• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.366-386
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• 2013

This paper analyzes the drought and restriction on water supply in Taebaek City during the winter season in 2008 using Actor-Network Theory. Actor-Network Theory emphasizes and brings into view the role and act of non-human actors as well as human actors in various environmental issues. The fact that only Taebaek experienced restriction on water supply for 88 days although the winter season drought in 2008 affected the whole nation, requires a synthetic analysis of both human and non-human actors and their relationships and networks embedded in Taebaek City at that time. This paper shows that both human and non-human actors including Taebaek City Hall, Korea Water Resource Corporation, Taebaek citizen, the water supply facilities, Gwangdongdam, obsolete water pipes, the topography of Taebaek, soil, the change of industry, and population interact one another transforming the geography of water in Taebaek. This study helps to understand the complex processes related to drought disasters at a specific local scale and to provide appropriate measures to drought.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.177-189
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• 2020

To newly discover the placeness of Xita Koreatown in Shenyang, this study establishes the conceptual structure of urban inclusivity based on the actor-network theory and the main discourse of inclusive cities. It then applies a framework to the relevant space for analysis. We conduct the case study by first identifying a historical timeline by dividing the age from the founding of New China to the present into sprouting and developing stages of Xita Koreatown, extracting major actors out of time, and finally creating a network graph for each of the six periods representing changes in the region. Throughout this process, we not only analyze the aspect of transition in the urban inclusivity of Xita Koreatown but also prospect the feasibility of an inclusive city for the area. The results of this study are as follows. First, the number and type of actors constituting Xita Koreatown have constantly increased significantly since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea. The related actor-networks have also continued to expand in all indicators of urban inclusivity. Secondly, the agency of human actors such as Korean-Chinese, locals, and both South and North Koreans, representing the specificity of Xita Koreatown, has continuously improved. Lastly, due to the increase of cultural exchanges and related policy actors, the actor-network in this region has achieved an unprecedented leap forward. In conclusion, the urban inclusivity of Xita Koreatown in Shenyang shows significant growth in quality, with expectations of further improvement.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.276-296
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• 2003

This study is to analyze the adoption of environmentally friendly fanning(EFF) by Actor-Network Theory(ANT). ANT declares that the world is full of hybrid entities containing both human and non-human elements and maintains that adoption of an innovation comes as a consequence of the action of everyone in the chain of actors who has anything to do with it. In this study, adoption of EFF will be analysed through the role of actors and networks. And this paper try to identify the intermediaries and obligatory passage point(OPP) in each networks. In study area, 5 actors, -nature, governmental institute, food processors, consumers and farmers-, have each roles in their networks, But only 18 farmers adopted EFF. This study revealed that three OPPs were not overcome in each network. The one is nature, such as water and soil pollution. Another is shortage of reliability between farmers and governmental institute. The other is shortage of information about agricultural commodity trade. And through this application of ANT to the EFF, we contend that ANT can be useful for studies of diffusion of EFF and sustainability of rural systems in situations where interactions of the social, technological and political are regarded as particularly important.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.137-172
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• 2013

Globally, awareness about obesity is increasing rapidly. In Korea, obesity is recognized as a disease and steps are being taken to treat it. From the health governance point of view, such standardized measures amplify the risk of obesity and thus play an important part in the prevention of the disease. In this context, various obesity treatments act as a medium for the problem-solving process. In recent years, obesity surgery has been viewed as a rational solution to the problem of obesity. In the context of standardization of treatment, Callon's "Process of Translation" in STS theories highlights the importance of the central actor (Obligatory Passage Point; OPP). However, in the case of obesity, it is difficult to identify a single OPP to project different perspectives of an actor's needs. "Lapband surgery" often acts as a "boundary object" in this context. This article assesses this absence of central actors in the process of problem solving through a case study of adoption of Lapband surgery in Korea. Further, we attempt to suggest an analytical framework with a boundary object and multiple translation concepts to aid solving the problem of obesity.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.461-477
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• 2010

Recent environmental issues such as genetically modified organisms, the loss of biodiversity, climate change, and nuclear waste cannot be reduced to a matter of science or society and explained through nature-society dualist approaches because of their complexity and heterogeneity. This paper examines how nature-society dualism has been embedded in science studies and geography and how this dualism can be overcome. Actor-Network Theory as an attempt to overcome this nature-society dualism is appropriate in analysing "strange imbriglio" of biology, politics, technoscience, market, value, ethics and facts that constitute our society by focusing on heterogeneous association, and can contribute to providing a useful framework to solve environmental problems.

