Psychometric Evaluation of the Cybersecurity Concept Inventory

We present a psychometric evaluation of a revised version of the Cybersecurity Concept Inventory (CCI) , completed by 354 students from 29 colleges and universities. The CCI is a conceptual test of understanding created to enable research on instruction quality in cybersecurity education. This work extends previous expert review and small-scale pilot testing of the CCI. Results show that the CCI aligns with a curriculum many instructors expect from an introductory cybersecurity course, and that it is a valid and reliable tool for assessing what conceptual cybersecurity knowledge students learned.

Improving the Thermal Fatigue Strength of Hot-Working Tools by Laser Treatment

A method for increasing the thermal fatigue strength of a tool used in hot forming of bearing rings by applying circular laser tracks to the working surfaces is considered. Laser treatment is carried out with a power of 2.0...2.5 kW by applying on the end face working surface of the tool in the direction from the center to the periphery of the circular tracks with a common center coinciding with the center of the circumference of the end face; the tool is rotated at a constant angular rate, the spot diameter ds for each track is selected according to the dependence ds,i+1/ds,i = 0.85...0.90, and the laser radiation spots of adjacent tracks have a common point of contact. The results of pilot testing are presented, which confirmed the high technical and economic efficiency of the use of laser quenching for ejectors and punches. A tool made by machining, for example, an ejector of an AMP-70 automatic press, is subjected to volume quenching and tempering. The ejector material was steel 3Kh3M3F, quenching temperature in oil – 1030...1050 °С, tempering temperature – 580...610 °С. After volume quenching, additional machining is carried out, usually grinding, in order to remove the decarbonized layer of material formed during heat treatment and to give the working surface the required roughness class. The final stage in the tool manufacturing is the quenching of its working surface by laser treatment. Pilot testing showed that the use of laser treatment made it possible to increase the durability of ejectors of various types by 2 ... 3 times, of deforming punches – by 2.2 times.

Development, Validation, and Testing of a Self-Assessment Tool to Measure Food Safety Beliefs, Attitudes, and Behaviors in Healthcare Foodservice Operations

The neutropenic diet has long been a dietary prescription for immunocompromised patients. Its effectiveness and consistency, unfortunately, have been constantly challenged. Researchers and healthcare policymakers call for liberalization of neutropenic diet, which shifts risk management strategies from excluding claimed “high-risk” food items to focus on safe food handling. The responsibility of food safety falls on foodservice workers in a healthcare setting. The objective of this study was to develop and conduct psychometric testing to determine the validity and reliability of a self-assessment survey instrument tool targeting beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of safe food handling practices for healthcare foodservice workers. This survey validation study was conducted in four distinct phases. First, the tool was developed based on the Theory of Planned Behavior framework. After initial draft, the survey underwent content validity testing to establish face validity and test-retest reliability to measure temporal stability. Lastly, the 40-item survey was then pilot tested to assess internal consistency and construct validity. Pilot testing was conducted over a 16-month period on 211 healthcare foodservice workers across six acute care hospitals who serve immunocompromised populations. The original survey was comprised of 46 items. Six items were removed due to low content validity scores and temporal instability. Pilot testing revealed acceptable internal consistency (Chronbach’s alpha = 0.79). The linear regression model proved to be a good fit (p ≤ .0001) after assumptions were tested and met to predict behavior from attitude. A reliable and valid self-assessment survey instrument tool was developed for use in a healthcare foodservice operation. Results of this tool can help organizations pinpoint areas to improve food safety practices of foodservice workers who serve immunocompromised population.

Enhanced Thru-Tubing Ceramic Sand Screen: Performance Review from Pilot Installation in Offshore East Malaysia

Sand production remains as one of the most challenging complications in managing mature fields in Malaysia. More than half of the wells in Malaysian fields are completed with downhole primary sand control or require sand management throughout their lifetime. To further aggravate the issue, most primary sand controls installed have suffered from failure after an extended period of production. Thus, operators are often compelled to rely on thru-tubing metallic sand screens to reactivate idle sand wells. However, most metallic sand screens suffer from sustainability issue due to substantial erosion especially for those installed in wells with high gas flow rate. Therefore, alternative technology such as through-tubing ceramic sand screen (TTCSS) has been considered and applied due to its higher durability and resistance against erosion. This paper will discuss the evolution of TTCSS design and performance improvement in terms of longevity. Field application in Malaysian mature fields has shown that ceramic sand screen demonstrates a longer lifetime when compared to conventional metallic sand screen. However, to further improve the mean time between failures (MTBF) of TTCSS, extensive studies have been conducted by carrying out detailed teardown investigation and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation. Design changes have been proposed and incorporated to mitigate the erosion risk at end cap area based on previous well installation. The enhanced TTCSS were then installed in the same well with high erosional velocity as pilot testing. The operating well envelope and installation method were maintained following the previous installation. TTCSS with enhanced design were then retrieved after a period of three months for detailed evaluation. Several criteria have been identified as key performance indicators for the success of enhanced TTCSS design. Throughout the pilot testing period, sand production at surface has been closely monitored to detect any sand grains larger than screen slot sizing. Upon retrieval, enhanced design of TTCSS shall not exhibit similar erosion patterns at end cap area which will affect the integrity of spring compensator system and cause the screen to lose its filtration mechanism. Lastly, enhanced TTCSS design shall prevent parting of screen during retrieval, reducing the risk of leaving the screen downhole as fish. This paper will present the outcome of pilot testing of enhanced TTCSS by comparing the performance with the original design using both teardown investigation and velocity calculation. Suggestion for further optimization will also be discussed to ensure TTCSS remains as one of the competent candidates for remedial sand control which can offer greater durability and longevity.

Pilot Testing of the UB-CAM Delirium Screening App

Systematic screening improves delirium detection among hospitalized older adults. This poster describes the development and pilot testing of an iOS-based app that incorporates the Ultra-Brief Confusion Assessment Method (UB-CAM), a two-step, delirium detection protocol that combines the UB-2 (2-item screener) and 3D-CAM. Previous work tested a RedCAP-based UB-CAM app in 527 patients with 399 physicians, nurses, and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) showing it can be successfully completed by all three disciplines in 97% of eligible patients in 80 seconds on average with over 85% accuracy relative to a gold standard. To improve accessibility to the clinical setting, our research team now collaborated with a computer scientist to develop and refine an iOS-based UB-CAM app for the iPhone and iPad through iterative “laboratory” testing. The app was piloted by non-clinician, research testers in hospitalized older adults (age x̄ =83, SD= 8.0) with dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating Scale x̄ =1.1, SD= .30); 64% were assessed to be delirium positive. The app demonstrated preliminary efficiency (90 seconds on average), high acceptability (100% satisfaction of users), and reliability (100% inter-rater). This project underscores the need for close collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and computer scientists with iterative testing of bedside-facing apps prior to testing with patients. Next steps include testing effectiveness in a pragmatic trial with clinician users (physicians, nurses, CNAs), integrating the UB-CAM app into the routine hospital care of all older patients. Having rapid, accurate bedside delirium detection has the potential to transform care.