Search results for: public safety network.
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 4419

Search results for: public safety network.

4299 Study of Single Network Adjustment Using QOCA Software in Korea

Authors: Seongchan Kang, Hongsik Yun, Hyukgil Kim, Minwoo Park

Abstract:

For this study, this researcher conducted a precision network adjustment with QOCA, the precision network adjustment software developed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to perform an integrated network adjustment on the Unified Control Points managed by the National Geographic Information Institute. Towards this end, 275 Unified Control Points observed in 2008 were selected before a network adjustment is performed on those 275 Unified Control Points. The RMSE on the discrepancies of coordinates as compared to the results of GLOBK was ±6.07mm along the N axis, ±2.68mm along the E axis and ±6.49mm along the U axis.

Keywords: Network adjustment, QOCA, unified control point.

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4298 Towards an AS Level Network Performance Model

Authors: Huan Xiong, Ming Chen

Abstract:

In order to research Internet quantificationally and better model the performance of network, this paper proposes a novel AS level network performance model (MNPM), it takes autonomous system (AS) as basic modeling unit, measures E2E performance between any two outdegrees of an AS and organizes measurement results into matrix form which called performance matrix (PM). Inter-AS performance calculation is defined according to performance information stored in PM. Simulation has been implemented to verify the correctness of MNPM and a practical application of MNPM (network congestion detection) is given.

Keywords: AS, network performance, model, metric, congestion.

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4297 Establishment and Evaluation of Information System for Chemotherapy Care

Authors: Yi-Ting Liu, Pei-Ying Wen

Abstract:

In order to improve the overall safety of chemotherapy, safety-protecting netwas established for the whole process from prescribing by physicians, transcribing by nurses, dispensing by pharmacists to administering by nurses. The information system was used to check and monitorwhole process of administration and related sheets were computerized to simplify the paperwork.

Keywords: Chemotherapy, Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA), Medication Safety.

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4296 An Application of a Cost Minimization Model in Determining Safety Stock Level and Location

Authors: Bahareh Amirjabbari, Nadia Bhuiyan

Abstract:

In recent decades, the lean methodology, and the development of its principles and concepts have widely been applied in supply chain management. One of the most important strategies of being lean is having efficient inventory within the chain. On the other hand, managing inventory efficiently requires appropriate management of safety stock in order to protect against increasing stretch in the breaking points of the supply chain, which in turn can result in possible reduction of inventory. This paper applies a safety stock cost minimization model in a manufacturing company. The model results in optimum levels and locations of safety stock within the company-s supply chain in order to minimize total logistics costs.

Keywords: Cost, efficient inventory, optimization, safety stock, supply chain

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4295 Transmission Expansion Planning Considering Network Adequacy and Investment Cost Limitation using Genetic Algorithm

Authors: M. Mahdavi, E. Mahdavi

Abstract:

In this research, STNEP is being studied considering network adequacy and limitation of investment cost by decimal codification genetic algorithm (DCGA). The goal is obtaining the maximum of network adequacy with lowest expansion cost for a specific investment. Finally, the proposed idea is applied to the Garvers 6-bus network. The results show that considering the network adequacy for solution of STNEP problem is caused that among of expansion plans for a determined investment, configuration which has relatively lower expansion cost and higher adequacy is proposed by GA based method. Finally, with respect to the curve of adequacy versus expansion cost it can be said that more optimal configurations for expansion of network are obtained with lower investment costs.

Keywords: TNEP, Network Adequacy, Investment Cost, GA

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4294 A Framework for an Automated Decision Support System for Selecting Safety-Conscious Contractors

Authors: Rawan A. Abdelrazeq, Ahmed M. Khalafallah, Nabil A. Kartam

Abstract:

