• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.33 no.8
• /
• pp.680-691
• /
• 2023

Peak oil, climate change, and microplastics caused by the production and usage of petroleum-based plastics have threatened the sustainability of our daily life, and this has emerged as a recent global issue. To solve this global issue, the production and usage of biodegradable eco-friendly bioplastics such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) has been suggested as an alternative. Therefore, in this review, the present status of global PHA manufacturers, the advantages of the production of PHAs using marine-origin microorganisms (with their productivity potential) and further required research and development strategies for cost-competitive production of PHAs using marine-based microorganisms were investigated. In this review, PHAs produced from marine microorganisms were found to have similar physical properties to petroleum-based plastics but with several advantages that can reduce the costs of PHA production. Those advantages include, seawater used in the medium preparation step, and osmotic-based cell lysis technology used in the separation and purification steps. However, the PHA productivities from marine microorganisms showed somewhat lower efficiencies than those from the commercial strains isolated from terrestrial environments. In order to solve the problem, further research strategies using synthetic microbiology-based technology, the development of long-term continuous culture technology, and solutions to improve PHA efficiency are required to meet future market demands for alternative bioplastics.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.143-160
• /
• 2014

This study focuses that the business starters can refer to this study, select better franchise headquarter and make the franchise member agreement. The most concerned part for the people who want to open franchise shop is what brand is reliable and safe to them. I have analyzed disclosure report that contains overall information of franchise headquarters and researched 300 franchise shops as sample. I drew the conclusion of the decision factors of franchise member agreement, overlooked demographical status by frequency analysis with SPSS 18.0 and performed disperse analysis to examine the decision factors of franchise member agreement and the difference between sex, service type, shop size and income level. In conclusion, the most concerned factor for the franchise agreement is sales management. Sex, shop size and income level are not meaningful factors, but the cost and training management factors are considered differently based on the service type. I hope 1) this study can be utilized for the franchise business starters judge and refer information level provided by the headquarters and make a successful franchise shop business. 2) this study can make solid relationship between franchise members and present a long term vision to them. Finally, this study can be a foundation to promote franchise field through making and supplementing the law of promoting proficient and good franchise headquarters and fairness of franchise transaction and franchise encouragement.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.56 no.5
• /
• pp.337-345
• /
• 2023

Monitoring river microplastics is a challenging task since it is a time-consuming and high-cost process. The use of a physical model to have a better understanding of river microplastics' behaviors can complement the challenging monitoring process. However, there have been very limited studies on modeling river microplastics. In this study, therefore, we evaluated the applicability of one commonly used river water quality model, i.e., the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP), in simulating the microplastic concentration in the river environment. We simulated the microplastic concentration in the Anyangcheon stream using the WASP's biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solid (SS) variables as possible surrogate variables for the microplastics. Simulation analyses indicate that the SS state variable performs better than the BOD state variable to mimic the observed concentrations of microplastics. This is because of the characteristics of each water quality parameter; the BOD variable, a biochemical indicator, is inappropriate for modeling the behaviors of microplastics, which have generally constant biochemical features. In contrast, the SS variable, which has similar physical behaviors, followed the observed patterns of the microplastic concentrations well. To build a more advanced and accurate model for simulating the microplastic concentration, comprehensive and long-term monitoring studies of the river microplastics under different environmental conditions are needed, and the unit of microplastic concentration should be carefully addressed before its modeling application.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.221-250
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study is to find out the causes of turnover, the causes of stay, and the effects of turnover of college graduates with early careers, based on the concept of job embeddedness and their stances. For this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 college graduates with early careers and the interviews were analyzed with phenomenological analytic research. The result of the study shows that the cause of turnover intention includes fit and link which are components of job embeddedness. More specifically, turnover intention of the interviewee is affected by fit which includes whether their ability and talent are used properly and whether their vision and culture fit well those of their organization, also affected by link which includes the formal or informal mutual relationship with coworkers and superiors. Stay intention, on the other hand, includes fit which contains satisfaction about work and organization, long-term career management. Stay intention also includes sacrifice which are anxiety about uncertain future and satisfaction about being employed. As an aspect of the effect of turnover, the satisfaction and fulfillment about work which are experienced after turnover by the interviewees and the satisfaction about coworkers and the team in which the interviewees are included offset the negative effect of turnover. The result also shows that organization should consider their workers' satisfaction about the first work, their amicable relationship, and turnover cost, to improve working and living standard of colleges graduates with early careers and to prevent them from turnover.

• Knowledge Management Research
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.17-34
• /
• 2023

Recently, national concern for record breaking level of deficit operation of KEPCO grows bigger in Korea. With this regard, many stakeholders believe KEPCO should be responsible for this result although it is not clear whether KEPCO is only to blame who is in such position where full cost pricing is impossible and entrepreneurial efficiency is not guaranteed. Particularly, less concern is given to Performance Evaluation for Public Organization(PEPO) which did not give prior warning against major deficit of KEPCO or help to improve its capacity to deal with the problem, and thus prevented KEPCO from acknowledging its managerial weakness by crediting KEPCO with successive grade B during the period of previous government. Based on such viewpoint, this study analyzes reports of PEPO for 5 years in terms of evaluability assessment and suggests proper direction for better PEPO in the future. From this analysis, it was found that firstly, relevant suggestion was not made to prevent or improve defict problem; secondly, comments are increasing every year without consistency; thirdly, comments related to long-term investment are only recently found; fourthly, suggestions are based on political orientation rather than evidence or expertise. This study is expected to contribute to evidence-based evaluation and knowledge management since it tackles evaluation reports themselves for the first time.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.57-77
• /
• 2023

