• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.361-378
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• 2021

While the pavement rating system is being utilized for periodic road condition assessment in the Eastern Region municipality of Saudi Arabia, the condition assessment is costly, time-consuming, and not comprehensive as only few parts of the road are randomly selected for the assessment. Thus, this study is aimed at developing a condition assessment model for a specific sample of a residential road network in Dammam City based on an individual road and a road network. The model was developed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) according to the defect types and their levels of severity. The defects were arranged according to four categories: structure, construction, environmental, and miscellaneous, which was adopted from sewer condition coding systems. The developed model was validated by municipality experts and was adjudged to be acceptable and more economical compared to results from the Eastern region municipality (Saudi Arabia) model. The outcome of this paper can assist with the allocation of the government's budget for maintenance and capital programs across all Saudi municipalities through maintaining road infrastructure assets at the required level of services.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.5
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• pp.645-654
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• 2022

Environmental thermal loads such as vertical and lateral temperature gradients are significant factors that must be taken into account when designing the bridge. Different models have been developed and used by countries for simulating thermal gradients in bridge codes. In most of the codes only vertical temperature gradients are considered, such as Iranian Standard Loads for Bridge code (ISLB), which only considers the vertical gradient for bridge design proposes. On the other hand, the vertical gradient profile specified in ISLB, has many lacks due to the diversity of climate in Iran, and only one vertical gradient profile is defined for whole Iran. This paper aims to get the both vertical and lateral gradient loads for the concrete box girder using experimental analysis in the capital of Iran, Tehran. To fulfill this aim, thermocouples are installed in experimental concrete segment and temperatures in different location of the segment are recorded. A three dimensional finite element model of concrete box-girder bridge is constructed to study the effects of thermal loads. Results of investigation proved that the effects of thermal loads are not negligible, and must be considered in design processes. Moreover, a solution for reducing the negative effects of thermal gradients in bridges is proposed. Results of the simulation show that using one layer polyurethane insulation can significantly reduce the thermal gradients and thermal stresses.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.19-29
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• 2023

Purpose: The study's primary objective was to pinpoint the variables impacting consumers' impulsive purchasing decisions in the distribution centers in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. Research design, data, and methodology: The independent variables used to identify consumer impulse buying behavior were the in-store displays, store employee behavior, reference groups, and promotional activities. A 6-point Likert scale questionnaire was employed for collecting the primary data from customers at the retail center of Kathmandu. The study's sample size was 396, employing a convenient sampling method. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Analysis of a Moment Structures (AMOS) have been used to show the relationships between dependent and independent variables. Results: The outcome of the path analysis using structural equation modeling demonstrates that in-store displays, reference groups, and store employees' behavior significantly influence the customers' impulse buying decisions in the distribution center. Additionally, it has been discovered that promotional activities have no significant impact on consumers' impulsive purchasing decisions made at the retail center of Kathmandu. Conclusions and Implications: The study's findings indicate that the actions of store personnel, reference groups, and in-store displays significantly contribute to the acceleration of impulsive purchases. Such findings provide researchers and business executives with a road map for the future.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.399-409
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of virtual community participation and engagement in the brand decision by building community and brand trust. In this study, two theories (Social Capital Theory and Theory of Collective Action) were tested. Both theories were linked based on existing literature, and empirical evidence was obtained through testing hypotheses. Students from five prestigious Pakistani business schools provided a total of 849 replies. The measurement model and structural model were both analyzed using the partial least square (PLS) method. The findings show that virtual community engagement and participation have a positive and significant impact on virtual community trust. Although virtual community engagement has a positive effect on brand trust, we found no evidence of a link between virtual community participation and brand trust. Later, these trusts positively influence brand choice. This study has several managerial implications. The suggested model of this study helps managers to get customers' insight, choose the right target market, and set integrated marketing communication strategies besides social media marketing strategies. The study represents a new perspective of consumer behavior that helps to understand how a customer behaves in virtual communities to trust and take the final decision to purchase.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2013.01a
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• pp.576-582
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• 2013

