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Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Reporting Quality: Evidence from Korean Retail Industry
No full textPurpose – We investigate whether a firm’s engagement in socially responsible activity affects the quality of financial reporting within the retail industry of Korean market. Recent studies argue that more socially responsible firms tend to show a better quality of financial reporting. Research design, data, and methodology – We use a variety of proxy variables related to the use of discretionary accruals and real activity manipulation to measure the quality of financial reporting. The total of environmental, social and governance score is used to represent the degree of socially responsible activity in the retail industry. We use regression models to examine whether more socially responsible firms show a higher quality of financial reporting. The sample of publicly traded Korea retail firms is analyzed from 2011 to 2016. Results – Our analysis finds supporting evidence for limited earning management via the use of discretionary accruals. We find, however, no significant relationship between the degree of social responsibility and the quality of financial reporting within chaebol affiliates unlike non-chaebol affiliates. Conclusions – Our results weakly support a better quality of financial reporting for more socially responsible firms. The results highlight the importance of firm characteristics in deciding the effect of socially responsible activity on corporate policies.This research was supported by Korea National Open University Research Fund(201800480001
A case of acute organic solvent poisoning during epoxy coating
No full textBackground
In the construction industry, maintaining health and safety of workers often challenging. Among the workers at construction sites, painters are at particular risk of respiratory diseases and neurotoxicity. However, in Korea there is weak enforcement of workers' health and safety practices in the construction industry in Korea. Poisonings frequently occur at (semi)closed construction sites. In this study, we report a case of acute organic solvent poisoning during construction site painting.
Case presentation
A 71-year-old man was found unconscious at a construction site and immediately transferred to the emergency room. The consciousness level was 'stupor state' and the body temperature was hypothermic, at 32 degrees (Celsius). There were no acute brain or cardiac lesions that would have accounted for the faintness. In addition, blood and urine tests did not indicate a cause of loss of consciousness. He had been painting epoxy to waterproof the basement floor before fainting. According to exposure simulation, the patient was overexposed to various organic solvents, such as approximately 316–624 ppm toluene during the work before fainting. Considering the ventilation status of the workplace and the status of no protection, it is considered that exposure through the respiratory tract was considerable.
Conclusions
The patient in this case lost consciousness during the epoxy coating in a semi-enclosed space. It can be judged as a result of acute poisoning caused by organic solvent exposure and considered to be highly related to work environment
The impact of plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposited ZrSiOx insulators on low voltage operated In-Sn-Zn-O thin film transistors
No full textWe deposited Zr silicate by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) and investigated its gate insulator performance in indium-tin-zinc oxide (ITZO) thin film transistors (TFTs). Deposited Zr silicate had the desired characteristics of both ZrO2, a high-k dielectric, and SiO2. The drawbacks of ZrO2 thin film can be compensated by employing Zr silicate thin film because the latter has a moderate dielectric constant of 8.4, stoichiometric chemistry, smooth surface, and a low leakage current. Zr silicates as gate insulators may play important roles to reduce coulomb scattering and decrease charge trap density, resulting in high electrical performance and appropriate device stability when used in ITZO TFTs.This work was supported by the Industry Technology R&D program of MOTIE/KEIT [10051080, Development of mechanical UI device core technology for small and medium-sized flexible display] and done by the MOTIE Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (#10051403 and #10052020) and KDRC (Korea Display Research Corporation)
Benefit–Cost Analysis of Green Roof Initiative Projects: The Case of Jung-gu, Seoul
No full textGreen roofs, which have various economic, environmental and social effects, have been acknowledged as an alternative green space in urban areas. This study aims to investigate the economic feasibility of green roof projects by conducting a benefit-cost analysis on the case of Jung-gu, Seoul. The analysis estimates and compares five different scenarios applied in the study area with a 20-year operation period in all cases. This set of scenarios aims to compare the most idealistic situation with more achievable and realistic situations, to provide policy implications for green roof initiative projects in Seoul. The analysis consists of estimating six cost items and eight benefit items. Among the benefit items, two non-marketable elements are estimated by the contingent valuation method. The scenario with 100% application of a green roof, has benefits exceeding the costs with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.174. However, the other scenarios with certain prerequisites have a benefit-cost ratio that is very close, but still smaller than 1. Therefore, it is possible to claim that green roof initiative projects are economically viable under specific conditions. However, there are many restrictions to engaging in green roof constructions for entire building rooftops
Promoting Discarded Packing Waste into Value-Added 2D Porous Carbon Flakes for Multifunctional Applications
No full textIn this work, a prolific reuse of waste foam peanuts into eco-benign and cost-effective two-dimensional (2D) activated carbon nanoflakes (CFs) was presented for use in CO, capture and supercapacitor applications. The 2D nanoporous carbon sheets-like structures were derived by a two step process including simple carbonization followed by KOH activation (C:KOH = 1:1). With the varied activation temperature, the surface area and porosity have been controlled, which demonstrate the narrow pore size distribution in the range of <1 nm and mesopore in the range of similar to 40 nm. Among the samples derived, CF-800 shows excellent CO2 sorption capacity corresponding to 3.3-3.45 mmol/g with the highest surface area corresponding to 1041 m(2)/g and outstanding cyclic stability over 21 cycles. Meanwhile, the prepared 2D activated CFs demonstrated superior energy storage properties including high specific capacitance of 250 F/g at 1 A/g with exceptional cyclic stability. Moreover, the symmetric supercapacitor has been fabricated which demonstrated a maximum energy density and power densities of 26.4 Wh/kg and 4412.5 W/kg, respectively. The foam peanut-waste derived activated CFs with high surface area, effective greenhouse gas sorption, and affordable energy storage performance is exemplar for the development of other carbon based materials.This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No. NRF 2017R1D1A1B03036324). This work was supported by the Energy Efficiency & Resources (No. 20163010092210) of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) grant funded by the Korea government Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy
Almost phi-fuzzy semi-ideals in groupoids
No full textIn this paper, we introduce the notions of an almost phi-fuzzy subalgebra and an almost phi-fuzzy semi-ideal in groupoids by using the concept of a function. This concepts are generalizations of a fuzzy subalgebra and a fuzzy ideal in groupoids respectively. We discuss some relations between almost phi-fuzzy subalgebras and vanishing, level subsets. By introducing the notions of (mu, phi)-extremes, e-ideals, we obtain several properties of almost phi-fuzzy subalgebras. The relations between almost phi-fuzzy semi-ideals and (mu, phi)-special elements are discussed. Finally we discuss fuzzy algebraic structures of almost phi-fuzzy semi-ideals by diagrams
Comparison Study of Partial Least Squares Regression Analysis and Principal Component Analysis in Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry
No full textBoth principal component regression (PCR) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) have been commonly used to predict neurochemical concentrations from measurements of fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). However, a comparison of the accuracy of the above methods for FSCV analysis is yet to be demonstrated. In this work, we compare the concentration estimation performance of PCR and PLSR in an analysis of FSCV data. Using conventional FSCV, we recorded in vitro background-subtracted cyclic voltammograms from five neurochemicals i.e., dopamine, ascorbic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and serotonin, and pH change, with five concentrations of each substance and five pH values. The results showed that the absolute error (AE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) were significantly smaller on average when the concentration of a single substance was predicted using PLSR compared with the use of PCR. As a further evaluation of PCR and PLSR, we compared the predictions of the concentrations of mixtures using PCR and PLSR. The AE and MAPE in the predictions obtained using PLSR were significantly smaller than those obtained using PCR. Across the single substance and the four types of mixtures, compared with PCR, PLSR showed not only higher accuracy in the prediction of concentrations but also higher selectivity. Therefore, PLSR should be preferred over PCR as a more reliable tool to analyze FSCV data.This study was supported by an NIH 1U01NS090455-01 award and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2017R1A2B2006896)
A Therapeutic Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease Focused on Immune-inflammatory Modulation.
No full textAlzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, has emerged as a major global public health challenge. However, the complexity of AD in its biological, genetic, and clinical aspects has hindered the development of effective therapeutic agents. Research plans that integrate new drug discoveries are urgently needed, including those based on novel and reliable biomarkers that reflect not only clinical phenotype, but also genetic and neuroimaging information. Therapeutic strategies such as stratification (i.e., subgrouping of patients having similar clinical characteristics or genetic background) and personalized medicine could be set as new directions for developing effective drugs for AD. In this review, we describe a therapeutic strategy that is based on immune-inflammation modulation for a subgroup of AD and related dementias, arguing that the use of stratification and personalized medicine is a promising way to achieve targeted medicine. The Korean AD Research Platform Initiative based on Immune-Inflammatory biomarkers (K-ARPI) has recently launched a strategy to develop novel biomarkers to identify a subpopulation of patients with AD and to develop new drug candidates for delaying the progression of AD by modulating toxic immune inflammatory response. Sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) and its metabolites, triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM2) related signals, and actin motility related proteins including Nck-associated protein 1 (Nap1) were selected as promising targets to modulate neuroinflammation. Their roles in stratification and personalized medicine will be discussed.This study was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea funded by the Korea Ministry of Science
(2018M3C7A1056512), And also supported by the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry, Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (HI16C2131)
Study of thermal field on 1140 V/375 kW explosion-proof integrative motor
No full textThis paper proposes a novel analytical approach for losses and thermal of EPIM (explosion-proof integrative motor), aiming to improve the appropriate design variable frequency speed control system and induction motor. A loss and temperature rise of IGBTs, stator, rotor, and water- cooled heat sink of 1140 V/375 kW EPIM is investigated. Based upon the interaction variable frequency speed control system and induction motor, the loss and temperature curve are obtained. Accordingly, EPIM is designed. The experimental result of temperature is used to verify the accuracy of the proposed analytical approach calculating loss and temperature of EPIM
Insight from scientific study in logistics using text mining
No full textBig text data show trends from past logistics research and define freight flow and socio-economic relationships in the global logistics network. This relationship plays an important role in predicting future logistics trends and determining the direction of research. The purpose of this study was to collect logistics and freight related papers published in Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, since 1996 and to derive the main topics of the logistics studies that have been performed via topic modeling, using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) approach. From the results, 20 main topics with keywords and phrases were extracted from the logistics research papers, which suggests that topics such as trip generation model, urban freight, and logistics hub have been emerging for scholars in the fields of road, air, and shipping logistics and have been examined for some time. In addition, big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), and information and communications technology have recently been applied to the logistics field. Research on data collection technology and route optimization algorithms that incorporate the technologies have, therefore, attracted a great deal of interest from current researchers. Through the framework of this study, it is expected that future trends in the field of logistics will be predicted, and that appropriate planning and strategies can be established.This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (2017R1A2A2A05001395)