• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.55-78
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• 2011

Recently strategic alliance between business firms has become prevalent to overcome increasing competitive threats and to supplement resource limitation of individual firms. As one of allianced sales promotion activities, a new type of discount program, so called "Alliance Card Discount", is introduced with the partnership of credit cards and loyalty cards. The program mainly pursues short-term sales growth by larger discount scheme while spends less through cost share among alliance partners. Thus this program can be regarded as cost efficient discount promotion. But because there is no solid evidence that it can really deliver profitable sales growth, an empirical study for its effects on sales and profit should be conducted. This study has two basic research questions concerning the effects of allianced discount program ; 1)the possibility of sales increase 2) the profitability of the discount driven sales. In F&B industry, sales increase mainly comes from increased guest count. Especially in family restaurants, to increase the number of guests we need to enlarge the size of visitor group (number of visitors for one group) because customers visit by group in a special occasion. And because they pay the bill by group(table), the increase of sales per table is a key measure for sales improvement. The past researches for price & discount sensitivity and reference discount rate explain that price sensitive consumers have narrow reference discount zone and make rational purchase decision. Differently from all time discount scheme of regular sales promotions, the alliance card discount program only provides the right to get discount like discount coupon. And because it is usually once a month opportunity given by the past month usage level, customers tend to perceive alliance card discount as a rare chance to get. So that we can expect customers try to maximize the discount effect when they use the limited discount opportunity. Considering group visiting practice and low visit frequency of family restaurants, the way to maximize discount effect should be the increase the size of visit group. And their sensitivity to discount and rational consumption behavior defer the additional spending for ordering high price menu, even though they get considerable amount of savings from the discount. From the analysis of sales data paid by alliance discount cards for four months, we found the below. 1) The relation between discount rate and number of guest per table is positive : 25% discount results one additional guest 2) The relation between discount rate and the spending per guest is negative. 3) However, total profit amount per table is increased when discount rate is increased. 4) Reward point accumulation & redemption did not show any significant relationship with the increase of number of guests. These results suggest that the allianced discount program substantially contributes to sales increase and profit improvement by increasing the number of guests per table. Though the spending per guest is decreased by discount rate increase, the total amount of profit per table is improved. It seems the incremental profit by increased guest count offsets the profit decrease. Additional intriguing finding is the point reward system does not have any significant impact on the increase of number of guest, even if the point accumulation & redemption of loyalty program are usually regarded as another saving offers by customers. In sum, because it is proved that allianced discount program with credit cards and loyalty cards is effective to both sales drive and profit increase, the alliance card program could be recommended as strategically buyable program.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.355-360
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• 2013

Diesel-burning air heater (air heater) and infrared heating lamp (infrared heater) were installed as auxiliary heaters in two single water-curtained plastic greenhouses with a set night temperature of $6^{\circ}C$ for cultivation of strawberry 'Seolhyang'. The average night air temperature was $6.6^{\circ}C$ in the infrared heater treatment and $7.1^{\circ}C$ in the air heater treatment. However, when the minimum outside temperature fell below $-10^{\circ}C$, the air heater had less internal temperature fluctuations. In contrast, the infrared heater had some cases of falling below the set temperature. The relative humidity was higher than 98% by the side-effect of water-curtain system regardless of the heating system. There was about $5^{\circ}C$ difference in leaf temperature between the turned-on and -off state of the infrared heater, and the efficacy of the infrared heater on leaf temperature was only limited to about 4 meters from the system. Peduncle length and plant height in the infrared heater tended to be greater than those in the air heater. There was, however, no statistically difference in leaf size and numbers of leaves, flowers on first cluster and branches. There was no difference in soluble solids content, fruit firmness, average fruit weight of the harvested fruits, and the yield. Comparing the heating costs, the air heater system took 622,662 won based on 543 L tax-free diesel, while the infrared heater system took 235,284 won by consuming 5,685 kWh of electricity, and 62.2% heating costs saving was achieved.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.115-134
