• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.149-179
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• 2011

Statistics of aviation accident in Korea show that safety level of training flights is high. However, more than 80% of aviation accidents happen owing to human factors. And because most reasons of them are concerned with pilot error, it is very important for student pilots who will transport a lot of passengers to develop the knowledge of safety and abilities of risk management for preventing accidents. In this study, in order to investigate the Human Factors which affect safety in training student pilots for flight, verified the correlationbetween experiences of accident, the differences according to the experience level of training flight and the differences between college student pilots and ordinary student pilots on the basis of human factors that composes the SHELL models. For the study, Using SPSS 17.0, conducted Correlation Analysis, Analysis of Variance(ANOVA) and t-test. To sum up the result of this study, student pilot's ability and equipment in the cockpit are the important factors for safety when pilots are training flight. Also the analysis of the differences between human factors according to the characters of student pilots' groups shows that college student pilots are affected by immanent factors and organizational cultures. So far, there haven't been any accidents which is related with human casualties when training at the ATO(Approved Training Organization). But accidents can occur at any time and anywhere. Especially the human factors which comprises most of aviation accident have a wide reach and are impossible to be eliminated, therefore, it is best to minimize them. Because ATO is the starting point to lead the aviation industry of Korea, we will have to be aware of problems and improve education/training of human factors.

• Korea Science and Art Forum
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.297-308
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• 2019

Air pollution due to the fine dust level updating every day, and the problem of indoor air pollution due to ventilation difficulties and indoor discharge pollutants is also serious. In order to improve the indoor air quality, the air purification effect using the plants is prominent. In this study was started to investigated the living environment of modern people, the risk of indoor air pollution and the improvement function of plants, and to activate plant application. The purpose of this study is to analyze the main functions and design status of domestic and overseas plant - related applications, and to understand the actual use of modern plant applications and to help them learn more convenient plant - related knowledge. Therefore, this paper attempted to establish a basis for suggesting a new plant application by conducting a survey on the health effects of indoor air pollution and user awareness of plant - related applications. The results and contents of the study are as follows. First, as a theoretical review, indoor air pollution is more dangerous to modern people who have a high proportion of indoor living time and adversely affects their health. In order to solve such a problem, it has been shown that air conditioning and stress reduction can be effectively achieved by placing plants in the indoor space. Second, the analysis of the previous study shows the risk of indoor air pollution and its adverse effects on health. In addition, I have been able to find some researches related to the improvement of the indoor air by using the air purifying plants, and I can see the improvement of the user's behavior through the development or improvement of the application. Third, as a result of the survey on the status of domestic and overseas plant application, the main function of the application having high installation number was watering notification, provision of basic information of plants, and most of the functions were plant discerment through cameras. Fourth, most of the survey respondents have either raised or raised plants. Those who have little experience with plant applications have also shown positive feedback in the future on the use of plant-related applications. In addition, due to social problems such as air pollution, air purification using plants and functional plants showed high interest. Based on these results, we propose the need for a multi-functional plant application that can improve the indoor air pollution and facilitate the provision of information related to it.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.125-132
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• 2010

Purpose: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), also known as embryo screening, is a pre-pregnancy technique used to identify genetic defects in embryos created through in vitro fertilization. PGD is considered a means of prenatal diagnosis of genetic abnormalities. PGD is used when one or both genetic parents has a known genetic abnormality; testing is performed on an embryo to determine if it also carries the genetic abnormality. The main advantage of PGD is the avoidance of selective pregnancy termination as it imparts a high likelihood that the baby will be free of the disease under consideration. The application of PGD to genetic practices, reproductive medicine, and genetic counseling is becoming the key component of fertility practice because of the need to develop a custom PGD design for each couple. Materials and Methods: In this study, a survey on the contents of genetic counseling in PGD was carried out via direct contact or e-mail with the patients and specialists who had experienced PGD during the three months from February to April 2010. Results: A total of 91 persons including 60 patients, 49 of whom had a chromosomal disorder and 11 of whom