• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.550-557
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• 2014

Objectives: This study was conducted to examine the preferences and needs of typical Korean females adults for food and nutrition information provided by the mass media. Methods: A total of 343 females (77 in their 20s, 85 in their 30s, 88 in their 40s and 93 in their 50s) residing in the Seoul/Gyeonggido area was surveyed on general characteristics, main sources of food and nutrition information and needs for sources and contents of nutrition information. Results: The survey showed that typical Korean females obtained knowledge of food and nutrition mainly through the Internet (30.4%) and broadcasting (29.0%). Typical Korean females were interested in 'dietary management for weight control' (21.9%), 'the prevention and treatment of disease' (20.0%), 'food safety' (16.8%), 'proper dietary habits' (14.6%), 'cookery' (11.8%), 'functional foods' (9.6%), 'restaurant details' (3.5%) and 'life-cycle-specific dietary guideline' (1.6%). Needs for food and nutrition program forms on TV were 'educational programs' (34.3%), 'documentaries' (20.8), 'expert lecture-style' (13.0%), 'entertainment programs' (11.9%), 'expert conversation' (11.4%), 'news-style' (4.6%) and 'public campaign advertisements' (4.0%). On the Internet, 38.6% of the respondents preferred to get information provided by food and nutrition-related institutions (38.6%) while 26.1% preferred webtoons for nutritional information. The favored forms in mobile applications were 'monitoring their diets' (29.5%), 'data-based texts information' (21.4%), 'experts feedback' (20.6%), 'communities' (15.1%) and 'games' (13.1%). The rates of the preference to obtain information from experts such as nutritionists and dietitians and doctorsor dietitian turned reporters increased markedly with older ages. Conclusions: Since the mass media is a main source of food and nutrition information for the general public, the effectiveness and accuracy of the information provided should be enhanced by taking the needs of the public into account. The quality of information should be improved by involving more nutrition experts.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.202-210
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• 2018

Recently, the subway running in metro environments has a problem in securing the safety of passengers due to the failure of announcement in emergency situations such as breakdown, train accidents and power outage in the underground tunnels. Thus, there is a need to develop an emergency broadcasting system that can provide the announcement to all passenger cars in any emergency situations on the railway route. In this paper, the applicability of various wireless communication technologies for the emergency broadcasting system through the measurement campaign was examined in Seoul metropolitan subway. A WAVE(Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments) is communication technology that can use 5.9GHz dedicated frequency band without charge and it is possible to directly communicate between terminals over 200m without the help of additional relay. Especially, it confirms robust communication performance in the various metro environments, and therefore, it is considered to be suitable as a communication method of a radio-connected emergency broadcasting system for urban subway.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.305-316
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• 2013

To find out if modern roundabout is still effective under drivers behavior and driving conditions in Busan Metropolitan City, the effects before and after introduction of roundabout were analyzed. According to analysis on velocity profile at roundabout, velocity deviation decreased, and average vehicle speed was close to design speed. As a result, it has been confirmed that most roundabouts were properly built. In terms of traffic operation, average vehicle speed improved by 87.2% when a traffic intersection was replaced by a roundabout. therefore, it has been found out that the introduction of roundabout has a positive effect on increasing vehicle speed by reducing traffic congestion. In addition, annual benefits expected from the replacement from a traffic intersection to a roundabout were KRW 872 million as follows; KRW 410 million in traffic communication, KRW 39 million in transportation safety, KRW 255 million in energy saving, KRW 95 million in reduction of air pollution and KRW 73 million in reduction of traffic signal installation cost. In other words, if 10% (193 spots) of all traffic intersections (1,926 spots in total) in Busan City are replaced by roundabouts, the municipal authority would be able to save about KRW 168.3 billion. According to analysis on the benefits expected from the installation of roundabouts compared to the investment cost for traffic intersections, about KRW 679 million could be saved per roundabout. Considering 10% of all traffic intersections in the City of Busan, about KRW 131 billion could be saved annually. The traffic accidents in roundabout usually occur because drivers aren't aware of right-of-way rules. Once the right-of-way rules settle, the number of traffic accidents would significantly decrease. In addition, it is urgent to promote education and campaign for drivers, pedestrians and bikers on the roundabout.

• 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?