• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.7 no.10
• /
• pp.329-338
• /
• 2020

The present study aims to investigate the perceived usefulness of business coaching as a moderator between the association of entrepreneurial competencies and business success of women micro-entrepreneurs. This study employs a stratified random sampling technique to collect data from women micro-entrepreneurs who attended business coaching sessions. In total, 261 questionnaires were distributed and collected. This study has divided the moderator (i.e., perceived usefulness of business coaching) into two groups, namely, group 1 (with a low mean) and group 2 (with a high mean) for moderation analysis. By using a comparative analysis of the path coefficient for groups 1 and 2, the path is moderated by the perceived usefulness of business coaching if the beta value for group 1 is significant, and the beta value for group 2 is non-significant. The results show that eight out of a total of sixteen hypotheses were supported, while the remaining hypotheses were rejected. The findings of the study suggest that the domains of entrepreneurial competencies for women micro-entrepreneurs, including strategic, commitment, conceptual, opportunity, and relationship competencies, together with the perceived usefulness of business coaching, are vital for the business success and should remain the principal focus of future research in women entrepreneurship.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.349-354
• /
• 2010

Moving pixel displacement detection algorithm using correlation functions for making panorama image on the continuous images is presented in this paper. The input images get from a CMOS image sensor (CIS). The camera is maintained by constant brightness and uniform sensing area in test input pattern. For simple navigation and capture image has to 70% overlapped region. A correlation rate in two image data is evaluated by using reference image with first captures, and compare image with next captures. The displacement of the two images are expressed to second order function of x, y and solved with finding the coefficient in second order function. That results in the change in the peak correlation displacement from the reference to the compare image, is moving to pixel length. The navigating error is reduced by varying the path because the error is shown in the difference of the positioning vector between the true pixel position and the navigated pixel position. The algorithm performance is evaluated to be different from the error vector to vary the navigating path grid.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.874-881
• /
• 2010

A automatic flight control system(AFCS) of UAS needs to control its flight path along target path exactly as adjusts flight coefficient itself depending on static or dynamic changes of airplane's features such as type, size or weight. In this paper, we propose system which tunes control gain autonomously depending on change of airplane's feature in flight as adding MLM(Machine Learning Module) on AFCS. MLM is designed with Linear Regression algorithm and Reinforcement Learning and it includes EvM(Evaluation Module) which evaluates learned control gain from MLM and verified system. This system is tested on beaver FDC simulator and we present its analysed result.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.187-194
• /
• 2019

This study examined that what attributes of student satisfaction are more important when students use university cafeterias. Factors that are considered to be more crucial when students use a cafeteria, such as menu, taste, price, and cleanliness, were tested. Based on the research of previous studies, it assumed that the selection attributes of students' cafeteria were menu, taste, price, and cleanliness. With 301 surveyed questionnaires, the study was carried out by AMOS 23.0 and the Structural Equation Model was used for examining the hypotheses as statistical method in this study. In consequence of the hypothesis test on the main effect, the factors such as the menu, taste, price and cleanliness were found to significantly affect satisfaction. Then, the moderating role of gender, age and allowance was analyzed. However, students' university cafeteria selection attributes differed depending on their allowance only. The path coefficients from menu to satisfaction were more significant in the group with a smaller allowance, while the path coefficient from price to satisfaction was more significant in the group with a larger allowance. The study analyzed that the effect of selection attribute of students' cafeteria on the satisfaction, and influence of students' allowance, and provide meaningful implications when they choose the attributes.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.15-29
• /
• 2024

A fetoscope is an optical endoscope, which is often applied in fetoscopic laser photocoagulation to treat twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. In an operation, the clinician needs to observe the abnormal placental vessels through the endoscope, so as to guide the operation. However, low-quality imaging and narrow field of view of the fetoscope increase the difficulty of the operation. Introducing an accurate placental vessel segmentation of fetoscopic images can assist the fetoscopic laser photocoagulation and help identify the abnormal vessels. This study proposes a method to solve the above problems. A novel encoder-decoder network with a dual-path structure is proposed to segment the placental vessels in fetoscopic images. In particular, we introduce a channel attention mechanism and a continuous convolution structure to obtain multi-scale features with their weights. Moreover, a switching connection is inserted between the corresponding blocks of the two paths to strengthen their relationship. According to the results of a set of blood vessel segmentation experiments conducted on a public fetoscopic image dataset, our method has achieved higher scores than the current mainstream segmentation methods, raising the dice similarity coefficient, intersection over union, and pixel accuracy by 5.80%, 8.39% and 0.62%, respectively.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.78-91
• /
• 2017

