• Journal of Public Diplomacy
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.1-26
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• 2022

Since the seminal publication of Joseph Nye's Soft Power, soft power became the central concept to public diplomacy. However, over-emphasis on soft power, which is still controversial, deterred academics from producing valuable knowledge that can be applied to practices in the field. Soft power is a cause and effect at the same time and thus it makes systematic analysis almost implausible because it is not only a tool for successful public diplomacy, but it is a result of successful diplomacy. This study aims at offering a theoretical framework linking soft power and public diplomacy by including various factors that may affect the outcomes of effective public diplomacy. This theoretical framework assessing the effectiveness of public diplomacy will make it possible to explore how and when new public diplomacy was adopted in a certain country and examine hard and soft power resources. The model also includes political system variables such as ideas and values, institutions, governance, leadership, and communication system, which are expected to influence public diplomacy effectiveness rather than soft power itself. The model yields the effectiveness of public diplomacy by assessing outcome and impact relative to input and output that are applicable to practices. The model is expected to enable both quantitative and qualitative studies generating possible propositions from the model with some preliminary outcomes of comparative case studies.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.67 no.6
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• pp.420-428
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• 2023

Crosslinking was introduced into vinylized-mesoporous silica and recycled polyethylene. By introducing a vinyl group into the mesoporous silica, it becomes a material capable of inducing cross-linking with non-polar polyethylene. By synthesizing vinylized-mesoporous silica and inducing crosslinking with recycled polyethylene, a recycled polyethylene composite with improved physical properties than existing recycled polyethylene was synthesized. In addition, even when a small amount is added according to the grade of recycled polyethylene using vinylized-mesoporous silica, the crosslinking reaction proceeds and all physical properties are improved. Four types of vinylized-mesoporous silica were synthesized, and the shape, microstructure, and functional groups were analyzed by TEM, BET, FT-IR, and XRD. Using vinylized-mesoporous silica, three types of compounds were blended by crosslinking reaction with recycled polyethylene. In order to confirm the presence or absence of crosslinking, analysis was performed using XPS and FT-IR, and physical properties such as tensile strength, elongation, flexural strength, and flexural modulus were confirmed using a universal testing machine. As a result, by applying vinylized-mesoporous silica to recycled polyethylene in various grades, the weak physical properties of existing recycled polyethylene were overcome. By applying the vinylized-mesoporous silica, recycled polyethylene composite material that overcomes the weak physical properties to the normal polyethylene, it shows the optimal physical property index that can be used commercially. Therefore, it is expected that it can potentially increase the use of recycled polyethylene and recycle resources.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.119-131
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• 2024

Understanding accurate traffic performance is crucial for ensuring efficient highway operation and providing a sustainable mobility environment. On the other hand, an immediate and precise estimation of highway traffic performance faces challenges because of infrastructure and technological constraints, data processing complexities, and limitations in using integrated big data. This paper introduces a framework for estimating traffic performance by analyzing real-time data sourced from toll collection systems and dedicated short-range communications used on highways. In particular, this study addresses the data errors arising from segmented information in data, influencing the individual travel trajectories of vehicles and establishing a more reliable Origin-Destination (OD) framework. The study revealed the necessity of trip linkage for accurate estimations when consecutive segments of individual vehicle travel within the OD occur within a 20-minute window. By linking these trip ODs, the daily average highway traffic performance for South Korea was estimated to be248,624 thousand vehicle kilometers per day. This value shows an increase of approximately 458 thousand vehicle kilometers per day compared to the 248,166 thousand vehicle kilometers per day reported in the highway operations manual. This outcome highlights the potential for supplementing previously omitted traffic performance data through the methodology proposed in this study.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 2024

Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) is one of the representative biodegradable polymers with high ductility and processability to replace petroleum-based polymers. Many investigations have been conducted to broaden the applications of PBAT in a variety of industries, including the food packaging, agricultural mulching film, and logistics and distribution fields. Foaming process is widely known technique to generate the cell structure within the polymer matrix, offering the insulation and light weight properties. However, there was no commercially feasible foam product based on biodegradable polymers, especially PBAT, and maintaining a proper melt viscosity of the polymer would be a key parameter for the foaming process. In this study, chemical foaming agent and cross-linking agent were introduced to PBAT, and a compression molding process was applied to prepare a foam sheet. The correlation between cell morphological structures and mechanical and physical properties was evaluated. It was found that PBAT with foam structures effectively reduced the density and thermal conductivity, allowing them to be suitable for applications such as insulation and lightweight packaging or cushion materials.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.77-97
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• 2024

