• Title/Summary/Keyword: 대기 오염

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Predicting the Effects of Rooftop Greening and Evaluating CO2 Sequestration in Urban Heat Island Areas Using Satellite Imagery and Machine Learning (위성영상과 머신러닝 활용 도시열섬 지역 옥상녹화 효과 예측과 이산화탄소 흡수량 평가)

  • Minju Kim;Jeong U Park;Juhyeon Park;Jisoo Park;Chang-Uk Hyun
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.39 no.5_1
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    • pp.481-493
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    • 2023
  • In high-density urban areas, the urban heat island effect increases urban temperatures, leading to negative impacts such as worsened air pollution, increased cooling energy consumption, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. In urban environments where it is difficult to secure additional green spaces, rooftop greening is an efficient greenhouse gas reduction strategy. In this study, we not only analyzed the current status of the urban heat island effect but also utilized high-resolution satellite data and spatial information to estimate the available rooftop greening area within the study area. We evaluated the mitigation effect of the urban heat island phenomenon and carbon sequestration capacity through temperature predictions resulting from rooftop greening. To achieve this, we utilized WorldView-2 satellite data to classify land cover in the urban heat island areas of Busan city. We developed a prediction model for temperature changes before and after rooftop greening using machine learning techniques. To assess the degree of urban heat island mitigation due to changes in rooftop greening areas, we constructed a temperature change prediction model with temperature as the dependent variable using the random forest technique. In this process, we built a multiple regression model to derive high-resolution land surface temperatures for training data using Google Earth Engine, combining Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 satellite data. Additionally, we evaluated carbon sequestration based on rooftop greening areas using a carbon absorption capacity per plant. The results of this study suggest that the developed satellite-based urban heat island assessment and temperature change prediction technology using Random Forest models can be applied to urban heat island-vulnerable areas with potential for expansion.

Estimation of Chlorophyll-a Concentration in Nakdong River Using Machine Learning-Based Satellite Data and Water Quality, Hydrological, and Meteorological Factors (머신러닝 기반 위성영상과 수질·수문·기상 인자를 활용한 낙동강의 Chlorophyll-a 농도 추정)

  • Soryeon Park;Sanghun Son;Jaegu Bae;Doi Lee;Dongju Seo;Jinsoo Kim
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.39 no.5_1
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    • pp.655-667
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    • 2023
  • Algal bloom outbreaks are frequently reported around the world, and serious water pollution problems arise every year in Korea. It is necessary to protect the aquatic ecosystem through continuous management and rapid response. Many studies using satellite images are being conducted to estimate the concentration of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), an indicator of algal bloom occurrence. However, machine learning models have recently been used because it is difficult to accurately calculate Chl-a due to the spectral characteristics and atmospheric correction errors that change depending on the water system. It is necessary to consider the factors affecting algal bloom as well as the satellite spectral index. Therefore, this study constructed a dataset by considering water quality, hydrological and meteorological factors, and sentinel-2 images in combination. Representative ensemble models random forest and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) were used to predict the concentration of Chl-a in eight weirs located on the Nakdong river over the past five years. R-squared score (R2), root mean square errors (RMSE), and mean absolute errors (MAE) were used as model evaluation indicators, and it was confirmed that R2 of XGBoost was 0.80, RMSE was 6.612, and MAE was 4.457. Shapley additive expansion analysis showed that water quality factors, suspended solids, biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, and the band ratio using red edge bands were of high importance in both models. Various input data were confirmed to help improve model performance, and it seems that it can be applied to domestic and international algal bloom detection.

