• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.179-190
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• 2023

Many recent attempts have sought accurate prediction of pile pullout resistance (P_ul) using classical machine learning models. This study offers an improved methodology for this objective. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), as a popular predictor, is trained by a capable metaheuristic strategy, namely equilibrium optimizer (EO) to predict the P_ul. The used data is collected from laboratory investigations in previous literature. First, two optimal configurations of EO-ANFIS are selected after sensitivity analysis. They are next evaluated and compared with classical ANFIS and two neural-based models using well-accepted accuracy indicators. The results of all five models were in good agreement with laboratory P_uls (all correlations > 0.99). However, it was shown that both EO-ANFISs not only outperform neural benchmarks but also enjoy a higher accuracy compared to the classical version. Therefore, utilizing the EO is recommended for optimizing this predictive tool. Furthermore, a comparison between the selected EO-ANFISs, where one employs a larger population, revealed that the model with the population size of 75 is more efficient than 300. In this relation, root mean square error and the optimization time for the EO-ANFIS (75) were 19.6272 and 1715.8 seconds, respectively, while these values were 23.4038 and 9298.7 seconds for EO-ANFIS (300).

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2022

In cold-formed steel (CFS) structures, such as trusses, transmission towers and portal frames, the use of back-to-back built-up CFS unequal angle sections are becoming increasingly popular. In such an arrangement, intermediate welds or screw fasteners are required at discrete points along the length, preventing the angle sections from buckling independently. Limited research is available in the literature on axial strength of back-to-back built-up CFS unequal angle sections. The issue is addressed herein. This paper presents an experimental investigation reported by the authors on back-to-back built-up CFS unequal angle sections with intermediate stiffeners under axial compression. The load-axial shortening behaviour along with the deformed shapes at failure are reported. A nonlinear finite element (FE) model was then developed, which includes material non-linearity, geometric imperfections and modelling of intermediate fasteners. The FE model was validated against the experimental test results, which showed good agreement, both in terms of failure loads and deformed shapes at failure. The validated finite element model was then used for the purpose of a parametric study comprising 96 models to investigate the effect of longer to shorter leg ratios, stiffener provided in the longer leg, thicknesses and lengths on axial strength of back-to-back built-up CFS unequal angle sections. Four different thicknesses and seven different lengths (stub to slender columns) with three overall widths to the overall depth (B/D) ratios were investigated in the parametric study. Axial strengths obtained from the experimental tests and FE analyses were used to assess the performance of the current design guidelines as per the Direct Strength Method (DSM); obtained comparisons show that the current DSM is conservative by only 7% and 5% on average, while predicting the axial strengths of back-to-back built-up CFS unequal angle sections with and without the stiffener, respectively.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.24-31
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• 2017

As the concept of sustainability becomes more and more popular, a large amount of literature have been recorded recently on intelligent green building and smart city (IGB&SC). It is therefore needed to systematically analyse the existing knowledge structure as well as the future new development of this domain through the identification of the thematic trends, landmark articles, typical keywords together with co-operative researchers. In this paper, Citespace software package is applied to analyse the citation networks and other relevant data of the past eleven years (from 2006 to 2016) collected from Web of Science (WOS). Through this, a series of professional document analysis are conducted, including the production of core authors, the influence made by the most cited authors, keywords extraction and timezone analysis, hot topics of research, highly cited papers and trends with regard to co-citation analysis, etc. As a result, the development track of the IGB&SC domains is revealed and visualized and the following results reached: (i) in the research area of IGB&SC, the most productive researcher is Winters JV and Caragliu A is most influential on the other hand; (ii) different focuses of IGB&SC research have been emerged continually from 2006 to 2016 e.g. smart growth, sustainability, smart city, big data, etc.; (iii) Hollands's work is identified with the most citations and the emerging trends, as revealed from the bursts analysis in document co-citations, can be concluded as smart growth, the assessment of intelligent green building and smart city.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.1-20
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• 2009

