• Title/Summary/Keyword: Self-Attention

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Lee Ungno (1904-1989)'s Theory of Painting and Art Informel Perception in the 1950s (이응노(1904~1989)의 회화론과 1950년대 앵포르멜 미술에 대한 인식)

  • Lee, Janghoon
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.52 no.2
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    • pp.172-195
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    • 2019
  • Among the paintings of Goam Lee Ungno (1904-1989), his works of the 1960s in Paris have been evaluated as his most avant-garde works of experimenting with and innovating objects as an artist. At that time, his works, such as Papier Colle and Abstract Letter, were influenced by abstract expressionism and Western Art Informel, illustrating his transformation from a traditional artist into a contemporary artist. An exhibition, which was held prior to his going to Paris in March 1958, has received attention because it exhibited the painting style of his early Informel art. Taking this into consideration, this study was conducted by interpreting his work from two perspectives; first, that his works of 1958 were influenced by abstract expressionism and Art Informel, and, second, that he expressed Xieyi (寫意) as literati painting, focusing on the fact that Lee Ungno first started his career adopting this style. In this paper, I aimed to confirm Lee Ungno's recognition of Art Informel and abstract painting, which can be called abstract expressionism. To achieve this, it was necessary to study Lee's painting theory at that time, so I first considered Hae-gang Kim Gyu-jin whom Lee Ungno began studying painting under, and his paintings during his time in Japan. It was confirmed that in order to escape from stereotypical paintings, deep contemplation of nature while painting was his first important principle. This principle, also known as Xieyi (寫意), lasted until the 1950s. In addition, it is highly probable that he understood the dictionary definition of abstract painting, i.e., the meaning of extracting shapes from nature according to the ideas which became important to him after studying in Japan, rather than the theory of abstract painting realized in Western paintings. Lee Ungno himself also stated that the shape of nature was the basis of abstract painting. In other words, abstractive painting and abstract painting are different concepts and based on this, it is necessary to analyze the paintings of Lee Ungno. Finally, I questioned the view that Lee Ungno's abstract paintings of the 1950s were painted as representative of the Xieyi (寫意) mind of literary art painting. Linking traditional literary art painting theory directly to Lee Ungno, who had been active in other worlds in space and time, may minimize Lee Ungno's individuality and make the distinction between traditional paintings and contemporary paintings obscure. Lee Ungno emphasized Xieyi (寫意) in his paintings; however, this might have been an emphasis signifying a great proposition. This is actually because his works produced in the 1950s, such as Self-Portrait (1956), featured painting styles with boldly distorted forms achieved by strong ink brushwork, a style which Lee Ungno defined as 'North Painting.' This is based on the view that it is necessary to distinguish between Xieyi (寫意) and 'the way of Xieyi (寫意) painting' as an important aspect of literary art painting. Therefore, his paintings need a new interpretation in consideration of the viewpoint that he represented abstract paintings according to his own Xieyi (寫意) way, rather than the view that his paintings were representations of Xieyi (寫意), or rather a succession of traditional paintings in the literary artist's style.

A Systematic Review of Community Elder Abuse Studies in South Korea (한국 지역사회 거주 노인학대 연구의 체계적 고찰)

  • Kim, Dong Ha;Kang, Serin;Lee, Yoon Kyoung;Cha, Ye Won;Yoo, Seunghyun;Kim, Hongsoo
    • 한국노년학
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    • v.36 no.4
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    • pp.1003-1024
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    • 2016
  • The human rights of older people have gotten more attention recently in South Korea, a country that is in transition to a super-aged society. This study aimed to systematically review studies on elder abuse and related factors among community-dwelling older adults in South Korea over twenty years (1994-2016). We searched major databases (Riss, DBpia, KISS, KMbase, and PubMed) and identified published studies relevant to the topic. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria related to study quality, a total of 31 studies were selected for this review. We examined types, measurements, and risk factors of elder abuse as well as study designs in the selected studies, guided by Johannesen's theoretical framework on elder abuse. All of the reviewed studies on elder abuse in Korea were cross-sectional studies, most of which focused on older people living in urban areas, using a non-random sampling method. All of the studies focused on certain types of elder abuse only. Some adopted elder-abuse instruments that were not validated, and others used self-developed instruments without psychometric tests. As for the risk factors of elder abuse in South Korea, the physical and mental health of the victims and aggressors impacted the risk of elder abuse, but general sociodemographic factors such as age, sex, and education were less likely to be related to the risk. In addition, decreasing caregiver burden and building elder-friendly communities are important for the prevention of elder abuse. Needed are further empirical studies on elder abuse with a theoretical framework that gives consideration to the unique sociocultural contexts of Korea. It is also recommended to develop instruments to measure elder abuse reflecting the sociocultural contexts of Korea, and to examine the multi-dimensional risk factors of elder abuse.

