• Health Policy and Management
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.21-35
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• 2010

This study examined the changes in the service mix of Korean hospitals in 6 metropolitan cities between 2003 and 2005, and assessed whether the sample hospitals exhibit consistent trend or chance variation in multiple years. Three measures of hospital service mix, focusing on the specialization of services, were applied: information theory index, internal Herfindahl index, and number of distinct diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) treated. National Health Insurance claims were used to calculate the indexes. Specialization indexes were calculated in each year, and then examined to identify the pattern over time. Kappa analysis was applied to assess the agreements of specialization score between two years after hospitals were categorized into 4 groups with quartiles. Kappa score showed that the service mix of hospitals were changed during the study years. Specialization scores were increased given the market structure for three years. Hospitals which showed higher or lower specialization scores than the average of the scores consistently classified into the same group. Specialization indexes showed relatively consistent pattern over 3 years, and such consistencies were evident for hospitals regardless of the specialization status. Policy makers can identify the degree of specialization with the indexes, and it could provide a picture of how hospital services were mixed and changed over time.

• 한국약용작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.10a
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• pp.258-259
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• 2010

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.67-76
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• 2010

The objective of this study is to investigate a priority and selection of agricultural specialization items from Daegu and Gyeongbuk region by using analytical tools such as, the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP) and the Scoring Method. The results of this study are as follows; 1) Five major items were selected for each region based on Daegu and Gyeongbuk regional agricultural performances. 2) The results of AHP analysis, Daegu and Gyeongbuk's agricultural experts evaluated the weight of three decision-elements(objectiveness 0.35, efficiency 0.341, identity 0.309) and seven decision-elements. 3) Results of AHP and Scoring Method analysis, Investigated a priority of agricultural specialization 3 items in 25 cities and districts Daegu and Gyeongbuk regional agricultural performances. 4) Finally, The results of this study will provide basic information on agricultural specialization policy in Daegu and Gyeongbuk region.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2016

Objectives : Medical service specialization could have positive effects on their profits and medical service quality. This study was to examine the relationship between medical service specializations and operational performance in hospitals. Methods : We used the National Inpatient Sample data provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2010 to 2013. The hospital operational performance was determined by measuring the specialization level of the hospital based on DRGs. Results : The information theory index was 2.38 in 2010, 2.38 in 2011, 2.37 in 2012, and 2.37 in 2013. A multiple regression model was constructed which showed that if the specialization level becomes higher, it decreases the length of stay per case with an increase in medical expense. Conclusions : Differentiation and concentrated medical service specialization strategy have had a positive effect on the operational performance of hospitals.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.107-114
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• 2016

Background: Over the last few decades, because hospitals in South Korea also have undergone dramatic changes, Korean hospitals traditionally have provided specialized health care services in the health care market. Inner Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (IHI) measures hospital caseloads based on patient proportions, independent of patient volumes. However, IHI that rely solely on patient proportions might be problematic for larger hospitals that provide a high number of diagnosis categories, as the patient proportions in each category are naturally relatively smaller in such hospitals. Therefore, recently developed novel measure, category medical specialization (CMS) is based on patient volumes as well as patient proportions. Methods: We examine the distribution of hospital specialization score by hospital size and investigate association between each hospital specialization and length of stay per case and hospital cost per case using Korean National Health Insurance Service-cohort sample data from 2002 to 2013. Results: Our results show that IHI show a decreasing trend according to the number of beds and hospital type but CMS show an increasing trend according to the number of beds and hospital type. Further, inpatients admitted at hospitals with higher IHI and CMS had a shorter length of stay per case (IHI: B=-0.104, p<0.0001; CMS: B=-0.044, p=0.001) and inpatients admitted at hospitals with higher IHI and CMS had a shorter hospital cost per case (IHI: B=-0.110, p=0.002; CMS: B=-0.118, p=<0.0001). Conclusion: This study may help hospital policymakers and hospital administrators to understand the effects of hospital specialization strategy on hospital performance under recent changes in the Korean health care environment.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.5-14
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• 2015

