• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.27-40
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• 2024

This study empirically derives the factors affecting the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) of venture firms in Korea from the perspective of Slack Resource Theory and the company's growth strategy, and provides implications for future expansion of venture firm's CSR activities. In Korea, venture firms have grown into important players in the national economy since the late 1990s through social contributions such as economic value creation, job creation, and technological development. As venture companies grow in status, positive relationships with stakeholders and responsibility for environmental and social values are required. Now, CSR is becoming an important strategic choice for SMEs and venture firms. However, until now, CSR-related academic research has mainly focused on large or listed corporations, and there is not much research on SMEs or venture firms. In particular, research on the factors that lead venture companies to make important business decisions of participating in CSR activities is not there yet. This study applied logistic multiple regression analysis using the '2023 Survey on Venture Firms' conducted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. As a result of this study, operating profit, which is an available resources of venture companies, and government support, which is a potential resource, have a positive impact on venture firms's CSR activities. Also, business relationships with large corporations and expectation for future cooperation also have a positive impact on CSR activities as the determinants. On the other hand, it was analyzed that in venture firms where ownership and management are not separated, the higher the CEO's shareholding ratio, the more negatively it affects CSR activities. This study contributes academically as the first empirical study on the determinants of CSR activities of venture firms in Korea and provides implications that government policy support and collaboration between large corporations and venture firms are important in order to expand CSR activities of venture firms.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.53-68
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• 2024

Generative AI is receiving a lot of attention around the world, and ways to effectively utilize it in the business environment are being explored. In particular, since the public release of the ChatGPT service, which applies the GPT-3.5 model, a large language model developed by OpenAI, it has attracted more attention and has had a significant impact on the entire industry. This study focuses on the emergence of Generative AI, especially ChatGPT, which applies OpenAI's GPT-3.5 model, to investigate its impact on the startup industry and compare the changes that occurred before and after its emergence. This study aims to shed light on the actual application and impact of generative AI in the business environment by examining in detail how generative AI is being used in the startup industry and analyzing the impact of ChatGPT's emergence on the industry. To this end, we collected company information of generative AI-related startups that appeared before and after the ChatGPT announcement and analyzed changes in industry, business content, and investment information. Through keyword analysis, topic modeling, and network analysis, we identified trends in the startup industry and how the introduction of generative AI has revolutionized the startup industry. As a result of the study, we found that the number of startups related to Generative AI has increased since the emergence of ChatGPT, and in particular, the total and average amount of funding for Generative AI-related startups has increased significantly. We also found that various industries are attempting to apply Generative AI technology, and the development of services and products such as enterprise applications and SaaS using Generative AI has been actively promoted, influencing the emergence of new business models. The findings of this study confirm the impact of Generative AI on the startup industry and contribute to our understanding of how the emergence of this innovative new technology can change the business ecosystem.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.155-172
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• 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic not only posed an enormous human crisis, but also had a profound impact on firms' survival. Social distancing and global lockdown measures designed to protect human lives have paradoxically impaired the business environment. As a result, firms that sought to gain competitive advantage by leveraging external resources were cut off from the external world and faced unexpected challenges. Under these circumstances, researches were conducted in the early stage of the pandemic to explore how certain firms survived while others fell, but they were limited to re-examining business performance using traditional financial factors. However, this study aims to investigate the role of entrepreneurs' competency in crisis situations from the Resource-Based View (RBV), as such competency plays an important role in improving business performance and subsequently the probability of startups' survival. Specifically, we evaluated the performance as of end of 2019 of 1,127 startups evaluated by the Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC), which provides policy financing based on technology assessment, in 2016. We then conducted an empirical study to determine the mediating role of business performance in the relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and firm survival by verifying how many of the sample firms were still in operation at the end of June 2023, when the Korean government declared COVID-19 as an endemic. For this purpose, we defined technological, financial, and marketing competencies as the sub-factors of entrepreneurial competency, and sales growth rate and employment growth rate as the sub-factors of business performance. The results of the empirical analysis showed that technological and financial competencies of the entrepreneur had a positive impact on both business performance and firm survival, and that sales growth rate and employment growth rate mediated the relationship between technological competence and firm survival. However, the positive influence of entrepreneurs' financial competence of the survival of startups was only evident through the growth of employment. This study is the first study in South Korea to define the survival factors of startups in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is expected to contribute to the theoretical and practical discussions on the importance of entrepreneurs' competency as a firms' survival factor based on RVB.