An Exploratory Study on Female Caregivers' Experiences of Aggression by Older Residents in Nursing Homes (노인요양시설 입소노인에 의한 여성요양보호사의 폭력 경험에 대한 탐색적 연구)

  • Yoo, Seong Ho;Kim, Bo Kyung;Moon, Yu Jin;Shim, Il Kwang;Cho, Hee Ju
    • 한국노년학
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    • v.36 no.4
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    • pp.1037-1058
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    • 2016
  • This study aims to investigate the female caregivers'experiences of aggression by nursing home residents, and to identify the policy strategies for violence prevention referred by the female caregivers. A total of 121 female caregivers with more than 6 months of working experiences had participated in this study. Of these, 56.2% had experienced verbal aggression, 51.2% physical aggression, and 27.3% sexual aggression, which reveals that client violence toward caregivers in nursing homes was at an alarming level. Although, physical and verbal violences were mostly caused unintentionally, about a half of the sexual aggression were caused deliberately. Aggression occurred the most when caregivers were providing the following services: changing the diapers or clothes, giving a bath, and serving meals. It was found that 'hitting' was the most common form of physical aggression and it was 'swearing' and 'touching or physical contacting' in the case of verbal and sexual aggression, respectively. Though there was a difference depending on the type of aggression, the most frequent reactions against client violence were to start a conversation or calm down the nursing home residents, and to leave the scene or ignore the incident. This means that the caregivers are coping very passively through resolving the aggressions by themselves, or overlooking the situation. The most frequently recommended strategy to prevent resident aggression was to provide educational programs on violence prevention to nursing home residents and caregivers(42.7%). Compared to the previous studies, this study indicates some differentiated strategies to prevent violence in nursing homes, which include hiring male caregivers, assuring directors to pay closer attention toward caregivers, using refined language between caregivers and residents, and keeping caregivers to wear appropriate clothes. Based on the study results, some policy recommendations on the prevention of client violence in nursing homes were suggested.

The crossing the border into Liadong by Mangong and Jeokhyu, the high priests in the early Joseon Dynasty, and the rebuilding of the Chinese, Buddhist temples (조선초 고승 만공(滿空)과 적휴(適休)의 요동(遼東) 월경(越境)과 중국사찰 중창)

  • Hwang, In-Gyu
    • (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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    • no.70
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    • pp.407-434
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    • 2018
  • This study took a look at the crossing the border into Liadong in the early Joseon Dynasty, which has nearly not been paid attention to in the history of the Buddhism in Korea, and the Chinese, Buddhist whereabouts of Monk Mangong and Jeokhyu, the periodical, Buddhist priests. Regarding the large-scale, Buddhist oppression measures of King Taejong in the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty and King Sejong, the Buddhist circle did not not respond helplessly, but, rather, it had made the resistance on its own way. Especially, the Naonghyegeum of Jogyeseonjong and the disciple affiliates of Taegobowu had stood out. The disciples of Bowu had mainly hit the Sinmungo or had advocated the self-purification of Buddhism. And the disciple affiliates of Naong either had reorganized the Buddhist circle with Muhak in the center or had opposed the suppression. And, by receiving the help of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, they had intended to protect the Buddhist circle, or they, also, crossed the border into Liadong. Although, while attempting the crossing the border into another territory, they were arrested like the sea ships, like Mangong of King Taejong and Jeokhyu of King Sejong, they succeeded in crossing the border into another territory, and they left the clear whereabouts in the Chinese, Buddhist circle. Mangong was one Buddhist monk among the 11 Buddhist monks who crossed the border into Liadong during the King Taejong. After crossing the border, Mangong had moved again from Beijing on a sea route and had settled for after going into a mountain in the Zen sect at the Tienchieh temple in Nanjing. Meanwhile, he had been close to the Joseon Dynasty, and he relocated to Mount Taishan, where there had been the history, thereby rebuilding the Chikurin Temple and the Buchauchan temple and widely publicizing the Buddhism. During the time of King Sejong, by crossing the border into Liadong together with a total of 10 Monks, including the Buddhist monks Shinnae, Shinhyu, Shindam, Hyeseon, Hongjeok, Haebi, Shinyeon, Honghye, Shinwun, etc., under the protection by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in Beijing, Jeokhyu went through Shanhaiguan and had moved to the Tienchieh Temple in Nanjing. Although their whereabouts can not be known, on the Guji Mountain in Beijing, Jeokhyu founded the Banyaseonsa Temple nearby the Ryeongamseonsa Temple, where the clergy and the laity of the Goryeo Dynasty had resided and, especially, where Naong and the disciples of Muhak etc. had stayed. As such, the Buddhist monks in the beginning of the Joseon Dynasty had either resisted the suppression by the country or crossed the border into another territory. Mangong and Jeokhyu of the times of King Taejong and King Sejong had led the Chinese, Buddhism circle, had rebuilt the Buddhist temples, and had contributed to the development of the Chinese Buddhism.

