Technical Information Center Research Articles

EMC Europe 2012 Rome Report

EMC research and conferences in Europe have a long tradition. From the series of independent EMC Symposia based in Wroclaw, Zurich and Rome running every second year, has emerged EMC Europe which is organized every year in a European city to provide an international forum for the exchange of technical information on EMC.

EMCABS: EMC Abstracts

Presents 12 abstracts of articles of interest to practitioners and researchers. Engineering college/university libraries, public libraries, company or corporate libraries, National Technical Information Services (NTIS), or the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) are all possible sources for copies of abstracted articles or papers. If the library you visit does not own the source document, the librarian can probably request the material or a copy from another library through interlibrary loan, or for a small fee, you can order it from NTIS or DTIC. Recently it became clear that EMCABs were more timely than publications which were being listed in data files. Therefore, additional information will be included, when available, to assist in obtaining desired articles or papers. Examples are: IEEE, SAE, ISBN, and Library of Congress identification numbers.

A value-in-process analysis of relationship interactions in non-equity alliances

In the domain of relationship marketing, there is an increasing need for greater understanding of ‘value’ in the process of social exchange interactions. We present a framework for analysis of value creation through these interactions. Two types of value creating interaction are identified, asset specific investment and technical exchange. Taking a series of 197 project-based, non-equity alliances between architects and building contractors, we examine value creation through these interactions. The findings establish that value in the relationship process is co-created and that this occurs through an iterative investment in specific assets at the operational level throughout the alliance. Additionally, the exchange of technical information at the operational level is found to be a source of value for the relationship and has iterative and co-creational characteristics similar to investment in specific assets. We provide an explanation for the relationship between these interaction types and relational value. We also find that goodwill trust's positive relationship with the asset specific investment interaction type is stronger in low, rather than high, operational compatibility partnerships. The implications for researchers and managers are explored and study limitations acknowledged.

Comments: Oil and Gas Facilities

Editor's column SPE will launch a new publication in February titled Oil and Gas Facilities. This new bimonthly magazine will cover all aspects of the increasingly important Projects, Facilities, and Construction (PFC) technical discipline. Several years ago, SPE organized many of its activities along six primary technical disciplines, of which PFC was one. And while SPE workshops, conference sessions, study groups, articles in JPT, technical papers, and other SPE outlets have addressed some of the major issues surrounding this sector, it has become clear that the increase in technical complexity and economic importance of this discipline demands even more attention. Facilities engineering is a broad specialty that encompasses all the traditional engineering professions, including petroleum, civil, chemical, mechanical, and electrical engineering, as well as the expertise of project planning, execution, and management. It includes offshore projects, deep water, subsea systems, platforms and floating systems, flow assurance, measurement and control, and gas storage. It was not until the 1950s that facilities engineering began to be recognized as an important factor in the technical and economic success of field development projects. It developed over the next several decades as heavy oil, Arctic, deepwater offshore, high-pressure, and remote projects became more common. Now, new developments are pushing the envelope further, increasing the recognition of facilities engineering as a critical component in operations involving unconventional gas, ultradeepwater developments, sour hydrocarbons, gas to liquids, floating LNG, and IOE/EOR activity. The new magazine, with guidance from leaders in the oil and gas industry, is a response to this greater need for technical information and knowledge exchange in this discipline. Oil and Gas Facilities will focus on the important projects, systems, and technologies of facilities engineering with articles and reports on major PFC-related developments and projects, significant trends, and technical advances. It will replace the peer-reviewed journal SPE Production, Facilities, & Construction, but each issue will feature peer-reviewed technical papers in a special section. Guiding the editorial direction of the magazine will be some of the most distinguished professionals in this sector. The Editorial Board includes Ian Ball, Technology Director, INTECSEA, UK, chairman; John Walsh, Chemical and Process Engineer, Shell Exploration and Production and SPE’s Technical Director for Projects, Facilities, and Construction; Paul Jones, Technology Center Manager, Chevron; Kenneth E. Arnold, Senior Technical Advisor, WorleyParsons; Joseph Lee, Director, Process Solutions Group, Process System Division, Cameron; Howard Duhon, Systems Engineering Manager, Gate LLC; Simon Richards, Senior Facilities Consultant, Procyon Oil and Gas; and Jim Collins, Principal Development Engineer, ConocoPhillips (Peer Review Editor). Oil and Gas Facilities promises to be the industry’s most important periodical serving production, facilities, and construction professionals.

