• Title/Summary/Keyword: Consensus of Information

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Whose Science is More Scientific? The Role of Science in WTO Trade Disputes

  • Kim, Inkyoung;Brazil, Steve
    • Analyses & Alternatives
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.31-69
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    • 2018
  • This study examines the role of science in resolving trade disputes. After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011 that not only jeopardized the people of Japan, but also put the safety of an entire region at risk, the Republic of Korea (Korea) has imposed import bans as well as increased testing and certification requirements for radioactive material on Japanese food products. Japan has challenged these restrictions at the World Trade Organizations Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). This study aims to explain how international trade agreements and previous DSB rulings have dealt with different scientific viewpoints provided by confronting parties. In doing so, it will contrast the viewpoints espoused by Korean and Japanese representatives, and then analyzes the most similar case studies previously ruled on by the DSB, including the case of beef hormones and the case of genetically modified crops including biotech corn, both between the United States and the European Communities (EC). This study finds that science is largely subordinate to national interests in the case of state decision-making within the dispute settlement processes, and science has largely been relegated to a supportive role. Due to the ambiguity and lack of truly decisive decisions in the Appellate Body in science-based trade disputes, this study concludes that the Appellate Body avoids taking a firm scientific position in cases where science is still inconclusive in any capacity. Due to the panel's unwillingness to establish expert review boards as it has the power to do, instead favoring an individual-based system so that all viewpoints can be heard, it has also developed a system with its own unique weaknesses. Similar to any court of law in which each opposing party defends its own interests, each side brings whatever scientific evidence it can to defend its position, incentivizing them to disregard scientific conclusions unfavorable to their position. With so many questions that can arise, combined with the problems of evolving science, questions of risk, and social concerns in democratic society, it is no wonder that the panel views scientific information provided by the experts as secondary to the legal and procedural issues. Despite being ruled against the EC on legal issues in two previous cases, the EC essentially won both times because the panel did not address whether its science was correct or not. This failure to conclusively resolve a debate over whose science is more scientific enabled the EC to simply fix the procedural issues, while continuing to enforce trade restrictions based on their scientific evidence. Based on the analysis of the two cases of disputes, Korea may also find itself guilty of imposing an unwarranted moratorium on Japan's fish exports, only to subsequently pass new restrictions on labelling and certification requirements because Japan may have much scientific evidence at its disposal. However, Korea might be able to create enough uncertainty in the panel to force them to rule exclusively on the legal issues of the case. This will then equip Korea, like the EC in the past, with a way of working around the ruling, by changing whatever legal procedure they need to while maintaining some, if not most, of its restrictions when the panel fails to address its case on scientific grounds.

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Effectiveness of "Village Image Construction Tool Kit" in the Residents Workshop of a Housing Improvement Area (주거지 정비지역 주민 워크샵을 통한 마을이미지 맵 제작도구의 효용성 연구)

  • Lee, Yeun-Sook;Kim, Ju-Suck;Jung, Eun-Jung
    • Journal of the Korean housing association
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.67-77
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    • 2010
  • Citizen participation in local redevelopment has recently been regarded as essential, since progress in democracy and diversified public interests have contributed to more importance being placed on citizen participation in the implementation of public policies. While the importance of resident participation has been increasingly emphasized in principle, in reality more effort is still required in its application. We need to develop practical strategies of collecting community opinion in order to reflect it in public policy, if we are to achieve a resident and citizen-centered society. The purpose of this study is to develop an image map construction tool that can be applied to the "Maul-Mandulgi" projects as a visualized method to facilitate the exchange of opinions and work toward agreements. The tool is intended to assist public discussion by visualizing policies and plans and reducing the possibility of misunderstanding, so that residents can properly respond to the plans. Second, this study will verify the effectiveness of the tool in the application to local community workshops. The main research method is participant observation method and field study. Major findings are as follows, First, every resident who had participated in previous workshops gathered together, used the tool and represented their opinions unusually more than once. Each resident tried to make sure that other participants appropriately understood his or her opinion. The workshop finished when all participants agreed and produced a consensus. The workshop took much less time, which is in stark contrast to previous workshops in which it took significantly more time to collect opinions. Second, it proved that residents in the redevelopment area can strike a broad agreement by themselves on a method and direction for residential improvement. In previous workshops, conflicts between residents developed over the choice between the two methods, of local improvement and total demolition prior to multi-housing construction. In this study, opinions of residents were not limited to the two methods by finding a winwin solution. Third, the use of the tool kit for image map became efficient for inactive residents to develop their own opinions in regard to the direction and orientations of the residential improvement process. In addition, for those who have either no or a slight understanding of the residential improvement projects, the tool can provide access to information and knowledge. This study concludes that the developed tool for imaging of the redevelopment projection like a design game, rather than using forms of text and speech, can be a useful tool in collecting opinions and forming an agreed opinion for forthcoming residential improvement plans.

