New article published in 12(4B) - ENFIR/INAC 2024

Quality control tests for calibration of kap meters

Abstract: In accordance with IEC 60580:2021, KAP meters are typically calibrated using cylindrical reference ionization chambers aligned with RQR radiation qualities specified by ISO 61267. However, discrepancies in manufacturing geometry between these reference chambers and PKA meters prompted a series of quality control tests to establish an effective calibration methodology. Two distinct tests of quality control were conducted to compare the performance of a reference KAP meter (PDC - Radcal®) with a reference ionization chamber (Radcal® 10x5-180), using the Agfa® PANTAK Constant Potential X-Ray System. These tests included homogeneity assessments with varying horizontal displacements of the reference PDC meter and reproducibility tests at consistent positions. The two tests were conducted for Kerma and PKA unities. A third test is still in progress, the long-term stability, with repeated measurements; as with the tests ago, for Kerma and KAP measurements. These results demonstrated good correlation and traceability between the PDC and the ionization chamber, with reproducibility and homogeneity within an uncertainty margin below 3 %. These findings validate the proposed calibration method for practical applications. Read full article. 

Study of Organizational Management through Implicit and Explicit Association Measures in Public and Private Management

Abstract: This study aims to identify the main characteristics of organizations regarding employees' perceptions, paradigms and prejudices regarding organizational management. Although the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN-SP) and the University of Rio Verde (UniRV - GO) were chosen to conduct this research, this study will present the results of the application of a questionnaire (explicit test) only to a group of IPEN employees. The topics addressed in this research were: bureaucracy, organizational participation, and innovation, among others. Due to the cultural diversity in Brazil and consequently in companies, there are several models of organizational management. However, for the scope of this study, two models are considered: participatory management, focused on innovation, and autocratic management, in which the manager makes decisions unilaterally, without the participation or consultation of employees. These two management models were chosen to stimulate the behavioral profile of employees, that is, it is a way of understanding and identifying the employee's reaction or positioning in a specific situation. The methodology used as a data collection instrument involves the Implicit Association Test (IAT) (unconscious) and explicit (conscious) which is done through a questionnaire. This paper will only present the explicit association test (questionnaire) that was applied to IPEN employees. To apply the implicit association tests, the FreeIAT software will be used, although its application will be done in the next phase of this work as described in this article. The first results of the explicit association test (questionnaire) demonstrate, through the calculation of Cronbach's alpha, its high consistency and reliability. Read full article.