• Title/Summary/Keyword: Informal Cost

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Quitline Activity in Rajasthan, India

  • Gupta, Rakesh;Verma, Vinit;Mathur, Pankaj
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.17 no.sup2
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    • pp.19-24
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    • 2016
  • Quitline activity in Rajasthan, India is a voluntary activity of Rajasthan Cancer Foundation (RCF) since April 2013. To kick-off, it took the benefit of the State Government- PIRAMAL SWASTHYA (PS)1 collaborative 104 Health Information Helpline that existed already in public-private partnership. It is a reactive quitline that helps callers through the counselors and nursing staff trained specifically through the weekly sessions held by the first author, the RCF resource on quitline. Besides structuring of the scripts for primary intervention and follow-ups after 1 week, 1 month, 6 months and a year, he also monitors calls, advices and coordinates with the supervisors to manage and analyze the data base, and reports to the PS lead at the Jaipur Center on overall performance and to plan strategic communication with the State Government on its outcomes. The quitline has limitations of its informal existence through a voluntary effort of RCF, no specific resource allocation, suboptimal data management, minimal awareness in the masses due to poor IEC (Information, Education and Communication; except its efforts made by RCF in last 1 year through the government-run State TV and City Radio) and staff shortage and its attrition due to lack of plan for career advancement. Despite these challenges in the year 2013, the quit line has registered a quit rate (for complete abstinence) of 19.93% amongst 1525 callers. The quit rate were 58.01% (304/ 524) among the responders at the 3rd follow-up at 18 months (in September 2014)2. In view of an increase in quit rate by 5- 9 times over the prevailing quit rate in the former ever daily users [both smokers and the users of smokeless tobacco (SLT)], efforts are being made by RCF in concurrence with PS to have this cost-effective model established formally with optimal resource allocation in collaboration with willing agencies (the State and Central Governments and the International Quitline Agencies) and its replication in 4 more states where PS is collaborating with the respective state governments similarly (Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Karnataka).

Socioeconomic burden of sugar-sweetened beverages consumption in Korea

  • Shim, Jee-Seon;Kang, Nam Hoon;Lee, Jung Sug;Kim, Ki Nam;Chung, Hae Kyung;Chung, Hae Rang;Kim, Hung-Ju;Ahn, Yoon-Sook;Chang, Moon-Jeong
    • Nutrition Research and Practice
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    • v.13 no.2
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    • pp.134-140
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    • 2019
  • BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Excessive sugar consumption may increase the risk for development of several diseases. Although average dietary sugar intake of Koreans is within the recommended level, an increasing trend has been found in all age groups. This study aimed to evaluate the population attributable fractions (PAF) to dietary sugar for disease and death in Korea, and to estimate the socioeconomic effects of a reduction in dietary sugar. MATERIALS/METHODS: The prevalence of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) overconsumption (${\geq}20g$ of sugar from beverages) was analyzed using the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015. Disease-specific relative risks of excessive SSB consumption were obtained through reviewing previous studies. Using the prevalence of SSB overconsumption and each relative risk, PAFs for morbidity and mortality were calculated. Socioeconomic costs of diseases and death attributable to SSB overconsumption were estimated by using representative data on national medical expenditures, health insurance statistics, employment information, and previous reports. RESULTS: Disease-specific PAF to SSB consumption ranged from 3.11% for stroke to 9.05% for obesity and dental caries, respectively. Costs from disease caused by SSB overconsumption was estimated at 594 billion won in 2015. About 39 billion won was estimated to be from SSB consumption-related deaths, and a total of 633 billion won was predicted to have been saved through preventing SSB overconsumption. CONCLUSIONS: Sugars overconsumption causes considerable public burdens, although the cost estimates do not include any informal expenditure. Information on these socioeconomic effects helps both health professionals and policy makers to create and to implement programs for reducing sugar consumption.

