This research analyses the challenges facing SMEs in Oman in their quest for internationalization. The study is based on the OECD Model of Internationalization put forward in the report titled “How to Foster the Internationalization of SMEs through the Pacific Alliance Integration Process” which focuses on four factors namely finance, business environment, firm capabilities and market access, which are appropriate for an emerging economy like Oman. This study used a descriptive and quantitative research design in attempting to analyze the challenges being faced by Omani SMEs in their endeavors to internationalize. The research investigates causal relationship between variables using positivist and deductive approach. Data collected from 102 respondents was analysed by Structural Equation Modeling(SEM) using AMOS. It was found that finance availability was the most significant predictor of internationalization challenges followed by market access and business environment, while firm capabilities had no impact. Thus SMEs need easier access to credit and have to develop their international business networks and their marketing capabilities in order to grow internationally. Keeping in mind the contribution made by SMEs the government has to intervene by opening up easy lines of credit to SME exporters and allowing them relaxations in customs and other duties.

Purpose: Online and social media and mobile shopping are increasing and companies are required to provide personal information in order to supplement the non-invasive characteristics of the channels. With the increased provision of personal information, consumers' personal and social concerns about the prevention of personal information infringement are also increasing, and in response, personal or opt-in marketing has emerged to compensate for reckless information abuse. Despite the background of this emergence, the existing prior studies are limited to ignoring the negative feelings of consumers in the real world, including only the net function and positive effect of the opt-in mail. Research design, data and methodology: The research framework was intended to utilize the impact of human marketing activities on consumer attitudes combined with positive and negative factors. Factors that positively affect attitudes toward permation marketing were presented, such as informality, and perceived risks were presented as negative impact factors. Also, based on previous prior research, the prior factors of opt-in marketing were to present the effect on purchase intent through the medium of attitude toward opt-in marketing. Results: In this study, we used the framework of a two factor theory to address positive and negative factors as a leading factor in the customer attitude toward opt-in mail advertising, and as a result, functionality and personalization have a positive effect on customer attitude and perceived risk have a negative impact on customer attitude. In addition, it was confirmed that the customer attitude formed this way affects the intention to purchase again. Conclusions: This study suggests that we have demonstrated that marketing, an opt-in marketing that has been recognized as part of marketing that is deployed after obtaining customer consent, has been applied without any other marketing methodology. E-mail advertising at this point also provides practical implications that the system safeguards are in place under an opt-in protocol or system, and that even if an e-mail advertisement is carried out, customers will need to look at the level of awareness about the risks, and suggests that they need to consider the customer’s journey that could lead to purchase at the content level.

This study presents a more comprehensive approach to investigate how Emotional Intelligence (EI) is associated with performance. Previous research has revealed that EI is related to positive outcomes such as better performance, life satisfaction and career success. However, in most research of EI, this factor has been investigated independently from the effect of contextual factors and other individual characteristics. This study extended the research on the impact of EI on student performance by simultaneously examining the impact of EI, individual factors - (1) Perseverance of Effort, (2) Goal Consistency and (3) Goal Clarity and learning environment factors - Program Fit in one study. The results based on the data collected from 1,117 students in Vietnam largely support the hypothesis that that EI was an important but not the only factor affecting the student performance. MANOVA and post-hoc analysis indicated that both individual and environmental factors better predicted performance than EI could. These results suggest that the impact of EI on individual performance is more complicated than what we have already known. Future study is encouraged to investigate both the mechanism through which EI impact individual performance and the interaction between EI and other factors that moderate the EI – performance relationship.

The study measures the resource use efficiency of diesel based power generation in the Maldives and analyses factors which influence efficiency levels. Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) technique is applied to data on 30 plants over two year period from 2016 to 2017. The study finds that technical efficiency scores varies from 0.44 to 0.98 across power plants. About 33 percent of the plants have scores below the mean technical efficiency score of 0.87. Empirical results indicate ownership and use of solar photovoltaic (PV) have an influence on improving efficiency levels. Privately owned power plants in resort islands obtained higher technical efficiency scores compared to public and community owned power plants. This is a significant finding as the first study that used power plants in tourist sector in a comparative study. Size of the power plants was not found significant, but relatively small installed capacities can also be efficient. This finding is important because in many inhabited islands installed capacities remain oversized compared to the load. The benchmarking exercise offers model power plants that are relatively efficient, for other power plants and policy makers in small islands to learn from.

