• Health Policy and Management
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.21-39
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• 1999

An increasing number of hospitals are seeking for new or mixed compensation strategies to improve the productivity of their medical staff in the struggle to provide high quality medical services at low costs amid the economic hardship. To motivate physicians toward the right direction, it is necessary to effectively evaluate their performance that provides a basis for compensation. However, productivity has been historically difficult to measure, particularly for physicians in academic medical centers who are expected to engage in research, education, and patient care simultaneously. The objectives of this study were to define performance measures of physicians and clinical departments in academic medical centers. to examine correlations between the measures. and to investigate factors affecting the measures. The performance data of 212 faculty physicians in 17 clinical departments in two university teaching hospitals affiliated to one medical school during the fiscal year 1994 was used for analyses. Patient care revenue, net profit. and adjusted number of patients were defined to measure the performance in patient care. and number of articles published in academic journals and research grant were defined for research activities. Both individual physicians' performance measures and per physician measures of clinical departments were analyzed. All measures defined to evaluate individual physicians' performance were positively related to each other. Clinical department and rank of faculty position were statistically significant predictors of revenue. and hospital. clinical department. and rank were significant predictors of net profit. journal publication. and research grant. Patient care measures defined to evaluate clinical departments were related to each other. so were research measures. and no significant correlations were found between patient care measures and research measures. Also found were large differences in department. ranks when clinical departments were evaluated by absolute per physician performance measures and evaluated by annual rate of changes in performance measures. These findings suggest that departmental performance measures opposed to individual performance measures are relatively free from problems of factors affecting the performance measures that are not in control of clinical departments or individual physicians. Results from the correlation analysis of departmental performance measures indicates that measures of research performance should be included in the evaluation to promote research activities in academic medical centers.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.160-172
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• 2018

This study examined the intake status of energy drinks and related factors among university students in Yeungnam region, Korea. A total of 456 students participated in the study by a self-administered questionnaire. About 26% of the respondents never took energy drinks, whereas about 30% took them previously, but do not take them now. Almost 45% answered that they have taken them up to now. The reasons for first intake of energy drinks were 'necessity for myself' followed by 'curiosity', 'recommendation of friends', and 'seeing advertisement', and Chi-square test showed that there was a significant difference according to dwelling status. About half of the respondents took them since high school, and the main reason for energy drink intake was 'to stay awake'. About 45% of the respondents indicated that they increased study hours after taking energy drinks, whereas almost 40% answered that they had little effect on them. Over half of the respondents experienced side effects after energy drink intake. About one-fifth of the respondents mixed the energy drinks with alcoholic beverages to make them taste better. In addition, in the result for the multinomial logistic regression analysis, gender, grade, dwelling status, smoking status, alcohol drinking status, perception of effect of energy drinks on health, and perception of benefit level of caffeine were the predictors for the respondents who never took energy drinks in comparison with the respondents who have taken them up to now. On the other hand, for the respondents who took them previously but do not take them now compared with those of having taken them up to now, the predictors were dwelling status and smoking status. These results imply that dietary education from childhood regarding knowledge and side effects of energy drinks should be offered.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.485-510
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• 2014

