• Title/Summary/Keyword: Success Formula

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MODELING ACCURATE INTEREST IN CASH FLOWS OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS TOWARD IMPROVED FORECASTING OF COST OF CAPITAL

  • Gunnar Lucko;Richard C. Thompson, Jr.
    • International conference on construction engineering and project management
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    • 2013.01a
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    • pp.467-474
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    • 2013
  • Construction contactors must continuously seek to improve their cash flows, which reside at the heart of their financial success. They require careful planning, analysis, and optimization to avoid the risk of bankruptcy, remain profitable, and secure long-term growth. Sources of cash include bank loans and retained earnings, which are conceptually similar in that they both incur a cost of capital. Financial management therefore requires accurate yet customizable modeling capabilities that can quantify all expenses, including said cost of capital. However, currently existing cash flow models in construction engineering and management have strongly simplified the manner in which interest is assessed, which may even lead to overstating it at a disadvantage to contractors. The variable nature of cash balances, especially in the early phases of construction projects, contribute to this challenging issue. This research therefore extends a new cash flow model with an accurate interest calculation. It utilizes singularity functions, so called because of their ability to flexibly model changes across any number of different ranges. The interest function is continuous for activity costs of any duration and allows the realistic case that activities may begin between integer time periods, which are often calendar months. Such fractional interest calculation has hitherto been lacking from the literature. It also provides insights into the self-referential behavior of compound interest for variable cash balances. The contribution of this study is twofold; augmenting the corpus of financial analysis theory with a new interest formula, whose strengths include its generic nature and that it can be evaluated at any fractional value of time, and providing construction managers with a tool to help improve and fine-tune the financial performance of their projects.

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The Study of the Aternative Boadcasting System: in the Case of the Channel 4 in Britain (대안적 방송제작시스템 연구 : 영국 채널4의 외주제작시스템을 중심으로)

  • Eun, Hye-Chung
    • Korean journal of communication and information
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    • v.17
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    • pp.85-111
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    • 2001
  • In this article, Channel 4 in Britain is the main theme since its alternative broadcasting system can shed the light to the Korean case. Korea is getting into the era of multimedia and including webcastings there are over thousands channels are available. However the infra-structure fur the broadcasting contents never seems to be matured to match its need. Instead Korean production system is rather vertically integrated into the Networks(KBS, MBC and SBS) which oligopolise the broadcasting in terms of supply. Even though 'Program Quota Regulation' has been established under the new Broadcasting Art(1999), the old habits die hard and still the independent producers have the unfair relationships with the Networks. Under this circumstance, Channel 4 can be the good example to show how well the alternative system can serve to the diversity of broadcasting and the taste of the minority. Channel 4 took almost 20 years to establish since there were enormous amount of debates about its public missions, ideal broadcasting system, whom it should serve for, etc. between all the social sectors including the independent producers. The social agreement was reached on the point that the new broadcaster should not produce but publish and it is called the 'publishing broadcaster'. In this sense, it can be managed effectively with comparatively little fund and at the same time, it can always have all different sorts of contents as well as genres very freely through 'commissioning process' or buying programs from even the most innovative producers. The 'commissioning process' is one of the key points which makes the Channel 4 so unique. The commissioning process is literally open to anybody, in particular, to the small scale producers with much innovative ideas. Channel 4 will support financially as well as with facilities and human resource to produce the program once after their program idea is accepted by the commissioning editor. Even better side of Channel 4 is about their financial success. From the beginning, the 'funding formula' helped in great deal to make the Channel 4 doing all sorts of innovative experiments. The history of 'funding formula' and its contribution are explained in the article, too. With all this effort, the article is hoped to bring discussion about the alternative broadcasting system which might help to prepare the new era of broadcasting.

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Analysis of the Sixth Graders' Strategies and Errors of Division-With-Remainder Problems (나머지가 있는 나눗셈 문장제에 대한 초등학교 6학년 학생들의 해결 전략 및 오류 분석)

