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Nonhydrostatic Effects on Convectively Forced Mesoscale Flows (대류가 유도하는 중규모 흐름에 미치는 비정역학 효과)

  • Woo, Sora;Baik, Jong-Jin;Lee, Hyunho;Han, Ji-Young;Seo, Jaemyeong Mango
    • Atmosphere
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    • v.23 no.3
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    • pp.293-305
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    • 2013
  • Nonhydrostatic effects on convectively forced mesoscale flows in two dimensions are numerically investigated using a nondimensional model. An elevated heating that represents convective heating due to deep cumulus convection is specified in a uniform basic flow with constant stability, and numerical experiments are performed with different values of the nonlinearity factor and nonhydrostaticity factor. The simulation result in a linear system is first compared to the analytic solution. The simulated vertical velocity field is very similar to the analytic one, confirming the high accuracy of nondimensional model's solutions. When the nonhydrostaticity factor is small, alternating regions of upward and downward motion above the heating top appear. On the other hand, when the nonhydrostaticity factor is relatively large, alternating updraft and downdraft cells appear downwind of the main updraft region. These features according to the nonhydrostaticity factor appear in both linear and nonlinear flow systems. The location of the maximum vertical velocity in the main updraft region differs depending on the degrees of nonlinearity and nonhydrostaticity. Using the Taylor-Goldstein equation in a linear, steady-state, invscid system, it is analyzed that evanescent waves exist for a given nonhydrostaticity factor. The critical wavelength of an evanescent wave is given by ${\lambda}_c=2{\pi}{\beta}$, where ${\beta}$ is the nonhydrostaticity factor. Waves whose wavelengths are smaller than the critical wavelength become evanescent. The alternating updraft and downdraft cells are formed by the superposition of evanescent waves and horizontally propagating parts of propagating waves. Simulation results show that the horizontal length of the updraft and downdraft cells is the half of the critical wavelength (${\pi}{\beta}$) in a linear flow system and larger than ${\pi}{\beta}$ in a weakly nonlinear flow system.

Effect of High Pressure Processing on Freshness of Meat Products (육류가공품의 고압처리가 신선도에 미치는 영향 평가)

  • Hwang, Seong-Hee
    • Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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    • v.33 no.4
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    • pp.272-279
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    • 2018
  • The high pressure processing (HPP) is a technology which can preserve the quality of foods, such as the fresh taste, incense, texture, vitamin content, and so on, by minimizing the heating process. It does so by applying an instantaneous and uniform pressure that is the same as the water pressure that is 60 km deep in the sea. HPP is a technology that can inhibit food poisoning and spoilage caused by microorganisms and is currently an actively studied area. In this study, we investigated the effects of a high pressure treatment (0, 4, 6 min) on sliced ham, which is a typical meat product, at 600 MP a were tested for their effect on freshness. Moisture contents varied from 48 to 69%, salinity varied from 1.07 to 1.11%, and the pH decreased from 6.4~6.5 to 6.1~5.15. However, there was no difference between the control and treatment groups. General bacteria stored at $20^{\circ}C$ after hyper-pressure treatment were found to have no significant microorganisms in all groups until 4 weeks. but exceeded $10^5$ in control group and HPP 6 min treatment group from 5 weeks, At week 7, it was found to exceed $10^6$. The results indicate it was not possible to ingest food in the 4-and 6 minute treatment groups. Coliform was not observed in all groups despite observing for a total of 7 weeks at $20^{\circ}C$ weight test. VBN, a method used to determine the protein freshness of meat, showed a VBN value of less than 1 mg% until the fourth week and a value of 1 to 2 mg% after 5 weeks. The TBA was used as an index of the degree of fat acidosis in the meat tissues. The results showed it was below 0.18 mgMA / kg until the end of 7 weeks; this value was within the range for fresh meat, and there was no difference in treatment group. In this experiment, deformation of the packaging material did not occur and no swelling occurred due to the generation of gas. It is believed that the basic preservation effect was achieved only by blocking with the air due to the close contact of the packaging material.

