• 유통과학연구
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.61-72
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• 2013

Purpose - It is widely accepted that the process of developing marketing strategy is composed of three steps: market segmentation, target market selection and positioning. However, mass marketing strategy based on cost reduction through economies of scale and standardized products, can be also an effective strategic option. Many marketing scholars including Theodore Levitt emphasize the importance of applying the mass production concept to various industries including service industries. Especially, in times of economic downturn, the capability of providing consumers with low-priced, value products can be an important source of competitive advantage, as well as the ability of providing high-priced premium products. Marketers should decide whether they will implement mass marketing strategy or target marketing strategy. The present study theoretically shows that firms should understand the target customers' price elasticity as well as the firm's cost structure in order to make such a strategic decision. Research design, data, and methodology - Instead of implementing an empirical study, this study provides a theoretical(mathematical) investigation on the effect of consumers' price elasticity on a firm's optimal price level, profit, sales volume, revenue, and cost. The results are mostly deduced from derivative calculations and several graphs are utilized to represent the results on the relationships between the variables under study. Results - The analytical results suggest that it is more profitable for a firm to adopt the segment/target marketing strategy (more specifically the differentiation strategy) when the degree of consumers' heterogeneity is high and the proportion of the fixed cost in the total cost is low. On the other hand, if the degree of consumers' heterogeneity is low and the fixed cost is high, it is better to adopt the mass marketing strategy or the cost leadership strategy. The strategy of concentrating on a single target market will be effective when consumers' needs are highly heterogeneous but the fixed cost is high. Any of the three types of generic strategies proposed my Porter(1980, 1985) can be applied when both the consumers' heterogeneity and the fixed cost are low. This study also proposes the contribution-margin-based method for developing the optimal pricing strategy. Conclusions - One of the primary roles of marketers is to find a proper compromise between the two conflicting goals of maximizing customer satisfaction and minimizing cost. In order to do so, he or she should understand the characteristics of the target customers as well as the cost structure of the firm. In addition to the theoretical analyses, this study discusses several business cases and explains how superior companies find the optimal compromise position between these two goals and dominate the market. One of the radical changes recently taking place in business arena is the reduction of production and distribution costs of both physical goods and information due to the advancement and the wide diffusion of information technology. The cost reduction combined with lowered priced elasticity incurred by customized products and services, will enable many firms to adopt the mass customization strategy.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제21권4호
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• pp.949-962
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• 2016

The braking hose in the automotive hydraulic braking system exhibits the complicated anisotropic large deformation while its movable end is moving along the cyclic path according to the steering and bump/rebound motions of vehicle. The complicated large deformation may cause not only the interference with other adjacent automotive parts but also the durability problem resulting in the fatal microcraking. In this regard, the design of high-durable braking hose with the interference-free layout becomes a hot issue in the automotive industry. However, since it has been traditionally relied on the cost-/time-consuming trial and error experiments, the cost- and time-effective optimum design method that can replace the experiment is highly desirable. Meanwhile, the hose deformed configuration and fatigue life are different for different hose cyclic paths, so that their characteristic investigation becomes an important preliminary research subject. As a preliminary step for developing the optimum design methodology, we in this study investigate the hose deformed configuration and the fatigue life for four representative hose cyclic paths.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• 제34권2호
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• pp.81-87
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• 2016

Hypofractionated whole breast irradiation (HF-WBI) has been proved effective and safe and even better for late or acute radiation toxicity for early breast cancer. Moreover, it improves patient convenience, quality of life and is expected to be advantageous in the medical care system by reducing overall cost. In this review, we examined key randomized trials of HF-WBI, focusing on adequate patient selection as suggested by the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) guideline and the radiobiologic aspects of HF-WBI in relation to its adoption into clinical settings. Further investigation to identify the current practice pattern or cost effectiveness is warranted under the national health insurance service system in Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권16호
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• pp.6919-6922
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• 2014

Background: The cytological analysis of serous effusions is a common investigation and yields important diagnostic information. However, the distinction of reactive mesothelial cells from malignant cells can sometimes be difficult for the cytopathologist. Hence cost-effective ancillary methods are essential to enhance the accuracy of cytological diagnosis. The aim of this study was to examine the utility of nuclear morphometry in differentiating reactive mesothelial cells from malignant cells in effusion smears. Materials and Methods: Sixty effusion smears consisting of 30 effusions cytologically classified as malignant (adenocarcinomas) and 30 benign effusions showing reactive mesothelial cells were included in the study. ImageJ was used to measure the nuclear area, perimeter, maximal feret diameter, minimal feret diameter and the circularity. A total of ten representative cells were studied in each case. Results: Significant differences were found between benign and malignant effusions for the nuclear area, perimeter, maximal feret diameter and minimal feret diameter. No significant difference was found for circularity, a shape descriptor. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that nuclear area, perimeter, maximal feret diameter, and minimal feret diameter are helpful in discriminating benign and malignant effusions. Conclusions: Computerised nuclear morphometry is a helpful ancillary technique to distinguish benign and malignant effusions. ImageJ is an excellent cost effective tool with potential diagnostic utility in effusion cytology.