Selection of competent contractors for construction projects is usually accomplished through competitive bidding or negotiated contracting in which the contract bid price is the basic criterion for selection. The evaluation of contractor’s safety performance is still not a typical criterion in the selection process, despite the existence of various safety prequalification procedures. There is a critical need for practical and automated systems that enable owners and decision makers to evaluate contractor safety performance, among other important contractor selection criteria. These systems should ultimately favor safety-conscious contractors to be selected by the virtue of their past good safety records and current safety programs. This paper presents an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach to develop a framework for an automated decision support system that evaluates contractor safety performance based on a multitude of indicators and metrics that have been identified through a comprehensive review of construction safety research, and a survey distributed to domain experts. The framework is developed in three phases: (1) determining the indicators that depict contractor current and past safety performance; (2) soliciting input from construction safety experts regarding the identified indicators, their metrics, and relative significance; and (3) designing a decision support system using relational database models to integrate the identified indicators and metrics into a system that assesses and rates the safety performance of contractors. The proposed automated system is expected to hold several advantages including: (1) reducing the likelihood of selecting contractors with poor safety records; (2) enhancing the odds of completing the project safely; and (3) encouraging contractors to exert more efforts to improve their safety performance and practices in order to increase their bid winning opportunities which can lead to significant safety improvements in the construction industry. This should prove useful to decision makers and researchers, alike, and should help improve the safety record of the construction industry.

Keywords: Construction safety, contractor selection, decision support system, relational database.

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4293 Multi-Context Recurrent Neural Network for Time Series Applications

Authors: B. Q. Huang, Tarik Rashid, M-T. Kechadi

Abstract:

this paper presents a multi-context recurrent network for time series analysis. While simple recurrent network (SRN) are very popular among recurrent neural networks, they still have some shortcomings in terms of learning speed and accuracy that need to be addressed. To solve these problems, we proposed a multi-context recurrent network (MCRN) with three different learning algorithms. The performance of this network is evaluated on some real-world application such as handwriting recognition and energy load forecasting. We study the performance of this network and we compared it to a very well established SRN. The experimental results showed that MCRN is very efficient and very well suited to time series analysis and its applications.

Keywords: Gradient descent method, recurrent neural network, learning algorithms, time series, BP

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4292 The Impacts of Food Safety Standards on China Export of Vegetables and Fruits

Authors: Lei Dou, Mitsuhiro Nakagawa, Fei Yan, Ping Li

Abstract:

Participation in global trade means that Chinas vegetables and fruits industry faces international food safety standards and increased scrutiny worldwide. The objectives of this paper were to investigate how existing food safety standards and regulations in the importing countries impact the export of vegetables and fruits from China. This paper discussed the current and historical situations of Chinas vegetables and fruits export from 1996 to 2010, analyzed the Maximum Residual Limit (MRL) standards of pesticides imposed by importing countries, quantitatively estimated the impacts of food safety standards on Chinas vegetables and fruits export based on a gravity model. The results showed that although transportation distance between trade partners and tariff rates on vegetables and fruits were still the importantly resistant factors for China export, vegetables and fruits export was sensitive to the number of regulated pesticides, the strictness, and the level of food safety standards imposed by importing countries, which showed a significant trade flow effect, stricter food safety standards, increased number of regulated pesticides significantly inhibit China export of vegetables and fruits. Moreover, Chinas food safety standards also showed a significantly effect on vegetables and fruits export, which inhibited export to some extent. KeywordsFood safety standards, MRL, Vegetables, Fruits, Export.

Keywords: Food safety standards, MRL, Vegetables, Fruits, Export.

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4291 The Sustainability of Public Debt in Taiwan

Authors: Chiung-Ju Huang

Abstract:

This study examines whether the Taiwan’s public debt is sustainable utilizing an unrestricted two-regime threshold autoregressive (TAR) model with an autoregressive unit root. The empirical results show that Taiwan’s public debt appears as a nonlinear series and is stationary in regime 1 but not in regime 2. This result implies that while Taiwan’s public debt was mostly sustainable over the 1996 to 2013 period examined in the study, it may no longer be sustainable in the most recent two years as the public debt ratio has increased cumulatively to 3.618%.

Keywords: Nonlinearity, public debt, sustainability, threshold autoregressive model.

