• Title/Summary/Keyword: Network efficiency

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A Study on the Designer's Post-Evaluation of Gyeongui Line Forest Park Based on Ground Theory - Focused on Yeonnam-dong Section - (근거이론을 활용한 설계자의 경의선숲길공원 사후평가 - 연남동 구간을 중심으로 -)

  • Kim, Eun-Young;Hong, Youn-Soon
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.47 no.3
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    • pp.39-48
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    • 2019
  • This research is based on the analysis of in-depth interviews of designers who participated in the design of the Yeonnam-dong section, which was completed in 2016. The case study site has received many domestic and foreign awards and is receiving very positive reviews from actual users. 53 concepts were derived from the open coding of the ground theory methodology. Thirty-four higher categories incorporated the concepts and 18 higher categories that reintegrated them. Later, the six categories of the ground theory were interpreted as the paradigm, and it was determined that the aspects of 'will of client' and 'work efficiency', 'site resources' and 'field manager's specialty' were the categories that had the greatest positive impact on the park construction. The key category of this park's construction was interpreted as "a park-construction model with active empathy and communication." The results of the study and are linked to the following research proposals. First, the need to improve the trust between the client and the landscape designer and the need to improve the customary administrative procedures; second, the importance of the input of landscape experts into the park construction process; third, the importance of all efforts to develop the design; fourth, the importance of on-site circular resources and landscape preservation; and fifth active social participation to increase the opportunity. This study, which seeks to grasp the facts that existed behind the park's construction, which received excellent internal and external evaluations, and has a qualitative, objective and structural interpretation of the social network related to the park's construction, in contrast to the conventional quantitative post-evaluation. It is expected that the administration and system improvements related to landscaping will be further improved through the continuation of in-depth post-evaluation studies.

Performance Optimization of Numerical Ocean Modeling on Cloud Systems (클라우드 시스템에서 해양수치모델 성능 최적화)

  • JUNG, KWANGWOOG;CHO, YANG-KI;TAK, YONG-JIN
    • The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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    • v.27 no.3
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    • pp.127-143
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    • 2022
  • Recently, many attempts to run numerical ocean models in cloud computing environments have been tried actively. A cloud computing environment can be an effective means to implement numerical ocean models requiring a large-scale resource or quickly preparing modeling environment for global or large-scale grids. Many commercial and private cloud computing systems provide technologies such as virtualization, high-performance CPUs and instances, ether-net based high-performance-networking, and remote direct memory access for High Performance Computing (HPC). These new features facilitate ocean modeling experimentation on commercial cloud computing systems. Many scientists and engineers expect cloud computing to become mainstream in the near future. Analysis of the performance and features of commercial cloud services for numerical modeling is essential in order to select appropriate systems as this can help to minimize execution time and the amount of resources utilized. The effect of cache memory is large in the processing structure of the ocean numerical model, which processes input/output of data in a multidimensional array structure, and the speed of the network is important due to the communication characteristics through which a large amount of data moves. In this study, the performance of the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), the High Performance Linpack (HPL) benchmarking software package, and STREAM, the memory benchmark were evaluated and compared on commercial cloud systems to provide information for the transition of other ocean models into cloud computing. Through analysis of actual performance data and configuration settings obtained from virtualization-based commercial clouds, we evaluated the efficiency of the computer resources for the various model grid sizes in the virtualization-based cloud systems. We found that cache hierarchy and capacity are crucial in the performance of ROMS using huge memory. The memory latency time is also important in the performance. Increasing the number of cores to reduce the running time for numerical modeling is more effective with large grid sizes than with small grid sizes. Our analysis results will be helpful as a reference for constructing the best computing system in the cloud to minimize time and cost for numerical ocean modeling.

Preliminary Inspection Prediction Model to select the on-Site Inspected Foreign Food Facility using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (차원축소를 활용한 해외제조업체 대상 사전점검 예측 모형에 관한 연구)

