• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.130-151
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• 2018

China's cultural diplomacy is mostly understood as an endeavour to build and project soft power, which draws on three sources of 'culture, political values and foreign policy' according to Nye. This paper focuses on the debates about the vehicle and agents of China's cultural diplomacy. It starts with a theoretical discussion of the competing views in the Chinese context, and develops an argument that the vehicle of China's cultural diplomacy tries to project soft power on two wheels of culture and political values, to serve the purpose of reshaping China's image away from being the 'cultural other' and 'ideological other' respectively. However, the state-led approach to driving this vehicle is generating some side effects with its sponsorship, censorship and presence in the driver's seat. Then the paper analyses the inherent tensions existing in practice both between the two sources of building soft power and between the two means of doing so, attraction and persuasion, with empirical evidence through a comparative case study of the Confucius Institutes in the US and South Korea. The finding shows that China's attempt at reshaping its image as an Eastern cultural contestant is often disrupted by its authoritarian political values, and the state-led persuasion is often reducing China's cultural attraction. Following this, the paper finishes with some recommendations regarding evolving the cultural diplomacy approach from a vertical one that is government-centred to a horizontal one that is network-based with multiple agents, and localising its practice by engaging the target audiences as stakeholders.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.225-234
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• 2014

Because of their nature as public facilities, demands that former military facilities be utilized for the public welfare are increasing, thereby leading to an increase in cases in which these military facilities are reestablished as parks. Cases in which former military bases were reestablished as public parks were analyzed; as a result, several implications were derived. First, the objectives of public park projects should be examined from the perspective of the concept of urban regeneration and regional revitalization. Moreover, it is necessary that profits are yielded and that regional identity and history are reproduced through reusing existing facilities as much as possible rather than entirely remodeling former military sites. As parks become larger in size, bases should be reorganized into complexes rather than single facilities or programs. It is also necessary that parks be established in stages considering the enormous expenses required for building public parks. Consequently, because the special characteristics of military facilities can lead to insufficient on-site investigation in the process of establishing parks, thereby incurring a vast amount of costs for design adjustment and contamination disposal, this should be considered in advance. A method of delegating the development rights to partial sites to private businesses and supplementing the costs of park establishment and maintenance with development benefits should be examined. In addition, given that there are various interests and stakes in former military bases, a method of operating a public-private cooperative decision-making organization during project execution should be considered. Finally, policies related to urban parks need to be improved in order to raise funds, expand profitable businesses, facilitate social services and sponsorship, and encourage the participation of trusts and non-profit organizations in park operation and management.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.36-51
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• 1997

Background : Clinical practice guidelines define "systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances" and help to improve patient care. The purpose of this study is to develop a clinical practice guideline for the most effective diagnoses and treatments of benign prostatic hyperplasia based on patient preference and clinical need. Methods : For this research project, extensive literature searches (208 articles) were conducted. As well, critical reviews and syntheses (meta-analysis) were used to evaluate empirical evidence and significant outcomes of the BPH literature. Questionnaires about clinical practice for BPH patients were distributed and consensus meetings were undertaken to grasp variations in clinical practice and to reach agreement on the guideline's development. The guideline was promoted under the sponsorship of the Korean Medical Association and the Korean urological Cancer. Society. For the task, the Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Guideline Panel was composed of multidisciplinary experts in the field. Results : BPH is a disease that affects a patient's quality of life. This Clinical Practice Guideline was developed for the typical man over age 50 with symptoms of prostatism, but with no significant medical morbidities such as diabetes or other known causes of voiding dysfunction, such as urethral stricture or neurogenic bladder. The guidelines detail the relative benefits and obstacles associated with all diagnostic and treatment approaches, including watchful waiting. Conclusion : This guideline provides a cornerstone for our medical association. It represents the most current scientific knowledge regarding the development, diagnosis, and treatment of BPH. It will be revised and updated as needed.