Vulnerable Places Research Articles

Prescription Opioid Resiliency and Vulnerability: A Mixed-Methods Comparative Case Study.

Despite declines in prescription opioid overdoses, rural areas continue to have higher prescription opioid overdose rates than urban areas. We aim to understand high overdose places were resilient to the prescription opioid overdose crisis (better than predicted), while others were vulnerable (worse than predicted). First, we predicted prescription opioid overdose mortality in 2016-18 for N = 2,013 non-metropolitan counties using multivariable regression accounting. Second, we constructed a resiliency-vulnerability typology using observed, predicted, and residual values from the regression. Third, we selected a high-overdose resilient and vulnerable community for case study analysis using interviews, focus groups, and observations. High-overdose resilient and vulnerable places had disability-dispensing-overdose pathways, legacies of mining, and polysubstance drug abuse. Resilient places were larger population micropolitans with extensive health and social services, norms of redemption and acceptance of addiction, and community-wide mobilization of public and non-profit resources. Vulnerable places were smaller, more remote, lacked services, and stigmatized addiction.

Mobile Gas Leakage Detection System

Abstract: The most prominent industrial disasters are caused due to gas leakage. One of the preventive methods to stop accident associated with the gas leakage is to install mobile gas leakage detection system at vulnerable places. The aim of this paper is to present such a design that can automatically detect the gas leakage and send alerts to the nearby workers in vulnerable premises. Gas sensor has been used which has high sensitivity for propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10). Gas leakage system consists of Arduino microcontroller with inbuilt Wi-fi module (ESP8266), ultrasonic sensor for crack detection, MQ2 sensor for gas leakage detection and Blynk app to receive the alerts. This paper provides the design approach on both software and hardware

코로나 19 이후 부산항만경찰의 대테러리즘 역할에 관한 연구

The Busan Port Police Organization conducts guidance and supervision about Registered Security Guard which conducts security screening of the carry-on items of passengers using international passenger ships and cruise ships at the International Passenger Terminal of Busan Port. And the Busan Port Police has been continuously carrying out activities to prevent terrorism in Busan Port by concentrating all its capabilities through preventive policing such as inspection of vulnerable places such as Busan Port North Port, Gamcheon Port, Dadae Port, and New Port, and patrol of Busan Port. In addition, the Busan Port Police has been developing police awards only for advanced external matters, such as conducting active lifesaving on cruise ships targeting Koreans and foreigners, and this has been an opportunity to highlight the roles and activities of the Busan Port Police. This study started from the point of view that the Busan Port Police should play an important role in counter-terrorism and that it is necessary to devise continuous countermeasures. In other words, it is necessary to examine the activities of the Busan Port Police to make Busan Port safe from terrorism before the COVID-19 pandemic, and also, the Port Police should play an important role in counter-terrorism after the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, the necessity of an organization to efficiently carry out search tasks at airports and seaports, and to take charge of airport and port security and foreign affairs activities was mentioned. In other words, it is necessary to review ways to establish and operate the ‘International Airport/Port Police Headquarters (tentative name)’, a new police organization for unified and integrated management within the National Police Agency.

ПОВЫШЕНИЕ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ЗАПАСАМИ В КРИЗИСНЫХ УСЛОВИЯХ

The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that the inventory management system is one of the most vulnerable places in the operation of an enterprise in crisis conditions. The article discusses various approaches to the management of inventories, taking into account the factors of uncertainty. The purpose of the article is to analyze the elements (blocks) that affect the inventory management system and determine the main directions for optimizing the inventory of an enterprise. The author conducted a retrospective study of the latest economic crises in Russia. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the development of recommendations for the management of inventories in conditions of economic instability with a breakdown of crisis situations into blocks, which makes it possible to systematize the tasks solved by the management and employees of the enterprise

Urban Climate Justice, Human Health, and Citizen Science in Nairobi’s Informal Settlements

Urban informal settlements or slums are among the most vulnerable places to climate-change-related health risks. Yet, little data exist documenting environmental and human health vulnerabilities in slums or how to move research to action. Citizen science, where residents co-define research objectives with professionals, collect and analyze data, and help translate findings into ameliorative actions, can help fill data gaps and contribute to more locally relevant climate justice interventions. This paper highlights a citizen-science, climate justice planning process in the Mukuru informal settlement of Nairobi, Kenya. We describe how residents, non-governmental organizations and academics partnered to co-create data-gathering processes and generated evidence to inform an integrated, climate justice strategy called the Mukuru Special Planning Area, Integrated Development Plan. The citizen science processes revealed that <1% of residents had access to a private in-home toilet, and 37% lacked regular access to safe and affordable drinking water. We found that 42% of households were subject to regular flooding, 39% reported fair or poor health, and 40% reported a child in the household was stunted. These and other data were used in a community planning process where thousands of residents co-designed improvement and climate change adaptation strategies, such as flood mitigation, formalizing roads and pathways with drainage, and a water and sanitation infrastructure plan for all. We describe the participatory processes used by citizen scientists to generate data and move evidence into immediate actions to protect human health and a draft a long-range, climate justice strategy. The processes used to create the Mukuru Special Planning Area redevelopment plan suggest that participatory, citizen-led urban science can inform local efforts for health equity and global goals of climate justice.