In this study, we conducted a comparative study on user's perception and behavior on public system service (PSS) using institutionalism theory and MGA (multi-group analysis) methodology. In particular, this study focuses on how institutional isomorphism is applied to public system services and how MGA can be implemented correctly in a variance based SEM (structural equation model) such as PLS (partial least square). A data set of 496 effective responses was collected from pubic system users and an empirical research was conducted using three segmented models categorized by public proximity theory (public firms = 113, government contractors = 210, private contractors = 173). For rigorous group comparisons, each model was estimated by the same indicators and approaches. PLS-SEM was used in testing research hypotheses, followed by parametric and non-parametric PLS-MGA procedures in testing categorical moderation effects. This study applied novel procedures for testing composite measurement invariance prior to multi-group comparisons. The following main results and implications are drawn : 1) Partial measurement invariance was established. Multi-group analysis can be done by decomposed models although data can not be pooled for one integrated model. 2) Multi-group analysis using various approaches showed that proximity to public sphere moderated some hypothesized paths from quality dimensions to user satisfaction, which means that categorical moderating effects were partially supported. 3) Careful attention should be given to the selection of statistical test methods and the interpretation of the results of multi-group analysis, taking into account the different outcomes of the PLS-MGA test methods and the low statistical power of the moderating effect. It is necessary to use various methods such as comparing the difference in the path coefficient significance and the significance of the path coefficient difference between the groups. 4) Substantial differences in the perceptions and behaviors of PSS users existed according to proximity to public sphere, including the significance of path coefficients, mediation and categorical moderation effects. 5) The paper also provides detailed analysis and implication from a new institutional perspective. This study using a novel and appropriate methodology for performing group comparisons would be useful for researchers interested in comparative studies employing institutionalism theory and PLS-SEM multi-group analysis technique.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.45-53
• /
• 2013

Purpose - The environment-friendly agricultural product market in Korea sees continual high growth. Recently, the Korean government has been actively fostering environment-friendly agriculture as an engine of future growth. Korean people have increasingly become more health-conscious and interested in food safety issues. Many distribution and retailing companies have responded with various promotional activities. However, most of these are not strategic and appear to have unsatisfactory outcomes. The main purpose of this paper is to suggest effective marketing strategies for environment-friendly agricultural products. To achieve this aim, the study empirically investigates the effects of consumer characteristics and trust on the purchase intention of environment-friendly agricultural products. Research design, data, methodology - Based on the theory of planned behavior, and previous studies related to the purchase intention and consumption of environment-friendly agricultural products, we set up five study hypotheses. These related to the demographic characteristics of consumers, purchase intention, and behavior of the products. We then set up a study model and four study hypotheses relating to health consciousness, environmental consciousness, consumer trust level, purchase intention, and behavior of the products. The data were collected using a questionnaire given to consumers living in Seoul and southern Geonggi Province. The final sample size is 403 and mean age is 44.3. SPSS 15.0 for Windows and Amos 7.0 were used as statistical analysis tools. Meaningful results were derived using frequency analysis, correlation analysis, a t-test, and structural equation modeling. Results - Empirical results of this research are as follows. (1) First, it is shown that consumers consider such attributes as intimacy and health to be important when they buy environment-friendly agricultural products. (2) We also found that consumers recognize the value of environment-friendly agricultural products as high, but their trust level as low. (3) Consumer groups consisting of married couples, with higher education, higher income, and higher age are shown to have a higher intention of buying environment-friendly agricultural products than any other consumer group. (4) It is estimated that the level of consumer trust positively affects the purchase intention of environment-friendly agricultural products. The path coefficient (.138) between consumer trust and purchase intention is statistically significant at the α = .05 level. (5). It is also estimated that environmental consciousness positively affects purchase intention. The path coefficient (.245) between environmental consciousness and purchase intention is statistically significant at the α = 0.05 level. The standardized path coefficients of consumer trust and environmental consciousness with purchase intention are .556 and .288 respectively. Therefore, consumer trust affects purchase intention more than environmental consciousness. (6) Finally, purchase intention is estimated to positively affect purchase behavior. Conclusions - Based upon empirical results, this research suggests that marketers of environment-friendly agricultural products should focus more on increasing consumer trust levels, emphasizing the training and education of employees. The government also should pay attention to a standardized certification system for environment-friendly agricultural products. Marketers of environment-friendly agricultural products should consider the consumer groups of married couples, with higher education, higher income, and higher age as a major target segment.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.12 no.9
• /
• pp.455-463
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study is to define the paths through which academic burnout and self-efficacy of middle school students affect school adjustment, verify the path model of each factor, and examine the mediator effects of self-efficacy. In line with this objective, the study conducted a survey on 713 third year students of 3 different middle schools in city G. The first finding of this study confirmed that the path coefficient and suitablility index were significant, indicating that the path model was also significant. Second, academic burnout had direct negative effects on self-efficacy and school adjustment, while self-efficacy has positive effects on school adjustment. Third, self-efficacy was confirmed to have meaningful mediator effects on academic burnout and school adjustment. Based on these findings, academic burnout caused by excessive demand for academic success on korean students has negative effects on school adjustment, but if self-efficacy is well developed as an individual factor, school maladjustment can be reduced. Thus this study confirmed that psychological factors, such as self-efficacy, are necessary in school adjustment. Future studies were suggested on the basis of this study's findings.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.120-127
• /
• 2018

