• English & American cultural studies
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.51-78
• /
• 2018

To put it simply, thing theory is a study of meaningful capacities of materiality. Although T. S. Eliot regarded pathetic fallacy as the bad example of objective correlatives in his modernism poetry theory, it is clear that many objects in literary works reflect diverse human desires. Among many, Victorian sensation novels are the most distinct genre where the various paraphernalia in them indicate the distorted and exaggerated greed of the industrial revolution era. Whereas the male protagonists are usually related with the norms objects of authority such as portrait and locket, the female characters' connection with cosmetics and white dress shows their oppressed and fragile position in the patriarchal and hierarchical society. In the (post)modern society, the ambiguity of things has grown rapidly due to the increasing discrepancy between objects and things. In special, the new journalism and the psychological realism novels often reveal the post-truth phenomenon because consumerized audience depend more upon the attraction and affect than the mere evidence and facts. For the individual, according to object relations theory, these alternative facts are rather internalized into their mind as the internal object when they are motivated by the non/contact with primary caregivers in their childhood. The dominant material imagery in (post)modern fiction becomes the site of resistance because of their reconstructed and extended meaning. The object relations theory and thing theory can be effectively used to uncover the complicated meanings of desired objects by using the human-object's meaningful relations and early mental images that are secretly alive still in the present.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
• /
• v.49 no.2
• /
• pp.169-194
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study was to assess the performance of Korean public libraries based on the national representative sample using Vakkari and Serola's (2012) public library outcome scale. Conducting a web-based survey to 1,000 Korean adults nationwide, the responses of 629 respondents who had visited the public library in the past year were analyzed. Results showed that, among the 19 benefit areas, "reading fiction and non-fiction" was the most perceived benefit area followed by "acquiring educational opportunities", and "self-development during leisure time". The benefits were considerably lowly perceived in the rest 16 areas. Different from the original four-factor structure, "reading/self development" were emerged as a new factor in this Korean sample. The benefits were perceived differently by citizens with different socio-demographic backgrounds. Results informed the current status of the public library performance and values perceived by the general Korean adults population across the nation.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.16 no.9
• /
• pp.502-511
• /
• 2016

This article reviews the film acting studies of Kracauer presenting the basic approach of traditional film theory. It is to provide a foundation for film acting theory in order to activate the domestic acting studies. While Kracauer explaines the difference between traditional stage actor and film actor in 'Remarks on the Actor' of Theory of Film(1960), he suggests the characteristics of the cinema acting and its media technical meanings. He emphasizes the acting forms presenting the postwar new realism in his film acting studies. His approach takes the perspective of 'physical reality' or 'camera reality' which is the basic premise of film theory. Kracauer insists the naturalness of the actors, listing the features of professional actors, non-professional actors and Hollywood stars as they are a familiar classification for the types of actors. He does not prefer the Hollywood stars, whether it is fiction or documentary, professional or non-professional actors, but he emphasizes negative acting, the ability to express words by doing nothing, based on indeterminacy or indefiniteness of the film. Kracauer's film acting studies has affected later film theory and media-related acting, and has become the principles of cinema textbook and acting.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.12 no.6
• /
• pp.120-131
• /
• 2012

This study has attempted to explore the way to construct the reality and its implication of the narrative elements in TV Audition Reality Show. According to the study results, first of all, two audition reality show has added the special tasks to characters based on the competition and has developed the dramatic events sequentially. And they has suggested the course of way between survival and fail, that is, inclusion and exclusion. As that results, audiences has be immersed in the process of the justification of the star(hero) myth and the dealings of musical elements to see dramatized show of narrative. And they knew audition reality show as non-real fiction, so they enjoyed the pleasure spontaneously. These means that the empowered media reproduced the illusion like star(hero) with the purpose of the commercial and political aim and one of the ideology to acquiesce in the appropriateness of the competition.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
• /
• v.65 no.8
• /
• pp.50-63
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of digital graffiti as a new creative tool in fashion through analysis of its expressive features and methods merged in fashion. The results from the analysis of fashion cases using digital graffiti may be summarized as follows. First, 'Mixing of Materials and Non-materials' matched immaterial lights and images with physical clothing materials and space, effectively expressing imaginary spheres that were not expressible with the existing materials. Second, 'Fantastic Storytelling' expressed theme such as 'Sun', 'UFO', 'Science Fiction Film', 'Fantasy Fairy Tale', and 'Universe' through lasers, lights, augmented reality and LED graffiti. Third, 'Convergence with Human and Digital Media' accentuated the active participation of spectators thereby causing human and digital media to interact with each other. Designer's ideas and unexpected responses of spectators realized various digital graffiti effects, which came across by sheer chance. Fourth, 'Utilizing of Site-Specificity' met with the best results when the digital graffiti was expressed in context of a place or location where fashion performance is taking place. Fifth, ' Playfulness by Consumer Participation' intended to induce voluntary participation from consumers by providing the fashion digital graffiti as play tools, and created new fashion digital graffiti or altered existing stereotypes, thereby invoking new visual and tactile experiences. Likewise, today's digital graffiti are emerging in various fields, and the trend of fashion-digital graffiti integration has already created interesting works.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
• /
• v.42
• /
• pp.505-524
• /
• 2016

