• Title/Summary/Keyword: Shape from Focus

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Analyzing the User Intention of Booth Recommender System in Smart Exhibition Environment (스마트 전시환경에서 부스 추천시스템의 사용자 의도에 관한 조사연구)

  • Choi, Jae Ho;Xiang, Jun-Yong;Moon, Hyun Sil;Choi, Il Young;Kim, Jae Kyeong
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.153-169
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    • 2012
  • Exhibitions have played a key role of effective marketing activity which directly informs services and products to current and potential customers. Through participating in exhibitions, exhibitors have got the opportunity to make face-to-face contact so that they can secure the market share and improve their corporate images. According to this economic importance of exhibitions, show organizers try to adopt a new IT technology for improving their performance, and researchers have also studied services which can improve the satisfaction of visitors through analyzing visit patterns of visitors. Especially, as smart technologies make them monitor activities of visitors in real-time, they have considered booth recommender systems which infer preference of visitors and recommender proper service to them like on-line environment. However, while there are many studies which can improve their performance in the side of new technological development, they have not considered the choice factor of visitors for booth recommender systems. That is, studies for factors which can influence the development direction and effective diffusion of these systems are insufficient. Most of prior studies for the acceptance of new technologies and the continuous intention of use have adopted Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Extended Technology Acceptance Model (ETAM). Booth recommender systems may not be new technology because they are similar with commercial recommender systems such as book recommender systems, in the smart exhibition environment, they can be considered new technology. However, for considering the smart exhibition environment beyond TAM, measurements for the intention of reuse should focus on how booth recommender systems can provide correct information to visitors. In this study, through literature reviews, we draw factors which can influence the satisfaction and reuse intention of visitors for booth recommender systems, and design a model to forecast adaptation of visitors for booth recommendation in the exhibition environment. For these purposes, we conduct a survey for visitors who attended DMC Culture Open in November 2011 and experienced booth recommender systems using own smart phone, and examine hypothesis by regression analysis. As a result, factors which can influence the satisfaction of visitors for booth recommender systems are the effectiveness, perceived ease of use, argument quality, serendipity, and so on. Moreover, the satisfaction for booth recommender systems has a positive relationship with the development of reuse intention. For these results, we have some insights for booth recommender systems in the smart exhibition environment. First, this study gives shape to important factors which are considered when they establish strategies which induce visitors to consistently use booth recommender systems. Recently, although show organizers try to improve their performances using new IT technologies, their visitors have not felt the satisfaction from these efforts. At this point, this study can help them to provide services which can improve the satisfaction of visitors and make them last relationship with visitors. On the other hands, this study suggests that they managers along the using time of booth recommender systems. For example, in the early stage of the adoption, they should focus on the argument quality, perceived ease of use, and serendipity, so that improve the acceptance of booth recommender systems. After these stages, they should bridge the differences between expectation and perception for booth recommender systems, and lead continuous uses of visitors. However, this study has some limitations. We only use four factors which can influence the satisfaction of visitors. Therefore, we should development our model to consider important additional factors. And the exhibition in our experiments has small number of booths so that visitors may not need to booth recommender systems. In the future study, we will conduct experiments in the exhibition environment which has a larger scale.

A Symbolic Characteristic of Mimetic Words in Published Cartoon: Focusing on Works of Heo, Young Man (허영만의 작품에서 나타난 효과태의 상징어적 특징과 활용)

