• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.19-38
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• 2017

Collaborative filtering (CF) algorithm has been popularly used for implementing recommender systems. Until now, there have been many prior studies to improve the accuracy of CF. Among them, some recent studies adopt 'hybrid recommendation approach', which enhances the performance of conventional CF by using additional information. In this research, we propose a new hybrid recommender system which fuses CF and the results from the social network analysis on trust and distrust relationship networks among users to enhance prediction accuracy. The proposed algorithm of our study is based on memory-based CF. But, when calculating the similarity between users in CF, our proposed algorithm considers not only the correlation of the users' numeric rating patterns, but also the users' in-degree centrality values derived from trust and distrust relationship networks. In specific, it is designed to amplify the similarity between a target user and his or her neighbor when the neighbor has higher in-degree centrality in the trust relationship network. Also, it attenuates the similarity between a target user and his or her neighbor when the neighbor has higher in-degree centrality in the distrust relationship network. Our proposed algorithm considers four (4) types of user relationships - direct trust, indirect trust, direct distrust, and indirect distrust - in total. And, it uses four adjusting coefficients, which adjusts the level of amplification / attenuation for in-degree centrality values derived from direct / indirect trust and distrust relationship networks. To determine optimal adjusting coefficients, genetic algorithms (GA) has been adopted. Under this background, we named our proposed algorithm as SNACF-GA (Social Network Analysis - based CF using GA). To validate the performance of the SNACF-GA, we used a real-world data set which is called 'Extended Epinions dataset' provided by 'trustlet.org'. It is the data set contains user responses (rating scores and reviews) after purchasing specific items (e.g. car, movie, music, book) as well as trust / distrust relationship information indicating whom to trust or distrust between users. The experimental system was basically developed using Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), but we also used UCINET 6 for calculating the in-degree centrality of trust / distrust relationship networks. In addition, we used Palisade Software's Evolver, which is a commercial software implements genetic algorithm. To examine the effectiveness of our proposed system more precisely, we adopted two comparison models. The first comparison model is conventional CF. It only uses users' explicit numeric ratings when calculating the similarities between users. That is, it does not consider trust / distrust relationship between users at all. The second comparison model is SNACF (Social Network Analysis - based CF). SNACF differs from the proposed algorithm SNACF-GA in that it considers only direct trust / distrust relationships. It also does not use GA optimization. The performances of the proposed algorithm and comparison models were evaluated by using average MAE (mean absolute error). Experimental result showed that the optimal adjusting coefficients for direct trust, indirect trust, direct distrust, indirect distrust were 0, 1.4287, 1.5, 0.4615 each. This implies that distrust relationships between users are more important than trust ones in recommender systems. From the perspective of recommendation accuracy, SNACF-GA (Avg. MAE = 0.111943), the proposed algorithm which reflects both direct and indirect trust / distrust relationships information, was found to greatly outperform a conventional CF (Avg. MAE = 0.112638). Also, the algorithm showed better recommendation accuracy than the SNACF (Avg. MAE = 0.112209). To confirm whether these differences are statistically significant or not, we applied paired samples t-test. The results from the paired samples t-test presented that the difference between SNACF-GA and conventional CF was statistical significant at the 1% significance level, and the difference between SNACF-GA and SNACF was statistical significant at the 5%. Our study found that the trust/distrust relationship can be important information for improving performance of recommendation algorithms. Especially, distrust relationship information was found to have a greater impact on the performance improvement of CF. This implies that we need to have more attention on distrust (negative) relationships rather than trust (positive) ones when tracking and managing social relationships between users.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.162-174
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• 2020

