The influence of learning activity on low-skilled workers’ skill improvement in the South Korean manufacturing industry

The main purpose of this study was to explore how low-skilled worker’s learning activity influences skill improvement. Using a unique 2007 Human Capital Corporate Panel data-set from the South Korean manufacturing industry, we operationalize skill improvement over time among low-skilled workers. A worker is classified as ‘low skilled’ if he or she has a low education level and poor technical skills. Regression models show that low-skilled workers’ informal learning positively influences their skill improvement. In contrast, we note that supervisors negatively influence skill improvement of low-skilled workers when measuring the change in technical skill proficiency. Quality circle programmes also have a positive influence on skill improvement. In conclusion, skills can be improved through planned interventions that increase collaboration on the job. The results from this study help to highlight the importance of designing learning interventions for low-skilled workers that take account of their underlying education and skills.     

The decomposition of regional wage differentials in Korea

This research note explains the wage differentials between the capital region and the non-capital region in Korea. It analyzes what proportions of the wage differential are due to differences in productivity-related labor characteristics and due to differences in how markets value the endowments of their workers. In a decomposition analysis, we find that approximately 26.9% of the wage differential is due to differences in productivity-related labor characteristics in the capital region. With respect to the endowments of the wage-determining characteristics, a substantial portion of the overall wage advantage of workers in the capital region can be explained by the higher average level of education. It is also found that the more detailed the occupational breakdown, the more of the wage differential that can be explained. These results suggest that the use of more detailed occupation classifications alleviates aggregation bias that may be a significant factor in coarser classification schemes.     

Health and multidimensional disability at older age in South Korea: Applying the International Classification of Functioning,Disability and Health (ICF) Framework11

This study examined whether health conditions and service-related environmental factors (i.e. accessibility and infrastructure) affected multidimensional disability (i.e. body function, activity and participation), considering service-related environmental factors as moderators. The sample included 10,451 Korean adults aged 65 and older. The main findings revealed that the number of chronic illnesses negatively influenced multidimensional disability. Better accessibility positively affected all three disability dimensions, whereas infrastructure had different associations with each dimension. Additionally, only infrastructure moderated the associations between chronic illnesses and activity capacity and chronic illnesses and participation frequency. Theoretical, practical and policy implications are discussed.     

Understanding Children and Adolescents’ Victimizations at Multiple Levels: An Ecological Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT

This article examines children and adolescent exposure to violence in various contexts. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify the definitions and types of violence reported in studies on victimization using the ecological systems framework. Sources included research studies and/or reports from scholarly journals (n = 140), books (n = 9), conferences/workshops (n = 5), and Web sources, such as Uniform Crime Reports (n = 23). The findings indicated that research differed in terminologies, conceptual and operational definitions, sample sizes, and age group classification for children and adolescents. Furthermore, studies lacked focus on the co-occurrence and interrelatedness of victimization and how these factors might affect the outcomes. Many studies employed a cross-sectional design, which limits strong conclusions about the temporal order of victimization experiences and outcomes. Future research efforts need more consistency among researchers in conceptual and operational definitions and the use of more rigorous designs. Increased holistic assessments are critical for effective prevention and intervention strategies for at-risk children and adolescents.     

A Profile of Support Group Use and Need Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Multiple Sclerosis

This study compared middle-aged and older adults with multiple sclerosis (MS, N = 1,275) according to their use of support groups and identified factors associated with perceived need. Over 64.6% (n = 824) of participants had attended a MS support group meeting at least once. Individuals who had never attended a group were more likely to reside in urban or suburban communities, report lower symptom interference, and fewer activity limitations. Women, individuals without a helper, and people with greater symptom interference were more likely to perceive a need for a support group. Findings raise questions for professionals involved in developing and implementing multiple sclerosis support groups.     

Quality of Life Among Government Employees

The main purpose of this study is to examine distinctive aspects of the quality of life (QOL) of Korean government employees utilizing in large part many features of the 1999 QOL survey of Korean government and private sector employees. To this end, responses of government and private sector employees regarding various dimensions of QOL are compared. This study finds that the QOL of government employees is significantly lower than that of private sector employees. The result of regression analysis of QOL dimensions shows that the level of satisfaction with one's work environment is the most influential determinant of the overall QOL of Korean government employees. Based on this finding, this study recommends that the government agencies consider improving their employees' work-related environment.

     

International marriages in South Korea: The significance of nationality and ethnicity

International marriage has increased drastically in South Korea in recent years, and by 2005, 13.6 per cent of marriages involved a foreign spouse. The purpose of this study is twofold: to explore the demographic demand and supply of foreign spouses in the marriage market in South Korea, and to examine how social positions of foreign wives vary by their place in the marriage market as determined by their nationality and ethnicity. Data show that the demand for foreign spouses is particularly strong among rural never-married and urban divorced Korean men. Among foreign wives, Chinese, especially Korean Chinese, tend to marry divorced Koreans, partly because many of them have also been married before. The Korean Chinese are the most autonomous among five groups of foreign wives examined, showing the highest rates of Korean citizenship, divorce-separation, and employment. Southeast Asian women tend to marry rural never-married men, and they are the most adaptive to the host society in the way they show among the highest rates of Korean citizenship and employment (after controlling for their poor Korean proficiency and short duration in Korea). Their divorce-separation rate is the lowest regardless of such control. This study demonstrates that marriage migrants adaptation to the host society differs significantly by nationality and ethnic origin.     

The Effect of Liability and Patch Release on Software Security: The Monopoly Case

An abundance of flawed software has been identified as the main cause of the poor security of computer networks because major viruses and worms exploit the vulnerabilities of such software. As an incentive mechanism for software security quality improvement, software liability has been intensely discussed among both academics and practitioners for a long time. An alternative approach to managing software security is patch release, which has been widely adopted in practice. In this paper, we examine these two different ways of mitigating customer risk in the software market: liability and patch release. We study the impact of both mechanisms on a monopolistic software vendor's decision on security quality. We find the conditions under which each mechanism is effective in terms of improving security quality and increasing social surplus. The heterogeneous nature of loss is identified to be a key factor for the effectiveness of the liability mechanism. On the other hand, patch release can be effective and welfare‐enhancing regardless of the nature of loss as long as customers incur low patching cost, and/or the vendor incurs low patch development cost. We also examine the impact of customer misperception of the outcome from vulnerable software on the effectiveness of liability.     

A SPECTRAL MEASUREMENT OF THE CYCLICAL PATTERNS OF MULTIVARIATE TIME SERIES

Although the diffusion and transmission of cyclical impulses are basic characteristics of economic and business activities, traditional studies of business cycles do not provide an effective measure of cyclical interaction. The purpose of this paper is to use spectral analysis to determine the cyclical patterns of multivariate economic and business time series. The proposed methodology was applied to the regional industrial diversification problem.