• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.17-26
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• 2010

Recently concerns have been raised due to the unbalanced supply of crops: the price of crops has been unstable and at one point the price went up so high that the word Agflation(agriculture+ inflation) was coined. Korea, in particular, is a small-sized country and needs to secure the stable supply of crops by investing in the produce importation at a national level. Investment in foreign produce importation is becoming more important as a measure for sufficient supply of crops, limited supply of domestic crops, weakened farming conditions worldwide, as well as recent changes in the use of crops due to the development of bio-fuels, influence of carbon emission on crops, the price increase in crops, and influx of foreign hot money. However, there are many problems with investing in foreign produce importation: lack of support from the government; lack of farming information and technology; difficulty in securing the capital; no immediate pay-off from the investment and insufficient management. Although foreign produce is originally more price-competitive than domestic produce, it loses its competiveness in the process of importation (due to high tariffs) and poor distribution system, which makes it difficult to sell in Korea. Therefore, investment in foreign produce importation is being questioned for feasibility; to make it possible, foreign produce must maintain the price-competitiveness. Especially, harvest of agricultural products depends on natural and geographical conditions of each country and those products have indigenous properties, so distribution system according to import and export of agricultural products should be treated more carefully than that of other industries. Distribution costs are differentiated into each item and include cost of sorting and wrapping, cost of wrapping materials, cost of domestic transport, cost of international transport and cost of clearing customs for import and export. So transporting and storing agricultural products generates considerable costs compared with other products. Also, due to upgrade of dietary life, needs for stability, taste and visible quality toward food including agricultural products are being raised and wrong way of storage causes decomposition of food and loss of freshness, making the storage more difficult than that in room temperature, so storage and transport in distribution of agricultural products needs specialty. In addition, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. However, existing distribution system of agricultural products is exposed to various problems including problems in distribution channel, making distribution and strategy for distribution and those problems are as follows. First, in case of investment in overseas agricultural industry, stable supply of the products is difficult because areas of production are dispersed widely and influenced by outer factors due to including overseas distribution channels. Also, at the aspect of quality, standardization of products is difficult, distribution system is quite complicated and unreasonable due to long distribution channels according to international trade and financial and institutional support is not enough. Especially, there are quite a lot of ineffective factors including multi level distribution process, dramatic gap between production cost and customer's cost, lack of physical distribution facilities and difficulties in storage and transport due to lack of wrapping containers. Besides, because import and export of agricultural products has been manages under the company's own distribution according to transaction contract between manufacturers and exporting company, efficiency is low due to excessive investment in fixed costs and lack of specialty in dealing with agricultural products causes fall of value of products, showing the limit to lose price-competitiveness. Especially, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. Second, among tangible and intangible services which promote the efficiency of the whole distribution, a function building distribution environment which includes distribution information, system for standard and inspection, distribution finance, system for diversification of risks, education and training, distribution administration and tax system is wanted. In general, such a function building distribution environment is difficult to be changed and supplement innovatively because its effect compared with investment does not appear immediately despite of its necessity. Especially, in case of distribution of agricultural products, as a function of collecting and distributing is performed individually through various channels, the importance of distribution information and standardization is getting more focus due to the problem of repetition of work and lack of specialty. Also, efficient management of distribution is quite difficult due to lack of professionals in distribution, so support to professional education is needed. Third, though effort to keep self-sufficiency ratio of staple food, rice is regarded as important at the government level, level of dependency on overseas of others crops is high. Therefore, plan for stable securing food resources aside from staple food is also necessary. Especially, governmental organizations of agricultural products distribution in Korea are production-centered and have unreasonable structure whose function at the aspect of distribution and consumption is quite insufficient. And development of new distribution channels which can deal with changes in distribution environment and they do not achieve actual results of strategy for distribution due to non-positive strategy for price distribution. That is, it implies the possibility that base for supply will become vulnerable because it does not mediate appropriate interests on total distribution channels such as manufacturers, wholesale dealers and vendors by emphasizing consumer protection