• Analyses & Alternatives
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.65-86
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• 2024

This study delves into the geopolitical tensions surrounding Ukraine throughout modern European history, aiming to shed light on its significance in geopolitical discourse. Since the 19th century, European powers, particularly the Anglo-Saxons and Germans, have formulated distinct geopolitical strategies concerning the Eurasian continent, with Ukraine at its focal point. The Crimean War and the German-Soviet War serve as key events to analyze these powers' geopolitical ambitions and interests. The British Empire, driven by its doctrine of thwarting land powers with sea power, intervened in the Crimean War against Russia. Its objective was to disrupt Russian dominance over Ukraine, thereby hindering Russian expansion into the Black Sea and Central Europe. On the other hand, the Third Reich of Germany, fixated on creating a European sphere exclusive from Anglo-Saxon sea powers and the Russian land power, initiated the German-Soviet War. This move aimed to secure a vast territory, including Ukraine, to facilitate expansion into the Caucasus and establish a buffer zone against the Soviet Union. Three key insights emerge from this analysis. Firstly, the absence of a dominant power rooted in Ukraine since the fall of the Principality of Kiev made geopolitical clashes inevitable. Secondly, these clashes ultimately result in a hollow victory for all involved parties, signifying the high costs and minimal gains of such confrontations. Lastly, the root cause of these clashes lies in the discord between exclusive geopolitical visions that fail to accommodate sustainable coexistence among diverse geopolitical spheres. In essence, the study underscores Ukraine's pivotal role in shaping European geopolitics and highlights the recurring clashes driven by competing visions of dominance and control over its territory. From the Crimean War to the German-Soviet War, the struggle for influence over Ukraine reflects broader geopolitical dynamics and the pursuit of strategic advantage by major powers. Ultimately, the study emphasizes the enduring significance of Ukraine in European geopolitics and the complexities inherent in managing its geopolitical tensions.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.31
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• pp.21-37
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• 2024

This paper sought to garner an understanding of Daegaya glass culture by observing the micro-structure and analyzing the chemical composition of 43 glass beads excavated from the No.73 and 74 ancient tombs in Jisan-dong, Goryeong, which are estimated to have a central age of 5th century CE. The visible characteristics and micro-structure of these artifacts were observed with a optical microscope and an scanning electron microscope, while their chemical composition was analyzed with an energy-dispersing spectrometer attached to the scanning electron microscope. As a result, the glass beads of Jisan-dong, Goryeong were identified to have been formed using various methods such as drawing, casting, and folding techniques, with the majority molded by the drawing technique. In terms of chemical composition, 32.6% were in the potash glass group and 67.4% in the soda glass group, with the latter divided into various fluxes such as high alumina glass, netron glass, and plant ash glass. Compared to Baekje's cultural region in the same age, the composition of these ancient glass artifacts demonstrates a high share of the potash glass group. This shows that, despite the shift from the potash glass group to the soda glass group in ancient Korean glass culture, glass composition differs from region to region or depending on the cultural sphere of influence. In the soda glass group, high-alumina glass comprised 23.3%, natron glass 43.0%, and plant ash glass was 1.2%. Among them, the main type of Korean soda glass is high-alumina glass, as natron glass and plant ash glass are known to have appeared later, but the results of scientific analysis of the glass beads excavated in Jisan-dong can be expected to provide important clues about the inflow and transformation of ancient glass on the Korean Peninsula. In the No. 73, 74, and 74-1 ancient tombs, which were found to have been built in chronological order by the excavation survey, the glass beads showed only slight variations depending on their production period. Nonetheless, the chemical composition of glass is deemed to have a close correlation to color.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.474-485
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• 2024

