• Title/Summary/Keyword: Costs analysis

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Forecasting Hourly Demand of City Gas in Korea (국내 도시가스의 시간대별 수요 예측)

  • Han, Jung-Hee;Lee, Geun-Cheol
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.87-95
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    • 2016
  • This study examined the characteristics of the hourly demand of city gas in Korea and proposed multiple regression models to obtain precise estimates of the hourly demand of city gas. Forecasting the hourly demand of city gas with accuracy is essential in terms of safety and cost. If underestimated, the pipeline pressure needs to be increased sharply to meet the demand, when safety matters. In the opposite case, unnecessary inventory and operation costs are incurred. Data analysis showed that the hourly demand of city gas has a very high autocorrelation and that the 24-hour demand pattern of a day follows the previous 24-hour demand pattern of the same day. That is, there is a weekly cycle pattern. In addition, some conditions that temperature affects the hourly demand level were found. That is, the absolute value of the correlation coefficient between the hourly demand and temperature is about 0.853 on average, while the absolute value of the correlation coefficient on a specific day improves to 0.861 at worst and 0.965 at best. Based on this analysis, this paper proposes a multiple regression model incorporating the hourly demand ahead of 24 hours and the hourly demand ahead of 168 hours, and another multiple regression model with temperature as an additional independent variable. To show the performance of the proposed models, computational experiments were carried out using real data of the domestic city gas demand from 2009 to 2013. The test results showed that the first regression model exhibits a forecasting accuracy of MAPE (Mean Absolute Percentage Error) around 4.5% over the past five years from 2009 to 2013, while the second regression model exhibits 5.13% of MAPE for the same period.

An Examination of Knowledge Sourcing Strategies Effects on Corporate Performance in Small Enterprises (소규모 기업에 있어서 지식소싱 전략이 기업성과에 미치는 영향 고찰)

