• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.251-261
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• 2023

Background: This paper deals with the study of natural radioactivity in rocks from Ogun State in Southwestern Nigeria. The aim is to determine radiation emissions from rocks in order to estimate radiation hazard indices. Objectives: The following objectives were targeted: 1. To determine radiation emissions from each type of rocks; 2. To estimate radiation hazard indices based on the rocks; 3. To correlate the activity concentrations of radionuclides with major oxides. Methods: The samples were analyzed using a NaI (Tl) gamma ray spectrometric detector and PerkinElmer AAnalyst 400 AAS spectrometer. Results: The activity of ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th were found in order of decreasing magnitude from pegmatite>granite>migmatite. In contrast, lower concentrations were found in shale, phosphate, clay stone, sandstone and limestone. The mean absorbed doses were 125±23 nGyh^-1 (migmatite), 74±13 nGy/h (granite), 72±13 nGyh^-1 (pegmatite), 64±09 nGyh^-1 (quartzite), 45±16 nGyh^-1 (shale), 41±09 nGyh^-1 (limestone), 41±11 nGyh^-1 (clay stone), 24±03 nGyh^-1 (phosphate), and 21±10 nGyh^-1 (sandstone). The outdoor effective dose rates in all rock samples were slightly higher than the world average dose value of 0.34 mSvy^-1. The percentage composition of SiO₂ in the rock samples was above 50 wt% except for in the limestone, shale and phosphate. Al₂O₃ ranged from 4.10~21.24 wt%, Fe₂O₃ from 0.39~7.5 wt%, and CaO from 0.09-46.6 wt%. In addition, Na₂O and K₂O were present in at least 5 wt%. Other major oxides, including TiO₂, P₂O₅, K₂O, MnO, MgO and Na₂O were depleted. Conclusions: The findings suggest that Ogun State may be described as a region with elevated background radiation. It is recommended that houses should be constructed with good cross ventilation and residences should use home radiation monitoring instruments to monitor radon emanating from walls.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 2024

Background: Indoor PM_2.5 concentrations in residential houses can be affected by various factors depending on the season. This is because not only do the climate characteristics depend on the season, but the activity patterns of occupants are also different. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare factors affecting indoor PM_2.5 concentrations in apartments and detached houses in Daegu according to seasonal changes. Methods: This study included 20 households in Daegu, South Korea. The study was conducted during the summer (from July 10 to August 10, 2023) and the autumn (from September 11 to October 9, 2023). A sensor-based instrument for PM_2.5 levels was installed in the living room of each residence, and measurements were taken continuously for 24 hours at intervals of one minute during the measurement period. Based on the air quality monitoring system data in Daegu, outdoor PM_2.5 concentrations were estimated using ordinary kriging (OK) in Python. In addition, the indoor activities of the occupants were investigated using a time-activity pattern diary. The affecting factors of indoor PM_2.5 concentration were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results: Indoor and outdoor PM_2.5 concentrations of the residences during summer were 15.27±11.09 ㎍/m³ and 11.52±7.56 ㎍/m³, respectively. Indoor and outdoor PM_2.5 concentrations during autumn were 13.82±9.61 ㎍/m³ and 9.57±5.50 ㎍/m³, respectively. The PM_2.5 concentrations were higher in summer compared to autumn both indoors and outdoors. The primary factor affecting indoor PM_2.5 concentration in summer was occupant activity. On the other hand, during the autumn season, the primary affecting factor was outdoor PM_2.5 concentration. Conclusions: Indoor PM_2.5 concentration in residential houses is affected by occupant activity such as the inflow of outdoor PM_2.5 concentration, cooking, and cleaning, as found in previous studies. However, it was revealed that there were differences depending on the season.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.117-134
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• 2024

This study examines the factors contributing to waterfront satisfaction among different generations, utilizing a survey on the use and perception of waterfront areas by residents of apartment houses in Tokyo's coastal region. The variables used in this study are developed through a review of existing literature, focusing on factors related to waterfront usage. Specifically, we select the proximity to the waterfront, duration of stay at the waterfront, and frequency of visits to the waterfront as key variables for investigation. In addition, the study further incorporates aspects related to waterfront recognition, such as the space, user behavior, and management status of the waterfront. Utilizing these variables, we carry out a correlation analysis to investigate the association between generational use and perception of the waterfront and their satisfaction with water-related experiences. The results identify three key factors to enhance waterfront satisfaction: First, to increase visits from both younger and older generations, improving pedestrian access to the waterfront is essential. Second, for middle-aged and older generations, creating waterfront areas closer to their residences can reduce travel distance and time, encouraging more frequent use. Third, maintaining clean and well-kept waterfront spaces is fundamental for all generations to enjoy relaxing experiences, thereby improving overall satisfaction.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.149-160
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• 2024

