• Title/Summary/Keyword: Relief work

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Involvement of Social Media in Disaster Management during the Wenchuan and Ya'an Earthquakes

  • Li, Leah Xiufang
    • Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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    • v.1 no.4
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    • pp.249-267
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    • 2014
  • Social media is being increasingly utilized in disaster relief work to identify safety issues, locate displaced-victims, and seek or provide support for those who need help. The presence of social media in disaster management has changed significantly in recent years, as it was not prevalent in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, but had become a powerful force in the 2013 Ya'an earthquake. This paper discusses the development of social media in disaster management via making a comparison between how it functioned in the two earthquakes. It examines the following aspects: who are the stakeholders that use social media in the earthquake management; how do they adopt this means in response to the earthquakes; and what are the outcomes of adopting social media with regards to public engagement and collaboration in an emergency event. As Sina Weibo acts as the equivalent of China's Twitter, the methodology relies on an analysis of posts in Weibo. The outcomes primarily show that: (1) authorities, celebrities and the public actively adopted social media for the purpose of information dissemination and resource mobilization; and (2) social media users are both content consumers and content generators in the times of earthquakes. The study concludes that social media as a backchannel communication tool is helpful for government institutions, corporations, and nonprofit organizations to build relationships with their stakeholders in the disaster management cycle. The result will interest academics and emergency management practitioners who are concerned with improving disaster communication.

A Parallel Implementation of Multiple Non-overlapping Cameras for Robot Pose Estimation

  • Ragab, Mohammad Ehab;Elkabbany, Ghada Farouk
    • KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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    • v.8 no.11
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    • pp.4103-4117
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    • 2014
  • Image processing and computer vision algorithms are gaining larger concern in a variety of application areas such as robotics and man-machine interaction. Vision allows the development of flexible, intelligent, and less intrusive approaches than most of the other sensor systems. In this work, we determine the location and orientation of a mobile robot which is crucial for performing its tasks. In order to be able to operate in real time there is a need to speed up different vision routines. Therefore, we present and evaluate a method for introducing parallelism into the multiple non-overlapping camera pose estimation algorithm proposed in [1]. In this algorithm the problem has been solved in real time using multiple non-overlapping cameras and the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). Four cameras arranged in two back-to-back pairs are put on the platform of a moving robot. An important benefit of using multiple cameras for robot pose estimation is the capability of resolving vision uncertainties such as the bas-relief ambiguity. The proposed method is based on algorithmic skeletons for low, medium and high levels of parallelization. The analysis shows that the use of a multiprocessor system enhances the system performance by about 87%. In addition, the proposed design is scalable, which is necaccery in this application where the number of features changes repeatedly.

An analysis of the Relationship between Railway Dispatchers' Stress Factors and Job Satisfaction Levels (철도교통관제사의 스트레스 요인과 직무만족의 관련성에 관한 실증적 분석)

  • Kim, Jae-Yeon;Kim, In
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.148-155
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    • 2014
  • This practical study investigates the effects of job satisfaction as a result of the stresses felt by many dispatchers who work in the subway industry in the Seoul metropolitan area. Factors that cause stress are assessed. The organization system, inappropriate compensation, workplace culture, and job requirements, among several types of organizational stresses are significantly related to job satisfaction. The results of the analysis indicate that there is a close link between job satisfaction and dispatcher communication factors. This paper suggests stress-relief measures for dispatchers who must handle a variety of civil complaints and improper communications with field departments based on the analysis of the answers to descriptive questionnaire items.

Key Findings from the Artist Project on Aerosol Retention in a Dry Steam Generator

  • Dehbi, Abdelouahab;Suckow, Detlef;Lind, Terttaliisa;Guentay, Salih;Danner, Steffen;Mukin, Roman
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.48 no.4
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    • pp.870-880
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    • 2016
  • A steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) event with a stuck-open safety relief valve constitutes one of the most serious accident sequences in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) because it may create an open path for radioactive aerosol release into the environment. The release may be mitigated by the deposition of fission product particles on a steam generator's (SG's) dry tubes and structures or by scrubbing in the secondary coolant. However, the absence of empirical data, the complexity of the geometry, and the controlling processes have, until recently, made any quantification of retention difficult to justify. As a result, past risk assessment studies typically took little or no credit for aerosol retention in SGTR sequences. To provide these missing data, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) initiated the Aerosol Trapping In Steam GeneraTor (ARTIST) Project, which aimed to thoroughly investigate various aspects of aerosol removal in the secondary side of a breached steam generator. Between 2003 and 2011, the PSI has led the ARTIST Project, which involved intense collaboration between nearly 20 international partners. This summary paper presents key findings of experimental and analytical work conducted at the PSI within the ARTIST program.

