New Metal Oxyhydroxides as Catalysts...

New Metal Oxyhydroxides as Catalysts for Efficient Water ElectrolysisScientists at Dongguk University investigated a synthetic method to develop new metal oxyhydroxides electrocatalysts for efficient water electrolysis. Their findings were published in a study, which provides a detailed insight into the process demonstrating the long-term stability and performance of the synthesized catalysts. These can be used to obtain hydrogen (H2) and manufacture hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative to fossil fuels.Electrolysis of water is an efficient and sustainable method for the production of hydrogen. It involves two main reactions—the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Notably, materials used as catalysts for the OER are expensive, and demonstrate poor efficiency and stability. Recent studies have indicated lattice oxygen mechanism (LOM) as a potential pathway to increase the speed and efficiency of the OER. However, LOM uses transition metal (oxy)hydroxides (TMOxHy) with iron (Fe)-based compounds as catalysts. This is not ideal, because the dissolution of Fe atoms results in the loss of long-term stability and performance, especially under high current density.To address this gap, a team of scientists led by Professor Jung Inn Sohn from Dongguk University investigated a new bismuth (Bi) metal (BM)-based catalyst for LOM. “The water electrolysis technology is a promising way for sustainable hydrogen generation. However, stable OER performance at a practical and high-level current density requires a new catalyst material with high performance and durability,” says Prof. Sohn while discussing the team’s motivation behind the study. Their research findings were published in Volume 315 in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental on November 15, 2022.First, the team proposed the synthesis of a Fe-introduced Bi-(oxy)hydroxide-based electrocatalyst, which was prepared through solvothermal synthesis at 140 ℃ for 12 hours. The controlled reduction of the synthetic intermediates allowed for the formation of amorphous BM/BiFeOxHy with abundant lattice vacancies. The team found that the BM/BiFeOxHy electrode had low overpotentials of 232 and 359 mV at a current density of 10 and 1000 mA cm-2.Further analysis also validated the long-term stability pf BM/BiFeOxHy. The team attributed this to the balanced hybridization of Bi/Fe-O, resulting in catalytic stability for up to 1000 hours at a current density of 1000 mA cm-2, without the dissolution of Fe atoms! “Our report, containing a truly promising OER candidate with an efficient catalytic performance and stability, will have an impact on the rapid development of advanced electrocatalysts for water electrolyzers,” concludes Prof. Sohn.We are certain that soon enough, we will witness this catalyst being used in zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells!ReferenceAuthors: Seunghwan Joa, Woon Bae Parkb, Keon Beom Leea, Hyeonggeun Choia, Kug-Seung Leec, Docheon Ahnc, Young-Woo Leed, Kee-Sun Sohne, John Hongf,, Jung Inn Sohna,*Title of original paper: Bi/BiFe(oxy)hydroxide for sustainable lattice oxygen-boosted electrocatalysis at a practical high current densityJournal: Applied Catalysis B: EnvironmentalDOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121685Affiliations: aDivision of Physics and Semiconductor Science, Dongguk University, Korea bDepartment of Printed Electronics Engineering, Sunchon National University, Korea cKorea Beamline Research Division, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Korea dDepartment of Energy Systems Engineering, Soonchunhyang University, Korea eDepartment of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Engineering, Sejong University, Korea fSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Kookmin University, Korea*Corresponding author’s email: johnhong@kookmin.ac.kr, junginn.sohn@dongguk.eduAbout Dongguk UniversityDongguk University, founded in 1906, is located in Seoul, South Korea. It comprises 13 colleges that cover a variety of disciplines and has local campuses in Gyeongju, Goyang, and Los Angeles. The university has 1300 professors who conduct independent research and 18000 students undertaking studies in a variety of disciplines. Interaction between disciplines is one of the strengths on which Dongguk prides itself; the university encourages researchers to work across disciplines in Information Technology, Bio Technology, CT, and Buddhism.Website: https://www.dongguk.edu/eng/About the authorDr. Jung Inn Sohn is currently a Professor in the Division of Physics and Semiconductor Science at Dongguk University, Korea. His research group is developing new low-dimensional materials and exploring their fundamental physical properties and new functions for potential applications in energy and optoelectronics. He was formerly an academic faculty at the University of Oxford and a senior researcher at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology and the University of Cambridge. His research is described in more than 150 SCI articles in top journals including Nature, Nature Communications, Energy & Environ. Sci., as well as 18 cover picture articles and 4 review articles. He has an h-index of 41 and 26 patents to his name.