A Study on Predicting the Logistics Demand of Inland Ports on the Yangtze River (장강 내수로 항만의 물류 수요 예측에 관한 연구)

  • Zhen Wu;Hyun-Chung Kim
    • Korea Trade Review
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    • v.48 no.3
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    • pp.217-242
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    • 2023
  • This study aims to analyze the factors influencing the logistics demand of inland ports along the Yangtze River and predict future port logistics demand based on these factors. The logistics demand prediction using system dynamics techniques was conducted for a total of six ports, including Chongqing and Yibin ports in the upper reaches, Jingzhou and Wuhan ports in the middle reaches, and Nanjing and Suzhou ports in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The logistics demand for all ports showed an increasing trend in the mid-term prediction until 2026. The logistics demand of Chongqing port was mainly influenced by the scale of the hinterland economy, while Yibin port appeared to heavily rely on the level of port automation. In the case of the upper and middle reach ports, logistics demand increased as the energy consumption of the hinterland increased and the air pollution situation worsened. The logistics demand of the middle reach ports was greatly influenced by the hinterland infrastructure, while the lower reach ports were sensitive to changes in the urban construction area. According to the sensitivity analysis, the logistics demand of ports relying on large cities was relatively stable against the increase and decrease of influential factors, while ports with smaller hinterland city scales reacted sensitively to changes in influential factors. Therefore, a strategy should be established to strengthen policy support for Chongqing port as the core port of the upper Yangtze River and have surrounding ports play a supporting role for Chongqing port. The upper reach ports need to play a supporting role for Chongqing port and consider measures to enhance connections with middle and lower reach ports and promote the port industry. The development strategy for inland ports along the Yangtze River suggests the establishment of direct routes and expansion of the transportation network for South Korean ports and stakeholders. It can suggest expanding the hinterland network and building an efficient transportation system linked with the logistics hub. Through cooperation, logistics efficiency can be enhanced in both regions, which will contribute to strengthening the international position and competitiveness of each port.

Incongruence Between Housing Affordability and Residential Environment Quality of Young Renters Living Independently in Non-Seoul Metropolitan Area (비수도권 지역에 독립 거주 중인 미혼 청년 가구의 월세 부담 및 거주성 비교 분석)

  • Hyunjeong Lee;Sangjun Nam
    • Land and Housing Review
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.1-22
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    • 2024
  • This research explores the household and housing characteristics of young renters aged between 19 and 34 living independently in rental housing of non-Seoul Metropolitan Area (non-SMA) and to determine the factors of their housing affordability and residential environment qualities in two districts of non-SMA - metropolises and non-metropolises. Using the 2020 Korean Housing Survey (KHS), this study identified 1,191 unmarried young renters, and most were single adults in mid-twenties who were salaried workers with a bachelor's degree or higher. Also, many lived in single-room occupancy of non-APT housing for less than 2 years and rarely relied on social services. The findings showed that the distinction of local housing market between metropolises and non-metropolises forced the former to spend more housing expense (tenancy deposit and rental fees) than the latter. With regard to housing affordability indices (Schwabe index, housing expense ratio and rent to income ratio), most were housing cost-burdened and nearly one quarter were severely rent-burdened. The regression analysis indicated that housing affordability in both districts was positively affected by income increase and social services, and housing satisfaction in non-metropolises was added to its determinants. Further, residential environment qualities were largely divided into two groups of livelihood and urban infrastructure, and the two factors influenced residential assessment in both districts. Since young renters interdependently living had suffered with housing affordability, both income growth and housing assistance are critically required to enable them not just to reduce the burden but to ensure livability.

A study on the air pollutant emission trends in Gwangju (광주시 대기오염물질 배출량 변화추이에 관한 연구)

