This paper evaluates the use of Factor Analysis (FA) in English education research in Korea and suggests improvements in methodology. A detailed coding protocol was used to review 179 FA cases from 12 major English education journals (2014-2023). The review identified several key issues, including small sample sizes and lenient criteria for sample size selection, insufficient reporting on data appropriateness and normality, confusion between principal component analysis and FA, overreliance on the Eigenvalue > 1 criterion for determining the number of factors, inappropriate factor rotation methods, inconsistency between factor rotation and extraction methods, inadequate reporting on factor loadings and cross loadings criteria, and excessive reliance on SPSS as a statistical tool for FA. This study provides specific guidelines for applying FA appropriately and reporting results accurately.

The purpose of this study is to present a plan for reducing noise between floors of apartment houses in Korea and to examine the method for evaluating noise blocking performance rating between floors. The definition of floor noise and classification method of floor noise can be described, and floor noise can be distinguished into lightweight impact sound and heavy impact sound. The wall-type structure, which is mainly adopted in domestic apartments, relatively transmits vibration caused by impact sources rather than using columns and beams, so noise problems between floors are relatively higher than systems using columns and beams. Three representative methods for reducing and blocking floor noise are described, and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of floor noise reduction by each method are described. In addition, the method for noise reduction and blocking grades for each construction method currently applied in Korea was described, and as a result, it was judged that the domestic rating evaluation method was not suitable for the current domestic situation, and a new evaluation method and standard were needed.

식품공전 시험법은 식품기초규격 적부 판정, 수거검사의 적부판정, 수입식품의 적부판정 등의 판단근거가 되기 때문 에 식품산업에서 매우 중요하다. 본 연구는 도시락, 밀키트, 된장에 오염된 일반세균, 대장균군, 효모, 곰팡이, 대장균을 분리하기 방법으로 사용되는 평판배지법, Petrifilm법, Compact Dry법을 이용해 각각의 세균을 분리하였고, 회수율을 비교 하였다. 식품 내 자연균총(일반세균, 효모/곰팡이, 대장균군) 검출은 평판배지 PCA, PDA, DCLA와 Petrifilm AC, YM, CC의 성능을 Compact Dry TC, YMR, CF와 비교하였다. 인 위접종한 대장균(E. coli)의 경우는 평판배지 EMB, Petrilfilm EC, Compact Dry EC의 검출능을 비교하였다. 본 실험결과, 일반세균, 대장균군, 대장균의 검출에서 Compact Dry법은 기 존의 평판배지법 및 건조배지법과 비교하여 식품 내 각각의 세균수를 계수하는데 유의적 차이를 보이지 않았다(P>0.05). 또한, 평판배지법과 Compact Dry간의 상관관계 및 Petrifilm 과 Compact Dry간의 상관관계 역시 1에 가까운 높은 값을 확인하였다. Compact Dry법은 미생물 분석을 위해 배지 준 비 과정이 필요 없으며, 접종 후 자체 확산이 가능하여 사 용하기 쉽고, 공간을 효율적으로 사용할 수 있으므로 기존 의 배지를 사용하는 방법에 비해 많은 장점을 제공하였다. 따라서 식품 중 일반세균, 대장균군, 대장균의 검출을 위한 Compact Dry법(Compact Dry TC, CF, EC)은 기존의 식품공 전 상 등재된 다른 건조필름법을 대체 가능한 것으로 판단된다.

선박 건조 과정에서 블록이나 장비를 지지하는 A형 캐리어 구조는 하중 변경과 시간이 지남에 따라 점차 변형이 증가하며, 이 에 따라 블록과 접촉하는 면적이 감소하고 분산된 하중에서 집중된 하중으로 패턴이 변화한다. 이러한 현상은 실제 사용 하중을 오판할 가능성이 있다. 특히 A형 캐리어는 영세한 제조 업체에서 자주 사용하고 있으며, 별도의 엔지니어링 기능이 없는 상황이 대부분이라서 손 쉽게 캐리어의 안전사용하중을 계산하는 방법의 개발이 필요하다. 본 연구는 A형 캐리어가 장기적으로 안전하게 사용할 수 있는 하중을 신속하게 평가하는 방법을 제안함으로써, 하중 분포의 변화에 따른 소성 변형과 그로 인한 안전 문제를 예측하고 대응할 수 있다. 제안된 방법은 캐리어의 중앙 집중하중과 전체 분포하중 조건에 대해서 유한요소해석(빔, 쉘 모델링)을 통한 결과를 기반으로 빔-이론을 수정하 여 제안되었다. 빔 모델링에서 집중하중 조건은 보정계수 0.73, 분포하중에서는 0.69를 이론값에 곱해서 안전사용하중이 가능하다. 쉘 모 델링의 경우, 집중하중은 0.75와 분포하중은 0.69를 사용할 수 있다. 본 연구는 선박 건조 작업 현장의 안전을 개선하고, 실제 작업 환경에 서의 안전 사용 하중 판단에 신속하고 효과적인 결정을 내릴 수 있는 기초 자료로 활용될 수 있다.

