Comparison of Safety and Health Risk Perceptions Toward COVID-19 Pandemic Based on Gender in Korean University Students' Work While Studying.

Background: This study aims to identify the safety and health risk perceptions toward the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic based on gender in Korean university students who work and study during the pandemic. Methods: A nationwide convenient sampling method was implemented to eliminate any regional characteristics in 757 university students, including those who studied while working. The participants answered the online questionnaire for one week. The collected data were analyzed using the R version 3.4.1 program. Results: The results comparing the safety and health risk perceptions toward COVID-19 based on the gender of the subjects who work while studying, "I often use the Internet to obtain information on COVID-19 infection control" are females appeared to use the internet more often (t = -2.18, p = 0.031) than males. "Compared to pre-COVID-19, I am currently feeling safe after the outbreak" is females felt less safe (t = 3.43, p < 0.001). Although COVID-19 infection control awareness is high among Korean university students and officials, males reported higher scores over females in all the questions, which was statistically significant. Conclusion: There should be prioritized psychological measures for prevention against COVID-19 for vulnerable groups with high mental health risks. A network must be established to protect the mental health of such groups, and candidates who require intervention must be actively identified and supported. Therefore, there must be efforts to deliver accurate information based on scientific evidence of the infectious disease, and the actions should be supported through such active communication.

A Study of Cognitive Slips According to Contaminants on the Floor.

BACKGROUND: This research investigates the degrees of slipperiness felt by the participants who walk on contaminants applied to a floor surface to decide degrees of slipperiness for various contaminants. METHODS: For the experiment, 30 participants walked on a floor to which six contaminants were applied. All participants took the analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-based slipperiness questionnaire survey for the six kinds of contaminants, and the results were compared with the coefficient of friction. RESULTS: The results of slip risk from the AHP indicate that grease is the most slippery of the six contaminants, followed by diesel engine oil, hydraulic oil, cooking oil, water-soluble cutting oil, and water in a decreasing order of slipperiness. When the results of slip risk from the AHP are compared with the static coefficient of friction for each contaminant, the order of slip risk follows the same trend. Although the results of slip risk from the AHP coincide with the static coefficient of friction, further study would be needed to investigate this relationship. CONCLUSION: This study will contribute as reference material for future research on preventing industrial accidents that result in falls from high places due to slipping.

Box Office Forecasting considering Competitive Environment and Word-of-Mouth in Social Networks: A Case Study of Korean Film Market.

Accurate box office forecasting models are developed by considering competition and word-of-mouth (WOM) effects in addition to screening-related information. Nationality, genre, ratings, and distributors of motion pictures running concurrently with the target motion picture are used to describe the competition, whereas the numbers of informative, positive, and negative mentions posted on social network services (SNS) are used to gauge the atmosphere spread by WOM. Among these candidate variables, only significant variables are selected by genetic algorithm (GA), based on which machine learning algorithms are trained to build forecasting models. The forecasts are combined to improve forecasting performance. Experimental results on the Korean film market show that the forecasting accuracy in early screening periods can be significantly improved by considering competition. In addition, WOM has a stronger influence on total box office forecasting. Considering both competition and WOM improves forecasting performance to a larger extent than when only one of them is considered.

Health risk evaluation of whole-body vibration by ISO 2631-5 and ISO 2631-1 for operators of agricultural tractors and recreational vehicles.

This paper presents experimental research evaluation of the vibration exposure for the health risk prediction during vehicle operation. The vibration measurements were carried out on a recreational vehicle and two types of agricultural tractors. The vibration levels were measured for different surfaces and vehicle speed conditions. Based on the analysis of the results in the small agricultural tractor operated in the workplace (frameworks), Sed exceeded 0.80 MPa by ISO2631-5:2004, and Av exceeded 0.89 m/s(2) by ISO2631-1:1997. That means that operators driving small agricultural tractors more than 8 h a day have a high probability of adverse health effects. However, the exposure value for the recreational vehicle had Sed < 0.5 MPa by ISO2631-5:2004 and Av < 0.5 m/s(2) by ISO2631-1:1997 on highways and local roads. That means Recreational Vehicle operators driving more than 8 h a day, have a low probability of adverse health effects. Also, for the recreational vehicle, vibration was taken at different speeds (40-60 km/h, 80 km/h, 100-120 km/h). However, the speed change did not appear to affect the vibration dose variation while driving a vehicle on the highway and road. Finally, the health effect index of ISO2631-5:2004 are almost the same as assessment of health effect by ISO2631-1:1997.

Relationships among subjective social status, weight perception, weight control behaviors, and weight status in adolescents: findings from the 2009 Korea Youth Risk Behaviors Web-Based Survey.

