Search results for: disaster risk perception
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 8194

Search results for: disaster risk perception

7234 The Effects of Weather Events and Land Use Change on Urban Ecosystems: From Risk to Resilience

Authors: Szu-Hua Wang

Abstract:

Urban ecosystems, as complex coupled human-environment systems, contain abundant natural resources for breeding natural assets and, at the same time, attract urban assets and consume natural resources, triggered by urban development. Land use change illustrates the interaction between human activities and environments factually. However, IPCC (2014) announces that land use change and urbanization due to human activities are the major cause of climate change, leading to serious impacts on urban ecosystem resilience and risk. For this reason, risk assessment and resilience analysis are the keys for responding to climate change on urban ecosystems. Urban spatial planning can guide urban development by land use planning, transportation planning, and environmental planning and affect land use allocation and human activities by building major constructions and protecting important national land resources simultaneously. Urban spatial planning can aggravate climate change and, on the other hand, mitigate and adapt climate change. Research on effects of spatial planning on land use change and climate change is one of intense issues currently. Therefore, this research focuses on developing frameworks for risk assessment and resilience analysis from the aspect of ecosystem based on typhoon precipitation in Taipei area. The integrated method of risk assessment and resilience analysis will be also addressed for applying spatial planning practice and sustainable development.

Keywords: ecosystem, land use change, risk analysis, resilience

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7233 A Conceptual Framework to Study Cognitive-Affective Destination Images of Thailand among French Tourists

Authors: Ketwadee Madden

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Product or service image is among the vital factors that predict individuals’ choice of buying a product or services, goes to a place or attached to a person. Similarly, in the context of tourism, the destination image is a very important factor to which tourist considers before making their tour destination decisions. In light of this, the objective of this study is to conceptually investigate among French tourists, the determinants of Thailand’s tourism destination image. For this objective to be achieved, prior studies were reviewed, leading to the development of conceptual framework highlighting the determinants of destination image. In addition, this study develops some hypotheses that are to be empirically investigated. Aside these, based on the conceptual findings, suggestions on how to motivate European tourists to chose Thailand as their preferred tourism destination were made.

Keywords: cognitive destination image, affective destination image, motivations, risk perception, word of mouth

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7232 Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections and Socio-Demographic Factors Affecting High Risk Sex among Unmarried Youths in Nigeria

Authors: Obasanjo Afolabi Bolarinwa

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This study assesses the levels of knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among unmarried youths in Nigeria; examines the pattern of high risk sex among unmarried youths in Nigeria; investigate the socio-demographic factors (age, place of residence, religion, level of education, wealth index and employment status) affecting the practice of high-risk sexual behaviour and ascertain the relationships between knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and practice of high risk sex. The goal of the study is to identify the factors associated with the practice of high risk sex among youth. These were with a view to identifying critical actions needed to reduce high risk sexual behaviour among youths. The study employed secondary data. The data for the study were extracted from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The 2013 NDHS collected information from 38,948 Women ages 15-49 years and 17,359 men ages 15-49. A total of 7,744 female and 6,027 male respondents were utilized in the study. In order to adjust for the effect of oversampling of the population, the weighting factor provided by Measure DHS was applied. The data were analysed using frequency distribution and logistic regression. The results show that both male (92.2%) and female (93.6%) have accurate knowledge of sexually transmitted infections. The study also revealed that prevalence of high risk sexual behavior is high among Nigerian youths; this is evident as 77.7% (female) and 78.4% (male) are engaging in high risk sexual behavior. The bivariate analysis shows that age of respondent (χ2=294.2; p < 0.05), religion (χ2=136.64; p < 0.05), wealth index (χ2=17.38; p < 0.05), level of education (χ2=34.73; p < 0.05) and employment status (χ2=94.54; p < 0.05) were individual factors significantly associated with high risk sexual behaviour among male while age of respondent (χ2=327.07; p < 0.05), place of residence (χ2=6.71; p < 0.05), religion (χ2=81.04; p < 0.05), wealth index (χ2=7.41; p < 0.05), level of education (χ2=18.12; p < 0.05) and employment status (χ2=51.02; p < 0.05) were individual factors significantly associated with high risk sexual behaviour among female. Furthermore, the study shows that there is a relationship between knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and high risk sex among male (χ2=38.32; p < 0.05) and female (χ2=18.37; p < 0.05). At multivariate level, the study revealed that individual characteristics such as age, religion, place of residence, wealth index, levels of education and employment status were statistically significantly related with high risk sexual behaviour among male and female (p < 0.05). Lastly, the study shows that knowledge of sexually transmitted infection was significantly related to high risk sexual behaviour among youths (p < 0.05). The study concludes that there is a high level of knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among unmarried youths in Nigeria. The practice of high risk sex is high among unmarried youths but higher among male youths. The prevalence of high risk sexual activity is higher for males when they are at disadvantage and higher for females when they are at advantage. Socio-demographic factors like age of respondents, religion, wealth index, place of residence, employment status and highest level of education are factors influencing high risk sexual behaviour among youths.