had a single gene disorder, and 31 PGD specialists responded to the survey. Analysis of the survey results revealed that all respondents were well aware of the importance of genetic counseling in all steps of PGD including planning, operation, and follow-up. The patient group responded that the possibility of unexpected results (51.7%), genetic risk assessment and recurrence risk (46.7%), the reproduction options (46.7%), the procedure and limitation of PGD (43.3%) and the information of PGD technology (35.0%) should be included as a genetic counseling information. In detail, 51.7% of patients wanted to be counseled for the possibility of unexpected results and the recurrence risk, while 46.7% wanted to know their reproduction options (46.7%). Approximately 96.7% of specialists replied that a non-M.D. genetic counselor is necessary for effective and systematic genetic counseling in PGD because it is difficult for physicians to offer satisfying information to patients due to lack of counseling time and specific knowledge of the disorders. Conclusions: The information from the survey provides important insight into the overall present situation of genetic counseling for PGD in Korea. The survey results demonstrated that there is a general awareness that genetic counseling is essential for PGD, suggesting that appropriate genetic counseling may play a important role in the success of PGD. The establishment of genetic counseling guidelines for PGD may contribute to better planning and management strategies for PGD.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.32-43
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• 2009

Trust has been studied extensively in psychology, economics, and sociology, and its importance has been emphasized not only in marketing, but also in business disciplines in general. Unlike past relationships between suppliers and buyers, which take considerable advantage of private networks and may involve unethical business practices, partnerships between suppliers and buyers are at the core of success for industrial marketing amid intense global competition in the 21st century. A high level of mutual cooperation occurs through an exchange relationship based on trust, which brings long-term benefits, competitive enhancements, and transaction cost reductions, among other benefits, for both buyers and suppliers. In spite of the important role of trust, existing studies in buy-supply situations overlook the role of trust and do not systematically analyze the effect of trust on relational performance. Consequently, an in-depth study that determines the relation of trust to the relational performance between buyers and suppliers of business services is absolutely needed. Business services in this study, which include those supporting the manufacturing industry, are drawing attention as the economic growth engine for the next generation. The Korean government has selected business services as a strategic area for the development of manufacturing sectors. Since the demands for opening business services markets are becoming fiercer, the competitiveness of the business service industry must be promoted now more than ever. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the mutual trust between buyers and suppliers on relational performance. Specifically, this study proposed a theoretical model of trust-relational performance in the transactions of business services and empirically tested the hypotheses delineated from the framework. The study suggests strategic implications based on research findings. Empirical data were collected via multiple methods, including via telephone, mail, and in-person interviews. Sample companies were knowledge-based companies supplying and purchasing business services in Korea. The present study collected data on a dyadic basis. Each pair of sample companies includes a buying company and its corresponding supplying company. Mutual trust was traced for each pair of companies. This study proposes a model of trust-relational performance of buying-supplying for business services. The model consists of trust and its antecedents and consequences. The trust of buyers is classified into trust toward the supplying company and trust toward salespersons. Viewing trust both at the individual level and the organizational level is based on the research of Doney and Cannon (1997). Normally, buyers are the subject of trust, but this study supposes that suppliers are the subjects. Hence, it uniquely focused on the bilateral perspective of perceived risk. In other words, suppliers, like buyers, are the subject of trust since transactions are normally bilateral. From this point of view, suppliers' trust in buyers is as important as buyers' trust in suppliers. The suppliers' trust is influenced by the extent to which it trusts the buying companies and the buyers. This classification of trust using an individual level and an organization level is based on the suggestion of Doney and Cannon (1997). Trust affects the process of supplier selection, which works in a bilateral manner. Suppliers are actively involved in the supplier selection process, working very closely with buyers. In addition, the process is affected by the extent to which each party trusts its partners. The selection process consists of certain steps: recognition, information search, supplier selection, and performance evaluation. As a result of the process, both buyers and suppliers evaluate the performance and take corrective actions on the basis of such outcomes as tangible, intangible, and/or side effects. The measurement of trust used for the present study was developed on the basis of the studies of Mayer, Davis and Schoorman (1995) and Mayer and Davis (1999). Based on their recommendations, the three dimensions of trust used for the study include ability, benevolence, and integrity. The