A Quality Assessment of Meta-Analyses Research in Social Work (국내 사회복지 관련 메타분석 연구의 질 평가)

  • Cho, Mi-Kyoung;Kim, Hee-Young
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.17 no.10
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    • pp.158-167
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    • 2016
  • This study was conducted to evaluate the quality of meta-analysis of social work in South Korea using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Review (AMSTAR). Electronic databases including the Korean Studies Information Service System (KISS), DBpia, and RISS4U were searched for 'meta-analysis', 'social work', and 'social welfare' from 2000 to December 2015, and 42 meta-analysis studies were included. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA. The mean score for AMSTAR evaluation was $4.766{\pm}1.66$, while 19 studies (45.2%) were classified at the low-quality level, and 22 (52.4%) were at the moderate-quality level. The scores of quality assessment were analyzed by publication year, participants, number of studies included, number of DB, reporting study quality, extraction diagram and topics. The findings indicated that the following changes should be implemented to improve the quality and reliability of meta-analysis results in social work research: 1) common reporting guidelines should be provided for the social work field, 2) quality analyses of each study should be conducted to achieve a high level of evidence of effectiveness of social work interventions, 3) the characteristics of the included studies should be provided, and 4) a consensus and procedure based on at least two independent data extractors should be reported.

Current status of comparative compositional analysis for GM crop biosafety assessment (유전자변형작물 안전성평가를 위한 영양성분 비교연구 동향)

  • Kim, Eun-Ha;Oh, Seon-Woo;Lee, Sang-Gu;Lee, Sung-Kon;Ryu, Tae-Hun
    • Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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    • v.47 no.4
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    • pp.261-272
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    • 2020
  • Approvals for cultivation and import of genetically modified (GM) crops have dramatically increased around the world. Comparative compositional studies are an important aspect of safety assessments of products from GM crops and are based on substantial equivalence. Compositional analyses focus on determining similarities and differences between the compositions of the GM crops and their conventional counterparts, and thereby assessing the compositional equivalence of GM crops and their conventional comparators. The analytes, such as major constituents, key nutrients, and antinutrients, are generally determined on a crop-specific basis according to the OECD consensus document. The use of standard methods throughout the processes, such as selection of comparators, field trials, analytical methods, and statistical data analysis, is crucial. In this study, we showed the general framework of compositional studies. Literature for compositional studies of GM crops conducted abroad and in Korea was reviewed to obtain information about analytes, conventional counterparts, cultivation year, location, and statistical methods. The studies conducted abroad assessed for commercial release of GM crops such as soybean, maize, and cotton, while domestic studies were mainly performed for research in rice. In addition, we suggested a guidance for conventional comparators and field trials applicable to the domestic situation.

Correlates of life satisfaction in the Elderly : Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (노인의 생활 만족도 영향 요인: 체계적 문헌고찰 및 메타분석)

  • Mo, Jin-A;Lee, Kyung-Hee
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.517-526
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this study is to provide convenience to the senior center staff and policy makers through a research of "Life satisfaction" in the senior centers with a systematic review and meta-analysis of the considerations of the elderly, published in foreign journals for the past 10 years. We searched published studies in the Medline Complete, Pub-med central and Scopus databases from January 2007 to November 2017. The main key words used "Elderly AND(And OR aged) AND Personal Satisfaction/ or life satisfaction" and out of 595 searched articles a total of 6 studies were selected. After qualitative analysis of the contents of the study, meta - analyzes were conducted for factors with more than three quantitative values. The factors affecting life satisfaction of the elderly were physical health (pooled effect size 0.582, p = .000), mental health (pooled effect size 0.423, p = .000), economic problems (r = .51, p =. 001), social activities, and daily living. It is expected that this study which provides an understanding of life satisfaction of the elderly would contribute to provide general information for developing social consensus on the employment in the super aging society should help improve the quality of welfare facilities for senior citizens in the future.

