• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.177-193
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• 2014

Over the past decade, there has been a rapid diffusion of electronic commerce and a rising number of interconnected networks, resulting in an escalation of security threats and privacy concerns. Electronic commerce has a built-in trade-off between the necessity of providing at least some personal information to consummate an online transaction, and the risk of negative consequences from providing such information. More recently, the frequent disclosure of private information has raised concerns about privacy and its impacts. This has motivated researchers in various fields to explore information privacy issues to address these concerns. Accordingly, the necessity for information privacy policies and technologies for collecting and storing data, and information privacy research in various fields such as medicine, computer science, business, and statistics has increased. The occurrence of various information security accidents have made finding experts in the information security field an important issue. Objective measures for finding such experts are required, as it is currently rather subjective. Based on social network analysis, this paper focused on a framework to evaluate the process of finding experts in the information security field. We collected data from the National Discovery for Science Leaders (NDSL) database, initially collecting about 2000 papers covering the period between 2005 and 2013. Outliers and the data of irrelevant papers were dropped, leaving 784 papers to test the suggested hypotheses. The co-authorship network data for co-author relationship, publisher, affiliation, and so on were analyzed using social network measures including centrality and structural hole. The results of our model estimation are as follows. With the exception of Hypothesis 3, which deals with the relationship between eigenvector centrality and performance, all of our hypotheses were supported. In line with our hypothesis, degree centrality (H1) was supported with its positive influence on the researchers' publishing performance (p<0.001). This finding indicates that as the degree of cooperation increased, the more the publishing performance of researchers increased. In addition, closeness centrality (H2) was also positively associated with researchers' publishing performance (p<0.001), suggesting that, as the efficiency of information acquisition increased, the more the researchers' publishing performance increased. This paper identified the difference in publishing performance among researchers. The analysis can be used to identify core experts and evaluate their performance in the information privacy research field. The co-authorship network for information privacy can aid in understanding the deep relationships among researchers. In addition, extracting characteristics of publishers and affiliations, this paper suggested an understanding of the social network measures and their potential for finding experts in the information privacy field. Social concerns about securing the objectivity of experts have increased, because experts in the information privacy field frequently participate in political consultation, and business education support and evaluation. In terms of practical implications, this research suggests an objective framework for experts in the information privacy field, and is useful for people who are in charge of managing research human resources. This study has some limitations, providing opportunities and suggestions for future research. Presenting the difference in information diffusion according to media and proximity presents difficulties for the generalization of the theory due to the small sample size. Therefore, further studies could consider an increased sample size and media diversity, the difference in information diffusion according to the media type, and information proximity could be explored in more detail. Moreover, previous network research has commonly observed a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variable (Kadushin, 2012). In this study, degree centrality as an independent variable might have causal relationship with performance as a dependent variable. However, in the case of network analysis research, network indices could be computed after the network relationship is created. An annual analysis could help mitigate this limitation.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.33-58
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• 2008

