• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.260-272
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• 2011

Objectives: The promotion of health and safety (H&S) awareness among hospital staff can be applied through various methods. The aim of this study was to assess the risk level of physical hazards in the hospital sector by combining workers' perception, experts' evaluation and objective measurements. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed using multiple triangulation. Hospital staff (n = 447) filled in an H&S questionnaire in a general hospital in Athens and an oncology one in Thessaloniki. Experts observed and filled in a checklist on H&S in the various departments of the two hospitals. Lighting, noise and microclimate measurements were performed. Results: The staff's perception of risk was higher than that of the experts in many cases. The measured risk levels were low to medium. In cases of high-risk noise and lighting, staff and experts agreed. Staff's perception of risk was influenced by hospital's department, hospital's service, years of working experience and level of education. Therefore, these factors should be taken into account in future studies aimed at increasing the participation of hospital workers. Conclusion: This study confirmed the usefulness of staff participation in the risk assessment process, despite the tendency for staff to overestimate the risk level of physical hazards. The combination of combining staff perception, experts' evaluation and objective measures in the risk assessment process increases the efficiency of risk management in the hospital environment and the enforcement of relevant legislation.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.78-88
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate health risk awareness pertaining to fine dust exposure and the use of face masks in farmers, as well as their attitude toward education regarding fine dust-related respiratory disease prevention. Methods: In total, 295 farmers were interviewed in a survey using a structured questionnaire to obtain data on general characteristics, farming-related characteristics, health risk awareness pertaining to fine dust exposure, attitude toward education on fine dust-related respiratory disease prevention and the use of face masks. This study was analyzed the correlation between the perceived susceptibility to fine dust exposure and willingness to participate in education on fine dust-related respiratory disease prevention. Results: The mean score for perceived susceptibility to fine dust exposure was 3.8 (out of 5), and the participants were highly willing to receive education on fine dust-related respiratory disease prevention. In Multiple response analysis of reactions to exposure to fine dust generated during work, 221 participants responded that they practiced at least one preventive action; participants gave a positive response to "wearing masks" (56.1%), "personal hygiene, such as hand washing." (52.9%). In terms of education methods, 94 (33.6%) participants preferred to learn online or via text messages. Conclusions: The significant correlation between the perceived susceptibility to fine dust exposure and willingness to participate in education on fine dust-related respiratory disease prevention shows the importance of promoting education on prevention. The results of this study can help understand as reference for education on fine dust-related respiratory disease prevention.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.60 no.6
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• pp.1-12
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• 2018

The objectives of this study were to develop a system linking hydrologic and water quality models considering the mechanisms of agricultural reservoir and paddy cultivation and to evaluate whether the developed system simulates hydrologic and water quality processes better than a hydrologic model that do not consider the mechanisms. The system consisted of Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF) as a watershed model, Module-based hydrologic Analysis System for Agricultural watersheds (MASA) as reservoir water balance model, and Chemical, Runoff and Erosion from Agricultural Management System-Paddy (CREAMS-PADDY) as a hydrologic and water quality model for paddy fields. This study carried out on the Seolseong-Cheon watershed in Icheon, and the water level and water quality had been monitored for two years at the outlet of the watershed. According to the results of this study, the performance of the simulation using HSPF-MASA-CREAMS-PADDY system was better than others, but they did not show a statistically significant difference. This seemed to be due to the uncertainty of the farming data and the water quality data of the reservoir. Therefore, if accurate input data for the system is obtained, HSPF-MASA-CREAMS-PADDY system could be used to model an agricultural watershed to obtain more realistic results. The results of this study could be utilized to the modeling of agricultural watersheds in Korea where paddy rice cultivation is dominant.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.121-127
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• 2012

