• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.13-25
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• 2012

There is growing evidence that substance use such as tobacco or alcohol consumption influences health disparity among adolescents. Previous research papers have shown an inconsistency in the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and substance use in adolescents. However, little is known about socio-economic differences in unhealthy behaviors among Korean adolescents. The purpose of the present study is to explore associations between SES and substance use in Korean adolescents. The analysis was performed using data from the 2009 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (YRBS), which included a nationally representative sample of middle and high school students. Drinking/heavy drinking and smoking/daily smoking behavior indices were used for dependent variables, and perceived economic status, family affluence score, parents' education were used for independent variables. Chi-square test were used to compare tobacco and alcohol consumption among 3 SES groups. Logistic regression models were used to identify statistically significant socio-economic factors after adjusting other covariates. Higher perceived economic status and higher family affluence were associated with higher rates of smoking, daily smoking, drinking, and heavy drinking, while lower level of parents' education was related to higher use of tobacco and alcohol. Socio-economic status significantly influences health behaviors in adolescents, and it may consequently affect health disparity in their adulthood. Therefore, there is a need of continuous monitoring and follow-up research of health disparity among adolescents.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.23 no.4 s.181
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• pp.75-82
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• 2006

In this paper, we propose an optimal trajectory for biped robots to move up-and-down stairs using a genetic algorithm and a computed-torque control for biped robots to be dynamically stable. First, a Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm (RCGA) which of operators are composed of reproduction, crossover and mutation is used to minimize the total energy. Constraints are divided into equalities and inequalities: Equality constraints consist of a position condition at the start and end of a step period and repeatability conditions related to each joint angle and angular velocity. Inequality constraints include collision avoidance conditions of a swing leg at the face and edge of a stair, knee joint conditions with respect to the avoidance of the kinematic singularity, and the zero moment point condition with respect to the stability into the going direction. In order to approximate a gait, each joint angle trajectory is defined as a 4-th order polynomial of which coefficients are chromosomes. The effectiveness of the proposed optimal trajectory is shown in computer simulations with a 6-dof biped robot that consists of seven links in the sagittal plane. The trajectory is more efficient than that generated by the modified GCIPM. And various trajectories generated by the proposed GA method are analyzed in a viewpoint of the consumption energy: walking on even ground, ascending stairs, and descending stairs.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.131-141
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• 2020

This study examines the poverty indicators in Northeast region of Thailand by adopting the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) methodology and the national survey of Minimum Basic Needs (MBN) of Thailand. Data are collected from three different districts in Khon Kaen province namely: Khok Po Chai, Sam Sung, and Nam Pong. The sample size is 187 households. Data analysis uses Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression approach and includes 7 dimensions of poverty (health, environment, education, economy, Thai value, asset? empowerment, and digital literacy) with a total of 41 indicators. This study has found that poverty indicators in Khon Kaen province remains centered around the aspects of health and employment dimensions. While a change of family structure in the Thai society since 1960s reduces the family size, household saving substantially increases over the years. The effects of health dimension in poverty, on the other hand, appears on the other poverty dimension of Thai value, which include (1) a bad living habit of head of household (smoke or alcohol consumption) that links with illness and disease, (2) religious practice, and (3) chronic illness. Lastly, there are income gaps of different careers in the area, which suggests the issue of income inequality.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2019.09a
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• pp.5-5
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• 2019

