BACKGROUND Technical, human, operational and organizational factors have been influencing the sequence of occupational accidents. Among them, organizational factors play a major role in causing occupational accidents. The aim of this research was to understand the Iranian safety experts' experiences and perception of organizational factors. METHODS This qualitative study was conducted in 2015...

Recently the mechanism was found which allows avoidance of the cosmological singularity within the semi-classical formulation of Loop Quantum Gravity. Numerical studies show that the presence of self-interaction potential of the scalar field allows generation of initial conditions for successful slow-roll inflation. In this paper qualitative analysis of dynamical system, corresponding to cosmol...

In this paper we extend the predicate logic introduced in [BRS02] in order to deal with Semi-Markov Processes. We prove that with respect to qualitative probabilistic properties, model checking is decidable for this logic applied to Semi-Markov Processes. Furthermore we apply our logic to Probabilistic Timed Automata considering classical and urgent semantics, and considering also predicates on...

In this paper we study the error propagation of numerical schemes for the advection equation in the case where high precision is desired. The numerical methods considered are based on the fast Fourier transform, polynomial interpolation (semi-Lagrangian methods using a Lagrange or spline interpolation), and a discontinuous Galerkin semi-Lagrangian approach (which is conservative and has to stor...

Researchers often employ qualitative research approaches but large volumes of textual data pose considerable challenges to manual coding. In this research, we explore how to implement fully or semi-automatic coding on textual data (specifically, electronic messages) by leveraging Natural Language Processing (NLP). In particular, we compare the performance of human-developed NLP rules to those i...

This paper explores semi-qualitative probabilistic networks (SQPNs) that combine numeric and qualitative information. We first show that exact inferences with SQPNs are NPPP-Complete. We then show that existing qualitative relations in SQPNs (plus probabilistic logic and imprecise assessments) can be dealt effectively through multilinear programming. We then discuss learning: we consider a maxi...

This paper deals with a prognosis method that is used in an operation support system. The role of prognosis in a supervisory system is analysed. Then, a supervision method based on trend analysis is explained. First the on line extraction of semi-qualitative episodes from a noisy signal is described. The method uses a segmentation algorithm, a classification of the segments into seven temporal ...

Qualitative and quantitative representations of space in general and motion in particular have their typical fields of application which are unified in an autonomously moving robot interacting with human beings. Therefore it is necessary to make some considerations on both approaches when dealing with such a robot. This paper presents quantitative and qualitative representations of locomotion a...

Methods Participants were recruited using a convenience sampling strategy and invited to partake in an in-depth, semi-structured interview upon completion of the intervention. The LEAP Project intervention consists of eight modules (1) Consciousness and Self Acceptance, (2) Appreciation of Beauty & Creativity, (3). Mystery and Meaning, (4) Gratitude, (5) Compassion, (6) Acceptance, (7) Forgiven...