• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.405-408
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• 2020

In epidemiology, the basic reproduction number (R₀) is a term that describes the expected number of infections generated by 1 case in a susceptible population. At the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, R₀ was frequently referenced by the public health community and the wider public. However, this metric is often misused or misinterpreted. Moreover, the complexity of the process of estimating R₀ has caused difficulties for a substantial number of researchers. In this article, in order to increase the accessibility of this concept, we address several misconceptions related to the threshold characteristics of R₀ and the effective reproduction number (R_t). Moreover, the appropriate interpretation of the metrics is discussed. R₀ should be considered as a population-averaged value that pools the contact structure according to a stochastic transmission process. Furthermore, it is necessary to understand the unavoidable time lag for R_t due to the incubation period of the disease.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.7
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• pp.35-47
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• 2020

An economic downturn can occurred through unexpected events in various fields, such as the subprime mortgage crisis and the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19). Trade credit is important for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially during a monetary contraction, as it is the last option for firms that lack bank credit. This study aims to determine whether trade credit is profitable for the buyer and supplier firms during and after a financial crisis. We use panel data consisting of all trade credit transactions and financial statements of 5,751 Korean firms during the period 2008-2012. It shows that trade credit is more profitable for both buyers and suppliers in the post-crisis period than during the crisis. Moreover, trade payable is more effective for unconstrained buyers than for constrained buyers. Finally, a mixed strategy is superior to an aggressive or passive strategy of SMEs. The results suggest less profitability of trade credit during a period of contraction and greater sensitivity of the buyer SMEs, emphasizing the idiosyncratic liquidity strategy of each firm. This study can be helpful to develop a strategy of profitable trade credit for SMEs and to establish a policy of managing liquidity for the authority.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.231-237
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• 2021

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the importance of hospital hygiene and infection control in hospital settings. To raise hygiene awareness among ultrasound technicians, we evaluated the hygiene status of an ultrasound room, in comparison with that of objects used in daily life. Using the swab method, the following surfaces were examined: eight surfaces in the ultrasound room including the ultrasound probes (convex, linear, sector, 3D), ultrasound track ball, ultrasound keyboard, ultrasound gel (sealed and in use) and pillow as well as four surfaces of everyday objects including subway handles, common computer keyboards, common computer mouse, and cell phones. The streak plate technique was used for inoculation into media, which was observed for the formation of bacterial colonies following incubation for 24 h. Six bacterial strains were detected from objects used in the ultrasound room, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Four strains of bacteria were detected on surfaces of everyday objects. The equipment and accessories used in an ultrasound room can act as vehicles for infecting patients. Establishment of standardized hygiene protocols and periodic training of the staff are recommended to avoid cross-infection.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.397-409
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• 2020

Coffee, which has spread from Ethiopia to Arabia, Europe and then to Korea, has become the most beloved beverage among today's Korean people. After liberation, instant coffee was first introduced to Korea through the U.S. military, and coffee became popular in earnest. In the 1970s, Dongsuh Foods led localization of coffee by mass-producing instant and regular coffee, and in the 1990s, coffee shops replaced teahouses. After the 1997 financial crisis, office workers made coffee on their own as companies downsized on secretarial staff, leading to a further growth in instant coffee mix market. In 1999, the first foreign brand Starbucks was introduced to Korea and the culture of takeout espresso coffee took off. As consumers' preferences of coffee constantly evolve, the demand for high-quality specialty coffee has emerged, individual roasters have grown in order to meet the demand, and a viral marketing through SNS has been used as a growth engine. In 2020, the spread of coronavirus(COVID-19) is affecting the global coffee market. As many offices, coffee shops, and restaurants practice social distancing, out-of-home sales such as coffee shops have decreased, whereas sales for a takeout coffee and home-café products have increased.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.199-208
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• 2022

The world health organization classified the emerging coronavirus (known as Covid-19) as a pandemic after confirming the extent of spread and scale. As a matter of fact, outbreaks of similar scale or even worse have been witnessed throughout history. Thus, the development of prevention strategies exists to protect against such calamaties. One of the widely proven measures that controls the spread of any contagious diseases is social distancing. As a result, this paper will demonstrate the concept of an application "Be Aware" on enabling the implementation of this preventive measure. In particular "Be aware" evaluates the extent of congestion in public places using current time data. The proposed project will use Global Positioning System (GPS), and Application Programming Interface (API), to ensure information accuracy, and the API use Crowdsourcing to collect Real-Time Data (RTD) from the selected places. One line

• Journal of Information Processing Systems
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2022

