• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.227-240
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• 2011

New concepts and ideas often result from extensive recombination of existing concepts or ideas. Both researchers and developers build on existing concepts and ideas in published papers or registered patents to develop new theories and technologies that in turn serve as a basis for further development. As the importance of patent increases, so does that of patent analysis. Patent analysis is largely divided into network-based and keyword-based analyses. The former lacks its ability to analyze information technology in details while the letter is unable to identify the relationship between such technologies. In order to overcome the limitations of network-based and keyword-based analyses, this study, which blends those two methods, suggests the keyword network based analysis methodology. In this study, we collected significant technology information in each patent that is related to Light Emitting Diode (LED) through text mining, built a keyword network, and then executed a community network analysis on the collected data. The results of analysis are as the following. First, the patent keyword network indicated very low density and exceptionally high clustering coefficient. Technically, density is obtained by dividing the number of ties in a network by the number of all possible ties. The value ranges between 0 and 1, with higher values indicating denser networks and lower values indicating sparser networks. In real-world networks, the density varies depending on the size of a network; increasing the size of a network generally leads to a decrease in the density. The clustering coefficient is a network-level measure that illustrates the tendency of nodes to cluster in densely interconnected modules. This measure is to show the small-world property in which a network can be highly clustered even though it has a small average distance between nodes in spite of the large number of nodes. Therefore, high density in patent keyword network means that nodes in the patent keyword network are connected sporadically, and high clustering coefficient shows that nodes in the network are closely connected one another. Second, the cumulative degree distribution of the patent keyword network, as any other knowledge network like citation network or collaboration network, followed a clear power-law distribution. A well-known mechanism of this pattern is the preferential attachment mechanism, whereby a node with more links is likely to attain further new links in the evolution of the corresponding network. Unlike general normal distributions, the power-law distribution does not have a representative scale. This means that one cannot pick a representative or an average because there is always a considerable probability of finding much larger values. Networks with power-law distributions are therefore often referred to as scale-free networks. The presence of heavy-tailed scale-free distribution represents the fundamental signature of an emergent collective behavior of the actors who contribute to forming the network. In our context, the more frequently a patent keyword is used, the more often it is selected by researchers and is associated with other keywords or concepts to constitute and convey new patents or technologies. The evidence of power-law distribution implies that the preferential attachment mechanism suggests the origin of heavy-tailed distributions in a wide range of growing patent keyword network. Third, we found that among keywords that flew into a particular field, the vast majority of keywords with new links join existing keywords in the associated community in forming the concept of a new patent. This finding resulted in the same outcomes for both the short-term period (4-year) and long-term period (10-year) analyses. Furthermore, using the keyword combination information that was derived from the methodology suggested by our study enables one to forecast which concepts combine to form a new patent dimension and refer to those concepts when developing a new patent.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.66-80
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• 2011

This study investigated the environmental factors and conducted a RAPD analysis for a better understanding of the environmental characteristics and regional genetic variation in samples from 18 different areas of Viola diamantiaca. The habitats are mostly located on the slopes of mountains facing north at an altitude ranging from 614 m to 1,462 m above sea level with angles of inclination ranging from 3 degrees to 30 degrees. A total of 268 vascular plant taxa are identified in 35 quadrates of 18 habitats. The importance value of V. diamantiaca is 11.58%, and four highly ranked species, Sasa borealis (5.61%), Meehania urticifolia (5.21%), Ainsliaea acerifolia (3.62%), Pseudostellaria palibiniana (3.60%) are considered to have an affinity with V. diamantiaca in their habitats. The degree of their average species diversity is 1.36, while this metric for their evenness and dominance are 0.89 and 0.07, respectively. The average field capacity of the soil is 25.99%, with organic matter at 17.47%, and the pH is 5.19. The soil texture was confirmed as sandy loam of eleven and loam of seven. The result of the RAPD analysis, among 78 bands amplified with a primer, 64 (84.6%) showed polymorphism. Eighteen populations could be classified into five groups with similarity coefficient values ranging from 0.53 to 0.86. The Mt. Jiri population, which is geographically segregated, shows basal branching within the 18 populations. Five populations, including two in the southern district in Gangwon-do and three in Chungcheongbuk-do, form a distinct clade. Four populations in the central district of Gangwon-do and Mt. Bohyeon in the Gyeongsangbuk-do clade form a sister to the clade containing two populations in Gyeonggi-do and five populations of the northern district in Gangwon-do. The Mt. Gariwang population is placed between the southern district and the central district in the Gangwon-do clades.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.299-323
