• Hwankyungkyoyuk
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.39-50
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• 2003

Secondary school environmental education is offered mostly in extra-curricular activities, not included in the school curriculum. Therefore, drawing out its curriculum has been left to teachers' discretion. Teachers' beliefs in EE have much more influence on the selection of content of EE than any other psychological factors. It follows that the reality of school EE depends on what teachers believes about EE and which content of EE they select according to their beliefs. This study is to research the realities of the secondary school EE: examine teachers' beliefs about EE and analyse environmental views in their environment-related programs; examine whether teachers' programs reflect their beliefs and environmental views; identify the factors which teachers inhibit teachers from their expression of these beliefs. To identify what perspective was reflected to these programs, this study employs environmentalism. Environmentalism can be classified into 3 categories: environmental management; deep ecology; social ecology. Data were gathered by means of in-depth interviews with five teachers. To show teachers' beliefs clearly, the analysis of the data was conducted on the basis of 5 categories: 'ecological sensitivity', 'value education', 'behaviors', 'issues', 'perception of a cause of environmental problems, related to social structures'. These belifs reflect deep ecological perspective and social ecology. But these perspectives did not accord with those in programs. Most EE programs included only the deep ecological perspective. They didn't reflect their beliefs that students should perceive the cause of environmental problems in the social structure. The factors which teachers find as inhibiting or supporting their expression of these beliefs were analysed as following: (1) EE requests the change of curriculum and methods of instruction; (2) teachers should acquire 'environmental consciousness' and environmentrelated knowledge; (3) programs requests an administrative and financial support.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.23-32
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to produce basic planning criteria required in ecological restoration and improvement works of streams in rural area through the application of stream assessment methods (water quality, soil environment, and ecological function assessment) at 6 study sites of Han River basin. The investigation results were as followings; 1) There were the evaluation items like a manure use, salt degree, river peripheral tree, which did not fitted to apply to domestic streams, in the SVAP (Stream Visual Assessment Protocol) and NRCS Riparian Assessment that were evaluation models developed in USDA. The area inhabitants with a little knowledge and education personally seems to utilize the evaluation methods through improvement partly with an aspect that evaluation is slightly easy. 2) From the stream assessment results, the construction of diverse pools, large woody debris and isolated backwater pool are needed to improve a few of problems observed at the mostly study sites. The result of NRCS Riparian Assessment showed that the improvement of stream bank vegetative communities is needed by planting tree with deep-binding root masses, and managing of noxious weeds and exotic undesirable plants. 3) Summing up, the assessment results showed that the assessment scores were higher at upstream than downstream, the stream with totally maintenance than that with partly maintenance, the stream with slope bank than that with vertical bank, and the stream with a flood plain than that without a flood plain. So, the direction of stream maintenance projects must be set by consideration of those results.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.63-77
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• 2009

The decrease in the farming rates of agricultural produce importing countries has led to concerns over stable food supply and food safety and this situation demands a change in awareness on agricultural problems arising from the depletion of natural resources and environmental destruction. To preserve agriculture, importing countries are emphasizing the various roles of agriculture in order to revive its multi-functional aspects. It is obvious that differentiated strategies are needed to create values from agricultural production, and a liberal arts education can play an important role in making these strategies. However, training programs for future agricultural CEOs of the Korea National Agricultural College(KNAC) attaches too much importance on production skill and management rather than focusing on a liberal arts education. On the other hand, Poolmoo Ecological Agriculture Course carried out by Poolmoo Agriculture Technical High School located in Hongseong-Gun, Chungnam Province (which puts a high value on ecological fanning) gives more weight on a liberal arts education, taking up more than 50% of the curriculum. Also, the National Farmers Academy in Japan which reformed its whole system in 2008, has started various liberal arts educational programs. The Academy fosters creative agricultural management, attractive rural development enhancing a comfortable rural life and educates on the future of Japanese food and international environment. It is expected that the ecological and cultural roles of farming will grow in the future. So, what the KNAC needs is to increase its liberal arts educational programs and various cultural experiences in its educational curriculum to promote agricultural marketing with cultural knowledge and sensitivity.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.179-187
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• 2020

