• The Journal of the Korean Institute of Forest Recreation
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.11-22
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• 2018

This study analyzes the economic feasibility on the transition of production structure to increase income for a local forest village in Laos PDR. The study area was the Nongboua village in Sangthong district where the primary product is rice from rice paddy. Possible strategies were considered to increase the villagers' revenue, and Noni (Morinda citrifolia) was production in the short-term. We assumed that the project period was for 20 years for the analysis, and a total of 1,100 Noni tree was planted in 1 ha by $3m{\times}3m$ spacing. This study classified basic scenario one, scenario two, scenario three by the survival rate and purchase pirce of Noni. Generally Noni grows well. However, the seedlings' average survival rate (= production volume) was set up conservatively in this study to consider potential risks such as no production experience of Noni and tree disease. The scenario one assumed that the survival rate of Noni seedlings was 50% for 0-1 years, 60% for 0-2 years, and 70% for 3-20 years; the scenario two, 10% less, i.e., 40%, 50%, and 60%; and the scenario three, 10% less, i.e., 40%, 50%, 60% and purchase price 10% less, i.e., $0.29 to $0.26, respectively. Our analysis showed that all 3 scenarios resulted in economically-feasible IRR (internal rate of return) of 24.81%, 19.02%, and 16.30% of with a discounting rate of 10%. The B/C (benefit/cost) ratio for a unit area (1ha) was also analyzed for the three scenarios with a discounting rate of 10%, resutling in the B/C ratio of 1.71, 1.47, and 1.31. The study results showed that the Nongboua village would have a good opportunity to improve its low-income structure through planting and managing alternative crops such as Noni. Also the results can be used as useful decision-making information at a preliminary analysis level for planning other government and public investment projects for the Nonboua village.

• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.21-51
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• 2018

This article takes several approaches in explaining recent developments in Vietnam. First, it draws upon an array of sources that idealize Vietnam's embrace of capitalism and integration into the global market in order to sketch out its economy's progress in 2017. Second, it observes, evaluates, and diagnoses recent changes in the Vietnamese economy in the medium to long term by incorporating conflicting perspectives on Vietnam's performance as a capitalist country. Third, this article traces the power shifts that have risen from internal struggles in the Communist Party over political and social issues. Fourth, it elaborates on the aforementioned impact that foreign relations have had on socio-political developments in Vietnam, as well as the government's response. In so doing, it also attempts to evaluate, however briefly, the significance of the 25th anniversary of South Korea-Vietnam relations. Finally, it examines the public's reaction to the post-reform transitions in light of recent sociocultural changes. 2017 was a memorable year for Vietnam: a continuous march toward capitalism; the resulting expansion of the Vietnamese people's demands; political controversies and government control; the looming instability of United States-China relations and various attempts to address the situation. These events will inevitably replicate themselves in the future as the ostensibly socialist Vietnam adopts a capitalist model. The problem is that it is unclear whether these experiences will continue with the consent of the people of socialist Vietnam or engender resistance. It is difficult to achieve meaningful consent in the status quo of worsening inequalities, widespread corruption, monopoly on power, and sustained use of unskilled low-wage workers. In other words, when concerns such as welfare, public health, and the environment are set aside in favor of economic development and commercialization as they have been, discontent, rather than consent, will prevail. It is thus important to keep a watchful eye on the viability of the nominal economic growth, surface-level political stability, and strategic responses to foreign relations that took place in 2017.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.23-38
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• 2021

Purpose: This study was undertaken to evaluate the health, nutritional status and metabolic syndrome risk according to the dietary pattern of adult single-person households, using information obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Methods: Data were collected from the 2013-2016 KNHANES, of adults aged 19-64 years, belonging to single-person households. Based on cluster analysis, the dietary patterns of subjects were classified into three groups. The dietary behavior factors, health-related factors, nutritional status, and prevalence of metabolic syndrome obtained from KNHANES questionnaires were compared according to the individual dietary pattern. The nutrient intake data of the subjects were calculated using the semi-food frequency questionnaire. Moreover, blood and physical measurement data of the subjects were analyzed to obtain the prevalence of metabolic syndromes. Results: The major dietary intakes of subjects were classified as 'Rice and kimchi', 'Mixed', and 'Milk·dairy products and fruits' patterns. Characteristics of subjects based on their dietary pattern, gender, age, and education level were significantly different. The 'Milk and fruits' pattern showed low frequency of skipping breakfast and eating out, and had higher intake of dietary supplements. Frequency of alcohol intake and smoking rates were highest in the 'Mixed' pattern. Maximum nutrient intake of fat, vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin C, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium was obtained in the 'Milk·dairy products and fruits' pattern. According to dietary patterns adjusted for age and gender, the risk of metabolic syndrome was 0.380 times lower in the 'Milk·dairy products and fruit' pattern than in the 'Rice and kimchi' pattern. However, when adjusted for other confounding factors, no significant difference was obtained between dietary patterns for metabolic syndrome risk. Conclusion: These results indicate that the health and nutritional status of a single-person household is possibly affected by the dietary intake of subjects.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.268-278
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• 2020

