• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.377-380
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• 2015

Background: There is strong evidence that delayed diagnosis of breast cancer is associated with poor survival. Our objectives were to determine the frequency of breast cancer patients with delayed presentation, the reasons of delay and its association with different socio-demographic variables in our North Pakistan setting. Materials and Methods: We interviewed 315 histologically confirmed breast cancer patients. Delay was defined as more than 3 months from appearance of symptoms to consultation with a doctor. Questions were asked from each patient which could reflect their understanding about the disease and which could be the likely reasons for their delayed presentation. Results: 39.0 % (n=123) of patients presented late and out of those, 40.7% wasted time using alternative medicines; 25.2 % did not having enough resources; 17.1 % presented late due to painless lump; 10.6% felt shyness and 6.5% presented late due to other reasons. Higher age, negative family history, < 8 school years of education and low to middle socio-economic status were significantly associated with delayed presentation (p< 0.05). Education and socioeconomic status were two independent variables related to the delayed presentation after adjustment for others (OR of 2.26, 2.29 and 95%CI was 1.25-4.10, 1.06-4.94 respectively). Conclusions: Significant numbers of women with breast cancer in North Pakistan experience presentation delay due to their misconceptions about the disease. Coordinated efforts with public health departments are needed to educate the focused groups and removing the barriers identified in the study. Long term impact will be reduced overall burden of the disease in the region.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.212-221
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• 2020

Background: Rapid industrialization has caused various impacts on nature, including heavy metal pollution. However, the impacts of industrialization vary depending on the types of industrializing activity and surrounding environment. South Korea is a proper region because the rapid socio-economical changes have been occurred since the late nineteenth century. Therefore, in this study, we estimate the anthropogenic impacts on an ecosystem from a sediment core of Yonghwasil-mot, an irrigation reservoir on the western coast of Korea, in terms of heavy metal concentrations, nutrient influx, and pollen composition. Results: The sediment accumulation rate (SAR) determined by 210Pb geochronology showed two abrupt peaks in the 1930s and 1950s, presumably because of smelting activity and the Korean War, respectively. The following gradual increase in SAR may reflect the urbanization of recent decades. The average concentrations of arsenic (As), copper (Cu), and lead (Pb) during the twentieth century were > 48% compared to those before the nineteenth century, supporting the influence of smelting activity. However, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the As, Cu, and Pb concentrations decreased by 19% compared to levels in the twentieth century, which is coincident with the closure of the smelter in 1989 and government policy banning leaded gasoline since 1993. The pollen assemblage and nutrient input records exhibit changes in vegetation cover and water level of the reservoir corresponding to anthropogenic deforestation and reforestation, as well as to land-use alteration. Conclusions: Our results show that the rapid socio-economic development since the twentieth century clearly affected the vegetation cover, land use, and metal pollutions.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.87-94
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• 1995

At both international and national levels, such as in the Rio Declaration and the EU's Fifth Environmental Action Plan, governments have committed themselves to the adoption of the precautionary principle (UNCED 1992, CEC 1992). These commitments mean that the existence of uncertainty in appraising policies and proposals for development should be acknowledged. Uncertainty arise in both the prediction of impacts and in the evaluation of their significance, particularly of those cumulative impacts which are individually insignificant but cumulatively damaging. The EC network of EIA experts, stated at their last meeting in Athens that indirect effects and the treatment of uncertainty are one of the main deficiencies of current EIA practice. Uncertainties in decision-making arise where choices have been made in the development of the policy or proposal, such as the selection of options, the justification for that choice, and the selection of different indicators to comply with different regulatory regimes. It is also likely that a weighting system for evaluating significance will have been used which may be implicit rather than explicit. Those involved in decision-making may employ different tolerances of uncertainty than members of the public, for instance over the consideration of the worst-case scenario. Possible methods for dealing with these uncertainties include scenarios, sensitivity analysis, showing points of view, decision analysis, postponing decisions and graphical methods. An understanding of the development of cumulative environmental impacts affords not only ecologic but also socio-economic investigations. Since cumulative impacts originate mainly in centres of urban or industrial development, in particular an analysis of future growth effects that might possibly be induced by certain development impacts. Not least it is seen as an matter of sustainability to connect this issue with ecological research. The serious attempt to reduce the area of uncertainty in environmental planning is a challenge and an important step towards reliable planning and sustainable development.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.101-112
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• 2019