Typical highway infrastructure systems include roadway pavement, drainage systems, tunneling, and other hardware components such as guardrails, traffic signs, and lighting. Tunnels in a highway system have provided significant advantages to overcoming various natural challenges including crossing underneath bodies of water or through mountainous areas. While only a few tunnel failure cases have been reported, the failure rate is likely to increase as these assets age and because agencies have not emphasized tunneling asset management. A tunnel system undergoes a deterioration life cycle pattern that is similar to other infrastructure systems. There are very few agencies in the United States implementing comprehensive tunnel asset management programs. While current tunnel asset management programs focus on inspection, maintenance, and operation safety, there is an increasing need for the development of a comprehensive life cycle tunnel asset management program. This paper describes a conceptual framework for a comprehensive tunnel asset management program. The framework consists of three basic phases including a strategic plan, a tactical plan, and an operational plan to provide better information to the decision makers. The strategic plan is a basic long term approach of tunnel asset management. The tactical plan determines specific objectives and the operational plan actually applies asset management objectives in practice. The information includes operational condition, structural condition, efficiency of the system, emergency response, and life cycle cost analysis for tunnel capital improvement project planning.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.191-206
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• 2020

Although several studies have been conducted on unification and the life of North Korean refugees, there have been few studies comparing the characteristics of North Korean refugees with South Korean workers, in terms of human resources in business administration. By considering the limitations of these prior studies, this study analyzed whether there are differences in factors affecting organizational commitment and turnover intention through a group comparative analysis between North Korean refugees and South Korean workers. For a comparative analysis between the two groups, we recruited 145 workers from North Korea and 213 South Korea-born workers. We found the following results with a multi-group structural equation model. We confirmed the measurement homogeneity by ensuring that both groups were equally aware of the measurement tools affecting organizational commitment and turnover intentions. As a result of testing the homogeneity of measurement, we also confirmed that there was a significant difference in optimism between the two groups; optimism affects organizational commitment and among social supports, affectionate support and interaction support affect organizational commitment. Analyzing the path between the two groups, we first were able to find that optimism influenced organizational commitment for both groups, in relation to positive psychological capital. However, in terms of degree, South Korean workers were found to be strongly affected. Second, with regard to social support, we were not able to find that affectionate support and interaction support have a significant impact on organizational commitment for South Korean workers, while for North Korean refugees, we confirmed that both supports have a significant impact. Third, we were unable to find any differences between the two group, in terms of other sub-components of positive psychological capital (self-efficacy, hope, and resiliency) or the sub-components of social support (informational support, tangible support). These results suggest that companies or managers employing North Korean refugee workers need to create an organizational environment that allows them to perceive social support, especially affectionate support and interaction support.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.11 no.10
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• pp.73-79
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• 2013

