• Title/Summary/Keyword: environmental sociology

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Questions and Answers about the Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster as of February 2017 (가습기살균제 참사의 진행과 교훈(Q&A))

  • Choi, Yeyong
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.43 no.1
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    • pp.1-22
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    • 2017
  • 'The worstest environment disaster', 'World's first biocide massacre', 'Home-based Sewol ferry disaster' are all phrases attached to the recent humidifier disinfectant disaster. In the spring of 2011, four of 8 pregnant women including 1 adult man passed away at a university hospital in Seoul due to breathing failure. Epidemiologic investigation conducted by the Korean CDC soon revealed the inhalation of humidifier disinfectant, which had been widely used in Korea during the winter, to be responsible for the disease. As well as lung fibrosis hardening of the lungs, other diseases including asthma, rhinitis, skin disease, liver disease, fetal disease or cancers have been researched for their relation with exposure to the products. By February 9, 2017, 5,342 cases had registered for health problems and 1,131 of them were already dead (20.8% mortality rate). Based on studies by government agencies and a telephone survey of the general population by Seoul National University and civic groups, around 20% of the general public of Korea has used these products. Since the market release of the first product by SK Chemical in 1994, over 7.1 million items from around 20 brands were sold up to 2011. Most of the products were manufactured by well-known large conglomerates such as SK, Lotte, Samsung, Shinsegye, LG, and GS, as well as some European companies including UK-based Reckitt Benckiser and TESCO, the German firm Henkel, the Danish firm KeTox, and an Irish company. Even though this disaster was unveiled in 2011 by the Korean government, the issue of the victims was neglected for over five years. In 2016, an unexpected but intensive investigation by prosecutors found that Reckitt Benckiser manipulated and concealed animal tests for its own brand and brought several university experts and company employees to court. The matter was an intense social issue in Korea from May to June with a surge in media coverage. The prosecutor's investigation and a nationwide boycott campaign organized by victims and environmental groups against Reckitt Benckiser, whose product had been used by more than 70% of victims, led to the producer's official apology and a compensation scheme. A legislative investigation organized after the April 2016 national election revealed the producers' faults and the government's responsibility, but failed to meet expectations. A special law for the victims passed the National Assembly in January 2017 and a punitive system together with a massive environmental epidemiology investigation are expected to be the only solutions for this tragedy. Sciences of medicine, toxicology and environmental health have provided decisive evidence so far, but for the remaining problems the perspectives of social sciences such as sociology and jurisprudence are highly necessary, similar to with the Minamata disease and Wonjin Rayon events. It may not be easy to follow this issue using unfamiliar terminology from medical and chemical science and the long, complicated history of the event. For these reasons the author has attempted to write this article in a question and answer format to render it easier to follow. The 17 questions are: Q1 What is humidifier disinfectant? Q2 What kind of health problems are caused by humidifier disinfectant? Q3 How many victims are there? Q4 What is the analysis of the 1,112 cases of death? Q5 What is the problem with the government's diagnostic criteria and the solution? Q6 Who made what brands? Q7 Has there been a recall? What is still on sale? Q8 Was safety not checked by any producers? Q9 What are the government's responsibilities? Q10 Is it true that these products were sold only in Korea? Q11 Why and how was it unveiled only in 2011 after 17 years of sales? Q12 What delayed the resolution of the victim issue? Q13 What is the background of the prosecutor's investigation in early 2016? Q14 Is it possible to report new victim cases without evidence of product purchase? Q15 What is happening with the victim issue? Q16 How does it compare with the cases of Minamata disease and Wonjin Rayon? Q17 Are there prevention measures and lessons?

Contents of Health Education for Pupils and the Perceptibility after Graduation of Primary School (국민학교(國民學校) 교과서내(敎科書內)의 보건교육내용(保健敎育內容) 및 그 습득도(習得度))