excessively in the distribution of agricultural products. Therefore, this study examined fundamental concept and actual situation for our investment to overseas agriculture, drew necessities, considerations, problems, etc. of overseas agricultural investment and suggested improvements at the level of distribution for price competitiveness of agricultural products cultivated in overseas under five aspects; government's indirect support, distribution's modernization and distribution information function's strengthening, government's political support for distribution facility, transportation route, load and unloading works' improvement, price competitiveness' securing, professional manpower's cultivation by education and training, etc. Here are some suggestions for foreign produce importation. First, the government should conduct a survey on the current distribution channels and analyze the situation to establish a measure for long-term development plans. By providing each agricultural area with a guideline for planning appropriate production of crops, the government can help farmers be ready for importation, and prevent them from producing same crops all at the same time. Government can sign an MOU with the foreign government and promote the importation so that the development of agricultural resources can be stable and steady. Second, the government can establish a strategy for an effective distribution system by providing farmers and agriculture-related workers with the distribution information such as price, production, demand, market structure and location, feature of each crop, and etc. In order for such distribution system to become feasible, the government needs to reconstruct the current distribution system, designate a public organization for providing distribution information and set the criteria for level of produce quality, trade units, and package units. Third, the government should provide financial support and a policy to seek an efficient distribution channel for foreign produce to be delivered fresh: the government should expand distribution facilities (for selecting, packaging, storing, and processing) and transportation vehicles while modernizing old facilities. There should be another policy to improve the efficiency of unloading, and to lower the cost of distribution. Fourth, it is necessary to enact a new law covering exceptional cases for importing produce in order to maintain the price competitiveness; currently the high tariffs is keeping the imported produce from being distributed domestically. However, the new adjustment should be made carefully within the WTO regulations since it can create a problem from giving preferential tariffs. The government can also simplify the distribution channels in order to reduce the cost in the distribution process. Fifth, the government should educate distributors to raise the efficiency and to modernize the distribution system. It is necessary to develop human resources by educating people regarding the foreign agricultural environment, the produce quality, management skills, and by introducing some successful cases in advanced countries.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.16-42
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• 1978

This survey was made for a month starting from November 15 to December 15, 1977 covering 711 students taking the junior. (3rd-yea.) and the senior. (4th-year) at nine college of nursing in Seoul concerning their perception and Attitude toward the profession of nursing, motive for the necessity of learning, environment of study, attitude of study and particulars relevant with study performance, particulars of library, references and reading, assignments and particulars of the degree of confidence for the learning achievement. Through the survey of the above Particulars, the following results were obtained by classifying all subject matters and by analysing motive of the selection of their course, awarding or not awarding of scholarships. 1. General characteristics: it was revealed that 406 students (57.1%) were attending at the junior. while 305 students (42.9%) were taking the senior. Thus, the total number was 711 and their average age was 21.4 years. Their dwelling category was; 73.9 percent of them resided at their parent's home, 214 students (30.1%) were awarded with scholarships. The reason to be attracted by nursing science was the possibility of continuing social life after graduation (43.5%). 2. Their perception and attitude toward the profession of nursing: According to the perception of profession by the students of each grade, students of the 4th grade showed comparatively strong conception. Also, students of the 4th grade showed more positive attitude in the purchase and reading of magazines relative with the science of nursing, in the reading of Code for Nurses and in their interest in the activity of nursing field. For the necessity of mission of nurse, 97.7 percent of the entire number of students covered responded to necessity. For the necessity of the particular humanity and particularity in the character of nurses, 95.8 percent of those students responded to necessity. By the each grade, students of the 4th grade showed more response. 3. As to professional field desired after completing the professional course: 57 percent of those students desired for clinician nurse while 55 percents desired for community health-nurse. 4. As to the environment of study: they were mostly satisfied with their present residential environment. However, they complained of inconvenience at their lecture-halls. Students of the 3rd grade showed more complain. As to their attitude toward the adjustment of environment of study, they showed a affirmative response. As to the opinion of factors which interfere with their study, comparatively strong response was showed in their scepticism in the science of nursing, insufficient comprehension in general learning, relation with professors n4 discrepancy in the method of study. According to opinions of students at each grade, students of the 4th grade showed more scepticism. 