This study aims to find out the legalization status of a central Shariah regulatory authority for the Islamic banks in Bangladesh. In this regard, the central bank can legalize the existing Centralized Shariah Board for Islamic Banks of Bangladesh (CSBIB) or form a new Centralized Shariah Supervisory Board (CSBB) under the management of the central bank in Bangladesh. Based on the data obtained by the semi-structured interviews, this research finds diversified opinions regarding the legalization of CSBIB or the formation of a new CSBB. Initially, without the law, it would be difficult to form CSSB under the central bank as the Islamic banks and banking environment are still not ready. In addition, it is difficult to legalize the existing CSBIB because the format of its structure is different from the CSSB structure in Malaysia and Bahrain. The existing banking company act authorizes the central bank to provide circulars regarding banking issues and it will be considered as an act. The central bank can legalize the existing CSBIB or form a new CSSB through a circular which will be helpful to monitor the overall Shariah issues. The presence of a CSSB will fulfill the expectations of all Islamic banks, and the concerned stakeholders.

We examine the effects of the complexity of tax-related information on the issuance of analyst’s pre-tax income forecast and its value relevance. If analysts respond adequately to the needs of investors, they are more likely to provide a pre-tax income forecast. The provision of a pre-tax income forecast may indicate analysts’ confidence in assessing the quality of earnings. Thus, investors, in turn, would be more confident in the analysts’ pre-tax income forecasts if analysts provide both pre-tax and earnings forecasts than only the latter. Using a sample of Korean listed companies for 2005–2014, we find that analysts are likely to provide an implicit tax forecast when the volatility of the effective tax rate is low and the book-tax differences are small. We also find that when analysts provide pretax and after tax income forecasts, the value relevance for unexpected earnings increases. These results indicate that analysts are likely to be interested in corporate tax information and the complexity of tax-related information affects the availability of implicit tax forecasts. Furthermore, this study provides empirical evidence that when analysts provide both pre-tax and after tax income forecasts, investors have more confidence in analysts’ earnings forecasts, which results in greater investors’ responses.

임상에서 사용하는 진단 검사 장치인 전산화 단층촬영기와 자동화된 설계 소프트웨어(MediACE 3D Prog ram), 3D 프린터로 손목 보조기를 제작하고자 하였다. 전산화단층촬영기로 상지의 Dicom 파일을 획득한 후 MediACE 3D Program을 통해 손목 보조기를 디자인하여 "STL(stereolithography)"파일을 만들었고, 디자인된 손목 보조기는 3D 프린터를 이용하여 인쇄하였다. 3D 프린팅 기술로 제작된 손목보조기의 효용성 검증을 위해 뼈와 피부에 가해지는 압력 및 보조기의 스트레스 분포를 유한요소해석으로 나타내었다. 손목 보조기를 제작할 때 유한요소해석의 결과를 가지고 뼈와 피부가 압력에 의한 손상과 보조기의 파손이 자주 일어나는 부위를 보강하여 손목 보조기를 제작할 수 있을 것이라고 기대된다.

Sclerotinia rot, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is a devastating disease that poses a serious threat to perilla production in Korea. Identifying effective sources of resistance offers long term prospects for improving management of this disease. Screening disease resistant genetic resources is important for development of disease-resistant, new cultivars and conduct related research. In the present study, perilla germplasm were screened in vitro against S. sclerotiorum using detached leaf method. Among 544 perilla accessions, two were highly resistant (IT226504, IT226533), five were resistant (IT226561, IT226532, IT226526, IT226441, and IT226589), five were moderately resistant (IT226525, IT226640, IT226568, IT220624, and IT178655), 16 were moderately susceptible, 31 were susceptible, and 485 were highly susceptible. The resistant accessions in this study could serve as resistance donor in the breeding of Sclerotinia rot resistance or subjected to selection procedure of varietal development for direct use by breeders, farmers, researchers, and end consumers.

Avocado, superfood, contains a variety of essential nutrients and phytochemicals. The purpose of this study was to explore whether avocado could modulate skin inflammation in vivo. We elucidated the pharmacological effects of avocado on compound 48/80- or histamine-induced scratching behaviors and 2, 4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)-induced atopic dermatitis (AD)-like skin lesions in mice. Additionally, we investigated the anti-inflammatory activity of avocado and its underlying mechanism including its effect on the expression levels of inflammatory-related genes and nuclear factor -κB (NF-κB) in DNCB-induced AD-like skin lesions. The findings of this study demonstrate that avocado attenuated AD clinical symptoms including itching, eczematous, erythema and dryness and histamine levels in mice. Moreover, avocado suppressed both inflammatory cytokines expression as well as NF-κB and caspase-1 activation in AD-like skin lesions in mice. Taken together, these results demonstrate that avocado may be a potential candidate for treating skin inflammatory diseases like AD.