  • O, Yul Seok;Yoon, Ki Heon
    • Cartoon and Animation Studies
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    • s.30
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    • pp.169-199
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    • 2013
  • In various directions of cartoon, vertical stroll direction is opposite to the page direction of existing published cartoon with the popularity of webtoon and established new genre. Lots of studies on published cartoon focus on the cut direction by page, but webtoon doesn't have any concept of page. The pivot of cartoon oriented people is changed from paper to computer monitor as times go by, characteristics of media are changed and media is gradually diversified. Like the strengthening of mobile caused by smart phone's popularity, tablet PC's propagation in public education, etc. cartoon is included to the environment of media which is rapidly changed. In this situation, one of cartoon's unchanged important identities can be the direction made by harmony between picture and text. This thesis analyzed symbolic characteristics and effective value of hyogwatae, mimetic words of cartoon, focusing on works of Heo, Young Man. Hyogwatae just delivers not only sound but also shape, feeling, status, etc. and has significant characteristics by invoking the imaginary structure of literature. Strengths of modern Korean, various linguistic expressions and syllabic systems, let people feel minute feeling of language and difference of emotion and remember the memory through the direct and indirect experiences, so it makes it nuance. Because of the characteristics, representative works of Heo, Young Man have commercialization and writer characteristics, have communicated with people for a long time and have plentiful knowledge of Korean cartoon. The characteristics of hyogwatae in Heo, Young Man's cartoon make a lot of effects for the expression and delivery of cartoon more than the general expectation. When conducting the study focusing on the symbolic process of language, uncertainty and vague standard of judgement caused by the wide factors of study on the direction of general cartoon could be endured. And, through the Heo, Young Man's deep analysis on hyogwatae's direction, readers enjoy the process while inferring actually and intellectually between pictures and sentences. In the process, the equipment stimulating imagination more than pictures, effects and dialogues is hyogwatae. It's reader's equipment of active participation and its strength is symbolic structure.

Historical Review on the Security Service for the Royal Household in the "Goryeo" Era (고려시대 왕실호위제도의 사적 고찰)

  • Lee, Sung-Jin;Kim, Eui-Young;Lee, Jong-Hwan
    • Korean Security Journal
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    • no.14
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    • pp.413-429
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    • 2007
  • The Guard over the royal household in the "Goryeo" era was the same as if was over the President or Ruler of a nation today. In those days, a king represented a nation and any threat to the safety of a king could bring the destruction of a nation and the dispersion of the people. by reviewing the change of the 2-Gun 6-Wi system of the era, it can be, summed up as follow, Ther will be suggestions. The Guard might focus on a king's personal safety in the wake of the system of the Silla and Taebong dynasties until the establishment of the Goryeo Dynasty's unique political system. "Goryeo" rebuilt the royal palace in Gyeonyeong-gun to take the shape of unified country after its accomplishment of unification of the late three countries, Then it was afraid of the rebellion and uprising of local powerful clans, The country put them under control and organized the local army with them in the era of Kings, Seongjong, through the kings, Seongjong and Gwangjong. The army system of "Goryeo" consisted of 2-Gun and 6-Wi, and 2-Gun placed above the 6-Wi played the role of the Royal guards, and among the organizations a certain army under the specific name of "Gyeonyong-gun" guarded the kings in the nearest position. An aristocratic culture enjoyed its golden age in the period of stability of the aristocracy of "Goryeo", but afterward in the confusion of the aristocratic disruption and incompatible confrontation the country lost its control, and faced military rebellions by treating civil officials well and ill-treating military officials The safety of kings become unstable with the grasping political power by the military officials, and "Dobang" was established in the era of Choi's family to grasp political power. In the era of Choi Woo, he gathered his men and organized his familys army with them and managed the personnel administration with the civil officials of "Jeongbang and Seobang under his command. Such a fact shows the similarity to today's task of guarding. Considering the facts that "Sambyeolcho, the military ground of the military-men-rule, was at the center of the struggling against Mongolia and that even after the fall of the military regime, they rebelled and fought against Mongolia to the end, we came to know that the nationalism in the era of the military era was great. In the transition of external situations from "Myeong" to "Won"(Chinese dynasties), the conflict between the old "Won"-friendly power and the new "Myeong"-friendly power caused the weakness of the power to guard the royal household, and "Goryeo" at last gave way to the newly rising "Joseon" led by Lee, Seong Gye who won the people's confidence.

