• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
• /
• v.3 no.1 s.5
• /
• pp.75-103
• /
• 2003

The technological risk has two major aspects. The one is technological aspect of the risk which consists of rules of nature and rational behaviors of humans. The other is social aspect of risk which consists of human values and nonrational and emotional behaviors of humans. So the technological risks should be called and treated as the technological and social risks. Because of these, not only technological professionals but also public people should have the chance to participate in the management of technological risks.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.80-85
• /
• 2014

A survey of risk perception in South Korea was conducted in 2007 to evaluate relative riskiness of typical industrial and technological risks. This article summarizes the characteristics of risk perception using psychometric analyses. The survey with a sample size of 1,194 reviews the perceived level of 25 risk items in the areas of transportation, chemicals, environment, industry, nuclear power generation, and newly-introduced risks. Six categories of risk identified by a factor analysis show that the level of perceived risk does not correspond to the statistical level. Psychometric analyses including voluntariness, severity, effect manifestation, exposure pattern, controllability, familiarity, benefit and necessity demonstrate that voluntary, familiar and immediate risks are perceived as less risky than involuntary, unfamiliar and delayed ones. Risk communication is critical in reducing the discrepance between objective and subjective level of risk. However, the amount of risk information does not always justify a successful risk communication. A safety policy, risk communication strategy in particular, should take into account diverse dimensions of risk reviewed by psychometric analyses in the study. Social policy toward safety can be improved by integrating policy, human, and social factors as well as technological advances.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.269-277
• /
• 2009

Objective : The objective of this study was to examine how experts and the public perceived various environmental and technological hazards based on psychometric paradigm. Methods : We conducted a survey that included 30 hazards and 10 risk attributes. Subjects of this study were 214 people with three groups; (1) experts (55 people), (2) graduates( 78 people), (3) under graduates (81 people). Factor analysis was used to confirm the common risk attribute from 8 risk attributes. Also, multiple regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing on perceived risk and benefit of hazards. Results : This study revealed that experts tend to be more tolerant than graduates and under graduate students for the 30 hazards. Using factor analysis, two main factors were identified: factor 1, commonly called "Dread Risk", and factors 2, commonly called, "Unknown Risk" in the literature. We identified that environmental hormone concentration and global warming ranked high in both dread risk and unknown risk. Multiple regression models were used to test the association of perceived social risk and perceived social benefit with two main factors. Dread risk had significant explanatory power on perceived social risk and benefit. We identified that the experts were less likely to perceived dread risk and know more information about the hazards. Conclusions : There were differences of risk perception between experts and lay people. Especially, experts' perception of risk was commonly lower than other people's perception.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.97-129
• /
• 2008

We are living in the time of high probability of technological risk due to increased rate of technology development and diffusion of new technologies. Resolving uncertainties, the basic attribution of risk, by accumulating knowledge over the risk factors of certain technology is critical to management of technological risk. In many cases of technological risks, high uncertainty of knowledge is commonly mentioned reason for public controversies on risk management. However, the type of technological risk with low social agreement and low uncertainty of knowledge, the main reason for public controversy is absence of social agreement. Public debates on the risks of mobile phones electromagnetic fields(EMF) to human health comes under this category. The knowledge uncertainty on human health effect of mobile phones EMF has been lowered increasingly by accumulating enormous volume of knowledge though scientists have not reached a final conclusion whether it pose a risk to the physical and mental health of the general population or not. In contrast with civil organizations calling for precautionary approach based regulation, the mobile phone industry is cling to the position of no-regulation-needed by arguing no clear evidence to prove health risks of mobile phone EMF has found. In Korea, government set exposure standards based on a measurement called the 'specific absorption rate'(SAR) and require the mobile phone industry to open SAR information to the public by their own decision. From the view of pro-regulation side based on precautionary approach, technology risk managament of mobile phones EMF in Korea is highly limited and formalized one with limited measuring of SAR on head part only and problematic self-regulated opening of information about SAR to the public. As far as the government keeps having priority on protecting interest of mobile phone industry over precautionary regulation of mobile phones EMF, the disagreement between civil organizations and the government will not resolved. The risk of mobile phones EMF to human health have high probability of being underestimated in the rate and damage of risk than objectively estimated ones due to familiarity of mobile phone technology. And this can be the cause of destructive social dispute or devastating disaster. To prevent such disastrous results, technology risk management, which integrating the goals of safety with economic growth in public policy and designing and promoting risk communication, is required.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.33-66
• /
• 2007