HRTF Enhancement Algorithm for Stereo ground Systems (스테레오 시스템을 위한 머리전달함수의 개선)

  • Koo, Kyo-Sik;Cha, Hyung-Tai
    • The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.207-214
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    • 2008
  • To create 3D sound, we usually use two methods which are two channels or multichannel sound systems. Because of cost and space problems, we prefer two channel sound system to multi-channel. Using a headphone or two speakers, the most typical method to create 3D sound effects is a technology of head related transfer function (HRTF) which contains the information that sound arrives from a sound source to the ears of the listener. But it causes a problem to localize a sound source around a certain places which is called cone-of-confusion. In this paper, we proposed the new algorithm to reduce the confusion of sound image localization. HRTF grouping and psychoacoustics theory are used to boost the spectral cue with spectrum difference among each directions. Informal listening tests show that the proposed method improves the front-back sound localization characteristics much better than conventional methods.

Improving Road Construction Productivity by Developing a Programmatic Resource Distribution System for Equipment Sharing in Multi-sectioned Road Construction Projects (다(多)공구 도로 건설 현장의 장비 공유시스템 구축을 통한 생산성 향상에 관한 연구)

  • Koo, Bonsang
    • Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.134-145
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    • 2013
  • Road construction projects are parcelled into sub-sections which are then tendered to individual contractors for construction. The type of work and equipments used are similar for each sub-section. However, such equipment are not shared on a regular basis among the contractors and only partially performed in an informal and ad hoc manner. Consequently, road construction equipment suffer from low utilization and increased leasing costs. Lean construction and Program Management approaches stress the importance of collaboration among individual participants in a way that increases the collective cost savings of the entire project. This research attempts to apply such theories with the notion that under utilization of expensive equipment can be improved by formalizing a way to enable the sharing of equipment in large, public sponsored, multi-sectioned road construction projects. A system was developed consisting of a set of criteria and processes that enables automatic allocation of equipment to multiple sites on daily basis, in a way that minimizes equipment costs and improves their individual utility. The system was then applied in allocating three different types of equipment to an actual road construction project with four sub-sections for three months. A new metric, nDPR showed that utilization improved for all equipment and also equipment related costs were decreased by 4.45%. Results also showed that increased shared opportunities of equipment correspond to an increase in utilization and cost savings.

The Study on the Economic Appraisal of Fishing Port Investments (어항투자사업의 경제성 평가에 관한 연구)

  • 정형찬
    • The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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    • v.14 no.2
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    • pp.15-68
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    • 1983
  • From the economic point of view the fishing port is the complex of installations on land, organized to serve the fishing fleet and its cargo, and is the main link in the production chain of all components of the fishing industry, with the aim of achieving the planned targets with the minimum cost. Fishing port investment decisions have had significant impact on the development aims of Korean fisheries. Fishing port investments in Korea are made mostly by public or semipublic port authorities. Such investments should be judged not purely on the basis of financial profitability but rather on the extent to which they serve the development aims of the fishing industry. This makes the economic appraisal process more complex and presents certain problems in correctly quantifying the economic costs and benefits of the fishing port projects. This study concentrates more on the theoretical economic appraisal models than on the purely financial aspects of fishing port investments and points out the difference between the two approaches. In the result, there is clearly an element of judgment as to whether or not a shadow price needs to be used in estimating economic benefits and costs. From this viewpoint, some attempts are made to provide definitions of the possible economic benefits and costs, and methods for estimating and evaluating them in Part III and IV. Especially queueing theory is applied in the calculation of economic benefits. When a project is contemplated and analysis shows it to Lave a positive NPV, one question that arises is whether it should be implemented now or delayed. In this paper, the first year rate of return method is regarded as a more concise way of solving the timing of investment, At the end of Part IV, risk analysis of fishing port investments is considered. It can be handled in a number of ways, ranging from informal judgment to complex statistical analyses involving large-scale computer models, This paper recommends that evaluators of fishing port investments use the sensitivity analysis indicating exactly how much NPV will change in response to a given change in an input variable, other things held constant. Decisions regarding the amount of capacity to provide must be made in fishing port investments. Providing too much service would involve excessive capital costs. On the other hand, not providing enough service capacity would cause the waiting line of fishing vessels to become excessively long at times. Therefore, in Part V, the optimal number of berths and berth productivity in fishing port are defined as follows: Minimize E(TC) = E(WC)+E(SC) The minimum of this function is the solution and that is the optimal number of berth and berth productivity in fishing port.

