• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.71-97
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• 2004

This study conducted a comparative analysis of awareness level of review standards, continuing education, and awareness about the need for speciality and educational courses in order to improve quality of Korean health insurance review work and to present directions for policies of personnel development and continuing education to smoothly perform hospital's insurance claim work and Agency's review work. The analysis unit of the study is individuals, and survey was conducted among hospital's claim officers and Agency' review officers by distributing questionnaires. The major results of the study are as follows: First, it is found that hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers have conflicting awareness about review standards; more Agency's review officers think that current review standards are universal and reasonable, while more hospital's claim officers believe that they need to be revised. Especially, hospital's claim officers replied that it is possible that review results can differ according to government's policies. Second, there is no significant difference between the two groups in the opinion that there are individual differences in awareness level of review standard. In particular, both groups share the opinion that review results can differ according to officer's interpretation of review standards. Third, Both review officer groups feel the need for further training and continuing education. Fourth, there is no difference between the two groups in the opinion that both groups members should be educated in review related educational institutions. However, while 81.5% of Agency's review officers the education should be offered at the Agency, only 45.2% of hospital's claim officers agreed to it. Fifth, both review personnel do not show any difference in awareness of needed experience to successfully perform review work; both groups replied that three to four years experience is necessary to smoothly perform claim work and review work. This study was tried in order to search for directions to improve Korean insurance review work in quality rather than to explore characteristics themselves of individual factors. In this sense, this study presupposed an intention that the educational subjects for further training and continuing education for the two groups should be the same in order to narrow the awareness gap between hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers. Thus, this study suggests that it is desirable to offer beginner courses at junior colleges or in undergraduate courses and advanced courses in professional graduate school for six to twelve months. In that a comparison of awareness level of hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers who are actually in practice should precede appropriate presentation of directions for the qualitative improvement of insurance review work in Korea, the significance of this study lies in comparatively analyzing the awareness level of hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers and in presenting the establishment of future further training and continuing education.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers D
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.561-570
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• 2004

In this paper, new architectures and comprehensive design methodologies of Genetic Algorithms(GAs) based Genetically optimized Neurofuzzy Networks(GoNFN) are introduced, and a series of numeric experiments are carried out. The proposed GoNFN is based on the rule-based Neurofuzzy Networks(NFN) with the extended structure of the premise and the consequence parts of fuzzy rules being formed within the networks. The premise part of the fuzzy rules are designed by using space partitioning in terms of fuzzy sets defined in individual variables. In the consequence part of the fuzzy rules, three different forms of the regression polynomials such as constant, linear and quadratic are taken into consideration. The structure and parameters of the proposed GoNFN are optimized by GAs. GAs being a global optimization technique determines optimal parameters in a vast search space. But it cannot effectively avoid a large amount of time-consuming iteration because GAs finds optimal parameters by using a given space. To alleviate the problems, the dynamic search-based GAs is introduced to lead to rapidly optimal convergence over a limited region or a boundary condition. In a nutshell, the objective of this study is to develop a general design methodology o GAs-based GoNFN modeling, come up a logic-based structure of such model and propose a comprehensive evolutionary development environment in which the optimization of the model can be efficiently carried out both at the structural as well as parametric level for overall optimization by utilizing the separate or consecutive tuning technology. To evaluate the performance of the proposed GoNFN, the models are experimented with the use of several representative numerical examples.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.91-101
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• 2001

Nowadays the number of students that is losing their interest as well as learning desire in mathematics is increasing because of lack of logical thought creative power and abstract expression that present-day mathematics requires by reason of discrepancy of extreme scholastic ability by speciality of mathematics. In these conditions, we reduce the number of learning depression by bringing about learning desire or learning interest on mathematics, and students learn effective learning methods to be voluntary learning of discovery themselves that studies basic concepts, principles, rules through logical thought of students to solve difference of scholastic ability, thus we assumed that debate studies through small group activities in ability group would be one of ways to improve learning power, so the results of our research are as follows; 1. Debate studies through small group activities were very effective because of reinforcing the achivement level of students. 2. By this learning method, an individual or cooperrative learning was fostered, and lively discussions were accomplished. And learning attitudes of students were changed by the extension of cooperative learning abilities through advices or by themselves. 3. A personal opinion is payed regard by accepting an individual idea in the process of making questions. Learners can correct wrong concepts in the process of correcting wrong answers. So if we apply above-mentioned studies with easy contents from the lower grades, the effectiveness would increase as learners go to the higher grade. According to the results of various researches as follows; "The teaching-learning method oriented coopperative debate studies is effective to find solutions to mathematical problems." If small group activities are applied in the educational situation to search the course of a desirable cooperation learning through small group activities to improve scholastic abilities for a discoverable problem-solving power. I think that the teaching-learning method oriented cooperative debate studies is one of the most desirable methods to increase the problem-solving ability.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.117-129
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• 2015