Strategies for Increasing the Value and Sustainability of Archaeological Education in the Post-COVID-19 Era (포스트 코로나 시대 고고유산 교육의 가치와 지속가능성을 위한 전략)

  • KIM, Eunkyung
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.55 no.2
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    • pp.82-100
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    • 2022
  • With the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and the era of the 4th industrial revolution, archaeological heritage education has entered a new phase. This article responds to the trends in the post-COVID-19 era, seeking ways to develop archaeological heritage education and sustainable strategies necessary in the era of the 4th industrial revolution. The program of archaeological heritage education required in the era of the 4th industrial revolution must cultivate creative talent, solve problems, and improve self-efficacy. It should also draw attention to archaeological heritage maker education. Such maker education should be delivered based on constructivism and be designed by setting specific learning goals in consideration of various age-specific characteristics. Moreover, various ICT-based contents applying VR, AR, cloud, and drone imaging technologies should be developed and expanded, and, above all, ontact digital education(real-time virtual learning) should seek ways to revitalize communities capable of interactive communication in non-face-to-face situations. The development of such ancient heritage content needs to add AI functions that consider learners' interests, learning abilities, and learning purposes while producing various convergent contents from the standpoint of "cultural collage." Online archaeological heritage content education should be delivered following prior learning or with supplementary learning in consideration of motivation or field learning to access the real thing in the future. Ultimately, archaeological ontact education will be delivered using cutting-edge technologies that reflect the current trends. In conjunction with this, continuous efforts are needed for constructive learning that enables discovery and question-exploration.

The Purchasing Status of the Avatars and Digital Fashion Items in Metaverse and Consumers' Purchase Satisfaction and the Future Purchase Intentions According to Usage Motivation (메타버스 디지털 아이템 이용 실태 및 이용동기에 따른 만족도 및 추후 구매의사)

  • Kim, Nam Eun;Lee, Jeong Ran
    • Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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    • v.34 no.3
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    • pp.133-148
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    • 2022
  • This study aims to explore the status and motives for using avatars and digital fashion items in the metaverse and to examine consumers' purchase satisfaction and future purchase intentions. We intend to provide implications for the development of avatars and fashion items, and the direction of the fashion industry and clothing education. For this purpose, the purchasing status, consumer motives for using avatars and digital fashion items, purchase satisfaction, and future purchase intentions were investigated, through a survey with 149 consumers aged 19 years or older, with the experience of using avatars. The results are as follows. First, the percentage of avatar ownership was high among women aged between 19 and 29, and those with low or high incomes. The younger group was more likely to make mobile phone purchases than the older group, and the older group was more likely to use credit cards. Even those respondents who owned avatars did not purchase frequently or spent a lot on items. On the other hand, in the case of fashion item purchases, the group spending more than 8,000 won was aged between 19 and 29, and the frequency and amount of purchases increased as income increase. Second, among the motives for using avatars and fashion items, the pursuit of pleasure had the greatest influence, and men paid more attention to self-expression through avatars than women. Third, the motive for vicarious satisfaction influenced purchase satisfaction, and the factors that influenced future purchase intention were vicarious satisfaction and stress relief. The results of this study suggests that avatars and fashion items should be developed considering factors that can relieve stress for all age groups, create a sense of unity among metaverse users, and provide satisfaction in a virtual world that is different from reality. In addition, education on how to use fashion items and consumption attitudes in education related to clothing life will be required.