Severe casualties and property damage are occurring due to urban floods caused by extreme rainfall. However, there is a lack of research on preparedness, appropriate estimation of flood damages, assessment of losses, and compensation. Particularly, the flood damage estimation methods used in the USA and Japan show significant differences from the domestic situation, highlighting the need for methods tailored to the Korean context. This study addresses these issues by developing an optimized flood damage estimation technique based on the building characteristics. Utilizing the flood prediction solution developed by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), we have established an optimal flood damage estimation technology. We introduced a methodology for flood damage estimation by incorporating vulnerability curves based on the inventory of structures and apply this technique to real-life cases. The results show that our approach yields more realistic outcomes compared to the flood damage estimation methods employed in the USA and Japan. This research can be practically applied to procedures for flood damage in urban basement residences, and it is expected to contribute to establishing appropriate response procedures in cases of public grievances.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.36-48
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• 2015

This study aims to contemplated the enjoying culture of Gyeonghwasejok's garden in late Joseon dynasty. It was track down the behavior from cultural perspective by using recorded in literature. The results were as follows. First, Gyeonghwasejok was the main principal of the garden at Hanyang in Joseon Dynasty. There are established residence in the downtown and make a garden. Garden organizer recognized to fine conditions of residences even crowded downtown. As a result people tried to include habitation and garden culture for preserve their cultural benefit. Secondly, Seongsisanrim culture has appeared of common in site selection of garden for occupies the scenic beauty. Garden was surrounded by scenic beauty. Garden organizer was formed archival culture for owning the beautiful landscape through creation of guguk(九曲), designation of space and lettering on rocks. Thirdly, Formation of the collection culture was placed of various ornaments inside garden. A behaviour of landscape view and ornaments appreciation led to the archival culture such as Won-rim-gi(園林記) and essay(小品文). Moreover, hold a friendship meeting for sharing garden culture. Fourthly, Attention of flowering plants was extended to development of gardening hobby such as fashion of pot-planting, planted to exotic tree. It was know that the plants are recognized as favorite elements by target of appreciation according to introduction of plants inside garden. In addition, facility of horticulture and kitchen garden were placed inside garden. Fifth, Influx of chinese garden culture influenced construction of garden space in late Joseon dynasty. Garden organizer recognizes garden as a ideal space by garden aesthetics that Hojungcheonji(壺中天地). And the imitation of Chinese garden culture such as collecting of Chinese's ornaments has become a high-level culture.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.1-9
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to propose plans to increase the number of urban parks as a way to help absorb carbon in order to implement the low carbon green city goals of Gangneung. As a study method, park incentive areas and current park areas were set as parameters and the areas of lacking in park space were categorized according to each indicator. The degree of park shortage was classified by overlapping the park shortage areas. Once the areas needing parks were assessed according to priority, target sites were selected on sites where construction would be actually possible. First, results of analysis showed that Songjeong-Dong and Seongdeok-Dong to the east of the target site lacking park space due to old residences and high population density or industrial use areas, were the most severe in the degree of park shortage. It was also shown that areas with high population density and park shortages included the Ponam-Dong, Okcheon-Dong and Hongje-Dong areas. Accordingly, the east side of the target areas and Hongje-Dong were both considered as high-priority areas needing to increase park space and actual possible target sites were selected for the creation of new, small parks in industrial areas by creating parks in school yards, in facility relocation sites and legal reviews. In addition, analysis indicators of park shortages were re-evaluated according to the securing of the park and it was shown that the problems in park shortages were resolved with the proper positioning of parks. In addition, satisfaction in the area of park per person, $3m^2$ was at a higher than a certain level in all areas except Songjeong-Dong, demonstrating that the park areas were evenly distributed. Areas of park shortage were shown in part of Songjeong-Dong and Seongdeok-Dong. This could be resolved by using alternative park resources such as the adjacent Gyeongpo Provincial Park, the beach and Namdaecheon.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.3943-3955
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• 1975