In the post-catchup era, the probability of technology risk are growing according to technology innovation activities with high uncertainty are increasing. Risk acceptance and management are appearing as a more important policy issue. This paper examines the technology risk as a political and social sight and the character of technological risk in the post-catchup era. In the post-catchup, new technology and policy are more undergone trial and err. In particular, we need new approach and policy countermeasures to cope with risky environment and overcome catchup legacy. Accordingly, Korea risk management is needed reshaping of risk management system, increment of risk communication, risk management according to technology type, precautionary approach, bounded trial and err strategy, knowledge accumulation and learning reinforcement.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.432-452
• /
• 2020

This study explored the representation of risks from the controversial Lynas rare earth refining as a risk event by five Malaysian online mainstream and alternative newspapers using qualitative content analysis. The aim is to uncover the role of the news media in the social amplification and attenuation of risks within the literature evidence as those roles are still uncertain. Content analysis is used to explore the online newspapers' roles guided by the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF). The representations typified environmental, financial, health, occupational, property, radioactive, and technological risks and established connections between four risk types (environmental, financial, radioactive, and health risks). Radioactive risk was repeatedly associated with other risks, suggesting that the volume and information flow focused on radioactive risk as a key ingredient for amplification. This connection shows that the nature of the relationship between risks is multidimensional, contradicting the unidirectional type found in previous studies. Alternative online newspapers amplified and attenuated more risks, thus, providing more diverse coverage than mainstream sources. Consequently, this study provides evidence that risk representation from rare earth refining in a digital news environment is multidimensional and intensified or weakened in a multi-layered pattern. The stakeholders are engaged in a contestation by positioning their narratives to oppose or support their interests, which are amplified or attenuated by the online newspapers as social amplification stations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.91-97
• /
• 2007

A survey of risk perception in Korea was conducted in 2001 with a special emphasis on industrial and technological risks. This article summarizes the characteristics of risk perception in consideration of socio-demographic background of respondents. The survey with sample size of 1,870 evaluates the perceived level of 25 risk items in the areas of transportation, chemicals, environment, industry, and nuclear power generation. Risks are categorized by using factor analysis to clarify attitudinal or behavioral properties of risk perception. Research findings show that the level of perceived risk does not correspond to the statistical level. Socio-demographic variables are significant predictors in explaining risk perception, or the discrepancies between "subjective" and "objective" risks. Effective risk communication can reduce the perceptional discrepancies, improve the awareness of technological risks, and ultimately facilitate the process of making and implementing policies for risk management and safety regulation. This article tries to provides policy guidelines for "Who is the target for risk communication" and "Which risk has the policy priority for safety improvement." Married females at the age of 30s and 40s with lower education and lower income in small cities are more vulnerable to risk misperception than other groups. More information and knowledge regarding unfamiliar, intangible, new technological risks should be delivered to the vulnerable groups for reducing perceptional bias. Society-wide safety can be improved by integrating policy, human, and social factors as well as techno-engineering advances.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.117-139
• /
• 2013

