• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.45-53
• /
• 2015

Purpose - Online shopping enables consumers to conveniently purchase products irrespective of the time and place. As a result, several online shopping companies have emerged to cater to this growing market and, therefore, the competition among them has become increasingly intense. This paper evaluates the comparative efficiency of online shopping companies for a multi-year period (2009-2013), in order to help online shopping managers identify major drivers for enhancing management efficiency and the subsequent competitiveness. Research design, data, and methodology - The researchers collected the data from 2009 to 2013 from the distribution yearbook. This paper analyzes the marketability (sales figures), profitability (business profits), and management conditions (net profits) of domestic online shopping enterprises by incorporating information on human resources (number of employees) and material resources (total assets and capital). Therefore, the number of employees, total assets, and capital are selected as input variables, and sales figures, business profits, and net profits as the output variables. In this study, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to measure the comparative efficiency of domestic online shopping companies. In addition, the Malmquist Productivity Index was used to evaluate the trend of change of Decision Making Units' (DMUs') efficiency for a multi-year period. Results - First, as of 2013, Interpark (2.415) was found to be the most efficient online shopping enterprise, followed by Aladdin Communications (2.117), Hyundai Home shopping (1.867), Home&Shopping (1.176), NS Home shopping (1.170), Commerce Planet (1.126), CJ O Shopping (1.105), Ebay Korea (1.088), and GS Home Shopping (1.051). Second, this study recognizes how the management efficiency has changed for the period 2009-2013. Third, the lesser the capital and employees, the more are the net profits, and the better is the management efficiency of domestic online shopping companies. Lastly, the productivity of such companies is influenced by endogenous factors rather than exogenous factors such as shifts in business environment and technological advances. Conclusions - DHC Korea influenced various distribution channels to reach customers through the Internet. Consequently, this helped in increasing the awareness about its products, in addition to an increase in sales. These achievements can be attributed to the characteristics of online shopping companies. Although it is easy for these companies to suggest goods for one-off purchases, they however have difficulties in retaining customers. Overcoming this challenge can be one of the ways to benchmark a successful case of an efficient company. For example, an online shopping company can attract customers by developing a corresponding mobile application as a convenient way to shop online. Additionally, they can satisfy customers by quick delivery of purchased products, which is possible by building an effective logistics network. Our study indicates that the productivity of an online shopping company was influenced by endogenous factors driven by improvements in managerial practices rather than exogenous factors. Accordingly, online shopping companies should adopt strategies to improve their operational efficiency rather than sales volume-oriented management.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.453-465
• /
• 2017

UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, a set of 17 objectives with 169 targets expected to guide actions over the next 15 years (2016-2030). One goal expressly focuses on the oceans, that is, SDG 14 'Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development'. More than 30% of fish stocks worldwide were classified by FAO(2016) as overfished. Globally, world capture fisheries are near the ocean's productive capacity with catches on the order of 80 million metric tons. Aquaculture production is increasing rapidly and is expected to continue to increase, but aquaculture encounters some environmental challenges, including potential pollution, competition with wild fishery resources, potential contamination of gene pools, disease problems, and loss of habitat. Accordingly, there have been a variety of world organization and conferences stressing the importance of the implementation of the ecosystem-based fisheries management(EBFM) to overcome these problems. Annual catch of Korean fisheries have shown continuously declining patterns since late 1990s. Most fish stocks are currently known to be over-exploited, and some stocks are depleted due to the increase in fishing intensity and over-capitalization of fishing fleets. Other reasons for the depletion are land reclamations and coastal pollution, which destroy spawning and nursery grounds along the coastal regions. Aquaculture production is also increasing rapidly in Korea. However, several important issues such as gene pool and interaction with capture fisheries should be considered. The EBFM approach should use the best available information coupled with a reasonable application of the precautionary approach. The EBFM has global relevance, and so the real challenge will be to develop and use reliable, robust and cost-effective means of assessing and monitoring the status of ecosystems and their resources, and rapid means of detecting any undesirable and excessive impacts that threaten sustainable use. Future fisheries education should take into account UN's SDGs, which were adopted to achieve the global 2030 agenda. However, there are some difficulties in the current fisheries education system in Korea. First, the current education organizations are limited within the old frame of traditional fisheries sciences. Second, the fisheries education is currently lack of the future-oriented education system and of customized schools or departments. Third, the on-going fisheries education has been based upon few educational policies which are sufficiently relevant to holistic SDGs of the global standard. Accordingly, directions to modern fisheries education for achieving SDGs would be, first, the transition of fisheries education structure into the future-oriented and customized education system. Second, fisheries education needs to shift to the new paradigm, which combines traditional fisheries science education with related fields such as oceanography and environmental sciences to adopt the concept of EBFM. Lastly, fisheries education should accompany relevant policies for effectively achieving SDGs.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.61 no.1
• /
• pp.129-142
• /
• 2022