Feng Shui practice is very popular in East Asia and has been rapidly adopted by the population of the West. As Feng Shui involves knowledge of object placement, it opens opportunities to market Feng Shui knowledge and products. This paper presents an analysis of a successful Feng Shui enterprise, World of Feng Shui (WOFS), that has been established by a well-known Feng Shui expert Lillian Too and her daughter Jennifer Too. The enterprise's marketing strategies and tactics are tied to the theoretical concept of social influence, widely researched in the consumer behavior literature. The three types of social influence (informational, utilitarian, and value-expressive) are examined in relation to WOFS' marketing strategies using secondary data material. The main results indicate that the strategies of WOFS enterprise address all three types of social influence. The articles generated on-and off-line can be mostly associated with the informational influence. The off- line activities such as events, courses/workshops, and TV shows are also informational in nature. The Q & A sections/postings can be considered as representative of the utilitarian influence. They give experts (e.g., Lillian Too) the opportunity to provide individuals with problem-specific recommendations. Mega-mall website provides the value-expressive influence as purchase and consumption of the Feng Shui products is most susceptible to this type of influence. In terms of implications, WOFS enterprise strategies are suitable not only for consumes but also for business executives in Asia and in the West as architects, designers, and homeowners across continents use Feng Shui practices for building placements and decoration of dwellings and workplaces. Feng Shui practice has some limitations such as conflicting opinions of experts and increased complexity when the dimension of time is taken into consideration. Still, Feng Shui as a practice is growing globally adjusting itself to regional and cultural challenges.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.279-304
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• 2023

Polybenzimidazole (PBI) based membranes have evolved in literature as a popular membrane material for various applications in the past two decades because of their high temperature thermal durability, strong mechanical and tensile properties, high glass transition temperature (T_g), ion conduction ability at elevated temperature (up to 200℃), oxidative or chemical durability along with robust network like structural rigidity, which make PBI membranes suitable for various potential applications in chemically challenging environments. Ion conducting PBI based membranes have been extensively utilized in high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFC). In addition, PBI based membranes have been vastly utilized for the development of gas separation membranes and organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes for their unique characteristics. This review will cover the recent progress and application of various types of flat sheet PBI based membranes for HT-PEMFC, gas separation and OSN application.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.77-96
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• 2021

This research investigates the pivotal role of AI-enabled technologies in vitalizing the local economy. Collaborating with a leading search engine company, we examine the direct and indirect of an AI-based location search service on the success of sampled 7,035 local restaurants in Gangnam area in Seoul. We find that increased use of AI-enabled search and recommendation services significantly improved the selections of previously less-discovered or less-popular restaurants by users, and it also enhanced the stores' overall conversion rates. The main research findings have contributions to extant literature in theorizing the value of AI applications in local economy and have managerial implications for search businesses and local stores by recommending strategic use of AI applications in their businesses that are effective in highly competitive markets.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.397-419
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• 2020

Business analytics is a management tool for achieving significant business performance improvements. Many organizations fail to or only partially achieve their business objectives and goals from business analytics. Business analytics adoption is a multi-stage complex activity consisting of evaluation, adoption, and assimilation stages. Several research papers have been published in the field of business analytics, but the research on multi-stage BA adoption is fewer in number. This study contributes to the scant literature on the multi-stage adoption model by identifying the critical themes for evaluation, adoption, and assimilation stages of business analytics. This study uses the thematic content analysis of peer-reviewed published academic papers as a research technique to explore the key themes of business analytics adoption. This study links the critical themes with the popular theoretical foundations: Resource-Based View (RBV), Dynamic Capabilities, Diffusion of Innovations, and Technology-Organizational-Environmental (TOE) framework. The study identifies twelve major factors categorized into three key themes: organizational characteristics, innovation characteristics, and environmental characteristics. The main organizational factors are top management support, organization data environment, centralized analytics structure, perceived cost, employee skills, and data-based decision making culture. The major innovation characteristics are perceived benefits, complexity, and compatibility, and information technology assets. The environmental factors influencing BA adoption stages are competition and industry pressure. A conceptual framework for the multi-stage BA adoption model is proposed in this study. The findings of this study can assist the practicing managers in developing a stage-wise operational strategy for business analytics adoption. Future research can also attempt to validate the conceptual model proposed in this study.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.39-80
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• 2024

