• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.166-178
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• 2024

Objectives: The 12 occupational exposure limits(OELs) for chromium and its compounds in Korea were set by applying the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLVs). However, this is significantly different from the TLVs after the existing TLVs were integrated and withdrawn in 2018, so it is necessary to review the revision. Methods: Various documents related to chromium OELs were reviewed, including the ACGIH TLV Documentations for chromium and its compounds. A field survey was conducted targeting workplaces handling chromium and its compounds. Based on this, a revised OELs were proposed and a socio-economic evaluation was conducted. Results: The OELs for chromium compounds in Korea was first enacted in 2002, and in 2007, the OELs for chromium (hexavalent) compounds (insoluble) was lowered from 0.05 mg/m³ to 0.01 mg/m³. In 2008, the OELs for strontium chromate was newly established as 0.0005 mg/m³, and in 2018, the OELs for calcium chromate was newly established as 0.001 mg/m³. Total chromium and hexavalent chromium were measured for each of 6 samples at 2 welding sites, 4 plating sites, and 2 spray coating sites. When omparing the average of the results measured by ICP, a total chromium analysis method, and the analysis results by IC, a hexavalent chromium analysis method, only workplace 4 was the same, and total chromium was evaluated more, and total chromium was evaluated at 0.0004 to 0.0027 mg/m³. And hexavalent chromium was evaluated as non-detection ~ 0.0014 mg/m³. Amendment ①: The exposure standard for hexavalent chromium is not divided into water soluble, insoluble, chromium ore processing, and other hexavalent chromium compounds, and is integrated into 0.01 mg/m³, which is the level of chromium (hexavalent) compound (insoluble)., OELs for chromium (metal) and chromium (trivalent) compounds are integrated into chromium (trivalent) compounds, and the exposure level is maintained. Amendment ②: As in the amendment ①, the OELs are integrated, but the level is lowered to 0.005 mg/m³, which is the OELs of OSHA, and there is a grace period of 4 years. Amendment ③: As in the amendment ①, the OELs are integrated, but the level is lowered to 0.0002 mg/m³, which is the exposure standard of ACGIH, and there is a grace period of 5 years. Conclusions: Amendment ①: The change in the OELs is insignificant, so the cost required is small, and the benefit/cost ratio is greater than 1, so there is no problem in applying the amendment. Amendment ②: In all scenarios except chromium 6(insoluble), the benefit/cost ratio is greater than 1, so it is thought that there will be no major problem in applying the amendment. Amendment ③: Since the benefit/cost ratio is less than 1 in all scenarios, it is thought that the total social benefit that can be obtained when applying the amendment is not large.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.11-25
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to compare the child care time, as well as the perceptions of and satisfaction with the time use, of fathers and mothers in dual-income families with preschool children. 444 time use data were gathered from the Statistics Korea Life Time Surveys in 2019. The results of this study are as follows. First, the total child care time of the two parents per family on a working day was 72.1 min on average, and more time was spent on primary care than on developmental care. Second, the father's child care time on a working day was 40.8 min on average, and the mother's time, almost three times more-110.3 min, which show a significant difference. By type of care, the mother's care time was about three times more than that of father for primary care, and about two times more for developmental care. Third, the mother's primary care time differed by household income level, and the primary care time of both fathers and mothers differed according to the number of their working hours weekly. Fourth, both fathers and mothers felt somewhat tired and had a time deficit, but mothers were less satisfied than fathers with the division of household tasks between them. To encourage fathers' voluntary participation in child care, they must be informed of their joint responsibility with their spouse as parents must be emphasized under the term "co-parenting." It is necessary to expand systems that support parental care and promote a family-friendly culture in workplaces to guarantee the rights of parents.

• Journal of Service Research and Studies
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.102-130
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• 2024

The accelerated pace of change in the business environment and the advent of new information and communication technologies since the onset of the pandemic have had a profound impact on the way in which work is conducted. These developments are also affecting the nature of secretarial roles, with the adoption of digital workplaces rendering online-based work that transcends physical time and space the norm. The role of the secretary is also undergoing a transformation, with the capacity to utilize digital technology and communicate in person emerging as crucial competencies. The objective of this study is to provide an exploratory account of the evolving work environment and the newly required competencies of secretaries in the digital workplace. The research methodology comprised in-depth interviews with current assistants, the objective of which was to explore the cultural, spatial, technological, and workplace changes and the new competencies required. The study revealed that the role of secretaries in the digital workplace is undergoing a significant transformation. This is characterised by a decline in traditional face-to-face work, an increased reliance on digital platforms, and the digitisation of information management. The competencies deemed essential for success in this evolving environment include digital literacy, proficiency in text-based communication, the ability to maintain a consistent attitude towards online and offline work, and the capacity to adapt to new situations. The findings of this study contribute to the academic understanding of the digital workplace for secretaries and provide a useful basis for the development of practical secretarial education and career development programs. Furthermore, this study aims to provide a more comprehensive examination of secretarial work in the digital workplace and to identify areas where secretaries may require additional support.

