• Title/Summary/Keyword: Social Welfare Demand

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Income led growth in Korea: issues, implications and roles (소득주도 성장의 평가와 향후 방향)

  • Kim, Taeil
    • 한국사회정책
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    • v.25 no.3
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    • pp.175-208
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this article is to evaluate Korea's income-led growth policy that is still in dispute. To do this, I discussed the content, background and implications of the income-led growth theory. Next, I discussed the role of income-led growth as a growth strategy in the Korean economy. The income-led growth theory comes from the Keynesian tradition which emphasizes the role of demand in the economic growth. The basic idea emerged nearly 80 years ago, and the current model emerged about 30 years ago. Some of the Korean researchers began to pay attention to this issue when ILO researchers discussed it in 2010. The recent emphasis on income-led growth theory was due to the tendency of declining labor income, thus forming a consensus that increasing inequality can hamper growth. The effectiveness of the income-led growth strategy, which can lead to economic growth by increasing the share of labor income, is theoretically and empirically controversial. However, it is understandable why income-led growth strategies have emerged. Income-led growth is not a short-term strategy nor a key of growth strategy. However, in current socio economic structures, the prescriptions of income-led growth theory is meaningful in that it enables sustainable growth by making the economic system healthy. In addition, unlike the West, the government's welfare expenditure can play a significant role as part of the income-led growth prescriptions in Korea.

Big Data-based Monitoring System Design for Water Quality Analysis that Affects Human Life Quality (인간의 삶의 질에 영향을 끼치는 수질(물) 분석을 위한 빅데이터 기반 모니터링 시스템 설계)

  • Park, Sung-Hoon;Seo, Yong-Cheol;Kim, Yong-Hwan;Pang, Seung-Peom
    • Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.289-295
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    • 2021
  • Today, the most important factor affecting the quality of human life is thought to be due to the environment. The importance of environmental monitoring systems to improve human life and improve welfare as the magnitude of the damage increases year by year due to the rapid increase in the frequency of hail, typhoons, collapse of incisions, landslides, etc. Is increasing day by day. Among environmental problems, problems caused by water quality have a very high proportion, and as there is a growing concern that the scale of damage will increase when water pollution accidents occur due to urbanization and industrialization, the demand for social water safety nets is increasing. have. In the last 5 years, 259 cases of water pollution (Han River 99, Nakdong River 31, Geum River 25, Seomjin River and Yeongsan River 19, and 85 others) have occurred in the four major river basins. Caused damage. Therefore, it is required to establish a water quality environment management strategy system based on big data that can minimize the uncertainty of the water quality environment by expanding the target of water quality management from the current water quality management system centered on the four major rivers to small and medium-sized rivers, tributaries/branches, and reservoirs. In this paper, we intend to construct and analyze a water quality monitoring system based on big data that can present useful water quality environment information by analyzing the water quality information accumulated for a long time.

Predictors of Burnout among Staff in Long-term Care Facilities for the Elderly (노인장기요양보호 인력의 소진 예측 요인)

  • Lee, Choo-Jae
    • 한국노년학
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    • v.31 no.1
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    • pp.97-109
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    • 2011
  • The purpose of this work is to examine how work stressors are related to the burnout among staff in long-term care facilities for the elderly. This study offers some responses to a growing stress and burnout for the long-term care workers. The demand for long-term care workers is set to rise in light of an increasing share of older people and dependent elderly. Long-term care workers provide long-term care services to persons with a reduced degree of functional, physical or cognitive capacity. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 216 staff in long-term care facilities. The standardised Maslach Burnout Inventory(MBI) was used to assess levels of burnout in long-term care workers. The MBI consists of 22 items using a 5-point Likert scale, measuring three sub-scales of burnout; Emotional exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal accomplishment. Data were analyzed using regression. This study is empirically tested the degree of association between burnout and its antecedents. The majority of differences in burnout could be explained by work stressors such as client relationship, job overload, job role conflict, and conflicts with clients' family. The study also identified workers' perceptions of their image in society and emotional support as predictors of burnout. Therefore long-term care facilities are encouraged to review their practices so that workers well-being is supported. The study findings suggest attention for organizational oriented initiatives to cope with burnout.