PURPOSES : This study aims to provide quantitative profile values for the objective evaluation of concrete surface profile (CSP) grades in concrete structures. The main aims are to quantify the CSP grade required for concrete surface pretreatment and proposing a more suitable CSP grade for structural maintenance. METHODS : Initially, the challenges in measuring concrete surface profiles were outlined by analyzing pretreatment work and profile samples of concrete pavements. Theoretical foundations for quantifying concrete surface roughness were established, and regression models including linear regression, cubic regression, and log regression were selected. Additionally, the interquartile range anomaly removal technique was employed to preprocess the data for regression modeling. RESULTS : Concrete CSP profiles were measured through indoor tests, and the measured data were quantified. Linear regression, cubic regression, and log regression models were applied to each CSP grade for comparative analysis of the results. Furthermore, comparative studies were conducted through adhesion strength tests based on the CSP grade. CONCLUSIONS : Our results are expected to establish objective standards for the pretreatment stage of concrete repair and reinforcement. The derived reference values can inform standards for the restoration and reinforcement of concrete structures, thereby contributing to performance improvement. Moreover, our results may serve as primary data for the repair and reinforcement of various concrete structures such as airports, bridges, highways, and buildings.

PURPOSES : Recently, air pollution due to fine particulate matter has been increasing in Korea. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are particulate matter precursors significantly contributing to air pollution. Increasing efforts have been dedicated to NOx removal from air, since it is particularly harmful. Application of titanium dioxide (TiO2) for concrete road structures is a suitable alternative to remove NOx. As the photocatalytic reaction of TiO2 is the mechanism that eliminates NOx, the ultraviolet rays in sunlight and TiO2 in existing concrete structures need to be contacted for the reaction process. For the application of vertical concrete road structures such as retaining walls, side ditches, and barriers, a pressurized TiO2 fixation method has been developed considering the pressure and pressurization time. In this study, longterm serviceability and repeatability were investigated on concrete specimens applying the dynamic pressurized TiO2 fixation method. Additionally, the environmental hazards of nitrate adsorbed on TiO2 particles were evaluated. METHODS : Concrete specimens to simulate roadside vertical concrete structures were manufactured and used to evaluate the long-term serviceability and repeatability of the dynamic pressurized TiO2 fixation method. The NOx removal efficiency was measured using NOx evaluation equipment based on ISO 22197-1. In addition, the nitrate concentration was measured using a comprehensive water quality analyzer for evaluating environmental hazards. RESULTS : As the experiment to evaluate the NOx removal efficiency of the dynamic pressurized TiO2 fixation method progressed from one to seven cycles, the nitrate concentration increased from 2.35 mg/L to 3.06 mg/L, and the NOx removal efficiency decreased from 53% to 25%. After seven cycles of NOx removal efficiency evaluation, the average nitrate concentration was 3.06 mg/L. The nitrate concentration collected immediately after the NOx removal efficiency test for each cycle was in the range of 2.51 to 2.57 mg/L. By contrast, it was confirmed that the nitrate concentration was lowered to approximately 2.1 mg/L when the surface was washed with water. CONCLUSIONS : The NOx removal efficiency was maintained at over 25% even after seven cycles of NOx removal efficiency evaluation, securing long-term serviceability. In addition, the harmful effects on the environment and human health are insignificant, since the nitrate concentration was less than 10 mg/L, in accordance with domestic and foreign standards. Practical applicability of the pressurized TiO2 fixation method was established by evaluating the long-term serviceability, repeatability, and environmental hazards.