As the Internet becomes ubiquitous, a large volume of information is posted on the Internet with exponential growth every day. Accordingly, it is not unusual that investors in stock markets gather and compile firm-specific or market-wide information through online searches. Importantly, it becomes easier for investors to acquire value-relevant information for their investment decision with the help of powerful search tools on the Internet. Our study examines whether or not the Internet helps investors assess a firm's value better by using firm-level data over long periods spanning from January 2004 to December 2013. To this end, we construct weekly-based search volume for information technology (IT) services firms on the Internet. We limit our focus to IT firms since they are often equipped with intangible assets and relatively less recognized to the public which makes them hard-to measure. To obtain the information on those firms, investors are more likely to consult the Internet and use the information to appreciate the firms more accurately and eventually improve their investment decisions. Prior studies have shown that changes in search volumes can reflect the various aspects of the complex human behaviors and forecast near-term values of economic indicators, including automobile sales, unemployment claims, and etc. Moreover, search volume of firm names or stock ticker symbols has been used as a direct proxy of individual investors' attention in financial markets since, different from indirect measures such as turnover and extreme returns, they can reveal and quantify the interest of investors in an objective way. Following this line of research, this study aims to gauge whether the information retrieved from the Internet is value relevant in assessing a firm. We also use search volume for analysis but, distinguished from prior studies, explore its impact on return comovements with market returns. Given that a firm's returns tend to comove with market returns excessively when investors are less informed about the firm, we empirically test the value of information by examining the association between Internet searches and the extent to which a firm's returns comove. Our results show that Internet searches are negatively associated with return comovements as expected. When sample is split by the size of firms, the impact of Internet searches on return comovements is shown to be greater for large firms than small ones. Interestingly, we find a greater impact of Internet searches on return comovements for years from 2009 to 2013 than earlier years possibly due to more aggressive and informative exploit of Internet searches in obtaining financial information. We also complement our analyses by examining the association between return volatility and Internet search volumes. If Internet searches capture investors' attention associated with a change in firm-specific fundamentals such as new product releases, stock splits and so on, a firm's return volatility is likely to increase while search results can provide value-relevant information to investors. Our results suggest that in general, an increase in the volume of Internet searches is not positively associated with return volatility. However, we find a positive association between Internet searches and return volatility when the sample is limited to larger firms. A stronger result from larger firms implies that investors still pay less attention to the information obtained from Internet searches for small firms while the information is value relevant in assessing stock values. However, we do find any systematic differences in the magnitude of Internet searches impact on return volatility by time periods. Taken together, our results shed new light on the value of information searched from the Internet in assessing stock values. Given the informational role of the Internet in stock markets, we believe the results would guide investors to exploit Internet search tools to be better informed, as a result improving their investment decisions.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.519-528
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• 2016

In order to achieve fast computational speed with good visual quality of output video, we propose a frequency domain based new fractal video compression scheme. Normalized cross correlation is used to find the structural self similar domain block for the input range block. To increase the searching speed, cross correlation is implemented in the frequency domain using FFT with one computational operation for all the domain blocks instead of individual block wise calculations. The encoding time is further minimized by applying rotation and reflection DFT properties to the IFFT of zero padded range blocks. The energy of overlap small size domain blocks is pre-computed for the entire reference frame and retaining the energies of the overlapped search window portion of previous adjacent block. Quadtree decompositions are obtained by using domain block motion compensated prediction error as a threshold to control the further partitions of the block. It provides a better level of adaption to the scene contents than fixed block size approach. The result shows that, on average, the proposed method can raise the encoding speed by 48.8 % and 90 % higher than NHEXS and CPM/NCIM algorithms respectively. The compression ratio and PSNR of the proposed method is increased by 15.41 and 0.89 dB higher than that of NHEXS on average. For low bit rate videos, the proposed algorithm achieve the high compression ratio above 120 with more than 31 dB PSNR.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.86-95
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• 2016

