• Title/Summary/Keyword: developed countries

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Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnosis using Cell-Free Fetal DNA in Maternal Plasma: Clinical Applications

  • Yang, Young-Ho;Han, Sung-Hee;Lee, Kyoung-Ryul
    • Journal of Genetic Medicine
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    • v.8 no.1
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    • pp.1-16
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    • 2011
  • Owing to the risk of fetal loss associated with prenatal diagnostic procedures (amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling), noninvasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) is ultimate goal of prenatal diagnosis. The discovery of circulating cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma in 1997 has opened up new probabilities for NIPD by Dr. Lo et al. The last decade has seen great development in NIPD. Fetal sex and fetal RhD status determination by cffDNA analysis is already in clinical use in certain countries. For routine use, this test is limited by the amount of cell-free maternal DNA in blood sample, the lack of universal fetal markers, and appropriate reference materials. To improve the accuracy of detection of fetal specific sequences in maternal plasma, internal positive controls to confirm to presence of fetal DNA should be analyzed. We have developed strategies for noninvasive determination of fetal gender, and fetal RhD genotyping using cffDNA in maternal plasma, using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) including RASSF1A epigenetic fetal DNA marker (gender-independent) as internal positive controls, which is to be first successful study of this kind in Korea. In our study, accurate detection of fetal gender through gestational age, and fetal RhD genotyping in RhD-negative pregnant women was achieved. In this assay, we show that the assay is sensitive, easy, fast, and reliable. These developments improve the reliability of the applications of circulating fetal DNA when used in clinical practice to manage sex-linked disorders (e.g., hemophilia, Duchenne muscular dystrophy), congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), RhD incompatibility, and the other noninvasive pregnant diagnostic tests on the coming soon. The study was the first successful case in Korea using cffDNA in maternal plasma, which has created a new avenue for clinical applications of NIPD.

The Cornerstone Project: Establishing the Interministerial Collaborative R&D Support Framework between NRF and KEITI, Korea (한국연구재단과 한국환경산업기술원 간 Eco-Bridge 구축방안에 관한 연구 - 우수 연구성과 연계 활용으로 부처간 벽 허물기 -)

  • Lee, Jong-Hyun;Kwon, Sang-Sook;Jung, Dong-Il;Son, Jiho;Cha, Eun-Jong;Yeu, Moo-Song;Lee, Sung-Jong;Park, Kwisun
    • Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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    • v.35 no.8
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    • pp.533-539
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    • 2013
  • Korea is one of the top countries that has funded great amount to promote basic research and others in recent decade. While the quantity of R&D fund in Korea has rapidly increased, the effectiveness and quality of R&D outcomes became a controversial issue. National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) and Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) agreed to collaborate for diffusing and utilizing R&D outcomes of each institute. NSF and KEITI signed the bilateral MOU in 2012, and Interministerial Collaborative R&D Support Framework (ICR&DSF) was developed. The ICR&DSF consist of launching an Eco-Bridge Program as an interministerial R&D program and composition of Environmental Convergence R&D Bridge Committee. The Eco-Bridge Program was applied to 'Environmental Convergence Technology Project' of KEITI as a pilot program in 2012. The unique feature of this interministerial R&D program is that the Eco-Bridge Program directly supports the basic research outcomes which are previously funded by NRF. As the collaboration between NRF and KEITI becomes stronger, it is expected to explore the more creative and the more transformative research.

A Study on the Compensatory Education for the Disadvantaged Children in Preschool Age (Focussed on the Programs of Compensatory Education in the U.S.A. and Japan) (불리(不利)한 환경(環境)의 학령전(學齡前) 아동(兒童)을 위한 보상교육(補償敎育)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究) - 미국(美國) 및 일본(日本)의 보상교육(補償敎育)·프로그램을 중심(中心)으로 -)

