• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.117-137
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• 2009

Recently, intelligent traffic information systems have enabled people to forecast traffic conditions before hitting the road. These convenient systems operate on the basis of data reflecting current road and traffic conditions as well as distance-based data between locations. Thanks to the rapid development of ubiquitous computing, tremendous context data have become readily available making vehicle route planning easier than ever. Previous research in relation to optimization of vehicle route planning merely focused on finding the optimal distance between locations. Contexts reflecting the road and traffic conditions were then not seriously treated as a way to resolve the optimal routing problems based on distance-based route planning, because this kind of information does not have much significant impact on traffic routing until a a complex traffic situation arises. Further, it was also not easy to take into full account the traffic contexts for resolving optimal routing problems because predicting the dynamic traffic situations was regarded a daunting task. However, with rapid increase in traffic complexity the importance of developing contexts reflecting data related to moving costs has emerged. Hence, this research proposes a framework designed to resolve an optimal route planning problem by taking full account of additional moving cost such as road traffic cost and weather cost, among others. Recent technological development particularly in the ubiquitous computing environment has facilitated the collection of such data. This framework is based on the contexts of time, traffic, and environment, which addresses the following issues. First, we clarify and classify the diverse contexts that affect a vehicle's velocity and estimates the optimization of moving cost based on dynamic programming that accounts for the context cost according to the variance of contexts. Second, the velocity reduction rate is applied to find the optimal route (shortest path) using the context data on the current traffic condition. The velocity reduction rate infers to the degree of possible velocity including moving vehicles' considerable road and traffic contexts, indicating the statistical or experimental data. Knowledge generated in this papercan be referenced by several organizations which deal with road and traffic data. Third, in experimentation, we evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed context-based optimal route (shortest path) between locations by comparing it to the previously used distance-based shortest path. A vehicles' optimal route might change due to its diverse velocity caused by unexpected but potential dynamic situations depending on the road condition. This study includes such context variables as 'road congestion', 'work', 'accident', and 'weather' which can alter the traffic condition. The contexts can affect moving vehicle's velocity on the road. Since these context variables except for 'weather' are related to road conditions, relevant data were provided by the Korea Expressway Corporation. The 'weather'-related data were attained from the Korea Meteorological Administration. The aware contexts are classified contexts causing reduction of vehicles' velocity which determines the velocity reduction rate. To find the optimal route (shortest path), we introduced the velocity reduction rate in the context for calculating a vehicle's velocity reflecting composite contexts when one event synchronizes with another. We then proposed a context-based optimal route (shortest path) algorithm based on the dynamic programming. The algorithm is composed of three steps. In the first initialization step, departure and destination locations are given, and the path step is initialized as 0. In the second step, moving costs including composite contexts into account between locations on path are estimated using the velocity reduction rate by context as increasing path steps. In the third step, the optimal route (shortest path) is retrieved through back-tracking. In the provided research model, we designed a framework to account for context awareness, moving cost estimation (taking both composite and single contexts into account), and optimal route (shortest path) algorithm (based on dynamic programming). Through illustrative experimentation using the Wilcoxon signed rank test, we proved that context-based route planning is much more effective than distance-based route planning., In addition, we found that the optimal solution (shortest paths) through the distance-based route planning might not be optimized in real situation because road condition is very dynamic and unpredictable while affecting most vehicles' moving costs. For further study, while more information is needed for a more accurate estimation of moving vehicles' costs, this study still stands viable in the applications to reduce moving costs by effective route planning. For instance, it could be applied to deliverers' decision making to enhance their decision satisfaction when they meet unpredictable dynamic situations in moving vehicles on the road. Overall, we conclude that taking into account the contexts as a part of costs is a meaningful and sensible approach to in resolving the optimal route problem.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 1999

