• Title/Summary/Keyword: COVID-19 Epidemic

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An empirical analysis of the factors influencing Chinese consumers' willingness to purchase organic agricultural products before and after the COVID-19 epidemic through the application of planned behavior (계획행동이론을 적용한 COVID-19 전후 중국 소비자의 유기농 농산물 구매의향에 영향을 미치는 요인에 관한 실증분석)

  • Xu Kai;Woohyoung Kim;Yongseok Cho
    • Korea Trade Review
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    • v.47 no.3
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    • pp.37-55
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    • 2022
  • This paper takes the factors influencing consumers' purchase of organic agricultural products before and after the COVID-19 epidemic as the starting point, decomposes Chinese consumers' purchase behavior of organic agricultural products into questionnaire surveys before and after the COVID-19 epidemic with the help of the theory of planned behavior, and builds structural equation regression models to compare and analyze them respectively. The study investigates whether this change has any impact on consumers' purchasing behavior of organic agricultural products, and proposes rationalized countermeasures from different perspectives based on the results of the study. To this end, this study collected 219 valid questionnaires by combing through domestic and international literature and referring to scholars' mature scales for measurement. The results showed that consumers' attitudes, subjective norms and perceptual behavioral control of organic agricultural products before and after the COVID-19 epidemic had a significant positive effect on consumers' willingness to purchase; however, it can be seen that the intervention of the COVID-19 epidemic event has significantly improved consumers' attitudes, subjective norms and perceptual behavioral control of organic agricultural products.

The Role of China Douyin Short Video App During COVID-19

  • Zhou, Yaqi;Lee, Jong Yoon;Liu, Shanshan;Fan, Hao
    • International Journal of Contents
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.1-17
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    • 2022
  • As of September 2021, COVID-19 is still seriously impacting people globally. To better control the epidemic, the Chinese government adopted a nationwide quarantine policy at the early stage of the discovery of COVID-19, which has significantly changed people's production and life. China's Douyin app (International version: TikTok) is an extremely influential entertainment and social tool. During COVID-19, a large number of short videos about COVID-19 appeared. Publishers included government agencies, professionals, and self-media. The content released has made Douyin a tool for people to receive COVID-19 information in addition to entertainment and social functions. This is a quantitative study. By exploring the impact of the Douyin app on Chinese college students during COVID-19, this study provides suggestions from the level of social media such as TikTok to enable Korea's epidemic prevention to be more effective. This study established variable questions such as Douyin's information perceived value, information usage channels, information awareness, anti-epidemic policy attitude, trust of public institution and preventive behavioral intention, and conducted a questionnaire survey. Using SPSS to analyze the obtained data, this study found that: 1. The short video information usage channels about COVID-19 in Douyin have a positive impact on the audience's information awareness; 2. The information perceived value in Douyin has a positive impact on the audience's information awareness; 3. Information awareness and trust of public institution in Douyin have a positive impact on the audience's anti-epidemic policy attitude; 4. Information awareness and trust of public institutions in Douyin have a positive impact on the audience's preventive behavioral intention; 5. The audience's anti-epidemic policy attitude has a positive effect on preventive behavioral intention.

A convergence study of stress caused by the epidemic of COVID-19, quality of life and positive psychological capital (코로나 바이러스감염증-19 유행으로 인한 스트레스와 삶의 질, 긍정심리자본에 관한 융합적 연구)

  • Kim, Song-Yi
    • Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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    • v.11 no.6
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    • pp.423-431
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    • 2020
  • This study attempted to identify the effects of stress caused by the COVID-19 epidemic on quality of life and the moderating effect of positive psychological capital. The study subjects were 180 adults, and data were collected from April 9 to April 15, 2020. For the collected data, frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used using SPSS WIN 23.0 program. As a result of the study, stress caused by the COVID-19 epidemic affected quality of life, and positive psychological capital showed a significant moderating effect. Based on this study, a study is needed to develop a program to mediate a lower quality of life due to stress caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and to verify its effectiveness.