This study aimed to develop a creative education class program using metaphor, one of the creative thinking techniques, and to examine the effectiveness of the program targeting for randomly sampled 338 students in six middle schools. The creative education class program with the metaphor was developed based on content elements concerning 'astronomy' in 2015 science curriculum revision in South Korea. The program was tested for validity after being modified and supplemented three times by forming a group of experts, and the final version of the program was applied to school education fields during four periods, including block time. To find out the effectiveness of the program and the implementation, creative education class satisfaction test and creative thinking process test were conducted. That is to say, the creative education class satisfaction test was conducted before treatment and the creative thinking process test was implemented both before and after treatment. The results of the study are as follows. First, in this study, the program was developed with the emphasis on students voluntarily and actively participating in creative education programs while utilizing creative thinking methods. Second, the statistical results of the pre- and post-class about the creative education program using the metaphor of creative thinking techniques represented significant results(p<.05). In other words, the two-dependent samples by students' pre-and post-score about the creative education class showed significant statistical test results (p<.05). It turned out that the creative education program using metaphor has had a positive impact on research participants. Third, in regards to the results of the creative education class satisfaction test, 101 out of 338 students(30%) answered 'Strongly Agree' and 137(41%) answered 'Agree', indicating the subjects' satisfaction with the class was high in general. On the other hand, concerning difficulties of the creative class, 137(41%) answered "Lack of time" as the main factor, followed by 98(30%) "Difficulties of problems they were required to solve", 73(22%) answered "Conflicts with friends", and 24(7%) said "Difficulties of contents." These responses were taken into account as considerations for further development of creative education programs.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.413-425
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• 2017

This manuscript describes the relationship between climate change and forest growth, forest species, carbon stocks, and tree mortality. 1) In the aspect of forest growth, the growth of major coniferous species, including Pinus densiflora, had a negative correlation with temperature. On the other hand, major deciduous oak species, including Quercus variabilis and Quercus mongolica, had a positive correlation with temperature. 2) When considered in the aspect of the forest species distribution, various models commonly showed a decrease in the distribution of coniferous species and an increase in oak species due to climate change in the medium to long term. 3) From the carbon stock perspective, there was a difference in the estimation according to the status of forest management. Most of Korean forests will mature to become over-matured forest after year 2030 and are estimated to produce approximately 410 million ton forest biomass until 2090 with the current cutting regulations for sustainable forest management announced by the Korean Forest Service. 4) In the forest mortality, the mortality rate of the major coniferous species showed a clear tendency to increase higher temperatures while it decreased for the oak species with no verification of statistical significance. Moreover, the mortality of the subalpine coniferous species was projected to progress rapidly. considering the overall impacts described above, there should be a management strategy for coniferous species that are relatively vulnerable to climate change. Moreover, a sustainable forest plan in the aspect of ecosystem services, carbon sequestration and storage, which is linked to global issues such as Sustainable Development Goals, ecosystem services and negative emission.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.233-249
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• 2017

This study investigates the relation of managerial ability and firm performance in case of Chaebol in Korea. We employ non-financing firms at Korean markets for the period 2000-2015. Most important decision is made by the head of Chaebol which increases firm value eventually and he has such a strong dominant power that managers belongs to Chaebol have to follow mother firm's decision directions. So it is expected that managers belongs to Chaebol have to focus on long term performance rather than short term profits, which means they concentrate their managerial ability much on the firm value. Otherwise, managers in which non-Chaebol focus their ability on periodic accounting earnings. Thus, this study examines an empirical analysis on the relation of managerial ability and firm performance and the effect of Chaebol on the relation of managerial ability and firm performance. Empirical results are as follows: First, there exists a statistically significant positive relation between managerial ability and firm performance either short- or long-term. Second, we extend this relationship into Chaebol condition and find that managerial ability of Chaebol positively influences on the firm value which is long-term performance, rather than return on assets which is short-term performance. These results imply that managers belongs to Chaebol much concentrate their ability on long-term value which is differenciated from the case of non-Chaebol samples. Chaebol is an important issue in Korea because it dominates most of Korean local economy so its' impact from small changes on our economy is big enough. Our study examining the relationships between managerial ability of Chaebol and firm performance is meaningful and it is a good signal that they concentrate their ability much on the long-term value rather than short-term profits. We expect that the results of this study will provide the academic and practical references. This study will contribute to the future research in accounting through an analysis of managerial ability which is a new measure, Chaebol, and firm value.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.172-186
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• 2017

