• Title/Summary/Keyword: Quality indicators

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A Study on Long-term Variations of BOD and COD as Indicators of Organic Matter Pollution in the Han River (한강 본류에서 유기물 오염도 지표인 BOD와 COD에 대한 장기변동 특성)

  • Cho, Hyun-Seok;Kim, Kwang-Rae;Lim, Gyu-Chul;Bae, Kyung-Seok;Lee, Min-Hwan
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.45 no.4
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    • pp.474-481
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    • 2012
  • This study was performed to investigate the degree of long-term pollution at the mainstream of the Han River by comparing the concentration of BOD and COD from 1975 to 2011. The long-term annual average BOD and COD concentration at the mainstream of the Han River showed an increasing trend as it flowed downstream from Paldang Dam to Gayang. The concentration of BOD ($r^2$=0.646) and COD ($r^2$=0.260) showed a consistent decreasing trend for 37 years. In the case of Paldang Dam, BOD has maintained a decreasing trend, whereas the COD value showed an increasing trend after the 1990s. Therefore, a control of non-biodegradable materials in areas around Paldang Dam is required. The result of the seasonal variations of BOD and COD is as follows: spring>winter>summer and fall (p<0.001). The time series analysis revealed a strong correlation for every 12-month period. Also, the amount of water discharge at Paldang Dam has to be systematically controlled because the amount of water discharge from the dam influences the water quality at the mainstream of the Han River.

Review of a Plant-Based Health Assessment Methods for Lake Ecosystems (식물에 의한 호수생태계 건강성 평가법에 대한 고찰)

  • Choung, Yeonsook;Lee, Kyungeun
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.46 no.2
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    • pp.145-153
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    • 2013
  • It is a global trend that the water management policy is shifting from a water quality-oriented assessment to the aquatic ecosystem-based assessment. The majority of aquatic ecosystem assessment systems were developed solely based on physicochemical factors (e.g., water quality and bed structure) and a limited number of organisms (e.g., plankton and benthic organisms). Only a few systems use plants for a health assessment, although plants are sensitive indicators reflecting long-term disturbances and alterations in water regimes. The development of an assessment system is underway to evaluate and manage lakes as ecosystem units in the Korean Ministry of Environment. We reviewed the existing multivariate health assessment methods of other leading countries, and discussed their applicability to Korean lakes. The application of multivariate assessment methods is costly and time consuming, in addition to the correlation problem among variables. However, a single variable is not available at this moment, and the multivariate method is an appropriate system due to its multidimensional evaluation and cumulative data generation. We, therefore, discussed multivariate assessment methods in three steps: selecting metrics, scoring metrics and assessing indices. In the step of selecting metrics, the best available metrics are species-related variables, such as composition and abundance, as well as richness and diversity. Indicator species, such as sensitive species, are the most frequently used in other countries, but their system of classification in Korea is not yet complete. In terms of scoring metrics, the lack of reference lakes with little anthropogenic impact make this step difficult, and therefore, the use of relative scores among the investigated lakes is a suitable alternative. Overall, in spite of several limitations, the development of a plant-based multivariate assessment method in Korea is possible using mostly field research data. Later, it could be improved based on qualitative metrics on plant species, and with the emergence of further survey data.

A Study on Ten Years Trend of Cancer Incidence and Evaluation of Quality of Cancer Registration in Daejeon Metropolitan City and Chungcheongnam-Do, Korea: 2000-2009 (대전·충남지역의 암 발생률 추이와 질적 평가에 대한 연구 -2000년부터 2009년까지 10년간 자료를 중심으로-)

  • Park, Un-Je;Nam, Hae-Seong;Kim, Kwang-Hwan;Park, Chang-Soo;Kwon, In-Sun;Kim, Jeong-A;Lee, Tae-Yong
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.1234-1244
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    • 2013
  • This study aimed to analyze the ten years cancer incidence based on diagnosis years 2000-2009, and to evaluate the quality of cancer registry in Daejeon City and Chungcheongnam-Do, Korea. Crude incidence rate and age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) in these two regions were compared, and validity of incidence data was assessed by three indicators; age unknown (Age UNK%), histological verification (HV%), and death certificate only (DCO%). Mortality/incidence ratio (M/I ratio) was used to evaluate completeness of incidence data. Incidence rate differences were assessed using Poission distribution and calculated their 95% confidence interval of ASR, and those by sex, age, and region were compared by incidence rate curve. As a result, the highest cancer site during 2000-2009 was stomach in both regions, and incidence prpportion were 18.8% in Daejeon, 21.5% in Chungnam. The overall cancer incidence was higher in males than in females, and ASR of total cancer in Daejeon increased 0.6% (from 322.1 to 323.9 per 100,000) for men and 60.3% (from 203.9 to 326.8) for women, that in Chungnam increased 14.3% (from 294.7 to 336.9) for men and 70.7% (from 156.5 to 267.1) for women. The Age UNK% during 2000-2009 were 0.0% in both regions. MV% for men was increased from 71.8% to 88.5% and that for women was increased from 78.1% to 93.2%. DCO% for men was decreased from 6.4% to 0.7% and that for women was decreased from 5.4% to 0.8%. M/I ratio was ranged from 15.3% to 62.1% and can be evaluated fairy good registration.