  • Hae Jin Park;Jae Suk Choi;Sang Goo Cho
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.29 no.1
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    • pp.121-142
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    • 2023
  • As the number and weight of imported food are steadily increasing, safety management of imported food to prevent food safety accidents is becoming more important. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety conducts on-site inspections of foreign food facilities before customs clearance as well as import inspection at the customs clearance stage. However, a data-based safety management plan for imported food is needed due to time, cost, and limited resources. In this study, we tried to increase the efficiency of the on-site inspection by preparing a machine learning prediction model that pre-selects the companies that are expected to fail before the on-site inspection. Basic information of 303,272 foreign food facilities and processing businesses collected in the Integrated Food Safety Information Network and 1,689 cases of on-site inspection information data collected from 2019 to April 2022 were collected. After preprocessing the data of foreign food facilities, only the data subject to on-site inspection were extracted using the foreign food facility_code. As a result, it consisted of a total of 1,689 data and 103 variables. For 103 variables, variables that were '0' were removed based on the Theil-U index, and after reducing by applying Multiple Correspondence Analysis, 49 characteristic variables were finally derived. We build eight different models and perform hyperparameter tuning through 5-fold cross validation. Then, the performance of the generated models are evaluated. The research purpose of selecting companies subject to on-site inspection is to maximize the recall, which is the probability of judging nonconforming companies as nonconforming. As a result of applying various algorithms of machine learning, the Random Forest model with the highest Recall_macro, AUROC, Average PR, F1-score, and Balanced Accuracy was evaluated as the best model. Finally, we apply Kernal SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) to present the selection reason for nonconforming facilities of individual instances, and discuss applicability to the on-site inspection facility selection system. Based on the results of this study, it is expected that it will contribute to the efficient operation of limited resources such as manpower and budget by establishing an imported food management system through a data-based scientific risk management model.

An Installation and Model Assessment of the UM, U.K. Earth System Model, in a Linux Cluster (U.K. 지구시스템모델 UM의 리눅스 클러스터 설치와 성능 평가)

  • Daeok Youn;Hyunggyu Song;Sungsu Park
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.43 no.6
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    • pp.691-711
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    • 2022
  • The state-of-the-art Earth system model as a virtual Earth is required for studies of current and future climate change or climate crises. This complex numerical model can account for almost all human activities and natural phenomena affecting the atmosphere of Earth. The Unified Model (UM) from the United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UK Met Office) is among the best Earth system models as a scientific tool for studying the atmosphere. However, owing to the expansive numerical integration cost and substantial output size required to maintain the UM, individual research groups have had to rely only on supercomputers. The limitations of computer resources, especially the computer environment being blocked from outside network connections, reduce the efficiency and effectiveness of conducting research using the model, as well as improving the component codes. Therefore, this study has presented detailed guidance for installing a new version of the UM on high-performance parallel computers (Linux clusters) owned by individual researchers, which would help researchers to easily work with the UM. The numerical integration performance of the UM on Linux clusters was also evaluated for two different model resolutions, namely N96L85 (1.875° ×1.25° with 85 vertical levels up to 85 km) and N48L70 (3.75° ×2.5° with 70 vertical levels up to 80 km). The one-month integration times using 256 cores for the AMIP and CMIP simulations of N96L85 resolution were 169 and 205 min, respectively. The one-month integration time for an N48L70 AMIP run using 252 cores was 33 min. Simulated results on 2-m surface temperature and precipitation intensity were compared with ERA5 re-analysis data. The spatial distributions of the simulated results were qualitatively compared to those of ERA5 in terms of spatial distribution, despite the quantitative differences caused by different resolutions and atmosphere-ocean coupling. In conclusion, this study has confirmed that UM can be successfully installed and used in high-performance Linux clusters.

Study on water quality prediction in water treatment plants using AI techniques (AI 기법을 활용한 정수장 수질예측에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Seungmin;Kang, Yujin;Song, Jinwoo;Kim, Juhwan;Kim, Hung Soo;Kim, Soojun
    • Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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    • v.57 no.3
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    • pp.151-164
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    • 2024
  • In water treatment plants supplying potable water, the management of chlorine concentration in water treatment processes involving pre-chlorination or intermediate chlorination requires process control. To address this, research has been conducted on water quality prediction techniques utilizing AI technology. This study developed an AI-based predictive model for automating the process control of chlorine disinfection, targeting the prediction of residual chlorine concentration downstream of sedimentation basins in water treatment processes. The AI-based model, which learns from past water quality observation data to predict future water quality, offers a simpler and more efficient approach compared to complex physicochemical and biological water quality models. The model was tested by predicting the residual chlorine concentration downstream of the sedimentation basins at Plant, using multiple regression models and AI-based models like Random Forest and LSTM, and the results were compared. For optimal prediction of residual chlorine concentration, the input-output structure of the AI model included the residual chlorine concentration upstream of the sedimentation basin, turbidity, pH, water temperature, electrical conductivity, inflow of raw water, alkalinity, NH3, etc. as independent variables, and the desired residual chlorine concentration of the effluent from the sedimentation basin as the dependent variable. The independent variables were selected from observable data at the water treatment plant, which are influential on the residual chlorine concentration downstream of the sedimentation basin. The analysis showed that, for Plant, the model based on Random Forest had the lowest error compared to multiple regression models, neural network models, model trees, and other Random Forest models. The optimal predicted residual chlorine concentration downstream of the sedimentation basin presented in this study is expected to enable real-time control of chlorine dosing in previous treatment stages, thereby enhancing water treatment efficiency and reducing chemical costs.