• Journal of Practical Engineering Education
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.553-566
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• 2024

The core of this study is to review South Korea's individual-driven training scheme, identify factors hindering elderly participation, and derive implications to support their retention and participation of the elderly in the labor market. This study focuses on population aging, examining the National Lifelong Learning Card system and the current employment insurance scheme, both initiatives of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, to assess the status and issues surrounding elderly participation in vocational training. Based on this analysis, the study seeks to derive policy measures and academic significance to promote elderly participation in vocational training. Based on this analysis, the study aims to derive policy measures and academic significance to promote the participation of older adults in vocational training. The findings emphasized the importance of employment retention for elderly and highlighted the need for vocational training tailored to the specific characteristics of each individual, along with the necessity for professional life-career consulting. Based on these findings, the study proposed recommendations to promote self-directed training among elderly, including enhancing the diversity of vocational training to meet individuals' varied needs, implementing lifelong vocational training programs from a life-cycle perspective, creating age-friendly workplaces at the national level, encouraging individual-driven training participation for the self-realization of elderly, and strengthening the linkage between employment counseling and vocational training for elderly.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.253-260
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• 2024

This study aims to analyze the key legal issues of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA), which came into effect on 2022, in South Korea, and to propose practical occupational safety and health management strategies for business executives. The SAPA was introduced to prevent serious industrial accidents and protect workers' lives and safety. However, its effectiveness has been controversial due to the ambiguity of the law and uncertainty in its application. The study first provides an overview of the SAPA's main provisions and analyzes legal issues focusing on the punishment of business executives and the punitive damages system. Key issues identified include the ambiguity of "safety and health obligations," difficulties in proving causality, and unclear criteria for determining intent or gross negligence. Recent cases of serious accidents are examined to illustrate practical challenges in applying the law. Furthermore, the study compares the punitive damages system under the SAPA with that of the Product Liability Act and similar systems in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. This comparative analysis highlights the characteristics and problems of the Korean system, such as the unclear punitive nature, controversy over excessive compensation, and potential for abuse of litigation. Finally, the study proposes practical occupational safety and health management strategies for business executives to effectively respond to the SAPA and create safer workplaces. Key strategies include establishing a safety and health management system, conducting risk assessments, implementing safety education, managing subcontractor safety, and investing in safety and health.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.31 no.1 s.60
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• pp.112-126
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• 1998

To investigate the effectiveness of the interventions in working environment and personal hygiene for the occupational exposure to the lead, the blood zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) concentrations of 131 workers (100 exposed subjects and 31 controls) of a newly established battery factory were analyzed. They were measured in every 3 months up to 18 months. Ai. lead concentration (Pb-A) of the workplaces was also checked for 3 times in 6 months interval from August 1987. Environmental intervention included the local exhaust ventilation and vacuum cleaning of the floor. Intervention of the personal hygiene included the daily change of clothes, compulsory shower after work and hand washing before meal, prohibition of cigarette smoking and food consumption at the work site and wearing mask. Mean blood ZPP concentration of the controls was $16.45{\pm}4.83{\mu}g/d\ell$ at the preemployment examination and slightly increased to $17.77{\pm}5.59{\mu}g/d\ell$ after 6 months. Mean blood ZPP concentration of the exposed subjects who were employed before the factory was in operation (Group A) was $17.36{\pm}5.20{\mu}g/d\ell$ on employment and it was increased to $23.00{\pm}13.06{\mu}g/d\ell$ after 3 months. The blood ZPP concentration was increased to $27.25{\pm}6.40{\mu}g/d\ell$ on 6 months (p<0.01) after the employment which was 1 month after the initiation of intervention program. It did not increase thereafter and ranged between $25.48{\mu}g/d\ell$ and $26.61{\mu}g/d\ell$ in the subsequent 4 results. Mean blood ZPP concentration of the exposed subjects who were employed after the factory had been in operation but before the intervention program was initiated (Group B) was $14.34{\pm}6.10{\mu}g/d\ell$ on employment and it was increased to $28.97{\pm}7.14{\mu}g/d\ell$ (p<0.01) in 3 months later(1 month after the intervention). The values of subsequent 4 tests were maintained between $26.96{\mu}g/d\ell$and $27.96{\mu}g/d\ell$. Mean blood ZPP concentration of the exposed subjects who were employed after intervention program had been started (Group C) was$21.34{\pm}5.25{\mu}g/d\ell$ on employment and it was gradually increased to $23.37{\pm}3.86{\mu}g/d\ell$ (p<0.01) after 3 months, $23.93{\pm}3.64{\mu}g/d\ell$ after 6 months, $25.50{\pm}3.01{\mu}g/d\ell$ after 9 months, and $25.50{\pm}3.10{\mu}g/d\ell$ after 12 months. Workplaces were classified into 4 parts according to Pb-A. The Pb-A of part I, the highest areas, were $0.365mg/m^3$, and after the intervention the levels were decreased to $0.216mg/m^3$ and$0.208mg/m^3$ in follow-up test. The Pb-A of part II which was resulted in lowe. value than part I was decreased from $0.232mg/m^3$ to $0.148mg/m^3$, and $0.120mg/m^3$ after the intervention. The Pb-A of part III was tested after the intervention and resulted in $0.124mg/m^3$ in January 1988 and $0.181mg/m^3$ in August 1988. The Pb-A of part IV was also tested after the intervention and resulted in $0.110mg/m^3$ in August 1988. There was no consistent relationship between Pb-A and blood ZPP concentration. The blood ZPP concentration of the group A and B workers in the part of the highest Pb-A were lower than those of the workers in the parts of lower Pb-A. The blood ZPP concentration of the workers in the part of the lowest Pb-A increased more rapidly. The blood ZPP concentration of the group C workers was the highest in part III. These findings suggest that the intervention in personal hygiene is more effective than environmental intervention, and it should be carried out from the first day of employment and to both the exposed subjects, blue color workers and the controls, white color workers.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.105-124
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• 2008