Cultural Diversity and Repression in Communities: A Study on China and Latin America (공동체에서의 문화 다양성과 억압 -중국과 라틴아메리카를 중심으로-)

  • Kim Dug-sam
    • Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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    • v.44
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    • pp.177-212
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    • 2023
  • In this study, discussions of the suppression of cultural diversity in communities was conducted. First, based on the studies conducted so far and recent changes, the oppression that exists between the Chinese government and ethnic minorities was considered. The visible suppression mentioned was the expansion of Han Chinese Mandarin language education, sanctions on minority languages, and the expansion of higher education at the exclusion of minority identities. In terms of 'invisible' oppression, urbanization, urban development with modernization at the forefront, and the use of officials from minority ethnic groups educated by the central government were items that were discussed. Next, the case of Latin America was examined. In particular, attention was paid to the theory of resistance against Europeans and European culture. Based off of the worries and experiences of Latin American intellectuals who have underwent oppression as individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds, a mature theory was formulated that could be used to defend Chinese minorities in the future. There is a specificity to the problem of Chinese minority communities. However, from a large perspective, experience and self-critical exploration in Latin America serve as an opportunity to expand the specificity of Chinese minority communities. Their situation resembles previous situations in Latin America when native cultures were being culturally eroded by Europe. Thus, as Latin American scholars argue, a shift in perception is necessary. In addition to this, in the text, it is likewise necessary to reflect on diversity, freedom, and mutualistic respect. There are proposals advocating for the realization of Heyibutong (和而不同 harmony but not through sameness) based on the situation in China. In the process of this consideration, much thought was given about what the observed communities are like and what a hypothetically desirable community would be like. This extends not only to Chinese minority communities and native residents of Latin America, but also to Asians in the United States and foreigners in Korea. Through this, it is hoped that desirable communities characterized by cultural diversity can be skillfully pursued.

The Effect of Consumers' Value Motives on the Perception of Blog Reviews Credibility: the Moderation Effect of Tie Strength (소비자의 가치 추구 동인이 블로그 리뷰의 신뢰성 지각에 미치는 영향: 유대강도에 따른 조절효과를 중심으로)

  • Chu, Wujin;Roh, Min Jung
    • Asia Marketing Journal
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    • v.13 no.4
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    • pp.159-189
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    • 2012
  • What attracts consumers to bloggers' reviews? Consumers would be attracted both by the Bloggers' expertise (i.e., knowledge and experience) and by his/her unbiased manner of delivering information. Expertise and trustworthiness are both virtues of information sources, particularly when there is uncertainty in decision-making. Noting this point, we postulate that consumers' motives determine the relative weights they place on expertise and trustworthiness. In addition, our hypotheses assume that tie strength moderates consumers' expectation on bloggers' expertise and trustworthiness: with expectation on expertise enhanced for power-blog user-group (weak-ties), and an expectation on trustworthiness elevated for personal-blog user-group (strong-ties). Finally, we theorize that the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review is moderated by tie strength; the predictive power of credibility is more prominent for the personal-blog user-groups than for the power-blog user groups. To support these assumptions, we conducted a field survey with blog users, collecting retrospective self-report data. The "gourmet shop" was chosen as a target product category, and obtained data analyzed by structural equations modeling. Findings from these data provide empirical support for our theoretical predictions. First, we found that the purposive motive aimed at satisfying instrumental information needs increases reliance on bloggers' expertise, but interpersonal connectivity value for alleviating loneliness elevates reliance on bloggers' trustworthiness. Second, expertise-based credibility is more prominent for power-blog user-groups than for personal-blog user-groups. While strong ties attract consumers with trustworthiness based on close emotional bonds, weak ties gain consumers' attention with new, non-redundant information (Levin & Cross, 2004). Thus, when the existing knowledge system, used in strong ties, does not work as smoothly for addressing an impending problem, the weak-tie source can be utilized as a handy reference. Thus, we can anticipate that power bloggers secure credibility by virtue of their expertise while personal bloggers trade off on their trustworthiness. Our analysis demonstrates that power bloggers appeal more strongly to consumers than do personal bloggers in the area of expertise-based credibility. Finally, the effect of review credibility on willingness to accept a review is higher for the personal-blog user-group than for the power-blog user-group. Actually, the inference that review credibility is a potent predictor of assessing willingness to accept a review is grounded on the analogy that attitude is an effective indicator of purchase intention. However, if memory about established attitudes is blocked, the predictive power of attitude on purchase intention is considerably diminished. Likewise, the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review can be affected by certain moderators. Inspired by this analogy, we introduced tie strength as a possible moderator and demonstrated that tie strength moderated the effect of credibility on willingness to accept a review. Previously, Levin and Cross (2004) showed that credibility mediates strong-ties through receipt of knowledge, but this credibility mediation is not observed for weak-ties, where a direct path to it is activated. Thus, the predictive power of credibility on behavioral intention - that is, willingness to accept a review - is expected to be higher for strong-ties.