A Case Study on the UK Park and Green Space Policies for Inclusive Urban Regeneration (영국의 포용적 도시재생을 위한 공원녹지 정책 사례 연구)

  • Kim, Jung-Hwa;Kim, Yong-Gook
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.47 no.5
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    • pp.78-90
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    • 2019
  • The purpose of this study is to explore the direction of developing policies for parks and green spaces for inclusive urban planning and regeneration. By reviewing the status, budget, and laws pertaining to urban parks in Korea, as well as assessing the inclusivity of urban parks, this study revealed the problems and limitations in Korea as follows. First, the urban park system, which takes into account indicators such as park area per capita and green space ratio, is focused only on quantitative expansion. Second, the distribution of urban parks is unequal; hence, the higher the number of vulnerable residents, the lower the quality of urban parks and green spaces. Moreover, this study focused on the UK central government, along with the five local governments, including London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, and Liverpool. Through an analysis of the contexts and contents establishing UK park and green space policies that can reduce socioeconomic inequalities while at the same time increase inclusiveness. This study discovered the following. The government's awareness of the necessity of tackling socioeconomic inequalities to make an inclusive society, the change in the urban regeneration policies from physical redevelopment to neighborhood renewal, and the survey and research on the correlation of parks and green spaces, inequality, health, and well-being provided the background for policy establishment. As a result, the creation of an inclusive society has been reflected in the stated goals of the UK's national plan and the strategies for park and green space supply and qualitative improvement. Deprived areas and vulnerable groups have been included in many local governments' park and green space policies. Also, tools for analyzing deficiencies in parks and methods for examining the qualitative evaluation of parks were developed. Besides, for the sustainability of each project, various funding programs have been set up, such as raising funds and fund-matching schemes. Different ways of supporting partnerships have been arranged, such as the establishment of collaborative bodies for government organizations, allowing for the participation of private organizations. The study results suggested five policy schemes, including conducting research on inequality and inclusiveness for parks and green spaces, developing strategies for improving the quality of park services, identifying tools for analyzing policy areas, developing park project models for urban regeneration, and building partnerships and establishing support systems.

An Empirical Study on the Effects of SMEs Competition, ESG Management Activities and Organizational Justice on Job Satisfaction : Focusing on Mediating Effects of Self-efficacy (중소기업의 경쟁력, ESG 경영 활동 및 조직공정성이 직무만족에 미치는 영향에 관한 실증 연구 : 자기효능감의 매개효과를 중심으로)

  • Jun, Se-hoon
    • Journal of Venture Innovation
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    • v.6 no.4
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    • pp.41-62
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    • 2023
  • Given that SME workers are the driving force of national competitiveness and the basis and cornerstone of the industry, it is meaningful to study workers' job satisfaction and the factors that affect job satisfaction. In addition to variables related to corporate competitiveness and organizational justice, this study introduced variables such as environmental(E) activities, social(S) activities, and governance(G) activities, which th national government uses as major management evaluation indicators. Therefore, a literature study and empirical analysis were conducted on how self-efficacy affects job satisfaction when workers are faced with a changed work environment. To conduct this study, 300 copies of data were collected from workers in small and medium-sized enterprises and used for analysis. For data analysis, the SPSS statistical program (Ver. 25.0) was used. The study finds, first, that product or service quality and employee competency among corporate competitiveness had a significant positive(+) effect on job satisfaction. Secondly, among ESG management activities, social(S) activities and governance(G) activities were found to have a significant positive(+) effect on job satisfaction. Third, among organizational justice, distribution justice and procedural justice were found to have a positive(+) effect on job satisfaction. Fourth, self-efficacy was found to mediate the effect of product or service quality, employee competency, social(S) and governance(G) activities among ESG management activities, and procedural justice among organizational justice on job satisfaction. The academic value of this study is that it empirically analyzed the factors that ESG management activities affect workers' jobs,. As a result, it was confirmed that workers were satisfied with their jobs by actively showing interest in social(S) activities and governance(G) activities among ESG management activities and participating in corporate management. In addition, workers sensitive to changes in the external environment can become satisfied with their jobs through self-efficacy when SMEs actively enhance corporate competitiveness, execute ESG management activities, and provide a fair organizational culture. Finally, this study suggests that there's a possibility of improving the competitiveness of SMEs through a virtuous cycle created by a change in perception of job conversion and a decrease in turnover.

