• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.21-39
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• 2013

As the utilization of information technology and the turbulence of technological change increase in organizations, the adoption of IT outsourcing also grows to manage IT resource more effectively and efficiently. In this new way of IT management technique, service level management(SLM) process becomes critical to derive success from the outsourcing in the view of end users in organization. Even though much of the research on service level management or agreement have been done during last decades, the performance of the service level management process have not been evaluated in terms of final objectives of the management efforts or success from the view of end-users. This study explores the relationship between SLM maturity and IT outsourcing success from the users' point of view by a analytical case study in four client organizations under an IT outsourcing vendor, which is a member company of a major Korean conglomerate. For setting up a model for the analysis, previous researches on service level management process maturity and information systems success are reviewed. In particular, information systems success from users' point of view are reviewed based the DeLone and McLean's study, which is argued and accepted as a comprehensively tested model of information systems success currently. The model proposed in this study argues that SLM process maturity influences information systems success, which is evaluated in terms of information quality, systems quality, service quality, and net effect proposed by DeLone and McLean. SLM process maturity can be measured in planning process, implementation process and operation and evaluation process. Instruments for measuring the factors in the proposed constructs of information systems success and SL management process maturity were collected from previous researches and evaluated for securing reliability and validity, utilizing appropriate statistical methods and pilot tests before exploring the case study. Four cases from four different companies under one vendor company were utilized for the analysis. All of the cases had been contracted in SLA(Service Level Agreement) and had implemented ITIL(IT Infrastructure Library), Six Sigma and BSC(Balanced Scored Card) methods since last several years, which means that all the client organizations pursued concerted efforts to acquire quality services from IT outsourcing from the organization and users' point of view. For comparing the differences among the four organizations in IT out-sourcing sucess, T-test and non-parametric analysis have been applied on the data set collected from the organization using survey instruments. The process maturities of planning and implementation phases of SLM are found not to influence on any dimensions of information systems success from users' point of view. It was found that the SLM maturity in the phase of operations and evaluation could influence systems quality only from users' view. This result seems to be quite against the arguments in IT outsourcing practices in the fields, which emphasize usually the importance of planning and implementation processes upfront in IT outsourcing projects. According to after-the-fact observation by an expert in an organization participating in the study, their needs and motivations for outsourcing contracts had been quite familiar already to the vendors as long-term partners under a same conglomerate, so that the maturity in the phases of planning and implementation seems not to be differentiating factors for the success of IT outsourcing. This study will be the foundation for the future research in the area of IT outsourcing management and success, in particular in the service level management. And also, it could guide managers in practice in IT outsourcing management to focus on service level management process in operation and evaluation stage especially for long-term outsourcing contracts under very unique context like Korean IT outsourcing projects. This study has some limitations in generalization because the sample size is small and the context itself is confined in an unique environment. For future exploration, survey based research could be designed and implemented.

• Journal of KIISE:Computing Practices and Letters
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.637-648
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• 2009

As the cost of disks decreases, PCs are soon expected to be equipped with a disk of 1TB or more. Assuming that a single person generates 1GB of data per month, 1TB is enough to store data for the entire lifetime of a person. This has lead to the growth of researches on lifelog management, which manages what people see and listen to in everyday life. Although many different lifelog management systems have been proposed, including those based on the relational data model, based on ontology, and based on file systems, they have all advantages and disadvantages: Those based on the relational data model provide good query processing performance but they do not support complex queries properly; Those based on ontology handle more complex queries but their performances are not satisfactory: Those based on file systems support only keyword queries. Moreover, these systems are lack of support for lifelog group management and do not provide a convenient user interface for modifying and adding tags (metadata) to lifelogs for effective lifelog search. To address these problems, we propose a lifelog management system based on the relational data model. The proposed system models lifelogs by using the relational data model and transforms queries on lifelogs into SQL statements, which results in good query processing performance. It also supports a simplified relationship query that finds a lifelog based on other lifelogs directly related to it, to overcome the disadvantage of not supporting complex queries properly. In addition, the proposed system supports for the management of lifelog groups by providing ways to create, edit, search, play, and share them. Finally, it is equipped with a tagging tool that helps the user to modify and add tags conveniently through the ion of various tags. This paper describes the design and implementation of the proposed system and its various applications.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.74-81
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• 2018

