• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.10-17
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• 2021

Invasive alien species management is pivotal for biodiversity conservation. Commelina caroliniana Walter, from the family Commelinaceae, is an alien plant native to the Himalayas and India, but it has been widely introduced around the world, including in the United States, Brazil, Philippines, and Japan. In Korea, the first population was found growing adjacent to agricultural land and farm roads on Jejudo Island, and field observations confirmed the presence of at least nine populations there. It is similar morphologically to C. diffusa Burm. f. but can be distinguished by involucral bracts that are ciliate at the base, hairs on the peduncle and obsolete upper cincinnus, brown spots on its 4-lobed antherode, and seed surfaces that are smooth to slightly alveolate. It was determined to have an invasiveness low score of 8 according to the Korean 'Invasive Alien Plant Risk Assessment', suggesting that it may spread to natural habitats. Although the current distribution of C. caroliniana is restricted to Jeju-si, it has spread dramatically in many other areas of the world. At present, it has had a limited impact on the local environment, but local and regulatory authorities should pay close attention to this plant and take measures to prevent its expansion in the future.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2020

Purpose - The propose of this study is to examine the effect of human development index on mobile telephony diffusion. Design/methodology/approach - This study fits the modidensity of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries with an econometric Gompertz growth model. The diffusion factors, including the human development index (HDI), gross domestic product (nominal) per capita, fixed-line telephony subscription, and population data of each member country from 2005 to 2018 are considered for the empirical experiment. Furthermore, the mobidensity of randomly sampled countries with very high human development scores (the Republic of Korea, Switzerland and Norway) and high development scores (Brazil and Costa Rica) have been examined with the same process as SAARC members. Findings - We have found a positive but insignificant relationship between the HDI value and mobile telephony diffusion in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Pakistan; a positive and statistically significant relationship at a 99% confidence level in SriLanka; and a negative and insignificant relationship in the Maldives and Nepal. HDI has both positive and negative effects on mobile telephony diffusion, with the nature of effect depending on the profiles of each country. HDI is a diffusion determinant of mobile telephony only for the high human development country groups. Research implications or Originality - This study provides a reference for policymakers, telecommunication stakeholders, and future researchers to design the telecommunication policies and strategies.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3299-3309
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• 2022

Nuclear energy has the potential to play an influential role in energy transition efforts than is now anticipated by many countries. Realizing sustainable human development and reducing global climate crises will become more difficult without significantly increasing nuclear power. This paper aims to probe the role of nuclear energy, external debt, and financial globalization in sustaining human development and environmental conditions simultaneously in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries. This study applied a battery of second-generation estimation approaches over the period from 1990 to 2019. These methods are useful and robust to cross-countries dependencies, slope heterogeneity, parameters endogeneity, and serial correlation that are ignored in conventional approaches to generate more comprehensive and reliable estimates. The empirical findings indicate that nuclear energy and financial globalization contribute to human development, whereas external debt inhibits it. Similarly, financial globalization accelerates ecological deterioration, but nuclear energy and external debt promote environmental sustainability. Moreover, the study reveals bidirectional feedback causalities between human development, carbon emissions and nuclear energy consumption. The study offers useful policy guidance on accomplishing sustainable and inclusive development in BRICS countries.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.2
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• pp.163-177
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• 2023

The design of segmental bridges, a structure that typically employs precast prestressed concrete elements and the balanced cantilever construction method for the deck, may demand a highly complex structural analysis for increased precision of the results. This work presents a comprehensive numerical analysis of a 3D finite element model using the software ANSYS, version 21.2, to simulate the constructive deck stages of the New Guaiba Bridge, a structure located in Porto Alegre city, southern Brazil. The materials concrete and steel were considered viscoelastic. The concrete used a Generalized Kelvin model, with subroutines written in FORTRAN and added to the main model through the customization tool UPF (User Programmable Features). The steel prestressing tendons used a Generalized Maxwell model available in ANSYS. The balanced cantilever constructive steps of a span of the New Guaiba Bridge were then numerically simulated to follow the actual constructive sequence of the bridge. A comparison between the results obtained with the numerical model and the actual vertical displacement data monitored during the bridge's construction was carried out, showing a good correlation.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.577-588
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• 2022

Oil refineries' Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units (FCCU) when in full operation may exhibit strong fluid dynamics caused by turbulent flow in the piping system that may induce vibrations in other mechanical and structural components of the Unity. This paper reports on the experimental-theoretical-computational program performed to get the vibration properties and the dynamic response amplitudes to find out alternative solutions to attenuate the excessive vibrations that were causing fatigue fractures in components of the bottle like reactor-regenerator of an FCC unit in operation in an existing oil refinery in Brazil. Solutions to the vibration problem were sought with the aid of a 3D finite element model calibrated with the results obtained from experimental measurements. A short description of the found solutions is given and their effectiveness are shown by means of numerical results. The solutions were guided by the concepts of structural stiffening and dynamic control performed by a nonlinear pendulum controller whose mechanical design was based on parameters determined by means of a parametric study carried out with 2D and 3D mathematical models of the coupled pendulum-structure system. The effectiveness of the proposed solutions is evaluated in terms of the fatigue life of critical welded connections.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.13-40
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• 2021