Characteristics of Particle Flow and Heat Transfer in Liquid-Particle Swirling Fluidized Beds (액체-입자 Swirling 유동층에서 유동입자 흐름 및 열전달 특성)

  • Son, Sung-Mo;Kang, Suk-Hwan;Kang, Yong;Kim, Sang-Done
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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    • v.44 no.5
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    • pp.505-512
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    • 2006
  • Characteristics of particle holdup and heat transfer were investigated in a liquid-particle swirling fluidized bed whose diameter was 0.102 m and 2.5 m in height. Effects of liquid velocity, particle size and swirling liquid ratio($R_s$) on the particle holdup and immersed heater-to-bed overall heat transfer coefficient were examined. The particle holdup increased with increasing particle size and swirling liquid ratio but decreased with increasing liquid velocity.The local particle holdup was relatively high in the region near the heater when the $R_s$ value was 0.1~0.3, but the radial particle holdup was almost uniform when the $R_s$ value was 0.5, whereas, when the $R_s$ value was 0.7, the local particle holdup was relatively low in the region near the heater. The heat transfer characteristics between the immersed heater and the bed was well analyzed by means of phase space portraits and Kolmogorov entropy(K) of the time series of temperature difference fluctuations. The phase space portraits of temperature difference fluctuations became stable and periodic and the value of Kolmogorov entropy tended to decrease with increasing the value of $R_s$ from 0.1 to 0.5. The Kolmogorov entropy exhibited its maximum value with increasing liquid velocity. The value of overall heat transfer coefficient(h) showed its maximum value with the variation of liquid velocity, bed porosity or swirling liquid ratio, but it increased with increasing particle size. The value of K exhibited its maximum at the liquid velocity at which the h value attained its maximum. The particle holdup and overall heat transfer coefficient were well correlated in terms of dimensionless groups of operating variables.

A Clinical Observation of Children with Urachal Anomalies (요막관 기형의 임상적 고찰)

  • Lee, Sang-Bae;Jung, Chang-Hyun;Kim, Kang-Sung;Ryu, Min-Hyuk;Lee, Dong-Jin
    • Childhood Kidney Diseases
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.213-221
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    • 2005
  • Purpose : Urachal anomalies are rare but are known to develop several complications, especially infection. Moreover, uniform guidelines for management have not been presented because of the variable clinical characteristics of these anomalies. The purpose of this report is to review our experience with urachal anomalies and attempt to determine the optimal management. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the records of fourteen children with a variety of urachal anomalies who had been treated from January 1996 to June 2005 at Dong Kang General Hospital. Results : The age distribution of the patients(mean age; 3.8 years) was six neonates, one infant, five preschool-age and two school-age children. The male to female ratio was 1:1. Six cases of urachal cyst, four cases of patent urachus, two cases of urachal sinus and two cases of urachal diverticulum were found. Three patients with patent urachus and one with urachal cyst had hydronephrosis. Other associated anomalies included an inguinal hernia in one patient with urachal sinus and a vesicoureteral reflux in one patient with urachal diver ticulum. As a first-line diagnostic tool, high-resolution ultrasound examination was performed in thirteen cases and computed tomography in one case. Surgical excision was performed in nine patients with urachal anomaly. Five cases out of six neonatal cases experienced spontaneous improvement during a three-month follow up period. Due to frequent infection of the umbilicus, surgical excision was performed on one neonate with urachal sinus. Conclusion : All patients with urachal anomalies should undergo investigation for associated anomalies. The neonate with urachal anomalies, especially patent urachus, do not require surgical excision unless the patient has multiple episodes of recurrent infection. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Nephrol 2005;9:213-221)

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Dispersion Effect Based on Irradiation Dose and Position of QRD Microwave in Sealed Chamber (밀폐된 챔버의 QRD 마이크로파 조사용량과 위치에 따른 분산효과)

  • Kim, Jin Hyun;Han, Chung Su;Lee, Keun Woo;Lim, Kyoung Ho;Lee, Jae Hyun;Kim, Kyung Min;Ha, Yu Shin
    • Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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    • v.23 no.1
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    • pp.1-10
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    • 2014
  • This study analyzed the efficiency and uniformity by measuring the temperature change depending on the position in the chamber with the use of QRD (quadratic residue diffusor) microwave capable of inducing even sterilization by changing wavelength phase difference and enhancing the effect on low power. The results are summarized as follows: When irradiating 7 kW of QRD microwave, the highest efficiency was obtained at 35 cm height and in the center of the chamber. When irradiating 5 kW of QRD microwave, high efficiency was obtained on the sides of the chamber. When irradiating 3 kW of QRD microwave to Magnetrons 1, 2 and 3, the temperature uniformity according to the position of the bars was similar in the position of Bar 1 and 2. When irradiating 3 kW of QRD microwave to Magnetrons 3, 4 and 5, the temperature increased by approximately 10 to 20% in Bar 3. When irradiating 5, 7 and 9 kW of magnetron, the average temperature during the irradiation time increased in a similar form independently of the position of the bars. On the other hand, the efficiency of the chamber's proper internal volume was not necessarily proportional to the irradiation dose. When irradiating 3 kW of magnetron for 60 120 and 180 seconds, the temperature increased by approximately 5 to 10 at the edge of the chamber according to the irradiation position of magnetron. The temperature distribution for each position in the horizontal plane was relatively uniform, and the temperature had a tendency to slightly increase at the edge. When irradiating 5, 7 and 9 kW of magnetron, the temperature relatively evenly increased independently of the position of the bars. It was thought necessary to increase the irradiation dose by approximately 10 to 20% by considering the difference in temperature rise according to the position of magnetron.