Purpose - This study examines the impact of oil price volatility on economic activities in Korea. The new millennium has seen a deregulation in the crude oil market, which invited immense capital inflow into Korea. It has also raised oil price levels and volatility. Drawing on the recent theoretical literature that emphasizes the role of volatility, this paper attends to the asymmetric changes in economic growth in response to the oil price movement. This study further examines several key macroeconomic variables, such as interest rate, production, and inflation. We come to the conclusion that oil price volatility can, in some part, explain the structural changes. Research design, data, and methodology - We use two methodological frameworks in this study. First, in regards to the oil price uncertainty, we use an Exponential-GARCH (Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity: EGARCH) model estimate to elucidate the asymmetric effect of oil price shock on the conditional oil price volatility. Second, along with the estimation of the conditional volatility by the EGARCH model, we use the estimates in a VECM (Vector Error Correction Model). The study thus examines the dynamic impacts of oil price volatility on industrial production, price levels, and monetary policy responses. We also approximate the monetary policy function by the yield of monetary stabilization bond. The data collected for the study ranges from 1990: M1 to 2013: M7. In the VECM analysis section, the time span is split into two sub-periods; one from 1990 to 1999, and another from 2000 to 2013, due to the U.S. CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) deregulation on the crude oil futures that became effective in 2000. This paper intends to probe the relationship between oil price uncertainty and macroeconomic variables since the structural change in the oil market became effective. Results and Conclusions - The dynamic impulse response functions obtained from the VECM show a prolonged dampening effect of oil price volatility shock on the industrial production across all sub-periods. We also find that inflation measured by CPI rises by one standard deviation shock in response to oil price uncertainty, and lasts for the ensuing period. In addition, the impulse response functions allude that South Korea practices an expansionary monetary policy in response to oil price shocks, which stems from oil price uncertainty. Moreover, a comparison of the results of the dynamic impulse response functions from the two sub-periods suggests that the dynamic relationships have strengthened since 2000. Specifically, the results are most drastic in terms of industrial production; the impact of oil price volatility shocks has more than doubled from the year 2000 onwards. These results again indicate that the relationships between crude oil price uncertainty and Korean macroeconomic activities have been strengthened since the year2000, which resulted in a structural change in the crude oil market due to the deregulation of the crude oil futures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.163-170
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to describe quantitatively the characteristics and the structure of the Act on the development, management, etc. of Marinas (the Marinas Act) by analysing its provisions using semantic network analysis. The method of semantic network analysis has its advantages in overcoming limitations of the traditional content analysis method, as it is easy for the user to understand the structure and the shape of a network by figuring out the structural network among words. The object of the analysis is the full text of Marinas Act recently revised from Chapters 1 to 4, while partial analysis is carried out respectively for each chapter from Chapters 2 to 4. The structural characteristic of the Marinas Act shows that the act focuses on the development of marinas, as its main goal is interpreted to set up hardwares and to construct facilities rather than to promote the marina industry itself. Even though some clauses for human capital development and business development are included, they are of less importance compared to the development of marina facilities. This study provides some basic information on the structural characteristics of the current act, which can be referred to in subsequent studies. In the future, it also needs to be complemented through comparative analysis with government policy outcomes and performance of diverse analytical approaches.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.541-547
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• 2017

Climate change has become the main cause of the exacerbation in natural disasters. Social Overhead Capital(SOC) structure needs to be checked for displacement and crack periodically to prevent damage and the collapse caused by natural disaster and ensure the safety. For efficient structure maintenance, the optical image technology is applied to the Structure Health Monitoring(SHM). However, optical image is sensitive to environmental factors. So it is necessary to verify its validity. In this paper, the accuracy of estimating the vertical displacement was verified with respect to environmental condition such as natural light, measurement distance, and the number of image sheets. The result of experiments showed that the effect of natural light on accuracy of estimating vertical displacement was the greatest of all. The measurement angle which was affected by the change in measurement distance was also important to check the vertical displacement. These findings will be taken into account by applying appropriate environmental condition to minimize errors when the bridge was measured by camera. It will also enable the application of optical images to the SHM.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.351-389
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• 2021

This qualitative study aimed to develop a structural framework that explains the process of psychological adaptation and sequential changes being perceived by Korean people under the COVID-19 Pandemic past year. Setting a tentative analysis frame induced from antecedent literatures about psychological phenomena during the COVID-19 pandemic, the qualitative data were collected from 6 Korean adults by semi structured individual interviews. For the data, content analysis applied from the grounded theory were performed. As a result, the initial framework was extended and revised to describe the psychological phenomena under the pandemic. This paradigm structure includes the process of 'causal factors ⇒ psychological main phenomena ⇒ sequential results' being intervened by personal contextual situations and psychological characteristics, as moderators. The category of causal factors were the COVID-19 pandemic, relevant critical incidents, and social distancing policy. The main phenomena reflected either positive, negative, or complicated experiences. The sequential psychological results included transformation of cognitive system or behavior patterns. Various variables such as psychological sense of community and social responsibility, psychological capability for leisure, and positive psychological capital were found out as moderating factors. In discussion and conclusion, theoretical/practical implications of the results and direction to study in the future were suggested.