• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.489-494
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• 2019

The appropriateness of introducing blockchain technology into food safety management systems was evaluated by conducting a survey of experts on the effectiveness and constraint evaluation indicators, and a portfolio analysis was conducted to set the priorities of blockchain application. The food safety management activities considered in this study were issuing documents on food import/export, food hygiene rating scheme, civil complaint management in the food sector, food- related certification, risk information management, and food traceability systems. The sectors that can be expected to be effective in the introduction of blockchain technology were food- related certification, food hygiene rating scheme, risk information management, and issuing documents on food import/export. In the case of food traceability systems and civil complaint management, the introduction of blockchain technology was not recommended due to ineffectiveness. From the evaluation of the constraints (e.g., technical limits, cost, legal amendment, personal information disclosure, timeliness, and ease of connection) to be overcome when introducing blockchain into food safety management, it was found that there are more than average constraints in all six areas. In particular, the food traceability system was evaluated to have the most constraints. Issuing documents on food import/export is very effective with the introduction of blockchain technology, but due to high cost and legal restrictions, it is necessary to improve the institutional system in order to introduce blockchain. Among the evaluation sectors, food- related certification, food hygiene rating scheme, and risk information management on foods were suitable for preferentially adopting blockchain technology since these areas might experience greatly improved reliability and transparency through the introduction of blockchain, with relatively low constraints.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.101-124
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• 2018

Recently, most of the technologies have been developed in various forms through the advancement of single technology or interaction with other technologies. Particularly, these technologies have the characteristic of the convergence caused by the interaction between two or more techniques. In addition, efforts in responding to technological changes by advance are continuously increasing through forecasting promising convergence technologies that will emerge in the near future. According to this phenomenon, many researchers are attempting to perform various analyses about forecasting promising convergence technologies. A convergence technology has characteristics of various technologies according to the principle of generation. Therefore, forecasting promising convergence technologies is much more difficult than forecasting general technologies with high growth potential. Nevertheless, some achievements have been confirmed in an attempt to forecasting promising technologies using big data analysis and social network analysis. Studies of convergence technology through data analysis are actively conducted with the theme of discovering new convergence technologies and analyzing their trends. According that, information about new convergence technologies is being provided more abundantly than in the past. However, existing methods in analyzing convergence technology have some limitations. Firstly, most studies deal with convergence technology analyze data through predefined technology classifications. The technologies appearing recently tend to have characteristics of convergence and thus consist of technologies from various fields. In other words, the new convergence technologies may not belong to the defined classification. Therefore, the existing method does not properly reflect the dynamic change of the convergence phenomenon. Secondly, in order to forecast the promising convergence technologies, most of the existing analysis method use the general purpose indicators in process. This method does not fully utilize the specificity of convergence phenomenon. The new convergence technology is highly dependent on the existing technology, which is the origin of that technology. Based on that, it can grow into the independent field or disappear rapidly, according to the change of the dependent technology. In the existing analysis, the potential growth of convergence technology is judged through the traditional indicators designed from the general purpose. However, these indicators do not reflect the principle of convergence. In other words, these indicators do not reflect the characteristics of convergence technology, which brings the meaning of new technologies emerge through two or more mature technologies and grown technologies affect the creation of another technology. Thirdly, previous studies do not provide objective methods for evaluating the accuracy of models in forecasting promising convergence technologies. In the studies of convergence technology, the subject of forecasting promising technologies was relatively insufficient due to the complexity of the field. Therefore, it is difficult to find a method to evaluate the accuracy of the model that forecasting promising convergence technologies. In order to activate the field of forecasting promising convergence technology, it is important to establish a method for objectively verifying and evaluating the accuracy of the model proposed by each study. To overcome these limitations, we propose a new method for analysis of convergence technologies. First of all, through topic modeling, we derive a new technology classification in terms of text content. It reflects the dynamic change of the actual technology market, not the existing fixed classification standard. In addition, we identify the influence relationships between technologies through the topic correspondence weights of each document, and structuralize them into a network. In addition, we devise a centrality indicator (PGC, potential growth centrality) to forecast the future growth of technology by utilizing the centrality information of each technology. It reflects the convergence characteristics of each technology, according to technology maturity and interdependence between technologies. Along with this, we propose a method to evaluate the accuracy of forecasting model by measuring the growth rate of promising technology. It is based on the variation of potential growth centrality by period. In this paper, we conduct experiments with 13,477 patent documents dealing with technical contents to evaluate the performance and practical applicability of the proposed method. As a result, it is confirmed that the forecast model based on a centrality indicator of the proposed method has a maximum forecast accuracy of about 2.88 times higher than the accuracy of the forecast model based on the currently used network indicators.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.41-56
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• 2020