Nutrition dictates nearly all biological processes and determines Darwinian fitness in all living organisms, including insects. Research on insect nutrition has a long history in the field of insect physiology and the importance of understanding insect nutrition has become increasingly apparent with the growing need for producing insects as food and feed. Nevertheless, it is only in recent years that we have witnessed a major breakthrough in our knowledge of insect nutrition. The multivariate, interactive, and dynamic nature of nutrition has long hampered our complete understanding of insect nutrition. However, the challenge posed by such nutritional complexity has been overcome with the advent of the Nutritional Geometry, which is an integrative and multidimensional framework that enabled us to model complex interactions between multiple nutrients. In this review, we introduce the basic concepts and principles of the Nutritional Geometry and describe how this innovative framework has revolutionized the field of insect nutrition and has placed nutrition in the centre of the interface between physiology, ecology, and evolution. We close this review by discussing potentially fertile research areas that can benefit tremendously from the application of this powerful nutritional paradigm in the future.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
• /
• v.18
• /
• pp.385-444
• /
• 2003

Current Military Airbase Law, in an effort to promote safety of military aircraft and security of military airbase, requires an administrative agency or its empowered branch to consult with the Secretary of Defense or the commander of the airbase before they issue a certain administrative approval or decision related to the installation. Although this consultation process purports itself in simplifying what can be an protracted administrative procedure, and in unifying objectives of the military and the administrative services, such procedural requirement is vulnerable inevitability of various legal problems whenever there is a conflict of interests among civil, military, government services. Nor is there sufficient studies done by academian in the area of bureaucratic issues of administrative resolution, and certainly not in the area of the military consultation procedure. This article, with such reality in mind attempts to constructively examine 1) when a consultation application is submitted, whether the discretionary power of the commander of the affected airbase is acknowledged at the outset; 2) if the content of the consultation is deemed unlawful, whether a civilian can institute an administrative lawsuit against it; 3) problems about the subject matters of the consultation requirement within the framework of military airbase law; 4) whether the issuing administrative agency must abide by and issue approval or decision in accordance with the opinion proposed by the said commander; 5) the legal problems of the remedial measure such as an order of removal, appellate review, notion to challenge authority, and etc. in cases such as administrative agency ignoring the commanders proposal or issuing final approval or decision that is inconsistent with what was consulted and agreed upon between both parties.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.62-66
• /
• 2012

With the rapid growth of fresh-cut produce market, the South Korean fresh-cut industry is facing the challenge of ensuring food safety. As the estimation of the microbial numbers in fresh-cut produce processing lines (tools, and equipment) using the conventional microbiological techniques takes days, so there is a need for faster and easier monitoring methods. This study was conducted to investigate the use of ATP bioluminescence assay to measure the degree of microbial contamination from three actual fresh-cut processing lines. The samples collected from frech-cut vegetables, and fresh-cut fruits processing plants were tested for the estimation of the bacterial number, using the ATP bioluminescence and microbiological methods. The result of former was transferred to log RLU/100 $cm^2$, and that of the latter was transferred to log CFU/100 $cm^2$. A positive linear correlation between the ATP bioluminescence assay value and aerobic-plate count was found for fresh-cut processing lines, with a correlation coefficient of 0.8772 (n=50). The results of this study indicate that ATP bioluminescence assay can be used to monitor microbial contamination in fresh-cut produce processing plants, and can help improve the hygiene therein.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.737-748
• /
• 2016

By this time, insect antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been characterized more than 150 peptides since purification of cecropin in the hemolymph of pupae from Hyalophora cecropia in 1980. Therefore, it is considered that insects are good sources of AMP selection. Insect AMPs are small (low molecular weight) and cationic, and amphipathic with variable length, sequence, and structure. They perform a pivotal role on humoral immunity in the insect innate immune system against invading pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. Most of the insect AMPs are induced rapidly in the fat bodies and other specific tissues of insects after septic injury or immune challenge. Then the AMPs subsequently released into the hemolymph to act against microorganisms. These peptides have a broad antimicrobial spectrum against various microbes including anticancer activities. Insect AMPs could be divided into four families based on their structures and sequences. That is the α-helical peptides, cysteine-rich peptides, proline-rich peptides, and glycine-rich peptides/proteins. For instance, cecropins, insect defensins, proline-rich peptides, and attacins are common insect AMPs, but gloverins and moricins have been identified only in lepidopteran species. This review focuses on AMPs from insects and discusses current knowledge and recent progress with potential applications of insect AMPs.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.362-368
• /
• 2023