original questions were adjusted to the context of the transactions of business services. For example, a question such as "He/she has professional capabilities" has been changed to "The salesperson showed professional capabilities while we talked about our products." The measurement used for this study differs from those used in previous studies (Rotter 1967; Sullivan and Peterson 1982; Dwyer and Oh 1987). The measurements of the antecedents and consequences of trust used for this study were developed on the basis of Doney and Cannon (1997). The original questions were adjusted to the context of transactions in business services. In particular, questions were developed for both buyers and suppliers to address the following factors: reputation (integrity, customer care, good-will), market standing (company size, market share, positioning in the industry), willingness to customize (product, process, delivery), information sharing (proprietary information, private information), willingness to maintain relationships, perceived professionalism, authority empowerment, buyer-seller similarity, and contact frequency. As a consequential variable of trust, relational performance was measured. Relational performance is classified into tangible effects, intangible effects, and side effects. Tangible effects include financial performance; intangible effects include improvements in relations, network developing, and internal employee satisfaction; side effects include those not included either in the tangible or intangible effects. Three hundred fifty pairs of companies were contacted, and one hundred five pairs of companies responded. After deleting five company pairs because of incomplete responses, one hundred five pairs of companies were used for data analysis. The response ratio of the companies used for data analysis is 30% (105/350), which is above the average response ratio in industrial marketing research. As for the characteristics of the respondent companies, the majority of the companies operate service businesses for both buyers (85.4%) and suppliers (81.8%). The majority of buyers (76%) deal with consumer goods, while the majority of suppliers (70%) deal with industrial goods. This may imply that buyers process the incoming material, parts, and components to produce the finished consumer goods. As indicated by their report of the length of acquaintance with their partners, suppliers appear to have longer business relationships than do buyers. Hypothesis 1 tested the effects of buyer-supplier characteristics on trust. The salesperson's professionalism (t=2.070, p<0.05) and authority empowerment (t=2.328, p<0.05) positively affected buyers' trust toward suppliers. On the other hand, authority empowerment (t=2.192, p<0.05) positively affected supplier trust toward buyers. For both buyers and suppliers, the degree of authority empowerment plays a crucial role in the maintenance of their trust in each other. Hypothesis 2 tested the effects of buyerseller relational characteristics on trust. Buyers tend to trust suppliers, as suppliers make every effort to contact buyers (t=2.212, p<0.05). This tendency has also been shown to be much stronger for suppliers (t=2.591, p<0.01). On the other hand suppliers trust buyers because suppliers perceive buyers as being similar to themselves (t=2.702, p<0.01). This finding confirmed the results of Crosby, Evans, and Cowles (1990), which reported that suppliers and buyers build relationships through regular meetings, either for business or personal matters. Hypothesis 3 tested the effects of trust on perceived risk. It has been found that for both suppliers and buyers the lower is the trust, the higher is the perceived risk (t=-6.621, p<0.01 for buyers; t=-2.437, p<0.05). Interestingly, this tendency has been shown to be much stronger for buyers than for suppliers. One possible explanation for this higher level of perceived risk is that buyers normally perceive higher risks than do suppliers in transactions involving business services. For this reason, it is necessary for suppliers to implement risk reduction strategies for buyers. Hypothesis 4 tested the effects of trust on information searching. It has been found that for both suppliers and buyers, contrary to expectation, trust depends on their partner's reputation (t=2.929, p<0.01 for buyers; t=2.711, p<0.05 for suppliers). This finding shows that suppliers with good reputations tend to be trusted. Prior experience did not show any significant relationship with trust for either buyers or suppliers. Hypothesis 5 tested the effects of trust on supplier/buyer selection. Unlike buyers, suppliers tend to trust buyers when they think that previous transactions with buyers were important (t=2.913 p<0.01). However, this study did not show any significant relationship between source loyalty and the trust of buyers in suppliers. Hypothesis 6 tested the effects of trust on relational performances. For buyers and suppliers, financial performance reportedly improved when they trusted their partners (t=2.301, p<0.05 for buyers; t=3.692, p<0.01 for suppliers). It is interesting that this tendency was much stronger for suppliers than it was for buyers. Similarly, competitiveness was reported to improve when buyers and suppliers trusted their partners (t=3.563, p<0.01 for buyers; t=3.042, p<0.01 for suppliers). For suppliers, efficiency and productivity were reportedly improved when they trusted buyers (t=2.673, p<0.01). Other performance indices showed insignificant relationships with trust. The findings of this study have some strategic implications. First and most importantly, trust-based transactions are beneficial for both suppliers and buyers. As verified in the study, financial performance can be improved through efforts to build and maintain mutual trust. Similarly, competitiveness can be increased through the same