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Improvement of Mid-Wave Infrared Image Visibility Using Edge Information of KOMPSAT-3A Panchromatic Image (KOMPSAT-3A 전정색 영상의 윤곽 정보를 이용한 중적외선 영상 시인성 개선)

  • Jinmin Lee;Taeheon Kim;Hanul Kim;Hongtak Lee;Youkyung Han
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.39 no.6_1
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    • pp.1283-1297
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    • 2023
  • Mid-wave infrared (MWIR) imagery, due to its ability to capture the temperature of land cover and objects, serves as a crucial data source in various fields including environmental monitoring and defense. The KOMPSAT-3A satellite acquires MWIR imagery with high spatial resolution compared to other satellites. However, the limited spatial resolution of MWIR imagery, in comparison to electro-optical (EO) imagery, constrains the optimal utilization of the KOMPSAT-3A data. This study aims to create a highly visible MWIR fusion image by leveraging the edge information from the KOMPSAT-3A panchromatic (PAN) image. Preprocessing is implemented to mitigate the relative geometric errors between the PAN and MWIR images. Subsequently, we employ a pre-trained pixel difference network (PiDiNet), a deep learning-based edge information extraction technique, to extract the boundaries of objects from the preprocessed PAN images. The MWIR fusion imagery is then generated by emphasizing the brightness value corresponding to the edge information of the PAN image. To evaluate the proposed method, the MWIR fusion images were generated in three different sites. As a result, the boundaries of terrain and objects in the MWIR fusion images were emphasized to provide detailed thermal information of the interest area. Especially, the MWIR fusion image provided the thermal information of objects such as airplanes and ships which are hard to detect in the original MWIR images. This study demonstrated that the proposed method could generate a single image that combines visible details from an EO image and thermal information from an MWIR image, which contributes to increasing the usage of MWIR imagery.

Status and Improvement of Metropolitan Government Urban Agriculture Ordinances for the Enhancement of Multifunctionality in Urban Agriculture (도시농업의 다원적 기능 활성화를 위한 광역지방자치단체 도시농업 조례 현황 및 개선 방향)

  • Ji-Won Choe;Choong-Hyeon Oh
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.38 no.1
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    • pp.90-107
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    • 2024
  • This study analyzed the status of urban agricultural regulation of metropolitan governments on supporting multi-dimensional values to suggest a direction for improving urban agriculture regulations. Moreover, a Delphi survey was conducted to derive ways to identify improvement opportunities for functions that showed relatively insufficient support for urban agricultural regulations. As a result of the study, 12 out of 17 metropolitan governments and 116 of 226 municipalities have enacted urban agricultural regulations. However, the enactment of urban agricultural regulations has generally declined since 2011. Analysis of the contents of the urban agricultural regulations showed that they focused on matters relating to the creation and expansion of the foundation of urban agriculture. Among the multi-dimensional values of urban agricultural regulations, the foundation for supporting the securing of green spaces and utilizing food production functions was most widely available. On the other hand, the foundation for support of resource recycling, healing and health, social welfare, economic imbalance mitigation, and job creation functions has been shown to be relatively insufficient. A Delphi survey conducted to determine potential measures to improve urban agricultural regulations to support these functions found that 17 of the 18 ordinance improvement measures were valid. Therefore, to revitalize the multi-dimensional values of urban agriculture, it is first necessary to enact new ordinances. Also, to revitalize the multi-dimensional values of urban agriculture evenly, it is necessary to revise the ordinances to include resource recycling, healing and health, social welfare, mitigation of economic imbalances, and job creation functions. In this process, the development of urban agriculture technology, legal review of various urban farming spaces, and fostering of industries related to urban agriculture are necessary. Above all, steady interest in the multi-dimensional values of urban agriculture and the efforts of local governments to foster urban agriculture must be supported.

