• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.135-155
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• 2024

Urban public health monitoring in smart cities focuses on the control of conditions and health challenges in urban environments. Considering the rapid spread of diseases and pandemics, it is important for health authorities to trace people carrying the virus. In smart cities, this tracing must be interoperable and intelligent, especially in indoor surfaces characterized by small distances between people. Therefore, to fight pandemics, it is necessary to start with the already-existing digital equipment of the Internet of Things, such as connected objects and smartphones. In this study, the developed system is employed to provide a social IoT network and suggest a strategy which allows reliable traceability without threatening the privacy of users. This IoT-based system allows respecting the social distance between persons sharing public services in smart cities without applying smartphone applications or severe confinement. It also permits a return to normal life in case of viral pandemic and ensures the much-desired balance between economy and health. The present study analyses previous proposed social distance systems then, unlike these studies, suggests an intelligent and distributed IoT based strategy for positioning students. Two scenarios of static and dynamic optimization-based placement of Bluetooth Low Energy devices are proposed and an experimental study shows the contribution and complementarity of the introduced contact tracing strategy with the applications on smartphones.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.7-14
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• 2021

Purpose: The coronavirus (COVID-19) has become a worldwide pandemic and significantly influences the global economy. Therefore, this paper aims to determine the impact of COVID-19 on the accounting profession in Bangladesh. Research design, data, and methodology: The research has focused on its primary question. How much does COVID- 19 affect the accounting profession in Bangladesh? A formal questionnaire has been developed to address it. Questionnaire was spread via Facebook and email. Sample was determined by using random sampling method. The collection comprises 190 from Bangladesh. The Likert scale of five points was used. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis (Wilcoxon signed-rank test) were used for analysis. Results: the study found a great impact of COVID-19 on the accounting profession in Bangladesh. Many changes are faced due to pandemics. Most accountants are working remotely during pandemic rather than before pandemic. They have adapted to new technology. Meetings and trainings are held virtually. They are also facing cybersecurity problems because of less data security. Job insecurity has increased. Conclusions Therefore, the global pandemic COVID-19 dramatically affects the accounting profession in Bangladesh. The changes that happened due to pandemics will advance the accounting profession. These revolutionary changes will become the world's new normal.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.344-346
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• 2022

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly spread worldwide, leading the World Health Organization to declare coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic. To curb the unchecked spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection, most countries have enforced travel restrictions. However, it is debatable whether such restrictions are effective in containing infections and preventing pandemics. Rather, they may negatively impact economies and diplomatic relationships. Each government should conduct an extensive and appropriate analysis of its national economy, diplomatic status, and COVID-19 preparedness to decide whether it is best to restrict entering travelers. Even if travelers from other countries are allowed entry, extensive contact tracing is required to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In addition, governments can implement "travel bubbles," which allow the quarantine-free flow of people among countries with relatively low levels of community transmission. An accurate evaluation of the benefits and losses due to entry restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic would be helpful in determining whether entry restrictions are an effective measure to reduce the spread of infection in future pandemics.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.584-596
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the perspectives of frontline nurses working during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: An online qualitative study was conducted using a pragmatic approach. The data were collected in August 2021. Registered Korean nurses who provided direct nursing care to patients with confirmed COVID-19 were eligible for this study. An online survey was used to gather free-text data, which were then analyzed using machine-based network analysis and summative content analysis. Results: The analysis examined the responses of 126 participants and led to the identification of six prominent themes. These themes were further classified into three distinct levels: personal, task, and organizational. The identified themes are as follows: "collapse of personal life," "being overwhelmed by the numerous roles required," "personal protective equipment was sufficiently provided, but that is not enough," "changes in interprofessional collaboration," "inappropriate workforce management," and "diverted allocation of healthcare services and resources." Conclusion: Our findings highlight areas for improvement in resources, systems, and policies to enhance preparedness for future pandemics.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.238-244
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• 2021

Objectives: Previous pandemics have demonstrated that several demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic factors may play a role in increased infection risk. During this current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, our aim was to examine the association of timing of lockdown at the county level and aforementioned risk factors with daily case rate (DCR) in the United States. Methods: A cross-sectional study using publicly available data was performed including Americans with COVID-19 infection as of May 24, 2020. The United States counties with >100 000 population and >50 cases per 100 000 people were included. The independent variable was the days required from the declaration of lockdown to reach the target case rate (50/100 000 cases) while the dependent (outcome) variable was the DCR per 100 000 on the day of statistical calculation (May 24, 2020) after adjusting for multiple confounding socio-demographic, geographic, and health-related factors. Each independent factor was correlated with outcome variables and assessed for collinearity with each other. Subsequently, all factors with significant association to the outcome variable were included in multiple linear regression models using stepwise method. Models with best R² value from the multiple regression were chosen. Results: The timing of mandated lockdown order had the most significant association on the DCR per 100 000 after adjusting for multiple socio-demographic, geographic and health-related factors. Additional factors with significant association with increased DCR include rate of uninsured and unemployment. Conclusions: The timing of lockdown order was significantly associated with the spread of COVID-19 at the county level in the United States.

