• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.159-189
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• 2012

What attracts consumers to bloggers' reviews? Consumers would be attracted both by the Bloggers' expertise (i.e., knowledge and experience) and by his/her unbiased manner of delivering information. Expertise and trustworthiness are both virtues of information sources, particularly when there is uncertainty in decision-making. Noting this point, we postulate that consumers' motives determine the relative weights they place on expertise and trustworthiness. In addition, our hypotheses assume that tie strength moderates consumers' expectation on bloggers' expertise and trustworthiness: with expectation on expertise enhanced for power-blog user-group (weak-ties), and an expectation on trustworthiness elevated for personal-blog user-group (strong-ties). Finally, we theorize that the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review is moderated by tie strength; the predictive power of credibility is more prominent for the personal-blog user-groups than for the power-blog user groups. To support these assumptions, we conducted a field survey with blog users, collecting retrospective self-report data. The "gourmet shop" was chosen as a target product category, and obtained data analyzed by structural equations modeling. Findings from these data provide empirical support for our theoretical predictions. First, we found that the purposive motive aimed at satisfying instrumental information needs increases reliance on bloggers' expertise, but interpersonal connectivity value for alleviating loneliness elevates reliance on bloggers' trustworthiness. Second, expertise-based credibility is more prominent for power-blog user-groups than for personal-blog user-groups. While strong ties attract consumers with trustworthiness based on close emotional bonds, weak ties gain consumers' attention with new, non-redundant information (Levin & Cross, 2004). Thus, when the existing knowledge system, used in strong ties, does not work as smoothly for addressing an impending problem, the weak-tie source can be utilized as a handy reference. Thus, we can anticipate that power bloggers secure credibility by virtue of their expertise while personal bloggers trade off on their trustworthiness. Our analysis demonstrates that power bloggers appeal more strongly to consumers than do personal bloggers in the area of expertise-based credibility. Finally, the effect of review credibility on willingness to accept a review is higher for the personal-blog user-group than for the power-blog user-group. Actually, the inference that review credibility is a potent predictor of assessing willingness to accept a review is grounded on the analogy that attitude is an effective indicator of purchase intention. However, if memory about established attitudes is blocked, the predictive power of attitude on purchase intention is considerably diminished. Likewise, the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review can be affected by certain moderators. Inspired by this analogy, we introduced tie strength as a possible moderator and demonstrated that tie strength moderated the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review. Previously, Levin and Cross (2004) showed that credibility mediates strong-ties through receipt of knowledge, but this credibility mediation is not observed for weak-ties, where a direct path to it is activated. Thus, the predictive power of credibility on behavioral intention - that is, willingness to accept a review - is expected to be higher for strong-ties.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.165-181
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• 2011

In 2005, Yuhan Kimberly found interesting points in the existing customers' U&A survey on the kitchen towel. The usage of Korean consumers is usually restricted to getting rid of the oil from the fans and the fried food. This usage limits could be the barrier to the diffusion of kitchen towel. Although consumers were worried about the hygiene situations about the dishcloth, they also percieved that the existing paper kitchen towels were short of something to soothe their inconveniences. As a result, the company made a decision to seek out the solution for the consumers' worries. The relative shortage of the paper kitchen towel compared to that of the unhygienic and inconvenient dishcloth was its lack of water-endurance. The dishcloth could be reliable in the wet environment which is very common in Korean kitchen, whereas the paper kitchen towel was perceived as very weak and unreliable in removing water form the dishes and the sink. To overcome the common sense of the consumers, it is important to shift the consumers' perception of the kitchen towel category. It is needed to expand the usage time from one time to several times in a day. So it is needed to redesign the customers' kitchen life. The company adopted the brand "Scott^®" to meet the global brand strategy of the parent company, Kimberley Clark. This brand was also adopted and made a succesful launch of the similar product lines in Latin America. Furthermore, to make an emphasis on the differentiation from the existing paper kitchen towels, the company made the slogan, "Scott^® washable kitchen towel." This slogan was designed to expand the familiar product image of convenient paper towels to water-resistance. As a result, consumers show the changes in usage behavior of paper towels and apply them for more various purposes such as cleaning the decks and tables. This change results in the rapid sales increase of "Scott^® washable kitchen towel."

