• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.196-206
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• 2009

The profitability of a hospital refers to business administration results achieved through its medical care and other management activities during applicable fiscal year. This study focused on operating margin as a measurement index of hospital profitability, which is a genuine medical return obtained by subtracting medical expenses from medical profits achieved during business administration of hospital. Based on the index, this study could deduce certain factors on hospital profitability in terms of various indices affecting profitability. And based on those factors, this study sought to provide more useful reference materials which allow us to devise possible ways to improve hospital profitability. As a result, it was found that public hospitals attained lower profitability than private ones. To analyze profitability depending on each index, this study divided hospitals broadly into deficit group and surplus group. As a result, it was found that there were significant differences in hospital profitability between two groups depending upon relevant indices such as labor cost ratio, maintenance expense ratio, number of operations per medical specialist and medical instrument turnover. According to analysis on potential effects of relevant indices upon profitability, it was found that each index had its explanatory power ranging from 25% to 74.5% depending on given model.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.471-501
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• 2021

We measure Environmental Efficiency (EE) based on CO₂ in four income groups from 1998 to 2018, using the Meta Stochastic Frontier Analysis method by Input Distance Function. Our results showed that economic growth and energy consumption would increase carbon dioxide emissions, and increasing labor and capital input will reduce it. Moreover, we compared Group Environmental Efficiency (GEE), Meta Environmental Efficiency (MEE), and Environmental Gap Ratio (EGR). The results showed that GEEs were be overestimated. Furthermore, the MEE showed a downward trend during this period. The lower-middle-income group had the highest EGR performance. High-income and upper-middle-income groups showed less efficiency in MEE and EGR. To improve environmental efficiency, we must reduce fossil fuels and find more scientific and technological ways to solve existing environmental problems as soon as possible.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.119-127
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• 2021

Objectives: We aimed to find the relationships between employment status and hs-CRP level among Korean wage workers using the 2016 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination (KNHANE, revised). Methods: This study was conducted on 1,937 daytime wage workers over the age of 19 and within a normal weight range (18.5≤BMI≺25). Regular workers were defined as those granted an employment guarantee until reaching retirement age, and non-regular workers were defined as temporary, non-typical, dispatched, short-term workers and contractors. For hs-CRP, three divisions were classified as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Heart Association (AHA) with less than 1.0 mg/L indicating low risk of cardiovascular disease, above 1.0 mg/L and below 3.0 mg/L considered moderate risk, and more than 3.0 mg/L indicating high risk. To find the relationship between work type and hs-CRP level in Korean wage workers, multinominal logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: For non-regular workers, the odds ratio of the cardiovascular moderate-risk group and cardiovascular high-risk group was statistically significant compared to regular workers. After adjusting for factors such as gender, age, subjective health status, income, education, smoking, and physical labor, the odds ratio of the cardiovascular high-risk group was statistically significant. Conclusions: In this study, the relationship between non-regular workers and high hs-CRP level was examined. Based on this, institutional strategies should be pursued to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease among non-regular workers.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.86-96
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• 2022

Background: To explore the association between low back pain (LBP) and pelvic pain (PP) and rectus abdominis diastasis (RAD) in postpartum women and identify the characteristics and risk factors. Methods: Women diagnosed with RAD and a history of labor and delivery, between 2009 and 2018, were identified from six hospitals within the Partners Healthcare System. Univariate and multivariable binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify the risk factors associated with pain. Results: Age at onset of RAD in the non-cesarean delivery group was earlier than those in cesarean delivery (CD) group (P = 0.017). Women who underwent CD demonstrated 4.5 times greater risk of RAD than those who had no CD exposure. The cumulative composition ratio of LBP at every age stage of the period from 8 years pre-first delivery to 8 years post-first delivery was significantly higher than the other five conditions (RAD, umbilical hernia, PP, depressive disorder [DD], and strain of muscle, fascia, and tendon [SMFT]) (P for trend < 0.001). Women with DD, SMFT, and PP were more likely to have LBP (odds ratio [OR] = 1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06 to 3.47, P = 0.032; OR = 4.50, 95% CI 1.64 to 12.36, P = 0.003; OR = 2.14, 95% CI 1.17 to 3.89, P = 0.013; respectively). Conclusions: In postpartum women with RAD, DD, SMFT, and PP were found to be risk factors contributing to the development of LBP. Race and LBP also played roles in the development of PP.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.350-356
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• 1981

An experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of the vinyl pot size and number of plants per pot on the seedling growth. Dry weight per plant, coefficient of variance and dry weight/fresh weight ratio increased as pot size increased, but competitive index, unit productivity and top/root ratio decreased. Dry , weight per plant decreased with increase in number of plants per pot, but coefficient of variability, competitive index and unit productivity increased. Dry weight per plant of the check plot (1 seedling/3.5cm $\times$ 3.5cm pot) showed little difference between 3 plants/4cm x 4cm pot and 5 plants/5cm x 5cm pot. Temporary transplanting of five plants per 5cm $\times$ 5cm pot saved seedbed area and seedbed materials by 60.9% and labor of transplanting by 36.3% as compared with check plot.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to suggest ways to improve the transparency of occupational safety and health management cost (OSHMC) in order to create a safe working environment that can guarantee the health of construction workers. It was performed in the following procedures and methods. (1) collecting and analyzing resources related to the OSHMC in construction, (2) gathering stakeholder opinions for interviewing actual conditions, (3) deriving the improvement plans based on survey results and (4) suggesting direction for improvement of related laws based on the results of the research. As a result of this study, the following ways were found to be effective for enhancing transparency of the OSHMC in construction. (1) disclosure of usage details in sites, (2) Expansion of the standard for the OSHMC in construction, (3) Increase in fines for false use, (4) Establishment of the plan to improve the OSHMC ratio of small-scale construction sites, (5) Strengthen the role of supervisory and support organizations such as the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency. The result of this study is expected to be used as a basic data for future improvement of the occupational safety and health acts in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.95-104
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• 2016

The purpose of this research is to compare housing wealth effects of home-owning single income couples (SIC) and dual income couples (DIC) on their non-durable consumption and to assess the effects by location, age groups, housing structure type, debt-to-asset ratio and employment status. Using the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) of 2014, this empirical study identified 1,198 SIC households and 1,044 DIC households, and employed multiple regression analysis. The main results reveal that the difference of financial portfolios between SIC and DIC households was little but housing wealth effects were stronger among SIC households than DIC counterpart. It's evident that housing wealth effects were conspicuous for SIC and DIC households who were headed by wage earners aged over 40s, and resided in apartment outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area. However, household debt became a determinant in contradicting housing wealth effects of SIC and DIC households. While the household financial dimension was in proportion to income, DIC households didn't gain much financial security due to increasing expenditure. Further, this research imply that liquidity constraints explicitly posed a more serious threat to SIC households whose dependence on housing asset is larger than their counterpart.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.295-306
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• 2015

This study aims to examine the performance of public municipal hospitals through the analysis of data envelopment analysis, efficiency, profitability, and publicness by using panel data during period from 2006 to 2010. The main findings of the study are as follows. First, as a result of efficiency analysis during the period from 2006 to 2010, it was revealed that the number of staff by each job category, labor cost ratio, the number of operating beds need to be decreased. Second, the performance data represented by the indicators of efficiency, profitability and publicness were complementary and showed a tendency of being increased or decreased in same direction. Third, from the result of panel analysis, the efficiency was mainly influenced by the structural factors, while the profitability was influenced by managerial factors, and the publicness by medical environment. In conclusion, in order to enhance the performance of public municipal hospitals in Korea, it is important to harmonize the effort for efficiency, financial and policy support by central and local government, and the continuous participation of community residents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.96-100
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• 2012

Low back pain (LBP) is a major issue in modern industrialized society which is mainly caused by manual material handling (MMH) tasks. The objective of this study was to provide scientific data for establishing work standard for Korean workers throughout the laboratory experiment including some specific lifting tasks. Thirty male college students were recruited as participants. The maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), recommended weight limit (RWL), and psychophysical safety weight using Borg's CR-10 scale were studied. Results showed that the RWL was 8.4% MVC higher than the proposed psychophysical safety weight. Based on this result, it is suggested that the NIOSH lifting equation (NLE) should not be directly applied to Korean without reasonable modifications. The ratio of psychophysical safety weight to MVC was ranged from 20.1 to 26.4%. It is expected that use of the methodology in this study may provide better expectation of the work ability of Korean for reducing lower back pains caused by MMH.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.137-149
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• 2013

PURPOSES: This study is to suggest the Contribution of Road Capital in Industry and Optimal Level of Road Investment in South Korea METHODS: Based on the literature review, This research is empirically estimated using disaggregate and disaggregated data composed of 10-sectors covering the entire korea economy for the period 1970~2000. The relevant policy questions addressed in this report are : cost reduction and Scale elasticities of road, effect of road capital stock on demand for labor, capital and materials, marginal effect of road, industry TFP growth decomposition, Net Social Rates of Returns, optimal of road capital. RESULTS : The marginal benefits of the road capital at the industry level were calculated using the estimated cost elasticities. Demand for the road capital services varies across industries as do the marginal effects. The marginal benefits are positive for the principal industries. This suggests that for these industries the existing stock of road capital may be under supplied. CONCLUSIONS: This results emerges is that the ratio of the optimum to actual road capital, measured by road, was high at beginning of the period 1970s and declined 1990s. There appears to be evidence of under-investment in road capital. That is continuous and premeditated investment for road which lead to saving time and finance.