Comparison of Computed Diffusion-Weighted Imaging b2000 and Acquired Diffusion-Weighted Imaging b2000 for Detection of Prostate Cancer (전립선암 발견을 위한 계산형 확산강조영상 b2000과 실제 획득한 b2000 영상의 비교)

  • Yeon Jung Kim;Seung Ho Kim;Tae Wook Baek;Hyungin Park;Yun-jung Lim;Hyun Kyung Jung;Joo Yeon Kim
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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    • v.83 no.5
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    • pp.1059-1070
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    • 2022
  • Purpose To compare the sensitivity of tumor detection and inter-observer agreement between acquired diffusion-weighted imaging (aDWI) b2000 and computed DWI (cDWI) b2000 in patients with prostate cancer (PCa). Materials and Methods Eighty-eight patients diagnosed with PCa by radical prostatectomy and having undergone pre-operative 3 Tesla-MRI, including DWI (b, 0, 100, 1000, 2000 s/mm2), were included in the study. cDWI b2000 was obtained from aDWI b0, b100, and b1000. Two independent reviewers performed a review of the aDWI b2000 and cDWI b2000 images in random order at 4-week intervals. A region of interest was drawn for the largest tumor on each dataset, and a Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score based on PI-RADS v2.1 was recorded. Histologic topographic maps served as the reference standard. Results The study population's Gleason scores were 6 (n = 16), 7 (n = 53), 8 (n = 9), and 9 (n = 10). According to the reviewers, the sensitivities of cDWI b2000 and aDWI b2000 showed no significant differences (for reviewer 1, both 94% [83/88]; for reviewer 2, both 90% [79/88]; p = 1.000, respectively). The kappa values of cDWI b2000 and aDWI b2000 for the PI-RADS score were 0.422 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.240-0.603) and 0.495 (95% CI, 0.308-0.683), respectively. Conclusion cDWI b2000 showed comparable sensitivity with aDWI b2000, in addition to sustained moderate inter-observer agreement, in the detection of PCa.

Effect of Human Implantable Medical Devices on Dose and Image Quality during Chest Radiography using Automatic Exposure Control (자동노출제어를 적용한 흉부 방사선 검사 시 인체 이식형 의료기기가 선량과 화질에 미치는 영향)

  • Kang-Min Lee
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.257-265
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    • 2024
  • In this study, we applied AEC(Auto Exposure Control), which is used in many chest examinations, to evaluate whether medical devices inserted into the body affect the dose and image quality of chest images. After attaching three HIMD(Human implantable medical devices) to the ion chamber, the Monte Carlo methodology-based program PCXMC(PC Program for X-ray Monte Carlo) 2.0 was applied to measure the effective dose by inputting the DAP(Dose Ares Product) value derived from the Pacemaker and CRT and Chemoport Additionally, to evaluate image quality, we set three regions of interest and one noise region on the chest and measured SNR and CNR. The final study results showed significant differences in DAP and Effective dose. There was a significant difference between Pacemaker and CRT when AEC was applied and not applied. (p<0.05) When applied, the dose increased by 37% for Pacemaekr and 52% for CRT. Chemoport showed a 10% increase in effective dose depending on whether AEC was applied, but there was no significant difference. (p>0.05) In the image quality evaluation, there was no significant difference in image quality between all HIMD insertions and AEC applied or not. (p>0.05) Therefore, when the HIMD was inserted into the chest during a chest x ray and overlapped with the ion chamber sensor, the effective dose increased, and there was no difference in image quality even at a low dose without AEC. Therefore, when performing a chest X-ray examination of a patient with a HIMD inserted, it is considered that performing the examination without applying AEC is a method that can be considered to reduce the patient's radiation exposure.

Characteristics and Changes in Scientific Empathy during Students' Productive Disciplinary Engagement in Science (학생들의 생산적 과학 참여에서 발현되는 과학공감의 특성과 변화 분석)

