• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.39-49
• /
• 2017

Purpose - This study is to propose a creative idea for constant business growth and development by examining characteristics of business outcomes by phase, which are "growth" and "erosion and stagnation," respectively. Research design, data, methodology - It is necessary to identify an occurrence of crisis and its diffusion with a dynamic model in order to identify a success and failure of businesses in an organic way, not on a binary structure. The static perspective is to understand a crisis as a simply one-time event or as a linear causation. Thus, it has a limited understanding of the overall situation and has limits to investigating a foundational cause and developing long-term countermeasures. On the contrary, the dynamic perspective is to understand the crisis as circulation process of the overall system. Thus, it divides elements of the crisis as external and internal ones to understand it as the causal relationship of each element. Results - During the growth period of Burger King, the company promoted its brand very successfully with aggressive and creative marketing activities. However, due to the founder's disposal of management rights and the following changes in the management, the company had no choice but to lose focus on its business philosophy and brand management, and eventually it had to face the big crisis (resonance) which was delisting from the stock market because of the external threat; well-being trend. However, Burger King resumed lifting on the stock exchange by making great efforts to clearly identify the current issues and seek solutions. Under the spirit of "perseverance" and its slogan "Have it your way" the company is now going head to head with McDonald's in the North American region and emerging countries. Conclusions - Then, what is the most crucial factor in the success and failure of businesses? Answers may vary, however, as learned from the case study of Burger King, corporations should inspect the present and focus on developing a long-term strategy for the future and actively fulfill the actions. McDonald's may not be able to innovate by itself in the future as it may become routinized to the growth. There will be chances of winning if we change conditions of individuals or organizations to an organic system in terms of being creative. There is a hopeful message here that an individual or small business may have more advantages in the era of the idea and innovation.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.129-139
• /
• 2010

The Cowherd Star and the Weaving Maid Star have been famous stars in East Asian countries. Nowadays Altair is defined to be the Cowherd Star in public materials including science books, mass media, public outreach programs, and movies played in public planetariums and science museums. However, in astronomical books and star-charts in history, the Cowherd Big Star (牽牛大星) has been known to be Dabih or $\beta$ Cap in the constellation Capricorn, and the asterism Cowherd consists of six stars including Dabih. Since the same title is given to the different objects simultaneously, considerable misunderstanding and confusion among the public have occurred. In this paper we consider this problem in two aspects. One aspect is which star has been defined to be the Cowherd Star in ancient literatures; the other is which stars were regarded as the Cowherd or the Cowherd Star in the historical records of occultation or conjunction in History of Koryo, Annals of the Choson Dynasty, and Daily Records of Royal Secretariat of the Choson Dynasty. As a result, we see that Altair has been regarded as the Cowherd Star in folklore and literature, but Dabih has been defined to be the Cowherd Big Star in astronomical works. An explanation proposed by previous researchers on the reason why such double meanings have been appeared is introduced. In the explanation, the fact that the Altair was defined as the Cowherd Star in ancient times had not been handed over properly, and the name of Cowherd was later put to the Dabih and its surrounding five stars to form one of 28 lunar lodges. Based upon these facts, we suggest the following ideas: (1) Altair should be introduced to be the Cowherd Star in public-friendly programs, and Dabih should be noticed to be the Cowherd Big Star in the field of history of astronomy. Dabih should be added as the astronomical Cowherd Big Star in academic books such as a dictionary of astronomical terminology. (2) The Korean pronunciation for Altair should be al-tear instead of al-tairu in accordance with the definition in the astronomical terminology dictionary compiled by the Korean Astronomical Society.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.237-266
• /
• 2009

