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A Study on the Effect of Booth Recommendation System on Exhibition Visitors Unplanned Visit Behavior (전시장 참관객의 계획되지 않은 방문행동에 있어서 부스추천시스템의 영향에 대한 연구)

  • Chung, Nam-Ho;Kim, Jae-Kyung
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.175-191
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    • 2011
  • With the MICE(Meeting, Incentive travel, Convention, Exhibition) industry coming into the spotlight, there has been a growing interest in the domestic exhibition industry. Accordingly, in Korea, various studies of the industry are being conducted to enhance exhibition performance as in the United States or Europe. Some studies are focusing particularly on analyzing visiting patterns of exhibition visitors using intelligent information technology in consideration of the variations in effects of watching exhibitions according to the exhibitory environment or technique, thereby understanding visitors and, furthermore, drawing the correlations between exhibiting businesses and improving exhibition performance. However, previous studies related to booth recommendation systems only discussed the accuracy of recommendation in the aspect of a system rather than determining changes in visitors' behavior or perception by recommendation. A booth recommendation system enables visitors to visit unplanned exhibition booths by recommending visitors suitable ones based on information about visitors' visits. Meanwhile, some visitors may be satisfied with their unplanned visits, while others may consider the recommending process to be cumbersome or obstructive to their free observation. In the latter case, the exhibition is likely to produce worse results compared to when visitors are allowed to freely observe the exhibition. Thus, in order to apply a booth recommendation system to exhibition halls, the factors affecting the performance of the system should be generally examined, and the effects of the system on visitors' unplanned visiting behavior should be carefully studied. As such, this study aims to determine the factors that affect the performance of a booth recommendation system by reviewing theories and literature and to examine the effects of visitors' perceived performance of the system on their satisfaction of unplanned behavior and intention to reuse the system. Toward this end, the unplanned behavior theory was adopted as the theoretical framework. Unplanned behavior can be defined as "behavior that is done by consumers without any prearranged plan". Thus far, consumers' unplanned behavior has been studied in various fields. The field of marketing, in particular, has focused on unplanned purchasing among various types of unplanned behavior, which has been often confused with impulsive purchasing. Nevertheless, the two are different from each other; while impulsive purchasing means strong, continuous urges to purchase things, unplanned purchasing is behavior with purchasing decisions that are made inside a store, not before going into one. In other words, all impulsive purchases are unplanned, but not all unplanned purchases are impulsive. Then why do consumers engage in unplanned behavior? Regarding this question, many scholars have made many suggestions, but there has been a consensus that it is because consumers have enough flexibility to change their plans in the middle instead of developing plans thoroughly. In other words, if unplanned behavior costs much, it will be difficult for consumers to change their prearranged plans. In the case of the exhibition hall examined in this study, visitors learn the programs of the hall and plan which booth to visit in advance. This is because it is practically impossible for visitors to visit all of the various booths that an exhibition operates due to their limited time. Therefore, if the booth recommendation system proposed in this study recommends visitors booths that they may like, they can change their plans and visit the recommended booths. Such visiting behavior can be regarded similarly to consumers' visit to a store or tourists' unplanned behavior in a tourist spot and can be understand in the same context as the recent increase in tourism consumers' unplanned behavior influenced by information devices. Thus, the following research model was established. This research model uses visitors' perceived performance of a booth recommendation system as the parameter, and the factors affecting the performance include trust in the system, exhibition visitors' knowledge levels, expected personalization of the system, and the system's threat to freedom. In addition, the causal relation between visitors' satisfaction of their perceived performance of the system and unplanned behavior and their intention to reuse the system was determined. While doing so, trust in the booth recommendation system consisted of 2nd order factors such as competence, benevolence, and integrity, while the other factors consisted of 1st order factors. In order to verify this model, a booth recommendation system was developed to be tested in 2011 DMC Culture Open, and 101 visitors were empirically studied and analyzed. The results are as follows. First, visitors' trust was the most important factor in the booth recommendation system, and the visitors who used the system perceived its performance as a success based on their trust. Second, visitors' knowledge levels also had significant effects on the performance of the system, which indicates that the performance of a recommendation system requires an advance understanding. In other words, visitors with higher levels of understanding of the exhibition hall learned better the usefulness of the booth recommendation system. Third, expected personalization did not have significant effects, which is a different result from previous studies' results. This is presumably because the booth recommendation system used in this study did not provide enough personalized services. Fourth, the recommendation information provided by the booth recommendation system was not considered to threaten or restrict one's freedom, which means it is valuable in terms of usefulness. Lastly, high performance of the booth recommendation system led to visitors' high satisfaction levels of unplanned behavior and intention to reuse the system. To sum up, in order to analyze the effects of a booth recommendation system on visitors' unplanned visits to a booth, empirical data were examined based on the unplanned behavior theory and, accordingly, useful suggestions for the establishment and design of future booth recommendation systems were made. In the future, further examination should be conducted through elaborate survey questions and survey objects.