  • Heesun, Yang;Seong-Joo, Kang
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.44 no.1
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    • pp.11-27
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    • 2024
  • This study aimed to investigate the role of scientific empathy in influencing students' productive disciplinary engagement in scientific activities and analyze the key factors of scientific empathy that manifest during this process. Twelve fifth-grade students were divided into three subgroups based on their general empathic abilities. Lessons promoting productive disciplinary engagement, integrating design thinking processes, were conducted. Subgroup discourse analysis during idea generation and prototype stages, two of five problem-solving steps, enabled observation of scientific empathy and practice aspects. The results showed that applying scientific empathy effectively through design thinking facilitated students' productive disciplinary engagement in science. In the idea generation stage, we observed an initial increase followed by a decrease in scientific empathy and practice utterances, while during the prototyping stage, utterance frequency increased, particularly in the later part. However, subgroups with lower empathic abilities displayed decreased discourse frequency in scientific empathy and practice during the prototype stage due to a lack of collaborative communication. Across all empathic ability levels, the students articulated all five key factors of scientific empathy through their utterances in situations involving productive science engagement. In the high empathic ability subgroup, empathic understanding and concern were emphasized, whereas in the low empathic ability subgroup, sensitivity, scientific imagination, and situational interest, factors of empathizing with the research object, were prominent. These results indicate that experiences of scientific empathy with research objects, beyond general empathetic abilities, serve as a distinct and crucial factor in stimulating diverse participation and sustaining students' productive engagement in scientific activities during science classes. By suggesting the potential multidimensional impact of scientific empathy on productive disciplinary engagement, this study contributes to discussions on the theoretical structure and stability of scientific empathy in science education.

The Evaluation of Difference according to Image Scan Duration in PET Scan using Short Half-Lived Radionuclide (단 반감기 핵종을 이용한 PET 검사 시 영상 획득 시간에 따른 정량성 평가)

  • Hong, Gun-Chul;Cha, Eun-Sun;Kwak, In-Suk;Lee, Hyuk;Park, Hoon;Choi, Choon-Ki;Seok, Jae-Dong
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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    • v.16 no.1
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    • pp.102-107
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    • 2012
  • Purpose : Because of the rapid physical decay of the short half-lived radionuclide, counting of event for image is very limited. In this reason, long scan duration is applied for more accurate quantitative analysis in the relatively low sensitive examination. The aim of this study was to evaluate the difference according to scan duration and investigate the resonable scan duration using the radionuclide of 11C and 18F in PET scan. Materials and Methods : 1994-NEMA Phantom was filled with 11C of $30.08{\pm}4.22MBq$ and 18F of $40.08{\pm}8.29MBq$ diluted with distilled water. Dynamic images were acquired 20frames/1minute and static image was acquired for 20minutes with 11C. And dynamic images were acquired 20frames/2.5minutes and static image was acquired for 50minutes with 18F. All of data were applied with same reconstruction method and time decay correction. Region of interest (ROI) was set on the image, maximum radioactivity concentration (maxRC, kBq/mL) was compared. We compared maxRC with acquired dynamic image which was summed one bye one to increase the total scan duration. Results : maxRC over time of 11C was $3.85{\pm}0.45{\sim}5.15{\pm}0.50kBq/mL$ in dynamic image, and static image was $2.15{\pm}0.26kBq/mL$. In case of 18F, the maxRC was $9.09{\pm}0.42{\sim}9.48{\pm}0.31kBq/mL$ in dynamic image and $7.24{\pm}0.14kBq/mL$ in static. In summed image of 11C, as total scan duration was increased to 5, 10, 15, 20minutes, the maxRC were $2.47{\pm}0.4$, $2.22{\pm}0.37$, $2.08{\pm}0.42$, $1.95{\pm}0.55kBq/mL$ respectively. In case of 18F, the total scan duration was increased to 12.5, 25, 37.5, and 50minutes, the maxRC were $7.89{\pm}0.27$, $7.61{\pm}0.23$, $7.36{\pm}0.21$, $7.31{\pm}0.23kBq/mL$. Conclusion : As elapsed time was increased after completion of injection, the maxRC was increased by 33% and 4% in dynamic study of 11C and 18F respectively. Also the total scan duration was increased, the maxRC was reduced by 50% and 20% in summed image of 11C and 18F respectively. The percentage difference of each result is more larger in study using relatively shorter half-lived radionuclide. It appears that the accuracy of decay correction declined not only increment of scan duration but also increment of elapsed time from a starting point of acquisition. In study using 18F, there was no big difference so it's not necessary to consider error of quantitative evaluation according to elapsed time. It's recommended to apply additional decay correction method considering decay correction the error concerning elapsed time or to set the scan duration of static image less than 5minutes corresponding 25% of half life in study using shorter half-lived radionuclide as 11C.