Records Management and Archives in Korea : Its Development and Prospects (한국 기록관리행정의 변천과 전망)

  • Nam, Hyo-Chai
    • Journal of Korean Society of Archives and Records Management
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.19-35
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    • 2001
  • After almost one century of discontinuity in the archival tradition of Chosun dynasty, Korea entered the new age of records and archival management by legislating and executing the basic laws (The Records and Archives Management of Public Agencies Ad of 1999). Annals of Chosun dynasty recorded major historical facts of the five hundred years of national affairs. The Annals are major accomplishment in human history and rare in the world. It was possible because the Annals were composed of collected, selected and complied records of primary sources written and compiled by generations of historians, As important public records are needed to be preserved in original forms in modern archives, we had to develop and establish a modern archival system to appraise and select important national records for archival preservation. However, the colonialization of Korea deprived us of the opportunity to do the task, and our fine archival tradition was not succeeded. A centralized archival system began to develop since the establishment of GARS under the Ministry of Government Administration in 1969. GARS built a modem repository in Pusan in 1984 succeeding to the tradition of History Archives of Chosun dynasty. In 1998, GARS moved its headquarter to Taejon Government Complex and acquired state-of-the-art audio visual archives preservation facilities. From 1996, GARS introduced an automated archival management system to remedy the manual registration and management system complementing the preservation microfilming. Digitization of the holdings was the key project to provided the digital images of archives to users. To do this, the GARS purchased new computer/server systems and developed application softwares. Parallel to this direction, GARS drastically renovated its manpower composition toward a high level of professionalization by recruiting more archivists with historical and library science backgrounds. Conservators and computer system operators were also recruited. The new archival laws has been in effect from January 1, 2000. The new laws made following new changes in the field of records and archival administration in Korea. First, the laws regulate the records and archives of all public agencies including the Legislature, the Judiciary, the Administration, the constitutional institutions, Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Intelligence Service. A nation-wide unified records and archives management system became available. Second, public archives and records centers are to be established according to the level of the agency; a central archives at national level, special archives for the National Assembly and the Judiciary, local government archives for metropolitan cities and provinces, records center or special records center for administrative agencies. A records manager will be responsible for the records management of each administrative divisions. Third, the records in the public agencies are registered in the computer system as they are produced. Therefore, the records are traceable and will be searched or retrieved easily through internet or computer network. Fourth, qualified records managers and archivists who are professionally trained in the field of records management and archival science will be assigned mandatorily to guarantee the professional management of records and archives. Fifth, the illegal treatment of public records and archives constitutes a punishable crime. In the future, the public records find archival management will develop along with Korean government's 'Electronic Government Project.' Following changes are in prospect. First, public agencies will digitize paper records, audio-visual records, and publications as well as electronic documents, thus promoting administrative efficiency and productivity. Second, the National Assembly already established its Special Archives. The judiciary and the National Intelligence Service will follow it. More archives will be established at city and provincial levels. Third, the more our society develop into a knowledge-based information society, the more the records management function will become one of the important national government functions. As more universities, academic associations, and civil societies participate in promoting archival awareness and in establishing archival science, and more people realize the importance of the records and archives management up to the level of national public campaign, the records and archival management in Korea will develop significantly distinguishable from present practice.

The Location of Medical Facilities and Its Inhabitants' Efficient Utilization in Kwangju City (광주시(光州市) 의료시설(醫療施設)의 입지(立地)와 주민(住民)의 효율적(效率的) 이용(利用))