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4290 A Methodology for Investigating Public Opinion Using Multilevel Text Analysis

Authors: William Xiu Shun Wong, Myungsu Lim, Yoonjin Hyun, Chen Liu, Seongi Choi, Dasom Kim, Kee-Young Kwahk, Namgyu Kim

Abstract:

Recently, many users have begun to frequently share their opinions on diverse issues using various social media. Therefore, numerous governments have attempted to establish or improve national policies according to the public opinions captured from various social media. In this paper, we indicate several limitations of the traditional approaches to analyze public opinion on science and technology and provide an alternative methodology to overcome these limitations. First, we distinguish between the science and technology analysis phase and the social issue analysis phase to reflect the fact that public opinion can be formed only when a certain science and technology is applied to a specific social issue. Next, we successively apply a start list and a stop list to acquire clarified and interesting results. Finally, to identify the most appropriate documents that fit with a given subject, we develop a new logical filter concept that consists of not only mere keywords but also a logical relationship among the keywords. This study then analyzes the possibilities for the practical use of the proposed methodology thorough its application to discover core issues and public opinions from 1,700,886 documents comprising SNS, blogs, news, and discussions.

Keywords: Big data, social network analysis, text mining, topic modeling.

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4289 The Cost and Benefit on the Investment in Safety and Health of the Enterprises in Thailand

Authors: Charawee Butbumrung

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the monetary worthiness of investment and the usefulness of risk estimation as a tool employed by a production section of an electronic factory. This study employed the case study of accidents occurring in production areas. Data is collected from interviews with six production of safety coordinators and collect the information from the relevant section. The study will present the ratio of benefits compared with the operation costs for investment. The result showed that it is worthwhile for investment with the safety measures. In addition, the organizations must be able to analyze the causes of accidents about the benefits of investing in protective working process. They also need to quickly provide the manual for the staff to learn how to protect themselves from accidents and how to use all of the safety equipment.

Keywords: Cost and benefit, enterprises in Thailand, investment in safety and health, risk estimation.

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4288 Assessment of Health and Safety Item on Construction Sites in Ondo State

Authors: Ikumapayi Catherine Mayowa

Abstract:

The well been of human beings on construction site is very important, many man power had been lost through accidents which kills or make workers physically unfit to carry out construction activities, these in turn have multiple effects on the whole economy. Thus it is necessary to put all safety items and regulations in place before construction activities can commence. This study was carried out in Ondo state of Nigeria to known and analyse the state of health and safety of construction workers in the state. The study was done using first hand observation method, 50 construction project sites were visited in 10 major towns of Ondo state, questionnaires were distributed and the results were analysed. The result show that construction workers are being exposed to a lot of construction site hazards due to lack of inadequate safety programmes and nonprovision of appropriate safety materials for workers on site. From the data gotten for each site visited and the statistical analysis, it can be concluded that occurrence of accident on construction sites depends significantly on the available safety facilities on the sites. The result of the regression statistics show that the level of significant of the dependence of occurrence of accident on the availability of safety items on site is 0.0362 which is less than 0.05 maximum significant level required. Therefore a vital way of sustaining our building strategy is by given a detail attention to provision of adequate health and safety items on construction sites which will reduce the occurrence of accident, loss of man power and death of skilled workers among others.

Keywords: Construction sites, health, safety, welfare.

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4287 Sensor and Actuator Fault Detection in Connected Vehicles under a Packet Dropping Network

Authors: Z. Abdollahi Biron, P. Pisu

Abstract:

Connected vehicles are one of the promising technologies for future Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). A connected vehicle system is essentially a set of vehicles communicating through a network to exchange their information with each other and the infrastructure. Although this interconnection of the vehicles can be potentially beneficial in creating an efficient, sustainable, and green transportation system, a set of safety and reliability challenges come out with this technology. The first challenge arises from the information loss due to unreliable communication network which affects the control/management system of the individual vehicles and the overall system. Such scenario may lead to degraded or even unsafe operation which could be potentially catastrophic. Secondly, faulty sensors and actuators can affect the individual vehicle’s safe operation and in turn will create a potentially unsafe node in the vehicular network. Further, sending that faulty sensor information to other vehicles and failure in actuators may significantly affect the safe operation of the overall vehicular network. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to take these issues into consideration while designing the control/management algorithms of the individual vehicles as a part of connected vehicle system. In this paper, we consider a connected vehicle system under Co-operative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) and propose a fault diagnosis scheme that deals with these aforementioned challenges. Specifically, the conventional CACC algorithm is modified by adding a Kalman filter-based estimation algorithm to suppress the effect of lost information under unreliable network. Further, a sliding mode observer-based algorithm is used to improve the sensor reliability under faults. The effectiveness of the overall diagnostic scheme is verified via simulation studies.