The study on the entry of dental technicians in the public health center for a manpower supply and demand plane (Centering around a denture insurance policy in 2012) (인력수급 대책을 위한 치과기공사의 보건지소 진출에 관한 연구 - 2012년 틀니보험화 정책을 중심으로 -)

  • Lee, Jong-Do;Kim, Jeong-Sook;Park, Kwang-Sig
    • Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.417-433
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    • 2010
  • Purpose: This study evaluated the manpower planning of dental technicians. Methods: Methods : Survey was conducted regarding subject's general characteristics, characteristics of dental technician's occupational view and working conditions, and reason to enter into branches of the public health enter. The survey sample consisted of 323 dental technicians (221 male/ 102 female). Survey was conducted for one month from August 1 to September 1 in 2010. Following results were obtained. Results: 1. Regarding general characteristics of the subjects, there was a slight male predilection with 68.4%. Subjects in their 40s occupied the highest proportion of 32.2%. Majority of subjects worked in the big cities (71.5%). Favored working places were dental laboratory (57.6%) and dental hospital or dental clinic (19.5%). Although no position is available in the public sector such as public health center or health care civil servant, 9.3% preferred working in the public health center. Public sector is more favored than 2-year technical colleges or dental supply and equipment companies. In respect to education, 57% of the subjects graduated college. 67.8% were married. Subjects who specialize in the porcelain or all-ceramic were 57.9%. With regard to current position, head of the dental laboratory was most common. 2. Following occupation characteristics were found. Economic reason took the highest proportion when deciding their occupation (39.9%) followed by gaining social experience (36.5%). Majority of the subjects (76.5%) wanted to work as dental technicians until their retirement. 71.5% pursuit to become a manager of the dental laboratory. 76.1% agreed on opening a dental technician position in the public health center. Regarding an authority to lead developing the dental technician position in the public sector, majority of the subject chose ministry of health and welfare (35.6%) and Korean dental technologist association (34.7%). Employment (average, 30%) and turnover rate (average, 36.5%) of dental technology college graduates ranged from 40% to 60%. Most important factors for the employment were practical experience (41.2%) and competency (34.4%). With regard to job satisfaction, so-so as 46.7% and satisfactory was 42.7% 3. In respect to the reason for opening a position in the public health center, 'It is needed to continue denture rogram for elderly patients' obtained the highest score (4.14 point). 'Institutional devices are required to open a position for dental technicians as a public healthcare provider' received high score (4.11 point). 4. Concerning the working conditions, 'professional knowledge is required' received the highest score (4.23) followed by 'too short maternity and parental leave' (4.21). 5. Relationship between general characteristics of the subjects and favor of working in the public health center was investigated. Significant differences were found according to the current and favored working area, favored occupation, education level, marital status, and specialty. Working in the public health center was favored by following subjects: working in mid- or small-sized cities (4.16 point, p<0.05); PhD degree-holder (4.59 point, p<0.01). 