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• 1991

The role of pension plans in the macroeconomy has been a subject of much interest for some years. It has come to be recognized that pension plans may alter basic macroeconomic behavior patterns. The net effects on both savings and labor supply are thus matters for speculation. The aim of the present paper is to provide quantitative results which may be helpful in attaching orders of magnitude to some of the possible effects. We are not concerned with the providing empirical evidence relating to actual behavior, but rather with deriving the macroeconomic implications for a alternative possibilities. The pension plan interacts with the economy and the population in a number of ways. Demographic variables may thus affect both the economic burden of a national pension plan and the ability of the economy to sustain the burden. The tax transfer process associated with the pension plan may have implications for national patterns of saving and consumption. The existence of a pension plan may have implications also for the size of the labor force, inasmuch as labor force participation rates may be affected. Changes in technology and the associated changes in average productivity levels bear directly on the size of the national income, and hence on the pension contribution base. The vehicle for the analysis is a hypothetical but broadly realistic simulation model of an economic- demographic system into which is inserted a national pension plan. All income, expenditure, and related aggregates are in real terms. The economy is basically neoclassical; full employment is assumed, output is generated by a Cobb-Douglas production process, and factors receive their marginal products. The model was designed for use in computer simulation experiments. The simulation results suggest a number of general conclusions. These may be summarized as follows; - The introduction of a national pension plan (funded system) tends to increase the rate of economic growth until cost exceeds revenue. - A scheme with full wage indexing is more expensive than one in which pensions are merely price indexed. - The rate of technical progress is not a critical element in determining the economic burden of the pension scheme. - Raising the rate of benefits affects its economic burden, and raising the age of eligibility may decrease the burden substantially. - The level of fertility is an element in determining the long-run burden. A sustained low fertility rate increases the proportion of the aged in total population and increases the burden of the pension plan. High fertility has inverse effects.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.253-259
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• 2005

This study was accomplished using attached $A^2/O$ process that contains nonsurface-modified and surface-modified polyethylene media inside the Anaerobic/Anoxic, Oxic tank, respectively. We could make the hydrophobic polyethylene media have hydrophilic characteristics by radiating ion beam on the surface of the media. The objectives of this study is to investigate the removal efficiencies of the organics and nitrogen when the step feed ratio of raw wastewater into anaerobic and anoxic tank is changed. In this case, we assumed that the denitrification rate can be improved because the nitrifiers in anoxic tank can perform denitrification using RBDCOD instead of artificial carbon sources (for example, methanol, etc.). The wastewater injection rate into anaerobic/anoxic tank was set up by the ratio of 10 : 0, 9 : 1, 8 : 2, 6 : 4, and the results of BOD removal efficiency showed similar trends with $93.3\%,\;92.6\%,\;92.4\%\;and\;91.6\%$, respectively. But the BOD removal efficiency (utilization of the organics) in the anoxic tank was in the order of 9 : 1 $(84.8\%)$, 10 : 0 $(77.0\%)$, 8 : 2 $(75.3\%)$, and 6 : 4 $(61.1\%)$. The T-N removal efficiency was most high when the ratio is 9 : 1 $(67.4\%)$, and other conditions, 10 : 0, 8 : 2, 6 : 4, showed $61.3(\%),\;60.7\%,\;55.5\%$, respectively; the ratio 6 : 4 was found to be lowest T-N removal efficiency, lower than the ratio 9 : 1 by $12\%$. Though the nitrification rate of the ratio 10 : 0, 9 : 1, and 8 : 2 showed similar levels, the ratio 6 : 4 showed considerable inhibition of nitrification, ammonia was the great portion of the effluent T-N. The advantages of this process is that this process is cost-saving, and non-toxic methods than injecting the artificial carbon source.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.827-833