Flowering time has been put forward due to the recent abnormally warm winter, which often caused damages of flower buds by late frosts persistently. In the present study, cumulative chill unit and cumulative heat unit of Niitaka pear, which are required for releasing the endogenous dormancy and for flowering after breaking dormancy, respectively, were compared between flowering time prediction models used in South K orea. Observation weather data were collected at eight locations for the recent three years from 2018-2020. The dates of full bloom were also collected to determine the confidence level of models including DVR, mDVR and CD models. It was found that mDVR model tended to have smaller values (8.4%) of the coefficient of variation (cv) of chill units than any other models. The CD model tended to have a low value of cv (17.5%) for calculation of heat unit required to reach flowering after breaking dormancy. The mDVR model had the most accurate prediction of full bloom during the study period compared with the other models. The DVR model usually had poor skills in prediction of full bloom dates. In particular, the error of the DVR model was large especially in southern coastal areas (e.g., Ulju and Sacheon) where the temperature was warm. Our results indicated that the mDVR model had relatively consistent accuracy in prediction of full bloom dates over region and years of interest. When observation data for full bloom date are compiled for an extended period, the full bloom date can be predicted with greater accuracy improving the mDVR model further.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.131-144
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• 2021

The organizational ambidexterity is an organizational strategy designed to pursue exploration activities to seize new opportunities and exploitation activities to efficiently use resources. Most of these ambidextrous structures have been studied for large corporations with slack resources, and there are still not many studies on the necessity of an ambidextrous structure for startups with relatively low-level resources. However, recently, the startup ecosystem is being advanced globally, and the amount of VC investment is rapidly increasing. This is a time when a lot of venture fund is invested in startups and a startup-friendly environment for rapid growth is created. This is the time to discuss the necessity and applicability of an ambidextrous organizational structure for startups. Therefore, this study conducted a hypothesis test whether the importance and necessity of balance that startups solving market problems with new ideas and utilizing accumulated resources have. To conduct this study, we analyzed 140 startups data gathered from the survey and the moderation effect was also analyzed. As a result of the study, it was verified that the balance of startup exploration and exploitation had a significant effect on startup performance, and the moderating effect of environmental dynamics was found to have a significant effect on the relationship with non-financial performance. Therefore, for startups with insufficient resources, it was concluded that the surplus resources generated in the process of a firm's growth should be effectively utilized and the balance between exploration and exploitation should be balanced from the initial stage of searching for a new business. In other words, it was confirmed that it is important for continuous growth and survival to seek the structure of an ambidextrous organization in order to internalize a mechanism that enables startups to pursue both effectiveness and efficiency in the long term. This study suggests a strategic direction for the growth of startups from the perspective of organizational structure. We expect that this meaningful results on the relationship between the ambidextrous capabilities of startups and performance contribute to the growth of startups in the rapidly growing startup venture environment.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.117-128
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• 2021

In order for the users (shipping firms and shippers) and suppliers (stevedoring firms) in the container terminal industry to win-win, it is necessary to have some appropriate diverse market conditions for the industry. This study analyses the basic conditions and demand and supply characteristics of the industry and investigates the market performance of Busan container ports. First, this article analyses the basic characteristics of demand and supply. As the demand characteristics, there are five ones such as 1) exogeneity of demand, 2) function as export/import transportation and hub for transshipment, 3) increase of users' bargaining power, 4) high substituting elasticity, 5) reduction of volume growth. As the supply characteristics, there are seven ones such as 1) inelasticity of supply, 2) homogeneity of stevedoring services, 3) over-supply, 4) adoption of cutting-edge stevedoring technology, 5) scale economy and impossibility of storage, 6) labor market rigidity, 7) enhancing port's role in SCM. In addition, this study conducts the so-called structure-conduct-performance analysis. For the structure analysis, 1) lacks of scale economy in stevedoring companies, 2) high entry barrier, 3) strengthening of shipping firms' bargaining power, 4) transitory permission scheme for tariff are analyzed. For the conduct analysis, 1) price discrimination between export/import and transshipment, 2) mid-term length of terminal use contract, 3) continuous investment in equipment, 4) low level of cooperation among terminal operating firms are derived. For the performance analysis, 1) inequality in profitability, 2) reduction of export/import cost, 3) delay in adopting cutting-edge technology, 4) idle equipment are analyzed. Following this logical flow, the hypothesis that the market structure influences the market conduct is tested based on the actual dataset. As a future agenda in the conclusion, this article recommends the so-called port industrial policy.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2022