  • Seo, Gwang-Yeob;Shin, Dae-Yewn
    • Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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    • v.24 no.4
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    • pp.1-26
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    • 2009
  • We conclude the following with air pollution data measured from city measurement net administered and managed in Gwangju for the last 7 years from January in 2001 to December in 2007. In addition, some major statistics governed by Gwangju city and data administered by Gwangju as national official statistics obtained by estimating the amount of national air pollutant emission from National Institute of Environmental Research were used. The results are as follows ; 1. The distribution by main managements of air emission factory is the following ; Gwangju City Hall(67.8%) > Gwangsan District Office(13.6%) > Buk District Office(9.8%) > Seo District Office(5.5%) > Nam District Office(3.0%) > Dong District Office(0.3%) and the distribution by districts of air emission factory ; Buk District(32.8%) > Gwangsan District(22.4%) > Seo District(21.8%) > Nam District(14.9%) > Dong District(8.1%). That by types(Year 2004~2007 average) is also following ; Type 5(45.2%) > Type 4(40.7%) > Type 3(8.6%) > Type 2(3.2%) > Type 1(2.2%) and the most of them are small size of factory, Type 4 and 5. 2. The distribution by districts of the number of car registrations is the following ; Buk District(32.8%) > Gwangsan District(22.4%) > Seo District(21.8%) > Nam District(14.9%) > Dong District(8.1%) and the distribution by use of car fuel in 2001 ; Gasoline(56.3%) > Diesel(30.3%) > LPG(13.4%) > etc.(0.2%). In 2007, there was no ranking change ; Gasoline(47.8%) > Diesel(35.6%) > LPG(16.2%) >etc.(0.4%). The number of gasoline cars increased slightly, but that of diesel and LPG cars increased remarkably. 3. The distribution by items of the amount of air pollutant emission in Gwangju is the following; CO(36.7%) > NOx(32.7%) > VOC(26.7%) > SOx(2.3%) > PM-10(1.5%). The amount of CO and NOx, which are generally generated from cars, is very large percentage among them. 4. The distribution by mean of air pollutant emission(SOx, NOx, CO, VOC, PM-10) of each county for 5 years(2001~2005) is the following ; Buk District(31.0%) > Gwangsan District(28.2%) > Seo District(20.4%) > Nam District(12.5%) > Dong District(7.9%). The amount of air pollutant emission in Buk District, which has the most population, car registrations, and air pollutant emission businesses, was the highest. On the other hand, that of air pollutant emission in Dong District, which has the least population, car registrations, and air pollutant emission businesses, was the least. 5. The average rates of SOx for 5 years(2001~2005) in Gwangju is the following ; Non industrial combustion(59.5%) > Combustion in manufacturing industry(20.4%) > Road transportation(11.4%) > Non-road transportation(3.8%) > Waste disposal(3.7%) > Production process(1.1%). And the distribution of average amount of SOx emission of each county is shown as Gwangsan District(33.3%) > Buk District(28.0%) > Seo District(19.3%) > Nam District(10.2%) > Dong District(9.1%). 6. The distribution of the amount of NOx emission in Gwangju is shown as Road transportation(59.1%) > Non-road transportation(18.9%) > Non industrial combustion(13.3%) > Combustion in manufacturing industry(6.9%) > Waste disposal(1.6%) > Production process(0.1%). And the distribution of the amount of NOx emission from each county is the following ; Buk District(30.7%) > Gwangsan District(28.8%) > Seo District(20.5%) > Nam District(12.2%) > Dong District(7.8%). 