  • Ha, Mihyun;Chang, Hyewon
    • Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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    • v.20 no.4
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    • pp.717-735
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    • 2016
  • For teaching division-with-remainder(DWR) problems, it is necessary to know students' strategies and errors about DWR problems. The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze students' strategies and errors of DWR problems and to make some meaningful suggestions for teaching various methods of solving DWR problems. We constructed a test which consists of fifteen DWR problems to investigate students' solving strategies and errors. These problems include mathematical as well as syntactic structures. To apply this test, we selected 177 students from eight elementary schools in various districts of Seoul. The results were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The sixth graders' strategies can be classified as follows : Single strategies, Multi strategies and Assistant strategies. They used Division(D) strategy, Multiplication(M) strategy, and Additive Approach(A) strategy as sub-strategies. We noticed that frequently used strategies do not coincide with strategies for their success. While students in middle group used Assistant strategies frequently, students in higher group used Single strategies frequently. The sixth graders' errors can be classified as follows : Formula error(F error), Calculation error(C error), Calculation Product error(P error) and Interpretation error(I error). In this study, there were 4 elements for syntaxes in problems : large number, location of divisor and dividend, divisor size, vocabularies. When students in lower group were solving the problems, F errors appeared most frequently. However, in case of higher group, I errors appeared most frequently. Based on these results, we made some didactical suggestions.

An Empirical Study of Profiling Model for the SMEs with High Demand for Standards Using Data Mining (데이터마이닝을 이용한 표준정책 수요 중소기업의 프로파일링 연구: R&D 동기와 사업화 지원 정책을 중심으로)

  • Jun, Seung-pyo;Jung, JaeOong;Choi, San
    • Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
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    • v.19 no.3
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    • pp.511-544
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    • 2016
  • Standards boost technological innovation by promoting information sharing, compatibility, stability and quality. Identifying groups of companies that particularly benefit from these functions of standards in their technological innovation and commercialization helps to customize planning and implementation of standards-related policies for demand groups. For this purpose, this study engages in profiling of SMEs whose R&D objective is to respond to standards as well as those who need to implement standards system for technological commercialization. Then it suggests a prediction model that can distinguish such companies from others. To this end, decision tree analysis is conducted for profiling of characteristics of subject SMEs through data mining. Subject SMEs include (1) those that engage in R&D to respond to standards (Group1) or (2) those in need of product standard or technological certification policies for commercialization purposes (Group 2). Then the study proposes a prediction model that can distinguish Groups 1 and 2 from others based on several variables by adopting discriminant analysis. The practicality of discriminant formula is statistically verified. The study suggests that Group 1 companies are distinguished in variables such as time spent on R&D planning, KoreanStandardIndustryClassification (KSIC) category, number of employees and novelty of technologies. Profiling result of Group 2 companies suggests that they are differentiated in variables such as KSIC category, major clients of the companies, time spent on R&D and ability to test and verify their technologies. The prediction model proposed herein is designed based on the outcomes of profiling and discriminant analysis. Its purpose is to serve in the planning or implementation processes of standards-related policies through providing objective information on companies in need of relevant support and thereby to enhance overall success rate of standards-related projects.

Evaluation of Forest Recreation Functions through Quantification Method II (수량화II류를 이용한 산림휴양기능의 평가)

  • Kim, Hyun-Sik
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.97 no.4
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    • pp.437-444
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    • 2008
  • This study has intended to evaluate the forest recreation functions to seek methods to designate the recreational areas inside a recreation forest. This study has Mt. Chung-ok in Korea as a study area to which Quantification method II as a valuation measure was applied. This study also has chosen a degree of recreational utility as an external criterion and six factors including Forest type, Forest age, Slope, Riparian area, Road, and Facility for the 173 stands in this area. As a result, absolute discriminated success rate was obtained, so that the first and second estimated correlation ratios were 82% and 74%, respectively. Road and Slope had great influences on the potential power of recreational functions. In the category, recreational function was more influenced by the existence of road and the lower degree of slope. Also, this study has drawn an evaluation map, which displayed the potential power of recreational functions by classifying three discrimination points such as H(High), M(Medium), and L(Low) through calculating the degree of recreational utility of the recreation forest for the stands by applying an estimation formula of recreational function in the stands. This study seems to be worthwhile in terms of actual, experimental, and intuitive interpretation for the degree of recreational utility calculated by using Quantification method theory.

The Forecasting a Maximum Barbell Weight of Snatch Technique in Weightlifting (역도 인상동작 성공 시 최대 바벨무게 예측)