Online video telephony systems have been increasingly used in several industrial areas because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread. The existing session initiation protocol (SIP)-based video call system is being usefully utilized, however, there is a limitation that it is very inconvenient for users to transmit additional information during conversation to the other party in real time. To overcome this problem, an enhanced scheme is presented based on augmented real-time reality (AR). In this scheme, augmented information is automatically searched from the Internet and displayed on the user's device during video telephony. The proposed approach was qualitatively evaluated by comparing it with other conferencing systems. Furthermore, to evaluate the feasibility of the approach, we implemented a simple network application that can generate SIP call requests and answer with AR object pre-fetching. Using this application, the call setup time was measured and compared between the original SIP and pre-fetching schemes. The advantage of this approach is that it can increase the convenience of a user's mobile phone by providing a way to automatically deliver the required text or images to the receiving side.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.430-440
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• 2022

Shipping companies are key components of the logistics industry, which is extremely significant in enhancing the country's comprehensive national power and promoting global trade development. In the context of the implementation of the new development pattern strategy in China and the impact of the global novel coronavirus (COVID-19), this paper takes 22 Chinese shipping listed companies as the research object and analyses the operational efficiency of them from 2011 to 2020 based on the Super-SBM DEA Model and Window DEA Model. Factors affecting the efficiency are further analyzed with the Tobit model. The research conclude that the operational efficiency of Chinese shipping companies as a whole shows a steady increase from 2011 to 2020. Although most of them are in a relatively ef ective operation state, fewer are absolutely effective companies. Besides efficiency among companies differs obviously, which indicates the potential of further improvement and promotion. What's more, factors such as current economic development level, enterprise size, human resources quality and enterprise turnover speed have significant positive correlation to the operation efficiency of Chinese shipping listed companies, which is significant to improve the operation efficiency of Chinese shipping companies.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.1953-1972
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• 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a profound impact on large-scale gatherings throughout the world. Social distancing has become one of the most common measures to restrict the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Islamic pilgrimage attracts millions of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia annually. One of the mandatory rituals of pilgrimage is the symbolic stoning of the devil. Every pilgrim is required to perform this ritual within a specified time on three days of pilgrimage. This ritual is prone to congestion due to strict spatiotemporal requirements. We propose a pedestrian simulation model for implementing social distancing in the stoning ritual. An agent-based simulation is designed to analyze the impact of inter-queue and intra-queue spacing between adjacent pilgrims on the throughput and congestion during the stoning ritual. After analyzing several combinations of intra-queue and inter-queue spacings, we conclude that 25 queues with 1.5 meters of intra-queue spacing result in an optimal combination of throughput and congestion. The Ministry of Hajj in Saudi Arabia may benefit from these findings to manage and plan pilgrimage more effectively.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.33-43
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• 2022

We evaluated the problems of the current disaster psychological recovery support system of the Ministry of Interior and Safety for periodic infectious disease disasters, including COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). The current disaster psychological recovery support systems are challenging to preemptively respond to infectious disease disasters over a wide range and for a long period. These result from the workforce shortage according to the face-to-face consultation method and the limited real-time application of consultation contents. Additionally, due to the workforce shortage, it is difficult to track those who have experienced disasters in the long term. Furthermore, most disaster psychology evaluation tools are for adults, and there are few evaluation tools for children and adolescents. This paper presents an advanced disaster psychological recovery support platform technology that can actively assist people in psychological recovery from disasters while mitigating these issues.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.286-293
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• 2022

Background: The death rate of workers due to industrial accidents in South Korea (3.61 persons in 2017) is higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average (2.43) and the fifth highest among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries. Although the pandemic of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed, the socioeconomic aspects of Korean society, the number of Koreans suffering accidents and the number of deaths in 2020 have increased. It is necessary to take measures to prevent accidents and make comprehensive efforts to return to work. This study proposes research questions about the effect of workers' positive perception on whether to work after accidents and the impact of the experience of rehabilitation services on the return to work. Methods: This research performed a panel logistic regression analysis using data on workers' compensation insurance in Korea for two years (2018-2019). Results: This research finds that workers' positive perceptions of workability and life satisfaction contributed affirmatively to their re-employment. Several factors related to employment (e.g., work period, the number of job qualifications) also positively affect their return to work. However, the experience of rehabilitation services did not have a significant effect on re-employment. The variables of their health conditions (e.g., disability grade, feelings of health problems, age) negatively influenced their return to jobs. Conclusion: These results suggest the importance of workers' mental recovery and the need to innovate rehabilitation services for their employment. Positive thinking and self-rehabilitation could be critical for workers, parallel with social welfare policies.