  • Chong, Young-Sook;Lee, Hee-Ja
    • Korean Journal of Child Studies
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    • v.1
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    • pp.65-81
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    • 1980
  • This study is aimed at investigating the compensatory education which was already implemented or is being implemented in the U.S.A. and Japan; and at studying the types of programs and their characteristics; and at sounding out the possibilities of the application of such programs in family and social conditions is Korea. In order to achieve the above mentioned objectives, the established items for the study are as follows: (1) Various types of early children's education (2) Programs of compensatory education for the disadvantaged Children (3) Head Start Program, Early Training Project and Montessori School (4) Integrated Preschool Programs (5) Day-Care Center for employed mothers We investigated the various compensatory education programs for the preschool children who are in economically, socially, culturally disadvantaged conditions. Head Start Programs were federally supported programs for preschool children and opened as summer programs in 1965 for the first time. The purpose of Head Start has been to give preschool children the kinds of experiences they need in preparation for school. The Head Start children were found to be significantly better prepared for school than the normal children. However, after six to eight months, their initial advantages had virtually. disappeared and then the simple problem with Head Start and other such programs was that little long-term good could be evidenced unless the high quality educational environment was maintained. Therefore, to solve this problem, three other programs were funded as part of the overall Head Start. These three programs are the Parent-Child Center, Home Start, and the Child and Family Resources Program. The Early Training Project for disadvantaged children was implemented by Klaus and Gray of Peabody College in 1962. The program was a field research study concerned with the development and testing over time of procedures for improving the educability of young children from low income homes. Its major concern was to study whether it was possible to offset the progressive retardation observed in the public schooling careers of children, living in deprived circumstances. Children, who were trained through the Early Training Project were superior to control groups in the test of IQ and vocabulary as well as linguistic abilities, and preparation for reading. This project showed the possibilities which could prevent preschool children from being disadvantaged socially, culturally and mentally. In 1907, Montessori School was established by Maria Montessori in Italy and her school program has been introduced at present to several countries in the world as one compensatory educations. She first began her experimental methods with retarded children, followed by disadvantaged children from the tenements of Rome. The Montessori approach futures a prepared environment and carefully designed, self-correcting materials. The Montessori curriculum presents tastes that feature sequence, order, and regularity, in addition to those that develop motor and sensory skills. She was interested in children's intellectual development and in developing good work habits. One of the latest developed programs for disadvantaged children is "Integrated Preschool Program" which has successfully integrated handicapped and nonhandicapped children. Several studies have showed that handicapped children in integrated school environments are accepted by and interact with their nonhandicapped peers. In fact, this program provides a number of potential, and perhaps opportunities for nonhandicapped children to serve as valuable resources in fostering the development of their handicapped peers. Next we turn to Japanese programs which are divided into two different types. One is Day-Care Center which was established by Child Welfare Law and the other is kindergarten organized by School Education Law. The kindergarten opened in 1876 and it has been part of school systems since 1947 by the implementation of education law, and the Day-Care Center which started in 1890 for the employed mothers. was changed into Day-Nursery by the enactment of child welfare law in 1947. The laws and operational regulations for the Day-Nursery were set up and were put in effect by the establishment standard acts of children welfare facilities, and the Day-Nursery has been operated in various types by the increasing demand, chiefly because of the socio-economical changes of family structures in both urban and suburban areas. Nursery education for physically and mentally disadvantaged children is for those who are blind, deaf and dumb, mentally retarded; physically disadvantaged by accidents or diseases. Montessori education in Japan was started in 1968 and many research groups for studying Montessori were organized. In 1977, Montessori remedial education society was also organized in which they started a number of studies; a study for developing materials; in-service training for the remedial education; and seminars and lectures, etc It is strongly suggested that we study the early educations that are being implemented in Japan and a variety of compensatory educations that were already implemented in the U.S.A. and modify them for the organization of our own model and properly accommodate them to our social needs.

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The effect of practical reasoning Home Economics instruction on morality of middle school students (실천적 추론 가정과 수업이 중학생의 도덕성에 미치는 효과)

