Technical Peer Review Research Articles

Implementation of a Technical Peer Review Process: Principles, Policy, and Cultural Change

AbstractThe complex scientific and engineering work performed at Sandia National Laboratories is supported by a comprehensive system of reviews that include design, gate, and peer reviews. A recent exercise revealed a need to change how technical peer reviews are conducted. Building on industry standards, best practices, current standard internal practices and other previous work, Sandia has developed a continuous improvement process to institutionalize technical peer review in the design lifecycle of products. The approach focuses on translating customer and leadership expectations, utilizing current established practices, simplifying planning and execution, and providing resources to project teams to guide them and ensure that rigorous and consistent technical peer reviews are performed. This paper presents the process used by Sandia to improve the technical peer review process, the factors that affect implementation of a peer review process, the simplified three‐step process implemented, the tools and resources generated, and the sustainment plan adopted to increase the institution‐wide use of peer review as a tool to improve product delivery.

Preface

This first edition proceeding stems from the 2020 international online conference whose title is ‘Innovative Solutions Hydropower, Environmental and Civil Engineering (HECE2020)’, which held by China University of Geosciences in Beijing, China, 11-13 December 2020. It is aimed at gathering a part of the knowledge in the field of hydropower, environmental sciences and civil engineering, in order to make an up-to-date synthesis of the most recent developments.The objective of HECE 2020 is the exchange of the latest scientific achievements, strengthening of academic linkages between issues of joint interest, creating favorable conditions for collaborative researches and implementing collaborative projects. Its cutting-edge content provides you with updates on water resources and hydropower engineering, environmental and earth sciences, civil engineering and related technology and application among researchers, students, engineers and professionals from the industrial and scientific communities, which allows readers to learn and implement the techniques.Authors were invited to submit their latest research papers with methodologies and results achieved in high scientific-level to HECE2020. These 86 full papers approved for this proceeding were selected from 205 submissions; all accepted papers passed scientific and technical review. Within the framework of technical peer-review, these papers were thoroughly checked for the following attributes: compliance with the conference topics; plagiarism checking; acceptable English language. Meanwhile, papers were checked by HECE academic editors, scientific review of each accepted paper was made by at least 2-3 reviewers.Finally and most importantly, we thank all the authors, who contribute their innovative ideas, research results, applications and experience from as well as highlight activities in the related areas. We would give special thanks to the Advisory Committee and the Program Committee, for their diligence, and concern for the quality of the program, and also with their detailed feedback to the authors. I would like to specially thank IOP Publishing for their kind support on the publication of this proceeding and for their editorial support.We hope you enjoy and Take advantage of this proceeding and feel motivated to submit your papers in the future to the next HECE conference.All the best for you!Dr. Roberto XuChina University of Geosciences, ChinaDecember 11 2020

Technical Peer Review: Methods and Outcomes.

Peer review is routine among physicians, nurses, and pharmacy staff yet is uncommon in the field of nuclear medicine technology. Although not a requirement of regulatory agencies, nuclear medicine technical peer review can greatly enhance the quality of patient care in both hospital and outpatient settings. To date, detailed methods for accomplishing this task have not been published. Methods: 19,688 nuclear medicine studies performed at a single institution over a 5-y period were critically reviewed. Major findings (errors with potential to change physician interpretation of the study or resulting in prescription error) and minor findings (errors without an adverse effect on study outcome or interpretation) were identified and tabulated monthly according to finding type, study type, and individual staff member. Results: The technical peer review method used at our institution provided a comprehensive means to measure the rate and types of errors. Over time, this system tracked the performance of nuclear medicine staff and students, providing feedback that led to a measurable reduction in errors. Conclusion: We present a technical peer review system based on our own experience that can be adapted by other nuclear medicine facilities to fit their needs.

Preface: COLLECTION OF PAPERS FROM 1ST FIMM: FRENCH-ITALIAN MEETING ON MASONRY, MARSEILLE (FR), 24-25 OCTOBER 2013

The present Special Issue of The Open Civil Engineering Journal collects a selection of extended, reviewed and revised papers presented at the 1st FIMM French-Italian Meeting on Masonry, held in Marseille, France, from 24 to 25 October 2013. The organizers of the meeting were Prof. F. Lebon, Université d'Aix-Marseille Laboratoire de Mécanique et d'Acoustique (FR), and Prof E. Sacco, Università di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale (IT). The main aim was to exchange new ideas and show the state of the art of different research groups active in France and Italy, two countries at the top of the world for the research on masonry. Universities involved were: Université d'Aix-Marseille (FR), Université de Montpellier 2 (FR), Université de Limoges (FR), Politecnico di Milano (IT), Università di Roma la Sapienza (IT), Università di Ferrara (IT), Università di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale (IT). A Scopus enquire with keyword “masonry” ordered by country shows 1609 records for Italy and 274 for France, with a percentage contribution respectively of 12.5% and 2.1% on the global scientific production, putting thus in evidence the importance of a tight interaction between French and Italian research groups. After the success of the first edition, the 2nd FIMM French-Italian Meeting on Masonry, will take place in Milan, Italy, from 30 to 31 October 2014. The special issue collects three papers. Fouchal et al. [1] present an evolution of the interface model originally presented by Rekik and Lebon, including cracks and roughness, with a comparison with experimental data on specimens subjected to shear tests. In the second paper, Tralli et al. [2] report a comprehensive state of the art on the cutting edge numerical research devoted to masonry vaults. Finally, Addessi et al. [3] review some advanced homogenization, micro- and macro-modelling strategies suitable for the analysis of masonry in the inelastic range. I wish to thank all the authors for their valuable contributions. All manuscripts underwent technical peer review. I therefore also wish to thank all the reviewers for their critical comments which undoubtedly improved the original technical value of all contributions.