kinds of effort. Second, trust-based transactions can facilitate the reduction of perceived risks inherent in the purchasing situation. This finding has implications for both suppliers and buyers. It is generally believed that buyers perceive higher risks in a highly involved purchasing situation. To reduce risks, previous studies have recommended that suppliers devise risk-reducing tactics. Moving beyond these recommendations, the present study uniquely focused on the bilateral perspective of perceived risk. In other words, suppliers are also susceptible to perceived risks, especially when they supply services that require very technical and sophisticated manipulations and maintenance. Consequently, buyers and suppliers must solve problems together in close collaboration. Hence, mutual trust plays a crucial role in the problem-solving process. Third, as found in this study, the more authority a salesperson has, the more he or she can be trusted. This finding is very important with regard to tactics. Building trust is a long-term assignment; however, when mutual trust has not been developed, suppliers can overcome the problems they encounter by empowering a salesperson with the authority to make certain decisions. This finding applies to suppliers as well.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.61-118
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• 2008

The purpose of this research is to construct research framework for international franchising based on existing literature and to identify research components in the framework. Franchise can be defined as management styles that allow franchisee use various management assets of franchisor in order to make or sell product or service. It can be divided into product distribution franchise that is designed to sell products and business format franchise that is designed for running it as business whatever its form is. International franchising can be defined as a way of internationalization of franchisor to foreign country by providing its business format or package to franchisee of host country. International franchising is growing fast for last four decades but academic research on this is quite limited. Especially in Korea, research about international franchising is carried out on by case study format with single case or empirical study format with survey based on domestic franchise theory. Therefore, this paper tries to review existing literature on international franchising research, providing research framework, and then stimulating new research on this field. International franchising research components include motives and environmental factors for decision of expanding to international franchising, entrance modes and development plan for international franchising, contracts and management strategy of international franchising, and various performance measures from different perspectives. First, motives of international franchising are fee collection from franchisee. Also it provides easier way to expanding to foreign country. The other motives including increase total sales volume, occupying better strategic position, getting quality resources, and improving efficiency. Environmental factors that facilitating international franchising encompasses economic condition, trend, and legal or political factors in host and/or home countries. In addition, control power and risk management capability of franchisor plays critical role in successful franchising contract. Final decision to enter foreign country via franchising is determined by numerous factors like history, size, growth, competitiveness, management system, bonding capability, industry characteristics of franchisor. After deciding to enter into foreign country, franchisor needs to set entrance modes of international franchising. Within contractual mode, there are master franchising and area developing franchising, licensing, direct franchising, and joint venture. Theories about entrance mode selection contain concepts of efficiency, knowledge-based approach, competence-based approach, agent theory, and governance cost. The next step after entrance decision is operation strategy. Operation strategy starts with selecting a target city and a target country for franchising. In order to finding, screening targets, franchisor needs to collect information about candidates. Critical information includes brand patent, commercial laws, regulations, market conditions, country risk, and industry analysis. After selecting a target city in target country, franchisor needs to select franchisee, in other word, partner. The first important criteria for selecting partners are financial credibility and capability, possession of real estate. And cultural similarity and knowledge about franchisor and/or home country are also recognized as critical criteria. The most important element in operating strategy is legal document between franchisor and franchisee with home and host countries. Terms and conditions in legal documents give objective information about characteristics of franchising agreement for academic research. Legal documents have definitions of terminology, territory and exclusivity, agreement of term, initial fee, continuing fees, clearing currency, and rights about sub-franchising. Also, legal documents could have terms about softer elements like training program and operation manual. And harder elements like law competent court and terms of expiration. Next element in operating strategy is about product and service. Especially for business format franchising, product/service deliverable, benefit communicators, system identifiers (architectural features), and format facilitators are listed for product/service strategic elements. Another important decision on product/service is standardization vs. customization. The rationale behind standardization is cost