• Title/Summary/Keyword: Economic Sustainability

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Woody Plant Species Composition, Population Structure and Carbon Sequestration Potential of the A. senegal (L.) Willd Woodland Along a Distance Gradient in North-Western Tigray, Ethiopia

  • Birhane, Emiru;Gebreslassie, Hafte;Giday, Kidane;Teweldebirhan, Sarah;Hadgu, Kiros Meles
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.36 no.2
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    • pp.91-112
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    • 2020
  • In Ethiopia, dry land vegetation including the fairly intact lowland and western escarpment woodlands occupy the largest vegetation resource of the country. These forests play a central role in environmental regulation and socio-economic assets, yet they received less scientific attention than the moist forests. This study evaluated the woody plant species composition, population structure and carbon sequestration potential of the A. senegal woodland across three distance gradients from the settlements. A total of 45 sample quadrants were laid along a systematically established nine parallel transect lines to collect vegetation and soil data across distance gradients from settlement. Mature tree dry biomass with DBH>2.5 cm was estimated using allometric equations. A total of 41 woody plant species that belong to 20 families were recorded and A. senegal was the dominant species with 56.4 IVI value. Woody plant species diversity, density and richness were significantly higher in the distant plots compared to the nearest plots to settlement (p<0.05). The cumulative DBH class distribution of all individuals had showed an interrupted inverted J-shape population pattern. There were 19 species without seedlings, 15 species without saplings and 14 species without both seedlings and saplings. A significant above ground carbon (5.3 to 12.7 ton ha-1), root carbon (1.6 to 3.6 ton ha-1), soil organic carbon (35.6 to 44.5 ton ha-1), total carbon stock (42.5 to 60.7 ton ha-1) and total carbon dioxide equivalent (157.7 to 222.8 ton ha-1) was observed consistently with an increasing of distance from settlement (p<0.05). Distance from settlement had significant and positive correlation with species diversity and carbon stock at 0.64⁎⁎ and 0.78⁎⁎. Disturbance intensity may directly influence the variation of species composition, richness and density along the A. senegal woodland. The sustainability of the A. senegal woodland needs urgent protection, conservation and restoration.

The Influence of Food-Service's Social Responsibility Activities to Corporate Image, Long-Term Orientation, Positive Word of Mouth (외식기업의 사회적 책임활동이 기업이미지, 장기지향성, 긍정적 구전에 미치는 영향)

  • Jeon, Chang-Seok;Yoo, Young-Jin
    • The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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    • v.15 no.7
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    • pp.555-566
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    • 2015
  • Socially responsible activities done by the food-service companies increase corporate their competitiveness and can be used as a marketing strategy for the preparation for their future corporate image through positive word of consumer mouth. Food-service companies will lose competitiveness if they overlook socially responsible activities, which risks their long term sustainability. For one month, June 1 to June 30, 2014, after explaining the purpose and validity to staff and customers, the researcher asked them to complete a questionnaire via Self-administered Questionnaire Survey Method and gathered it.532 questionnaires out of 540 were returned and, excluding 22 insincerely replied questionnaires, 510 questionnaires were used for empirical analysis of the research material. he summary analysis for the research hypotheses are as follows :First, socially responsible activities(economic, charity and environmnetal responsibility) had a positive(+) effect on corporate image. Second, socially responsible activities had a positive(+) effect on long-term orientation. Third, socially responsible activities had a positive (+) effect on word of mouth. This study is worthwhile because it empirically confirms that food-service companies carry out socially responsible activities. his study confirms that socially responsible activities and business operations that fulfill this responsibility can be used as a marketing strategy, which reveals consumers' value of social responsibility.

