• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2663-2667
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• 2012

Objectives: An attempt was made to understand the nicotine dependence of smokers selected for an ongoing smoking cessation intervention programme in rural Kerala, India. Methods: Data were collected from resident males in the age group of 18 to 60 years from 4 randomly allocated community development blocks of rural Thiruvananthapuram district (2 intervention and 2 control groups). Trained accredited social health activist workers were utilised to collect data from all groups through face to face interview. Nicotine dependence among participants was assessed by means of the six-item Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) translated into the local language. The internal consistency of FTND was computed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Criterion validity (concurrent) was assessed by correlations of nicotine dependence scores with age at initiation of smoking and cumulative smoking volume in pack-years. Results: Among the 928 smokers identified, 474 subjects were in the intervention area (mean age = 44.6 years, SD = 9.66 years) and 454 in the control area (mean age = 44.5 years, SD = 10.30 years). The overall FTND score among current daily smokers was 5.04 (SD: 5.05). FTND scores in the control and intervention areas were 4.75 (SD: 2.57) and 4.92 (SD: 2.51) respectively. The FTND scores increased with age and decreased with higher literacy and socioeconomic status. The average FTND score was high among smokers using both bidi and cigarettes (mean 6.10, SD 2.17). Internal consistency analysis yielded a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.70 in a subsample of 150 subjects, a moderate result. The association of the scale was strongest, with the number of pack-years smoked (rho = 0.677, p < 0.001). Conclusion: A moderate level of nicotine dependence was observed among smokers in the current study. Tobacco cessation strategies could be made more cost effective and productive if a baseline assessment of nicotine dependence is completed before any intervention.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.30-37
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a computer access assessment tool for persons with physical disabilities and to evaluate reliability and validity. Methods: We developed a computerized Computer access Assessment Program (CAP) through many kinds of literature review and tools analysis for evaluation of computer access, task analysis of fundamental input devices operation and expert review. The CAP data were obtained from 105 normal university students and 16 students with physical disabilities. The test items of CAP are composed of four timed mouse tasks, four timed keyboard tasks, and a timed scanning task. Thus, the software measures user performance in skills needed for computer interaction, such as keyboard and pointer use, navigating through menus, and scanning. To determine the validity of these measurements, we compared data on CAP reports to a Compass report. Compass software allows an evaluator for assessment of an individual's computer input skills. Results: Results of this study showed that the CAP had high internal consistency, reliability of test-retest, concurrent validity, and convergent validity. Conclusion: Therefore, the CAP is appropriate for evaluation and determination of computer access skill of persons with physical disabilities. It is possible to get clear quantitative data on performance when providing computer access services if you can use the CAP data. Using this quantitative evidence, insights can be gained into the specific nature of any difficulties experienced by persons with physical disabilities and find wise solutions.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.537-546
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• 2013

In the Seoul Metropolitan Area(SMA) photochemical air pollutants, nitrogenic compound and particulate matters have increased substantially due to mobile sources, power plants and so on. Therefore 'Special Act on Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement' was enacted on 2003 in order to improve air quality in the SMA. According to the Special Act, Central and local government have developed the state implementation plan(SIP) to reduce air pollutant emissions from various local sources. One of the key elements of the SIP development is the air quality modeling since modeling results can be used to establish emissions control strategies as well as to demonstrate attainment of air quality goals for ozone, particulate matter, and so on. Air quality modeling, therefore, can be usefully utilized to investigate the effects of government's efforts according to control strategies or measures. Using the air quality model, we can determine whether the implementation plan should be revised or not. A number of questions, however, has been raised concerning accuracy, consistency and transparency of modeling results because if we do not trust modeling results, all the measures dependent on modeling becomes in vain. So, without dealing with these questions, we can not guarantee the reliability and utilizability of air quality modeling results. In this study, we tried to establish standard methodology for air quality modeling in order to ensure consistency and transparency of modeling results used in the development and evaluation of national air policy. For this purpose, we established air quality modeling guideline to provide or recommend modeling procedures, vertical and horizontal domains, input data of meteorological and air quality modeling and so on.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.87-94
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• 2019