Interlaboratory Comparison of Blood Lead Determination in Some Occupational Health Laboratories in Korea (일부 산업보건기관들의 혈중연 분석치 비교)

  • Ahn, Kyu Dong;Lee, Byung Kook
    • Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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    • v.5 no.1
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    • pp.8-15
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    • 1995
  • The reliable measurement of metal in biological media in human body is one of critical indicators for the proper evaluation of its toxic effect on human health. Recently in Korea the necessity of quality assurance of measurement in occupational health and occupational hygiene fields brought out regulatory quality control program. Lead is often used as a standard metal for the program in both fields of occupational health and hygiene. During last 20 years lead poisoning was prevalent in Korea and still is one of main heavy metal poisoning and the capability of the measurement of blood lead is one of prerequisites for institute of specialized occupational health in Korea. Furthermore blood lead is most important indicator to evaluate lead burden of human exposure to lead and the reliable and accurate analysis is most needed whenever possible. To evaluate the extent of the interlaboratory differences of blood lead measurement in several well-known institute specialized in occupational health in Korea, authors prepared 68 blood samples from two storage battery industries and all samples were divided into samples with 2 ml. One set of 68 samples were analyzed by authors's laboratory(Soonchunhyang University Institute of Industrial Medicine: SIIM) and 40 samples of other set were analyzed by C University Institute of Industrial Medicine(CIIM) and the rest 28 samples of other set were analyzed by Japanese institute(K Occupational Health Center:KOHC). Authors also prepared test bovine samples which were obtained from Japanese Federation of Occupational Health Organization (JFOHO) for quality control. Authors selected 2 other well-known occupational health laboratories and one laboratory specialized for instrumental analysis. A total of 6 laboratories joined the interlaboratory comparison of blood lead measurement and the results obtained were as follows: 1. There was no significant difference in average blood lead between SIIM and CIIM in different group of blood lead concentration, and the relative standard deviation of two laboratories was less than 3.0%. On the other hand, there was also no significant difference of average blood lead between SIIM and KOHC with relative standard deviation of 6.84% as maximum. 2. Taking less than 15% difference of mean or less than 6 ug/dl difference in below 40 ug/dl in whole blood as a criteria of agreement of measurement between two laboratories, agreement rates were 87.5%(35/40) and 78.6%(22/28) between SIIM and CIIM, SIIM and KOHC respectively. 3. The correlation of blood lead between SIIM and CIIM was 0.975 (p=0.0001) and the regression equation was SIIM = 2.19 + 0.9243 ClIM, whereas the correlation between SUM and KOHC was O.965(p=0.0001) with the equation of SIIM = 1.91 + 0.9794 KOHC. 4. Taking the reference value as a dependent variable and each of 6 laboratories's measurement value as a independent variable, the determination coefficient($R^2$) of simple regression equations of blood lead measurement for bovine test samples were very high($R^2>0.99$), and the regression coefficient(${\beta}$) was between 0.972 and 1.15 which indicated fairly good agreement of measurement results.

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A Study of Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome : Clinical and Polysomnographic Characteristics (상기도저항 증후군에 대한 연구 : 임상 및 수면다원검사 특징)