Scientists at Dongguk University propose a net..

Scientists at Dongguk University propose a network effect-based model that enhances business intelligenceIt utilizes the influence-based social exchange and two-step flow of information theories to collect reliable user dataThere is a need to improve the quality of user data for making effective business decisions. To this end, researchers in Korea propose a network effect-based reasoning model that directly collects meaningful data by applying the influence-based social exchange and two-step flow of information theories. The model can enhance business intelligence and facilitate big data analysis.In the age of big data, corporations are increasingly using business intelligence—collecting, analyzing, and utilizing user data—for decision-making. It has been made possible through social media platforms and technological innovations, which enable easy data accumulation and storage at low costs.The effectiveness of business intelligence depends upon the quality of data. Big data has a lot of noise, and only meaningful inputs can lead to meaningful outputs. Therefore, reliable user data is essential. The existing ways to improve the reliability of already collected data, however, are not efficient.To address this issue, Dr. Kihwan Nam, Assistant professor of Management Information Systems in the Business School of Dongguk University, Korea, and his colleague have recently presented a new theoretical model that secures meaningful information by improving data reliability during the collection stage. Their study reporting the model was made available online on 1 June 2022 and published in Volume 205 of Expert Systems With Applications on 1 November 2022.“The model, based on the network effect, applies both the influence-based social exchange theory and the two-step flow of information theory. In it, initially, a user evaluates and recommends a product to a group. Its recommendation range depends on the user’s influence. The user, aware of their influence, will try to increase it by getting positive feedback from the group, thereby acting as an ‘opinion leader’ and generating data that reliably indicates popular products,” explains Dr. Nam.The researchers verified the effectiveness of their reasoning model by collecting user data from an online media content platform and applying the model to its recommendation system. They found that its performance—data quality and user satisfaction—improved two to five times. That led to an upsurge in the number of users on the platform.Dr. Nam is hopeful about the future potential of their work. “It demonstrates theoretical, technical, and practical aspects of reliable data collection, making it valuable for corporations. Not only will our proposed model enhance business intelligence, but it will also help extract meaningful information for various other applications involving big data analysis.”ReferenceAuthors: Nohkyum Kyeong1, Kihwan Nam2Title of original paper: Mechanism design for data reliability improvement through network-based reasoning modelJournal: Expert Systems With ApplicationsDOI: 10.1016/j.eswa.2022.117660Affiliations: 1College of Business Management Engineering Department, KAIST, Korea2Management Information Systems, Business School, Dongguk University, Korea*Corresponding author’s email: namkh@dongguk.edu*Corresponding author’s home page: https://sites.google.com/view/namkiAbout Dongguk UniversityDongguk University, founded in 1906, is located in Seoul, South Korea. It comprises 13 colleges that cover a variety of disciplines and has local campuses in Gyeongju, Goyang, and Los Angeles. The university has 1300 professors who conduct independent research and 18000 students undertaking studies in a variety of disciplines. Interaction between disciplines is one of the strengths on which Dongguk prides itself; the university encourages researchers to work across disciplines in Information Technology, Biotechnology, CT, and Buddhism.Website: https://www.dongguk.edu/eng/About the authorKihwan Nam is an Assistant Professor at the Management Information Systems, Business School, Dongguk University, and Adjunct Professor at the College of Business, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). His research interests include Quantitative Marketing, Recommender System, Big Data Analytics, Data Mining, Statistical Analysis, and Applications of Machine Learning and Deep Learning in Business Analytics and Econometric Model. He is also a data scientist. In addition to his academic research, he is making a positive contribution to both academia and industry by successfully carrying out various projects in a big international company.

‘Improvements in incentives and financial per...