  • 채정현;유태명;박미정;이지연
    • Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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    • v.41 no.12
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    • pp.53-68
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    • 2003
  • The purpose of this study was to develop lesson plans and teaching materials applying practical reasoning instruction for the 7th home economics curriculum content, and to test the effect of practical reasoning instruction on morality of middle school students. This study is a quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest design. Practical reasoning instruction for experimental group and traditionally lecture oriented instruction for comparison group were input, and tested the statistical differences between two groups before and after the treatment. The subjects for this study were 8th grade students of a middle school located in Kwangju city. Two classes of 76 students homogeneous in characteristics and academic record for each experimental and comparison group were assigned. Instrument used for this study was a revised moral indicator, that was developed by KEDI(2001). Spss/win for 10.0 statistics program was used for analysis of data. ANCOVA was done for testing statistical difference between pretest and posttest of experiment group and comparison group. Result of study which showed statistically significant difference between groups were:1. Virtue of "responsibility for words and deeds"(from 3.22 to 3.61 for experimental group and from 3.27 to 3.26 for comparison group) in domain of responsibility and cooperation, and virtue of "punctuality"(from 3.59 to 3.76 for experimental group and from 3.41 to 3.28 for comparison group) in domain of trustworthiness, 2. Virtue of "conversation etiquette"(from 3.47 to 3.67 for experimental group and from 3.28 to 3.31 for comparison group) in domain of caring for others, 3. Virtue of "forgiveness other′s mistakes"(from 3.32 to 3.65 for experimental group and from 3.33 to 3.25 for comparison group) in domain of kindness, concession, forgiveness, and virtue of "volunteering activity"(from 2.89 to 3.71 for experimental group and from 3.36 to 3.45 for comparison group) in domain of compassion and service, 4. Virtue of "equip the convenient facility for handicapped"(from 4.19 to 4.29 for experimental group and from 4.17 to 3.91 for comparison group) in domain of equality and human rights, virtue of "recovering selfness for own community"(from 2.34 to 2.79 for experimental group and from 2.14 to 2.29 for comparison group), virtue of "opposing way of accomplishing purpose by an means"(from 3.27 to 3.31 for experimental group and from 3.47 to 3.05 for comparison group), virtue of "opposing election of considering acquaintance"(from 3.35 to 3.56 for experimental group and from 3.12 to 3.14 for comparison group) in domain of fairness, and virtue of "eradication of military force or violence among countries"(from 3.49 to 3.57 for experimental group and from 3.38 to 3.05 for comparison group) in domain of love for humanity. The morality of experimental group was improved more than that of comparison group in all of above items. From the results of this study, following conclusion was drawn. Practical reasoning instruction in home economics is effective in raising students′ virtue and value of responsibility in words and deeds, trustworthiness in punctuality, courtesy of not interrupting conversation, forgiveness of other′s mistakes, volunteering activity, equity for handicapped, fairness opposing selfness for own community, fairness opposing way of accomplishing purpose by all means, fairness opposing election of considering acquaintance, and love for humanity opposing war.

A Study on Space Insurance of Foreign nation's Law (외국의 우주보험 관련법 연구)

  • Cho, Hong-Je
    • The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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    • v.26 no.1
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    • pp.271-297
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    • 2011
  • Recently, risk of space accident possibility increased in according to commercial space activity and space debris. It failed launch satellite second times in South Korea. Therefore was discussed on liability and insurance issue. Generally, discuss of space insurance be divided two type. Firstly, space insurance relevant to launching satellite and in-orbit. Satellite Launch Insurance and In-Orbit Insurance by the Satellite Operator Secondly, space insurance relevant to Third Party Liability. The former is to protect owner of satellite and operator. The latter is to liable and indemnify owner of satellite and operator's liability. US, UK, France, Russia, South Korea forced to buy space insurance following to domestic law. This is a brief overview of risk allocation and insurance practices in the commercial space transportation industry today. We begin with traditional space transportation, i.e., commercial satellite launches. This is a mature industry with known players. Industry practices have developed and legislation has been adopted in the U.S. and other countries over the past decades to address liability and insurance issues. The primary focus here is on U.S. law, but the discussion of industry practice applies more generally. We then move on to a more exotic form of space transportation: Commercial human space flight. Several private companies are now signing up space tourists for commercial suborbital human space flight, advertised to become available in the near future. The United States amended its launch legislation in 2004 to promote commercial human space flight. But questions remain as to how this new industry will respond to the risk allocation regime established by the U.S. legislation, which leaves both the space flight operator and space tourist exposed to risk and potential liability. As a general proposition, state statutes and contractual waivers alone cannot be relied upon to provide adequate liability protection, and insurance will be required. Federally mandated contractual waivers by space flight participants or liability caps would be helpful to complement insurance solutions. Eventually, as the industry matures, such practices could be extended to an international legal regime. For all the issues mentioned above, I have studied the existing international treaties and several country's domestic law to the space by referring U.S's Commercial Space Launch Amendment Act of 2004 and concluded that uniform legal regime to govern these insurance issues should be established domestically and internationally in the future.

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Psychological Make-up of Korean Green Consumerism: A Path Model Analysis (한국록색소비심리구성(韩国绿色消费心理构成):일개로경분석모형(一个路径分析模型))