The rural labor force has gradually been decreasing due to the decrement of the farm population and the increment of the aging population. To solve these problems, it is necessary to develop and study autonomous agricultural machinery. Therefore, analyzing the dynamic behavior of vehicles in an autonomous agricultural environment is important. Until now, most studies on agricultural machinery, especially on ground vehicle dynamics, have been done by field tests. However, these field test methods are time consuming and costly with seasonal restrictions. A research method that can replace existing field test methods by using simulations is needed. In this study, we did basic research analyzing the effect of the travelling speed of a tractor on tire slip using simulation software. A tractor simulation model was developed based on field conditions following a straight path. The simulation was done for three ranges of speed: 20 - 30 km/h (considered the normal travelling speed range), 6 - 8 km/h (considered the plow tillage speed range) and 2 - 4 km/h (considered the rotary tillage speed range). The results of the simulation show that the slip ratio and slip angle values tended to increase as the traveling speed range of the tractor decreased. From the simulation results, it can be concluded that at low tractor speeds, it becomes more difficult to control the vehicle path. In future research, simulations will be done with various work environments such as a curved path as well as with various friction coefficient conditions, and the simulation results will be experimentally verified by applying them to an agricultural tractor.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.54-69
• /
• 2001

This study was conducted to assess factors associated with the degree of performance of qualify improvement(QI) activities. A mailed questionnaire survey was conducted between September 15 and October 30, 2000, with the staffs being charge of QI at each of the hospitals with 400 beds or greater. Of the 108 hospitals eligible for inclusion in our study, 79 participated, yielding a response rate of 73.1%. After excluding 12 hospitals that did not perform any QI activities, 117 responses from 67 hospitals were used for the analysis. Using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Criteria(MBNQAC), perceived performance of QI was measured in terms of the improvement of the quality of clinical practice, clinical supporting department, administrative procedure of receiving care, customer satisfaction, efficiency and standardization of work process. Factors evaluated for the association were the extent of QI implementation, compliance to 5 QI principles, participation of hospital CEOs, budget allocation, history of QI, and bed size. Path analysis was performed to assess the relationship between QI performance and these factors. Major findings of this study are as follows. Hospitals showing higher degree of QI implementation (path coefficient=0.5967, p<0.001)) and better compliance with the basic principes of QI(0.5736, p<0.05) tended to achieve better performance. Path analysis results showed that interest and participation of hospital CEOs(0.1954, p<0.05) and compliance with the basic principes of QI(0.4028, p<0.0001) indirectly affected the outcomes of QI by influencing the intermediate variable of the level of QI implementation. This study results suggest that having employees have a good orientation of the basic concept and principes of QI through relevant training be the most important requirement to achieve better outcomes from QI activities. In addition, to educate leaders of hospitals the need of active implementation of QI is important to encourage their participation and draw strong support for QI programs.