Studies on the Functional Interrelation between the Vestibular Canals and the Extraocular Muscles (미로반규관(迷路半規管)과 외안근(外眼筋)의 기능적(機能的) 관계(關係)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究))

  • Kim, Jeh-Hyub
    • The Korean Journal of Physiology
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    • v.8 no.2
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    • pp.1-17
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    • 1974
  • This experiment was designed to explore the specific functional interrelations between the vestibular semicircular canals and the extraocular muscles which may disclose the neural organization, connecting the vestibular canals and each ocular motor nuclei in the brain system, for vestibuloocular reflex mechanism. In urethane anesthetized rabbits, a fine wire insulated except the cut cross section of its tip was inserted into the canals closely to the ampullary receptor organs through the minute holes provided on the osseous canal wall for monopolar stimulation of each canal nerve. All extraocular muscles of both eyes were ligated and cut at their insertio, and the isometric tension and EMG responses of the extraocular muscles to the vestibular canal nerve stimulation were recorded by means of a physiographic recorder. Upon stimulation of the semicircular canal nerve, direction if the eye movement was also observed. The experimental results were as follows. 1) Single canal nerve stimulation with high frequency square waves (240 cps, 0. 1 msec) caused excitation of three extraocular muscles and inhibition of remaining three muscles in the bilateral eyes; stimulation of any canal nerve of a unilateral labyrinth caused excitation (contraction) of the superior rectus, superior oblique and medial rectus muscles and inhibition (relaxation) of the inferior rectus, inferior oblique and lateral rectos muscles in the ipsilateral eye, and it caused the opposite events in the contralateral eye. 2) By the overlapped stimulation of triple canal nerves of a unilateral labyrinth, unidirectional (excitatory or inhibitory) summation of the individual canal effects on a given extraocular muscles was demonstrated, and this indicates that three different canals of a unilateral vestibular system exert similar effect on a given extraocular muscles. 3) Based on the above experimental evidences, a simple rule by which one can define the vestibular excitatory and inhibitory input sources to all the extraocular muscles is proposed; the superior rectus, superior oblique and medial rectus muscles receive excitatory impulses from the ipsilateral vestibular canals, and the inferior rectus, inferior oblique and lateral rectus muscles from the contralateral canals; the opposite relationship applies for vestibular inhibitory impulses to the extraocular muscles. 4) According to the specific direction of the eye movements induced by the individual canal nerve stimulation, an extraocutar muscle exerting major role (a muscle of primary contraction) and two muscles of synergistic contraction could be differentiated in both eyes. 5) When these experimental results were compared to the well known observations of Cohen et al. (1964) made in the cats, extraocular muscles of primary contraction were the same but those of synergistic contraction were partially different. Moreover, the oblique muscle responses to each canal nerve excitation appeared to be all identical. However, the responnes of horizontal (medial and lateral) and vertical (superior and inferior) rectus muscles showed considerable differences. By critical analysis of these data, the author was able to locate theoretical contradictions in the observations of Cohen et al. but not in the author's results. 6) An attempt was also made to compare the functional observation of this experiment to the morphological findings of Carpenter and his associates obtained by degeneration experiments in the monkeys, and it was able to find some significant coincidence between there two works of different approach. In summary, the author has demonstrated that the well known observations of Cohen et al. on the vestibulo-ocular interrelation contain important experimental errors which can he proved by theoretical evaluation and substantiated by a series of experiments. Based on such experimental evidences, a new rule is proposed to define the interrelation between the vestibular canals and the extraocular muscles.

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Problems in the field of maternal and child health care and its improvement in rural Korea (우리나라 농촌(農村)의 모자보건(母子保健)의 문제점(問題點)과 개선방안(改善方案))