Water utilities are making various efforts to reduce water losses from water networks, and an essential part of them is to recognize the moment when a pipe burst occurs during operation quickly. Several physics-based methods and data-driven analysis are applied using real-time flow and pressure data measured through a SCADA system or smart meters, and methodologies based on machining learning are currently widely studied. Water utilities should apply various approaches together to increase pipe burst detection. The most intuitive and explainable water balance method and its procedure were presented in this study, and the applicability and detection performance were evaluated by applying this approach to water supply pipelines. Based on these results, water utilities can establish a mass balance-based pipe burst detection system, give a guideline for installing new flow meters, and set the detection parameters with expected performance. The performance of the water balance analysis method is affected by the water network operation conditions, the characteristics of the installed flow meter, and event data, so there is a limit to the general use of the results in all sites. Therefore, water utilities should accumulate experience by applying the water balance method in more fields.

Particulate matter is known to have adverse effects on health, making it crucial to accurately gauge its concentration levels. While the recent advent of low-cost air sensors has enabled real-time measurement of particulate matter, discrepancies in concentrations can arise depending on the sensor used, the measuring environment, and the manufacturer. In light of this, we aimed to propose a method to calibrate measurements between low-cost air sensor devices. In our study, we introduced decision tree techniques, commonly used in machine learning for classification and regression problems, to categorize particulate matter concentration intervals. For each interval, both univariate and multivariate multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to derive calibration equations. The concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 measured indoors and outdoors with two types of LCS equipment and the GRIMM 11-A device were compared and analyzed, confirming the necessity for distinguishing between indoor and outdoor spaces and categorizing concentration intervals. Furthermore, the decision tree calibration method showed greater accuracy than traditional methods. On the other hand, during univariate regression analysis, the proportion exceeding a PM2.5/PM10 ratio of 1 was significantly high. However, using multivariate regression analysis, the exceedance rate decreased to 79.1% for IAQ-C7 and 89.3% for PMM-130, demonstrating that calibration through multivariate regression analysis considering both PM10 and PM2.5 is more effective. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the accurate calibration of particulate matter measurements and have showcased the potential for scientifically and rationally calibrating data using machine learning.

The development of advanced nuclear facilities is progressing rapidly around the world. Newly designed facilities have differences in structure and operation from existing nuclear facilities, so Safeguards by Design (SBD), which applies safeguards at the design stage, is important. To this end, designers should consider the safeguardability of nuclear facilities when designing the system. Safeguardability represents a measure of the ease of safeguards, and representative evaluation methodologies are Facility Safeguardability Analysis (FSA) and Safeguardability Check-List (SCL). Those two have limitations in the quantification of safeguardability. Accordingly, in this study, the Safeguardability Evaluation Method (SEM), which has clear evaluation criteria based on engineering formulas, was developed. Nuclear Material Accountancy (NMA), a key element of Safeguards, requires the Material Balance Area (MBA) of the target facility and performs Material Balance Evaluation (MBE) based on the quantitative evaluation of nuclear materials entering or leaving the MBA. In this study, about 10 factors related to NMA were developed, including MBA, Key Measurement Point (KMP), Uncertainty of a detector, Radiation signatures, and MUF (Material Unaccounted For). For example, one of the factors, MUF is used in MBA to determine diversion through analysis of unquantified nuclear materials and refers to the difference between Book Inventory and Physical Inventory, as well as errors occurring during the process in bulk facilities, errors in measurement, or intentional use of nuclear materials. This occurs in situations such as attempted diversion, and accurate MUF evaluation is essential for solid Safeguards implementation. MUF can be evaluated using the following formula (MUF=(PB+X-Y)-PE). The IAEA’s Safeguards achievement conditions (MUF < SQ) should be met. Considering this, MUF-related factors were developed as follows. (􀜵􀜧􀜯 = 1 − 􀯆􀯎􀮿 􀯌􀯊 ) In this way, about 10 factors were developed and described in the text. This factors is expected to serve as an important factor in evaluating the safeguardability of NMA, and in the future, safeguardability factors related to Containment & Surveillance (C&S) and Design Information Verification (DIV) will be additionally developed to conduct a comprehensive safeguardability evaluation of the target facility. This methodology can significantly enhance safeguardability during the design stage of nuclear facilities.