The purposes of this study are to evaluate the utilization characteristics of electrical power consumption, to grasp the present trends in the use of electrical equipments, to estimate the demand factor and load factor being held, and to evaluate the efficiency of electical uses for the recently electrified farms cultivating paddy rice. For the purposes, 109 sample farms located in eleven villiages electrified in six different years from 1968 to 1973, were chosen at random and investigated on 35 items concerning to electrical uses and wiring systems. The survey was carried out in 1975, in the vinicity of Suweon city. The results are summarized as follows: i) The average annual power consumption on sample farms is considered to be low, being 242.9 Kwh. in 1974, and varied according to the different electrified year and size of cultivated land, respectively. It has significant positive correlation to the area of farm, too. ii) Between the number of year of electrical uses and the power consumption, there is very significant positive correlation, which could be expressed as Y=43.041+16.108 X, where X represents the number of years of electrical uses. The annual increment of power consumption is much greater at the beginning of the electrification than that at the later years, its average being approximately 20 percent. However, it is recommended that any estimation of long-term increments should be carefully investigated. iii) The monthly power consumption varies considerably throughout a year, in which the heaviest farm load occurs in November. Observing the seasonal variation of consumption, the winter-time is the heaviest season while the summer is the lowest. The result implies house lighting is chief contribution to the present electrical consumption on the farms. Comparing the variation of monthly consumption ratios between the sample farms and industries, the electrical uses on the farms are independant of the industrial uses, and further, the agricultural uses are of inverse pattern to the farms from the results that there is negative correlationship between them, iv) The number of electrical equipments used on the farms are occupied chiefly by lighting sources. Next to the lighting sources, household appliances of small quantity and some motors are used. The mean electrical quantity is about 1, 127.4 watt, which corresponds to about 37.6 per cent to the contracted quantity. The composition of quantity is chiefly occupied by the electrical motor of about 1.5 hp., single-phased. The number of the annual utilization hours of each equipment is tabulated in Table IV-5. In contradiction to the high utilization of lighting sources and small household appliances, the motor is poorly used for approximately 22 hours in a year. v) More than 55 per cent of farms want to purchase new electrical equipments such as small household appliances and electrical motors in their number. The impulse of purchasing such items is stimulated by the contacts to the mass media and their knowledge on such equipments. Consequently, the increase of electrical uses could be prompted by such trials as education and demonstration. vi) The demand and load factors on the farms vary considerably according to the greater variation of the power consumption, daily or monthly. The daily demand factor is 22.4 per cent and load factor 18.6 per cent, while the annual demand factor is 1.3 per cent and load factor 70 per cent approximately. Therefore, the low efficiency of construction cost requires re-evaluation of the present contracted quantity of 3 Kw. or increase of electrical uses. vii) The electrical energy on the farms devoted chiefly to lighten the farm residences does not contribute to the farm incomes. Consequently, the cost of electrical consumption presses considerably upon the farm economy. Therefore, there is great need to build up the electrical uses on the farms through the development of new works and techinques to utilize any electrical equipments on the production of farm products. Further more, such the development should be related to increase the actual income of the farm consumers.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.171-185
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• 2009

We investigated the extent of recognition and the class practice rate of environmental education-relevant contents of the unit of 'Clothing Life' of the 7th 'Technology-Home Economics' curriculum in the students in Korea. Five hundred fifty students in the second and third grade in the middle school and in the first grade in high school, who had taken the course of 'Clothing Life' and responded to the questionnaires, were enrolled in this study. Questionnaires were sent and collected by mail from December 2007 to January 2008. Most students recognized that the environmental problems in their residences were serious enough to affect their own lives. Only 36.4% of the students, however, expressed the intention to join to the environmental groups and change their clothing lives in order to improve those problems. Also they conceived that the unit of 'Clothing Life' of the 7th 'Technology-Home Economics' curriculum containing only a few statements on the environmental pollution had little relevance to environmental education. According to the results on the class practice rate of environmental education-relevant contents of the unit of 'Clothing Life', the quality of the classes on the environmental education, except the unit of 'Planning and Purchasing Clothes', and the degree of practice of environmental preservation were proved to be low. Subgroup analysis showed that the second grade middle school students as well as female students had the higher interest and class practice rate. Teachers have to try to raise the recognition and the class practice rate of environmental education-relevant contents in the unit of 'Clothing Life' of the 7th 'Technology-Home Economics' curriculum of middle school in the class.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.135-149
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• 1990

