• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.13-22
• /
• 2017

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the exposure levels of door-to-door deliverers to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Another objective was to confirm the general working patterns of door-to-door deliverers via survey. Methods: In the city of Daegu, ten door-to-door deliverers who wished to join the study were recruited. The general working characteristics of door-to-door deliverers were surveyed using self-reported questionnaires. In the cabin of each car driven by a deliverer, a real-time PM2.5 sampler (Sidepak, Model AM510, TSI Inc., MN, USA) and a GPS device (GPS 741, Ascen, Korea) were installed. Each deliverer was monitored for four days per week so that each day could be monitored at least four times. Results: A total of 40 measurements of PM2.5 concentrations were taken during delivery of parcels. The average exposure levels of door-to-door deliverers to PM2.5 was $44.62{\mu}g/m^3$ ($7-9443{\mu}g/m^3$. Exposure levels to PM2.5 according to the day of the week and coverage areas were not significantly different (p>0.05). Door-to-door deliverers using trucks with older diesel engines manufactured before 2006 had significantly higher exposure levels to PM2.5 than in the case of trucks with diesel engines manufactured after 2006 (p<0.05). Many of the door-to-door deliverers reported the status of having windows open during the delivery task. During delivery services, the working hours spent in residential areas were higher than on roadsides, but exposure levels to PM2.5 in residential areas and on roadsides were $46.17{\mu}g/m^3$ and $49.90{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. Real-time PM2.5 exposure levels were significantly different between roadways and residential areas (p<0.001). Conclusions: PM2.5 exposure levels of door-to-door deliverers were found to be affected by higher vehicle emissions from the roadsides near their vehicle during deliveries and while driving to other locations compared to by PM2.5 from the diesel engines of their own trucks. Particle concentrations from roadsides and emissions from nearby vehicles through open windows were the main source of PM2.5.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.12 no.7
• /
• pp.261-272
• /
• 2012

This study was conducted so as to examine which change tDCS (Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation) for improving working memory can make on the EEC of stroke patients. Among the patients who suffered for more than 6 months by hemiparalysis caused by stroke, 20 patients selected by MMSE and DST were randomly divided into I group (10 patients) fulfilled by only CCT and II group (10 patients) fulfilled by both tDCS and CCT for total 4 weeks, 30 minutes per a day, three times per a week. For examining EEC variation, the absolute spectrum power was calculated by three bands (${\theta}$; 4~8 Hz, lower ${\alpha}$; 8~10.5 Hz, upper ${\alpha}$;10.5~13 Hz) during the task of words, photos and mental calculation with EEC test, before the arbitration, after 2 weeks and after 4 weeks, so the rate of increase and decrease (%) for the reference EEC was obtained. As the results, the first, particular aspects different one another in three bands were detected according to the measuring period and task. The second, in the forth week, there was only a significant difference in lower ${\alpha}$-power of all tasks. Therefore, through the procedure measuring EEC of this study, the degree of working memory's damage can be expressed by numerical value and tDCS should be additionally helpful for brain damaged patients' perception rehabilitation.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.101-108
• /
• 2018

Background: Work and work environment have a critical influence on adolescent workers' health. They are subjected to more risks than adults. The aim of this study is to examine psychological health outcomes in adolescent workers in the areas of depression, somatization, anxiety, hostility, and negative self-concept, and to investigate any related factors. Methods: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. Research samples were collected from adolescent workers between 15 and 18 years old attending a 1-day mandatory education course at vocational training centers, working 5 days per week in small enterprises. Data were collected using the following instruments: Brief Symptom Inventory, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Descriptive Characteristics of Children's Assessment Form. Results: The investigation covers 837 young workers, of whom 675 were males and 162 were females. The majority of the families had low incomes (68.1%). Overall, 33.5% of the adolescents had been hospitalized because of health problems. Their average weekly working hours were $78.1{\pm}10.7$. Almost 50% of adolescent workers scored above the mean average in the Brief Symptom Inventory, indicating serious pschological health symptoms. Those who scored high for hostility, depression, negative self-concept, anxiety, and somatization were between 45.4% and 48.9% of the sample. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the underlying factors: a perception of "feeling very bad" health conditions was 2.07-fold whereas the rate of "no annual leave" was 0.73-fold, and both were found to be effective on psychological problems. Conclusion: In this study, it seems likely that psychological health problems are the result of multiple adverse factors including working conditions, annual leave, and health considerations.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
• /
• v.9 no.5
• /
• pp.93-104
• /
• 2018