  • Jeon, Kyung-Sook
    • Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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    • v.3 no.2
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    • pp.163-193
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    • 1997
  • Medical services are a fundamental and essential service in all urban areas. The location and accessibility of medical service facilities and institutions are critical to the diagnosis, control and prevention of illness and disease. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study on the location of medical facilities in Kwangju and the utilization of these facilities by the inhabitants. The following information is a summary of the findings: (1) Korea, like many countries, is now witnessing an increase in the age of its population as a result of higher living standards and better medical services. Korea is also experiencing a rapid increase in health care costs. To ensure easy access to medical consultation, diagnosis and treatment by individuals, the hierarchical efficient location of medical facilities, low medical costs, equalized medical services, preventive medical care is important. (2) In Korea, the quality of medical services has improved significantly as evident by the increased number of medical facilities and medical personnel. However, there is still a need for not only quantitative improvements but also for a more equitable distribution of and location of medical services. (3) There are 503 medical facilities in Kwangju each with a need to service 2,556 people. This is below the national average of 1,498 inhabitants per facility. The higher locational quotient and satisfactory population per medical facility showed at the civic center. On the other hand, problem regions such as the traditional residential area in Buk-Gu, Moo-deung mountain area and the outer areas of west Kwangju still maintain rural characteristics. (4) In the study area there are 86 general medicine clinics which provide basic medical services. i. e. one clinic per every 14,949 residents. As a basic service, its higher locational quotient showed in the residential area. The lower population concentration per clinic was found in the civic center and in the former town center, Songjeong-dong. In recently build residential areas and in the civic center, the lack of general medicine clinics is not a serious medical services issue because of the surplus of medical specialists in Korea. People are inclined to seek a consultation with a specialist in specific fields rather than consult a general practitioner. As a result of this phenomenon, there are 81 internal medicine facilities. Of these, 32.1% provide services to people who are not referred by a primary care physician but who self-diagnose then choose a medical facility specializing in what they believe to be their health problem. Areas in the city, called dongs, without any internal facilities make up 50% of the total 101 dongs. (5) There are 78 surgical facilities within the area, and there is little difference at the locational appearance from internal medicine facilities. There are also 71 pediatric health clinics for people under 15 years of age in this area, represents one clinic per 5,063 people. On the quantitative aspect, this is a positive situation. Accessibility is the most important facility choice factor, so it should be evenly located in proportion to demander distribution. However, 61% of 102 dongs have no pediatric clinics because of the uneven location. (6) There are 43 obstetrical and gynecological clinics in Kwangju, and the number of residents being served per clinic is 15,063. These services need to be given regularly so it should increase the numbers. There are 37 ENT clinics in the study area with the lower concentration in Dong-gu (32.4%) making no locational differences by dong. There are 23 dermatology clinics with the largest concentration in Dong-Gu. There are 17 ophthalmic clinics concentrated in the residential area because of the primary function of this type of specialization. (7) The use of general medicine clinics, internal medicine clinics, pediatric clinics, ENT clinics by the inhabitants indicate a trend toward primary or routine medical services. Obstetrics and gynecology clinics are used on a regular basis. In choosing a general medicine clinic, internal medicine clinic, pediatric clinic, and a ENT clinic, accessibility is the key factor while choice of a general hospital, surgery clinic, or an obstetrics and gynecology clinic, thes faith and trust in the medical practitioner is the priority consideration. (8) I considered the efficient use of medical facilities in the aspect of locational and management and suggest the following: First, primary care facilities should be evenly distributed in every area. In Kwangju, the number of medical facilities is the lowest among the six largest cities in Korea. Moreover, they are concentrated in Dong-gu and in newly developed areas. The desired number of medical facilities should be within 30 minutes of each person's home. For regional development there is a need to develop a plan to balance, for example, taxes and funds supporting personnel, equipment and facilities. Secondly, medical services should be co-ordinated to ensure consistent, appropriate, quality services. Primary medical facilities should take charge of out-patient activities, and every effort should be made to standardize and equalize equipment and facility resources and to ensure ongoing development and training in the primary services field. A few specialty medical facilities and general hospitals should establish a priority service for incurable and terminally ill patients. (9) The management scheme for the inhabitants' efficient use of medical service is as follows: The first task is to efficiently manage medical facilities and related services. Higher quality of medical services can be accomplished within the rapidly changing medical environment. A network of social, administrative and medical organizations within an area should be established to promote information gathering and sharing strategies to better assist the community. Statistics and trends on the rate or occurrence of diseases, births, deaths, medical and environment conditions of the poor or estranged people should be maintained and monitored. The second task is to increase resources in the area of disease prevention and health promotion. Currently the focus is on the treatment and care of individuals with illness or disease. A strong emphasis should also be placed on promoting prevention of illness and injury within the community through not only public health offices but also via medical service facilities. Home medical care should be established and medical testing centers should be located as an ordinary service level. Also, reduced medical costs for the physically handicapped, cardiac patients, and mentally ill or handicapped patients should be considered.