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Study on the Origin of Stone Tower as a Component of Dangsan Forest - Focus on Village Shrine at Seoji-ri, Andong - (당산숲 구성요소인 돌탑의 기원 유래 고찰 - 안동 서지리 성황당 돌탑을 중심으로 -)

  • Choi, Jai-Ung;Kim, Dong-Yeob;Kwon, Jin-Ryang
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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    • v.28 no.3
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    • pp.98-104
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    • 2010
  • The objective of this study was to understand the origin and characteristics of stone tower's style through the study of the 'Village Shrine at Seoji-ri, Andong'. The three kinds of stone towers were located forming a line of 9m on the hill of a red pine forest along the stream in the village. Toward the direction looking at the village, the three-story stone located on left, the two-story stone located in the middle, and the common style stone tower located on right. The bottom part of the three-story stone was 2.5m in length, 1.8m in width, 1.3m in height. The bottom part of the two-story stone was 1.3m in length, 1.5m in width, 0.9m in height. The common style stone heap tower was 3.0m in diameter, 1.8m in height with a cone shape. The small hat-shaped stone was presumed to be the top part of a three-story stone. According to the three factors(heaven, earth, human) of the idea of the universe in Korea, most ancient remains have components of odd numbers. Then it had been substituted with smaller three-story stone(at present, two-story stone). And then altered to a common stone tower later, such as the 'Village Shrine at Seoji-ri, Andong' that shows the combination of the Bronze Age's megalithic and a folk religion. The 'Village Shrine at Seoji-ri, Andong' is a valuable relic that shows the stone towers, and is derived from the Bronze Age. The 'Village Shrine at Seoji-ri, Andong' shows that the 'Village Shrine at Seoji-ri, Andong' was embodied the three-factor(heaven, earth, human) idea of the universe in three-story stone of megalithic culture' remains.

Topographic Factors Computation in Island: A Comparison of Different Open Source GIS Programs (오픈소스 GIS 프로그램의 지형인자 계산 비교: 도서지역 경사도와 지형습윤지수 중심으로)

  • Lee, Bora;Lee, Ho-Sang;Lee, Gwang-Soo
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.37 no.5_1
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    • pp.903-916
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    • 2021
  • An area's topography refers to the shape of the earth's surface, described by its elevation, slope, and aspect, among other features. The topographical conditions determine energy flowsthat move water and energy from higher to lower elevations, such as how much solar energy will be received and how much wind or rain will affect it. Another common factor, the topographic wetness index (TWI), is a calculation in digital elevation models of the tendency to accumulate water per slope and unit area, and is one of the most widely referenced hydrologic topographic factors, which helps explain the location of forest vegetation. Analyses of topographical factors can be calculated using a geographic information system (GIS) program based on digital elevation model (DEM) data. Recently, a large number of free open source software (FOSS) GIS programs are available and developed for researchers, industries, and governments. FOSS GIS programs provide opportunitiesfor flexible algorithms customized forspecific user needs. The majority of biodiversity in island areas exists at about 20% higher elevations than in land ecosystems, playing an important role in ecological processes and therefore of high ecological value. However, island areas are vulnerable to disturbances and damage, such as through climate change, environmental pollution, development, and human intervention, and lacks systematic investigation due to geographical limitations (e.g. remoteness; difficulty to access). More than 4,000 of Korea's islands are within a few hours of its coast, and 88% are uninhabited, with 52% of them forested. The forest ecosystems of islands have fewer encounters with human interaction than on land, and therefore most of the topographical conditions are formed naturally and affected more directly by weather conditions or the environment. Therefore, the analysis of forest topography in island areas can be done more precisely than on its land counterparts, and therefore has become a major focus of attention in Korea. This study is focused on calculating the performance of different topographical factors using FOSS GIS programs. The test area is the island forests in Korea's south and the DEM of the target area was processed with GRASS GIS and SAGA GIS. The final slopes and TWI maps were produced as comparisons of the differences between topographic factor calculations of each respective FOSS GIS program. Finally, the merits of each FOSS GIS program used to calculate the topographic factors is discussed.

