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Article
Publication date: 4 March 2014

Margaret Elizabeth Loughnan, Nigel J. Tapper, Thu Phan and Judith A. McInnes

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a spatial model of population vulnerability (VI) capable of identifying areas of high emergency service demand (ESD) during extreme heat

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a spatial model of population vulnerability (VI) capable of identifying areas of high emergency service demand (ESD) during extreme heat events (EHE).

Design/methodology/approach

An index of population vulnerability to EHE was developed from a literature review. Threshold temperatures for EHE were defined using local temperatures, and indicators of increased morbidity. Spearman correlations determined the strength of the relationship between the VI and morbidity during EHE. The VI was mapped providing a visual guide of risk during EHE. Future changes in population vulnerability based on future population projections (2020-2030) were mapped.

Findings

The VI can be used to explain the spatial distribution of ESD during EHE. Mapping future changes in population density/demography indicated several areas currently showing high risk will continue to show increased risk.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations include using outdoor temperatures to determine health-related thresholds. Due to data restrictions three different measures of morbidity were used and aggregated to postal areas.

Practical implications

Identifying areas of increased service demand during EHE allows the development of proactive as-well-as reactive responses to heat. The model uses readily available data, is replicable in larger urban areas.

Social implications

The model allows emergency service providers to work with high risk communities to build resilience to heat exposure and subsequently save lives.

Originality/value

To the authors’ knowledge this triangulated approach using heat thresholds, ESD and projected changes in risk in a spatial framework has not been presented to date.

Details

International Journal of Emergency Services, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2047-0894

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 December 2018

Takuhiro Kagawa, Sachio Saiki and Masahide Nakamura

In a previous research, the authors proposed a security information service, called Personalized Real-time Information with Security Map (PRISM), which personalizes the incident…

Abstract

Purpose

In a previous research, the authors proposed a security information service, called Personalized Real-time Information with Security Map (PRISM), which personalizes the incident information based on living area of individual users. The purpose of this paper is to extend PRISM to conduct sophisticated analysis of street crimes. The extended features enable to look back on past incident information and perform statistical analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

To analyze street crimes around living area in more detail, the authors add three new features to PRISM: showing a past heat map, showing a heat map focused on specified type of incidents and showing statistics of incidents for every type. Using these features, the authors visualize the dynamic transition of street crimes in a specific area and the whole region within Kobe city. They also compare different districts by statistics of street crimes.

Findings

Dynamical visualization clarifies when, where and what kind of incident occurs frequently. Most incidents occurred along three train lines in Kobe city. Wild boars are only witnessed in a certain region. Statistics shows that the characteristics of street crimes is completely different depending on living area.

Originality/value

Previously, many studies have been conducted to clarify factors relevant to street crimes. However, these previous studies mainly focus on interesting regions as a whole, but do not consider individual’s living area. In this paper, the authors analyze street crimes according to users’ living area using personalized security information service PRISM.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 December 2019

Bilge Yigit Ozkan, Marco Spruit, Roland Wondolleck and Verónica Burriel Coll

This paper presents a method for adapting an Information Security Focus Area Maturity (ISFAM) model to the organizational characteristics (OCs) of a small- and medium-sized…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents a method for adapting an Information Security Focus Area Maturity (ISFAM) model to the organizational characteristics (OCs) of a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) cluster. The purpose of this paper is to provide SMEs with a tailored maturity model enabling them to capture and improve their information security capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

Design Science Research was followed to design and evaluate the method as a design artifact.

Findings

The method has successfully been used to adapt the ISFAM model to a group of SMEs within a regional cluster resulting in a model that is aligned with the OCs of the cluster. Areas for further investigation and improvements were identified.

Research limitations/implications

The study is based on applying the proposed method for the SMEs active in the transport, logistics and packaging sector in the Port of Rotterdam. Future research can focus on different sectors and regions. The method can be used for adapting other focus area maturity models.

Practical implications

The resulting adapted maturity model can facilitate the creation and further development of a base of common or shared knowledge in the cluster. The adapted maturity model can cut the cost of over implementation of information security capabilities for the SMEs with scarce resources.