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The Effect of Mutual Trust on Relational Performance in Supplier-Buyer Relationships for Business Services Transactions (재상업복무교역중적매매관계중상호신임대관계적효적영향(在商业服务交易中的买卖关系中相互信任对关系绩效的影响))

  • Noh, Jeon-Pyo
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.32-43
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    • 2009
  • Trust has been studied extensively in psychology, economics, and sociology, and its importance has been emphasized not only in marketing, but also in business disciplines in general. Unlike past relationships between suppliers and buyers, which take considerable advantage of private networks and may involve unethical business practices, partnerships between suppliers and buyers are at the core of success for industrial marketing amid intense global competition in the 21st century. A high level of mutual cooperation occurs through an exchange relationship based on trust, which brings long-term benefits, competitive enhancements, and transaction cost reductions, among other benefits, for both buyers and suppliers. In spite of the important role of trust, existing studies in buy-supply situations overlook the role of trust and do not systematically analyze the effect of trust on relational performance. Consequently, an in-depth study that determines the relation of trust to the relational performance between buyers and suppliers of business services is absolutely needed. Business services in this study, which include those supporting the manufacturing industry, are drawing attention as the economic growth engine for the next generation. The Korean government has selected business services as a strategic area for the development of manufacturing sectors. Since the demands for opening business services markets are becoming fiercer, the competitiveness of the business service industry must be promoted now more than ever. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the mutual trust between buyers and suppliers on relational performance. Specifically, this study proposed a theoretical model of trust-relational performance in the transactions of business services and empirically tested the hypotheses delineated from the framework. The study suggests strategic implications based on research findings. Empirical data were collected via multiple methods, including via telephone, mail, and in-person interviews. Sample companies were knowledge-based companies supplying and purchasing business services in Korea. The present study collected data on a dyadic basis. Each pair of sample companies includes a buying company and its corresponding supplying company. Mutual trust was traced for each pair of companies. This study proposes a model of trust-relational performance of buying-supplying for business services. The model consists of trust and its antecedents and consequences. The trust of buyers is classified into trust toward the supplying company and trust toward salespersons. Viewing trust both at the individual level and the organizational level is based on the research of Doney and Cannon (1997). Normally, buyers are the subject of trust, but this study supposes that suppliers are the subjects. Hence, it uniquely focused on the bilateral perspective of perceived risk. In other words, suppliers, like buyers, are the subject of trust since transactions are normally bilateral. From this point of view, suppliers' trust in buyers is as important as buyers' trust in suppliers. The suppliers' trust is influenced by the extent to which it trusts the buying companies and the buyers. This classification of trust using an individual level and an organization level is based on the suggestion of Doney and Cannon (1997). Trust affects the process of supplier selection, which works in a bilateral manner. Suppliers are actively involved in the supplier selection process, working very closely with buyers. In addition, the process is affected by the extent to which each party trusts its partners. The selection process consists of certain steps: recognition, information search, supplier selection, and performance evaluation. As a result of the process, both buyers and suppliers evaluate the performance and take corrective actions on the basis of such outcomes as tangible, intangible, and/or side effects. The measurement of trust used for the present study was developed on the basis of the studies of Mayer, Davis and Schoorman (1995) and Mayer and Davis (1999). Based on their recommendations, the three dimensions of trust used for the study include ability, benevolence, and integrity. The original questions were adjusted to the context of the transactions of business services. For example, a question such as "He/she has professional capabilities" has been changed to "The salesperson showed professional capabilities while we talked about our products." The measurement used for this study differs from those used in previous studies (Rotter 1967; Sullivan and Peterson 1982; Dwyer and Oh 1987). The measurements of the antecedents and consequences of trust used for this study were developed on the basis of Doney and Cannon (1997). The original questions were adjusted to the context of transactions in business services. In particular, questions were developed for both buyers and suppliers to address the following factors: reputation (integrity, customer care, good-will), market standing (company size, market share, positioning in the industry), willingness to customize (product, process, delivery), information sharing (proprietary information, private information), willingness to maintain relationships, perceived professionalism, authority empowerment, buyer-seller similarity, and contact frequency. As a consequential variable of trust, relational performance was measured. Relational performance is classified into tangible effects, intangible effects, and side effects. Tangible