Purpose : This study evaluated early bowel complications in cervix cancer patients, following external radiotherapy (ERT and high dose rate intracavitary radiation (HDR ICR). Factors affecting the risk of developing early bowel complications and its incidence are analyzed and discussed Materials and Methods : The study is the retrospective review of 66 patients who received radiotherapy at Chungbuk National University Hospital from April 1994 to December 1998. The patients underwent 41.4 or 50.4 Gy ERT according to FIGO stage and tumor size, then A point dose was boosted to 71.4 or 74.4 Gy using a remotely controlled afterloading Buchler HDR ICR. The EORTC/RTOG morbidity criteria were used to grade early bowel complications, which are valid from day 1, the commencement of therapy, through day 90. The actuarial incidence, severity of complications were investigated and clinical pretreatment factors relevant to complications were found through univariate (Wilcoxon) and multivariate (Cox proportional hazard model) analysis. Results : Of the 66 patients, 30 patients (46$\%$) developed early bowel complications; 25 patients (38$\%$) with grade 1 or 2, 4 patients (0$\%$) with grade 3 and 1 patient (2$\%$) with grade 4. The complications usually began to occur 3 weeks after the commencement of radiotherapy. The actuarial incidence of early bowel complications was 41$\%$ at 10 weeks. The early bowel complications were associated significantly with an old age and a history of previous abdomino-pelvic surgery. All three patients who had a protracted overall treatment time (about 2 weeks) due to severe bowel complication, suffered from pelvic recurrences. Conclusion : Forty six percent of patients experienced early bowel complications, most of which were grade 1 or 2 and relieved spontaneously or by medication. The patients with an old age or a previous surgery have a high probability of early complications and they may be less compliant with planned radiotherapy. So more careful precaution is necessary for these patients.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2008

As managing customer relationship gets more important, companies are strengthening information service using multi-channels to their customers as a part of their customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives. It means companies are now accepting such information services not as simple information -delivering tools, but as strategic initiatives for acquiring and maintaining customer loyalty. In this paper, we attempt to validate whether or not such various information services would impact on organizational performance in terms of CRM strategy. More specifically, our research objective is to answer the next three questions: first, how to construct the instruments to measure not information quality but information service quality?; second, which attributes of information service quality can influence corporate image and customer loyalty?; finally, does each information service type have unique characteristics compared with others in terms of influencing corporate image and customer loyalty? With respect to providing answers to those questions, the previous studies had been limited in that those studies failed to consider the variety of types of information service or restricted the quality of information service to information quality. An appropriate research model answering the above questions should consider the fact that most companies are utilizing multi channels for their information services, and include the recent strategic information service such as customer online community. Moreover, since corporate information service could be regarded as a type of products or services delivered to customer, it is necessary to adopt the criteria for assessing customer's perceived value when to measure the quality of information service. Therefore, considering both multi-channels and multi-traits may enable us to tell the detailed causal routes showing which quality attributes of which information service would affect corporate image and customer loyalty. As information service channels, we include not only homepage and DM (direct mail), which are the most frequently applied information service channels, but also online community, which is getting more strategic importance in recent years. With respect to information service quality, we abstract information quality, convenience of information service, and timeliness of information service through a wide range of relevant literature reviews. As our dependant variables, we consider corporate image and customer loyalty that both of them are the critical determinants of organizational performance, and also attempt to grasp the relationship between the two constructs. We conducted a huge online survey at the homepage of one of representative dairy companies in Korea, and gathered 367 valid samples from 407 customers. The reliability and validity of our measurements were tested by using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and principal factor analysis respectively, and seven hypotheses were tested through performing correlation test and multiple regression analysis. The results from data analysis demonstrated that timeliness and convenience of homepage have positive effects on both corporate image and customer loyalty. In terms of DM, its' information quality was represented to influence both corporate image and customer loyalty, but we found its' convenience have a positive effect only on corporate image. With respect to online community, we found its timeliness contribute significantly