• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.46-55
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• 2015

Background: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are often the main pillar of an economy. Minor accidents, ergonomics problems, old and outdated machinery, and lack of awareness have created a need for implementation of safety practices in SMEs. Implementation of healthy working conditions creates positive impacts on economic and social development. Methods: In this study, a questionnaire was developed and administered to 30 randomly chosen SMEs in and around Mumbai, Maharashtra, and other states in India to evaluate safety practices implemented in their facilities. The study also looked into the barriers and drivers for technology innovation and suggestions were also received from the respondent SMEs for best practices on safety issues. Results: In some SMEs, risks associated with safety issues were increased whereas risks were decreased in others. Safety management practices are inadequate in most SMEs. Market competitiveness, better efficiency, less risk, and stringent laws were found to be most significant drivers; and financial constraints, lack of awareness, resistance to change, and lack of training for employees were found to be main barriers. Conclusion: Competition between SMEs was found to be major reason for implementation of safety practices in the SMEs. The major contribution of the study has been awareness building on safety issues in the SMEs that participated in the project.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.371-377
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• 2017

Background: Social status might be a determinant of occupational health inequalities. This study analyzed the effects of social status on both work environments and health outcomes. Methods: The study sample consisted of 27,598 wage employees aged 15 years and older from among the Korean Working Condition Survey participants in 2011. Work environments included atypical work, physical risks, ergonomic risks, work demands, work autonomy, social supports, and job rewards. Health outcomes comprised general health, health and safety at risk because of work, the World Health Organization-5 Well-being Index, work-related musculoskeletal disease, and work-related injury. Multivariable logistic-regression models were used to identify the associations between social status and work environments and health outcomes. Results: Employees in the demographically vulnerable group had lower occupational status compared with their counterparts. Low social status was largely related to adverse work environments. Especially, precarious employment and manual labor occupation were associated with both adverse work environments and poor health outcomes. Conclusion: Precarious and manual workers should take precedence in occupational health equity policies and interventions. Their cumulative vulnerability, which is connected to demographics, occupational status, adverse work environments, or poor health outcomes, can be improved through a multilevel approach such as labor market, organizations, and individual goals.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제6권4호
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• pp.338-344
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• 2015

Background: The present study aims to investigate job stressors and stress relievers for Korean emotional laborers, specifically focusing on the effects of work conditions and emotional labor properties. Emotional laborers are asked to hide or distort their real emotions in their interaction with clients. They are exposed to high levels of stress in the emotional labor process, which leads to serious mental health risks including burnout, depression, and even suicide impulse. Exploring job stressors and relieving factors would be the first step in seeking alternatives to protect emotional laborers from those mental health risks. Methods: Using the third wave data of Korean Working Conditions Survey, logistic regression analysis was conducted for two purposes: to examine the relations of emotional labor and stress, and to find out job stressors and relievers for emotional laborers. Results: The chances of stress arousal are 3.5 times higher for emotional laborers; emotional laborers experience double risk-burden for stress arousal. In addition to general job stressors, emotional laborers need to bear burdens related to emotional labor properties. The effect of social support at the workplace is not significant for stress relief, unlike common assumptions, whereas subjective satisfaction (wage satisfaction and work-life balance) is proven to have relieving effects on emotional laborers' job stress. Conclusion: From the results, the importance of a balanced understanding of emotional labor for establishing effective policies for emotional laborer protection is stressed.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• 제6권4호
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• pp.124-130
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• 2018