The purpose of this research is to provide the data base for the activation of Quality Improvement operation through investigating the status of Quality Improvement operation, and finding out factors influencing on the goal-orientation of QI performers in the medical centers of more than one hundred beds where are practicing Quality Improvement operation. In order to reach the purpose, document study was carried out grounded on the proceeding researches and formulated statistical data in relation with the status of Quality Improvement performers, and proof study was carried out through questionnaire survey. The subjects of the survey were the Quality Improvement performers working in seventy three medical centers in Pusan-Gyeongnam, Daegu-Gyeongbuk, and Ulsan. Among eighty three Quality Improvement performers, fifty, five were questionnaire surveyed, on the result of which Reliability Analysis, Factor Analysis, and Multiple Regression Analysis were made, using statistical program. The the results of the proof analysis on this research are as follows. First, in the factors influencing the devoting to goal pursuit of QI performers, organization-goal contribution(0.44) had significant positive effects, while organization conflict(-0.25) had significant negative effects. In other words, the higher the organization-goal contribution was, the higher the devoting to goal pursuit was, while the less the organization conflict was, the higher the devoting to goal pursuit was, which was statistically significant.(p<0.05). Second, in the aspect of goal performance types of QI performers, the process-centered type showed high level of the devoting to goal pursuit, which was statistically significant.(p<0.05). Third, in the aspect of QI performance degree, the higher the devoting to goal pursuit was, the higher the QI performance degree was, which was statistically significant.(p<0.05). In addition, the performers who perceived their workplaces organic structure showed much higher QI performance degree, which statistically significant.(p<0.05). Generalizing the results of this research, it is possible to offer a few suggestions as follows. First, as the competition among the medical centers is more severe recently owing to medical center evaluation system, medical centers are practicing various Quality Improvement operation in all of medical services such as clinical performance and management performance, to reach the purpose of both cost-cutting and medical quality improvement. Thus in order to practice Quality Improvement operation more efficiently in medical centers, it is essential to nuke use of problem-solving methods and statistical members. This as the willingness of chief executives and positive attitude and recognition of organization members. This requires the installation of divisions in charge and disposition of persons in charge, not to speak of persistent training of Quality Improvement. Second, the divisions in charge of QI carry out Quality Improvement operation at the medical center level, and take the role of generalizing and adjusting QI performances of various departments. Owing to this role, the division in charge of QI is considered indispensable organization in the QI operation of medical centers along with medical QI committee, while it contributes to the government's goal of reducing quality level gaps among medical centers. Therefore it is necessary for government and QI organizations to give institutional support and resources for the sake of QI operation of medical centers, besides to supply systematic trainning and informations to the divisions and persons in charge of QI. Third, it is certain that disposition of persons in charge should be determined in view of the scale and the scope of QI operation in medical centers.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.109-129
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• 1994

