• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.21-35
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• 2023

Expectations surrounding generative AI technology and its profound ramifications are sweeping across various industrial domains. Given the anticipated pivotal role of the startup ecosystem in the utilization and advancement of generative AI technology, it is imperative to cultivate a deeper comprehension of the present state and distinctive attributes characterizing venture capital (VC) investments within this domain. The current investigation delves into South Korea's landscape of VC investment deals and prognosticates the projected VC investments by juxtaposing these against the United States, the frontrunner in the generative AI industry and its associated ecosystem. For analytical purposes, a compilation of 286 investment deals originating from 117 U.S. generative AI startups spanning the period from 2008 to 2023, as well as 144 investment deals from 42 South Korean generative AI startups covering the years 2011 to 2023, was amassed to construct new datasets. The outcomes of this endeavor reveal an upward trajectory in the count of VC investment deals within both the U.S. and South Korea during recent years. Predominantly, these deals have been concentrated within the early-stage investment realm. Noteworthy disparities between the two nations have also come to light. Specifically, in the U.S., in contrast to South Korea, the quantum of recent VC deals has escalated, marking an augmentation ranging from 285% to 488% in the corresponding developmental stage. While the interval between disparate investment stages demonstrated a slight elongation in South Korea relative to the U.S., this discrepancy did not achieve statistical significance. Furthermore, the proportion of VC investments channeled into generative AI enterprises, relative to the aggregate number of deals, exhibited a higher quotient in South Korea compared to the U.S. Upon a comprehensive sectoral breakdown of generative AI, it was discerned that within the U.S., 59.2% of total deals were concentrated in the text and model sectors, whereas in South Korea, 61.9% of deals centered around the video, image, and chat sectors. Through forecasting, the anticipated VC investments in South Korea from 2023 to 2029 were derived via four distinct models, culminating in an estimated average requirement of 3.4 trillion Korean won (ranging from at least 2.408 trillion won to a maximum of 5.919 trillion won). This research bears pragmatic significance as it methodically dissects VC investments within the generative AI domain across both the U.S. and South Korea, culminating in the presentation of an estimated VC investment projection for the latter. Furthermore, its academic significance lies in laying the groundwork for prospective scholarly inquiries by dissecting the current landscape of generative AI VC investments, a sphere that has hitherto remained void of rigorous academic investigation supported by empirical data. Additionally, the study introduces two innovative methodologies for the prediction of VC investment sums. Upon broader integration, application, and refinement of these methodologies within diverse academic explorations, they stand poised to enhance the prognosticative capacity pertaining to VC investment costs.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.157-175
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• 2022

At this moment, a paradigm shift is taking place across all sectors of society for the transition movements to the digital economy. Various movements are taking place in the global agricultural industry to achieve innovative growth using big data which is a key resource of the 4th industrial revolution. Although the government is making various attempts to promote the use of big data, the movement of the agricultural industry as a key player in the use of big data, is still insufficient. Therefore, in this study, effects of performance expectations, effort expectations, social impact, facilitation conditions, based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology(UTAUT), and innovation tendencies on the acceptance intention of big data were analyzed using the economic and practical benefits that can be obtained from the use of big data for agricultural-related companies as moderating variables. 333 questionnaires collected from agricultural-related companies were used for empirical analysis. The analysis results using SPSS v22.0 and Process macro v3.4 were found to have a significant positive (+) effect on the intention to accept big data by effort expectations, social impact, facilitation conditions, and innovation tendencies. However, it was found that the effect of performance expectations on acceptance intention was insignificant, with social impact having the greatest influence on acceptance intention and innovation tendency the least. Moderating effects of economic benefit and practical benefit between effort expectation and acceptance intention, moderating effect of practical benefit between social impact and acceptance intention, and moderating effect of economic benefit and practical benefit between facilitation condition and acceptance intention were found to be significant. On the other hand, it was found that economic benefits and practical benefits did not moderate the magnitude of the influence of performance expectations and innovation tendency on acceptance intention. These results suggest the following implications. First, in order to promote the use of big data by companies, the government needs to establish a policy to support the use of big data tailored to companies. Significant results can only be achieved when corporate members form a correct understanding and consensus on the use of big data. Second, it is necessary to establish and implement a platform specialized for agricultural data which can support standardized linkage between diverse agricultural big data, and support for a unified path for data access. Building such a platform will be able to advance the industry by forming an independent cooperative relationship between companies. Finally, the limitations of this study and follow-up tasks are presented.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.103-117
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• 2022

