• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.50-61
• /
• 2024

The market for compact houses is growing due to the demand for floor plans prioritizing user needs. However, clients often have difficulty communicating their spatial requirements to professionals including architects because they lack the means to provide evidence, such as spatial configurations or cost estimates. This research aims to create a framework that can translate sketched data-driven spatial requirements into 3D building components in BIM models to facilitate spatial understanding and provide building performance analysis to aid in budgeting in the early design phase. The research process includes developing a process model, implementing, and validating the framework. The process model describes the data flow within the framework and identifies the required functionality. Implementation involves creating systems and user interfaces to integrate various systems. The validation verifies that the framework can automatically convert sketched space requirements into walls, floors, and roofs in a BIM model. The framework can also automatically calculate material and energy costs based on the BIM model. The developed frame enables clients to efficiently create 3D building components based on the sketched data and facilitates users to understand the space and analyze the building performance through the created BIM models.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.43-65
• /
• 2010

Facing a complex environment driven by a decade, many companies are adopting new strategic frameworks such as Customer Relationship Management system to achieve sustainable profitability as well as overcome serious competition for survival. In many business areas, CRM system advanced a great deal in a matter of continuous compensating the defect and overall integration. However, pharmaceutical companies in Korea were slow to accept them for usesince they still have a tendency of holding fast to traditional way of sales and marketing based on individual networks of sales representatives. In the circumstance, this article tried to empirically address current status of CRM system as well as the effects of the system on the performance of pharmaceutical companies by applying BSC method's four perspectives, from financial, customer, learning and growth and internal process. Survey by e-mail and post to employers and employees who were working in pharma firms were undergone for the purpose. Total 113 cases among collected 140 ones were used for the statistical analysis by SPSS ver. 15 package. Reliability, Factor analysis, regression were done. This study revealed that CRM system had a significant effect on improving financial and non-financial performance of pharmaceutical companies as expected. Proposed regression model fits well and among them, CRM marketing information system shed the light on substantial impact on companies' outcome given profitability, growth and investment. Useful analytical information by CRM marketing information system appears to enable pharmaceutical firms to set up effective marketing and sales strategies, these result in favorable financial performance by enhancing values for stakeholderseventually, not to mention short-term profit and/or mid-term potential to growth. CRM system depicted its influence on not only financial performance, but also non-financial fruit of pharmaceutical companies. Further analysis for each component showed that CRM marketing information system were able to demonstrate statistically significant effect on the performance like the result of financial outcome. CRM system is believed to provide the companies with efficient way of customers managing by valuable standardized business process prompt coping with specific customers' needs. It consequently induces customer satisfaction and retentionto improve performance for long period. That is, there is a virtuous circle for creating value as the cornerstone for sustainable growth. However, the research failed to put forward to evidence to support hypothesis regarding favorable influence of CRM sales representative's records assessment system and CRM customer analysis system on the management performance. The analysis is regarded to reflect the lack of understanding of sales people and respondents between actual work duties and far-sighted goal in strategic analysis framework. Ordinary salesmen seem to dedicate short-term goal for the purpose of meeting sales target, receiving incentive bonus in a manner-of-fact style, as such, they tend to avail themselves of personal network and sales and promotional expense rather than CRM system. The study finding proposed a link between CRM information system and performance. It empirically indicated that pharmaceutical companies had been implementing CRM system as an effective strategic business framework in order for more balanced achievements based on the grounded understanding of both CRM system and integrated performance. It suggests a positive impact of supportive CRM system on firm performance, especially for pharmaceutical industry through the initial empirical evidence. Also, it brings out unmet needs for more practical system design, improvement of employees' awareness, increase of system utilization in the field. On the basis of the insight from this exploratory study, confirmatory research by more appropriate measurement tool and increased sample size should be further examined.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.2159-2165
• /
• 2013