The study was conducted on Godeoksan, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, for the study of elderly people's park use and satisfaction. For the analysis, frequency analysis was performed on all items, and reliability analysis was performed to check the validity of the items. Factor analysis was used to identify items that have a significant effect on the customer's satisfaction. Multiple regression analysis was performed using the derived factors. As a result of factor analysis, it was found that the factors affecting satisfaction were composed of three factors and 69.50% of the total variance was explained. The KMO value, which means the sample fit between items, was analyzed as .756. Factors were classified into usage aspect, ecological aspect, and amenityt aspect by reflecting the characteristics of the item. As a result of the multiple regression analysis through the derived factors, the multiple regression equation for the elderly's park use satisfaction was analyzed to be Y = 3.678 + 0.202X₁ + 0.125X₂ + 0.236X₃. In this study, there are limitations in conducting a questionnaire survey for the elderly who lack professional knowledge. In the future, evaluation studies should be conducted for the elderly with specialized knowledge, and it is judged that a comparative study of ecological, utilization, and climatic aspects by age is necessary.

• Hwankyungkyoyuk
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.36-49
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether elementary school parents' environmental literacy varied according to independent variables, to verify specific variables that affected their environmental literacy, and to analyze the correlation between elementary school students' and their parents' environmental literacy. Twelve elementary schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi-Do were chosen for purposive sampling. 342 questionnaires were used for analysis among the 350 questionnaires collected during the study, and their environmental literacy was measured through 55 questions consisted of 12 items for knowledge category, 22 for attitude category, 5 for behavior category, and 3 for skills category with 16 demographic variables. Statistical analysis was conducted on each of the variables that make up environmental literacy through mean t-test, F-distribution, Scheffe test, and Pearson correlation. The results of this study were as follows. (1) there is the difference according to age and career in parent's actual environmental literacy, but there is no difference in geneder, birthplace, residential type, religion and income. The parents in forties scored significantly higher than parents in thirties in subdomains of environmental skill and environmental interest in environmental literacy. And the parents with bachelor's degree scored significantly higher than parents with at least a high school diploma in subdomains of ecological knowledge, knowledge on environmental problems & issue, environmental skill and environmental behavior. (2) the most influential media on parents' environmental literacy is TV, then newspaper, internet and book follow. (3) the correlation between environmental crisis and environmental interest is the highest, but the mainly negative correlation is analysed between knowledge subdomains and other subdomains. (4) there is the correlation between elementary school students' and their parents' environmental literacy.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.487-501
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• 2016

This study aims to establish basic data of operating status for ecological learning facilities in Korea, investigate their characteristics for operating methods, and present proposals for the efficient operation and management of ecological learning facilities. For this purpose, a list of ecological learning facilities in Korea was established and 50 facilities were surveyed about the current status regarding the operation and management. Based on the survey, operation form, interpreter and volunteer, visitor, budget and revenue, promotion method, and other items were analyzed. Concerning the operating forms, most of the facilities were direct-operated facilities by government, and they are operating mainly by officials. Visitors are mostly families on weekends, while kindergarten children are main visitors during weekdays. Most facilities have higher proportion of visitors nationwide, and they get information mainly from websites operated by facilities and related organization. The annual operating budget and revenue depend on the facility size and operating forms, and the direct-operated facilities by government use higher budget compared to commission-operated ones. For the efficient operation of ecological learning, expert with specialized knowledge should participate in the operation, and intuitive and informative websites should be established and continually managed. In addition, it is necessary to support revenue of by national and local governments and to secure external funding network like local companies and donation.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify current health care management and barriers in health care management according to ecological systems, and to develop an ecological model for enhancing health care in child care centers. Methods: Focus group interviews were conducted with directors and teachers of child care centers, and with parents of children enrolled in child care. Data were analyzed by the latent content analysis method. Results: Twelve categories of health care management were identified. Barriers to child health care included knowledge deficit and lack of competence in health care by teachers, lack of useful health care manuals, non-existence of professional child health care personnel in child care centers, lack of mutual information sharing and disagreement on child health conditions between child care personnel and parents, lack of specific health related child care inspection criteria and time flexible child care centers with a lack of policy on collaboration with health care facilities. The ecological model developed included specific strategies to improve health care management in child care. Conclusion: The proposed ecological model to improve child health care management should be useful to plan future health care program considering both the immediate and indirect social environment surrounding children in child care.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.81-89
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• 2020

