the Himalayan epoch is the main stage for producing coal-derived gas; (3) the actual adsorption history contains a maximum depth stage (250–208 Ma), reburial stage (208–110 Ma), re-uplift stage (110–50 Ma), and present stage (50 Ma–present); (4) the critical event (208 Ma) represents that generating the amount of gas is equal to the adsorption capacity in the actual adsorbed amount, and before and after the event, the dominant factors controlling the actual adsorbed amount are maturity and temperature, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method of predicting the influence random events on the critical functionality of an object is discussed. Research is performed regarding the possibility of extending a prediction model to a prediction system by functionally uniting this model with additional models or recognizing the type of influence of a random event on a complex technical object. The proposed solution is importatnt because executing a prediction system instead of a prediction model allows one to detect critical situations that, when influencing technical objects, can result in the catastrophic loss of functionality of the corresponding objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most anesthesia providers will experience at least one perioperative critical incident during their career, potentially causing critical incident stress symptoms that may affect their ability to provide patient care. The purpose of this descriptive pilot investigation of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) was to determine if their knowledge of the psychological and physical ramifications of critical incidents, coping strategies to deal with critical incident stress, and satisfaction with departmental handling of critical incidents improved when a formal, institutionally relevant critical incident stress management policy and protocol was developed and implemented. Knowledge of the effects of a critical incident, available coping strategies, and the perceived value of a stress management support protocol were assessed by surveys conducted before and after the implementation of a formal educational program. The results demonstrated that knowledge of critical incident stress and coping strategies improved with a staff educational program, with 25 of 26 respondents (96%) reporting that having a departmental critical incident stress management policy and protocol in place was valuable. This pilot investigation indicates that supportive protocols and education programs for critical incident stress management are beneficial and increase the CRNAs' confidence in their ability to cope with critical incidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric power systems are complex and commonly run near their operational limits. Power systems are basically designed based on the ( N − 1) criterion. In these systems, total or partial blackouts are unavoidable. Cascading failures following an initial event is recognized as the main mechanism for power system blackouts. Undesirable activation of zone 3 of distance relays due to their local function has been identified as one of the major causes for propagation of cascading failures. In this paper, in order to mitigate the risk of power system blackouts, a novel approach is proposed for recognizing the critical line outages with the highest contribution in cascading failure and preventing their undesirable outage by blocking zone 3 of their distance relay. In this paper, based on the statistical activation of distance relays, a deterministic–probabilistic approach is developed for identifying the critical lines with the highest contribution in blackouts due to activation of zone 3 of their distance relays. In order to avoid interference of relay blocking with the main protection duty of distance relays, the proposed approach recognizes the minimum critical lines with the highest contribution in cascading failure for blocking zone 3 of their distance relays. The proposed approach is demonstrated on the New England 39-bus system and detailed simulation studies carried out to examine the validity and effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities invest significant resources in the provision of mathematics tuition to first year students, through both traditional and non-traditional means. Research has shown that a significant minority of students do not engage with these resources appropriately. This paper presents findings from a study of two groups of students at Maynooth University. Both groups had similar mathematical backgrounds on entry to university. The first group consisted of seven students who had failed first year mathematics and had very low levels of engagement with available supports. The second group consisted of nine students who had passed first year mathematics and had engaged with the supports to a significant extent. It emerged that while both groups initially displayed similar tactics and encountered similar difficulties, their levels of reaction to a number of critical events in their mathematical education were key to their engagement levels and their subsequent progression. Further analysis revealed aspects of the students' behaviour which caused them to approach or avoid difficulties. The reasons behind the different student behaviours were investigated, and the main categories of influence on student behaviour which emerged from the interview data were fear, social factors, and motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper, Part II of two companion papers, demonstrates the concepts for evaluating the criticality scenario class after closure of a geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste. As an example, the low-probability rationale used to exclude consideration of criticality in the performance assessment of the potential Yucca Mountain (YM) repository in southern Nevada is summarized. The Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) presented a quantitative rationale that the probability of criticality inside breached waste containers was < 10-4 over 10-4 yr to show that criticality was not necessary to consider. The dominant probability occurred when neutron absorber material was inadvertently left out for a package disposing of SNF from experimental reactors owned by the US. Department of Energy. In addition, this paper develops a quantitative estimate of the low probability of criticality outside the package in either the engineered or geologic barrier to complement the qualitative rationale developed by YMP. Because consequence may also be used as the basis of screening, consequences of criticality at the potential YM repository are roughly estimated, based on results from the literature. The consequences are then combined with the low-probability estimates as a complementary cumulative distribution function to place the corresponding estimated consequences in context and, thereby, provide further perspective on excluding the criticality scenario class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, Part I of two companion papers, reviews concepts underlying the basis for evaluating the criticality scenario for an assessment of performance after closure of a geologic repository for radioactive waste. In the United States, either a low-probability