• The Journal of Bigdata
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.97-110
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• 2020

The global pandemics occurred in 2020 had a great economic impact on the world, and the impact was especially greater on self-employed people who were heavily affected by the floating population and tourism industry. To solve this problem, each country implemented emergency disaster support policies, and it was difficult to select the criteria and scope. The following research carried out two results. First, after analyzing the impact of global pandemics on the local economy, an economical index was defined that could explain the impact intuitively. Second, we propose linear programming methods to provide optimal budget policy using defined indicators, which present economic shock indicators and optimal years that can be considered quickly and easily by the government. Finally, the limitations and implications of the proposed study model are introduced.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.39-48
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• 2022

Purpose: COVID-19 has negatively influenced the financial performance of restaurant firms. Previous literature suggests that the franchising strategy effectively helps restaurant firms recover from difficult business conditions through various methods for expanding business size and enhancing business efficiency. According to risk-sharing theory, restaurant franchisors may minimize operational risks by sharing the risks with their franchisees. For instance, restaurant franchisors could generate more stable cash flow using franchise fees from their franchisees. However, research on the effect of franchise's risk reduction factor on business performance during pandemic is scarce. Thus, this study aims to examine the positive moderating effect of franchising between COVID-19 and restaurants' financial performance. Research design, data, and methodology: Panel data including financial information and franchising status of restaurant firms were collected for analysis. In order to control for unobserved firm-specific factors, generalized least squared estimation in fixed effects model was conducted. Huber-White robust standard errors were used to deal with heteroscedasticity issues. Results: It was found that COVID-19 pandemic has a negative effect on the restaurants' financial performance such as ROA (return on assets), ROE (return on equity), and PM (profit margins), which confirms the findings from existing literature. More importantly, results show that the degree of franchising has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between COVID-19 and financial performance of restaurant firms. This suggests that more active engagement in franchising may decrease negative impacts of COVID-19 on the restaurants' financial performance. Conclusions: The study supports existing literature related to risk-sharing theory, by confirming that pandemics, such as COVID-19, negatively affect financial performance of the restaurants. Furthermore, it was found that franchising strategy can help lessen negative impacts of pandemics on the firm performance. These findings can contribute to the franchise and restaurant management literature by suggesting the role of franchising in reducing business risks, thereby positively affecting financial performance. Moreover, this study offers business managers of franchisors and franchisees insights for utilizing franchising in restaurant risk management. Policymakers may also gain information on aiding restaurant firms during global crisis, such as COVID-19.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.107-115
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• 2024

Various vaccines were rapidly developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent and treat infections but global infections continue, and concerns about new mutations and infectious diseases persist. Thus, active research focuses on developing, producing, and supplying vaccines and treatments for various infectious diseases and potential pandemics. Natural killer(NK) cells, as innate immune cells, can recognize and eliminate abnormal cells like virus-infected and cancer cells. Hence, their development as anticancer and antiviral treatments is rapidly advancing. In this study, optimal short-term culture conditions were identified for allogeneic NK cells by simplifying the culture process through the isolation of NK cells(referred to as NKi cells) and eliminating CD3+ cells(referred to as CD3- cells). NK cells demonstrated reduced viral titer in injection of NK cells into SARS-CoV-2 infected ACE-tg mice increased survival. The study's findings could form the basis for an antiviral treatment platform that swiftly responds to new viral disease pandemics.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.78-84
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• 2020

Due to social distancing caused by COVID 19, music concerts have not been allowed at home and abroad, and it is not known when overseas concerts will be able to resume unless the pandemics calm down, even if they are available. Meanwhile, people consume much more content through online services such as Netflix and YouTube than before. Under these circumstances, the music industry expects the virtual livestreamed performance to restore sluggish live performances again and bring about a digital renaissance. It also leads to the issue of reestablishing a copyright system regarding a livestreamed performance and of preparing a new rate of royalty standards for the use of works in OTT. In addition, a multi-territorial licensing of r ights in musical works is necessary to resolve copyright issues efficiently by applying the same term s to all countries from where the audience comes. In this paper, I examine the legal nature and the decision of copyright fees of performances as an integral part of the music industry.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.74-79
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• 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was first identified in Wuhan, China, in late December of 2019 is rapidly spreading across the globe. The South Korean government has ordered the closure of all schools, as part of its attempts to use social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The effects of the school closures on reducing contagion are generally positive; however, the measure is controversial because of the socioeconomic ripple effect that accompanies it. The author briefly reviewed the existing literature on the mental health aspects of disasters and presents the issues related to school closures due to pandemics, from medical and socioeconomic perspectives and in terms of children's mental health. The results of this review suggest that research on children's mental health in relation to the adoption of school closures as a pandemic mitigation strategy is urgently needed.