  • Jeon, Bo-Yoon;Kim, Doo-Hie
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.18 no.1
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    • pp.99-112
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    • 1985
  • It was measured to check the state of health education by the survey of the items related to the health with the first grade of students in middle school who mastered elementary courses. Totally 50 questions, which were selected from Standard and Dong-A reference books, were given to teachers and have got answered by the students who were totally 959(491 from urban areas and 468 from rural areas). It's done just after they entered middle school for a month, from April 10 to may 10, 1984. There were totally 782 items of health in all subjects of all grades. In contents, the most cases were about mental and emotional health(17.7%), exercise and rest (15.1%), environmental health, health life, personal health care, nutrition and foods, social health and organization, physiology and anatomy, statistics of public health population problem, disease and care, food sanitation, school health, parasitic and communicable disease control, eugenics and heredity(0.4%), etc were followed. In subjects, Korean language had 44.7% of mental and emotional health in 114 cases, arithmetics 46.4% of statistics of public health in 26, sociology, 23.1% of environmental health in 118, natural science, 60.1% of physiology and anatomy in 30, ethics, 40.3% of mental and emotional health in 176, music, 21.8% of mental and emotional health and accidents in 23, art, 42.9% of exercise and rest in 28, physical education, 38.6% of exercise and rest in 201, practical course, 36.2% of nutrition and foods in 61, and there was nothing but only one case in Korean history. Subjects in total cases of health informing items are below: Physical education 25.8, ethics 22.5%, sociology 15.1%, Korean language 14.6%, practical course 7.8%, natural science 3.8%, art 3.6%, arithmetics 3.3%, music 2.9%, Korean history 0.6%. Grades in total cases of health informing items are belows: the sixth grade 29.1%, the fourth grade 21.2%, the fifth grade 18.9%, the third grade 11.6%, the first grade 11.5%, the second grade 7.7%. The sections related to health matters were average 35.4%. According to the grades, the fourth and the sixth grade were 38.2% each other, the highest, and the second grade was 29.3%, the lowest. All scetions in physical education included them. The acceptability to the knowledge for health was belows: 56.3% in urban students and 53.9% in rural students. There was some difference in acceptability between two parties (p<0.005).

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The Problem of Fisheries Economics Arising from the Liberalization of korean Economy (개방화시대의 수산경제학의 과제)

  • 이승래
    • The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.65-86
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    • 1993
  • In this paper, fishery economics is reviewed to extend a basic opportunity for developing new fishery economics and to evaluate the effects of the import liberalization on the fish trade structure of Korea. The principle outline of extensions emphasis to realize the modern fishery problems based on fishery economics and develop the practical methodology in order to analyze the impacts of the import liberalization on the fishery and fishermen welfare. During the process of export - oriented industrilization, the role and position of fishery in the economy is changed dynamically. When faced with the imperative of the role and position of fishery in the economy, fishery economists and domestic policy makers must decide how to organize themselves for solving fishery problems under the new regime in the import liberalization on the fish trade. Fishery problems impacted by the new regime can not be solved by fishery itself but be solved by the centralized efforts of all contributors in national views. Therefore the new systematic analytical methodology must be develop and the traditional fishery economics must be related to the regional development strategy and fishery sociology as subsidiary theories specialized. Due to the impacts of the import liberalization on the fish trade structure, fishery economists face with radical changes in the domestic fishery : a place of the resources harvest to place of the combination resource harvest and its demand, a fishing as a resource exploitation to a fishing as a resource management, a traditional small scale costal fishing to a modernized and scaled fishing, fishery using the given natural resource itself to fishery as technology intensive industry, and a food supply industry to a welfare indusry based on the regional and economic resource and social environment. As these changes, fishery and its community's regional and economic resource and social environments as multiple roles of the regional economic development are emphasized in fishery economics under the new regime in the import liberalization on the fish trade. Furthermore, domestic policy makers and administrators in a public sector must realize the above radical changing trends in fishery and understand a social and economic environment in fishery and develop a new fishery structure focusing on the fishing system and the fishery laws. As this point, they make efforts to improve and develop fishery as a food supply industry. Japan, for example, has a non - governmental organization to conflict the problem of international fishery such as a movement of a civil environmental protection. Also fishermen in Japan already realized conservation and pollution problems in fishing as fundamental issues of human being.

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Political Geography of Ulsan Oil Refinery (울산공업단지의 서막, 정유공장 건설의 정치지리)

  • Gimm, Dong-Wan;Kim, Min-Ho
    • Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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    • v.49 no.2
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    • pp.139-159
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    • 2014
  • This study problematizes the dominance of developmental state theory and its negative influences in the field of Korean studies, in particular, dealing with the industrialization during the developmental era, 1960s~70s. As is generally known, the theory has been in a position of unchallenged authority on the industrialization experience of East Asian countries, including South Korea. However, at the same time, it has also misled us into overlooking strategic relations that had articulated the state forms at multiple scales. This study aims to reconstruct the historical contexts by the theorizing prompted by recent work on state space. I shed light on the multiscalar strategic relations that had shaped the Ulsan refinery plant as a representative state space of the South Korean industrialization during two decades after liberation. Specifically, the study illustrates the features and roles of Cold War networks and multiscalar agnets such as Nam Goong-Yeon. By identifying the plant as a result of sequential articulations between Ulsan and other scales, this study concludes by suggesting to reframing the strategic relational spaces, beyond the view of methodological nationalism, in the perspective of multiscalar approach.