  • Yang, Chang-Kook;Clerk, Alex
    • Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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    • v.3 no.2
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    • pp.32-42
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    • 1996
  • Objectives : Upper airway resistance syndrome(UARS) is a sleep-related breathing disorder characterized by abnormal negative intrathoracic pressure during sleep. Abnormally increased negative intrathoracic pressure results in microarousal and sleep fragmentation which underlay UARS-associated complaints of daytime fatigue and sleepiness. Although daytime dysfunction in patients with UARS is comparable to that of sleep apnea syndrome, UARS has been relatively unnoticed in clinical setting. That is why UARS is apt to be excluded in diagnosing of sleep-related breathing disorders since its respiratory disturbance index and arterial oxygen saturation are within normal limits. The current study presents a summary of clinical and polysomnographic characteristics found in patients with UARS. The present study aims (1) to explore characteristics of patients diagnosed with UARS, (2) to characterize the polysomnographic findings of UARS patients, and (3) to enhance the understanding of UARS through those clinical and laboratory characteristics. Methods : This was a retrospective study of 20 UARS patients (male 15, female 5) and 30 obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients (male 21, female 9) at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic. We diagnosed patients as having UARS when they met critenia, RDI < 5 characteristic findings of an elevated esophageal pressure($<-10\;cmH_2O$), frequent arousals secondary to an elevated esophageal pressure, and symptoms of daytime fatigue and sleepiness. We used polysomnographic value, which is standardized by Williams et al(1974), as normal control. Statiotical test were done with student t-tests. Results : (1) Mean age of UARS was $41.0\;{\pm}\;14.8$ years and OSA was $50.9\;{\pm}\;12.0$ years. UARS subject was significantly younger than OSA subject (p<0.05). (2) The total score of Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was UARS $9.7\;{\pm}\;6.3$ and OSAS $11.2\;{\pm}\;6.3$. There was no significant difference between two groups. (3) The mean body mass index was UARS $28.1\;{\pm}\;5.7\;kg/m^2$ and OSAS $32.9\;{\pm}\;7.0\;kg/m^2$. UARS had significantly lower meen body man index than OSAS subjects (p<0.05). (4) The polysomnographic parameters of UARS were not significantly different from those of OSA except RDI(p<0.001), $SaO_2$ (p<0.001) and slow wave sleep latency (p<0.05). (5) Compared with normal control, Total sleep time in UARS subjects was significantly shorter (p<0.001), sleep efficiency index was significantly lower (p<0.001), total awakening percentage was significantly higher (p<0.001), and sleep stage 1 (p<0.001) were significantly higher. (6) OSA patients showed poor sleep quality and distinct abnormal sleep architectures compared with normal control. Conclusions : Conclusions from the above results are as follows : (1) UARS patients were younger and had lower body mass index when umpared with OSA patients. (2) The quality of sleep and sleep architectures of the UARS and OSA patients are significantly different from those of normal control. (3) ESS scores and awakening frequencies of UARS are similar with those of OSA, suggesting that daytime dysfunction of UARS patients may be comparable to those of OSA patients. (4) The RDI and the $SaO_2$ which are important indicators in diagnosing sleep-related breathing disorders, of UARS subjects are close to normal value. (5) According to the the above results, we unclude that despite the absence of $SaO_2$ drops and the absence of an elevated number of apnea and hypopnea, subjects developed clinical complaints which were associated with laborious breathing, elevated Pes nadir, and frequently snoring. (6) Accordingly, we suggest including LIARS in the differential diagnosis list when sleep related breathing disorder is suspected clinically and overnight polysomnographic findings except snoring and frequent microarousal are within normal limits.

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A Study on Landscape Evaluation Indicators for Agricultural and Fishery Heritage (농어업유산의 경관 평가 지표 연구)

  • Choi, Woo-Young;Kim, Dong-chan
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.43 no.5
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    • pp.74-86
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    • 2015
  • The purpose of this study was to deduce the landscape evaluation indices that can be applied from the preparation for the registration of major national farm/fishery heritages to post-management. For this purpose, the Delphi survey was performed on experts. From August to November in 2014, the primary open survey, secondary open survey, and tertiary closed survey were performed to gather opinions from 28 experts, 25 experts, and 29 experts, respectively. As a result, the landscape evaluation indices for farm/fishery heritage consisted of five areas of evaluation, ten items of evaluation, and 40 indices of evaluation. The areas of evaluation were rurality, authenticity, aesthetics, tourism potentials, and locality. Rurality was classified into rurality of farm/fishery towns and nostalgia. Authenticity was classified into objective authenticity and existential authenticity. Aesthetics was classified into attractiveness and harmony. Tourism potentials were classified into value of resources and value of usability. Locality was divided into physical originality and cultural identity. The study made the following findings: first, the general grounds of farm/fishery landscape evaluation cannot be applied when evaluating the quality of landscapes of farm/fishery heritage, as their value as a cultural heritage should be considered. Second, the new indices valued emotional factors in addition to the physical factors considered by the existing farm/fishery landscapes. The new indices involved a more expanded concept of landscapes as it also considers everyday or temporary activities, including the farm/fishery activities of local people or participation in festivals and experience programs. Third, farm/fishery heritage focuses on the lives of local people, as it involves both the synchronic and the diachronic perspectives to see what is currently visible and what is no longer visible. This brings into consideration not only the farms and the natural environments but also their relationships with the villages, especially the residential areas. Finally, the indices reflected both the farm/fishery heritage's value as cultural heritage and its value for tourism. They derived temporary and dynamic landscapes, including the trading activities of local specialty markets in relation to the production landscapes. However, further studies should be conducted as this study could not rate the relative importance of indices or compare the total scores of landscapes without the weight of each item.

