Perspectives of Private Forest Owners toward Investment in Forest Carbon Offset Projects: A Case of Geumsan-Gun, South Korea

Understanding and promoting South Korean private forest owners’ investment in the Forest Carbon Offset (FCO) scheme is crucial for enhancing carbon sequestration using forests in South Korea. This study aims to identify the factors of private forest owners associated with the investment decision in FCO projects. A total of 132 forest owners in Geumsan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do responded to a mixed-method survey. A chi-square test on the respondent groups shows that a forest management contract has a positive correlation with the forest owners’ willingness to invest in FCO projects. We also developed a logistic regression model for each forest owner group to estimate the effects of forest characteristics, experience of financial support, forest owner characteristics, and management characteristics on the forest owners’ willingness to invest in FCO projects. The results indicate that beliefs in climate change, size of forest holdings, tree species, stand age, experience in cost-sharing for forestry operations with public agencies, and timber harvest experience were significantly associated with the likelihood of a forest owner’s willingness to invest in FCO projects. Therefore, forest policies should take account of the factors influencing the likelihood of forest owners’ investment in FCO projects. We also found that the forest management contract scheme can be used as a policy instrument for promoting private forest owners’ action for climate change in South Korea

Enhanced Vehicle Dynamics and Safety through Tire–Road Friction Estimation for Predictive ELSD Control under Various Conditions of General Racing Tracks

This study focuses on the tire–road friction estimation for the predictive control strategy of electronically limited slip differential (ELSD) to improve the handling and acceleration performance of front-wheel drive cars, which typically suffer from excessive understeer and inner drive wheel spin during acceleration while turning due to reduced vertical load on the wheel. To mitigate this, we propose a control logic for ELSD that enhances course followability and acceleration by pre-transferring the driving torque from the inside to the outside wheel, considering the estimated traction potential for rapid response. It is essential to improve the control accuracy of wheel spin prediction by predicting the friction coefficient of the road surface. Furthermore, this study extends to the analysis of vehicle dynamics during lane-change maneuvers on low-friction surfaces, emphasizing the role of accurate tire–road friction estimation in vehicle safety. A CarSim 2023-based simulation study was conducted to investigate the vehicle response on snowy roads with low friction coefficients (μ = 0.2) and low temperatures (−5 °C). The results demonstrated that even minimal steering input could result in significant side-slip angles, highlighting the nonlinear vehicle behavior and the critical need for robust traction estimation in such challenging conditions of general racing tracks. The proposed friction-estimation method was evaluated through vehicle testing and has been substantiated by patents for its originality in control and friction-estimation approaches. The outcomes of these combined methodologies underline the critical importance of tire–road friction coefficient estimation in both the effectiveness of the ELSD system and the broader context of active safety systems

Acceptance Model of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Based Technologies in Construction Firms: Applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in Combination with the Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) Framework

In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence (AI) is a core technology, and AI-based applications are expanding in various fields. This research explored the influencing factors on end-user’s intentions and acceptance of AI-based technology in construction companies using the technology acceptance model (TAM) and technology–organisation–environment (TOE) framework. The analysis of end-users’ intentions for accepting AI-based technology was verified by applying the structure equation model. According to the research results, the technological factors along with external variables and an individual’s personality had a positive influence (+) on the perceived usefulness and the perceived ease of use of end-users of AI-based technology. Conversely, environmental factors such as suggestions from others appeared to be disruptive to users’ technology acceptance. In order to effectively utilise AI-based technology, organisational factors such as the support, culture, and participation of the company as a whole were indicated as important factors for AI-based technology implementation

Sustainable Assets and Strategies Affecting the Forestry Household Income: Empirical Evidence from South Korea

This study aims to identify the factors determining the forestry household income in South Korea. An empirical analysis was conducted on the Korea Forest Service’s 3-year-panel data. Korea Forest Service is an institution responsible for the sustainable management of South Korea’s forest lands. In the study, the hypothesized factors determining the forestry household income are classified into four types of assets and three types of livelihood strategies. The forestry household income (FHI) is divided into three elements: forestry income (FI), non-forestry income (NFI), and transfer income (TI). The influence of household assets and livelihood strategies on each income were also assessed. A random effect model was used as a statistical analysis of the three-year data of 979 forestry households. Based on the analysis, we found that household head’s age, household head’s labor capacity, savings, business type, cultivated land size, and region are significantly associated with FHI. While FI was influenced by labor capacity, cultivated land size, business type, forestry business portfolio, and region, NFI was determined by household head’s age, household head’s gender, forestry business portfolio, and savings. TI was affected by household head’s age, household head’s education level, forestry business portfolio, savings, and region. The effect sizes and directions varied across different types of income (FHI, FI, NFI, and TI). The findings showed that South Korea forestry was highly dependent on sustainable assets and livelihood strategies. Based on our findings, we expect the effectiveness of forest policies in increasing the forestry household income would differ depending on the source of each income. The results of this study draw attention to the need for an income support policy which considers the characteristics of household assets and livelihood strategies in order to enhance FHI in South Korea

Access to Urban Green Space in Cities of the Global South: A Systematic Literature Review