Objectives : The multimodal telepresence systems have been adopted in a variety of applications, such as telemedicine, space or underwater teleoperation and videoconference. Multimedia, one of the telepresence systems, has been used in various fields including entertainment, education and communication. The degree of subjective telepresence is defined as the probability that a person perceives to be physically in the remote place when he/she experiences a multisensory feedback from the multimedia. The current study aimed to explore the neural mechanism of telepresence related to multisensory feedback in patients with schizophrenia. Methods : Brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging while fifteen healthy controls and fifteen patients with schizophrenia were experiencing filmed referential conversation at various distances (1 m, 5 m and 10 m). Correlations between the image contrast values and the telepresence scores were analyzed. Results : Subjective telepresence was not significantly different between the two groups. Some significant correlations of brain activities with the telepresence scores were found in the left postcentral gyrus, bilateral inferior frontal gyri, right fusiform gyrus, and left superior temporal sulcus. There were no main effects of group and distance. Conclusion : These results suggest that patients with schizophrenia experience telepresence as appropriately as healthy people do when exposed to multimedia. Therefore, patients with schizophrenia would have no difficulty in immersing themselves in multimedia which may be used in clinical training therapies.

• Healthcare Informatics Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.394-401
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• 2018

Objectives: Augmented reality (AR) technology has become rapidly available and is suitable for various medical applications since it can provide effective visualization of intricate anatomical structures inside the human body. This paper describes the procedure to develop an AR app with Unity3D and Vuforia software development kit and publish it to a smartphone for the localization of critical tissues or organs that cannot be seen easily by the naked eye during surgery. Methods: In this study, Vuforia version 6.5 integrated with the Unity Editor was installed on a desktop computer and configured to develop the Android AR app for the visualization of internal organs. Three-dimensional segmented human organs were extracted from a computerized tomography file using Seg3D software, and overlaid on a target body surface through the developed app with an artificial marker. Results: To aid beginners in using the AR technology for medical applications, a 3D model of the thyroid and surrounding structures was created from a thyroid cancer patient's DICOM file, and was visualized on the neck of a medical training mannequin through the developed AR app. The individual organs, including the thyroid, trachea, carotid artery, jugular vein, and esophagus were localized by the surgeon's Android smartphone. Conclusions: Vuforia software can help even researchers, students, or surgeons who do not possess computer vision expertise to easily develop an AR app in a user-friendly manner and use it to visualize and localize critical internal organs without incision. It could allow AR technology to be extensively utilized for various medical applications.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.231-244
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• 2019

Zooplankton is essential biological assemblage in understanding the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems, since it plays as a linkage between primary producers and higher trophic level organisms such as fish. Although zooplankton has planktonic characteristics, the sampling and treatment methods for its community analyses are more complicated and variable compared with phytoplankton due to its high diversity in body size and species-specific depth selection behaviors. In the present paper, we reviewed representative classical methods for field sampling and treatments of freshwater zooplankton in relation with quantification of its community structure, and suggested appropriate methods depending on various research objectives.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2006

Objectives: We examined whether the neighborhood socioeconomic position predicts the smoking rates after adjusting for individual socioeconomic position indicators. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2001 Seoul Health Indicators Survey. The neighborhood socioeconomic position was the residential distribution of the high class (power elites), as measured by the location quotients (LQ) for each administrative dong (district). A high LQ denotes a high neighborhood socioeconomic status. The individual socioeconomic position included education, occupation and income. Age-adjusted smoking rates according to the LQ level were computed with the direct method. The total number of subjects in this study (26,022 men and 28,007 women) was the reference. A multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted with the individuals at the first level and the neighborhoods at the second level to estimate the odds ratios of smoking with 95% confidence intervals. Results: For men, the age-adjusted smoking rates increased with a decrease in the LQ. For women, the relationship between the age-adjusted smoking rate and the LQ was not clear. The odds of smoking for both genders were greater among those subjects with lower incomes and lower education. The manual occupational class had greater odds of smoking than the non-manual class for the males, while the odds ratio of smoking among females with a manual occupation tended to be lower than those females with a non-manual occupation. For the males, the LQ levels independently predicted smoking after adjustment for individual income. However, this relation between the LQ and smoking in males was explained by full adjustment for the individual socioeconomic position indicators (education, occupation and income). Conclusions: A low level of neighborhood socioeconomic position was associated with higher smoking rates among the men residing in Seoul. This association between the neighborhood socioeconomic position and smoking in men was explained by the individual socioeconomic position. Anti-smoking efforts to reduce geographical inequality in smoking should be directed at reducing the smoking rates between the individuals with different socioeconomic backgrounds in the metropolitan city of Seoul, South Korea.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.287-293
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• 2018