7. The distribution of the amount of carbon monoxide emission in Gwangju is shown as Road transportation(82.0%) > Non industrial combustion(10.6%) > Non-road transportation(5.4%) > Combustion in manufacturing industry(1.7%) > Waste disposal(0.3%). And the distribution of the amount of carbon monoxide emission from each county is the following ; Buk District(33.0%) > Seo District(22.3%) > Gwangsan District(21.3%) > Nam District(14.3%) > Dong District(9.1%). 8. The distribution of the amount of Volatile Organic Compound emission in Gwangju is shown as Solvent utilization(69.5%) > Road transportation(19.8%) > Energy storage & transport(4.4%) > Non-road transportation(2.8%) > Waste disposal(2.4%) > Non industrial combustion(0.5%) > Production process(0.4%) > Combustion in manufacturing industry(0.3%). And the distribution of the amount of Volatile Organic Compound emission from each county is the following ; Gwangsan District(36.8%) > Buk District(28.7%) > Seo District(17.8%) > Nam District(10.4%) > Dong District(6.3%). 9. The distribution of the amount of minute dust emission in Gwangju is shown as Road transportation(76.7%) > Non-road transportation(16.3%) > Non industrial combustion(6.1%) > Combustion in manufacturing industry(0.7%) > Waste disposal(0.2%) > Production process(0.1%). And the distribution of the amount of minute dust emission from each county is the following ; Buk District(32.8%) > Gwangsan District(26.0%) > Seo District(19.5%) > Nam District(13.2%) > Dong District(8.5%). 10. According to the major source of emission of each items, that of oxides of sulfur is Non industrial combustion, heating of residence, business and agriculture and stockbreeding. And that of NOx, carbon monoxide, minute dust is Road transportation, emission of cars and two-wheeled vehicles. Also, that of VOC is Solvent utilization emission facilities due to Solvent utilization. 11. The concentration of sulfurous acid gas has been 0.004ppm since 2001 and there has not been no concentration change year by year. It is considered that the use of sulfurous acid gas is now reaching to the stabilization stage. This is found by the facts that the use of fuel is steadily changing from solid or liquid fuel to low sulfur liquid fuel containing very little amount of sulfur element or gas, so that nearly no change in concentration has been shown regularly. 12. Concerning changes of the concentration of throughout time, the concentration of NO has been shown relatively higher than that of $NO_2$ between 6AM~1PM and the concentration of $NO_2$ higher during the other time. The concentration of NOx(NO, $NO_2$) has been relatively high during weekday evenings. This result shows that there is correlation between the concentration of NOx and car traffics as we can see the Road transportation which accounts for 59.1% among the amount of NOx emission. 13. 49.1~61.2% of PM-10 shows PM-2.5 concerning the relationship between PM-10 and PM-2.5 and PM-2.5 among dust accounts for 45.4%~44.5% of PM-10 during March and April which is the lowest rates. This proves that particles of yellow sand that are bigger than the size $2.5\;{\mu}m$ are sent more than those that are smaller from China. This result shows that particles smaller than $2.5\;{\mu}m$ among dust exist much during July~August and December~January and 76.7% of minute dust is proved to be road transportation in Gwangju.