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to predict corporate corruption in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) using different machine learning techniques. Since corruption is a significant problem that can affect corporate performance, particularly in emerging markets, it is important to correctly identify whether a company engages in corrupt practices. Design/methodology/approach - In order to address the research question, we employ predictive analytic techniques (machine learning methods). Using the World Bank Enterprise Survey Data, this study evaluates various predictive models generated by seven supervised learning algorithms: k-Nearest Neighbour (k-NN), Naïve Bayes (NB), Decision Tree (DT), Decision Rules (DR), Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machines (SVM), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Findings - We find that DT, DR, SVM and ANN create highly accurate models (over 90% of accuracy). Among various factors, firm age is the most significant, while several other determinants such as source of working capital, top manager experience, and the number of permanent full-time employees also contribute to company corruption. Research implications or Originality - This research successfully demonstrates how machine learning can be applied to predict corporate corruption and also identifies the major causes of corporate corruption.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.1151-1151
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• 2001

The international coffee trade is conducted almost exclusively with green coffee. The main coffee producing countries include Brazil, Columbia, Indonesia, Mexico and the Ivory Coast. About 99 % of the coffee grown throughout the world belong to two coffee plant varieties that are commonly known as Arabica and Robusta. The quality of green coffee can be assessed according to several ISO standards (1,2,3,4,5). However, no official international standards for the authenticity of green coffee have been issued. It is important to know the country of origin of the coffee for the purposes of fair international trade. The geographic origin of the coffee is often stated on the label of coffee products such as speciality roasted and soluble coffees. Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) is an accepted technique for quantitative analysis of various parameters in routine QC analysis of food products. It would appear to be a promising candidate as a tool for identification of green coffee origin and numerous feasibility studies have appeared in the literature on its use for soluble, roasted and green coffee variety identification as well as identification of arabica or robusta coffees. NIR spectrophotometers when configured in the reflectance mode are able to perform a complete profile of the NIR spectrum on whole beans. The data can then be interpreted by discriminant chemometrics data analysis. This is the approach used in the present study.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.22-36
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• 2023

This study assesses the growth and distribution of research journals indexed in Scopus from 2000 through 2019, using SCImago data for journal and country ranking. A total of 15,484 journals were indexed in Scopus up till 1999, and from 2000 to 2019, 11,037 journals were indexed in Scopus at an average of 581.85 journals per year at an average annual corresponding growth of 2.74%. Of the total journals indexed in Scopus, 41.61% were indexed during the last two decades. Europe is the leading continent publishing nearly 60% of the total world journals, while Africa publishes around 1% of journals, the lowest among all the continents. The United Kingdom, United States (US), China, Brazil, Australia, and Egypt are the leading countries publishing the maximum number of journals from their respective continents. Of the total journals indexed across the world, nearly one-fourth (6,425, 24.23%) are published in the US. Still more, of the 109 journal publishing countries across the world, nearly 90% of journals are published in twenty leading journal publishing countries. Among the 27 major Scopus recognized subject disciplines, the majority (1,606, 6.06%) of journals are published in the field of medicine. The growth of research journals and the growth of research results has moved at a uniform pace, and any asymmetry between the two is bound to result either in the introduction of predatory and dubious journals or in the production of sub-standard research results.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.119-128
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• 2023

Purpose: Due to COVID-19, the rapidly changing untact culture from offline to online has spread rapidly, increasing the utilization of omni-channel. However, among the studies on consumers in the online market, there are not many studies that analyze Shopping Values and attitudes toward omnichannel Acceptance. Research design, data, and methodology: This study investigated through empirical analysis how Shopping Values and innovation propensity of consumers using omni channels affect omni channel Acceptance attitudes. The analysis results based on a total of 268 questionnaires using SPSS v.23 and AMOS v.23 statistical programs are as follows. Results: First, it was found that the perceived Value of omnichannel use had a positive effect on the innovation tendency, and the pleasure Value had a greater effect than the actual Value. Second, it was found that the practical and hedonic Value of the omnichannel had a positive effect on the attitude of service Acceptance. Third, it was found that Omni Channel's consumer innovation tendency had a positive effect on service Acceptance attitude. Conclusion: This study proved that Shopping Value perception and individual innovation propensity for omnichannel services have a positive effect on Acceptance attitude, and it is of academic significance in that it expanded understanding of what factors are needed to increase Acceptance attitude of Omni Channel services.

• The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.1-19
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine the issues involved in offering superior customer experience on fashion retail stores in Brazil. The approach used to access CEM (Customer Experience Management) issues was a special questionnaire with 23 questions, through a research with managers of three important brazilian fashion retail chains (focused on class A clients). Some statistical techniques were used for data processing. It was possible to analyze the aspects that impact on the customer experience and their relevance. it was possible to realize that CEM is effective in increasing productivity and, so, it can be used as a guideline matrix management in decision making to promote superior customer experiences. The classical management is usually conservative and avoids to deal with strategies that do not necessarily involve numbers. Dealing with intangible and so subtle experience is unusual and a huge challenge, but sometimes it is necessary to look beyond the obvious and accessible statistics. If CEM is a strategy to focus on operations and processes of a business around the customers experiences with the company, it is essential to structure it and find out its effectiveness.