• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.709-724
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine five evaluation models constructed by different normalization and aggregation methods in terms of the volatility of rankings and rank reversals. We also explore how the volatility of rankings of the five models changes and how often the rank reversals occur when the outliers are removed. Methods: We used data published in the Complete University Guide 2014. Two universities with missing values were excluded from the data. The university rankings were derived by using the five models, and then each model's volatility of rankings was measured. The box-plot was used to detect outliers. Results: Model 1 has the lowest volatility among the five models whether or not the outliers are included. Model 5 has the lowest number of rank reversals. Model 3, which has been used by many institutions, appears to be in the middle among the five in terms of the volatility and the rank reversals. Conclusion: The university rankings vary from one evaluation model to another depending on what normalization and aggregation methods are used. No single model exhibits clear superiority over others in both the volatility and the rank reversal. The findings of this study are expected to provide a stepping stone toward a superior model which is both reliable and robust.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.67-78
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• 2023

The rare metals used as raw materials in high-tech industries undergo changes in demand structures and supply chains following domestic industrial structural shifts and technological advancements, exhibiting high price volatility. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically analyze changes in the demand structures of rare metals. Since domestic demand for most rare metals relies on imports in Korea, the changes in domestic demand for rare metals can be identified by analyzing changes in their trade structure. In the present study, we analyze the changes in trade volume, trade growth rate, trade rankings, and trading countries from 2000 to 2022 for 35 rare metals, categorized into five types-ores, metals, alloys, compounds, and scrap. The trade of the raw materials of rare metals in Korea has generally increased since the 2000s, except for a significant decline in 2009 and 2016. The total trade volume, encompassing both exports and imports, has increased by approximately tenfold in 2022 compared to 2001. Until the mid-2010s, the trade of the raw materials of rare metals was primarily focused on those used in steel-manufacturing such as silicon, nickel, chrome, molybdenum, manganese, and others. However, after that period, there has been an increase in the trade of platinum group metals like palladium, rhodium, platinum, and the raw materials of rare metals for secondary battery-manufacturing such as lithium and cobalt. Particularly in 2022, lithium has become the largest share in trade of the raw materials of rare metals in Korea, due to the price surge and increase in demand.