• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.527-542
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• 2011

The importance of service industry in national economy is getting increasing due to current trend of aging society and increasingly desire for better quality of life. However, the level of labor productivity in domestic service industry is lower than Japan and Germany that are typically strong in manufacturing industry. Difficulty of process control and measurement in accordance with variability and intangibility which are features of service industry, is considered as the cause of this poor labor productivity in Korea. This study aims to present managerial implications by calculating sigma levels on branch bank service quality and suggesting the quality dimensions of banks can be checked through a gap comparison between the sigma level on service quality in the whole banks and service quality in each bank. Quality level presented by the KS-SQI is applied to the measurement method that Yoo Han Joo and Song Kwang Seok suggested in 2006. Spss18.0 is used as an analysis tool. As a result of factorial analysis, 7 dimensions of service quality in KS-SQI can be divided into new 3 dimensions of service quality. This study also suggests that width and number of questions in previous questionnaire shall be extended. The whole of the bank service quality level is evaluated 3 sigma. The research help banks to figure out their service quality level through gap comparison objectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.25 no.6_2
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• pp.1103-1110
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• 2022

The old machine tools that have been used for a long time cause both increase in defective rate and decrease in productivity compared to new machines due to wear and failure of their components. In order to improve productivity and quality of machined components through remanufacturing, it is necessary to analyze the wear and failure of major components of old machine tools. In this study, the process for reverse engineering is designed for the remanufacture of planner millers, which belong to a very large machine tool. Also, the suitability of the designed process is verified through the analysis of the selected remanufactured components. In the first step of the process, some major components of the aging planner miller are scanned using a 3D laser scanner. In the next step, reverse engineering is performed using the data obtained through 3D scanning. Finally, wear and failure analysis is performed by comparing the reverse engineering data with the scan data. As a result, this reverse design and wear analysis can complement the insufficient design database and reduce costs in the maintenance of remanufactured products.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.197-204
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• 2007

Nowadays, the construction industry is suffering from the decrease of labor productivity caused by the lack of skilled workers and the aging labor forces. The hazardous work conditions and safety problems still exist at the construction sites. The earthwork operation is not the exception. The number of skilled earthwork equipment operators has been rapidly reduced and the equipment needs to be operated in dangerous / hazardous work sites. Thus, through the development of intelligent excavating system, Intelligent Excavating System(I.E.S) research team tries to enhance the safety of work environment, productivity, quality, and payability of the earthwork operation. It is also expected that this research contributes to the development of fundamental construction automation technologies and to the creation a new market sector.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.7-7
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• 2017

Unfavorable weather and soil conditions reduce rice yield and land and water productivity, aggravating existing encounters of poverty and food insecurity. These conditions are foreseen to worsen with climate change and with the unceasing irrational human practices that progressively debilitate productivity despite global appeals for more food. Our understanding of plant responses to abiotic stresses is advancing and is complex, involving numerous critical processes - each controlled by several genetic factors. Knowledge of the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in signaling, response and adaptation, and in some cases the genes involved, is advancing. Moreover, the genetic diversity being unveiled within cultivated rice and its wild relatives is providing ample resources for trait and gene discovery, and this is being scouted for rice improvement using modern genomics and molecular tools. Development of stress tolerant varieties is now being fast-tracked through the use of DNA markers and advanced breeding strategies. Large numbers of drought, submergence and salt tolerant varieties were commercialized over recent years in South and Southeast Asia and more recently in Africa. These varieties are making significant changes in less favorable areas, transforming lives of smallholder farmers - progress considered incredulous in the past. The stress tolerant varieties are providing assurance to farmers to invest in better management of their crops and the ability to adjust their cropping systems for even higher productivity and more income, sparking changes analogous to that of the first green revolution, which previously benefited only favorable irrigated and rainfed areas. New breeding tools using markers for multiple stresses made it possible to develop more resilient, higher yielding varieties to replace the aging and obsolete varieties still dominating these areas. Varieties with multiple stress tolerances are now becoming available, providing even better security for farmers and lessening their production risks even in areas affected by complex and overlapping stresses. The progress made in these less favorable areas triggered numerous favorable changes at the national and regional levels in several countries in Asia, including adjusting breeding and dissemination strategies to accelerate outreach and enabling changes at higher policy levels, creating a positive environment for faster progress. Exploiting the potential of these less productive areas for food production is inevitable, to meet the escalating global needs for more food and sustained production systems, at times when national resources are shrinking while demand for food is mounting. However, the success in these areas requires concerted efforts to make use of existing genetic resources for crop improvement and establishing effective evaluation networks, seed production systems, and seed delivery systems to ensure faster outreach and transformation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.4
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• pp.583-593
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• 2022