Due to the recent development of SNS(Social Network Service) which is represented by Twitter and Facebook, social commerce market which combines on-line shopping mall and SNS is expanding. With increasing speed of its market, this study is to focus on detecting the crucial variables promoting the use intention, which results in the sustainable competitive advantage in social commerce market. This research empirically analyzed the use intention of social commerce. Also, this study explores the moderating effects of gender in explaining intention to use social commerce. A technology acceptance model is applied for pinpointing the antecedents of intention to use social commerce and for revealing cross-gender differences. The results from a survey of 452 participants reveal that the effects of perceived risk, perceived usefulness, ease for use and subjective norm on intentions to use social commerce differ across gender. Findings imply that the risk-free quality and portrayal of in-group or out-group situations of social commerce need to be communicated to female consumers, along with the social norms of using social commerce. When targeting male consumers, the technological features illustrating the usefulness of social commerce should be focused. This study will provide diverse implications companies providing social commerce services.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.1-20
• /
• 2022

Digital transformation refers to the economic and social effects of digitisation and digitalisation. Although digital transformation acts as a useful tool for economic/social development and enhancing the convenience of life, it can have negative effects (misuse of personal information, ethical problems, deepening social gaps, etc.). The government is actively establishing policies to promote digital transformation to secure competitiveness and technological hegemony, however, understanding of digital transformation-related risk issues and implementing policies to prevent them are relatively slow. Thus, this study systematically identifies risk issues of the future society that can be caused by digital transformation based on quantitative analysis of media articles big data through the Embedded Topic Modeling method. Specifically, first, detailed issues of negative effects of digital transformation in major countries were identified. Then detailed issues of negative effects of artificial intelligence in major countries and Korea were identified. Further, by synthesizing the results, future direction of the government's digital transformation policies for responding the negative effects was proposed. The policy implications are as follows. First, since the negative effects of digital transformation does not only affect technological fields but also affect the overall society, such as national security, social issues, and fairness issues. Therefore, the government should not only promote the positive functions of digital transformation, but also prepare policies to counter the negative functions of digital transformation. Second, the detailed issues of future social risks of digital transformation appear differently depending on contexts, so the government should establish a policy to respond to the negative effects of digital transformation in consideration of the national and social context. Third, the government should set a major direction for responding negative effects of digital transformation to minimize confusion among stakeholders, and prepare effective policy measures.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.1-33
• /
• 2017

In the last decades, technology-oriented small firms, i.e. venture businesses, have been increasingly engaged in R&D collaborations with external parties as strategic means for technological innovation. Despite ample evidence on the benefit of such collaborations for the firms, there has been less attention to examining whether and how the firms' social interactions with cooperating partners and their managerial characteristics contribute to that benefit. Drawing on the theories of social capital and entrepreneurial orientation, this study is to remedy this gap. The theory of social capital, referring to a sum of the value and potential resources embedded in social relationships of collectives, provides an integrated view of social factors among cooperating partners, e.g. strong ties, network stability, trust, reciprocity, shared vision and value. It categorizes these factors into structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions of social capital. Entrepreneurial orientation theory captures firms' managerial characteristics as a combination of innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking. This addresses firms' managerial process to utilize and combine internal and external resources for wealth creation and opportunity realization. Against this background, this study investigates what roles social capital among cooperating R&D partners and entrepreneurial orientation of the collaborating firms play for collective performance improvement in R&D collaborations. In terms of the collective performance, this study adopts two indicators: technological competitiveness and business performance. Technological competitiveness refers to the contribution of a technology developed by a cooperative R&D project to competitive advantage of a firm while business performance is defined as the financial and economic outcome of a collaboration. Using a sample of 218 Korean ventures engaging in R&D collaboration with external parties, the author finds the significant effects of social capital (i.e. structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions) and entrepreneurial orientation (i.e. innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk-taking) on both of the technological competitiveness and the business performance. Further, the higher the social capital among R&D partners, the more likely it is to foster the entrepreneurial orientation at firm-level. Most importantly, the entrepreneurial orientation at firm-level is an significant mediator of the relationship between social capital and collective performance. Beyond these novel empirical findings, this study contributes to the literature on R&D collaboration. The findings' implications for management and policy are deeply discussed in the conclusion.