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• 2014

The reason location based service is drawing attention recently is because smart phones are being supplied increasingly. Smart phone, basically equipped with GPS that can identify location information, has the advantage that it can provide contents and services suitable for the user by identifying user location accurately. Offering such diverse advantages, location based services are increasingly used. In addition, for use of location based services, release of user's personal information and location data is essentially required. Regarding personal information and location data, in addition to IT companies, general companies also are conducting various profitable businesses and sales activities based on personal information, and in particular, personal location data, comprehending high value of use among personal information, are drawing high attentions. Increase in demand of personal information is raising the risk of personal information infringement, and infringements of personal location data also are increasing in frequency and degree. Therefore, infringements of personal information should be minimized through user's action and efforts to reinforce security along with Act on the Protection of Personal Information and Act on the Protection of Location Information. This study aimed to improve the importance of personal information privacy by empirically analyzing the effect of perceived values on the intention to strengthen location information security and continuously use location information for users who received location-based services (LBS) in mobile environments with the privacy calculation model of benefits and risks as a theoretical background. This study regarded situation-based provision, the benefit which users perceived while using location-based services, and the risk related to personal location information, a risk which occurs while using services, as independent variables and investigated the perceived values of the two variables. It also examined whether there were efforts to reduce risks related to personal location information according to the values of location- based services, which consumers perceived through the intention to strengthen security. Furthermore, it presented a study model which intended to investigate the effect of perceived values and intention of strengthening security on the continuous use of location-based services. A survey was conducted for three hundred ten users who had received location-based services via their smartphones to verify study hypotheses. Three hundred four questionnaires except problematic ones were collected. The hypotheses were verified, using a statistical method and a logical basis was presented. An empirical analysis was made on the data collected through the survey with SPSS 12.0 and SmartPLS 2.0 to verify respondents' demographic characteristics, an exploratory factor analysis and the appropriateness of the study model. As a result, it was shown that the users who had received location-based services were significantly influenced by the perceived value of their benefits, but risk related to location information did not have an effect on consumers' perceived values. Even though users perceived the risk related to personal location information while using services, it was viewed that users' perceived value had nothing to do with the use of location-based services. However, it was shown that users significantly responded to the intention of strengthening security in relation to location information risks and tended to use services continuously, strengthening positive efforts for security when their perceived values were high.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.5
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• pp.25-42
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• 2004

This study set out to investigate the relations between middle school students' perception of body image and their allowance for plastic surgery, to understand their perception of body image and desire for plastic surgery, and provide some data needed to warn against reckless plastic surgery and guide the students effectively. For those purposes, an examination was conducted of the relationships between the individual characteristics and perception levels of body image, the individual characteristics and allowance for plastic surgery, and perception levels of body image and allowance for plastic surgery. The subjects were drawn from sour middle schools located in two regions of Gyeonggi Province. Total 922 boys and girls were surveyed on a questionnaire, which was developed based on the pretest of previous literature, reviewed for appropriateness, and tested for reliability and reasonableness. The body image on the five scale was greater as the perception level was higher. The allowance for plastic surgery was also greater as the scores were more. The findings were as follows: First, the relationships between individual characteristics and perception levels of body image were examined. The third graders showed the highest perception level, being followed by the first and second graders. The girls were more perceptive than the boys, and those who were extrovert were more perceptive than those who were introvert. Those students whose parents earned 2 million won or more a month