Objectives: Insomnia is one of the major concerns in the elderly population. Cognitive behavioral treatment for insomnia is the first line treatment option, but there are some limitations including time and cost burdens and the requirement for sufficient cognitive resources to obtain a proper treatment effect. The Brief intervention for insomnia (BII) is a treatment that focuses on behavioral aspects of insomnia in primary care practices. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of BII in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A total of 47 older adults with insomnia were enrolled from community centers between May 2016 and January 2018. They participated in the BII program for three weeks. We gathered sleep-related participant information with using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), the Sleep hygiene index, and a sleep diary. Clinical efficacy was evaluated by comparing total sleep time (TST), sleep latency (SL), waking after sleep onset (WASO), and sleep efficiency (SE) before and after the treatment. Results: There was significant improvement in sleep-related features after BII. Global score and sleep quality from the PSQI, freshness, and WASO from the sleep diary showed statistically significant improvement. Conclusion: We found BII showed positive clinical efficacy in community dwelling older adults, especially from the perspective of subjective sleep quality and WASO. This finding implies that BII can be effectively applied for the managment of elderly insomnia patients in a community setting.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.44-67
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• 2016

This article studied the character of Bogamri group and trends in the surrounding area through recently excavated stone chambers. The first type of stone chamber constructed at Bogamni cemetry was Northen Kyushu style stone chamber tomb with corridor. However, According to recent survey Wa style vertical stone lined tomb had constructed earlier than these stone chamber along the southwest cost. It is likely that the background of these Wa style stone tomb was the beginning of formal diplomatic relations between Baekje and Wa. At first, grave goods as well as burial had been Wa style, but gradually local burial element and mortuary practices added. And large tomb had beginning to appear. The representative tombs are Yeongam Okyari Jangdong tomb and Naju Gaheugni Shinhueng tomb. They were built in the middle of the fifth century. It is most likely that the location was selected with regard to the use or securing of inland waterway. But the next step, Yeongsangang river style stone chamber with corridor had constructed at Jeongchon tomb. That tomb is very close to Bogamni tombs and structure and grave goods are very similar also. So these two groups were considered to be the same community. Hereby, It is believed that the inland waterway using power had been turned over to Bogamni group. Bogamni group had constantly constructed stone chamber until seventh century. This represent that Bogamni group had thrived as a leading force in the Yeongsangang river basin. After under the direct control of Baekje, Bogamni group had continued the close relationship with Wa. For this reason, Bogamni group had influenced southwest cost as well as Yeongsangang river basin. It can be estimated by the Bogamni style stone chamber founded at islands of Shinan.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.268-286
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• 2018