Previous research has presupposed that the evaluation of consumer who received any recovery after experiencing product failure should be better than the evaluation of consumer who did not receive any recovery. The major purposes of this article are to examine impacts of product defect failures rather than service failures, and to explore effects of recovery on postrecovery product attitudes. First, this article deals with the occurrence of severe and unsevere failure and corresponding service recovery toward tangible products rather than intangible services. Contrary to intangible services, purchase and usage are separable for tangible products. This difference makes it clear that executing an recovery strategy toward tangible products is not plausible right after consumers find out product failures. The consumers may think about backgrounds and causes for the unpleasant events during the time gap between product failure and recovery. The deliberation may dilutes positive effects of recovery efforts. The recovery strategies which are provided to consumers experiencing product failures can be classified into three types. A recovery strategy can be implemented to provide consumers with a new product replacing the old defective product, a complimentary product for free, a discount at the time of the failure incident, or a coupon that can be used on the next visit. This strategy is defined as "a rewarding effort." Meanwhile a product failure may arise in exchange for its benefit. Then the product provider can suggest a detail explanation that the defect is hard to escape since it relates highly to the specific advantage to the product. The strategy may be called as "a strengthening effort." Another possible strategy is to recover negative attitude toward own brand by giving prominence to the disadvantages of a competing brand rather than the advantages of its own brand. The strategy is reflected as "a weakening effort." This paper emphasizes that, in order to confirm its effectiveness, a recovery strategy should be compared to being nothing done in response to the product failure. So the three types of recovery efforts is discussed in comparison to the situation involving no recovery effort. The strengthening strategy is to claim high relatedness of the product failure with another advantage, and expects the two-sidedness to ease consumers' complaints. The weakening strategy is to emphasize non-aversiveness of product failure, even if consumers choose another competitive brand. The two strategies can be effective in restoring to the original state, by providing plausible motives to accept the condition of product failure or by informing consumers of non-responsibility in the failure case. However the two may be less effective strategies than the rewarding strategy, since it tries to take care of the rehabilitation needs of consumers. Especially, the relative effect between the strengthening effort and the weakening effort may differ in terms of the severity of the product failure. A consumer who realizes a highly severe failure is likely to attach importance to the property which caused the failure. This implies that the strengthening effort would be less effective under the condition of high product severity. Meanwhile, the failing property is not diagnostic information in the condition of low failure severity. Consumers would not pay attention to non-diagnostic information, and with which they are not likely to change their attitudes. This implies that the strengthening effort would be more effective under the condition of low product severity. A 2 (product failure severity: high or low) X 4 (recovery strategies: rewarding, strengthening, weakening, or doing nothing) between-subjects design was employed. The particular levels of product failure severity and the types of recovery strategies were determined after a series of expert interviews. The dependent variable was product attitude after the recovery effort was provided. Subjects were 284 consumers who had an experience of cosmetics. Subjects were first given a product failure scenario and were asked to rate the comprehensibility of the failure scenario, the probability of raising complaints against the failure, and the subjective severity of the failure. After a recovery scenario was presented, its comprehensibility and overall evaluation were measured. The subjects assigned to the condition of no recovery effort were exposed to a short news article on the cosmetic industry. Next, subjects answered filler questions: 42 items of the need for cognitive closure and 16 items of need-to-evaluate. In the succeeding page a subject's product attitude was measured on an five-item, six-point scale, and a subject's repurchase intention on an three-item, six-point scale. After demographic variables of age and sex were asked, ten items of the subject's objective knowledge was checked. The results showed that the subjects formed more favorable evaluations after receiving rewarding efforts than after receiving either strengthening or weakening efforts. This is consistent with Hoffman, Kelley, and Rotalsky (1995) in that a tangible service recovery could be more effective that intangible efforts. Strengthening and weakening efforts also were effective compared to no recovery effort. So we found that generally any recovery increased products attitudes. The results hint us that a recovery strategy such as strengthening or weakening efforts, although it does not contain a specific reward, may have an effect on consumers experiencing severe unsatisfaction and strong complaint. Meanwhile, strengthening and weakening efforts were not expected to increase product attitudes under the condition of low severity of product failure. We can conclude that only a physical recovery effort may be recognized favorably as a firm's willingness to recover its fault by consumers experiencing low involvements. Results of the present experiment are explained in terms of the attribution theory. This article has a limitation that it utilized fictitious scenarios. Future research deserves to test a realistic effect of recovery for actual consumers. Recovery involves a direct, firsthand experience of ex-users. Recovery does not apply to non-users. The experience of receiving recovery efforts can be relatively more salient and accessible for the ex-users than for non-users. A recovery effort might be more likely to improve product attitude for the ex-users than for non-users. Also the present experiment did not include consumers who did not have an experience of the products and who did not perceive the occurrence of product failure. For the non-users and the ignorant consumers, the recovery efforts might lead to decreased product attitude and purchase intention. This is because the recovery trials may give an opportunity for them to notice the product failure.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.135-147
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• 2010