In 1631 A.D. Jeong Duwon, an ambassador of the Joseon dynasty was sent to the Ming dynasty. There he met $Jo\tilde{a}o$ Rodrigues, a Jesuit missionary, in Dengzhou of Shandong peninsula. The missionary gave the ambassador a number of results of latest European innovations. A detailed description on this event was written in 'Jeong's official report regarding a message from an European country'(西洋國奇別狀啓), which is an important literature work to understand the event. Since the document was written in classical Chinese, we make a comprehensive translation to Korean with detailed notes. According to the report, the items that Rodrigues presented include four books written in Chinese that describe European discoveries about the world, a report on the tribute of new cannons manufactured by Portuguese in Macao, a telescope, a flintlock, a Foliot-type mechanical clock, a world atlas drawn by Matteo Ricci, an astronomical planisphere, and a sun-dial. We discuss the meaning of each item in the Korean history of science and technology. In particular, Jeong's introduction is an important event in the history of Korean astronomy, because the telescope he brought was the first one to be introduced in Korean history. Even though king Injo and his associates of the Joseon dynasty were well aware of the value as military armaments of new technologies such as telescopes, cannons, and flintlocks, they were not able to quickly adopt such technologies to defend against the military threat of Jurchen. We revisit the reason in view of the general history of science and technology of east-Asian countries in the 17th century.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.37
• /
• pp.104-143
• /
• 2015

China's new grand strategy, the "One Belt, One Road Initiative" (also Belt Road Initiative, or BRI) has two primary components: Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the "Silk Road Economic Belt" in September 2013 during a visit to Kazakhstan, and the "21^st Century Maritime Silk Route Economic Belt" in a speech to the Indonesian parliament the following month. The BRI is intended to supply China with energy and new markets, and also to integrate the countries of Central Asia, the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN), and the Indian Ocean Region - though not Northeast Asia - into the "Chinese Dream". The project will be supported by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), due to open in 2016 with 57 founding members from all around the world, and China has already promised US$ 50 billion in seed funding. China's vision includes networks of energy pipelines, railways, sea port facilities and logistics hubs; these will have obvious commercial benefits, but also huge geopolitical significance. China seems to have two distinct aims: externally, to restore its historical sphere of influence; and internally, to cope with income inequalities by creating middle-class jobs through enhanced trade and the broader development of its economy. In South Korea, opinion on the BRI is sharply polarized. Economic and industrial interests, including Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), support South Korean involvement in the BRI and closer economic interactions with China. They see how the BRI fits nicely with President Park Geun-hye's Eurasia Initiative, and anticipate significant commercial benefits for South Korea from better connections to energy-rich Russia and the consumer markets of Europe and Central Asia. They welcome the prospect of reduced trade barriers between China and South Korea, and of improved transport infrastructure, and perceive the political risks as manageable. But some ardently pro-US pundits worry that the political risks of the BRI are too high. They cast doubt on the feasibility of implementing the BRI, and warn that although it has been portrayed primarily in economic terms, it actually reveals a crucial Chinese geopolitical strategy. They are fearful of China's growing regional dominance, and worried that the BRI is ultimately a means to supplant the prevailing US-led regional security structure and restore the Middle Kingdom order, with China as the only power that matters in the region. According to this view, once China has complete control of the regional logistics hubs and sea ports, this will severely limit the autonomy of China's neighbors, including South Korea, who will have to toe the Chinese line, both economically and politically, or risk their own peace and prosperity.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.45-57
• /
• 2013

Objectives : Daucus carota sativa has been frequently used as food supplements in many of the Asian countries, and a nutritional medical drug in traditional medicine. This research investigated the effects of Daucus carota sativa extract (DCE) on acute phases of inflammation in Raw 264.7 cells treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in terms of the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) and pro-inflammatory cytokines production. Methods : NO, $PGE_2$, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$, interleukin-$1{\beta}$ and interleukin-6 contents were assayed by ELISA, and expressions of inflammation-related proteins such as inducible NO synthase (iNOS) were determined by immunoblot analyses. Results : DCE treatment attenuated the LPS ability to increase the productions of NO and $PGE_2$ as well as the protein level of iNOS in a concentration-dependent manner. Consistently, treatment of the cells with DCE suppressed the production of TNF-${\alpha}$, interleukin-$1{\beta}$ and interleukin-6. DCE also caused decreases of inhibitor of ${\kappa}B{\alpha}$ phosphorylation induced by LPS in the cells, which means DCE inhibition of NF-${\kappa}B$ activity. Furthermore, DCE blocked LPS-induced phosphorylation of p38 and SAPK/JNK. Conclusion : This study showing here may be of help to understand the action mechanism of DCE, and provide the information for the medical use of Daucus carota sativa for the inflammatory disease.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.29 no.4 s.55
• /
• pp.843-851
• /
• 1996

