• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.100-117
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• 2022

This study examines the spatio-temporal characteristics of the macrobenthic community in the coastal areas of South Korea for the past six years(2015-2020). The relationship between the number of individuals of macrobenthic species and the benthic environments were investigated using data collected at a total of 154 stations located in the West (70), the South (61), and the East Seas (23), except for the Jeju Sea. We examined the benthic environmental characteristics such as water depth, sediment, grain size, ignition loss, and total organic carbon. A total of 1,614 macrobenthic species were found in the coastal area, with a mean density of 0.62 ind./m² by station. The mean density was relatively high in the spring and summer seasons (May to August) with more than 450 species. The most dominant species belong to Polychaetes and the top five of them accounted for more than 20% of the total number of populations. The top five species were Heteromastus filiformis, Scoletoma longifolia, Sigambra tentaculata, Sternaspis scutata, and Notomastus latericeus. Cluster analysis was performed on the top five dominant species. The stations were clustered into three groups with similar locations on the West, South, and East Sea. Cluster 1 and 3 represent Heteromastus filiformis (44% each), but cluster 2 represents Scoletoma longifolia (66%). Each cluster has different benthic environmental characteristics, especially in the sediment's sand (31.0%, 51.9%) and clay (15.9%, 9.7%) contents.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 2015

Morphological changes in eggs and larvae of spotted knifejaw, Oplegnathus punctatus were observed by cultivation of fertilized eggs to juvenile stage. Fertilized egg was demersal and transparent. The egg has one oil glouble and its size ranged 1.01~1.15 mm ($1.08{\pm}0.10mm$; $mean{\pm}SD$, n=20). Culture chambers were maintained $22.5{\sim}24.5^{\circ}C$ in water temperature and 33.5~34.5ppt in salinity. It took 25 mins from fertilization to the blastoderm stage, 55 mins to 2 cell stage and 20 hrs 50 mins to hatching. Newly hatched yolksac larvae ranged 2.59~3.02 mm ($2.81{\pm}0.25mm$, n=5) in total length, and mouth and anus were not still open. Yolk and oil globule were absorbed 2 days after hatching (DAH). Flexion larvae in 12 DAH ranged 3.02~3.07 mm TL ($3.04{\pm}0.04mm$), and the caudal fin grew to fan-shaped, melanophores appeared on top of digestive canal.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.71-92
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• 2015

This study analyzes the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities on financial performances using Bayesian Network. The research tries to overcome the issues of the uniform assumption of a linear function between financial performance and CSR activities in multiple regression analysis widely used in previous studies. It is required to infer a causal relationship between activities of CSR which have an impact on the financial performances. Identifying the relationship would empower the firms to improve their financial performance by informing the decision makers about the different CSR activities that influence the financial performance of the firms. This research proposes General Bayesian Network (GBN) and presents Markov Blanket induced from GBN. It is empirically demonstrated that all the proposals presented in this study are statistically significant by the results of the research conducted by Korean Economic Justice Institute (KEJI) under Citizen's Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) which investigated approximately 200 companies in Korea based on Korean Economic Justice Institute Index (KEJI index) from 2005 to 2011. The Bayesian Network to effectively infer the properties affecting financial performances through the probabilistic causal relationship. Moreover, I found that there is a causal relationship among CSR activities variable; that is Environment protection is related to Customer protection, Employee satisfaction, and firm size; Soundness is related to Total CSR Evaluation Score, Debt-Assets Ratio. Though the what-if analysis, I suggest to the sensitive factor among the explanatory variables.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2015

Observed trends in climate change, globalization and an aging population have an effect on public health conditions in Korea, prompting a reevaluation of current environmental regulations. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the total coliform (TC) standard, which is the only microbiological standard in the current regulation regime for hot spring water, by estimating correlation with the presence/absence of Legionella, a non-fecal opportunistic pathogen with heat-tolerance. Microbiological data in 7 studies that surveyed Legionella in hot spring waters were subjected to meta-analyses with the odds ratio (OR) as the effect size. The presence/absence of Legionella was significantly correlated to TC levels [OR = 3.1(1.5–6.4, 95% CI), p = 0.002]. Due to there being no direct explanation as to the reason for the occurrence of TC, mesophilic fecal bacteria, being coupled with Legionella presence, the mechanism of the correlation between the two kinds of bacteria was further investigated. Legionella presence was more prevalent with a high heterotrophic plate count [HPC; 4.0(2.2–7.2); p < 0.001] and water temperature [4.3(1.4–13.6), p = 0.011] when the temperature range was <40℃. However, it was reverse-correlated with water temperature when the temperature was >50℃ [0.2(0.1–0.4), p < 0.001]. Therefore, bacterial standing crops in hot spring waters appear to be determined by water temperature in general, and this forces TC and Legionella levels be correlated. In accordance with this relationship, HPC rather than TC reflect the levels of non-fecal contamination better. Therefore, employing HPC as the sole microbiological standard, or adding HPC into the current standard of hot spring water assessment, is suggested as a proactive measure to prevent health issues arising from contamination.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.75-83
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• 2015