‘Improvements in incentives and financial performance following ESG performance’... Proven through research resultsDongguk University (President Yoon Sung-Yee) announced on the 11th November that the research by Professor Jeong Seon-moon of the Department of Accounting at Dongguk University Business School was published in the October 2022 issue (Volume 68, No. 10) of “Management Science,” the world’s most prestigious academic journal of business administration.“Management Science” is one of the world's most prestigious academic journals in the field of business administration. It is an academic journal that has published many papers by world-renowned economists and management scholars including Nobel Prize winners Merton Miller, Franco Modigliani, Kenneth Arrow, Robert Lucas, James Heckman, Daniel Kahneman, Eugene Fama, Harry Markowitz, and William Sharp (SSCI, IF=6.172).Professor Jeong participated as the first author of this thesis, and the corresponding author, Seoul National University Business School Professor Shin Jae-yong, co-authored the paper. (Thesis source: https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4232)Providing financial rewards for ESG performance, an effective ESG improvement method... Proven by domestic researchers for the first timeThe significance of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) management is becoming more prominent as the importance of non-financial performance management grows worldwide. Domestic and foreign companies are making various efforts, such as expanding ESG-related disclosures externally and establishing ESG-related board committees internally.Through this study, Professor Jeong studied the effectiveness of financial reward methods to improve ESG performance more systematically. According to Professor Jeong's research, it has been scientifically proven that social performance increases significantly when the social performance of social enterprises is measured and financial reward is provided in proportion to the measured performance. For the first time, a domestic research team has proven that systematically measuring ESG performance and providing financial compensation is an effective ESG improvement method.Professor Jeong's research was conducted based on the data of companies subject to the SPC (Social Performance Compensation) project, which was implemented by SK Group's Social Value Research Institute in 2015. The SPC project is a project that quantifies the performance of social enterprises based on the systematic social performance measurement system developed by SK, and grants financial incentives proportional to the performance measured in currency basis. For example, if the social performance related to the employment of a social enterprise that employs people with developmental disabilities is measured as KRW 1 billion according to a sophisticated measurement formula, KRW 250 million, equivalent to 25% of the KRW 1 billion, is paid as an incentive.Professor Jeong emphasized that "the ultimate goal of measurement-based incentives is motivation." In other words, if ESG performance can be quantified with a standardized evaluation and measurement system, it is possible to provide financial rewards for ESG performance in the same way as providing bonuses for financial performance. “Just as managers work hard to increase financial profits when they receive bonuses in proportion to ROA (return on assets), they will naturally work hard to increase social performance if social performance is properly measured and rewarded,” he argued. The research also proved that the social performance of social enterprises improved statistically significantly after being linked to incentives, stating that "Financial compensation according to performance leads to motivation of organizational members."Financial rewards for ESG are not always effectiveHowever, financial rewards are not always effective. There are many cases among social enterprises, unlike for-profit enterprises, wherein people who are not accustomed to financial incentives and who pursue social missions gather to form an organization. According to Professor Jeong's research, financial rewards may have a less motivating effect in value-oriented organizations that value social missions. Professor Jeong said, "In a value-oriented organization, rather than receiving and distributing financial rewards to executives and employees, if they are used for reinvestment for ESG, the effect of improving employee performance can be maximized." It was also emphasized that whether to do it is an important issue in terms of motivation. In other words, financial incentives do not have a uniform motivating effect in all companies; the effect varies depending on the organizational culture and how financial rewards are used.Providing financial incentives to ESG improves financial performance as wellProfessor Jeong's research also found that financial rewards for ESG can improve financial performance. Companies with high task complementarity between social and financial performances have a business model in which financial profits increase as social performance improves. For example, local cooperatives purchase agricultural products from local small farmers at a reasonable price to create social outcomes that revive the local economy. On the other hand, it has a business model that improves financial performance while simultaneously reducing distribution margins because it can easily secure and sell local agricultural products directly to consumers. In the case of companies with high task complementarity like this, it has been statistically proven that financial incentive is significantly improved even if financial reward is provided only for social performance.Korean ESG management analyzed and published in the world's most prestigious academic journalProfessor Jeong's research is significant as it presented a method for systematically managing ESG performance. Non-financial performance, such as ESG, was perceived as difficult to quantify and therefore difficult to motivate with financial incentives. Professor Jeong's research proved that ESG performance can be significantly improved if it is measured based on a systematic measurement system and financially compensated in proportion to the objectively measured performance. It was also scientifically revealed that financial incentives do not have uniform effects in all companies, but that the effects vary depending on the organizational culture and incentive usage. They also found that providing financial rewards to ESG performance can simultaneously improve financial performance under certain conditions.Professor Jeong said, “I am delighted that a paper analyzing an incentive experiment uniquely conducted in Korea was published in ‘Management Science,’ the world’s most prestigious academic journal.”

Dongguk University achieves 9th place in Joon...