In the forest ecosystems, litterfall is an important component of the nutrient cycle that regulates the accumulation of soil organic matter (SOM), the input and output of the nutrients, nutrient replenishment, biodiversity conservation, and other ecosystem functions. Therefore, a profound understanding of the major processes (litterfall production and its decomposition rate) in the cycle is vital for sustainable forest management (SFM). Despite these facts, there is still a limited knowledge in tropical forest ecosystems, and further researches are highly needed. This shortfall of research-based knowledge, especially in tropical forest ecosystems, may be a contributing factor to the lack of understanding of the role of plant litter in the forest ecosystem function for sustainable forest management, particularly in the tropical forest landscapes. Therefore, in this paper, I review the role of plant litter in tropical forest ecosystems with the aims of assessing the importance of plant litter in forest ecosystems for the biogeochemical cycle. Then, the major factors that affect the plant litter production and decomposition were identified, which could direct and contribute to future research. The small set of studies reviewed in this paper demonstrated the potential of plant litter to improve the biogeochemical cycle and nutrients in the forest ecosystems. However, further researches are needed particularly on the effect of species, forest structures, seasons, and climate factors on the plant litter production and decomposition in various types of forest ecosystems.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.457-464
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• 2022

A public health concern emerging from a zoonotic disease. Monkeypox is caused by the orthopoxvirus specie Monkeypox virus (MPXV). Monkeypox was identified as the most common orthopoxvirus infection in humans following the eradication of smallpox. Monkeypox has a similar clinical presentation to smallpox. The MPXV is now considered a high-threat pathogen that causes a serious public-health problem. The continuous spread of Monkeypox virus from West Africa to all other places around the world throughout 2018 to 2022, have raised concerns that MPXV could have emerged to acquire the immunological and ecological niche vacated by smallpox virus. This review highlights the current knowledge about Monkeypox evolution, infection biology, and epidemiology around the world since from 1970 to 2022, with a focus on the human, viral, and cellular factors that influence virus emergence, infection, spread, and maintenance in nature. This paper also discusses the current therapeutic options for Monkeypox treatment and control. Under the right conditions, with limited smallpox vaccination and very little orthopoxvirus immunity in some areas of the world, MPXV could become a more efficient human pathogen. Finally, the review identified knowledge gaps, particularly in terms of identifying a definitive reservoir host for monkeypox and proposes future research endeavors to address the unanswered questions.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.173-184
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• 2016

Knowledge of the relationships among interspecific competition, spatial distributions and ecological niches plays an important role in understanding biogeographical distribution patterns of species. In this study, the distributional characteristics and ecological niches of the three Viperidae species (Gloydius ussuriensis, G. brevicaudus, and G. saxatilis) in South Korea were determined based on observation data and species distribution model. The effects of interspecific competition on geographical distribution and the division of the ecological niches of the vipers were also examined based on the models of predicted species distribution. The results showed that altitude was the most important environmental variable for their distribution, and the altitudes at which these snakes were distributed correlated with the climate of that region. Although interspecific ecological niches are quite overlapped, their predicted distribution patternsvary by the Taebaek Mountains. When overlaying the distribution models, most of the overlapping habitats were forest areas, which were relatively less overlapped than were the entire research areas. Thus, a parapatric distribution pattern was expected. The abundance of species occurring sympatrically was positively correlated with each other, indicating the lack of serious interspecies competition in this region. In conclusion, although the three Viperidae species in South Korea occupy similar ecological niches, these snakes exhibit parapatric distribution patterns without direct competition. Further research on various geographic variables (e.g., altitude, microhabitat characteristics) using relatively fine grid sizes, as well as further detailed ecological and behavioral research, is needed to determine the causative factors for the parapatric distribution pattern.