The Korean peninsula has been known as an area that is free of volcanic disasters. However, recent observations and research results of volcanoes in Far East Asia, including Baedu Mountain and Japanese volcanoes, show that the Korean peninsula is no longer a safe area from volcanic disasters. Since 2012, the Korean government has been developing an IT-based construction technology, VDRS (Volcanic Disaster Response System), for effective volcanic disaster response system. The main users of VDRS are public officers in central or local governments. However, most of them have little experience and knowledge about volcanic disasters. Therefore, it is essential to develop education contents and implement training on volcanic disaster response for effective response in a real disaster situation. In this paper, we deal with the development of a mobile application based on virtual reality (VR) for realistic volcanic disaster response training. The objectives of training are the delivery of knowledge and experience for volcanic disasters. First, VR contents were generated based on spatial information. A 3D model was constructed based on a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and visualization models for meterological effects and various volcanic disaster diffusion effects were implemented for the VR contents. Second, the mobile application for the volcanic disaster response training was implemented. A 12-step story board is proposed for volcanic disaster experience. The application was developed with the Unity3D engine based on the proposed story board to deliver knowledge of various volcanic disasters (volcanic ash, pyroclastic flows, volcanic mudflow etc.). The results of this paper will be used for volcanic disaster response and prevention training and for more realistic training linked with augmented reality technology in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
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• autumn
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• pp.373-378
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• 2001

In order to analyze the problems and improvement methods in the quality management of domestic apartment construction projects, this study derived the four barrier factors through relevant literature survey and interviews with construction practitioners. Among these four factors, which are 1) policies and regulations, 2) technologies, 3) human and organization, and 4) other miscellaneous aspects, the human and organization factor is the main focus of this survey and it was decomposed into perception, management system, education, and system on quality management according to the Taguchi's S/N theory to survey existing problems and suggest improvement methods for them. The survey on the quality perception showed that all the members need to cooperate actively, and CEO and chief construction managers should recognize the quality as the highest priority and act by themselves accordingly. The survey on the quality management showed that they need to reform their business process to reduce redundant tasks and miscommunications among participants. Quality education should be provided in a way that people at different management level can be educated differently with close relation to their practices. Quality systems should help corrective actions against quality problems at construction fields. Also with clear quality management implantation polices and objectives, the quality system should be established in order to support better communication among project stakeholders.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.619-623
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• 2018

This paper aimed to design a computer course teaching-learning strategy for (m-learning?) to be used in a Problem Based Learning (PBL) environment. The research findings were as follows. Firstly, learning contents were provided as educational tools for mobile device usage. The educational contents provided were designed for effective usage on mobile devices, such as smartphones, thereby making mobile devices suitable for use as learning tools. Secondly, learning contents for PBL were provided. PBL problems (for computer engineering courses) were made with the principles of teaching plans. The learning objectives were achieved through the problem-solving progress of the learners and their self-directed and cooperative learnings. Thirdly, learning resources were provided that were easily accessible through smartphones, laptops and PDAs. This study is about the PBL instructional design of creative engineering design subjects, which aims to foster talent. The PBL model developed in this study consists of Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. We made a plan for creative engineering design subjects based on PBL, and focused on the process of PBL. This research was able to establish the basis for PBL usage in Engineering Schools and help achieve its ultimate goal of endowing professional intellectuals with creative problem-solving abilities.