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An Exploratory Study on the Components of Visual Merchandising of Internet Shopping Mall (인터넷쇼핑몰의 VMD 구성요인에 대한 탐색적 연구)

  • Kim, Kwang-Seok;Shin, Jong-Kuk;Koo, Dong-Mo
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.19-45
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    • 2008
  • This study is to empirically examine the primary dimensions of visual merchandising (VMD) of internet shopping mall, namely store design, merchandise, and merchandising cues, to be a attractive virtual store to the shoppers. The authors reviewed the literature related to the major components of VMD from the perspective of the AIDA model, which has been mainly applied to the offline store settings. The major purposes of the study are as follows; first, tries to derive the variables related with the components of visual merchandising through reviewing the existing literatures, establish the hypotheses, and test it empirically. Second, examines the relationships between the components of VMD and the attitude toward the VMD, however, putting more emphasis on finding out the component structure of the VMD. VMD needs to be examined with the perspective that an online shopping mall is a virtual self-service or clerkless store, which could reduce the number of employees, help the shoppers search, evaluate and purchase for themselves, and to be explored in terms of the in-store persuasion processes of customers. This study reviewed the literatures related to store design, merchandise, and merchandising cues which might be relevant to the store, product, and promotion respectively. VMD is a total communication tool, and AIDA model could explain the in-store consumer behavior of online shopping. Store design has to do with triggering a consumer attention to the online mall, merchandise with a product related interest, and merchandising cues with promotions such as recommendation and links that induce the desire to pruchase. These three steps might be seen as the processes for purchase actions. The theoretical rationale for the relationship between VMD and AIDA could be found in Tyagi(2005) that the three steps of consumer-oriented merchandising are a store, a product assortment, and placement, in Omar(1999) that three types of interior display are a architectural design display, commodity display, and point-of-sales(POS) display, and in Davies and Ward(2005) that the retail store interior image is related to an atmosphere, merchandise, and in-store promotion. Lee et al(2000) suggested as the web merchandising components a merchandising cues, a shopping metaphor which is an assistant tool for search, a store design, a layout(web design), and a product assortment. The store design which includes differentiation, simplicity and navigation is supposed to be related to the attention to the virtual store. Second, the merchandise dimensions comprising product assortments, visual information and product reputation have to do with the interest in the product offerings. Finally, the merchandising cues that refer to merchandiser(MD)'s recommendation of products and providing the hyperlinks to relevant goods for the shopper is concerned with attempt to induce the desire to purchase. The questionnaire survey was carried out to collect the data about the consumers who would shop at internet shopping malls frequently. To select the subject malls, the mall ranking data announced by a mall rating agency was used to differentiate the most popular and least popular five mall each. The subjects was instructed to answer the questions after navigating the designated mall for five minutes. The 300 questionnaire was distributed to the consumers, 166 samples were used in the final analysis. The empirical testing focused on identifying and confirming the dimensionality of VMD and its subdimensions using a structural equation modeling method. The confirmatory factor analysis for the endogeneous and exogeneous variables was carried out in four parts. The second-order factor analysis was done for a store design, a merchandise, and a merchandising cues, and first-order confirmatory factor analysis for the attitude toward the VMD. The model test results shows that the chi-square value of structural equation is 144.39(d.f 49), significant at 0.01 level which means the proposed model was rejected. But, judging from the ratio of chi-square value vs. degree of freedom, the ratio was 2.94 which smaller than an acceptable level of 3.0, RMR is 0.087 which is higher than a generally acceptable level of 0.08. GFI and AGFI is turned out