Current study is a part of the efforts to assess the estuarine barrage effects on the coastal ecosystem induced by the Si flux changes. Surface sediments from Seomjin and Nakdong estuary and sediment cores from Nakdong estuary was analysed to investigate the effect of estuarine barrage on the distribution of grain size, organic matter (loss on ignition: LOI) and biogenic silica (BSi). The samples of Seomjin estuary were collected in March, 2015 and those of Nakdong estuary were collected in November, 2014. Generally, the longitudinal distribution of grain size, LOI and BSi in Seomjin estuary, natural estuary, was gradually changed. However mud (silt and clay), LOI and BSi increased from station mid-estuary where tide reaches year-round. The distribution of grain size, LOI and BSi in Nakdong estuary, however, were entirely different between inside and outside of estuarine barrage. The mud percentage and LOI were low and consistent in inside of the barrage except R05, inside of right gate, yet those of outside of the barrage were higher and varied by adjacent sluices. Mud, LOI and BSi of ND1 and ND2 decreased immediately after the construction of Nakdong estuarine barrage due to disturbance of sediment and decrease of sediment supply. To exclude the physical effects by the barrage, BSi excess ($BSi_{exc}$) was calculated using regression equation of BSi-LOI and BSi-mud of Seomjin estuary. $BSi_{exc}$ of Seomjin estuary decreased gradually from upper estuary to lower estuary. $BSi_{exc}$ of Nakdong estuary were positive in inside of the barrage and negative in outside of the barrage. BSi retention and shift of species composition of diatom by the barrage would affect $BSi_{exc}$ distribution. Before the construction of Nakdong estuarine barrage, $BSi_{exc}$ of ND2 was negative and consistent owing to high mud sedimentation. After the construction, $BSi_{exc}$ of ND2, however, fluctuated due to continuous disturbance of sediment due to construction of Eulsuk bridge and East gate.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.65-88
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• 2004

In general, empowerment is defined as the motivational concept of autonomy and self-efficacy. Recently, the concept of empowerment is applied to improve organizational staff's job satisfaction and organizational commitment in many organizations. Empower-ment in service organizations, i.e., hospitals, has certainly generated more publicity than any other organizations. The objectives of this study are, first, to measure the degree of hospital employees' empowerment using Spreitzer(1995)'s empowerment theory, second, to analyze the causal relationship of organizational and job characteristics, a degree of empowerment, and organizational performance(job satisfaction and organizational commitment), and third, to offer the strategy for the improvement of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Spreitzer insists that the empowerment is composed of 4 dimensions(meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact). And he argues that various work-related characteristics is a direct cause of empowerment and the indirect cause of job satisfaction and organizational commitment, mediated by the empowerment latent variable. In order to perform this study, data were collected by self-administered questionnaires from hospital employees working in administrative department of 3 university hospitals in Inchon and Kyunggi-Do region. The number of cases is 181(response rate; 86%). The Collected data were analyzed with SPSS Ver. 10.0 and AMOSV Ver. 4.0. First, to test validity of variables, the factor analysis was used. Second, to test reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficients was calculated. Cronbach's alpha of empowerment variable is 0.8323 showing that there's no problem in regard to the internal consistency. Also the Cronbach's alpha of other variables are 0.8301 of the degree of perceived control, 0.6705 of job characteristics, O.8787 of compensation, 0.9254 of job satisfaction, and 0.8389 of organizational commitment, respectively. Among the questions of job characteristics, two survey questions are deleted due to lowering the reliability. Third, to test multicollinearity and correlation of variables, the correlation analysis was performed. There was no problem of multicollinearity. Finally structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis was conducted to find the causal relationship of organizational and job Characteristics, empowerment, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The 16 variables are included for the SEM analysis. The major results of this study are as follows: First, in the case of model fitness, the condition of x$^2$ statistic(92.187) is not fully satisfied, but the indices of GFI(0.912), AGFI(0.863), NFI(0.917) and CFI(0.928) are partially satisfied, which needs to upper 0.90. Second, in the result of hypotheses testing, all hypotheses are accepted and have a positive effect in 95% or 99% confidence interval(P<0.05 or P<0.001) except the effect of compensation variable on empowerment(P=0.082). Third, in regard to the direct, indirect, and total effect of variables, the direct effect of perceived control, task characteristics, and compensation on job satisfaction are 0.728, 2.264, 0.328 and on organizational commitment are 0.094, 1.411, 0.418, respectively. Also the indirect effect of perceived control, task characteristics, and compensation on job satisfaction are 0.311, 0.196, 0.028 and on organizational commitment are 0.210, 0.132, 0.019, respectively. Thus, these findings imply that various work-related factors are direct effect of empowerment and indirect effect of result variables, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Also These results showed that the workplace empowerment is significant mediating factor of employee's job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.65-113
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• 1991