The harvesting system in South Korea faces the problems of aging workers and high wages, so it is necessary to improve the operation system and train workers to use high-performance forestry machines. This study compared the effectiveness and costs of yarding and processing operations between a multi-operation system using a tower yarder (HAM300) and a processor (KESLA 20SH) with those of a single-system using a forestry combi-machine. A whole-tree (cable) yarding operation was conducted in the clear-cutting area located at Compartment 15, Gwangneung Experimental Forest, National Institute of Forest Science, and the productivity and cost of multi- and single-system were analyzed. The productivity of the single-system was 1.5 m³/PMH and 1.6 m³/PMH higher than that of the multi- system because the single-system produced 1 log/cycle more than the multi-system in the yarding operation. The cost was approximately 12.1% lower for the single-system (￦36,113/m³) than for the multi-system (￦41,065/m³). The costs of the single-system and multi-system were decreased by maximums of 22.6% and 15.9%, respectively, by decreasing the idle time.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2016

BACKGROUND: Burcucumber(Sicyos angulatus L.) is an invasive plant species and disturbs ecosystems in Korea. The main method for prevention of burcucumber is cutting or pulling out. However, the studies accounting for the use of the by-product of burcucumber after cutting remain incomplete. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the applicability of burcucumber as a substitute for nitrogen fertilizer.METHODS AND RESULTS: Burcucmber plants only including stem, leaves, and petiole were collected from the Sky Park in Seoul and divided in to three categories based on the length of stem of burcucumber; 10-30 cm, 30-100 cm, and 100-200 cm. And they were input into soil with 20 kg-N/10 a. After 4 weeks aging, chemical properties of treated soils and the productivity of lettuce(Lactuca sativa L.) were examined. Both the inorganic nitrogen contents in soils and the growth of lettuce were increased with the decreases in length of burcucumber standing for young plant. And the inorganic nitrogen content and the productivity of lettuce were positively correlated(r= 0.9409).CONCLUSION: The C/N ratio of burcucumber was low, indicating fast decomposition and nitrogen supplying rate, resulting in the increase in lettuce growth. Burcucumber could be a good substitute for nitrogen organic fertilizer.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.77-86
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• 2016

Due to aging of the rural and mountain populations the labor force is reduced. However work intensity continues to increase, thus, there is a need to improve the current effectiveness of forest operations. This study compared and analyzed the Operation productivity and efficiency of planting containerized seedlings using a battery-powered planting auger and a mattock. Growth was also investigated by looking into the initial growth increments in the planted seedlings. Tasks were investigated by analyzing the process and operation time needed to plant 1 containerized seedling using a planting auger and a mattock. The time spent on the various elements of the planting process was measured with a stopwatch but observations were done continuously. Result of the study shows that with the use of a lightweight planting auger the average time spent to plant a containerized seedling is 18.61 seconds while with the use of a mattock it took an average of 26.96 seconds which clearly demonstrates that the planting auger is more efficient in terms of working hours. Working intensity was also analyzed with the use of a portable heart rate monitor (Polar V800). The average increase in heart rate and work intensity index were analyzed for one planting cycle. It was observed that when using the lightweight planting auger, there was a 46.51% increase in the average heart rate while a 74.67% increase in heart rate when the mattock was used which shows that there is a significant increase in heart rate when mattock is used. In addition, work intensity index was observed to be 29.95% and 47.83% when the planting auger and mattock were used respectively. With the continuous use, work intensity index is significantly higher with the use of the mattock as compared to that of the lightweight planting auger. There were no significant differences on the growth increment of seedlings planted using the different tools until a year after planting, however differences in growth increment were observed after a year. A difference of 15.1 cm in height and 3.41 mm in diameter was observed which shows that the use of lightweight planting auger is excellent for planting containerized seedlings.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.329-352
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• 2009

