• Toxicological Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.165-171
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• 2017

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a monomer used in a polymerization reaction in the production of polycarbonate plastics. It has been used in many consumer products, including plastics, polyvinyl chloride, food packaging, dental sealants, and thermal receipts. However, there is little information available on the inhalation toxicity of BPA. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine its inhalation toxicity and effects on the estrous cycle, spatial learning, and memory. Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 0, 10, 30, and $90mg/m^3$ BPA, 6 hr/day, 5 days/week for 8 weeks via whole-body inhalation. Mortality, clinical signs, body weight, hematology, serum chemistry, estrous cycle parameters, performance in the Morris water maze test, and organ weights, as well as gross and histopathological findings, were compared between the control and BPA exposure groups. Statistically significant changes were observed in serum chemistry and organ weights upon exposure to BPA. However, there was no BPA-related toxic effect on the body weight, food consumption, hematology, serum chemistry, organ weights, estrous cycle, performance in the Morris water maze test, or gross or histopathological lesions in any male or female rats in the BPA exposure groups. In conclusion, the results of this study suggested that the no observable adverse effect level (NOAEL) for BPA in rats is above $90mg/m^3$/6 hr/day, 5 days/week upon 8-week exposure. Furthermore, BPA did not affect the estrous cycle, spatial learning, or memory in rats.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.181-190
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• 2017

Recently, safety accidents of daily necessities such as humidifier disinfectant, mobile phones, and infant diapers, have occurred frequently. To protect consumers from these accidents, product safety management is required, and a product risk assessment tool is needed to evaluate the degree of safety of the product. In this paper, we have constructed RAS, which is a system that can evaluate product risk based on injury information of product accident in Korea Consumer Agency. RAS consists of an injury information analysis system for analyzing accident-related information and a risk assessment system for assessing risk using information derived from the system. The Bayesian network - based probabilistic method is applied to reflect the causal relationships that affect product risk in the risk assessment process. We used RAS to evaluate 33 children's products and compared them with the results of EU RAPEX RAG. Subsequent tasks include reducing the subjectivity of the input of the accident impact scale, and linking the above two systems.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.43-57
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• 2022

Purpose: Despite the numerous studies on factors impacting pro-environmental behavior, actual studies analyzing a relationship between pro-environmental behavior and eco-friendly channels (e.g., local food market and farmers' market channel) usage behavior (visit and purchasing frequency) are rare. This study investigated the relationship between consumers with positive pro-environmental behavior and eco-friendly channels usage behavior. Research design, data and methodology: The study investigated the relationship between pro-environmental behavior and eco-friendly channels (local food markets and farmers market) visit behavior by analyzing data from the Korea Consumer Agency's 2021 Korea Consumption Life Index, with a focus on the pro-environmental index. Relationship between pro-environmental behavior and whether eco-friendly channels visit or not were analyzed. Demographic variables also influence eco-friendly oriented channels visit. Data analysis used hierarchical regression, firstly inputted pro-environmental behavior, and then demographic variables inputted, and finally pro-environmental behavior and demographics interactions as moderating variables inputted. Results: Consumer's with positive behavior towards pro-environment were indeed more likely to choose local food market and farmers' market compared to other consumers. Demographic variables also effect local food market visit. Some demographic variables moderate this relationship. The results, however, differed by channel type. Conclusions: Pro-environmental behavior is closely related to eco-friendly channels (local food market and farmers; market) visit.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.81-96
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• 2020

This study aims to identify implications for the role of home economics in consumer education in middle schools focusing on building consumer competency. To this end, the content in middle school textbooks of home economics and other subjects, written according to the 2015 revised curriculum, were analyzed. This study examined consumer education content based on the consumer competency measurement index developed by the Korean Consumer Agency, and reviewed different foci presented by subjects. This study also investigated how the knowledge, attitude and practice, which are components of consumer competency, are presented. The major findings of this study can be summarized as follows: First, consumer competency content, presented in textbooks of home economics and other subjects, were comprised of citizenship competency(65.3%), transactional competency(27%), and financial competency(7.7%). Second, in terms of content on the consumer's citizenship competency, little attention was paid to consumer rights, revealing an imbalance between responsibilities and rights. Third, despite its importance, the "utilization of information and communications technology" in transaction competency, and "consumer participation" in citizenship competency are insufficiently covered in the home economics. Fourth, social studies was the subject that most extensively covered the content of consumer competency. In terms of scope, home economics dealt with most of the sub-fields. Fifth, even when the same content of consumer competency was covered, it was presented differently by subject. Sixth, there was a lack of connection between components of consumer competency-knowledge, attitude, and practice, with a disproportionately high emphasis on knowledge. In conclusion, this study concluded that consumer education content of middle school subjects is insufficient to enhance consumer competency.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.192-197
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• 2020