  • Lee, Sung-Kwan
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.29-36
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    • 1976
  • Introduction Recently, changes in the patterns and concepts of maternity care, in both developing and developed countries have been accelerating. An outstanding development in this field is the number of deliveries taking place in hospitals or maternity centers. In Korea, however, more than 90% of deliveries are carried out at home with the help of untrained relatives or even without helpers. It is estimated that less than 10% of deliveries are assisted by professional persons such as a physician or a midwife. Taking into account the shortage of professional person i11 rural Korea, it is difficult to expect widespread prenatal, postnatal, and delivery care by professional persons in the near future, It is unrealistic, therefore, to expect rapid development of MCH care by professional persons in rural Korea due to economic and sociological reasons. Given these conditions. it is reasonable that an educated village women could used as a "maternity aid", serving simple and technically easy roles in the MCH field, if we could give such a women incentive to do so. The midwife and physician are assigned difficult problems in the MCH field which could not be solved by the village worker. However, with the application of the village worker system, we could expect to improve maternal and child hoalth through the replacement of untrained relatives as birth attendants with educated and trained maternity aides. We hope that this system will be a way of improving MCH care, which is only one part of the general health services offered at the local health centre level. Problems of MCH in rural Korea The field of MCH is not only the weakest point in the medical field in our country hut it has also dropped behind other developing countries. Regarding the knowledge about pregnancy and delivery, a large proportion of our respondents reported having only a little knowledge, while 29% reported that they had "sufficient" knowledge. The average number of pregnancies among women residing in rural areas was 4.3 while the rate of women with 5 or more pregnancies among general women and women who terminated childbearing were 43 and 80% respectively. The rate of unwanted pregnancy among general women was 19.7%. The total rate for complications during pregnancy was 15.4%, toxemia being the major complication. The rate of pregnant women with chronic disease was 7%. Regarding the interval of pregnancy, the rates of pregnancy within 12 months and within 36 months after last delivery were 9 and 49% respectively. Induced abortion has been increasing in rural areas, being as high as 30-50% in some locations. The maternal death rate was shown 10 times higher than in developed countries (35/10,000 live births). Prenatal care Most women had no consultation with a physician during the prenatal period. Of those women who did have prenatal care, the majority (63%) received such care only 1 or 2 times throughout the entire period of pregnancy. Also, in 80% of these women the first visit Game after 4 months of gestation. Delivery conditions This field is lagging behind other public health problems in our country. Namely, more than 95% of the women deliveried their baby at home, and delivery attendance by a professional person occurred only 11% of the time. Attendance rate by laymen was 78% while those receiving no care at all was 16%. For instruments used to cut the umbilical corn, sterilized scissors were used by 19%, non-sterilized scissors by 63% and 16% used sickles. Regarding delivery sheets, the rate of use of clean sheets was only 10%, unclean sheets, vinyl and papers 72%, and without sheets, 18%. The main reason for not using a hospital as a place of delivery was that the women felt they did not need it as they had previously experience easy deliveries outside hospitals. Difficult delivery composed about 5% of the total. Child health The main food for infants (95%) was breast milk. Regarding weaning time, the rates within one year, up to one and half, two, three and more than three years were 28,43,60,81 and 91% respectively, and even after the next pregnancy still continued lactation. The vaccination of children is the only service for child health in rural Korea. As shown in the Table, the rates of all kinds of vaccination were very low and insufficient. Infant death rate was 42 per 1,000 live births. Most of the deaths were caused by preventable diseases. Death of infants within the neonatal period was 83% meaning that deaths from communicable diseases decreased remarkably after that time. Infant deaths which occurred without medical care was 52%. Methods of improvement in the MCH field 1. Through the activities of village health workers (VHW) to detect pregnant women by home visiting and. after registration. visiting once a month to observe any abnormalities in pregnant women. If they find warning signs of abnormalities. they refer them to the public health nurse or midwife. Sterilized delivery kits were distributed to the expected mother 2 weeks prior to expected date of delivery by the VHW. If a delivery was expected to be difficult, then the VHW took the mother to a physician or call a physician to help after birth, the VHW visits the mother and baby to confirm health and to recommend the baby be given proper vaccination. 2. Through the midwife or public health nurse (aid nurse) Examination of pregnant women who are referred by the VHW to confirm abnormalities and to treat them. If the midwife or aid nurse could not solve the problems, they refer the pregnant women to the OB-GY specialist. The midwife and PHN will attend in the cases of normal deliveries and they help in the birth. The PHN will conduct vaccination for all infants and children under 5, years old. 3. The Physician will help only in those cases referred to him by the PHN or VHW. However, the physician should examine all pregnant women at least three times during their pregnancy. First, the physician will identify the pregnancy and conduct general physical examination to confirm any chronic disease that might disturb the continuity of the pregnancy. Second, if the pregnant woman shows any abnormalities the physician must examine and treat. Third, at 9 or 10 months of gestation (after sitting of the baby) the physician should examine the position of the fetus and measure the pelvis to recommend institutional delivery of those who are expected to have a difficult delivery. And of course. the medical care of both the mother and the infants are responsible of the physician. Overall, large areas of the field of MCH would be served by the VHW, PHN, or midwife so the physician is needed only as a parttime worker.