The Body of Male Domination and the Problem of the Phallic Ideology: The Strategy of the Deconstruction of Penis-Narcissism and the Penis-Cartel (남성지배의 몸과 남근 이데올로기의 문제: 페니스 나르시시즘과 페니스 카르텔의 해체전략)

  • YUN, Ji-Yeong
    • Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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    • no.123
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    • pp.137-185
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    • 2018
  • This article aims to deconstruct the mechanism of male domination that constantly reproduces the hegemonic class of men. In order to overcome misogyny, we should no longer deny the ontological dimension of the reality of women's oppressions and the pre-eminence of the material condition of women's existence. In addition, the possibility of the category of women as a modality of resistance should be taken into consideration. First, I will highlight the correlation between penis and phallus according to which the phallus refers to the penis which is malleable and fragile and which disappears without being castrated by the external factor. From here we could deduce the fragility and imperfection, the non-absoluteness of the phallic order. Secondly, I will analyze the mechanism of penis-narcissism, which is the modality of the constitution of the individual identity of man. The penis is not only a physiological organ, but a site of self-estimation and the validity of the succession of power and authority of the father's law. With this penis-narcissism, man is constituted as a hegemonic body that can let itself go without worrying about the reactions of others. Thirdly, I will focus on the mechanism of the penis-cartel which is the modality of the formation of the collective identity. The penis-cartel is reinforced by the mutual affirmation of the superiority of men among themselves, but also by the permission and the tacit agreement of their absurdity and lack of rationality and corruption. Because the privilege of men is not monopolized by a small part of the elite, but is consciously and unconsciously shared by all men who are part of the hegemonic and collective category. In order to deconstruct the penis-narcissism and the penis-cartel, it is necessary to demonstrate that the penis is not a self-sufficient body, nor a closed and impermeable body, but that it is a porous body where the organ serves both ejaculation and urinary ejection. The penis is a porous body that is at once the site of sublimity and degradation, purity and impurity. In addition, the penis is no longer an all-powerful and aggressive organ, but it is a malleable and fluid flesh that constantly changes its shape. Linked to a phallus-organ that is the notion of Jacques-Alain Miller, it is a site of deficiency and vulnerability that is not the axis of the penis-cartel. It is through the notion of the double porosity of the penis and the phenomenology of the flesh of the penis, I try to provide the modality of undoing the reproductive mechanism of predatory masculinity. Because this would be an effective strategy to overcome misogyny.

A Study on the Methods of Mounting the Five Peaks Screen - With the focus on green bordering silk and gilt ornamentation (궁중 의례용 일월오봉도 병풍의 장황에 관한 고찰 - 초록색 회장 비단과 금박 장식을 중심으로 -)

  • PARK, Yoonhee
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.55 no.1
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    • pp.243-263
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    • 2022
  • The royal court of Joseon had a tradition of mounting the Irworobongdo, a painting of the sun, the moon and the five sacred peaks, symbols of the king's immortal presence and authority, on a folding screen and placing it in special spaces within the palace that were reserved for the king. While the Irworobongdo is generally accepted as the important ceremonial object of the royal palaces of Joseon, there have been few studies on the various folding screens used in the royal palaces, largely because the official records about such screens do not match the remaining original relics. In this study, the main discussion is focused on the diversity of the shapes and mounting materials of the Irworobongdoused for various ceremonies held in the royal palaces of Joseon based on the Uigwe, the official records of the royal protocols of the Joseon dynasty. The discussion also extends to the theme rarely studied so far, namely the original form of the Irworobongdo and its evolution in the following period. The ceremonial "five peak" folding screens (Obongbyeong) used at a number of important palace buildings, including the crown hall (Jeongjeon), royal funerary hall (Binjeon), spirit hall (Honjeon) and portrait shrine (Jinjeon), differed in shape and size from the folding screens used in royal celebratory events such as banquets, although the paintings themselves and the style of mounting them were essentially the same. The paintings were mounted on screens bordered with green silk and ornamented with floral gilt designs. The folding screens used in royal ceremonies were produced according to strict guidelines that required the ceremonies and mounting materials to be graded on the basis of the status of each screen. It was not until the 1960s that these ceremonial folding screens of the Joseon dynasty, which had been neglected during the period of Japanese colonial rule of Korea, began to undergo conservation treatment provided as part of a heritage preservation program. Unfortunately, many of the screens repaired in this period lost some of their original features - largely due to the use of non-traditional mounting techniques. Considering, however, that significant achievements have since been made in the heritage preservation field based on the use of historical evidence, it is now necessary to systematically use the repair history of the information about the remaining royal ceremonial folding screens to ensure that they are preserved and managed more effectively in the future.

