• International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.65-82
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• 2020

This study examined information sharing and evaluation as determinants of the spread of fake news among Nigerian youths on social media using experience from COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study and a Web-based questionnaire (Google Forms) was used to collect data for the study. The total responses of 278 were collected from the participants, which represents the unit of analysis. The finding of the study revealed that most Nigerian youths used Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram to share information on COVID-19. However, only a few Nigerians used Linkedln and other types of social media to share information on COVID-19. It was also found that building a relationship with social media communities, enjoyment and risk taking, and political inclination influence the sharing behavior of Nigerian youths during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that social media handle/page found sharing of fake news on COVID-19 especially on the treatment, vaccines numbers of cases and symptoms. The study concludes that there is a positive relationship between information evaluation and the spreading of fake news on COVID-19 among Nigerians. Information sharing and evaluation should be done with the utmost level of objectivity and sincerity.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.19-27
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• 2021

Purpose: Purchasing food via online shopping channels is booming during Covid-19 Pandemic in Vietnam. However, the perceived risks of food bought via online shopping channels may discourage consumers. Hence, this study assesses the effects of perceived risks on food purchase intention via online shopping channels in Vietnam. Research design, data and methodology: This study applied the multiple regression analysis with 253 samples collected from consumers who frequently purchase food via online shopping channels in Vietnam. The questionnaire is provided to respondents via Google Form. The sample collection method is convenience sampling. Three hundred samples were collected, but 253 samples are used after filtering the responses with missing data. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and regression analysis are used for data analysis on SPSS software version 20. Results: The results show that product risk, security risk, time risk, and fraud risk of the seller negatively affect the intention to buy food via online shopping channels in Vietnam. Conclusions: The study provides several implications and recommendations for food companies and online food sellers. Reducing customers' perceived risks online food makes customers more willing to buy food online during Covid-19 Pandemic. Limitations and suggestions for further research are also discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.69-75
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• 2023

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and its associated societal responses are anticipated to have wide-ranging effects on youth development and mental health. Depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are the three most common mental health problems among university students. Many factors that can threaten mental health during the outbreak affect these three conditions, as well as sleep conditions, in undergraduate students. Thus, determining how these abrupt changes in students' circumstances impact their mental health is very important from a public health perspective. Methods: We investigated the usual conditions and changes in ADHD symptoms during the outbreak, in relation to depressive and sleep-related symptoms among undergraduate students. A total of 252 students, primarily juniors, completed the online survey. Results: The results showed that 12% of the students exceeded the cut-off score of the ADHD questionnaire before the pandemic. Approximately 6%-21% of the university students, especially those with ADHD traits, rated their ADHD behaviors as worse during the outbreak than that before the outbreak. Conclusion: Female students and undergraduates with ADHD traits are more susceptible to experiencing further deterioration of ADHD (inattention) symptoms during the pandemic. In cases where it is difficult to intervene with ADHD symptoms, approaching circadian rhythm or depression will be of considerable clinical use.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.433-450
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• 2024

Through the recent pandemic, this study examined the theory of awe, which explains that external crises affect people's value systems and consequential behaviors. During the pandemic, some consumers expressed a growing interest in equity, while others pursued the consumption of materialistic items, such as luxurious fashion goods. According to the theory of awe, both of these phenomena could be coping responses to the crisis. Based on this, we attempted to understand the psychological processes behind the pandemic's effect on these two different consumers value systems thereby influencing sustainable consumption intentions: one through the new ecological paradigm (NEP) that emphasizes consumers' increased consciousness, and the other through materialism that emphasizes consumers' self-centered side. The results obtained from a survey of 382 U.S. consumers revealed that the degree of pandemic experience increased consumers' NEP and materialism, which also increased their economic and ethical CSR expectations. These CSR expectations then enhanced consumers' sustainable consumption intentions. As sustainable consumption and CSR are important agendas for the fashion industry, this study will provide useful insights for researchers and practitioners in the fashion field.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.187-206
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• 2020

Under the on-going evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, estimating the economic impact of the pandemic is highly uncertain and challenging. This situation makes it difficult for policymakers, governors, and economic entities to formulate appropriate responses and decision makings. To provide useful information about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Korean economy, this study examined macroeconomic impact analysis stemming from the pandemic shocks with different scenarios for the Korean economy. Based on three scenarios using the growth rate of 2020 GDP and consumer expenditure patterns, the 2021 GDP by industry sector was forecast with two new approaches. First, the recovering process of the Korean economy from the shock was analyzed by applying a Flex-IO method. Second, a new forecasting approach combined with an IO coefficient matrix was applied to forecast the future GDP changes. The findings of this study are summarized as follows: First, the total GDP growth rate under the Pessimistic Scenario demonstrates less rebound from the shock than that of the Base Scenario. Second, agriculture, culture, and tourism-related sectors that are suffering from the severe losses of COVID-19 showed lower resilience than other different industries. Third, information and communications technology (ICT) industry maintains a stable growth trend and is expected to take the leading role for the Korean economy in the post-COVID-19 and the Industry 4.0 eras. The findings deliver that it needs to analyze how government expenditure responding the shock into the forecasting model, which can be more useful and reliable to simulate the resilience from the pandemic.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.544-553
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• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: There are concerns about the adverse health effects of behavioral changes linked to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We conducted a survey to investigate changes in lifestyle habits, including exercise and eating, during the COVID-19 pandemic and their association with changes in weight. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We conducted a survey of 5,000 people in Hakui City, Japan, to assess their lifestyles and diets during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 3,992 complete responses were received. We also obtained pre- and post-pandemic health check-up data for 704 of the respondents. These health data were combined with the results of the questionnaire survey to identify factors associated with weight changes. Data were analyzed for 704 individuals. RESULTS: The mean body mass index was 22.5 ± 3.1 kg/m² for respondents whose weight did not change and 25.1 ± 2.7 kg/m² for respondents whose weight increased. The pre-pandemic mean values for abdominal circumference in females and for gamma-glutamyl transferase in males tended to be higher in those whose weight increased. Those with decreased weight tended to be older. Respondents who were already overweight were more likely to gain weight because of COVID-19-related changes in their lifestyle. In males, alcohol consumption was directly associated with weight, and in females, abdominal circumference was more important. CONCLUSION: The study found pre-pandemic overweight individuals likely gained more weight during it, with alcohol consumption being a significant factor for males. Weight loss was more crucial for those over 70, rather than weight gain.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.480-489
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• 2024