The purposes of this study were to isolate the potential Lacticaseibacillus spp. from the feces of infants before weaning, to investigate the safety of antibiotics resistance and beta-haemolysis, and to evaluate the anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory effects between the selected strains and Oenanthe javanica (Oj) fermented by them. As a result of analyzing the intestinal microbial community among the stools of four infants, the genus Bifidobacterium was the most dominant, but Lacticaseibacillus (L.) rhamnosus was the most frequently isolated because of the easy culture. Nine test strains, including Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG (ATCC 53103) as the positive control, were sensitive against 8 kinds of antibiotics without vancomycin in comparison with the cut-off values at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and there was no hemolysis. In the antibacterial activity experiment, the Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus L22-FR28 (L28, KACC 92513P) strain and Oj+L28 ferment showed significantly (p<0.05) higher activities than LGG against Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, these decreased the activity of the NF-kB/AP-1 transcription factor and inhibited the nitric oxide and cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6) produced in macrophage RAW cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Consequently, the L. rhamnosus L28 strain and Oenanthe javanica+L. rhamnosus L28 (Oj+L28) ferment selected with the high anti-inflammatory effect will improve health functionality after more research, such as the verification of animal level and identification of mechanism on an anti-inflammatory.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.203-213
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• 2024

This study aimed to investigate the seasonal patterns of multiple bar formation in summer and flattening in winter on the macrotidal Sinduri beach in Taean, and to understand the processes their formation and subsequent flattening. Beach profiling has been conducted regularly over the last four years using a VRS-GPS system. Surface sediment samples were collected seasonally along the transectline, and grain size analyses were performed. Tidal current data were acquired using a TIDOS current observation system during both winter and summer. The Sinduri macrotidal beach consists of two geomorphic units: an upper high-gradient beach face and a lower gentler sloped intertidal zone. High berms and beach cusps did not develop on this beach face. The approximately 400-m-wide intertidal zone comprises distinct 2-5 lines of multiple bars. Mean grain sizes of sand bars range from 2.0 to 2.75 phi, corresponding to fine sands. Mean sizes show shoreward coarsening trend. Regular beach-profiling survey revealed that the summer profile has a multi-barred morphology with a maximum of five bar lines, whereas, the winter profile has a non-barred, flat morphology. The non-barred winter profiles likely result from flattening by scour-and-fill processes during winter. The growth of multiple bars in summer is interpreted to be formed by a break-point mechanism associated with moderate waves and the translation of tide levels, rather than the standing wave hypothesis, which is stationary at high tide. The break-point hypothesis for multi-bars is supported by the presence of the largest bar at mean sea-level, shorter bar spacing toward the shore, irregular bar spacing, strong asymmetry of bars, and the 10-30 m shoreward migration of multi-bars.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.239-259
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• 2024