or low-consequence rationale can be the basis of excluding criticality, using the usual assumptions that (a) the interplay between the probability and consequence is not significant and (b) the mean of the epistemic uncertainty of the probability and consequence provides a sufficient approximation. Furthermore, the rationale can be based on either qualitative or quantitative arguments. For those situations with quantitative arguments, this paper provides additional perspective on evaluating the criticality scenario by combining quantitative estimates of low probability and low consequence as a complementary cumulative distribution function. As a demonstration, the low probability and low consequence o f the criticality scenario for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (a repository for defense transuranic element waste) is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terror attacks in Norway in July 2011 led to massive popular mobilisation as particularly expressed in thousands of memory messages displayed at spontaneous memorial sites. This article is based on a review and analysis of all messages, collected in Oslo and in the area around Utøya Island, using the concepts ‘critical event’, ‘national identity dynamic’, ‘depoliticisation’ and ‘domestic alien’. Results show that the predominant theme in the messages of peace and compassion is partly made possible by subordinate themes of depoliticisation and of alienating the perpetrator from majority, national community, thus contributing to the ongoing construction of a Norwegian, national identity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Recent studies in anaesthesia and intensive care indicate that a team's ability to adapt its coordination activities to changing situational demands is crucial for effective teamwork and thus, safe patient care. This study addresses the relationship between adaptation of team coordination and markers of clinical performance in response to a critical event, particularly regarding which types of coordination activities are used and which team member engages in those coordination activities. Methods Video recordings of 15 two-person anaesthesia teams (anaesthesia trainee plus anaesthesia nurse) performing a simulated induction of general anaesthesia were coded, using a structured observation system for coordination activities. The simulation involved a critical event—asystole during laryngoscopy. Clinical performance was assessed using two separate reaction times related to the critical event. Results Analyses of variance revealed a significant effect of the critical event on team coordination: after the occurrence of the asystole, team members adapted their coordination activities by spending more time on information management—a specific type of coordination activity (F1,28=15.17, P=0.001). No significant effect was found for task management. The increase in information management was related to faster decisions regarding how to respond to the critical event, but only for trainees and not for nurses. Conclusions Our findings support the claim that adaptation of coordination activities is related to improved team performance in healthcare. Moreover, adaptation and its relationship to team performance were found to vary with regard to type of coordination activities and team member. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing the period of 'intensive transnationalism' among Pakistani migrants in Denmark precipitated by the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, this article explores the relationship between events and effects on a global scale. One significant initiative after the disaster was the founding of an ad hoc association, Medical Doctors in Assistance to the Earthquake Victims in Pakistan, which consisted mainly of medical workers with a Pakistani background. The article discusses the wax and wane of this association and its impact in three interconnected contexts: family objectives, community dynamics, and national identity politics in Denmark. Despite the medical doctors' efforts and intentions, the outcome was framed by 9/11, which has become the major critical event of the decade-one that has supported a developing cleavage between the Danish majority and Denmark's Muslim immigrant minority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the connection between the changing definitions of a social problem-racial inequality-and a public policy designed to remedy that problemschool desegregation-focusing on the case of Mobile, Alabama. Survey data show that Whites in Mobile during the 1980s began to settle on one prevailing view of why Black people generally get fewer of the good things in life than Whites-that "Blacks don't try hard enough"-while support for other explanations, such as White discrimination and the lingering burden of historical abuse, declined. During the same period, the Mobile public changed its views of busing for school desegregation to be consistent with the new redefinition of the problem of race. The rapid change in the public's views of race and busing was not explained by objective measures of racial conditions in Mobile or by media coverage of these topics. Instead, the change was a converging social construction by conservative activists nationally and locally operating indirectly through mass media and among people directly through face to face encounters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Review the history, methods, and key parameters of tunnel fire research. • Establish an experimental database of full-scale and model-scale tunnel fire tests. • Database is open access online and available for updating by the fire community. • Application of machine learning and experimental database to predict tunnel fire. Tunnel fire is one of the most severe global fire hazards and causes a significant amount of economic losses and casualties every year. Over the last 50 years, numerous full-scale and reduced-scale tunnel fire tests, as well as numerical simulations have been conducted to quantify the critical fire events and key parameters to guide the fire safety design of the tunnel. In light of the recent advances in big data and artificial intelligence, this paper aims to establish a database that contains all existing experimental data of tunnel fire, based on an extensive literature review on tunnel fire tests. This tunnel-fire database summarizes seven key parameters of flame, ventilation, and smoke in that is open access at a GitHub site: https://github.com/PolyUFire/Tunnel%5fFire%5fDatabase. The test conditions, experimental phenomena, and data of each literature work were organized and categorized in a standard format that could be conveniently accessed and continuously updated. Based on this database, machine learning is applied to predict the critical ventilation velocity of a tunnel fire as a demonstration. The review of the current database not only reveals more valuable information and hidden problems in the conventional collection of test data, but also provides new directions in future tunnel fire research. The established database and methodology help promote the application of artificial intelligence and smart firefighting in tunnel fire safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]