Dongguk University achieves 9th place in JoongAng Ilbo's college rankings for the second consecutive yearDongguk University (President Yoon Sung-Yee) ranked 9th in the 2022 JoongAng Ilbo college rankings released on the 14thNovember(Mon), the highest ranking achieved in two consecutive years.Dongguk University ranked 9th for the second consecutive year, ranking 4th in the ▲ student education category (previously ranked 5th), ▲ 14th in faculty research (previously 12th), ▲ 10th in social reputation (previously 13th), and 29th in educational environment (previously 26th).The university has been revamped as a research-oriented university through the "Energize Dongguk" project, which commenced in 2019. It ranked 9th for the second consecutive year, following the highest-ever ranking of 9th last year, laying the foundation for the top 10 universities in name and reality.Dongguk University, which ranked the highest in the field of student education among the evaluation criteria, had particularly good results due to its strength in the field of start-up support. The student education category is an indicator of the quantity and quality of employment or entrepreneurship, and the efforts of universities to help students enter society through field training and start-up education.Dongguk University scored 57.010 points out of 80 and ranked fourth, its highest ever. It recorded ▲3rd in the proportion of students participating in field training (previously 5th), ▲5th in the rate of withdrawal (previously 8th), and ▲3rd in the rate of withdrawal by foreign students (previously 6th). Dongguk University announced that it has strengthened the qualitative evaluation of field training this year and actively conducted quality field training. It created an appropriate program through its faculty and alumni network to support field training after investigating the requirements of students and companies. It has been analyzed that the university has received strong points as it satisfies the quantitative and qualitative levels of student start-ups.It also maintained its high ranking in the faculty research category, which comprises the highest portion in the JoongAng Ilbo college rankings. It ranked 14th in the faculty research category, making great strides in humanities research, ranking ▲9th in domestic thesis per humanities and social sciences professor (previously 13th) and ▲13th in humanities and social sciences publications (previously 27th).Dongguk University recently stood out in internal and external evaluations, ranking 10th in terms of social reputation. It ranked ▲11th in the list of colleges where companies would like to recruit its incoming employees from (previously 15th) and ▲ 10th in preferred colleges by student parents (previously 13th).Dongguk University President Yoon Sung-Yee, who heard the results of the college rankings stated that "The most important factor that facilitated Dongguk University achieving 9th place for two consecutive years is that it focused on ‘education’ itself, which is the basis of the university,” and “In order to fulfill its responsibilities as a research institution, the school has now established itself as a research-oriented university through the ‘Energize Dongguk’ project, and through this, it has now established itself as a university with good research results”. She went on to state that “Dongguk University will not be satisfied with the current ranking, but rather achieve the top 5 by working continuously together with all members of the faculty.”

Dongguk University selected as the most excel...

Dongguk University selected as the most excellent project group in the “Campus CEO Project”The Dongguk University (President Yoon Sung-yee) was selected as the most excellent project group in the “Campus CEO Project” for 10 consecutive years. Organized by Seoul Business Agency (SBA), the Campus CEO Project supports practical start-up education courses aimed at “cultivating entrepreneurship that enables discovering and solving problems on their own” for students of Seoul-based universities with excellent start-up education records. Based on the practical start-up curriculum that can strengthen entrepreneurial capabilities, the goal of the project is to discover innovative ideas to solve social issues through mission projects with external organizations and companies, while nurturing talents with capabilities for creative convergence. Dongguk University has produced prominent campus CEOs over the past decade under the banner of “fostering social ventures based on social values” since joining the early stage of the project in 2012. Coactus (CEO Song Min-pyo), a social venture that attracted attention with the “Goyohan Taxi” the taxi service driven by hearing-impaired drivers, is a representative case of a campus CEO nurtured by Dongguk University. Song, who had been considering a business model under the proposition of social values and responsibilities since college, turned his idea into reality and proceeded with the business process with the support of the Campus CEO project. Since then, the company has been growing into a leading social venture start-up in Korea by participating in a start-up club and receiving support from the university for start-up activity space and commercialization funds. In addition, Dr. Diary (CEO Song Jae-yoon), a start-up offering a personalized healthcare management platform for people with diabetes, was created through the Start-up Capstone Design, a Campus CEO support course. With the support of the university, the company launched the “Doctor Diary Service” in 2017, an app that offers a customized lifestyle for diabetic patients. Currently, it has grown into a healthcare platform with five million diabetic members in Korea by expanding its business field to an online shopping mall, “Dakdamol” and the healthy diet service, “Muhwadang” for diabetics.Meanwhile, Dongguk University also achieved excellent results in the Capstone Awards, a joint competition held among universities organizing the Campus CEO project. It swept both the grand prize and the best prizes at the “3rd Capstone Awards” early this year. The grand prize was awarded to the Nurling team (CEO Ko Myung-gi), who also won the best prize for excellent online content. The company was praised for presenting technological perfection through the development and demonstration of an automatic recording healthcare service based on awareness of health and hygiene issues after the pandemic. The best prize was awarded to the 5K team (CEO Song Min-seok), which developed a capture service using braille OTP for the visually impaired. At the “4th Capstone Awards” held in June, CoodMood (CEO Yeom Gyu-ri) and RUBATO (CEO Kim Jeong-woon) won special awards. CoodMood received high scores for developing and launching attachment dolls that help infants sleep separately from their parents. RUBATO, which is working on a deep learning-based platform service that supports artists’ collaboration activities, received favorable responses for presenting solutions to social problems. In addition, professor Sung Chang-soo (Director of Dongguk University Start-up Education Center), who is in charge of the project which was selected as the most excellent project group, was awarded the Achievement Award for his contribution to the Campus CEO project for the past 10 years. Through the project and over the past three years, Dongguk University has achieved meaningful results such as educating a total of 1,461 project graduates, creating 90 jobs, coming up with 380 innovative ideas, developing 130 online educational content items, and receiving awards at 70 off-campus start-up competitions. Based on these efforts, Dongguk University will provide tailored start-up education programs to students who are interested in starting a business, and continuously nurture campus CEOs through various follow-up support by collaborating with the LINC3.0 project of the Ministry of Education, the Campus Town project of Seoul City, and the preliminary start-up package project of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