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New Directions in Communicating Better Nutrition to Older Adults

  • Guldan, Georgia-Sue;Wendy Wai-Hing Hui
    • Journal of Community Nutrition
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.62-70
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    • 2000
  • Nutrition education should be an important component of ongoing health promotion for older adults and their caregivers. This is because prevention through sound nutrition and food hygiene practices and regular excercise is the most cost-effective way to reduce risks for and deal with their major health problems. nutritions education services should effectively promote optimum intake and successful self-care. Unfortunately, however relative to other vulnerable groups, nutrition education for older adults has not been systematically developed or evaluated. Usually oder adults care a lot about their health, so this should be a relatively easy group to teach - but their increasing numbers, longevity and great diversity with respect to health, physical, and economic status and educational level present challenges. Some older adults may not perceive they would benefit from nutrition education, so interesting and motivating them is a challenge. The food and nutrition knowledge of older people has been acquired through a lifetime of experience. For most older adults in the Asian region, their sources are restricted by their restricted education, so that their major sources of information have been informal sources, such as television, radio, friends, family, and perhaps newspapers and magazines if they are literature. Nonetheless, dietary advice for older people should build on their existing knowledge and ingrained values. It should provide information useful in daily food selection, and focus on food, not nutrients - the same foods and groups considered appropriate for younger people, with consistent messages as given throughout the population. Attention must also be paid to discovering learning styles in older people. When we teach in schools, the young students are a captive audience resigned to their learning role. Learning by an older adult, however, reflects an effort to meet his or her perceived needs. Therefore, nutrition education should be a positive experience in a non-threatening environment, relaxed and non-competitive, and perhaps even social environment. The messages also need to be practical and achievable. A needs assessment is essential, because our ability to provide the most effective nutrition education will depend on our success in matching the needs, both perceived and unperceived. of this vulnerable group. Therefore, go to the potential older learners to assess their interest and preferences. Nutrition education activities for older adults are widespread, but few have been evaluated. Evaluation is therefore also recommended, particularly when new methods are used. Tips from other countries for giving successful nutrition education will be given, including some examples of applications as attempted in Hong Kong. Research needs will also be described. In conclusion, successful nutrition education for older adults depends on positive needs-based messages. This is may be hard to do, as few good examples are available to illustrate these principles.

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Qualitative Research of Job turnover and Stay, Based on Job Embeddedness (직무배태성에 따른 이직과 잔류의 영향 요인에 대한 질적 연구)

  • Hwari Eun;Jabok Koo;Taeyun Jung
    • Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.221-250
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this study is to find out the causes of turnover, the causes of stay, and the effects of turnover of college graduates with early careers, based on the concept of job embeddedness and their stances. For this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 college graduates with early careers and the interviews were analyzed with phenomenological analytic research. The result of the study shows that the cause of turnover intention includes fit and link which are components of job embeddedness. More specifically, turnover intention of the interviewee is affected by fit which includes whether their ability and talent are used properly and whether their vision and culture fit well those of their organization, also affected by link which includes the formal or informal mutual relationship with coworkers and superiors. Stay intention, on the other hand, includes fit which contains satisfaction about work and organization, long-term career management. Stay intention also includes sacrifice which are anxiety about uncertain future and satisfaction about being employed. As an aspect of the effect of turnover, the satisfaction and fulfillment about work which are experienced after turnover by the interviewees and the satisfaction about coworkers and the team in which the interviewees are included offset the negative effect of turnover. The result also shows that organization should consider their workers' satisfaction about the first work, their amicable relationship, and turnover cost, to improve working and living standard of colleges graduates with early careers and to prevent them from turnover.

School Dieticians' Perception of Seafood Ingredient Pricing in School Food-Service in Seoul (학교급식 수산물 가격 결정에 대한 서울 지역 학교영양(교)사의 인식)