Originality/value

The resulting adapted maturity model can facilitate the creation and further development of a base of common or shared knowledge in the cluster. The adapted maturity model can cut the cost of over implementation of information security capabilities for the SMEs with scarce resources.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 January 2024

Yilun Wang, Xiaofen Ji, Chen Pang and Lina Zhai

Esthetic trend changes with the development of society and cultural differences. A minimizer bra designed to make breasts appear smaller is now popular with large-breasted women…

Abstract

Purpose

Esthetic trend changes with the development of society and cultural differences. A minimizer bra designed to make breasts appear smaller is now popular with large-breasted women in China. To conform to the requirements of modern aesthetics in China, this paper aims to investigate vital features of breast appearance that influence people’s subjective evaluation of breast size and analyze how bra design parameters affect breast shape and make breasts appear smaller.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used 3D scanning technology and reverse engineering software to obtain objective breast measurements in detail. A subjective evaluation experiment was conducted to evaluate the overall performance of seven minimizer bras compared to a basic comparison bra. Around 20 design parameters of 8 sample bras were identified to make a further study about the correlation between bra design features and breast shaping effect. To gain a deeper understanding of how bras interact with breast tissue, this study presented heat maps of the breast surface to visualize the deformation of breast shape.

Findings

Nine breasts' characteristics, such as the distance between bust points, breast depth, outer breast curvature and slope, etc. have been determined to be highly correlated with the visual reduction effect of breasts. In addition, for the bras in this experiment, the high-performance bra for women with large breasts tends to have a wider side panel, a wider under band, higher gore and a stronger transverse rigidity of the bra cup. According to the observation of heat maps of the breast surface, soft full-figure bras provide a wider range of compression to the breasts and effectively flatten the breasts.

Originality/value

This paper first aimed at the need to shape the ideal breast appearance for large-breasted women and make a further study of several hot-selling minimizer bras in China. The suggestions given in this paper help lingerie manufacturers better understand how design features of bras can affect their shaping effect and improve the wearing effect of minimizer bras for large-breasted women.

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. 36 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2021

Guilherme Conceição Rocha, Henrique Mohallem Paiva, Davi Gonçalves Sanches, Daniel Fiks, Rafael Martins Castro and Lucas Fernando Alvarenga e Silva

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused a major impact on worldwide public health and economics. The lessons learned from the successful attempts to contain the pandemic escalation…

Abstract

Purpose

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused a major impact on worldwide public health and economics. The lessons learned from the successful attempts to contain the pandemic escalation revealed that the wise usage of contact tracing and information systems can widely help the containment work of any contagious disease. In this context, this paper investigates other researches on this domain, as well as the main issues related to the practical implementation of such systems and specifies a technical solution.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed solution is based on the automatic identification of relevant contacts between infected or suspected people with susceptible people; inference of contamination risk based on symptoms history, user navigation records and contact information; real-time georeferenced information of population density of infected or suspect people; and automatic individual social distancing recommendation calculated through the individual contamination risk and the worsening of clinical condition risk.

Findings

The solution was specified, prototyped and evaluated by potential users and health authorities. The proposed solution has the potential of becoming a reference on how to coordinate the efforts of health authorities and the population on epidemic control.

Originality/value

This paper proposed an original information system for epidemic control which was applied for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and could be easily extended to other epidemics.

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 39 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Tools and Techniques for Financial Stability Analysis
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-846-4

Article
Publication date: 4 November 2014

Ningning Kong, Tao Zhang and Ilana Stonebraker

The purpose of this paper is to establish common metrics for web-based mapping applications to facilitate user decision making and enhance information providers’ product design…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish common metrics for web-based mapping applications to facilitate user decision making and enhance information providers’ product design.

Design/methodology/approach

The metrics were developed from a combination of literature review and case studies. From the literature review, the authors identified three major areas of assessment for web-based mapping applications. The authors then studied six online applications to refine the metrics.

Findings

The results suggest that web-based mapping applications can be evaluated from three major aspects: data content, geographic information systems (GIS) functionality and usability. The authors have developed detailed measures for each factor through the evaluation of the six applications.