Cancer registries help to establish and maintain cancer incidence reporting system, serve as a resource for investigation of cancer and its causes, and provide information for planning and evaluation of preventive and control programs. However, their wider role in directly enhancing oncology drug access has not been fully explored. We examined the value of cancer registries in oncology drug access in the Asia-Pacific region on three levels: (1) specific registry variable types; (2) macroscopic strategies on the national level; and (3) a regional cancer registry network. Using literature search and proceedings from an expert forum, this paper covers recent cancer registry developments in eight economies in the Asia-Pacific region - Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand - and the ways they can contribute to oncology drug access. Specific registry variables relating to demographics, tumor characteristics, initial treatment plans, prognostic markers, risk factors, and mortality help to anticipate drug needs, identify high-priority research area and design access programs. On a national level, linking registry data with clinical, drug safety, financial, or drug utilization databases allows analyses of associations between utilization and outcomes. Concurrent efforts should also be channeled into developing and implementing data integrity and stewardship policies, and providing clear avenues to make data available. Less mature registry systems can employ modeling techniques and ad-hoc surveys while increasing coverage. Beyond local settings, a cancer registry network for the Asia-Pacific region would offer cross-learning and research opportunities that can exert leverage through the experiences and capabilities of a highly diverse region.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.15 no.8
• /
• pp.47-54
• /
• 2017

Purpose - According to agency theory, managers have incentives to adjust firm revenues to meet earnings expectations or delay bad news disclosure because of performance-based compensation and their reputation in the market. When the bad news accumulates, stock prices fail to reflect all available information. Thus, market prices of stocks are higher than their intrinsic value. After all, bad news crosses the tipping point, it comes out all at once. That results in stock crashes. Auditors can decrease stock crash risk by reducing agency costs through their informational role. Especially, stock price crash risk is expected to be lower for firms adopting high-quality audits. We focus on distribution and service industry to examine the relation between audit quality and stock price crash risk. Industry specialization and auditor size are used as proxies for auditor quality. Research design, data and methodology - Our sample contains distribution and service industry firms listed in KOSPI and KOSDAQ during a period of 2004-2011. We use a logistic regression to test whether auditor quality influences crash risk. Auditor quality was measured by industry specialist auditor and Big4 / non-Big4 dichotomy. Following the approach in prior researches, we use firm-specific weekly returns to measure crash risk. Firms experiencing at least one stock price crash in a specific week during year are classified as the high risk group. Results - The result of analyzing 429 companies in distribution and service industry is summarized as follows: Above all, it is shown that higher audit quality has a significant negative(-) effect on the crash risk. Crash risk is alleviated for firms audited by industry specialist auditors and Big 4 audit firms. Therefore, our results show that hypotheses are supported. Conclusions - This study is very meaningful as the first study which investigated the effects of high audit quality on stock price crash risk. We provide evidence that high-quality auditors reduce stock price crash risk. Our finding implies that the risk of extreme losses can be reduced through screening of high-quality auditors. Therefore investors and regulators may utilize our findings in their investment and rule making decisions.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.81-93
• /
• 2001

The purpose of this study was to develop a continuing nursing care program for cancer patients and the caregivers staying at their home and to test its effects on patients' symptom distress, caregiver burden, and satisfaction of life. The continuing nursing care program was based on the homecare needs of cancer patients, and was provided by three clinical nurses who took care of the patients while they were hospitalized. The program consisted of discharge education about selfcare using education materials(book and handout) and provisions of direct care. These were counselling and education during which visiting patients' home one week after discharge and telephone counseling two weeks after discharge. Counseling by telephone was always available during the research period. A quasi-experimental research design was used to test the effects of the program. Subjects for this study were 53 cancer patients discharged from the hospital and caregivers. These subjects were assigned to an experimental group (n=23) receiving continuous nursing care, or to a control group (n=30) not receiving continuous nursing care. Data from control group was collected first to protect from contamination. Data collection was done from October of 1998 to February of 2000. The collected data was analysed using mean, t-test, and chi-square test computed by SPSS software. The summary of results was as follows: 1) The symptom distress was a little decreased at posttest, but there were no significant differences between the experimental and the control group in symptom distress. 2) The score of caregiver burden was significantly decreased in experimental group at posttest, but no differences in control group. 3) There were no significant differences between the experimental and control group in the satisfaction of life. 4) The score of satisfaction of continuing nursing care program in experimental group at posttest was 2.321 of 3. In conclusion, even though this study did not obtain evidence of effectiveness of continuing nursing care program on patients, such as. It is still expected to be effective by a more improved program. Therefore we want to give some suggestions for further studies. 1) It is needed to make a communication channel with the patient's doctor to response promptly and appropriately to patient's conditions. 2) The research is necessary on patients in terminal stage or early stage of cancer diagnosis who have many nursing needs. 3) It is needed to readjust the roles and job assignment of clinical nurse to implement effectively as a program provider.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.119-126
• /
• 2018