both to corporate image and customer loyalty. Finally, as we expected, corporate image was revealed to provide a great influence to customer loyalty. This paper provides several academic and practical implications. Firstly, we think our research reinforces CRM literatures by developing the instruments for measuring information service quality. The previous relevant studies have mainly depended on the measurements of information quality or service quality which were developed independently. Secondly, the fact that we conducted our research in a real situation may enable academics and practitioners to understand the effects of information services more clearly. Finally, since our study involved three different types of information service which are most frequently applied in recent years, the results from our study might provide operational guidelines to the companies that are delivering their customers information by multi-channel. In other words, since we found that, in terms of customer loyalty, the key areas would be different from each other according to the types of information services, our analysis would help to make decisions such as selecting strengthening points or allocating resources by information service channels.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.327-344
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• 2011

This study is the first step for us toward improving high school students' capability of statistical inferences, such as obtaining and interpreting the confidence interval on the population mean that is currently learned in high school. We suggest 5 underlying concepts of 'discretion of contingency and inevitability', 'discretion of induction and deduction', 'likelihood principle', 'variability of a statistic' and 'statistical model', those are necessary to appreciate statistical inferences as a reliable arguing tools in spite of its occasional erroneous conclusions. We assume those 5 concepts above are to be gradually developing in their school periods and Korean mathematics textbooks of grades 1-12 were analyzed. Followings were found. For the right choice of solving methodology of the given problem, no elementary textbook but a few high school textbooks describe its difference between the contingent circumstance and the inevitable one. Formal definitions of population and sample are not introduced until high school grades, so that the developments of critical thoughts on the reliability of inductive reasoning could not be observed. On the contrary of it, strong emphasis lies on the calculation stuff of the sample data without any inference on the population prospective based upon the sample. Instead of the representative properties of a random sample, more emphasis lies on how to get a random sample. As a result of it, the fact that 'the random variability of the value of a statistic which is calculated from the sample ought to be inherited from the randomness of the sample' could neither be noticed nor be explained as well. No comparative descriptions on the statistical inferences against the mathematical(deductive) reasoning were found. Few explanations on the likelihood principle and its probabilistic applications in accordance with students' cognitive developmental growth were found. It was hard to find the explanation of a random variability of statistics and on the existence of its sampling distribution. It is worthwhile to explain it because, nevertheless obtaining the sampling distribution of a particular statistic, like a sample mean, is a very difficult job, mere noticing its existence may cause a drastic change of understanding in a statistical inference.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.57-81
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to explore the quality of life of musically talented students as measured by their external experiences (e.g., activities, companions) and internal experiences (e.g., flow, emotion). The participants in this study were 33 musically talented students (10 males, 23 females) aged 13 to 19. Study data were collected for 7 consecutive days using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), which employs a cellular-phone as a signaling device. The results were as follows: First, in response to the 1625 random signals, musically talented students reported that 40.9% of their time was spent on productive activities. An additional 33.4% of time was used for maintenance activities and the rest of their time was spent on leisure/social activities. Also, musically talented students reported that 48.5% of their time was spent alone. When they were alone, they spent a lot of time engaging in productive activities (44.3%). Second, in order to measure the flow of their life, two methods were used. One used a 4-channel flow model (i.e. apathy, boredom, flow, anxiety) and the other used 8 dimensions and conditions of the flow experience (i.e. concentration, self-consciousness disappears, action and awareness merge, distorted sense of time, freedom from worry about failure, clear goals, immediate feedback, balance between challenges and skills). According to the former, when engaged in music-related activities, musically talented students usually reported flow (54.0%), while they felt apathy (41.3%) for daily routines activities. According to the latter method, musically talented students experienced flow for most productive activities, while they experienced flow least for maintenance activities. Emotional variables of ESF are