This review examines disparities in access to urban green space (UGS) based on socioeconomic status (SES) and race-ethnicity in Global South cities. It was motivated by documented human health and ecosystem services benefits of UGS in Global South countries and UGS planning barriers in rapidly urbanizing cities. Additionally, another review of Global North UGS studies uncovered that high-SES and White people have access to a higher quantity of higher quality UGSs than low-SES and racial-ethnic minority people but that no clear differences exist regarding who lives closer to UGS. Thus, we conducted a systematic review to uncover (1) whether UGS inequities in Global North cities are evident in Global South cities and (2) whether inequities in the Global South vary between continents. Through the PRISMA approach and five inclusion criteria, we identified 46 peer-reviewed articles that measured SES or racial-ethnic disparities in access to UGS in Global South cities. We found inequities for UGS quantity (high-SES people are advantaged in 85% of cases) and UGS proximity (74% of cases). Inequities were less consistent for UGS quality (65% of cases). We also found that UGS inequities were consistent across African, Asian, and Latin American cities. These findings suggest that Global South cities experience similar inequities in UGS quantity and quality as Global North cities, but that the former also face inequities in UGS proximity

Tailoring exciton dynamics in TMDC heterobilayers in the ultranarrow gap-plasmon regime

Abstract Control of excitons in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) and their heterostructures is fundamentally interesting for tailoring light-matter interactions and exploring their potential applications in high-efficiency optoelectronic and nonlinear photonic devices. While both intra- and interlayer excitons in TMDCs have been heavily studied, their behavior in the quantum tunneling regime, in which the TMDC or its heterostructure is optically excited and concurrently serves as a tunnel junction barrier, remains unexplored. Here, using the degree of freedom of a metallic probe in an atomic force microscope, we investigated both intralayer and interlayer excitons dynamics in TMDC heterobilayers via locally controlled junction current in a finely tuned sub-nanometer tip-sample cavity. Our tip-enhanced photoluminescence measurements reveal a significantly different exciton-quantum plasmon coupling for intralayer and interlayer excitons due to different orientation of the dipoles of the respective e-h pairs. Using a steady-state rate equation fit, we extracted field gradients, radiative and nonradiative relaxation rates for excitons in the quantum tunneling regime with and without junction current. Our results show that tip-induced radiative (nonradiative) relaxation of intralayer (interlayer) excitons becomes dominant in the quantum tunneling regime due to the Purcell effect. These findings have important implications for near-field probing of excitonic materials in the strong-coupling regime

Geometric effects of nano-hole arrays for label free bio-detection

Geometric effects of nano-hole arrays were investigated for label free bio-detection. Because the nano-hole arrays were designed to present a filtered peak wavelength in the visible light region, filtered color changes caused by different biomolecules were easily observed with a microscope or even by the naked eye. Generally, many biomolecules are transparent or colorless in the visible range, so that it is hard to distinguish among them using visible observation. However, their molecular structure and composition induce some differences in the dielectric constant or refractive index causing a filtered color shift in the nano-hole array structure. Here, the contribution of geometric parameters such as the hole diameter and the spacing between nano-holes for bio-detection was evaluated to maximize the change in color among different biomolecules. A larger hole size and space between the holes enabled the biomolecules to be easily distinguished. Even if the change in color was not distinctive enough by eye in some cases, it was possible to distinguish the change by simple analysis of the 'Hue' values or by the 'Lab' color coordinates obtained from the photo images. Therefore, this technique can have high probability of realization for real-time detection of cells without the use of bio-markers. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016.1

High Growth Yield of Single Multiwall Carbon Nanotube With Different Length Effect

Vertically aligned single multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) is quite an interesting nanostructure due to its high probability of nanodevice realization with an ultrahigh integration density. Although &~200 nm catalyst diameter size and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method have been known as key parameters to grow a single MWCNT, the details and the phenomenon of below 200 nm catalyst size have not been studied or published well. Here, we report the details of catalyst size effect below 200 nm. One-hundred-nanometer diameter Ni catalyst on SiO2 layer shows 95% yield of single MWCNT growth. Surface roughness of substrate makes a large deviation in the yield and the critical catalyst size for single MWCNT. The various catalyst sizes result in the different growth rate of carbon nanotube (CNT) at the same growth condition. The change of diffusion surface area induces such a difference. From the results, single MWCNTs with various lengths are successfully grown on the same substrate by a one-step growth process. © 2014 IEEE.

Geometrically Enhanced Graphene Tunneling Diode with Lateral Nano-Scale Gap

The implications of graphene for tunneling diodes have attracted great attention due to the excellent electrical properties of graphene. Most graphene-based tunneling diodes have been fabricated with a vertical structure. They are limited by a complicated fabrication process. Herein, we present a lateral-structured graphene tunneling diode with asymmetric geometry. The asymmetric geometry induces strong electric field enhancement leading electronic band bending. Therefore, the asymmetry of the graphene tunneling is improved as much as 2.5 times. The lateral device structure opens up possibilities to apply graphene tunneling diodes in future electronic circuits. © 1980-2012 IEEE.1

Color Thin-Film Transistors Employing Periodic Nanohole Structures

A thin-film transistor (TFT) with a color filter function achieved by designing periodic nanohole arrays in the metal electrodes was studied. Since this metal electrode is not opaque but transparent to a specific color of light, the TFT structure has unique optical characteristics that can be used in broader applications. An aluminum metal electrode with nanohole arrays permitted specific color transmission by the surface plasmon phenomenon, depending on the spacing between holes, from blue to red. Although the gate electrode of the TFT had a nanohole structure, its electrical characteristics and the electrical field distribution in the gate oxide were almost similar to that of a common metal electrode structure. The TFTs with the nanohole arrays showed similar electrical performances to general TFTs without the nanohole structure. The values of 0.7 V/decade subthreshold swing and >10(7) ION/IOFF ratio were measured. The TFTs with the nanohole arrays on the metal layer were transparent in a specific color range and still kept its original electrical functionality. Therefore, the color TFT structure can be a good solution for various applications such as a solution for the low aperture issue in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays or low reliability in a flexible transparent display while offering a simpler fabrication process.N