Purpose - This study undertakes to examine the automotive trade structure between Korea and Russia to accelerate economic cooperation and pinpoint trade discrepancies to increase trade volume through improved policies, eventually finding ways for trade expansion. Research design, data, and methodology - To analyze trade decision factors for both countries, the Index of trade specialization invented by trade specialization theory, is used. Although specific factors should materialize in the trade decision analysis, realistically, concrete explanations are difficult as many unsolved factors are involved as well as their complexities Results - First, to assess comparative market competitiveness, the Index describes A value/B value, representing the Korean versus the Russia market share and the Korean market share versus the world. Second, the index shows that Korea is taking comparative advantage of its export specialization. Third, the RCA indices show considerable improvement compared to 2000. Conclusions - This research used a quantitative approach to examine trade specialization and examined a comparative advantage index of market share to see how inter-trade relations have changed over the past 10 years.

• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.43-57
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• 2019

Recreation specialization and consumptive orientation are two important constructs to understand anglers' attitudes and behaviors. Although theoretical explanations and previous studies in different countries addressed the relationships between the two constructs, limited support has been provided in a context of anglers in Korea. This study developed a conceptual model explaining the causal relationships between recreation specialization, anglers' preferences (activity-specific and activity-general) and consumptive orientation. An on-site survey was conducted to anglers in the city of Busan and Gyeongnam province in 2018. A total of 614 data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling The study results showed that recreation specialization positively and indirectly influenced consumptive orientation via anglers' activity-specific and activity-general preferences. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.53-66
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• 2020

This study is aimed at investigated and compared the differences in the affect of hospital specialization according to hospital size using claims data of the Health Insurance and Review Assessment National Inpatient Sample in 2018 for diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue. To this end, we used multivariate hierarchical linear models(a.k.a., multi-level models) using two-tier data from 106,599 patients discharged after diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue from 734 hospitals. Multivariate results indicate that patients who were discharged with diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue from specialized hospitals with 200 beds or less stayed shorter and paid less inpatient charge than those who were discharged from less specialized hospitals. But for hospitals with 201-300 beds, no positive impact relationship was found between hospital specialization and operational performance. This finding may be limited evidence that the affect of a hospital's specialization strategy may vary depending on the size of the hospital. We discussed several managerial and health policy implications below.

• International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.81-108
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• 2019

This research has investigated the perceptions of subject specialization services and the opinions of students majoring in library and information science preparing for librarianship, librarians operating in the field, and library directors on the status and ways of nurturing subject specialization for librarians, among others. To this end, based on the results of previous research and the survey questionnaire analysis, we have presented a policy to train subject librarians. First, we have proposed a plan for systematizing the current educational system within the department of library and information science. We have also suggested ways to secure subject expertise based on curriculum management, minor programs, multi-major programs, and interdisciplinary major programs based on the standard curriculum model. Second, we have presented a subject specialization educational system for field librarians, and further suggested details for the development of an educational program that can help build subject expertise and the operation of educational methods as well as the personnel in charge of implementing the educational programs. Third, we have proposed institutionalization of the qualifications of the subject librarian where the qualification requirements have been organized considering academic background, major program, library career, and career experience in the subject specialization service, further suggesting the implementation and maintenance of the system.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.71-80
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• 2013

The golf industry has become the center of attention for recreational activities in the participant sport market; however, there has been little effort made to understand golf consumer and their consumption behavior using the concept of 'recreational specialization' which segments the golfers based on level of specialization in golf. The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in the relationships among perceived service quality, price of playing golf, overall customer satisfaction with the course, and a player's intention to revisit the same golf course based on the magnitude of recreation specialization in golf. Four public and two private golf courses from the southeastern state of the United States were randomly chosen from a list in a golf magazine. The 365 surveys among 417 participants were ultimately analyzed. Multiple group analysis was conducted in order to investigate differences in relationships among service quality, price, customer satisfaction, and revisit intentions between groups based on the level of recreation specialization. The key findings were 1) for more specialized golfers, satisfaction with price did not affect overall customer satisfaction or revisit intention, however, service quality significantly influenced both overall customer satisfaction and revisit intention, 2) for less specialized golfers, satisfaction with price significantly influenced overall customer satisfaction but did not affect revisit intention. Knowledge about which the determinants of satisfaction are different between more and less specialized golfers could provide a better understanding of how different marketing strategies should be implemented for different specialized levels of golfers.