  • Hah, Chong-Ku;Ryu, Ji-Seon
    • Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.143-152
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    • 2005
  • The purpose of this study was to predict the failure or success of the Snatch-lifting trial as a consequence of the stand-up phase simulated in Kane's equation of motion that was effective for the dynamic analysis of multi-segment. This experiment was a case study in which one male athlete (age: 23yrs, height: 154.4cm, weight: 64.5kg) from K University was selected The system of a simulation included a multi-segment system that had one degree of freedom and one generalized coordinate for the shank segment angle. The reference frame was fixed by the Nonlinear Trans formation (NLT) method in order to set up a fixed Cartesian coordinate system in space. A weightlifter lifted a 90kg-barbell that was 75% of subject's maximum lifting capability (120kg). For this study, six cameras (Qualisys Proreflex MCU240s) and two force-plates (Kistler 9286AAs) were used for collecting data. The motion tracks of 11 land markers were attached on the major joints of the body and barbell. The sampling rates of cameras and force-plates were set up 100Hz and 1000Hz, respectively. Data were processed via the Qualisys Track manager (QTM) software. Landmark positions and force-plate amplitudes were simultaneously integrated by Qualisys system The coordinate data were filtered using a fourth-order Butterworth low pass filtering with an estimated optimum cut-off frequency of 9Hz calculated with Andrew & Yu's formula. The input data of the model were derived from experimental data processed in Matlab6.5 and the solution of a model made in Kane's method was solved in Matematica5.0. The conclusions were as follows; 1. The torque motor of the shank with 246Nm from this experiment could lift a maximum barbell weight (158.98kg) which was about 246 times as much as subject's body weight (64.5kg). 2. The torque motor with 166.5 Nm, simulated by angular displacement of the shank matched to the experimental result, could lift a maximum barbell weight (90kg) which was about 1.4 times as much as subject's body weight (64.5kg). 3. Comparing subject's maximum barbell weight (120kg) with a modeling maximum barbell weight (155.51kg) and with an experimental maximum barbell weight (90kg), the differences between these were about +35.7kg and -30kg. These results strongly suggest that if the maximum barbell weight is decided, coaches will be able to provide further knowledge and information to weightlifters for the performance improvement and then prevent injuries from training of weightlifters. It hopes to apply Kane's method to other sports skill as well as weightlifting to simulate its motion in the future study.

Physicochemical Characteristics and Varietal Improvement Related to Palatability of Cooked Rice or Suitability to Food Processing in Rice (쌀 식미 및 가공적성에 관련된 이화학적 특성)

  • 최해춘
    • Proceedings of the Korean Journal of Food and Nutrition Conference
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    • 2001.12a
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    • pp.39-74
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    • 2001
  • The endeavors enhancing the grain quality of high-yielding japonica rice were steadily continued during 1980s∼1990s along with the self-sufficiency of rice production and the increasing demands of high-quality rices. During this time, considerably great, progress and success was obtained in development of high-quality japonica cultivars and qualify evaluation techniques including the elucidation of interrelationship between the physicochemical properties of rice grain and the physical or palatability components of cooked rice. In 1990s, some high-quality japonica rice caltivars and special rices adaptable for food processing such as large kernel, chalky endosperm aromatic and colored rices were developed and its objective preference and utility was also examined by a palatability meter, rapid-visco analyzer and texture analyzer. The water uptake rate and the maximum water absorption ratio showed significantly negative correlations with the K/Mg ratio and alkali digestion value(ADV) of milled rice. The rice materials showing the higher amount of hot water absorption exhibited the larger volume expansion of cooked rice. The harder rices with lower moisture content revealed the higher rate of water uptake at twenty minutes after soaking and the higher ratio of maximum water uptake under the room temperature condition. These water uptake characteristics were not associated with the protein and amylose contents of milled rice and the palatability of cooked rice. The water/rice ratio (in w/w basis) for optimum cooking was averaged to 1.52 in dry milled rices (12% wet basis) with varietal range from 1.45 to 1.61 and the expansion ratio of milled rice after proper boiling was average to 2.63(in v/v basis). The major physicochemical components of rice grain associated with the palatability of cooked rice were examined using japonica rice materials showing narrow varietal variation in grain size and shape, alkali digestibility, gel consistency, amylose and protein contents, but considerable difference in appearance and torture of cooked rice. The glossiness or gross palatability score of cooked rice were closely associated with the peak. hot paste and consistency viscosities of viscogram with year difference. The high-quality rice variety “Ilpumbyeo” showed less portion of amylose on the outer layer of milled rice grain and less and slower change in iodine blue value of extracted paste during twenty minutes of boiling. This highly palatable rice also exhibited very fine net structure in outer layer and fine-spongy and well-swollen shape of gelatinized starch granules in inner layer and core of cooked rice kernel compared with the poor palatable rice through image of scanning electronic mcroscope. Gross sensory score of cooked rice could be estimated by multiple linear regression formula, deduced from relationship between rice quality components mentioned above and eating quality of cooked rice, with high Probability of determination. The ${\alpha}$ -amylose-iodine method was adopted for checking the varietal difference in retrogradation of cooked rice. The rice cultivars revealing the relatively slow retrogradation in aged cooked rice were Ilpumbyeo, Chucheongbyeo, Sasanishiki, Jinbubyeo and Koshihikari. A Tongil-type rice, Taebaegbyeo, and a japonica cultivar, Seomjinbyeo, shelved the relatively fast deterioration of cooked rice. Generally, the better rice cultivars in eating quality of cooked rice showed less retrogiadation and much sponginess in cooled cooked rice. Also, the rice varieties exhibiting less retrogradation in cooled cooked rice revealed higher hot viscosity and lower cool viscosity of rice flour in amylogram. The sponginess of cooled cooked rice was closely associated with magnesium content and volume expansion of cooked rice. The hardness-changed ratio of cooked rice by cooling was negatively correlated with solids amount extracted during boiling and volume expansion of cooked rice. The major physicochemical properties of rice grain closely related to the palatability of cooked rice may be directly or indirectly associated with the retrogradation characteristics of cooked rice. The softer gel consistency and lower amylose content in milled rice revealed the higher ratio of popped rice and larger bulk density of popping. The stronger hardness of rice grain showed relatively higher ratio of popping and the more chalky or less translucent rice exhibited the lower ratio of intact popped brown rice. The potassium and magnesium contents of milled rice were negatively associated with gross score of noodle making mixed with wheat flour in half and the better rice for noodle making revealed relatively less amount of solid extraction during boiling. The more volume expansion of batters for making brown rice bread resulted the better loaf formation and more springiness in rice bread. The higher protein rices produced relatively the more moist white rice bread. The springiness of rice bread was also significantly correlated with high amylose content and hard gel consistency. The completely chalky and large gram rices showed better suitability for fermentation and brewing. Our breeding efforts on rice quality improvement for the future should focus on enhancement of palatability of cooked rice and marketing qualify as well as the diversification in morphological and physicochemical characteristics of rice grain for various value-added rice food processings.