comprised of 10 semantic scales (i.e. happy-sad, strong-weak, active-passive, sociablelonely, proud-ashamed, involved-detached, excited-bored, clear-confused, relaxed-worried, cooperative-competitive). Musically talented students reported experiencing the most positive emotion for social activities and experiencing the most negative emotion for maintenance activities. Results of this study assert that musically talented students had to trade off immediate enjoyment for developing their special gifts. They could not afford as much time for socializing with friends, and they had to spend more time alone compared to their peers without such gifts. Consequently, they were found to deprive themselves of the spontaneous good times that teenagers usually thrive on. They were helped in this respect by their autotelic personality traits, especially their strong need for achievement and endurance. The downside, however, is that the moment-to-moment quality of their moods suffered. The argument concerning musically talented students applies for all adolescents. The choices that talented students must make between immediate gratification and long-term development, and between solitude and companionship, are the same choices every young person must make, regardless of her or his level of talent. All of us have gifts that are potentially useful and worthy of being appreciated. But to develop these latent talents we must cultivate them, and this takes time and the investment of mental energy. The lifestyle that musically talented students develop can show us some of the choices all of us must make in order to cultivate our gifts.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.10-19
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• 2013

Purpose: Home-based care providers were surveyed to assess the effect of collaborative service between Gyeongnam Regional Cancer Center (GRCC) and public health centers (PHCs) in Gyeongnam province. Methods: Twenty home-based care providers who had previously participated in the GRCC-PHC care project were recruited from nine PHCs and were surveyed using a questionnaire developed by specialists. Questions were rated using the 5-point Likert scale ranging from "strongly disagree (-2)" to "strongly agree (+2)" and each score was multiplied by the corresponding number of respondents (n=20) with the maximum score of 40. Results: Between January 2008 and December 2011, 73 patients were registered to the collaborative service: 72 by GRCC and one by PHC. Home-based care providers marked the highest score (23 points) to "The collaborative service contributed to patients and their family's psychological stability" and the lowest score (11 points) to "The collaborative service was generally helpful for home-based cancer management." For possible suggestions to improve the service, the highest score (35 points) was given to "Simplification of the hospitalization process" followed by "Substantial benefits for patients at their visit to the hospital" (34 points). Conclusion: The results revealed several limitations of the GRCC-PHC collaborative care service for terminal cancer patients. The service could be further improved by developing measures to address the limitations and a service model tailored to region-specific needs.

• Journal of Korean Academic Society of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.58-72
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• 2000

This study was an attempt to encourage the development of a rehabilitation delivery system and programs as a substitute service for hospitalization on the case of car accident patients, such as hospital based home health care nursing services. Various substitute services for hospitalization are required to curtail the length of stay for inpatients who were hospitalized with car accident compensation insurance. It focused on developing an estimation an early discharge day for car accident inpatients based on detailed statements of treatment for 111 inpatients who were hospitalized at the General Hospital in 1997. This study had four specific purposes as follows. First. to find out the utilization of medical services. Second, to estimate the time of early discharge and income increasing effect based on early discharge for those patients. Third, to identify the factors affecting total medical expenditure and the length of stay for those inpatients. Forth, to figure out the need of utilizing home health care nursing service for accident patients. In order to analyze the length of stay and medical expenditure for inpatients who were hospitalized due to car accidents, the authors conducted micro- and macro-analysis of medical and medical expenditure records. Micro-analysis was done by nominal group discussion of 4 expertise with the critical criteria, such as a decrease in the amount of treatment after surgery, treatments, tests, drugs and changes in the test consistency, drug methods, vital signs, start of ROM exercise, doctor's order, patient's outside visiting ability, and stable conditions. In addition to identifying variables affecting medical expenditure, and the length of stay and income effect due to early discharge day, the data was analyzed with a multiple regression analysis and linear regression analysis model by SPSS-PC for windows and Excell program. Results of this study were as follows. First. the mean length of stay was 50.3 days. whereas the mean length of stay due to early discharge was 34.3 days at the hospital. The estimation