The Republic of Korea (ROK), as a member state of the IAEA, is operating the State’s System of Accounting for and Control (SSAC) and conducting independent national inspections. Furthermore, an evaluation methodology for the material unaccounted for (MUF) is being developed in ROK to enhance capabilities of national inspection. Generally, physical and chemical changes of nuclear material are unavoidable due to the operating system and structure of facilities, an accumulation of material unaccounted for (MUF) has been issued. IAEA developed statistical MUF evaluation method that can be applied to all facilities around the world and it mainly focuses on the diversion detection of nuclear materials in facilities. However, in terms of the national safeguard inspection, an evaluation of accountancy in facilities is additionally needed. Therefore, in this research, a new approach to MUF evaluation is suggested, based on the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) that an evaluation of measurement uncertainty factors is straightforward. A hypothetical list of inventory items (LII) which has 6,118 items at the beginning and end of the material balance period, along with 360 inflow and outflow nuclear material items at a virtual fuel fabrication plant was employed for both the conventional IAEA MUF evaluation method and the proposed GUM-based method. To calculate the measurement uncertainty, it was assumed that an electronic balance, gravimetry, and a thermal ionization mass spectrometer were used for a measurement of the mass, concentration, and enrichment of 235U, respectively. Additionally, it was considered that independent and correlated uncertainty factors were defined as random factors and systematic factors for the ease of uncertainty propagation by the GUM. The total MUF uncertainties of IAEA (σMUF) and GUM (uMUF) method were 37.951 and 36.692 kg, respectively, under the aforementioned assumptions. The difference is low, it was demonstrated that the GUM method is applicable to the MUF evaluation. The IAEA method demonstrated its applicability to all nuclear facilities, but its calculated errors exhibited low traceability due to its simplification. In contrast, the calculated uncertainty based on the GUM method exhibited high reliability and traceability, as it allows for individual management of measurement uncertainty based on the facility’s accounting information. Consequently, the application of the GUM approach could offer more benefits than the conventional IAEA method in cases of national safeguard inspections where factor analysis is required for MUF assessment.

PURPOSES : The increase in particulate matter due to increased air pollutant emissions has become a significant social issue. According to the Ministry of Environment, air pollutants emitted from large-scale businesses in 2022 increased by 12.2% compared to the previous year, indicating that air pollution is accelerating owing to excessive industrialization. In this study, TiO2, which is used to reduce airborne particulate, was used. The TiO2 coating fixation and dynamic pressure coating-type TiO2 fixation methods were used to solve the material peeling phenomenon caused by gravity, which is a limitation when the TiO2 penetration method is applied to a vertical concrete structure along the road. The long-term durability and performance were analyzed through environmental resistance and NOx removal efficiency evaluation experiments. These analyses were then assessed by comparing the NOx removal efficiency with the dynamic pressure permeationtype TiO2 fixation method used in previous studies. METHODS : To evaluate the long-term durability and performance of the TiO2 coating fixation method and dynamic pressure coating TiO2 fixation method for vertical concrete structures, specimens were manufactured based on roadside vertical concrete structures. Environmental resistance tests such as the surface peeling resistance test (ASTM C 672) and freeze-thaw resistance test (KS F 2456) were conducted to evaluate the long-term durability. To evaluate the long-term performance, the NOx removal efficiency of TiO2 concrete owing to road surface deterioration during the environmental resistance test was evaluated using the NOx removal efficiency evaluation equipment based on the ISO 22197-1 standard. This evaluation was compared and analyzed using the dynamic pressure infiltration TiO2 fixation method. RESULTS : The long-term durability of the TiO2 coating fixation and dynamic pressure coating TiO2 fixation methods were evaluated using environmental resistance tests. During the surface peeling resistance test, the TiO2 material degraded and partially detached from the concrete. However, the NOx removal efficiency was ensured by the non-deteriorated and fixed TiO2 material. The long-term performance was confirmed through a freeze-thaw resistance test to evaluate the NOx removal efficiency after 300 cycles of surface deterioration. The results showed that when the TiO2 coating fixation and dynamic pressure infiltration TiO2 fixation methods were applied to vertical concrete structures, the durability of the structure was not compromised. In comparison to the dynamic pressure infiltration TiO2 fixation method, the NOx removal efficiency observed during the surface peeling resistance test was lower, while the freeze-thaw test exhibited notably higher removal efficiency. CONCLUSIONS : To solve the material peeling phenomenon caused by gravity, the long-term durability and performance were evaluated by applying the TiO2 coating fixation and dynamic pressurized coating TiO2 fixation methods to vertical concrete specimens. Long-term durability was confirmed through environmental resistance tests, and long-term utility was secured by measuring the NOx removal efficiency according to surface degradation. These findings show that implementing the TiO2 coating fixation method and dynamic pressure coating TiO2 fixation methods on-site effectively reduce NOx.