and who adapted themselves to the environmental changes had a higher perception level. In a word, the girls from the middle class that were well adapted, felt happy, and were extrovert had a higher perception level of body image. Second, the connections between individual characteristics and allowance for plastic surgery were investigated. The third graders were the most admissive of plastic surgery, followed by the second and first graders. That is, the upper graders were more admissive of plastic surgery. In addition, the girls were more admissive than the boys, and those who were extrovert were more than those who were introvert. There were no significant differences according to the monthly income of the parents, grades, adaptability to surroundings, and happiness, which results almost resembled the findings of a study conducted on adults. Third, there were negative correlations found between the perception levels of body image and the allowance for plastic surgery. To elaborate, the higher the perception levels were, the lower the allowance was, and vice versa. As for the items, the subjects showed more allowance for plastic surgery when they scored less in the item of caring about appearance, importance of looking pretty to others, and efforts to improve appearance. When they had a low value of body and easily felt tired, they were highly acceptive of plastic surgery. The allowance for plastic surgery was also great when their perception was much of how healthy they felt, how important they felt about their bodies, how they were satisfied with their current appearances, how they evaluated the appearance of others, how much they were satisfied physically, and how much demanding they were for physical changes. Meanwhile, there were no correlations between the allowance and physical attraction, the degree for one's activities to be hindered, and sickness. In short, the demand for plastic surgery was 41% for the girls and 20.2% for the boys. Just as the study on adults reported, those who had a low or negative perception of body image were more acceptive of plastic surgery. The middle school students were generally positive about their bodies with the lowest perception level at 2.91 and the highest at 3.21. Their individual allowance for plastic surgery was related to their individual body images, which were in turn affected by the mass communication, surrounding environments, and social values. Thus it's necessary for the entire society to try to improve or change the overall perception. Helping measures should be taken so that the students can form right sense of values about their bodies, avoid the obsession with appearance and appearance-based evaluation, and exercise righteous criteria against humans beings and things. In conclusions, the following suggestions were made: they need to develop such questionnaires or tools as can measure the body image of teens and fit the reality. Moreover, body image improvement programs should be more diverse and more applicable to teens. Despite the consistent reports that prove the correlations between body image and plastic surgery, there has been little effort to apply such factors as experience of the life of the disabled, volunteer activities for the disabled and at the hospitals, and others that can induce changes to body image to the body image improvement programs. In the future, comparative research should be carried out on body image and plastic surgery.

• The Journal of Small Business Innovation
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.1-17
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to suggest an efficient way for ventures to achieve innovation performance through R&D cooperative arrangements. Achieving innovation is one of the critical factors for the survival of ventures. Unlike established firms, ventures often do not have the specialized assets necessary to take technological developments to the product and market stages. Young and resource-constrained firms can achieve innovation by finding and accessing to the complementary resources from R&D cooperation. In the current business environment, many firms are likely to engage in multiple simultaneous R&D cooperations with different partners. Recent research stream addresses the importance of efficient cooperation management from the holistic portfolio perspective. Since maintaining the multiple cooperative relations require substantial amount of time and effort, managing cooperative relationships play a more important role to resource-constrained firms. In order to find an efficient composition of R&D cooperative partners, we mainly focus on the diversity of partner type and dependence level in partnership. We analyze the data on Korean manufacturing ventures collected in the Korean Innovation Survey (KIS) which was conducted by the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI). The KIS questionnaire assesses the existence of cooperative relationships with different types of partners respectively. The types of cooperating partners are affiliated companies, suppliers, clients & customers, competitors or other firms in the same industry, consulting firms, universities, and research institutes. We confirm that ventures obtain relatively higher benefits from R&D cooperation compared with established firms in terms of innovation performance. The results show that a moderate level of diversity in cooperative partner type composition increases innovation. Moreover, diversity of cooperation dependency among the partners enhances innovation performance. Likewise, concentrating on the quality aspects of cooperative composition, such as diversity of partners and degree of dependencies, this study offers some implications for ventures in managing partners from an integrative perspective.

