• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.163-169
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• 2022

Background: It is estimated that about 13 million artisanal and small-scale miners carry out their activities under harsh, precarious, unfriendly, and risky conditions. Yet, our understanding of the extent to which these workers use personal protective equipment (PPE) and navigate through the various risks and hazards they face is still limited. This article has two main objectives. First, it explores the extent of usage of PPE among artisanal and small-scale miners for the prevention of hazards and risks. Second, it examines the coping strategies used by these miners as a response to experiences of occupational injuries and risks Methods: A cross-sectional survey of small-scale miners was conducted in six communities across three districts in Ghana, West Africa. The mixed methods approach was adopted. A total of 148 small-scale miners participated in the study. Six focus group discussions (FGDs) were held across the six communities. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Chi-square tests were used to analyse the relationship between some socio-demographic characteristics (sex, age, and educational background) and the usage of PPE. Open-ended questions and responses from FGDs were analysed based on the content and verbatim quotations from miners. Results: Findings suggest that 78% of the miners interviewed do not use the appropriate PPE citing reasons such as cost, and their personal discomfort associated with use of PPE. There was no significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics (i.e., sex, age, education and major mining activity) and the usage of PPE. The study further revealed four main coping strategies used by miners to handle the risks. These are rest, taking unprescribed medication and hard drugs, registration with health insurance scheme and savings and investments. Conclusion: This study shows that very few artisanal miners use PPE despite the significant hazards and risks to which they are exposed. The study recommends to the government to put in place measures to ensure that miners adhere to health and safety regulations before undertaking mining activities. This means that health and safety plans and use of PPE should be linked to the license acquisition process for miners.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.379-390
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• 2022

While the construction industry is striving to make changes suitable for the 4th industrial revolution era through the introduction of 4th industrial revolution technologies, such change is progressing more slowly than in other industries. Nevertheless, the recent digitization and digital transformation of the construction industry can provide a new paradigm to address and innovate the chronic problems faced by the construction industry. Therefore, in this study, a case study using a data hub and API for use of the data hub, which is essential for digitalization and digital transformation, was conducted, and the efficiency and feasibility of using the data hub and API were considered. When the API system was introduced, it was found that the average budget savings per person was about 23%, and the costbenefit ratio was about 4.4 times higher, indicating that the feasibility of the project was very high. The results and framework of this study can serve as fundamental research data for related research, and provide a worthy case study to promote the introduction of related technologies. This will ultimately contribute to digitalization and digital transformation for smartization of the construction industry.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.801-824
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• 2022

Recently, United Nations found that 38% of global carbon emissions are generated in the building sector, surpassing other industries (32%) and transportation (23%), and ESG is actively used as a way to reduce carbon emissions in the building sector, led by overseas advanced countries. In Korea, as the National Pension Service announced "Consider ESG with more than 50% of investment assets" this year, the move to introduce ESG in the building sector is accelerating, centering on construction companies and asset management companies. However, as the domestic ESG evaluation system is still mainly focused on corporate governance and social responsibility, interest in the environmental sector is lagging behind that of advanced countries. As ESG in the building sector is expected to grow rapidly over the next 10 years, I would like to suggest the following development directions. The first is the expansion of the incentive system. In order for the government to successfully implement policies related to ESG in the building sector, incentive system such as tax reduction and building standards should be expanded further than now in addition to negative systems such as rent restrictions and punishment taxes due to regulatory violations. Second, standardized ESG standards are established. Rather than creating an independent Korean ESG standard that is far from global standards, it is necessary to organize the common parts of global standards and evaluation methods and create and provide guidelines in the form of standard textbooks that can be used equally by all stakeholders. Third, it is an effort to link ESG in the building sector with Digital Transformation(DX). This is because actual energy savings and carbon emission reduction can be realized only when the operation method of the building sector, which is operated mainly by manpower, is digitalized and converted to an intelligent way.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.361-372
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• 2023