Korea's rapid economic growth of the past thirty years was led by extremely fast export growth under extensive government intervention. Until very recently, the political regimes were authoritarian and oppressed human rights and labor movements. Because of these characteristics, many inside and outside Korea are under the impression that the rapid economic growth was made possible by the government's relentless push for export growth through industrial targetjng. Whether or not the government intervention was pivotal in Korean economic growth is an important issue because of its normative implications on the role of government and the degree of economic policy intervention in a market economy. A good example of industrial targeting policy in Korea is the "Heavy and Chemical Industry (HCI)" policy, which began in the early 1970s and lasted for one decade. Under the HCI policy the government intervened in resource allocation through preferential tax, trade, and credit and interest rate policies for "key industries" which included iron and steel, non-ferrous metals, shipbuilding, general machinery, chemicals, and electronics. This paper investigates the effects of. the HCI policy on the efficiency of capital and the export competitiveness of manufacturing industries. For individual three-digit KSIC (Korea Standard Industrial Classification) industries and for two industry groups, one favored by HCI Policy and the other not, this paper: (1) computes capital intensities and discusses the impact of the HCI policy on the changes in the intensities over time, (2) estimates the capital efficiencies and examines them on the basis of optimal condition of resource allocation, and (3) compares the Korean and Taiwanese shares of total imports by the OECD countries as a way of weighing the effects of the policy on the industries' export competitiveness. Taiwan is a good reference, as it did not adopt the kind of industrial targeting policy that Korea did, while the Taiwanese and Korean economies share similar characteristics. In the 1973-78 period, the capital intensity rose rapidly for the "HC Group" the group of industries favored by the policy, while it first declined and later showed an anemic rise for the "Light Group," the remaining manufacturing industries. Capital efficiency was much lower in the HC Group than in the Light Group, at least until the late 1970s. This paper acribes these results to excess investments in the favored industries and concludes that growth could have been faster in the absence of the HCI policy. The Korean Light Group's share in total imports by the OECD was larger than that of its Taiwanese counterpart but has become much smaller since 1978. For the HC Group Korea's market share was smaller than Taiwan's and has declined even more since the mid-1970s. This weakening in the export competitiveness of Korea's industries relative to Taiwan's lasted until the mid-1980s. This paper concludes that the HCI policy had either no positive effect on the competitiveness of the Korean manufacturing industries or negative effects.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.101-118
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• 2014