• The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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• v.4
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• pp.7-35
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• 1992

The expansion of air transport on a global scale with ever increasing traffic densities has brought about problems that must be solved through new multilateral mechanisms. Looking to the immediate future, air transport will require new forms of international cooperation in technical and economic areas. Air transport by its very nature should have been a counterforce to nationalism. Yet, the regulatory system in civil aviation is still as firmly rooted in the principle of national sovereignty as when it was first proclaimed at t-11e Paris Convention of 1919 and reaffirmed in the Chicago Convention. Sovereignty over the airspace has remained the cornerstone of relations between states in all respects of air transport. The importance of sovereignty over air space embodied in article 1 of the Chicago Conrenton also is responsible for restricting the authority of ICAO as an intergovernmental regulatory agency. The Orgenization, for all its extensive efforts, has only limited authority. ICAO sets standards but cannot enforce them; it devises solutions but cannot impose them. To implement its rules ICAO most rely not so much on legal requirements as on the goodwill of states. It has been forty-eight years since international community set the foundations of the international system in civil aviation action. Profound political, economic and technological changes have taken place in air transport. The Chicago Convention is living proof that staes can work together to make air transport a safe mode of travel. The law governing international civil auiation is principally based on international treaties and on other regulation agreed to by governments, for the most part through the mechanism of ICAO. The role of ICAO international standards and recommended practices and procedures dealing with a broad range of technical matters could hardly be overestimated. The organization's ability to develop these standards and procedures, to adapt them continuously to the rapid sate of change and development of air transport, should be particularly stressed. The role of ICAO in the area of the development of multilateral conventions on international air law has been successful but to a certain degree. From the modest starting-point of the Tokyo Convention, we have seen more adequate international instruments prepared within the scope of ICAO activities, adopted: the Hague Convention of 1970 for the suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft and the Montreal Convention of 1971 for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation. The work of ICAO in the new domain of international law conventions concerning what has been loosely termed above as the criminal problems connected with international air transport, in particular the problem of armed aggression against aircraft, should be positively appreciated. But ICAO records in the domain of developing a uniform legal system of international carriage by air are rather disappointing. The problem of maintaining and developing the uniformity of this regulation exceeds the scope of interest and competence of governmental transport agencies. The expectations of mankind linked to it are too great to give up trying to restore the uniform legal system of international air carriage that would create proper conditions for its further growth. It appears that ICAO has, at present, a good opportunity for doing this. The hasty preparation of ICAO draft conventions should be definitely excluded. Every Preliminary draft convention ought to be sent to Governments of all member-States for consideration, So that they could in form ICAO in due time of their observation. The problom of harmonizing a uniform law of international air carriage with that of other branches of international transport should demand more and more of its attention. ICAO cooperation with other international arganization, especially these working in the field of international transport, should be strengthened. ICAO is supposed to act as a link and a mediator among, at times the conflicting interests of member States, serving the happiness and peace of all of the world. The transformation of the contemporary world of developing international relations, stimulated by steadily growing international cooperation in its various dimensions, political, economic, scientific, technological, social and cultural, continuously confronts ICAO with new task.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.117-137
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• 2009

Recently, intelligent traffic information systems have enabled people to forecast traffic conditions before hitting the road. These convenient systems operate on the basis of data reflecting current road and traffic conditions as well as distance-based data between locations. Thanks to the rapid development of ubiquitous computing, tremendous context data have become readily available making vehicle route planning easier than ever. Previous research in relation to optimization of vehicle route planning merely focused on finding the optimal distance between locations. Contexts reflecting the road and traffic conditions were then not seriously treated as a way to resolve the optimal routing problems based on distance-based route planning, because this kind of information does not have much significant impact on traffic routing until a a complex traffic situation arises. Further, it was also not easy to take into full account the traffic contexts for resolving optimal routing problems because predicting the dynamic traffic situations was regarded a daunting task. However, with rapid increase in traffic complexity the importance of developing contexts reflecting data related to moving costs has emerged. Hence, this research proposes a framework designed to resolve an optimal route planning