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The Effect of the Gap between College Students' Perception of the Importance of Coffee Shops and Their Satisfaction after Patronizing Coffee Shops on Their Purchasing Behavior (대전원교학생대가배점중요성적감지화타문광고가배점지후적만의도지간적차거대타문구매행위적영향(大专院校学生对咖啡店重要性的感知和他们光顾咖啡店之后的满意度之间的差距对他们购买行为的影响))

  • Lee, Won-Ok
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.1-10
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    • 2009
  • The purpose of this study was to categorize the gap between coffee shop 'importance' (as perceived by customers before patronizing the coffee shop) and 'satisfaction' (perception of customers after patronizing the coffee shop) as positive or negative and to analyze the effect of these gaps on purchasing behavior. To do this, I used the gap between importance and satisfaction regarding the choice of a coffee shop as the explanatory variable and performed an empirical analysis of the direction and size of the effect of the gap on purchasing behavior (overall satisfaction, willingness-to-revisit) by applying the Ordered Probit Model (OPM). A previous study that used IPA to evaluate the effects of gaps estimated the direction and size of a quadrant but failed to analyze the effect of gaps on customers. In this study, I evaluated the effects of positive and negative gaps on customer satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit. Using OPM, I quantified the effect of positive and negative gaps on overall customer satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit. Per-head expenditure, frequency of visits, and coffee-purchasing place had the most positive effects on overall customer satisfaction. Frequency of visits, followed by per-head expenditure and then coffee-purchasing place, had the most positive impact on willingness-to-visit. Thus per-head expenditure and frequency of visits had the greatest positive effects on overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit. This finding implies that the higher the actual satisfaction (gap) of customers who spend KRW5,000 or more once or more per week at coffee shops is, the higher their overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit are. Despite the fact that economical efficiency had a significant effect on overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit, college and university students still use coffee shops and are willing to spend KRW5,000 because they do not only purchase coffee as a product itself, but use the coffee shop for other activities, such as working, meeting friends, or relaxing. College and university students also access the Internet in coffee shops via personal laptops, watch movies, and study; thus, coffee shops should provide their customers with the appropriate facilities and services. The fact that a positive gap for coffee shop brand had a positive effect on willingness-to-revisit implies that the higher the level of customer satisfaction, the greater the willingness-to-revisit. A negative gap for this factor, on the other hand, implies that the lower the level of customer satisfaction, the lower the willingness-to-revisit. Thus, the brand factor has a comparatively greater effect on satisfaction than the other factors evaluated in this study. Given that the domestic coffee culture is becoming more upscale and college/university students are sensitive to this trend, students are attentive to brands. In most upscale coffee shops in Korea, the outer wall is built out of glass that can be opened, the interiors are exotic with an open kitchen. These upscale coffee shops function as landmarks and match the taste of college/university students. Coffee shops in Korea have become a cultural brand. To make customers feel that coffee shops are upscale, good quality establishments and measures to provide better services in terms of brand factor should be instituted. The intensified competition among coffee shop brands in Korea as a result of the booming industry indicates that provision of additional services is needed to differentiate competitors. These customers can also use a scanner free of charge. Another strategy that can be used to boost brands could be to provide and operate a seminar room for seminars and group study. If coffee shops adopt these types of strategies, college/university students would be more likely to consider the expenses they incur worthwhile and, subsequently, they would be more likely to be satisfied with the brands of these coffee shops, with an associated increase in their willingness-to-revisit. Gender and study year had the most negative effects on overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit. Female students were more likely to be satisfied and be willing to return than male students, and third and fourth-year students were more likely to be satisfied and willing-to-return than first or second-year students. Students who drink coffee, read books, and use laptops alone at coffee shops are easily noticeable. High-grade students tend to visit coffee shops alone in order to use their time efficiently for self-development and to find jobs. The economical efficiency factor had the greatest effect on overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit in terms of a positive gap. The higher the actual satisfaction (gap) of students with the price of the coffee, the greater their overall satisfaction and willingness-to-revisit. Economical efficiency with a negative gap had a negative effect on willingness-to-revisit, which implies that a less negative gap will result in a greater willingness-to-revisit. Amid worsening market conditions, coffee shops located around colleges/universities are using strategies, such as a point or membership card, strategic alliances with credit-card companies, development of a set menu or seasonal menu, and free coffee-shot services to increase their competitive edge. Product power also had a negative effect in terms of a negative gap, which indicates that a higher negative gap will result in a lower willingness-to-revisit. Because there are many more customers that enjoy coffee in this decade, as compared to previous decades, the new generation of customers, namely college/university students, want various menu items in addition to coffee, and coffee shops should, therefore, add side menu items, such as waffles, rice cakes, cakes, sandwiches, and salads. For example, Starbucks Korea is making efforts to enhance product power by selling rice cakes flavored in strawberry, wormwood, and pumpkin, and providing coffee or cream free of charge. In summary, coffee shops should focus on increasing their economical efficiency, brand, and product power to enhance the satisfaction of college/university students. Because shops adjacent to colleges or universities enjoy a locational advantage, providing differentiated services in terms of economical efficiency, brand, and product power, is likely to increase customer satisfaction and return visits. Coffee shop brands should, therefore, be innovative and embrace change to meet their customers' desires. Because this study only targeted college/university students in Seoul, comparative studies targeting diverse regions and age groups are required to generalize the findings and recommendations of this study.