Proper management and prevention of dysphagia are urgently needed in acute care of stroke patients in Korea. However, no highly sensitive and accessible nurse-led screening tools have been validated within the Korean settings. The purpose of this study was to validate a screening tool led by nurses to identify dysphagia and aspiration risks among acute stroke patients. Registered nurses (RNs) screened 131 residents from a university hospital in South Korea using the Korean version of the Standardized Swallowing Assessment (K-SSA). Results were validated against those from the Gugging Swallowing Screen (GUSS). Compared to results from the GUSS, with 9- and 14-point cutoffs, the K-SSA had a sensitivity of 0.80 and specificity of 0.90 [95% CI 0.806, 0.992] for screening dysphagia and 1.00 sensitivity and 0.94 specificity [95% CI 0.862, 1.000] for screening aspiration risks. The K-SSA demonstrated excellent sensitivity and specificity for screening individuals at risk of dysphagia and aspiration when led by RNs for acute stroke patients.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.385-396
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• 2020

Teachers are facing various job demands with psychosocial aspects being fundamental due to the nature of the occupation. Although teachers' work is associated with different psychosocial health risks, little is known on how to identify and tackle those. Thus, a systematic literature search as per the PRISMA statement was conducted via MEDLINE (PubMed), PSYNDEX (PubPsych), and ScienceDirect. Two reviewers independently screened 2261 titles and abstracts and 169 full-texts. According to the inclusion criteria established a priori, articles from peer-reviewed journals (English or German) on psychosocial risk management in teachers were incorporated. Despite a comprehensive and sensitive search, only four publications could be identified, outlining a process to implement risk management and different assessment tools. Taken together, data presented in the articles were scarce. Recommendations for process steps and the assessment of psychosocial risks can be derived from the findings. To implement effective psychosocial risk management in the teaching profession, further research is needed, though. Effective and practicable approaches, which are accepted by the target group, should be further developed and investigated. Relevant causes of occupational strain in the teaching profession must be identified and assessed reliably. Low-threshold interventions should be implemented, and the outcome must be evaluated afterward.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제15권1호
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• pp.118-122
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• 2024

To understand biosafety's current situation in laboratory animal research and risk factors affecting occupational health. Compliance surveys were conducted by questionnaire via Questionnaire Star (an application app on the Internet) in Chinese. Thirty-nine anonymous questionnaires were collected. The surveyed institution has established 24 types of ABSL (Animal Biosafety Laboratory) and biosafety management organizations and systems equipped with safety equipment. Our study also suggests that the principal of the laboratory establishment fails to perform supervision and inspection responsibilities, the inappropriate design of the animal biosafety laboratory, non-standardized personnel training and health management, non-strict waste management, and insufficient emergency management. The administrative department and work units should address certain safety and occupational health risks in laboratory animal research. The author proposes control strategies based on organizational guarantee, personnel management, emergency management, etc., to help prevent risks and ensure occupational health. Due to regional limitations and small sample size, the results may not be generalisable to all parts of the world. However, some of the key common issuesmay also be present in other regions, sowe believe that this research still has some relevance.

• 한국전자거래학회지
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.241-256
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• 2015

기업의 정보 보안을 보장하기 위해, 많은 정부가 다양한 보안 관련 대책을 의무화해오고 있다. 하지만 이러한 보안 대책의 실행에 앞서, 이의 잠재적 효과성을 분석하는 연구는 부족한 실정이다. 본 연구는 안전벨트의 착용 법제화가 자동차 사고 사망자 감소에 미치는 효과에 대한 연구를 응용하여, 정부의 다양한 보안 대책의 사전 효과성 평가가 가능한 모형을 개발하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 또한, 인터넷 진흥원의 정보보호실태조사(기업편) 데이터를 개발된 모형에 적용하여 어떠한 보안대책의 법제화가 사회 및 산업 전반의 보안위험을 줄이는데 효과적인지 사전평가를 시행하였다. 그 결과 보안교육의 법제화가 다른 보안대책에 비해 효과적임을 확인하였다.