Chronic health problems has become a major concern and challenge to the health care professionals today. Especially hypertension, one of the leading primary cause of death in Korea, is a typical chronic disease requiring adequate and continuous management. Though these hypertensives need to maintain desirable health practice by themselves for their life time, many previous studies indicated that most of the essential hypertensives have no specific symptoms and thus, reluctant to follow appropriate medical regimens causing the condition further aggravated and complicated. Self-care is an essential factor that keeps chronic patients in control of their health and wellness. Thus this study was conducted to identify the effect of the comprehensive self-regulation program as a nursing intervention on the promotion self-care performance and improvement in physical parameters of hypertensives. For this purpose, a one group quasi-experimental research with pre and post test design was used. The subjects of the study was consisted of thirty persons with mild or moderate essential hypertension from two companies in Cheong-ju city. The whole program was carried out from October, 1993 to February, 1994. The self-regulation program was consisted with group education on hypertension and self-care, self-regulation including the blood pressure self-monitoring and recording, recording of daily self-care activities, and encouraging and reinforcing self-efficacy through verbal persuation and enactive attainment. The subjects were asked to measure their own blood pressure by themselves twice per day and to record blood pressure and the daily self-care performance according to the instructions provided during the whole period of 9 weeks. The instruments used for data collection in this study were as follows : 1) Instruments used for measuring the knowledge about hypertension, multiple health locus of control, and perceived benifits and barriers were adapted from previous studies and modified by author to be fit for the subjects. 2) Self-efficacy scale and self-care performance record were developed by the author. 3) Physiological parameters included systolic / diastolic blood pressure, body weight, level of blood cholesterol, and 24hour ambulatory blood pressure. The post-experimental Cronbach's Alpha as the reliability test of scales were 0.703-0.897, an appropriate level of confidence. The effect of the program was analyzed by experimental stages ; the first week, the fifth week, and the ninth week since the experimental imput began. Data were analyzed by the SPSS PC+ program with paired t-test and t-test, repeated measure ANOVA, and pearson's correlation to de termine the effect of program. The results were as follows : 1) After the self-regulation program, scores on knowledge(t=-2.41, p=.011), perceived self-efficacy (F=5.60, p=.001), self-care performance(F=22.31, p=.0001) were significantly higher than those before the program. 2) After the program, both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly lower than those before the program(F=10.89 -13.11, p=.0001). However in 24hour ambulatory blood pressure, systolic mean pressure was nearly significantly lower, but not in diastolic mean pressure. 3) After the program, the body weight was significant decresed(t=5.53, p=.0001), but the blood cholesterol level was not decreased significantly except in those cases with higher cholesterol level. 4) There were significant relationships between changes in self-care performance and diastolic pressure at 1st week (r=.3389, p=.033) and changes in self-care performance and systolic pressure at 9th week(r=.3651, p=.024). 5) There were significant relationship between perceived self-efficacy and self-care performance at 5th week(r=.5313, p=.001) and 9th week (r=.3026, p=.052). 6) After the program, internal health locus of control and perceived benefits did not show significant change, but perceived barriers was significantly lower than those before the program (t=3.57, p=.0001). From the above results, it can be concluded that 1) The self-regulation program is an effective nursing strategy to promote self-care performance of hypertensives and to lower the blood pressure. Thus this program can be recommended in the management of the hypertensives in workplaces and community settings. 2) The synthesis of Orem's self-care theory and Bandura's self-regulation & self-efficacy theory in this study was proved to enhance explanation and prediction of the change of self-care behavior. Thus the result of the study would contribute in development of the self-care theory and an expansion of practice-theory.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.31-50
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• 2014