Automatic LPG Sensing Device with Switching Off Mechanism

Abstract: As we know, security has been major issue in today’s scenario. Accidents are on increasing day by day. Here, we are talking about those accidents that are being occurred due to combustible gases, i.e., LPG, CNG. Frequently we hear, explosion in cylinder of household and vehicles. Several people have been injured and some got dead. So, we are making this project for security purpose that will detect combustible gases and alert candidates. Now a day’s, LPG Gas leakage detectors comes in the market with the LPG sensor that only senses any gas leakage and sends a SMS to the emergency no. provided to it and alerts the user via audio or visual indications while we are on a project in which we are using a stepper motor also in addition to the normal LPG Gas leakage detectors which helps in turning off the switch when there an emergency in our absence. One of the preventive methods to stop accidents associated with the gas leakage is to install a gas leakage detection kit at vulnerable places. The main purpose of this project is to achieve a successful working prototype that is capable to detect the presence of gas leakage, which in this case, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). The device should also perform automatic response with the implementation of an alarm system and the emergency shut down valve once the leakage has occurred and detected. Keywords: MQ5 Sensor, buzzer, servo motor, spur gear, gas stove, leakage sensor, L324 AMPLIFIER, L239 DRIVE, potentiometer.

Raising public awareness to break the chain of the spread of COVID-19 in Cibungur Village, Parungponteng District

Corona virus or covid-19 is a viral infection that was discovered at the end of 2019 in the city of wuhan, China. The massive spread has made more than 900,000 Indonesians infected with COVID-19. Nevertheless, there are several ways that can be done to reduce the risk and prevent transmission, one of which is the implementation of Clean and Healthy Lifestyle (PHBS), the use of hand sanitizers and masks. Community service is carried out in Cibungur Village, Parungponteng District. Cibungur village is one of the vulnerable places in the transmission of COVID-19. This is because there are so many people from villages who work in urban areas, so the risk of spreading it is very vulnerable. Therefore, the University Pharmacy Study Program took the initiative to provide community service by providing hand sanitizers and masks as an effort to implement clean and healthy living behaviors, as well as efforts to break the COVID-19 chain.

Intervention on pedestrian paths on high risk object in the City of Surabaya during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract Urban facilities, such as pedestrian paths, were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Activity restrictions imposed by the government through official regulations for various regions were one of the causes of the reduction of movement. During the pandemic, the intensity of pedestrian use seemed to be lower than before. However, a particular location showed an interesting phenomenon of intervention on the pedestrian path around public facilities, which did not change the intensity of use. Interestingly, the intervention on the pedestrian path was around the buildings that directly handled Covid-19 and had a high transmission risk, namely hospitals and markets. This paper employed a qualitative approach by collecting the data through field observation in 3 (three) designated hospitals in Surabaya city, which were considered vulnerable places and aim to understand complex phenomena. The result found that the intervention of the pedestrian path was mainly located on the critical side for movement and circulation as well as the mobilization of the service area, also indicated there are use pedestrian path to paddle, wait and relax at certain time. As an important part of urban facilities, the pedestrian path needs to be a concern, especially in locations with a high risk of virus transmission potential.

Using TanDEM-X Global DEM to Map Coastal Flooding Exposure under Sea-Level Rise: Application to Guinea-Bissau