Evaluating the Visual Contrast Rating of the Landscape Impact Factors - A case study for the Buildings in Natural Landscape - (경관영향 요소별 경관 대비성 평가 - 자연경관에 도입되는 건축물을 중심으로 -)

  • Choi, Won-Bin;Shin, Ji-Hoon
    • Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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    • v.24 no.3
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    • pp.87-96
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    • 2018
  • While cities became bigger and bigger since 1990s, many indiscretely high buildings started to be built in the mountain areas inside a city and in the rural areas in the suburb of each city. To regulate such indiscrete developments, the government prepared for some relevant legal and institutional criteria by having enacted the "Landscape Act" and established a strong management means in the legal and institutional aspects by having introduced the natural landscape deliberation system and the landscape deliberation one into the "Natural Environment Conservation Act." However, since some uniform levels of absolute height and no. of stories are suggested legally and institutionally, it is hard to consider the effects of a real building structure onto the relevant landscape. Accordingly, this thesis is intended to grasp the contrast of the landscape elements in the allowable height section, which is presented through landscape sensitivity. As the results from the visual contrast rating on a small apartment complex located in Dangjin and a large scale of apartment complex in Seosan as the apartment complexes surrounded with natural landscapes that were selected as the subjects of this study, the following conclusion can be finalized. First, there were deducted some factors, that is, forms, lines, colors, textures and sizes as the ones with which can measure and evaluate the contrasting properties when a structure gets into a natural landscape. Second, in case of a small scale of apartment complex (in the foreground) compared to a large one (in the foreground), it was found that the contrasting properties were bigger. In addition, it was also found that the contrasting property of the landscape factor of the foreground compared to that of the middle one becomes bigger depending on a distance. Third, as the results from an evaluation on the contrasting properties of the landscape factor depending on the changes of each floor of a structure, it was found that the factors, that is, forms, lines, colors, textures and sizes are very significant. Among those factors, the factors, forms and lines in a small scale of apartment complex (in the foreground) showed each log regression. But in all of the other cases, they showed each line regression. Fourth, as the results from examining the regression coefficients of the landscape factor, the coefficients of the shapes and lines have similar coefficients and the colors and the textures have similar ones, too. In case of the sizes of apartment complexes, the colors and the textures of a large apartment complex (in the foreground) have similar coefficients, in case of that in the middle ground, the shapes and lines have similar coefficients. Fifth, as the results from estimating the contrasting properties of the landscape factor on the floors within the allowed scope of the landscape sensitivity, it was found that the contrasting property was 3.5 to 4.9 in case of a small scale of apartment complex (in the foreground), but 2.5to 3.7 in case of a small scale of one. In case of a large scale of apartment complex, the value was 3.5 to 5.3, but in case of a large one in the middle ground was 2.9 to 4.9. Sixth, it was comprehended that the contrasting properties of the landscape factor become different depending on each size of apartment complex and the distance of a view point. In this study, it is intended to find the meaning from the aspect that the results can be used as the baseline data for comprehending a proper range of heights of structures objectively during a natural landscape deliberation or a landscape deliberation.