The eutrophication and algal blooms by harmful cyanobacteria (CyanoHAs) and freshwater redtide (FRT) that severely experiencing in typical regulated weir system of the Nakdong River are one of the most rapidly expanding water quality problems in Korea and worldwide. To compare with the factors of rainfall, hydrology, and dominant algae, this study explored spatiotemporal variability of the major water environmental factors by weekly intervals in eight weir pools of the Nakdong River from January 2013 to July 2017. There was a distinct difference in rainfall distribution between upstream and downstream regions. Outflow discharge using small-scale hydropower generation, overflow and fish-ways accounted for 37.4%, 60.1% and 2.5%, respectively. Excluding the flood season, the outflow was mainly due to the hydropower release through year-round. These have been associated with the drawdown of water level, water exchange rate, and the significant impact on change of dominant algae. The mean concentration (maximum value) of chlorophyll-a was $17.6mg\;m^{-3}$ ($98.2mg\;m^{-3}$) in the SAJ~GAJ and $29.6mg\;m^{-3}$ ($193.6mg\;m^{-3}$) in the DAS~HAA weir pools reaches, respectively. It has increased significantly in the downstream part where the influence of treated wastewater effluents (TWEs) is high. Indeed, very high values (>50 or $>100mg\;m^{-3}$) of chlorophyll-a concentration were observed at low flow rates and water levels. Algal assemblages that caused the blooms of CyanoHAs and FRT were the cyanobacteria Microcystis and the diatom Stephanodiscus populations, respectively. In conclusion, appropriate hydrological management practices in terms of each weir pool may need to be developed.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.513-521
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness and complications of an ultrasound-guided axillary brachial plexus block performed by orthopedic surgeons. Materials and Methods: From March to May 2017, an ultrasound-guided axillary brachial plexus block was performed on a total of 103 cases of surgery. A VF13-5 transducer from Siemens Acuson X300 was used. The surgical site was included in the range of the anatomic sensory distribution of the blocked nerve, except for the case where an operation time of more than 2 hours was expected due to multiple injuries and the operation of the upper arm. The procedure was performed by 2 orthopedic surgeons in the same method using 50 ml of solution (20 ml of lidocaine HCl in 2%, 20 ml of ropivacaine in 0.75%, 10 ml of normal saline in 0.9%). The success rate of anesthesia induction during surgery, anesthetic induction time, anatomical range of operation, duration of postoperative analgesia and complications were investigated. Results: The results from the 2 practices were similar. The anesthesia was successful in 100 out of 103 patients (97.1%). In these patients, the average needling time was 5.5 minutes (2.5-13.2 minutes), the average induction time to complete anesthesia was 18.4 minutes (5-40 minutes), and the average duration of postoperative analgesia was 402.8 minutes (141-540 minutes). The post-anesthesia immediate complications were dizziness in 1 case, nausea and vomiting in 4 cases, and peri-oral numbness in 2 cases, but surgery was performed without problems. All these 7 cases with complications recovered on the same day. A total of 3 cases failed with anesthesia, and they were treated by an injection with local anesthesia in the operation room in 2 cases and switched to general anesthesia in 1 case. Conclusion: An ultrasound-guided axillary brachial plexus block, which was performed by orthopedic surgeons allows anesthesia in a brief period and the high success rates of anesthesia for certain surgeries of the elbow and surgeries on forearm, wrist and hand. Therefore, it can reduce the waiting time to the operating room. This technique is a relatively safe procedure and dose selective anesthesia is possible.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.398-411
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• 2021

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate food and nutrition information utilization practices of adults aged between 20 and 30 years to provide the basic data for developing customized content. Methods: Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS program (ver. 24.0) for the 𝛘²-test, t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Duncan's multiple range test. Results: Of the 570 subjects surveyed, 45.4% were men, 54.6% were women, 66.3% were in their 20s, 33.7% were in their 30s, 41.4% were single-person households, and 58.6% lived with their families. On average, 14.2% of televisions (TVs), 26.0% of personal computers (PCs), and 63.7% of smartphones were used for more than three hours per day. 30.9% of respondents searched for food and nutrition information more than once a week. 70.0% of the respondents had then applied the information in real life and 54.7% of the respondents said they would share information with others. Information retrieval rate was in the order of 'restaurant (64.8%)', 'diet (57.5%)', and 'food recipes (55.7%)'. Overall satisfaction with food and nutrition information averaged 3.33 on a five-point scale. Satisfaction score was in the order of 'enough description and easy to understand (3.43)', 'matching title and content (3.35)', and 'providing new and novel information (3.22)'. Satisfaction scores were significantly higher in the group that searched for information (p < 0.001), the group that used the retrieved information in real life (p < 0.001), and the group that conveyed this information to others (p < 0.001). Conclusion: To improve information user satisfaction, it is necessary to provide customized information that fits the characteristics of information users. For this purpose, it is necessary to continuously conduct surveys and satisfaction evaluations for each target group.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.35
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• pp.359-392
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• 2020

In this paper, we examined the development of Chinese Taoist architecture, its cultural implications, and comprehensively summarized the core principles of the Taoist ecological ideas that are reflected in Taoist architecture. This is a groundwork for exploring an ideological model for sustainable ecological architecture in modern cities. Taoist architecture has a long history that has led to changes, developments, and a gradual maturation. Zhi (治), Lu (廬), and Jing (靖), were the first architectural forms of the early Taoist body. These formed the basis for the future development of Taoist Courts (宮觀). The state-sponsored government-run Taoist Courts established from the time of the North and South Dynasties to the time of Tang Dynasty led to a constant standardization of the rites, and these Courts gradually became more and more formalized. Since the establishment of Quanzhenjiao (全眞敎) in the early 12th century, a movement that emphasized putiy training, architecture for the ascetic practice emerged in remote natural spaces suitable for strict ascetic practices. Meanwhile, in Taoist architecture, the type and structure of buildings were strengthened in order to worship various gods. The various Taoist Courts established through this historical process embody the elements, institutions, and ecological ideas of Taoist culture. Taoist architecture basically pursued the idealism of Paradise in a Deep Cave (洞天福地) and adopted a feng-shui theory of using natural terrain artfully in selecting a place and building a layout. This was reflected through their ecology. Meanwhile, Taoist architecture does not destroy the balance of nature by emphasizing the utilization of local natural resources whenever possible while selecting building materials according to the principles of yinyang and the five movements (陰陽五行). In addition, Taoism aims to select simple places for practising asceticism and ancestral rituals whenever possible because of the need to maintain a simple mind, suppress desire, and return to a state of purity. This attitude is an indication of a kind of simple ecological ideas and value of frugality easily found in Taoism. The ecological ideas of Taoism provide abundant resources for considering solutions to the ecological crisis that arises in the creation of residential environments. Through the ecological ideas of Taoism, we can find a direction to understand the relationship between human beings and nature while creating new, sustainable residential environments.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.481-495
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• 2022

