• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제7권12호
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• pp.909-917
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• 2020

The research aims to analyze the firm-specific and macroeconomic factors that affect insurance company's financial performance. The research explores the variables that influence the financial performance of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)' insurance companies. The analysis for determining financial performance considers the following variables: the firm's age, retention ratio, capital adequacy, underwriting risk/loss ratio, financial-leverage, reinsurance dependency, and macro-economic factors such as GDP per capita, inflation rate considered as independent factors. The return-on-asset (ROA) is the key measuring indicator; it is regarded as the dependent variable for financial performance measures. The research focuses on secondary information obtained from insurance companies' financial statements. The researcher targeted 18 insurance companies listed on the UAE stock exchanges for study purposes. The research examines the overall factors that influence the financial performance of an insurance company. For analysis of data, software package of social sciences (SPSS version 20) is used. The studies used correlation and multiple linear regression analysis to determine financial performance and their effects. The analysis suggests that there are important and constructive relationships between the size, capital adequacy, and reinsurance dependency, while loss ratio, retention ratio, and financial leverage indicate a major negative relationship. And there's no link between GDP per capita and inflation.

• 한국CDE학회논문집
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• 제17권6호
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• pp.398-408
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• 2012

This paper investigates the tolerance stack-up in a commercial sliding-type mobile phone model developed by a Korean electronics company, with focus on the dimensional quality of the gap between the sliding top and the main body. The tolerance analysis in this study is done using a commercial software package, which runs Monte Carlo simulations to produce the statistical distributions of the gap size at desired locations. Such an analysis revealed that the original design did not yield the desired dimensional quality of the gap. Through a series of systematic analyses and syntheses, an improved design is proposed for the nominal dimensions and tolerances of selected features of the parts. The proposed design was validated, through tolerance analysis simulation, to meet the desired requirement of the gap quality.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.321-333
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• 2018

Flat-slabs, being a significant structural component, not only reduce the dead load of the structure but also reduce the amount of concrete required for construction. Moreover the use of recycled aggregates lowers the impact of large scale construction to nearby ecosystems. Recycled aggregate based concrete being a quasi-brittle material shows enormous cracking during failure. Crack growth in flat-slabs is mostly in sliding mode (Mode II). Therefore sufficient sections need to be provided for resistance against such failure modes. The main objective of the paper is to numerically determine the ultimate load carrying capacity of two self-similar flat-slab specimens and validate the results experimentally for the natural aggregate as well as recycled aggregate based concrete. Punching shear experiments are carried out on circular flat-slab specimen on a rigid circular knife-edge support built out of both normal (NAC) and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC, with full replacement). Uniaxial compression and bending tests have been conducted on cubes, cylinders and prisms using both types of concrete (NAC and RAC) for its material characterization and use in the numerical scheme. The numerical simulations have been conducted in ABAQUS (a known finite element software package). Eight noded solid elements have been used to model the flat slab and material properties have been considered from experimental tests. The inbuilt Concrete Damaged Plasticity model of ABAQUS has been used to monitor crack propagation in the specimen during numerical simulations.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.299-314
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• 2015

Submersed rock-berm structures are frequently used for protection of underwater lifelines such as pipelines and power cables. During the service life, the rock-berm structure can experience several accidental loads such as anchor collision. The consequences can be severe with a certain level of frequency; hence, the structural responses should be carefully understood for implementing a proper structural health monitoring method. However, no study has been made to quantify the structural responses because it is hard to deal with the individual behavior of each rock. Therefore, this study presents a collision analysis of the submersed rock-berm structure using a finite element software package by facilitating the smoothed-particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The analysis results were compared with those obtained from the Lagrange method. Moreover, two types of anchors (stock anchor and stockless anchor), three collision points and two different drop velocities (terminal velocity of each anchor and 5 m/s) were selected to investigate the changes in the responses. Finally, the effect of these parameters (analysis method, anchor type, collision point and drop velocity) on the analysis results was studied. Accordingly, the effectiveness of the SPH method is verified, a safe rock-berm height (over 1 m) is proposed, and a gauge point (0.5 m above the seabed) is suggested for a structural health monitoring implementation.

• KIEAE Journal
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.63-70
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• 2011

In respond to the global energy crisis and climate change, there have been many ongoing national efforts to develop a sustainable housing prototype followed by "2 million Green Home Project" in Korea. More than 50% of nation's population are currently living in apartment housing thus the country is seriously in need of developing green apartment prototype. In this research, we focused on energy-conservative green apartment design prototype that have both passive components and active systems explored in a systemic design approach. After selecting an existing basic apartment unit, we analyzed and compared statistical data with the simulated annual energy consumption to match these two data sets for validating simulation accuracy performed with TRNSYS package. We performed energy simulations with different passive design factors such as varied insulation thickness, window types and infiltration rates as well as the active design factors including boilers and lighting fixtures to analyze their impacts on the energy performance of the housing unit using TRNSYS software. As a result, we acquired significant energy reduction effect with explored design strategies but the life cycle cost analysis for the final design guidline would need to be performed. In this study, we focused on a systematic comparative energy analysis based on TRNSYS that can improve the design of a green apartment housing.