Foreign students in South Korea face important challenges when they try to maintain their health. As a measure of their motivation to actively build skills for overcoming those challenges, we evaluated the 10-item Consumer Health Activation Index (CHAI), testing its feasibility, dimensionality, and reliability. There were no missing data, there was no floor effect, and for the total scores the ceiling effect was trivial (< 2%). Results of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test and Bartlett's test of sphericity indicated that the data were suitable for the detection of structure by factor analysis. The results of parallel analysis and the shape of the scree plot supported a two-factor solution. One factor had 3 items concerning "my doctor" and the other factor had the 7 remaining items. Reliability was high for the 10-item CHAI (alpha = 0.856), for the 3-item subscale (alpha = 0.838), and for the 7-item subscale (alpha = 0.857). Reliability could not be improved by deletion of any items. Use of the CHAI to gather data from these foreign students is feasible, and reliable results can be obtained whether one uses the total score from all 10 items or scores from the proposed 7-item and 3-item subscales.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.61-74
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• 2008

This research aims to examine and analyze behavior of consumers in pursuit of safety the basis of data Korea Consumer Agency in 2007 2,000 male and females older than 20 years old in Korea. In particular, this study investigates the impact of and life styles of consumers in pursuit of safety. Results of this research could be summarized as follows. First of all, Korean consumers tend to place emphasis on factors such as price and freshness rather than safety in the purchase of vegetables, meats, rice, and fruit.Second, the safety consciousness of consumers is high among female young consumers among consumers showing intermediate positions for the issue of opening domestic markets for foreign agricultural products. Third, this study also examines the impact of life styles on consumers' behavior in pursuit of safety. Such behavior is high among consumers emphasizing values on family and current consumption and showing negative attitudes opening domestic markets for imported foreign agricultural products. Finally, behavior in pursuit of safety is high among female, high school graduated, family-oriented consumers and valuing leisure and showing negative attitudes opening domestic markets for foreign agricultural products. However, safety consciousness of consumers do not generate direct impact on patterns of pursuing safety.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.217-232
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• 2018

This study analyzes the determining factors of the digital divide index in married female immigrants based on panel data from the National Information Society Agency (2016). There were 287 participants, all of whom owned a smartphone. The study divided the consumer groups into three age groups: 20-29, 30-39, and 40-49 years. SPSS 19.0 was used to statistically analyze the results. The findings of the analysis were described using frequency, descriptive, cross-tab, ANOVA, correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The findings of this research are as follows. First, nationality, acquisition of Korean nationality, and duration of living in Korea were significantly different among the three groups. Second, digital competency and online service usage were also significantly different among the three groups. Third, PC usage ability, mobile usage ability, and diversity of online usage significantly influenced the digital divide index in all age groups. Fourth, residential duration in Korea significantly decreased the digital divide index for groups in their 30s and 40s. Fifth, Loneliness significantly increased the digital divide index for groups in their 20s. Sixth, depression significantly increased the digital divide index for groups in their 30s. The study will help to further understand age-related differences and the digital divide of married female immigrants.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.183-192
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• 2014

With the rapid mobile phones and global diffusion of mobile marketing it is very important to understand cross-national consumer attitude and behavioral intentions toward mobile marketing as a promotional channel. Some areas of mobile advertising still need more investigation. Especially, the topic about consumer attitude toward mobile advertising has been received a considerable amount of attention. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study investigates the relationship between characteristic of mobile advertising and purchase intention toward mobile advertising, and analyzes moderating effect of country type. The result of this study could help researchers and practitioners to understand which factors should be managed to increase the effectiveness of mobile advertising.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.101-114
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• 2023

With the development of information and communication technology and the growth of e-commerce, the scale of international B2C transactions is expanding, and the scale of overseas direct purchase through online platforms will grow further in the future. However, with the growth of overseas direct purchase, the scale of illegal income is also growing, causing social problems. Under the current Customs Act, if a purchasing agent falsely provides a customs value and a shortage of tax occurs, the purchasing agent and the consumer, the shipper at the time of import declaration, are jointly and severally liable for tax payment. enemy improvement is needed This study proposed opinions on the problem of consumer damage caused by purchasing agents and institutional improvement in the Customs Act to solve it.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.12 no.3 s.18
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• pp.31-47
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• 2006

Nowadays Korean governments use Information Technology to improve the quality of life for a people. One of these tries is building the Food Tracing System based on Information Technology. Koreans have big concern about food that is good for health. The Food Tracing System means that the system can follows, traces, and records every steps of production and delivery of food and its ingredient. And this process should be identified and grouped by using tags, marks, and other methods. For example, producer of ingredient, processing steps of food, delivered place could be traced. In addition to food, medical herbs need consumer's trust in production and delivery. To trace and prosecute contaminated medical herbs, medical herbs also need this kind of Tracing System based on Information Technology. This study shows current medical herbs tracing ways and RFID(Radio Frequency IDentification) technology trend. As preceding study for future RFID based medical herbs tracing system, this study suggests the building plan and scenario of the Medical Herbs Tracing System. The determination of the main body for sticking RFID Tags is very important to design for RFID Traceability System. In this study, the starting point of information to medical herbs is an inspection agency. The Medical Herbs to product domestically or import moved to an inspection agency. An inspection agency bond the RFID Tags to packing of the Medical Herbs after examining the a basic its component. At the same time inspector give the information of production or importation to the Tags. This Tags are moved for logistical process to end point, the Korean medicine agency. The customer confirmed the traceability and certification information of the Medical Herbs. For success tracing of medical herbs, institutional support and close cooperation between related organizations is necessary besides good system design.