Current Status and Perspectives in Varietal Improvement of Rice Cultivars for High-Quality and Value-Added Products (쌀 품질 고급화 및 고부가가치화를 위한 육종현황과 전망)

  • 최해춘
    • KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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    • v.47
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    • pp.15-32
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    • 2002
  • The endeavors enhancing the grain quality of high-yielding japonica rice were steadily continued during 1980s-1990s along with the self-sufficiency of rice production and the increasing demands of high-quality rices. During this time, considerably great progress and success was obtained in development of high-quality japonica cultivars and quality evaluation techniques including the elucidation of interrelationship between the physicochemical properties of rice grain and the physical or palatability components of cooked rice. In 1990s, some high-quality japonica rice cultivars and special rices adaptable for food processing such as large kernel, chalky endosperm, aromatic and colored rices were developed and its objective preference and utility was also examined by a palatability meter, rapid-visco analyzer and texture analyzer, Recently, new special rices such as extremely low-amylose dull or opaque non-glutinous endosperm mutants were developed. Also, a high-lysine rice variety was developed for higher nutritional utility. The water uptake rate and the maximum water absorption ratio showed significantly negative correlations with the K/Mg ratio and alkali digestion value(ADV) of milled rice. The rice materials showing the higher amount of hot water absorption exhibited the larger volume expansion of cooked rice. The harder rices with lower moisture content revealed the higher rate of water uptake at twenty minutes after soaking and the higher ratio of maximum water uptake under the room temperature condition. These water uptake characteristics were not associated with the protein and amylose contents of milled rice and the palatability of cooked rice. The water/rice ratio (in w/w basis) for optimum cooking was averaged to 1.52 in dry milled rices (12% wet basis) with varietal range from 1.45 to 1.61 and the expansion ratio of milled rice after proper boiling was average to 2.63(in v/v basis). The major physicochemical components of rice grain associated with the palatability of cooked rice were examined using japonica rice materials showing narrow varietal variation in grain size and shape, alkali digestibility, gel consistency, amylose and protein contents, but considerable difference in appearance and texture of cooked rice. The glossiness or gross palatability score of cooked rice were closely associated with the peak, hot paste and consistency viscosities of viscosities with year difference. The high-quality rice variety "IIpumbyeo" showed less portion of amylose on the outer layer of milled rice grain and less and slower change in iodine blue value of extracted paste during twenty minutes of boiling. This highly palatable rice also exhibited very fine net structure in outer layer and fine-spongy and well-swollen shape of gelatinized starch granules in inner layer and core of cooked rice kernel compared with the poor palatable rice through image of scanning electronic microscope. Gross sensory score of cooked rice could be estimated by multiple linear regression formula, deduced from relationship between rice quality components mentioned above and eating quality of cooked rice, with high probability of determination. The $\alpha$-amylose-iodine method was adopted for checking the varietal difference in retrogradation of cooked rice. The rice cultivars revealing the relatively slow retrogradation in aged cooked rice were IIpumbyeo, Chucheongyeo, Sasanishiki, Jinbubyeo and Koshihikari. A Tonsil-type rice, Taebaegbyeo, and a japonica cultivar, Seomjinbyeo, showed the relatively fast deterioration of cooked rice. Generally, the better rice cultivars in eating quality of cooked rice showed less retrogradation and much sponginess in cooled cooked rice. Also, the rice varieties exhibiting less retrogradation in cooled cooked rice revealed higher hot viscosity and lower cool viscosity of rice flour in amylogram. The sponginess of cooled cooked rice was closely associated with magnesium content and volume expansion of cooked rice. The hardness-changed ratio of cooked rice by cooling was negatively correlated with solids amount extracted during boiling and volume expansion of cooked rice. The major physicochemical properties of rice grain closely related to the palatability of cooked rice may be directly or indirectly associated with the retrogradation characteristics of cooked rice. The softer gel consistency and lower amylose content in milled rice revealed the higher ratio of popped rice and larger bulk density of popping. The stronger hardness of rice grain showed relatively higher ratio of popping and the more chalky or less translucent rice exhibited the lower ratio of intact popped brown rice. The potassium and magnesium contents of milled rice were negatively associated with gross score of noodle making mixed with wheat flour in half and the better rice for noodle making revealed relatively less amount of solid extraction during boiling. The more volume expansion of batters for making brown rice bread resulted the better loaf formation and more springiness in rice breed. The higher protein rices produced relatively the more moist white rice bread. The springiness of rice bread was also significantly correlated with high amylose content and hard gel consistency. The completely chalky and large grain rices showed better suitability far fermentation and brewing. The glutinous rice were classified into nine different varietal groups based on various physicochemical and structural characteristics of endosperm. There was some close associations among these grain properties and large varietal difference in suitability to various traditional food processing. Our breeding efforts on improvement of rice quality for high palatability and processing utility or value-adding products in the future should focus on not only continuous enhancement of marketing and eating qualities but also the diversification in morphological, physicochemical and nutritional characteristics of rice grain suitable for processing various value-added rice foods.ice foods.