A Study on Public Nuisance in Seoul, Pusan and Daegu Cities Part I. Survey on Air Pollution and Noise Level (공해(公害)에 관(關)한 조사연구(調査硏究) 제일편(第一編) : 서울, 부산(釜山), 대구(大邱) 지역(地域)의 대기오염(大氣汚染) 및 소음(騷音)에 관(關)한 비교조사(比較調査) 연구(硏究))

  • Cha, Chul-Hwan;Shin, Young-Soo;Lee, Young-Il;Cho, Kwang-Soo;Choo, Chong-Yoo;Kim, Kyo-Sung;Choi, Dug-Il
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.41-64
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    • 1971
  • During the period from July 1st to the end of November 1970, a survey on air pollution and noise level was made in Seoul, Pusan and Taegu, the three largest cities in Korea. Each city was divided into 4-6 areas; the industrial area, the semi-industrial area, the commercial area, the residential area, the park area and the downtown area. Thirty eight sites were selected from each area. A. Method of Measurement : Dustfall was measured by the Deposit Gauge Method, sulfur oxides by $PbO_2$ cylinder method, suspended particles by the Digital Dust Indicator, Sulfur dioxide ($SO_2$) and Carbon Monoxide (CO) by the MSA & Kitakawa Detector and the noise levels by Rion Sound Survey meter. B. Results: 1. The mean value of dustfall in 3 cities was $30.42ton/km^2/month$, ranging from 8.69 to 95.44. 2. The mean values of dustfall by city were $33.17ton/km^2/month$ in Seoul, 32.11 in Pusan and 25.97 in Taegu. 3. The mean values of dustfall showed a trend of decreasing order of semi-industrial area, downtown area, industrial area, commercial area, residential area, and park area. 4. The mean value of dustfall in Seoul by area were $52.32ton/km^2/month$ in downtown, 50.54 in semi-industrial area, 40.37 in industrial area, 24,19 in commercial area, 16.25 in park area and 15.39 in residential area in order of concentration. 5. The mean values of dustfall in Pusan by area were $48.27ton/km^2/month$ in semi-industrial area, 36.68 in industrial area 25.31 in commercial area, and 18.19 in residential area. 6. The mean values of dustfall in Taegu by area were $36.46ton/km^2/month$ in downtown area, 33.52 in industrial area, 20.37 in commercial area and 13.55 in residential area. 7. The mean values of sulfur oxides in 3 cities were $1.52mg\;SO_3/day/100cm^2\;PbO_2$, ranging from 0.32 to 4.72. 8. The mean values of sulfur oxides by city were $1.89mg\;SO_3/day/100cm^2\;PbO_2$ in Pusan, 1.64 in Seoul and 1.21 in Taegu. 9. The mean values of sulfur oxides by area in 3 cities were $2.16mg\;SO_3/day/100cm^2\;PbO_2$ in industrial area, 1.69 in semi-industrial area, 1.50 in commercial area, 1.48 in downtown area, 1.32 in residential area and 0.94 in the park area, respectively. 10. The monthly mean values of sulfur oxides contents showed a steady increase from July reaching a peak in November. 11. The mean values of suspended particles was $2.89mg/m^3$, ranging from 1.15 to 5.27. 12. The mean values of suspended particles by city were $3.14mg/m^3$ in Seoul, 2.79 in Taegu and 2.25 in Pusan. 13. The mean values of noise level in 3 cities was 71.3 phon, ranging from 49 to 99 phon. 14. The mean values of noise level by city were 73 phon in Seoul, 72 in Pusan, and 69 in Taegu in that order. 15. The mean values of noise level by area in 3 cities showed a decrease in the order of the downtown area, commercial area, industrial area and semi-industrial area, park area and residential area. 16. The comparison of the noise levels by area in 3 cities indicated that the highest level was detected in the downtown area in Seoul and Taegu and in the industrial area in Pusan. 17. The daily average concentration of sulfur dioxides ($SO_2$) in 3 cities was 0.081 ppm, ranging from 0.004 to 0.196. 18. The daily average concentrations of sulfur dioxides by city were 0.092 ppm in Seoul, 0.089 in Pusan and 0.062 in Taegu in that order. 19. The weekly average concentration of carbon monoxides(CO) was 27.59 ppm. 20. The daily average concentrations of carbon monoxides by city were 33.37 ppm. in Seoul, 25.76 in Pusan and 23.65 in Taegu in that order. 21. The concentration of $SO_2$ and CO reaches a peak from 6 p. m. to 8 p. m. 22. About 3 times probably the daily average concentration of CO could be detected in the downtown area probably due to heavy traffic emission in comparison with that in the industial area. 23. As for daily variation of the concentration of $SO_2$ and CO it was found that the concentration maintains relatively higher value during weekdays in the industrial area and on the first part of the week in the downtown area.

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Investigation on a Way to Maximize the Productivity in Poultry Industry (양계산업에 있어서 생산성 향상방안에 대한 조사 연구)

  • 오세정
    • Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.105-127
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    • 1989
  • Although poultry industry in Japan has been much developed in recent years, it still needs to be developed , compared with developed countries. Since the poultry market in Korea is expected to be opened in the near future it is necessary to maximize the Productivity to reduce the production costs and to develop the scientific, technologies and management organization systems for the improvement of the quality in poultry production. Followings ale the summary of poultry industry in Japan. 1. Poultry industry in Japan is almost specized and commercialized and its management system is : integrated, cooperative and developed to industrialized intensive style. Therefore, they have competitive power in the international poultry markets. 2. Average egg weight is 48-50g per day (Max. 54g) and feed requirement is 2. 1-2. 3. 3. The management organization system is specialized and farmers in small scale form complex and farmers in large scale are integrated.