The COVID-19 pandemic: an unprecedented tragedy in the battle against childhood obesity

  • Storz, Maximilian Andreas
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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    • v.63 no.12
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    • pp.477-482
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    • 2020
  • The childhood obesity pandemic has emerged as an important public health problem in many countries. Obese children are likely to become obese adults, and adult obesity is associated with an increased risk of morbidity. Therefore, controlling the childhood obesity epidemic has become a top public health priority worldwide. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may significantly impede this important mission and constitute an unprecedented tragedy in the global battle against childhood obesity. This manuscript presents evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic will aggravate the childhood obesity epidemic and lead to significant weight gain in school children by creating an unprecedented obesogenic environment. Within the last few months, many countries took uncompromising measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including school closures and quarantine. While these steps are often necessary to ensure infection control, they may have a significant negative effect on children's mental and physical health. Physical, nutritional, and psychosocial factors that promote obesity in children during this special situation complementarily contribute to an unprecedented obesogenic environment. Large-scale quarantine and home confinement will impose new and unfamiliar stressors on children, thereby worsening the childhood obesity epidemic. Most importantly, adverse childhood events resulting from a predicted increase in domestic violence within the next few months will significantly contribute to this concern. The scenario presented in this review is of paramount public health importance and must be considered during future pandemic planning. Involved stakeholders, including governments, schools, and families, must make all possible efforts to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on childhood obesity.

Government Legitimacy and International Image: Why Variations Occurred in China's Responses to COVID-19

  • Shaoyu Yuan
    • Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.18-38
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    • 2023
  • This paper examines the Chinese government's response to four epidemic crises, including COVID-19, and analyzes the similarities and differences in these responses. It argues that while the Chinese government learned from previous epidemics and improved its handling of subsequent outbreaks, a significant variation occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a detrimental impact globally. Existing scholarly research on China's epidemic responses has often been limited in scope, focusing on individual crises and neglecting the central-local government relationship in crisis decision-making. By adopting a comprehensive approach, this paper delves into the nuanced dynamics of China's responses to these epidemics. It highlights the variations in responses, attributing them to the Chinese government's fear of undermined legitimacy and its consideration of its international image. The government's recognition of the importance of public perception and trust, both domestically and globally, has shaped its crisis management strategies. Through a detailed analysis of these factors, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the variations observed in China's epidemic responses. It emphasizes the significance of the central-local government relationship and the government's international image in determining its actions during epidemics. Recognizing these factors can provide policymakers and researchers with insights to shape future epidemic response strategies and foster effective global health governance.

Volatility Spillover Effects between BDI with CCFI and SCFI Shipping Freight Indices (BDI와 CCFI 및 BDI와 SCFI 운임지수 사이의 변동성 파급 효과)

  • Meng-Hua Li;Sok-Tae Kim
    • Korea Trade Review
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    • v.48 no.1
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    • pp.127-163
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    • 2023
  • The objective of this study is to investigate the volatility spillover effects among BDI, CCFI and SCFI. This paper will divide the empirical analysis section into two periods to analyze and compare the differences in volatility spillover effect between shipping freight indices before and after the outbreak of COVID-19 separately. First, in order to compare the mean spillover impact and index lead-lag correlations in BDI and CCFI indices, along with BDI and SCFI indices before and after COVID-19, the co-integration analysis and the test of Granger causality built on the VAR model were utilized. Second, the impulse response and variance decomposition are employed in this work to investigate how the shipping freight index responds to shocks experienced by itself and other freight indices in a short period. Before the COVID-19 epidemic, the results demonstrated that the BDI freight index is the Granger cause of the variable CCFI freight index. But the BDI and CCFI freight indices have no apparent lead-lag relationships after COVID-19, and this empirical result echoes the cointegration test result. After the COVID-19 epidemic, the SCFI index leads the BDI index. This study employs the VAR-BEKK-GARCH joint model to explore the volatility spillover results between dry bulk and container transport markets before and after COVID-19. The empirical results demonstrate that after COVID-19, fluctuations in the BDI index still affect the CCFI index in the maritime market. However, there is no proof of a volatility spillover relationship between the BDI and SCFI after the COVID-19 epidemic. This study will provide an insight into the volatility relationship among BDI, CCFI and SCFI before and after the the COVID-19 epidemic occurred.

Agenda Setting between the Public and Government on Weibo: The Case of Shanghai Lockdown during the COVID-19 Epidemic

  • Weiwen Yu
    • Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.39-58
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    • 2023
  • This study examined China's public and government agenda setting in response to the Shanghai lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It employed content analysis, correlation, and Granger's causality tests to analyze 1,717 Weibo posts published by the public and the Shanghai Municipal Government from March 12 to June 1, 2022. The results showed that (1) pandemic statistics were the central attribute in the government agenda, while civil life, community management, and government and policies were the central attributes in the public agenda; (2) the government's agenda unidirectionally influenced the public agenda in terms of government policy attributes; and (3) the government and public agendas reciprocally influenced each other in terms of economic attributes. This study contributed to the existing literature by examining agenda-setting dynamics in a city closure event during the COVID-19 epidemic. It also extended existing methods by modeling implicit relationships between attributes in the public and government agendas.