Through a press release dated July 17, 2018, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission recommended that the National Fire Agency develop preventive measures against fire in the "Indoor Archery Ground" and "Room Escape Café" etc., which were originally excluded from the category of "Publicly Used Establishments." This study developed the hierarchy of domains and indicators of measurement for fire risk assessment of the new business of publicly used establishments through the Delphi Method. It analyzed the goodness of fit scores (over 3.00) and secured an average score of 4.25. Using AHP analysis, the ratio of consistency for the domains of measurement of fire risk assessment was found to be 4.0%, which was lower than CR ≤ 0.1 (10%). The consistency of subsequent measurement indicators were distributed in the range of 0.1%~3.6%, and they were identified as being commonly consistent. The indicators of measurement appeared as follows in order of importance and priority: Type of Internal Passage of Establishment and Evacuation Capacity of Exit (0.316), Control of Ignition Source (0.141), Inherent Risk (0.106), Appropriateness and Adaptiveness of Fire Detection System (0.097), Control of Inflammables/Combustibles (0.084), Guides and Facilities helping Evacuation (0.075), Fire Resistant Structure and Finishing Materials (0.060), Compartmentalization and Emergency Exit (0.049), Risk of Fire Expansion (0.046), and Appropriateness and Adaptiveness of Fire Extinguishing Facilities (0.026). The findings of this study are expected to be expansively used as data for future research on the development of fire risk assessment indicators.

• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.457-464
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• 2016

PURPOSE. The aim of this study was to determine whether two methods of documentation, print and electronic forms, for the assessment of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) in complete denture wearers provide comparable results. The study also quantified the time needed for filling the forms by each method. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Thirty participants enrolled in a university clinic answered two forms (a questionnaire for denture satisfaction and OHIP-EDENT). They provided answers with two application methods in a random order, with a one-month interval between them: (1) electronic forms on a tablet computer; and (2) print forms. The methods were compared in terms of mean results, correlation/agreement, internal consistency, and spent time. RESULTS. Mean results for both methods were similar for each denture satisfaction item (100-mm VAS) and OHIP-EDENT summary score. Both questionnaires presented good internal consistency regardless of the application method (Cronbach's ${\alpha}=0.86$ or higher). Correlation and agreement between the methods regarding specific items was at least moderate for the majority of cases. Mean time for the electronic and print forms were 9.2 and 8.5 minutes, respectively (paired t test, P=.06, non-significant). CONCLUSION. The electronic method is comparable to print forms for the assessment of important PRO of prosthetic treatment for edentulism, considering the results and time needed. Findings suggest the viability of replacing print forms with a tablet for applying the tested inventories in clinical trials.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.452-461
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• 2021

Background: The prevailing global work scenario and deteriorating health facilities in economies indulge the risk perspective in the labor market model. This is the reason that the risk factor is cautiously attributed to wages and labor market efficiencies specifically in developing and emerging economies. In this respect, Occupational Injuries of Workers (OIW) is considered essential to demonstrate the risk and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) setups given the constraints of the labor. Intuitively, the prime objective of this study is to make an assessment of the labor market considering the OIW through the indicators of industry division, employment status, occupational distribution, adopted treatment, gender and regionality. Methods: The assessment strategy of the study has been categorized into trend analysis and Index Value Calculation (IVC) segments employing the data from 2001 to 2018. Results: The pattern of the selected indicators of the OIW has been observed in the available data while the IVC estimations are considered through time and reference categories. The findings of both exercises revealed absolute and relative heterogeneities at both industry and occupational levels. Conclusion: The consistency for gender and regional distribution of both assessments points out the need for effective policy initiatives. The study suggests separate analyses of industry and occupations for a better understanding of the OHS setups and up-gradation in Pakistan.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.180-188
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• 2000

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of questionnaire according to item arrangement on patient satisfaction questionnaire. Methods : We developed the two types of questionnaire with different item arrangement. In the first type (A), questions were arranged according to medical service dimensions. Questions in the second type (B) were arranged according to medical process. Both questionnaires were composed of six dimensions: physical environments, process, competence, courtesy, information giving, understanding patients. Measurements were performed on a 5-score Likert scale. In an outpatients and inpatient survey, total 777 patients answered the type A (outpatients: 257, inpatients: 128) or Type B (outpatients: 257, inpatients: 135). In order to compare the internal consistency of two types. Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ were calculated. Multiple regression analysis was also performed to know which type of questionnaire explain more of the overall satisfaction. Results : In outpatient survey, type A questionnaire showed higher internal consistency than B except physical environments dimension. Also in inpatient survey, type A had higer internal consistency than B in four dimensions(process, competence, courtesy, understanding patients). In the results of multiple regression analysis, type A questionnaire ($R^2$=0.53) explained more of the variation in overall satisfaction then B questionnaire ($R^2$=0.43) in outpatient survey. In inpatient survey, type B questionnaire ($R^2$=0.40) explained, more of the variation in overall satisfaction than type A questionnaire ($R^2$=0.33).But the difference of R was not significant in inpatient survey. Conclusion : The results of this study support that type A questionnaire has higer reliability in assessment of consumer satisfaction than type B.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.779-807
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• 2016

Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) are essential tools in seismic hazard analysis. With the introduction of probabilistic approaches for the estimation of seismic response of structures, also known as, performance based earthquake engineering framework; new tasks are defined for response spectrum such as the reference criterion for effective structure-specific selection of ground motions for nonlinear time history analysis. One of the recent efforts to introduce a high quality databank of ground motions besides the corresponding selection scheme based on the broadband spectral consistency is the development of SIMBAD (Selected Input Motions for displacement-Based Assessment and Design), which is designed to improve the reliability of spectral values at all natural periods by removing noise with modern proposed approaches. In this paper, a new global GMPE is proposed by using selected ground motions from SIMBAD to improve the reliability of computed spectral shape indicators. To determine regression coefficients, 204 pairs of horizontal components from 35 earthquakes with magnitude ranging from Mw 5 to Mw 7.1 and epicentral distances lower than 40 km selected from SIMBAD are used. The proposed equation is compared with similar models both qualitatively and quantitatively. After the verification of model by several goodness-of-fit measures, the epsilon values as the spectral shape indicator are computed and the validity of available prediction equations for correlation of the pairs of epsilon values is examined. General consistency between predictions by new model and others, especially, in short periods is confirmed, while, at longer periods, there are meaningful differences between normalized residuals and correlation coefficients between pairs of them estimated by new model and those are computed by other empirical equations. A simple collapse assessment example indicate possible improvement in the correlation between collapse capacity and spectral shape indicators (${\varepsilon}$) up to 20% by selection of a more applicable GMPE for calculation of ${\varepsilon}$.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.75-84
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• 2016

Objective: The aim of this study is to suggest some improvement ideas based on the validity and the reliability analyses of the current safety culture measurement method applied to the Korean nuclear power industry. Background: Wrong safety culture is known as one of the major causes of the disasters such as the space shuttle Columbia disaster or the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident. Assessment of safety culture of an organization is important to build a safer organizational environment as well as to identify the risks hidden in the organization. Method: A face validity of the current safety culture measurement method was analyzed by comparison of the key factors of safety culture in the Korean nuclear power industry with those factors reviewed in the previous studies. The current interview method was analyzed to identify the problems which degrade the consistency of evaluation. Results: Most safety culture factors reviewed in the literatures are covered in the list of the Korean nuclear power industry safety culture factors. However the unstructured questions used in the interview may result in inconsistency of safety culture evaluation among interviewers. Conclusion: This study suggests some examples which might improve the consistency of interviewers' evaluation on safety culture such as a post interview evaluation form. Application: An extended post interview evaluation form might help to increase the accuracy of the interviewing method for Korean nuclear industry safety culture evaluation.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.37-53
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• 2022

Objectives : This study analyzed the concordance between student self-assessment and peer-evaluation in a role play using the Clinical Performance Examination (CPX) scenario developed based on Korean medical syndrome differentiation. Methods : The subjects of this study are first-year-students majoring in Korean Medicine. The role play based on clinical case was performed in the class of Korean Medicine Classics. Feedback on clinical skill competency got through student self-assessment and peer-evaluation, and this study was compared and analyzed of result. Results : A simple comparison of the results of self-assessment and peer-evaluation in the evaluation results of clinical skill competency may appear to be consistent. However, it was not statistically significant. It is necessary to enhance the discriminative ability in the evaluation of clinical skill competency. It will be possible to improve a bit by relatively increasing the weight of the scores on the items that students expect to respond differently among the evaluation items. In addition, in order to dramatically improve the systemicity and reliability of the evaluation of clinical skill competency itself, it is necessary to introduce the Introduction to Clinical Traditional Korean Medicine (ICTKM) course. Conclusions : Student's self-assessment and peer-evaluation as feedback on clinical skill competency are suitable for the purpose of education and training. However, the reliability of the evaluation was not statistically significant.