Keywords: Fault diagnostics, communication network, connected vehicles, packet drop out, platoon.

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4286 Architectural Building Safety and Health Performance Model for Stratified Low-Cost Housing: Education and Management Tool for Building Managers

Authors: Zainal Abidin Akasah, Maizam Alias, Azuin Ramli

Abstract:

The safety and health performances aspects of a building are the most challenging aspect of facility management. It requires a deep understanding by the building managers on the factors that contribute to health and safety performances. This study attempted to develop an explanatory architectural safety performance model for stratified low-cost housing in Malaysia. The proposed Building Safety and Health Performance (BSHP) model was tested empirically through a survey on 308 construction practitioners using partial least squares (PLS) and structural equation modelling (SEM) tool. Statistical analysis results supports the conclusion that architecture, building services, external environment, management approaches and maintenance management have positive influence on safety and health performance of stratified low-cost housing in Malaysia. The findings provide valuable insights for construction industry to introduce BSHP model in the future where the model could be used as a guideline for training purposes of managers and better planning and implementation of building management.

Keywords: Building management, stratified low-cost housing, Safety and health model

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4285 Managing Uncertainty in Unmanned Aircraft System Safety Performance Requirements Compliance Process

Authors: Achim Washington, Reece Clothier, Jose Silva

Abstract:

System Safety Regulations (SSR) are a central component to the airworthiness certification of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). There is significant debate on the setting of appropriate SSR for UAS. Putting this debate aside, the challenge lies in how to apply the system safety process to UAS, which lacks the data and operational heritage of conventionally piloted aircraft. The limited knowledge and lack of operational data result in uncertainty in the system safety assessment of UAS. This uncertainty can lead to incorrect compliance findings and the potential certification and operation of UAS that do not meet minimum safety performance requirements. The existing system safety assessment and compliance processes, as used for conventional piloted aviation, do not adequately account for the uncertainty, limiting the suitability of its application to UAS. This paper discusses the challenges of undertaking system safety assessments for UAS and presents current and envisaged research towards addressing these challenges. It aims to highlight the main advantages associated with adopting a risk based framework to the System Safety Performance Requirement (SSPR) compliance process that is capable of taking the uncertainty associated with each of the outputs of the system safety assessment process into consideration. Based on this study, it is made clear that developing a framework tailored to UAS, would allow for a more rational, transparent and systematic approach to decision making. This would reduce the need for conservative assumptions and take the risk posed by each UAS into consideration while determining its state of compliance to the SSR.

Keywords: Part 1309 regulations, unmanned aircraft systems, system safety, uncertainty.

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4284 A Study on the Cloud Simulation with a Network Topology Generator

Authors: Jun-Kwon Jung, Sung-Min Jung, Tae-Kyung Kim, Tai-Myoung Chung

Abstract:

CloudSim is a useful tool to simulate the cloud environment. It shows the service availability, the power consumption, and the network traffic of services on the cloud environment. Moreover, it supports to calculate a network communication delay through a network topology data easily. CloudSim allows inputting a file of topology data, but it does not provide any generating process. Thus, it needs the file of topology data generated from some other tools. The BRITE is typical network topology generator. Also, it supports various type of topology generating algorithms. If CloudSim can include the BRITE, network simulation for clouds is easier than existing version. This paper shows the potential of connection between BRITE and CloudSim. Also, it proposes the direction to link between them.

Keywords: Cloud, simulation, topology, BRITE, network.