of time of early discharge depended on the length of stay. The longer the length of stay, the longer the length of time of early discharge : for instance a length of stay under 10 days was estimated as correlating to a mean length of stay of 6.6 days and early discharge of 6.5. The mean length of stay was 217.4 days and the time of early discharge was 110.1 respectively. The mean medical expenditure per day was found to be 169.085 Won and the mean medical expenditure per day showed negative linear trends according to the length of stay at the hospital. The estimation results of the income effect due to being discharged 16 days early was around 2,244,000 won per bed. However. this sum does not represent the real benefits resulting from early discharge, but rather the income increasing amount without considering medical prime cost in the general hospital. Therefore, further analysis is required on the cost containments and benefits as turn over rate per bed as the medical prime costs. The length of stay was most significant and was positive to the total medical expenditure, as expected. Surgery and patient's residential area was also an important variable in explaining medical expenditure. The level of complications was the most significant variable in explaining the length of stay. There was a high level for need a home health care nursing service which further supports early discharge for accident patients. In addition, when the patient was discharged. they needed follow up care for complications suffered during the car accident. $86.8\%$ of discharged patients responded that they needed home health services after early discharge. From these research findings, the following suggestions have been drawn. Strategies on a health care delivery system must be developed in order to focus on the consumer's needs and being planned for 21 century health policy in Korea. Community based intermediate facilities or home health care should be developed for rehabilitation services as a substitute for hospitalization in order to shorten the length of stay would be. A hospital based home health care nursing service. it would be available immediately to utilize by patients who want rehabilitation services as a substitute for hospitalization with the cooperation of car insurance companies.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.113-135
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• 2004

This paper defines appraisal items and weights of the items for the purpose of developing an appraisal instrument that objectively measures employee's effectiveness of knowledge contribution. Deductive research is used for the development of appraisal items and delphi method for the development of weights of the items. In the deductive research the term, "effectiveness of knowledge contribution" is first defined. Then knowledge contribution activities are classified as "dimension of explicit contribution" and " dimension of tacit contribution" due to the characteristics of knowledge. Each dimension is divided again by components. The dimension of explicit contribution is divided according to the content of knowledge, and the dimension of tacit contribution is divided according to the extent of tacitness of knowledge contribution. The total components of dimensions are 7. The dimension of explicit contribution is composed of factual knowledge and procedural knowledge. The factual knowledge is made up of "procedural knowledge outcome" and "other factual knowledge". The procedural knowledge is made up of "procedural knowledge manual" and "lessons-learned procedural knowledge". The dimension of tacit contribution is composed of "agency", "model" and "Q&A". The basic framework for measuring 7 components of knowledge contribution is quantitative and qualitative approach. This paper is premised on the assumption that the outcomes of employee's knowledge contribution activities are recorded in the knowledge management systems in order to evaluate them objectively. The appraisal items are defined as follows: at the dimension of explicit contribution, in quantitative approach, "the upload number" or "performance number", and in qualitative approach, other employee's "referred number" and other employee's "content and format satisfaction evaluation"; at the dimension of tacit contribution, "demanded number of performance" After the development of appraisal items by the deductive method, delphi method was used for the analysis of the weights of the items with the total degree of knowledge contribution, 100. This research does not include the standard marks of the appraisal items. It is because when companies apply this appraisal instrument, they could use their own standard appraisal marks of the appraisal items considering their present situations and companies' goals. Through this almost desert-like research about the appraisal instrument of employee's knowledge contribution effectiveness, it proposes a cornerstone in the research field of appraisal instrument, which provides a standard for employee's knowledge contribution appraisal, and appraisal items that make organizational knowledge to be managed more systemically in business sites.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.15-20
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• 2014

