• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.33-58
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• 2008

Previous research has presupposed that the evaluation of consumer who received any recovery after experiencing product failure should be better than the evaluation of consumer who did not receive any recovery. The major purposes of this article are to examine impacts of product defect failures rather than service failures, and to explore effects of recovery on postrecovery product attitudes. First, this article deals with the occurrence of severe and unsevere failure and corresponding service recovery toward tangible products rather than intangible services. Contrary to intangible services, purchase and usage are separable for tangible products. This difference makes it clear that executing an recovery strategy toward tangible products is not plausible right after consumers find out product failures. The consumers may think about backgrounds and causes for the unpleasant events during the time gap between product failure and recovery. The deliberation may dilutes positive effects of recovery efforts. The recovery strategies which are provided to consumers experiencing product failures can be classified into three types. A recovery strategy can be implemented to provide consumers with a new product replacing the old defective product, a complimentary product for free, a discount at the time of the failure incident, or a coupon that can be used on the next visit. This strategy is defined as "a rewarding effort." Meanwhile a product failure may arise in exchange for its benefit. Then the product provider can suggest a detail explanation that the defect is hard to escape since it relates highly to the specific advantage to the product. The strategy may be called as "a strengthening effort." Another possible strategy is to recover negative attitude toward own brand by giving prominence to the disadvantages of a competing brand rather than the advantages of its own brand. The strategy is reflected as "a weakening effort." This paper emphasizes that, in order to confirm its effectiveness, a recovery strategy should be compared to being nothing done in response to the product failure. So the three types of recovery efforts is discussed in comparison to the situation involving no recovery effort. The strengthening strategy is to claim high relatedness of the product failure with another advantage, and expects the two-sidedness to ease consumers' complaints. The weakening strategy is to emphasize non-aversiveness of product failure, even if consumers choose another competitive brand. The two strategies can be effective in restoring to the original state, by providing plausible motives to accept the condition of product failure or by informing consumers of non-responsibility in the failure case. However the two may be less effective strategies than the rewarding strategy, since it tries to take care of the rehabilitation needs of consumers. Especially, the relative effect between the strengthening effort and the weakening effort may differ in terms of the severity of the product failure. A consumer who realizes a highly severe failure is likely to attach importance to the property which caused the failure. This implies that the strengthening effort would be less effective under the condition of high product severity. Meanwhile, the failing property is not diagnostic information in the condition of low failure severity. Consumers would not pay attention to non-diagnostic information, and with which they are not likely to change their attitudes. This implies that the strengthening effort would be more effective under the condition of low product severity. A 2 (product failure severity: high or low) X 4 (recovery strategies: rewarding, strengthening, weakening, or doing nothing) between-subjects design was employed. The particular levels of product failure severity and the types of recovery strategies were determined after a series of expert interviews. The dependent variable was product attitude after the recovery effort was provided. Subjects were 284 consumers who had an experience of cosmetics. Subjects were first given a product failure scenario and were asked to rate the comprehensibility of the failure scenario, the probability of raising complaints against the failure, and the subjective severity of the failure. After a recovery scenario was presented, its comprehensibility and overall evaluation were measured. The subjects assigned to the condition of no recovery effort were exposed to a short news article on the cosmetic industry. Next, subjects answered filler questions: 42 items of the need for cognitive closure and 16 items of need-to-evaluate. In the succeeding page a subject's product attitude was measured on an five-item, six-point scale, and a subject's repurchase intention on an three-item, six-point scale. After demographic variables of age and sex were asked, ten items of the subject's objective knowledge was checked. The results showed that the subjects formed more favorable evaluations after receiving rewarding efforts than after receiving either strengthening or weakening efforts. This is consistent with Hoffman, Kelley, and Rotalsky (1995) in that a