Actions for Change

The disastrous impact of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast and the New Orleans area in particular was a wakeup call for the Corps, the nation, and the engineering profession. Exhaustive analysis by the Corps-commissioned Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force and other teams of the performance of the Greater New Orleans Hurricane Protection System during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita yielded a number of lessons learned that pointed to the need for organizational changes to better serve the nation. 

The 12 Actions for Change (USAGE 2006b) were developed from the analysis done by the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the National Science Foundation-sponsored team, and Louisiana State University in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and earlier internal and external evaluations by the organization. These recommendations follow  

Employ an integrated comprehensive systems-based approach. 

Employ risk-based concepts in planning, design, construction, and major maintenance. 

Continuously reassess and update policy for program development, planning guidance, design, and construction standards. 

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USACE. (2006b). "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Releases Its "12 Actions for Change." Press Release No. PA-06-11, August 24, (June, 2007). 

Step 4 Act The findings of the Check phase provide corrective actions for changes and modifications needed. The cycle continues as the Plan is adjusted, Doing continues, Checks of the results are made and Acting on corrective actions takes place and so on. 

Operation errors are errors associated with one or more actions that change the state of the system, for example, steps such as open valve A, secure blocking device. These errors can also apply at the level of whole tasks, for example, disconnect or secure tanker (tasks 4.2 and 4.4 in Figure 5.6). 

Exposure to other ideas, resources and opportunities broadens teachers awareness of possibilities for change and fosters a sense that alternatives are available. Teachers would make use, initially on a small scale, of classroom materials developed especially to meet the new approaches to models of the triplet relationship (see especially Tsaparlis, 2008 Tan et al., 2008 Meijer et al., 2008 Davidowitz Chittleborough, 2008 Justi et al., 2008 Treagust Chandra-segaran, 2008). This awareness of alternative resources implies either that such materials are prepared beforehand (Van Berkel, Pilot, finite, 2008) or that the teachers themselves prepare the materials by an action research approach (Ferk Savec et al., 2008). 

The cellular/molecular mechanism of action for these cyclic peptide toxins is now an area of active research in several laboratories. These peptides cause striking ultrastructural changes in isolated hepatocytes (95) including a decrease in the polymerization of actin. This effect on the cells cytoskeletal system continues to be investigated and recent work indirectly supports the idea that these toxins interact with the cells cytoskeletal system (86,96). Why there is a specificity of these toxins for liver cells is not clear although it has been suggested that the bile uptake system may be at least partly responsible for penetration of the toxin into the cell (92). 

This course of action is a possibility but will depend on how the message is delivered. Can be a way of showing you disapprove but care for the person s welfare. Remember that peer disapproval can be a very powerful force for change. 

The results demonstrate anticonvulsant properties of PCP and ketamine in two quite different seizure models. On the one hand, ketamine was effective in antagonizing several components of PTZ activity. Others have previously reported anti-PTZ effects of ketamine. However, the present results demonstrate that the anticonvulsant effects of ketamine against PTZ seizures closely resembled the effects of phenobarbital in that both compounds delayed clonic convulsions and prevented tonic extension. Moreover, a low dose of ketamine, which alone showed no anticonvulsant effect or overt behavioral changes, potentiated the anti-PTZ effects of phenobarbita 1. These findings suggest that ketamine possesses selective anticonvulsant properties. The anticonvulsant mechanism of action for phenobarbital is not known. However, the similarities between ketamine and phenobarbital, and the interaction between the two compounds, suggest a common mechanism or site of acti on. 

Some allelochemicals such as sesquiterpene lactones or alkaloids penetrate into a cell, binding with various cellular compartments, and changing the cellular fluorescence excited by ultra-violet or violet light. This makes clear cellular mechanisms of actions for the allelochemicals. Sesquiterpene lactones azulene and proazulenes binds DNA-containing structures such as nuclei and chloroplasts, which fluoresce in blue (Roshchina, 2004). 

Weisner JB, Koeng JI, Krulich L, Moss RL (1984) Site of action for -endorphin-induced changes in plasma luteinizing hormone and prolactin in the ovariectomized rat. Life Sci 34 1463-1473... 

Volume 53—EVALUATING CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION PLANS National Actions for International Commitment Edited by James C. White... 

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