• 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."

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.285-318
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• 2013

The purpose of this research is to examine the self-concept in the cyberspace, self-efficacy, relationship with friends, subjective well-being and academic grade among adolescents who are addicted to Internet and those who are not addicted to Internet. A total of 1,057 adolescents (male=545, female=512), 326 from middle school, 361 from high school, and 370 from special education school, participated in the study. The results are as follows. First, qualitative analysis of the conception of self in the cyberspace indicates that those adolescents addicted to Internet reported that in the cyberspace they have fun, followed by they are the same as in real life, they spend time in cyberspace and they can become an imaginary person. Those adolescents not addicted to Internet reported that in the cyberspace they are the same as in real life, followed by they spend time in cyberspace and they can become an imaginary person. When they play Internet games, majority of adolescents in both groups reported that it is fun, followed by they become engrossed and they become aggressive. Second, those adolescents who are not addicted to Internet had higher scores on self-efficacy than those adolescents who are addicted to Internet, including self-regulatory efficacy for learning, relational efficacy, and resiliency of efficacy. Third, the number of friends and close friends that adolescents who are not addicted to Internet were not significantly different from those adolescents who are addicted to Internet. However, those adolescents who are not addicted to Internet were more likely receive social support from friends and were less likely to be social excluded than those adolescents who are addicted to Internet. Fourth, those adolescents who are not addicted to Internet had significantly higher scores on subjective well-being than those adolescents who are addicted to Internet. Fifth, those adolescents who are not addicted to Internet had significantly higher scores on both subjective and objective academic grade than those adolescents who are addicted to Internet.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Earth Science Education
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.340-350
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• 2023

This study analyzed the difficulty level of class on the seasonal change unit for 84 students at a university of education. The conclusions of this study are as follows. First, if we first present the four topics that make up the seasonal changes in elementary science, the subjects that have the greatest difficulty in teaching for prospective elementary school teachers are 'Why do seasonal changes occur?' (Teaching difficulty level 4.05), 'The sun changes depending on the season' What is the difference between the southern altitude and the length of day and night?' (difficulty level of class, 3.12), 'What is the relationship between the altitude of the sun, length of shadow, and temperature during the day?' (difficulty level of class, 2.85), 'How does the temperature change depending on the season?' (class difficulty level 2.80). As a result, in the elementary science season change unit, the class on the four topics 'Why do seasons change?', which is classified as a class topic that requires the concept of spatial perception, showed a higher level of class difficulty than other units. Second, in the seasonal change unit, various factors of class difficulty appeared depending on the class topic. When pre-service elementary school teachers look at the factors that make class difficult when teaching a lesson on seasonal changes in order of frequency, 42 (50%) said 'Experimental instruction for comparing the altitude of solar masculine according to the tilt of the axis of rotation', followed by 'Solar masculine'. 38 people (45%) answered 'Difficulty in explaining mid-high altitude and the length of day and night', 27 people (32%) answered 'Difficulty in explaining the concept of mid-high altitude', and 24 people (32%) answered 'Difficulty in explaining seasonal changes in the sun's position.' 29%), 20 people (24%) said 'Explain the reasonable reason why the height of the light should be adjusted when measuring the solar altitude', and 16 people (19%) said 'It is difficult to explain the reason for the discrepancy between the solar altitude and the maximum temperature'. ), 'difficulties in measuring sand (ground) temperature' were mentioned by 12 people (14%). Third, when analyzing the factors of class difficulty, there were more curriculum factors than teacher factors. In this context, the exploratory activities on 'Why do seasonal changes occur?', the fourth topic of the seasonal change unit in which elementary school pre-service teachers showed the greatest difficulty in teaching, need improvement in terms of the curriculum.

