Implementation of a Community Emergency Security Alert System

Emergency alert and response is carried out in different ways around the world. Governments, corporate bodies and individuals take emergencies very seriously and continue to develop ingenious ways of responding to emergencies very swiftly. Most Urban areas have well-developed emergency response systems but this is not true of rural and sub-urban settlements. Security risk keeps increasing by the day due to rapid population growth. This is particularly true at the grassroots or community level. This paper proposes a very effective and economical way of alerting a community to all kinds of security emergencies. It incorporates the use of a mobile application that was codenamed “CEMAS” (Community Emergency Alarm System). The mobile application with a “Panic button” on it provides all inhabitants of the community with the means of triggering two SMS-activated central alarms. The first alarm is located at the community center and the second at the community police station. The central alarm system is activated by pressing the “Panic Button” whenever there is a security threat. The designed and implemented system worked satisfactorily well

Implementation of a Community Emergency Security Alert System

Emergency alert and response is carried out in different ways around the world. Governments, corporate bodies and individuals take emergencies very seriously and continue to develop ingenious ways of responding to emergencies very swiftly. Most Urban areas have well-developed emergency response systems but this is not true of rural and sub-urban settlements. Security risk keeps increasing by the day due to rapid population growth. This is particularly true at the grassroots or community level. This paper proposes a very effective and economical way of alerting a community to all kinds of security emergencies. It incorporates the use of a mobile application that was codenamed “CEMAS” (Community Emergency Alarm System). The mobile application with a “Panic button” on it provides all inhabitants of the community with the means of triggering two SMS-activated central alarms. The first alarm is located at the community center and the second at the community police station. The central alarm system is activated by pressing the “Panic Button” whenever there is a security threat. The designed and implemented system worked satisfactorily well

The Potential of ICT in supporting Domiciliary Care in Germany

This report documents the findings of the study on the potential of ICT in supporting the provision of domiciliary care, with particular attention to the case of immigrant care workers and informal caregivers in Germany. This country study was launched by JRC-IPTS in 2008 in parallel with two complementary country studies, assessing the situation in Spain and the UK, with the same focus and objectives. All three studies were prompted by the findings of a previous exploratory study on the use of ICT by immigrant care workers in Italy. In Germany, the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for health and social care is playing an increasingly important role in the context of the demographic changes. As, on the one hand, people are getting older and the need for care is increasing, and, on the other hand, the number of formal and informal caregivers is decreasing, technical devices are seen as a possible solution to this dilemma. At the same time, people in need of care and their relatives have a tendency to informally employ private care assistants, often from migrant backgrounds, to assist those in need of care in their homes with daily tasks, so as to avoid and postpone their transferral into institutional care. This report gives an overview on the situation of domiciliary care in Germany, outlining the current use of ICT in home care and by domiciliary caregivers. It investigates the opportunities for ICT in home care and identifies drivers and barriers for the deployment of ICT by caregivers with a particular focus on migrant care assistants. The research undertaken in this and the other national reports is exploratory in nature. The study employs a triangulation of methods, comprising desk-based analysis of existing reports and scientific publications; analysis of information and service web sites; and field work involving direct questioning of experts, service providers, and a sample of carers and care workers, including immigrants.JRC.DG.J.4-Information Societ

Fire safety: A case study of technology transfer

Two basic ways in which NASA-generated technology is being used by the fire safety community are described. First, improved products and systems that embody NASA technical advances are entering the marketplace. Second, NASA test data and technical information related to fire safety are being used by persons concerned with reducing the hazards of fire through improved design information and standards. The development of commercial fire safety products and systems typically requires adaptation and integration of aerospace technologies that may not have been originated for NASA fire safety applications

Negotiating the 'trading zone'. Creating a shared information infrastructure in the Dutch public safety sector

Our main concern in this article is whether nation-wide information technology (IT) infrastructures or systems in emergency response and disaster management are the solution to the communication problems the safety sector suffers from. It has been argued that implementing nation-wide IT systems will help to create shared cognition and situational awareness among relief workers. We put this claim to the test by presenting a case study on the introduction of ‘netcentric work’, an IT system-based platform aiming at the creation of situational awareness for professionals in the safety sector in the Netherlands. The outcome of our research is that the negotiation with relevant stakeholders by the Dutch government has lead to the emergence of several fragmented IT systems. It becomes clear that a top-down implementation strategy for a single nation-wide information system will fail because of the fragmentation of the Dutch safety sector it is supposed to be a solution to. As the US safety sector is at least as fragmented as its Dutch counterpart, this may serve as a caveat for the introduction of similar IT systems in the US

Opportunities And Challenges of E-Health and Telemedicine Via Satelite

The introduction of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the health scenario is instrumental for the development of sustainable services of direct benefit for the European citizen. The setting up of satellite based applications will enhance rapidly the decentralisation and the enrichment of the European territory driving it towards a homogenous environment for healthcare

Advanced space system concepts and their orbital support needs (1980 - 2000). Volume 2: Final report

The results are presented of a study which identifies over 100 new and highly capable space systems for the 1980-2000 time period: civilian systems which could bring benefits to large numbers of average citizens in everyday life, much enhance the kinds and levels of public services, increase the economic motivation for industrial investment in space, expand scientific horizons; and, in the military area, systems which could materially alter current concepts of tactical and strategic engagements. The requirements for space transportation, orbital support, and technology for these systems are derived, and those requirements likely to be shared between NASA and the DoD in the time period identified. The high leverage technologies for the time period are identified as very large microwave antennas and optics, high energy power subsystems, high precision and high power lasers, microelectronic circuit complexes and data processors, mosaic solid state sensing devices, and long-life cryogenic refrigerators

Transportation, Terrorism and Crime: Deterrence, Disruption and Resilience

Abstract: Terrorists likely have adopted vehicle ramming as a tactic because it can be carried out by an individual (or “lone wolf terrorist”), and because the skills required are minimal (e.g. the ability to drive a car and determine locations for creating maximum carnage). Studies of terrorist activities against transportation assets have been conducted to help law enforcement agencies prepare their communities, create mitigation measures, conduct effective surveillance and respond quickly to attacks. This study reviews current research on terrorist tactics against transportation assets, with an emphasis on vehicle ramming attacks. It evaluates some of the current attack strategies, and the possible mitigation or response tactics that may be effective in deterring attacks or saving lives in the event of an attack. It includes case studies that can be used as educational tools for understanding terrorist methodologies, as well as ordinary emergencies that might become a terrorist’s blueprint

The Tornado Warning Process: A Review of Current Research, Challenges, and Opportunities

With the unusually violent tornado season of 2011, there has been a renewed national interest, through such programs as NOAA\u27s Weather Ready Nation initiative, to reevaluate and improve our tornado warning process. This literature review provides an interdisciplinary, end-to-end examination of the tornado warning process. Following the steps outlined by the Integrated Warning System, current research in tornado prediction and detection, the warning decision process, warning dissemination, and public response are reviewed, and some of the major challenges for improving each stage are highlighted. The progress and challenges in multi-day to short-term tornado prediction are discussed, followed by an examination of tornado detection, focused primarily upon the contributions made by weather radar and storm spotters. Next is a review of the warning decision process and the challenges associated with dissemination of the warning, followed by a discussion of the complexities associated with understanding public response. Finally, several research opportunities are considered, with emphases on understanding acceptable risk, greater community and personal preparation, and personalization of the hazard risk

Editorial

Editorial International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, 2009, vol. 2, n° 1, pp. 1-3 Special Issue on Telemedicine & E-HealthInternational audienc