reduction, efficiency, consistency, image congruence, brand awareness, and competitiveness on price. Also standardization enables large scale R&D and innovative change in management style. Another element in operating strategy is control management. The simple way to control franchise contract is relying on legal terms, contractual control system. There are other control systems, administrative control system and ethical control system. Contractual control system is a coercive source of power, but franchisor usually doesn't want to use legal power since it doesn't help to build up positive relationship. Instead, self-regulation is widely used. Administrative control system uses control mechanism from ordinary work relationship. Its main component is supporting activities to franchisee and communication method. For example, franchisor provides advertising, training, manual, and delivery, then franchisee follows franchisor's direction. Another component is building franchisor's brand power. The last research element is performance factor of international franchising. Performance elements can be divided into franchisor's performance and franchisee's performance. The conceptual performance measures of franchisor are simple but not easy to obtain objectively. They are profit, sale, cost, experience, and brand power. The performance measures of franchisee are mostly about benefits of host country. They contain small business development, promotion of employment, introduction of new business model, and level up technology status. There are indirect benefits, like increase of tax, refinement of corporate citizenship, regional economic clustering, and improvement of international balance. In addition to those, host country gets socio-cultural change other than economic effects. It includes demographic change, social trend, customer value change, social communication, and social globalization. Sometimes it is called as westernization or McDonaldization of society. In addition, the paper reviews on theories that have been frequently applied to international franchising research, such as agent theory, resource-based view, transaction cost theory, organizational learning theory, and international expansion theories. Resource based theory is used in strategic decision based on resources, like decision about entrance and cooperation depending on resources of franchisee and franchisor. Transaction cost theory can be applied in determination of mutual trust or satisfaction of franchising players. Agent theory tries to explain strategic decision for reducing problem caused by utilizing agent, for example research on control system in franchising agreements. Organizational Learning theory is relatively new in franchising research. It assumes organization tries to maximize performance and learning of organization. In addition, Internalization theory advocates strategic decision of direct investment for removing inefficiency of market transaction and is applied in research on terms of contract. And oligopolistic competition theory is used to explain various entry modes for international expansion. Competency theory support strategic decision of utilizing key competitive advantage. Furthermore, research methodologies including qualitative and quantitative methodologies are suggested for more rigorous international franchising research. Quantitative research needs more real data other than survey data which is usually respondent's judgment. In order to verify theory more rigorously, research based on real data is essential. However, real quantitative data is quite hard to get. The qualitative research other than single case study is also highly recommended. Since international franchising has limited number of applications, scientific research based on grounded theory and ethnography study can be used. Scientific case study is differentiated with single case study on its data collection method and analysis method. The key concept is triangulation in measurement, logical coding and comparison. Finally, it provides overall research direction for international franchising after summarizing research trend in Korea. International franchising research in Korea has two different types, one is for studying Korean franchisor going overseas and the other is for Korean franchisee of foreign franchisor. Among research on Korean franchisor, two common patterns are observed. First of all, they usually deal with success story of one franchisor. The other common pattern is that they focus on same industry and country. Therefore, international franchise research needs to extend their focus to broader subjects with scientific research methodology as well as development of new theory.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.31 no.1 s.60
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• pp.139-156
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• 1998

Diving related disease including decompression sickness is an important occupational health problem and diving fishermen remain a fairly hazardous occupation in Korea. To prevent diving related disease, we investigate diving patterns, incidence of diving related diseases, and contributing factors of 433 diving fishermen of three coast interviewing and mailing questionnaire in 1996. Mean age of divers was 39.7 years, ranged from 24 to 58 years, 92.8% of these were male, and 58.4% of divers were high school graduates. Mean duration of work as a diver was 12.9 years, ranged from 2 to 40 years. It was found that 70.4% of divers were using hookah system, 22.2% of helmet, and only 2.5% SCUBA. About half of them have learned diving skills from other divers. The peak season of diving was from April to June and mean working days were 20.3 days per month during the peak season. On the average, the divers dived 5-6 times, ranged from 1 to 10 times a day with 51.1 minutes of diving time, ranged