to be 0.90 and 0.84 respectively. Both NFI and NNFI is 0.94, and CFI 0.95. The major test results are as follows; first, the second-order factor analysis and structural equational modeling reveals that the differentiation, simplicity and ease of identifying current status of the transaction are confirmed to be subdimensions of store design and to be a significant predictors of the dependent variable. This result implies that when designing an online shopping mall, it is necessary to differentiate visually from other malls to improve the effectiveness of the communications of store design. That is, the differentiated store design raise the contrast stimulus to sensory organs to promote the memory of the store and to have a favorable attitude toward the VMD of a store. The results that navigation which means the easiness of identifying current status of shopping affects the attitude to VMD could be interpreted that the navigating processes via the hyperlinks which is characteristics of an internet shopping is a complex and cognitive process and shoppers are likely to lack the sense of overall structure of the store. Consequently, shoppers are likely to be alost amid shopping not knowing where to go. The orientation tool enhance the accessibility of information to raise the perceptive power about the store environment.(Titus & Everett 1995) Second, the primary dimension of merchandise and its subdimensions was confirmed to be unidimensional respectively, have a construct validity, and nomological validity which the VMD dimensions supposed to have a positive correlation with the dependent variable. The subdimensions of product assortment, brand fame and information provision proved to have a positive effect on the attitude toward the VMD. It could be interpreted that the more plentiful the product and brand assortment of the mall is, the more likely the shoppers to favor it. Brand fame and information provision as well affect the VMD attitude, which means that the more famous the brand, the more likely the shoppers would trust and feel familiar with the mall, and the plentifully and visually presented information could have the shopper have a favorable attitude toward the store VMD. Third, it turned out to be that merchandising cue of product recommendation and hyperlinks affect the VMD attitude. This could be interpreted that recommended products could reduce the uncertainty related with the purchase decision, and the hyperlinks to relevant products would help the shopper save the cognitive effort exerted into the information search and gathering, which could lead to a favorable attitude to the VMD. This study tried to sheds some new light on the VMD of online store by reviewing the variables mentioned to be relevant with offline VMD in the existing literatures, and tried to link the VMD components from the perspective of AIDA model. The effect size of the VMD dimensions on the attitude was in the order of the merchandise, the store design and the merchandising cues.It is said that an internet has an unlimited place for display, however, the virtual store is not unlimited since the consumer has a limited amount of cognitive ability to process the external information and internal memory. Particularly, the shoppers are likely to face some difficulties in decision making on account of too many alternative and information overloads. Therefore, the internet shopping mall manager should take into consideration the cost of information search on the part of the consumer, to establish the optimal product placements and search routes. An efficient store composition would be possible by reducing the psychological burdens and cognitive efforts exerted to information search and alternatives evaluation. The store image is in most part determined by the product category and its brand it deals in. The results of this study support this proposition that the merchandise is most important to the VMD attitude than other components, the manager is required to take a strategic approach to VMD. The internet users are getting more accustomed and more knowledgeable about the internet media and more likely to accept the internet as a shopping channel as the period of time during which they use the internet to shop become longer. The web merchandiser should be aware that the product introduction using a moving pictures and a bulletin board become more important in order to present the interactive product information visually and communicate with customers more actively, therefore leading to making the quantity and quality of product information more rich.