  • Cha, Myeong Hwa;Seo, Sang Rok;Moon, Min Ji;Yang, Ji Hye;Sung, Bo Mi;Jung, Hyun Suk;Ryu, Kyung
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.43 no.11
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    • pp.1766-1773
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    • 2014
  • The purpose of this research was to scrutinize dieticians' perspective of seafood ingredients prices in school food-service. Suppliers' contract status, seafood ingredient usage and satisfaction, expectations regarding prices of seafood ingredients, and willingness to pay when HACCP is taken into account were studied. Through random sampling, the survey was conducted on 231 dieticians in 11 different educational districts and 12 elementary, six middle, and three high schools. Ultimately, 142 survey responses were taken into account. Data analysis was performed using SPSS v15.0 by descriptive analysis, ${\chi}^2$-test, and t-test. For contracts regarding seafood ingredients, competitive contracts composed 79.7%. Exactly 42.1% responded that contracts were breached, and 60.1% testified that product returns were due to excessive glazing of ingredients. The satisfaction rate of 'hygiene & sanitation of product' was the highest, whereas 'price of product' was the lowest. For 'recontracting intention', 'informal purchasing' showed higher rates compared to 'competitive bidding'. Reflecting upon the six main price factors, 'designation and maintenance of HACCP', 'price of raw seafood ingredients', 'processing costs', 'margin', 'logistic costs', and 'cost of standardizing seafood ingredients', dieticians' perceived 'impact on the anticipated price' on total cost was lower than present counterparts. This implicates that 'impact on the present price' of the six price factors is too excessive, suggesting that many dieticians are unsatisfied with the current prices of seafood ingredients. Furthermore, 52.8% of dieticians stated that the maximum additional payment of HACCP seafood ingredients should be less than 5%. Consequently, this research serves as basic information for reasonable pricing of seafood ingredients and contributes to increased seafood usage by school food-services.

Selective Word Embedding for Sentence Classification by Considering Information Gain and Word Similarity (문장 분류를 위한 정보 이득 및 유사도에 따른 단어 제거와 선택적 단어 임베딩 방안)

  • Lee, Min Seok;Yang, Seok Woo;Lee, Hong Joo
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.25 no.4
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    • pp.105-122
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    • 2019
  • Dimensionality reduction is one of the methods to handle big data in text mining. For dimensionality reduction, we should consider the density of data, which has a significant influence on the performance of sentence classification. It requires lots of computations for data of higher dimensions. Eventually, it can cause lots of computational cost and overfitting in the model. Thus, the dimension reduction process is necessary to improve the performance of the model. Diverse methods have been proposed from only lessening the noise of data like misspelling or informal text to including semantic and syntactic information. On top of it, the expression and selection of the text features have impacts on the performance of the classifier for sentence classification, which is one of the fields of Natural Language Processing. The common goal of dimension reduction is to find latent space that is representative of raw data from observation space. Existing methods utilize various algorithms for dimensionality reduction, such as feature extraction and feature selection. In addition to these algorithms, word embeddings, learning low-dimensional vector space representations of words, that can capture semantic and syntactic information from data are also utilized. For improving performance, recent studies have suggested methods that the word dictionary is modified according to the positive and negative score of pre-defined words. The basic idea of this study is that similar words have similar vector representations. Once the feature selection algorithm selects the words that are not important, we thought the words that are similar to the selected words also have no impacts on sentence classification. This study proposes two ways to achieve more accurate classification that conduct selective word elimination under specific regulations and construct word embedding based on Word2Vec embedding. To select words having low importance from the text, we use information gain algorithm to measure the importance and cosine similarity to search for similar words. First, we eliminate words that have comparatively low information gain values from the raw text and form word embedding. Second, we select words additionally that are similar to the words that have a low level of information gain values and make word embedding. In the end, these filtered text and word embedding apply to the deep learning models; Convolutional Neural Network and Attention-Based Bidirectional LSTM. This study uses customer reviews on Kindle in Amazon.com, IMDB, and Yelp as datasets, and classify each data using the deep learning models. The reviews got more than five helpful votes, and the ratio of helpful votes was over 70% classified as helpful reviews. Also, Yelp only shows the number of helpful votes. We extracted 100,000 reviews which got more than five helpful votes using a random sampling method among 750,000 reviews. The minimal preprocessing was executed to each dataset, such as removing numbers and special characters from text data. To evaluate the proposed methods, we compared the performances of Word2Vec and GloVe word embeddings, which used all the words. We showed that one of the proposed methods is better than the embeddings with all the words. By removing unimportant words, we can get better performance. However, if we removed too many words, it showed that the performance was lowered. For future research, it is required to consider diverse ways of preprocessing and the in-depth analysis for the co-occurrence of words to measure similarity values among words. Also, we only applied the proposed method with Word2Vec. Other embedding methods such as GloVe, fastText, ELMo can be applied with the proposed methods, and it is possible to identify the possible combinations between word embedding methods and elimination methods.