In performance-based seismic design procedures Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) and pseudo-Spectral acceleration ($S_a$) are commonly used to predict the response of structures to earthquake. Recently, research has been carried out to evaluate the predictive capability of these standard Intensity Measures (IMs) with respect to different types of structures and Engineering Demand Parameter (EDP) commonly used to measure damage. Efforts have been also spent to propose alternative IMs that are able to improve the results of the response predictions. However, most of these IMs are not usually employed in probabilistic seismic demand analyses because of the lack of reliable Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs). In order to define seismic hazard and thus to calculate demand hazard curves it is essential, in fact, to establish a GMPE for the earthquake intensity. In the light of this need, new GMPEs are proposed here for the elastic input energy spectra, energy-based intensity measures that have been shown to be good predictors of both structural and non-structural damage for many types of structures. The proposed GMPEs are developed using mixed-effects models by empirical regressions on a large number of strong-motions selected from the NGA database. Parametric analyses are carried out to show the effect of some properties variation, such as fault mechanism, type of soil, earthquake magnitude and distance, on the considered IMs. Results of comparisons between the proposed GMPEs and other from the literature are finally shown.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.655-671
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• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: While plate waste has been widely investigated in hospitals, there have been minimal studies specific to the texture-modified diet (TMD). This study aims to determine the percentage of plate waste among patients prescribed with TMD and its contributory factors. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a single-centre study conducted in the university hospital on three types of TMD (blended diet, mixed porridge, minced diet) during lunch and dinner meals. Weighing method and visual estimation method assisted by digital photograph were adopted in this study. Face to face interview was carried out to investigate on 1) the food/food service quality factors in terms of patients' satisfaction level towards sensorial quality of food and food services provided and 2) the clinical/external factors including appetite, the provision of oral nutrition support, time taking the diet, the need for feeding assistance and the length of hospital stay. RESULTS: The mean percentage of overall plate waste of 95 patients receiving TMD was high (47.5%). Blended diet was identified as the most wasted diet (65%) followed by minced diet (56%) and mixed porridge (35%). Satisfaction level among patients was moderate. Patients on TMD in general had higher satisfaction level on the aspect of food service as compared to food quality. Substantial association between sensorial qualities of food and plate waste were varied according to individual TMD type. A multiple linear regression showed that only the satisfaction level toward the aspects of appearance and variety of foods were the predictors of TMD plate waste (R² = 0.254, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A significant relationship between the percentage of plate waste and the overall satisfaction level of patients receiving TMD suggests that vigorous strategies are needed to reduce the food waste of TMD which will lead to a better nutritional status and clinical outcomes among the patients.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.1-12
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• 2013

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the patterns of energy drink consumption and associated factors in a group of college students in South Korea. Methods: Cross-sectional, self-report survey data were collected from 231 college students in November of 2012 and were analyzed by logistic regression. Results: Students consuming energy drinks accounted for 81.8% of the entire sample and 40.3% of the sample reported that they mixed with alcoholic drink. The most common reason for drinking an energy drink was "To stay awake", followed by "To relieve fatigue". In logistic regression analysis, statistically significant predictors of energy drink consumption was alcohol drinking behavior. Conclusions: Consumption of energy drinks has been quite common in college students. Awareness of college students regarding potential health effects of energy drinks, in particular, those of mixing alcoholic beverage, should be increased through health education.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.487-495
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• 2021

As Islam supports fair trade, the Murabaha is the most popular and most common mode of Islamic financing. It is a contract of sale between the bank and its client for the sale of goods at a price plus an agreed profit margin for the bank. The contract involves the purchase of goods by the bank which then sells them to the client at an agreed mark-up. While their characteristics and values are unique, they are also subject to conventional measurement of efficacies. This study investigates how the primary health predictors of conventional banks under the Basel III regime could provide a positive means to assess the Murabaha funding and subsequently secure long-term profitability. This study constructed a path analysis (from 120 databases) to assess whether Islamic banks' leverage and capital adequacy may alter the Murabaha funding and increase stock equity directly and indirectly. The research findings are mixed where leverage does not alter the Murabaha funding but only affects the profitability; besides, capital adequacy increases the outgoing funding significantly but does not increase stock equity. Murabaha funding is essential to Islamic bank equity. This study implies Murabaha funding are expensed, despite increasing debts in Islamic banks.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.11-21
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• 2022