In this study, three luxury fashion start-up platforms, Balaan, Trenbe, and Must-it, were selected as research subjects. The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the marketing mix strategies of each of the three online sites. The results of our study are as follows. First of all, the product strategies of the three luxury platform companies are characterized by the composition of products from high-end brands to SPA brands, and product composition such as kids, home living, Used goods and art in addition to women's and men's wear. In addition, the pricing strategies of luxury platforms show price differences depending on the luxury platform even for the same product. It is shown as a structure that directly determines margin. Therefore, in order to secure an edge in price competitiveness, each platform provided discount coupons and savings that are not available in offline stores such as department stores, providing opportunities to purchase luxury goods at a lower price than offline stores.Lastly, the sales promotion strategies of the three luxury platform companies was used include price discount promotions such as price discounts, discount coupons, and regular sales, and value-added sales such as membership registration/review points, events, product information, delivery services, social contribution activities, and SNS utilization.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.21-27
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• 1979

Canal construction is not the only area in which mechanization has advanced with great strides. All phases of the construction industry, including earthmoving, land clearing and levelling, road construction, and drainage and water control projects, have benefited from today's technological advancements. Lasers, an excellant example of advanced technology, have been refined for use as guidance systems for construction machinery, increasing accuracy and the speed of operation. The use of explosives by contractors is becoming more commonplace. One of the most valuable modern tools available today is the two-way radio. On today's sophisticated projects a single machine being down can frequently stop the progress of the entire project, delaying hundreds of men and machines from completing their assigned work for the day. The use of two-way radios in all the pickups and cars being used on a project facilitates communication so that emergency repairs can be effected immediately, and costly down time on any project can be reduced to a minimum. Not every construction project is suitable to mechanization. However, on the majority of projects mechanization has a great deal to offer the Korean contractor, and all contractors, in savings of time and money. Each and every project being considered by a contractor, should be closely examined for the most effective and efficient machinery application available. The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) has formed a committee on construction techniques being used in canal construction today. Two publications are now available describing the advances made in recent years. Standards for construction have been established for mechanized systems and this information is being distributed worldwide.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.6D
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• pp.917-926
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• 2006

Transportation Economies of scale are the essential properties of hub networks. One critical property of the hub network design problem is to quantify cost savings which stem from economies of scale, the costs of operating hub facilities and opportunity costs associated with delays stemming from consolidation of traffic flows. Due to the NP-complete property of the hub location problem, however, most previous researchers have focused on the development of heuristic algorithms for approximate solutions. The purpose of this paper is to develop a hub network design model considering transportation economies of scale from the consolidation of traffic flows. The model is designed to consider the uniqueness of hub networks and to determine several cost components. The heuristic algorithms for the developed model are suggested and the results of the model are compared with recently published studies using real data. Results of the analysis show that the proposed model reflects transportation economies of scale due to consolidation of flows. This study can form not only the theoretical basis of an effective and rational hub network design but contribute to the assessment of existing and planned logistics systems.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.3D
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• pp.399-408
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• 2009

The major changes in construction environment are that construction project is bigger and more complicated and the power of construction market changes from the supplier to the client or the user. Especially public construction enterprises have advanced to introduce the value engineering (VE) which is one of the cost management based on the owner's leading at the design phase for economical efficiency and quality improvement. According to the these efforts, the implementation of VE was legislated in the revised Construction Technology Management Act in 2000, governmental agencies, local autonomies, and construction public enterprises universally has taken the VE into consideration. In this circumstance, the scope that VE construction applied at 50 billion won projects from 2003 has been extended to 10 billion won projects in 2006. Therefore, the VE construction will be activated in the future. The cost savings and function improvement, which are the purpose of VE are not only construction public enterprises, but also every public client supported from government's budget or owned by the government. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to propose the improved process and performance index of VE for governmental agencies, local autonomies, and construction public enterprises which want to introduce or improve the VE process. This research also suggested the To-be design-phased VE process model. In addition, it suggested the To-be model of design management reflected the To-be design-phased VE process model, which is eliminated two problems reflected for the performance improvement of the As-is model of design management.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.3D
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• pp.223-229
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• 2010

