• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.8
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• pp.185-215
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• 2009

In Malaysia, figurative painting has increasingly become a means for artists to pose questions about presumptions of power and assumptions of history. The body, its potentially breached boundaries and defenses, forms an integral component of the battle for political influence. The degree of control over one's own and other people's bodies has become a measuring stick to determine the power of potential political leaders. Anxiety about boundaries and access to powerful bodies is intertwined with the questions of who has the right to hold power; the relevance of moral bodies and of what comprises an ideal self or selves. These questions are raised in intriguing ways in contemporary Malaysian art. While eschewing a direct take on current politics, Malaysian artists have increasingly turned to the body to address issues in Malaysian history, culture and the distribution of power. This paper will explore some works by three artists in particular, Wong Hoy Cheong, Nadiah Bamadhaj and Ahmad Fuad Osman use the figure to problematise dominant narratives in Malaysian history. Their work variously challenge political, racial and gender hierarchies and in so doing, reveal them as social constructions.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.21 no.12spc
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• pp.556-564
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• 2021

Numerous spatial and transform-domain-based conventional denoising algorithms struggle to keep critical and minute structural features of the image, especially at high noise levels. Although neural network approaches are effective, they are not always reliable since they demand a large quantity of training data, are computationally complicated, and take a long time to construct the model. A new framework of enhanced hybrid filtering is developed for denoising color images tainted by additive white Gaussian Noise with the goal of reducing algorithmic complexity and improving performance. In the first stage of the proposed approach, the noisy image is refined using a high-dimensional non-local means filter based on Principal Component Analysis, followed by the extraction of the method noise. The wavelet transform and SURE Shrink techniques are used to further culture this method noise. The final denoised image is created by combining the results of these two steps. Experiments were carried out on a set of standard color images corrupted by Gaussian noise with multiple standard deviations. Comparative analysis of empirical outcome indicates that the proposed method outperforms leading-edge denoising strategies in terms of consistency and performance while maintaining the visual quality. This algorithm ensures homogeneous noise reduction, which is almost independent of noise variations. The power of both the spatial and transform domains is harnessed in this multi realm consolidation technique. Rather than processing individual colors, it works directly on the multispectral image. Uses minimal resources and produces superior quality output in the optimal execution time.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.29-47
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• 2018

This paper examines the relationship between diversification and financial performance of community credit unions in Korea from 2011 to 2017. To do so, I employ fixed-effects panel analyses using credit union level panel data collected from the National Credit Union Federation of Korea. This study finds evidence that business diversification is likely to lower the ratio of troubled loans, which means improving asset quality of credit unions. However, the relationship between diversification and asset quality is not linear but nonlinear, which means over-diversification would have negative effects on asset quality. Next, diversification tends to increase profitability. Specifically, although diversification results in a rise in expenditures, an increase in profits made by diversification outweighs the rise in expenditures, which contributes to profitability. Put together, diversification would be a good business strategy to improve both profitability and asset quality. Given a result that fast loan growth deteriorates asset quality, credit unions' managers might adopt the diversification strategy to enhance asset quality, and not to pursue their own objectives motivated by moral hazards.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.480-490
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• 2021

Sales forecasting is crucial for many retail operations. For apparel retailers, accurate sales forecast for the next season is critical to properly manage inventory and plan their supply chains. The challenge in this increases because apparel products are always new for the next season, have numerous variations, short life cycles, long lead times, and seasonal trends. In this study, a sales forecasting model is proposed for apparel products using machine learning techniques. The sales data pertaining to outerwear items for four years were collected from a Korean sports brand and filtered with outliers. Subsequently, the data were standardized by removing the effects of exogenous variables. The sales patterns of outerwear items were clustered by applying K-means clustering, and outerwear attributes associated with the specific sales-pattern type were determined by using a decision tree classifier. Six types of sales pattern clusters were derived and classified using a hybrid model of clustering and decision tree algorithm, and finally, the relationship between outerwear attributes and sales patterns was revealed. Each sales pattern can be used to predict stock-keeping-unit-level sales based on item attributes.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.7.1-7.7
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• 2021

The levels of aflatoxin (AFT) and ochratoxin (OCT) were assessed at different seasons in raw materials, different feed manufacture processing stages, and animal feeds in feed mills in Korea implementing the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) system. Two hundred samples were collected in all four seasons from five feed mills implementing the HACCP system and examined for AFT and OCT contents. The AFT and OCT levels were analysed by using HPLC method to provide information on raw material and product stage. The AFT content of raw ingredients in the spring season was highest in corn gluten (3.84 ppb) and lowest in corn (1.82 ppb) The AFT content of corn was highest in the winter season (2.17 ppb). The content of OCT in wheat was highest in the winter season. The amounts of AFT and OCT at processing stages were higher than in the raw materials or feed. In particular, AFT content was higher in the transfer stage (3.88 ppb) than in the mixing (2.86 ppb) or filling stages (3.45 ppb) in the summer season. The means of AFT and OCT level in laying hen feed was 3.41 ppb and 1.14 ppb for broiler feed, respectively. The means of AFT and OCT level in and broiler feeds was 3.44 ppb and 1.17 ppb for broiler feed, respectively.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.577-588
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• 2022