Development of Biomimetic-based High-output...

Dongguk University Research Team led by Professor Changsun ChoiDevelopment of Biomimetic-based High-output Hydro-actuatorFrom left to right:Changsun Choi, Professor at the Department of Convergence Energy and New Material Engineering; Wonkyung Son, Researcher; Jaemyeong Lee, Researcher○ The research team led by Changsun Choi, Professor at the Department of Convergence Energy and New Material Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea (corresponding author), and Sungwu Cheon, Professor at the Department of Electronics and Information Engineering at Korea University, Seoul, South Korea (co-corresponding author), was successful in overcoming the limitations of a conventional hydro-actuator by developing a high-output, high-power hydro-actuator with a fast electrothermal recovery capability.○ A Geraniaceae plant is usually straight and long, but it twists itself and becomes spring-like when exposed to a dry environment. When it is twisted to the maximum extent, it bounces out to spread its seeds. Under rainy conditions, contact with a rain droplet causes it to spin and dig into the ground like a drill. Professor Choi’s research team studied the moisture-triggered spinning mechanics of such a plant to develop a fiber-type hydro-actuator.○ An actuator is a switch or a motor device that switches its physical state according to electrical signal changes. A fiber-type hydro-actuator that uses water from its surroundings as a source of stimulant is highly usable in various fields, such as soft robotics, because of its silk-like soft characteristics. However, existing hydro-actuators have low output values and require long operational time owing to their substantially slow recovery processes that contrast with their sensitive reactions.○ To solve this, the research team took inspiration from the moisture-activated self-twisting characteristic of a stork’s bill plant and designed an actuator with a fast electrothermal recovery. This newly developed actuator based on a carbon nanotube fiber featuring both high water reactivity and an electrothermal property demonstrated 120 times (143.8 W/kg) greater ultrahigh power density at an applied voltage of 5 V and at an operating speed that is 15 times greater than that of conventional hydro-actuators. It also showed no performance degradation, even at a very high internal temperature (102°C), through repeated cycle testing. Thus, it exhibited outstanding mechanical and thermal durability.○ Professor Choi states, “The significance of this research is the development of a high-performance hydro-actuator using the excellent electrothermal characteristics of a carbon nanotube treated to exhibit sensitive moisture reactivity.” He showed anticipation by continuing to state, “This newly developed electrothermal-recovering hydro-actuator is very powerful and has high operational speed, which makes it ideal to be utilized in the converging field of the biomedical industry and for applications `in artificial muscles, smart fabrics, prosthetics, and artificial fingers.”○ For this research, various groups of personnel participated, including (but not limited to) Wonkyung Son, researcher (first author), Shihyeong Kim, Ph.D. (Korea Institute of Industrial Technology), Sungbeom Jo, Ph.D. (Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology), and Dongseok Seo, Professor (Sungkyunkwan University). The research result was published online in March 2022 in Nano Letters (IF = 11.189), a journal of nanoscience technology, under the title <high-power biomimetic="" carbon="" coiled="" electrothermal="" fabricated="" fast="" from="" hydro-actuators="" nanotube="" recovery="" with="" yarns="">.(URL:https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c00250)</high-power>

Maneuvering Through a Pandemic: A Valuable Lesson in the Future ...