The recent corporate economy, such as the COVID 19 pandemic that has spread all over the world since the beginning of 2020, the acceleration of the 4th industrial revolution, and supply chain management risks triggered by the US-China conflict and the Ukraine crisis, is more serious than ever before. CEOs who have started and managed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are more concerned than ever about the sustainability of their businesses in this reality. Nevertheless, there were few empirical studies on the factors that influence the intention of SME CEOs to discontinue business. In this study, the perception of the business environment of SMEs (intensity of competition in key business areas, difficulty in manpower management), corporate competency (employee competency, company product or service competitiveness, supply chain and consumer relations, digital competency and technical expertise), and CEO's competency(trust between employees and the CEO, management competency and perceived health status of CEO) on CEO's intention to discontinue business was discussed. As a result of the study, the intensity of competition in the main business field, and the difficulty in manpower management had a positive (+) effect on the intention to discontinue the business, and the employee competency, product (service) competitiveness, digital competency of the company, and the CEO's Health status had a negative (-) effect on intention to discontinue business. The relationship between these influences was found in the order of CEO's health status, product competitiveness, employee competency, digital competency, competitive strength in the main business, and difficulty in manpower management. It was analyzed that supply chain and consumer relations, trust between employees and the CEO, and management capabilities did not significantly affect the intention to discontinue business. On the other hand, business confidence has a mediating effect between the intensity of competition in the main business field, the difficulty in manpower management, product or service competitiveness, digital competency, trust between employees and the CEO, and the management capability and intention to discontinue business was tested. This study had academic significance in that it empirically analyzed factors related to intention to discontinue business targeting small and medium-sized business CEOs. In practice, as it has been found that business environment awareness, corporate competency, managerial competency, and business confidence are factors that influence the intention to discontinue business, if an action ideas that can reinforce this part can be found, SMEs can achieve sustainable growth or it may help CEO find an meaningful exit.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.102-117
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• 2009

This study was carried out to investigate the extent to which benthic environment of Ulsan Bay was disturbed by organic materials and trace metals from the megacity and industrial complex. Field survey for benthic environment and macroinvertebrate community was seasonally conducted from February to November 2006 at nine stations covering the inside and outside of the bay. TOC was on average 1.7% while four (As, Cu, Pb, Zn) out of seven trace metals measured exceeded the Effects Range Low (ERL) in most of the stations. Total number of species sampled was 199 and mean density was 4,578 ind./$m^2$, both of which were greatly dominated by the polychaetes. Dominant species were Aphelochaeta monilaris (22.6%), Ruditapes philippinarum (17.1%), Magelona japonica (12.2%), Lumbrineris longifolia (9.9%) and their distribution was ruled by the difference in the benthic environmental condition of each station. From the multivariate analyses, four stational groups were identified: northern part of the bay, middle and lower part of the bay, the intersection of Taewha River and Gosa stream and outside of the bay. As a result, the community heterogeneity of inner bay was much more greater than that of outer bay. SIMPER analysis showed that four groups were represented by R. philippinarum-Capitella capitata, A. monilaris-Balanoglossus carnosus, Sinocorophium sinensis-Cyathura higoensis and M. japonica-Ampharete arctica, respectively. Spatio-temporal changes of macroinvertebrate communities in Ulsan Bay were closely related to those of depth, mean grain size and organic content, and Zn was also a meaningful factor in that context.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.27-41
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• 2008

Distribution characteristics of phytoplankton community were investigated by HPLC and flow cytometry in Jeju Strait and the Northern East China Sea (NECS) in May 2004, in order to understand the relationship between physical environmental factors and distribution pattern of phytoplankton communities. Based on temperature and salinity data, three distinct water masses were identified; warm and saline Tsushima Warm Current (TWC), which is flowing from northwest of Jeju Island, warm and low saline water at the center of Jeju Strait, which is originated from China Coastal Water (CCW) and relatively cold and high saline water originated from Yellow Sea at the bottom of the Jeju Strait. At Jeju Strait, less saline water (<33 psu) of 15 km width occupied surface layer up to 20 m which located at 20 km offshore and strong thermal front between warm and saline water and cold and less saline water was found in the middle of the Jeju Strait. Vertical transect of temperature and salinity at the NECS also showed that low saline (<33 psu) water occupied the upper 20 m layer and cold and saline water was present at the eastern part. Chl a was measured as $0.06{\sim}3.07\;{\mu}g/L$. Spring bloom of phytoplankton was recognized by the high concentrations of Chl a at the low saline water masses influenced by the CCW and subsurface chlorophyll maximum layer appeared between $20{\sim}30\;m$ depth, which was at thermocline depth or below. Abundances of Synechococcus and picoeukaryote were $0.2{\sim}9.5{\times}10^4\;cells/mL$ and $0.43{\sim}4.3{\times}10^4\;cells/mL$, respectively. Dinoflagellate, diatom and prymnesiophyte were major groups and minor groups were chlorophyte+prasinophyte, chrysophyte, cryptophyte and cyanophyte. Especially high abundance of dinoflagellate was identified by high concentration (>1\;{\mu}g/L$) of peridinin at the bottom of the thermocline, which showed an outbreak of red tide by high density of dinoflagellates. Abundances of picoeukaryote in Jeju Strait were about $5{\sim}10$ times higher than abundance measured in Kuroshio water and showed a good correlation with Chl b (Pras+Viola), which implies the most of population of picoeukaryote was composed of prasinophytes. Prochlorococcus was not detected at all, which suggests that Kuroshio Current did not directly influenced on the study area. Based on the strong negative correlations between biomass of phytoplankton (Chl a) and temperature+salinity, the primary production and biomass of phytoplankton in the study area were controlled by the nutrients supply from CCW.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2008