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the influence of smartphone usage on the upper limb muscles while in stable and unstable positions and during gait. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: The study was conducted with 20 right-handed university students between 20 and 27 years of age. Experiments were carried out on students who have used cell phones for more than a year. In this study, experiments were performed with one-handed and two-handed smartphone operations while on stable ground, and the same parameters were measured during smartphone use on unstable ground and during gait. Subjects were instructed to write a text message in Korean on the smartphone for 3 minutes. This was repeated 3 times, with a rest period of 10 seconds given between each 3-minute period. Electromyography was used to record the muscle activity of the upper trapezius, extensor carpi radialis, extensor pollicis longus, and abductor pollicis (AP) during phone operation. Results: The muscle activity value for the right AP in one-handed and the left-AP in two-handed operations was statistically higher than the other muscles in the stable position and during gait (p<0.0001). Also, the right AP in the one- handed operation condition was statistically higher than the two-handed condition (p<0.0001). Conclusions: The use of smartphones while in a stable position resulted in high muscle activity of the right upper limb AP. However, in an unstable position, there were no significant differences from the other muscle activities. Using smartphone while assuming various positions may lead to musculoskeletal disorders in different places.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.65-75
• /
• 2019

Purpose - Along with Chinese exchange rate's reform advancement, the issue of exchange rate of RMB has increasingly become the heated focus in the world. In July 2005, China carried out the reform of the exchange rate system, and this behavior has aroused the attention of the world. However, the dispute on whether the theory of purchasing power parity holds or not in China still exists. As such, this paper will attempt to explore whether the purchasing power parity is significant in China. Research design, data, and methodology - The monthly data from July 2005 to December 2017 will be employed to analyze the nominal exchange rate of RMB against the US dollar and the nominal exchange rate of RMB against the euro. Based on these datum, an empirical analysis will be conducted under the unit root test and the cointegration test to exploit the significance of purchasing power parity in China. Results - The findings of this paper reveal that an increase in China's consumer price index will lead to an increase in the RMB exchange rate, which will lead to the depreciation of RMB. Concomitantly, an increase in the consumer price index in the US and Europe will result in a decrease in the RMB exchange rate, which will lead to an appreciation of RMB. In general, in terms of the US, if US consumer price index increases by 1%, China's nominal exchange rate against US dollar will decrease by 0.905%; if China's consumer price index increases by 1%, China's nominal exchange rate against US dollar will increase by 0.648%. In terms of Europe, if Europe consumer price index increases by 1%, China's nominal exchange rate against euro will decrease by 0.277%; If China's consumer price index increases by 1%, China's nominal exchange rate against euro will increase by 0.235%. Conclusions - Generally speaking, the empirical evidences this paper provided show that the purchasing power parity theory has a certain explanatory ability for the decision of RMB exchange rate. As such, the purchasing power parity cannot hold completely, and China's government should continue to deepen the reform of the exchange rate system to improve China's exchange rate market.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.347-361
• /
• 2012

