• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.89-96
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the importance and satisfaction with Korean food for foreigners living in Busan with consideration for nationalities, for the sake of improving satisfaction with Korean food. The research was performed using questionnaires and conducted from August 14 to September 30, 2011 for 376 foreigners in Busan. Total mean scores for the importance (4.01/5.00) and satisfaction (3.59/5.00) of Korean food attributes were significantly different (p<0.01). The gaps of the importance score and satisfaction score were -0.91 for cleanliness of food, -0.74 for taste, -0.70 for quality, and -0.68 for smell. Mean scores of satisfaction for Americans and Europeans (3.69) and Southeast Asians (3.78) were significantly (p<0.01) higher than those of Japanese (3.44) and Chinese (3.43) descent. Notably high importance and low satisfaction attributes of Korean food broken down by nationality were cleanliness for Americans/Europeans; quality and cleanliness for Japanese; texture and price for Chinese; and taste, smell, and price for Southeast Asians. Attributes rated with high importance and satisfaction were health benefits, nutrition, and quality for Americans/Europeans, Chinese, and Southeast Asians; taste and price for Americans/Europeans and Japanese; and cleanliness for Chinese and Southeast Asians.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.48.1-48.6
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• 2019

Over the last decade, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have provided an unprecedented amount of genetic variations that are associated with various phenotypes. However, previous GWAS were mostly conducted in European populations, and these biased results for non-Europeans may result in a significant reduction in risk prediction for non-Europeans. An issue with the early GWAS was the winner's curse problem, which led to misleading results when constructing the polygenic risk scores (PRS). Therefore, more non-European population-based studies are needed to validate reported variants and improve genetic risk assessment across diverse populations. In this study, we validated 422 variants independently associated with glycemic indexes, liver enzymes, and type 2 diabetes in 125,872 samples from a Korean population, and further validated the results by assessing publicly available summary statistics from European GWAS (n = 898,130). Among the 422 independently associated variants, 284, 320, and 361 variants were replicated in Koreans, Europeans, and either one of the two populations. In addition, the effect sizes for Koreans and Europeans were moderately correlated (r = 0.33-0.68). However, 61 variants were not replicated in both Koreans and Europeans. Our findings provide valuable information on effect sizes and statistical significance, which is essential to improve the assessment of disease risk using PRS analysis.

• Iberoamérica
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.119-145
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• 2012

This paper deals with the study of how the 'birth' of Brazil happened and how the European utopianism was represented in Brazilian Informative Literature of the sixteenth century, that is, the first literary manifestations of Brazil. There were at that time the Renaissance humanism and the scientific development that encouraged dozens of illustrious navigators for new discoveries ultra-seas, like Christopher Columbus who discovered America. Writings such as Letter to King Manuel of Pero Vaz de Caminha, had mostly an intention to inform Europeans about climates, indians and possibility to discover gold or silver. Main narrative characteristics were uncertainty and exageration, which ironically helped to attract more discoveries and explorations in the New World. Americo Vespucio's Mundus Novus inspired Thomas More to write Utopia, in which the author described through a Portuguese sailor the ideal but unrealizable society. Utopianism regarding the imaginary island of 'Brazi', well known among Europeans since long ago, may have influenced the current name of the country: 'Brazil'. On the other hand, utopianism shown in Brazilian Informative Literature worked as a justification for Europeans to explore and colonize the New World.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.271-281
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• 2013

In the trend toward globalization, cross-cultural teams in organizations are becoming more and more common. In particular, the influence of China and Western Europe on the global economy is getting increased. With this trend, it is important to understand cross-cultural characteristics for group decision making in managerial environments. This study aims at analyzing cross-cultural differences between China and Western Europe in light of the effect of group discussion in group decision making. An experiment simulating a decision of a car purchase was conducted. A total of 48 subjects (24 Chinese and 24 Western Europeans) assigned in decision groups were asked to judge relative importance ratios of nine factors affecting their purchase decisions using the AHP program developed for the experiment. Three dependent variables (consistency, satisfaction, and consensus) were measured. Chinese were slightly more consistent than Western Europeans in discussion-involved group decision making. In terms of decision satisfaction, Western Europeans were more satisfied with discussion-included decisions than discussion-excluded decisions. Chinese, on the contrary, did not show a significant difference. There was no significant difference between two cultures in decision consensus.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.84-103
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• 2020

Spurred by the ongoing globalization, an increase in mobility has diversified migrant categories and strengthened intercultural rapport. Alongside the "traditional" migrants, "White" (Caucasian) individuals are coming into greater focus of migration studies as "lifestyle migrants". Although White migrations are not a new phenomenon, the deep-seated idea of White supremacy continues to play an important role in contemporary intercultural communication, awarding Whites across communities a "cosmopolitan" status of highly educated cultural elites. As such, the focus of this research is on highly skilled White European migrants, on their subjective experiences of integration in Japan, and whether they perceive Whiteness as an obstacle or an advantage in this process, if integration is desired at all. To discern the connection between race and integration, this research investigates the non-White majority society of Japan as it has established racial hierarchies according to the Western models, consequently influencing the status of its contemporary White immigrants. Privileged, yet singled out as racial and cultural role models, White Europeans' integration seemingly becomes nearly impossible. The data obtained in fifteen semi-structured interviews confirms that Whiteness grants advantages when entering the Japanese job market, but remains an obstacle in everyday community integration. European professionals do not feel accepted and abandon efforts to integrate, if such were made, retreating into "cosmopolitan islets" wherein they renegotiate their White European identities.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.671-679
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• 2010