• 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 Culture and Social Issue
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• v.12 no.5_spc
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• pp.99-116
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• 2006

This paper discuss adolescent's a quality of life related with risk behavior. The purpose of this study investigate to influence on risk behavior(runaway, smoking, sexual behavior) of the protective factors that moderate adolescent's problem behavior(delinquency). The assumption of this study that the protective factors counterbalance the negative influence of risk factors and finally, diminish a the problem behavior including a delinquent. A total of 1,020 students of a vocational high schook and a 216 adolescents of a special groups(the public institution that consisted with a delinquent young man) completed the questionnaires(risk behavior, 5 protective factors) of compiled by this researcher. The protective factors have selected based on the various prior studies analyzed with adolescent's risk behavior a family functioning, a father(a mother) each and child communication, a self efficacy, and a social support. Statistics appled for the data analysis are Chisqure analysis, two-way ANOVA, and Standard Discrimination analysis. The results of this study are as follows. First, the special group is higher than the general group in the rate of runaway, smoking, and sexual deviant behavior. Second, the protective factors are not action in the special group have experienced delinquency, but are only action in the general group consisted with the students of a vocational high schools. This means that the protective factors discriminating the participation of the risk behaviors, and blocking out the intervention of a problem behavior in the general adolescents. Although each protective factor influence to different according to each risk behavior, a role of a parent-child communication, a family functioning, and self-efficacy high orderly. Finally, discussed based on the previous studies that the protective factors moderate the negative influence of risk factors, offset the connection between a risk behavior and a. problem behavior, and improve and a resilience and the quality of life of the adolescents.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.104-114
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• 2023

As plastic usage increases globally, the amount of plastic waste entering the marine environment is steadily rising. Microplastics, in particular, can be ingested by marine organisms and accumulated in their digestive tracts, causing harmful effects on their growth and reproduction. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are known to metabolize various environmental pollutants as detoxification enzymes, but their role in crustaceans is not well understood. In this study, sequences of nine CYP genes (CYP370A4, CYP370C5 from clan 2; CYP350A1, CYP350C5, CYP361A1 from clan 3; CYP4AN-like, CYP4AP2, CYP4AP3, CYP4C33-like1 from clan 4) were analyzed using conserved domains in the brackish water flea Diaphanosoma celebensis. Additionally, after exposure to three different sizes of polystyrene beads (0.05-, 0.5-, 6-㎛ PS beads; 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/L) for 48 hours, the expression of these nine CYP genes were investigated using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results showed that all CYP genes possessed conserved motifs, indicating that D. celebensis CYP has evolutionarily conserved functions. Among these CYP genes, the expression of CYP370C5, CYP360A1, and CYP4C122 showed a significant increase after exposure to 0.05-㎛ PS beads, suggesting their involvement in PS metabolism. This research will contribute to understanding the molecular mode of actions of microplastics on marine invertebrates.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.46
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• pp.123-152
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• 2023