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A Survey on the Status of Health Examination among Farmers in a Rural Area (일부 농촌지역 농업종사자들의 건강진단 수검 실태)

  • Park, Soon-Woo
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.22 no.1
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    • pp.1-18
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    • 1997
  • This study was carried out to reveal the status of health examination among farmers and to attract more attention to the health care system for farmers. Ten pre-trained medical students interviewed the rural residents 18 years of age and older in eight villages which were randomly selected from a county near Taegu city in Korea, in August 1996. Finally 751 persons were interviewed of whom the percentages of male and female were 41.8%, 58.2% respectively. Among the subjects, 361(48.3%) were fully engaged in farming, 184(24.4%) were partly engaged, and the remaining 206(27.3%) were not engaged in farming at all. The overall prevalence of farmer's disease was 23.0% and there was no significant difference between the group of fully engaged in farming(23.3%) and the group of not-fully engaged(22.9%). But the prevalence of farmer's disease in female subjects(27.8%) was significantly higher than that in male(16.2%)(p<0.01). Among the 288 farmer engaged in spraying pesticide, 113(39.2%) had experienced one or more pesticide related symptoms during last one year, but only 18(15.9%) of them had visited medical facilities due to their symptoms. The experience of receiving education about pesticide was significantly correlated with the degree of wearing protectors during pesticide spraying(p<0.001). Among the 736 persons excluding non-respondents, 281(38.2%) received health examination during last one year ; 176(62.6%) of them received free health examination, and 105(37.4%) received charged one. Among the 533 persons 40 years age and older, only 124(23.3%) had received the 'health examination for the elderly' during last one year, which is provided for the 40 years age and older by Korea medical insurance corporation and medical insurance societies. Most of all beneficiaries of self-employed medical insurance thought the imposed contributions as very expensive(77.4%) or moderately expensive(13.2%). The great majority of farmers are exposed to various health risk factors including pesticide, high temperature, overwork etc. comparable to industrial workers. But farmers are excluded from the regular yearly worker's health examination because of not belonging to a company despite they pay relatively more medical insurance contributions compared with the industrial workers and the urban self-employed medical insureds. It is necessary to develop special health management program for farmers such as the special health examination for the industrial workers exposed harmful agents.

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The Characteristic of Laws on the Kind of Urban Green Spaces and the Legal Requirements for the Green Spaces of Urban Habitat in China (중국의 도시녹지 종류와 도시거주구 녹지의 설치 기준에 관한 법제도의 현황과 특성)

  • Shin, Ick-Soon
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.41 no.3
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    • pp.1-11
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    • 2013
  • This study investigated Chinese Laws on the kind of urban green spaces and the legal requirements for the green spaces of urban habitat and analyzed the specificities of them intending to provide basic data to suggest bringing in or not the relevant Chinese Laws to Korea. This study can be summarized as follows: First, the concept of Chinese urban green spaces(g.s.) classified by 5 kinds(park g.s., production g.s., protection g.s., attachment g.s., the others g.s.) placed the park and green spaces in the same category unlike the Korean urban green spaces that only distinguishes between park and green spaces. The Chinese Urban Park is classified by 4 kinds(composite park, community park, special park, linear park) at the 'Standard for urban green spaces classification' which is below in rank of the legal system. Second, in case of calculation for green spaces ratio of urban green spaces in China, the green rooftop landscaping area should not be included as a green spaces area except the rooftop of a basement or semi basement building to which residents have easy access. The green spaces requirements and compulsory secure ratio by 3 habitat kinds(habitat, small habit, minimum habitat) of when to act as a residential plan is regulated. Third, the green spaces system is obligated to establish at habitat green spaces plan and is specified to conserve and improve existing trees and green spaces. The green spaces ratio on reconstruction for old habitat is relaxed to be lower than for new habitat and a gradient of green spaces is peculiarly clarified. The details and requirements for establishment and the minimum area intending for each classes of the central green spaces(habitat park, children park, minimum habitat's green spaces) are regulated. Especially at a garden style of minimum habitat's green spaces, intervals between the south and north houses and a compulsory security for green spaces area classifying into two groups(closing type green spaces and open type green spaces) by a middle-rise or high-rise building are clarified. System of calculation for green spaces area is presented at a special regulation. Fourth, a general index(area/person) of public green spaces within habitat to achieve by 3 habitat kinds is determined, in this case, the index on reconstruction for a deterioration zone can be relaxed to be lower to the extent of a specified quantity. A location and scale, minimum width and minimum area per place of public green spaces are regulated. A space plot principle including adjacent to a road, greening area ratio against total area, security of open space and the shadow line boundary of sunshine are also regulated to intend for public green spaces. Fifth, the minimum horizontal distance between the underground cables and the surrounding greening trees are regulated as the considerable items for green spaces when setting up the underground cables. The principle to establish green spaces within public service facilities is regulated according to the kind of service contents. It shall be examined in order to import or not the special regulations that only exist in Chinese Laws but not in Korean Laws. The result of this study will contribute to gain the domestic landscape architect's' sympathy of the research related to Chinese urban green spaces laws requiring immediate attention and will be a good chance to advance into the internationalization of Korean Landscape Architectural Laws.