This study investigated the perception, evaluation, and the possibility for globalizing Korean foods and Yak-sun among different nationalities of foreigners living in Korea. A survey was conducted with 171 foreigners (eastern Asian, southeastern and central Asian, European, and American). The questionnaire was composed of three parts, including perception, evaluation, and the possibility for globalizing Korean foods and Yak-sun. The reason for choosing Korean foods cited by southeastern and central Asians and Americans was "taste", whereas eastern Asians and Europeans chose "culture" and "curiosity", respectively. Americans and Europeans considered "spiciness" as a reason not to choose Korean foods (P<0.001). Regarding the possibility of globalizing Korean foods, eastern Asians and Americans/Europeans/southeast Asians and central Asians responded "Korean dining culture" and "incomprehensive menus", respectively (P<0.05). An "explanation of the menu to foreigners" was regarded as the main suggestion for globalizing Korean food. Most of the respondents understood that Yak-sun is an oriental medicinal food that provides improved health and disease prevention. A number of Europeans and Americans expressed high interest in the conceptualization of Yak-sun (P<0.001). With regard to the priority for developing Yak-sun, eastern Asians, southeastern and central Asians, and Europeans picked out "health status improvement", whereas "improved nutritional status" was manifested in the majority of the American's responses (P<0.001). Therefore, it is crucial that "localization" be applied to Korean foods and Yak-sun to meet the international standard. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide simplified and correct Korean food content information to foreigners.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2024.07a
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• pp.1264-1271
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• 2024

Tatami serves as a multi-functional flooring and furniture material in traditional Japanese houses, and Westerners use it with suitable arrangements. Some choose to sleep on tatami for health reasons, while others adopt the lifestyle of 'floor living' to solve the spatial problems in cities. In any case, people use tatami for practical reasons rather than due to a cultural preference. I surveyed 750 respondents, including 463 non-Japanese people, and conducted both quantitative and qualitative analysis. I also interviewed European vendors and users of tatami during 2022-2023. The results showed that non-Japanese customers, especially Europeans, wanted authentic tatami mats made of natural materials such as igusa and rice straw to ensure health and sustainability. On the other hand, Japan's tatami industry is shifting towards artificial, or alternative, tatami-like mats. Few authentic tatami rooms exist in Japanese homes nowadays, and producers of tatami materials are almost extinct in Japan. Chinese farmers who supply almost 80% of igusa to the Japanese market may also discontinue their trade because the production is time-consuming and yields low profit. This paper discusses the possibilities of continuously producing and selling tatami in and outside Japan.

• Bulletin of Food Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.407-410
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• 2010

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.124-139
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• 2013

Unlike studies of Europeans and Americans, many epidemiological studies of the Korean population have indicated that their risk for cardiovascular disease does not decrease with a vegetable-rich diet. The different dietary practices of Koreans, who consume salted vegetables instead of fresh vegetables (common in the Western diet), has been suggested as a reason for this observation. Korea is in a period of rapid epidemiologic transition, which includes dietary and disease patterns; therefore, this study investigated differences in the food consumption pattern and blood lipid profiles of Koreans compared to Europeans and Americans. The identification of dietary patterns related to blood lipid abnormalities was carried out using the 2007~2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey data from 14,056 subjects. Dietary patterns were analyzed according to food group and nutrient intake. Blood lipid abnormalities were classified into three groups: hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and low HDL cholesterolemia (hypo-HDL-cholesterolemia). The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypo-HDL-cholesterolemia was 12.4%, 16.2%, and 27.7% respectively. In our analysis, the low consumption of all food groups was related to hypercholesterolemia. The high consumption of vegetable-containing foods, alcoholic beverages, and the low consumption of milk products were associated with hypertriglyceridemia and hypo-HDL-cholesterolemia. Thus, unlike Europeans and Americans, the low consumption of all food groups is related to hypercholesterolemia and a low consumption of milk products is related to hypertriglyceridemia and hypo-HDL-cholesterolemia. Dietary pattern might play a role in epidemiologic transition of Korean. Also, this study implies necessity of further research using longitudinal data.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.813-838
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• 2011

Toni Morrison's ninth novel A Mercy delves into the colonial American history of the seventeenth century when Europeans began to migrate to the New World and when the first slaves were brought to Virginia. Morrison presents a diverse group of people such as white Europeans, an American Indian, a free black man, indentured servants, and slaves from Africa in order to explore the subjects of ownership, freedom and racism. She emphasizes the fact that most of the Europeans who came to America in the early seventeenth century were the people who were thrown out from the society such as felons, prostitutes, servants and children. By portraying how these castaways tried to settle in a new environment surrounded by unknown dangers and challenges, Morrison demystifies and reconstructs the myth of the birth of America as a nation state. In continuation of Morrison's writings about love and the betrayal of love, her novel A Mercy explores the subjects of trauma, memory and subjectivity by choosing the topic of motherly love and its betrayal which she dealt with poignantly in Beloved. The female protagonist, Florens, is given away by her mother in partial payment of debt incurred by the owner of Florens's mother. The traumatic memory of Florens's separation from her mother shapes Florence's character. She has to revisit the site of the original traumatic experiences of being given up by her mother in order to reconstruct her fragmented memory and past. The recurring dream of the traumatic incident that takes hold of Florens can be explained by the trauma theory of Freud, Cathy Caruth, Suzette Henke, and Judith Herman. The paper explores the self journey of Florens in which she faces the traumatic past and comprehends its meaning which enables her to construct her subjectivity by understanding the true meaning of being free and of owning oneself. In particular, it demonstrates how the process of writing a confession, a story about one's history, enables one to reclaim the traumatic experience and to locate it in the narrative memory.