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4283 Safety Conditions Analysis of Scaffolding on Construction Sites

Authors: M. Pieńko, A. Robak, E. Błazik-Borowa, J. Szer

Abstract:

This paper presents the results of analysis of 100 full-scale scaffolding structures in terms of compliance with legal acts and safety of use. In 2016 and 2017, authors examined scaffolds in Poland located at buildings which were at construction or renovation stage. The basic elements affecting the safety of scaffolding use such as anchors, supports, platforms, guardrails and toe-boards have been taken into account. All of these elements were checked in each of considered scaffolding. Based on the analyzed scaffoldings, the most common errors concerning assembly process and use of scaffolding were collected. Legal acts on the scaffoldings are not always clear, and this causes many issues. In practice, people realize how dangerous the use of incomplete scaffolds is only when the accident occurs. Despite the fact that the scaffolding should ensure the safety of its users, most accidents on construction sites are caused by fall from a height.

Keywords: Façade scaffolds, load capacity, practice, safety of people.

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4282 The Quality of Public Space in Mexico City: Current State and Trends

Authors: Mildred Moreno Villanueva

Abstract:

Public space is essential to strengthen the social and urban fabric and the social cohesion; there lies the importance of its study. Hence, the aim of this paper is to analyze the quality of public space in the XXI century in both quantitative and qualitative terms. In this article, the concept of public space includes open spaces such as parks, public squares and walking areas. To make this analysis, we take Mexico City as the case study. It has a population of nearly 9 million inhabitants and is composed of sixteen boroughs. For this analysis, we consider both existing public spaces and the government intervention for building and improving new and existent public spaces. Results show that on the one hand, quantitatively there is not an equitable distribution of public spaces due to both the growth of the city itself as well as due to the absence of political will to create public spaces. Another factor is the evolution of this city, which has been growing merely in a “patched pattern”, where public space has played no role at all with a total absence of urban design. On the other hand, qualitatively, even the boroughs with the most public spaces have not shown interest in making these spaces qualitatively inclusive and open to the general population aiming for integration. Therefore, urban projects that privatize public space seem to be the rule, rather than a rehabilitation effort of the existent public spaces. Hence, state intervention should reinforce its role as an agent of social change acting in benefit of the majority of the inhabitants with the promotion of more inclusive public spaces.

Keywords: Exclusion, inclusion, Mexico City, public space.

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4281 Context Aware Navigation System for Using Public Transport on Smartphone

Authors: Satoru Fukuta, Masaki Ito, Takao Kawamura, Kazunori Sugahara

Abstract:

Recently, many web services to provide information for public transport are developed and released. They are optimized for mobile devices such a smartphone. We are also developing better path planning system for route buses and trains called “Bus-Net"[1]. However these systems only provide paths and related information before the user start moving. So we propose a context aware navigation to change the way to support public transport users. If we go to somewhere using many kinds of public transport, we have to know how to use them. In addition, public transport is dynamic system, and these have different characteristic by type. So we need information at real-time. Therefore we suggest the system that can support on user-s state. It has a variety of ways to help public transport users by each state, like turn-by-turn navigation. Context aware navigation will be able to reduce anxiety for using public transport.

Keywords: Navigation, Public Transport, Smartphone, User Experience.

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4280 Traffic Signs

Authors: A. Gutiérrez, A. Castillo, J. M. Gómez, J. M. Gutiérrez, A. García-Cabot

Abstract:

Road signs are the elements of roads with a lot of influence in driver-s behavior. So that signals can fulfill its function, they must overcome visibility and durability requirements, particularly needed at night, when the coefficient of retroreflection becomes a decisive factor in ensuring road safety. Accepting that the visibility of the signage has implications for people-s safety, we understand the importance to fulfill its function: to foster the highest standards of service and safety in drivers. The usual conditions of perception of any sign are determined by: age of the driver, reflective material, luminosity, vehicle speed and emplacement. In this way, this paper evaluates the different signals to increase the safety road.

Keywords: Luminosity, orientation, retroreflection, traffic signs.

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4279 Connectivity Estimation from the Inverse Coherence Matrix in a Complex Chaotic Oscillator Network

Authors: Won Sup Kim, Xue-Mei Cui, Seung Kee Han

Abstract:

We present on the method of inverse coherence matrix for the estimation of network connectivity from multivariate time series of a complex system. In a model system of coupled chaotic oscillators, it is shown that the inverse coherence matrix defined as the inverse of cross coherence matrix is proportional to the network connectivity. Therefore the inverse coherence matrix could be used for the distinction between the directly connected links from indirectly connected links in a complex network. We compare the result of network estimation using the method of the inverse coherence matrix with the results obtained from the coherence matrix and the partial coherence matrix.

