• Title/Summary/Keyword: Congresses

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Green Technology Innovation in the United States: The Obama Administration's Ambitious Program and its Prospects

  • Teich, Albert H.
    • STI Policy Review
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.23-42
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    • 2010
  • The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), known widely as the "stimulus" bill, developed by the U.S. Congress and President-elect Obama in late 2008 and early 2009, is investing a significant portion of its $787 billion infusion of funds in future-oriented programs intended not only to "jump-start" the stalled American economy, but to promote the development of renewable energy sources and increase energy efficiency in appliances, buildings, transportation, and other sectors of the economy. These investments are expected both to create immediate employment in green industries and to build a more sustainable society in the long term. The Obama Administration's green energy initiatives are part of a larger emphasis on science and technology within its agenda. It has roots in the Obama campaign and is supported by an unusually strong science and technology team. Much of the activity is centered in the Department of Energy, which received a huge one-time increase in its fiscal year 2009 budget to support the new and expanded programs. Areas that have been neglected by the federal government R&D program for many years, including smart grid technology, solar, wind, and geothermal energy, received large boosts. Many of these programs - and, in fact, the broader concept of government involvement in commercial innovation - are politically controversial Previous attempts to expand research in these areas by liberal Democratic administrations and Congresses have been criticized and sometimes thwarted by conservatives. Whether President Obama's efforts will meet with more success, both politically and technologically, remains to be seen.

Veterinarians as a Risk Group for Zoonoses: Exposure, Knowledge and Protective Practices in Finland

  • Kinnunen, Paula M.;Matomaki, Alisa;Verkola, Marie;Heikinheimo, Annamari;Vapalahti, Olli;Kallio-kokko, Hannimari;Virtala, Anna-Maija;Jokelainen, Pikka
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.13 no.1
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    • pp.78-85
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    • 2022
  • Background: Veterinarians may encounter a variety of zoonotic pathogens in their work. Methods: We conducted two cross-sectional questionnaire studies among veterinarians in Finland. Participants were recruited during two Annual Veterinary Congresses. In 2009, 306 veterinarians participated in an extensive questionnaire study, and in 2016, 262 veterinarians participated in a more focused study that included two same questions. Results: In 2009, the majority (90.9%) of the participating veterinarians reported having been occupationally exposed to zoonotic pathogens. Zoonotic infections (15.0%), needle stick incidents (78.8%), bites (85.0%), as well as infected skin lesions (24.2%) were reported. In 2009, 8.2% of the participants fully agreed with the statement "I have good knowledge of zoonoses and their prevention"; in 2016, the proportion was 10.3%. The reported use of protective practices and personal protective equipment in connection with specific veterinary procedures indicated that there was room for improvement, particularly in protection from pathogens that are transmissible via inhalation and mucous membranes. Conclusion: The results confirm that veterinarians are commonly occupationally exposed to zoonotic pathogens. Education should aim to improve and maintain the knowledge of zoonoses and their prevention. Use of protective practices should be advocated.

Growth and Development of the Academic Societies and Animal Production in Korea, China and Asia over the Last 50 Years

  • Han, In K.;Ha, Jong K.;Lee, J.H.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.22 no.6
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    • pp.906-914
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    • 2009
  • The Korean Society of Animal Science (KSAS) was officially born on October 8, 1956 under the leadership of Professor Sang W. Yun of Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea a few years after the end of the Korean War. At that time, there were 0.9 million Korean native cattle, 1.3 million pigs and 8.9 million chickens in Korea. Per capita income for Korea (US$ 66) or China (US$ 59) was about 10% of Asian's average income (US$ 513) in 1956. Korea produced less than 0.2 million M/T of formula feed and consumed 6.1 kg/person/year of animal products. One could say that Korea was an example of an under-developed country in the world. Although the first issue of the Proceedings of the KSAS was published on October 28, 1958, regular quarterly journals of the KSAS were not published until March 1, 1969. Major activities other than publishing its journal were: holding an annual meeting and/or scientific forum at national or international level. The Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies (AAAP) was founded on September 1, 1980 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with founding members from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, NZ, Philippines and Thailand. Thirteen AAAP Animal Science Congresses have been held in its 28 year history. Hosting countries were Malaysia (1980), Philippines (1982), Korea (1985), NZ (1987), Taiwan (1990), Thailand (1992), Indonesia (1994), Japan (1996), Australia (2000), India (2002), Malaysia (2004), Korea (2006) and Vietnam(2008). In 1988, significant progress of the AAAP was made by creating an official English journal of the AAAP entitled "Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences (AJAS)" under the initiative of the KSAS. This journal is now published monthly and distributed to more than 50 countries in the AAAP region and the world. It should be mentioned that the KSAS was able to successfully host the $3^{rd}$ AAAP Animal Science Congress in 1985 and the 12th in 2006, as well as the $8^{th}$ WCAP in 1998. During the last 50 years of KSAS history, per capita income of Korea increased to US$ 17,690 (268 fold), formula feed production increased to 15 million M/T (97 fold) and consumption of animal products increased to 105 kg/person/year (17 fold). Cattle, pig and chicken numbers also increased to 2.5 million (2.8 fold), 9 million (7.4 fold) and 119 million (13 fold). This trend was also found for China and Asia, even if the rate of growth was slightly lower than that of Korea. It is expected that a similar rate of growth in economics, animal numbers, formula feed production and animal protein intake will likely be achieved by other Asian countries in the $21^{st}$ century with somewhat lower rate of development than that of Korea.