This study examines the ways District 9, a film released in 2009, reworks the sci-fi genre to explore the human encounter with "other" alien populations. Like Avatar, released in the same year, District 9 addresses the tropes of conflict over land and human-alien hybridity and introduces non-humans and aliens, not as invaders, but as objects of human oppression and cruelty. Unlike many other science fiction films where the encounter between humans and non-humans occurs in an unidentifiable future time and location, District 9 crosses genre barriers to engage with urban realism, producing a social critique of contemporary urban population problems. The arrival of aliens in District 9 occurs as part of the recorded human past and the film's action is carried out in the present time in the specifically identified city of Johannesburg. A distinctly anti-Hollywood film that locates the action at the street level, District 9 plays out human anxieties about contact with others by referencing the divisions and conflicts historically attached to South Africa's sprawling metropolis and its current problems of urban poverty and illegal immigrants. Focusing on how this particular urban setting frames the film, the study investigates the ways Blomkamp's sci-fi film about extra-terrestrials presents a curious postcolonial mix of aliens and immigrants surviving in abject conditions in an urban slum and forces a realistic examination of the contemporary social problems faced by South Africa's largest city and by extension other major global cities. The paper also examines the film's representation of the human-alien hybrid and its potential as a force to resist human exploitation of the other. It also claims that though the setting is highly local, District 9 speaks to a wider global audience by making obvious the exploitative practices of profit-seeking multinationals. A sci-fi film that is keen on making a social commentary on urban population conflicts, District 9 resonates with the wider sense of insecurity and fear of others that form the horizon of the uncertain and potentially violent contemporary human world.

• Archives of design research
• /
• v.19 no.3 s.65
• /
• pp.105-116
• /
• 2006

In product manufacturing industries, a recent issue is the green concept. The green concept is a complicated area. If the green concept is for products, its serious issues have to be criticized. Although the importance of the green concept has overflowed, its influences have not been disputed vigorously. So this study is to critic the serious issues of the green concept in aesthetics in product design, manufacturing, and products' prices. The green environment has four representative elements: systems, policies, minds, and technologies, but they are not in the field of design. An element of the green concept, green design is also a sub concept for design, so it should be based on aesthetics. It is green aesthetics. But since green design first appeared, it has never approached by aesthetics because it has mostly had social meanings and expectations. So for green aesthetics, to think about what makes a product, and what can be aesthetic issues among them are important. Products consist of form, structure, material, and technology. Form means different shapes in a structure, but there cannot be any specific directions for a green concept. Structure has two kinds: interior and exterior structure. While interior structure has a technological character, exterior structure is deeply related with aesthetics, but it has also no chance for green concept. Material can be divided as two also: aesthetic and technological. Aesthetics materials mean the colors, opacity, and tactile sense of materials, but they are not aesthetic issues. Technological materials are recycled materials or non-recycled materials. Even if recycled materials are used today, they are close to systems or policies rather than aesthetics. With this result, green aesthetics is a very difficult concept. Second, green products are usually 30% more expensive than general products. But every consumer has his or her own economical conditions, and nobody can coerce consumers into buying expensive green products for green environments. And green products without good quality cannot satisfy consumers. This means that green concept is not accomplished by just manufacturing green products. Third, although a lot of proposals have appeared as green design in exhibitions, most of them are close to craft because they are so hard to be manufactured. Manufacturing is the first consideration for products. These three issues are enough to explain why green concept is complicated in manufacturing products. If they are not solved, the green concept is just a fiction. So if this study proposes a turning point against blind green-oriented atmosphere, it will be meaningful enough.

• Journal of the Korean BIBLIA Society for library and Information Science
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.105-123
• /
• 2016

This study analyzes the spectrum of recommended books for adults included in the bibliotherapy book lists commonly used in libraries and organizations in the UK, US, and Korea. While the recommended book lists in the UK and US retain a diverse range of books relevant to the practitioners' needs, the Korean bibliotherapy book lists are mostly made up of non-fiction self-help books regardless of where the bibliotherapy service is provided. In the subcategory of the bibliotherapy book lists in the UK and US, aside from fictions, books on "health, fitness, dieting" including medical books rank higher than any other kind, which shows that bibliotherapy claims to have therapeutic effects in those organizations. In Korean bibliotherapy book lists, on the other hand, so-called "psychology books impregnated with self-help ideology" take up more than 60%. With the prospect of bibliotherapy as an interdisciplinary practice in mind, I suggest that bibliotherapy should draw upon the insights from humanities in order to help participants have time for deep introspection and attain inner maturity rather than just try to restore their normal conditions before the crisis.