Keywords: Chaotic oscillator, complex network, inverse coherence matrix, network estimation.

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4278 Effective Sonar Target Classification via Parallel Structure of Minimal Resource Allocation Network

Authors: W.S. Lim, M.V.C. Rao

Abstract:

In this paper, the processing of sonar signals has been carried out using Minimal Resource Allocation Network (MRAN) and a Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) in differentiation of commonly encountered features in indoor environments. The stability-plasticity behaviors of both networks have been investigated. The experimental result shows that MRAN possesses lower network complexity but experiences higher plasticity than PNN. An enhanced version called parallel MRAN (pMRAN) is proposed to solve this problem and is proven to be stable in prediction and also outperformed the original MRAN.

Keywords: Ultrasonic sensing, target classification, minimalresource allocation network (MRAN), probabilistic neural network(PNN), stability-plasticity dilemma.

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4277 Quality of Service Evaluation using a Combination of Fuzzy C-Means and Regression Model

Authors: Aboagela Dogman, Reza Saatchi, Samir Al-Khayatt

Abstract:

In this study, a network quality of service (QoS) evaluation system was proposed. The system used a combination of fuzzy C-means (FCM) and regression model to analyse and assess the QoS in a simulated network. Network QoS parameters of multimedia applications were intelligently analysed by FCM clustering algorithm. The QoS parameters for each FCM cluster centre were then inputted to a regression model in order to quantify the overall QoS. The proposed QoS evaluation system provided valuable information about the network-s QoS patterns and based on this information, the overall network-s QoS was effectively quantified.

Keywords: Fuzzy C-means; regression model, network quality of service

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4276 Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Street Vendors in Mangaung Metro South Africa

Authors: Gaofetoge Lenetha, Malerato Moloi, Ntsoaki Malebo

Abstract:

Microbial contamination of ready-to-eat foods and beverages sold by street vendors has become an important public health issue. In developing countries including South Africa, health risks related to such kinds of foods are thought to be common. Thus, this study assessed knowledge, attitude and practices of street food vendors. Street vendors in the city of Mangaung Metro were investigated in order to assess their knowledge, attitudes and handling practices. A semi-structured questionnaire and checklist were used in interviews to determine the status of the vending sites and associa. ted food-handling practices. Data was collected by means of a face-to-face interview. The majority of respondents were black females. Hundred percent (100%) of the participants did not have any food safety training. However, street vendors showed a positive attitude towards food safety. Despite the positive attitude, vendors showed some non-compliance when it comes to handling food. During the survey, it was also observed that the vending stalls lack basic infrastructures like toilets and potable water that is currently a major problem. This study indicates a need for improvements in the environmental conditions at these sites to prevent foodborne diseases. Moreover, based on the results observed food safety and food hygiene training or workshops for street vendors are highly recommended.

Keywords: Food hygiene, foodborne illnesses, food safety, street foods.

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4275 Brazilian Environmental Public Policies Analysis

Authors: Estela Macedo Alves

Abstract:

This paper is an overview on public policy analysis focused on the study of Brazilian public policy making process. The methodology is based on the review of some theories on the subject, linking them to Brazilian reality. The study presents basic policy analysis concepts, such as policy, polity and politics. It is emphasized John Kingdon's Multiple Stream Model, because of its clarifying aspects concerning public policies formulation process in democratic countries. In this path it was possible to establish interpretations on environmental public policies in Brazil and understand its methods, instead of presenting only a case study. At the end, it is possible to connect theory with Brazilian reality, identifying negative and positive points of its political processes and structure.

Keywords: Brazilian policies, environmental public policy, multiple stream model, public policy analysis.