In this study, a qualitative meta-analysis was conducted on research papers on earth science education to derive knowledge of students' understanding of specific science topics-greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change-within the context of collective Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). Twenty-two research papers addressing students' alternative conceptions (misconceptions) about these topics were selected and analyzed for their respective definitions, causes (mechanisms), and impacts. Semantic network analysis and a mental model framework were applied to synthesize the findings. The meta-analysis revealed several key insights: (1) Regarding the greenhouse effect, students often used the terms "greenhouse effect" and "global warming" interchangeably, lacked knowledge about the types of greenhouse gases, and misunderstood their roles. They commonly associated the greenhouse effect with environmental pollution or changes in the ozone layer, failing to recognize its relation to the heat balance between the surface and atmosphere. (2) Concerning global warming, students confused it with sea level rise and linked it to pollution, ozone layer changes, and glacier melting. They understood global warming as a disruption of the heat balance between the surface and atmosphere but had misconceptions about its environmental impacts. (3) In terms of climate change, students used the term interchangeably with global warming, weather change, and climate anomalies. They associated climate change with atmospheric pollution and ozone layer depletion but misunderstood its environmental impacts. As result, three mental models-categorical, mechanistic, and hierarchical misconceptions-were identified as collective PCK. The implications for enhancing earth science teachers' PCK were discussed based on these findings.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.353-364
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to analyze the achievement standards for grades 3-4 of the 2022 revised science curriculum and identify the goals of science education for grades 3-4 of the 2022 revised curriculum, as well as provide implications for the development of the science textbooks for grades 3-4 and the direction of teaching for teachers in the field. For this purpose, 57 achievement standards of the Science Department 2022 revised curriculum for grades 3-4 were analyzed as to their knowledge dimensions and cognitive processes according to Bloom's Taxonomy of the New Educational Objectives. In cases where an achievement standard is a double sentence or combines two or more knowledge dimensions or cognitive process dimensions, we separated the sentences after having consulted with a group of experts and divided the achievement standards into 57 sentences. We then analyzed the frequency of the categorization of concepts and descriptors by comparing them with the previously studied elementary science standards from the 2015 revised curriculum. The main findings of the study are as follows. First, in the knowledge dimension, the "factual knowledge" accounted for 50 items (86%), compared to "conceptual knowledge" (10%), and "procedural knowledge" (4%), and "metacognitive knowledge" was not analyzed at all. Second, in terms of the cognitive processes, "Understanding" was the highest at 60% with 34 items. It was followed by "applying" with 11%, "creating" with 19%, "evaluating" with 15%, and "analyzing" and "remembering" with 6%. Third, when analyzing the descriptors, "I can explain" was the highest with 9%, followed by "comparison" with 6%, and "practice" and "classification" with 5%. Fourth, compared to the 2015 revised curriculum, "conceptual knowledge" was reduced and "factual knowledge" was overwhelmingly increased. Fifth, in the cognitive process dimension, "understanding,' has increased significantly, while the other cognitive process dimensions have decreased. Conclusions and implications based on these findings are as follows: the focus of the Science Department for grades 3-4 in the 2022 revised curriculum is heavily weighted toward the "factual knowledge," with "understanding" dominating the cognitive process dimensions. As a result, many concepts and applications have been reduced. Based on the results of the comparison of the descriptors with the results of the 2015 revised curriculum, the implications for the development of the science textbooks for grades 3-4 of the 2022 revised curriculum were discussed, and so were the implications of the curriculum for the field.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.415-432
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• 2024

This study developed and applied the teacher education model and its principles for science classes using Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) content and analyzed preservice elementary teachers' feedback on the teacher education model and the changes in their perceptions as to the use of VR/AR content. First, existing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) teacher education models and prior studies on the use of the VR/AR contents were reviewed to derive the teacher education model to cultivate the VR/AR-TPACK and set the key principles for each of its stages. The developed teacher education model has five stages: exploration, mapping, collaborative design, practice, and reflection. Second, to examine the appropriateness of the model's five stages and principles, we applied it within the regular course of instruction at the university of education, which was attended by 25 preservice elementary teachers. This study collected data from surveys on the perception of the usage of VR/AR contents before and after the course, as well as the group lesson plans prepared by the preservice teachers, and their feedback on the teacher education model. The feedback on the teacher education model and the survey conducted by the preservice teachers before and after the course were analyzed through open coding and categorization. As a result, most preservice teachers expressed positive opinions about the activities and experiences at each stage of the implementation of the teacher education model. Perceptions related to the usage of the VR/AR content changed in three aspects: first, the vague positive perception of the VR/AR content has changed to a positive perception based on specific educational affordance. Second, they recognized the need for preparedness by anticipating potential problems associated with the use of the VR/AR content. Third, they came to view the VR/AR contents as a useful instructional resource that the teachers could use. Based on these results, we discussed the implications for the VR/AR-TPACK teacher education model and assessed the limitations of the research.