Purpose - This study aims to identify the effects of communication cues, anonymity, and social presence on group polarization in computer-mediated communication (CMC) settings. Extant literature has introduced some theoretical backgrounds of social presence and SIDE (Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects) to explain the effects of communication cues and anonymity. The concept of social presence emphasized the mediating role on communication cues and anonymity. However, most literature did not measure social presence and compare group polarization of all condition groups. This does not sufficiently explain the result of group polarization. Research design, data, and methodology - We believe that the direct impact of anonymity on group polarization can provide a more admissible and clearer explanation for the results. In addition, this study categorizes anonymity into two levels, as anonymity of group and anonymity of self. To justify the anonymity view, a laboratory experiment was conducted. The experiment was conducted in communication cues settings (visual cue; without visual cue) and anonymity settings (identified; anonymous). Each of the four settings has 10 groups consisting of five subjects each (total 200 subjects). The subjects are undergraduates from a large university, majoring in business. All experimental procedures and calculations of choice shift and preference change follow the literature. Results - First, the removal of visual cues does not produce a significant impact on group polarization, which cannot be explained by the social presence view. Second, the anonymous condition does not significantly affect group polarization, which also cannot be explained by the social presence view. However, the anonymous condition directly affects group polarization. Specifically, anonymity of self has a stronger effect on group polarization than anonymity of group. The result explains about the leading factor affecting group polarization. This study examines another view of how computer-mediated communication may be associated with group polarization. The process and outcome data from the experiment reveal that group polarization is not affected by level of social presence, but by level of anonymity. Group discussions conducted with visual cue CMC setting and identified CMC setting result in weaker group polarization. Conversely, group discussions conducted without visual cue CMC setting and anonymous CMC setting lead to stronger group polarization. The results of the study have the following implications. First, they provide clues for business organizations to design the most appropriate media conditions and preemptive social conditions to implement when making group decisions through CMC, to maximize achievements, generate amicable agreements, or actively share information. Second, this study can be useful in analyzing different adverse effects generated through Internet use. Conclusions - This research can help explain discussions and decision-making actions on Internet forums, which have recently increased, as well as providing a foundational basis in newly establishing policies for the forums. Finally, it should be noted that many other factors such as group size, topics, and group history may affect group polarization. These should be examined in future studies.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.59-67
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• 2015

Purpose - The number of consumers adopting a lifestyle of health and sustainability has recently increased with the rise of trends in healthy living. The size of the organic agricultural product market has also increased given that these consumers prefer consuming environmentally friendly products that promote family health. However, awareness of organic agricultural products remains insufficient because of the characteristics of the Korean organic agriculture system, which only focuses on food safety inspection. The object of this research is to suggest a policy approach to increase understanding and to expand the purchasing of organic agricultural products by analyzing the influence of customer recognition of such products on their willingness to repurchase. Research design, data, and methodology - This study used binomial logistic regression analysis with the aim of explaining the effects of consumers' socio-demographic characteristics, their awareness of the equivalence arrangement for organic food and of the abolishment of low-pesticide agricultural product certification, and their viewing of negative broadcasts about organic agricultural products on their repurchase intention of such products. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 655 respondents who were in their 20s, lived either in Seoul or in its metropolitan area, and had purchased organic agricultural products. Result - From the results of the analysis, the majority of the respondents recognized organic agricultural products, but they found their prices to be expensive. The majority of the respondents were also aware of the certification system and the reliability of organic agricultural products. However, the results indicate that efforts need to be made to recover consumer trust as many respondents stated that their trust levels in these products were low. In general, those purchasing organic agricultural products were satisfied, but those answering "very satisfied" were not in the majority. Binomial logistic regression analysis results revealed that repurchase intention decreased as consumers viewed a greater number of negative broadcasts about these products. On the other hand, repurchase intention increased as they became more aware of the abolishment of low-pesticide certification. Repurchase intention also increased as income increased, as the number of family members decreased, and when a consumer was a member of a consumer organization. In addition, the older the consumers were who watched the TV programs, the smaller the number of family members that were aware of the abolishment of low-pesticide agricultural product certification and, the higher the income of the consumers aware of organic equivalence arrangement, the greater their repurchase intention. Conclusion - External stimuli, such as negative TV programs on organic agricultural products and the abolishment of the low-pesticide agricultural product certification, relevant social issues and systems, influence consumer repurchase intention. To that end, positive environmental and ecological broadcasting about organic agricultural products would contribute to an increase in purchasing. Additionally, this could be used for promotion and marketing plans as the results indicate that trust in organic agricultural products would cause a positive repurchasing effect.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.525-529
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• 2015