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• 2008

Purpose : Early identification of iron deficiency in young children is essential to prevent damaging long-term consequences. It is often difficult for the pediatrician to know which indices should be used when diagnosing these conditions especially in hospitalized young children. This study investigated the clinical significances of reticulocyte hemoglobin content in young children with acute infection. Methods : We studied 69 young children aged from 6 to 24 months admitted with acute infection in a single center. Venous blood was drawn to determine hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), hemoglobin content (CH), reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr), and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) using ADVIA 120 (Bayer Diagnostics, NY, USA). For evaluating iron status, iron, total iron binding capacity, ferritin and transferrin saturation (Tfsat) were determined. Iron deficiency was defined as Tfsat less than 20%, and iron deficiency anemia as Tfsat less than 20% and Hb level less than 11 g/dL. Results : In all, 47 were iron deficient; 17 of these had iron deficiency anemia. CHr was the only significant predictor of iron deficiency (likelihood ratio test=71.25; odds ratio=0.67; P<0.05). Plasma ferritin level had no predictive value (P=0.519). Subjects with CHr less than 27.4 pg had lower Hb level, MCH, CH, Tfsat, and iron levels than those with CHr 27.4 pg or more (P<0.05 for all). Conclusion : CHr level was a sensitive screening tool and the strongest predictor of iron deficiency in hospitalized infants with acute infection; it was cost saving and avoiding additional sampling. However its reference range should be established.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.44-63
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• 2000

Situated close to Heathrow Airport, and adjacent to the M4 and M25 Motorways, the site at Axis Park is considered a prime location for business in the UK. In consequnce two of the UK's major property development companies, MEPC and Redrew Homes sought the expertise of Intergeo to remediate the contaminated former industrial site prior to its development. Industrial use of the twenty-six hectare site, started in 1936, when Hawker Aircraft commence aircraft manufacture. In 1963 the Firestone Tyre and Rubber Company purchased part of the site. Ford commenced vehicle production at the site in the mid-1970's and production was continued by Iveco Ford from 1986 to the plant's decommissioning in 1997. Geologically the site is underlain by sand and gravel, deposited in prehistory by the River Thames, with London Clay at around 6m depth. The level of groundwater fluctuates seasonally at around 2.5m depth, moving slowly southwest towards local streams and watercourses. A phased investigation of the site was undertaken, which culminated in the extensive site investigation undertaken by Intergeo in 1998. In total 50 boreholes, 90 probeholes and 60 trial pits were used to investigate the site and around 4000 solid and 1300 liquid samples were tested in the laboratory for chemical substances. The investigations identified total petroleum hydrocarbons in the soil up to 25, 000mg/kg. Diesel oil, with some lubricating oil were the main components. Volatile organic compounds were identified in the groundwater in excess of 10mg/l. Specific substances included trichloromethane, trichloromethane and tetrachloroethene. Both the oil and volatile compounds were widely spread across the site, The specific substances identified could be traced back to industrial processes used at one or other dates in the sites history Slightly elevated levels of toxic metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were also identified locally. Prior to remediation of the site and throughout its progress, extensive liaison with the regulatory authorities and the client's professional representatives was required. In addition to meetings, numerous technical documents detailing methods and health and safety issues were required in order to comply with UK environmental and safety legislation. After initially considering a range of options to undertake remediation, the following three main techniques were selected: ex-situ bioremediation of hydrocarbon contaminated soils, skimming of free floating hydrocarbon product from the water surface at wells and excavations and air stripping of volatile organic compounds from groundwater recovered from wells. The achievements were as follows: 1) 350, 000m3 of soil was excavated and 112, 000m3 of sand and gravel was processed to remove gravel and cobble sized particles; 2) 53, 000m3 of hydrocarbon contaminated soil was bioremediated in