The Chonsei component holds the highest level of weight (5.4%) in the composition of the Korean consumer price index (CPI). The variations in Chonsei prices are directly reflected in the CPI as a representation of cost swings. The Chonsei refers to a deposit that accumulates the costs related to housing services and is mostly affected by variations in rental rates. Nevertheless, it is important to note that Chonsei prices are also susceptible to fluctuations in interest rates, regardless of the rent prices. Therefore, if Chonsei were directly and one-to-one indexed to the CPI, they could include changes other than residential service prices. After analyzing the time series data of the Chonsei index and rent index inside the CPI, it becomes apparent that the Chonsei index displays an average annual growth rate of 2.3%, whilst the rent index reveals a growth rate of 0.9%. The observed disparity in growth rates indicates a divergence in trends between the two indices. It is posited that the Chonsei index, when capitalized, has had a more rapid increase compared to the rental index, owing to the gradual drop in interest rates. To effectively reflect fluctuations in the housing service costs, proxies for the Chonsei index were utilized in the construction of a consumer price index. The findings of our study suggest that, overall, the newly developed CPI demonstrates a comparatively lower rate of inflation when compared to the official CPI. Furthermore, the inclusion of imputed rents for owner-occupied housing in CPI amplifies this effect.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.73-86
• /
• 2022

Interest and investment in agri-food ventures is increasing worldwide. Agri-food venture startups are also increasing in Korea, but there are constraint factors due to industrial characteristics, and infrastructure and investment for growth are insufficient. This study confirmed the effect of technology commercialization capability and competitive strategy on the growth prospects of agri-food venture companies and the mediating effect of business model innovation. And, through comparison with previous studies, the industrial characteristics were identified by confirming the difference between all venture companies and agri-food ventures. For this, only agri-food ventures data were extracted from the original data of the Research on the Precision Status of Venture Firms 2021. And empirical analysis was conducted. As a result, manufacturing capability, cost leadership and product differentiation had a positive(+) effect on growth prospects. The mediating effect of business model innovation between manufacturing capacity, product differentiation and growth prospects was verified. Through the research results, factors affecting the long-term growth prospects of agri-food ventures were identified in consideration of industrial characteristics. In addition, practical implications in connection with business model innovation of agri-food ventures were presented. In future research, it is necessary to develop an objective measurement tool and to conduct a detailed analysis according to business history and company size.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.1-3
• /
• 2024

Currently, the issue of poor accessibility to essential medical services has been brought to light as a social discontent. In order to strengthen the essential medical service system, the government has announced the "the policy package related to essential medical service" as a comprehensive solution and has vowed to invest more than 10 trillion won by 2028. As it contains crucial elements for changing the framework of the healthcare system, I would like to present several points to consider in policy implementation. Given that this package contains important elements for changing the framework of the healthcare system, there are a few issues to consider in policy implementation. First, a mechanism to prevent politicization should be established when designing the physician training system. Second, changing from a hospital centered on residents to one centered on specialists means that the society bears the cost of training residents, while paying a high price for specialist services. The willingness of society to pay for the costs incurred by such a change should be carefully considered, and an appropriate budget must be prepared. Third, as the operation of shared human resources and inter-organizational networking, among other detailed policy measures, are still at a level of conceptual discussion, various issues should be solidly reviewed and considered for in the mid to long term to suit the conditions of the domestic healthcare system.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.109-120
• /
• 2024

For successful waterproofing construction, it is very important to secure construction quality as well as material performance of waterproofing materials used in construction. Due to the long-term cost reduction policy following the economic downturn in the construction market, most construction companies are using general low-priced waterproof materials rather than high-quality waterproof materials without clear quality control standards. Without clear education on construction, construction is being carried out with meaning only on construction activities. In addition, the waterproofing method applied in combination is a situation where water leakage occurs due to waterproofing failure due to insufficient construction quality because the construction method is complicated. Therefore, it is necessary to review the quality control measures(design, materials, construction) for successful waterproofing work and improve problems that are derived so that stable waterproofing work can be done. In order to expect the leakage prevention effect of a building, first, it is required to select appropriate materials for each part of the building and environment in the design stage, and the selected materials must satisfy all items of the Korean Industrial Standard(KS). Second, to secure the quality of waterproofing construction, sincere construction by workers is required. In this paper, we tried to describe "review of waterproof design", "constructor education", "site inspection", and "criticism(correction/supplementation)" as quality control measures after material selection.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.223-242
• /
• 2024

Single-shell tunnels, introduced to South Korea in the early 2000s, have not been adopted for the main tunnels of roads or railways over the past two decades despite several attempts starting with the Gwangju City Bypass. This reluctance likely arises from concerns about the long-term performance of supporting materials and the absence of relevant criteria and specifications. However, recent progress, including the incorporation of high-strength shotcrete standards and corrosion-resistant rock bolt specifications, alongside equipment and technique enhancements, necessitates a reassessment of single-shell tunnels. While the single-shell tunnel method offers advantages in environmental impact, construction cost and period compared to the conventional NATM, it is crucial to address the challenges, such as limited design and construction experience, incomplete detailed standards, and insufficient construction specifications, through further research and pilot projects. This paper reviewed the basic principles of single-shell tunnel, current application and research status, technical development trends, criteria and specifications, and remaining challenges. It aims to reignite discussions on the feasibility of applying single-shell tunnels in South Korea.