  • Kim, Joo-Ho;Kim, Yeon-Shin
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.249-261
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    • 2010
  • As consumers' concern for the environment has continued to increase, many firms have actively engaged in environmental marketing to achieve their objectives. However, consumers' high concerns about the environment are not always reflected in their purchasing behavior. This indicates the need for an in-depth understanding of the development of green consumption within the individual's belief system. In consideration of psychological approaches, a large body of research has examined the factors underlying ecologically conscious "green" consumer behavior and the interrelationships of these factors. However, most previous studies have concentrated on Western countries. Using a sample of Korean consumers, this study attempts to understand the basis of Korean green consumerism and find universal values that are cross-culturally important in guiding consumers' environmental attitudes and behaviors. To this end, this study relates Schwartz's 10 universal values (Schwartz 1992) to environmental behaviors in a hierarchical model of value-attitude-behavior. With reference to the value-attitude-behavior framework, the conceptual model developed for the study explains what motivations can be manifested in Korean consumers' environmental attitudes, and subsequently how the attitudes affect their green choices. Using the pattern of relationships among values that can be related to environmentalism, the first hypothesis holds that there would be particular relationships between motivational value types and environmental attitudes. Hypothesis 2 assumes that environmental attitudes predict environmental behaviors. On the basis of the claim that favorable attitudes toward the environment may be expressed in many different behaviors, the assumption is that consumers' favorable attitudes toward the environment would be linked to a variety of environmental behaviors because people with high environmental attitudes can be more interested in and knowledgeable about environmental actions. Consistent with H2, H3 hypothesizes that there would be a positive relationship between different types of environmental behavior. A total of 564 university students participated in the study. The sample included 308 men, 254 women, and two participants who did not indicate their gender. The average age of the participants was 22.5 years, with a range of 19 to 39. Regarding majors, special efforts were made to draw the participants from different departments of the university. Data were collected by a survey administered via self-completion questionnaires., which assessed the participants' value priorities, environmental attitudes, and behaviors. Path analysis conducted to test the proposed model found the overall fit to be ${\chi}^2$=72.01 (p=0.00), GFI=0.983, CFI=0.982, NFI=0.970, RMR=0.070, and REMSEA=0.050. Thus, most of the fit measures indicated a good fit of the model with the data, and a hierarchical relationship from values to environmental attitudes to environmental non-purchasing behavior to environmental purchasing behavior was confirmed. An assessment of all the predicted paths by path coefficients led to several major hypothesized effects being confirmed. Out of the ten value types, universalism and power were significantly but conversely related to environmental attitudes. In line with the other studies, these findings confirm that environmental attitudes are an important factor in leading to a variety of green behaviors. Finally, significant relationships were found between environmental purchasing and non-purchasing behaviors. The path analysis supported the idea that universalism values provide a motivation for Korean consumers' greenness and indirectly promote environmental acts through favorable attitudes toward the environment. Participants with high environmental attitudes were found to actively engage in diverse forms of green consumer behavior. This research provides an opportunity to examine cross-cultural differences with respect to values leading to environmentalism, and, further, to verify previous findings. The study also examined the attitude-behavior relationship with respect to three distinct types of environmental behaviors. The different strengths of paths between green attitudes and behaviors suggest that researchers should consider the specificity of behavior explained as an effort to improve the low attitude-behavior correlation. Finally, the findings here illustrate that with increased environmental concerns among people, they come to include more such behaviors in their green portfolios.

Policy Suggestions for Korea Aviation Industry's Fair Competition (항공운송산업의 공정경쟁에 대한 이해와 정책적 제언)

  • Park, Jin-Seo;Kim, Je-Chul;Han, Ik-Hyun
    • The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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    • v.32 no.2
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    • pp.129-153
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    • 2017
  • Fair Competition policy in aviation field has been discussed since open skies policy began in 1970s. This issue has been also the main topic in the ICAO's Worldwide Air Transport Conference, the Air Transport Symposium, etc. ICAO defines competition as the existent or potential rivalry between two or more operators, carriers or groups, striving for advantages in the same market based on different prices, qualities and services. In a broader sense, the definition includes more various meanings; reasonable, fair, effective, and unrestricted competitions. Nowadays, competition laws and regulations to air transportation have been applied more frequently and the issues varies from antitrust immunity, mergers and alliances, abuse of dominant positions, capacity dumping and predatory pricing, sales and marketing, to airport charges and fees, state aid and loan guarantees. Now, the competition among the airlines or nations in aviation industry is changing to cooperation level. A lot of airlines try to survive by various cooperation methods. Therefore the policy of Korean aviation industry should be developed, taking so-called "the viewpoint of national aviation industry ecosystem" into consideration and Korean government should prepare a policy of fair competition to cope with it. First, in the process of open skies policy with neighboring countries such as China, Japan and the Middle East, it is necessary to apply the fair competition act and prepare laws and regulations to implement it. Second, the standards of effective ownership and control of air transportation business should be reviewed. Third, in preparation for aviation agreements and liberalization, the Korean aviation industry needs to study and review competition and cooperation issues through the analysis of strict aviation market structure for airlines and airport operations. Fourth, it is necessary to create a fair air transportation environment for the development of air transportation and competitiveness through preemptive policies such as the approval of mergers, acquisitions, JV and the ripple effects analysis.