  • Choi, Byoung-Gu
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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    • v.18 no.4
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    • pp.57-81
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    • 2008
  • Knowledge is an essential strategic weapon for sustaining competitive advantage and is the key determinant for organizational growth. When knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout the organization, it increases an organization's value by providing the ability to respond to new and unusual situations. The growing importance of knowledge as a critical resource has forced executives to pay attention to their organizational knowledge. Organizations are increasingly undertaking knowledge management initiatives and making significant investments. Knowledge sourcing is considered as the first important step in effective knowledge management. Most firms continue to make an effort to realize the benefits of knowledge management by using various knowledge sources effectively. Appropriate knowledge sourcing strategies enable organizations to create, acquire, and access knowledge in a timely manner by reducing search and transfer costs, which result in better firm performance. In response, the knowledge management literature has devoted substantial attention to the analysis of knowledge sourcing strategies. Many studies have categorized knowledge sourcing strategies into intemal- and external-oriented. Internal-oriented sourcing strategy attempts to increase firm performance by integrating knowledge within the boundary of the firm. On the contrary, external-oriented strategy attempts to bring knowledge in from outside sources via either acquisition or imitation, and then to transfer that knowledge across to the organization. However, the extant literature on knowledge sourcing strategies focuses primarily on large organizations. Although many studies have clearly highlighted major differences between large and small firms and the need to adopt different strategies for different firm sizes, scant attention has been given to analyzing how knowledge sourcing strategies affect firm performance in small firms and what are the differences between small and large firms in the patterns of knowledge sourcing strategies adoption. This study attempts to advance the current literature by examining the impact of knowledge sourcing strategies on small firm performance from a holistic perspective. By drawing on knowledge based theory from organization science and complementarity theory from the economics literature, this paper is motivated by the following questions: (1) what are the adoption patterns of different knowledge sourcing strategies in small firms (i,e., what sourcing strategies should be adopted and which sourcing strategies work well together in small firms)?; and (2) what are the performance implications of these adoption patterns? In order to answer the questions, this study developed three hypotheses. First hypothesis based on knowledge based theory is that internal-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. Second hypothesis developed on the basis of knowledge based theory is that external-oriented knowledge sourcing is positively associated with small firm performance. The third one based on complementarity theory is that pursuing both internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing simultaneously is negatively or less positively associated with small firm performance. As a sampling frame, 700 firms were identified from the Annual Corporation Report in Korea. Survey questionnaires were mailed to owners or executives who were most erudite about the firm s knowledge sourcing strategies and performance. A total of 188 companies replied, yielding a response rate of 26.8%. Due to incomplete data, 12 responses were eliminated, leaving 176 responses for the final analysis. Since all independent variables were measured using continuous variables, supermodularity function was used to test the hypotheses based on the cross partial derivative of payoff function. The results indicated no significant impact of internal-oriented sourcing strategies while positive impact of external-oriented sourcing strategy on small firm performance. This intriguing result could be explained on the basis of various resource and capital constraints of small firms. Small firms typically have restricted financial and human resources. They do not have enough assets to always develop knowledge internally. Another possible explanation is competency traps or core rigidities. Building up a knowledge base based on internal knowledge creates core competences, but at the same time, excessive internal focused knowledge exploration leads to behaviors blind to other knowledge. Interestingly, this study found that Internal- and external-oriented knowledge sourcing strategies had a substitutive relationship, which was inconsistent with previous studies that suggested complementary relationship between them. This result might be explained using organizational identification theory. Internal organizational members may perceive external knowledge as a threat, and tend to ignore knowledge from external sources because they prefer to maintain their own knowledge, legitimacy, and homogeneous attitudes. Therefore, integrating knowledge from internal and external sources might not be effective, resulting in failure of improvements of firm performance. Another possible explanation is small firms resource and capital constraints and lack of management expertise and absorptive capacity. Although the integration of different knowledge sources is critical, high levels of knowledge sourcing in many areas are quite expensive and so are often unrealistic for small enterprises. This study provides several implications for research as well as practice. First this study extends the existing knowledge by examining the substitutability (and complementarity) of knowledge sourcing strategies. Most prior studies have tended to investigate the independent effects of these strategies on performance without considering their combined impacts. Furthermore, this study tests complementarity based on the productivity approach that has been considered as a definitive test method for complementarity. Second, this study sheds new light on knowledge management research by identifying the relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies and small firm performance. Most current literature has insisted complementary relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies on the basis of data from large firms. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this study identifies substitutive relationship between knowledge sourcing strategies using data from small firms. Third, implications for practice highlight that managers of small firms should focus on knowledge sourcing from external-oriented strategies. Moreover, adoption of both sourcing strategies simultaneousiy impedes small firm performance.

Construction of cDNA Library and EST Analysis Related to Seed-hair Characteristics in Carrot (당근 종모 형질 관련 cDNA Library 작성 및 EST 분석)

  • Oh, Gyu-Dong;Shim, Eun-Jo;Jun, Sang-Jin;Park, Young-Doo
    • Horticultural Science & Technology
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    • v.31 no.6
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    • pp.782-789
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    • 2013
  • Carrot (Daucus carota L. var. sativa) is one of the most widely used crops in the world and is nutritionally important crop. However, seed-hair which is generated in epidermal cell of seeds causes the difficulty of the seedling process, because of the seed germination and absorption inhibitions. For these reasons, carrot seeds are commercialized after mechanical hair removal process. However, in this process, various damage and seed loss occur and breeding of hairless-seed carrot cultivar is needed to overcome these various weaknesses and additional seed production costs. In this study, cDNA libraries using 2 combinations, which were composed of short-hair seed CT-ATR 615 OP 666-13 & long-hair seed CT-ATR 615 OP 671-9, and short-hair seed CT-SMR 616 OP 659-1 & long-hair seed CT-SMR 616 OP 677-14, were constructed and EST sequences of each individuals were analyzed to reveal carrot seed-hair characteristics. Firstly, analyzed EST sequences were classified into FunCat functional categories. As a result, significant differences have been identified in metabolism category, protein folding and stabilization, protein binding, C-compound binding category from both of two combinations. Secondly, several candidate EST sequences related to seed trichome differentiation and cellulose biosynthetic process were selected based on GO data of EST sequences. These differences based on FunCat categories and candidate EST obtained by GO data analysis are thought to be involved in the formation of carrot seed hair. Finally, 741 SSR sites and 33 SNP sites were identified from analyzed EST sequences of two combinations. Then we designed SNP and SSR primer sets to develop molecular markers. These molecular markers will be used for classification of carrot cultivars and study seed-hair characteristic.