Advancing Oil Spill Response in Arctic Conditions: The Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology - Joint Industry Programme

ABSTRACT The oil and gas industry has made significant advances in being able to detect, contain and clean up spills in arctic environments. To further build on existing research and improve the technologies and methodologies for arctic oil spill response, nine oil and gas companies (BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Eni, ExxonMobil, North Caspian Operating Company, Shell, Statoil, and Total) established the Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology Joint Industry Programme (JIP). The goal of the JIP is to advance arctic oil spill response strategies and equipment as well as to increase understanding of potential impacts of oil on the arctic marine environment. Officially launched in January 2012 at the Arctic Frontiers Conference in Tromsø, Norway, the JIP has six technical working groups (TWG) each focusing on a different key area of oil spill response: dispersants; environmental effects; trajectory modeling; remote sensing; mechanical recovery and in-situ burning (ISB). There is also a field research TWG to pursue opportunities for field releases for validation of response technologies and strategies. Each TWG is led by recognized subject matter experts with years of experience in oil spill response research and operations. This JIP is bringing together the world's foremost experts on oil spill response research, development, and operations from across industry, academia, and independent research centres. Research integrity will be ensured through technical peer review and public dissemination of results. This paper describes the scope and current progress of this Joint Industry Program (JIP).

SPECIAL ISSUE DEDICATED TO THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION AND STOCHASTIC MODELING (UNCERTAINTIES 2012)

International Symposium on Uncertainty Quantification and Stochastic Modeling(Uncertainties 2012), which has taken place at Maresias, city of S˜ao Sebastiao, state of S ˜ao Paulo, Brazil, fromFebruary 26 to March 2, 2012.The meeting was organized on behalf of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering’s (ABCM)Committee on Uncertainty Quantification and Stochastic Modeling, with the objective of providing a proper forumfor discussion of academic, scientific and technical aspects of uncertainty quantification in mechanical systems. Fi-nancial support was provided by the Brazilian Funding Agencies CAPES, FAPESP and CNPq, which are gratefullyacknowledged. Additional operational support from the Structural Engineering Department of S˜ao Carlos Schoolof Engineering (EESC) and from the Brazilian Societies of Applied and Computational Mathematics (SBMAC) andComputational Methods in Engineering (ABMEC) was essential for the meeting’s success.The symposium consisted of 59 oral presentations and 9 keynote lectures covering practical and theoretical aspectsof uncertainty quantification and stochastic modeling, with applications to structural dynamics, nonlinear dynamics,corrosion and damage, structural reliability, optimization, acoustics and vibroacoustics. Based on their contributionsand editorial guidelines, selected presenters were invited to prepare full papers for publication in this special issue.All manuscripts underwent scientific and technical peer review according to the journal standards.The contributions in this special issue include studies on model reduction for dynamics of complex structuresusing a probabilistic approach (Batou and Soize, 2013), reliability-based design optimization of reinforced concretestructures (Aoues et al., 2013), multi-stage bayesian framework for prediction of porous media flow (Ginting et al.,2013), effect of uncertainties on the performance of discrete spatial modal filters (Trindade et al., 2013) and design-point excitation for crack propagation under random loading (Moustapha et al., 2013).In conclusion, we thank the authors for their valuable contributions and also the reviewers for their commentswhich undoubtedly improved the formal and technical value of the articles presented in this special issue.

Editorial

Editorial

The Rise and Fall of a Risk‐Based Priority System: Lessons from DOE's Environmental Restoration Priority System

This paper presents the history of the Environmental Restoration Priority System (ERPS), a decision aid developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to help determine how to allocate funds for cleaning up hazardous waste sites. Although praised in technical peer review, the system was strongly criticized by stakeholders external to the DOE. Ultimately, and in the midst of a National Academy of Sciences review, DOE shelved the system. The rise and fall of ERPS provides useful lessons for analysts hoping to improve risk management in the public sector.

Probabilistic risk assessment in the US

The paper offers an overview of the current state of affairs in the field of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) in the US as applied to nuclear power. The history of the development of PRA techniques starts essentially with the Reactor Safety Study (RSS) which was sponsored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and published in 1975 as report WASH-1400. It was subjected both to extensive technical peer review and, as requested by the US Congress, to oversight review by a scientific panel called the Lewis Committee. Applications of PRA techniques did not spread widely outside the field of advanced reactors such as an HTGR until the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident in March 1979. In the four year since the TMI accident a rapid expansion of the use of PRA has occurred. One of the major strengths of PRA is its broad applicability to problems faced by utilities, designers and regulators. While offering substantial benefits, PRA has also some limitations which need to be understood. The expansion has primarily taken the form of plant-specific studies. Several major studies are now published and many more are in progress. The paper discusses some insights gained from the Big Rock Point and Zion/Indian Point studies, and concludes with a subject closely related to PRA, which is the development of safety goals for nuclear regulation.