• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2022

Six Sigma is a philosophy and systematic methodology for quality improvement. It encourages continuous quality improvement efforts to achieve the ideal goal of 6σ. Sigma(σ) is a statistic representing the standard deviation of the normal distribution, and 6σ level means a level where the tolerance of the specification is six times the standard deviation of the process distribution. In terms of the defective rate, the 6σ level achieves the 0.002 defectives per one million units. However, in the field, the 6σ level is used in the sense of achieving 3.4 defects per one million opportunities, which shows a large gap from the 6σ level in the statistical viewpoint. This is because field practitioners accept a 1.5σ shift of the mean of process when calculating the defective rate under sigma level. It said that the acceptance of 1.5σ shift of the mean is from experience, but there is no research or theoretical explanation to support it logically. Although it is a non-scientific explanation based on experience, considering that there has been no objection to the 1.5σ shift for a long time and it is rather accepted, it is judged that there is a reasonable basis for the 1.5σ shift. Therefore, this study tries to find a reasonable explanation through detective power of control chart via the run-rules to the 1.5σ shift empirically recognized by practitioners.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.240-248
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• 2015

Background: Recovery from fatigue is important in maintaining night workers' health. This study compared the course of self-reported recovery after 2-week 12-hour schedules consisting of either night shifts or swing shifts (i.e., 7 night shifts followed by 7 day shifts) to such schedules consisting of only day work. Methods: Sixty-one male offshore employees-20 night workers, 16 swing shift workers, and 25 day workers-rated six questions on fatigue (sleep quality, feeling rested, physical and mental fatigue, and energy levels; scale 1-11) for 14 days after an offshore tour. After the two night-work schedules, differences on the $1^{st}$ day (main effects) and differences during the follow-up (interaction effects) were compared to day work with generalized estimating equations analysis. Results: After adjustment for confounders, significant main effects were found for sleep quality for night workers (1.41, 95% confidence interval 1.05-1.89) and swing shift workers (1.42, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.94) when compared to day workers; their interaction terms were not statistically significant. For the remaining fatigue outcomes, no statistically significant main or interaction effects were found. Conclusion: After 2-week 12-hour night and swing shifts, only the course for sleep quality differed from that of day work. Sleep quality was poorer for night and swing shift workers on the $1^{st}$ day off and remained poorer for the 14-day follow-up. This showed that while working at night had no effect on feeling rested, tiredness, and energy levels, it had a relatively long-lasting effect on sleep quality.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.49-57
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the meaning of job experiences of fixed night shift nurses participating in a pilot project by a tertiary hospital, and to provide basic information for improving their night shift working environment. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted using individual interviews in September 2022. Three female nurses who worked fixed night shifts were recruited from a tertiary hospital. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: By analyzing the meaning of job experience as a fixed night shift nurse, four categories and nine subcategories were identified. The four categories of job experience of fixed night shift nurses were: expecting an improvement physical health due to predictable working hours, enjoying leisure time due to long off-duty hours, regretting for loosened relationships, and considering a successful settlement of fixed night shift nursing. Conclusion: As night shift work is essential for nurses to provide continuous nursing to patients, it is necessary to develop various strategies to improve the physical health of night shift nurses through fatigue management and good sleep quality, mental health through work-life harmony, and social health through intimate relationships between patients and coworkers.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.646-657
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the quality of sleep in novice and experienced shift work nurses and compare the factors associated with their quality of sleep. Methods: We analyzed the data of 192 and 256 novice and experienced nurses, respectively. The quality of sleep, sleep hygiene, job stress, and fatigue were measured using Insomnia Severity Index, Sleep Hygiene Practice Scale, the Korean Occupational Stress Scale, and Fatigue Severity Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 to calculate descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Results: Sleep quality was lower in experienced nurses (12.55 ± 5.71) than in novice nurses (11.18 ± 5.78). Fatigue was more severe in experienced nurses (4.47 ± 1.13) than in novice nurses (4.23 ± 1.12). In the logistic regression, factors related to sleep quality in novice nurses were sleep hygiene (odds ratio; OR = 1.06, p < .001) and fatigue (OR = 2.49, p < .001). Factors related to sleep quality in the experienced nurses were also sleep hygiene (OR = 1.04, p = .001) and fatigue (OR = 1.53, p = .012). Conclusion: Sleep quality of experienced nurses is lower than those of novice nurses. Factors associated with sleep quality in novice and experienced nurses are equally identified as sleep hygiene and fatigue. Therefore, personal efforts to improve sleep hygiene, such as providing comfortable sleep environment, are needed. Furthermore, organized efforts to decrease fatigue, such as constructing a working environment with a bright light at night and providing a fatigue-decreasing program that includes meditation, are required.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.539-547
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• 2018