• 한국과학기술학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2015.12a
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• pp.295-308
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• 2015

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.1-40
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• 2019

Built upon ethnographic method such as participant observation and in-depth interview, this study analyzes the material culture of electronic flower auctions at Yangjae Flower Market. From the viewpoint of Actor-Network Theory(ANT), this research examines how human actors like dealers and auctioneers interact with nonhuman actors such as market devices and these interactions form networks called "agencement." This research is focused on three main objectives: first, to study how the performance of auctions - i.e. the interactions between auctioneers and dealers - change in the wake of new market devices in the auctions; secondly, to look into what changes artifacts bring to the social relationships between auctioneers and dealers; lastly, to analyze the influence of new market devices on auction price in the market. The results of this research are as follows. First, the appearance of new market devices generates changes in the performance of auctions, which means the change of 'agencement' of flower auctions. Direct interactions between auctioneers and dealers turned into indirect interactions through new market devices. Moreover, the changes in the agencement brought changes to the identity of auctioneers and dealers. Secondly, the new agencement caused by the inflow of new market devices formed the trust between the devices and human actors, which gave rise to the trust in electronic auction and in counterpart actors as well. In addition, new market devices lowered direct interactions between auctioneers and dealers and thus made more equal relationships between the two than before. Lastly, market devices like trading screen reduced the leverage of auctioneers by providing dealers with bidding information previously possessed by auctioneers much openly and dealers were able to decide auction prices in more reasonable and dispassionate manner. Economic agency, power, trust, price, and information in the market is material and sensory.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.45-78
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• 2012

What is a disaster? And what can science and technology studies tell us about it? There might be numerous definitions about disaster. In this article, we will posit that disaster is an incident when sociotechnical system actor-network broke down against the other force in their "trial of strength". This is a process that punctualized actor-network is depunctualized, and a status that readiness-to-hand of Being recedes while pesentness-at-hand of tool-being comes forward. Using the concept of disaster as a case study, we will consider how Latourian ontology overlaps with Heideggerian philosophy of technology. This STS approach which hasn't been previously studied might provide us with new theoretical framework that enables us to construe the assemblage of technoscience and nature-society in the field of PUS or NPSS.

• Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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• v.147
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• pp.59-76
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• 2018

What are the conditions make a being x a moral agent? Can an artifact be moral agent? A moral agent is considered to be a rational being capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. This study critically analyzed Davidson's position on the condition of the rational being and argued that the network of beliefs with propositional attitude and the beliefs as their background cannot be a requisite for the rational being. Later, it proves that the conditions proposed by $Proke{\check{s}}ov{\acute{a}}$ are merely paratactically listed superficial elements. The moral agent in this study includes the rational agent and it is proven that the strong first person viewpoint is the necessary and sufficient condition for rational agent and moral agent. In conclusion, it suggested a the sketch of moderate skepticism which sets the tentative limit on the agent potential in an artifact by suggesting conditions for moral agent instead of intense skepticism that strongly denies the potential as the moral agent.

• 한국HCI학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.02b
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• pp.753-760
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• 2006

초고속 인터넷망의 보급으로 멀티미디어 환경에서의 디지털 콘텐츠 생산 및 유통은 시간적, 공간적 제약을 뛰어 넘어 다방면으로 활성화되고 있다. 네트워크 구조에서의 파일전송기술에 의해 디지털 콘텐츠는 인터넷 공간에서 역학적인 사회적 관계을 맺은 사용자에 의해 공유되고 있으며, 공급과 수요의 증가로 불법 콘텐츠 시장이 육성되어 저작권에 대한 법적인 이슈가 날로 첨예화 되고 있다. 본 연구는 네트워크 환경에서 사회적 연결망을 기반으로 한 사용자의 콘텐츠 공유 행위에 대한 심리적 요인를 분석함으로써, 사용자간의 관계 조명 및 상호작용과 콘텐츠 공유의 동기부여요인 대해 논의해 보고자 한다. 이를 위한 첫번째로 현재 인터넷 시장의 디지털 콘텐츠 공유현황 분석이 선행되었고, 두번째로 가상공간에서의 커뮤니케이션은 사회적 관계형성이란 관점에서 사용자간의 공유 행위를 정리하였으며, 마지막으로 공유 행위자의 심리적 욕구를 아브라함 매슬로우(Abraham H. Maslow) 욕구단계설을 근간으로 하여 재조명하였다. 이는 네트워크 구조에서의 콘텐츠 생산에 활성화를 위하여 다각적인 측면으로 접근하였으며, 향후 정법화된 디지털 콘텐츠 시장 조성을 위한 가이드로 제시하고자 한다.