from 20 to 120 minutes, at 30 m or 40 m in depth, and 35.5 minute of interval on surface. Most divers ascended slowly making decompression stop, yet the decompression profile used was not based on any scientific knowledge except for their own experiences. It appeared that each diving system had slightly different diving patterns. There were 282(65.0%) divers that suffered from DCS in 1995 and 31.2% of divers were given recompression therapy at a medical facility since they worked as diving fishermen. Skin and musculoskeletal complaints were common symptoms of DCS and 39% of divers experienced a voiding difficulty. In univariate analysis, females have an increased frequency of DCS(93% vs 66% for males). Old age, long duration of work, helmet diving, diving time, diving depth, repetitive diving, and blow up were all contributing factors to DCS. It was found that most diving patterns exceed no decompression limit and did not use the standard decompression table. This suggests that most of divers are at high risk of developing diving related disease with prolonged dives and lengthy repetitive diving in deep depth. Considering the diving patterns and economic aspect of professional diving, the incidence of DCS among diving fishermen in Korea will not decrease in the near future. These findings suggest that periodical health surveillance for divers, and education of health and safety are important for reducing the risk of diving related disease in the population of diving fishermen.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.163-199
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• 2005

Dentistry had been considered to be a relatively safe zone from the risk of medical accidents for there are less number of emergency cases. However, in these days, the number of medical dispute is increasing that the dentists would not be able to overlook it as if it is none of their matters. Hence, researches on various medical accidents and analyses on related matters to seek proper management have been carried out recently, but the datas are not enough yet. This study analysed the actual conditions of medical accidents as well as disputes and the general awareness of dental practitioners in local clinics with the purpose of understanding the general situation and to suggest counterplan. The study was conducted by analysing 1,882 questionnaires collected from total of 3,684 dentists belonging to Seoul Dental Association and where Doctors and Hospitals Medical Malpractice Insurance for dentists is administered. The results were as follows: 1. 98.47% of the respondents doubted the risk of medical accident and dispute. 2. 27.42% of the respondents experienced medical dispute, and there was no significant difference between the rate of medical disputes and the resident training. 3. Among the cases of medical accidents, those related to the periodontal/operative treatment showed the highest rate of 20.50%, and that related to implant treatment was 6.17%. 4. 43.02% of the respondents explained about the treatment procedure before the treatment while 25.90% started the treatment without consent of the patients. 5. Medical dispute resulted from not having any explanation or consent of the patients were of 16.55%. 10.26% had difficulties in solving the problem for missing the medical records. 6. 49.73% responded to be capable of administering first aid treatment. Among them, 23.60% were equipped with accurate knowledge regarding the emergency care. 7. During medical dispute, 88.09% sought counsel from other dentists, and Local district dental association was found to be the most frequently asked group. 8. In cases of medical dispute, 5.26% of the respondents were asked to submit relevant data from customer protection organization, and among them, 75.61% acceded the demand sincerely. 9. After the settlement of the dispute, 83.63% recovered relatively stable state of mind. 10. 99.46% of the respondents felt the necessity of medical dispute management organization, and 78.58% responded that it was urgent. 11. 66.70% of the respondents joined Doctors and Hospitals Medical Malpractice Insurance, although they had not experienced medical dispute. However, 73.36% of the respondent were not aware of it, and 93.36% of the members were not aware of the procedure of the dispute settlement. 12. 79.0% of the respondents who joined the Doctors and Hospitals Medical Malpractice Insurance still felt confused when medical dispute occured, but relatively safer than before. 13. When medical dispute was settled through Doctors and Hospitals Medical Malpractice Insurance, 71.92% of the dentists were contented more than moderately, however, 35.16% of the patients were contented. 14. For complement of Doctors and Hospitals Medical Malpractice Insurance, 53.22% of the respondents felt that insurance company, dentist, and patient should all participate in bringing mutual agreement for quick settlement of the dispute. In addition, 29.08% of the respondents wanted insurance company to prevent patients from disturbing their practices. From the above results, improvement of the general awareness on increasing rate of medical disputes, and education as well as complementary measures for settlement of the disputes are required.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2012