windrows ; 3) 7000m3 of groundwater was processed by skimming to remove free floating Product; 4) 196, 000m3 of groundwater was Processed by air stripping to remove volatile organic compounds. Only 1000m3 of soil left the site for disposal in licensed waste facilities Given the costs of disposal in the UK, the selected methods represented a considerable cost saving to the Clients. All other soil was engineered back into the ground to a precise geotechnical specification. The following objective levels were achieved across the site 1) By a Risk Based Corrective Action (RBCA) methodology it was demonstrated that soil with less that 1000mg/kg total petroleum hydrocarbons did not pose a hazard to health or water resources and therefore, could remain insitu; 2) Soils destined for the residential areas of the site were remediated to 250mg/kg total petroleum hydrocarbons; in the industrial areas 500mg/kg was proven acceptable. 3) Hydrocarbons in groundwater were remediated to below the Dutch Intervegtion Level of 0.6mg/1; 4) Volatile organic compounds/BTEX group substances were reduced to below the Dutch Intervention Levels; 5) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and metals were below Inter-departmental Committee for the Redevelopment of Contaminated Land guideline levels for intended enduse. In order to verify the qualify of the work 1500 chemical test results were submitted for the purpose of validation. Quality assurance checks were undertaken by independent consultants and at an independent laboratory selected by Intergeo. Long term monitoring of water quality was undertaken for a period of one year after remediation work had been completed. Both the regulatory authorities and Clients representatives endorsed the quality of remediation now completed at the site. Subsequent to completion of the remediation work Redrew Homes constructed a prestige housing development. The properties at "Belvedere Place" retailed at premium prices. On the MEPC site the Post Office, amongst others, has located a major sorting office for the London area. Exceptionally high standards of remediation, control and documentation were a requirement for the work undertaken here.aken here.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.10-39
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• 1988

This study investigated the temperatures and relative humidities in the semi-greenhouse type solar dryer with a black rock-bed heat storage and without heat storage and outdoor temperature and relative humidity at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.. A comparison was made of the drying rates, final moisture contents, moisture content distributions, casehardening stresses, drying defects, volumetric shrinkage of dried lumber for solar- and air-drying from the green condition of mixtures of Douglas-fir, lauan, taun, oak and sycamore 25mm- and 50 mm-thick lumber during the same period for four seasons, and heat efficiencies for solar dryer with and without the heat storage for saving of heat energy and the cost of lumber drying using the solar energy. The results from this study were summarized as follows: I. The mean weekly temperatures in the solar dryers were 3 to $6^{\circ}C$ at 9 a.m. and 9 to $13^{\circ}C$ at 2 p.m. higher than mean outdoor temperature during all the drying period. 2. The mean weekly relative humidities in the solar dryers were about 1 to 19% at 9 a.m. higher than the outdoor relative humidity. and the difference between indoor and outdoor relative humidity in the morning was greater than in the afternoon. 3. The temperatures and relative humidities in the solar dryer with and without the heat storage were nearly same. 4. The overall solar insolation during the spring months was highest and then was greater in the order of summer, atumm, and winter month. S. The initial rate of solar drying was more rapid than that of air drying. As moisture content decreased, solar drying rate became more rapid than that of air drying. The rates of solar drying with and without heat storage were nearly same. The drying rate of Douglas-fir was fastest and then faster in the order of sycamore, lauan, taun and oak. and the faster drying rate of species, the smaller differences of drying rates between thicknesses of lumber. The drying rates were fastest in the summer and slowest in the winter. The rates of solar drying during the spring were more slowly in the early stage and faster in the later stage than those during the autumn. 6. The final moisture contents were above 15% for 25mm-thick air dried and about 10% for solar dried lumber, but the mean final MCs for 50mm-thick lumber were much higher than those of thin lumber. The differences of final MC between upper and lower course of pile for solar drying were greater than those of pile for air drying. The differences of moisture content between the shell and the core of air dried lumbers were greater than those of solar dried lumber, smallest in the drying during summer and greatest in the drying during winter among seasons. 