5. Particulars relative with their attitude and performance of study : As to their knowledge of the objectives of their study of subject, the majority was to study with a partial knowledge of the objectives of their study. As to the plan of study, a low percentage indicated management of routine life under regular scheduling. Students of the 4th grade responded to rather planned life. As to time spent in independent study, response to concentrated study when necessary was stronger than that to regular daily study. Students of the 4th grade showed stronger response to regular study than that of the 3rd grade. As to the contents of their note-taking, 67.4 percents of those students responded to such regulatory procedure performing in the lecture-hall as they listen to lectures. 17.3 percents of those students showed response to adding supplementary informations from references to what was entered in choir note-taking at their lecture-halls. 6. Particulars of library, references and reading books: As to receiving of instruction for the utilization of library and time of receiving such instruction 64.7 percents of those students had received such instruction. 66.7 percents of the those responded received such instruction at orientation conducted for freshmen. As to the convenience of the utilization of library, 49.9 percents of those students responded to convenience. However, students of the 3rd grade showed a much stronger response to inconvenience. As to the time of the utilization of library,92.5 percents of those students showed a response to occasional utilization for particular purpose than regular utilization. 53.2 percents of those students responded to ordinary in quantity that library have references. 34.2 percents of those students responded to insufficient. As to the particular relative with the method and field of reading: 53.5 percents of those students responded to intensive reading and was the majority. As to the reading field, fiction u as the majority. When read any books for their major, they usually rend Korean text-b, oks. 7. Particular relative with giving assignment: All respondents were well aware of the objectives of giving home tasks. As to the attitude toward assignments and performing home tasks, 54.8 percents of those students to making ostentatious study because of an excessive quantity of assignments imposed. For performing assignment, they showed comparatively positive response. Also, 52.2 percents of those students responded that they usually submitted complected assignment with references. 8. As to motive to realize the necessity of study : 55.6 percents of those students responded that they realized such necessity in communication with patients when they were engaged in clinical practice. Also, 8.6, the lowest percents of those students responded that they realized such necessity in the course of conversation with nurses when they were engaged in clinical practice. 9. As to the determination of their confidence in the performance of study relative with clinical experience: They showed a general inclination of having in nursing. The major response was that they came to well comprehend the patients families. the lowest response was that they could apply what was learned at lecture-hall to practice. This response incidentally showed the distance the lecture-hall and practical study. In general items, students of the 4th grade showed more favorable response than students of the 3rd grade and there was a significant difference. 10. As to the perception and attitude toward profession according to the motive of selecting the nursing science : Those who selected the nursing voluntarily showed stronger conception than those who selected the nursing through indirect influence. However, there was no significant difference on this point. Only there was a remarkable difference in the reading of Code for Nurses. 11. Those who showed a stronger conception in the profession of nursing according to the motives of attractive nursing science indicated a strong will and ability to manage stable life and comparatively strong response was shown in the management of good home life because of the good adaptability of the science to their character. This group showed a strong conception of the profession than those who responded that they prefer this profession out of a longing for the work of a hospital and for the easy obtaining of opportunity to immigrate to over seas and for economic cause and for high school grade. There was significant difference between these two groups, 12. As to the conception and attitude toward the profession of nursing according to benefits by scholarships, those who were benefitted by scholarship showed stronger conception of profession than those who did not receive scholarship and there was a remarkable difference between these two categories. However, there was no remarkable difference between these two categories in the extent of interest of the activities of nursing fields and in the reading of Code for Nurses. 13. As activation for study according to the benefits of scholarships, those who were benefitted by scholarships showed stronger response to the motive for study comparing with those who receive. 14. As to tile field of reading according to the benefits by scholarships, those who received scholarships tended to read autobiographies and essayers to a considerable extent. Those who did not receive scholarships tended to read novels. Those who received scholarships more read nursing boots than those who did not receive scholarships. 15. As to the attitude of study and doing of assignment according to benefits of scholarships, those who received scholarships managed a favorable life with schedules for study, More students of receiving scholarship showed a regular study for more than one hour per day. Also, in the method of doing home tasks, more students of receiving scholarship showed reference to relative books frequently for the submission of completed assignments.