Oil refineries' Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units (FCCU) when in full operation may exhibit strong fluid dynamics caused by turbulent flow in the piping system that may induce vibrations in other mechanical and structural components of the Unity. This paper reports on the experimental-theoretical-computational program performed to get the vibration properties and the dynamic response amplitudes to find out alternative solutions to attenuate the excessive vibrations that were causing fatigue fractures in components of the bottle like reactor-regenerator of an FCC unit in operation in an existing oil refinery in Brazil. Solutions to the vibration problem were sought with the aid of a 3D finite element model calibrated with the results obtained from experimental measurements. A short description of the found solutions is given and their effectiveness are shown by means of numerical results. The solutions were guided by the concepts of structural stiffening and dynamic control performed by a nonlinear pendulum controller whose mechanical design was based on parameters determined by means of a parametric study carried out with 2D and 3D mathematical models of the coupled pendulum-structure system. The effectiveness of the proposed solutions is evaluated in terms of the fatigue life of critical welded connections.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.247-258
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• 2024

Tailings are waste materials of mining operations, consisting of a mixture of clay, silt, sand with a high content of unrecoverable metals, process water, and chemical reagents. They are usually discharged as slurry into the storage area retained by dams or earth embankments. Poor knowledge of the hydro-mechanical behaviour of tailings has often resulted in a high rate of failures in which static liquefaction has been widely recognized as one of the major causes of dam collapse. Many studies have dealt with the static liquefaction of coarse soils in saturated conditions. This research provides an extension to the case of silty tailings in unsaturated conditions. The static liquefaction resistance was evaluated in terms of stress-strain behavior by means of monotonic triaxial tests. Its dependency on the preparation method, the volumetric water content, the void ratio, and the degree of saturation was studied and compared with literature data. The static liquefaction response was proved to be dependent mainly on the preparation technique and degree of saturation that, in turn, controls the excess of pore pressure whose leading role is investigated by means of the relationship between the -B Skempton parameter and the degree of saturation. A preliminary interpretation of the static liquefaction response of Stava tailings is also provided within the Critical State framework.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.220-227
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• 2019

Background: This descriptive study aimed to examine the relationship between the 4C core competencies and work ability among dental hygienists. Methods: From November 2018 to January 2019, data were collected-from 190 dental hygienists workong in dental clinics in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongsangnam province using structured questionnaires. For the general characteristics of the dental hygienists, frequency and percentage were calculated, and the level of the 4C core competencies and work ability of dental hygienists was calculated using means and standard deviations. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyze the effects of the 4C core competencies on work ability. Results: The mean scores for the 4C core competency levels of the dental hygienists were as follows: communication ability 3.34, critical thinking ability 3.41, creative problem-solving 3.40, and collaborative self-efficacy 3.27. Meanwhile the mean score for work ability level was 3.65. The predictive factors influencing work ability were communication ability and cooperative self-efficacy (p<0.001), and the sub-factors of critical thinking ability that affect work ability were sound conferences (p<0.01), intellectual fairness (p<0.05), intellectual enthusiasm (p<0.05), and self-confidence (p<0.001). Finally, the sub-factors of creative problem-solving ability that affect work ability were planning and execution (p<0.01) and performance evaluation (p<0.05). Conclusion: The current study showed that education programs covering the core competencies of dental hygienists, rather than the existing theoretical education program, should be developed and implemented to enhance 4C core competencies that affect work ability.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.505-526
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• 2005

The influence of the inter-story structural pounding on the seismic behaviour of adjacent multistory reinforced concrete structures with unequal total heights and different story heights is investigated. Although inter-story pounding is a common case in practice, it has not been studied before in the literature as far as the authors are aware. Fifty two pounding cases, each one for two different seismic excitations, are examined. From the results it can be deduced that: (i) The most important issue in the inter-story pounding is the local effect on the external column of the tall building that suffers the impact from the upper floor slab of the adjacent shorter structure. (ii) The ductility demands for this column are increased comparing with the ones without the pounding effect. In the cases that the two buildings are in contact these demands appear to be critical since they are higher than the available ductility values. In the cases that there is a small distance between the interacting buildings the ductility demands of this column are also higher than the ones of the same column without the pounding effect but they appear to be lower than the available ductility values. (iii) It has to be stressed that in all the examined cases the developed shear forces of this column exceeded the shear strength. Thus, it can be concluded that in inter-story pounding cases the column that suffers the impact is always in a critical condition due to shear action and, furthermore, in the cases that the two structures are in contact from the beginning this column appears to be critical due to high ductility demands as well. The consequences of the impact can be very severe for the integrity of the column and may be a primary cause for the initiation of the collapse of the structure. This means that special measures have to be taken in the design process first for the critically increased shear demands and secondly for the high ductility demands.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.30-37
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• 2008

We have performed the inflammability test for various flooring materials through a radiant heat panel tester by using the specification KSISO 9239-1 (an examination method of flooring materials) that has been set as an international standard for the fire prevention means of interior flooring materials. We have measured the flame spread distance, critical heat flux and smoke density generated by the fire of various flooring materials while using the radiant heat panel tester. The measurement result has shown the burning characteristics different from each other by the respective flooring materials and we could see that the surface materials and construction elements influence greatly on the heat release and smoke generation. We could see that the evaluation method above is an important test method in evaluating the critical heat flux, smoke generation and flame spread distance that are Important factors in studying for fire risks and it is judged that setting and applying a fire evaluation method of flooring materials suitable for the domestic construction use would be relevant.