The increased exposure to coastal flooding in low-lying coastal areas is one of the consequences of sea-level rise (SLR) induced by climate changes. The coastal zone of Guinea-Bissau contains significant areas of low elevation and is home to most of the population and economic activity, making it already vulnerable to coastal flooding, especially during spring tides and storm surges (SS). Coastal flooding will tend to intensify with the expected SLR in the coming decades. This study aimed at quantifying and mapping the area exposed to the coastal flooding hazard using SLR scenarios by the years 2041, 2083, and 2100. The study analyzes and discusses the application of a the simple “bathtub” model coupled with a high-precision global digital elevation models (TanDEM-X DEM) to areas where no other data are available. Therefore, three coastal hazards hot-spots of Guinea-Bissau: Bissau, Bubaque, and Suzana, were used as case study. At each site, the area potentially exposed to coastal flooding was evaluated in a geographic information systems (GIS) environment, by estimating the Total Water Levels for each SLR scenario. For all areas, land exposed to coastal flooding hazard increases significantly and progressively with increasing SLR scenarios. Bissau and Suzana, where housing, infrastructure, and agricultural land are low-lying, presented the greatest flood exposure, while Bubaque, where housing and infrastructure are located in relatively high-lying land and rain-fed agriculture is practiced, present lesser flood exposure. The methodology presented is simple to use but powerful in identifying potentially vulnerable places to coastal flooding hazard, and its results can aid low developed countries to assess their exposure to coastal risks, thus supporting risk awareness and mitigation measures.

The potentials and perils of prosocial power: Transnational social entrepreneurship dynamics in vulnerable places

Social entrepreneurs can be powerful change agents for alleviating the suffering of the disadvantaged. However, their prosocial motivation and behavior frequently result in detrimental impacts on those they intend to support, especially when their operations span different socio-spatial contexts. We conducted a multiple comparative case study among 12 transnational social entrepreneurs of foreign, domestic non-indigenous, and local indigenous origin, who are seeking to improve the livelihoods of indigenous communities in rural Ecuador. We introduce the concept of prosocial power to social entrepreneurship research and demonstrate how it can work as a double-edged sword in the hands of transnationally embedded social entrepreneurs who operate in vulnerable places. Context-bound variations in social distance, bi-directional learning, reflexive impact measurement, and socio-spatial dominance were identified as being decisive for prosocial power to lead to positive or negative impacts on disadvantaged others.

TINDAK KEKERASAN TERHADAP ANAK DI SEKOLAH: Bentuk dan Aktor Pelaku

The iceberg phenomenon has become a popular expression of the widespread non-violence against children that is spreading in Indonesia. This phenomenon shows that the social symptoms of acts of violence against children appear small on the surface but in reality are bigger than what is visible on the surface. The scene of acts of violence against children no longer only occurs in the private sphere but has entered the public sphere. Schools are one of the places where violence against children is often the center of attention. Actors who commit acts of violence against children can be carried out by teachers against students or between students. This study aims to examine the forms and actors of violence in schools. Acts of violence that occur in schools are still relatively few and only limited to acts of physical and psychological violence. Both forms of violence are not high in intensity. Bullying is a form of violence that is mostly done by female students, while acts of physical violence in the form of fights and threats are mostly done by male students. Meanwhile, teachers or other stakeholders were not found to have committed acts of violence. There are four times that are considered to be prone to acts of violence against children, namely during recess, after school, changing class hours and empty classes. Most of the incidents of violence occurred in the environment outside the school rather than in the school environment. Although outside the school environment, the place is not far from the school, just outside the school fence. Behind the school and outside the school near the river are the most vulnerable places used by school students to commit acts of violence. These places are often used by male students to gather there.

COVID-19 Knowledge, attitudes, and practices in the community of the Evangelical University of Cameroon

Background: COVID-19 was thought to have made its global debut in the Chinese city of Wuhan. In Cameroon central Africa, close to 11,000 cases of the disease have been identified, with a high rate of progression. The Evangelical University of Cameroon (UEC), like many other academic institutions, has made significant investments in equipping the campus with anti-pandemic measures. Objective: This study aimed to examine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of UEC students, faculty, and administrative staff regarding COVID-19 and its preventive measures. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was used to collect data on respondents’ sociodemographic profile, knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding COVID-19. The Google Forms application was used to mount and distribute the questionnaire, and the results were organized in tables and graphs. Additional analyses were carried out with the help of Excel and SPSS software. Results: A total of 214 people took part in the study. More than half of participants (79.4 percent) believed that COVID-19 is a serious respiratory disease caused by a virus that affects everyone. While 11.2 percent thought it was a biological weapon used to control or reduce the population. Participants identified the market, bars, and hospitals as the most vulnerable places to contract the coronavirus, with percentages ranging from 37.4 percent, 17.8 percent, and 14.0 percent, respectively. Respondents were aware of COVID-19 prevention: hand washing (95.32 percent), social distancing (95.32 percent), and consumption of some medicinal plants with antiviral or immunoregulatory properties, such as ginger (Zingiber officinale) and Artemisia annua (54.20 percent). The majority of participants did not follow barrier measures such as hand washing (64.43 percent), social distancing (66.67 percent), and face mask use (66.49 percent). In comparison to other levels, first-year students observed prevention measures (P=0.01). Conclusion: This study showed acceptable knowledge but limited compliance to COVID-19 preventive measures, which could explain the high rate of contamination in the country. Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Practice; COVID-19; Evangelical University of Cameroun.

