Toshizumi Ohta

An Emergency Medical Communications System by Low Altitude Platform at the Early Stages of a Natural Disaster in Indonesia

A natural disaster is a consequence of a natural hazard, such as a tsunami, earthquake or volcanic eruption, affecting humans. In order to support emergency medical communication services in natural disaster areas where the telecommunications facility has been seriously damaged, an ad hoc communication network backbone should be build to support emergency medical services. Combinations of requirements need to be considered before deciding on the best option. In the present study we have proposed a Low Altitude Platform consisting of tethered balloons combined with Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) 802.11 technology. To confirm that the suggested network would satisfy the emergency medical service requirements, a communications experiment, including performance service measurement, was carried out.

Characteristic tetanus infection in disaster-affected areas: case study of the Yogyakarta earthquakes in Indonesia.

Tetanus is an infectious disease caused by the contamination of wounds from bacteria that live in soil. The tetanus mortality rate remains high in developing countries affected by natural disasters. Whether the socio-demography and geographical conditions may influence the tetanus treatment outcome on the earthquake situation in Yogyakarta, Indonesia has not been investigated. We present 26 tetanus patients who were admitted to eight hospitals following the earthquakes that occurred on May, 27, 2006, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The independent variables were age, gender, distance, admission, hospitalization, and type of hospital with the dependent variable surviving or perishing. Data were analyzed by logistic regression methods on SPSS 17.0. The distance from the patients place of residence to the hospital were obtained and analyzed by using geospatial tools MapInfo 7.8 SCP and Global Mapper 7. Eight of the 26 patients were dead (30.8%) and statistical results showed that the distance (OR = 1.740, 95% CI = 1.068–2.835) and type of hospital (OR = 0.067, 95% CI = 0.001–3.520) were significant predictors of death. Our findings show that in order to reduce the mortality rates, performing triage systems based on the distance and type of hospital priority for internally displaced persons could be proposed as well as making provisions for the generally old population in order to prevent an outbreak of tetanus following earthquakes in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.BackgroundTetanus is an infectious disease caused by the contamination of wounds from bacteria that live in soil. The tetanus mortality rate remains high in developing countries affected by natural disasters. Whether the socio-demography and geographical conditions may influence the tetanus treatment outcome on the earthquake situation in Yogyakarta, Indonesia has not been investigated.FindingsWe present 26 tetanus patients who were admitted to eight hospitals following the earthquakes that occurred on May, 27, 2006, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The independent variables were age, gender, distance, admission, hospitalization, and type of hospital with the dependent variable surviving or perishing. Data were analyzed by logistic regression methods on SPSS 17.0. The distance from the patients place of residence to the hospital were obtained and analyzed by using geospatial tools MapInfo 7.8 SCP and Global Mapper 7. Eight of the 26 patients were dead (30.8%) and statistical results showed that the distance (OR = 1.740, 95% CI = 1.068–2.835) and type of hospital (OR = 0.067, 95% CI = 0.001–3.520) were significant predictors of death.ConclusionOur findings show that in order to reduce the mortality rates, performing triage systems based on the distance and type of hospital priority for internally displaced persons could be proposed as well as making provisions for the generally old population in order to prevent an outbreak of tetanus following earthquakes in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Designing an Emergency Medical Information System for the Early Stages of Disasters in Developing Countries: The Human Interface Advantage, Simplicity and Efficiency

The means of designing an effective user interface software package varies from one application to another. Almost the entire ICT infrastructure was damaged following the impact of the tsunami tidal wave. Under such circumstances, transporting critically ill patients is a must and becomes the first priority. Many considerations are needed when designing a specific user interface for emergency situations in developing countries. In this study we proposed how to design the user interface in order to support emergency medical care in the early stages of disasters. The user interface was classified into two tabs, firstly to indicate critically ill patients and secondly to notify details of the medicine having been administered to the patients. Classifying the user interface of emergency medical care information systems by using VHF radio connections will be beneficial, especially for the early stages of disaster-stricken developing countries, in order to preserve the lives of more victims.

Characteristics and risk factors for typhoid fever after the tsunami, earthquake and under normal conditions in Indonesia

BackgroundAlthough typhoid transmitted by food and water is a common problem in daily life, its characteristics and risk factors may differ in disaster-affected areas, which reinforces the need for rapid public health intervention. Surveys were carried out post-tsunami in Banda Aceh, post-earthquake in Yogyakarta, and under normal conditions in Bandung, Indonesia. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the risk factors with the dependent variable of typhoid fever, with or without complications.FindingsCharacteristic typhoid fever with complications was found in 5 patients (11.9%) affected by the tsunami in Aceh, 8 (20.5%) after the earthquake in Yogyakarta, and 13 (18.6%) in Bandung. After the tsunami in Aceh, clean water (OR = 0.05; 95%CI: 0.01-0.47) and drug availability (OR = 0.23; 95%CI: 0.02-2.43) are significant independent risk factors, while for the earthquake in Yogyakarta, contact with other typhoid patients (OR = 20.30; 95%CI: 1.93-213.02) and education (OR = 0.08; 95%CI: 0.01-0.98) were significant risk factors. Under normal conditions in Bandung, hand washing (OR = 0.07; 95%CI: 0.01-0.50) and education (OR = 0.08; 95%CI: 0.01-0.64) emerged as significant risk factors.ConclusionThe change in risk factors for typhoid complication after the tsunami in Aceh and the earthquake in Yogyakarta emphasizes the need for rapid public health intervention in natural disasters in Indonesia.