Maneuvering Through a Pandemic: A Valuable Lesson in the Future of Tourism and Hospitality Marketing, As Shown by Dongguk University Researchers COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the tourism and hospitality industry, magnifying consumers’ adverse responses to crowding. Now, Dongguk University researchers demonstrated that consumers display diminished preferences for crowded venues, especially under high salience of COVID-19. However, this tendency reversed in consumers seeking unique, non-conforming experiences. These findings would help marketers reinvent their strategies to adapt to the new preferences of the traveler, such as promoting the notion of vacancy and unpopularity in advertisements for venues. When choosing a travel and hospitality destination, one of the things we often consider is the size of the crowd it pulls in, as large crowd often indicate positive attributes, including popularity, high quality, and a feeling of assurance. Now, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding crowded spots has risen several ranks on the priority lists of consumers. Fearing the risks of contracting the virus, people have been avoiding urban settings and popular tourist destinations. But is this trend universal? Does it apply to all kinds of travelers? Are there some tourist destinations or activities that travelers take part in regardless of the crowd?These are the few questions that this study by a team of researchers, including Associate Professor Jacob Chaeho Lee from Dongguk University, tries to answer in a new study published in Tourism Management.Based on the literature combined with empirical evidence from five survey-based experimental studies, the team hypothesized and demonstrated that, consumers under high salience of the COVID-19 pandemic display a diminished preference for crowded destinations. However, they also found that consumers who tend to seek sensation and have need for uniqueness show the opposite pattern. They also proved that this effect remains consistent across different travel and hospitality options regardless of the participants’ previous travel experiences. So, how does this study contribute to the recovery of the tourism and hospitality industry? Hailing these results, Dr. Lee says, “Our findings show that tourism and hospitality firms need to re-evaluate and reinvent their marketing strategies to adapt to this new consumer psychology and behavior. For example, firms may need to stop promoting the notion of crowding, popularity, or being trendy in the advertisements, social media, and review sites about their venues.” Their findings also suggest that during the pandemic, firms need to create new opportunities to attract consumers who tend to seek high levels of sensation and uniqueness in their consumption. The findings of the present study would greatly help tourism and hospitality firms to bounce back from the losses caused by the pandemic. ReferenceAuthors : In-Jo Park a, Jungkeun Kim b,*, Seongseop (Sam) Kim c, Jacob C. Lee d, Marilyn Giroux bTitle of original paper:Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travelers’ preference for crowdedversus non-crowded optionsJournal : Tourism ManagementDOI : 10.1016/j.tourman.2021.104398 Affiliations: a Department of Psychology, Henan University, 1 Jinming St., Kaifeng, Henan, 475004, Chinab Department of Marketing, Auckland University of Technology, 120 Mayoral Drive, Auckland, 1010, New Zealandc School of Hotel & Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 17 Science Museum Road, TST East, Kowloon, Hong Kongd Dongguk Business School, Dongguk University, 30 Pildong-ro 1-gil, Seoul, South Korea*Contact author’s email : chaeholee@dongguk.edu About Dongguk UniversityDongguk University, founded in 1906, is located in Seoul, South Korea. It comprises 13 colleges that cover a variety of disciplines and has local campuses in Gyeongju, Goyang, and Los Angeles. The university has 1300 professors who conduct independent research and 18000 students undertaking studies in a variety of disciplines. Interaction between disciplines is one of the strengths on which Dongguk prides itself; the university encourages researchers to work across disciplines in the School of Business, Information Technology, Bio Technology, CT, and Buddhism. Website: http://www.dongguk.edu/mbs/en/index.jsp About the authorDr. Jacob Chaeho Lee is an Associate Professor of the Department of Business Administration at Dongguk University. Dr. Lee’s research focuses on consumer psychology and behavior in various important consumption contexts, including consumers’ experiences and happiness, artificial intelligence (AI), and COVID-19. Dr. Lee’s work has been published in leading journals from multiple disciplines, including Psychological Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Travel Research, and Tourism Management. Dr. Lee holds a Ph. D in marketing from University of Southern California.

Dongguk University hosts “108 Bows Donation Relay” campaign All ...