Objectives: Excess deaths, an indicator that compares total mortality rates before and during a pandemic, offer a comprehensive view of the pandemic's impact. However, discrepancies may arise from variations in estimating expected deaths. This study aims to compare excess deaths in Korea during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic using 3 methods and to analyze patterns using the most appropriate method. Methods: Expected deaths from 2020 to 2022 were estimated using mortality data from 2015-2019 as reference years. This estimation employed 3 approaches: (1) simple average, (2) age-adjusted average, and (3) age-adjusted linear regression. Excess deaths by age, gender, and cause of death were also presented. Results: The number of excess deaths varied depending on the estimation method used, reaching its highest point with the simple average and its lowest with the age-adjusted average. Age-adjusted linear regression, which accounts for both the aging population and declining mortality rates, was considered most appropriate. Using this model, excess deaths were estimated at 0.3% for 2020, 4.0% for 2021, and 20.7% for 2022. Excess deaths surged among individuals in their 20s throughout the pandemic, largely attributed to a rise in self-harm and suicide. Additionally, the results indicated sharp increases in deaths associated with "endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases" and "symptoms, signs, and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified." Conclusions: Substantial variations in excess deaths were evident based on estimation method, with a notable increase in 2022. The heightened excess deaths among young adults and specific causes underscore key considerations for future pandemic responses.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.290-306
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• 2024

To treat the novel COronaVIrus Disease (COVID), comparatively fewer medicines have been approved. Due to the global pandemic status of COVID, several medicines are being developed to treat patients. The modern COVID medicines development process has various challenges, including predicting and detecting hazardous COVID medicine responses. Moreover, correctly predicting harmful COVID medicine reactions is essential for health safety. Significant developments in computational models in medicine development can make it possible to identify adverse COVID medicine reactions. Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, there has been significant demand for developing COVID medicines. Therefore, this paper presents the transferlearning methodology and a multilabel convolutional neural network for COVID (MLCNN-COV) medicines development model to identify negative responses of COVID medicines. For analysis, a framework is proposed with five multilabel transfer-learning models, namely, MobileNetv2, ResNet50, VGG19, DenseNet201, and Inceptionv3, and an MLCNN-COV model is designed with an image augmentation (IA) technique and validated through experiments on the image of three-dimensional chemical conformer of 17 number of COVID medicines. The RGB color channel is utilized to represent the feature of the image, and image features are extracted by employing the Convolution2D and MaxPooling2D layer. The findings of the current MLCNN-COV are promising, and it can identify individual adverse reactions of medicines, with the accuracy ranging from 88.24% to 100%, which outperformed the transfer-learning model's performance. It shows that three-dimensional conformers adequately identify negative COVID medicine responses.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.141-147
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• 2022

Background: On the basis of its role for the development of occupational health research, information, good practices, the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) launched the present survey to collect information on public health and prevention policies put in place by the governments of the countries in the world to contain the pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire focused on COVID-19 data, public health policies, prevention measures, support measures for economy, work, and education, personal protective equipment, intensive care units, contact tracing, return to work, and the role of ICOH against COVID-19. The questionnaire was administered to 113 ICOH National Secretaries and senior OSH experts. Collected data refer to the period ranging from the beginning of the pandemic in each country to June 30, 2020. Results: A total of 73 questionnaires from 73 countries around the world were considered valid, with a 64.6% response rate. Most of the respondents (71.2%) reported that the state of emergency was declared in their country, and 86.1% reported lockdown measures. Most of the respondents (66.7%) affirmed that the use of face masks was compulsory in their country. As for containment measures, 97.2% indicated that mass gatherings (meetings) were limited. Regarding workplace closing, the most affected sector was entertainment (90.1%). Conclusion: The results of this survey are useful to gain a global view on COVID-19 policy responses at country level.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.360-370
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• 2022

Objectives: This study evaluated the response in Daegu, Korea to the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic according to a public health emergency response model. Methods: After an examination of the official data reported by the city of Daegu and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as a literature review and advisory meetings, we chose a response model. Daegu's responses were organized into 4 phases and evaluated by applying the response model. Results: In phase 1, efforts were made to block further transmission of the virus through preemptive testing of a religious group. In phase 2, efforts were concentrated on responding to mass infections in high-risk facilities. Phase 3 involved a transition from a high-intensity social distancing campaign to a citizen participation-based quarantine system. The evaluation using the response model revealed insufficient systematic preparation for a medical surge. In addition, an incorporated health-related management system and protection measures for responders were absent. Nevertheless, the city encouraged the participation of private hospitals and developed a severity classification system. Citizens also played active roles in the pandemic response by practicing social distancing. Conclusions: This study employed the response model to evaluate the early response in Daegu to the COVID-19 pandemic and revealed areas in need of improvement or maintenance. Based on the study results, creation of a systematic model is necessary to prepare for and respond to future public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.