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.25-53
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• 2011

This study probes the effect of loyalty program on the customer retention based on the real transaction data(n=2,892) acquired from education service industry. We try to figure out the outcomes of reward program through more than 1 year-long data gathered and analyzed according to quasi-experimental design(i.e., before and after design). We adopt this kinds of research scheme in regard that previous studies measured the effect of loyalty program by dividing the customers into two group(i.e., members vs. non-members) after the firms or stores had started the program. We believe that it might not avoid the self-selection bias. The research questions of this study could be explained such as: First, most research said that the loyalty programs could increase the customer loyalty and contribute to the sustainable growth of company. But there are little confirmation that this promotional tool could be justified in terms of financial perspective. Thus, we are interested in both the retention rate and financial outcomes caused by the introduction of loyalty programs. Second, reward programs target mainly current customer. Especially CRM(customer relationship management) said that it is more profitable for company to build positive relationship with current customer instead of pursuing new customer. And it claims that reward program is excellent means to achieve this goal. For this purpose, we check in this study whether there is a interaction effect between loyalty program and customer type in retaining customer. Third, it is said that dis-satisfied customers are more likely to leave the company than satisfied customers. While, Bolton, Kannan and Bramlett(2000) claimed that reward program could contribute to minimize the effect of negative service by building emotional link with customer, it is not empirically confirmed. This point of view explained that the loyalty programs might work as exit barrier to current customer. Thus, this study tries to identify whether there is a interaction effect between loyalty program and service experience in keeping customer. To achieve this purpose, this study adopt both Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard model. The research outcomes show that the average retention period is 179 days before introducing loyalty program but it is increased to 227 days after reward is given to the customers. Since this difference is statistically significant, it could be said that H1 is supported. In addition, the contribution margin coming from increased transaction period is bigger than the cost for administering loyalty programs. To address other research questions, we probe the interaction effect between loyalty program and other factors(i.e., customer type and service experience) affecting it. The analysis of Cox proportional hazard model said that the current customer is more likely to engage in building relationship with company compared to new customer. In addition, retention rate of satisfied customer is significantly increased in relation to dis-satisfied customer. Interestingly, the transaction period of dis-satisfied customer is notably increased after introducing loyalty programs. Thus, it could be said that H2, H3, and H4 are also supported. In summary, we found that the loyalty programs have values as a promotional tool in forming positive relationship with customer and building exit barrier.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.53-57
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• 2013

There is no established treatment for esophageal carcinoma with metastasis. For the metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, chemotherapy or best supportive care according to patient's performance status are accepted as an available treatment. We report a case of complete remission after concurrent chemoradiotherapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with metastatic lesion in 5th thoracic vertebrae. A 57-year-old man with ongoing dysphagia and weight loss was admitted to our hospital. On the endoscopic and radiologic imaging evaluation,the patient was diagnosed as a squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus with solitary metastatic lesion in 5th thoracic vertebrae. The patient was treated with combination chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin) and concurrent radiotherapy for two months to relieve dysphagia. Because metastatic lesion in thoracic vertebrae was located near the primary esophageal tumor, the metastatic lesion could be included within the radiation field. After concurrent chemoradiotherapy, consecutive 4 cycles of chemotherapy had been carried out. Primary esophageal tumor with metastatic lymph nodes and metastatic lesion in 5th thoracic vertebrae disappeared on follow up computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT). Follow up endoscopic biopsy revealed no remnant malignant cells at previous primary cancer lesion.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.206-215
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• 2023

This study was performed to investigate immune changes by comparing the proportion and function of immune cells in the blood under high-temperature period and convalescence temperature period in Holstein dairy cows. The experiment was conducted using Holstein dairy cows of five animals per group (60 ± 20 months old, 175 ± 78 non-day) from the National Institute of Animal Science at high-temperature period (THI: 76 ± 1.2) and convalescence temperature period (THI: 66 ± 1.3). Complete blood count results showed no change in the number of immune cells between groups. In the analysis using Flow Cytometry of PBMCs, no significant differences were observed among B cells, Helper T cells, cytotoxic T cells, and γδ T cells between groups. However, there was an increase in Th17 cells producing IL-17a, while Th1 cells decreased during the convalescence temperature period. The results of gene expression analysis using qRT-PCR in PBMCs revealed an increase in IL-10 during the convalescence temperature period, while a decrease in HSP70 and HSP90 was observed. In conclusion, the increased expression of IL-10 and the decrease in HSP expression suggest the possibility of a weak recovery from heat stress. However, the lack of observed changes in B cells, T cells, and other immune cells indicates incomplete recovery from heat stress during the convalescence temperature period.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.337-345
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• 2023