Antioxidant Activity of Solvent Fractions from Cultivated and Wild Gromwell (재배와 야생 지치의 추출물과 용매별 분획물의 항산화효과)

  • Kim, Jin-Sook;Kang, Myung-Hwa
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.39 no.6
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    • pp.789-795
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    • 2010
  • In order to set up an accurate quality criteria for the Boraginaceae that have been traditionally used for medical purposes and food colorant, and to assess its viability as functional food ingredient, antioxidant tests were conducted on the wild and cultivated plants. Variety of indicators including total contents of phenol, DPPH, SOD-liked effect, hydroxy radical-scavenging effect, lecithin oxidation inhibitory effect, etc were analyzed. Wild and cultivated gromwell's total contents of phenol in their methanol extracts were 0.14% and 0.13%, while they were most active in ethyl acetate extracts and n-hexane extracts, respectively. $IC_{50}$ values of methanol extract of the wild and cultivated plants were 794.41 ${\mu}g$/mL and 971.86 ${\mu}g$/mL, indicating that the wild plant is more responsive (p<0.05) to low concentration. Also the wild and cultivated plants were most active in ethyl acetate fraction and n-hexane extracts when their $IC_{50}$ values were measured by each solvent extracts. SOD-liked effects of both plants were concentration dependent while methanol extracts were more active (p<0.05) in 500 ${\mu}g$/mL than other solvent extracts. Hydroxy radical-scavenging effect of both plants showed less than 50% activity in concentration of 1,000 ${\mu}g$/mL except in chloroform fraction and n-hexane fraction. Lecithin oxidation inhibitory effects of the wild and cultivated plants were active in methanol and solvent extracts of 200~1000 ${\mu}g$/mL. Especially it showed 90% of high inhibitory effect in 1,000 ${\mu}g$/mL of chloroform fraction. Hence, both wild and cultivated Boraginaceae were analyzed to be viable as functional food ingredient.

An Adjustment of Cloud Factors for Continuity and Consistency of Insolation Estimations between GOES-9 and MTSAT-1R (GOES-9과 MTSAT-1R 위성 간의 일사량 산출의 연속성과 일관성 확보를 위한 구름 감쇠 계수의 조정)

  • Kim, In-Hwan;Han, Kyung-Soo;Yeom, Jong-Min
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.28 no.1
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    • pp.69-77
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    • 2012
  • Surface insolation is one of the major indicators for climate research over the Earth system. For the climate research, long-term data and wide range of spatial coverage from the data observed by two or more of satellites of the same orbit are needed. It is important to improve the continuity and consistency of the derived products, such as surface insolation, from different satellites. In this study, surface insolations based on Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-9) and Multi-functional Transport Satellites (MTSAT-1R) were compared during overlap period using physical model of insolation to find ways to improve the consistency and continuity between two satellites through comparison of each channel data and ground observation data. The thermal infrared brightness temperature of two satellites show a relatively good agreement between two satellites : rootmean square error (RMSE)=5.595 Kelvin; Bias=2.065 Kelvin. Whereas, visible channels shown a quite different values, but it distributed similar tendency. And the surface insolations from two satellites are different from the ground observation data. To improve the quality of retrieved insolations, we have reproduced surface insolation of each satellite through adjustment of the Cloud Factor, and the Cloud Factor for GOES-9 satellite is modified based on the analysis result of difference channel data. As a result, the insolations estimated from GOES-9 for cloudy conditions show good agreement with MTSAT-1R and ground observation : RMSE=$83.439W\;m^{-2}$ Bias=$27.296W\;m^{-2}$. The result improved accuracy confirms that the modification of Cloud Factor for GOES-9 can improve the continuity and consistency of the insolations derived from two or more satellites.