SPE's Distinguished Lecturer Program Celebrates 50 Years

Distinguished Lecturer Program SPE’s Distinguished Lecturer Program has flourished throughout its 50-year history, consistently receiving accolades from SPE members. Since 1961, more than 800 Distinguished Lecturers have traveled far and wide, many giving their presentations 30 or more times—the living embodiment of SPE’s mission as they disseminate technical knowledge concerning the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas resources, and related technologies at SPE section meetings. Twenty-one Distinguished Lecturers have also served as SPE presidents. Distinguished Lecturers continue to be a great draw for section programs, providing content that meets SPE member needs for substance and quality. Not only are Distinguished Lecturers in constant demand, but SPE members are eager to serve as lecturers. “I feel a little guilty,” said Michael Byrne, global technical head, formation damage with Senergy and a Distinguished Lecturer during 2009–10, “because I thought this was a way to give something back to SPE, but in fact what I found was I got a lot more than I think I gave.” Giovanni Da Prat, president of Da Prat Consulting and Distinguished Lecturer during 2003–04, echoed this sentiment: “I feel that I gained enormously from the experience of meeting people from other SPE sections, reflecting wells and reservoir conditions different than in my country.” Participants often express that their presence in remote SPE sections fosters a sense of belonging to a worldwide technical community. “I believe the success of the program is that Distinguished Lecturers see themselves as ambassadors of SPE,” said Thomas Blasingame, professor of petroleum engineering at Texas A&M University. “I also believe that Distinguished Lecturers try to bring a sense of being in the SPE family. Despite all my travels, I never felt alone or out of place.” The First Decade When SPE was established in 1957 as one of three semiautonomous societies within the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), its membership was 12,500. Over the next few years as it grew to almost 15,000 members SPE began to put more emphasis on the dissemination and exchange of industry-related experience and technical information. A key aspect of its maturation came from the desire of the SPE Board of Directors to secure excellent speakers for local SPE section meetings.

Invasive Alien Plant Species in Nigeria and Their Effects on Biodiversity Conservation

With very scanty information on invasive alien species (IAS) in Nigeria, this study was conducted to identify the invasive species in the field gene bank of the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), Ibadan, Nigeria, on the latitude 7° 22′ north of the equator and longitude 3° 50′ east of the Greenwich Meridian, and also to assess the level of the species' disturbance to the conserved native plants in the protected area. This study involved sampling of the field gene bank and an on-site assessment and identification of the species and their effects on the indigenous plants established in the field for conservation. Twenty-five invasive plant species were identified, across 16 plant families, of which 14 were herbs, followed by vines, shrubs, and trees, all of which are presently estimated to occupy about 18% of the gene bank. The effects of IAS on the indigenous plants conserved in the field gene bank range from competition for space and nutrients and alteration of the tree canopies (thereby affecting the microclimatic conditions in the lower strata) to obstruction of the plants' reception of sunlight (which could thereby reduce the potential yield of the fruit trees in the gene bank. The paper also discusses the effects of IAS on biodiversity conservation in Nigeria. Human disturbance was observed as the major factor responsible for the spread of these IAS in the gene bank. The paper concludes by advocating stricter screening measures before introducing new plants into the country, capacity building on the early detection and management of IAS in protected areas for the technical staff, biological control, and exchange of technical information among concerned countries.

ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL RADIATION PROTECTION ASSOCIATION

Global concerns over energy supply and climate change have given rise to an increase in uranium prospecting, mining and extraction. The changing world economy is spreading the use of advanced nuclear and radiation-related technologies to many parts of the world, giving rise to global initiatives on nuclear energy and operation of nuclear fuel cycle facilities. The emerging global nuclear safety regime promotes and encourages high standards of radiation safety worldwide. These developments call for increasing capacity and capabilities in radiation protection expertise and continue to present both challenges and opportunities to the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA), an association of 46 societies representing 58 countries with an individual membership of approximately 17,000. IRPA's objectives include: (1) assisting the development of competent radiation protection programs; (2) fostering the exchange of scientific and technical information through its international and regional congresses; (3) promoting the scientific and professional recognition of the radiation protection expert; and (4) supporting continuing education programs at each IRPA congress. IRPA has adopted a Code of Ethics and Guiding Principles for the Conduct of Stakeholder Engagement. Recently work began to develop guidance for maintaining and improving current levels of radiation protection and transferring this culture to future radiation protection professionals. These IRPA projects are developed through the Associate Society Forum discussions that are held at each IRPA international and regional congress. Finally, IRPA maintains a close working relationship with various international organizations and is also represented on the Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety.

March Madness - The Good Kind [President's Message

The raison d'etre for each of the IEEE Signal Processing Society's (SPS's) two major conferences, the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP) and the International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP), is a forum for the exchange of technical information through contributed, invited, and tutorial sessions. However, these meetings, and particularly ICASSP, also serve another important function; they are venues for administrative and planning meetings for the Society's myriad boards and committees. Following are some highlights, decisions, and plans from the administrative meetings at ICASSP in Dallas last March.

The Organization of Multidisciplinary Care Teams: Modeling Internal and External Influences on Cancer Care Quality

Quality cancer treatment depends upon careful coordination between multiple treatments and treatment providers, the exchange of technical information, and regular communication between all providers and physician disciplines involved in treatment. This article will examine a particular type of organizational structure purported to regularize and streamline the communication between multiple specialists and support services involved in cancer treatment: the multidisciplinary treatment care (MDC) team. We present a targeted review of what is known about various types of MDC team structures and their impact on the quality of treatment care, and we outline a conceptual model of the connections between team context, structure, process, and performance and their subsequent effects on cancer treatment care processes and patient outcomes. Finally, we will discuss future research directions to understand how MDC teams improve patient outcomes and how characteristics of team structure, culture, leadership, and context (organizational setting and local environment) contribute to optimal multidisciplinary cancer care.

Formation of the information infrastructure for the innovative integration of the states- participants in the CIS

This paper outlines the activities of the Interstate Coordination Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICCSTI), which is aimed at coordination of the actions of states-participants of the CIS in the exchange of scientific and technical information, for the informational support of interstate scientific and technical cooperation. It examines the strategy and structure of information support of innovation processes as part of the innovative integration of the CIS, which is implemented together with the formation of an integrated information environment, as well as shaping the information infrastructure of the innovative integration of states-participants of the CIS based on the concept of scientific information to ensure programs and projects of states-participants of CIS in the sphere of innovations. We describe a distributed multilevel system of information support of innovation, which is designed for the integrated management of information resource sharing.

Datacite - A Global Registration Agency for Research Data

Since 2005, the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB) has offered a successful Digital Object Identifier (DOI) registration service for persistent identification of research data. In 2009, TIB, the British Library, the Library of the ETH Zurich, the French Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (INIST), the Technical Information Center of Denmark, Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI) the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) and the Dutch TU Delft Library all signed a Memorandum of Understanding to improve access to research data on the internet. The goal of this cooperation is to establish a not-for-profit agency called DataCite that enables organisations to register research datasets and assign persistent identifiers to them, so that research datasets can be handled as independent, citable, unique scientific objects.

In the NEWS A QUICK ROUNDUP OF NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM OUR COMMUNITY

In the NEWS A QUICK ROUNDUP OF NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM OUR COMMUNITY

Document supply of grey literature and open access: an update

PurposeThis paper seeks to investigate the impact of the open archive initiative on the document supply of grey literature.Design/methodology/approachThe article is based on a comparative survey of five major scientific and technical information centres: The British Library (UK), CISTI (Canada), INIST‐CNRS (France), KISTI (South Korea), and TIB Hannover (Germany).FindingsAll major document suppliers are quite deeply involved in the open archive movement, and this involvement has an obvious impact on the policy of acquisition, archiving and supply of grey literature (dissertations, reports, conferences etc.).Originality/valueThe paper is a follow‐up study of the survey published in 2006.