• 무역상무연구
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• 제50권
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• pp.215-250
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• 2011

Korean won overseas construction projects worth 71.6 billion US Dollars in 2010, which exceeded that of 2009 by 45.6%. An overseas construction project is a transaction of large scale, long term project, many parties participating, deferred payment, and of high-technology. It contributes to foreign currency earning, and also leads the nation's export restructuring work towards high value-added one. There are various kinds of risks towards the relevant parties respectively, which are key elements in successfully performing the overseas construction project. There are completion risk, financing risk, operating risk, revenue risk etc, in an employer's place. A contractor may be confronted with payment risk, issuance risk of performance bond, financing risk, performance risk of sub-contractors, and exchange rate risk. In lenders place there are repayment risk, completion risk, and political risk in the host country. In order to mitigate risks, the parties shall take relevant measures or require relevant securities. A contractor needs to evaluate the credibility of an employer in respect of payment risk, and can also request export insurance cover by the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation(the former 'Korea Export Insurance Corporation"). An employer can require a contractor to provide performance bond in respect of completion risk, and employ a well-known first class bank as a mandated arranger to arrange financing with regard to completion risk. Lenders needs to evaluate the credibility of an employer and accomplish feasibility study of the project. Lenders can request insurance cover from export credit agency. Once the parties assess the respective risks and obtain relevant securities, the project will be successfully completed. The success of the project will be sure to bring the parties involved enormous profits and another opportunity to participate in overseas construction project afterwards.

• 한국산학기술학회논문지
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• 제19권6호
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• pp.567-574
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• 2018

위험 관리는 1) 체계개발 프로젝트의 비용, 일정 및 목표 성능 달성에 부정적인 영향을 줄 수 있는 위험 요소를 식별하고, 2) 식별된 각 위험 요소에 영향도와 발생 가능성을 부여하고 이를 바탕으로 식별 위험 요소를 관리하는 방법을 의미한다. 위험 요소를 사전에 식별하고 이에 대처함으로써 프로젝트의 비용 및 일정 관리와 목표 성능을 효과적으로 수행하고 달성할 수 있기 때문에 다양한 분야에서 위험 관리를 적용하고 있으며 이에 대한 많은 연구가 현재 진행되고 있다. 본 논문에서는 칼만 필터를 이용한 위험 요소 영향도 추정 방안을 제시한다. 위험 요소 영향도는 위험 발생 시의 손실 비용 및 일정을 변수로 갖는 식으로 표현된다고 가정하였다. 위험 요소 영향도의 참 값과 추정 값 사이의 오차를 줄이기 위한 방안으로서 선형 칼만 필터가 사용되었으며, 결과적으로 이를 통해 위험 관리 절차에 투입되는 자원을 절약할 수 있다. 제시된 위험 요소 영향도 추정 프로세스 검증은 시뮬레이션을 통해 수행되었다.

• Toxicological Research
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.69-79
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of metal pollution in the sediment from rivers, lakes, and streams in active gold mining districts in Ghana. Two hundred and fifty surface sediment samples from 99 locations were collected and analyzed for concentrations of As, Hg, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, and Mn using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Metal concentrations were then used to assess the human health risks to resident children and adults in central tendency exposure (CTE) and reasonable maximum exposure (RME) scenarios. The concentrations of Pb, Cd, and As were almost twice the threshold values established by the Hong Kong Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines (ISQG). Hg, Cu, and Cr concentrations in sediment were 14, 20, and 26 times higher than the Canadian Freshwater Sediment Guidelines for these elements. Also, the concentrations of Pb, Cu, Cr, and Hg were 3, 11, 12, and 16 times more than the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) sediment guideline values. The results of the human health risk assessment indicate that for ingestion of sediment under the central tendency exposure (CTE) scenario, the cancer risks for child and adult residents from exposure to As were $4.18{\times}10^{-6}$ and $1.84{\times}10^{-7}$, respectively. This suggests that up to 4 children out of one million equally exposed children would contract cancer if exposed continuously to As over 70 years (the assumed lifetime). The hazard index for child residents following exposure to Cr(VI) in the RME scenario was 4.2. This is greater than the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) threshold of 1, indicating that adverse health effects to children from exposure to Cr(VI) are possible. This study demonstrates the urgent need to control industrial emissions and the severe heavy metal pollution in gold mining environments.