Purpose - In general, researchers try to abide by the code of research ethics, but many of them are not fully aware of plagiarism, unintentionally committing the research misconduct when they write a research paper. This research aims to introduce researchers a clear and easy guideline at a conference, which helps researchers avoid accidental plagiarism by addressing the issue. This research is expected to contribute building a climate and encouraging creative research among scholars. Research design, data, methodology & Results - Plagiarism is considered a sort of research misconduct along with fabrication and falsification. It is defined as an improper usage of another author's ideas, language, process, or results without giving appropriate credit. Plagiarism has nothing to do with examining the truth or accessing value of research data, process, or results. Plagiarism is determined based on whether a research corresponds to widely-used research ethics, containing proper citations. Within academia, plagiarism goes beyond the legal boundary, encompassing any kind of intentional wrongful appropriation of a research, which was created by another researchers. In summary, the definition of plagiarism is to steal other people's creative idea, research model, hypotheses, methods, definition, variables, images, tables and graphs, and use them without reasonable attribution to their true sources. There are various types of plagiarism. Some people assort plagiarism into idea plagiarism, text plagiarism, mosaic plagiarism, and idea distortion. Others view that plagiarism includes uncredited usage of another person's work without appropriate citations, self-plagiarism (using a part of a researcher's own previous research without proper citations), duplicate publication (publishing a researcher's own previous work with a different title), unethical citation (using quoted parts of another person's research without proper citations as if the parts are being cited by the current author). When an author wants to cite a part that was previously drawn from another source the author is supposed to reveal that the part is re-cited. If it is hard to state all the sources the author is allowed to mention the original source only. Today, various disciplines are developing their own measures to address these plagiarism issues, especially duplicate publications, by requiring researchers to clearly reveal true sources when they refer to any other research. Conclusions - Research misconducts including plagiarism have broad and unclear boundaries which allow ambiguous definitions and diverse interpretations. It seems difficult for researchers to have clear understandings of ways to avoid plagiarism and how to cite other's works properly. However, if guidelines are developed to detect and avoid plagiarism considering characteristics of each discipline (For example, social science and natural sciences might be able to have different standards on plagiarism.) and shared among researchers they will likely have a consensus and understanding regarding the issue. Particularly, since duplicate publications has frequently appeared more than plagiarism, academic institutions will need to provide pre-warning and screening in evaluation processes in order to reduce mistakes of researchers and to prevent duplicate publications. What is critical for researchers is to clearly reveal the true sources based on the common citation rules and to only borrow necessary amounts of others' research.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.837-852
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• 2000

Backgrounds : Today, tuberculosis cannot only be cured medically, but also controlled by public health. Despite the overall worldwide decline in tuberculosis, the disease continues to be a significant problem among developing countries and in the slums of large cities in some industrialized countries. Particularly, this communicable disease has come into the public health spotlight because of its resurgence in the 1990's. our country has been operating the Korean National Tuberculosis Control Program since 1962, focusing around public health centers. Therefore, this study aims to compare the effectiveness of tuberculosis control activities, one of the major public health activities in Korea, by producing indexes, such as the yearly registration rate per 100,000 population and treatment compliance of tuberculosis on in small areas (communities). Methods : This work was accomplished by constructing a time-series analytic model using data from "1980~2000: the Yearly Statistical Report" with patient registry data of 234 City. County. District public health centers and by identifying the factors influencing the tuberculosis indexes. Results : The trends of pulmonary tuberculosis positive point prevalence and pulmonary tuberculosis negative point prevalence on X-ray screening have declined steadily, beginning in 1981 and continuing to 1998 by region (city, county, district). Although the tuberculosis mortality rate steadily shows a declining trend by year and region, but Korea still ranks first among 29 OECD countries in 1998, with a tuberculosis mortality rate of 7.1 per 100,000 persons, according to the time-series analysis for fatal diseases. Conclusion : The results of the study will form the fundamental basis of future regional health care planning and the Korean Tuberculosis Surveillance System on 2000. Since the implementation of local autonomy through the Local Health Act of 1995, it has now become vita1 for each city, county, district public health centers to determine its own priorities for relevant health care management, including budget allocation and program goals.