• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.50-56
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• 2010

Purpose: We report the results of an external audit on the absorbed dose of radiotherapy beams independently performed by third parties. For this effort, we developed a method to measure the absorbed dose to water in an easy and convenient setup of solid water phantom. Materials and Methods: In 2008, 12 radiotherapy centers voluntarily participated in the external auditing program and 47 beams of X-ray and electron were independently calibrated by the third party’s American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) task group (TG)-51 protocol. Even though the AAPM TG-51 protocol recommended the use of water, water as a phantom has a few disadvantages, especially in a busy clinic. Instead, we used solid water phantom due to its reproducibility and convenience in terms of setup and transport. Dose conversion factors between solid water and water were determined for photon and electron beams of various energies by using a scaling method and experimental measurements. Results: Most of the beams (74%) were within ${\pm}2%$ of the deviation from the third party's protocol. However, two of 20 X-ray beams and three of 27 electron beams were out of the tolerance (${\pm}3%$), including two beams with a >10% deviation. X-ray beams of higher than 6 MV had no conversion factors, while a 6 MV absorbed dose to a solid water phantom was 0.4% less than the dose to water. The electron dose conversion factors between the solid water phantom and water were determined: The higher the electron energy, the less is the conversion factor. The total uncertainty of the TG-51 protocol measurement using a solid water phantom was determined to be ${\pm}1.5%$. Conclusion: The developed method was successfully applied for the external auditing program, which could be evolved into a credential program of multi-institutional clinical trials. This dosimetry saved time for measuring doses as well as decreased the uncertainty of measurement possibly resulting from the reference setup in water.

• Journal of Ginseng Culture
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• v.1
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• pp.93-109
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• 2019

This study aims to look at the process of ginseng being removed from the Western pharmacopoeia in the 19th century, experiencing a crisis as an export product in the America in the 20th century, and eventually settling in the U.S. society and the military as a dietary supplement in the 21th century. In this process, the legislation of provided a bridgehead for ginseng and other botanical dietary supplements to enter the U.S. market. As a result, ginseng could be re-listed in the U.S. pharmacopoeia as a dietary supplement. However, this did not mean a complete soft landing of ginseng and other botanical dietary supplements in the America. The U.S. medical community, which has been afraid of the indiscriminate spread of botanical dietary supplements, has constantly raised "the risk-discourse" and expressed concerns over the use and abuse of botanical dietary supplements that have not been scientifically verified. This involved not only the fundamental problems caused by the lax verification process of , but also a new atmosphere in the U.S. where the public sought information about botanical dietary supplements rather than seeking professional clinicians related to their health. Against this situation, "the advocate-discourse" suggested by dietary supplement manufacturers and the people in charge of botanical products seemed rather relaxed. As consumers are taking this side, the advocates had only to stress that botanical dietary supplements have been used worldwide for a long time without any problems and were made from 'natural' materials. The fact that ginseng and other botanical dietary supplements were able to advance to the U.S. Military's dietary supplement manual, which is strict in controlling food, seems to have jumped on the bandwagon of this atmosphere in the U.S. Society. In the early U.S. dietary supplement manual reviewed in this paper, ginseng was the most detailed among many botanical dietary supplements. Although there are some 'safety concerns' that still exist in the civilian society, but there are also certainly good scientific explanations for the efficacy and references to the popularity and influence of ginseng in the American society. Given this, the U.S. society and military's interest in ginseng as a dietary supplement seem quite high.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.301-322
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• 1996