Analysing the spatial impacts of retail accessibility for e-shoppers’ groups

Amidst the growing interest in enhancing the academic understanding of the relationships between e-shopping and transport, a key element remains underexplored – the impact of e-shopping on spatial accessibility to in-store retail. The paper studies variations in multimodal accessibility to in-store retail between e-shopper groups and the associated spatial effects. The research is based on a face-to-face questionnaire, administered in the city of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid Metropolitan Area, Spain), which provides data on socio-economic characteristics, e-shopping habits, and travel time preferences to reach in-store retail. Clustering techniques serve to identify three e-shopper groups: occasional e-shoppers with a car, infrequent e-shoppers with a car, and frequent e-shoppers without a car. A comparison of e-shopper distance-decay functions to reach in-store retail is made, revealing significant differences between the three e-shopper groups for car and public transport for any time interval. However, for walking such differences are limited to time intervals between 10 and 40 minutes. Distance-decay functions are processed through a gravity-based model, identifying three main multimodal accessibility places: highly resistant places to e-shopping, moderately resistant places, and vulnerable places. Places that are highly resistant to e-shopping are mainly located in the city centre, while vulnerable places are mostly found in the city’s periphery. The paper closes with concluding remarks on policymaking and a few pathways for future research.

The Fabrication Method and Tribological Properties of Co-TiC Sintered High-Temperature Alloy

Turbine blades of aircraft gas-turbine engines were always the place to apply novel materials and technologies. Special attention was paid to strength, corrosion-oxidation, and tribological performance. The blade top-shrouds are one of the most vulnerable places from the point of wear resistance. This problem was usually solved by applying coatings (weld-deposition, electro-spark coating, gas-spray coatings). The new method proposed here is to use soldering technology: the to-size plate manufactured of wear-resistant material is bonded to the friction surface by the solder with the composition close to the composition of the turbine blade. In this work, we propose the method and the material for improving the wear resistance of the turbine blade’s top shrouds. The cobalt-based materials (Co-15Cr-2.5Fe-2.5Al-36TiC) seem very promising for this. In the present work, the manufacturing technology of the alloy by HIP method, microstructure, and high-temperature fretting-wear characteristics (1050?C) are discussed.

On the Use of Satellite Nightlights for Power Outages Prediction

Hurricanes are a dominant disaster in the Caribbean, always causing serious power outages throughout the islands. Hurricane Maria was a prime example, causing unimaginable destruction of the power infrastructure of Puerto Rico (PR). Consequently, one month after the hurricane landfall, approximately 80% of the population was still without power. After an event of such massive destruction, the electric power restoration process progresses very slowly. This timeline can be improved using power outage (PO) forecast models that help identify the vulnerable places before the hurricane landfall. Generally, these models are trained with historical power outages records, associated data on weather conditions, and additional information about the natural and built environments. However, PO records are often difficult to acquire, and, in many instances, the power utility companies may not record them. This study utilizes a satellite-based Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) night light data product as a surrogate for the power delivery to predict hurricane-induced PO in areas having limited to nonexistent historical data records. The processed satellite data is then used along with geographic variables, and simulated weather data to formulate machine learning-based algorithms to predict PO for future hurricane events. These models are applied and validated in the context of the PR catastrophic storm, Hurricane Maria.

ПРОБЛЕМА КИБЕРПРЕСТУПНОСТИ В УСЛОВИЯХ ЦИФРОВИЗАЦИИ ЭКОНОМИКИ

Information technology today has become an integral part of every sphere of everyday life. Nowadays it is difficult to imagine the functioning of all spheres of life without the help of electronic, computer, network and many other technologies. However, with the development of technology, a new form of crime has emerged, the object of encroachment on computers and computer networks. The global Internet is one of the most vulnerable places of criminal encroachment for persons operating in the virtual space, whose victims can be both legal and natural persons, and states! Cybercrime today has gained some kind of transformation. If in previous years the main goal of hackers was to cause damage to a large number of users, today their main goal is mainly a financial result, the victim of which is a specific enterprise or organization! The growth in the level of cybercrime, as well as the growing professionalism of cybercriminals, contributes not only to the creation of global threats that hinder the socio-economic development of states, losses in the financial sector, from which they then recover for a long time, but also the loss of large investors who move to the American and European markets. Also, one of the factors in the growth of cybercrime are features: which allow hackers to perform any acts anonymously; lack of direct contact with a potential victim: as well as a high level of impunity for persons committing hacker actions on the Internet! This paper discusses the concept of cybercrime, its characteristics and features, as well as methods for reducing it, which hinders the development of the digital economy (digital business).

