• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.113-137
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• 2010

The international community has done a lot of effort to improve the aviation safety. The new high technologies, systems and development of navigation equipments considerably improved the level of aviation safety. However, the aviation accident rate has been showing unchanged status without the decline since 1980. It means it is difficult to secure enough safety by the existing efforts to improve the aviation safety, eventually needs new methods for the accident prevention. With this in mind, the nations interest new methods that can consider a countermeasure by realizing potential risk factors before fatal accidents. In other words, that is to analyze and share the safety information collected from accidents by establishing aviation safety information system. To establish international aviation safety information system, each country's aviation accident incident reporting systems are need to be established. Also aviation safety data taxonomy is need to be standardized. Then, aviation users will communicate the information efficiently. This study investigates and considers each country's aviation accident incident database taxonomy for the analysis of the aviation data and the necessary prevention activity. This will contribute to a better international aviation safety and strengthen the country's aviation diplomacy.

• Journal of forensic and investigative science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.21-29
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• 2007

News from the media on sexual assaults to children committed by natural fathers doesn't attract social attention any more. The number of crimes related to Child Sexual Assault(CSA) is increasing every year in spite of the "Special Act on Prevention of Sexual Assault in Korea". The YoungNam District Sunflower Center for prevention of Child Sexual Assaults(SC-CSA) was established in Daegu, June 2005. The YoungNam District SC-CSA provides forensic evaluation of physical evidence, medical and psychological treatment for the victims less than 13 years of sexual assaults simultaneously. This study carried out 36 cases of CSA by kin reported to YoungNam District SC-CSA, among 180 cases in total until December 2006 since its opening. Most of the victims were girls (32 cases). 28 cases (78%) were indecent assaults (78%) and 8 cases (22%) were rapes. The assailants were overwhelmingly males (35 cases). The assailants of 21 cases (58.3%) were identified as the victims' natural fathers. The incident locations were victim's residence (31 cases, 86.1%) and the victims had been sexually assaulted regularly for many years (25 cases, 69.4%). Considering the above research, we can conclude that CSA committed by kin has specific characteristics. CSA is not a one-time incident, but consistently occurring crime. However, in 22 cases (61.1%), the victim's guardian didn't want to report about it or punish the assailants. As the assailants were natural fathers or relatives of the victims, the other family members probably thought it might be shameful to reveal their wrong doings and would lead to defamation of their family's reputation. The SC-CSA provides the counseling and medical treatment to the victims with the consent of the parents. Due to the guardians' misjudgment, the incident is sometimes not reported to the police. By not reporting the incident to the police, the assailant freely commits other crimes, which multiplies victims. The legal Act of supporting the management of the SC-CSA is still not regulated, so the stability of the SC-CSA is not guaranteed, yet. Even though it is obligatory to report incidents to the police, some cases are still not reported. Currently, there are three SC-CSA centers : in Seoul, in Daegu, and in Gwangju. More centers need to be established to diminish CSA cases in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.275-283
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• 2010

There are few studies reporting optimal waist circumference that can be utilized to prevent the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated the association of waist circumference and waist and hip circumference ratio (WHR) with incident cases of CVD developed over 6 years in a population-based prospective study including Korean adults. Analyses for receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve were performed with data for 1,733 men and 1,579 women who were aged 40 to 69 years and were free of a physician-diagnosis of CVD at baseline. Information on the diagnosis of CVD was periodically reported using interviewer-administered questionnaires and anthropometric measures were obtained by biennial health examinations. We newly identified 77 cases of CVD during a follow-up period between 2003 and 2008. On the basis of measures of diagnostic accuracy including minimum distance to ROC curve and Youden index, waist circumference of 85 cm for men, in particular for male nonsmokers, and of 80 cm for women and WHR of 0.88 to 0.90 for men and of 0.83 for women were found to be optimal cutoff points to identify individuals at CVD risks. The study also found that the use of the suggested optimal values for waist circumference show higher sensitivity and lower specificity compared with 90 cm for men and 85 cm for women, which are waist cutoff points given by the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity to define abdominal obesity for Korean adults. Although lower cutoff points of waist circumference (83 cm) and WHR (0.87) were observed to be optimal for male smokers compared with male nonsmokers, whether suggesting waist cutoff points specific to smokers is needed warrants further studies. After taking into account other cardiovascular risk factors including smoking, men with waist circumference of 85 cm or greater and women with 80 cm or greater were at an increased risk of CVD. Thus, these cutoff points of waist circumference may be able to capture more individuals at CVD risks contributing to the prevention of future development of CVD.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.52-56
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• 2011