Using Game Theory to Investigate Risk Information Disclosure by Government Agencies and Satisfying the Public—The Role of the Guardian Agent

Risk information disclosure by government agencies has recently been in the news in Japan. A government agency often has an incentive not to disclose such information. Moreover, there generally is a gap between the amount of risk information held by the government agency and the amount held by the public. A method is needed that will help the public to obtain sufficient information for making decisions. We model the interactions between a government agency and the public as games of risk information disclosure using game theory, interpret the public payoff structure using March and Simons theory of satisficing decision making, and interpret the payoff structures of a government agency using Tversky and Kahnemans cumulative prospect theory. We classify the interactions between a government agency and the public into four games: a voluntary disclosure game, an assurance game, an information searching game, and a nondisclosure game. The nondisclosure game does not have a Pareto optimum in our formulation. However, for discussion, we consider that binding forces imposed by the administration of justice might compel government agencies to disclose. In the assurance and information searching games, the equilibrium is not the Pareto optimum but a second best. We propose using a guardian agent to reduce the information gap between a government agency and the public. We find that, as the power of the guardian agent to reduce the risk information gap increases, the possibility of approaching the Pareto optimum also increases. Therefore, the information gap between a government agency and the public would be greatly reduced with explanations and support from experts in related fields, such as facilitators and experts in nonprofit organizations.

On a Mathematical Comparison between Hierarchy and Network with a Classification of Coordination Structures

This paper proposes a mathematical model to compare a network organization with a hierarchical organization. In order to formulate the model, we define a three-dimensional framework of the coordination structure of a network and of other typical coordination structures. In the framework, we can define a network structure by contrasting it with a hierarchy, in terms of the distribution of decision making, which is one of the main features of information processing. Based on this definition, we have developed a mathematical model for evaluating coordination structures. Using this model, we can derive two boundary conditions among the coordination structures with respect to the optimal coordination structure. The boundary conditions help us to understand why an organization changes its coordination structure from a hierarchy to a network and what factors cause this change. They enable us, for example, to find points of structural change where the optimal coordination structure shifts from a hierarchy to a hierarchy with delegation or from a hierarchy with delegation to a network, when the nature of the task changes from routine to non-routine. In conclusion, our framework and model may provide a basis for discussing the processes that occur when coordination structures change between a hierarchy and a network.

3G Mobile TV Acceptance in Indonesia

Studies on intention to use, adopting the technology acceptance model (TAM), have been reported but their extended models do not provide a good explanation of the determinants of intention to use 3G mobile TV. The present study develops and examines a more comprehensive technology acceptance model by introducing new typical constructs and identifying their role in promoting the behavioral intention to use 3G mobile TV service. The results show that constructs such as normative pressure, price level, perceived availability, and perceived quality are meaningful extensions of TAM, since they were found to be strong determinants in predicting the behavioral intention to use a 3G mobile TV service in Indonesia.

Development of Recommender Systems Using User Preference Tendencies: An Algorithm for Diversifying Recommendation

Many e-commerce sites use a recommendation system to filter the specific information that a user wants out of an overload of information. Currently, the usefulness of the recommendation is defined by its accuracy. However, findings that users are not satisfied only with accuracy have been reported. We consider that a recommendation having only accuracy is unsatisfactory. For this reason, we define the usefulness of a recommendation as its ability to recommend an item that the user does not know, but may like. To improve user satisfaction levels with recommendation lists, we propose an alternative recommendation algorithm that increases the diversity of the recommended items. We examined items that appeal to several different taste tendencies to create a list and achieved diversity in that list. First, we created a similarity network of items by using item rating data. Second, we clustered the items in the network and identified the topics that appealed to the same preference tendency. Our proposed algorithm was able to include items covering several topics in the recommendation list. To evaluate the effect on user satisfaction levels, we used our algorithm to make a recommendation list for DVD items carried by Amazon.co.jp and conducted a questionnaire survey. The results showed higher levels of user satisfaction with our list than a list created using Collaborative Filtering (CF).

Is stock BBS content correlated with the stock market? — A Japanese case

We analyze the relations between the stock market and a stock bulletin board system (BBS) in Japan. Previous studies in the USA found that the characteristics of messages posted on stock BBSs can predict market volatility and trading volume. We develop hypotheses based on the results of those analyses and apply statistical analysis to the data about companies mentioned in a large number of messages posted on the Yahoo! stock message board in Japan in 2005–2006. We analyze the contents of these messages using natural language processing. We find a significant correlation between the number of postings and market volatility and trading volume, and also find significant correlation between the amount of bullish and bearish opinion and the stock return.

O-Cubed Modeling and Simulator for Computational Organization Design

This paper discusses the development of O-cubed (operational organization oriented) modeling and a simulator for computational organization design. O-cubed modeling is used to describe an organization model in terms of models of coordination structures, tasks, and agents. The model of a coordination structure can represent not only task decomposition and allocation, but also choices between hierarchical management and autonomous management. The model of a task can represent the workflow within an organization. Using the O-cubed simulator, we can easily describe the models for coordination structure, tasks and agents, so that agents can make decisions concerning task processing and choose coordination structures effectively. In order to show applicability of the modeling and simulator, we describe an O-Cubed model of cooperation in a kitchen of a restaurant. The cooperation is good example to explain organization design, because it contains balanced elements of coordination structures, tasks, and agents. The example show that the organization models described by O-cubed modeling and the simulator are promising models for designing organizations.