Limited studies are available concerning the effect of heavy metal exposure on cardiovascular diseases. As environmental pollution increases, food contamination, including heavy metal contamination of fish, also increases. However, researches based on the intake of heavy metals, cardiovascular disease, and fish intakes are inconclusive. We assessed an association of heavy metal exposure with cardiovascular disease and fish intake in a nationally representative group of general Korean adults. We used data from the combined 2008-2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), and analyzed the data of 5,139 Koreans who participated in KNHANES. All participants were older than 20 years, and were diagnosed with stroke, ischemic heart disease, or hypertension. The mean blood cadmium, lead concentration, and mercury concentration of subjects were $1.07{\pm}0.01{\mu}g/L$, $2.49{\pm}0.02{\mu}g/dL$, and $5.19{\pm}0.08{\mu}g/L$, respectively. We used the survey logistic regression model to account for the complex sample design of the cardiovascular disease risk in order to estimate the odds ratios (OR). After adjusting for age, education, income, alcohol, smoking, and BMI, the increase of serum cadmium in blood was associated with the increase in the prevalence of hypertension. Further, the increase in blood cadmium concentration was associated with the increase of both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Although higher fish intakes were significantly associated with higher blood mercury concentration (p for trend < 0.0001), fish intakes did not affect either blood cadmium or lead concentration. Comparing the highest fish intake group with the lowest intake group, the OR of hypertension was 0.31 (95% CI: 0.19-0.59) in the crude model for total fish. However, these associations were no longer significant after the adjustment for potential confounding factors. In conclusion, cadmium in blood was associated with an increased risk of hypertension in the general Korean adult population. However, we found no evidence of a clear relationship between cardiovascular disease and frequency of fish consumption.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.195-199
• /
• 2005

The Working Group on the revision of Clinical Research Methodology for Acupuncture met in Seoul, Republic of Korea from 24 to 26 August 2005. The main objectives of the meeting were to review the regional publication guidelines for Clinical Research on Acupuncture, to make necessary revisions in the guidelines, to make recommendations on further collaboration and activities in the field of research on acupuncture, and to discuss scientific evidence-based approaches in the clinical research on acupuncture. Fourteen members from the eight Member States, one secretariat staff from the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific and ten observers from the Republic of Korea attended the meeting. The members presented their papers to review the current status of clinical research on acupuncture. The drafts of proposed revision to the previous guidelines for clinical research methodology on acupuncture were discussed extensively. The issues covered during the discussion included: the definition of the new terms; reorganization of clinical research design; revision and update of contents (e.g., control group); introduction of Institutional Review Board (IRB) on the section of ethical approval; additional outcomes including health-related quality of life (HRQOL), qualitative measures, etc. In the course of these discussions, the working group developed the revised guidelines for clinical research on acupuncture and made recommendations for promoting the dissemination of the revised guidelines.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.87-106
• /
• 2018

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the association between process quality of inpatient care and risk-adjusted, thirty-day potentially preventable hospital readmission (PPR) rates. Data Sources/Study Setting: This was an observational cross-sectional study of nonfederal acute-care hospitals located in two states California and Florida, discharging Medicare patients with a principal discharge diagnosis of heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, or pneumonia January through December 31, 2007. Data were obtained from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare database, and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey of Hospitals. Study Design: The dependent variable of this study is condition-specific, risk-adjusted, thirty-day potentially preventable hospital readmission (PPR). 3M's PPR software was utilized to determine whether a readmission was potentially preventable. The independent variable of this study is hospital performance for process quality of inpatient care, measured by hospital adherence to recommended processes of care. We used multivariate hierarchical logistic models, clustered by hospitals, to examine the relationship between condition-specific, risk-adjusted, thirty-day PPR rates and process quality of inpatient care, after taking clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of patients and structural and operational characteristics of hospitals into account. Findings: Better performance on the process quality metrics was associated with better patient outcome (i.e., low thirty-day PPR rates) in pneumonia, but not generally in two cardiovascular conditions (i.e., heart failure and acute myocardial infarction). Practical Implication: Adherence to the process quality metrics currently in use by CMS is associated with risk-adjusted, thirty-day PPR rates for patients with pneumonia, but not with cardiovascular conditions. More evidence-based process quality metrics closely linked to 30-day PPR rates, particularly for cardiovascular conditions, need to be developed to serve as a guideline to reduce potentially preventable readmissions.