Purpose: The aim of this study was to conduct a concept analysis of cultural nursing competence. Methods: Cultural nursing competence was analyzed using Rodgers' evolutionary concept development method. A literature search using the keywords "cultural nursing competence", "intercultural nursing competence", "cultural nursing", "cultural health nursing", and "cultural competence" was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, ERIC, and RISS on material published before 2015. Database and bibliographic searches yielded 35 records. Results: Cultural nursing competence comprised cognitive, affective, and behavioral domains. The critical attributes of the concept were sensitivity, equality, and activity. The analysis identified the following dimensions: awareness, openness, and coherence. The consequences of cultural nursing competence were personal satisfaction and social justice. The definition contained competence on both an individual and social level. Conclusion: Cultural competency enhances quality of care by narrowing health disparities and increasing client satisfaction. The concept analysis of cultural nursing competence may offer an acceptable framework which can be used to develop psychometric tools of this concept and provide guidelines in nursing practice.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.29-52
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• 2012

Consumers differ in the way they make a purchase. An audio mania would willingly make a bold, yet serious, decision to buy a top-of-the-line home theater system, while he is not interested in replacing his two-decade-old shabby car. On the contrary, an automobile enthusiast wouldn't mind spending forty thousand dollars to buy a new Jaguar convertible, yet cares little about his junky component system. It is product involvement that helps us explain such differences among individuals in the purchase style. Product involvement refers to the extent to which a product is perceived to be important to a consumer (Zaichkowsky, 2001). Product involvement is an important factor that strongly influences consumer's purchase decision-making process, and thus has been of prime interest to consumer behavior researchers. Furthermore, researchers found that involvement is closely related to perceived risk (Dholakia, 2001). While abundant research exists addressing how product involvement relates to overall perceived risk, little attention has been paid to the relationship between involvement and different types of perceived risk in an electronic commerce setting. Given that perceived risk can be a substantial barrier to the online purchase (Jarvenpaa, 2000), research addressing such an issue will offer useful implications on what specific types of perceived risk an online firm should focus on mitigating if it is to increase sales to a fullest potential. Meanwhile, past research has focused on such consumer responses as information search and dissemination as a consequence of involvement, neglecting other behavioral responses like online merchant selection. For one example, will a consumer seriously considering the purchase of a pricey Guzzi bag perceive a great degree of risk associated with online buying and therefore choose to buy it from a digital storefront rather than from an online marketplace to mitigate risk? Will a consumer require greater trust on the part of the online merchant when the perceived risk of online buying is rather high? We intend to find answers to these research questions through an empirical study. This paper explores the impact of enduring product involvement and perceived risks on required trust level, and further on online merchant choice. For the purpose of the research, five types or components of perceived risk are taken into consideration, including financial, performance, delivery, psychological, and social risks. A research model has been built around the constructs under consideration, and 12 hypotheses have been developed based on the research model to examine the relationships between enduring involvement and five components of perceived risk, between five components of perceived risk and required trust level, between enduring involvement and required trust level, and finally between required trust level and preference toward an e-tailer. To attain our research objectives, we conducted an empirical analysis consisting of two phases of data collection: a pilot test and main survey. The pilot test was conducted using 25 college students to ensure that the questionnaire items are clear and straightforward. Then the main survey was conducted using 295 college students at a major university for nine days between December 13, 2010 and December 21, 2010. The measures employed to test the model included eight constructs: (1) enduring involvement, (2) financial risk, (3) performance risk, (4) delivery risk, (5) psychological risk, (6) social risk, (7) required trust level, (8) preference toward an e-tailer. The statistical package, SPSS 17.0, was used to test the internal consistency among the items within the individual measures. Based on the Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficients of the individual measure, the reliability of all the variables is supported. Meanwhile, the Amos 18.0 package was employed to perform a confirmatory factor analysis designed to assess the unidimensionality of the measures. The goodness of fit for the measurement model was satisfied. Unidimensionality was tested using convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. The statistical evidences proved that the three types of validity were all satisfied. Now the structured equation modeling technique was used to analyze the individual paths along the relationships among the research constructs. The results indicated that enduring involvement has significant positive relationships with all the five components of perceived risk, while only performance risk is significantly related to trust level required by consumers for purchase. It can be inferred from the findings that product performance problems are mostly likely to occur when a merchant behaves in an opportunistic manner. Positive relationships were also found between involvement and required trust level and between required trust level and online merchant choice. Enduring involvement is concerned with the pleasure a consumer derives from a product class and/or with the desire for knowledge for the product class, and thus is likely to motivate the consumer to look for ways of mitigating perceived risk by requiring a higher level of trust on the part of the online merchant. Likewise, a consumer requiring a high level of trust on the merchant will choose a digital storefront rather than an e-marketplace, since a digital storefront is believed to be trustworthier than an e-marketplace, as it fulfills orders by itself rather than acting as an intermediary. The findings of the present research provide both academic and practical implications. The first academic implication is that enduring product involvement is a strong motivator of consumer responses, especially the selection of a merchant, in the context of electronic shopping. Secondly, academicians are advised to pay attention to the finding that an individual component or type of perceived risk can be used as an important research construct, since it would allow one to pinpoint the specific types of risk that are influenced by antecedents or that influence consequents. Meanwhile, our research provides implications useful for online merchants (both online storefronts and e-marketplaces). Merchants may develop strategies to attract consumers by managing perceived performance risk involved in purchase decisions, since it was found to have significant positive relationship with the level of trust required by a consumer on the part of the merchant. One way to manage performance risk would be to thoroughly examine the product before shipping to ensure that it has no deficiencies or flaws. Secondly, digital storefronts are advised to focus on symbolic goods (e.g., cars, cell phones, fashion outfits, and handbags) in which consumers are relatively more involved than others, whereas e- marketplaces should put their emphasis on non-symbolic goods (e.g., drinks, books, MP3 players, and bike accessories).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.419-424
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• 2016