• 국제초고층학회논문집
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• 제4권1호
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• pp.65-73
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• 2015

Detailed finite element (FE) analyses of a full-scale four-story steel frame structure, subjected to consecutive 60% and 100% excitations from the JR Takatori records during the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake, are conducted using E-Simulator. The four-story frame was tested at the largest shake-table facility in the world, E-Defense, in 2007. E-Simulator is a parallel FE analysis software package developed to accurately simulate structural behavior up to collapse by using a fine mesh of solid elements. To reduce computational time in consecutive dynamic time history analyses, static analysis with gravity force is introduced to terminate the vibration of the structure during the analysis of 60% excitation. An overall sway mechanism when subjected to 60% excitation and a story mechanism resulting from local buckling of the first-story columns when subjected to 100% excitation are simulated by using E-Simulator. The story drift response to the consecutive 60% and 100% excitations is slightly smaller than that for the single 100% excitation.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.125-143
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• 2002

The objectives of this study were analysis of patient\`s characteristics and market segmentation in oriental medical care and western medical care. This study focused on medical utilization using Anderson's health utilization model. The source of data was 1998 National Health and Nutrition Survey which Korean Institute For Health and Social Affairs carried out. A stratified multistage probability sampling design was used in this survey. The analysis was conducted using the statistical software package SPSS version 10.0 and Answer Tree 2.1 which is one of data mining methodology. The results were as follows ; 1) 44.9% of respondents reported visiting oriental medical center within recent two weeks. 3.4% of them used oriental medical care. The group of age, kind of disease and medical expenditure are associated with the difference western and oriental medical utilization rate. 2) There were several factors related to utilization of oriental medical care according to decision tree. Especially, important factors that patient chose his medical center were kinds of disease, kinds of common medical use, and expenditure. 3) in the results of CART analysis, market of oriental medical care were classified by seven categories. The major groups who have a preference for oriental medicine were those musculo-skeletal, cerebra-vascular disease, or chronic headache patients, and they had a preference fur oriental medical care in common use. These results show that oriental and western medical market were divided into various areas by market segmentation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.61-67
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• 2010

The chemical components in plant cuticular wax can be used as markers to estimate the species composition of the diet of grazing animals. In this experiment, composition of the diet of yak on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau was estimated using n-alkane analysis. During the grazing period, samples of whole plants of the species present, plus fecal samples voided by the yak, were collected, air-dried and ground prior to the extraction of cuticular wax n-alkanes. The species composition of the yak diets was estimated by relating fecal alkane contents to those of the plant species, using the 'ATWHAT'software package. The results showed that the n-alkane technique can detect the main dietary components selected by yak. The diet consumed by yak contained 33% Kobresia humilis, 67% Stipa aliena in summer pasture; 26% Potentilla anserine, 74% Carex qinghaiensis in autumn pasture; 52% Carex qinghaiensis, 32% Heteropappus bowerii and 16% Saussurea semifasciata in winter pasture and 5% Carex qinghaiensis, 95% Achnatherum splendens in spring pasture. The apparent selection for forbs is likely to be a reason for nutritional constraint of yak inhabiting alpine environments.

• 보건교육건강증진학회지
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.1-16
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• 2006

Objectives: To analyze the characteristics of smoking prevention programs for the adolescent, and to synthesize the common effect sizes on smoking prevention programs for the adolescent. Methods: Seventeen studies for meta-analysis were selected from dissertations, these, and papers that had been published from 1996 to 2005 and had a randomized or nonequivalent control group in a pre test-post test design. The analysis of the data was computed by using the meta-analysis software package developed by Song(2003). Results: Smoking prevention programs for the adolescent have resulted in a significant effect size on smoking-knowledge( .62), smoking-attitude( .55) of smoking prevention programs for the adolescent showed more than 'medium effect' size. In smoking-knowledge and amount of smoking, the effect size was smoking-attitudes, the effect size was large in the studies which consists of more than 10 sessions of intervention. Conclusion: From the above results, we notice that the smoking prevention programs for the adolescent were effective in increasing the smoking-knowledge, smoking-attitudes, and the intention of smoking-cessation.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• 제21권7호
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• pp.71-77
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• 2003

In this study, an investigation based on the superposition principle to predict residual stress redistribution caused by crack propagation itself initially through residual tensile stress field was performed by finite element method. The tendency in residual stress redistribution caused by crack propagation recognized both from the analytical results and experimental result was the residual stress concentration consecutively occurred in the vicinity of crack tip even the situation that the crack propagated to the region initially residual compressive stress existed. The software for the analysis is ABAQUS, which is a general purpose finite element package. The analytical method that attempt to take the plastic deformation at the crack tip due to tensile residual stress into the consideration of residual stress redistribution caused by crack propagation was proposed. The plastic zone size at the tip of fatigue crack and redistributed residual stresses were calculated by finite element method on the bases of the concept of Dugdale model. Comparing these analytical results with experimental results, it is verified that the residual stress redistribution caused by crack propagation can be predicted by finite element method with the proposed analytical method.