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Development of Beauty Experience Pattern Map Based on Consumer Emotions: Focusing on Cosmetics (소비자 감성 기반 뷰티 경험 패턴 맵 개발: 화장품을 중심으로)

  • Seo, Bong-Goon;Kim, Keon-Woo;Park, Do-Hyung
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.25 no.1
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    • pp.179-196
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    • 2019
  • Recently, the "Smart Consumer" has been emerging. He or she is increasingly inclined to search for and purchase products by taking into account personal judgment or expert reviews rather than by relying on information delivered through manufacturers' advertising. This is especially true when purchasing cosmetics. Because cosmetics act directly on the skin, consumers respond seriously to dangerous chemical elements they contain or to skin problems they may cause. Above all, cosmetics should fit well with the purchaser's skin type. In addition, changes in global cosmetics consumer trends make it necessary to study this field. The desire to find one's own individualized cosmetics is being revealed to consumers around the world and is known as "Finding the Holy Grail." Many consumers show a deep interest in customized cosmetics with the cultural boom known as "K-Beauty" (an aspect of "Han-Ryu"), the growth of personal grooming, and the emergence of "self-culture" that includes "self-beauty" and "self-interior." These trends have led to the explosive popularity of cosmetics made in Korea in the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets. In order to meet the customized cosmetics needs of consumers, cosmetics manufacturers and related companies are responding by concentrating on delivering premium services through the convergence of ICT(Information, Communication and Technology). Despite the evolution of companies' responses regarding market trends toward customized cosmetics, there is no "Intelligent Data Platform" that deals holistically with consumers' skin condition experience and thus attaches emotions to products and services. To find the Holy Grail of customized cosmetics, it is important to acquire and analyze consumer data on what they want in order to address their experiences and emotions. The emotions consumers are addressing when purchasing cosmetics varies by their age, sex, skin type, and specific skin issues and influences what price is considered reasonable. Therefore, it is necessary to classify emotions regarding cosmetics by individual consumer. Because of its importance, consumer emotion analysis has been used for both services and products. Given the trends identified above, we judge that consumer emotion analysis can be used in our study. Therefore, we collected and indexed data on consumers' emotions regarding their cosmetics experiences focusing on consumers' language. We crawled the cosmetics emotion data from SNS (blog and Twitter) according to sales ranking ($1^{st}$ to $99^{th}$), focusing on the ample/serum category. A total of 357 emotional adjectives were collected, and we combined and abstracted similar or duplicate emotional adjectives. We conducted a "Consumer Sentiment Journey" workshop to build a "Consumer Sentiment Dictionary," and this resulted in a total of 76 emotional adjectives regarding cosmetics consumer experience. Using these 76 emotional adjectives, we performed clustering with the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) method. As a result of the analysis, we derived eight final clusters of cosmetics consumer sentiments. Using the vector values of each node for each cluster, the characteristics of each cluster were derived based on the top ten most frequently appearing consumer sentiments. Different characteristics were found in consumer sentiments in each cluster. We also developed a cosmetics experience pattern map. The study results confirmed that recommendation and classification systems that consider consumer emotions and sentiments are needed because each consumer differs in what he or she pursues and prefers. Furthermore, this study reaffirms that the application of emotion and sentiment analysis can be extended to various fields other than cosmetics, and it implies that consumer insights can be derived using these methods. They can be used not only to build a specialized sentiment dictionary using scientific processes and "Design Thinking Methodology," but we also expect that these methods can help us to understand consumers' psychological reactions and cognitive behaviors. If this study is further developed, we believe that it will be able to provide solutions based on consumer experience, and therefore that it can be developed as an aspect of marketing intelligence.

Musical Analysis of Jindo Dasiraegi music for the Scene of Performing Arts Contents (연희현장에서의 올바른 활용을 위한 진도다시래기 음악분석)