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The Approach of Sociology of Law on Counter-Terrorism using Internet (인터넷을 활용한 테러 대응의 법사회학적 접근 - 예방 홍보 관리방안을 중심으로 -)

  • Park, Yong-Hyun
    • Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.225-234
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    • 2007
  • This research is based on the purpose of awaking the importance to publicity of terrorism prevention in the environment of neo-terrorism and presenting the direction of effective publicity activities of terrorism prevention in the counter-terrorism system. Government publicity through public media plays a significant role in promoting people's participation and improving the awareness. So, to strengthen the terrorism prevention in environmental changes of terror occurrence, active method available for people must be found as publicity method of terrorism prevention suitable for high information society. For this method, this research argued first about relationship between police organization and public as counter-terrorism system and about effective publicity methods of terrorism prevention through active erection of these relationships. This research suggested the operation method through introduction of e-CRM and etc, with ultimate purpose about maximizing the publicity effect of terrorism prevention by using as the advantage of internet these days as possible. And needs of information service activities and other administration strategies of publicity of terrorism prevention are suggested through enlarging the distribution scope of governmental counter-terrorism information materials by strengthening the national publicity activities and using media.

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An Analysis of STS Materials in Chemistry Parts of Middle School Science Textbooks (제 6차 교육과정에 따른 중학교 과학 교과서(화학단원)의 STS 내용 분석)

  • Kim, Yun Hi;Kwon, Hyo Jin;Moon, Seong Bae
    • Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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    • v.43 no.3
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    • pp.321-327
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    • 1999
  • The STS materials, emphasized in the 6th curriculum, in the chemistry part of middle school science textbooks were analyzed. The average value of the STS content of textbook was 13.2%. In the study of chapter of textbook, 15.9% of STS materials was included in the chapter of ?reaction of materials?, 12% in "character and separation of materials", and 10.8% in "composition of materials". When the STS topics classified by Piel were analyzed, the results were as follows; 40.2% on sociology of science, 28.8% on environmental quality and utilization of natural source, 20.4% on effects of technological developments, and 12.9% on energy. However, the topic on human engineering was only included in a textbook, and the topics on space research and national defence were not included in any textbooks. When the STS materials were analyzed by student activities of SATIS, the number of activities was 71. Most activities were consisted of solving problems and decision, simulation and data analysis, and there was no research design and role playing.

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Environmental Tobacco Smoking, Parental Allergy History and Pediatric Asthma and Wheezing (부모에 의한 간접흡연 및 부모의 알레르기성 질환력과 소아 천식과의 관계에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Keun-Bok;Lee, Weon-Yong
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.175-187
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    • 2009
  • Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate whether joint effects between family allergy history and environmental tobacco smoke(ETS) by parents were associated with pediatric asthma and wheezing. Methods: The study objects of this study were 2301 element school students and their parents in an urban-rural areas of Gyeonggi-do. Pediatric asthma and wheezing were identified by measures of International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaires. We investigated history of parental allergy, ETS, and other socioeconomic status of both parent. Data were analyzed using logistic regression methods. Results: After adjusting other variables, children with maternal asthma history were more likely to be reported life time wheezing (OR: 3.79 95%CI:2.43-5.90), recent wheezing (OR:4.09 95%CI:2.28-7.38), and diagnostic asthma (OR:2.61 95%CI: 1.44-4.75). Paternal asthma history increasing risk of life time wheezing (OR 2.01 95%CI:1.19-3.38) and recent wheezing (OR:2.38 95%CI:1.24-4.56). Joint effect between parental allergy history and ETS significantly effected on child's life time wheezing and recent wheezing. The risks of life time wheezing (OR:2.47 95%CI:1.64-3.717) and recent wheezing (OR: 2.51 95%CI:1.34-4.69) were significantly higher than others without both factors. The risk of recent wheezing of children with maternal recent smoking and parental allergy history (OR:4.83 95%CI:1.89-12.33) was higher than their counterpart. Conclusions: The result of this study implies that children with family allergy history and passive smoking are more likely to be get asthma and wheezing than children with family allergy history and non-passive smoking. This study provide the object information to increase the efficiency of non-smoking campaign and education for decreasing pediatric asthma risk.