Dongguk University hosts “108 Bows Donation Relay” campaignAll funds raised will be used for scholarships for enrolled students for the embodiment of our founding philosophy. (From the right side of the front row) Dongguk University staff including president Sung Yee Yoon have attended the inaugural ceremony of the 108 bows donation relay campaign and are practicing the bows.Dongguk University (president Sung Yee Yoon) hosts the “108 Bows Donation Relay” campaign to build a 100-year framework for the second founding alongside the establishment of the founding committee of the educational foundation (commissioner Monk Don Gwan).At 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday the 30th, the Dongguk University Division of External Relations (director Ae Joo Kim) hosted the inaugural ceremony of the “108 Bows Donation Relay Campaign.” The Relay is a campaign to build peace in the body and mind with the 108 bows, fulfill the practice of giving, and create new connections by asking for donations. The funds raised by the campaign will be used for scholarships for enrolled students for the embodiment of our founding philosophy.The first participant, president Sung Yee Yoon donated 20 million won. He then asked six people including the president of the professor council, the president of the student body, staff members, monks, alumni, and Buddhist followers to donate. From that point, the relay continues by each participant making three designations.The designated participant can practice the 108 bows in a comfortable location, complete the donations, and ask three other people to participate. The amount of donations can be chosen freely with the minimum being 10,800 won. The donations can be easily made via mobile phone or the homepage.President Sung Yee Yoon said, “this will be a historical campaign of professors, staff, students, monks, and Buddhists sharing and gathering minds, creating new relationships, and wishing for a higher leap of Dongguk University.” He then quoted, “We will continue together until the last participant completes the run. We wish active participation from many people.”The campaign will continue for a total of 20 weeks until Sunday, May 8th, 2022. All processes of the campaign will be shown on the homepage.On the other hand, Monk Wonhaeng, the chief executive of the Korean Buddhist Jogye order met president Sung Yee Yoon earlier that day and delivered a gift of money wishing for a successful opening.

Dongguk University Study Reveals Factors Influencing Colorectal ...

Dongguk University Study Reveals Factors Influencing Colorectal Cancer in KoreaColorectal cancer has become a great healthcare burden in Korea. To find out why, scientists at Dongguk University in Korea examined the cancer caseloads against the distribution of dietary and lifestyle factors observed in the population. In a novel insight, they found that risk factors for this cancer differ by age and sex, suggesting that blanket prevention measures may not be sufficient for a healthier futureColorectal cancer (CRC) places an enormous burden on public health in South Korea. In 2018, the country had the second-highest number of CRC cases worldwide. While genetic factors are responsible for cancer, the risk factors for CRC have been strongly linked to certain dietary and lifestyle choices, such as smoking, increased alcohol consumption, low physical activity, and high processed meat intake. But that is global data. Does it apply to Korea specifically? A team led by Professor NaNa Keum from Dongguk University, Korea, has now decided to find out. In their study, they examined the trends in CRC incidence rates between 2001 and 2013, and compared them to the changing dietary and lifestyle behavior in the country during that time. “We aimed to identify major modifiable lifestyle factors underlying the alarming increase in CRC incidence in Korea specifically,” says Prof. Keum. The findings of the study were published in the Journal Scientific Reports on January 28, 2021.In their analysis, the researchers found an increase in the CRC caseload, with a higher prevalence in men compared to women. While most diagnosed cases were of late-onset CRC, there was a notable increase in early-onset cases among middle-aged adults (ages 30–49). Across all sex and age groups, decrease in exercise was a contributing factor for the increasing CRC trend. For men, obesity and increased alcohol consumption were observed to be major risk factors. For middle-aged women, there were significant increases in alcohol consumption, smoking, and processed meat consumption, likely contributing to the increase in early-onset cases. “Our findings do not prove the causal effects of risk factors on increasing CRC rates, but rather provide suggestive evidence that the risk factors differ by age and sex,” notes Prof. Keum.Speaking of the implications of these findings, Prof. Keum says, “Targeted public health interventions will be required to effectively reduce the CRC rate in Korea. A tailored approach, rather than generic lifestyle interventions, will help prioritize limited resources and induce greater compliance from people.”Hopefully, following on the footsteps of such studies, necessary measures can be taken to reduce the burden of CRC in Korea in the foreseeable future. ReferenceAuthors:Hayeong Khil1, Sung Min Kim2, SungEun Hong1, Hyeon MinGil1, Eugene Cheon1, Dong Hoon Lee3, YoungAe Kim4 & NaNa Keum1,3Title of original paper:Time trends of colorectal cancer incidence and associated lifestyle factors in South KoreaJournal:Scientific Reports DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-81877-2Affiliations:1 Dongguk University, South Korea2 Seoul National University Graduate School, South Korea3 Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA4 National Cancer Center, South Korea*Corresponding author’s email: nak212@dongguk.edu Your Press Release SourceDongguk University About Dongguk UniversityDongguk University, founded in 1906, is located in Seoul, South Korea. It comprises 13 colleges that cover a variety of disciplines and has local campuses in Gyeongju, Goyang, and Los Angeles. The university has 1300 professors who conduct independent research and 18000 students undertaking studies in a variety of disciplines. Interaction between disciplines is one of the strengths on which Dongguk prides itself; the university encourages researchers to work across disciplines in Information Technology, Bio Technology, CT, and Buddhism. Website: http://www.dongguk.edu/mbs/en/index.jsp About the authorNaNa Keum is an Assistant Professor of Food Science and Biotechnology at Dongguk University. As an epidemiologist, she has analyzed large cohort data (e.g., the Nurses’ Health Study, Health Professionals Follow-up Study) to examine how diet and lifestyle factors affect the development of cancer, especially colorectal cancer. She also investigates how individual genotypes modify the effects of lifestyle factors on weight control, testing the utility of lifestyle interventions tailored to individuals’ genotypes. Before coming to Dongguk University, she completed her dual doctoral programs in Nutrition and Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dongguk University Researchers Design a Neuromorphic Device Rese...