Road Safety Strategy Corresponding to Development: The Need for Participation of Medical Professionals (발전에 상응하는 교통안전 전략: 의료인의 참여 필요성)

  • Lee, Sang-Wan
    • Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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    • v.25 no.4
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    • pp.43-56
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    • 2007
  • Since the 1970s, along with an increasing number of motor vehicles in Korea, road crashes and casualties started to increase and eventually resulted in a serious public health problem starting from the beginning of the 1990s. Government authorities, however, have been not so proactive with reducing road crashes and injuries as well as deaths and have been reluctant to design effective safety strategies that could be established in collaboration with relevant multidisciplinary professionals. This paper aims at showing the status of road safety versus socioeconomic development in Korea and highlighting safety strategies that particularly need the participation of medical professionals. Six indicators to measure socioeconomic development and two indices for road safety were examined and international comparisons were made, finding road safety in Korea has been not corresponding to its level of development. The imbalance between socioeconomic development and road safety will certainly require the government authorities to look for effective safety strategies necessitating cooperation and collaboration with relevant experts including medical professionals. To make a provision for such needs in the near future, studies and experiences previously reported in the literature of traffic medicine and the world congresses of the International Traffic Medicine Association since 1984 were reviewed and categorized to focus on the strategies as well as measures that would be most effective in a mid-income country such as Korea.

China's National Defense Mobilization Law (중국의 국방동원법)

  • Lee, Dae Sung;Kim, Sang Kyum
    • Convergence Security Journal
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    • v.23 no.5
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    • pp.223-230
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    • 2023
  • The People's Republic of China's influence in the international community is growing in political, economic, military, and diplomatic spheres. The "reform and opening-up" policy proposed and implemented at the 11th Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee in December 1978 under Deng Xiaoping led to the rapid growth of China's economic and military power. The establishment of the National Defense Mobilization Commission in 1994 during Jiang Zemin's presidency also promoted defense mobilization, and the Standing Committees of the 9th, 10th, and 11th National People's Congresses, held since December 1998, formulated plans for defense mobilization legislation, and the first draft of the Defense Mobilization Law was approved in August 2008. In November 2005, under the leadership of President Hu Jintao, the draft Defense Mobilization Law passed the Standing Committee of the State Council, and in February 2010, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed it after several rounds of deliberation and amendment, and the Defense Mobilization Law has been promulgated and implemented since July 1, 2010. The People's Republic of China is ruled by the one-party dictatorship of the Communist Party of China and the People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of the Communist Party of China. In this paper, it reviews the contents of the Defense Mobilization Law of China, a totalitarian state, analyzes and evaluates the issues.

Southeast Asia and ASEAN in 2016: Disappointing Records and Increasing Uncertainty (동남아와 아세안 2016: 기대와 혼돈 속에 커져가는 불확실성)

  • SHIN, Yoon Hwan
    • The Southeast Asian review
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.95-129
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    • 2017
  • This study surveys and reviews political change, economic performance, and regional cooperation that were carried out in 2016 by Southeast Asian countries and ASEAN. This paper reports that what has followed the inauguration of new governments in Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Laos fails to live up to the expectation and optimism that arose in the aftermath of elections and party congresses that took place in the first half of the year. In other countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia, where authoritarian regimes are faced with strong oppositions, the prospects for democratic change worsened to a substantial degree, as schisms and internal strives complicated the opposition camp as a result of instigation and intervention by the authoritarian leaders and their followers. In stable political systems, both democratic and authoritarian, no significant changes that may entail serious political implications were noticed. In 2016, the national economy of almost each and every country continued its slow but steady recovery that had started in 2014 and grew by 5% on the average. For 2017 onward, however, the earlier optimism that it would grow at least as fast dimmed down as uncertainty about the world economy looms larger due to the unexpected win by Donald Trump as U.S. president and the expected 'hard landing' of the Chinese economy around 2018. ASEAN declared the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) only one day before the New Year, but its track record looked already bad and unpromising by the end of 2016. ASEAN leaders were tied up by their domestic politics and affairs too tightly to take time off to work seriously to observe the schedule as laid out in the AEC Blueprint 2025. Korea's relationship with Southeast Asian countries and ASEAN was "as good as it gets" in 2016 as ever but could become subject to tough review in the near future, if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is found out to have been implicated in the ongoing Choi Sun Sil scandal and if the opposition wins the next presidential election to be held by this year.