This study was conducted to determine the number of days required to break a plant’s dormancy and promote subsequent crop growth in new varieties of Gomchwi through the 4℃ treatment. Three new varieties of Gomchwi namely, ‘Sammany’, ‘Gommany’, and ‘Damogy’ were observed in this study. The rate of leaf emergence of ‘Sammany’ after 15-day of 4℃ treatment was 100%, while ‘Gommany’, and ‘Damogy’ took 20-days and 10-days, respectively to reach to 97.9% rate of leaf emergence. After 10-days of 4℃ treatment, ‘Damogy’ grew faster than the other varieties. and Harvest time for ‘Damogy’ was on January 18th, after 5-days of 4℃ treatment and yield was observed to be the highest at 15-days of 4℃ treatment. ‘Sammany’ was next with a minimum of 10-days of 4℃ treatment, although 15-days is more preferred for better harvest. ‘Gommany’ on the other hand, did not grow enough for harvest by January 18th, and its harvest time was delayed to January 31st. It needed a minimum of 15-days and preferentially 20-days of 4℃ treatment to grow normally and be ready for harvest. The plant height, leaf length and leaf petiole length appeared to grow better by extending duration of the 4℃ treatment. The number of leaves of ‘Sammany’ and ‘Gommany’ varieties was three leaves for the 5-days treatment which may be due to the incomplete breaking of dormancy. Regarding the yield per plant, ‘Sammany’ yielded 112.3 grams (g) in 15-days treatment, and ‘Gommany’ yielded 106.5 g in 25-days treatment. In the case of ‘Damogy’, it yielded 123.5 g and 183 g in the 10-days and 25-days treatment respectively. It is concluded that ‘Damogy’, ‘Sammany’ and ‘Gommany requires 10, 15, and 20 days of 4℃ treatment to break the plant’s dormancy and promote better plant growth.

Hand leaf thinning for improvement of fruit coloration and quality is one of the most labor-consuming works in Korean apple cultivation. The study was aimed at investigating whether foliar application of two chelate compounds (Cu-EDTA, Fe-EDTA) could defoliate effectively ‘Hongro’/M.9 apple leaves and enhance fruit coloration and quality. At 30 days before harvest, foliar spray with two chelate compounds defoliated significantly the apple leaves. Chelate treatments did not affect the leaf chlorophyll content. High concentration of chelates decreased drastically photosynthetic rate of true leaves, and then it stayed in low levels, whereas low levels of chelates reduced sharply the photosynthetic rate but it was gradually restored over time. Cu-EDTA regardless of its concentration triggered higher defoliation compared to Fe-EDTA. Consequently, higher defoliation improved light interception of fruits and accumulated more anthocyanin. Particularly, Cu-EDTA could target mainly fruit cluster leaves which affect directly light interception of the fruits, i.e. more selective defoliants compared to Fe-EDTA. However, 3% Cu-EDTA rather defoliated excessively, accompanying with reduction of fruit weight and soluble solids. Therefore, our results suggest that 1% Cu-EDTA which defoliates properly the fruit cluster leaves could improve coloration and quality of ‘Hongro’/M.9 apple fruits.

Zanthoxylum piperitum D.C. (ZP) peels has been used as a natural spice and herb medicine for hypertension reduction, for strokes, and for its anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant activity. However, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms employed by ZP have yet to be completely understood. In this study, we elucidate the anti-inflammatory mechanism of ZP in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 cells. We evaluated the effects of ZP in LPS-induced levels of inflammatory cytokines, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and caspase-1 using ELISA. The expression levels of inflammatoryrelated genes, including cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), were assayed by Western blot analysis. We elucidated the effect of ZP on nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation by means of a luciferase activity assay. The findings of this study demonstrated that ZP inhibited the production of inflammatory cytokine and PGE2 and inhibited the increased levels of COX-2 and iNOS caused by LPS. Additionally, we showed that the anti-inflammatory effect of ZP arises by suppressing the activation of NF-κB and caspase-1 in LPS- induced RAW264.7 cells. These results provide novel insights into the pharmacological actions of ZP as a potential candidate for development of new drugs to treat inflammatory diseases.