As an aquatic ecotoxicity test method, a bioassay using the inhibition of sporualtion of the green macroalga, Ulva pertusa, has been developed. Optimal test conditions determined for photon irradiance, pH, salinity and temperature were $100\;{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, $7{\sim}9$, $25{\sim}35\;psu$ and $15{\sim}20^{\circ}C$, respectively. The validity of the test endpoint was evaluated by assessing the toxicity of four metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) and elutriates of sewage or waste sludge collected from 9 different locations. When the metals were assayed, the $EC_{50}$ values indicated the following toxicity rankings: Cu ($0.062\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) > Cd ($0.208\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) > Pb ($0.718\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) > Zn ($0.776\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$). When compared with other commonly used bioassays of metal pollution listed on US ECOTOX database, the sporualtion test proved to be the most sensitive. Ulva sporulation was significantly inhibited in all elutriates with the greatest and least effects observed in elutriates of sludge from industrial waste ($EC_{50}=6.78%$) and filtration bed ($EC_{50}=15.0%$), respectively. The results of the Spearman rank correlation analysis for $EC_{50}$ data versus the concentrations of toxicants in the sludge presented a significant correlation between toxicity and four heavy metals(Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn). The method described here is sensitive to toxicants, simple to use, easy to interpret and economical. It is also easy to procure samples and maintain cultures. The present method would therefore probably make a useful assessment of aquatic toxicity of a wide range of toxicants. In addition, the genus Ulva has a wide geographical distribution and species have similar reproductive processes, so the test method would have a potential application worldwide.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.305-314
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• 2007

We studied spatial and temporal distributions of the phytoplankton and their relationships to physico-chemical environmental factors in the western Jinhae Bay, Korea from November 2003 to August 2004. In most cases, physico-chemical environmental factors showed homogeneous distribution. The phytoplankton communities were composed of mainly diatoms and dinoflagellates, and their standing crops ranged from $16{\times}10^3\;cells\;l^{-1}\;to\;5,845{\times}10^3\;cells\;l^{-1}$ (with a mean value of $555{\times}10^3\;cells\;l^{-1}$). The bloom of phytoplankton was observed in Gohyun Port in the summer. Seasonal variation of phytoplankton standing crops was higher in winter and summer than in spring and autumn. The dominant species were Skeletonema costatum, Akashiwo sanguinea, Pseudo-nitzschia pungens, Dactyliosolen sp., Leptocylindrus danicus, cryptomonads and etc. Especially, S. costatum was predominant in the summer and A. sanguinea (spring and autumn), Pseudo-nitzschia sp. (summer), Guinardia striata (spring), unidentified flagellates (summer) and cryptomonads (spring) appeared to be an opportunistic species. Concentrations of Chl a ranged from $0.6{\mu}g{\cdot}l^{-1}\;to\;16.7{\mu}g{\cdot}l^{-1}$ (with a mean value of $3.4{\mu}g{\cdot}l^{-1}$). The results of the canonical correspondence analysis implies the study area was grouped into the 2 water masses (inner and outer waters of Gohyun Port) and inner waters had higher abundance and Chl a concentration than outer waters. Also, phytoplankton sanding crops were related with temperature, DO and nutrients ($SiO^2$, TN, TP and etc.) in inner waters. Inner water-mass of Gohyun Port expanded between Gacho Is. and Chilchon Is. during the winter.