If This Brand Were a Person, or Anthropomorphism of Brands Through Packaging Stories (가설품패시인(假设品牌是人), 혹통과고사포장장품패의인화(或通过故事包装将品牌拟人化))

  • Kniazeva, Maria;Belk, Russell W.
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.231-238
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    • 2010
  • The anthropomorphism of brands, defined as seeing human beings in brands (Puzakova, Kwak, and Rosereto, 2008) is the focus of this study. Specifically, the research objective is to understand the ways in which brands are rendered humanlike. By analyzing consumer readings of stories found on food product packages we intend to show how marketers and consumers humanize a spectrum of brands and create meanings. Our research question considers the possibility that a single brand may host multiple or single meanings, associations, and personalities for different consumers. We start by highlighting the theoretical and practical significance of our research, explain why we turn our attention to packages as vehicles of brand meaning transfer, then describe our qualitative methodology, discuss findings, and conclude with a discussion of managerial implications and directions for future studies. The study was designed to directly expose consumers to potential vehicles of brand meaning transfer and then engage these consumers in free verbal reflections on their perceived meanings. Specifically, we asked participants to read non-nutritional stories on selected branded food packages, in order to elicit data about received meanings. Packaging has yet to receive due attention in consumer research (Hine, 1995). Until now, attention has focused solely on its utilitarian function and has generated a body of research that has explored the impact of nutritional information and claims on consumer perceptions of products (e.g., Loureiro, McCluskey and Mittelhammer, 2002; Mazis and Raymond, 1997; Nayga, Lipinski and Savur, 1998; Wansik, 2003). An exception is a recent study that turns its attention to non-nutritional packaging narratives and treats them as cultural productions and vehicles for mythologizing the brand (Kniazeva and Belk, 2007). The next step in this stream of research is to explore how such mythologizing activity affects brand personality perception and how these perceptions relate to consumers. These are the questions that our study aimed to address. We used in-depth interviews to help overcome the limitations of quantitative studies. Our convenience sample was formed with the objective of providing demographic and psychographic diversity in order to elicit variations in consumer reflections to food packaging stories. Our informants represent middle-class residents of the US and do not exhibit extreme alternative lifestyles described by Thompson as "cultural creatives" (2004). Nine people were individually interviewed on their food consumption preferences and behavior. Participants were asked to have a look at the twelve displayed food product packages and read all the textual information on the package, after which we continued with questions that focused on the consumer interpretations of the reading material (Scott and Batra, 2003). On average, each participant reflected on 4-5 packages. Our in-depth interviews lasted one to one and a half hours each. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed, providing 140 pages of text. The products came from local grocery stores on the West Coast of the US and represented a basic range of food product categories, including snacks, canned foods, cereals, baby foods, and tea. The data were analyzed using procedures for developing grounded theory delineated by Strauss and Corbin (1998). As a result, our study does not support the notion of one brand/one personality as assumed by prior work. Thus, we reveal multiple brand personalities peacefully cohabiting in the same brand as seen by different consumers, despite marketer attempts to create more singular brand personalities. We extend Fournier's (1998) proposition, that one's life projects shape the intensity and nature of brand relationships. We find that these life projects also affect perceived brand personifications and meanings. While Fournier provides a conceptual framework that links together consumers’ life themes (Mick and Buhl, 1992) and relational roles assigned to anthropomorphized brands, we find that consumer life projects mold both the ways in which brands are rendered humanlike and the ways in which brands connect to consumers' existential concerns. We find two modes through which brands are anthropomorphized by our participants. First, brand personalities are created by seeing them through perceived demographic, psychographic, and social characteristics that are to some degree shared by consumers. Second, brands in our study further relate to consumers' existential concerns by either being blended with consumer personalities in order to connect to them (the brand as a friend, a family member, a next door neighbor) or by distancing themselves from the brand personalities and estranging them (the brand as a used car salesman, a "bunch of executives.") By focusing on food product packages, we illuminate a very specific, widely-used, but little-researched vehicle of marketing communication: brand storytelling. Recent work that has approached packages as mythmakers, finds it increasingly challenging for marketers to produce textual stories that link the personalities of products to the personalities of those consuming them, and suggests that "a multiplicity of building material for creating desired consumer myths is what a postmodern consumer arguably needs" (Kniazeva and Belk, 2007). Used as vehicles for storytelling, food packages can exploit both rational and emotional approaches, offering consumers either a "lecture" or "drama" (Randazzo, 2006), myths (Kniazeva and Belk, 2007; Holt, 2004; Thompson, 2004), or meanings (McCracken, 2005) as necessary building blocks for anthropomorphizing their brands. The craft of giving birth to brand personalities is in the hands of writers/marketers and in the minds of readers/consumers who individually and sometimes idiosyncratically put a meaningful human face on a brand.