Recent Progress in Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Research: A Review of Papers Published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering in 2014 (설비공학 분야의 최근 연구 동향: 2014년 학회지 논문에 대한 종합적 고찰)

  • Lee, Dae-Young;Kim, Sa Ryang;Kim, Hyun-Jung;Kim, Dong-Seon;Park, Jun-Seok;Ihm, Pyeong Chan
    • Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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    • v.27 no.7
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    • pp.380-394
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    • 2015
  • This article reviews the papers published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering during 2014. It is intended to understand the status of current research in the areas of heating, cooling, ventilation, sanitation, and indoor environments of buildings and plant facilities. Conclusions are as follows. (1) The research works on the thermal and fluid engineering have been reviewed as groups of heat and mass transfer, cooling and heating, and air-conditioning, the flow inside building rooms, and smoke control on fire. Research issues dealing with duct and pipe were reduced, but flows inside building rooms, and smoke controls were newly added in thermal and fluid engineering research area. (2) Research works on heat transfer area have been reviewed in the categories of heat transfer characteristics, pool boiling and condensing heat transfer and industrial heat exchangers. Researches on heat transfer characteristics included the results for thermal contact resistance measurement of metal interface, a fan coil with an oval-type heat exchanger, fouling characteristics of plate heat exchangers, effect of rib pitch in a two wall divergent channel, semi-empirical analysis in vertical mesoscale tubes, an integrated drying machine, microscale surface wrinkles, brazed plate heat exchangers, numerical analysis in printed circuit heat exchanger. In the area of pool boiling and condensing, non-uniform air flow, PCM applied thermal storage wall system, a new wavy cylindrical shape capsule, and HFC32/HFC152a mixtures on enhanced tubes, were actively studied. In the area of industrial heat exchangers, researches on solar water storage tank, effective design on the inserting part of refrigerator door gasket, impact of different boundary conditions in generating g-function, various construction of SCW type ground heat exchanger and a heat pump for closed cooling water heat recovery were performed. (3) In the field of refrigeration, various studies were carried out in the categories of refrigeration cycle, alternative refrigeration and modelling and controls including energy recoveries from industrial boilers and vehicles, improvement of dehumidification systems, novel defrost systems, fault diagnosis and optimum controls for heat pump systems. It is particularly notable that a substantial number of studies were dedicated for the development of air-conditioning and power recovery systems for electric vehicles in this year. (4) In building mechanical system research fields, seventeen studies were reported for achieving effective design of the mechanical systems, and also for maximizing the energy efficiency of buildings. The topics of the studies included energy performance, HVAC system, ventilation, and renewable energies, piping in the buildings. Proposed designs, performance performance tests using numerical methods and experiments provide useful information and key data which can improve the energy efficiency of the buildings. (5) The field of architectural environment was mostly focused on indoor environment and building energy. The main researches of indoor environment were related to the evaluation of work noise in tunnel construction and the simulation and development of a light-shelf system. The subjects of building energy were worked on the energy saving of office building applied with window blind and phase change material(PCM), a method of existing building energy simulation using energy audit data, the estimation of thermal consumption unit of apartment building and its case studies, dynamic window performance, a writing method of energy consumption report and energy estimation of apartment building using district heating system. The remained studies were related to the improvement of architectural engineering education system for plant engineering industry, estimating cooling and heating degree days for variable base temperature, a prediction method of underground temperature, the comfort control algorithm of car air conditioner, the smoke control performance evaluation of high-rise building, evaluation of thermal energy systems of bio safety laboratory and a development of measuring device of solar heat gain coefficient of fenestration system.

A Study on the Fitness of Adjustable Dental Impression Trays on the Chinese and Japanese (중국인과 일본인에 대한 가변형 치과 인상용 트레이의 적합성에 관한 연구)