The bus transfer system has been extended from Seoul to Gyonggi province to provide better Seoul metropolitan area transit service in September, 2008. Moreover, the curved bus routes, except existing rapid bus routes, which cause longer travel time have been straightened out. Also, the Skip Stop operation suggested by passengers has been introduced to main stops in the newly added express bus lines. This study surveyed passengers service satisfaction for the recent adopted bus policies such as the transfer discount system and the express bus system in Seoul Metropolitan area. The survey results may be important foundation for future strategies for improvement. The survey included questionnaires about the importance and the satisfaction level on both quantitative and qualitative factors. The results were statistically analyzed by the modified IPA (Importance-Performance Analysis). As the result of the survey, the newly adopted services such as fare system, fare discount on transferring, travel time savings and increased number of stops are economically feasible and satisfactory, whereas the accessibility to stops, ventilation and air quality in vehicles are the priorities to be improved. Also, the safety and the information system is in need of improvement.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.57-89
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• 2009

This study aims to shed light on the new insights on the cross-buying intentions in the banking industry and suggests an integrated model of the cross-buying intentions. Recently with globalization in the financial sector, financial companies are trying to retain current customers and attract new one by developing various financial products. In South Korea, this trend is especially apparent in the banking sector. Cross-selling of various financial products such as beneficiary certificates, bankasurance and etc. is becoming more important in retaining competitive advantage in Korean banking industry. However, there are few studies which are trying to find out the factors affecting cross-buying intentions and explain their interrelationships comprehensively. Based upon the previous studies, this study finds out the factors affecting cross-buying intentions and classifies them into two dimensions: affective and instrumental. Affective dimension includes trust, satisfaction and commitment. Instrumental dimension includes the factors such as geological convenience, one-stop convenience, professionality, and direct mail. The results from this study are as follow. All the factors in the affective dimension(trust, satisfaction and commitment) have significant impacts on cross-buying intentions. Also all the factors in the instrumental dimension(geological convenience, one-stop convenience, professionality, and DM) significantly affect cross-buying intentions. Some implications of this dissertation are as follow; First, this study identifies the antecedents of cross-buying intentions comprehensively. Second, this paper provides practical guidelines for the banks attempting to intensify cross-selling activities. Third, banks need to develop sophisticated plans which can consolidate the emotional ties with customers through positive service experiences as the affective dimension is important in influencing cross-buying intentions. Finally, regarding the instrumental dimesnion, the implications are: 1) Developing various new financial products in addition to traditional product such as deposits and installment savings for improving customer convenience, 2) Enhancing the professionality of employees by strengthening education programs on numbers of financial products, 3) Increasing cross-buying intentions through the DM.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.666-671
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• 2023

As international environmental regulations on ship emissions are gradually strengthened, interest in electric propulsion and hybrid propulsion ships is increasing, and various solutions are being developed and applied to these ships, especially stabilization of the power system and system efficiency. The direct current distribution system is being applied as a way to increase the power. In addition, verification and testing of safety and performance of marine DC distribution systems is required. As a result of establishing a DC distribution test bed, verifying the performance of the DC distribution (variable speed power generation) system, and analyzing fuel consumption, this study applied a variable speed power generation system that is applied to DC power distribution for ships, and converted the power output from the generator into a rectifier. A system was developed to convert direct current power to connect to the system and monitor and control these devices. Through tests using this DC distribution system, the maximum voltage was 751.5V and the minimum voltage was 731.4V, and the voltage fluctuation rate was 2.7%, confirming that the voltage is stably supplied within 3%, and a variable speed power generation system was installed according to load fluctuations. When applied, it was confirmed through testing that fuel consumption could be reduced by more than 20% depending on the section compared to the existing constant speed power generation system.