Keywords: high risk sex, wealth index, sexual behaviour, knowledge

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7231 Evaluation of Cultural Landscape Perception in Waterfront Historic Districts Based on Multi-source Data - Taking Venice and Suzhou as Examples

Authors: Shuyu Zhang

Abstract:

The waterfront historical district, as a type of historical districts on the verge of waters such as the sea, lake, and river, have a relatively special urban form. In the past preservation and renewal of traditional historic districts, there have been many discussions on the land range, and the waterfront and marginal spaces are easily overlooked. However, the waterfront space of the historic districts, as a cultural landscape heritage combining historical buildings and landscape elements, has strong ecological and sustainable values. At the same time, Suzhou and Venice, as sister water cities in history, have more waterfront spaces that can be compared in urban form and other levels. Therefore, this paper focuses on the waterfront historic districts in Venice and Suzhou, establishes quantitative evaluation indicators for environmental perception, makes analogies, and promotes the renewal and activation of the entire historical district by improving the spatial quality and vitality of the waterfront area. First, this paper uses multi-source data for analysis, such as Baidu Maps and Google Maps API to crawl the street view of the waterfront historic districts, uses machine learning algorithms to analyze the proportion of cultural landscape elements such as green viewing rate in the street view pictures, and uses space syntax software to make quantitative selectivity analysis, so as to establish environmental perception evaluation indicators for the waterfront historic districts. Finally, by comparing and summarizing the waterfront historic districts in Venice and Suzhou, it reveals their similarities and differences, characteristics and conclusions, and hopes to provide a reference for the heritage preservation and renewal of other waterfront historic districts.

Keywords: waterfront historical district, cultural landscape, perception, multi-source Data

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7230 Health Risk Assessment According to Exposure with Heavy Metals and Physicochemical Parameters; Water Quality Index and Contamination Degree Evaluation in Bottled Water

Authors: Samaneh Abolli, Mahmood Alimohammadi

Abstract:

The survey analyzed 71 bottled water brands in Tehran, Iran, examining 10 physicochemical parameters and 16 heavy metals. The water quality index (WQI) approach was used to assess water quality, and methods such as carcinogen risk (CR) and hazard index (HI) were employed to evaluate health risks. The results indicated that the bottled water had good quality overall, but some brands were of poor or very poor quality. The study also revealed significant human health risks, especially for children, due to the presence of minerals and heavy metals in bottled water. Correlation analyses and risk assessments for various substances were conducted, providing valuable insights into the potential health impacts of the analyzed bottled water.

Keywords: bottled wate, rwater quality index, health risk assessment, contamination degree, heavy metal evaluation index

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7229 Risk-Based Regulation as a Model of Control in the South African Meat Industry

Authors: R. Govender, T. C. Katsande, E. Madoroba, N. M. Thiebaut, D. Naidoo

Abstract:

South African control over meat safety is managed by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF). Veterinary services department in each of the nine provinces in the country is tasked with overseeing the farm and abattoir segments of the meat supply chain. Abattoirs are privately owned. The number of abattoirs over the years has increased. This increase has placed constraints on government resources required to monitor these abattoirs. This paper presents empirical research results on the hygienic processing of meat in high and low throughout abattoirs. This paper presents a case for the adoption of risk-based regulation as a method of government control over hygiene and safe meat processing at abattoirs in South Africa. Recommendations are made to the DAFF regarding policy considerations on risk-based regulation as a model of control in South Africa.

Keywords: risk-based regulation, abattoir, food control, meat safety

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7228 An Application of Extreme Value Theory as a Risk Measurement Approach in Frontier Markets

Authors: Dany Ng Cheong Vee, Preethee Nunkoo Gonpot, Noor Sookia

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In this paper, we consider the application of Extreme Value Theory as a risk measurement tool. The Value at Risk, for a set of indices, from six Stock Exchanges of Frontier markets is calculated using the Peaks over Threshold method and the performance of the model index-wise is evaluated using coverage tests and loss functions. Our results show that 'fat-tailedness' alone of the data is not enough to justify the use of EVT as a VaR approach. The structure of the returns dynamics is also a determining factor. This approach works fine in markets which have had extremes occurring in the past thus making the model capable of coping with extremes coming up (Colombo, Tunisia and Zagreb Stock Exchanges). On the other hand, we find that indices with lower past than present volatility fail to adequately deal with future extremes (Mauritius and Kazakhstan). We also conclude that using EVT alone produces quite static VaR figures not reflecting the actual dynamics of the data.

Keywords: extreme value theory, financial crisis 2008, value at risk, frontier markets

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7227 Analyzing the Perception of Identity in Bilingual Communities: Case Study of Eritrean Immigrants in Switzerland

Authors: Warsa Melles

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This study examines the way second-generation Eritrean immigrants living in the French-speaking part of Switzerland behave linguistically and culturally. The aim of this research is to demonstrate how the participants deal with their bilingualism (Tigrinya and French). More precisely, how does their language use correlates with their socio-cultural attitudes and how do these aspects (re)construct their identity? Data for this research was collected via, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Participants were asked to answer questions regarding their linguistic habits, their perception on being bilingual and their cultural identity. The major findings demonstrate that generation 2 relates more with the host country’s language since French is used as the main language in their daily interactions. On the other hand, due to the fact that they have never lived in Eritrea yet were raised by Eritrean born parents in a foreign country, it is more difficult for them to unanimously identify with just one culture. In that sense, intergenerational transmission plays a major role in the perception of identity. All the participants have at least a basic knowledge of Tigrinya, but the use of languages varies according to the purpose. Proficiency in the native language and sense of belonging can be correlated with the frequency of visits to Eritrea. In conclusion, the question of identity in the second-generation Eritrean community cannot be given a categorical and clear-cut answer instead, the new-self image that this social group aims to build is shaped by different factors that are essential to take into consideration.