Estimating the rice heading date is one of the most crucial agricultural tasks related to productivity. However, due to abnormal climates around the world, it is becoming increasingly challenging to estimate the rice heading date. Therefore, a more objective classification method for estimating the rice heading date is needed than the existing methods. This study, we aimed to classify the rice heading stage from various images using a CNN classification model. We collected top-view images taken from a drone and a phenotyping tower, as well as slanted-view images captured with a RGB camera. The collected images underwent preprocessing to prepare them as input data for the CNN model. The CNN architectures employed were ResNet50, InceptionV3, and VGG19, which are commonly used in image classification models. The accuracy of the models all showed an accuracy of 0.98 or higher regardless of each architecture and type of image. We also used Grad-CAM to visually check which features of the image the model looked at and classified. Then verified our model accurately measure the rice heading date in paddy fields. The rice heading date was estimated to be approximately one day apart on average in the four paddy fields. This method suggests that the water head can be estimated automatically and quantitatively when estimating the rice heading date from various paddy field monitoring images.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.399-429
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• 2009

The purpose of this research examines the factors that influence happiness among Korean adolescents by focusing on psychological resource (as measured by self-efficacy), relational resource (as measured by social support) and financial resource (as measured by family's monthly income). In addition, the influence of academic achievement on happiness is examined. To examine the influence of socio-economic status and family's monthly income, adolescents living in three different districts in Seoul (from working to middle to upper class districts) were randomly selected and interviewed in their home. A total of 190 elementary school, middle school, high school and university students (male=83, female=107) completed the resiliency of efficacy scale developed by Bandura (1995) and emotional support and happiness scale developed by the present researchers, in addition to background information. The results of the path analysis are as follows. First, the most important predictor of happiness among Korean adolescents is relational resources. In other words, emotional support received from significant others was most predictive of happiness; more than 60 times the effect of family's monthly income, three times the effect of academic achievement, and two times the effect of resiliency of efficacy. The second most important factor that predicted the happiness of Korean adolescents was psychological resource (i.e., resiliency of efficacy), which had 30 times the effect of family's monthly income. In addition resiliency of efficacy played a mediating role between emotional support on one hand and happiness on the other. Third, those respondents who had higher academic achievement reported higher levels of happiness, which had 20 times the effect of family's monthly income. Fourth, family monthly income did not predict happiness among Korean adolescents. Fifth, socio-economic status and school level did not have direct influence on happiness but had mediating influence through their influence on emotional support. In other words, those respondents with higher socio-economic status and elementary school students were more likely to receive social support from significant others, which in turn increased their happiness. These results indicate that the most important predictor of happiness among Korean adolescents is emotional support, followed by resiliency of effic acy and academic achievement, indicating that those adolescents from wealthy families are not necessarily happier.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.214-232
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• 2023

Stromatolite at the Daegu Catholic University, Gyeongsan was designated as a natural monument in December 2009 because it was very excellent in terms of rarity, accessibility, preservation and scale. From the time of designation, the necessity of confirming the lateral extension of the stromatolite beds with the excavation of the surrounding area, and preparing a preservation plan was raised. Accordingly, the Cultural Heritage Administration conducted an investigation of the scale, production pattern, and weathering state of stromatolites with an excavation from April to December 2022, and based on this, suggested natural heritage values and conservation and use plans. The excavation was carried out in a 1,186m² area surrounding the exposed hemispherical stromatolite (approximately 30m2). Stromatolites are continuously distributed over the entire excavation area, and hemispherical stromatolites predominate in the eastern region, and the distribution and size of hemispherical domes tend to decrease toward the west. These characteristics are interpreted as a result of long-term growth in large-scale lakes, where stratiform or small columnar domes continued to grow and connect with each other, finally forming large domes. Consequently, large and small domes were distributed on the bedding plane in clusters like coral reefs. The growth of plants and lichens, as well as small-scale faults and joints developed on the stromatolite bedding surface, is the main cause of accelerated weathering. However, preservation treatment with chemicals as with dinosaur footprints or dinosaur egg fossil sites is not suitable due to the characteristics of stromatolites, and preservation with the installation of closed protection facilities should be considered. This excavation confirmed that the distribution, size and value of stromatolites are much larger and higher than at the time of designation as a natural monument. Therefore, additional excavation of areas by experts that could not be excavated due to the discovery of buried cultural properties (stone chamber tombs) and reexamination of the expansion designation of natural monuments are required.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.76-98
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• 2023