7. Casehardening stresses of 25mm- and 50mm-thick dried lumber were slight, casehardening stress of solar dried lumber was severer than that of air dried lumber and was similar between solar dried lumber with and without heat storage, Casehardening stresses of lumber dried during spring were slightest and then slighter in the order of summer, autumn, and winter. Casehardening stresses of Douglas -fir, sycamore and lauan were slight, comparing with those of taun and oak. 8. Maximum initial checks of 25mm-thick lumber occurred above and below fiber saturation point and those of 50mm-thick lumber occurred in the higher moisture content than thin lumber. As the moisture content decreased, most of checks were closed and didn't show distinct difference of the degree of checks among drying methods. The degree of checks were very slight in case of Douglas-fir and lauan, and severe in case of taun and oak. The degree of checks for 50mm-thick lumber were severer than those for 25mm-thick lumber. 9. The degree of warpage showed severe in case of oak and sycamore lumber, but no warping was found in case of Douglas-fir, lauan and taun. 10. The volumetric shrinkages of taun and oak were large and medium in case of Douglas-fir, lauan and sycamore. 11. Heat efficiencies of solar dryer with heat storage were 6.9% during spring, 7.7% during summer, 12.1% during autumn and 4.1% during winter season. Heat efficiency of solar dryer with heat storage was slightly greater than that of without heat storage. As moisture content of lumber decreased, heat efficiency decreased.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.976-986
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• 1996

BACKGROUND : Dyspnea is common among patients with cardiopulmonary disease, and "daily disability" is defined as a functional impairment resulting from exercise intolerance. The maximal oxygen uptake(VO2max) during exhausting work is not only the best single physical indicator of the capacity of a man for sustaining hard muscular work, but also the most objective method by which one can determine the physical fitness of an individual as reflected by his cardiovascular system. However, the expense, time and personnel requirements make this procedure prohibitive for testing large group. The walking test is well-known type of exercise and it cost nothing to perform and have good reproducibility. Thus we performed the walking test and investigated correlations with spirometry, ABG and exercise test. METHOD: We observed the walking test and exercise test by cycle ergometer in 37 patients who visited our hospital because of dyspnea. Arterial blood gas analysis and spiromety, dyspnea index were performed, too. RESULT : (1) The VO2max was significantly lower in patients with COPD and cardiovascular disease than asthma and dyspnea on exertion group(p<0.05). The walking test distance was also lower in former. (2) The 12 minute walking test was significantly correlated with VO2max, PaCO2, FVC(%), FEV1(%) in all patients(p<0.05), and the walking test was only conelated with VO2max in patients with COPD(p<0.05). (3) In COPD patients, the VO2max was best correlated with FEV1(%) and FVC(%) and significantly correlated with walking test. But there was no correlation between walking test and FEV1(%) & FVC(%). (4) The 6 minute walking test was well correlated with 12 minute walking test(r=0.92. p<0.01). CONCLUSION : The walking test is the simple method for assessing exercise performance in patient with cardiopulmonary disease and a reliable indicator for VO2max. And the walking test is practical method for assessing on everyday disability rather than maximal exercise capacity. The 6 minute walking test is highly correlated with 12 minute walking test and a less exhausting for the patients and a time-saving for the investigator.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.3-12
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• 1992

Forage grasses and legumes ar$\varepsilon$ the mam component of livestock diets in Canada. There are over 30 million ha of grassland in Canada and there is a large, undeveloped land base in fringe areas suitable for forage production. The short growing s season limits the grassland farming to the southern p parts of Canada. The win!er season is long and in most parts of Canada cold temperatures, fr$\varepsilon$ezmg, and thawing, and diseases exert sever$\varepsilon$ stress on overwintering forage plants. The development of persistent cultivars is essential for sustained production particularly in the fringe areas with short growmg s$\varepsilon$ason. The seasonality of dry matter production is a result of high growth rates in early summ$\varepsilon$r and low dry matter accumulation in late summer and fall. Innovative management practIces a and cultivars with improved regrowth capacity are n necessary to