6. Among general characteristics of the subjects, significant difference of working conditions was found in the following factors: gender; working areas; favored working areas; favored working positions, and education level. Majority of subjects favored working in big cities and currently work in big cities although satisfaction was comparatively low (3.75 score). 7. Future plan to work in public health center was evaluated according to occupational characteristics. Subject's intention to work in the public healthcare center was significantly affected by opening of dental technician position, leading authority, average turnover rate, and factors affecting employment. Working in the public health care center was favored by the following subjects: Dental technicians who actively supported opening of the dental technician position (4.34 point, p<0.001); subjects who thought the Korean dental technologist association is responsible for the opening of positions in the public sector (4.26 point, p<0.001); and subjects who thought that attitude and character are important for the employment (p<0.001). 8. Concerning difference of working conditions according to the occupational characteristics, significant difference was demonstrated by factors such as a reason to choose to be a dental technician, work plan, pursuing position, responsible authority, average employment rate, and job satisfaction. High standard of working conditions was required in subjects who selected to be a dental technician for the leisure time after work (s.05 point, p<0.01), who planted to work until their marriage (4.25 point, p<0.001), and who pursuit to be a manager (3.98, p<0.05). 9. In respect to influence of general characteristics on the advancement to public health centers, the coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.068 and age affected the working condition with significant difference according to the pvalue. 10. Regarding influence of general characteristics on the advancement to public health centers, the coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.335 and work plan, opening of dental technician position in the public sector, and responsible authority had significant influence over the subject's intention to work in the public health center according to the p-value. 11. With regard to the influence of general characteristics on the advancement to public health centers, the coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.091 and reason to choose to be a dental technician, work plan, and responsible authority significantly affected subject's working conditions. Conclusion: Korean society is becoming a super-aged society according to several statistics. As aged population is rapidly increasing, national health insurance plans to cover denture for senior citizen over 75 years old from 2012. Therefore, dental technicians are urgently needed in the public health centers all over the nation. Many subjects in this study planed to work until their retirement and recognized dental technician's expertise. Ministry of health and welfare and Korean dental technologist association should co-operate each other to prepare foundation and institutional devices for dental technicians to advance into the public health center. This will improve oral health of the population. This study showed urgency of medical facilities and services which meets increasing number of aged population and welfare of the population.