In this study, the objective masticatory efficiency of two groups of temporomandibular disorder patients, pain and sound groups, was compared with that in a normal group using the MAI (mixing ability Index). The subjective chewing ability was evaluated using questionnaires, such as the Food Intake Ability Index (FIA) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP)-49K of the patients was also examined to measure the oral health-related quality of life. The results were as follows: 1. The MAI, FIA and VAS in the pain group were significantly lower than in the normal and sound groups. This shows that the chewing efficiency of the pain group was lower than the normal and sound groups (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the sound and normal groups. 2. The OHIP-49K for the oral health-related quality of life showed a significant increase in both the pain and sound groups compared with normal group. This means that the oral health-related quality of life was lower in both the pain and sound groups. 3. There was a correlation between the MAI, FIA and VAS (P<0.01) in all subjects (71 persons). The OHIP-49K was associated with the FIA and VAS. 4. There was a correlation between the FIA and VAS (P<0.05) in the sound group but no correlation in the other groups. 5. There was a correlation between the FIA and VAS in all groups. 6. The VAS was increased significantly in the pain group according to the level of pain reduction after treatment (P<0.05). However, there was no significant increase in the MAI, even though there was an improvement in masticatory efficiency. In addition, there was no difference in the FIA and OHIP-49K according to the level of pain reduction after treatment. In this study, it is believed that pain is a main factor decreasing the masticatory efficiency in patients with temporomandibular disorders. Moreover, TMJ sounds decrease the quality of life but do not decrease the masticatory efficiency. Therefore, it is important to control the pain in order to improve the masticatory efficiency in temporomandibular disorder patients. Moreover, managing both pain and sound can improve the quality of life.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2018

Background and Objectives : Laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) is relatively common disease. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) has both mucolytic and antioxidant effect, also may be beneficial in inflammatory airway diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of inhaled NAC therapy in LPRD. Materials and Method : We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 525 LPRD patients at 12 medical centers. Finally 401 patients subjected to inhaled NAC therapy for 2 months were enrolled in the study. We analyzed the change of Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) and Reflux Finding Score (RFS) after use of NAC for 4 weeks and 8 weeks in addition to the patient's compliance of the treatment. Results : The RSI score significantly decreased from $19.87{\pm}6.34$ to $12.78{\pm}6.93$ after 4 weeks and to $10.65{\pm}7.47$ after 8 weeks. The RFS score also significantly decreased from $9.29{\pm}3.4$ to $7.17{\pm}3.41$ after 4 weeks and to $6.1{\pm}3.73$ after 8 weeks (p<0.05). During the treatment periods, 42 patients (10.4%) reported to have 80 episodes of discomfort. Throat discomfort (33%) and nausea (28%) were most common complaints, but the duration of discomfort was usually less than 4 weeks. Conclusion : Inhaled NAC treatment is highly effective for the reduction of both subjective and objective findings in LPRD patients. This study will provide the evidence of new treatment option for patients with LPRD. However, further studies will be needs to assess the real effect of inhaled NAC therapy as a standard treatment regimen of LPRD.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.305-320
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• 2005

Recently 64 species in Korea have been ranked as rare and endangered taxa by the Ministry of Environment using two categories, I and II. The original threat categories produced by the Ministry of Environment were developed to provide a standard for specifying animals and plants in danger of extinction and has been influential sources of information used in species conservation in Korea. However, the criteria by Ministry of Environment were applied to the whole taxa only by regional boundaries, especially in South Korea, rather than international context, and it also lacked an explicit framework that was necessary to ensure repeatability among taxa because of the absence of quantitative criteria to measure the likelihood of extinction. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has developed quantitative criteria for assessing the conservation status of species. The threatened species categories, the 2000 IUCN Red List, proposed by SSC (Species Survival Commission) of IUCN have become widely recognized internationally. Details of threatened Korean plants, identified by applying the IUCN threat categories and definitions, were listed and analyzed. The number of species identified as threatened was only 34 out of 64 taxa (48.4%), while the rest of taxa were rejected from the original lists. Many of the species (51.6%, 33 taxa) excluded from the original list proposed by Ministry of Environment do not qualify as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable because these taxa were widely distributed either in Japan or in China/far eastern Russia and there is no evidence of substantial decline in these countries. An evaluation of taxa in Korea has been carried out only based on subjective views and qualitative data, rather than quantitative scientific data, such as rates of decline, distribution range size, population size, and risk of extinction. Therefore, the national lists undermine the credibility of threatened species lists and invite misuse, which have been raised by other cases, qualitative estimate of risk, political influence, uneven taxonomic or geographical coverage. The increasing emphasis on international responsibilities means that global scale is becoming more significant. The current listings by Environment of Ministry of Korea should be challenged, and the government should seek to facilitate the resolution of disagreements. Especially the list should be flexible enough to handle uncertainty and also incorporates detailed, quantitative data. It is suggested that the highest priorities for the Red List should be given to endemic species in Korea first. After setting up the list of endemic species to Korea, quantitative data on population size and structure, distributional range, rated of decline, and habitat fragmentation should be collected as one of long term projects for the Red list categories. Transparency and accountability are the most important key factors. Also, species assessors are named and data sources referenced are required for the future objective evaluations on Korean plant taxa.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.51-57
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• 2016