Dongguk University Researchers Design a Neuromorphic Device Resembling Human BrainScientists at Dongguk University have designed a novel optoelectronic device with a dual function of memory storage as well as processing. In this Internet of Things (IoT) era, massive amounts of data are produced, collected, and transmitted through devices in real time. The separation of memory and data processing units adversely affects the smooth functioning of optoelectronic devices. South Korean scientists have now designed a predictable optoelectronic device—a multi-functioning “memtransistor”—to address these limitations.The current computing systems which have separate memory and processing devices cause excess energy consumption and slow down data transmission. Interestingly, even state-of-the-art 2D memtransistors—devices that can collect, store, and process information—exhibit sub-optimal electronic properties, such as unusually high operating voltages.To overcome these limitations, scientists at Dongguk University designed a predictable multi-functioning memtransistor. Their paper, which was made available online on November 5, 2021 and was published in Volume 5, Issue 12 of Small Methods on December 13, 2021, described how they fabricated a highly efficient optoelectronic and memory device using two-dimensional (2D) materials—nanomaterials that are merely one or two atoms thick—by stacking 2D tellurium flakes on a thin rhenium disulfide flake, followed by the deposition of an aluminum oxide layer.According to senior author, Dr. Hyunsik Im, who works as a Professor at Dongguk University, the team has developed an “Electrically and optically tunable p-n junction memtransistor fabricated with an Al2O3 encapsulated 2D Te/ReS2 van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure. This combines the favorable optical and electrical properties of p-type 2D Te and n-type ReS2 semiconductors, with a stable Al2O3 charge trapping layer.”In this optoelectronic memory device, multiple resistance states can be tuned by applying different voltages, or light powers. The transition between the high or low resistance states is controlled by carriers trapped in the Al2O3 layer under high electric fields. This causes an additional gate bias that tunes the Schottky barrier height at the ReS2/source electrode interface, while preserving p-n junction behaviors during the switching process, giving the device the added benefit of being electrically conductive, while being able to store memory efficiently.Quite remarkably, this novel device is material-independent and scalable. Moreover, it allows the integration of additional electronic circuits for neuromorphic computing—a set of processes that attempt to mimic the brain's architecture and data processing capabilities. “The development of these highly efficient memtransistor-based synaptic devices can decrease circuit complexity and minimize power consumption for neuromorphic computing and visual information processing. Mimicking synaptic activities in the human brain could become a much more manageable task in the near future,” says Prof. ImThe architecture of the human brain continues to inspire nanomaterial researchers. Meanwhile, let’s raise a toast to the research team for this ‘brainy’ achievement!ReferenceAuthors : Duc Anh Nguyen1, Yongcheol Jo1, Thi Uyen Tran2, Mun Seok Jeong3, Hyungsang Kim1, Hyunsik Im1 Title of original paper : Electrically and Optically Controllable p–n Junction Memtransistor Based on an Al2O3 Encapsulated 2D Te/ReS2 van der Waals HeterostructureJournal : Small MethodsDOI : 10.1002/smtd.202101303Affiliations : 1Division of Physics and Semiconductor Science, Dongguk University, Seoul, 04620 Republic of Korea2Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419 Republic of Korea3Department of Physics, Department of Energy Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763 Republic of Korea*Corresponding author’s email: : hyunsik7@dongguk.edu About Dongguk University