  • Kang, Han-Joong;Lee, Jin-Han;Choi, Jong-In;Lee, In-Seop;Dong, Jin-Keun
    • The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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    • v.46 no.2
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    • pp.175-184
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    • 2008
  • Purpose: This study was designed to investigate the fitness of adjustable dental impression trays on the Chinese and the Japanese. Material and methods: Initial design of the adjustable dental trays was developed from the results of the dental arch size of Korean adults. This design was applied to the CAD-CAM process in order to create tray model samples. Simple silicon-base molds were then replicated based on these sample models. Polyurethane injection into the silicon- base molds completed the process of creating a large number of test products. 60 Chinese dental students (male:30, female:30) from the Shanghai Second Medical University and 60 Japanese alumni from the Kumamoto high school (male:30, female:30) were selected for taking irreversible hydrocolloid impression with these trays. The width and length of the impression body were measured on several measuring points by Vernier caliper. The results were analyzed statistically to evaluate the fitness of the trays. Results: 1. Uniform impression material thickness was achieved on the Chinese and Japanese by controlling the width of the tray using stops and beveled guides. The material thickness was generally within the range of 3 mm to 6 mm. 2. In the maxillary tray of the Chinese, average thickness of the impression material of the labial vestibule of the incisal teeth was 6.2 mm, the canine was 5.9 mm and the midpalatal part 10.5 mm and the posterior palatal part 9.7 mm. These were relatively large values. 3. In the mandibular tray of the Chinese, average length of the impression material of the lingual vestibule of first, second premolar contact point was 8.9 mm, the incisal teeth was 7.8 mm and thickness of the labial part of canine was 6.8 mm and premolars 7.0 mm. These were relatively large values. 4. In the maxillary tray of the Japanese, average thickness of the impression material of the labial vestibule of the incisal teeth was 7.4 mm, the canine was 7.7 mm and the midpalatal part 9.1 mm. These were relatively large values. 5. In the mandibular tray of the Japanese, average thickness of the impression material of the labial vestibule of first, second premolar contact point was 8.4 mm, and thickness of the labial part of canine was 7.4 mm. These were relatively large values. Conclusion: This adjustable dental tray shows good accuracy to Korean because it was designed by the analysis of the dental arch size of Korean adult model. With this result, it can be applied to Chinese and Japanese, we can take more easy and accurate dental impressions.

Dosimetric Evaluation of a Small Intraoral X-ray Tube for Dental Imaging (치과용 초소형 X-선 튜브의 선량평가)

  • Ji, Yunseo;Kim, YeonWoo;Lee, Rena
    • Progress in Medical Physics
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    • v.26 no.3
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    • pp.160-167
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    • 2015
  • Radiation exposure from medical diagnostic imaging procedures to patients is one of the most significant interests in diagnostic x-ray system. A miniature x-ray intraoral tube was developed for the first time in the world which can be inserted into the mouth for imaging. Dose evaluation should be carried out in order to utilize such an imaging device for clinical use. In this study, dose evaluation of the new x-ray unit was performed by 1) using a custom made in vivo Pig phantom, 2) determining exposure condition for the clinical use, and 3) measuring patient dose of the new system. On the basis of DRLs (Diagnostic Reference Level) recommended by KDFA (Korea Food & Drug Administration), the ESD (Entrance Skin Dose) and DAP (Dose Area Product) measurements for the new x-ray imaging device were designed and measured. The maximum voltage and current of the x-ray tubes used in this study were 55 kVp, and 300 mA. The active area of the detector was $72{\times}72mm$ with pixel size of $48{\mu}m$. To obtain the operating condition of the new system, pig jaw phantom images showing major tooth-associated tissues, such as clown, pulp cavity were acquired at 1 frame/sec. Changing the beam currents 20 to $80{\mu}A$, x-ray images of 50 frames were obtained for one beam current with optimum x-ray exposure setting. Pig jaw phantom images were acquired from two commercial x-ray imaging units and compared to the new x-ray device: CS 2100, Carestream Dental LLC and EXARO, HIOSSEN, Inc. Their exposure conditions were 60 kV, 7 mA, and 60 kV, 2 mA, respectively. Comparing the new x-ray device and conventional x-ray imaging units, images of the new x-ray device around teeth and their neighboring tissues turn out to be better in spite of its small x-ray field size. ESD of the new x-ray device was measured 1.369 mGy on the beam condition for the best image quality, 0.051 mAs, which is much less than DRLs recommended by IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and KDFA, both. Its dose distribution in the x-ray field size was observed to be uniform with standard deviation of 5~10 %. DAP of the new x-ray device was $82.4mGy*cm^2$ less than DRL established by KDFA even though its x-ray field size was small. This study shows that the new x-ray imaging device offers better in image quality and lower radiation dose compared to the conventional intraoral units. In additions, methods and know-how for studies in x-ray features could be accumulated from this work.

Categorizing Quality Features of Franchisees: In the case of Korean Food Service Industry (프랜차이즈 매장 품질요인의 속성분류: 국내 외식업을 중심으로)