problem by taking full account of additional moving cost such as road traffic cost and weather cost, among others. Recent technological development particularly in the ubiquitous computing environment has facilitated the collection of such data. This framework is based on the contexts of time, traffic, and environment, which addresses the following issues. First, we clarify and classify the diverse contexts that affect a vehicle's velocity and estimates the optimization of moving cost based on dynamic programming that accounts for the context cost according to the variance of contexts. Second, the velocity reduction rate is applied to find the optimal route (shortest path) using the context data on the current traffic condition. The velocity reduction rate infers to the degree of possible velocity including moving vehicles' considerable road and traffic contexts, indicating the statistical or experimental data. Knowledge generated in this papercan be referenced by several organizations which deal with road and traffic data. Third, in experimentation, we evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed context-based optimal route (shortest path) between locations by comparing it to the previously used distance-based shortest path. A vehicles' optimal route might change due to its diverse velocity caused by unexpected but potential dynamic situations depending on the road condition. This study includes such context variables as 'road congestion', 'work', 'accident', and 'weather' which can alter the traffic condition. The contexts can affect moving vehicle's velocity on the road. Since these context variables except for 'weather' are related to road conditions, relevant data were provided by the Korea Expressway Corporation. The 'weather'-related data were attained from the Korea Meteorological Administration. The aware contexts are classified contexts causing reduction of vehicles' velocity which determines the velocity reduction rate. To find the optimal route (shortest path), we introduced the velocity reduction rate in the context for calculating a vehicle's velocity reflecting composite contexts when one event synchronizes with another. We then proposed a context-based optimal route (shortest path) algorithm based on the dynamic programming. The algorithm is composed of three steps. In the first initialization step, departure and destination locations are given, and the path step is initialized as 0. In the second step, moving costs including composite contexts into account between locations on path are estimated using the velocity reduction rate by context as increasing path steps. In the third step, the optimal route (shortest path) is retrieved through back-tracking. In the provided research model, we designed a framework to account for context awareness, moving cost estimation (taking both composite and single contexts into account), and optimal route (shortest path) algorithm (based on dynamic programming). Through illustrative experimentation using the Wilcoxon signed rank test, we proved that context-based route planning is much more effective than distance-based route planning., In addition, we found that the optimal solution (shortest paths) through the distance-based route planning might not be optimized in real situation because road condition is very dynamic and unpredictable while affecting most vehicles' moving costs. For further study, while more information is needed for a more accurate estimation of moving vehicles' costs, this study still stands viable in the applications to reduce moving costs by effective route planning. For instance, it could be applied to deliverers' decision making to enhance their decision satisfaction when they meet unpredictable dynamic situations in moving vehicles on the road. Overall, we conclude that taking into account the contexts as a part of costs is a meaningful and sensible approach to in resolving the optimal route problem.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.195-221
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• 2009

According to an industry report, a large number of organizations have invested in Organizational Information System(OIS) in the past few years. Several research results indicate that successful investments in OIS lead to productivity enhancement, while failed ones result in undesirable consequences such as financial losses and dissatisfaction among employees. In spite of huge investments, however, many organizations have failed in achieving the hoped-for returns from OIS. Thus, understanding user acceptance, adoption, and usage of new IS(Information Systems) is an important issue for IS practitioners. Indeed, study of the user acceptance of new information system has been one of the most important research topics in the contemporary IS literature. Several theoretical models are tested to examine 'user acceptance' and 'usage behavior' in IS context. While many research models incorporate 'ease of use' or 'usefulness' as important factors in explaining user acceptance, Technology Acceptance Model(TAM) has been one of the most widely applied models in user acceptance and usage behavior. Even in recent IS studies that employ theories of innovation diffusion in the area of IS implementation, a major focus has been on the user's perception of information technologies. In this research, we study 'voluntariness' as an important factor in IS acceptance by users. Voluntariness is defined as "the degree to which the use of the innovation is perceived as being voluntary, or of free will" When examining the diffusion of accepting OIS, a thoughtful consideration should be given to 'perceived voluntariness.' Current article has following research questions: 1) What models are appropriate to explain the success of OIS? and 2) How does the 'voluntariness' affect the success of OIS? In order to answer these questions, a research model is proposed to describe the detailed nature of association among three independent variables (IT usage level, task interdependency, and organizational support), a