Depending on the field of smart industry has become increasingly widespread, the digital signage industry as advertising and content industry is emerging. However, this industry is growing rapidly it is not the reason for that is lack of a legal definition or system. The current legal system merely existing laws that apply to the use of outdoor advertising such as advertising and outdoor advertising Electrical, according to a separate law on digital signage is still is not enough. Most of the current legal system between a size that it is put in the control object, its type, the installation location and details and locations of areas in accordance with the regulation member of the law which can reduce the effectiveness of such a business to control them collectively There is concern that the differences are caused by unification can be difficult. In reality, the institutions of the new law was necessary, organized under the existing regulation rather than promoting new laws to screen the effectiveness of the national business media industry through a kind of standardization and unification of the digital signage industry in the future creation of a jurisdiction other than safety administration Science It is important to foster.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.294-297
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• 2015

Recently, big data analysis which is based on machine learning has been gained a lot of attentions in various fields. Especially, agriculture is considered as one promising field that machine learning algorithm can be efficiently utilized and accordingly, lots of works have been done so far. However, most of the researches are focusing on the forecast of weather or analysis of genome, and machine learning algorithm for livestock management, especially which uses individual data of livestocks, e.g., temperature and movement, are not properly investigated yet. In this work, we propose fast abnormal livestock detection algorithm based on machine learning, more specifically expectation maximization, such that livestock which has problem can be efficiently and promptly found. In our proposed scheme, livestocks are divided into two clusters using expectation maximization based on their bionic data and the abnormal livestock can be detected by comparing the size of two clusters. Especially, we divide the case in which single livestock has problem and the case in which livestocks have epidemic such that fast response is enabled when epidemic case. Moreover, our algorithm does not need statistical information.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.69-77
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• 2015

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine whether the cash policies of retail firms listed on Korean stock markets are consistent with the evidence provided in the study of Almeida et al. (2004). Liquidity management is an important issue for financially constrained firms relative to financially unconstrained firms. Because there are few sources of external funding, the optimal liquidity policies of financially constrained firms should reflect their own earnings or cash inflows to create opportunities for current and future real investments. According to this simple idea, we estimate the sensitivity of cash to cash flows and simply check whether the estimated sensitivity to cash flows of the cash retained by constrained retail firms is greater than that of the cash retained by unconstrained retail firms. Through this work, we aim to explain why the cash policies of the retail firms listed on the Korean stock markets differ from those of listed manufacturing enterprises. Research design, data, and methodology - To explain a firm's cash holdings, we use only three explanatory variables: earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), Tobin's q, and size. All the variables are defined as the value of the numerator divided by aggregate assets. Thanks to this definition, it is possible to treat all the sample firms as a single large firm. The sample financial data for this study are collected from the retail enterprises listed on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets from 1991 to 2013. We can obtain these data from WISEfn, the financial information company. This study's methodology has its origin in Keynes's simple idea of precautionary liquidity demand: When a firm faces financial constraints, cash savings from earnings or cash inflows become important from the corporate finance perspective. Following this simple idea, Almeida et al. (2004) developed their theoretical model and found empirical evidence that the sensitivity of cash to cash flows varies systematically according to different types of financing frictions. To find more empirical evidence for this idea, we examined the cash flow sensitivity of the cash held by Korean retail firms. Results - Through several robustness tests, we empirically showed that financially constrained Korean retail firms display significant positive propensity to save cash from earnings before interest and taxes, while the estimated cash flow sensitivity of the cash held by unconstrained retail firms is not significant. Despite the relatively low earnings of retail firms, their sensitivity is three times greater than that of manufacturing enterprises. This implies that Korean retail firms have greater intentions of facilitating future investments rather than current investments. Conclusions - The characteristics of the cash policies of Korean retail firms differ from those of manufacturing firms. This contrast may be attributable to industry-oriented policy planning, regulations, and institutional differences. However, the industrial policymakers should observe signals of the long-term growth options of retail firms based on their high propensity to save from their cash inflows.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.159-169
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• 2016

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the generating characteristics of VOCs and the exposure effect to chemicals among laundry workers and to identify the current status of occupational safety and health through health check-ups. Methods: During the six-month period from April to September 2015, this study quantitatively measured seven VOCs in ten laundries and carried out health examinations on 35 workers. Results: Comparing the monitoring results for the ten laundries, they were classified into three groups by ventilation system, dry-cleaning and size of shop. The average concentration of toluene, chlorobenzene, xylene, ethylbenzene, benzene, styrene and TCE were 23.9, 15.6, 5.5, 2.8, 0.9, 0.3 and $1.3{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. During dry-cleaning, VOC concentrations were 1.3-8.9 times higher than usual. On the other hand, at night the concentrations of toluene, chlorobenzene, xylene, ethylbenzene, benzene, styrene and TCE were 64.3, 41.5, 12.2, 6.3, 1.1, 1.2 and $6.6{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. The health checkup results for the 35 workers showed that 13 workers were diagnosed as normal, while 22 workers were diagnosed as requiring continuous monitoring or re-checkup of liver and hematogenous functions. Conclusions: Although the results of exposure evaluation to VOCs did not exceed reference value and items had a low correlation with health checkup items, it is necessary to improve indoor air quality due to VOC volatilization from clothes.