effects include financial performance; intangible effects include improvements in relations, network developing, and internal employee satisfaction; side effects include those not included either in the tangible or intangible effects. Three hundred fifty pairs of companies were contacted, and one hundred five pairs of companies responded. After deleting five company pairs because of incomplete responses, one hundred five pairs of companies were used for data analysis. The response ratio of the companies used for data analysis is 30% (105/350), which is above the average response ratio in industrial marketing research. As for the characteristics of the respondent companies, the majority of the companies operate service businesses for both buyers (85.4%) and suppliers (81.8%). The majority of buyers (76%) deal with consumer goods, while the majority of suppliers (70%) deal with industrial goods. This may imply that buyers process the incoming material, parts, and components to produce the finished consumer goods. As indicated by their report of the length of acquaintance with their partners, suppliers appear to have longer business relationships than do buyers. Hypothesis 1 tested the effects of buyer-supplier characteristics on trust. The salesperson's professionalism (t=2.070, p<0.05) and authority empowerment (t=2.328, p<0.05) positively affected buyers' trust toward suppliers. On the other hand, authority empowerment (t=2.192, p<0.05) positively affected supplier trust toward buyers. For both buyers and suppliers, the degree of authority empowerment plays a crucial role in the maintenance of their trust in each other. Hypothesis 2 tested the effects of buyerseller relational characteristics on trust. Buyers tend to trust suppliers, as suppliers make every effort to contact buyers (t=2.212, p<0.05). This tendency has also been shown to be much stronger for suppliers (t=2.591, p<0.01). On the other hand suppliers trust buyers because suppliers perceive buyers as being similar to themselves (t=2.702, p<0.01). This finding confirmed the results of Crosby, Evans, and Cowles (1990), which reported that suppliers and buyers build relationships through regular meetings, either for business or personal matters. Hypothesis 3 tested the effects of trust on perceived risk. It has been found that for both suppliers and buyers the lower is the trust, the higher is the perceived risk (t=-6.621, p<0.01 for buyers; t=-2.437, p<0.05). Interestingly, this tendency has been shown to be much stronger for buyers than for suppliers. One possible explanation for this higher level of perceived risk is that buyers normally perceive higher risks than do suppliers in transactions involving business services. For this reason, it is necessary for suppliers to implement risk reduction strategies for buyers. Hypothesis 4 tested the effects of trust on information searching. It has been found that for both suppliers and buyers, contrary to expectation, trust depends on their partner's reputation (t=2.929, p<0.01 for buyers; t=2.711, p<0.05 for suppliers). This finding shows that suppliers with good reputations tend to be trusted. Prior experience did not show any significant relationship with trust for either buyers or suppliers. Hypothesis 5 tested the effects of trust on supplier/buyer selection. Unlike buyers, suppliers tend to trust buyers when they think that previous transactions with buyers were important (t=2.913 p<0.01). However, this study did not show any significant relationship between source loyalty and the trust of buyers in suppliers. Hypothesis 6 tested the effects of trust on relational performances. For buyers and suppliers, financial performance reportedly improved when they trusted their partners (t=2.301, p<0.05 for buyers; t=3.692, p<0.01 for suppliers). It is interesting that this tendency was much stronger for suppliers than it was for buyers. Similarly, competitiveness was reported to improve when buyers and suppliers trusted their partners (t=3.563, p<0.01 for buyers; t=3.042, p<0.01 for suppliers). For suppliers, efficiency and productivity were reportedly improved when they trusted buyers (t=2.673, p<0.01). Other performance indices showed insignificant relationships with trust. The findings of this study have some strategic implications. First and most importantly, trust-based transactions are beneficial for both suppliers and buyers. As verified in the study, financial performance can be improved through efforts to build and maintain mutual trust. Similarly, competitiveness can be increased through the same kinds of effort. Second, trust-based transactions can facilitate the reduction of perceived risks inherent in the purchasing situation. This finding has implications for both suppliers and buyers. It is generally believed that buyers perceive higher risks in a highly involved purchasing situation. To reduce risks, previous studies have recommended that suppliers devise risk-reducing tactics. Moving beyond these recommendations, the present study uniquely focused on the bilateral perspective of perceived risk. In other words, suppliers are also susceptible to perceived risks, especially when they supply services that require very technical and sophisticated manipulations and maintenance. Consequently, buyers and suppliers must solve problems together in close collaboration. Hence, mutual trust plays a crucial role in the problem-solving process. Third, as found in this study, the more authority a salesperson has, the more he or she can be trusted. This finding is very important with regard to tactics. Building trust is a long-term assignment; however, when mutual trust has not been developed, suppliers can overcome the problems they encounter by empowering a salesperson with the authority to make certain decisions. This finding applies to suppliers as well.

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