Acoustic noise during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the main source for patient discomfort. we report our preliminary experience with this technique in neuroimaging with regard to subjective and objective noise levels and image quality. 60 patients(29 males, 31 females, average age of 60.1) underwent routine brain MRI with 3.0 Tesla (MAGNETOM Tim Trio; Siemens, Germany) system and 12-channel head coil. Q-$T_2$ and $T_2$ sequence were performed. Measurement of sound pressure levels (SPL) and heart rate on Q-$T_2$ and $T_2$ was performed respectively. Quantitative analysis was carried out by measuring the SNR, CNR, and SIR values of Q-$T_2$, $T_2$ and a statistical analysis was performed using independent sample T-test. Qualitative analysis was evaluated by the eyes for the overall quality image of Q-$T_2$ and $T_2$. A 5-point evaluation scale was used, including excellent(5), good(4), fair(3), poor(2), and unacceptable(1). The average noise and peak noise decreased by $15dB_A$ and $10dB_A$ on $T_2$ and Q-$T_2$ test. Also, the average value of heartbeat rate was lower in Q-$T_2$ for 120 seconds in each test, but there was no statistical significance. The quantitative analysis showed that there was no significant difference between CNR and SIR, and there was a significant difference (p<0.05) as SNR had a lower average value on Q-$T_2$. According to the qualitative analysis, the overall quality image of 59 case $T_2$ and Q-$T_2$ was evaluated as excellent at 5 points, and 1 case was evaluated as good at 4 points due to a motion artifact. Q-$T_2$ is a promising technique for acoustic noise reduction and improved patient comfort.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.118-126
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• 2019

Purpose: This research is to investigate factors that affect dental aesthetics and analyze whether individual perception affects and difference of genders affects the esthetic factors. Materials and methods: Seventy dental students of Chonnam University aged from 25 to 35 years old without periodontal problems were included. Maxillary dental cast for participants were made, and standardized photo was taken with a digital camera. Maximum visual width and the position of gingival zenith of maxillary anterior teeth and maximum height of the maxillary central incisors were measured by a measurement program and the shape of central incisor was categorized. Questionnaire was conducted to evaluate esthetic perception. SPSS program was used to perform statistical analysis. Results: The average visual width ratio of right maxillary anteriors was 1.38:1:0.78 and 1.41:1:0.81 for the left which differ from the golden ratio. The width to height ratio for right and left central incisor was 0.84 and 0.83 respectively. The gingival zenith position was determined to be: mostly, central incisors and canines were located in the distal side, lateral incisors were located in the center. The visual width ratio of right maxillary anterior teeth, ratio of width to height of central incisor, gingival zenith position, crown morphology and amounts of gingival exposure upon smiling were not significantly different between genders, and facial patterns and these dental esthetic factors were not related to aesthetic perception. Conclusion: Even though participants had the visual width ratio of maxillary anteriors or ideal width to ideal height of central incisors that did not agree with the golden ratio, they had high satisfaction for dental esthetics. Esthetic perception depends more on subjective judgements of participants than objective indices.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.77-90
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• 2023