Purpose - This study is to investigate the relationship among emotional intelligence, self-efficacy and job stress of foreign life insurance consultants focusing on the mediating effect of self-efficacy. Regarding job security, in general foreign life insurance companies in Korea have more severe working conditions in terms of required contract performance. For foreign life insurance consultants, they are assumed to need higher level of emotional intelligence and self efficacy to meet the conditions. In this study, focus is cast on these aspects. Research design, data, and methodology - Basically the research is conducted upon questionnaires responded by foreign life insurance consultants. That is, data are collected from 255 sample of insurance consultants who work for a foreign owned life insurance company. The Questionnaire measure the level of emotional intelligence, self-efficacy and job stress of insurance consultants. The data are analyzed using pearson's correlation coefficient and hierarchical multiple regression, descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Durbin-Watson test. Results - The general characteristics of respondents are gender, age, marital status, education level, income monthly, career length, change jobs no, working day per week, call no. per week, meeting no. with client per week, contract regularity, contract no. per month and cancellation contract per year. The mean of emotional intelligence is 2.63, self-efficacy is 3.44 and job stress is 2.20. Emotional intelligence is composed with mean value of self emotion appraisal(3.93), other's emotion appraisal(3.78), regulation of emotion(3.29) and use of emotion(3.52). The mean of self efficacy is composed with mean value of self-confidence(3.41), self-regulated efficacy(3.59) and preference task difficulty(3.30). The job stress is composed with mean value of job requirement(2.61), lack of job autonomy(1.99), conflict of personal relations(1.99), job instability(2.38), organizational system(2.19) and inappropriate compensation(2.07). There is a significant positive correlation between emotional intelligence and self-efficacy. The emotional intelligence and self-efficacy are significantly negative correlation with job stress. The self-efficacy is showed a mediating variable between emotional intelligence and job stress. Conclusions - To decrease job stress level, foreign life insurance company should find the factors to improve the emotional intelligence and self-efficacy of life insurance consultants, and develop appropriate plans using a mediating role of self- efficacy between emotional intelligence and job stress.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.46 no.sup1
• /
• pp.22-27
• /
• 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine the beneficial effects of a new cognitive intervention program designed for the care and prevention of dementia, namely Learning Therapy. The training program used systematized basic problems in arithmetic and Japanese language as training tasks. In study 1, 16 individuals in the experimental group and 16 in the control group were recruited from a nursing home. In both groups, all individuals were clinically diagnosed with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type. In study 2, we performed a single-blind, randomized controlled trial in our cognitive intervention program of 124 community-dwelling seniors. In both studies, the daily training program using reading and arithmetic tasks was carried out approximately 5 days a week, for 15 to 20 minutes a day in the intervention groups. Neuropsychological measures were determined simultaneously in the groups both prior to and after six months of the intervention. The results of our investigations indicate that our cognitive intervention using reading and arithmetic problems demonstrated a transfer effect and they provide convincing evidence that cognitive training maintains and improves the cognitive functions of dementia patients and healthy seniors.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.29-40
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study was to provide basic information for developing nutrition education programs for preschool children and their families. The subjects were 291 parents whose children went to daycare centers in Uiwang. The questionnaire contained 15 items for children's dietary habits and six items for parents' nutritional attitudes. The results of frequency analysis of children's dietary habits were as follows: 63.9% of children ate meals regularly, however breakfast (46.4%) was usually skipped; 44.0% of children ate a snack more than twice per day; 56.7% did not have late night meals; 49.5% ate out once to twice per week; 89.7% had dinner with family more than three times per week; and 43.6% had picky eating habits. The percentage of children who did not eat vegetables and seaweed was the highest among other food groups. Intake frequencies were low in fatty foods, instant foods, and fast foods. Some correlations were observed between picky eating habits and other dietary habits by cross-tabulation analysis. Intake frequency of non-picky eating children was lower for late night eating and fatty foods but higher for vegetables and seaweed compared to picky eating children. Parents answered that their nutritional knowledge level was normal (72.2%), and nutritional information was collected using the Internet (36.0%). Nutritional value was the most considered point in meal preparation of parents (43.3%), and the most difficult factor in child's diet management was lack of time due to working (36.1%). Parents cited method of creating a menu (27.0%) and table manners (25.3%) as topics of nutrition education by professionals. Therefore, various nutrition education programs need to be developed to improve healthy dietary habits for children and their families.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.57-70
• /
• 2022

In modern industrial capitalism, the relationship between the provision of work and the receipt of wages has become an important principle governing society. According to the labor contract, the wages provided by entrusting the right to dispose of one's labor to the employer are directly compensated, and human life should be guaranteed and reproduced with proper rest. The establishment of labor relations under free contracts represents a problem in protecting workers, and accordingly, the maximum of working hours is set as a minimum right for workers, and the standard for minimum rest is set and assigned. The reduction of working hours is very important in terms of the quality of life of workers, but it is also an important issue in efficient corporate activities. As of 2020, Korea has 1,908 hours of annual working hours, the third lowest among OECD 37 countries in the happiness index surveyed by the Sustainable Development Solution Network(SDSN), an agency under the United Nations. Accordingly, the necessity of reducing working hours has been recognized, and the maximum working hours per week has been limited to 52 hours since 2018. In this situation, various working hours are legally excluded as a way to maintain the company's value-added creation and meet the diverse needs of workers, and Korea's Labor Standards Act restricts flexible working hours within three months, flexible working hours exceeding three months, selective working hours, and extended working hours. However, in the discussion on the application of the revised flexible working hours system in 2021 and the expansion of the settlement unit period recently discussed, there is a problem with the flexible working hours system, which needs to be improved. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the problems of the flexible working hours system and improvement measures. The flexible working hours system is a system that does not violate working hours even if the legal working hours are exceeded on a specific day or week according to a predetermined standard, and does not have to pay additional wages for excessive overtime work. It is mainly useful as a form of shift work in manufacturing, sales service, continuous business or electricity, gas, water, and transportation for long-term operations. It is also used as a way to shorten working hours, such as expanding holidays through short working days. However, if the settlement unit period is expanded, it is disadvantageous to workers as the additional wages that workers can receive will not be received. Therefore, First, in order to expand the settlement unit period currently under discussion, additional wages should be paid for the period expanded from the current standard. Second, it is necessary to improve the application of the flexible working hours system to individual workers to have sufficient consultation with individual workers in a written agreement with the worker representative, Third, clarify the allowable time for extended work during the settlement unit period, and Fourth, limit the daily working hours or apply to continuous rest. In addition, since the written agreement of the worker representative is an important issue in the application of the flexible working hours system, it is necessary to secure the representation of the worker representative.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.26 no.9
• /
• pp.1013-1021
• /
• 2017