Keywords: biculturalism, identity, language, migration

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7226 Impact of Perceived Racial Discrimination on Health Risk Behaviors and Experiences of BIPOC Adolescents

Authors: Tya M. Arthur

Abstract:

Purpose: BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) adolescents face racism and discrimination at a young age. These early experiences have short- and long-term impacts on their health and overall well-being. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between perceived racial discrimination at school and health risk behaviors and experiences of BIPOC adolescents. Methods: Data from the 2021 Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES) were analyzed. All demographic data were summarized using frequencies and chi-squared tests. A univariate and multivariate logistic regression model was used to test the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and selected health risk factors. All analyses were conducted using STATA SE 18. Results: A total of 42.2% of the BIPOC adolescents in the study indicated being treated unfairly at school due to their race. The majority of those who reported being discriminated against were Black/African American or Multiple Race-Hispanic. Asian adolescents were almost 5 times more likely to face racial discrimination at school compared to their American Indian/Alaska Native counterparts (OR = 4.86, 95% CI [2.69-8.77], p < 0.001). Other risk predictors of racial discrimination included being female (OR = 1.38, 95% CI [1.13-1.68], p = 0.002) and feeling disconnected at school (OR = 1.76, 95% CI [1.30-2.38], p < 0.001). After adjustment for health risk behaviors and experiences, BIPOC adolescents were still more likely to face racial discrimination with even higher odds. Conclusions: The results of this study highlight the depth of racial discrimination faced by BIPOC adolescents at school. Greater attention should be placed on racial discrimination as a social determinant of health and a public health crisis.

Keywords: racial discrimination, adolescents, heath risk factors, BIPOC

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7225 Prevalence of High Risk Human Papillomavirus in Cervical Dysplasia and Cancer Samples from Twin Cities in Pakistan

Authors: Sana Gul, Sheeba Murad, Aneela Javed

Abstract:

Introduction: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is small DNA virus mostly infecting mucosa and cutaneous keratinocytes. So far, more than 200 Human papillomaviruses are known. HPV have been divided into high- and low-risk on the basis of their oncogenic potential. High risk HPV is considered to be the main etiological cause for cervical cancer. Objective: Current study was designed to screen the local cervical cancer patients from the twin cities of Pakistan for the occurance of high risk HPV. Methodology: A total of 67 formalin fixed paraffin-embedded samples of cervical cancer biopsies were obtained from the government hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Cervical cancer biopsies were examined for the presence of HPV DNA. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for the amplification of a region in the HPV-L1 gene for the general detection of the Papilloma virus and for the genotype specific detection of high risk HPV 16 and 18 using the GP5/GP6 primers and genotype specific primers respectively. Results: HPV DNA was detected in 59 out of 67 samples analyzed. 30 samples showed the presence of HPV16 while 22 samples were positive for HPV 18 . HPV subtype could not be determined in 7 samples. Conclusion: Our results show a strong association between HPV infection and cervical cancer among women in twin cities of Pakistan. One way to minimize the disease burden in relation to HPV infection in Pakistani population is the use of prophylactic vaccines and routine screening. An early diagnosis of HPV infection will allow better health management to reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer.

Keywords: cervical cancer, Pakistan, human papillomavirus, HPV 16

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7224 Self-Attention Mechanism for Target Hiding Based on Satellite Images

Authors: Hao Yuan, Yongjian Shen, Xiangjun He, Yuheng Li, Zhouzhou Zhang, Pengyu Zhang, Minkang Cai

Abstract:

Remote sensing data can provide support for decision-making in disaster assessment or disaster relief. The traditional processing methods of sensitive targets in remote sensing mapping are mainly based on manual retrieval and image editing tools, which are inefficient. Methods based on deep learning for sensitive target hiding are faster and more flexible. But these methods have disadvantages in training time and cost of calculation. This paper proposed a target hiding model Self Attention (SA) Deepfill, which used self-attention modules to replace part of gated convolution layers in image inpainting. By this operation, the calculation amount of the model becomes smaller, and the performance is improved. And this paper adds free-form masks to the model’s training to enhance the model’s universal. The experiment on an open remote sensing dataset proved the efficiency of our method. Moreover, through experimental comparison, the proposed method can train for a longer time without over-fitting. Finally, compared with the existing methods, the proposed model has lower computational weight and better performance.

Keywords: remote sensing mapping, image inpainting, self-attention mechanism, target hiding

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7223 Structural Vulnerability of Banking Network – Systemic Risk Approach

Authors: Farhad Reyazat, Richard Werner

Abstract:

This paper contributes to the existent literature by developing a framework that explains how to monitor potential threats to banking sector stability. The study explores structural vulnerabilities at the country level, but also look at bilateral exposures within a network context. The study contributes in analysing of the European banking systemic risk at aggregated level, which integrates the characteristics of bank size, and interconnectedness relative to the size of the economy which ultimate risk belong to, taking to account the concentration ratio of the banking industry within the whole economy. The nature of the systemic risk depends on the interplay of the network topology with the nature of financial transactions over the network, assets and buffer stemming from bank size, correlations, and the nature of the shocks to the financial system. The study’s results illustrate the contribution of banks’ size, size of economy and concentration of counterparty exposures to a given country’s banks in explaining its systemic importance, how much the banking network depends on a few traditional hubs activities and the changes of this dependencies over the last 9 years. The role of few of traditional hubs such as Swiss banks and British Banks and also Irish banks- where the financial sector is fairly new and grew strongly between 1990s till 2008- take the fourth position on 2014 reducing the relative size since 2006 where they had the first position. In-degree concentration index analysis in the study shows concentration index of banking network was not changed since financial crisis 2007-8. In-degree concentration index on first quarter of 2014 indicates that US, UK and Germany together, getting over 70% of the network exposures. The result of comparing the in-degree concentration index with 2007-4Q, shows the same group having over 70% of the network exposure, however the UK getting more important role in the hub and the market share of US and Germany are slightly diminished.