The Factors Affecting Attitudes Toward HSDPA Service and Intention to Use: A Cross-Cultural Comparison between Asia and Europe (대영향(对影响)HSDPA복무적태도화사용의도적인소적연구(服务的态度和使用意图的因素的研究): 재아주화구주지간적(在亚洲和欧洲之间的)-개과문화비교(个跨文化比较))

  • Jung, Hae-Sung;Shin, Jong-Kuk;Park, Min-Sook;Jung, Hong-Seob;Hooley, Graham;Lee, Nick;Kwak, Hyok-Jin;Kim, Sung-Hyun
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.11-23
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    • 2009
  • HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) is a 3.5-generation asynchronous mobile communications service based on the third generation of W-CDMA. In Korea, it is mainly provided in through videophone service. Because of the diffusion of more powerful and diversified services, along with steep advances in mobile communications technology, consumers demand a wide range of choices. However, because of the variety of technologies, which tend to overflow the market regardless of consumer preferences, consumers feel increasingly confused. Therefore, we should not adopt strategies that focus only on developing new technology on the assumption that new technologies are next-generation projects. Instead, we should understand the process by which consumers accept new forms of technology and devise schemes to lower market entry barriers through strategies that enable developers to understand and provide what consumers really want. In the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are suggested as the most important factors affecting the attitudes of people adopting new technologies (Davis, 1989; Taylor and Todd, 1995; Venkatesh, 2000; Lee et al., 2004). Perceived usefulness is the degree to which a person believes that a particular technology will enhance his or her job performance. Perceived ease of use is the degree of subjective belief that using a particular technology will require little physical and mental effort (Davis, 1989; Morris and Dillon, 1997; Venkatesh, 2000). Perceived pleasure and perceived usefulness have been shown to clearly affect attitudes toward accepting technology (Davis et al., 1992). For example, pleasure in online shopping has been shown to positively impact consumers' attitudes toward online sellers (Eighmey and McCord, 1998; Mathwick, 2002; Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1997). The perceived risk of customers is a subjective risk, which is distinguished from an objective probabilistic risk. Perceived risk includes a psychological risk that consumers perceive when they choose brands, stores, and methods of purchase to obtain a particular item. The ability of an enterprise to revolutionize products depends on the effective acquisition of knowledge about new products (Bierly and Chakrabarti, 1996; Rothwell and Dodgson, 1991). Knowledge acquisition is the ability of a company to perceive the value of novelty and technology of the outside (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990), to evaluate the outside technology that has newly appeared (Arora and Gambaradella, 1994), and to predict the future evolution of technology accurately (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990). Consumer innovativeness is the degree to which an individual adopts innovation earlier than others in the social system (Lee, Ahn, and Ha, 2001; Gatignon and Robertson, 1985). That is, it shows how fast and how easily consumers adopt new ideas. Innovativeness is regarded as important because it has a significant effect on whether consumers adopt new products and on how fast they accept new products (Midgley