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A Study on the Smog Reduction Strategies in China (중국의 스모그 저감정책에 대한 고찰)

  • Jeon, So Hyeon;Kim, Yong Pyo
    • Particle and aerosol research
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    • v.11 no.3
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    • pp.63-75
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    • 2015
  • Atmospheric environment in Korea is influenced by outside, especially China. The concentrations of air pollutants in China have showed decreasing trends since 2000. However, these concentration levels in China are still higher than other developed countries. The Chinese Government has tried several measures to control the air pollution. In this study, the details of the amendments and smog reduction strategies in China, especially for Beijing are reviewed and the strategies for Korean side to promote cooperation in Northeast Asia are suggested and discussed. The Chinese State Council amended the Environmental Protection Provisions and Clean Air Act and announced The Action Plan for Air Pollution Control (2013-2017), focusing on three key regions, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area (Jing-Jin-Ji), Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Pearl River Delta (PRD). These policy actions and plan are mainly for the reducing coal usage and emissions from vehicles. It is suggested that, Korea should actively promote multi-national cooperation in the region to take an initiative role in environmental areas.

Antiviral Properties of Probiotic Mixtures against Rotavirus in the Rat (랫드에서 로타바이러스에 대한 유산균혼합물의 항 바이러스활성)

  • Park, Jae Eun;Lee, Do Kyung;Kim, Min Ji;Kim, Kyung Tae;Choi, Kyung Soon;Seo, Jae Goo;Ha, Nam Joo
    • Korean Journal of Microbiology
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    • v.50 no.4
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    • pp.296-301
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    • 2014
  • Rotavirus is a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in young children in developed and developing countries. The use of probiotics for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases is both safe and easily accessible. In this study, we evaluated the anti-rotaviral activities of probiotic mixtures in a Sprague-Dawley rat. 24 litters with their dams were randomly assigned to four groups; placebo, phosphate buffered saline (PBS), and two probiotic mixture (PRO-1 and PRO-2) groups. All rats were inoculated with rotavirus at dose of 8 log plaque forming units per rat at 5 days old. Animals in the PRO-1 and PRO-2 groups were orally administered probiotic mixtures 1 or 2, respectively, at a dose of 8 log colony forming units daily during 4 days. For control purposes, placebo and PBS groups were orally administered the same amount of placebo (containing maltose and polydextrose) or PBS once daily for 4 days, respectively. Antiviral analysis was performed by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and observing intestinal villi. As a result, weights of small intestines were greater in the PRO-1, PRO-2 groups than in control groups. Villi were short and villous epithelial necrosis was exhibited in control groups, but these morphological changes were not observed in PRO-1, PRO-2 treated rats. RT-qPCR analysis showed that VP7 gene level of rotavirus in fecal samples and small intestinal epithelial cells were lower in the PRO-1 and PRO-2 groups. These findings suggest that probiotic mixtures may be useful probiotics for the treatment of or as alternative therapies for rotaviral gastroenteritis.

Framework on Soil Quality Indicator Selection and Assessment for the Sustainable Soil Management (지속가능한 토양환경 관리를 위한 토양질 지표의 선정과 평가체계)

  • Ok, Yong-Sik;Yang, Jae-E.;Park, Yong-Ha;Jung, Yeong-Sang;Yoo, Kyung-Yoal;Park, Chol-Soo
    • Journal of Environmental Policy
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.93-111
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    • 2005
  • Defining soil quality in scopes and applications is one of the prerequisite for the sustainable management of soil environment to orient researches, strategies and policies. However, definition of soil quality is controversial depending upon a viewpoint of soil science or soil environment. Soil quality can be, irrespective of the disciplines, defined as the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem boundaries to sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality and promote plant and animal health. Common to all of the soil quality concepts can be summarized as the capacity of soil to function effectively at present and in the future. The OECD includes soil quality as one of the agri-environment indicators. This article intends to i) summarize the current soil quality research, and ii) provide information on protocol of soil quality assessment. A framework for soil quality was divided into three steps: indicator selection as minimum data set (MDS), scoring of the selected indicators, and integration of scores into soil quality index. Korean government suggested possible physical and chemical indicators such as bulk density and organic matter for paddy and upland soils to OECD. The framework of soil quality assessment is not yet implemented in Korea. Countries such as USA, Canada and New Zealand have constructed the framework on soil quality assessment and developed a user-friendly version of soil quality assessment tools to evaluate the integrated effects of various soil management practices. The protocol provided in this review might help policymakers, scientists, and administrators improve awareness about soil quality and understand the way of soil environment management.

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