• Clean Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.134-144
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• 2024

In this study, the mechanical stability of red mud was improved for its commercial use as a catalyst to effectively decompose HFC-134a, one of the seven major greenhouse gases. Red mud is an industrial waste discharged from aluminum production, but it can be used for the decomposition of HFC-134a. Red mud can be manufactured into a catalyst via the crushing-preparative-compression molding-firing process, and it is possible to improve the catalyst performance and secure mechanical stability through calcination. In order to determine the optimal heat treatment conditions, pellet-shaped compressed red mud samples were calcined at 300, 600, 800 ℃ using a muffle furnace for 5 hours. The mechanical stability was confirmed by the weight loss rate before and after ultra-sonication after the catalyst was immersed in distilled water. The catalyst calcined at 800 ℃ (RM 800) was found to have the best mechanical stability as well as the most catalytic activity. The catalyst performance and durability tests that were performed for 100 hours using the RM 800 catalyst showed thatmore than 99% of 1 mol% HFC-134a was degraded at 650 ℃, and no degradation in catalytic activity was observed. XRD analysis showed tri-calcium aluminate and gehlenite crystalline phases, which enhance mechanical strength and catalytic activity due to the interaction of Ca, Si, and Al after heat treatment at 800 ℃. SEM/EDS analysis of the durability tested catalysts showed no losses in active substances or shape changes due to HFC-134a abasement. Through this research, it is expected that red mud can be commercialized as a catalyst for waste refrigerant treatment due to its high economic feasibility, high decomposition efficiency and mechanical stability.

• Journal of Service Research and Studies
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.82-100
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• 2024

Due to the intensifying global technological competition, the strategic and economic importance of intellectual property such as patents as intangible assets is increasing. The purpose of this study is to understand the current status of patent innovation in the service industry and to derive the characteristics and implications of patent innovation in the service industry. To this end, this study conducted an investigation and analysis to understand the characteristics of patent innovation in the service industry based on the data from the business activity survey. The proportion of patent companies in the service industry, characteristics of each service industry, proportion of each service industry, and the number of patent rights holdings were analyzed. In addition, the trend of patent changes in the service industry was investigated. The service industry was compared and analyzed with other industries based on the results of the analysis of patent innovation in the service industry. In particular, the service industry was divided into four types in terms of the rate of increase in the proportion of patent companies and the ratio of patent holing companies, and the types were derived. Based on the analysis results, the characteristics of patent innovation in the service industry were presented. As a result of the study, the proportion of patent holding companies in the service industry was lower than that of other industries, and the gap with other industries was widening, showing that the patent innovation of service companies is lower than that of other industries. The average number of patents held by service industry companies was lower than that of other industries, and the increase rate of the number of patent rights held was also lower than that of other industries, widening the gap. Patent innovation in the service industry can be divided into four quadrants in terms of the rate of increase in the proportion of patent holding companies and the proportion of patent holding companies, and it has been studied that the service industry needs policy support suitable for the characteristics of patent innovation in the quadrant to which the individual service industry belongs.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.99-107
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• 2024

Along with economic growth and industrial development, there is an increasing demand for various electronic components and device production of semiconductor, SMT component, and electrical battery products. However, these products may contain foreign substances coming from manufacturing process such as iron, aluminum, plastic and so on, which could lead to serious problems or malfunctioning of the product, and fire on the electric vehicle. To solve these problems, it is necessary to determine whether there are foreign materials inside the product, and may tests have been done by means of non-destructive testing methodology such as ultrasound ot X-ray. Nevertheless, there are technical challenges and limitation in acquiring X-ray images and determining the presence of foreign materials. In particular Small-sized or low-density foreign materials may not be visible even when X-ray equipment is used, and noise can also make it difficult to detect foreign objects. Moreover, in order to meet the manufacturing speed requirement, the x-ray acquisition time should be reduced, which can result in the very low signal- to-noise ratio(SNR) lowering the foreign material detection accuracy. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a five-step approach to overcome the limitations of low resolution, which make it challenging to detect foreign substances. Firstly, global contrast of X-ray images are increased through histogram stretching methodology. Second, to strengthen the high frequency signal and local contrast, we applied local contrast enhancement technique. Third, to improve the edge clearness, Unsharp masking is applied to enhance edges, making objects more visible. Forth, the super-resolution method of the Residual Dense Block (RDB) is used for noise reduction and image enhancement. Last, the Yolov5 algorithm is employed to train and detect foreign objects after learning. Using the proposed method in this study, experimental results show an improvement of more than 10% in performance metrics such as precision compared to low-density images.