  • Byun, Sook-Eun;Cho, Eun-Seong
    • Journal of Distribution Research
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    • v.16 no.1
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    • pp.95-115
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    • 2011
  • Food service is the major part of franchise business in Korea, accounting for 69.9% of the brands in the market. As the food service industry becomes mature, many franchisees have struggled to survive in the market. In general, consumers have higher levels of expectation toward service quality of franchised outlets compared that of (non-franchised) independent ones. They also tend to believe that franchisees deliver standardized service at the uniform food price, regardless of their locations. Such beliefs seem to be important reasons that consumers prefer franchised outlets to independent ones. Nevertheless, few studies examined the impact of qualify features of franchisees on customer satisfaction so far. To this end, this study examined the characteristics of various quality features of franchisees in the food service industry, regarding their relationship with customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The quality perception of heavy-users was also compared with that of light-users in order to find insights for developing differentiated marketing strategy for the two segments. Customer satisfaction has been understood as a one-dimensional construct while there are recent studies that insist two-dimensional nature of the construct. In this regard, Kano et al. (1984) suggested to categorize quality features of a product or service into five types, based on their relation to customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction: Must-be quality, Attractive quality, One-dimensional quality, Indifferent quality, and Reverse quality. According to the Kano model, customers are more dissatisfied when Must-be quality(M) are not fulfilled, but their satisfaction does not arise above neutral no matter how fully the quality fulfilled. In comparison, customers are more satisfied with a full provision of Attactive quality(A) but manage to accept its dysfunction. One-dimensional quality(O) results in satisfaction when fulfilled and dissatisfaction when not fulfilled. For Indifferent quality(I), its presence or absence influences neither customer satisfaction nor dissatisfaction. Lastly, Reverse quality(R) refers to the features whose high degree of achievement results in customer dissatisfaction rather than satisfaction. Meanwhile, the basic guidelines of the Kano model have a limitation in that the quality type of each feature is simply determined by calculating the mode statistics. In order to overcome such limitation, the relative importance of each feature on customer satisfaction (Better value; b) and dissatisfaction (Worse value; w) were calculated following the formulas below (Timko, 1993). The Better value indicates how much customer satisfaction is increased by providing the quality feature in question. In contrast, the Worse value indicates how much customer dissatisfaction is decreased by providing the quality feature. Better = (A + O)/(A+O+M+I) Worse = (O+M)/(A+O+M+I)(-1) An on-line survey was performed in order to understand the nature of quality features of franchisees in the food service industry by applying the Kano Model. A total of twenty quality features (refer to the Table 2) were identified as the result of literature review in franchise business and a pre-test with fifty college students in Seoul. The potential respondents of our main survey was limited to the customers who have visited more than two restaurants/stores of the same franchise brand. Survey invitation e-mails were sent out to the panels of a market research company and a total of 257 responses were used for analysis. Following the guidelines of Kano model, each of the twenty quality features was classified into one of the five types based on customers' responses to a set of questions: "(1) how do you feel if the following quality feature is fulfilled in the franchise restaurant that you visit," and "(2) how do you feel if the following quality feature is not fulfilled in the franchise restaurant that you visit." The analyses revealed that customers' dissatisfaction with franchisees is commonly associated with the poor level of cleanliness of the store (w=-0.872), kindness of the staffs(w=-0.890), conveniences such as parking lot and restroom(w=-0.669), and expertise of the staffs(w=-0.492). Such quality features were categorized as Must-be quality in this study. While standardization or uniformity across franchisees has been emphasized in franchise business, this study found that consumers are interested only in uniformity of price across franchisees(w=-0.608), but not interested in standardizations of menu items, interior designs, customer service procedures, and food tastes. Customers appeared to be more satisfied when the franchise brand has promotional events such as giveaways(b=0.767), good accessibility(b=0.699), customer loyalty programs(b=0.659), award winning history(b=0.641), and outlets in the overseas market(b=0.506). The results are summarized in a matrix form in Table 1. Better(b) and Worse(w) index indicate relative importance of each quality feature on customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction, respectively. Meanwhile, there were differences in perceiving the quality features between light users and heavy users of any specific franchise brand in the food service industry. Expertise of the staffs was labeled as Must-be quality for heavy users but Indifferent quality for light users. Light users seemed indifferent to overseas expansion of the brand and offering new menu items on a regular basis, while heavy users appeared to perceive them as Attractive quality. Such difference may come from their different levels of involvement when they eat out. The results are shown in Table 2. The findings of this study help practitioners understand the quality features they need to focus on to strengthen the competitive power in the food service market. Above all, removing the factors that cause customer dissatisfaction seems to be the most critical for franchisees. To retain loyal customers of the franchise brand, it is also recommended for franchisor to invest resources in the development of new menu items as well as training programs for the staffs. Lastly, if resources allow, promotional events, loyalty programs, overseas expansion, award-winning history can be considered as tools for attracting more customers to the business.

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