The purpose of this study was to develop a period analysis algorithm for detecting new variable stars in the time-series data observed by charge coupled device (CCD). We used the data from a variable star monitoring program of the CBNUO. The R filter data of some magnetic cataclysmic variables observed for more than 20 days were chosen to achieve good statistical results. World Coordinate System (WCS) Tools was used to correct the rotation of the observed images and assign the same IDs to the stars included in the analyzed areas. The developed algorithm was applied to the data of DO Dra, TT Ari, RXSJ1803, and MU Cam. In these fields, we found 13 variable stars, five of which were new variable stars not previously reported. Our period analysis algorithm were tested in the case of observation data mixed with various fields of view because the observations were carried with 2K CCD as well as 4K CCD at the CBNUO. Our results show that variable stars can be detected using our algorithm even with observational data for which the field of view has changed. Our algorithm is useful to detect new variable stars and analyze them based on existing time-series data. The developed algorithm can play an important role as a recycling technique for used data

We present new BVRI light curves of UY UMa with no O’Connell effect and a flat bottom secondary eclipse. Light curve synthesis with the Wilson-Devinney code gives a new solution, which is quite different from the previous study: UY UMa is an A-subtype over-contact binary with a small mass ratio of q = 0.21, a high inclination of 81˚.4, a small temperature difference of ΔT = 18˚, a large fill-out factor of f = 0.61, and a third light of approximately 10% of the total systemic light. The absolute dimensions were newly determined. Seventeen new times of minimum light have been calculated from our observations. The period study indicates that the orbital period has intricately varied in a secular period increase in which two cyclical terms with periods of 12y.0 and 46y.3 are superposed. The secular period increase was interpreted to be due to a conservative mass transfer of 2.68 × 10–8 M⊙/yr from the less massive to the more massive star. The cyclical components are discussed in terms of double-light time contributions from two additional bound stars. The statistical relations of Yang & Qian (2015) among the physical parameters of 45 deep, low mass ratio contact binaries were revisited by using the physical parameters of UY UMa and 25 Kepler contact binaries provided by Şenavci et al. (2016).

본 연구의 목적은 크게 교육(학)연구의 이해지평 확대와 새로운 연구방법의 제안이다. 작게는 기존 내러티브 연구의 편협, 편중성을 극복하여 내러티브 분야의 학술담론과 연구방법의 확충을 도모하는 것이다. 적용한 연구방법은 관련 문헌을 대상으로 이루어진 텍스트해석학이고, 해석범위는 공자와 레빈슨(Levinson)의 저작들이다. 내러티브와 상호 텍스트성(intertextuality)의 연결을 통해 내러티브 연구의 확대 가능성과 필요성을 발견하고자 했다. 본 연구의 핵심내용은 내러티브와 상호텍스트성에 대한 연구자의 체계적인 인식관심을 바탕으로 성인 생애발달 내러티브의 객관성을 논의한 공자와 레빈슨의 담론 에 대하여 상호텍스트성의 관점에서 논의하였다. 성인발달 내러티브에 대한 ‘서사적 정체 성’의 상호 연관성 측면에서 연구결과를 요약하면 다음과 같다. 첫째, 공자의 생애발달 내러티브와 레빈슨의 그것은 시대적인 간극에도 불구하고, 대동(大同)과 공통체성, 개인과 국가 등과 같은 몇 가지 준거를 설정하여 살펴본다면 현대적 의의를 충분히 도출할 수 있을 것이다. 둘째, 동양과 서양이라는 지리공간과 사상의 다양한 차이점에도 불구하고 인간은 근본적으로 자연과의 지속 가능하고 조화로운 관계를 수립하고자 한다는 점은 공통점으로 발견된다. 셋째, 동양 유교의 집단주의 사회에서 ‘배려’의 도덕성(일종의 배려 윤리)을 추구하는 이상적 인간형과 서구의 개인주의 사회에서 ‘정의’의 도덕성(일종의 덕 윤리)을 추구하는 이상적 인간형의 차이에도 불구하고, 동서양 모두 인간의 통합적 발달을 이상형으로 추구하고 있음을 알 수 있다. 결론을 요약하면 다음과 같다. 연구방법 확대 차원에서 이루어진 상호텍스트성과 내러티브의 만남에 대한 시론을 통하여 첫째, 인간교육은 전 생애 그리고 삶의 모든 공간에서 이루어고, 둘째, 방법론을 넘어서는 윤리적 성취를 목표로 하는 교육이 강조되고, 셋째, 교육의 본질이란 누구든 전 생애를 거쳐 부단한 자기수양을 통한 존재의 초월적 깊이에 점점 다가가는 것임을 확인할 수 있었다.