Exposure to Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) potentially causes adverse health effects (e.g. respiratory symptoms, lung cancer). Due to a lack of data on Elemental Carbon (EC) exposure levels in underground copper ore mining (unlike other underground mining industries such as non-metallic and coal mining), this case study aims to provide individual miners' EC exposure levels, and information on their work practices including use of personal protective equipment. EC measurement was carried out during different work activities (i.e. drilling, driving a loader, plant fitting, plant operation, driving a Specialized Mining Vehicle (SMV)) as per NIOSH Method 5040. The copper miners were working 10 h/day and 5 days/week. This study found that the most significant exposures to EC were reported from driving a loader (range $0.02-0.42mg/m^3$). Even though there were control systems (i.e. water tanks and DPM filters) on the diesel vehicles, around 49.5% of the results were over the adjusted recommendable exposure limit ($0.078mg/m^3$). This was probably due to: (1) driver's frequently getting in and out of the diesel vehicles and opening the windows of the diesel vehicles, and (2) inappropriate maintenance of the diesel vehicles and the DPM control systems. The use of the P2 type respirator provided was less than 19.2%. However, there was no significant difference between the day shift results and the night shift results. In order to prevent or minimize exposure to EC in the copper ore mine, it is recommended that the miners are educated in the need to wear the appropriate respirator provided during their work shifts, and to maintain the diesel engine and emission control systems on a regular basis. Consideration should be given to a specific examination of the diesel vehicles' air-conditioning filters and the air ventilation system to control excessive airborne contaminants in the underground copper mine.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.21 no.1 s.23
• /
• pp.113-120
• /
• 1988

A total of 181 cases of industrial ocular injuries hospitalized and treated at the St. Mary's Hospital, Seoul during the 5-year period was studied on their epidemiological characteristics. Of these patients 96.7% were males, and 43.6% were in twenties, 49.7% of the cases were injured on left eyes. There were no statistically significant differences in frequencies of study subjects by day of the week and month of the year. Most common injury hour were between 10- <12 AM(13.6%) and between 2- <4 PM(20%). Of the total 101 cases, 37.6% were working less than 6 months, and 73.7%, less than 2 years. Of the total, 42.3% were involved in machinary work and 13.9%, in construction work. According to the American National Standard Method of recording basic facts relating to the nature and occurrence of work injuries, 62%, among all source of injuries was metal item and the most common accident type was struck by flying objects(76.2%). Among 181 cases, only 2 cases were wearing protective equipment when the accidents occurred.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.1-18
• /
• 2022

This study was conducted to estimate the appropriate workforce of dietitians by type of kindergarten through the recognition survey and job analysis of the kindergarten. Nutritionists' duties were classified into 6 duties, 28 tasks and 94 task elements. The statistical data analysis was completed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (ver. 25.0). The time spent on 6 duties, including 'Nutrition management' (public attached 666.24 hours/year, public independent 843.04 hours/year), 'Foodservice management Practices' (public attached 1,472.52 hours/year, public independent 1,298.11 hours/year), 'Hygiene management of kindergarten foodservice' (public attached 611.78 hours/year, public independent 607.18 hours/year), 'Nutrition-diet education and counseling' (public attached 340.53 hours/year, public independent 253.42 hours/year), 'Managing snack during semesters and lunch/snacks during breaks' (public independent 309.04 hours/year) and 'Professionalism enhancement' (public attached 88.86 hours/year; public independent 65.17 hours/year). Total working hours for dietitians were 3,179.94 hours/year (public attached) and 3,375.97 hours/year (public independent). The time/day ×5 days/week ×52 weeks/year calculation method using derived total working hours/year was applied to derive appropriate full-time equivalents (FTEs). The analysis showed that the public attached kindergarten's FTEs were 1.53. The public independent's FTEs were 1.62, and the total FTEs were 1.55. This is the first study to analyze the workload of kindergarten dietitians and appropriate manpower by kindergarten establishment type. It is expected to be a valuable policy basis for efficient operation measures related to the kindergarten dietitians.