A Study on Human Rights Behavior of Korean Care Workerin Long Term Care Facilities: The Interaction Effect of Human Rights Awareness and Service Orientations (장기요양기관 요양보호사의 노인인권옹호행동 영향요인: 개인의 인권의식과 조직의 서비스 지향성을 중심으로)

  • Kim, Min-Kyoung;Kim, Mee-Hye;Kim, Ju-Hyun;Chung, Soon-Dool
    • 한국노년학
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    • v.36 no.3
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    • pp.673-691
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    • 2016
  • As the provision of long-term care policy takes root and with a gradual increase in elderly population, the use of elderly care service has become a growing norm. More than ever, there exists an urgent need for a paradigm shift in the building of an institutional basis for the improvement of care service, from the prevalent practice of 'need based service' toward the concept of 'human rights based service'. A great focus is being shed on care-workers, at the 'front line' of advocating human rights, as their human rights advocacy behaviour is seen as a key variable in providing high quality care service for elders. This study aims to examine how care-workers' individual human rights awareness levels, and the influence of their respective organizations, as an environmental factor, affect their human rights advocacy behaviour. The study includes a comprehensive analysis of the interactions between the regulatory effect of environmental factors (service orientation?) on an organizational level, human rights awareness (individual level) and the service environment (organizational). The analysis sample consisted of 782 registered non-profit corporation of long-term care facilities all over the country in 2014. The findings of the thesis suggest that human rights awareness at individual levels has a significant influence on human rights advocacy behavior. The interaction of human resources management in service orientations was also found to influence human rights advocacy on a significant level. Both human rights awareness at individual level and service orientations at organizational level were thus determined as key variables for improving the human rights awareness of care worker in long-term care facilities in Korea.

A Study of Visualization and Analysis Method about Plants Social Network Used for Planting Design - Focusing on Forest Vegetation Area in Busan Metropolitan City - (식재설계에 활용 가능한 식물사회네트워크 시각화 및 분석 방법에 관한 연구 - 부산광역시 산림식생지역을 중심으로 -)

  • Lee, Sang-Cheol;Choi, Song-Hyun;Cho, Woo
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.34 no.3
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    • pp.259-270
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    • 2020
  • Plants Social Network (PSN) was first used in recent studies to incorporate the plant sociology methods for the understanding of plant society with the social network analysis methods that have recently attracted attention in the social science and visualize and analyze a PSN. The process of construction and analysis on PSN proceeds in the order of setting up the survey area, investigating the appearance plants species on plots of 100㎡, analyzing the interspecific association, building the sociogram, and analyzing the network structure and centrality. This study established a PSN by investigating the appearance species after installing 708 plots to include various dominant vegetational physiognomies in Busan Metropolitan City, where coastal and inland vegetation could be observed simultaneously. The survey found a total of 195 species, including 42 species of evergreen, 151 species of deciduous trees, and 2 species of semi-evergreen trees. The interspecies binding analysis was performed with the focus on the total number of species. It showed the number of friendly species in the order of Eurya japonica (47 species), Trachelospermum asiaticum (46 species), Linder glauca (44 species), Sorbus alnifolia (44 species), and Ligustrum japonicum (41 species). Based on it, we generated a sociogram using Gephi 0.9.2 program. The sociogram was divided into groups that appeared mostly on the coast and those that did not, reflecting the geographical distribution characteristics of forest vegetation in Busan. The analysis of the network structured showed 1,709 links and an average of 17.5 species having interspecies binding with a species. The density was 0.09, the diameter was 5, and the average path distance was 2.268. We concluded that various PSNs should be established in the future for precise comparative analysis of network characteristics in the social science field. In the PSN of Busan Metropolitan City, Eurya japonica, Linder glauca, Ligustrum japonicum, and Trachelospermum asiaticum showed high centrality.

Effect of Residential Environment on the Health Status in Apartment Inhabitants (아파트 주민의 건강상태에 거주 환경이 미치는 영향)

  • Kang, Ki-Won;Kim, Hwa-Joon;Kwon, Geun-Yong;Jung, Min-Soo
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.34 no.3
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    • pp.279-290
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    • 2009
  • Objectives: WHO insisted on that we should study about association between residential environment and health status and make 'health city' concept as practical motto. This study analyzed about that how community environment affected their health. Methods: We surveyed residential environment satisfaction and health status of a apartment complex residents. We transformed Chun's index about housing environment study and social capital index of WHO and used as community health survey. We analyzed the association between health status and related factor by using principal compound analysis and logistic regression analysis. Results: We found out that the perceived health status 1 years ago was highly related to the residential environment and also extracted five residential environment component (APT maintenance, House, APT complex, Neighbor, APT building) by principal component analysis. After residential environment component, demographic and socioeconomic variable were controlled, the high satisfaction group of APT complex and neighbor relationship was in lower risk of perceived health status 1 years ago than the low satisfaction group. Conclusions: Recently, the importance of residential environment and neighborhood is shaped as community capacity. Therefore, social relationship and residential environment should be the core variable for health promotion of community. After all, we should know the relationship of residential environment and perceived health status 1 years ago. This helps the concept of health city clearly.