A Case Study on the Calculation of Delay Damages for Contractors according to the Extension of Contract Period (계약기간 연장에 따른 시공자의 손실비용 산정에 관한 사례 연구.)

  • Lee Gi-Han;Kim Yong-Su
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
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    • autumn
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    • pp.305-310
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    • 2001
  • The purpose of this study is to calculate delay damages for contractors. The study has been performed by investigation of delay cost occurrence status and the analysis of subway construction cases. The results of this study are as follows: 1. Delay cost( 1day) equivalent to $0.005\%$ of total construction cost by analysis case studies. 2. Including bank interest, dealy cost is analysed as the following; $1.1\~9.2\%$ of total construction cost in part extension period, $3.3\~11.0\%$ of total construction cost in total extension period. 3. In comparison between liquidated damages and delay cost, liquidated damages account for average 20.1 times of delay costs. 4. Acceleration cost will be calculate on the basis of delay cost calculation method. In the result of this method, acceleration cost is equal to delay cost at least or must be large than delay cost

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Supplemental Lighting by HPS and PLS Lamps Affects Growth and Yield of Cucumber during Low Radiation Period (약광기 HPS와 PLS lamp를 이용한 오이의 보광재배효과)

  • Kwon, Joon-Kook;Yu, In-Ho;Park, Kyoung-Sub;Lee, Jae-Han;Kim, Jin-Hyun;Lee, Jung-Sup;Lee, Dong-Soo
    • Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.400-406
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    • 2018
  • In this experiment the effect of supplemental lighting on the growth and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. 'Fresh') plants during low radiation period of winter season were investigated in glasshouses using common high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps and newly developed plasma lighting system (PLS) lamps. Plants grown without supplemental lighting were considered as a control. Supplemental lighting was provided from November 20th, 2015 to March 15th, 2016 to ensure 14-hour photoperiod (natural+supplemental light), also lamps were operated automatically when the outside sun radiation levels were less than $100W{\cdot}m^{-2}$. Spectral analysis showed that HPS lamp had a discrete spectrum, lacked of the radiation in the 400-550 nm wave band (blue-green light), but had a high output in the orange-red region (550-650 nm). A higher red light output resulted in an increased red to far-red (R/FR) ratio in HPS lamp. PLS had a continuous spectrum and had a peak radiation in green region (490-550 nm). HPS has 12.6% lower output in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) but 12.6% higher output in near infra-red (NIR) spectral regions compared to PLS. Both HPS and PLS lamps emitted very low levels of ultra-violet radiation (300-400 nm). Supplemental lighting both from HPS and PLS lamps increased plant height, leaf number, internode number and dry weight of cucumber plants compared to control. Photosynthetic activity of cucumber plants grown under two supplemental lighting systems was comparable. Number of fruits per cucumber plant (fruit weight per plant) in control, PLS, and HPS plots were 21.2 (2.9 kg), 38.7 (5.5 kg), and 40.4 (5.6 kg), respectively, thereby increasing yield by 1.8-1.9 times in comparison with control. An analysis of the economic feasibility of supplemental lighting in cucumber cultivation showed that considering lamp installation and electricity costs the income from supplemental lighting increased by 37% and 62% for PLS and HPS lamps, respectively.

An historical analysis on the carbon lock-in of Korean electricity industry (한국 전력산업의 탄소고착에 대한 역사적 분석)