Functions and Roles of Local Public Archives (「지방기록물관리기관」의 기능과 역할)

  • Gi, Su-gol
    • The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
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    • no.3
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    • pp.3-32
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    • 2001
  • In this paper, local public archives is referred to the public archives of provincial governments and metropolitan city governments as defined in the public Records Management Act. Under the Act, as professional archives, the local public archives preserves records designated as permanent preservation which the local government and its sub-agencies created or received to conduct public business. The Act also allows local public archives to establish an appropriate basic plan to manage its holdings as well as to oversight its sub-agencies. The Act stipulates that the local public archives are to be established in all provinces and metropolitan cities. The local public archives shall preserve archival heritage safely and utilize use of the recorded information as defined in the Article one of the Act. The local archives shall respect the principle of provenance. It is expected that the local archives shall strengthen local archival promotion campaigns which necessarily reflect unique local circumstances. However, as the Act just recommended the establishment of local public archives not to force as a mandatory procedure, it resulted in a flow of some confusions and misinterpretations. Despite the act was proclaimed two years ago, the local public archives are not yet established, not to mention that no preparatory works are on the way. To establish the local public archives effectively which meet local residents needs and demands, provincial governments and metropolitan city governments should proceed a well-prepared preparatory works plan considering the steps to transform them into the local public archives when they establish agency records centers. The first step in this process is to reach at a common consensus on the functions and roles of the local public archives which accommodates local residents needs and demands. Secondly, by analyzing the functions of archives to be established, an estimation of needed human resources, facilities, equipments, organization, budget appropriation, and local rules should be performed. Otherwise, the establishment of decent local archives is a far remote future. One of the methods to proceed this project systematically is to establish a local research institute for the local archives and cultural studies which would be put under the local university authority while consulting with local governments, local civil organizations, local historical and cultural societies. It is very undesirable to stress too much upon administrative efficiency when concerned parties discuss the functions and roles of the local public archives. They must keep in mind that when the functions to collect and use historically valuable records are active then administrative efficiency can be raised as well as accountability. Collecting and arranging historically valuable records is a short-cut way to promote accountability and develop local political culture. The local public archives is a valuable community historical center and an effective medium to facilitate historical speaking and writing among local people, something more than a simple public archives. Then our campaign for the establishment of local public archives can be a meaningful political cultural movement.

Schemes for Constructing the System of Environmentally Friendly Agri-policy Governance (친환경농업정책 분야의 거버넌스 체계 구축방안)

  • Kim Ho;Heo Seung-Wook
    • Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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    • v.14 no.2
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    • pp.159-177
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    • 2006
  • Governance systems are basically an autonomous cooperation type among the government, civil society and market, also a new paradigm for efficient and democratic administration of policies. The governance mainly consists of the central operating body, institutions, operating principles and so on. The constituents are the nation(government), civil society(NGO) and market(firm). Institutional conditions are a legitimate base, financial stability and independency. And as a operating principle, governance systems have common goals and issues from a national and social point of view. This governance has been recently emerged due to financial risk of government, diffusion of new liberalism going with the globalization, localization-decentralization, and development of civil society and information-oriented society. We have to grope fur the framework of participatory agri- policy confronting globalization and localization as well as developing our agriculture and rural village. This agri-policy governance should be theoretically focused on policy network or self-organizing network or multi-lateral governance (MLG) based on NPM. Also, it is proper to have connection of nation-central type and civil society-central type. And it is necessary to have a MLG type with local governance corresponding to localization and decentralization. Governance should have the type whose participants have authority and responsibility as well. Basic directions of environmentally friendly agri-policy governance are as follows : first, its purposes are constructing the democratic and efficient framework of participatory environmentally friendly agri-policy based on consensus of all the related groups, embodying environmentally friendly agri-policy adjusted to local field, raising farmer's real interest, and improving their position. Second, its form should have a council or an agreement system, not an advisory or a consultation organ. Thus, public sector(eg. government) and voluntary sector(eg. farmers' organization) jointly execute agricultural policy and are responsible together. Environmentally friendly agri-policy governance is mainly made up of farmers' organization, cooperative and civil society(NGO). And secondary bodies are agribusinesses and academic groups. Government interacts with the main bodies on administrative execution. And environmentally friendly agri-policy governance has MLG type with a central unit, province and county units. Environmentally friendly agri-policy governance has several main functions such as agri-policy partnership, speaking for farmer's rights and interests, investigation and research on domestic and foreign agricultural streams, and etc. Especially, local unit will play roles in activation for regional agriculture, consulting on technique and management, education and training services, services entrusted by government, and so on.