This study is first aimed at identifying the possibility of labour saving and production cost decreasing in rice production with respect to seed broad casting technology. Comparison of labour inputs and production costs of rice in-between USA and Korea and recommendation of policy guidelines for the continous rice cultivation are the second objective of this study. Under the WTO system, rice enterprice is the most vulnerable crop in the sense of labour productivity and price competitiveness in the international market. How to adapt labour saving technology and how to decrease production costs are the most imminent problems to be solved in rice production. To achieve the objectives, survey on nine rice enterprice farms were made in Daeho tidal farmland with respect to the size of farm, labour inputs, productivity, farm mechanization and farm land base development. The existing data on labour saving technology by seed broadcasting which had surveyed by Rural Development Administration were collected to compare the surveyed data from Daeho tidal farm land The study results and policy recommendation are summarized as follows; 1. Labour requirements per 10a for rice enterprise farms with seed broadcasting and with transplanting were estimated 11.4 and 18.5hours respectively. 'This above labour inputs were equivalent to 1/3-1/5 of the national average labour inputs of 53.6 hours which were included transplanting and harvesting by machinery. Considering the labour requirement of 1.7 hours per 10a for the USA rice production, Korea rice culture has possibility to decrease labour demand upto USA level of labour inputs. 2. Production cost of rice in Korea were estimated US$4,181 per ha which were higher than that of USA by 3.00 times and production costs per ton were shown as US$313 for USA rice and US$1,018 for Korean rice. 3. Land productivity of rice per 10a in America was reached to 4,325kg and the counterpart of Korea was about 4,181kg in recent year. In the sense of land productivity, both yields of rice were comparable. 4. The price of japonica type rice similar to Korean traditional rice in international market in 1994 was f.o.b US$466 per ton which was equivalent to import parity price of US$830 per ton in domestic market. The price of rice purchased by Korean G't and received by farmers were amounted to US$ 2,013 and US$ 1,663 respectively in the same year. Domestic prices mentioned above were higher than the import parity price as US$830 by 2.0-2.4 times. 5. American rice production competitive to Korean rice was equivalent to 17,012 thousand tons, 1.28% of the world production of rice in 1991 and consumption of rice in America was amounted to 2,633 thousand tons. Exportable quantity of USA rice were estimated as 4,379 thousand tons of which 52.3%, 2,300 thousand tons, were exported indeed in the same year. 6. The quantity of Korean rice produced in 1991 was estimated 1.00% of the world production. The world amount of rice exported in 1991 was reached to 2.45% of the world production of which 34.2% was occupied by USA The remaining quantities of world exported rice were dominated by Tiland, Pakistan and Vietnam where produced indica variety. 7. Under the given technology, labour inputs per 10a for rice production could be possible to save by 70% of the national average labour requirement of 53.6 hours through implmenting complete farm mechanization with land consolidation and on-farm development and improvement of fanning practices like seedbroad casting txchnology etc. On the other hand, prduction costs of rice could be decreased by 10% rather than 49% as target indicated in the Rural Development Counter Measures of Korean Government in 1994 owing to increasing farm mechanization cost and interest on land service with high price. Accordingly production cost of rice per kg could be decreased only by 10% of the 1994 production cost. 8. Rice policy of Korean government in the future should take into account the labour saving technology to solve labour shortage in rural area and to enhance off-farm incomes by creating job opportunities in agro-industrial zones and special production area. On account of the staple food and main energy source for people's health, rice production even encountered vulnerable economic settings should be continued without price distortion policies and discouraging farmer's intention to cultivate rice by importing institutionally the direct income subsidy system.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.21-40
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• 2000

The retail trades in many countries have changed recently according to the high quality, diversification, and marked individuality of consumer needs. Under the continually competing system of the WTO agreement, corporations based in the USA and the EU try to raise their market share in other countries so it is inevitable for Korean retail enterprises to compete with them. This paper is aimed at contributing to the efficient growth for Korean retail trade from the analysis of the development process in retail trade and its changing locations comparing Korea and the USA. Retailers in the USA have practiced diversified marketing strategies considerably in order to survive in a rapidly changing retailing environment. American retailing, which has the most advanced marketing system in the world, has been of growing concern to marketing strategies in Korea. The following is a brief summary of this study. 1. Speedy and higher quality consumption is needed in accordance with the great increase in the single-family household and the female labor force participation both in Korea and in the USA. Senior citizens have become a new consumer group due to the aging population. In the future the retail trade will switch over to diversified retail formats and internet shopping as countries are transformed into information and communication societies. 2. In Korea, the former retail system characterized by markets and department stores has been greatly changed since the late 1980s with emphasis on high quality and convenience in consumption behaviors, with large domestic enterprises and foreign distribution corporations participating in Korean retailing. In the USA, retailing mergers and takeovers by major retails, bankruptcies, and extra-large shopping centers have emerged since the late 1980s. Recently, the USA retailing formats have been changed from the lower price-oriented discount types to the large scale theme parks. Much emphasis was put on entertainment, resorts, and convention centers. On the other hand, non-store types, such as the internet shopping, the CATV shopping, as well as catalog and mail-order sales are drastically increasing, although the proportion of their sales is low up to now. 3. In Korea, most of the retail facilities are concentrated in Seoul and the Metropolitan Region, and the distribution ratio of facilities came to 52% in 1997. The periodic markets, traditional markets which open on a periodic basis, are located mainly in Chollanam-do and Kyungsangbuk-do. The large-sized discount stores have expanded their locations to the over-crowded apartment complexes in new towns, located in the Metropolitan Region, and the large provincial cities, unlike the suburban locations in the USA. Therefore we needed to give attention to the locational relations in retail facilities between Seoul & the Metropolitan Region and rural settlement areas. In the USA, urban areas grew quickly with the development of the automobile in the 1920s, and the location of stores changed from a dispersed style centering around rural areas to a centralized one in urban areas. There is an accelerated growth for suburban areas, which have grown rapidly since 1950. As the membership warehouse clubs were introduced in the 1970s, the decentralization of location was more intensified. On the other hand, inner cities were revitalized by rearranging existing facilities to cope with suburban areas. And the location-free virtual retailing & TV shopping are also growing every year. 4. In view of the above, the continuous and desirable development devices in Korean retail trade are summarized as follows: First, the countermeasures against economies of scale, increase in retailing sales, and rise of a employment percentage in retailing are in need. Second, a scheme of lowering the proportion of food retail sales, and increasing a ratio of durable goods sales need to be worked out. Third, the original ideas are needed to apply positively information, communication and technology to retailing, to graft the traditional types on modem ones based on the social culture. Fourth, strategies are needed to strengthen the competitiveness of our retail trade through cooperation and chains of smaller retailers, the large enterprises participating in the distribution industry. Fifth, in order to realize the above, the retail industry, the administration, and the academic world should support the retail segment with concern and a practical strategy plan.