  • Han, Seung Seok;Nam, Cho Long
    • (The) Research of the performance art and culture
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    • no.25
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    • pp.253-289
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    • 2012
  • Dasiraegi is a traditional funeral rite performance of Jindo located in the South Jeolla Province of South Korea. With its unique stylistic structure including various dances, songs and witty dialogues, and a storyline depicting the birth of a new life in the wake of death, embodying the Buddhism belief that life and death is interconnected; it attracted great interest from performance organizers and performers who were desperately seeking new contents that can be put on stage as a performance. It is needless to say previous research on Dasiraegi had been most valuable in its recreation as it analyzed the performance from a wide range of perspectives. Despite its contributions, the previous researches were mainly academic focusing on: the symbolic meanings of the performance, basic introduction to the components of the performance such as script, lyrics, witty dialogue, appearance (costume and make-up), stage properties, rhythm, dance and etc., lacking accurate representation of the most crucial element of the performance which is sori (song). For this reason, the study analyzes the music of Dasiraegi and presents its musical characteristics along with its scores to provide practical support for performers who are active in the field. Out of all the numbers in Dasiraegi, this study analyzed all of Geosa-nori and Sadang-nori, the funeral dirge (mourning chant) sung as the performers come on stage and Gasangjae-nori, because among the five proceedings of the funeral rite they were the most commonly performed. There are a plethora of performance recordings to choose from, however, this study chose Jindo Dasiraegi, an album released by E&E Media. The album offers high quality recordings of performances, but more importantly, it is easy to obtain and utilize for performers who want to learn the Dasiraegi based on the script provided in this study. The musical analysis discovered a number of interesting findings. Firstly, most of the songs in Dasiraegi use a typical Yukjabaegi-tori which applies the Mi scale frequently containing cut-off (breaking) sounds. Although, Southern Kyoung-tori which applies the Sol scale was used, it was only in limited parts and was musically incomplete. Secondly, there was no musical affinity between Ssitgim-gut and Dasiraegi albeit both are for funeral rites. The fundamental difference in character and function of Ssitgim-gut and Dasiraegi may be the reason behind this lack of affinity, as Ssitgim-gut is sung to guide the deceased to heaven by comforting him/her, whereas, Dasiaregi is sung to reinvigorate the lives of the living. Lastly, traces of musical grammar found in Pansori are present in the earlier part of Dasiraegi. This may be attributed to the master artist (Designee of Important Intangible Cultural Heritage), who was instrumental in the restoration and hand-down of Dasiaregi, and his experience in a Changgeuk company. The performer's experience with Changgeuk may have induced the alterations in Dasiraegi, causing it to deviate from its original form. On the other hand, it expanded the performative bais by enhancing the performance aspect of Dasiraegi allowing it to be utilized as contents for Performing Arts. It would be meaningful to see this study utilized to benefit future performance artists, taking Dasiraegi as their inspiration, which overcomes the loss of death and invigorates the vibrancy of life.

Structural features and Diffusion Patterns of Gartner Hype Cycle for Artificial Intelligence using Social Network analysis (인공지능 기술에 관한 가트너 하이프사이클의 네트워크 집단구조 특성 및 확산패턴에 관한 연구)

  • Shin, Sunah;Kang, Juyoung
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.28 no.1
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    • pp.107-129
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    • 2022
  • It is important to preempt new technology because the technology competition is getting much tougher. Stakeholders conduct exploration activities continuously for new technology preoccupancy at the right time. Gartner's Hype Cycle has significant implications for stakeholders. The Hype Cycle is a expectation graph for new technologies which is combining the technology life cycle (S-curve) with the Hype Level. Stakeholders such as R&D investor, CTO(Chef of Technology Officer) and technical personnel are very interested in Gartner's Hype Cycle for new technologies. Because high expectation for new technologies can bring opportunities to maintain investment by securing the legitimacy of R&D investment. However, contrary to the high interest of the industry, the preceding researches faced with limitations aspect of empirical method and source data(news, academic papers, search traffic, patent etc.). In this study, we focused on two research questions. The first research question was 'Is there a difference in the characteristics of the network structure at each stage of the hype cycle?'. To confirm the first research question, the structural characteristics of each stage were confirmed through the component cohesion size. The second research question is 'Is there a pattern of diffusion at each stage of the hype cycle?'. This research question was to be solved through centralization index and network density. The centralization index is a concept of variance, and a higher centralization index means that a small number of nodes are centered in the network. Concentration of a small number of nodes means a star network structure. In the network structure, the star network structure is a centralized structure and shows better diffusion performance than a decentralized network (circle structure). Because the nodes which are the center of information transfer can judge useful information and deliver it to other nodes the fastest. So we confirmed the out-degree centralization index and in-degree centralization index for each stage. For this purpose, we confirmed the structural features of the community and the expectation diffusion patterns using Social Network Serice(SNS) data in 'Gartner Hype Cycle for Artificial Intelligence, 2021'. Twitter data for 30 technologies (excluding four technologies) listed in 'Gartner Hype Cycle for Artificial Intelligence, 2021' were analyzed. Analysis was performed using R program (4.1.1 ver) and Cyram Netminer. From October 31, 2021 to November 9, 2021, 6,766 tweets were searched through the Twitter API, and converting the relationship user's tweet(Source) and user's retweets (Target). As a result, 4,124 edgelists were analyzed. As a reult of the study, we confirmed the structural features and diffusion patterns through analyze the component cohesion size and degree centralization and density. Through this study, we confirmed that the groups of each stage increased number of components as time passed and the density decreased. Also 'Innovation Trigger' which is a group interested in new technologies as a early adopter in the innovation diffusion theory had high out-degree centralization index and the others had higher in-degree centralization index than out-degree. It can be inferred that 'Innovation Trigger' group has the biggest influence, and the diffusion will gradually slow down from the subsequent groups. In this study, network analysis was conducted using social network service data unlike methods of the precedent researches. This is significant in that it provided an idea to expand the method of analysis when analyzing Gartner's hype cycle in the future. In addition, the fact that the innovation diffusion theory was applied to the Gartner's hype cycle's stage in artificial intelligence can be evaluated positively because the Gartner hype cycle has been repeatedly discussed as a theoretical weakness. Also it is expected that this study will provide a new perspective on decision-making on technology investment to stakeholdes.