The Impact of the Internet Channel Introduction Depending on the Ownership of the Internet Channel (도입주체에 따른 인터넷경로의 도입효과)

  • Yoo, Weon-Sang
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.37-46
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    • 2009
  • The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced in May 2008 that U.S. retail e-commerce sales for 2006 reached $ 107 billion, up from $ 87 billion in 2005 - an increase of 22 percent. From 2001 to 2006, retail e-sales increased at an average annual growth rate of 25.4 percent. The explosive growth of E-Commerce has caused profound changes in marketing channel relationships and structures in many industries. Despite the great potential implications for both academicians and practitioners, there still exists a great deal of uncertainty about the impact of the Internet channel introduction on distribution channel management. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the ownership of the new Internet channel affects the existing channel members and consumers. To explore the above research questions, this study conducts well-controlled mathematical experiments to isolate the impact of the Internet channel by comparing before and after the Internet channel entry. The model consists of a monopolist manufacturer selling its product through a channel system including one independent physical store before the entry of an Internet store. The addition of the Internet store to this channel system results in a mixed channel comprised of two different types of channels. The new Internet store can be launched by the independent physical store such as Bestbuy. In this case, the physical retailer coordinates the two types of stores to maximize the joint profits from the two stores. The Internet store also can be introduced by an independent Internet retailer such as Amazon. In this case, a retail level competition occurs between the two types of stores. Although the manufacturer sells only one product, consumers view each product-outlet pair as a unique offering. Thus, the introduction of the Internet channel provides two product offerings for consumers. The channel structures analyzed in this study are illustrated in Fig.1. It is assumed that the manufacturer plays as a Stackelberg leader maximizing its own profits with the foresight of the independent retailer's optimal responses as typically assumed in previous analytical channel studies. As a Stackelberg follower, the independent physical retailer or independent Internet retailer maximizes its own profits, conditional on the manufacturer's wholesale price. The price competition between two the independent retailers is assumed to be a Bertrand Nash game. For simplicity, the marginal cost is set at zero, as typically assumed in this type of study. In order to explore the research questions above, this study develops a game theoretic model that possesses the following three key characteristics. First, the model explicitly captures the fact that an Internet channel and a physical store exist in two independent dimensions (one in physical space and the other in cyber space). This enables this model to demonstrate that the effect of adding an Internet store is different from that of adding another physical store. Second, the model reflects the fact that consumers are heterogeneous in their preferences for using a physical store and for using an Internet channel. Third, the model captures the vertical strategic interactions between an upstream manufacturer and a downstream retailer, making it possible to analyze the channel structure issues discussed in this paper. Although numerous previous models capture this vertical dimension of marketing channels, none simultaneously incorporates the three characteristics reflected in this model. The analysis results are summarized in Table 1. When the new Internet channel is introduced by the existing physical retailer and the retailer coordinates both types of stores to maximize the joint profits from the both stores, retail prices increase due to a combination of the coordination of the retail prices and the wider market coverage. The quantity sold does not significantly increase despite the wider market coverage, because the excessively high retail prices alleviate the market coverage effect to a degree. Interestingly, the coordinated total retail profits are lower than the combined retail profits of two competing independent retailers. This implies that when a physical retailer opens an Internet channel, the retailers could be better off managing the two channels separately rather than coordinating them, unless they have the foresight of the manufacturer's pricing behavior. It is also found that the introduction of an Internet channel affects the power balance of the channel. The retail competition is strong when an independent Internet store joins a channel with an independent physical retailer. This implies that each retailer in this structure has weak channel power. Due to intense retail competition, the manufacturer uses its channel power to increase its wholesale price to extract more profits from the total channel profit. However, the retailers cannot increase retail prices accordingly because of the intense retail level competition, leading to lower channel power. In this case, consumer welfare increases due to the wider market coverage and lower retail prices caused by the retail competition. The model employed for this study is not designed to capture all the characteristics of the Internet channel. The theoretical model in this study can also be applied for any stores that are not geographically constrained such as TV home shopping or catalog sales via mail. The reasons the model in this study is names as "Internet" are as follows: first, the most representative example of the stores that are not geographically constrained is the Internet. Second, catalog sales usually determine the target markets using the pre-specified mailing lists. In this aspect, the model used in this study is closer to the Internet than catalog sales. However, it would be a desirable future research direction to mathematically and theoretically distinguish the core differences among the stores that are not geographically constrained. The model is simplified by a set of assumptions to obtain mathematical traceability. First, this study assumes the price is the only strategic tool for competition. In the real world, however, various marketing variables can be used for competition. Therefore, a more realistic model can be designed if a model incorporates other various marketing variables such as service levels or operation costs. Second, this study assumes the market with one monopoly manufacturer. Therefore, the results from this study should be carefully interpreted considering this limitation. Future research could extend this limitation by introducing manufacturer level competition. Finally, some of the results are drawn from the assumption that the monopoly manufacturer is the Stackelberg leader. Although this is a standard assumption among game theoretic studies of this kind, we could gain deeper understanding and generalize our findings beyond this assumption if the model is analyzed by different game rules.