Regional Development And Dam Construction in Korea (한국의 지역개발과 댐건설)

  • 안경모
    • Water for future
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.38-42
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    • 1976
  • Because of differences in thoughts and ideology, our country, Korea has been deprived of national unity for some thirty years of time and tide. To achieve peaceful unification, the cultivation of national strength is of paramount importance. This national strength is also essential if Korea is to take rightful place in the international societies and to have the confidence of these societies. However, national strength can never be achieved in a short time. The fundamental elements in economic development that are directly conducive to the cultivation of national strength can be said to lie in -a stable political system, -exertion of powerful leadership, -cultivation of a spirit of diligence, self-help and cooperation, -modernization of human brain power, and -establishment of a scientific and well planned economic policy and strong enforcement of this policy. Our country, Korea, has attained brilliant economic development in the past 15 years under the strong leadership of president Park Chung Hee. However, there are still many problems to be solved. A few of them are: -housing and home problems, -increasing demand for employment, -increasing demand for staple food and -the need to improve international balance of payment. Solution of the above mentioned problems requires step by step scientific development of each sector and region of our contry. As a spearhead project in regional development, the Saemaul Campaign or new village movement can be cited. The campaign is now spreading throughout the country like a grass fire. However, such campaigns need considerable encouragement and support and the means for the desired development must be provided if the regional and sectoral development program is to sucdceed. The construction of large multipurpose dams in major river basin plays significant role in all aspects of national, regional and sectoral development. It ensures that the water resource, for which there is no substitute, is retained and utilized for irrigation of agricultural areas, production of power for industry, provision of water for domestic and industrial uses and control of river water. Water is the very essence of life and we must conserve and utilize what we have for the betterment of our peoples and their heir. The regional and social impact of construction of a large dam is enormous. It is intended to, and does, dras tically improve the "without-project" socio-economic conditions. A good example of this is the Soyanggang multipurpose dam. This project will significantly contribute to our national strength by utilizing the stored water for the benefit of human life and relief of flood and drought damages. Annual average precipitation in Korea is 1160mm, a comparatively abundant amount. The catchment areas of the Han River, Keum River, and Youngsan River are $62,755\textrm{km}^2$, accounting for 64% of the national total. Approximately 62% of the national population inhabits in this area, and 67% of the national gross product comes from the area. The annual population growth rate of the country is currently estimated at 1.7%, and every year the population growth in urban area increases at a rising rate. The population of Seoul, Pusan, and Taegu, the three major cities in Korea, is equal to one third of our national total. According to the census conducted on October 1, 1975, the population in the urban areas has increased by 384,000, whereas that in rural areas has decreased by 59,000,000 in the past five years. The composition of population between urban and rural areas varied from 41%~59% in 1959 to 48%~52% in 1975. To mitigate this treand towards concentration of population in urban areas, employment opportunities must be provided in regional and rural areas. However, heavy and chemical industries, which mitigate production and employment problems at the same time, must have abundant water and energy. Also increase in staple food production cannot be attained without water. At this point in time, when water demand is rapidly growing, it is essential for the country to provide as much a reservoir capacity as possible to capture the monsoon rainfall, which concentarated in the rainy seaon from June to Septesmber, and conserve the water for year round use. The floods, which at one time we called "the devil" have now become a source of immense benefit to Korea. Let me explain the topographic condition in Korea. In northern and eastern areas we have high mountains and rugged country. Our rivers originate in these mountains and flow in a general southerly or westerly direction throught ancient plains. These plains were formed by progressive deposition of sediments from the mountains and provide our country with large areas of fertile land, emminently suited to settlement and irrigated agricultural development. It is, therefore, quite natural that these areas should become the polar point for our regional development program. Hower, we are fortunate in that we have an additional area or areas, which can be used for agricultural production and settlement of our peoples, particularly those peoples who may be displaced by the formation of our reservoirs. I am speaking of the tidelands along the western and southern coasts. The other day the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery informed the public of a tideland reclamation of which 400,000 hectares will be used for growing rice as part of our national food self-sufficiency programme. Now, again, we arrive at the need for water, as without it we cannot realize this ambitious programme. And again we need those dams to provide it. As I mentioned before, dams not only provide us with essential water for agriculture, domestic and industrial use, but provide us with electrical energy, as it is generally extremely economical to use the water being release for the former purposes to drive turbines and generators. At the present time we have 13 hydro-electric power plants with an installed capacity of 711,000 kilowatts equal to 16% of our national total. There are about 110 potential dams ites in the country, which could yield about 2,300,000 kilowatts of hydro-electric power. There are about 54 sites suitable for pumped storage which could produce a further 38,600,000 kilowatts of power. All available if we carefully develop our water resources. To summarize, water resource development is essential to the regional development program and the welfare of our people, it must proceed hand-in-hand with other aspects of regional development such as land impovement, high way extension, development of our forests, erosion control, and develop ment of heavy and chemical industries. Through the successful implementation of such an integrated regional development program, we can look forward to a period of national strength, and due recognition of our country by the worlds societies.