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4274 Food Safety Management: Concerns from EU Tourists in Thailand

Authors: Kevin Wongleedee

Abstract:

Culinary culture differences can cause health problems for international tourists in Thailand. This paper drew upon data collected from an international tourist survey conducted in Bangkok, Thailand during summer of 2012. Summer is the period that a variety food safety issues and incidents are often publicized in Thailand. The survey targeted European Union tourists- concerns toward a variety of food safety issues that they encountered during their trip in Thailand. A total of 400 respondents were elicited as data input for t-test, and one way ANOVA test. The findings revealed an astonishing result that up to 46.5 percent of respondents were sick at least one time or more in Thailand. However, the majority of respondents trusted that the Thai hotel and Thai restaurants would ensure food safety, but they did not trust street vendors to ensure food safety. The level of food safety concern can be ranked from most concern to least concern by using the value of mean scores as follows: 1) artificial coloring, 2) use of preservatives, 3) antibiotics, 4) growth hormones, 5) chemical residues, and 6) bacterial contamination. The overall mean score for level of concerns was 3.493 with standard deviation of 1.677 which did not indicate a very high level of concern. In addition, the result for t-test and one way ANOVA test revealed that there was not much effect from the demographic differences to level of food safety concerns.

Keywords: Concerns, European Union Tourists, Food Safety Management.

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4273 Present State of Local Public Transportation Service in Local Municipalities of Japan and Its Effects on Population

Authors: Akiko Kondo, Akio Kondo

Abstract:

We are facing regional problems to low birth rate and longevity in Japan. Under this situation, there are some local municipalities which lose their vitality. The aims of this study are to clarify the present state of local public transportation services in local municipalities and relation between local public transportation services and population quantitatively. We conducted a questionnaire survey concerning regional agenda in all local municipalities in Japan. We obtained responses concerning the present state of convenience in use of public transportation and local public transportation services. Based on the data gathered from the survey, it is apparent that we should some sort of measures concerning public transportation services. Convenience in use of public transportation becomes an object of public concern in many rural regions. It is also clarified that some local municipalities introduce a demand bus for the purpose of promotion of administrative and financial efficiency. They also introduce a demand taxi in order to secure transportation to weak people in transportation and eliminate of blank area related to public transportation services. In addition, we construct a population model which includes explanatory variables of present states of local public transportation services. From this result, we can clarify the relation between public transportation services and population quantitatively.

Keywords: Public transportation, local municipality, regional analysis, regional issue.

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4272 Social Network Management Enhances Customer Relationship

Authors: Srisawas Siriporn, Rotchanakitumnuai Siriluck

Abstract:

The study aims to develop a framework of social network management to enhance customer relationship. Social network management of this research is derived from social network site management, individual and organization social network usage motivation. The survey was conducted with organization employees who have used social network to interact with customers. The results reveal that content, link, privacy and security, page design and interactivity are the major issues of social network site management. Content, link, privacy and security, individual and organization motivation have major impacts on encouraging business knowledge sharing among employees. Moreover, Page design and interactivity, content, organization motivation and knowledge sharing can improve customer relationships.

Keywords: Social network management, social network site, motivation, knowledge sharing, customer relationship

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4271 Home-Network Security Model in Ubiquitous Environment

Authors: Dong-Young Yoo, Jong-Whoi Shin, Jin-Young Choi

Abstract:

Social interest and demand on Home-Network has been increasing greatly. Although various services are being introduced to respond to such demands, they can cause serious security problems when linked to the open network such as Internet. This paper reviews the security requirements to protect the service users with assumption that the Home-Network environment is connected to Internet and then proposes the security model based on the requirement. The proposed security model can satisfy most of the requirements and further can be dynamically applied to the future ubiquitous Home-Networks.

Keywords: Home-Network, Security, Vulnerability, Response, Countermeasure.

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4270 Design of Distribution Network for Gas Cylinders in Jordan

Authors: Hazem J. Smadi

Abstract:

Performance of a supply chain is directly related to a distribution network that entails the location of storing materials or products and how products are delivered to the end customer through different stages in the supply chain. This study analyses the current distribution network used for delivering gas cylinders to end customer in Jordan. Evaluation of current distribution has been conducted across customer service components. A modification on the current distribution network in terms of central warehousing in each city in the country improves the response time and customer experience. 

Keywords: Distribution network, gas cylinder, Jordan, supply chain.

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