Keywords: systemic risk, counterparty risk, financial stability, interconnectedness, banking concentration, european banks risk, network effect on systemic risk, concentration risk

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7222 Value at Risk and Expected Shortfall of Firms in the Main European Union Stock Market Indexes: A Detailed Analysis by Economic Sectors and Geographical Situation

Authors: Emma M. Iglesias

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We have analyzed extreme movements of the main stocks traded in the Eurozone in the 2000-2012 period. Our results can help future very-risk-averse investors to choose their portfolios in the Eurozone for risk management purposes. We find two main results. First, we can clearly classify firms by economic sector according to their different estimated VaR values in five of the seven countries we analyze. In special, we find sectors in general where companies have very high (telecommunications and banking) and very low (petroleum, utilities, energy and consumption) estimated VaR values. Second, we only find differences according to the geographical situation of where the stocks are traded in two countries: (1) all firms in the Irish stock market (the only financially rescued country we analyze) have very high estimated VaR values in all sectors; while (2) in Spain all firms have very low estimated VaR values including in the banking and the telecommunications sectors. All our results are supported when we study also the expected shortfall of the firms.

Keywords: risk management, firms, pareto tail thickness parameter, GARCH-type models, value-at-risk, extreme value theory, heavy tails, stock indexes, eurozone

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7221 University Coordinating Council Office: Perceived and Expected Roles and Performances

Authors: Pitsanu Poonpetpun

Abstract:

This research paper consisted of three objectives: 1) to investigate actual perception of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University’s members towards roles and performances of the Coordinating Council Office under the University Council; 2) to investigate expectation of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University’s members towards roles and performances of the Coordinating Council Office under the University Council; and 3) to compare actual perception and expectation of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University’s members towards roles and performances of the Coordinating Council Office under the University Council. A total of 316 samples from the population of the members of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University were selected by use of the simple random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics and Dependent T- Test for paired samples were used, where the Dependent T- Test was for an analysis of a comparison of actual perception and expectation of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University’s members towards roles and performances of the Coordinating Council Office under the University Council. The findings unveiled significantly high levels for the following roles: [i] appropriately circulating agendas and meeting files before time; [ii] preparing appropriate amount and quality of audio- visual equipment for meetings; [iii] compiling and keeping up-to-date documents; [iv] coordinating and working on linking all useful information to serve for the university uses for strategic policing; and [v] preparing appropriate meeting venues.

Keywords: coordinating council office of the university council, expected role, perceived role, performances of duties

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7220 Risk Management Approach for Lean, Agile, Resilient and Green Supply Chain

Authors: Benmoussa Rachid, Deguio Roland, Dubois Sebastien, Rasovska Ivana

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Implementation of LARG (Lean, Agile, Resilient, Green) practices in the supply chain management is a complex task mainly because ecological, economical and operational goals are usually in conflict. To implement these LARG practices successfully, companies’ need relevant decision making tools allowing processes performance control and improvement strategies visibility. To contribute to this issue, this work tries to answer the following research question: How to master performance and anticipate problems in supply chain LARG practices implementation? To answer this question, a risk management approach (RMA) is adopted. Indeed, the proposed RMA aims basically to assess the ability of a supply chain, guided by “Lean, Green and Achievement” performance goals, to face “agility and resilience risk” factors. To proof its relevance, a logistics academic case study based on simulation is used to illustrate all its stages. It shows particularly how to build the “LARG risk map” which is the main output of this approach.

Keywords: agile supply chain, lean supply chain, green supply chain, resilient supply chain, risk approach

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7219 The Effect of Speech-Shaped Noise and Speaker’s Voice Quality on First-Grade Children’s Speech Perception and Listening Comprehension

Authors: I. Schiller, D. Morsomme, A. Remacle

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Children’s ability to process spoken language develops until the late teenage years. At school, where efficient spoken language processing is key to academic achievement, listening conditions are often unfavorable. High background noise and poor teacher’s voice represent typical sources of interference. It can be assumed that these factors particularly affect primary school children, because their language and literacy skills are still low. While it is generally accepted that background noise and impaired voice impede spoken language processing, there is an increasing need for analyzing impacts within specific linguistic areas. Against this background, the aim of the study was to investigate the effect of speech-shaped noise and imitated dysphonic voice on first-grade primary school children’s speech perception and sentence comprehension. Via headphones, 5 to 6-year-old children, recruited within the French-speaking community of Belgium, listened to and performed a minimal-pair discrimination task and a sentence-picture matching task. Stimuli were randomly presented according to four experimental conditions: (1) normal voice / no noise, (2) normal voice / noise, (3) impaired voice / no noise, and (4) impaired voice / noise. The primary outcome measure was task score. How did performance vary with respect to listening condition? Preliminary results will be presented with respect to speech perception and sentence comprehension and carefully interpreted in the light of past findings. This study helps to support our understanding of children’s language processing skills under adverse conditions. Results shall serve as a starting point for probing new measures to optimize children’s learning environment.

Keywords: impaired voice, sentence comprehension, speech perception, speech-shaped noise, spoken language processing

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7218 Salter Pelvic Osteotomy for the Treatment of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip: Assessment of Postoperative Results and Risk Factors

Authors: Suvorov Vasyl, Filipchuk Viktor

Abstract:

Background: If non-surgical treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) fails or if DDH is late-detected, surgery is necessary. Salter pelvic osteotomy (SPO) is an effective surgical option for such cases. The objectives of this study were to assess the results after SPO, evaluate risk factors, and reveal those radiological parameters that may correlate with the results. Mid- and long-term postoperative results after SPO in 17 patients (22 hip joints) were analyzed. Risk factors included those that do not depend on the surgeon (patient's age, value of the acetabular index (AI) preoperatively, DDH Tonnis grade) and those that depend on the surgeon (amount of AI correction). To radiological parameters which may correlate with the amount of AI correction, we referred distance "d" and the lateral rotation angle. Results: SPO allows performing AI correction in ranges 24.1 ± 6.5°. Excellent and good clinical results were obtained in 95.5% of patients; excellent and good radiological results in 86.4% of patients. Risk factors that do not depend on the surgeon were older patient’s age and higher preoperative AI values (p < 0.05). The risk factor that depends on the surgeon was the amount of AI correction (p < 0.05). The distance "d" was recognized as a radiological parameter that may indicate sufficient AI correction (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In older patients with a higher preoperative AI value, the results will be predictably worse. The surgeon may influence the result with a greater amount of AI correction (which may also be indicated radiologically by the distance "d" values).