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A Study on Rationalization of National Forest Management in Korea (국유림경영(國有林經營)의 합리화(合理化)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究))

  • Choi, Kyu-Ryun
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.20 no.1
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    • pp.1-44
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    • 1973
  • Needless to say, the management of national forest in all countries is very important in view of the national mission and management purposes. Korean national forest is also in particular significant in promoting national economy for the continuous increasing of the demand for wood, conservation of the land and social welfare. But there's no denying the fact that the leading aim of the Korean forest policy has been based upon the conservation of forest resources and recovery of land conservation function instead of improvement of the forest productive capacity. Therefore, the management of national forest should be aimed as an industry in the chain of the Korean national economy. And the increment of the forest productive capacity based on rationalized forest management is also urgently needed. Not only the increment of the timber production but also the establishment of the good forest in quality and quantity are to bring naturally many functions of conservation and other public benefits. In 1908 Korean national forest was historically established for the first time as a result of the notification for ownership, and was divided into two kinds in 1911-1924, such as indisposable national forest for land conservation, forest management, scientific research and public welfare, and the other national forest to be disposed. Indisposable forest is mostly under the jurisdiction of national forest stations (Chungbu, Tongbu, Nambu), and the tother national forests are under custody of respective cities and provinces, and under custody of the other government authorities. As of the end of 1971, national forest land is 19.5% (1,297,708 ha) of the total forest land area, but growing stock is 50.1% ($35,406,079m^3$) of the total forest growing stock, and timber production of national forest is 23.6% ($205,959m^3$) of the year production of total timber in Korea. Accordingly, it is the important fact that national forest occupies the major part of Korean forestry. The author positively affirms that success or failure of the management of national forest controls rise or fall of forestry in Korea. All functions of forest are very important, but among others the function of timber production is most important especially in Korea, that unavoidably imports a large quantity of foreign wood every year (in 1971 import of foreign wood-$3,756,000m^3$, 160,995,000 dollars). So, Korea urgently needs the improvement of forest productive capacity in national forest. But it is difficult that wood production meets the rapid increase of demand for wood to the development of economy, because production term of forestry is long, so national forest management should be rationalized by the effective investment and development of forestry techniques in the long view. Although Korean national forest business has many difficulties in the budget, techniques and the lack of labour due to outflow of rural village labour by development of national economy, and the increase of labour wages and administrative expenses etc. the development of national forest depends on adoption of the suitable forest techniques and management adapted for social and economical development. In this view point the writer has investigated and analyzed the status of the management of national forest in Korea to examine the irrational problems and suggest an improvement plan. The national forestry statistics cited in this study is based on the basic statistics and the statistics of the forest business as of the end of 1971 published by Office of Forestry, Republic of Korea, and the other depended on the data presented by the national forest stations. The writer wants to propose as follows (seemed to be helpful in improvement of Korean national forest management). 1) In the organization of national forest management, more national forest stations should be established to manage intensively, and the staff of working plan officials should be strengthened because of the importance of working plan. 2) By increasing the staff of protection officials, forest area assigned for each protection official should be decreased to 1,000-2,000 ha. 3) The frequent personnel changes of supervisor of national forest station(the responsible person on-the-spot) obstructs to accomplish the consistent management plan. 4) In the working plan drafting for national forest, basic investigations should be carefully practiced with sufficient expenditure and staff not to draft unreal working plan. 5) The area of working-unit should be decreased to less than 2,000 ha on the average for intensive management and the principle of a working-unit in a forest station should be realized as soon as possible. 6) Reforestation on open land should be completed in a short time with a debt of the special fund(a long term loan), and the land on which growing hardwood stands should be changed with conifers to increase productivity per unit area, and at the same time techical utilization method of hardwood should be developed. 7) Expenses of reforestation should be saved by mechanization and use of chemicals for reforestation and tree nursery operation providing against the lack of labour in future. 8) In forest protection, forest fire damage is enormous in comparison with foreign countries, accordingly prevention system and equipment should be improved, and also the minimum necessary budget should be counted up for establishment and manintenance of fire-lines. 9) Manufacture production should be enlarged to systematize protection, processing and circulation of forest business, and, by doing this, mich benefit is naturally given for rural people. 10) Establishment and arrangement of forest road networks and erosion control work are indispensable for the future development of national forest itself and local development. Therefore, these works should be promoted by the responsibility of general accounting instead of special accounting. 11) Mechanization of forest works should be realized for exploiting hinterlands to meet the demand for timber increased and for solving lack of labour, consequently it should promote import of forest machines, home production, training for operaters and careful adminitration. 12) Situation of labour in future will grow worse. Therefore, the countermeasure to maintain forest labourers and pay attention to public welfare facilities and works should be considered. 13) Although the condition of income and expenditure grows worse because of economical change, the regular expenditure should be fixed. So part of the surplus fund, as of the end of 1971, should be established for the fund, and used for enlarging reforestation and forest road networks(preceding investment in national forest).