• Journal of Popular Narrative
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.165-191
• /
• 2019

The purpose of this article is to elucidate why the motif of time travel is repeated in the science fiction narrative by examining the functions of this motif in the SF movie series of Star Trek in its narrative and non-narrative aspects. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) aims to attract the audience's interest in the story through the use of plausible time travel in the form of the slingshot effect which causes the spacecraft to fly at very fast speeds around an astronomical object. The movie also touches upon the predestination paradox that arises from a change of history in which it describes a formula of transparent aluminum that did not exist at the time. The film also serves as an evocation of the ideology of ecology by including humpback whales in the central narrative and responding to the real issue of the whale protection movement of the times. Star Track VIII: First Contact (1996) intends to interest the audience in the narrative with the warp drive, a virtual device that enables travel at speeds faster than that of light and a signature visual of Star Trek, at the time of its birth through time travel. The film emphasizes the continuation of peaceful efforts by warning the destruction of humanity that nuclear war can bring. It tackles with the view of pacifism and idealism by stressing the importance of cooperation between countries in the real world by making the audience anticipate the creation of the United Federation of Planets through encounters with the extraterrestrial. Star Trek: The Beginning (2009) improves interest through the idea of time travel to the past, this time using a black hole and the parallel universe created thereby. The parallel universe functions as a reboot, allowing a new story to be created on an alternate timeline while maintaining the original storyline. In addition, this film repeats the themes pacifism and idealism shown in the 1996 film through the confrontation between Spock (and the Starfleet) and Nero, the destruction of the Vulcan and the Romulus, and the cooperation of humans and Vulcans. Eventually, time travel in three Star Trek films has the function of maximizing the audience's interest in the story and allowing it to develop freely as a narrative tool. It also functions as an ideal solution for commenting on current problems in the non-narrative aspect. The significance of this paper is to stress the possibility that the motif of time travel in SF narrative will evolve as it continues to repeat in different forms as mentioned above.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.423-428
• /
• 2000

In 1997 when cloned sheep Dolly and soon after Polly were born, it had become head-line news because in the former the nucleus that gave rise to the lamb came from cells of six-year-old adult sheep and in the latter case a foreign gene was inserted into the donor nucleus to make the cloned sheep produce human protein, factor IX, in e milk. In the last few years, once the realm of science fiction, cloned mammals especially in livestock have become almost commonplace. What the press accounts often fail to convey, however, is that behind every success lie hundreds of failures. Many of the nuclear-transferred egg cells fail to undergo normal cell divisions. Even when an embryo does successfully implant in the womb, pregnancy often ends in miscarriage. A significant fraction of the animals that are born die shortly after birth and some of those that survived have serious developmental abnormalities. Efficiency remains at less than one % out of some hundred attempts to clone an animal. These facts show that something is fundamentally wrong and enormous hurdles must be overcome before cloning becomes practical. Cloning researchers now tent to put aside their effort to create live animals in order to probe the fundamental questions on cell biology including stem cells, the questions of whether the hereditary material in the nucleus of each cell remains intact throughout development, and how transferred nucleus is reprogrammed exactly like the zygotic nucleus. Stem cells are defined as those cells which can divide to produce a daughter cell like themselves (self-renewal) as well as a daughter cell that will give rise to specific differentiated cells (cell-differentiation). Multicellular organisms are formed from a single totipotent stem cell commonly called fertilized egg or zygote. As this cell and its progeny undergo cell divisions the potency of the stem cells in each tissue and organ become gradually restricted in the order of totipotent, pluripotent, and multipotent. The differentiation potential of multipotent stem cells in each tissue has been thought to be limited to cell lineages present in the organ from which they were derived. Recent studies, however, revealed that multipotent stem cells derived from adult tissues have much wider differentiation potential than was previously thought. These cells can differentiate into developmentally unrelated cell types, such as nerve stem cell into blood cells or muscle stem cell into brain cells. Neural stem cells isolated from the adult forebrain were recently shown to be capable of repopulating the hematopoietic system and produce blood cells in irradiated condition. In plants although the term$\boxDr$ stem cell$\boxUl$is not used, some cells in the second layer of tunica at the apical meristem of shoot, some nucellar cells surrounding the embryo sac, and initial cells of adventive buds are considered to be equivalent to the totipotent stem cells of mammals. The telomere ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes cannot be replicated because the RNA primer at the end of a completed lagging strand cannot be replaced with DNA, causing 5' end gap. A chromosome would be shortened by the length of RNA primer with every cycle of DNA replication and cell division. Essential genes located near the ends of chromosomes would inevitably be deleted by end-shortening, thereby killing the descendants of the original cells. Telomeric DNA has an unusual sequence consisting of up to 1,000 or more tandem repeat of a simple sequence. For example, chromosome of mammal including human has the repeating telomeric sequence of TTAGGG and that of higher plant is TTTAGGG. This non-genic tandem repeat prevents the death of cell despite the continued shortening of chromosome length. In contrast with the somatic cells germ line cells have the mechanism to fill-up the 5' end gap of telomere, thus maintaining the original length of chromosome. Cem line cells exhibit active enzyme telomerase which functions to maintain the stable length of telomere. Some of the cloned animals are reported prematurely getting old. It has to be ascertained whether the multipotent stem cells in the tissues of adult mammals have the original telomeres or shortened telomeres.