tangible service recovery could be more effective that intangible efforts. Strengthening and weakening efforts also were effective compared to no recovery effort. So we found that generally any recovery increased products attitudes. The results hint us that a recovery strategy such as strengthening or weakening efforts, although it does not contain a specific reward, may have an effect on consumers experiencing severe unsatisfaction and strong complaint. Meanwhile, strengthening and weakening efforts were not expected to increase product attitudes under the condition of low severity of product failure. We can conclude that only a physical recovery effort may be recognized favorably as a firm's willingness to recover its fault by consumers experiencing low involvements. Results of the present experiment are explained in terms of the attribution theory. This article has a limitation that it utilized fictitious scenarios. Future research deserves to test a realistic effect of recovery for actual consumers. Recovery involves a direct, firsthand experience of ex-users. Recovery does not apply to non-users. The experience of receiving recovery efforts can be relatively more salient and accessible for the ex-users than for non-users. A recovery effort might be more likely to improve product attitude for the ex-users than for non-users. Also the present experiment did not include consumers who did not have an experience of the products and who did not perceive the occurrence of product failure. For the non-users and the ignorant consumers, the recovery efforts might lead to decreased product attitude and purchase intention. This is because the recovery trials may give an opportunity for them to notice the product failure.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2012

Verification of internal organ motion during treatment and its feedback is essential to accurate dose delivery to the moving target. We developed an offline based internal organ motion verification system (IMVS) using cine EPID images and evaluated its accuracy and availability through phantom study. For verification of organ motion using live cine EPID images, a pattern matching algorithm using an internal surrogate, which is very distinguishable and represents organ motion in the treatment field, like diaphragm, was employed in the self-developed analysis software. For the system performance test, we developed a linear motion phantom, which consists of a human body shaped phantom with a fake tumor in the lung, linear motion cart, and control software. The phantom was operated with a motion of 2 cm at 4 sec per cycle and cine EPID images were obtained at a rate of 3.3 and 6.6 frames per sec (2 MU/frame) with $1,024{\times}768$ pixel counts in a linear accelerator (10 MVX). Organ motion of the target was tracked using self-developed analysis software. Results were compared with planned data of the motion phantom and data from the video image based tracking system (RPM, Varian, USA) using an external surrogate in order to evaluate its accuracy. For quantitative analysis, we analyzed correlation between two data sets in terms of average cycle (peak to peak), amplitude, and pattern (RMS, root mean square) of motion. Averages for the cycle of motion from IMVS and RPM system were $3.98{\pm}0.11$ (IMVS 3.3 fps), $4.005{\pm}0.001$ (IMVS 6.6 fps), and $3.95{\pm}0.02$ (RPM), respectively, and showed good agreement on real value (4 sec/cycle). Average of the amplitude of motion tracked by our system showed $1.85{\pm}0.02$ cm (3.3 fps) and $1.94{\pm}0.02$ cm (6.6 fps) as showed a slightly different value, 0.15 (7.5% error) and 0.06 (3% error) cm, respectively, compared with the actual value (2 cm), due to time resolution for image acquisition. In analysis of pattern of motion, the value of the RMS from the cine EPID image in 3.3 fps (0.1044) grew slightly compared with data from 6.6 fps (0.0480). The organ motion verification system using sequential cine EPID images with an internal surrogate showed good representation of its motion within 3% error in a preliminary phantom study. The system can be implemented for clinical purposes, which include organ motion verification during treatment, compared with 4D treatment planning data, and its feedback for accurate dose delivery to the moving target.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.40-53
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• 2015

To train the manpower to meet the requirements of the industrial field, the introduction of the National Qualification Frameworks(hereinafter referred to as NQF) was determined in 2001 by National Competency Standards(hereinafter referred to as NCS) centrally of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. Also, for landscape architecture in the construction field, the "NCS -Landscape Architecture" pilot was developed in 2008 to be test operated for 3 years starting in 2009. Especially, as the 'realization of a competence-based society, not by educational background' was adopted as one of the major government projects in the Park Geun-Hye government(inaugurated in 2013) the NCS system was constructed on a nationwide scale as a detailed method for practicing this. However, in the case of the NCS developed by