A Study on Hoslital Nurses' Preferred Duty Shift and Duty Hours (병원 간호사의 선호근무시간대에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Gyeong-Sik;Jeong, Geum-Hui
    • The Korean Nurse
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    • v.36 no.1
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    • pp.77-96
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    • 1997
  • The duty shifts of hospital nurses not only affect nurses' physical and mental health but also present various personnel management problems which often result in high turnover rates. In this context a study was carried out from October to November 1995 for a period of two months to find out the status of hospital nurses' duty shift patterns, and preferred duty hours and fixed duty shifts. The study population was 867 RNs working in five general hospitals located in Seoul and its vicinity. The questionnaire developed by the writer was used for data collection. The response rate was 85.9 percent or 745 returns. The SAS program was used for data analysis with the computation of frequencies, percentages and Chi square test. The findings of the study are as follows: 1. General characteristics of the study population: 56 percent of respondents was (25 years group and 76.5 percent were "single": the predominant proportion of respondents was junior nursing college graduates(92.2%) and have less than 5 years nursing experience in hospitals(65.5%). For their future working plan in nursing profession, nearly 50% responded as uncertain The reasons given for their career plan was predominantly 'personal growth and development' rather than financial reasons. 2. The interval for rotations of duty stations was found to be mostly irregular(56.4%) while others reported as weekly(16.1%), monthly(12.9%), and fixed terms(4.6%). 3. The main problems related to duty shifts particularly the evening and night duty nurses reported were "not enough time for the family, " "afraid of security problems after the work when returning home late at night." and "lack of leisure time". "problems in physical and physiological adjustment." "problems in family life." "lack of time for interactions with fellow nurses" etc. 4. The forty percent of respondents reported to have '1-2 times' of duty shift rotations while all others reported that '0 time'. '2-3 times'. 'more than 3 times' etc. which suggest the irregularity in duty shift rotations. 5. The majority(62.8%) of study population found to favor the rotating system of duty stations. The reasons for favoring the rotation system were: the opportunity for "learning new things and personal development." "better human relations are possible. "better understanding in various duty stations." "changes in monotonous routine job" etc. The proportion of those disfavor the rotating 'system was 34.7 percent. giving the reasons of"it impedes development of specialization." "poor job performances." "stress factors" etc. Furthermore. respondents made the following comments in relation to the rotation of duty stations: the nurses should be given the opportunity to participate in the. decision making process: personal interest and aptitudes should be considered: regular intervals for the rotations or it should be planned in advance. etc. 6. For the future career plan. the older. married group with longer nursing experiences appeared to think the nursing as their lifetime career more likely than the younger. single group with shorter nursing experiences ($x^2=61.19.{\;}p=.000;{\;}x^2=41.55.{\;}p=.000$). The reason given for their future career plan regardless of length of future service, was predominantly "personal growth and development" rather than financial reasons. For further analysis, the group those with the shorter career plan appeared to claim "financial reasons" for their future career more readily than the group who consider the nursing job as their lifetime career$(x^2$= 11.73, p=.003) did. This finding suggests the need for careful .considerations in personnel management of nursing administration particularly when dealing with the nurses' career development. The majority of respondents preferred the fixed day shift. However, further analysis of those preferred evening shift by age and civil status, "< 25 years group"(15.1%) and "single group"(13.2) were more likely to favor the fixed evening shift than > 25 years(6.4%) and married(4.8%)groups. This differences were statistically significant ($x^2=14.54, {\;}p=.000;{\;}x^2=8.75, {\;}p=.003$). 