Keywords: developmental dysplasia of the hip, results, risk factor, pelvic osteotomy, salter osteotomy

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7217 Risk Assessment of Oil Spill Pollution by Integration of Gnome, Aloha and Gis in Bandar Abbas Coast, Iran

Authors: Mehrnaz Farzingohar, Mehran Yasemi, Ahmad Savari

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The oil products are imported and exported via Rajaee’s tanker terminal. Within loading and discharging in several cases the oil is released into the berths and made oil spills. The spills are distributed within short time and seriously affected Rajaee port’s environment and even extended areas. The trajectory and fate of oil spills investigated by modeling and parted by three risk levels base on the modeling results. First GNOME (General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment) applied to trajectory the liquid oil. Second, ALOHA (Areal Location Of Hazardous Atmosphere) air quality model, is integrated to predict the oil evaporation path within the air. Base on the identified zones the high risk areas are signed by colored dots which their densities calculated and clarified on a map which displayed the harm places. Wind and water circulation moved the pollution to the East of Rajaee Port that accumulated about 12 km of coastline. Approximately 20 km of north east of Qeshm Island shore is covered by the three levels of risky areas. Since the main wind direction is SSW the pollution pushed to the east and the highest risk zones formed on the crests edges hence the low risk appeared on the concavities. This assessment help the management and emergency systems to monitor the exposure places base on the priority factors and find the best approaches to protect the environment.

Keywords: oil spill, modeling, pollution, risk assessment

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7216 Features of Formation and Development of Possessory Risk Management Systems of Organization in the Russian Economy

Authors: Mikhail V. Khachaturyan, Inga A. Koryagina, Maria Nikishova

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The study investigates the impact of the ongoing financial crisis, started in the 2nd half of 2014, on marketing budgets spent by Fast-moving consumer goods companies. In these conditions, special importance is given to efficient possessory risk management systems. The main objective for establishing and developing possessory risk management systems for FMCG companies in a crisis is to analyze the data relating to the external environment and consumer behavior in a crisis. Another important objective for possessory risk management systems of FMCG companies is to develop measures and mechanisms to maintain and stimulate sales. In this regard, analysis of risks and threats which consumers define as the main reasons affecting their level of consumption become important. It is obvious that in crisis conditions the effective risk management systems responsible for development and implementation of strategies for consumer demand stimulation, as well as the identification, analysis, assessment and management of other types of risks of economic security will be the key to sustainability of a company. In terms of financial and economic crisis, the problem of forming and developing possessory risk management systems becomes critical not only in the context of management models of FMCG companies, but for all the companies operating in other sectors of the Russian economy. This study attempts to analyze the specifics of formation and development of company possessory risk management systems. In the modern economy, special importance among all the types of owner’s risks has the risk of reduction in consumer activity. This type of risk is common not only for the consumer goods trade. Study of consumer activity decline is especially important for Russia due to domestic market of consumer goods being still in the development stage, despite its significant growth. In this regard, it is especially important to form and develop possessory risk management systems for FMCG companies. The authors offer their own interpretation of the process of forming and developing possessory risk management systems within owner’s management models of FMCG companies as well as in Russian economy in general. Proposed methods and mechanisms of problem analysis of formation and development of possessory risk management systems in FMCG companies and the results received can be helpful for researchers interested in problems of consumer goods market development in Russia and overseas.

Keywords: FMCG companies, marketing budget, risk management, owner, Russian economy, organization, formation, development, system

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7215 The Integrated Methodological Development of Reliability, Risk and Condition-Based Maintenance in the Improvement of the Thermal Power Plant Availability

Authors: Henry Pariaman, Iwa Garniwa, Isti Surjandari, Bambang Sugiarto

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Availability of a complex system of thermal power plant is strongly influenced by the reliability of spare parts and maintenance management policies. A reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) technique is an established method of analysis and is the main reference for maintenance planning. This method considers the consequences of failure in its implementation, but does not deal with further risk of down time that associated with failures, loss of production or high maintenance costs. Risk-based maintenance (RBM) technique provides support strategies to minimize the risks posed by the failure to obtain maintenance task considering cost effectiveness. Meanwhile, condition-based maintenance (CBM) focuses on monitoring the application of the conditions that allow the planning and scheduling of maintenance or other action should be taken to avoid the risk of failure prior to the time-based maintenance. Implementation of RCM, RBM, CBM alone or combined RCM and RBM or RCM and CBM is a maintenance technique used in thermal power plants. Implementation of these three techniques in an integrated maintenance will increase the availability of thermal power plants compared to the use of maintenance techniques individually or in combination of two techniques. This study uses the reliability, risks and conditions-based maintenance in an integrated manner to increase the availability of thermal power plants. The method generates MPI (Priority Maintenance Index) is RPN (Risk Priority Number) are multiplied by RI (Risk Index) and FDT (Failure Defense Task) which can generate the task of monitoring and assessment of conditions other than maintenance tasks. Both MPI and FDT obtained from development of functional tree, failure mode effects analysis, fault-tree analysis, and risk analysis (risk assessment and risk evaluation) were then used to develop and implement a plan and schedule maintenance, monitoring and assessment of the condition and ultimately perform availability analysis. The results of this study indicate that the reliability, risks and conditions-based maintenance methods, in an integrated manner can increase the availability of thermal power plants.