mediating variable (IS usage), a dependent variable (perceived performance), and a moderating variable(perceived voluntariness). The central claim of this article is that organizations hardly realize expected returns from OIS investments unless perceived voluntariness is effectively managed after operating OIS. As an example of OIS in this study we have selected the Intranet of Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). ROKAF has implemented the Intranet in an attempt to improve communication and coordination within the organization. To test our research model and hypotheses, survey questionnaires were first sent out to 400 Intranet users. With the assistance of ROKAF, Intranet users were initially identified among its members, and subjects were randomly drawn from the pool. 377 survey responses were finally returned. The unit of measurement and analysis in this research is a personal level. Path analysis based on structural equation modeling was used to test research hypotheses. Construct validity represents accordance between the theoretical base concept of constructs and its measurement items. Tests for the reliability and discriminant validity are accepted, thus verifying our survey instrument. In this research, we have proposed a conceptual framework to highlight the importance of perceived voluntariness after organization deploys OIS. The results of our analysis present several key finding. First, all three independent variables (IT usage level, task interdependency, and organizational support) have significant effects on IS usage, which will eventually improve performance. Thus, IS usage plays a mediating role between antecedent variables (IT usage level. task interdependency, and organizational support) and performance improvement. Second, the effect of the task dependency was the highest for IS usage among the three antecedent variables. This is highly plausible since one of the Intranet's major capabilities is to facilitate communication among members within an organization. Accordingly, we conclude that the higher the task dependency, the higher Intranet usage. The effect of user's IT usage level was the second, while the effect of the organizational support was the third. Finally, the perceived voluntariness plays a pivotal role in enhancing perceived performance in personal level after launching the Intranet. Relationships among investigated variables were significantly different between groups with a high level and a low level of voluntariness. The impact of the Intranet usage on the performance was greater in the higher level voluntariness group than in the lower one. For the lower level voluntariness group, the user's IT usage had the highest effect on the Intranet usage among the three antecedent variables. In short, our study suggests that the higher the perceived voluntariness is the more IS usage will be. Perceived voluntariness was found to have a moderating effect on the relationships among user IT usage level, task interdependency, IS usage, and perceived performance, supporting all the hypotheses on the moderating effect. Most of all, user IT usage level has the strongest influence on IS usage, indicating that users with superior IT usage are more likely to enjoy a high level of perceived performance.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.39-48
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• 2011

One of the major reasons for fierce competition among firms is that they strive to increase their own market shares in the same market with similar and apparently undifferentiated products in terms of quality and perceived benefit. Due to such changes in the marketing environment, differentiated after-sales service and diversified promotion strategies have become more important in the race to gain a competitive advantage. Price discount is one of the popular promotion strategies that most retailers use, especially to increase sales, but offering a price discount does not always lead to the expected result. If marketers apply an identical price-promotion strategy without considering the characteristic differences in products and consumer preferences, the discounted price itself may make people skeptical about the quality of the product. Moreover, the changes in perceived value may appear differently depending on factors such as consumer involvement. This implies that variables such as the level of consumer involvement, brand loyalty, and external reference prices, in reality, would have different effects on how consumers perceive the value of price discounts. The variables that affect consumers' perceived values and buying decisions are diverse and complicated. Several studies have examined the effects of such variables as external reference price, selling price, and brand on consumers' perceived value of products. Results have not shown consistent patterns. Therefore, we must note that the factors affecting consumers' value perceptions and buying behaviors are diverse and that the results of studies on the same dependent variable come out differently depending on what that variable is. This study focused on the level of consumer involvement as a salient variable that supposedly affects the perceived value of a product, willingness to buy, and search intentions. We tried to examine whether a price discount affects the perceived value-such as perceived acquisition value and perceived transaction value-in different ways depending on the level of consumer involvement. In addition, we proposed managerial implications that marketers need to consider as a whole, for instance, product attributes, brand loyalty, and involvement and then established a differentiated pricing strategy, case by case, in order to effectively enhance consumers' perceived values. As a result, we found that perceived transaction value positively affects perceived acquisition value and when discounting the price of a high-involvement product enhances the consumer's willingness to buy, but perceived acquisition value does not affect the search intentions significantly. In the case of discounting prices of low-involvement products, on the other hand, the perceived transaction value has a positive effect on the willingness to buy, but the negative effect of perceived acquisition value on the search intentions was not significant. We suppose that people doubt a product's quality because of a declined perceived quality derived from a price discount. Even though the price discount enhanced the transaction value, people eventually increased their level of searching for additional product information. From the results of this study, we suggest that marketers ought to establish an appropriate value-enhancing strategy based on the understanding of which perceived value consumers rely on more when they conduct purchasing behavior because consumers perceive the degree of importance of acquisition value or transaction value differently, depending on their level of involvement.