Traditional Unani Medicine in Flu-like Epidemics and COVID-19 during Pregnancy: A Literary Research

  • Sultana, Arshiya;Khanam, Marhaba;Rahman, Khaleequr;Sumbul, Sumbul
    • CELLMED
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    • v.11 no.4
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    • pp.20.1-20.23
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    • 2021
  • Background: The pandemic COVID-19 caused by a novel coronavirus SARS-COV-2 has spread like a forest fire. This disease may have serious consequences for pregnant women. Presently, no specific drugs or vaccines exist to battle this disease and researches are underway. Unani medicine has a unique role in prevention and management during epidemics. Here, we reviewed the overview of COVID-19 infection and pregnancy, concept and practices in Unani medicine for flu-like epidemics in general and pregnancy, and safety of Unani drugs for the prevention and treatment of mild symptomatic cases of COVID-19 during pregnancy. Methodology: Unani classical texts and pharmacopoeia were meticulously explored for concepts and practices for flu-like epidemic diseases. Further, we browsed scientific databases such as PubMed, Scopus and others for an overview, epidemics and Unani medicine, effectiveness and safety of Unani drugs in COVID-19 and pregnancy. Results: Unani medicine includes prevention and management of flu-like epidemic include quarantine and isolation, aromatic herbal drugs fumigation and spraying for environmental disinfection, ilaj bid tadbir for health promotion and use of health-protecting drugs and symptom-specific drugs in general and related to pregnancy. Lahsun, asalussus, behidana, banafsha, zanjabeel, unnab, etc are in use since antiquity for the prevention and treatment of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic pregnant women during infectious and epidemic diseases. Conclusion: Currently, the aforementioned plants are proven for antiviral, antioxidant, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities, probably useful in the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, scientific studies have provided new insight into the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect of Unani medicines that are safe in pregnancy.

Do Independent Director Characteristics Affect Firm Performance Under the COVID-19 Epidemic? Empirical Evidence from China

  • ZHAO, Xiaoqing;MU, Qingbang;TEO, Brian Sheng-Xian
    • The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.31-40
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    • 2023
  • This paper investigates the effect of independent directorship on the firm performance of Chinese listed companies under the impact of the global COVID-19 epidemic. The study starts by assessing the relationship between independent director-related characteristics and firm performance, then mines independent director characteristics variables, collects variable data, proposes reasonable hypotheses, and constructs a data model. 1597 companies listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen stock index, China, from 2020 to 2021 has been selected as the research sample. An empirical study on the relationship between independent directors' characteristics and firm performance was conducted using SPSS25. The results show that under the impact of the global COVID-19 epidemic, the proportion of independent directors on the board of directors, the age of independent directors, the remuneration of independent directors, and the overseas background of independent directors in Chinese listed companies have a negative relationship with the current firm performance, while the proportion of female independent directors and the part-time rate of independent directors do not have a positive effect on firm performance. The findings of this study strongly imply that independent directors' characteristics play a significant role in corporate governance and firm performance in Chinese listed companies and that the external environment has an impact on how well independent directors can carry out their duties.

The Impact of the Covid-19 Crisis on the 21st General Election in Korea

  • LEE, EURI
    • The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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    • v.12 no.12
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    • pp.25-33
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    • 2021
  • Purpose: This paper estimates the impact of the epidemic crisis on election outcomes through investigating the effect of Covid19 crisis on election results of 21st General Election held in April 15th 2020 in Korea. Research design, data and methodology: This study employs Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method using district-level data from Seoul and Gyeonggi province available at National election data in Korea. Results: Despite the current crisis in Korea, Covid-19 has had positive effects on voter turnout on average, after controlling for other factors. On the other hand, the effect of Covid-19 on the voter turnout was negative in districts with a larger aging population and higher health insurance premiums. In addition, Covid-19 negatively impacted vote shares for the incumbent party, while its rival party saw gains in their votes. Conclusion: The effect of Covid-19 election outcomes in Korea is distinct from other countries due to the nationwide acknowledgment of the Korean government's achievement in managing the epidemic. This implies that the crisis management ability of a government is crucial in gaining support for an incumbent party in future elections. Countries facing upcoming elections need to implement acceptable Covid-19 restriction policies as well as economic support for compensation to reap similar benefits.