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The Posthuman Queer Body in Ghost in the Shell (1995) (<공각기동대>의 현재성과 포스트휴먼 퀴어 연구)

  • Kim, Soo-Yeon
    • Cross-Cultural Studies
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    • v.40
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    • pp.111-131
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    • 2015
  • An unusual success engendering loyalty among cult fans in the United States, Mamoru Oshii's 1995 cyberpunk anime, Ghost in the Shell (GITS) revolves around a female cyborg assassin named Motoko Kusanagi, a.k.a. "the Major." When the news came out last year that Scarlett Johansson was offered 10 million dollars for the role of the Major in the live action remake of GITS, the frustrated fans accused DreamWorks of "whitewashing" the classic Japanimation and turning it into a PG-13 film. While it would be premature to judge a film yet to be released, it appears timely to revisit the core achievement of Oshii's film untranslatable into the Hollywood formula. That is, unlike ultimately heteronormative and humanist sci-fi films produced in Hollywood, such as the Matrix trilogy or Cloud Atlas, GITS defies a Hollywoodization by evoking much bafflement in relation to its queer, posthuman characters and settings. This essay homes in on Major Kusanagi's body in order to update prior criticism from the perspectives of posthumanism and queer theory. If the Major's voluptuous cyborg body has been read as a liberating or as a commodified feminine body, latest critical work of posthumanism and queer theory causes us to move beyond the moralistic binaries of human/non-human and male/female. This deconstruction of binaries leads to a radical rethinking of "reality" and "identity" in an image-saturated, hypermediated age. Viewed from this perspective, Major Kusanagi's body can be better understood less as a reflection of "real" women than as an embodiment of our anxieties on the loss of self and interiority in the SNS-dominated society. As is warned by many posthumanist and queer critics, queer and posthuman components are too often used to reinforce the human. I argue that the Major's hybrid body is neither a mere amalgam of human and machine nor a superficial postmodern blurring of boundaries. Rather, the compelling combination of individuality, animality, and technology embodied in the Major redefines the human as always, already posthuman. This ethical act of revision-its shifting focus from oppressive humanism to a queer coexistence-evinces the lasting power of GITS.