This paper will examine how the Avalokitesvara faith of India was restructured into the doctrines and practices related to the Sinicized version of the deity as Guanyin (觀音) Bodhisattva. Particular focus will be given to the Hangzhou area of China, when the Guanyin faith was still in the process of gaining establishment in China. In the Hangzhou area, Buddhist Orders grew significantly due to the wealth accumulated from commerce using canals and maritime trade, and the Chan (禪 typically known as Zen in English) Orders were particularly active during the Song Dynasty. Zhiyi (智顗), a prominent master from the Tiantai Order (天台宗), based his activities out of Hangzhou. He composed the text known as the Commentary on the Guanyin Petitioning Sutra (Qingguanyinjing-shu 請觀音經疏) based on a reinterpretation of a scripture related to Guanyin, and he systematized the Guanyin Repentance Ritual (Guanyin-chanfa 觀音懺法) by combining the Doctrines of Tiantai with the Guanyin faith. In addition, Ciyin Zunshi (慈雲遵式) reformulated that Guanyin Repentance Ritual into the Guanyin Petitioning Repentance Ritual (qing-guanyin-chan 請觀音懺) to make it into a common ritual that was more accessible to everyday people. The book, Records Regarding the Personal Conduct of the Chan Master Zhijue (zhijue-chanshi-zixing-lu 智覺禪師自行錄), which is written by Yongming Yanshou (永明延壽), a figure from the Fayan Order (法眼宗), one of the Chan Buddhist orders in the Hangzhou area during the Northern Song Dynasty, reveals the acceptance of the Guanyin faith as a daily practice within the 108 daily rituals (108事). In Chinese Buddhism, there were historical examples of monks being worshipped as incarnations of Guanyin Bodhisattva. An example of this includes iconography depicting Baozhi (寶誌), a figure from Jiliang (濟涼) who lived during the Southern Dynasties, as Ekādaśamukha (十一面觀音, Eleven-faced Guanyin Bodhisattva) in keeping with the belief that he was an incarnation of that deity. Monks of the Tiantai and Chan orders operating in the Hangzhou area actively utilized the transmission of Buddhist tales about Guanyin Bodhisattva as related to monks that exhibited miraculous powers (神異僧). This can be understood as a phenomenon demonstrating how Song Buddhism tried to attract more believers through the popularity of the Guanyin Faith.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.291-318
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to find out the impact of psycho-social factors (social relationship and personal) as well as illness history and economic status on physical health and subjective well-being among the retired Koreans elderly. Data were collected from 1,315 elders (mean age = 72.70yrs) residing in Seoul and Chuncheon regional area via interviews(Time 1), and them were re-interviewed two year later(Time 2). Multiple regression analyses indicated that the retired elders' illness history, economic status, marital satisfaction, fulfillment of self-esteem need, drinking behavior, positive affectivity, negative affectivity and physical health to predict their subjective well-being at Time 1(R²=.705). The retired elders' economic status, marital satisfaction, positive affectivity, negative affectivity and physical health to predict their subjective well-being at Time 2(R²=.418). The retired elders' illness history, economic status, expectations for one's offspring, drinking behavior and subjective well-being to predict their physical health at Time 1(R²=.364). And the retired elders' illness history, economic status, marital satisfaction, positive affectivity and negative affectivity to predict their physical health at Time 2(R²=.265). In case of retired elderly, suggested for the psycho-social determenants of subjective well-being and physical health by occupational classification. The implications of this study and the suggestions for furture study were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.95-132
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• 2009

Can money buy happiness? If not, what are the factors that influence happiness? What makes people happy? What are the factors that influence happiness among Korean adults? How can we better explain factors that influence happiness? These are the research questions that led to the analyses of psychological, relational, financial resources that influence happiness. To examine differences in socio-economic status, adults and elderly from three different districts that vary wealth and income were interviewed in their own home. A total of 313 respondents (male=133, female=180) between the ages of 20 through 80 completed a questionnaire that contained background information, emotional support scale and happiness scale developed by the present researcher and resiliency of efficacy developed by Bandura(1995). The results are as follows. First, monthly income influence happiness to some extent, but when the variable was excluded from the path analysis, the goodness-of-fit did not change significantly. Although those who have more money can be happier, those without much money can also be happy. These results indicate that financial resource has limited influence on happiness. In addition, monthly income did influence self-efficacy of respondents indicating that those with more money were not necessarily more confident about themselves. Second, an important factor influencing happiness is the relational resource. Emotional support was the most powerful predictor of happiness, four to five times more important than monthly income. Third, self-efficacy influenced happiness. Those respondents with higher resiliency of efficacy had higher happiness scores and the influence was two times greater than monthly income. Moreover, self-efficacy played a mediating role between emotional support and happiness. Fourth, those respondents with higher occupational achievement reported higher happiness score and the influence was two times greater than monthly income. Fifth, success of children influenced happiness score and the influence was 1.5 times greater than monthly income. Sixth, education did not directly influence happiness, but had an indirect influence through self-efficacy and occupational achievement. Seventh, age was not related to self-efficacy and happiness.