This study suggests multisensory interaction techniques to help visually impaired people appreciate and understand artworks through non-visual senses such as tactile, auditory, and olfactory senses. A user study was conducted on the basis of a qualitative interview about the experience of appreciating artwork through the multisensory interaction system to visually impaired people so as to verify the development of the interaction techniques. The user test shows that the multisensory interactions in artwork generally not only help them appreciate and understand it but also give them satisfaction through artwork appreciation. However, it also indicates that some multisensory interactions caused the visually impaired people confusion and could not be perceived during the appreciation. On the basis of these outcomes, implications in this study are as follows. This study has contributed to providing specific development guidelines and indicators of non-visual multisensory interactions as a technical alternative to improve accessibility to cultural and artistic activities for the visually impaired. Furthermore, this study is expected to contribute to building a technical background, which can provide comprehensive sensory experiences with not only blind people but also non-blind people such as children and the elderly through universal interaction techniques beyond existing visual-oriented fragmentary experience.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2020

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the efficiency of on-off-line integrated operations of listed retailers, propose ways to identify and improve the problems of inefficient enterprises, and accelerate the integration of on-off-line. The 28 listed retail companies selected total capital, management expenses, number of employees and wage rates as input factors as of 2018 and total operating income and operating profit were selected as output indicators to analyze efficiency using DEA. The results show that the integrated enterprise has a higher overall level of operational efficiency, but it is still in a state of stagnation. The pure technical efficiency of the integrated enterprise is generally higher, and the scale efficiency is the main reason that the overall efficiency of the enterprise is not improved. This study can help retail companies adjust their development strategies of online and offline integration according to their own degree of online and offline integration. This study has limitations in explaining the change in efficiency of retailers by conducting a cross-sectional analysis using data limited to 2018. It is necessary to utilize data over the next several years to conduct a longitudinal analysis.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.343-356
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• 2016

As the common cast-in-place construction works fails to meet the enormous construction demand under rapid economic growth, the development of prefabricated structure instead becomes increasingly promising in China. For the prefabricated structure, its load carrying connection joint play a key role in maintaining the structural integrity. Therefore, a novel end plate bolt connecting joint between fully prefabricated pre-stressed concrete beam and high-strength reinforcement-confined concrete column was proposed. Under action of low cycle repeated horizontal loadings, comparative tests are conducted on 6 prefabricated pre-stressed intermediate joint specimens and 1 cast-in-place joint specimen to obtain the specimen failure modes, hysteresis curves, skeleton curves, ductility factor, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation capacity and other seismic indicators, and the seismic characteristics of the new-type prefabricated beam-column connecting joint are determined. The test results show that all the specimens for end plate bolt connecting joint between fully prefabricated pre-stressed concrete beam and high-strength reinforcement-confined concrete column have realized the design objectives of strong column weak beam. The hysteretic curves for specimens are good, indicating desirable ductility and energy dissipation capacity and seismic performances, and the research results provide theoretical basis and technical support for the promotion and application of prefabricated assembly frames in the earthquake zone.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.118-126
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• 2016