To estimate the incidence of uterine cervix cancer among Korean women, we have conducted a study using the claim data on the beneficiaries of Korea Medical Insurance Corporation (KMIC). All medical records of the potential cases with diagnosis of ICD-9 180, 181, 182, 199, 219, 233 in the claims sent by medical care institutions in the whole country to the KMIC from January 1988 to December 1989, were abstracted and Gynecology specialist reviewed the records to identify the new cases of uterine cervix cancer among the potential cases during the corresponding period. Using these data, the incidence of uterine cervix cancer among Korean women was estimated as of July 1, 1988 to June 30, 1989. The crude rate was estimated to be 17.34(95% CI: $16.76\sim17.92$) per 100,000 and the cumulative rates for the ages $0\sim64\;and\;0\sim74$ were 1.7% and 2.2%, respectively. The age-adjusted rate for the world population was 19.93 per 100,000 which was higher than those of other Asian countries including China and Japan in $1983\sim1987$. The truncated rate for ages $35\sim64$ was 52.05 per 100,000 which was one of the highest in the world. With increasing age, the incidence rate increased to 78.11 per 100,000 in women aged $55\sim59$ years, then it decreased in the older groups. This finding suggests that detecting rate of uterine cervix cancer may decrease in women aged 60 years or older due to inadequate medical care seeking behavior. In the geographical area, the SIR of Jeju province was significantly low but it might be due to statistical unstability by small case numbers.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.17 no.3 s.83
• /
• pp.427-434
• /
• 2007

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a pivotal roles in the initiation of T cell-mediated immune responses, making them an attractive in immuno vaccines. Angelica gigas and Cnidium officinale were a medicinal herb widely used in Asian countries. In this study, we examined the effects of A. gigas and C. officinale extracts on the DCs functional maturation and phono-type. Immature DCs were cultured in the presence of GM-CSF and IL-4, and the generated immature DCs were stimulated with OVA in the presence or absence A. gigas and C. officinale extracts, respectively, for 24 hours. The antigen-presenting capacity of A. gigas and C. officinale extracts-treated DCs as analyzed by $CD4^+$ helper T cell clone (OVA-specific) proliferation and cytokines (IL-2 and $IFN-{\gamma}$) production were significantly increased. But A. gigas and C. officinale extracts were not directly effected $CD4^+$ helper T cell clone function. Also, the expression of surface co-stimulatory molecules, including major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, CD86 and CD11c, is increased on DCs that were stimulated with A. gigas and C. officinale extracts. These results indicate the immunomodulatory properties of A. gigas and C. officinale extracts, which might be medical supplies or health foods.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.11 no.6
• /
• pp.470-478
• /
• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Orostachys japonicus A. Berger (Crassulaceae) has been used in traditional herbal medicines in Korea and other Asian countries to treat various diseases, including liver disorders. In the present study, the anti-fibrotic effects of O. japonicus extract (OJE) in cellular and experimental hepatofibrotic rat models were investigated. MATERIALS/METHODS: An in vitro hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) system was used to estimate cell viability, cell cycle and apoptosis by MTT assay, flow cytometry, and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining techniques, respectively. In addition, thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver fibrosis was established in Sprague Dawley rats. Briefly, animals were divided into five groups (n = 8): Control, TAA, OJE 10 (TAA with OJE 10 mg/kg), OJE 100 (TAA with OJE 100 mg/kg) and silymarin (TAA with Silymarin 50 mg/kg). Fibrosis was induced by treatment with TAA (200 mg/kg, i.p.) twice per week for 13 weeks, while OJE and silymarin were administered orally two times per week from week 7 to 13. The fibrotic related gene expression serum biomarkers glutathione and hydroxyproline were estimated by RT-PCR and spectrophotometry, respectively, using commercial kits. RESULTS: OJE (0.5 and 0.1 mg/ mL) and silymarin (0.05 mg/mL) treatment significantly (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001) induced apoptosis (16.95% and 27.48% for OJE and 25.87% for silymarin, respectively) in HSC-T6 cells when compared with the control group (9.09%). Further, rat primary HSCs showed changes in morphology in response to OJE 0.1 mg/mL treatment. In in vivo studies, OJE (10 and 100 mg/kg) treatment significantly ameliorated TAA-induced alterations in levels of serum biomarkers, fibrotic related gene expression, glutathione, and hydroxyproline (P < 0.05-P < 0.001) and rescued the histopathological changes. CONCLUSIONS: OJE can be developed as a potential agent for the treatment of hepatofibrosis.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.46 no.5
• /
• pp.401-409
• /
• 2013