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Management Guidelines on the Large Old Trees as the Natural Monuments in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province through the Analysis of the Growing Environment (생육환경 분석을 통한 서울·인천·경기지역 천연기념물 노거수의 관리방안)

  • Lee, Seung Je
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.42 no.1
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    • pp.88-99
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    • 2009
  • This study was conducted to formulate management guidelines for Natural monumental old trees in Korea through survey of tree vigor and analysis of growing environments. A total of 20 old trees designated as natural monuments in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province were surveyed. The biological characteristics were surveyed with 4 items of species, ages and height of trees. The surrounding environments were surveyed with 2 items of location types and surroundings. The root conditions were surveyed with 2 items of denudation and molding depth. The health conditions were surveyed with 5 items of withering rate, cavity size, bark breakaway rate, damages by blight and insects, and growing tips. The soil conditions were surveyed with 6 items of PH, organic contents, valid phosphoric acid, transposal cations(K, Ca) and soil compaction. On the basis of outcomes of these research items, mutual relations among locations, growings and soil conditions of old trees were analyzed by carring out cross tabulation, correlation, and simple and multiple regression. Management guidelines were presented searching the factors effecting on the health of the monumental old trees. On the biological characteristics, the old trees designated as natural monuments were Pinus bungeana(4 trees), Juniperus chinensis(3 trees), Ginkgo biloba(3 trees), Poncirus trifoliata(2 trees). Actinidia arguta, Wisteria floribunda, Thuja orientalis, Quercus mongolica, Sophora japonica, Fraxinus rhynchophylla, Zelkova serrata, and Pinus densiflora. The tree height ranged from 4.2 to 39.2m, and root collar rounds ranged from 1.01 to 15.2m. On the surrounding environments, The location types ; Gardens(4), historical sites(5), residental sections(3) open agricultural fields(3), mountain hills(3), and near ocean beaches(1) and stream site(1). The surroundings ; 75% denudation of roots, molded more than 10cm except 4 trees(25%). On the health conditions, 1)Withering rate ; Ginkgo biloba(20%) in Yongmoon temple, (5%) in Saki-ri, kanwha-gun, and others had no withering rate. 2) Cavity size ; all subject had $5{\sim}100cm^3$ of cavity. 3) Bark breakaway rate ; Pinus bungeana in Soosong-dong, in the shrine of Confucius, in Samchung-dong, especially high rate of cavity(5~50%) in Seoul area and in Saki-ri, Kangwha-gun were high 45% brakeaway rate. 4) Damages by blight and insects was slight due to managements. 5Growing tips ; In cases of Juniperus chinensis in Changdeok palace and SunnogDang, seoul, growing tips were 1/2, presumably cause by air pollution, and in cases of Fraxinus rhynchophylla in Paju city and Pinus densiflora in BacksaDorip-ri, Icheon city, growing tips were fine, presumably because there were no moldings. On the Soil conditions, Soil pH ranged from 5.2 to 8.3, organic matter contents from 12% to 56%, phosphorus contents from 104 to 618ppm, soil compaction ranged from 7 to 28mm( among them, Denudation was severe with 21~28mm soil compactions in cases of Pinus bungeana in Soosong -dong, Thuja orientalis in Samchung -dong, Ginkgo biloba in the shrine of Confucius and in Yongmoon temple.) Results of cross tabulation, correlation, and regression analysis showed that molding depth was the most serious factor to deteriorate the tree vigor and cambium conductivity. In addition, soil acidity, organic matter contents, disease and insect damages and cambial detachment were also related to the tree vigor. Additional research of these relationships will be needed to conduct more detailed studies. Based on the relationships between the tree vigor and growing environments, it is considered that old trees should be managed to give them more growing spaces and less abuses. Also, molded soils should be removed and further soil-molding around the tree collar should be prohibited. For the construction of systematic management and removal of harmful factors, appropriative management according to spices, persistent monitering of damaged cases and construction of management system through the accumulation of data on the relationships of soil conditions are required.