Keywords: integrated maintenance techniques, availability, thermal power plant, MPI, FDT

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7214 Factors Affecting the Uptake of Modern Contraception Services in Oyo State, Nigeria

Authors: Folajinmi Oluwasina, Magbagbeola Dairo, Ikeoluwapo Ajayi

Abstract:

Contraception has proven to be an effective way of controlling fertility and spacing births. Studies have shown that contraception can avert the high-risk pregnancies and consequently reduce maternal deaths up to 32%. Uptake of modern contraception is promoted as a mechanism to address the reproductive health needs of men and women, as well as the crucial challenge of rapid population increase. A cross- sectional descriptive study using a two- stage systematic sampling technique was used to select 530 women of reproductive age out of 20,000 households. Respondents were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Knowledge was assessed on a 5 point score in which a score of ≤ 2 rated poor while perception was scored on 36 points score in which a score of ≤ 18 was rated low. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and logistic regression at p< 0.05. There were 530 respondents. Age of respondents was 30.3 ±7.8 years, and 73.0% were married. About 90% had good knowledge of contraception while 60.8% had used contraceptives. The commonest source of information about contraception was mass media (72.8%). Minority (26.1%) obtained husbands approval before using contraceptive while 20.0% had used modern contraceptives before the first birth. Many (54.5%) of the respondents agreed that contraception helps in improving standard of living and 64.7% had good perception about contraception. Factors that hindered effective uptake of contraception services included poor service provider’s attitude (33.3%) and congestion at the service centers (4.5%). Respondents with nonuse of contraceptive before first birth are less likely to subsequently use contraceptives (OR= 0.324, 95% CI= 0.1-0.5). Husband approval of contraceptives use was the major determinant of women’s contraceptive use (OR = 3.4, 95% CI = 1.3-8.7). Respondents who had family planning centers not more than 5 kilometers walking distance to their residence did not significantly use contraception services (41.5%) more than 21.1% of those who had to take means of transportation to the service venues. This study showed that majority of the respondents were knowledgeable and aware of contraception services, but husband’s agreement on the use of modern contraceptives remains poor. Programmes that enhances husbands approval of modern contraception is thus recommended.

Keywords: contraception services, service provider’s attitude, uptake, husbands approval

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7213 CPPI Method with Conditional Floor: The Discrete Time Case

Authors: Hachmi Ben Ameur, Jean Luc Prigent

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We propose an extension of the CPPI method, which is based on conditional floors. In this framework, we examine in particular the TIPP and margin based strategies. These methods allow keeping part of the past gains and protecting the portfolio value against future high drawdowns of the financial market. However, as for the standard CPPI method, the investor can benefit from potential market rises. To control the risk of such strategies, we introduce both Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES) risk measures. For each of these criteria, we show that the conditional floor must be higher than a lower bound. We illustrate these results, for a quite general ARCH type model, including the EGARCH (1,1) as a special case.

Keywords: CPPI, conditional floor, ARCH, VaR, expected ehortfall

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7212 An Integrated Research of Airline Sponsorship

Authors: Stephen W. Wang

Abstract:

This research aims to explore the multi-faceted structure of airline passengers’ perception of airline sponsorship, and its impact on airline passengers and even consumers on airline brand preferences and brand equity. The connotation of this research is mainly divided into two parts. The first part of the research focuses on exploring the connotation and sub-dimensions of “air passengers’ perception of airline sponsorship”; the second part of the research focuses on integrating “air passengers’ perception on the multi-factor aspect of the corporate sponsorship, “brand transfer theory” and “brand theory”, explores the influence of airlines’ commitment to corporate sponsorship activities on the brand equity and brand preferences of airline passengers, and on passengers’ subsequent behavioral intentions . In addition, in order to clarify the differences between different types of corporate sponsorship activities and events in terms of "air passengers' perception of airline corporate sponsorship activities", brand transfer, brand preference, brand equity and behavioral intentions, this research also focuses on moderating effects of corporate sponsorship events. With the apply of multi-group structural equation model, it is hoped that the effectiveness of the sponsorship activities of airline companies will be improved. In terms of theoretical and practical implications, the aviation industry can follow the results of this research to understand which corporate sponsorship perceptions have a greater impact on consumers, which has important practical significance. The second part of the research project, from the consumer's point of view, understands whether airline corporate sponsorship activities influence behavioral intentions through brand transfer and brand recognition. Through the analysis of the intermediary effect of brand transfer, brand preference and brand equity, the results of this research can provide a more complete and powerful explanation for “why” airlines’ commitment to corporate sponsorship activities can affect airline passengers’ purchase intentions, which will help fill in the gap of the theoretical and practical research on "airline corporate sponsorship", and has its theoretical significance.