Current Status and Perspectives in Varietal Improvement of Rice Cultivars for High-Quality and Value-Added Products (쌀 품질 고급화 및 고부가가치화를 위한 육종현황과 전망)

  • 최해춘
    • KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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    • v.47
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    • pp.15-32
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    • 2002
  • The endeavors enhancing the grain quality of high-yielding japonica rice were steadily continued during 1980s-1990s along with the self-sufficiency of rice production and the increasing demands of high-quality rices. During this time, considerably great progress and success was obtained in development of high-quality japonica cultivars and quality evaluation techniques including the elucidation of interrelationship between the physicochemical properties of rice grain and the physical or palatability components of cooked rice. In 1990s, some high-quality japonica rice cultivars and special rices adaptable for food processing such as large kernel, chalky endosperm, aromatic and colored rices were developed and its objective preference and utility was also examined by a palatability meter, rapid-visco analyzer and texture analyzer, Recently, new special rices such as extremely low-amylose dull or opaque non-glutinous endosperm mutants were developed. Also, a high-lysine rice variety was developed for higher nutritional utility. The water uptake rate and the maximum water absorption ratio showed significantly negative correlations with the K/Mg ratio and alkali digestion value(ADV) of milled rice. The rice materials showing the higher amount of hot water absorption exhibited the larger volume expansion of cooked rice. The harder rices with lower moisture content revealed the higher rate of water uptake at twenty minutes after soaking and the higher ratio of maximum water uptake under the room temperature condition. These water uptake characteristics were not associated with the protein and amylose contents of milled rice and the palatability of cooked rice. The water/rice ratio (in w/w basis) for optimum cooking was averaged to 1.52 in dry milled rices (12% wet basis) with varietal range from 1.45 to 1.61 and the expansion ratio of milled rice after proper boiling was average to 2.63(in v/v basis). The major physicochemical components of rice grain associated with the palatability of cooked rice were examined using japonica rice materials showing narrow varietal variation in grain size and shape, alkali digestibility, gel consistency, amylose and protein contents, but considerable difference in appearance and texture of cooked rice. The glossiness or gross palatability score of cooked rice were closely associated with the peak, hot paste and consistency viscosities of viscosities with year difference. The high-quality rice variety "IIpumbyeo" showed less portion of amylose on the outer layer of milled rice grain and less and slower change in iodine blue value of extracted paste during twenty minutes of boiling. This highly palatable rice also exhibited very fine net structure in outer layer and fine-spongy and well-swollen shape of gelatinized starch granules in inner layer and core of cooked rice kernel compared with the poor palatable rice through image of scanning electronic microscope. Gross sensory score of cooked rice could be estimated by multiple linear regression formula, deduced from relationship between rice quality components mentioned above and eating quality of cooked rice, with high probability of determination. The $\alpha$-amylose-iodine method was adopted for checking the varietal difference in retrogradation of cooked rice. The rice cultivars revealing the relatively slow retrogradation in aged cooked rice were IIpumbyeo, Chucheongyeo, Sasanishiki, Jinbubyeo and Koshihikari. A Tonsil-type rice, Taebaegbyeo, and a japonica cultivar, Seomjinbyeo, showed the relatively fast deterioration of cooked rice. Generally, the better rice cultivars in eating quality of cooked rice showed less retrogradation and much sponginess in cooled cooked rice. Also, the rice varieties exhibiting less retrogradation in cooled cooked rice revealed higher hot viscosity and lower cool viscosity of rice flour in amylogram. The sponginess of cooled cooked rice was closely associated with magnesium content and volume expansion of cooked rice. The hardness-changed ratio of cooked rice by cooling was negatively correlated with solids amount extracted during boiling and volume expansion of cooked rice. The major physicochemical properties of rice grain closely related to the palatability of cooked rice may be directly or indirectly associated with the retrogradation characteristics of cooked rice. The softer gel consistency and lower amylose content in milled rice revealed the higher ratio of popped rice and larger bulk density of popping. The stronger hardness of rice grain showed relatively higher ratio of popping and the more chalky or less translucent rice exhibited the lower ratio of intact popped brown rice. The potassium and magnesium contents of milled rice were negatively associated with gross score of noodle making mixed with wheat flour in half and the better rice for noodle making revealed relatively less amount of solid extraction during boiling. The more volume expansion of batters for making brown rice bread resulted the better loaf formation and more springiness in rice breed. The higher protein rices produced relatively the more moist white rice bread. The springiness of rice bread was also significantly correlated with high amylose content and hard gel consistency. The completely chalky and large grain rices showed better suitability far fermentation and brewing. The glutinous rice were classified into nine different varietal groups based on various physicochemical and structural characteristics of endosperm. There was some close associations among these grain properties and large varietal difference in suitability to various traditional food processing. Our breeding efforts on improvement of rice quality for high palatability and processing utility or value-adding products in the future should focus on not only continuous enhancement of marketing and eating qualities but also the diversification in morphological, physicochemical and nutritional characteristics of rice grain suitable for processing various value-added rice foods.ice foods.