Objectives: To survey the awareness of patient to scrub typhus to provide data for education and communication concerning scrub typhus. Methods: Patients with scrub typhus (case group, n=299) and people without scrub typhus within the previous 2 years (control group, n=598) were matched for age (within 5 years), gender, and occupation (farmer or non-farmer). The participants were recruited from 15 study areas between October and December 2006. Results: The awareness rate of scrub typhus was 75.1%, and was significantly higher than in the case group (79.4% vs. 66.6%, respectively; p<0.01). The major routes of awareness were from 'past history of scrub typhus in family members or neighbors' (54.9%), 'television' (28.3%), and their past history of scrub typhus (5.5%). The average correct rate of scrub typhus was 48.4%, and the correct response rate of cases was significantly higher than controls (p<0.01). Especially, the correct rate of etiology, incubation period, route of transmission, and acquired immunity was <40%. Through conditional logistic regression test, the factor significantly associated with awareness in case group was age (odds ratio [OR], 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.94-0.98). And the factors associated with awareness in control group were female (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.03-2.36) age (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.96-0.99), family history of scrub typhus (OR, 10.18; 95% CI, 1.37-75.99), history of receiving prevention education (OR, 8.47; 95% CI, 1.14-63.00). Conclusions: The rate of awareness was relatively low in study population. Thus, effective working guidelines and educational program to prevent scrub typhus must be developed, and publicity activities about the prevention of scrub typhus are needed for high-risk groups.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.339-349
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• 2010

Objective: We surveyed awareness levels of brucellosis, Q fever and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) among dairy farmers in Gyeonggi Province to suggest directions for public education and public relations. Methods: We designed questionnaires to evaluate awareness of 3 major zooneses. We conducted a questionnaire survey to assess knowledge of the general characteristics of them, information sources for the awareness of zooneses, and the mode of transmission. Subjects were 716 workers from 482 dairy farms in Gyeonggi province. Results: The awareness levels for brucellosis, Q fever, and EHEC were 90.2%, 2.5% and 56.6%, respectively. Awareness of brucellosis and EHEC were tended to increase with higher number of school years. Television was the most common route of information for these zoonoses. Most common responses for questions concerning the method of transmission for each zoonoses, 'Contact with parturient fluid or placenta of animal' was 63.2% for brucellosis, 'Ingestion of raw meat or residual product' was 66.7% and 64.2% for Q fever and EHEC, respectively. The most common reason why dairy farmers think that it is difficult to prevent zoonoses was the inconvenience of wearing protection. Conclusions: Education programs for zoonoses, especially Q fever, are needed for dairy farmers. In addition, publicity information activities about prevention of zoonoses are needed for high risk groups, such as the dairy farmers surveyed.

• The Journal of Small Business Innovation
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.53-68
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• 2016

Motivation and activities for technological learning, entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity are driving forces of economic development in Asian countries. In the early stages of technological development, technological learning and entrepreneurship are efficient ways in which to catch up with advanced countries because firms can accumulate skills and knowledge quickly at relatively low risk. In the later stages of technological development, however, innovation and creativity become more important. This study aims to identify a) the factors (learning capabilities) that influence technological learning performance and b) barriers to enhancing innovation capabilities for the creative economy and organizations. The major part of this study is related to learning capabilities in the post-catch-up era. Based on a literature review and observations from Korean experiences, this study proposes a technological learning model composed of various influencing factors on technological learning. Three hypotheses are derived, and data are collected from Korean machine tool manufacturers. Intense interviews with CEOs and R&D directors are conducted using structured questionnaires. Statistical analysis, such as correlation and ANOVA are then carried out. Furthermore, this study addresses how to enhance innovation capabilities to move forward. Innovation enablers and barriers are identified by case studies and policy analysis. The results of the empirical study identify several levels of firms' learning capabilities and activities such as a) stock of technology, b) potential of technical labor, c) explicit technological efforts, d) readiness to learn, e) top management support, f) a formal technological learning system, g) high learning motivation, h) appropriate technology choice, and i) specific goal setting. These learning capabilities determine firms' learning performance, especially in the early stages of development. Furthermore, it is found that the critical factors for successful technological learning vary along the stages of technology development. Throughout the statistical and policy analyses, this study confirms that technological learning can be understood as an intrinsic principle of the technology development process. Firms perform proactive and creative learning in the late stages, while reactive and imitative learning prevails in the early stages. In addition, this study identifies the driving forces or facilitating factors enhancing innovation performance in the post catch-up era. The results of the preliminary case studies and policy analysis show some facilitating factors such as a) the strategic intent of the CEO and corporate culture, b) leadership and change agents, c) design principles and routines, d) ecosystem and collaboration with partners, and e) intensive R&D investment.