• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.269-280
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• 2020

Purpose: Clinical nurses are the ideal health care providers to advocate for vulnerable and underserved populations such as people with disability. This study aimed to understand factors influencing nursing advocacy for people with disability among clinical nurses. Methods: The subjects of this study were 186 clinical nurses who were working in three hospitals in B and D cities. Self-report questionnaires were used to collect the data. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25 with descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results: Clinical experience and esthetical nursing competency have positive correlations with nursing advocacy, and optimism-human rights has a negative correlation with nursing advocacy. Factors influencing nursing advocacy for people with disability were identified as patient directivity (β=0.36, p=.001), optimism-human rights (β=-0.18, p=.008) and clinical experience (≥10) (β=0.14, p=.036). The final model consisting of these factors explained 19% of the variance of nursing advocacy (F=14.99, p=.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate the importance of developing and implementing nursing interventions that can improve patient directivity and optimism-human rights toward people with disability among clinical nurses. These nursing advocacy interventions can be provided as part of continuing education as well as the nursing curriculum.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2016

Background: Several studies have investigated the relationship between specific occupations and suicide mortality, as suicide rates differ by profession. The aim of this study was to investigate suicide mortality ratios across broad occupational groups in Greece for both sexes in the period 2000-2009. Methods: Data of suicide deaths were retrieved from the Hellenic Statistical Authority and comparative mortality ratios were calculated. Occupational classification was based on the International Classification of Occupations (ISCO-88) and the coding for Intentional self-harm (X60-X84) was based on the international classification of diseases (ICD-10). Results: Male dominant occupations, mainly armed forces, skilled farmers and elementary workers, and female high-skilled occupations were seen as high risk groups for suicide in a period of 10 years. The age-productive group of 30-39 years in Greek male elementary workers and the 50-59 age-productive group of Greek professional women proved to have the most elevated number of suicide deaths. Conclusion: Further research is needed into the work-related stressors of occupations with high suicide mortality risk and focused suicide prevention strategies should be applied within vulnerable working age populations.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.296-304
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the association of COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and cognitions of COVID-19-related stigma with vaccine hesitancy among college students. Methods: This cross-sectional study using a web-based survey was conducted with 242 college students in April 2021 before Korea's national COVID-19 vaccination program had begun. Data were analyzed using multinominal logistic regression analyses. Results: Of the participants who were unsure of their intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, 66.0% had less experience with flu vaccinations and were 1.43 times more likely to report a mistrust of vaccine benefits (OR=1.43, CI=1.22, 1.68). Those with no intention of receiving the vaccine were 25.0% less likely to be aware of COVID-19 stigma (OR=0.75, CI=0.65, 0.86), 2.08 times more likely to mistrust vaccine benefits (OR=2.08, CI=1.62, 2.68), and 1.53 times more likely to worry about an unforeseen future negative side effects from vaccination (OR=1.53. CI=1.16, 2.00). Conclusion: Nurses could play an important role in educating college students about vaccination benefits, including reviewing vaccines' side effects with evidence, to reduce vaccine hesitancy. College students who have less empathy for others regarding COVID-19 infection might have higher COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Accordingly, explaining to students the necessity of their vaccination in preventing transmission to the surrounding community and vulnerable populations is critical.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.261-262
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• 2022

Globally, it is estimated that the number of people living outside of their country of origin reached 281 million in 2020. The primary drive of those migrants when migrating voluntarily is work to increase their income and provide for their families left behind in their home countries. Those who migrate immediately seek means of income to sustain themselves through a perilous process as currently evidenced in the war in Ukraine and not too long ago in Syria and Venezuela. Unfortunately, migrant workers are globally known to predominantly be working in "4-D jobs"- dirty, dangerous, and difficult and discriminatory; the fourth D was recently added to acknowledge the discriminatory aspect and other social determinants of health migrant workers face in their host country while exposed to precarious work. Consequently, migrant workers are at considerable risk of work-related illnesses and injury but their health needs are critically overlooked in research and policy. Recognizing the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights "Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment", we cannot consider any human life - thus, the life of migrant workers - as dispensable through a structural discriminatory process that undervalues their occupational safety and health, livelihood and the contribution these workers bring to their host countries. This was seen during the preparation for the upcoming world cup in Qatar where migrant workers were exposed to a multiplicity of serious hazards including deadly heat hazards.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.29-38
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• 2023

Social welfare facilities are used by a wide range of local residents, including vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, and people with disabilities. During emergencies like fires, confusion can arise as these individuals try to evacuate. Evacuation simulation results have shown that utilizing evacuation systems based on specific evacuation scenarios can significantly decrease the time required for evacuation compared to general evacuation procedures. By anticipating potential fires based on changes in social and facility environments, appropriate evacuation scenarios can be developed and applied to evacuation systems, thus contributing to the safety and security of individuals during emergencies. In conclusion, for social welfare facilities that serve a large number of people, it is necessary to expand the focus on performance-based design depending on the size of the facility, and to continuously develop and train for appropriate evacuation scenarios that align with changing facility environments.

