• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.281-289
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• 2021

Commercially used disposable cups undergo fragmentation in the environment and become microplastics (MPs). These MPs can be ingested by aquatic organisms and cause a range of adverse effects. We assessed the acute and chronic toxicity of disposable cup-derived MP fragments in Daphnia magna. MP fragments were identified as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fragment with a size of 33.18 ± 7.76 ㎛. The presence of three additives including 1- Propanone. 1-phenyl-3-[2-(phenylmethoxy)phenyl]-, p-Xylene and ethylbenzene was analyzed from MP fragments. The 48 h acute toxicity revealed that 20 % of immobilization and mortality were found at the highest concentration of PET MP (200 mg L^-1). The 21 d chronic toxicity revealed that PET MP fragments significantly (p < 0.05) more reduced survival rate (31 %), total offspring (52 %) in D. magna compared with control group. The developmental abnormality of offspring (3.5%) by PET MP fragments was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than control groups (0.3%). These results are possibly induced by gut blocking by ingestion of MP fragments and their longer retention time. These findings indicate that the fragmentation of disposable cups (PET polymers) into small-sized MP fragments pose a significant ecological risk to aquatic organisms. Further studies are required to elucidate the underlying toxicity mechanisms.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.265-270
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to suggest ways to reduce plastic use, one of the main culprits of environmental pollution around the world. Recently, the use of disposable cups at a domestic cafe has not been effective due to growing the number of stores and cafe in various brands. Cafes recommend the use of tumblers as a solution to the problem, but actual there are not many users in cafe. I need to investigate the problems of tumbler use and individual opinions through the first phase is FGI (Focus Group Interview). In the second phase, I investigate similar services, which are currently implemented in domestic and overseas, as a case study. The results showed that although similar services are offered in domestic, the focus is on tumbler sharing, which is somewhat insufficient for convenience provided when using cafes. Through this study, I hope to provide convenience and voluntary environmental protection by proposing a plan to activate Tumbler sharing services for cafe and users.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.31-49
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• 2023

Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, self-service technology is widely used in Korea, and demand for disposable cups is increasing significantly. Waste and recycling of disposable cups have become a social concern for Koreans and Korea implemented the "Disposable Cup Deposit Systems" again in December 2022. Whether the emergence of this system can change the way people behave in environmental protection is a question to be examined in this study. Companies participating in the disposable cup deposit system are hoping that customers will actively recover cups through self-service in the process of collecting disposable cups. The government, along with businesses, transfers recovery work to customers through self-service technologies and schemes. Due to the increase in Shadow Work and the strengthening of consumer environmental protection consciousness, this paper focuses on how unmanned service types such as self-service technology can affect people's environmental protection behavior. An empirical analysis with 477 samples examined how the characteristics of shadow work, perceived efficacy, environmental awareness, and ecological guilt affect user's environmental protection behavior. Perceived efficacy that acts as a mediator and ecological guilt that plays as a moderator are investigated. Although there have been many studies on the effects of shadow work on customer behavioral intentions before, it has been very rare to study the effects of shadow work perceived by people on environmental behavioral intentions from an environmental protection perspective. This study shows that the higher the perceived efficacy of consumers, the more people prefer self-service technology and the stronger the environmental protection behavior. Also, consumers' ecological guilt significantly moderates the relationship between environmental consciousness and eco-friendly behavior. It is expected that companies and governments will be able to understand the impact of shadow work on consumers' environmental protection behavior and further promote environmental protection by appropriate policies and marketing strategies.