The objectives of this paper are (i) to analyze past trends and future directions of rice production, consumption and trade across the world and (ii) to discuss emerging challenges and future directions in the global rice industry. Rice is a staple food of over half of the world's 7.7 billion people. It is an important economic, social, political, and cultural commodity in most Asian countries. Rice is the $1^{st}$ most widely consumed, $2^{nd}$ largely produced, and $3^{rd}$ most widely grown food crop in the world. It was cultivated by 144 million farms in over 100 countries with harvested area of over 163 million ha producing about 745 million tons paddy in 2018. About 90% of the total rice is produced in Asia. China and India, the biggest rice producers, account for over half of the world's rice production. Between 1960 and 2018, world rice production increased over threefold from 221 to 745 million tons (2.1% per year) due to area expansion from 120 to 163 million ha (0.5% per year) and paddy yield increase from 1.8 to 4.6 t/ha (1.6% per year). The Green Revolution led massive increase in rice production prevented famines, provided food for millions of people, reduced poverty and hunger, and improved livelihoods of millions of Asians. The future increase in rice production must come from yield increase as the scope for area expansion is limited. Rice is the most widely consumed food crop. The world's average per capita milled rice consumption is 64 kilograms providing 19% of daily calories. Asia accounted for 84% of global consumption followed by Africa (7%), South America (3%), and the Middle East (2%). Asia's per capita rice consumption is 100 kilograms per year providing 28% of daily calories. The global and Asian per capita consumption increased from the 1960s to the 1990s but stable afterward. The per capita rice consumption is expected to decline in Asia but increase outside Asia especially in Africa in the future. The total milled rice consumption was about 490 million tons in 2018 and projected to reach 550 million tons by 2030 and 590 million tons by 2040. Rice is thinly traded in international market because it is a highly protected commodity. Only about 9% of the total production is traded in global rice market. However, the volume of global rice trade has increased over six-fold from 7.5 to 46.5 million tons between the 1960s and 2018. A relatively small number of exporting countries interact with a large number of importing countries. The top five rice exporting countries are India, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, and China accounting for 74% of the global rice export. The top five rice importing countries are China, Philippines, Nigeria, European Union and Saudi Arabia accounting for 26% of the global rice import. Within rice varieties, Japonica rice accounts for the highest share of the global rice trade (about 12%) followed by Basmati rice (about 10%). The high concentration of exports to a few countries makes international rice market vulnerable to supply disruptions in exporting countries, leading to higher world prices of rice. The export price of Thai 5% broken rice increased from 198 US$/ton in 2000 to 421 US$/ton in 2018. The volumes of trade and rice prices in the global market are expected to increase in the future. The major future challenges of the rice industry are increasing demand due to population growth, rising demand in Africa, economic growth and diet diversification, competition for natural resources (land and water), labor scarcity, climate change and natural hazards, poverty and inequality, hunger and malnutrition, urbanization, low income in rice farming, yield saturation, aging of farmers, feminization of agriculture, health and environmental concerns, improving value chains, and shifting donor priorities away from agriculture. At the same time, new opportunities are available due to access to new technologies, increased investment by the private sector, and increased global partnership. More investment in rice research and development is needed to develop and disseminate innovative technologies and practices to overcome problems and ensure food and nutrition security of the future population.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.92-102
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• 2021

There is little information on the nutrient intake according to the city size and small town in Korean elderly. This study analyzed the nutritional consumption of older people in metropolitan, middle and small cities, and rural areas according to four income levels. The recent data from the 2016~2018 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were used. The final analysis included 4,325 individuals (Male: 1,856, Female: 2,469) over 65 years old. Multivariable regression with a complex sample design was conducted to compare the nutrient intake among the groups. In a comparison within regions, the nutrition status of the elderly in small towns was more vulnerable than metropolitan and middle & small cities. The energy intakes were similar between the groups. The carbohydrate intake of middle & small cities was significantly higher than the other regions. The intake of other nutrients in metropolitan and middle & small cities appeared to be higher than in rural areas. The number of nutrients with statistical significance between low and high-income levels were 19 in metropolitan, 11 in middle & small cities, and 5 in rural areas. Each contribution of carbohydrate, fat, and protein to the total energy intake was lower in the low-income level than the high-income level in metropolitan and middle & small cities. On the other hand, in rural areas, only the contribution of protein to energy intake was lower in the low-income level than the high-income level. Cities with higher levels of urbanization had more severe nutritional inequality in relation to the income level. There was also nutritional inequality present in rural areas but it was to a lesser extent. Moreover, the generally low level of nutrient intake was problematic in rural areas. These findings could be used as fundamental evidence for developing community nutritional policies for the elderly.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.1-19
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• 2000

We have witnessed several kinds of new discourses and practices in health and medicine since the 1970s, such as popular concerns with alternative or complementary medicine, inordinate attention to the promotion of 'healthy' living, rapid resurrection of traditional medicine and ecological management of health. Four structural and situational factors are discussed to underlie these new trends：(i) as 'crisis' in health care of the 1970s was translated into health care reform of the 1980s backed up by neo-liberal political philosophy, the state responsibility for nation's health is being transferred to the individual ；(ii) it resulted from the limits of biomedical paradigm in dealing with chronic diseases；(iii) medico-scientific knowledge of disease is transformed into the subjective discourses and technologies of health in postmodern society ； and (iv) it is deeply associated with the considerable increase in environmental risk perception of health and disease. There are some inherent countervailing forces in these new discourses and practices. First, while they derive from lifestyle-oriented behavioral change, medicalization of life and death is still consolidated in the new trends. Second, inasmuch as new tides are reliant upon science, they. are likely to be remote from techne that means not the practical application of theoretical knowing but a special form of practical knowing. Third, as new discourses and activities accomplished＇in the name of health＇increasingly occupy important strategies in forming the self-identity, they serve as moral apparatus which involves prescriptions about how we should live our lives and conduct our bodies, both individually and collectively. Therefore, two points are suggested to consider seriously whether these streams will succeed in improving the‘healthy’living of all the people. Instead of limiting tile perspective to medicine, healing and health care, a new matrix that interweave welfare, ecology and labor along with them is timely needed for enhancing the health for all. In addition, as the World Health Report fm strongly shows, inequality in health heavily depends upon socio-economic development of a society, and it is not the richest countries that have the best health status, but those that have the smallest income differences between rich and poor.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.239-252
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• 2020