The results of analyzing the outfits of male and female characters depicted in the "Hoehonryedocheop" (回婚禮圖帖, Deoksu 6375) held by the National Museum of Korea and estimating its production date of the "Hoehonryedocheop"are as follows. Firstly, an elderly groom is depicted wearing a patterned heukdanryeong (黑團領) with rank badges, a garment commonly donned by government officials in works such as "Jeonanryedo (奠鴈禮圖)" and "Gyobaeryedo (交拜禮圖)". And the old groom in "Heonsuryedo (獻壽禮圖)" "Jeobbindo (接賓圖)" and "Jungroeyeondo (重牢宴圖)" is shown wearing a jarip (purple hat) without a paeyoung (ornamental jewelry strap), accompanied by jade colored robe with a red strap belt. Gireokabeom (雁夫) is observed wearing a jarip (紫笠) adorned with a paeyoung (貝纓) and a patternless heukdanryeong with rank badges. Adult male descendants are depicted wearing dopo (道袍), while guests wear dopo, cheolrik (帖裏), and jikryeong (直領), accompanied by red and blue straps denoting their social status. Jingssi (徵氏), sidong (侍童), and young grandchildren are observed wearing jungchimak(中赤莫). The young servants are wearing jungchimak, and the boys carrying the food have braided their hair and worn sochangu (小氅衣), while adults servants wore jeonrip (氈笠) and sochangui. Performers are seen clad in a sochangui, jeonbok, and a blue sash around their waists. Secondly, the elderly bride is portrayed wearing a keunmeori (ceremonial headdress) and a green wonsam (圓衫) in "Gyobaeryedo," while in "Heonsuyeondo," she is depicted in a blue skirt and a jade colored jeogori (赤古里). Women descendants are shown adorning headdress decorations, such as binyeo(簪), banja(斑子) and pearl daenggi (眞珠唐紒) on their eoyeomeori (於于味, ceremonial headdress). They are further dressed in skirts of navy, red, and jade hues, paired with various-colored jeogori. Additionally, a woman wearing a navy skirt and a green jangot (長衣) is also depicted. The dongnyeo (童女, unmarried women) wear beolsaengmeri (娘子雙髻), headdress) with long binyeo and long dodaik-daenggi (都多益唐只). They wear chilbo-jokduri (七寶簇頭里) and a red skirt with a green hoejang-jeogori (回裝赤古里). Bija (婢子) wears garima (加里亇) on her eoyeomeori and is seen dressed in skirts and jeogori resembling those worn by noble women, albeit with lighter colors, shorter skirt length, and a subdued volume. Ginyeo's attire bears similarities to that of noble women, although with a dress with less vibrant tones and devoid of decorations on the eoyeomeori. Thirdly, based on the main character's jarip, along with the cheolrik and jikryeong worn by the guests, as well as the performances by musicians of the military camp, it is suggested that the main character of the 60th wedding anniversary is connected to the Ministry of Military Affairs or the military camp. Judging by the military band's short-sleeved vest, the silhouettes of the women dress, and the headdresses, it is likely that the "Hoehonryedocheop" was produced between the 1760s and 1780s.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.729-744
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• 2023

The value of lithium has significantly increased due to the rising demand for electric cars and batteries. Lithium is primarily found in pegmatites, hydrothermally altered tuffaceous clays, and continental brines. Globally, groundwater-fed salt lakes and oil field brines are attracting attention as major sources of lithium in continental brines, accounting for about 70% of global lithium production. Recently, deep groundwater, especially geothermal water, is also studied for a potential source of lithium. Lithium concentrations in deep groundwater can increase through substantial water-rock reaction and mixing with brines. For the exploration of lithim in deep groundwater, it is important to understand its origin and behavior. Therefore, based on a nationwide preliminary study on the hydrogeochemical characteristics and evolution of thermal groundwater in South Korea, this study aims to investigate the distribution of lithium in the deep groundwater environment and understand the geochemical factors that affect its concentration. A total of 555 thermal groundwater samples were classified into five hydrochemical types showing distinct hydrogeochemical evolution. To investigate the enrichment mechanism, samples (n = 56) with lithium concentrations exceeding the 90th percentile (0.94 mg/L) were studied in detail. Lithium concentrations varied depending upon the type, with Na(Ca)-Cl type being the highest, followed by Ca(Na)-SO₄ type and low-pH Ca(Na)-HCO₃ type. In the Ca(Na)-Cl type, lithium enrichment is due to reverse cation exchange due to seawater intrusion. The enrichment of dissolved lithium in the Ca(Na)-SO₄ type groundwater occurring in Cretaceous volcanic sedimentary basins is related to the occurrence of hydrothermally altered clay minerals and volcanic activities, while enriched lithium in the low-pH Ca(Na)-HCO₃ type groundwater is due to enhanced weathering of basement rocks by ascending deep CO₂. This reconnaissance geochemical study provides valuable insights into hydrogeochemical evolution and economic lithium exploration in deep geologic environments.