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.411-422
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is twofold : (i) to investigate how much effort the married couples are making for the good health of both the pregnant woman and her unborn child from the time of their marriage to and during the period of conception : and (ii) to comprehensive investigate socio-cultural back-grounds which affect prenatal effort. Result of this study provide a basis for the prenatal care program which will be appropriate to our culture. This study has been done by the ethnographic research method. The subjects of this study are 53 people in all consisting of 33 pregnant women and 20 husbands. In order to investigate socio-cultural factors which influence Taegyo, producers of Taegyo music were interviewed. In addition the researcher surveyed the markets of Taegyo music, participated in special courses of prenatal education, analyzed the content of the books and periodicals dealing with Taegyo, and collected the concept of Taegyo distributed by the mass media. The full-fledged study continued for eight months from February to August.1996. The data were analyzed as soon as they were collected. Spradly's(1979, 1980) developmental, sequential method of domain analysis. taxonomic analysis, componential analysis, and theme analysis in this order was adopted as the procedure of analyzing the data. To obtain the exactness of study, Sandelowski's (1986) four criteria, that is, Credibility, Fittingness, Auditability, and Confirmability were applied to all stages of data collection, data analysis, the interpretation of the result, and the description of the result. The following are the result : 1. The couples' Taegyo at the stage of preconception was related to their physical, psychological, spiritual conditions under which a healthy baby will be born. Specific methods they prefer are : "the choice of one's spouse." "physical check-up," "physical good health, " "praying, " and so on. 2. When the marriod couple have sex in order to conceive, their Taegyo was related to the imposition of their physical, psychological, and environmental conditions. Specific methods they prefer are : "having sex at specific time, " "having sex in nice place." "to purify their minds while having sex," and so on. 3. The married couples' Taegyo while they are in pregnancy was related to the imposition of their physical. psychological, emotionmental. environmental, social and spiritual conditions. Specific methods they prefer are : "listening to music. " "reading," "looking at beautiful things only," "to avoid looking at or listening to bad things." "to eat food in good shape, " "to avoid drugs," "eating Korean herbal medicine." "sexual abstinence," "to avoid dangerous places," "to keep emotional tranquility," "moderate exercises and rest." "leading a pure life." "praying." "being aware of their words and behavior." "for the couple to keep a good relationship." "interaction with their unborn child," "to support Taegyo for pregnant women," and so on. 4. The married couple put Taegyo into practice on the basis of the following principles : the principle of respecting an unborn child, the principle of forming a good disposition. the principle of top-down parental love, the principle of synergy between a pregnant woman and her unborn child, the principle of expecting a good child, the principle of forming a good habit, and the principle of acquiring a parental role. 5. The practice of Taegyo is influenced by such factors as the married couple, the supporting system, and the mass media. As the husband -and-wife factor, their information of Taegyo, the degree of importance is assigned to their characters, their time to spare, their healthiness, the age of pregnant woman, their conception plan, their religion, their belief of the Taegyo effects, and the birth of a baby in this order. The factor of the supporting system consists of her husband's support, her family support, and her neighbor's support. The mass media factors include the broadcasting media, books specialized in Taegyo, periodicals for pregnant women, booklets for advertizing powdered milk, Taegyo music of record manufacturing companies, and the teaching materials for gifted children. Among these the mass media is especially taking advantage of Taegyo as its main source of economic profits are leading the public behavior pattern to a prodigal one. Taegyo is a self-control behavior which requires practice for the following : the physical and psychological good health of the pregnant woman and her unborn child, the development of the unborn child's good character, the development of the unborn child's intelligence and talents, the expectation of the unborn child's good features. shape a good habit, the expectation of the unborn child's bright future, and the learning of a parental role, the expectation of male birth. Above all it is a type of our good cultural tradition which pursues a value higher than the one that the prenatal care does. The principles of pregnancy care inherent in the habit of Taegyo will provide us a guideline for the development of the prenatal care.