• Journal of Research and Publication Ethics
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2023

Purpose: Adequate public input and participation in environmental health research must be provided to ensure accurate results from studies involving human exposure to potentially hazardous substances. By addressing these ethical issues associated with environmental health research, this study can help reduce risks for individuals participating in studies and whole communities affected by their impactful findings. Research design, data and methodology: The current research should have followed the rule of qualitative textual research, searching and exploring the adequate prior resources such as books and peer-reviewed journal articles so that the current author could screen proper previous works which are acceptable for the content analysis. Results: The current research has figured out four ethical issues to improve environmental health study as follows: (1) Lack of Guidance for Collecting and Utilizing Data Ethically, (2) Insufficient Consideration Is Given to Vulnerable Populations When Conducting Studies, (3) Unclear Standards Exist for Protecting the Privacy Of Participant's Personal Information, and (4) Conducting Socially and Religiously Acceptable Research in Various Communities. Conclusions: This research concludes that future researchers should consider implementing anonymization techniques where possible so that findings are still accessible, but the risk posed by disclosing identifying information remains minimized during the analysis/publication stages.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.163-178
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• 2023

Individuals have been under more stress since the COVID-19 pandemic began than they were before the pandemic. While social support is a known stress buffer among the general population, its impact on stress among vulnerable populations, such as immigrants and those living in rural areas, has received little attention in the context of South Korea. Accordingly, we examined the relationship between different types of social support and COVID-19 stress among young adult immigrants based on where they live (rural vs. urban). We conducted a survey of 300 young adult immigrants aged 25-34 years and analyzed the results. The dependent variable was COVID-19 stress, and the independent variables were four types of social support: emotional, appraisal, instrumental, and informational. We discovered that young adult immigrants in rural areas perceived higher-level social supportin all aspects compared with those in urban areas. Furthermore, social support was not related to COVID-19 stress in urban areas, while appraisal support was positively and informational support was negatively related to COVID-19 stress in rural areas. Our findings suggest that a contextualized understanding of social support is critical to understanding COVID-related stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.149-164
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• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The economic recession caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic disproportionately affected poor and vulnerable populations globally. Better uunderstanding of vulnerability to shocks in food supply and demand in the Asia Pacific region is needed. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Using secondary data from rapid assessment surveys during the pandemic response (n = 10,420 in mid-2020; n = 6,004 in mid-2021) in India, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, this study examined the risk factors for reported income reduction or job loss in mid-2021 and the temporal trend in food security status (household food availability, and market availability and affordability of essential items) from mid-2020 to mid-2021. RESULTS: The proportion of job loss/reduced household income was highest in India (60.4%) and lowest in Indonesia (39.0%). Urban residence (odds ratio [OR] range, 2.20-4.11; countries with significant results only), female respondents (OR range, 1.40-1.69), engagement in daily waged labor (OR range, 1.54-1.68), and running a small trade/business (OR range, 1.66-2.71) were significantly associated with income reduction or job loss in three out of 4 countries (all P < 0.05). Food stock availability increased significantly in 2021 compared to 2020 in all four countries (OR range, 1.91-4.45) (all P < 0.05). Availability of all essential items at markets increased in India (OR range, 1.45-3.99) but decreased for basic foods, hygiene items, and medicine in Vietnam (OR range, 0.81-0.86) in 2021 compared to 2020 (all P < 0.05). In 2021, the affordability of all essential items significantly improved in India (OR range, 1.18-3.49) while the affordability of rent, health care, and loans deteriorated in Indonesia (OR range, 0.23-0.71) when compared to 2020 (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Long-term social protection programs need to be carefully designed and implemented to address food insecurity among vulnerable groups, considering each country's market conditions, consumer food purchasing behaviors, and financial support capacity.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.22 no.2 s.55
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• pp.52-66
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• 1983

The brown planthopper, N. lugens (Stal), has become a serious pest of rice in tropical Asia during the last decade. At high pest density, its feeding damage causes 'hopperburn' or complete wilting and drying of the rice plant. It also transmits grassy and ragged stunt virus diseases. The estimated losses caused by the pest in tropical Asia exceed $US\$300$ millions. While cultivation of resistant rice varieties has proved to be highly effective against the pest, their long-term stability is threatened because of the evolution of prolific biotypes which can destroy these varieties. At present, identification of biotypes is based principally on the differential reactions of host rice varieties to the pest and on host-mediated behavioral and physiological responses of the pest. Recent findings of morphological differences in adult rostrum, legs, and antennae, body parts that possess receptors for host plant location and discrimination, and cytological differences in N. lugens populations maintained as stock cultures strongly complement other biotype studies. So far, three N. lugens biotypes have been identified in the Philippines. Biotype I can survive on and damage varieties that do not carry and genes for resistance, while Biotype 2 survives on resistant varieties carrying Bph 1 gene and Biotype 3 on varieties carrying gene bph 2. However, none of these biotypes can survive on varieties with genes Bph 3 or bph 4. Several varieties which are resistant in the Philippines are susceptible in India and Sri Lanka as the South Asian biotypes of N. lugens are more virulent than Southeast Asian biotypes. To monitor the pest biotypes in different geographical regions and to identify new sources of resistance, an International Brown Planthopper Nursery has been established in many cooperating countries. The evolution of biotypes is an exceedingly complex process which is governed by the interactions of genetic and biological factors of the pest populations and the genetic makeup of the cultivated varieties. While the strategy for sequential release of varieties with major resistance genes has been fairly successful so far, the monegenic resistance of these varieties makes them vulnerable to the development of the pest biotypes. Therefore, present breeding endeavors envisage utilizing both major and minor resistance genes for effective control of the pest.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.186-192
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• 2013

Because of the shallow depth of 44 m and large area of wetland in Korea and China, the class I productivity of Yellow Sea is very high (>300 $gC/m^2/year$), which is supporting substantial populations of fish, invertebrates, marine mammals and seabirds. However, the Yellow Sea is a large marine ecosystem which is enclosed by mainland of China and Korean peninsula, so it is vulnerable to external stress such as environmental degradation and overfishing. Recently, since the Fisheries Agreement between Korea and China, overfishing and illegal fishing of China and environmental degradation caused by coastal development in Korea and China have given much stress to the marine ecosystem of Yellow Sea. This article suggests that the major factors of governance are ineffectively responding to the growing demand for exploitation of the Yellow Sea and the international cooperation for establishing network of Yellow Sea governance is urgent.