Japanese Association Promotes Upstream Technical Education

Editor's note: SPE seeks to develop strong relationships with other oil and gas societies worldwide. Many of these societies partner with SPE and other organizations on conferences, workshops, and other programs, at both the local and international levels. This series offers an overview of some of these societies. This installment in the series spotlights the Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology, known as JAPT. The Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology (JAPT), founded in 1933, sees its mission as one of collecting the latest technical and academic information pertaining to the exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources and disseminating that information to the oil industry. JAPT also provides a forum for the exchange of technical information among its members, promoting the multidisciplinary activities of geologists, geophysicists, and engineers. The association conducts meetings and workshops; publishes a journal, monographs, and books; recognizes industry excellence through awards; and exchanges information with related societies. Membership currently totals just under 1,700, with most members involved in the disciplines of exploration, production, and drilling. Membership is open to qualified individuals in the industry as well as to those in academia with a background in petroleum technology or science. Association member-ship is further divided into the categories of full member, emeritus member, student, honorary member, and corporate member. JAPT's flagship publication is the Journal of JAPT, which is published six times a year. It contains technical papers and commentaries in exploration and development and production, includes information about new technologies, and provides coverage of JAPT meetings and symposiums. Other publications of the association include monographs, glossaries, and reports by JAPT's technical committees on important issues. JAPT has published several books over the past 2 decades, including the Well Data Handbook, Exploration and Development of Hydrocarbon in Japan, Steel Tubes for Pipelines and Wells, Ultra-Deep Drilling, Drilling Manual, Guidelines on Safety and Environmental Protection Regulations, and Inclined Well Drilling Technology. JAPT annually recognizes excellence through its Distinguished Paper Award and its Distinguished Contribution Award. The association also conducts several meetings and workshops. Two large meetings take place—the annual Fall Meeting and the annual Spring Meeting. These include technical sessions and discussions on upstream topics, special presentations by both members and nonmembers, and joint seminars with other technical associations. Technical workshops cover exploration and drilling topics. Recent ones have covered sandstone formation, carbonate formation, geophysics, emerging technology, methane hydrate, and the association's drilling manual. JAPT has three standing technical committees, representing exploration, drilling, and reservoir and production. The committees promote the advancement of technology in their discipline, and exchange research with the other committees. JAPT and SPE have a longstanding relationship. JAPT has supported several SPE events in Japan, including three Applied Technology Workshops and the 2000 Asia Pacific Conference on Integrated Modeling for Asset Management. In addition, JAPT was an endorsing organization at the 2008 International Petroleum Technology Conference—which is organized by SPE and several other major societies—as well as the 2002 SPE International Conference on Health, Safety, and the Environment, both in Kuala Lumpur.

The NISO standard for controlled vocabularies: A blueprint for revision

The NISO standard for controlled vocabularies: A blueprint for revision

DESIGN & ANALYSIS TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR AEROSPACE STRUCTURES IN A 3D VISUAL ENVIRONMENT

The main objective of this project is to develop a set of tools and to integrate techniques in a software package which is build on structure analysis applications based on Romanian engineers experience in designing and analysing aerospace structures, consolidated with the most recent methods and techniques. The applications automates the structure’s design and analysis processes and facilitate the exchange of technical information between the partners involved in a complex aerospace project without limiting the domain.

Assessment of quality of care in maternal and newborn health services available in public health care facilities in Bangladesh

The study was conducted using the exit interview with patients (n=120), in depth interview with health care providers (n=87) and focus group discussion (n=16) with stakeholders to assess the perceived level of quality of care in maternal and newborn health at public facilities in Bangladesh. Both clients and providers expressed dissatisfaction for inadequate quality of care represented by poor cleanliness, long waiting time with less consultation time, poor compassion by providers, inadequate supply of drugs and unnoticed cost for services varied by level of facilities. Inadequacy in human resource and absenteeism and poor laboratory service were reported to worsen the condition especially at lower level of service delivery. Thus this study explored some important factors like poor quality of care, inadequate technical competencies, information exchange and follow-up services. A deficit in supplies and logistics are strong barrier in regards to quality of care at various levels which needs to be addressed immediately.