Keywords: airline, sponsorship, brand image transfer, brand preference

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7211 Comparing Breast Cancer Risk and the Risk Factors between Heterosexual Women and Sexual Minority Women in Taiwan: A Preliminary Result

Authors: Ya-Ching Wang, Yi-Maun Subeq

Abstract:

Background: There is a lack of evidence to understand differences in risk for developing breast cancer between sexual minority women and heterosexual women in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to compare differences in risk for developing breast cancer between the two groups of Taiwanese women. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was used to collect data. A total of 238 Taiwanese women (mean age 30.69 years old, SD=8.231, range 20-60) were recruited between December 2016 and February 2017, including 115 heterosexual women and 123 sexual minority women. Results: There were no significant differences between heterosexual women and sexual minority women in body mass index, history of non-malignant breast disease, age at menarche and menopause, use of hormone replacement therapy, use of hormone replacement therapy, nor the prevalence of breast cancer. The sexual minority women had higher rates of current drinking, smoking and using breast-bindings and also reported exercise more a week; the heterosexual women had higher rates of pregnancy, children, breastfeed, miscarriages, abortion and use of birth control pills. Discussion/Conclusion: There were significant differences between heterosexual women and sexual minority women in reproductive factors and behavioral risk factors for the development of breast cancer. In particular, the finding that the sexual minority women had higher rate of using breast-bindings (56.6%) than the heterosexual women (4.7%) should be further explore, in order to understand whether long-term breast compression is associated with the development of breast cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer, risk, sexual orientation, Taiwan

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7210 Investigation of Resilient Circles in Local Community and Industry: Waju-Traditional Culture in Japan and Modern Technology Application

Authors: R. Ueda

Abstract:

Today global society is seeking resilient partnership in local organizations and individuals, which realizes multi-stakeholders relationship. Although it is proposed by modern global framework of sustainable development, it is conceivable that such affiliation can be found out in the traditional local community in Japan, and that traditional spirit is tacitly sustaining in modern context of disaster mitigation in society and economy. Then this research is aiming to clarify and analyze implication for the global world by actual case studies. Regional and urban resilience is the ability of multi-stakeholders to cooperate flexibly and to adapt in response to changes in the circumstances caused by disasters, but there are various conflicts affecting coordination of disaster relief measures. These conflicts arise not only from a lack of communication and an insufficient network, but also from the difficulty to jointly draw common context from fragmented information. This is because of the weakness of our modern engineering which focuses on maintenance and restoration of individual systems. Here local ‘circles’ holistically includes local community and interacts periodically. Focusing on examples of resilient organizations and wisdom created in communities, what can be seen throughout history is a virtuous cycle where the information and the knowledge are structured, the context to be adapted becomes clear, and an adaptation at a higher level is made possible, by which the collaboration between organizations is deepened and expanded. And the wisdom of a solid and autonomous disaster prevention formed by the historical community called’ Waju’ – an area surrounded by circle embankment to protect the settlement from flood – lives on in government efforts of the coastal industrial island of today. Industrial company there collaborates to create a circle including common evacuation space, road access improvement and infrastructure recovery. These days, people here adopts new interface technology. Large-scale AR- Augmented Reality for more than hundred people is expressing detailed hazard by tsunami and liquefaction. Common experiences of the major disaster space and circle of mutual discussion are enforcing resilience. Collaboration spirit lies in the center of circle. A consistent key point is a virtuous cycle where the information and the knowledge are structured, the context to be adapted becomes clear, and an adaptation at a higher level is made possible, by which the collaboration between organizations is deepened and expanded. This writer believes that both self-governing human organizations and the societal implementation of technical systems are necessary. Infrastructure should be autonomously instituted by associations of companies and other entities in industrial areas for working closely with local governments. To develop advanced disaster prevention and multi-stakeholder collaboration, partnerships among industry, government, academia and citizens are important.

Keywords: industrial recovery, multi-sakeholders, traditional culture, user experience, Waju

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7209 Affirming Students’ Attention and Perceptions on Prezi Presentation via Eye Tracking System

Authors: Mona Masood, Norshazlina Shaik Othman

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The purpose of this study was to investigate graduate students’ visual attention and perceptions of a Prezi presentation. Ten post-graduate master students were presented with a Prezi presentation at the Centre for Instructional Technology and Multimedia, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The eye movement indicators such as dwell time, average fixation on the areas of interests, heat maps and focus maps were abstracted to indicate the students’ visual attention. Descriptive statistics was employed to analyze the students’ perception of the Prezi presentation in terms of text, slide design, images, layout and overall presentation. The result revealed that the students paid more attention to the text followed by the images and sub heading presented through the Prezi presentation.

Keywords: eye tracking, Prezi, visual attention, visual perception

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7208 Scoring Approach to Identify High-Risk Corridors for Winter Safety Measures ‎in the Iranian Roads Network

Authors: M. Mokhber, J. Hedayati

Abstract:

From the managerial perspective, it is important to devise an operational plan based on top priorities due to limited resources, diversity of measures and high costs needed to improve safety in infrastructure. Dealing with the high-risk corridors across Iran, this study prioritized the corridors according to statistical data on accidents involving fatalities, injury or damage over three consecutive years. In collaboration with the Iranian Police Department, data were collected and modified. Then, the prioritization criteria were specified based on the expertise opinions and international standards. In this study, the prioritization criteria included accident severity and accident density. Finally, the criteria were standardized and weighted (equal weights) to score each high-risk corridor. The prioritization phase involved the scoring and weighting procedure. The high-risk corridors were divided into twelve groups out of 50. The results of data analysis for a three-year span suggested that the first three groups (150 corridors) along with a quarter of Iranian road network length account for nearly 60% of traffic accidents. In the next step, according to variables including weather conditions particular roads for the purpose of winter safety measures were extracted from the abovementioned categories. According to the results ranking, ‎‏9‏‎ roads with the overall ‎length of about ‎‎‏1000‏‎ Km of high-risk corridors are considered as preferences of ‎safety measures‎.