• 지식경영연구
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• 제13권5호
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• pp.113-137
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• 2012

Since service innovation is considered as a new way to gain an advantage in a highly competitive environment, it is imperative for companies to align their service innovation strategy with their business strategy in order to achieve better firm performance. Accordingly, a critical challenge facing firms is how to effectively organize and manage a well-planned service innovation strategy in accordance with the direction of their business strategy. Firms with a good fit between business strategy (i.e., cost leadership, innovative differentiation, and marketing differentiation strategies) and service innovation strategy (service creation-focused, service delivery-focused, and client interface-focused strategies) are expected to have better firm performance than those without such a fit. Based on empirical data from 209 service firms in South Korea, this study aims first to investigate whether a certain service innovation strategy is more effective than others within a particular business strategy. We then examine whether their effective alignment positively affects firm performance. The empirical evidence indicates that the alignment of service innovation strategy with business strategy significantly influences firm performance. The adoption of service innovation strategy was found to have positive effects on firm performance with innovative differentiation and marketing differentiation strategies and negative effects with cost leadership strategy. Lastly, we discuss our study's implications for further research and practice.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국신재생에너지학회 2007년도 춘계학술대회
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• pp.250-253
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• 2007

An evaporated Ti/Pd/Ag contact system is most widely used to make high-efficiency silicon solar cells, however, the system is not cost effective due to expensive materials and vacuum techniques. Commercial solar cells with screen-printed contacts formed by using Ag paste suffer from a low fill factor and a high shading loss because of high contact resistance and low aspect ratio. Low-cost Ni and Cu metal contacts have been formed by using electroless plating and electroplating techniques to replace the Ti/Pd/Ag and screen-printed Ag contacts. Ni/Cu alloy is plated on a silicon substrate by electro-deposition of the alloy from an acetate electrolyte solution, and nickel-silicide formation at the interface between the silicon and the nickel enhances stability and reduces the contact resistance. It was, therefore, found that nickel-silicide was suitable for high-efficiency solar cell applications. The Ni contact was formed on the front grid pattern by electroless plating followed by anneal ing at $380{\sim}400^{\circ}C$ for $15{\sim}30$ min at $N_{2}$ gas to allow formation of a nickel-silicide in a tube furnace or a rapid thermal processing(RTP) chamber because nickel is transformed to NiSi at $380{\sim}400^{\circ}C$. The Ni plating solution is composed of a mixture of $NiCl_{2}$ as a main nickel source. Cu was electroplated on the Ni layer by using a light induced plating method. The Cu electroplating solution was made up of a commercially available acid sulfate bath and additives to reduce the stress of the copper layer. The Ni/Cu contact was found to be well suited for high-efficiency solar cells and was successfully formed by using electroless plating and electroplating, which are more cost effective than vacuum evaporation. In this paper, we investigated low-cost Ni/Cu contact formation by electroless and electroplating for crystalline silicon solar cells.

• 한국강구조학회 논문집
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• 제17권2호통권75호
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• pp.227-241
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• 2005

본 논문에서는 생애주기동안 발생하는 부식이나 일평균교통량 및 중차량의 통행량와 같은 사용환경에 의존하는 강교의 생애신뢰성에 기초한 생애주기비용(Life-Cycle Cost: 이하 LCC) 최적설계 방법론을 제안하였다. 강교 최적설계를 위한 LCC는 초기비용, 생애주기 기대유지관리비용, 생애주기 기대직접복구비용과 인적 혹은 물적손실비용, 도로이용자비용, 그리고 사회-경제 손실비용을 포함하는 간접복구비용을 현재가치의 합으로 정식화하였다. 이러한 LCC비용항목 중에서 생애주기 복구비용의 산정을 위해서는 하중과 저항이력에 의존하는 누적손확률로부터 산정되는 연파손확률이 고려되어야한다. 이를 위해 본 논문에서는 Nowak의 활하중 모델(1993)과 부식개시, 부식률, 그리고 재도장영향을 고려한 수정된 부식모델을 제안하였다. 이와같이 본 연구에서 제안된 LCC 최적설계 방법론은 3 경간연속(40m+50m+40m= 130m)의 실제 강박스거더교에 적용되었고, 사용환경에 대한 LCC의 효율성에 대해 비교 고찰하였다. 적용예를 통해 부식환경, 일평균교통량, 그리고 중차량의 통행량는 강교 LCC최적설계에 매우 중요한 영향을 미칠 수 있음을 알 수 있었으며, 이러한 교량의 사용환경인자들은 경우에 따라 LCC 최적설계에 대한 주요 변수로 고려되어야 할 것으로 판단된다.