International construction market have quantitatively increased and have reached up to 700 Bil. US$ through active effort of construction firms and government. In spite of this increase, substantiality issue has been constantly disputed due to qualitative problems such as lack of capability and technical shortage. To overcome these problems, many methods in performing quantitative growth and qualitative substantiality of overseas construction are being researched which showed that selection of subcontractors in general contractor is regarded as a very important success factor. However, it is difficult to make a reasonable decision for selecting the subcontractors due to the lack of evaluation standards and reliability. This study proposes an improved evaluation system through adjustment of the evaluation indicators using correlations analysis and multiple regression analysis with pre-qualification and performance evaluation of 121 firms in 6 countries.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.25-50
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to investigate the difference of performance between banks with electronic-based banking service and banks without electronic-based banking service in Korea. The performance indicators we use are DEA efficiency and profitability such as NI, ROA and ROE. The findings are that the performance of bank with electronic banking service are significantly different from that of bank without electronic banking service in DEA efficiency, financial efficiency(cost and revenue) and profitability. But there are some differences among the type of electronic-based service channel that banks provide. The banking channels comprise two major groups: the traditional channels and e-channels. E-channels provide cost-saving for banks and their clients. Among them, only card-related ATM significantly affects the profitability of banks in the positive direction, and technical efficiency also affects the bank's profitability. But the others do not affect.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.203-208
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• 2010

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a useful tool in researches and in clinical medicine of lung diseases because the BAL fluid contains biochemical and cytological indicators of the cellular response to infection, drugs, or toxicants. However, the variability among laboratories regarding the technique and the processing of the BAL material limits clinical research. The aim of this study was to determine the suction frequency and lavage fraction number necessary to reduce the variability in lavage using male Sprague-Dawley rats. We compared the total cell number and protein level of each lavage fraction and concluded that more cells and protein can be obtained by repetitive lavage with a suction frequency of 2 or 3 than by lavage with a single suction. On the basis of total cell recovery, approximately 70% of cells were obtained from fractions 1~3. The first lavage fraction should be used for evaluation of protein concentration because fractions 2~5 of lavage fluid were diluted in manifolds. These observations were confirmed in bleomycin-induced inflamed lungs of rats. We further compared the BAL data from the whole lobes with data from the right lobes and concluded that BAL data of the right lobes represented data of the whole lobes. However, this conclusion can only be applied to general lung diseases. At the end, this study provides an insight into the technical or analytical problems of lavage study in vivo.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2020

The KSLV-II project with high difficulties technically requires thorough technical management during long-term life cycle more than 10 years for launching into space. The TRL is a quantitative indicator developed by NASA widely used all over the world to measure technology maturity of a system development objectively and consistently. The TRL is also used to make sure technology level and to establish a future direction in the KSLV-II project. The TRL has advantage enable to identify a technology level through quantitative indicators. However, it takes a lot of efforts such as trials and errors, time and cost to apply it to the project considering the project environments, and stakeholder needs. These include not only to establish TRL management plan from ideal, conceptual and abstractive standards/guidelines such as NASA's, but also to construct TRL management environment enable to apply and manage harmoniously. In the KSLV-II project, it is required to figure out current technology level and technology development trend in the future, to access conveniently, to share related data in real time, and to update periodically for the comprehensive TRL management. From the reason above, the TRL management environment was built by using the systems engineering tool already has been used for other system management data such as requirements in the project. It also could be accomplished a practical management basis of systems engineering from the traceability among system management data including TRL. In this paper, case study results are introduced to manage the TRL for the space launch vehicle using the systems engineering tool in the KSLV-II project.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.128-137
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• 2018

Background: This study aims to utilize Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data to identify macroscopic determinants of health at national level and to utilize it in health policy development through comparison and analysis with Korea. Methods: The potential years of life lost (PYLL) were used as dependent variables and 19 indicators were selected as health determinants to be independent variables based on the results of previous studies. Data analysis was done using SAS ver. 9.4 package (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) and model used in technical statistics concerning PYLL by countries, multi-linearity test between independent variables and OECD economic studies were modified and used. Results: From 1994 to 2012, the average PYLL for OECD countries was 4,262.9 years, the highest in Estonia and the lowest in Iceland. As a result of the analysis using the fixed effect model, the significant variables affecting PYLL were four variables: gross domestic product, nitric oxide, tobacco consumption, and number of doctors. The health determinants that had more influence on the PYLL of Korean people compared to other OECD countries were tobacco consumption, calorie consumption, fat intake and total health expenditure. Conclusion: In order to effectively reduce unnecessary deaths, we must continue to strengthen our smoking policy and nutrition policies such as calorie and fat intake. It is necessary to prevent the increase of total health expenditure due to the increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases and to strengthen the public health aspect.