Your SPE: Global Economic Crisis - Challenges for Industry and for SPE

President's column In my columns up to now, I have completely ignored the fact that the world is in an economic crisis at the moment. This is not because I travel around so much that I don't realize there is something going on. The simplest reason is that my column has to be completed more than 2 months before you read it because of publishing deadlines. The second reason is that SPE is a professional society that offers a forum for like-minded individuals in which an exchange of technical ideas and information can take place. In different words, we are not a lobbying organization and we do not do politics. However, we are, as a society, part of the greater world and any crises, such as the current one, will affect SPE's operations. During the 50+ years of our existence, SPE has survived crises of all kinds, so I do not worry too much. SPE is financially very robust, with a good reserve fund built up during the last decade of growth and good support from members and organizations. However, everything SPE does is around oil and gas and that means that anything that affects oil prices will affect SPE. So, what's going on? The oil market is inherently volatile; it has made a fool out of forecasters many times over the last decades, and it will make a fool out of me if I would even try to predict what will happen in 2009. On the one hand, we are made to believe that the current economic recession will end the growth in oil/energy use, which means that even if the supply growth slows, the extra production will not be needed and oil prices go down. Against that short-term view, there are a number of thinkers from our own industry, who I will cite here, who argue that our industry requires a long-term view. Analysis from sources such as Simmons & Company Intl., Douglas-Westwood, and the Paris-based energy think tank International Energy Agency (IEA) can be found on their web sites. What they are saying is that, at the moment, many of the world's economies are still robust. The economies of India, China, and the Middle East are still growing, and China has a USD 1.9 trillion cash war chest. Of course, the financial crisis could spread into a serious economic downturn (and since this column is printed months after I write it, you will know), but oil demand should still grow in the longer term. In the short-term, new oil supply additions will get delayed because of the credit crisis. Mega energy projects may get delayed or cancelled, so supply will fall. But a recession will mean that demand for oil uses will decline, too. According to the Financial Times, the floor under the oil price is set by the level at which significant volumes of production become uneconomic, which the 21 December 2008 Financial Times says is around USD 30 to 40. However, if the industry slows down and production costs decline, that level will go even lower.

Brazilian Air Force aircraft structural integrity program: an overview

This paper presents an overview of the activities developed by the Structural Integrity Group at the Institute of Aeronautics and Space - IAE, Brazil, as well as the status of ongoing work related to the life extension program for aircraft operated by the Brazilian Air Force BAF. The first BAF-operated airplane to undergo a DTA-based life extension was the F-5 fighter, in the mid 1990s. From 1998 to 2001, BAF worked on a life extension project for the BAF AT- 26 Xavante trainer. All analysis and tests were performed at IAE. The fatigue critical locations (FCLs) were presumed based upon structural design and maintenance data and also from exchange of technical information with other users of the airplane around the world. Following that work, BAF started in 2002 the extension of the operational life of the BAF T-25 “Universal”. The T-25 is the basic training airplane used by AFA - The Brazilian Air Force Academy. This airplane was also designed under the “safe-life” concept. As the T-25 fleet approached its service life limit, the Brazilian Air Force was questioning whether it could be kept in flight safely. The answer came through an extensive Damage Tolerance Analysis (DTA) program, briefly described in this paper. The current work on aircraft structural integrity is being performed for the BAF F-5 E/F that underwent an avionics and weapons system upgrade. Along with the increase in weight, new configurations and mission profiles were established. Again, a DTA program was proposed to be carried out in order to establish the reliability of the upgraded F-5 fleet. As a result of all the work described, the BAF has not reported any accident due to structural failure on aircraft submitted to Damage Tolerance Analysis.

NATO System Analysis and Studies Panel

The NATO Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) promotes and conducts co-operative scientific research and exchange of technical information amongst 28 NATO nations and 38 NATO partners. The largest such collaborative body in the world, the RTO encompasses over 3000 scientists and engineers addressing the complete scope of defence technologies and operational domains. This effort is supported by an executive agency, the Research and Technology Agency (RTA), that facilitates the collaboration by organising a wide range of studies, workshops, symposia, and other forums in which researchers can meet and exchange knowledge.