• 대한토목학회논문집
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• 제26권1A호
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• pp.75-89
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• 2006

본 논문에서는 생애주기동안 발생하는 부식이나 일평균교통량 및 중차량의 통행량와 같은 사용환경에 의존하는 강교의 생애신뢰성에 기초한 생애주기비용(Life-Cycle Cost: 이하 LCC) 최적설계 방법론을 제안하였다. 강교 최적설계를 위한 LCC는 초기비용, 생애주기 기대유지관리비용, 생애주기 기대직접복구비용과 인적 혹은 물적손실비용, 도로이용자비용, 그리고 사회-경제 손실비용을 포함하는 간접복구비용을 현재가치의 합으로 정식화하였다. 이러한 LCC비용항목 중에서 생애주기 복구비용의 산정을 위해서는 하중과 저항이력에 의존하는 누적손상확률로부터 산정되는 연파손확률이 고려되어야한다. 이를 위해 본 논문에서는 Nowak의 활하중 모델(1993)과 부식개시, 부식률, 그리고 재도장영향을 고려한 수정된 부식모델을 제안하였다. 이와같이 본 연구에서 제안된 LCC 최적설계 방법론은 3 경간연속(40 m+50 m+40 m=130 m)의 실제 강박스거더교에 적용되었고, 강재종류, 부식환경, 교통량 및 할인율에 따른 LCC의 효율성에 대해 비교 고찰하였다. 적용예를 통해 부식환경, 일평균교통량, 그리고 중차량의 통행량, 할인율 등은 강교 LCC최적설계에 매우 중요한 영향을 미칠 수 있음을 알 수 있었으며, 이러한 교량의 사용환경인자들은 경우에 따라 LCC 최적설계에 대한 주요 변수로 고려되어야 할 것으로 판단된다.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.307-310
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• 2016

The operational cost for maintaining the superconductivity of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables needs to be reduced for feasible operation. It depends on factors such as AC loss and heat transfer from the outside. Effective operation requires design optimization and suitable operational conditions. Generally, it is known that critical currents increase and AC losses decrease as the operational temperature of liquid nitrogen ($LN_2$) is lowered. However, the cryo-cooler consumes more power to lower the temperature. To determine the effective operational temperature of the HTS cable while considering the critical current and AC loss, critical currents of the HTS cable conductor were measured under various temperature conditions using sub-cooled $LN_2$ by Stirling cryo-cooler. Next, AC losses were measured under the same conditions and their variations were analyzed. We used the results to select suitable operating conditions while considering the cryo-cooler's power consumption. We then recommended the effective operating temperature for the HTS cable system installed in an actual power grid in KEPCO's 154/22.9 kV transformer substation.

• Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
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• 제8권3호
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• pp.194-200
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• 2009

This study provides a heuristic algorithm to solve the locating problem of repair service centers (RSCs). To enhance the customer service level with more satisfaction and quicker responsiveness, the locating problem of RSCs has become one of the important issues in reverse supply chain management. This problem is formulated as a zero-one mixed integer programming in which an exiting distributor will be considered to be an un-capacitated repair service center for the objective of cost-minimizing. Since logistical costs are highly interrelated with the multinational location of distributors and RSCs, the fixed cost for setting a repair service center, variable cost, transportation cost, and exchange rates are considered in this study. Recognizing the selection of un-capacitated RSCs' locations is a combinatorial optimization problem and is a zero-one mixed integer programming with NP-hard complexity, we provide a heuristic algorithm named as incremental cost matrix procedure (ICMP) to simplify the solving procedure. By using the concise and structural cost matrix, ICMP can efficiently screen the potential location with cost advantage and effectively decide which distributor should be a RSC. Results obtained from the numerical experiments conducted in small scale problem have shown the fact that ICMP is an effective and efficient heuristic algorithm for solving the RSCs locating problem. In the future, using the extended ICMP to solve problems with larger industrial scale or problems with congestion effects caused by the variation of customer demand and the restriction of the RSC capacity is worth a further investigation.