How to Maintain the Financial Stability and Adequacy of Teachers Pension (사학연금의 재정안정화와 적정성 유지 방안)

  • Park, Yousung;Jeong, Min-Yeol;Jeon, Saebom
    • The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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    • v.28 no.4
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    • pp.643-661
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    • 2015
  • Korea Teachers Pension (private school pension) is a mandatory pension and a social security system for private school teachers to ensure the stability of subscribers by a supplying pension when they (and their dependents) face future economic risk due to retirement or death. Therefore, the Teachers Pension must provide stability and sustainability in regards to adequacy of income and to function as a pension. However, the Government Employees Pension System (GEPS) of Korea (the most representative special occupation pension) recorded a fiscal deficit in 2001 and with an accumulated deficit that is expected to grow; subsequently, various plans for the reform of GEPS have been actively discussed. The Korea Teachers Pension system is based on the GEPS scheme and is not free from the GEPS discussions on reforms of national pension. The current system for the Teachers Pension needs to be improved because it is expected to be depleted within the next 30 years due to low fertility and an aging population in Korea. This study discusses existing Teachers Pension schemes problems and suggests a projection method and revised plans to improve it. We use long-term financial projections of the Teachers Pension to estimate the fund exhaustion point and the minus balance of the financial scale as well as analyze the supply-demand burden structure that reflects the future population structure to propose Teachers Pension reforms that will improve stability and adequacy.

The Possibility of Expanding Pay-for-Performance Program as a Provider Payment System (성과연동지불제도의 확대 가능성 고찰)

  • Tchoe, Byongho;Lee, Suehyung
    • Health Policy and Management
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    • v.23 no.1
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    • pp.3-18
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    • 2013
  • This paper investigates the possibility of expanding pay-for-performance (P4P) program as a provider payment system, in terms of financial, economical, and political sustainability. In order to expand the sustainable P4P, P4P should have usefulness in terms of economic value as well as efficiency in the financial aspects of health care. More importantly, the P4P would be politically sustainable only when both providers and consumers can accept. Korea's healthcare system seems to have logical ground for the P4P program financially and economically. However, how well the P4P can work remains to be proven in its implementation. After 43 tertiary hospitals applied the P4P program for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and C-section in 2007, the number of hospitals adopting the P4P program for AMI and C-section has increased to 316 in 2011, and an incentive for hospitals applying the P4P has risen to 2% from 1% of health insurance benefits. This shows that the P4P program introduced by Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service is quite successful. In addition, people are aware of the need for improved P4P program and policy alternatives have been already made. Therefore, it is very important to come up with politically supportable strategies that can make providers and consumers accept the P4P program while maintaining the governance of the existing health insurance policy. To this end, there are some tasks to be considered. First, the expansion of the P4P program should be placed on the agenda of the Health Insurance Policy Review Committee, the highest decision-making body, and a separate agency for P4P planning should be established. Second, for more efficient P4P program, the processes of review and assessment, currently carried out separately, should be integrated into a single process. Third, infrastructure to measure the quality of medical services should be sharply expanded. Fourth, the current paradigm for the assessment should be changed. Lastly, a P4P program for consumers should be considered. Given that the consumers in Korea can use medical services freely, the National Health Insurance Corporation could initiate the P4P program for consumers as a means of controlling excessive use of medical services and adjusting consumer's moral hazard.

The Meaning of Hallyu and Its Sustainability in Bulgaria (불가리아 한류의 의미와 발전방향)