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Current State of Vocational Rehabilitation Program for Individuals with Disabling Mental Illness in Korea (우리나라 정신장애인 직업재활 현황 조사연구)

  • Han, Myung Hun;Kim, Ji-Woong;Kim, Do Yoon;Park, Hye Sun;Park, Hanson;Hwang, Tae-Yeon;Seo, Yongjin;Kim, Seung-Jun;Im, Woo-Young;Lee, Sang Min
    • Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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    • v.25 no.2
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    • pp.145-152
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    • 2017
  • Objectives : There has been long lasting trend of deinstitutionalization and public health centered care in management of individuals with disabling mental illness. We aimed to investigate current vocational rehabilitation state and effectiveness of system in korea. Methods : We carried basic survey via telephone and e-mail beforehand to figure out how many and which institutions are operating vocational rehabilitation programs to psychiatric patients. A questionnaire packages were sent to total of 108 institutions in Korea which were operating occupation rehabilitation program. Results : Of 108 institutions, 40.74% were returned with answers. The person in charge of vocational rehabilitation at each institution was mainly mental health social worker(48.8%), and the budget under \1,000,000 was the majority(61.5%) among surveyed institutions. The most commonly used vocational rehabilitation programs was case management(23.1%), followed by psychosocial rehabilitation program(21.2%), and on-the-job training(17.9%). The most effective program was case management(27.4%), followed by psychosocial rehabilitation program(19.8%), on-the-job training(17.9%). The main barrier of occupation rehabilitation to be conducted widely was 'worries about being excluded from beneficiary of National Basic livelihood Protection Act'. Conclusions : Our results suggest that, in spite of high demand in vocational rehabilitation programs, government financial support is still lacking.

Comparative Analysis of the Use of Leisure Resources and Leisure Activity According to the Execution of Forty-hour-a-week Working System: Based on 2012 Survey on National Leisure Activity (근로자의 주 40시간 근무제 시행 유무에 따른 여가자원 이용 및 여가활동 비교분석: 2012년 국민여가활동 조사 결과를 기초로)

  • Bark, Min-Jeng;Yoon, So-Young
    • Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.19-37
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    • 2013
  • From the perspective of labor welfare, forty-hour-a-week working system:(FWS) has been an important goal throughout world, and in fact, advanced countries implemented this a long time ago. However, there are differences in opinions concerning FWS; some people emphasizes the improvement in life quality, while others point out that this measure increases the cost of wages and has limited effectiveness. Thus, discussions about the success of FWS have emerged from diverse perspectives; One thing that should be made clear before debating FWS is that reducing laborers' working hours is already a global trend, and Korea, also intends to extend it. Therefore, in order to maximize the benefits resulting from the execution of the system and to identify measures that can be used to solve the problems related to FWS, it is necessary to consider actual laborers' use of leisure resources and whether they have increased or decreased as a result of FWS. It is also necessary to look at the differences in workers' leisure activity with and without the system. To evaluate and diagnose FWS's political effect from the perspective of laborers' leisure satisfaction and improvements in life quality, this study examines differences in leisure expenses, leisure hours, use of and demand for leisure resources such as leisure space, and types of leisure activity, according to the execution of FWS, This research is based on the "2012 Survey on National Leisure Activity" conducted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In addition, through analysis of the differences in leisure satisfaction and happiness levels, the study intends to confirm the necessity of executing FWS and ensuring that the system is in use. The study results can be briefly summed up as followa:: First, regarding the general findings of the study, a significant result was shown in terms of the execution of FWS according to income level. The finding that the execution of FWS works differently according to the working environment or life quality reassures us of the common notion in society that working environment or life quality may differ in relation to social characteristics. The utility of weekday leisure hours did not indicate a statistically significant difference, but in terms of weekend leisure hours, laborers practicing FWS had an additional 30 minutes of leisure time than those who did not. Furthermore, regarding leisure expenses, laborers practicing FWS indicated more monthly average leisure expenses or expected leisure expenses. In relation to leisure activity, those working at a company executing FWS engaged in culture and art activities more frequently than those working at the companies that did not. On the other hand, those working at companies without FWS indicated more hobbies, amusement activities, rest, and other activities than those working at the companies with FWS. In terms of vacation experience, those working at companies with FWS had more vacation time than those working at companies without it; on average, they had longer vacations by 1.64 days. Regarding their leisure life satisfaction and happiness level, those working at companies with FWS indicated higher satisfaction and greater happiness than those working at companies without it. The findings mentioned above represent the preliminary results of this paper, and the remainder of the research will provide more detailed analysis results and suggestions corresponding to them.