Guided by the prism of cultural studies, this paper takes a look at the Manila Korea Town in Malate, Manila. The location, Manila Korea Town, figures as the paper's object of study by exploring, theorizing, and reflecting on its presence and location within the horizon of the signifying powers of Korea-Philippine relations in the contemporary period. With the subject position of this essay, the paper theorizes by responding to the following questions: How does the meaning-making of South Korea fare with other Koreatowns in the world from the scale of Koreatown in Manila? Subsequently, what happens to a place when a global cultural phenomenon evolves into a form of placemaking in a different nation and territory? As Koreatown finally grounds itself in the anarchic lifeworld of Manila, what does this historical development in our urban lives reveal about our contemporary times? Responding to this set of questions led this paper to foreground the idea of a modular imagined community within a four-part discussion. The body of the essay begins by theorizing on the concept that this paper proposes, modular imagined community, and such a concept work draws from the theories of nationalism by Benedict Anderson and Partha Chatterjee. Subsequently, the antinomy between Anderson and Chatterjee is pursued by looking at the history of such a place, and through this step, the paper unravels the character of the place of Manila Korea Town, which explains the conditions of possibility of such social and communitarian formation. Yet as the public is caught by the presence of such development especially at the heart of Manila, the paper expands the scale and viewpoint by shining light on the globality of South Korea in relation to the Philippines. Lastly, this paper closes with a discussion on the food culture facilitated by this recent development, which also pushes us to imagine its potential, especially in light of the critique raised against South Korea and the popular culture associated with this phenomenon.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.1-30
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• 2023

This study analyzes and examines the travel behavior of Chinese people in Korea through a questionnaire survey of Chinese people who are long-term residents in Korea using Xiaohongshu App (RED). In this study, we add some variables to the MTEs (Memorable Tourism Experiences) model to analyze the travel behavior of Chinese people who are in Korea for a long period of time. We also chose to survey the users of Xiaohongshu App (RED), a popular software in recent years, and found the following findings in 240 valid questionnaires: (1) Scenery, Entertainment, and Informativeness have positive effects on people sharing travel experiences, while interaction does not. (2) Sharing travel experiences had a positive effect on travel satisfaction and the intention to go to other destinations, and travel satisfaction had a positive effect on the intention to go to other destinations. This paper extends the literature on tourism by combining MTEs and UGC (User-Generated Content) models, and also provides relevant suggestions for further research on the travel behavior of foreigners in Korea.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.557-562
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• 2023

Augmentation mammoplasty is one of the most popular cosmetic surgeries, but there is a high reoperation rate (29.7%) commonly due to capsular contracture, implant malpositioning, infection, and unsatisfactory size. Although infection only accounts for 2% of cases, its management is very challenging, especially with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection. Breast prosthetic NTM infection is a rare but is a disastrous condition with an incidence of approximately 0.013%. Immediate salvage reimplantation is usually not suggested, and most studies recommend a gap of 3 to 6 months after combination antibiotics therapy before reimplantation. However, delayed reimplantation often leads to great psychological stress and struggle between the doctor and patient. We present the case report of successful reimplantation in treating prosthetic NTM infections in a 28-year-old female. We discuss a novel technique "transaxillary capsulorrhaphy" to correct the bottoming-out deformity. One year after the combination of antibiotics and surgery, the follow-up computed tomography scan showed complete remission of NTM without recurrence. We discuss the surgical technique in detail. The 1-year follow-up assessment (photos and dynamic video) revealed good cosmesis and reliable correction using the new technique. This report is the first formal description and discussion of one-stage reimplantation following NTM infections. Transaxillary capsulorrhaphy allows for a successful salvage operation when an implant is displaced. This approach provides highly favorable result in eastern women undergoing revision augmentation mammoplasty. This study reflects level of evidence V, considering opinions of respected authorities based on clinical experience, descriptive studies, or reports of expert committees.