Objectives: The occupational accident rate was officially reported to be 0.77 per 100 workers in 2001 and 0.70 in 2009. The stagnant decrease in accident rate raises a question about the effectiveness of prevention activity because there have been active prevention efforts in the past 10 years. It is also necessary to know the exact status of occupational injuries to direct a prevention strategy. Methods: The author re-analyzed occupational injury statistics to find the reason for stagnant decreases in occupational injuries. Compensated occupational injuries cases were used to calculate fatal and non-fatal injury rates. Injuries from commuting accidents and sports activities were excluded as well as occupational diseases. The number of workers was adjusted to that of full time equivalent employees. Results: The fatal injury rate excluding injuries associated with commuting accidents, sports activities, and occupational diseases decreased from 12.59 in 2001 to 8.20 in 2009. In 2007, 67.5% of accidents that involved being caught in objects, which are mostly caused by machines and equipment, occurred in the manufacturing industry; this type of incident has decreased since 2001. The fatal and non-fatal injury rates in the manufacturing industry have continuously decreased while the rates in the service industry have not changed from 2001 to 2009. Non-fatal injuries might not be reported in many cases. The number of insured workers was underestimated as long working hours were not adjusted for in the reporting system. Conclusion: The occupational fatal injury rate has decreased and the non-fatal injury rate might have decreased during the last 10 years, although the statistics show stagnancy. The decrease of the injury rate was countervailed by various factors. Hence, the current accident rate does not reflect the actual situation of accidents in Korea. Korea needs to develop an improved system to more accurately calculate occupational fatal and non-fatal injury rates.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.107-120
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• 2009

Background : To estimate fall incidence rate and associated factors in inpatients from a general hospital. Method : The data were collected from 104 fall incident reports developed by the patient safety committee in a general hospital in Seoul from 01 January 2007 to 31 December 2008. Information included general characteristics of patients, factors related to fall, types, places, circumstances and outcomes of fall. Result : The incidence rate of fall, which was 4.4 per 1,000 total discharged patients and 0.5 per 1,000 patient-days, was much lower than that of several hospitals in the United States. The difference may reflect the different incidence reporting system of each hospital. Fall-prone patients were, in general, $$\geq_-$$65 years of age, had an alert mental status, were ambulatory with some assistance, and were dependent on and ambulatory device. High incidence of falls was associated with patients with circulatory disease. The majority of fall events usually occurred in bed or at the bedside in the patient's room, and occurred more often during the night than during the day or evening. Risk factors of fall were use of drugs (antihypertensive or neuropsychiatric drugs) and environmental factors (e.g., overly high bed height, surrounding objects, inadequate fitness shoes and slippery floor). Physical injury occurred in 43.3% of fall events, which typically required diagnosis of injury and treatment such as suturing. Risk factors for repeated falls were use of a neuropsychiatric drug (odds ratio=13.9) and gait disturbance (odds ratio=91.2). Risk factors for fall-related injury were alert mental status (odds ratio=3.3 times more likely to fall than those who were drowsy or in a stupor) and general weakness(odds ratio=3.3 times more likely to fall than those who were not generally weak). Conclusion : Medical and nursing staff should be aware of the fall risk factors of hospitalized patients and should intensively pursue preventative strategies. Development of fall prevention education based on these results is recommended.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.131-140
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aims to describe the characteristics of safety incidents and factors associated with injury for patients with Home Mechanical Ventilation (HMV) at the hospital. Methods: This is a retrospective study. Data were collected from the work log of respiratory home care nurses and the patients' electronic medical records were investigated. In order to compare group differences, independent t-test and χ² test were used. Associated factors with injury development were identified by generalized mixed modeling analysis controlling for age and gender. Results: A total of 304 patients on HMV were included in this study, among which 129 (42.4%) experienced 352 HMV-related incidents. Mean frequency of incidents for each patient was 5.11±3.98, ranged from 1 to 15 times. In 19.0% of the incidents, injury was developed. Types of incident and persons involved in the incidents were significantly associated with the patient's injury. In the case of the safety incidents, patient's injury was significantly higher in accidents caused by respiratory circuit problems compared to those caused by problems with the ventilator operation by the medical staff (coefficient=1.25, p=.020). In addition, in the case of those involved in the safety incidents, patient's injury was significantly higher in the accident caused by the patient family members or caregivers than that caused by the medical personnel (coefficient=1.25, p=.019). Conclusion: In order to minimize injury caused by incidents in patients with HMV, hospitals need to provide systemic education to their medical staff and caregivers to enhance awareness of the importance of reporting and safety management.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.343-349
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• 2022