The ubiquitous accessibility of information through mobile devices has led to an increased mobility of workers from their fixed workplaces. Market researchers estimate that by 2016, 350 million workers will be using their smartphones for business purposes, and the use of smartphones will offer new business benefits. Enterprises are now adopting mobile technologies for numerous applications to increase their operational efficiency, improve their responsiveness and competitiveness, and cultivate their innovativeness. For these reasons, various organizational aspects concerning "mobile work" have received a great deal of recent attention. Moreover, many CIOs plan to allocate a considerable amount of their budgets mobile work environments. In particular, with the consumerization of information technology, enterprise mobile applications (EMA) have played a significant role in the explosive growth of mobile computing in the workplace, and even in improving sales for firms in this field. EMA can be defined as mobile technologies and role-based applications, as companies design them for specific roles and functions in organizations. Technically, EMA can be defined as business enterprise systems, including critical business functions that enable users to access enterprise systems via wireless mobile devices, such as smartphones or tablets. Specifically, EMA enables employees to have greater access to real-time information, and provides them with simple features and functionalities that are easy for them to complete specific tasks. While the impact of EMA on organizational workers' productivity has been given considerable attention in various literatures, relatively little research effort has been made to examine how EMA actually lead to users' job performance. In particular, we have a limited understanding of what the key antecedents are of such an EMA usage outcome. In this paper, we focus on employees' perceived job performance as the outcome of EMA use, which indicates the successful role of EMA with regard to employees' tasks. Thus, to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship among EMA, its environment, and employees' perceived job performance, we develop a comprehensive model that considers the perceived-fit between EMA and employees' tasks, satisfaction on EMA, and the organizational environment. With this model, we try to examine EMA to explain how job performance through EMA is revealed from both the task-technology fit for EMA and satisfaction on EMA, while also considering the antecedent factors for these constructs. The objectives of this study are to address the following research questions: (1) How can employees successfully manage EMA in order to enhance their perceived job performance? (2) What internal and/or external factors are important antecedents in increasing EMA users' satisfaction on MES and task-technology fit for EMA? (3) What are the impacts of organizational (e.g. organizational agility), and task-related antecedents (e.g., task mobility) on task-technology fit for EMA? (4) What are the impacts of internal (e.g., self-efficacy) and external antecedents (e.g., system reputation) for the habitual use of EMA? Based on a survey from 254 actual employees who use EMA in their workplace across industries, our results indicate that task-technology fit for EMA and satisfaction on EMA are positively associated with job performance. We also identify task mobility, organizational agility, and system accessibility that are found to be positively associated with task-technology fit for EMA. Further, we find that external factor, such as the reputation of EMA, and internal factor, such as self-efficacy for EMA that are found to be positively associated with the satisfaction of EMA. The present findings enable researchers and practitioners to understand the role of EMA, which facilitates organizational workers' efficient work processes, as well as the importance of task-technology fit for EMA. Our model provides a new set of antecedents and consequence variables for a TAM involving mobile applications. The research model also provides empirical evidence that EMA are important mobile services that positively influence individuals' performance. Our findings suggest that perceived organizational agility and task mobility do have a significant influence on task-technology fit for EMA usage through positive beliefs about EMA, that self-efficacy and system reputation can also influence individuals' satisfaction on EMA, and that these factors are important contingent factors for the impact of system satisfaction and perceived job performance. Our findings can help managers gauge the impact of EMA in terms of its contribution to job performance. Our results provide an explanation as to why many firms have recently adopted EMA for efficient business processes and productivity support. Our findings additionally suggest that the cognitive fit between task and technology can be an important requirement for the productivity support of EMA. Further, our study findings can help managers in formulating their strategies and building organizational culture that can affect employees perceived job performance. Managers, thus, can tailor their dependence on EMA as high or low, depending on their task's characteristics, to maximize the job performance in the workplace. Overall, this study strengthens our knowledge regarding the impact of mobile applications in organizational contexts, technology acceptance and the role of task characteristics. To conclude, we hope that our research inspires future studies exploring digital productivity in the workplace and/or taking the role of EMA into account for employee job performance.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.368-374
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to evaluate community dental hygiene practice education, by verifying its effect after applying project-based learning in improving the practical and social skills of learners. A 15-week project-based community dental hygiene practice course was held for 27 senior students, who took community dental hygiene practice course in the Department of Dental Hygiene, Gangneung-Wonju National University. Twenty-seven students were composed of 4 teams. Each team selected a target group for four workplaces for adult workers to apply the oral health promotion project. The project was then planned and conducted based on a survey on the health problems confronting each group, and an evaluation was carried out after 4 weeks. From the results obtained in comparing confidence in problem solving ability, project value, teamwork competency, and community dental hygienist competence before and after course, the improvement in project value and teamwork competence scores was not statistically significant, but all four areas showed positive results. After analyzing the project actuality, learning outcomes, and project satisfaction after course results, the actuality of the project was 19.30 points, the learning achievement was 45.19 points, and the satisfaction was 19.19 points, demonstrating that the aim of achieving actual performance competence and a learning performance exceeding expectations was accomplished. After conducting an interview survey with 8 students, it was found that they had learned social skills involving problem-solving abilities and confidence, and teamwork competence such as cooperation, role responsibility, creative thinking ability, and communication skills. Community dental hygienists should be able to acquire learner-level practical skills and social skills in the community dental hygiene and practical courses, according to their competencies and job needs. It is necessary to develop a project?based systematic learning module to enable the community dental hygiene practice to operate as a subject closely related to fields in other dental hygiene departments.