This paper investigates how the Second Part of Coordinate Structure Constraint (CSC) behaves in Right Node Raising (RNR) in Korean. We first show that constructing relevant data is evasive due to some confounding factors, and then demonstrate that when the factors are controlled for, RNR exhibits the CSC effect. We argue that it is readily captured by the ellipsis analysis, with the consequence that a violation of CSC is not repairable by ellipsis (Merchant 2001). However, in so doing, we present a puzzle that partly favors the multidominance analysis (Wilder 1999, Citko 2005). To resolve the puzzle, we suggest that the domain of the application of multidominance is restricted to (extractable) maximal constituents. This accounts for why in the context where multidominance is not permitted and ellipsis induces a violation of the CSC, the CSC effect invariably emerges.

Numerous types of sporting events have been hosted in Korea during the last decades. Sport events produce various types of data, and there is a clear necessity of storing and utilizing this information. From this background, the purpose of this study is to draw complex sports categories from international sport events life cycles in order to categorize standards of knowledges management system. This study utilized qualitative methods: expert groups discussion for overall life cycle steps and in-depth interviews for detail life cycle steps. The results show that there are several life cycle steps: bidding, preparation, operation, evaluation, post management steps. To be more specific, for the bidding step, there are check, plan, implementing detail phase; and the preparation step is based on event preparation Basis Build, event preparation implementation, test and supplementation phases. For the operation step, event operation system switch, event operation during the period, finish operation phases are deducted. Evaluation and post management step do not have detail phases. Efforts to store and utilize knowledge can be one of the starting points to make the operation of sport events efficiently.

This study was conducted to compare the community structure and biodiversity of epigeic spiders between pear fields cultivated by integrated pest management (IPM) and organic methods. This is the first study of this kind to be conducted in Korea. Eighty-four spider species from 22 families were identified among the collected 2,489 arthropods, with 754 individuals being sampled from IPM fields and 1,735 individuals from organic fields. Generally, Theridiidae, Linyphiidae, Lycosidae, Agelenidae, Gnaphosidae, and Salticidae were the dominant spider families in the pear orchard regardless of the farming methods, and species richness and abundance were higher in organic fields than in IPM fields. The dominant species were the wolf spiders (Lycosidae) and stone spiders (Gnaphosidae), and their cumulative abundance was 70.7% in IPM fields and 72.7% in organic fields. The community structure between organic and IPM fields was heterogeneous, with a 45% similarity level. Biodiversity, species richness, abundance, and species diversity index were higher in organic fields than in IPM fields, and significantly different between the farming methods. Seasonal fluctuations in biodiversity were similar in both IPM and organic fields. The species richness and species diversity index increased and the abundance decreased in the second half of the cultivation period. This study on the community structure and biodiversity of epigeic spiders, which form one of the most important predator groups, will provide principal ecological and faunistic information required to maintain the biodiversity of useful arthropods in agricultural ecosystems and help implement sustainable agriculture based on the active use of natural enemies.

The study examines the impact of financial risk, convenience risk, non-delivery risk; return policy risk and product risk on online consumer behavior of Malaysian consumers. The research employed a self-administered survey to collect empirical data from 245 Malaysian online shoppers by using convenience sampling. Cronbach alpha was calculated to confirm the reliability of the data and then normality was assessed. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was then conducted to test the model using the goodness-of-fit tests. And finally, structural equation modeling is used to test the hypotheses and draw conclusions. IBM SPSS AMOS version 22.0 was utilized for data analysis. The research indicates that product risk, convenience risk, and return policy risk have a significant and positive impact on online shopping behavior. Financial risk is found to have insignificant and negative effects on consumer behavior. In addition, the non-delivery risk is found to have a significant and negative impact on online shopping behavior. The findings provide a useful model for measuring and managing perceived risk in online shopping which may result in an increase in participation of Malaysian consumers and reduce their cognitive deficiencies in the e-commerce environment. Several managerial implications are discussed along with the scope for future research.

The objectives of this study are to propose the Integrated Waqf Environmental Protection Model (IWEP) and investigate the farmers’ intention to adopt it. In developing the IWEP model and investigating farmers’ willingness to adopt it, this study surveyed 400 farmers in Kedah. The intention of the farmers to adopt the proposed model was analysed by adding perceived barriers and socioeconomic variables into the theory of reasoned action (TRA) model. The collected data were processed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The SEM results show that the subjective norm is positive and has a significant impact on the intentions of lowincome farmers to accept the IWEP model. This indicates that the decision of the low-income farmers to accept the IWEP model is significantly influenced by their family members, neighbours and friends. Furthermore, awareness and perceived barriers have a greater impact on the elderly, highly educated and wealthy farmers. The findings indicate that the elderly, highly educated and wealthy farmers are aware of climate change and they perceive higher risks or barriers to climate change. As a result, they are more likely to have an adaptation intention. If we encourage people to create waqf fund, we can increase the value of the farmer and the country’s total GDP.