Over the last few years, air pollution ($PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$) in the Seoul metropolitan area (SMA) has emerged as one of the most concerned and threatening environmental issues among the residents. It brings about various harmful effects on human health, as well as ecosystem and industrial activities. Governments and individuals pay various costs to mitigate the level of air pollutants. This study aims to empirically find the willingness to pays (WTP) among the parents from different socio-cultural groups - international and domestic groups to mitigate air pollution ($PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$) in their residential area. Contingent Valuation Methods (CVM) is used with employing single-bounded dichotomous choice technique to elicit the respondent's WTP. Using tobit (censored regression) and probit models, the monthly mean WTP of the pooled sample for green electricity which contributes to improve air quality in the region was estimated as 3,993 KRW (3.58 USD). However, the mean WTP between the international group and domestic group through a sub-sample analysis shows broad distinction as 3,325KRW (2.98 USD) and 4,449 KRW (3.98 USD) respectively. This is because that socio-cultural characteristics of each group such as socio-economic status, personal experience, trust in institutions and worldview are differently associated with the WTP. Based on the results, the society needs to raise awareness of lay people to find a strong linkage between the current PM issue and green electricity. Also, it needs to improve trust in the government's pollution abatement policy to mobilize more assertive participation of the people from different socio-cultural background.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.75-93
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• 2024

This study examines the impact of moving to an opportunity-rich area on an individual's wage income to identify the relationship between regional disparities in opportunities throughout a person's life cycle and life outcomes. Based on the Graduate Occupational Mobility Survey (GOMS) provided by the Korea Employment Information Service, individuals with similar life experience prior to regional mobility were selected and analyzed using the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method. Specifically, the life cycle was classified into stages such as pre-high school, university entrance period, and employment period. Then, a path model was established to analyze regional mobility, education, employment, and wage income by life cycle stage. The analysis results indicate that the life cycle stage where regional mobility had the greatest impact on an individual's economic performance, that is, the stage where the impact of opportunity disparities was most unequal, was the university entrance period. Additionally, moving to an opportunity-rich area was a critical factor that cumulatively affected subsequent life. Hence, pre-high school mobility was also noteworthy as it induced life in the central area later on. Lastly, while parental income itself was influential, but when combined with regional mobility, it could act as a means of transferring wealth to the next generation. These results suggest that the state should strive to alleviate the regional imbalance around universities by fostering universities outside the capital region and reduce the possibility of the influence of parents' socio-economic background on regional mobility.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.237-249
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• 2011

Land-use changes due to the socio-economic environment influence landscape patterns and processes, which affect habitats and biodiversity. This study considers the effects of such land-use changes, particularly on the traditional rural "Maeul" forested landscape, by analyzing landscape structure and vegetation changes. Three study areas were examined that have seen their populations decrease and age over the last few decades. Five types of plant life-forms (Raunkier life-forms) were distinguished to investigate ecosystem function. Principle component analysis was used to understand vegetation dynamics and community characteristics based on a vegetation similarity index. Ordination analysis transformed species-coverage data was introduced to clarify vegetation dynamics. Landscape indices, such as area metrics, edge metrics, and shape metrics, showed that spatial heterogeneity has increased over time in all areas. Pinus densiflora was the main land-use plant type in all study areas but decreased over time, whereas Quercus spp. increased. Over a decade, P. densiflora communities shifted to deciduous oak and plantation. These findings indicate that the impact of human activities on the Maeul landscape is twofold. While forestry activities caused heavy disturbances, the abandonment of traditional human activities has led to natural succession. Furthermore, it can be concluded that the type and intensity of these human impacts on landscape heterogeneity relate differently to vegetation succession. This reflects the cause and consequence of patch dynamics. We discuss an approach for sustainable landscape planning and management of the Maeul landscape based on traditional management.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.557-570
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• 2006