and Dowling, 1978; Foxall, 1988; Hirschman, 1980). We conducted cross-national comparative research using the TAM model, which empirically verified the relationship between the factors that affect attitudes - perceived usefulness, ease of use, perceived pleasure, perceived risk, innovativeness, and perceived level of knowledge management - and attitudes toward HSDPA service. We also verified the relationship between attitudes and usage intention for the purpose of developing more effective methods of management for HSDPA service providers. For this research, 346 questionnaires were distributed among 350 students in the Republic of Korea. Because 26 of the returned questionnaires were inconsistent or had missing data, 320 questionnaires were used in the hypothesis tests. In UK, 192 of the total 200 questionnaires were retrieved, and two incomplete ones were discarded, bringing the total to 190 questionnaires used for statistical analysis. The results of the overall model analysis are as follows: Republic of Korea x2=333.27(p=0.0), NFI=0.88, NNFI=0.88, CFI=0.91, IFI=0.91, RMR=0.054, GFI=0.90, AGFI=0.84, UK x2=176.57(p=0.0), NFI=0.88, NNFI=0.90, CFI=0.93, IFI=0.93, RMR=0.062, GFI=0.90, AGFI=0.84. From the results of the hypothesis tests of Korean consumers about the relationship between factors that affect intention to use HSDPA services and attitudes, we can conclude that perceived usefulness, ease of use, pleasure, a high level of knowledge management, and innovativeness promote positive attitudes toward HSDPA mobile phones. However, ease of use and perceived pleasure did not have a direct effect on intention to use HSDPA service. This may have resulted from the fact that the use of video phones is not necessary for everyday life yet. Moreover, it has been shown that attitudes toward HSDPA video phones are directly correlated with usage intention, which means that perceived usefulness, ease of use, pleasure, a high level of knowledge management, and innovativeness. These relationships form the basis of the intention to buy, contributing to a situation in which consumers decide to choose carefully. A summary of the results of the hypothesis tests of European consumers revealed that perceived usefulness, pleasure, risk, and the level of knowledge management are factors that affect the formation of attitudes, while ease of use and innovativeness do not have an effect on attitudes. In particular, with regard to the effect value, perceived usefulness has the largest effect on attitudes, followed by pleasure and knowledge management. On the contrary, perceived risk has a smaller effect on attitudes. In the Asian model, ease of use and perceived pleasure were found not to have a direct effect on intention to use. However, because attitudes generally affect the intention to use, perceived usefulness, pleasure, risk, and knowledge management may be considered key factors in attitude development from which usage intention arises. In conclusion, perceived usefulness, pleasure, and the level of knowledge management have an effect on attitude formation in both Asian and European consumers, and such attitudes shape these consumers' intention to use. Furthermore, the hypotheses that ease of use and perceived pleasure affect usage intention are rejected. However, ease of use, perceived risk, and innovativeness showed different results. Perceived risk had no effect on attitude formation among Asians, while ease of use and innovativeness had no effect on attitudes among Europeans.

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