• Asian review of World Histories
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.265-293
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• 2013

The second volume of the Iwakura Reports is the writing on Britain. What is interesting, here, is the fact that the mission had visited the large factories in the major industrial cities. The editor of the reports in particular recorded the productive processes of goods at many factories, and wrote his own impressions of the landscapes of those cities. Those records let us know the real situation of the British economy at the time. Japanese historians admit that the activities of the Iwakura mission largely contributed to Japan's modernization. But there are few studies that analyzed the second volume of the reports which had mainly described modern factories and industrial cities. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the records of the reports on the British industry, and to examine what they recognized from the industrial civilization. The Iwakura Reports would furnish important information to the notables that had initiated the early industrialization in Japan. After the mission's visit, some British companies' export to Japan increased rapidly. What is more important, however, is that the British economy was losing its own vitality in the late Victorian age in which Japan began to be rapidly industrialized. During the Japanese industrialization, some Japanese diplomats and factory-owners might have realized the decline of the British industry. Britain began to be overtaken by her rival countries such as the United States and Germany. The Iwakura Reports do not let us know the change of the British manufacture in the late nineteenth century. Later, the leading figures of Japan's industrialization might focus on the rise of Germany or America. As the Iwakura mission had visited Britain in the early stage of the competition between Britain and other rival states, they could not know the real situation of the British economy. Furthermore, with compiling his manuscripts, the editor of the reports could not help being based upon the factory-owners' explanations and their brochures. This is the reason why he focused only on the excellence and competitiveness of British manufacture.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.165-177
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• 2018

Particulate matter (PM) measurements are important in air quality, public health, epidemiological studies and decision making for short and long-term policies implementation. However, only few cities in the word have advance air quality-monitoring networks able to provide reliable information of PM leaves in the ambient air, trends and extent of the pollution. In Colombia, only major cities measure PM concentrations. Available measurements from Bogota, Medellin and Bucaramanga show that PM concentration are well above World Health Organization guidelines, but up to now levels and trends of PM in other cities and regions of the country are not well known. Satellite measurements serve as an alternative approach to study air quality in regions were surface measurements are not available. The aim of this study is to perform a spatial and temporal assessment of PM in the ambient air of Colombia. We used Aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrieved by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite of NASA and surface measurements from the air quality networks of Bogota, Medellin and Bucaramanga. In a first step, we estimated the correlation between MODIS-AOD and monthly average surface measurements (2000 to 2015) from these three cities, obtaining correlation coefficient R values over 0.4 for the cities under study. After, we used AOD and $PM_{10}$ measurements to study the temporal evolution of PM in different cities and regions. Finally, we used AOD measurements to identify cities and regions with the highest AOD levels in Colombia. All the methods presented in this paper may serve as an example for other countries or regions to identify and prioritize locations that require the implementation of more accurate air quality measurements.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.56 no.2 s.101
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• pp.32-44
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• 2006

Denim has been one of the most favored clothing item among young people regardless of regional difference. This study compared the styling of women's denim fashion in two Asian metro-cities, Seoul and Beijing, in order to understand how differ the fashion taste of both cities. Data was collected by taking photos of young women who wear denim clothing at the main streets of downtowns or famous shopping areas of both cities from the July of 2004 till the April of 2005. A total of 524 photos(Seoul 242, and Beijing 282) were put into content analysis. Results showed that there were several similarities and differences in denim styling between two cities in terms of the most widely worn denim items and the coordinate items, and the favored colors, silhouette, details of denim pants and the coordinate items. In Seoul, women favored denim look with little detail, fitted silhouette, and in more formal image. A few denim styles prevailed in each season which reflect current denim fashion trends. Meanwhile a wide variety of denim styles were found at Beijing without dominant denim trends, which means Beijing women put more emphasis on personal expression of their fashion taste instead of just following fashion trends.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.205-225
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• 2022

Different types of corporate ownership may affect the environment among firms and could influence the decisions of new entities in the region. This study determines the role of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in hindering new foreign manufacturing firms in the Yangtze River delta (YRD). The negative binomial regression is used for city-sector level data and the following points summarize the results: Firstly, the unique privileges that SOEs enjoy alongside governmental support create difficulties for foreign firms trying to establish themselves near existing SOEs. Secondly, although core cities are more attractive to foreign firms than peripheral cities, the role of core-periphery reveals that, in spite of all the regional advantages core cities could offer, whenever the share of SOEs is higher, the core-periphery system will have an adverse impact on new foreign firms. In other words, government preference for SOEs can suppress the attraction of foreign start-ups. However, after 2008, the governmental authorities finally succeeded in implementing their promising policy of fair treatment and competition in only the core cities.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.114-119
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• 2013

The characteristics of Asian dust (AD) in Korea between 1997 and 2005 were investigated, focusing on peak 1-hour $PM_{10}$ concentrations during AD events at seven cities over the Korean Peninsula. The frequency of AD events decreased from Seoul to Busan, indicating the major pathway of AD in Korea was from northwest to southeast. AD events were most frequent in 2001 while peak concentrations during AD events were much higher in 2002. Recent works show that the trajectories from northerly directions increased during the 2000s and later (Chun, 2009; Kim, 2008). In this work, the fraction of trajectories from the northwest was the largest on the whole, although trajectories from each direction varied by city and year. It is presumed that high concentrations of $PM_{10}$ during AD events are generally associated with trajectories from the northwest rather than from the source region.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.155-187
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• 1999