The perspectives on aging women's financial security during their retirement years are based on their behavior, planning, and decision-making processes during their working years. Elderly women are considered vulnerable and have a longer life expectancy, lower-income, and limited financial understanding compared to males; therefore, drastic steps need to be taken to improve their financial stability and quality of life. The current study sought to determine the most important contributors to retired women's financial health by measuring the value of four factors/variables: capability, opportunity, willingness, and biopsychosocial. This study used a mixed model approach, with qualitative analysis in the first phase involving a focus group discussion session, a pilot analysis, and quantitative analysis for phase two involving the distribution and collection of questionnaires completed by retired women. The surveys were distributed across Malaysia in five distinct zones and yielded 339 usable replies to support the theory. The outcomes of the Multiple Regression Analysis in Malaysia revealed that capability, opportunity, and biopsychosocial factors are significant predictors of retired women's financial security, whereas the willingness indicator lacked statistical significance.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.19-36
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was (a) to identify latent profiles among employed Korean mothers of third graders based on work-family conflict, work-family enrichment, work-parenting conflict, and work-parenting enrichment, (b) to examine the antecedents of profile membership at the individual, family, work, and community levels, and (c) to investigate the differences in the various psychological outcomes across the profiles. The sample of 451 married employed mothers was a subset of data from the 10th Wave of the Panel Study of Korean Children, which was collected in 2017 when the focal child was in the third grade. Our latent profile analysis suggested a three-profile model that comprised enriched (11.91%), moderate (47.85%), and mixed (40.24%) profiles. The significant antecedents of profile membership were subjective health status, the child's adjustment to school, working hours, the community's suitability for childrearing, and satisfaction with community service facilities. Regarding psychological outcomes, the levels of life satisfaction, marital satisfaction, and job satisfaction were higher in the following order: enriched, moderate, and mixed profiles. The levels of depressive symptoms were in the reverse order: mixed, moderate, and enriched profiles. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the literature on work-family interactions by considering various predictors and outcomes at multiple levels.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.280-290
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• 2016

Stem diameter variability is an essential inventory result that provides useful information in forest management decisions. Little has been done to explore the modelling potentials of standard deviation (SDD) and coefficient of variation (CVD) of diameter at breast height (dbh). This study, therefore, was aimed at developing and testing models for predicting SDD and CVD in stands of Pinus caribaea Morelet (pine) in south west Nigeria. Sixty temporary sample plots of size $20m{\times}20m$, ranging between 15 and 37 years were sampled, covering the entire range of pine in south west Nigeria. The dbh (cm), total and merchantable heights (m), number of stems and age of trees were measured within each plot. Basal area ($m^2$), site index (m), relative spacing and percentile positions of dbh at $24^{th}$, $63^{rd}$, $76^{th}$ and $93^{rd}$ (i.e. $P_{24}$, $P_{63}$, $P_{76}$ and $P_{93}$) were computed from measured variables for each plot. Linear mixed model (LMM) was used to test the effects of locations (fixed) and plots (random). Six candidate models (3 for SDD and 3 for CVD), using three categories of explanatory variables (i.e. (i) only stand size measures, (ii) distribution measures, and (iii) combination of i and ii). The best model was chosen based on smaller relative standard error (RSE), prediction residual sum of squares (PRESS), corrected Akaike Information Criterion ($AIC_c$) and larger coefficient of determination ($R^2$). The results of the LMM indicated that location and plot effects were not significant. The CVD and SDD models having only measures of percentiles (i.e. $P_{24}$ and $P_{93}$) as predictors produced better predictions than others. However, CVD model produced the overall best predictions, because of the lower RSE and stability in measuring variability across different stand developments. The results demonstrate the potentials of CVD in modelling stem diameter variability in relationship with percentiles variables.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.167-173
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• 2021

Background: Correctional officers (COs) experience elevated rates of mental and physical ill-health as compared with other general industry and public safety occupations. The purpose of this study was to investigate demographic, mental health, job tenure, and work-family characteristics and their prospective association to burnout within and between jail officers during one year of new employment. Methods: In 2016, newly hired jail officers (N = 144) completed self-reported surveys across four time points in a one-year prospective study at a Midwestern United States urban jail. Linear mixed-effects and growth modeling examined how work-family conflict (W-FC) and depressive symptoms relate to perceptions of burnout over time. Results: Jail officer burnout increased and was related to rises in W-FC and depression symptoms. Within-person variance for W-FC (B_pooled = .52, p < .001) and depression symptoms (B_pooled = .06, p < .01) were significant predictors of burnout. Less time on the job remained a significant predictor of burnout across all analyses (B_pooled = .03, p < .001). Conclusions: Results from this study indicate that burnout increased during the first year of new employment; and increased W-FC, higher depression, and brief tenure were associated with burnout among jail COs. Future study of correctional workplace health is needed to identify tailored, multilevel interventions that address burnout and W-FC prevention and early intervention among COs.