  • Chae, Yeoungjin;Roh, Keonki;Park, Jung-Gu
    • Journal of Energy Engineering
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    • v.23 no.2
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    • pp.125-148
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    • 2014
  • This paper performs a historical analysis on the various factors contributing to the current carbon lock-in of Korean electricity industry by using techo-institutional complex. The possibilities of the industry's carbon lock-out toward more sustainable development are also investigated. It turns out that market, firm, consumer, and government factors are all responsible for the development of the carbon lock-in of Korean power industry; the Korean government consistently favoring large power plants based on the economy of scale; below-cost electricity tariff; inflation policy to suppress increases in power price; rapid demand growth in summer and winter seasons; rigidities of electricity tariff; and expansion of gas-fired and imported coal-fired large power plants. On the other hand, except for nuclear power generation and smart grid, environment laws and new and renewable energy laws are the other remaining factors contributing to the carbon lock-out. Considering three key points that Korea is an export-oriented economy, the generation mix is the most critical factor to decide the amounts of carbon emission in the power industry, and the share of industry and commercial power consumption is over 85%, it is unlikely that Korea will achieve the carbon lock-out of power industry in the near future. Therefore, there are needs for more integrated approaches from market, firm, consumer, and government all together in order to achieve the carbon lock-out in the electricity industry. Firstly, from the market perspective, it is necessary to persue more active new and renewable energy penetration and to guarantee consumer choices by mitigating the incumbent's monopoly power as in the OECD countries. Secondly, from the firm perspective, the promotion of distributed energy system is urgent, which includes new and renewable resources and demand resources. Thirdly, from the consumer perspective, more green choices in the power tariff and customer awareness on the carbon lock-out are needed. Lastly, the government shall urgently improve power planning frameworks to include the various externalities that were not properly reflected in the past such as environmental and social conflict costs.

A Study on Determinants of Korean SMEs' Foreign Direct Investment in Gaeseong Industrial Complex & Vietnam (중소기업의 개성공단 및 베트남 직접투자 결정요인 연구)

  • Cho, Heonsoo
    • Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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    • v.16 no.4
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    • pp.167-178
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    • 2021
  • The purpose of this study is to analyze the direct investment decision factors in the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Vietnam, and to contribute to the creation of domestic jobs and the revitalization of the inter-Korean economy. According to the analysis, most of the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Vietnamese investment companies are entering the complex for the purpose of utilizing cheap labor, cheap factory locations, sales/development of local markets, and bypass export production bases in third countries. This can be divided into production-efficient investors using differences in production price such as labor costs and market-oriented investors to sell and expand the local market, which seems to be consistent with global direct investment patterns such as Nike, Apple, and Amazon. However, even if the North Korea-U.S. denuclearization talks ease or lift sanctions, Vietnamese investors' willingness to invest in the North Korea has been most burdened by the possibility of closing special economic zones due to political risks. Last but not least, it is important to note that those willing to invest in North Korea are mostly smaller enterprises in textiles, sewing, footwear and leather industries-those that benefit from low-cost labor. Since their size is small, they need policy support in financing, especially in the early stages of their business. Even after they grow past the early stages, those without collateral would still need state guarantee letters to get financing. Thus, it is worth considering to use the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund to compensate commercial banks for bad loan loss or for low-interest loans for smaller SMEs. The interviews with SMEs found that red-tape is one of the biggest difficulties they face. Thus, it is recommended that a one-stop service agency should be established to cover all processes and issues related to inter-Korean economic cooperation to eliminate redundancy and expediate government support for SMEs.

Estimation of Allowable Bearing Capacity and Settlement of Deep Cement Mixing Method for Reinforcing the Greenhouse Foundation on Reclaimed Land (간척지 온실기초 보강을 위한 심층혼합처리공법의 허용지내력 및 침하량 산정)

  • Lee, Haksung;Kang, Bang Hun;Lee, Kwang-seung;Lee, Su Hwan
    • Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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    • v.30 no.4
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    • pp.287-294
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    • 2021
  • In order to expand facility agriculture and reduce greenhouse construction costs in reclaimed land, a greenhouse foundation method that satisfies economic feasibility and structural safety at the same time is required. As an alternative, the allowable bearing capacity and settlement were reviewed when the DCM(Deep cement mixing) method was applied among the soft ground reinforcement methods. To examine the applicability of the greenhouse foundation, the allowable bearing capacity and settlement were calculated by applying the theory of Terzaghi, Meyerhof, Hansen, and Schmertmann. In case of the diameter of 800mm and the width and length of the foundation of 4m, the allowable bearing capacity was 179kN/m2 and the settlement was 7.25mm, which satisfies the required bearing capacity and settlement standards. The calculation results were verified through FEM(Finite element method) analysis using the Mohr-Coulomb material model. The allowable bearing capacity was 169kN/m2 and the settlement was 2.52mm. The bearing capacity showed an error of 5.6% compared to calculated value, and the settlement showed and error of 65.4%. Through theoretical calculations and FEM analysis, it was confirmed that the allowable bearing capacity and settlement satisfies the design criteria as a greenhouse foundation when the width and length of the foundation were 4m. Based on the verified design values, it is expected to be able to present the foundation design criteria for greenhouses through empirical tests such as bearing capacity tests and long-term settlement monitoring.