This study aims to examine the distinctions in evaluation index items between overseas and domestic ecological area-related systems, derive analytical indicators, and assess recently completed apartment complexes before and after the implementation of overall ecological area ratios. The objective is to analyse variances in the application of ecological area characteristics, categorizing them into ecological area analysis indicators and presenting their implications. The spatial scope covers completed apartment complexes in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Thirty-six completed apartment complexes were selected for analysis, and basic ecological area data were compiled. Subsequently, the data was utilized to categorize three analysis indicators-ecological area ratio, ecological area diversity, and ecological area connectivity-by metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, as well as by type of apartment complex (sale housing versus rental housing) and size (large-scale, medium-scale, and small-scale). Results of the analysis indicate higher ecological area ratios and greater diversity in ecological area spatial types in metropolitan areas compared to non-metropolitan areas, and in pre-sale housing complexes compared to rental housing complexes. Mediumand large-scale apartment complexes exhibit higher ecological area ratios, with ecological area diversity being more pronounced. Ecological area connectivity reveals more numerous and varied connection points and types in metropolitan areas than in non-metropolitan areas. Implications of this study suggest that large-scale development should prioritize securing ecological area ratios and diversity in apartment complexes. Enhancing biodiversity necessitates establishing connections within and beyond the ecological area network of the complex. Future research should focus on linking the ecological area network within the complex.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.191-202
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• 2024

Global warming is causing abnormal climates worldwide due to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, negatively affecting ecosystems and humanity. In response, various countries are attempting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in numerous ways, and interest in blue carbon, carbon absorbed by coastal ecosystems, is increasing. Known to absorb carbon up to 50 times faster than green carbon, blue carbon plays a vital role in responding to climate change. Particularly, the tidal flats of South Korea, one of the world's five largest tidal flats, are valued for their rich biodiversity and exceptional carbon absorption capabilities. While previous studies on blue carbon have focused on the carbon storage and annual carbon absorption rates of tidal flats, there is a lack of research linking tidal flat area changes detected using satellite data to carbon storage. This study applied the direct difference water index to high-resolution satellite data from PlanetScope and RapidEye to analyze the area and changes of the Nakdong River estuary tidal flats over six periods between 2013 and 2023, estimating the carbon storage for each period. The analysis showed that excluding the period in 2013 with a different tidal condition, the tidal flat area changed by up to approximately 5.4% annually, ranging from about 9.38 km² (in 2022) to about 9.89 km² (in 2021), with carbon storage estimated between approximately 30,230.0 Mg C and 31,893.7 Mg C.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.13-24
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• 2024

This study conducts an analysis of social media big data pertaining to island tourism resources, aiming to discern the diverse forms and categories of island tourism favored by consumers, ascertain predominant resources, and facilitate objective decision-making grounded in scientific methodologies. To achieve this objective, an examination of blog posts published on Naver from 2022 to 2023 was undertaken, utilizing keywords such as 'Island tourism', 'Island travel', and 'Island backpacking' as focal points for analysis. Text mining techniques were applied to sift through the data. Among the resources identified, the port emerged as a significant asset, serving as a pivotal conduit linking the island and mainland and holding substantial importance as a focal point and resource for tourist access to the island. Furthermore, an analysis of the disparity between existing island tourism resources and those acknowledged by tourists who actively engage with and appreciate island destinations led to the identification of 186 newly emerging resources. These nascent resources predominantly clustered within five regions: Incheon Metropolitan City, Tongyeong/Geoje City, Jeju Island, Ulleung-gun, and Shinan-gun. A scrutiny of these resources, categorized according to the tourism resource classification system, revealed a notable presence of new resources, chiefly in the domains of 'rural landscape', 'tourist resort/training facility', 'transportation facility', and 'natural resource'. Notably, many of these emerging resources were previously overlooked in official management targets or resource inventories pertaining to existing island tourism resources. Noteworthy examples include ports, beaches, and mountains, which, despite constituting a substantial proportion of the newly identified tourist resources, were not accorded prominence in spatial information datasets. This study holds significance in its ability to unearth novel tourism resources recognized by island tourism consumers through a gap analysis approach that juxtaposes the existing status of island tourism resource data with techniques utilizing social media big data. Furthermore, the methodology delineated in this research offers a valuable framework for domestic local governments to gauge local tourism demand and embark on initiatives for tourism development or regional revitalization.