the nation, the ideal job performing abilities are specified, therefore there are weaknesses of not being able to reflect the actual operational problem differences in the student level between universities, problems of securing equipment and professors, and problems in the number of current curricula. For soft landing to practical curriculum, the process of clearly analyzing the gap between the current curriculum and the NCS must be preceded. Gap analysis is the initial stage methodology to reorganize the existing curriculum into NCS based curriculum, and based on the ability unit elements and performance standards for each NCS ability unit, the discrepancy between the existing curriculum within the department or the level of coincidence used a Likert scale of 1 to 5 to fill in and analyze. Thus, the universities wishing to operate NCS in the future measuring the level of coincidence and the gap between the current university curriculum and NCS can secure the basic tool to verify the applicability of NCS and the effectiveness of further development and operation. The advantages of reorganizing the curriculum through gap analysis are, first, that the government financial support project can be connected to provide quantitative index of the NCS adoption rate for each qualitative department, and, second, an objective standard is provided on the insufficiency or sufficiency when reorganizing to NCS based curriculum. In other words, when introducing in the subdivisions of the relevant NCS, the insufficient ability units and the ability unit elements can be extracted, and the supplementary matters for each ability unit element per existing subject can be extracted at the same time. There is an advantage providing directions for detailed class program and basic subject opening. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Employment and Labor must gather people from the industry to actively develop and supply the NCS standard a practical level to systematically reflect the requirements of the industrial field the educational training and qualification, and the universities wishing to apply NCS must reorganize the curriculum connecting work and qualification based on NCS. To enable this, the universities must consider the relevant industrial prospect and the relation between the faculty resources within the university and the local industry to clearly select the NCS subdivision to be applied. Afterwards, gap analysis must be used for the NCS based curriculum reorganization to establish the direction of the reorganization more objectively and rationally in order to participate in the process evaluation type qualification system efficiently.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.3
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• pp.54-70
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• 1993

According as the automation of clerical work(OA ; Office Automation) develops, the use of VDT(Visual or Video Display Terminal) is increasing suddenly. But, in proportion to the spread of office automation(OA tendency), the self-conciousness syptom attendant upon the work is appearing also (Kim, Jung Tae, Lee, Young Ook, 1990). The apparatuses of office enable the clerical workers to be convenient and perform mass businesses. But, they are increasing the opportunity to be exposed to VDT syndrom, techno stress, computer terminal disease, pain by muscle strain(RSI), bradycausia of noise nature, and electromagnetic waves, etc. which are referred to as the new type of occupational diseases to the workers. It is the real situation that the workers to use VDT is complaining of the physical inconvenience sense in the recent newspaper and literature, it is the point of time that the sydrome to come from VDT use and computer terminal disease, etc. must be classified into the occupational disease(Lee, Kwang Young 1990, Lee, Kyoo Hak 1990, Lee, Won Ho 1991, Lee, Si Young 1991, Lee, Joon 1991, Choi, Young Tae 1991, Heo, Seung Ho 1989). In addition, it is the real situation that the scientifitic study result about the scope that electromagnetic waves has influence on the human body has not been suggested yet, and criticism on the stable exposure permission standard about electromagnetic waves to be emitted from VDT and on the problem in the health about electromagnetic waves is continuing. (IEEE Spectrum, 1990). In addition according to the experience of nursery business of industry field, it is the real situation that the patients who consult complaining of physical and mental inconvenience sence, among the users of apparatus of office automation, are reaching 10% of the patients coming to doctor's room. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm the self-consciousness symptom that the clerical workers complain of multilaterally with the actual state examination about the use of the apparatuses of offices automaton. Thus, this study was tried as th basic data for the cosultation and education for the maintenance and furtherance of the health of workers as the nurse of industry field, by confirming the contents of self-consciousness symptom attendant upon the use of the apparatus for office outomation making the financial institution in which the spparatus for office automation in most frequently used as the subject, and by examining whether there is the difference according to the subject of study, the data were collected, by using the questionnaire method, making 200 workers who consented to the study participation as the subject, among the persons who have spent over 3 months since they used the apparatuses for office automation and didn't receive the treatment in hospital due to the clerical disease for recent 3 years. The period of data collection was from Oct. 9, 1991 to Oct. 12. As for the measurement instrument about the complaint if self-consciousness symptom attendant upon the use of apparatuses fo office automation, the question item on the complaint symptom of health problem attendant upon the treatment of VDT that Kim(1991) developed and on CMI health problem and the question items on the fatigue degree due to industry were used by previous examination to 25 persons. Collected data were analyzed with the statistical method such as percentage, arithmetic mean, Person correlation coeffient, Kai square verfication, t-test, ANOVA, etc. by using SPSS/PC+ program, and the result is as follows : 1. The self-consciousness symptom that the clerical workers complained of most frequetly appeared high in 'My eyes are tired'(99.4%), 'I feel fatigue and weariness'(99.4%), 'I feel that my head is heavy5(90.0%), 'eyesight fell'(88.8%), 'I have a stiff neck'(88.8%), 'I fell pain in the shoulder'(85.0%), 'I feel cold and painful in the eyes'(76.9%), 'I feel the dry sense of eyeball'(76.2%), 'My nerves are edgy, and I an fretful, (75.6%), 'I feel pain in the waist'(73.2%) and 'I fell pain in the back'(72.8%). It emerged that the subject use the apparatuses for office automation complained of self-consciousness symptoms related to visual symptoms and musculoskeletal symptoms. 2. As for the general feature of examination subjects, the result to see the distribution by classifying into sex, age, school career, use career of apparatuses for office automation, skillfulness degree of the use of apparatus for office automation, use hours of the apparatuses for office automation per 1 day, type of business of the apparatus for office automation, rest hours during the use of apparatus for office automation, satifaction degree of business of office automation, and work circumstance, etc. emerged as follows : As for the sex of subjects, the distribution showed that men were 58.8% and women were 41.3%, Age was average 26.9. As the distribution of school career, the distribution showed that4below the graduation of high school' was 58.8%, 'graduation from junior college-university' was 35.0%, and 'over graduate school' was 6.3%. In the question to ask the existence or non-existence of experience of health consultation in connection with the work of office automation, the response that I had the consultation exprience and I feel the necessity emergerd as 90.1% And, the case that the subject who didn't wear the glasses or lens before using the OA apparatus wear glasses or lens after using OA apparatus emerged as 28.3% of whole. As for the existence or non-existence of use career of OA apparatus, the case under 3 years was highest as 52. 7%. As for the skillfulnness degree about the use of apparatus for office automation, most of them are skillful with the fact that 'common' was 44.4%, 'skill' was 42.5%, and 'unskillful' was 13.1% As for the use average hours of the apparatus for office automation per 1 day, the distribution showed that the case under 3-6 hours was 33.1%, the case under 6-9 hours was 28.1%, the case under 3 hours was 30.6%, and the case over 9 hours was 8.1% Main OA business and the use hours for 1 day showed in the order of keeping and retrieval, business of information transmission(162min), business of information transmission(79.3 min), business of document framing(55.5 min), and business of duplication and printing(25.4min). as for the rest during the use of apparatus for affice automation, that I take rest occasion demands the major portion, but that I take after completing the work emerged as 33.8%. Though the subiness gets to be convenient by the use of the apparatus for of office automation, respondents who showed the dissatisfaction about the present OA business emergd high as 78.1%. The work circumstances of each office was good with the fact that the temperature of office was 21.8, noise was average 42.7db, and the illumination was average 364.4 lx, in the light of ANSi/HFS 100 Standard. 3. Sight syptom, musculoskeletal symptom, skin and other symptoms showed the significant difference according to the extent of skillfulness of the apparatus for office automation. All the symptoms exept skin symptom showed the difference according to the use hours of the apparatus for office automation. All the question items exept the sytoms of digestive organs and the rest hours during the apparatus for office automation showed the signicant difference. The question item which showed the signicant difference from the satisfaction degree of present OA business showed the significant difference from all the question item classified into 6 groups. But, age and school career didn't significant difference from the complaint of any self-consciousness symptoms.