"Career maturity" is very crucial for high school students since it has an impact on their career path and decision-making. Not only that, it is also important in self-realization and happiness as well as maximizing human resources. When it comes to understanding high school students' career path, it is necessary to know how they perceive school life since they spend most of their time in school. It's also vital to observe in the perspective of students' personal growth. This study seeks to understand the relationship between "adaptation to school life" "self-esteem" and "career maturity". To accomplish this, the 7th additional surveys conducted by Welfare Panel Study were used. The survey was conducted among 496 high school students in order to come up with descriptive statistics and correlation between "adaptation to school life" and "self-esteem" as well as the level of "career maturity". Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to understand the effects of "adaptation to school life" and "self-esteem" on "career maturity." The Baron and Kennny mediation analysis were used to understand the effects when the mediating role of "self-esteem" comes into the relationship between "adaptation to school life" and "career maturity". The results of the analysis are as follows: First, the average age for high school students' "career maturity" is 2.07, while it is 1.91 for "self-esteem". For "adaptation to school life," the relationship between "obedience to school regulations" and "relationship with friends" was relatively higher than the relationship between "attitude toward school life" and "interest in school life" Second, high school students' "career maturity" "adaptation to school life" and "self-esteem" were thought to be statistically meaningful since it showed that they had a positive relationship with each other. Third, "interest in school life" "attitude toward school life" and "obedience to school life" and "relationship with friends" in which all of these are the sub factors for "adaptation to school life" together with "self-esteem" had an influence on high school students' "career maturity". Lastly, the relationship between "adaptation to school life" and "career maturity" was proved to be influenced by the partial mediating role of "self-esteem". As the study seeks to find relationships and the factors that affect high school students' "career maturity" meaningful information is given out for the development and progress of educational programs for "career maturity". This was done by understanding the fundamental and systematic approach towards "career maturity" in the students' perspective.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.11
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• pp.1604-1611
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• 2011

In this study we assessed the effects of gamma irradiation (50 kGy) on cookies to which was added various concentrations (1%, 3%, 5%, 7%) of hot water extract from seamustad (Undaria pinnatifida) sporophylls (WEUS) for future industry use. The pH of the dough went down significantly with the addition of WEUS. However, density was not related to that. The spread ratio of the cookies increased significantly as more WEUS was added to the cookie recipe, and cookies containing gamma-irradiated extract were taller than non-irradiated cookies with the same concentration. The loss rate of cookies was the same between control and experiment groups. On the other hand, the leavening rate significantly increased upon the addition of WEUS, and gamma-irradiated cookies were higher than non-irradiated cookies in the same concentration. The L value of cookies was much reduced with higher WEUS content, but the b value showed no significant differences between the control and experiment groups. The a value showed no significant difference for non-irradiated groups, but did for gamma-irradiated groups. Upon the addition of WEUS, hardness was shown to be higher than the control. The antioxidant activity, DPPH radical scavenging, was significantly higher with the control cookies, and upon the addition of WEUS, the gamma-irradiated cookies had higher antioxidant effects than non-irradiated cookies. The sensory evaluation showed that cookies made with WEUS have a positive impact in color, smell, taste, texture, and overall acceptability, but the sensory evaluation worsened with a lot of WEUS. The results of acceptability were higher in cookies with 3% the non-irradiated group and 1% the gamma-irradiated group. These results suggest that the 1% gamma-irradiated group was in the best condition to use in the industry since just a little of it makes exceptional quality, sensory properties, and functionality.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.82-92
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• 2007

In 2003, we evaluated biological water quality at twelve sites of Youngsan River using community analysis, fish compositions, and the Index of Biological Integrity (IBI). Of the twelve, four sites were the controls, which have no point sources in the upstream and the remaining eight sites were the impacted sites, which are influenced by wastewater treatment plant (WTP) and agro-industrial complex. Model values of the IBI, based on 12 sites data, averaged 28 (n=12, range: $18{\sim}44$), indicating fair poor condition according to the criteria of US EP A (1993). In the mean time, mean IBI in the control sites (S3, S5, S6, S11) was 42 (n=4, range: $38{\sim}44$), indicating a good condition, whereas mean IBI in the impacted sites was 21, indicating a poor condition. Mean IBI value in the control, thus, was greater by 2 fold than that in the WTP sites. The spatial pattern of IBI values was similar to the patterns of species diversity index and species richness index, except for Site 11, which was 1st order stream. Similarity analysis indicated that three groups were divided at the similarity level of 80%. One group was the streams influenced by wastewater and the other two groups were the pristine streams as the control, indicating that the stream health conditions are directly influenced by presence or absence of the point sources. Also, Pearson's correlation analysis showed that IBI values had negative correlation (r=0.899, p<0.001) with relative abundance of tolerance species, and had positive relation (r=0.890, p<0.001) with sensitive species. Overall, outcomes suggest that the point sources of the WTP might impact the species composition and ecological health, resulting in degradation of biological water quality.