overcome such skewed production pattern and to extend effiectlVe grazmg season l Improved pasture production is an important part of reducing costs in livestock operations and remaining competitive. It is suggested that applying available technology would increase pasture productivity and reduce d$\varepsilon$pendence on stored feeds thus improving profitability of small producers in particeular. Reducing nutrient losses during harv$\varepsilon$stmg, s storage, and feeding is essential for improved production efficiency during confinement. The devclopment of low cost and labor saving methods of ensiling is critical for improved efficiency and profitability of forage based enterprises Livestock industries must respond to consumer preferences for low fat and cholesterol foods. Research and development of entire production systems is emphasized for dev$\varepsilon$loping viabl$\varepsilon$ enterprises. It is increasingly difficult to secure resources for r$\varepsilon$search, education, and extension, and alliane$\varepsilon$s and cooperation must expand among organizations with interests in forage based livestock systems.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.157-175
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• 2012

It is difficult to evaluate the performance of process innovation of e-procurement which has large scale and complex processes. The existing evaluation methods for measuring the effects of process innovation have been mainly done with statistically quantitative methods by analyzing operational data or with qualitative methods by conducting surveys and interviews. However, these methods have some limitations to evaluate the effects because the performance evaluation of e-procurement process innovation should consider the interactions among participants who are active either directly or indirectly through the processes. This study considers the e-procurement process as a complex system and develops a simulation model based on MAS(Multi-Agent System) to evaluate the effects of e-procurement process innovation. Multi-agent based simulation allows observing interaction patterns of objects in virtual world through relationship among objects and their behavioral mechanism. Agent-based simulation is suitable especially for complex business problems. In this study, we used Netlogo Version 4.1.3 as a MAS simulation tool which was developed in Northwestern University. To do this, we developed a interaction model of agents in MAS environment. We defined process agents and task agents, and assigned their behavioral characteristics. The developed simulation model was applied to G2B system (KONEPS: Korea ON-line E-Procurement System) of Public Procurement Service (PPS) in Korea and used to evaluate the innovation effects of the G2B system. KONEPS is a successfully established e-procurement system started in the year 2002. KONEPS is a representative e-Procurement system which integrates characteristics of e-commerce into government for business procurement activities. KONEPS deserves the international recognition considering the annual transaction volume of 56 billion dollars, daily exchanges of electronic documents, users consisted of 121,000 suppliers and 37,000 public organizations, and the 4.5 billion dollars of cost saving. For the simulation, we analyzed the e-procurement of process of KONEPS into eight sub processes such as 'process 1: search products and acquisition of proposal', 'process 2 : review the methods of contracts and item features', 'process 3 : a notice of bid', 'process 4 : registration and confirmation of qualification', 'process 5 : bidding', 'process 6 : a screening test', 'process 7 : contracts', and 'process 8 : invoice and payment'. For the parameter settings of the agents behavior, we collected some data from the transactional database of PPS and some information by conducting a survey. The used data for the simulation are 'participants (government organizations, local government organizations and public institutions)', 'the number of bidding per year', 'the number of total contracts', 'the number of shopping mall transactions', 'the rate of contracts between bidding and shopping mall', 'the successful bidding ratio', and the estimated time for each process. The comparison was done for the difference of time consumption between 'before the innovation (As-was)' and 'after the innovation (As-is).' The results showed that there were productivity improvements in every eight sub processes. The decrease ratio of 'average number of task processing' was 92.7% and the decrease ratio of 'average time of task processing' was 95.4% in entire processes when we use G2B system comparing to the conventional method. Also, this study found that the process innovation effect will be enhanced if the task process related to the 'contract' can be improved. This study shows the usability and possibility of using MAS in process innovation evaluation and its modeling.