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Application of delphi method to the technology level assessment of food safety (델파이기법을 활용한 식품안전 기술수준 진단)

  • Gwon, So Young;Lee, Ye Seul
    • Food Science and Industry
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    • v.51 no.3
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    • pp.209-217
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    • 2018
  • Delphi technique is widely used to develop consensus on group opinion. It is important to identify the strategic technologies and evaluate technology level for the establishment of national R&D policy to upgrade technology level. The aim of this article was to reflect on Food Safety technology level by using Delphi methodology. And, competitiveness of patents and journal articles is evaluated for Korea, USA, Japan, China and EU. As a result, USA is the most competitive country for all technology categories. The average technology level of Korea was 79.5% of world-top coungry and average technological gap was 6.1 years. Korea is grouped in middle-lower class for overall food safety technology level. However, there are some variances among the level of technologies. As a result of this study, food safety research management needs to expand R&D investment and training of food safety specialist. The results of this research can be utilized to establish a road map for transportation R&D and plans.

A Study on High-level FSA for Korean-flagged General Cargo Ships (국적일반화물선 초기안전성평가(High-level FSA) 연구(1))

  • Lee, Jong-Kap;Na, Seong;Kim, Hong-Tae;Kim, Kyoung-Mi
    • Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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    • v.34 no.3
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    • pp.213-220
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    • 2010
  • Following the application of Formal Safety Assessment(FSA) to bulk carriers, crude oil tankers and large passenger ships, an urgent need to consider the safety of general cargo ships has recently been raised through the International Maritime Organization(IMO)(IMO, 2006a), and related FSA studies are being carried out by International Association of Classification Societies(IACS) as a preparatory work for the discussion on the issue of general cargo ship safety in the IMO committee. FSA is a structured and systematic methodology which is based on the techniques of risk analysis and cost benefit assessment to assist in the decision-making process, and aims at enhancing maritime safety, including protection of life, health, the marine environment and property. FSA can be used as a tool to facilitate the development of regulatory changes equitable to the various parties, with a view to aiding the achievement of consensus, and to help in the evaluation of new regulations and in making a comparison between existing and possibly improved regulations(IMO, 2007). This study aims at verifying the usefulness of FSA methods as a tool to conduct a safety assessment of general cargo ships flying the Korean flag, and providing useful information on 'the safety of general cargo ships' for IMO committee's discussion on the matter at a future session. FSA comprises five steps, however, steps 1(Hazard identification) and 2 (Risk analysis) from the FSA study for the Korean-flagged general cargo ships are discussed in this paper.

E-Governance Practices in Developing Countries. Its Benefits and Challenges. -The Case of Pakistan- (개발도상국의 전자정부 시행에 따른 장점과 문제 -파키스탄 중심으로-)

  • Aftab, Muhammad
    • Industry Promotion Research
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.79-86
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    • 2019
  • The quality of service delivery by governments to their citizens is a subject of concern in the contemporary society. E-governance is a critical aspect that is transforming government operation and service delivery to citizens and other bodies through application of information technology. This research explores the state of e-governing focusing on nations that are developing with special attention to Pakistan. The difficulties and benefits encountered are identified. The results are vital for implementers of e-governing systems in these countries. The methodology applied entails a secondary research that involves analysis and synthesis of literature relating the research topic. The results reveal that Pakistan has made incredible steps in setting up e-governance systems with growth in internet use and access of data from a digital platform. The findings reveal that e-government is associated with multiple benefits including enhanced quality of services, cost efficiency in service provision, enhance transparency and elimination of corruption, provide the basis for eradication of poverty, boost economic stability of a country, and provide room for direct democracy. The research also found that developing countries experience challenges in form of financial constraints, poor ICT infrastructure, illiteracy on e-government, political consensus constraints, legal obstacles, social and cultural constraints. E-government has the capability to transform the quality of governance provided by governments, and policymakers and implementers should address the constraints that act as a hindrance to its implementation.