Background: The aim of this systematic review was to study the relationship between exposure to nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$) in the ambient air and breast cancer incidence. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was performed based on the MOOSE guideline for review of observational studies. We searched five online databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, EBSCO, and Scopus) from their conception to June 2014. A pooled estimate of the correlation between $NO_2$ exposure and breast cancer incidence was calculated using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: A total of 654 titles were retrieved in the initial search of the databases. Further refinement and screening of the retrieved studies produced a total of five studies from four countries. The studies included three ecological studies (aggregate level) and two individual based studies (one prospective cohort and the other one a case-control study). The ecological studies were pooled and the meta-analysis of correlation coefficient without z transformation showed a pooled estimate of r = 0.89 with 95% CI of 0.84 to 0.95. Using z transformation, the pooled r was 1.38 with 95%CI of 1.11 to 1.59. No significant heterogeneity between studies was observed. Following a sensitivity analysis and the removal of each study from pooled analysis we did not see any significant change in the pooled estimate. Conclusions: It was concluded that there is a tendency toward a weak association between exposure to $NO_2$ in ambient air and breast cancer at the individual level and a significant association at the aggregate level.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.87-92
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• 2017

This paper discusses the possibility of enhancing the efficiency in Second Language Learning with the help of an educational information and content search system that utilizes a Cloud system based Big Data. The proposed system plays a role in tracing the exact information that user request considering the interest, level, and aptitude of each individual. Also, the system screen outs unnecessary learning materials if they do not correspond to the user level which in result is one of the key factor in the proposed system. Since it requires multiple steps of verification in providing the extracted results finding out a way to reduce the steps to shorten the time of process.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.22 no.51
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• pp.175-187
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• 1999

The notion of productivity has been extended from the quantitative change of input factors to the efficiency change meaning efficient use of resources, and to the technical change meaning the qualitative improvement of input resources. In this way, the technical change is termed as total factor productivity in the individual businesses or the manufacturing industries. They should efficiently respond to the variations of economic environment and at the same time, have to make the efforts to improve productivity by increasing managerial efficiency and rasing the level of technology change for the continuous growth. Considering the growing importance of productivity, this study closely examines the factors influctuation on the productivity, fluctuation using total factor productivity in korean manufacturing industries. For the objective this study investigates the methods of measurement about total factor productivity, establishes the hypotheses based on the preceding research and finding. The results are obtained through the examination on the outcoms of regression analysis and related data. The results can be summarized as follows, First, in the progress of korean industrialization, the qualitative growth does not depend on the total factor productivity of the technical advance, and does not lead to the industry expansion. That is, the contribution of total factor productivity turns out to be relatively low. Second, it is necessary for the manufacturing industry to improve the level of technology and to emphasize the innovation of business, since the capital investment does not completely become fixed in the growth rate of productivity. Finally, continuous R&D investment should be made to increase total factor productivity. Namely, the regulation of industrial structure with an intensive technical development is essential and should be based on scientific and technical knowledge.