Consumer's Negative Brand Rumor Acceptance and Rumor Diffusion (소비자의 부정적 브랜드 루머의 수용과 확산)

  • Lee, Won-jun;Lee, Han-Suk
    • Asia Marketing Journal
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    • v.14 no.2
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    • pp.65-96
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    • 2012
  • Brand has received much attention from considerable marketing research. When consumers consume product or services, they are exposed to a lot of brand related stimuli. These contain brand personality, brand experience, brand identity, brand communications and so on. A special kind of new crisis occasionally confronting companies' brand management today is the brand related rumor. An important influence on consumers' purchase decision making is the word-of-mouth spread by other consumers and most decisions are influenced by other's recommendations. In light of this influence, firms have reasonable reason to study and understand consumer-to-consumer communication such as brand rumor. The importance of brand rumor to marketers is increasing as the number of internet user and SNS(social network service) site grows. Due to the development of internet technology, people can spread rumors without the limitation of time, space and place. However relatively few studies have been published in marketing journals and little is known about brand rumors in the marketplace. The study of rumor has a long history in all major social science. But very few studies have dealt with the antecedents and consequences of any kind of brand rumor. Rumor has been generally described as a story or statement in general circulation without proper confirmation or certainty as to fact. And it also can be defined as an unconfirmed proposition, passed along from people to people. Rosnow(1991) claimed that rumors were transmitted because people needed to explain ambiguous and uncertain events and talking about them reduced associated anxiety. Especially negative rumors are believed to have the potential to devastate a company's reputation and relations with customers. From the perspective of marketer, negative rumors are considered harmful and extremely difficult to control in general. It is becoming a threat to a company's sustainability and sometimes leads to negative brand image and loss of customers. Thus there is a growing concern that these negative rumors can damage brands' reputations and lead them to financial disaster too. In this study we aimed to distinguish antecedents of brand rumor transmission and investigate the effects of brand rumor characteristics on rumor spread intention. We also found key components in personal acceptance of brand rumor. In contextualist perspective, we tried to unify the traditional psychological and sociological views. In this unified research approach we defined brand rumor's characteristics based on five major variables that had been found to influence the process of rumor spread intention. The five factors of usefulness, source credibility, message credibility, worry, and vividness, encompass multi level elements of brand rumor. We also selected product involvement as a control variable. To perform the empirical research, imaginary Korean 'Kimch' brand and related contamination rumor was created and proposed. Questionnaires were collected from 178 Korean samples. Data were collected from college students who have been experienced the focal product. College students were regarded as good subjects because they have a tendency to express their opinions in detail. PLS(partial least square) method was adopted to analyze the relations between variables in the equation model. The most widely adopted causal modeling method is LISREL. However it is poorly suited to deal with relatively small data samples and can yield not proper solutions in some cases. PLS has been developed to avoid some of these limitations and provide more reliable results. To test the reliability using SPSS 16 s/w, Cronbach alpha was examined and all the values were appropriate showing alpha values between .802 and .953. Subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted successfully. And structural equation modeling has been used to analyze the research model using smartPLS(ver. 2.0) s/w. Overall, R2 of adoption of rumor is .476 and R2 of intention of rumor transmission is .218. The overall model showed a satisfactory fit. The empirical results can be summarized as follows. According to the results, the variables of brand rumor characteristic such as source credibility, message credibility, worry, and vividness affect argument strength of rumor. And argument strength of rumor also affects rumor intention. On the other hand, the relationship between perceived usefulness and argument strength of rumor is not significant. The moderating effect of product involvement on the relations between argument strength of rumor and rumor W.O.M intention is not supported neither. Consequently this study suggests some managerial and academic implications. We consider some implications for corporate crisis management planning, PR and brand management. This results show marketers that rumor is a critical factor for managing strong brand assets. Also for researchers, brand rumor should become an important thesis of their interests to understand the relationship between consumer and brand. Recently many brand managers and marketers have focused on the short-term view. They just focused on strengthen the positive brand image. According to this study we suggested that effective brand management requires managing negative brand rumors with a long-term view of marketing decisions.

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