• Journal of the International Relations & Interdisciplinary Education
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.85-111
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• 2024

Since the release of the 2000 PISA results, Finland's education has consistently been regarded as a competitor or benchmark for South Korea's educational system. However, recent indicators of division, opposition, and discontent within our educational sphere suggest a considerable departure from Finland's ethos of happiness in education. Against this backdrop, this study aims to analyze the trends in Finnish education-related research appearing in Korean academic journals. Utilizing network text analysis, we examined 160 papers indexed in RISS with titles containing "Finland" and "education". Key findings are as follows. Firstly, research on Finnish education has been steadily increasing, albeit showing recent signs of decline. Secondly, the majority of research topics were micro-level, with literature review-based methodologies predominating. Thirdly, a minority of researchers accounted for one-third of the total research output. Fourthly, countries compared with Finland predominantly included neoliberal states such as Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore. Fifthly, research themes and subjects primarily focused on primary and secondary education, particularly in domains such as mathematics and science, influenced by PISA. Future research on Finnish education should transcend localized and fragmented areas of inquiry, undertaking comprehensive investigations into the processes and history of Finland's happiness-oriented education. Such endeavors are essential for deriving insights crucial for our learning. Particularly, consideration should be given to moving beyond literature-based methodologies, fostering international collaborative discussions facilitated online, and linking the Finnish education community with educators, parents, students, local councils, and governmental stakeholders to collectively discuss and research.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.7
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• pp.1213-1224
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• 2024

Objective: Enterotypes (ETs) are the clustering of gut microbial community structures, which could serve as indicators of growth performance and carcass traits. However, ETs have been sparsely investigated in waterfowl. The objective of this study was to identify the ileal ETs and explore the correlation of the ETs with growth performance and carcass traits in Muscovy ducks. Methods: A total of 200 Muscovy ducks were randomly selected from a population of 5,000 ducks at 70-day old, weighed and slaughtered. The growth performance and carcass traits, including body weight, dressed weight and evidenced weight, dressed percentage, percentage of apparent yield, breast muscle weight, leg muscle weight, percentage of leg muscle and percentage of breast muscle, were determined. The contents of ileum were collected for the isolation of DNA and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The ETs were identified based on the 16S rRNA gene sequencing data and the correlation of the ETs with growth performance and carcass traits was performed by Spearman correlation analysis. Results: Three ETs (ET1, ET2, and ET3) were observed in the ileal microbiota of Muscovy ducks with significant differences in number of features and α-diversity among these ETs (p<0.05). Streptococcus, Candida Arthritis, and Bacteroidetes were the presentative genus in ET1 to ET3, respectively. Correlation analysis revealed that Lactococcus and Bradyrhizobium were significantly correlated with percentage of eviscerated yield and leg muscle weight (p<0.05) while ETs were found to have a close association with percentage of eviscerated yield, leg muscle weight, and percentage of leg muscle in Muscovy ducks. However, the growth performance of ducks with different ETs did not show significant difference (p>0.05). Lactococcus were found to be significantly correlated with leg muscle weight, dressed weight, and percentage of eviscerated yield. Conclusion: Our findings revealed a substantial variation in carcass traits associated with ETs in Muscovy ducks. It is implied that ETs might have the potential to serve as a valuable biomarker for assessing duck carcass traits. It would provide novel insights into the interaction of gut microbiota with growth performance and carcass traits of ducks.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2024

In this study, we summarized the definition of smart vegetable seedling production technology, analysis of smart seedling production system, a hardware and software configuration model for smart seedling production system, research and development trends in smart seedling production system, and proposed future research and development plans for smart seedling production technology. Smart vegetable seedling production is a data-based seedling production, management, and distribution system that utilizes 4th Industrial Revolution technology to improve seedling productivity and quality. The production of vegetable seedlings using smart seedling production technology can be efficiently managed by collecting, analyzing, and managing information on seedlings, environment, and tasks at each stage of production by linking with the smart seedling integrated management system. However, there is still a lack of standardization of seedling standards and quality for each vegetable crop to establish smart seeding production technology, as well as development of smart seedling production element technology, which requires national wide R&D support.