BACKGROUND: This study identified relationships among subjective social status (SSS), weight perception, weight control behaviors, and weight status in Korean adolescents using nationally representative data collected from the 2009 Korea Youth Risk Behaviors Web-Based Survey. METHODS: Data from 67,185 students aged 12-18 years were analyzed. Relationships among SSS, weight perception, and weight control behaviors in boys and girls were examined using chi-square. Logistic regression analysis was performed with adjusting school grade and place of residence to assess potential associations between multiple variables and overweight students. RESULTS: Lower SSS was associated with a significant risk of being overweight in girls, but not in boys. Of particular interest, overestimation and underestimation coexist within boys, whereas girls predominantly tended to overestimate their weight status. Inaccurate weight perception and unhealthy weight control behaviors were significantly associated with the risk of being overweight in both boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the results of this study showing sex differences in weight perception and weight control behaviors, sex-specific overweight prevention programs are needed to achieve accurate weight perception and healthy weight control behaviors.

Systematic strategies for the third industrial accident prevention plan in Korea.

To minimize industrial accidents, it's critical to evaluate a firm's priorities for prevention factors and strategies since such evaluation provides decisive information for preventing industrial accidents and maintaining safety management. Therefore, this paper proposes the evaluation of priorities through statistical testing of prevention factors with a cause analysis in a cause and effect model. A priority matrix criterion is proposed to apply the ranking and for the objectivity of questionnaire results. This paper used regression method (RA), exponential smoothing method (ESM), double exponential smoothing method (DESM), autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and proposed analytical function method (PAFM) to analyze trends of accident data that will lead to an accurate prediction. This paper standardized the questionnaire results of workers and managers in manufacturing and construction companies with less than 300 employees, located in the central Korean metropolitan areas where fatal accidents have occurred. Finally, a strategy was provided to construct safety management for the third industrial accident prevention plan and a forecasting method for occupational accident rates and fatality rates for occupational accidents per 10,000 people.

A study on industrial accident rate forecasting and program development of estimated zero accident time in Korea.

To begin a zero accident campaign for industry, the first thing is to estimate the industrial accident rate and the zero accident time systematically. This paper considers the social and technical change of the business environment after beginning the zero accident campaign through quantitative time series analysis methods. These methods include sum of squared errors (SSE), regression analysis method (RAM), exponential smoothing method (ESM), double exponential smoothing method (DESM), auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, and the proposed analytic function method (AFM). The program is developed to estimate the accident rate, zero accident time and achievement probability of an efficient industrial environment. In this paper, MFC (Microsoft Foundation Class) software of Visual Studio 2008 was used to develop a zero accident program. The results of this paper will provide major information for industrial accident prevention and be an important part of stimulating the zero accident campaign within all industrial environments.

A case study on engineering failure analysis of link chain.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of chain installation condition on stress distribution that could eventually cause disastrous failure from sudden deformation and geometric rupture. METHODS: Fractographic method used for the failed chain indicates that over-stress was considered as the root cause of failure. 3D modeling and finite element analysis for the chain, used in a crane hook, were performed with a three-dimensional interactive application program, CATIA, commercial finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamic software, ANSYS. RESULTS: The results showed that the state of stress was changed depending on the initial position of the chain that was installed in the hook. Especially, the magnitude of the stress was strongly affected by the bending forces, which are 2.5 times greater (under the simulation condition currently investigated) than that from the plain tensile load. Also, it was noted that the change of load state is strongly related to the failure of parts. The chain can hold an ultimate load of about 8 tons with only the tensile load acting on it. CONCLUSION: The conclusions of this research clearly showed that a reduction of the loss from similar incidents can be achieved when an operator properly handles the installation of the chain.

Application of the Life Change Unit model for the prevention of accident proneness among small to medium sized industries in Korea.

Behavior models have provided an accident proneness concept based on life change unit (LCU) factors. This paper describes the development of a Korean Life Change Unit (KLCU) model for workers and managers in fatal accident areas, as well as an evaluation of its application. Results suggest that death of parents is the highest stress-giving factor for employees of small and medium sized industries a rational finding the viewpoint of Korean culture. The next stress-giving factors were shown to be the death of a spouse or loved ones, followed by the death of close family members, the death of close friends, changes of family members' health, unemployment, and jail terms. It turned out that these factors have a serious effect on industrial accidents and work-related diseases. The death of parents and close friends are ranked higher in the KLCU model than that of Western society. Crucial information for industrial accident prevention in real fields will be provided and the provided information will be useful for safety management programs related to accident prevention.