Analysis on Socio-cultural Aspect of Willingness to Pay for Air Quality (PM10, PM2.5) Improvement in Seoul (서울지역 미세먼지 문제 개선을 위한 사회문화적 지불의사액 추정)

  • Kim, Jaewan;Jung, Taeyong;Lee, Taedong;Lee, Dong Kun
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.101-112
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    • 2019
  • Over the last few years, air pollution ($PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$) in the Seoul metropolitan area (SMA) has emerged as one of the most concerned and threatening environmental issues among the residents. It brings about various harmful effects on human health, as well as ecosystem and industrial activities. Governments and individuals pay various costs to mitigate the level of air pollutants. This study aims to empirically find the willingness to pays (WTP) among the parents from different socio-cultural groups - international and domestic groups to mitigate air pollution ($PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$) in their residential area. Contingent Valuation Methods (CVM) is used with employing single-bounded dichotomous choice technique to elicit the respondent's WTP. Using tobit (censored regression) and probit models, the monthly mean WTP of the pooled sample for green electricity which contributes to improve air quality in the region was estimated as 3,993 KRW (3.58 USD). However, the mean WTP between the international group and domestic group through a sub-sample analysis shows broad distinction as 3,325KRW (2.98 USD) and 4,449 KRW (3.98 USD) respectively. This is because that socio-cultural characteristics of each group such as socio-economic status, personal experience, trust in institutions and worldview are differently associated with the WTP. Based on the results, the society needs to raise awareness of lay people to find a strong linkage between the current PM issue and green electricity. Also, it needs to improve trust in the government's pollution abatement policy to mobilize more assertive participation of the people from different socio-cultural background.

Comparative Analysis of Nitrogen Concentration of Rainfall in South Korea for Nonpoint Source Pollution Model Application (비점오염모델 적용을 위한 우리나라 행정구역별 강수 중 질소농도 비교분석)

  • Choi, Dong Ho;Kim, Min-Kyeong;Hur, Seung-Oh;Hong, Sung-Chang;Choi, Soon-Kun
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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    • v.37 no.3
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    • pp.189-196
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    • 2018
  • BACKGROUND: Water quality management of river requires quantification of pollutant loads and implementation of measures through monitoring study, but it requires labour and costs. Therefore, many researchers are performing nonpoint source pollution analysis using computer models. However, calibration of model parameters needs observed data. Nitrogen concentration in rainfall is one of the factors to be considered when estimating the pollutant loads through application of the nonpoint source pollution model, but the default value provided by the model is used when there are no observed data. Therefore, this study aims to provide the representative nitrogen concentration of the rainfall for the administrative district ensuring rational modeling and reliable results. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, rainfall monitoring data from June 2015 to December 2017 were used to determine the nitrogen concentration in rainfall for each administrative district. Range of the $NO_3{^-}$ and $NH_4{^+}$ concentrations were 0.41~6.05 mg/L, 0.39~2.27 mg/L, respectively, and T-N concentration was 0.80~7.71 mg/L. Furthermore, the national average of T-N concentration in this study was $2.84{\pm}1.42mg/L$, which was similar to the national average of T-N 3.03 mg/L presented by the Ministry of Environment in 2015. Therefore, the nitrogen concentrations suggested in this study can be considered to be resonable values. CONCLUSION: The nitrogen concentrations estimated in this study showed regional differences. Therefore, when estimating the pollutant loads through application of the nonpoint source pollution model, resonable parameter estimation of nitrogen concentration in rainfall is possible by reflecting the regional characteristics.