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Psychotherapy for Somatoform Disorder (신체형 장애의 정신치료)

  • Lee, Moo-Suk
    • Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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    • v.4 no.2
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    • pp.269-276
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    • 1996
  • A theroretical study was made on the psychodynamism of somatoform disorder. Somatoform disorder is caused by a defense mechanism of somatization. Somatization is the tendency to react to stimuli(drives, defenses, and conflict between them) physically rather than psychically(Moore, 1990). Ford(1983) said it is a way of life, and Dunbar(1954) said it is the shift of psychic energy toward expression in somatic symptoms. As used by Max Shur(1955), somatization links symptom formation to the regression that may occur in response to acute and chronic conflict. In the neurotic individual psychic conflict often provokes regressive phenomena that may include somatic manifestations characteristic of an earlier developmental phase. Schur calls this resomatization. Pain is the most common example of a somatization reaction to conflict. The pain has an unconscious significance derived from childhood experiences. It is used to win love, to punish misdeeds, as well as a means to amend. Among all pains, chest pain has a special meaning. Generally speaking, 'I have pain in my chest' is about the same as 'I have pain in my mind'. The chest represent the mind, and the mind reminds us about the heart. So we have a high tendency to recognize mental pain as cardiac pain. Kellner(1990) said rage and hostility, especially repressed hostility, are important factors in somatization. In 'Psychoanalytic Observation on Cardiac Pain', psychoanalyst Bacon(1953) presented clinical cases of patients who complained of cardiac pain in a psychoanalytic session that spread from the left side of their chests down their left arms. The pain was from rage and fear which came after their desire to be loved was frustrated by the analyet. She said desires related to cardiac pain were dependency needs and aggressions. Empatic relationship and therapeutic alliances are indispensable to psychotherapy in somatoform disorder. The beginning of therapy is to discover a precipitating event from the time their symptoms have started and to help the patient understand a relation between the symptom and precipitating event. Its remedial process is to find and interpret a intrapsychic conflict shown through the symptoms of the patient. Three cases of somatoform disorder patients treated based on this therapeutic method were introduced. The firt patient, Mr. H, had been suffering from hysterical aphasia with repressed rage as ie psychodynamic cause. An interpretation related to the precipitating event was given by written communication, and he recovered from his aphasia after 3 days of the session. The second patient was a dentist in a cardiac neurosis with agitation and hypochondriasis, whose psychodynamism was caused by a fear that he might lose his father's love. His symptom was also interpreted in relation to the precipitating event. It showed the patient a child-within afraid of losing his father's love. His condition improved after getting a didactic interpretation which told him, to be master of himself, The third patient was a lady transferred from the deparment of internal medicine. She had a frequent and violent fit of chest pains, whose psychodynamic cause was separation anxiety and a rage due to the frustration of dependency needs. Her symptom vanished dramatically when she wore a holler EKG monitor and did not occur during monitoring. By this experience she found her symptom was a psychogenic one, and a therapeutic alliance was formed. later in reguar psychotherapy sessions, she was told the relaton between symptoms and precipitating events. Through this she understood that her separation anxiety was connected to the symptom and she became less terrifide when it occurred. Now she can travel abroad and take well part in social activities.