This study aims to investigate the potential of alternative credit assessment through Social Networking Sites (SNS) as a complementary tool to conventional loan review processes. It seeks to discern the impact of SNS usage characteristics and loan product attributes on credit loan repayment. To achieve this objective, we conducted a binomial logistic regression analysis examining the influence of SNS usage patterns, loan characteristics, and personal attributes on credit loan conditions, utilizing data from Company A's credit loan program, which integrates SNS data into its actual loan review processes. Our findings reveal several noteworthy insights. Firstly, with respect to profile photos that reflect users' personalities and individual characteristics, individuals who choose to upload photos directly connected to their personal lives, such as images of themselves, their private circles (e.g., family and friends), and photos depicting social activities like hobbies, which tend to be favored by individuals with extroverted tendencies, as well as character and humor-themed photos, which are typically favored by individuals with conscientious traits, demonstrate a higher propensity for diligently repaying credit loans. Conversely, the utilization of photos like landscapes or images concealing one's identity did not exhibit a statistically significant causal relationship with loan repayment. Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between the extent of SNS usage and the likelihood of loan repayment. However, the level of SNS interaction did not exert a significant effect on the probability of loan repayment. This observation may be attributed to the passive nature of the interaction variable, which primarily involves expressing sympathy for other users' comments rather than generating original content. The study also unveiled the statistical significance of loan duration and the number of loans, representing key characteristics of loan portfolios, in influencing credit loan repayment. This underscores the importance of considering loan duration and the quantity of loans as crucial determinants in the design of microcredit products. Among the personal characteristic variables examined, only gender emerged as a significant factor. This implies that the loan program scrutinized in this analysis does not exhibit substantial discrimination based on age and credit scores, as its customer base predominantly consists of individuals in their twenties and thirties with low credit scores, who encounter challenges in securing loans from traditional financial institutions. This research stands out from prior studies by empirically exploring the relationship between SNS usage and credit loan repayment while incorporating variables not typically addressed in existing credit rating research, such as profile pictures. It underscores the significance of harnessing subjective, unstructured information from SNS for loan screening, offering the potential to mitigate the financial disadvantages faced by borrowers with low credit scores or those ensnared in short-term liquidity constraints due to limited credit history a group often referred to as "thin filers." By utilizing such information, these individuals can potentially reduce their credit costs, whereas they are supposed to accrue a more substantial financial history through credit transactions under conventional credit assessment system.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.9-21
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• 2024

Objective : The purpose of this study was to confirm the characteristics and quality of a single-subject research that conducted interventions to improve activities of daily living (ADL) in stroke patients. Methods : 'Stroke,' 'activities of daily living,' and 'single-subject studies' were searched as keywords among papers published in the last 15 years between 2009 and 2023 among Research Information Sharing Service, DBpia, and e-articles. A total of nine papers were examined for the characteristics and quality before analysis. Results : The independent variables applied to improve ADL included constraint-induced therapy, mental practice for performing functional activities, virtual reality-based task training, subjective postural vertical training without visual feedback, bilateral upper limb movement, core stability training program, traditional occupational therapy and neurocognitive rehabilitation, smooth pursuit eye movement, neck muscle vibration, and occupation-based community rehabilitation. Assessment of Motor and Process Skills was the most common evaluation tool for measuring dependent variables, with four articles, and Modified Barthel Index and Canadian Occupational Performance Measure were two articles each. As a result of confirming the qualitative level of the analyzed papers, out of a total of nine studies, seven studies were at a high level, two at a moderate level, and none were at a low level. Conclusion : Various types of rehabilitation treatments have been actively applied as intervention methods to improve the daily life activities of stroke patients; the quality level of single-subject studies applying ADL interventions was reliable.

• Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2001

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to compare the postoperative success and stability of arthroscopically assisted anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) reconstructions using central one third bone-patellar-tendon bone(BPB) autograft versus quadrupled semitendinos-us(ST) autograft as the medium term review. Materials and Methods : Eighty patients(40 BPBs,40 STs) with isolated ACL injury were available for a mean follow up of 49.4 months(BPB) and 48.8 months(ST). There was no significant difference between the two groups with respect to age and sex. We compare the final results between two groups with respect to subjective Lysholm score, objective laxity including anterior drawer test, Lachman test, pivot shift test, KT-2000 measurements and International Knee Documentation Committee(IKDC) evaluation system. Results : Postoperatively, positive anterior drawer test was found in $22.5\%\;and\;27.5\%$, positive Lachman test was found in $30.0\%$ and $25.0\%$ and positive pivot shift test was found in $15\%\;and\;20\%$ of the ST and BPB group, respectively(p>0.05). Mean side to side difference of KT-2000 at 20 lbs was 2.2 mm for the ST group and 2.1 mm for the BPB group. There was no significant difference between the two groups about Lysholm score(>0.05). Anterior knee pain was knee common in the BPB group. Eighty-three percent of the patients were nearly normal according to the IKDC grade in both groups. Conclusion : We consider that autogenous semitendinosus tendon is a good alternative subsititute in ACL reconstruction together with the bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft.