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The Atmospheric River Tracking Method Intercomparison Project (ARTMIP) is an international collaborative effort to understand and quantify the uncertainties in atmospheric river (AR) science based on detection algorithm alone. Currently, there are many AR identification and tracking algorithms in the literature with a wide range of techniques and conclusions. ARTMIP strives to provide the community with information on different methodologies and provide guidance on the most appropriate algorithm for a given science question or region of interest. All ARTMIP participants will implement their detection algorithms on a specified common dataset for a defined period of time. The project is divided into two phases: Tier 1 will utilize the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis from January 1980 to June 2017 and will be used as a baseline for all subsequent comparisons. Participation in Tier 1 is required. Tier 2 will be optional and include sensitivity studies designed around specific science questions, such as reanalysis uncertainty and climate change. High-resolution reanalysis and/or model output will be used wherever possible. Proposed metrics include AR frequency, duration, intensity, and precipitation attributable to ARs. Here, we present the ARTMIP experimental design, timeline, project requirements, and a brief description of the variety of methodologies in the current literature. We also present results from our 1-month “proof-of-concept” trial run designed to illustrate the utility and feasibility of the ARTMIP project.

ARTMIP is a grassroots effort initiated by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists to understand and quantify the implications of the diverse set of AR identification and tracking methods found in the literature. Understanding the uncertainties and how the choice of detection algorithm impacts quantities such as precipitation is imperative for stakeholders such as water managers, city and transportation planners, agriculture, or any industry that depends on global and regional water cycle information for the near term and into the future. The first tier of the project is aimed at understanding the impact of AR algorithm on quantitative baseline statistics and characteristics of ARs, and the second tier of the project includes sensitivity studies designed around specific science questions, such as reanalysis uncertainty and climate change. The second ARTMIP workshop provided a forum for the AR community to 1. discuss analyses of the tier 1 dataset, 2. synthesize the results and implications of the tier 1 analyses, 3. use this information to define the experimental designs for the various tier 2 experiments, 4. work toward developing a set of recommendations regarding the advantages and disadvantages of different AR algorithms for various scientific questions, and 5. discuss gaps and emerging opportunities for advancing the tracking and science of ARs.

Purpose - To provide a sound discussion on the Six Sigma methodology and see how it fits in with other quality initiatives.Design methodology approach - A conceptual paper that takes at in-depth look at the origins, pros and cons of Six Sigma and how it relates to some of the other quality initiatives in industry.Findings - The immediate goal of Six Sigma is defect reduction. Reduced defects lead to yield improvement; higher yields improve customer satisfaction. Six Sigma defect reduction is intended to lead to cost reduction. It has a process focus and aims to highlight process improvement opportunities through systematic measurement. Six Sigma implementation can have negative consequences if applied in the wrong project. Six Sigma is a toolset, not a management system and is best used in conjunction with other more comprehensive quality standards such as the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence or the European Quality Award.Research limitations implications - This is a conceptual study and hence there are no hypotheses tested as in an empirical study. It does provide a good foundation for future research.Practical implications - A very useful source of information and impartial advice for practitioners and researchers planning to practice the Six Sigma methodology and or understand its pros and cons.Originality value - This paper fulfils an identified information resources need for Six Sigma methodology. It is based on utilizing an extensive set of statistical and advanced mathematical tools, and a well-defined methodology that produces significant results quickly. The success of this methodology within an organization has significant momentum that can only lead to fundamental organizational cultural transformation.

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are long and narrow corridors of enhanced vertically integrated water vapor (IWV) and IWV transport (IVT) within the warm sector of extra tropical cyclones that can produce heavy precipitation and flooding in regions of complex terrain, especially along the U.S. West Coast. Several field campaigns have investigated ARs under the CalWater program of field studies. The first field phase of CalWater during 2009–11 increased the number of observations of precipitation and aerosols, among other parameters, across California and sampled ARs in the coastal and near-coastal environment, whereas the second field phase of CalWater during 2014–15 observed the structure and intensity of ARs and aerosols in the coastal and offshore environment over the northeast Pacific. This manuscript highlights the forecasts that were prepared for the CalWater field campaign in 2015, and the development and use of an “AR portal” that was used to inform these forecasts. The AR portal contains archived and real-time deterministic and probabilistic gridded forecast tools related to ARs that emphasize water vapor concentrations and water vapor flux distributions over the eastern North Pacific, among other parameters, in a variety of formats derived from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecast System and Global Ensemble Forecast System. The tools created for the CalWater 2015 field campaign provided valuable guidance for flight planning and field activity purposes, and they may prove useful in forecasting ARs and better anticipating hydrometeorological extremes along the U.S. West Coast.

According to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), a primary emphasis of 21st-century social policymaking will be to ensure that the elderly can access the resources of the community at large, no matter where they live (CCRC, assisted living, independent living or private home). Thus, the idea of linking community-based services with environments where the aging live, whether in rented apartments, assisted living units or their own homes, is gaining attention. Ideally, community-based service centers can offer information as well as direct services to the older resident regardless of the older person's choice of residence type. A community-based services center places the emphasis on keeping older people at home as long as possible, meeting both their preference and pocketbook-based desires. Many northern European countries are now offering this seamless continuum of services by providing facilities that are service-centered, both in multifamily settings and in neighborhoods of private homes. These countries know that the focus must continue to be on reinforcing independence of the elderly as much as possible.

Lease-purchasing as an alternate form of financing

Brighton's resilience has been a feature of their season so far and Zamora believes they are at a stage where their ambitions should extend beyond a place in the play-offs, with automatic promotion now the clear target.

Brighton's resilience has been a feature of their season so far and Zamora believes they are at a stage where their ambitions should extend beyond a place in the play-offs, with automatic promotion now the clear target.

This paper presents a study exploring how therapists describe their experience of coping with the impact of providing treatment to individuals who have experienced severe trauma. Research suggests that those who work with severe trauma are vulnerable to becoming traumatized themselves (Kluft, 1989; Talbot, 1990, Genest, Levine, Ramsden & Swanson, 1990, McCann & Pearlman, 1990, Pearlman & Saakvitne, 1995, Figley, 1995, Briere, 1997). Therapists who continue to work effectively with traumatized populations must find ways to reduce the impact of the traumatic material on themselves. This study explored therapists' narratives about their encounters with vicarious traumatization from working with Vietnam veterans and how these therapist can continue to provide treatment for this population.