Background: In the United States, the dairy product manufacturing industry has consistently had higher rates of work-related nonfatal injuries and illnesses compared to the national average for industries in all sectors. The selection and implementation of appropriate safety performance indicators are important aspect of reducing risk within safety management systems. This study examined the leading safety indicators implemented in the dairy product-manufacturing sector (NAICS 3115) and their perceived effectiveness in reducing work-related injuries. Methods: Perceptions were collected from individuals with safety responsibilities in the dairy product manufacturing facilities. OSHA Incident Rate (OIR) and Days away, restricted and transferred (DART) rates from 2013 to 2018 were analyzed. Results: The perceived most effective leading were safety observations, stop work authority, near miss reporting, safety audits, preventative maintenance, safety inspections, safety training attendance, and job hazard analysis/safety analysis, respectively. The 6-year trend analysis showed that those implementing all eight top indicators had a slightly lower rates than those that did not implement all eight. Production focused mentality, poor training, and lack of management commitment were perceived as the leading causes of injuries in this industry. Conclusion: Collecting leading indicators with the unique interest to meet the regulatory requirements and to document the management system without the actual goal of using them as input to improve the system most probably will not lead to an effective reduction of negative safety outcomes. For leading indicators to be effective, they should be properly selected, executed, periodically evaluated and actions are taken when necessary.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.154-164
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to describe clinical nurses' lived experiences of workplace verbal violence through qualitative research using descriptive phenomenology. Methods: Six female Korean nurses who had less than 5 years of clinical experience and had experienced verbal violence in the workplace within the past year participated in the study. Data were collected through one-on-one in-depth interviews with the participants and analyzed using Colaizzi's phenomenological method. Results: A total of 27 codes, eight themes, and four theme clusters were derived from the participants' statements. The four theme clusters of the clinical nurses' experiences of verbal violence in the workplace were as follows: "tip of the iceberg," "beyond me and my control," "fear and resignation," and "personal burden." The participants recognized that nurses experienced verbal violence daily, and that the causes of and responses to verbal violence were determined by external situational factors rather than nurses' individual problems. This suggests that nurses felt that they had no choice but to personally cope with verbal violence and bear the consequences due to systematic indifference and silence about verbal violence experienced by clinical nurses. Conclusion: The findings show that verbal violence was pervasive and unmerited, yet often endured at the cost of a personal burden to nurses. A clear definition of verbal violence and education for employees are needed, and a reporting system should be established to report all forms of violence regardless of the severity of the incident.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.62
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• pp.244-263
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• 2013

There have been enormous social impacts on many areas, including science journalism, since the so-called "Hwang Woo Suk" incident. Although wide demand for better science journalism has been aroused since then, but it is hard to find an evidence to prove we have reached the point. This study examines how major Korean newspapers report Unidentified Flying Objects in order to test if the level of science journalism had been elevated. As results, still it is a long road ahead to achieve the goals because most reports were taken from the international news agents or from the witnesses rather than scientific researches and analyses; terminologies used in the stories were ambiguous; follow-up stories were rare, the sources were usually pseudo-scientific, wanton errors in basic facts and coherence, and other problems were found. It could be suggested that the dependency on supplied news to be reduced, journalists who understand both science and journalism are required, inner regulations on science reporting to be established, correct quotations and fact-checks to be accomplished, fairness to be maintained within the boundary of normal science.

• Journal of Satellite, Information and Communications
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.150-158
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• 2013

In Korea, the official monitoring of the atmospheric re-entry of satellites or space debris was initiated by the first operation of a re-entry situation analysis team for the 'Cosmos 1402' of the Soviet Union, which main body re-entered on January 23, 1983 and radio active core re-entered on February 7, 1983. After this incident, a task force team consisting Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and other related institutes operated a situation monitoring group under the supervision of the Ministry of Science and technology (MOST) for the controlled re-entry of the Russian 'Mir' space station in 2001. The re-entry of the upper atmospheric weather satellite 'UARS' of United States had been monitored and analyzed by KASI on September 24, 2011. As the re-entry of the space object has been frequently occurred, the government officials and the experts from MEST (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology), KASI, KARI had an urgent official meeting to establish a satellite re-entry monitoring room in KASI and to give an operational authority to KASI in September 14, 2011. Under this decision, the satellite re-entry monitoring room in KASI has successfully executed the monitoring, data analyzing, official reporting, media contacting, and public announcing for the German satellite 'Roentgen' in October 2011, Russian space explorer 'Phobos-Grunt' in January 2012, Russian satellite 'Cosmos 1484' in January 2013, and European geodetic satellite 'GOCE' in November 2013 with the support from the Korean Air Force and KARI.