7. A great majority of respondents(86.9% or n=647) found to prefer the day shifts. When the four different types of duty shifts(Types A. B. C, D) were presented, 55.0 percent of total respondents preferred the A type or the existing one followed by D type(22.7%). B type(12.4%) and C type(8.2%). 8. When the condition of monetary incentives for the evening(20% of salary) and night shifts(40% of. salary) of the existing duty type was presented. again the day shift appeared to be the most preferred one although the rate was slightly lower(66.4% against 86.9%). In the case of evening shift, with the same incentive, the preference rates for evening and night shifts increased from 11.0 to 22.4 percent and from 0.5 to 3.0 percent respectively. When the age variable was controlled. < 25 yrs group showed higher rates(31.6%. 4.8%) than those of > 25 yrs group(15.5%. 1.3%) respectively preferring the evening and night shifts(p=.000). The civil status also seemed to operate on the preferences of the duty shifts as the single group showed lower rate(69.0%) for day duty against 83. 6% of the married group. and higher rates for evening and night duties(27.2%. 15.1%) respectively against those of the married group(3.8%. 1.8%) while a higher proportion of the married group(83. 6%) preferred the day duties than the single group(69.0%). These differences were found to be statistically all significant(p=.001). 9. The findings on preferences of three different types of fixed duty hours namely, B, C. and D(with additional monetary incentives) are as follows in order of preference: B type(12hrs a day, 3days a wk): day shift(64.1%), evening shift(26.1%). night shift(6.5%) C type(12hrs a day. 4days a wk) : evening shift(49.2%). day shift(32.8%), night shift(11.5%) D type(10hrs a day. 4days a wk): showed the similar trend as B type. The findings of higher preferences on the evening and night duties when the incentives are given. as shown above, suggest the need for the introductions of different patterns of duty hours and incentive measures in order to overcome the difficulties in rostering the nursing duties. However, the interpretation of the above data, particularly the C type, needs cautions as the total number of respondents is very small(n=61). It requires further in-depth study. In conclusion. it seemed to suggest that the patterns of nurses duty hours and shifts in the most hospitals in the country have neither been tried for different duty types nor been flexible. The stereotype rostering system of three shifts and insensitiveness for personal life aspect of nurses seemed to be prevailing. This study seems to support that irregular and frequent rotations of duty shifts may be contributing factors for most nurses' maladjustment problems in physical and mental health. personal and family life which eventually may result in high turnover rates. In order to overcome the increasing problems in personnel management of hospital nurses particularly in rostering of evening and night duty shifts, which may related to eventual high turnover rates, the findings of this study strongly suggest the need for an introduction of new rostering systems including fixed duties and appropriate incentive measures for evenings and nights which the most nurses want to avoid, In considering the nursing care of inpatients is the round-the clock business. the practice of the nursing duty shift system is inevitable. In this context, based on the findings of this study. the following are recommended: 1. The further in-depth studies on duty shifts and hours need to be undertaken for the development of appropriate and effective rostering systems for hospital nurses. 2. An introduction of appropriate incentive measures for evening and night duty shifts along with organizational considerations such as the trials for preferred duty time bands, duty hours, and fixed duty shifts should be considered if good quality of care for the patients be maintained for the round the clock. This may require an initiation of systematic research and development activities in the field of hospital nursing administration as a part of permanent system in the hospital. 3. Planned and regular intervals, orientation and training, and professional and personal growth should be considered for the rotation of different duty stations or units. 4. In considering the higher degree of preferences in the duty type of "10hours a day, 4days a week" shown in this study, it would be worthwhile to undertake the R&D type studies in large hospital settings.

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