By using text mining, we explore the factors responsible for an increase in SUV preference. We collected 32,679 posts related to SUVs from "Bobaedream," the largest online automobile community in South Korea, and applied the LDA topic model. While previous studies have explained the SUV boom as an individual's risk aversion strategy from crime, the result shows that the topic of 'Safety' appears to be an important factor in the SUV discourse in the context of a car accident and high-speed driving situation. To conclude, the consumption of SUVs in Korean society serves as a mean to prevent anxiety and danger to individuals when driving. We insist that decreasing social trust, caused by an increase in inequality, underlies the perception of risk on the road.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.243-280
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• 2018

This paper examines the discussion on the income-led growth known as the core economic strategy of Moon's administration in terms of Korean welfare regime. Although the income-led growth strategies have presented various issues, the income-led growth strategy seems to be a timely alternative discourse that emphasizes the demand side, considering supply-oriented growth strategies have caused long-term recession and deepening of inequality. It is important that the income-led growth strategy places social expenditures as an important growth engine for virtuous cycle of production and consumption. However, this paper has confirmed that simply raising wages and increasing social expenditure do not increase the aggregate demand and production. Moreover, empirical studies have shown that the inclusion of external sectors and liabilities into the analysis weakens the wage-led growth of the Korean economy. For this reason, this study concluded that the government's sophisticated policy intervention is necessary for the increase of real wages and social spending to be economic growth.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.51-61
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• 2023

Purpose - Since COVID-19, the government's expansion of liquidity to stimulate the economy has resulted in an increase in private debt and an increase in asset prices of such as real estate and stocks. The recent sharp rise of the US Federal fund rate and tapering by the Fed have led to a fast rise in domestic interest rates, putting a heavy burden on the Korean economy, where the level of household debt is very high. Excessive household debt might have negative effects on the economy, such as shrinking consumption, economic recession, and deepening economic inequality. Therefore, now more than ever, it is necessary to identify the causes of the increase in household debt. Design/methodology/approach - Main methodology is regression analysis. Dependent variable is household loans from depository institutions. Independent variables are consumer price index, unemployment rate, household loan interest rate, housing sales price index, and composite stock price index. The sample periods are from 2017 to May 2022, comprising 72 months of data. The comparative analysis period before and after COVID-19 is from January 2017 to December 2019 for the pre-COVID-19 period, and from Jan 2020 to December 2022 for the post-COVID-19 period. Findings - Looking at the results of the regression analysis for the entire period, it was found that increases in the consumer price index, unemployment rate, and household loan interest rates decrease household loans, while increases in the housing sales price index increase household loans. Research implications or Originality - Household loans of depository institutions are mainly made up of high-credit and high-income borrowers with good repayment ability, so the risk of the financial system is low. As household loans are closely linked to the real estate market, the risk of household loan defaults may increase if real estate prices fall sharply.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.389-410
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• 1995

Large metropolitan areas in the US are distinguished by highly fragmented fiscally independent suburban municipalities and special districts. The suburban fragmentation implies the congregation of similar socio-economic groups escaped from central cities and the disparity of geographical resources among local government jurisdictions. This study examines St.Louis County suburbs as a case study for the implictions of suburban governmental fragmentation and the fiscal disparities across local governmental boundaries by analyzing their relationship with public service provision using police and public school services as examples. The distribution of fiscal resources across political boundaries, the processes which created them, and public service inequalities reproduced from the disparity of fiscal resources reveal the causes and consequences of suburban governmental fragmentation. The central part of suburban fragmentation is the segregation of public goods consumption reproduced from the disparity of local fiscal resources, and it acts as a basic geographical segregating force in the suburban spatial organization.