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Typology of Korean Eco-sumers: Based on Clothing Disposal Behaviors (관우한국생태학적일개예설(关于韩国生态学的一个预设): 기우복장탑배적행위(基于服装搭配的行为))

  • Sung, Hee-Won;Kincade, Doris H.
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.20 no.1
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    • pp.59-69
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    • 2010
  • Green or an environmental consciousness has been a major issue for businesses and government offices, as well as consumers, worldwide. In response to this movement, the Korean government announced, in the early 2000s, the era of "Green Growth" as a way to encourage green-related business activities. The Korean fashion industry, in various levels of involvement, presents diverse eco-friendly products as a part of the green movement. These apparel products include organic products and recycled clothing. For these companies to be successful, they need information about who are the consumers who consider green issues (e.g., environmental sustainability) as part of their personal values when making a decision for product purchase, use, and disposal. These consumers can be considered as eco-sumers. Previous studies have examined consumers' purchase intention for or with eco-friendly products. In addition, studies have examined influential factors used to identify the eco-sumers or green consumers. However, limited attention was paid to eco-sumers' disposal or recycling behavior of clothes in comparison with their green product purchases. Clothing disposal behaviors are ways that consumer can get rid of unused clothing and in clue temporarily lending the item or permanently eliminating the item by "handing down" (e.g., giving it to a younger sibling), donating, exchanging, selling, or simply throwing it away. Accordingly, examining purchasing behaviors of eco-friendly fashion items in conjunction with clothing disposal behaviors should improve understanding of a consumer's clothing consumption behavior from the environmental perspective. The purpose of this exploratory study is to provide descriptive information about Korean eco-sumers who have ecologically-favorable lifestyles and behaviors when buying and disposing of clothes. The objectives of this study are to (a) categorize Koreans on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors; (b) investigate the differences in demographics, lifestyles, and clothing consumption values among segments; and (c) compare the purchase intention of eco-friendly fashion items and influential factors among segments. A self-administered questionnaire was developed based on previous studies. The questionnaire included 10 items of clothing disposal behavior, 22 items of LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) characteristics, and 19 items of consumption values, measured by five-point Likert-type scales. In addition, the purchase intention of two eco-friendly fashion items and 11 attributes of each item were measured by seven-point Likert type scales. Two polyester fleece pullovers, made from fabric created from recycled bottles with the PET identification code, were selected from one Korean brand and one US imported brand among outdoor sportswear brands. A brief description of each product with a color picture was provided in the survey. Demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, marital status, education level, income, occupation) were also included. The data were collected through a professional web survey agency during May 2009. A total of 600 final usable questionnaires were analyzed. The age of respondents ranged from 20 to 49 years old with a mean age of 34 years. Fifty percent of the respondents were males and about 58% were married, and 62% reported having earned university degrees. Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation was used to identify the underlying dimensions of the clothing disposal behavior scale, and three factors were generated (i.e., reselling behavior, donating behavior, non-recycling behavior). To categorize the respondents on the basis of clothing disposal behaviors, k-mean cluster analysis was used, and three segments were obtained. These consumer segments were labeled as 'Resale Group', 'Donation Group', and 'Non-Recycling Group.' The classification results indicated approximately 98 percent of the original cases were correctly classified. With respect to demographic characteristics among the three segments, significant differences were found in gender, marital status, occupation, and age. LOHAS characteristics were reduced into the following five factors: self-satisfaction, family orientation, health concern, environmental concern, and voluntary service. Significant differences were found in the LOHAS factors among the three clusters. Resale Group and Donation Group showed a similar predisposition to LOHAS issues while the Non-Recycling Group presented the lowest mean scores on the LOHAS factors compared to the other segments. The Resale and Donation Groups described themselves as enjoying or being satisfied with their lives and spending spare-time with family. In addition, these two groups cared about health and organic foods, and tried to conserve energy and resources. Principal components factor analysis generated clothing consumption values into the following three factors: personal values, social value, and practical value. The ANOVA test with the factors showed differences primarily between the Resale Group and the other two groups. The Resale Group was more concerned about personal value and social value than the other segments. In contrast, the Non-Recycling Group presented the higher level of social value than did Donation Group. In a comparison of the intention to purchase eco-friendly products, the Resale Group showed the highest mean score on intent to purchase Product A. On the other hand, the Donation Group presented the highest intention to purchase for Product B among segments. In addition, the mean scores indicated that the Korean product (Product B) was more preferable for purchase than the U.S. product (Product A). Stepwise regression analysis was used to identify the influence of product attributes on the purchase intention of eco product. With respect to Product A, design, price and contribution to environmental preservation were significant to predict purchase intention for the Resale Group, while price and compatibility with my image factors were significant for the Donation Group. For the Non-Recycling Group, design, price compatibility with the factors of my image, participation to eco campaign, and contribution to environmental preservation were significant. Price appropriateness was significant for each of the three clusters. With respect to Product B, design, price and compatibility with my image factors were important, but different attributes were associated significantly with purchase intention for each of the three groups. The influence of LOHAS characteristics and clothing consumption values on intention to purchase Products A and B were also examined. The LOHAS factor of health concern and the personal value factor were significant in the relationships with the purchase intention; however, the explanatory powers were low in the three segments. Findings showed that each group as classified by clothing disposal behaviors showed differences in the attributes of a product, personal values, and the LOHAS characteristics that influenced their purchase intention of eco-friendly products. Findings would enable organizations to understand eco-friendly behavior and to design appropriate strategic decisions to appeal eco-sumers.