The East Asian Region has experienced remarkable economic growth and transformation of interurban networking over the past three decades, and urban competiti veness for a networking hub in this region has become a critical issue confronting cities. Competitiveness of the Seoul capital region for a networking hub in Northeast Asia is outstripped by other competing cities in East Asia, notwithstanding its geo-politically and geo-economically advantageous location in this region. In this paper, we aim to appraise the Seoul capital region's competitiveness in terms of logistics distribution, financial function and logistics distribution, financial function and agglomeration of transnational corporations (especially of RHOs and other managerial functions), and to advance the networking strategies of the region for a Northeast Asia hyb. As a result of analysis, we suggest that the Seoul capital region be developed as a Northeast Asian center for regional headquarters or leading global corporations and financial services for being a strategic nodal point in Northeast Asia in the 21st century. A recent survey shows that where to locate an RHQ is influenced by various factors, such as potential market and manufacturing site in the city's hinterland, quality of life, such things as culture, health, safety, education, a well-educated, English-speaking population, reliable air transport, state-of-the-art communications, and an active policy to offer foreign companies generous incentives. The Seoul capital region, which is located at a strategic nodal point advantageous as a springboard for its Northeast Asian hinterland, cannot meet the other conditions mentioned above. To overcome these drawbacks in attracting transnational capital and to create competitiveness as a strategic hub of RHQs in Northeast Asia, it is urgent to initiate a structural reform of the Korean economy, politics, and overall society, to minimize the regulation of FDI, and to provide various incentives for foreign investment. Moreover, we propose the construction of an 'International Business Town' in the Seoul capital region, as a medium to intermediate these strategies and to shape them in a spatial scale. The projected 'International Business Town(IBT)' will be a 'free city' open to international business in which liberal economic activities are guaranteed by special legislation and administration, infrastructures needed for international and improved accessibility to the airport are furnished, and the preference of foreign high-income investors for cultural and living environment are satisfactorily met. IBT is conspicuously differentiated from a raft of other cities' incentives in that it combines deregulation and incentive programs to attract the investment of transnational capital, with a spatial program of offering an urban environment preferred by the high-income investors for cultural and living environment are satisfactorily met. IBT is conspicuously differentiated from a raft of other cities' incentives in that it combines deregulation and incentive programs to attract the investment of transnational capita, with a spatial program of offering an urban environment preferred by the high-income and managerial class. Furthermore, it can be an excellent way of overcoming the xenophobia that has spread among the Korean population by concentrating foreign businesses and their lifestyles in a specific foreign businesses and their lifestyles in a specific zone. In conclusion, 'International Business Town', in line with other legislative and administrative incentive programs, will function as a driving force to make the Seoul capital regional more competitive as a regional business hub in Northeast Asia.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.39-42
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer among Iranian women; however limited studies have been conducted to address survival rates. Objective: The objective was to examine survival rates in Tabriz (Northwest of Iran) and comparing with those of data reported from other cities and countries. Methods: Survival rates were calculated for one, three, five, seven and ten years for 271 breast cancer patients referred to one university clinic during 1997-2008. Results: Survival analysis demonstrated a lower survival rate compared to western countries. Conclusions: Survival rates for our patients are similar/better than other cities in Iran, but lower than certain European countries and the US. Further studies with a higher number of patients are now required.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.9-29
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• 2018

Japan's manufacturing is mostly dependent on the automotive industry in Toyota-Kariya cities. However, the nearby city of Hamamatsu is the home of a start-up ecosystem known as Japan's Silicon Valley. How is it possible to evaluate the innovative potential of each regional industry? What kind of guidelines exist for continuing R&D investment when companies' net incomes are negative in the face of the 'Valley-of-Death' or financial crisis? Is it possible to measure the regional resilience ability in the context of the financial crisis? Entrepreneurial innovation is defined as a real-option portfolio consisting of investment decision to commercialize R&D findings. The subcontractor system implies a vertical and tight industrial group. However, a start-up ecosystem means a platform for horizontal and flexible partnership. In this research, the data include the financial indices of each of 18 public companies in both regions between FY2009 and FY2017. The objective of this paper is to clarify the call option or resilience function of equity for R&D investment in the context of the financial crisis in both regions by using Bayesian MCMC analysis.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.57-69
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• 2019

After decades of high-speed development, designing tall buildings as critical components of urban habitat, rather than simply standing aloof from their environments, has become an important concern in many Asian cities. Nevertheless, the lack of quantitative understanding cannot support efficient architectural design or urban renewal that targets better place-making. This study attempts to fill the gap by providing a typological approach for measuring the social impact of tall buildings' ground conditions: that is, public space, podiums, and interfaces. The central business districts (CBD) of three Asian cities, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore, were selected as cases. Typical patterns and categories of lower-level public spaces among the three CBDs were abstracted via typological analyses and field study. The following evaluation is achieved through the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). This quantified approach helps to provide a visualization of high or low positive social impacts of tall buildings' lower-level public spaces among the three cases. This study also helps to suggest a design code for tall buildings aimed at a more human-oriented urban habitat.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.70-83
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• 2013

Lately, cities have been trying to build a certain brand by using its identity and culture in public designs. Cities are using its public design to show its cultural identity and to differentiate itself from other cities so it is playing a significant role in establishing a city's overall image. Public uniform is used to reflect the symbolism and identity of the city, an image of the city's culture and is used as a means of communication for specialization. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop public uniform designs to build and strengthen the brand of Gwangju as Asia cultural hub city. Research presents a review of the literature including concept and type of a cultural city, correlativity between public design and urban competitiveness, domestic and foreign culture city branding case: focusing on Gwangju which is a cultural hub city in Asia, and then study sets up the development direction and motifs of uniform designs, and uniforms are designed by making use of the textile with symbols and logos, colors, and architectural motifs of Asian Culture Complex. Development ranges of uniforms were limited to Cultural Tourism Narrators and the Asian Culture Complex Advertisements staff uniforms, within the region of cultural tourism. Textile design, illustration, uniform simulation using Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and Adobe Illustrator CS 3 program is presented.