The change in the management environment of the logistics industry in the era of global competition is becoming an era in which customers choose companies. Differentiation from competitors through the provision of products and services suitable for customers As customers' choices change depending on their superiority, companies are constantly striving to receive or retain customers' choices. Ultimately, this competitive structure can be seen as the importance of long-term relationship building. Therefore, in this study, we examined how factors related to transaction characteristics performed by logistics companies for customer satisfaction in the transaction relationship between cargo companies and shippers affect performance and long-term transaction intentions. First, we derived the factors of logistics service, cost, logistics infrastructure, and company competency, which are transaction characteristics factors of a logistics company that must be specifically realized for customer satisfaction in transactions between logistics companies. Second, we analyzed how the transaction characteristics factors of a logistics company affect the company's performance, and finally, how the company's performance factors affect long-term transaction intentions. As a result of empirical analysis, there were no statistically significant results on the relationship between transaction characteristics and performance of logistics companies, which can be attributed to the small size of the logistics companies that were the sample. In other words, logistics companies that do not have sufficient capacity to provide services at low prices have no choice but to engage in constant bleeding competition. It can be seen that it reflects the characteristics of the industry. On the other hand, the relationship between corporate performance factors and long-term transaction intention was found to have a positive relationship. The higher the level of partnership with logistics companies and visible financial performance is, the higher the transaction will be in the future, and the more the transaction volume will be gradually increased. And even if it costs a little more, it can be seen that the intention to continue trading is greatly expressed.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.227-239
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• 2022

Purpose: This study investigated the effects of water-soluble mulberry leaf extract (ME) on hepatic lipid accumulation in high-fat diet-fed rats via the regulation of hepatic microRNA (miR)-221/222 and inflammation. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (4 weeks old) were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 7 each) and fed with 10 kcal% low-fat diet (LF), 45 kcal% high-fat diet (HF), or HF + 0.8% ME for 14 weeks. Lipid profiles and cytokine levels of the liver and serum were measured using commercial enzymatic colorimetric and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The messenger RNA (mRNA) and miR levels in liver tissue were assayed by real-time quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: Supplementation of ME reduces body weight and improves the liver and serum lipid profiles as compared to the HF group. The mRNA levels of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c, fatty acid synthase, and fatty acid translocase, which are genes involved in lipid metabolism, were significantly downregulated in the ME group compared to the HF group. In contrast, the mRNA level of hepatic carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 (involved in fatty acid oxidation) was upregulated by ME supplementation. Furthermore, administration of ME significantly downregulated the mRNA levels of inflammatory mediators such as hepatic tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and inducible nitric oxide synthase. The serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and nitric oxide were also significantly reduced in ME group compared to the HF group. Expression of hepatic miR-221 and miR-222, which increase in the inflammatory state of the liver, were also significantly inhibited in the ME group compared to the HF group. Conclusion: These results indicate that ME has the potential to improve hepatic lipid accumulation in high-fat diet-fed rats via modulation of inflammatory mediators and hepatic miR-221/222 expressions.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.105-131
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• 2022

Even after the improvement in 2019, UNCTAD's Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI), which evaluates the performance of the global container port market, has limited use. In particular, since the liner shipping connectivity index evaluates the performance based only on the distance of the relationship, the performance index combining the port attractiveness of calling would be more efficient. This study used the modified Huff model, the hub-authority algorithm and the eigenvector centrality of social network analysis, and correlation analysis for 2007, 2017, and 2019 data of Ocean-Commerce, Japan. The findings are as follows: Firstly, the port attractiveness of calling and the overall performance of the port did not always match. However, according to the analysis of the attractiveness of a port calling, Busan remained within the top 10. Still, the attractiveness among other Korean ports improved slowly from the low level during the study period. Secondly, Global container ports are generally specialized for long-term specialized inbound and outbound ports by the route and grow while maintaining professionalism throughout the entire period. The Korean ports continue to change roles from analysis period to period. Lastly, the volume of cargo by period and the extended port connectivity index (EPCI) presented in this study showed a correlation from 0.77 to 0.85. Even though the Atlantic data is excluded from the analysis and the ship's operable capacity is used instead of the port throughput volume, it shows a high correlation. The study result would help evaluate and analyze global ports. According to the study, Korean ports need a long-term strategy to improve performance while maintaining professionalism. In order to maintain and develop the port's desirable role, it is necessary to utilize cooperation and partnerships with the complimentary port and attract shipping companies' services calling to the complementary port. Although this study carried out a complex analysis using a lot of data and methodologies for an extended period, it is necessary to conduct a study covering ports around the world, a long-term panel analysis, and a scientific parameter estimation study of the attractiveness analysis.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.385-393
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• 2022

The contamination level of inorganic arsenic, a human carcinogen, was investigated in 87 grains and 66 processed grain foods. Two inorganic arsenic species arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) and four organic arsenic monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenobetaine, arsenocholine were analyzed using HPLC-ICP/MS with high separation and sensitivity and ICP/MS was used to quantify total arsenic. Inorganic arsenic was detected in all grains. And the total arsenic in grains consists of about 70-85% inorganic arsenic and about 10-20% DMA. The concentration of inorganic arsenic was high in rice and black rice cultivated in paddy soil with irrigated water, while the miscellaneous grain in field was low. Mean concentration of inorganic arsenic in rice germ, brown rice and polished rice was 0.160 mg/kg, 0.135 mg/kg, 0.083 mg/kg, respectively, indicating that rice bran contains more arsenic. In processed grain foods, inorganic arsenic concentration varied according to the kind of ingredients and content, and the detection amount was high in processed food with brown rice and germ. The arsenic content of all samples did not exceed each standard, but the intake frequency is high and it is considered that continuous monitoring is necessary for food safety.