Keywords: high-risk corridors, HRCs, road safety rating, road scoring, winter safety measures

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7207 Econophysics: The Use of Entropy Measures in Finance

Authors: Muhammad Sheraz, Vasile Preda, Silvia Dedu

Abstract:

Concepts of econophysics are usually used to solve problems related to uncertainty and nonlinear dynamics. In the theory of option pricing the risk neutral probabilities play very important role. The application of entropy in finance can be regarded as the extension of both information entropy and the probability entropy. It can be an important tool in various financial methods such as measure of risk, portfolio selection, option pricing and asset pricing. Gulko applied Entropy Pricing Theory (EPT) for pricing stock options and introduced an alternative framework of Black-Scholes model for pricing European stock option. In this article, we present solutions to maximum entropy problems based on Tsallis, Weighted-Tsallis, Kaniadakis, Weighted-Kaniadakies entropies, to obtain risk-neutral densities. We have also obtained the value of European call and put in this framework.

Keywords: option pricing, Black-Scholes model, Tsallis entropy, Kaniadakis entropy, weighted entropy, risk-neutral density

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7206 Shades of Violence – Risks of Male Violence Exposure for Mental and Somatic-Disorders and Risk-Taking Behavior: A Prevalence Study

Authors: Dana Cassandra Winkler, Delia Leiding, Rene Bergs, Franziska Kaiser, Ramona Kirchhart, Ute Habel

Abstract:

Background: Violence is a multidimensional phenomenon, affecting people of every age, socio-economic status and gender. Nevertheless, most studies primarily focus on men perpetrating women. Aim of the present study is to identify the likelihood of mental and somatic disorders and risk-taking behavior in male violence affected. In addition, the relationship between age of violence experience and the risk for health-related problems was analyzed. Method: On the basis of current evidence, a questionnaire was developed focusing on demographic background, health status, risk-taking behavior, and active and passive violence exposure. In total, 5221 males (Mean: 56,1 years, SD: 17,6) were consulted. To account for the time of violence experience in an efficient way, age clusters ‘0-12 years’, ‘13-20 years’, ‘21-35 years’, ‘36-65 years’ and ‘over 65 years’ were defined. A binary logistic regression was calculated to reveal differences in violence-affected and non-violence affected males regarding health and risk-taking factors. Males who experienced violence on a daily/ almost daily basis vs. males who reported violence occurrence once/ several times a month/ year were compared with respect to health factors and risk-taking behavior. Data of males, who indicated active and passive violence exposure, were analyzed by a chi²-analysis, to investigate a possible relation between the age of victimization and violence perpetration. Findings: Results imply that general violence experience, independent of active and passive violence exposure increases the likelihood in favor of somatic-, psychosomatic- and mental disorders as well as risk-taking behavior in males. Experiencing violence on a daily or almost daily basis in childhood and adolescence may serve as a predictor for increased health problems and risk-taking behavior. Furthermore, the violence experience and perpetration occur significantly within the same age cluster. This underlines the importance of a near-term intervention to minimize the risk, that victims become perpetrators later. Conclusion: The present study reveals predictors concerning health risk factors as well as risk-taking behavior in males with violence exposure. The results of this study may underscore the benefit of intervention and regular health care approaches in violence-affected males and underline the importance of acknowledging the overlap of violence experience and perpetration for further research.

Keywords: health disease, male, mental health, prevalence, risk-taking behavior, violence

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7205 From Intuitive to Constructive Audit Risk Assessment: A Complementary Approach to CAATTs Adoption

Authors: Alon Cohen, Jeffrey Kantor, Shalom Levy

Abstract:

The use of the audit risk model in auditing has faced limitations and difficulties, leading auditors to rely on a conceptual level of its application. The qualitative approach to assessing risks has resulted in different risk assessments, affecting the quality of audits and decision-making on the adoption of CAATTs. This study aims to investigate risk factors impacting the implementation of the audit risk model and propose a complementary risk-based instrument (KRIs) to form substance risk judgments and mitigate against heightened risk of material misstatement (RMM). The study addresses the question of how risk factors impact the implementation of the audit risk model, improve risk judgments, and aid in the adoption of CAATTs. The study uses a three-stage scale development procedure involving a pretest and subsequent study with two independent samples. The pretest involves an exploratory factor analysis, while the subsequent study employs confirmatory factor analysis for construct validation. Additionally, the authors test the ability of the KRIs to predict audit efforts needed to mitigate against heightened RMM. Data was collected through two independent samples involving 767 participants. The collected data was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to assess scale validity and construct validation. The suggested KRIs, comprising two risk components and seventeen risk items, are found to have high predictive power in determining audit efforts needed to reduce RMM. The study validates the suggested KRIs as an effective instrument for risk assessment and decision-making on the adoption of CAATTs. This study contributes to the existing literature by implementing a holistic approach to risk assessment and providing a quantitative expression of assessed risks. It bridges the gap between intuitive risk evaluation and the theoretical domain, clarifying the mechanism of risk assessments. It also helps improve the uniformity and quality of risk assessments, aiding audit standard-setters in issuing updated guidelines on CAATT adoption. A few limitations and recommendations for future research should be mentioned. First, the process of developing the scale was conducted in the Israeli auditing market, which follows the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Although ISAs are adopted in European countries, for greater generalization, future studies could focus on other countries that adopt additional or local auditing standards. Second, this study revealed risk factors that have a material impact on the assessed risk. However, there could be additional risk factors that influence the assessment of the RMM. Therefore, future research could investigate other risk segments, such as operational and financial risks, to bring a broader generalizability to our results. Third, although the sample size in this study fits acceptable scale development procedures and enables drawing conclusions from the body of research, future research may develop standardized measures based on larger samples to reduce the generation of equivocal results and suggest an extended risk model.

Keywords: audit risk model, audit efforts, CAATTs adoption, key risk indicators, sustainability

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