Practical implications

The metrics developed from this study could be used as a standard for online spatial information users to choose appropriate products according to their needs. It can also provide valuable information for data providers to improve their products.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that has systematically examined web-based mapping applications in academic libraries. Results from this study could be a valuable tool for librarians as well as general information users without background of GIS and usability to evaluate online mapping resources.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 38 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 April 2024

Yee Ming Lee and Chunhao (Victor) Wei

This study sought to understand which food allergen labeling systems (non-directive, semi-directive, and directive) were attended to and preferred by 34 participants with food…

Abstract

Purpose

This study sought to understand which food allergen labeling systems (non-directive, semi-directive, and directive) were attended to and preferred by 34 participants with food hypersensitivity and their perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and behavioral intention towards a restaurant that identifies food allergens on menus.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used an online survey with open-ended and ranking questions, combined with eye-tracking technology, to explore participants' visual attention and design preferences regarding four menus. This study utilized one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) and heat maps to analyze participants' menu-reading behaviors. A content analysis of survey responses and a ranking analysis of menus were conducted to understand the reasons behind consumers' preferred menu designs.

Findings

The advisory statement was not much attended to. Participants identified food allergen information significantly quicker with the directive labeling system (icons) than the other two systems, implying they were eye-catching. Semi-directive labeling system (red text) has lower visit count and was more preferred than two other systems; each labeling system has its strengths and limitations. Participants viewed restaurants that disclosed food allergen information on menus as socially responsible, and they would revisit those restaurants in the future.

Originality/value

This study was one of the first to explore, through use of eye-tracking technology, which food allergen labeling systems were attended to by consumers with food hypersensitivity. The use of triangulation methods strengthened the credibility of the results. The study provided empirical data to restauranteurs in the US on the values of food allergen identification on restaurant menus, although it is voluntary.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 126 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 November 2020

Miao Tian and Jun Li

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of ventilation openings and fire intensity on heat transfer and fluid flow within the microclimate between 3D human body and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of ventilation openings and fire intensity on heat transfer and fluid flow within the microclimate between 3D human body and clothing.

Design/methodology/approach

On account of interaction effects of fire and ventilation openings on heat transfer process, a 3D transient computational fluid dynamics model considering the real shape of human body and clothing was developed. The model was validated by comparing heat flux history and distribution with experimental results. Heat transfer modes and fluid flow were investigated under three levels of fire intensity for the microclimate with ventilation openings and closures.

Findings

Temperature distribution on skin surface with open microclimate was heavily depended on the heat transfer through ventilation openings. Higher temperature for the clothing with confined microclimate was affected by the position and direction of flames injection. The presence of openings contributed to the greater velocity at forearms, shanks and around neck, which enhanced the convective heat transfer within microclimate. Thermal radiation was the dominant heat transfer mode within the microclimate for garment with closures. On the contrary, convective heat transfer within microclimate for clothing with openings cannot be neglected.

Practical implications

The findings provided fundamental supports for the ease and pattern design of the improved thermal protective systems, so as to realize the optimal thermal insulation of the microclimate on the garment level in the future.

Originality/value

The outcomes broaden the insights of results obtained from the mesoscale models. Different high skin temperature distribution and heat transfer modes caused by thermal environment and clothing structure provide basis for advanced thermal protective clothing design.

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2024

Floriberta Binarti, Pranowo Pranowo, Chandra Aditya and Andreas Matzarakis

This study aims to compare the local climate characteristics of Angkor Wat, Borobudur and Prambanan parks and determine effective strategies for mitigating thermal conditions that…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to compare the local climate characteristics of Angkor Wat, Borobudur and Prambanan parks and determine effective strategies for mitigating thermal conditions that could suit Borobudur and Angkor Wat.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed local climate zone (LCZ) indicators and ten-year historical climate data to identify similarities and differences in local climate characteristics. Satellite imagery processing was used to create maps of LCZ indicators. Meanwhile, microclimate models were used to analyze sky view factors and wind permeability.

Findings

The study found that the three tropical large-scale archaeological parks have low albedo, a medium vegetation index and high impervious surface index. However, various morphological characteristics, aerodynamic properties and differences in temple stone area and altitude enlarge the air temperature range.

Practical implications

Based on the similarities and differences in local climate, the study formulated mitigation strategies to preserve the sustainability of ancient temples and reduce visitors' heat stress.

Originality/value

The local climate characterization of tropical archaeological parks adds to the number of LCZs. Knowledge of the local climate characteristics of tropical archaeological parks can be the basis for improving thermal conditions.

Details

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-1266

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 8000