This study examined life in old age and images of the aged perceived by middle-aged and old-aged generations through indepth interviews with 30 persons aged 40s through 80s residing in three areas (city or county) in capital region in Korea to use it as basic information in planning social welfare policy and reorganizing social services in response to population aging in capital region in Korea. In terms of economic life of the middle-aged and olde-aged generations perceived older people's opportunities for work were rarely given to the aged due to ageism and negative stereotypes of aging and the aged, and the aged tended to regard themselves less able or unable to work. In terms of social life of the aged both middle-aged and old-aged generations perceived that the frequency of social participation was low, and the daily life of the aged was found mostly aimless, unorganized and unplanned. In terms of psycho-social life of the aged both generations still felt that they were not alienated from the family, neighbors, and the society. In terms of social welfare services both generations thought the aged needed basic services such as income maintenance, health care, housing services, and particularly they felt lack of social services. The old-aged generation was willing to travel to the distance taking more than one hour to receive social services that they would need. Both the middle-aged and the old-aged agreed upon the necessity of preparation for old age and the benefits of earlier preparation, however, they said that they could not prepare for their old age due to lack of social programs to help preparation for old age and due to spending for rearing and education of their children. In terms of perceived life in old age both middle-aged and old-aged generations tended to be slightly positive, but the degree of positiveness differed between respondents from urban area and those from rural area regardless of generations. Images of the aged were perceived to be overwhelmingly negative while positive images were very few in number regardless of generations. This finding may suggests that negative stereotypes on aging and the aged are also prevalent in Korean society like in Western societies. Based on findings of this study some implications for social policies in response to population aging in capital region were suggested.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.654-670
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• 2022

Spermatogenesis and testis development are highly structured physiological processes responsible for post-pubertal fertility in stallions. Spermatogenesis comprises spermatocytogenesis, meiosis, and spermiogenesis. Although germ cell degeneration is a continuous process, its effects are more pronounced during spermatocytogenesis and meiosis. The productivity and efficiency of spermatogenesis are directly linked to pubertal development, degenerated germ cell populations, aging, nutrition, and season of the year in stallions. The multiplex interplay of germ cells with somatic cells, endocrine and paracrine factors, growth factors, and signaling molecules contributes to the regulation of spermatogenesis. A cell-tocell communication within the testes of these factors is a fundamental requirement of normal spermatogenesis. A noteworthy development has been made recently on discovering the effects of different somatic cells including Leydig, Sertoli, and peritubular myoid cells on manipulation the fate of spermatogonial stem cells. In this review, we discuss the self-renewal, differentiation, and apoptotic roles of somatic cells and the relationship between somatic and germ cells during normal spermatogenesis. We also summarize the roles of different growth factors, their paracrine/endocrine/autocrine pathways, and the different cytokines associated with spermatogenesis. Furthermore, we highlight important matters for further studies on the regulation of spermatogenesis. This review presents an insight into the mechanism of spermatogenesis, and helpful in developing better understanding of the functions of somatic cells, particularly in stallions and would offer new research goals for developing curative techniques to address infertility/subfertility in stallions.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.405-421
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• 2015

Agro-fishing villages of agriculture and fishery are suffering deepening gap with urban areas due to depreciation from their products market opening pressure. They are facing problems of decreasing and aging population, poor settlement environment, etc. and losing their vitality for their low productivity and lack of young labor force. These issues of agro-fishing villages of agriculture and fishery are divided in so various items and classes that it is plausible to approach in a way to connect each issue in a small frame of each by selecting sub topics according to each item and each class rather than to solve the issues in a large frame. Chungchungnam-do is approaching the issues through 3 agro innovations(agro fishery, agro fishing villages, agro fishing people) in local government level and Durae enterprises are solving local problems through the self supporting residents' community business by utilizing local resources. This study is to draw clues and solutions to vitalize agro fishery villages through community businesses by detailed reviews and research on cases of Durae enterprises' characteristics and their vitalizations and provide a new alternative plan to agro fishery villages losing their vitality and demolishing their communities.