This study attempts to analyze the spatial disparity between supply and the demand of volunteering activities in Daegu, South Korea. The spatial disparity of volunteering activities has been strongly influenced by the residental disparity in terms of socio-economic level. The ratio of volunteers is mostly determined by income and education level that strongly impact the spatial distribution of residential area. The regional difference of ratio of volunteers is greater among Gu districts than in Dong level. The recipients for the volunteering activities have been likely to reside in a particular area within a Gu district; so, regional difference of the recipients was severe in dong level rather than Gu level. It is strongly recommended to exchange volunteers among regions to reduce the spatial disparity between the volunteers and the recipients.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.113-119
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• 2018

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are place contributing to the intellectual advancement of the nation, quality human resource, and to a number of socio-economic improvements for society and organizations. Despite facilitators and staffs are the bare-bone of HEIs, there is a scarcity of research, both conceptual and empirical, focusing on their organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). To attempt to fill this gap, this article develops a conceptual model of OCB under influencing of organizational justice and job satisfaction. The prospective respondents were chosen randomly from HEIs (public and private). Individuals have been employed at least one year and above will be the unit of analysis in which the experimental test of the proposed model will be conducted. The results suggest that organizational citizenship behavior is one of the most important factor influence the organizational performance. Furthermore, the performance of HEIs does not affect only the national human resources, but also impact on national economy. In this context, a conceptual framework is proposed to study the determinants of organizational citizenship behavior in the form of organizational justice and job satisfaction. Additionally, the ultimate benefits of OCB through perceived organizational justice with job satisfaction as mediator is enlightened. Finally, the authors discuss the managerial implications of their research.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Navigation
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.1-27
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• 1993

As the education of maritime college has a characteristics of seafaring professional institutions, the potential benefit following from the employment of seafarers would put substantial impact on it. The socio-economic position of seafaring occupations has been deteriorated considerably with changes of ship's auto-mation, specialisation and low cost operation management of shipping companies through severe internatio-nal competitions. The quality and number of applicants for the maritime college has declined and most students have no hopes for the study of seafaring subjects which followed bewildering in their college days. However, the demands for seafarers are fairly large from the viewpoint of national maritime industry. The maritime institutions should not only meet these demands but also revitalise students by reforming the educational contents. The contents should be influenced by the social approach to educational needs in particular maritime shore-oriented subjects. The maritime education is no more restricted to the sea, it covers the land based world of the maritime industry as well. The new contents will lead the maritime educated students to the shore-based occupa-tions after finishing their seafaring if they want to. This may not only make ways to the maritime educa-tion fruitable, but also the students have a zeal and hope for the subjects taught.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3219-3221
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• 2013

Background: This study used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to screen Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) skin melanoma data to identify and quantify the effects of socioeconomic factors on cause specific survival. Methods: 'SEER cause-specific death classification' used as the outcome variable. The area under the ROC curve was to select best pretreatment predictors for further multivariate analysis with socioeconomic factors. Race and other socioeconomic factors including rural-urban residence, county level % college graduate and county level family income were used as predictors. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify and quantify the independent socioeconomic predictors. Results: This study included 49,999 parients. The mean follow up time (SD) was 59.4 (17.1) months. SEER staging (ROC area of 0.08) was the most predictive foctor. Race, lower county family income, rural residence, and lower county education attainment were significant univariates, but rural residence was not significant under multivariate analysis. Living in poor neighborhoods was associated with a 2-4% disadvantage in actuarial cause specific survival. Conclusions: Racial and socioeconomic factors have a significant impact on the survival of melanoma patients. This generates the hypothesis that ensuring access to cancer care may eliminate these outcome disparities.