Deteksi Cacing Capillaria hepatica pada Organ Hati Tikus

Capillaria hepatica is a zoonotic parasitic agent that has been reported in various parts of the world. The presence of C. hepatica in an area is closely related to the presence of a rat population. Considering the life cycle of C. hepatica which is easily transmitted to humans, one of the most vulnerable places for transmission of C. hepatica to humans is the market area. This study aims to detect the presence of C. hepatica worms in the rat population in Public Market Kebon Roek, Ampenan District, Mataram City. This type of research is descriptive research with a cross sectional study design (cross-sectional study). To determine the number of samples, an accidental study approach was used, namely the number of rat samples used was the number of rats caught during the study period (set for 2 traps). 10 samples of rat liver were collected. The liver was then preserved in 10% formalin solution at the Microanatomy Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Gadjah Mada University. Meanwhile, histology preparations and GI fluid examination were carried out at the Clinical Skill Center (CSC) Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mandalika University of Education. Data in the form of images of worm eggs and histopathology of liver tissue were analyzed descriptively and presented in the form of figures and tables. The results of the examination of 10 samples of rat liver histology preparations showed that 4 positive samples contained eggs and adult worms of C. hepatica. Where the 3 histological preparations observed showed that the rat liver was severely damaged, and 1 sample appeared to have minor damage. For examination of gastrointestinal fluids, there were no samples containing C. hepatica worm eggs.

Geography of Disparity: Connecting COVID-19 Vulnerability and Social Determinants of Health in Colorado

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn greater attention to social determinants of health and associated health inequities, which disproportionately affect vulnerable populations and places in the U.S. In this study, we explored geographic patterns of local-level COVID-19 vulnerability and associations with social and health determinants across Colorado. To conceptualize social and health determinants and how together they generate risk and exposure, we integrated the concepts of social vulnerability and syndemic to situate COVID-19 vulnerability within a broader hazards of place framework. Using geospatial statistics and GIS, we estimated census tract-level rates of COVID-19, which are not yet available in Colorado, and mapped areas of high and low incidence risk. We also developed composite indices that characterized social and health vulnerabilities to measure multivariate associations with COVID-19 rates. The findings revealed hotspots of persistent risk in mountain communities since the pandemic emerged in Colorado, as well as clusters of risk in the Urban Front Range’s central and southern counties, and across many parts of eastern Colorado. Vulnerability analyses indicate that COVID-19 rates were associated with mental health and chronic conditions along with social determinants that represent inequities in education, income, healthcare access, and race/ethnicity (minority percent of population), which may have disproportionately exposed some communities more than others to infection and severe health outcomes. Overall, the findings provide geographic health information about COVID-19 and vulnerability context, which may better inform local decision-making for interventions and policies that support equity of social determinants of health. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2021.2021382 .

Humanitarian Mapping as a Contribution to Achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Research into the Motivation of Volunteers and the Ideal Setting of Mapathons

Missing Maps is a humanitarian mapping project that maps vulnerable places in the developing world. Its outcomes are used to target aid in affected areas and to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals. A mapathon is an event in which a group of volunteers maps a defined location. The presented communication answers the following questions: What is the motivation of different contributors in the Missing Maps community in Czechia and Slovakia? How can a mapathon be set up to attract as many participants as possible? How exactly can the contributors to humanitarian mapping subjectively evaluate their contribution so far? A questionnaire about the motivation of contributors and the analysis of statistics from eighteen public mapathons in Brno (Czechia) were used as the primary research methods. The analysis of motivation found six strong motivators. Half of them concern altruism and half of them relate to the importance of the OpenStreetMap project and the mapping community. Analysis of the characteristics of 18 mapathons found that the month of the mapathon had a significant influence on the number of attendants. Statistical analysis confirmed a significant correlation between the number of edits and participants’ self-assessment. This means that humanitarian mappers evaluate their overall contribution very realistically. Analyses with an identical scope are planned for future years.

Smartphone-Based Screening for Cardiovascular Diseases: A Trend?

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world. People living in vulnerable and poor places such as slums, rural areas and remote locations have difficulty in accessing medical care and diagnostic tests. In addition, given the COVID-19 pandemic, we are witnessing an increase in the use of telemedicine and non-invasive tools for monitoring vital signs. These questions motivate us to write this point of view and to describe some of the main innovations used for non-invasive [...]