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Present Conditions of Mental Health Care in Rural Areas: Community Mental Health Program of Public Health Center (농촌지역 정신보건관리실태: 보건소 지역사회정신보건사업)

  • Lee, Weon-Young;Kim, Dong-Moon
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.1-14
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    • 2003
  • Objectives: This paper introduces need and supply level of rural mental health care service and especially focuses on the evaluation for the community mental health programs of Public Health Centers(PHCs) in rural areas as the facilities for primary mental health care. Methods: We defined the need as prevalance rate and service utilization rate, for which reviewed the results of the epidemiological study of mental disorders using Korean Composite International Diagnostic Interview surveyed on a nationwide scale in 2001. Supply was appraised in terms of psychiatric beds and primary mental heath care facilities such as private psychiatric clinics, facilities for social rehabilitation, PHCs running community mental health programs. For this, we reveiwed a variety of annual reports related mental health published by Ministry of Health and Welfare. To evaluate the community mental health programs of PHCs in rural areas, we selected. randomly samples out of the 3rd community health plans including the contents of community mental health programs, which submitted by 89 rural counties and 44 cities mixed with rural areas, and used the program's guideline established by central government as a standard. Results: Prevalence rates of major psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia, alcoholism, major depression, anxiety disorder were higher in rural area than in urban area and 8.9% of psychiatric patients in both areas stayed at homes contacted with mental health manpower more than one time during the last year. Psychiatric beds were sufficiently supplied, but urban area had less beds than rural area contrary to general health care service. Psychiatric clinics were supplied very insufficiently in rural areas and PHCs bridged the gap instead. However rural PHCs got less financial support for community mental health programs from higher positioned agencies than urban PHCs. Rural community health programs not supported hardly worked out. Conclusions: Central government should consider a special policy for rural primary mental health care, because private psychiatric clinics can't be introduced in rural areas due to demand-deficiency and the financial independence of rural counties was very vulnerable.

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The Effect of the Improvement of the Sales Regulation of General Medicine and Political Proposals (일반의약품 판매규제 완화효과와 정책제언)

  • Yeom, Min-Sun
    • Journal of Distribution Research
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    • v.15 no.5
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    • pp.237-255
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    • 2010
  • The Korean Pharmacist Law has limited the sales of medicine to pharmacies. This has caused difficulty in purchasing medicine late at night or on holidays, which has limited the range of customers' selections and accelerated customers' discomfort, accordingly. Also, the rapid progress of aging has quickly boosted medical expenses for seniors, and has served as a factor that aggravates the budget of national medical insurance. Meanwhile, advanced countries, including the USA and Japan, have allowed the sales of general medicine, of which the safety and efficacy have been tested, in general retail stores such as convenience stores or super markets from the perspective of supporting self-medication. In particular, Japan, which has a strong tendency of pursuing safety in the world, diversified sales channels for general medicine in order to control quickly rising medical expenses. As a result, Japan has achieved the effect of easing various regulations as follows in the economic and social fields. First, the increasing distribution channels of general medicine from pharmacies to general retail stores provoked a potential demand, which also expanded related markets. Second, the competition between sales channels resulted in the reduction of the price of medicine. Third, the growing sales channels of medicine have extended the options of consumers and, subsequently, the convenience in the use of consumers has increased. Fourth, the creation of a competitive environment owing to the diversification of sales channels has accelerated an effort to enhance corporate competitiveness. Fifth, the foundation of enhancing the financial soundness of medical expenses has been prepared through the formation of a self-medication environment. In 2000, the Korean population aged 65 or over exceeded 7%, and it is anticipated to be over 14% by 2018; thus, the increase of national medical expenses will be sped up. As a way of being prepared for the era of aging, we, just as other advanced countries, need to create a self-treatment environment by diversifying the sellers of general medicine, and, thus, reduce spending on personal medical expenses, enhance the financial soundness of national medical insurance, and, further, promote the welfare of consumers.

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