This research article explores the application of Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM-1) as a cutting-edge material for CO₂ gas separation membranes in response to the escalating global concern over climate change and the imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The study delves into the synthesis, molecular weight control, and fabrication of PIM-1 membranes, providing comprehensive insights through various characterization techniques. The intrinsic microporosity of PIM-1, arising from its unique crosslinked and rigid structure, is harnessed for selective gas permeation, particularly of carbon dioxide. The article emphasizes the tunable chemical properties of PIM-1, allowing for customization and optimization of gas separation membranes. By controlling the molecular weight, higher molecular weight (H-PIM-1) membranes are demonstrated to exhibit superior CO₂ permeability and selectivity compared to lower molecular weight counterparts (L-PIM-1). The study's findings highlight the critical role of molecular weight in tailoring PIM-1 membrane properties, contributing to the advancement of next-generation membrane technologies for efficient and selective CO₂ capture-an essential step in addressing the pressing global challenge of climate change.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.355-360
• /
• 2023

Epoxy-based carbon fibers reinforced plastic (CFRP) exhibit limitations in their suitability for industrial applications due to high brittleness characteristics. To address this challenge, extensive investigations are underway to enhance their toughness properties. This research focuses on evaluating the toughening mechanisms achieved by Polyamide 6 particles(p-PA6) and Carboxyl-Terminated Butadiene-Acrylonitrile (CTBN) elastomer, with a specific emphasis on utilizing minimal additive quantities. The study explores the impact of varying concentrations of p-PA6 and CTBN additives, namely 0.5, 1, 2.5, and 5 phr, through comprehensive Mode I fracture toughness and tensile strength analyses. The inclusion of p-PA6 demonstrated improvements in toughness when introduced at a relatively low content of 1phr. This improvement manifested as a sustained fracture behavior, contributing to enhanced toughness, while simultaneously maintaining the material's tensile strength. Furthermore, the investigation revealed that the incorporation of p-PA6 affected in particle aggregation, thus influencing the overall toughening mechanism. Incorporation of CTBN, an elastomeric modifier, exhibited a pronounced increase in fracture toughness at higher concentrations of 2.5 phr and beyond. However, this increase in toughness was accompanied by a reduction in tensile strength, resulting in fracture behavior similar to conventional CFRP exhibiting brittleness. The synergy between pPA6, CTBN and CFRP appeared to marginally enhance tensile strength under specific content conditions. As a result of this study, optimized conditions for the application of the p-PA6, CTBN toughening technology have been identified and established.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.57 no.3
• /
• pp.209-223
• /
• 2024

In the context of the fourth industrial revolution, data-driven decision-making has increasingly become pivotal. However, the integrity of data analysis is compromised if data quality is not adequately ensured, potentially leading to biased interpretations. This is particularly critical for water level data, essential for water resource management, which often encounters quality issues such as missing values, spikes, and noise. This study addresses the challenge of noise-induced data quality deterioration, which complicates trend analysis and may produce anomalous outliers. To mitigate this issue, we propose a noise removal strategy employing Wavelet Transform, a technique renowned for its efficacy in signal processing and noise elimination. The advantage of Wavelet Transform lies in its operational efficiency - it reduces both time and costs as it obviates the need for acquiring the true values of collected data. This study conducted a comparative performance evaluation between our Wavelet Transform-based approach and the Denoising Autoencoder, a prominent machine learning method for noise reduction.. The findings demonstrate that the Coiflets wavelet function outperforms the Denoising Autoencoder across various metrics, including Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), and Mean Squared Error (MSE). The superiority of the Coiflets function suggests that selecting an appropriate wavelet function tailored to the specific application environment can effectively address data quality issues caused by noise. This study underscores the potential of Wavelet Transform as a robust tool for enhancing the quality of water level data, thereby contributing to the reliability of water resource management decisions.

• Journal of Science Education
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.136-156
• /
• 2019

This study examined the effects of STEAM program on preservice science teachers' communication competency and further explored their experiences of and reflection on STEAM program. The study design is one group pretest-posttest with mixed methodology using both quantitative and qualitative data. The STEAM program consists of three stages: introduction of STEAM, participation in STEAM activities, and reflection on the STEAM program. The preservice science teachers improved their communication competency after the STEAM program (p < .01). The preservice science teachers represented statistically higher scores on the three subscales of communication competency: Interpretation ability, self-presenting ability, and understanding others' viewpoints. In addition, the preservice science teachers reflected on their STEAM experiences. During the first stage of 'Presentation of the Problem Situation,' the preservice science teachers mentioned that they roused their curiosity due to everyday experience-related, social issues or present issues. In the stage of 'Creative Design,' the preservice science teachers mentioned that they selected the final idea through mutual consent of the members, the practical possibility of everyday life, the previous experience-based decisions, or persuasive power. Further, about 87.5% of preservice science teachers mentioned that they were fully engaged in the 'Emotional Learning' stages due to the application of integrated thinking, everyday related issues, and communication among group members. About 85% of the preservice science teachers mentioned that they could challenge new problems in future situations.