  • Song, Jung Eun;Nahm, Kee-Bom
    • The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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    • v.16 no.6
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    • pp.19-39
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    • 2016
  • Hallyu in East Europe has been spread since the end of the 2000s and contributed to boost the familiarity and favorability of Korea. Hallyu in East Europe started from Romania and Hungary, Korean dramas and K-Pops spread to Bulgaria. Korea and Bulgaria established a diplomatic relations in 1990; however, people of both countries do not share enough information or knowledge on each other. This study aims to understand the meaning of Hallyu and the ways of building cultural relations through Hallyu based on the cognitions and attitudes toward Korea and Korean culture in Bulgaria. It conducted the Focus Group Discussions(FGD) for 24 Sofia residents in their 20s and 30s. The FGD questions were mainly on the level of familiarity and of impacts of Hallyu in Bulgaria. The Hallyu in Bulgaria is still not so popular although Hallyu has been promoted through the diverse activities of Korean Embassy, Sofia University, Korean language institutions, and the Hallyu fans. The economic and cultural impact of the Hallyu is not yet viable in Bulgaria. In order to be recognized as one of the foreign popular culture in Bulgaria, Hallyu should be promoted with various endeavors for Bulgarian people to experience Korean culture beyond Korean drama and K-Pops based on the understanding of socio-cultural characteristics of Bulgaria. Then, Hallyu will be spread by producing Korean dramas, films, and K-pops reflected by local cultural characteristics in Bulgaria and hybridity of Korean popular culture.

Characteristics of Input and Output of Scientific Research (국가별 과학연구 투입과 성과의 특성분석)

  • Park, Hyun-Woo;Kim, Kyung-Ho;Yeo, Woon-Dong
    • Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.471-498
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    • 2009
  • The ability to judge a country's scientific standing is vital for the governments and businesses that must decide scientific priorities and funding. In this paper, we analyze the output and outcomes from research investment over the recent years, to measure the quality of scientific research on national scales and to set it in an international context. There are many ways to evaluate the quality of scientific research, but few have proved satisfactory. To measure the quantity and quality of science in different nations, we analyzed the numbers of published research papers and their citations. The number of citations per paper is a useful measure of the impact of a nation's research output. Essential at a were acquired from SCI database by Thomson Scientific, which indexes more than 8,000 journals, representing most significant materials in science and engineering. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and compare the output and outcomes among nations in a variety of viewpoints and criteria. One of the implications in response to the result of analysis is that sustainable economic development in highly competitive world markets requires a direct engagement in the generation of knowledge. Even modest improvement in healthcare, clean water, sanitation, food, and transport need capabilities in engineering, technology, and medicine beyond many countries' reach. Nations exporting natural resources such as gold and oil can import technology and expertise, but only until these resources are exhausted. For them, sustainability should imply investment in alternative agricultural and technological capabilities through improvements in their skills base. A strong science base does not necessarily leat to wealth generation. However, strength in science has additional benefits for individual nations, and for the world as a whole.

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Sustainable Design Method of Reinforced Concrete Beam Using Embodied Energy Optimization Technique (내재에너지 최적화를 통한 철근 콘크리트 보의 지속가능 설계법)

  • Yoon, Young-Cheol;Kim, Kyeong-Hwan;Yeo, DongHun;Lee, Sang-Ho
    • KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.34 no.4
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    • pp.1053-1063
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    • 2014
  • This study presents a sustainable design method that optimizes the embodied energy of concrete beam based on the concept of sustainable development that effectively utilizes natural resource and energy within the range that our succeeding generation can afford to utilize. In order to get the flexural strength carrying the ultimate load, concrete beam sections are designed by optimization that consists of the embodied energy as a objective function and the requirements of design code as constrained conditions. The sustainable design can be used to minimize the embodied energy consumed in material production, construction, operation, demolition of the infrastructure. As a result of comparison of the cost and the embodied energy optimizations based on practical beam sections, it is shown that 20% embodied energy saving and 35% $CO_2$ emission saving are achieved by sacrificing 10% cost increase. The sustainable design method provides a new effective methodology that manages the strength design concept based on cost minimization together with economic feasibility and sustainability. In addition, the method is expected to be applied to more various structural design practices.