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The Effects of Functional Tea (Mori Folium, Lycii Fructus, Chrysanthemi Flos, Zizyphi Fructus, Sesamum Semen, Raphani Semen) Supplement with Medical Nutrition Therapy on the Blood Lipid Levels and Antioxidant Status in Subjects with Hyperlipidemia (고지혈증 환자에서 의학영양치료와 병행하여 섭취한 기능성차(상엽, 구기자, 국화, 대추, 참깨, 나복자)의 혈중 지질 농도 저하 및 항산화 효과)

  • Lim, Hyun-Jung;Cho, Kum-Ho;Choue, Ryowon
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.34 no.1
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    • pp.42-56
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    • 2005
  • Hyperlipidemia is one of the risk factors for coronary artery disease. Despite of epidemiological evidence that tea consumption is associated with the reduced risk of coronary heart disease, experimental studies designed to show that drinking tea affects blood lipid concentration or oxidative stress have been unsuccessful. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether functional tea (three servings/day) supplement with medical nutrition therapy (MNT) lead to a beneficial outcomes in mildly hyperlipidemic adults. From February to October, 2003, the 43 hyperlipidemic (23 men, 20 women) subjects (total cholesterol$\geq$200 mg/dL or triglyceride$\geq$150 mg/dL) admitted to K Medical Center were studied. Subjects were randomly divided into 3 groups; placebo tea (PT), half dose of functional tea (HFT), full dose of functional tea (FFT). During 12 weeks of study period, the subjects were given placebo or functional tea daily with MNT. Anthropometric measurements, blood chemical analysis including lipid levels, total superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels, and dietary assessment were carried out at the beginning and end of experiment. The effects of functional tea were compared with the placebo in randomized clinical trial study. The placebo was prepared to match with the functional tea in color and taste. After the 12 weeks of MNT, the subjects had regular and balanced meal pattern. Consumption of foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat, salty foods, fried foods, and instant foods decreased significantly in all three groups (p<0.05). Intake of energy and cholesterol also decreased (p<0.05). Drinking three servings per day (390 mL/day) of functional tea significantly reduced the levels of blood triglyceride (HFT, 42.5%; FFT, 29.4%), total cholesterol (HFT, 8.5%; FFT, 13.7%), and atherogenic index (HFT, 14.6%; FFT, 21.7%). Whereas no changes were found in the LDL-, HDL-cholesterollevels, and LDL/HDL ratio. Plasma homocysteine (Hcy) concentration decreased significantly (p<0.05) in functional tea groups (HFT, 14.9%; FFT, 14.1%). SOD increased significantly (p<0.05) in HFT (8.3%). GSH-Px increased significantly (p<0.05) in FFT (12.8%). In conclusion, the MNT improved the dietary habits, in addition, functional tea supplement decreased blood lipid levels and Hcy, and increased SOD and GSH-Px levels. These results indicate that functional tea consumption may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease via improving blood lipid levels and antioxidant status.

A Study on the Timing and Method of the Final Price of Air Ticket in Computerised Booking System (인터넷 항공권 예약시스템에서의 '최종가격' 표시시기와 방법 - 2015년 1월 15일 EU사법재판소 C-573/13 판결을 중심으로 -)

  • Sur, Ji-Min
    • The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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    • v.32 no.1
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    • pp.327-353
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    • 2017
  • The issue submitted to the Court of Justice on the merits of case C---573/13 originated from a claim brought in the context of a dispute between Air Berlin and the German Federal Union of Consumer Organisations and Associations. The challenge concerned the way in which air fares were displayed in Air Berlin's computerised booking system. The system was organised in such a way that, after selecting a date and a departure airport, one would find all possible flight connections in a summary table. However, the final price of the ticket was displayed only for the clicked connection, and not for all connections, thus preventing customers from being able to compare such price with the prices of other connections. The German Federal Union took the view that this practice did not meet the requirements laid down by Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No. 1008/2008, which requires transparency in the prices set for air services. This led the German State to bring an injunctive action to cause Air Berlin to discontinue said practice. The claim was upheld at both the application and appeal stage of the relevant proceedings. Subsequently, Air Berlin submitted the matter to the German Federal High Court, which decided to stay the proceedings and ask for a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice as to 1. whether Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No. 1008/2008 must be interpreted as meaning that, during the computerised booking process, the final price to be paid must be indicated at all times when prices of air services are shown, including when they are shown for the first time; and 2. whether, during the computerised booking process, the final price must be indicated only for the air service specifically selected by the customer or for each air service shown. In a nutshell, the Court, by the here---discussed judgment determined that Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No. 1008/2008 must be interpreted as meaning that, in the context of a computerised air ticket booking system, the final price to be paid must be indicated not only for the air service specifically selected by the customer, but also for each air service in respect of which the fare is shown. Clearly the above judgment will place air companies under an obligation to update and adjust (when needed) their computerised ticket booking and payment systems, in consideration of the primary need for consumers to be aware at all times of the actual price payable for a ticket and be able to compare the price of the service selected with the prices for other air services in respect of which the fare is shown.

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