Large Steel Tank Fails and Rockets to Height of 30 meters - Rupture Disc Installed Incorrectly

  • Hedlund, Frank H.;Selig, Robert S.;Kragh, Eva K.
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.130-137
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    • 2016
  • At a brewery, the base plate-to-shell weld seam of a $90-m^3$ vertical cylindrical steel tank failed catastrophically. The 4 ton tank "took off" like a rocket leaving its contents behind, and landed on a van, crushing it. The top of the tank reached a height of 30 m. The internal overpressure responsible for the failure was an estimated 60 kPa. A rupture disc rated at < 50 kPa provided overpressure protection and thus prevented the tank from being covered by the European Pressure Equipment Directive. This safeguard failed and it was later discovered that the rupture disc had been installed upside down. The organizational root cause of this incident may be a fundamental lack of appreciation of the hazards of large volumes of low-pressure compressed air or gas. A contributing factor may be that the standard piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) symbol for a rupture disc may confuse and lead to incorrect installation. Compressed air systems are ubiquitous. The medium is not toxic or flammable. Such systems however, when operated at "slight overpressure" can store a great deal of energy and thus constitute a hazard that ought to be addressed by safety managers.

Verification on Separation Distance Criteria when Transporting Dangerous Goods in Korea Railroad (국내 철도 위험물 운송 시 격리차 운영기준 안전성 검증)

  • Lee, Byeongwoo;Park, Dasung;Kang, Taesun;Jung, Seungho
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.28-33
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    • 2019
  • After the Tianjin Port explosion on 2015, it is highlighted that securing safety for dangerous goods in Korea and try to establish safety standards for railroad dangerous substances transport. In Korea, the regulation for the transport of dangerous goods is stipulated to need 3 buffer cars. However, It is inefficient that 3 buffer cars. because 3 buffer cars, increase transportation too much costs in transit and it is too strict compared to other country rules. The purpose of this study was to improve transportation efficiency by mitigating the criteria for isolated railroads through rational safety assessment. In order to verify this, we used a risk assessment software which is PHAST 7.2 developed by DNV GL. We calculated safety distances that could prevent ignitions setting up scenarios when relief system work installed on a train loaded with propylene, nonane. As a result, we confirmed that buffer cars can be reduced from three to one. This result would be implemented in the application of Korail.

Crisis Management Strategy for the Korean MICE Industry Using SWOT-AHP-TOWS Analysis

  • Kim, Yongsuk
    • Journal of Korea Trade
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    • v.25 no.6
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    • pp.34-56
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    • 2021
  • Purpose - This study presents strategies to overcome the COVID-19-induced crisis in Korea's meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) industry. It aims to quantitatively identify the environmental factors affecting the industry and their degree of influence, and derive optimal countermeasures. Design/methodology - The study applied the SWOT-AHP-TOWS framework. An AHP analysis was first performed within the SWOT frame, and then a TOWS analysis was conducted using the results of the SWOT-AHP analysis. In the AHP analysis, the number of pairwise comparison questions was limited to four for each SWOT factor to increase the consistency of responses by reducing the burden on respondents. Findings - The plunge in demand (threats factor) has had an overwhelming impact on the MICE industry, more than any other environmental factor. To overcome the crisis, the ST alternative that takes advantage of dynamic pop culture to minimize the business damage caused by the plunge in demand was the top priority measure. Based on the results, this study presents suggestions for overcoming the crisis in the MICE industry. First, the industry should develop profitable business models to supplement scarce financial resources by exploiting Korea's success with quarantine management. Second, the government must provide emergency relief funds or bailout support to protect MICE facilities and employees. Originality/value - Unlike previous work on the MICE industry, this study utilized the SWOT-AHPTOWS framework to derive quick research results in an abnormal situation. This approach can be expanded to other countries with different industrial environments and situations. Additionally, when applying this method to MICE sub-sectors, countermeasures should be tailored to each field.