Housing owners in Korea have a variety of tax advantages such as income tax exemption for the imputed rent of owner-occupied housing, exemption from the capital gains tax and deduction of the estate tax for one-house households. These tax reliefs for housing owners not only conflict with the principle of horizontal and vertical equity, but also lead to resource misallocation by distorting the housing market, and thus bring about regressive distribution effects. Particularly in the case of Korea with its imperfect capital market, these measures exacerbate the inter-class inequality of housing ownership as well as inequalities in wealth, by causing the affluent to demand needlessly large housing, while the poor and young experience difficulties in purchasing residential properties. Therefore, the Korean tax system must be altered as follows in order to disadvantage owner-occupiers, especially those owners of luxury housing. These alterations will promote housing-ownership, tax burden equity, efficiency of resource allocation, as well as the desirable distribution of income. First, income tax deductions for the rent payments of tenants are recommended. Ideally, the way of recovering the fiscal equivalence between the owner-occupiers and tenants is to levy an income tax on the former's imputed rents, and if necessary to give them tax credits. This, however, would be very difficult from a practical viewpoint, because the general public may perceive the concept of "imputed rent" as cumbersome. Computing the imputed rent also entails administrative costs, rendering quite reasonable, the continued exemption of imputed rent from taxation with the simultaneous deduction in the income tax for tenants. This would further enhance the administrative efficiency of income tax collection by easing assessment of the landlord's income. Second, a capital gains tax should be levied on the one-house household, except with the postponement of payments in the case that the seller purchases higher priced property. Exemption of the capital gains tax for the one-house household favors those who have more expensive housing, providing an incentive to the rich to hold even larger residences, and to the constructors to build more luxurious housing to meet the demand. So it is not desirable to sustain the current one-house household exemption while merely supplementing it with fastidious measures. Rather, the rule must be abolished completely with the concurrent reform of the deduction system and lowering of the tax rate, measures which the author believes will help optimize the capital gains tax incidence. Finally, discontinuation of the housing exemption for the heir is suggested. Consequent increases in the tax burden of the middle class could be mitigated by a reduction in the rate. This applies to the following specific exemptions as well, namely, for farm lands, meadows, woods, business fields-to foster horizontal equity, while denying speculation on land that leads to a loss in allocative efficiency. Moreover, imperfections in the Korean capital market have disallowed the provision of long term credit for housing seekers. Remedying these problems is essential to the promotion of greater housing ownership by the low and middle income classes. It is also certain that a government subsidy be focused on the poorest of the poor who cannot afford even to think of owning a housing.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.53-63
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• 1974

For the elucidation of the nutritional status of residences of apartments located in various areas in Seoul city, the food and nutrition survey was undertaken by the graduate students from Department of Food & Nutrition, Ewha Womans University in 1973. The socioeconomic stratification was mainly considered for the selection of sample apartments included in this study. Hangang Mansion, KIST, Munwhachon & Bukahyun apts were selected in this respect. A. Common living circumstances. Through the questionaries, author concluded nutritional concept on everyday food life as follows; 1. Higher income seems less effective in everyday food life on the nutritional view point than higher education does. 2. It needs to be urgently improved to be accustomed to use exact measuring concept of foods when they cook. 3. It needs to be improved to serve meals for individual portion at meal table, because the portion control at meal table will effect to national food policy. B. Nutrition Survey. Average daily calroie intake was the highest in Hangang Mansion and lowest in Bukahyun apt., in accordance with their economic living standard, but most of their calorie intakes were lower than the R.D.A. (3000ca1 for male, 2200 Cal for female). But the composition ratio of the total calorie intake was near to the ideal, carbohydrate 60%, protein 15%, fat 25%. Although there were differences in their economic living situations in urban area, most people ingested relatively good quality and large amounts of protein and fat. Vitamin A and Niacine intake exceeded the R.D.A., but the intake of Ca, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Ascorbic Acid were far less than that of R.D.A. C. food Intake. Amounts of total daily food intake were highest in Bukahyun apt. and lowest in Hangang Mansion. These showed adverse aspects to the total calorie intakes and their income levels. The ratio of cereals, $40%{\sim}50%$ of the total food intake, was higher than any other kinds of foods in all apartments. Among the other foods except cereals, there represented the highest level of meats in Hangang Mansion and KIST apt., while intake of Kimchies were highest in Munwhachon and Bukahyun apt. In the case of vegetables and fruits intake, the ratio of them in Hangang Mansion and KIST apt. were high, on the other hand the ratio of starchy roots appeared lowest in Hangang Mansion. For the main sources of protein, meats were ingested in Hangang Mansion and KIST apt., meats and fishery were used in Munwhachon apt., and beans were eaten highly in their meals in Bukahyun apt. These food contents and distributions showed the significant differences not only their economic classes but also regional characteristics.