Culture and Ecology-Oriented City Marketing: A Case Study of Gangneung City (문화.생태를 이용한 도시마케팅 사례 연구)

  • Heo, Chung-Uk
    • Korean Business Review
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.157-179
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    • 2009
  • This papers aims to focus on the city marketing as the green growth policy strategies using a case study of Gangneung City, Republic of Korea. In the case study it was verified the fields of urban growth including ecology, culture, alternative and recycled energy, green transportation system. The implications of the study were as follows: First, the city government had regenerated the coastal pine forest through removing unlicensed buildings which were squatted down in decades. Secondly, the city government has recognized the value of culture that possessed various types of cultural asserts. Thirdly, it is possible to use and produce the ocean energy with the tidal power plant, wind power plant and green deep water because Gangneung City has the ocean-oriented image and is located the coastal region. Lastly, the city government has been utilizing the LED traffic light using solar heat and is going to apply the green car like an electric car. This paper indicates the importance of the alternatives of the green growth-oriented policy through city marketing using the concept of culture and ecology. The city government will strive after an advanced triple bottom line with the ecological sustainability, cultural diversity and economic effectiveness in the near future.

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Geography: A Portal to Green Growth (녹색성장과 지리학)

  • Yu, Keun-Bae
    • Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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    • v.45 no.1
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    • pp.11-25
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    • 2010
  • Green Growth was declared as a national development agenda in 2008. There are many contributing concepts and factors in the process of molding the agenda, such as climate change, sustainable development, globalization, the so-called 747 campaign pledges by President Lee in 2007, and the hunger for economic growth in Asia and the Pacific. Green Growth is rather growth-oriented and pays less attention to environmental conservation and social justice. Green Development would fit better as the name of the agenda, dealing with the weaknesses of Green Growth. Climate change itself is a testing ground for geographic knowledges, whose demand is growing rapidly. The contemporary issue increasingly bears complexity that Earth System Science and Sustainability Science have emerged as a research and applications program. Geography is widely recognized as a portal to these programs, where inter- and trans-disciplinary studies are required. Regional potentials should be evaluated from a holistic view so that proper development goals are chosen. Different development trajectory should be taken, depending on the amount of potential a region bears. Material loop should be closed for environmentally sound regions. Green way of life is essential for low carbon society. In the circumstances of climate change in Korean Peninsula and needing of energy efficiency, geographic insight or imagination is urgent for Green Development.

A Study on the Sustainable Fashion Design by Organic Cotton (오가닉 코튼[Organic Cotton]을 이용한 지속가능한 패션디자인)

  • Kim, Soo-Hyun;Lee, Jae-Jung;Chung, Hyun-Sook
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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    • v.57 no.2 s.111
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    • pp.115-131
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    • 2007
  • By the turn of the century, our society has been gradually more interested in environmental problems than any other time. Ecological change spurred by industrial pollution is occurring beyond the borders of nations, and has emerged as a global issue. Such change is resulting in exhaustion of natural resources and energy, and serious climatic change. In this study, main focus regarding the process of the fashion product design system was placed on the sustainable fashion design of organic cotton as a positive and alternative suggestion. It is expected that the results of this study contribute to the fashion design planning not only for future generation but also for the present time. This study researched on brands that produced their fashion products using organic cotton. The following cases proved to possess sustainability in their product system. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: Firstly, sustainable design in organic cotton products has been a progressive ere-design in 2000s. It is mainly focus concerned with recycling and re-use of materials to protect environment. It is not chemical dependant and takes a particular care in eliminating waste water and energy in the dyeing process. It is an environmentally sustainable design better than all the other design processes. Secondly, it is a design that cares for the common good of society and the global system of fair trading. The fair trading of organic cotton products induced a change in the structure of production system, while defending human rights. It also gave benefits by promoting development in local society and progress in traditional skills. Not to mention that it contributed to building up the concept of transparency in the global economic system. Lastly, the brands emphasize their social responsibility and management ethics to observe environmental policy which is established to protect our nature and people. Their public information reminds customers of the importance of protecting the environment from diverse pollution. Moreover, they hold social events to promote public awareness for environmental Issues. This study dealt only with the organic cotton, a small subset of the subject of sustainable design. It can be extended and applied to various other sustainable fashion design as a solution for global environmental issues.