Grid-connected inverter is required to cut off the power supplied to the grid at the islanding condition, immediately. For this reason, an islanding detection is an indispensable function for grid-connected distributed generation system. Slip-Mode frequency Shift (SMS) islanding detection method is very popular method to determine the grid state. SMS method supplies the reactive power to the load according to the grid frequency. In the islanding condition of grid, this injected reactive power pulls out the grid frequency from the allowable range, then the inverter system can detect the islanding condition of the grid. The SMS method can detect the islanding state well and does not generate any harmonics of the grid current. However, the reactive power would be generated and the power quality is reduced even though the grid is not islanding condition, but normal condition. In this paper, a modified SMS method is proposed to remove the reactive power in the normal condition. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by 600W single phase inverter experimental results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.263-266
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• 2001

The performance of the powertrain can be analyzed using dynamic models including transient characteristics, and the equations of motion can also be derived from the dynamic models of the powertrain. In this study, the shift transient characteristics of the vehicle equipped with Ravigneaux type planetary gears automatic transmission has been investigated.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2021

Objectives : Shift work has been known to cause various health problems by making it difficult for humans to adapt to their natural circadian rhythms. In particular, shift workers tend to complain of sleep difficulties associated with work schedules, and sometimes use alcohol as a self-medication to induce sleep. To date, no clear mechanism has been identified regarding the link between shift work and sleep, between shift work and drinking. This study aims to confirm the relationship between shift work and sleep, and to analyze whether the change in sleep caused by shift work causes drinking. Methods : This study included 11360 people (5704 men and 5656 women) among the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey data in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The work type between 6am-6pm was defined as day work, and other work types were defined as shift work. Using logistic regression analysis, the relationship between shift work and sleep quality, shift work and high risk drinking, drinking amount at 1 time, drinking frequency were analyzed. In addition, we analyzed whether sleep mediates the relationship between shift work and drinking using mediated analysis. Results : Shift work showed a significant negative relationship with sleep quality in men and women (male OR=1.37, 95% CI 1.11-1.70, female OR=1.26, 95% CI=1.05-1.50). There was no significant relationship between shift work and alcohol in the case of men, but in the case of women, there was a significant positive relationship between shift work and the number of alcohol consumption (OR=1.34, 95% CI=1.04-1.72). When mediation analysis was conducted, it was found that women's sleep quality partially mediated the relationship between shift work and the frequency of drinking. Conclusions : The results of this study suggest that shift work causes sleep difficulties, and in the case of women, drinking can be induced through the partial mediating effect of sleep. Considering that women are more likely to choose drinking as a coping method for sleep problems, more active interventions for female shift workers are needed.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.32-48
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• 1994

This paper proposes the compensation algorithm of conventional shift pattern using fuzzy reasoning in automatic transmission vehicles. Recently, automatic transimssion vehicles are continually increasing because of theire ease to drive. Also users require the high performance which includes the smooth shift quality and shift scheduling that matches driver;s intentions. So the shift scheduling has been inproved significantly through the application of electronic control. But, in spite of this development, vehicles using conventional shift pattern are sometimes in discord with driver's intention on roads. In this paper, the paper, the proposed compensation algorithm makes a automatic transmission vehicle be able to select an optimal gear shifting time and position using fuzzy reasoning and make a vehicle driver feel confortable even when the vehicle runs on roads which is extremely changed. Therefore, a vehicle driver can expect to reduce the nimber of unnecessary gear shifting and expect the fuel efficiency high. To show usefulness of the proposed method, some simulation are made to compared with conventional gear shifting. Paper prosposes the compensation mehtod of conventional shift pattern using fuzzy reasoning for the purpose that a vehicle can select an optimal gerar shifting time and position in automatic vehicle. Though the conventional shift pattern has no pliability, vehicle driver can feel comfortable and can reduce the number of unnecessary gear shifting using the proposed method on variable road condition. Therefore, it can be expected the fuel efficiency.

• International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.8-12
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to review the possible effect of the learning paradigm shift from traditional method to ubiquitous learning. What are the societal issues that need to be address in order to design a new pedagogical platform trending from e-learning to m-learning and now the u-learning? That without the proper study of how learning environment may affect the learning process of an individual will lead to poor quality of education. This new era of learning environment offer a big opportunity for "anytime, anywhere" learning. Thus, Lifelong learning is at hand of everyone. Maximizing the benefit of new trend will be a great help and addressing the limitations will lead to quality education.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.95-104
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• 1997

We consider controller design problem to enhance shift quality for automatic transmission. A dynamic modeling related to shifting (mainly 2-3 up-shift) is constructed and nonlinear robust controllers are designed to reduce output torque during shifting. Suggesting a new hydraulic circuit enabling the direct clutch drive, the control activity is extended and more implementable than the conventional design. The designed robust controllers overcome the unmodeled dynamics and the uncertainty embending in the system. Moreover, the dynamic effect between the clutch pressure and the PWM valve duty is considered via singular perturbation technique.