A Study on the Syntagma & Paradigm by Repetition, Variation and Contrast in Ads

  • Choi, Seong-hoon
    • Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology
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    • v.7 no.9
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    • pp.1-12
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    • 2017
  • This study is the academic work to explore the potential meanings of print advertisements. Linguistic features such as repetition, variation, contrast and phonological structure in the verbal texts of ads can give rise to shades-of-meaning or slight variations in advertising. The language of advertising is not only language in words. It is also a language in images, colors, and pictures. Pictures and words combine to form the advertisement's visual text.. While the words are very important in delivering the sales message, the visual text cannot be ignored in advertisements. Forming part of the visual text is the paralanguage of the ad. Paralanguage is the meaningful behaviour accompanying language, such as voice quality, gestures, facial expressions and touch in speech, and choice of typeface and letter sizes in writing. Foregrounding is the throwing into relief of the linguistic sign against the background of the norms of ordinary language. This paper focuses its discussion on the advertisements within the framework of the paradigmatic and the syntagmatic relationship. The sources of ads have been confined to Malboro. The ads were reselected based on purposive sampling methods.

EXPLORING THE CHALLENGES TO USAGE OF BUILDING CONSTURCTION COST INDICES GHANA

  • Osei-Tutu, E;Adobor, C.D;Kissi, E.;Osei-Tutu, S.;Adjei-Kumi, T.
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • 2017.10a
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    • pp.313-320
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    • 2017
  • Price fluctuation contract is imperative and of paramount essence in the construction industry as it provides adequate relief and cushioning for changes in the prices of input resources during construction. As a result, several methods have been devised to better help in arriving at fair recompense in the event of price chang es. However, stakeholders often appear not to be satisfied with the existing methods of fluctuation evaluation, ostensibly because of the challenges associated with them. The aim of this study was to identify the challenges to usage of building construction cost indices in Ghana. Data was gathered from contractors and quantity surveying firms. The study utilized survey questionnaire approach to elicit responses from the contractors and the consultants. Data gathered was analyzed scientifically, using the Relative Importance Index (RII) to rank the problems associated with the existing methods. The findings revealed the following among others; late release of data; inadequate recovery of costs; and work items of interest not included in the published indices as the main challenges of the existing methods. This study will provide useful lessons for policy makers and practitioners in decision making towards the usage and improvement of available indices.

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The Duty and Role of Uiseoseubdoggwan(Medical Learning Officer) in the Joseon Dynasty Examined through the Historical Trace of IM Won-jun(任元濬, 1423~1500) (임원준의 사적을 통해 본 조선시대 의서습독관의 직무와 역할)

  • LYU Jeong-ah
    • The Journal of Korean Medical History
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    • v.36 no.1
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    • pp.51-72
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    • 2023
  • IM Won-jun(任元濬, 1423~1500) was an Confucianism Doctor in the former period of Joseon Dynasty. Through IM Won-jun's historical trace we could know the range of Uiseoseubdoggwan(Medical Learning Officer)'s duty not limited to study medical books at that time but extended to medical treat, educate, recommend medical policy, personnel manage, carry out administrative work, carry out all the works concerned with medical books, make new medicines at different official period. Among these after learning duties the Royal Family of the Joseon Dynasty awarded high grades to medical treatment for king and king's mother, but from the viewpoint of advancement of medicine controling the top of medical policy as a chief of Jeonuigam had important meaning. The system of Uiseoseubdoggwan(Medical Learning Officer) in the Joseon Dynasty played the role of cultivating widely the man of ability who leaded medical development by sharing the man of ability between medicine and confucianism which was dominant learning at that time, so the knowledge and professional skill of medicine, Yin-Yang and the Five Elements theory, the spirit of relief of the world were spreaded across to national administration, education, publication culture, putting philosophy of filial piety into practice in the Joseon Dynasty.