This study was designed to identify the actual state of naturalized plants and invasive alien species that cause disturbances to the ecosystem, plants which are introduced after forest restoration, and explore the implications resulting from the project. Onsite examination included 29 sites which have been subjected to forest restoration by the Korea Forest Service. Once these were chosen, activity took place twice a year in the spring (May-June) and in the summer (August-September) in 2020 and 2021. Areas not relevant to the project sites were excluded from this activity so that we could identify the plants that could be understood to have been introduced or brought into the site after the actual forest restoration. And the correlation was analyzed, between the naturalized flora within the project sites and the working types applied to the site through confirmation of completion of the restoration project. The naturalized plants appearing on the entire site cover a total of 109 taxa, which includes 29 families, 80 genera, 108 species and 1 subspecies, while invasive plants included 3 families, 7 genera and 8 species. The number of classifications and the naturalization rate gradually decreased over time, after the project. While there was no significant difference between the number of classification groups and the naturalization rate for naturalized plants between project sites, given the number of taxa of naturalized plants, organized by type of damage, there were relatively more naturalized plants that appeared in the severed section of the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range, as well as at quarry and facility sites. Seeding apparently results in naturalization rates as high as 15.545%, on average, based on comparisons of naturalization rates by sowing, seeding, planting, herb planting, and sod pitching channels, all of these being methods of vegetation for planting/greening of bareland and slopes within the project areas. With no seeding, it was 9.167%, higher than the average. As for other vegetation, there was no significant difference depending on application of the working type. This means that unlike the plants subjected to planting, the working type of seed planting which makes it difficult to identify whether a certain plant is a naturalized plant greatly affects the introduction of naturalized plants to the restoration sites, even when using herb planting and sod pitching to control plants and results. Therefore the study suggests that there be inspection by experts of seeds when sowing within restoration sites. The results of this study suggest good practices that will help to direct effective vegetation restoration and follow-up management.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.126-142
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• 2022

Background: Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare, and information regarding their surgical outcomes and prognostic factors has rapidly changed in the past few decades. We analyzed surgical treatment practices for TETs and outcomes in terms of overall survival (OS) and freedom from recurrence (FFR) during a 13-year period in Korea. Methods: In total, 1,298 patients with surgically resected TETs between 2000 and 2013 were enrolled retrospectively. OS and FFR were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and evaluated with the log-rank test. Prognostic factors for OS and FFR were analyzed with multivariable Cox regression. Results: A total of 1,098 patients were diagnosed with thymoma, and 200 patients were diagnosed with thymic carcinoma. Over the study period, the total number of patients with surgically treated TETs and the proportion of patients who underwent minimally invasive thymic surgery (MITS) increased annually. The 5-year and 10-year survival rates of surgically treated TETs were 91.0% and 82.1%, respectively. The 5-year and 10-year recurrence rates were 86.3% and 80.0%, respectively. The outcomes of surgically treated TETs improved over time. Multivariable Cox hazards analysis for OS, age, tumor size, and Masaoka-Koga stage were independent predictors of prognosis. The World Health Organization classification and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging were also related to the prognosis of TETs. Conclusion: Surgical treatment of TETs achieved a good prognosis with a recent increase in MITS. The M-K stage was the most important prognostic factor for OS and FFR. The new TNM stage could also be an effective predictor of the outcomes of TETs.