Smilax china L., a native plant found in Asian countries, has several medicinal properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. Although the root of the plant is commonly used as traditional herbal medicine in Korea and China, the medicinal properties of the leaves have not gained the same attention. In this study, we analyzed the antioxidant activity, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory effect and lipid accumulation inhibition effect of Smilax china L. leaf water extract (SCLE) and its solvent fractions. SCLE was fractionated by using a series of organic solvents, including ethylacetate (EA) and n-butanol (BuOH). The EA fraction had the highest total polyphenol content ($440.20{\pm}12.67$ mg GAE/g) and total flavonoid content ($215.14{\pm}24.83$ mg QE/g). The radical scavenging activity $IC_{50}$ values of the EA fraction for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) were 0.022 mg/mL and 0.13 mg/mL, respectively. Further, SOD-like activity and reducing power values of the EA fraction were higher than those of the other fractions. However, both the ${\alpha}$-glucosidase and lipid accumulation inhibition assays showed that the BuOH fraction ($83.35{\pm}4.18%$ at 1 mg/mL) and water extract ($11.27{\pm}2.67%$) were more effective than the EA fraction ($64.13{\pm}6.35%$, and $45.66{\pm}7.20%$). These results provide new insights into the potential anti-diabetic and anti-obesity effects of Smilax china L. leaf.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.39-46
• /
• 2016

Purpose - Recently, as Korean culture and economy develops, Seoul has become a world-famed city. In Seoul, many special grade hotels have been constructed in order to accommodate many tourists from China, Japan and many other Asian countries. And the hotels entered into competition among themselves. Thus many changes are accelerated due to their mutual competition and manpower problems. In this situation, the role of higher officers above all is thought to be very important in order to enhance the management result and to make preparations for the kernel ability of the organization. Research design, data and methodology - This study was intended to verify how the leadership of the higher officers based on trust affects the job satisfaction of employees of the organization. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, some study models and hypotheses have been established through theoretical examinations. The subjects of this study were centered on the constituents of C-Hotel, M-Hotel, and D-Hotel. 200 questionaries were distributed and 190 questionaries were collected and thus the collection ratio was 91 percent. 8 questionaries which were regarded to be insincere or hard to analyzed were excluded. Finally, 182 questionaries were used for analyzing the factors and trust. For the purpose of the verification of hypotheses, structural equation was used. In order to verify the mediating effect of trust between the relationship of emotional leadership and job satisfaction, 'Three-step Mediated Regression Analysis by Baron & Kenny(1986) was utilized. The four hypotheses for this study are as follows: First, emotional leadership will have a meaningful influence on trust in the affirmative. Second, trust will have a meaningful influence on job satisfaction in the affirmative. Third, trust will play a mediating role in the relationship of emotional leadership and job satisfaction. Result - First, the emotional leadership and trust was found to effect a positive effect. Second, the trust and job satisfaction was found on a positive effect on job satisfaction. Third, the emotional leadership and job satisfaction was found to positive effect on job satisfaction. Fourth, the trust in the relationship between emotional leadership and job satisfaction was found that the partial mediating effect. Especially, in the case of the business of hospitality, human services as well as material resources become its keynote, and we can safely say that the degree of dependence toward human resources is very high. Accordingly, the leaders should display their leadership on the basis of abundant emotional and intellectual faculties so that they can grasp, understand and admit the diverse views of value and emotion of the organization constituents and that they can form emotional leadership. On the basis of the analysis results of the verification of hypotheses, some suggestions and uppermost limit of this study have been presented for further study.