• Advances in nano research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.127-140
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• 2024

Upon direct/indirect exposure to flame or heat, composite structures may burn or thermally buckle. This issue becomes more important in the natural fiber-based composite structures with higher flammability and lower mechanical properties. The main goal of the present study was to obtain an optimal eco-friendly composite system with low flammability and high thermal buckling resistance. The studied composite consisted of polypropylene (PP) and short abaca fiber (AF) with eggshell powder (ESP) and halloysite clay nanotubes (HNTs) additives. An optimal base composite, consisting of 30 wt.% AF and 70 wt.% PP, abbreviated as OAP, was initially introduced based on burning rate (BR) and the Young's modulus determined by horizontal burning test (HBT) and tensile test, respectively. The effects of adding ESP to the base composite were then investigated with the same experimental tests. The results indicated that though the BR significantly decreased with the increase of ESP content up to 6 wt.%, it had a very destructive influence on the stiffness of the composite. To compensate for the damaging effect of ESP, small amount of HNT was used. The performance of OAP composite with 6 wt.% ESP and 3 wt.% HNT (OAPEH) was explored by conducting HBT, cone calorimeter test (CCT) and tensile test. The experimental results indicated a 9~23 % reduction in almost all flammability parameters such as heat release rate (HRR), total heat released (THR), maximum average rate of heat emission (MARHE), total smoke released (TSR), total smoke production (TSP), and mass loss (ML) during combustion. Furthermore, the combination of 6 wt.% ESP and 3 wt.% HNT reduced the stiffness of OAP to an insignificant amount by maximum 3%. Moreover, the char residue analysis revealed the distinct differences in the formation of char between AF/PP and AF/PP/ESP/HNT composites. Afterward, dilatometry test was carried out to examine the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of OAP and OAPEH samples. The obtained results showed that the CTE of OAPEH composite was about 18% less than that of OAP. Finally, a theoretical model was used based on first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) to predict the critical bucking temperatures of the OAP and OAPEH composite plates. It was shown that in the absence of mechanical load, the critical buckling temperatures of OAPEH composite plates were higher than those of OAP composites, such that the difference between the buckling temperatures increased with the increase of thickness. On the contrary, the positive effect of CTE reduction on the buckling temperature decreased by raising the axial compressive mechanical load on the composite plates which can be assigned to the reduction of stiffness after the incorporation of ESP. The results of present study generally stated that a suitable combination of AF, PP, ESP, and HNT can result in a relatively optimal and environmentally friendly composite with proper flame and thermal buckling resistance with no significant decline in the stiffness.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.51-71
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• 2016

Tourism products are intangible goods. Given this nature, tourist experience should be recorded and visualized through media, such as pictures, videos, and souvenir. Online platforms played the role of media given the growth of information and communication technology. Tourists post their travels for real-time documentation of their experiences, but they also tend to reminisce about past experiences that they posted on social media. Social media is not only a channel of self-presentation or a means of communication with other people, but it also serves as an archive of electronic records to bring back memories. Given this finding, we investigated the impact of social media on the autobiographical memory (recollection and vividness) of tourists and their intention to revisit a certain destination. The results showed social media interface and the impact of display quality on the recollection and vivid memory. The predictor of memory recollection of tourists is intention to revisit a destination. Social media is considered an archive of travel memory that indulges people to reminisce. Theoretical and practical implications were provided based on these results.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.115-136
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• 2017

Online communities have become substantial aspects of people's daily lives. However, only a few communities succeed and attract the majority of users, whereas the vast majority struggle for survival. When various communities coexist, important factors should be identified and examined to maintain attraction and achieve success. The concept of coexistence as been extensively explored in organizational ecology literature. However, given the similarities and differences between online communities and traditional organizations, the direct application of organizational theories to online contexts should be cautiously explored. In this study, we follow the roadmap proposed by Davis et al. (2007) in conducting agent-based modeling and simulation study to develop a novel theory based on the previous literature. In the case of two coexisting communities, we find that community size and participation costs can significantly affect the development of a community. A large community can attract a high number of active members who frequently log in. By contrast, low participation costs can encourage the reading and posting behaviors of members. We also observe the important influence of the distribution of interests on the topic trends of communities. A community composed of a population that focuses on only one topic can quickly converge on the topic regardless of whether the initial topic is broad or focused. This simulation model provides theoretical implications to literature and practical guidance to operators of online communities.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.21-37
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• 2018

Under ubiquitous work environment, innovative changes occur in work process with ICT. The work process for collaboration through mobile devices and network should be investigated. The research model consists of two major antecedents: autonomy and interdependence as a task characteristic and job satisfaction as ultimate consequence followed by work design theory. To elaborate work design theory, smartwork application (app) use, communication extent, and work-life balance were reviewed from the literature. Data were collected from three ICT firms, which adopted certain smartwork app, and a partial least squares analysis was made on 175 data points. The analysis results show that task interdependence exerts a statistically significant effect on the level of smartwork app usage. Communication extent directly affects job satisfaction and work-life balance. The remarkable point is that smartwork app usage does not affect employees' work-life balance; the former can only affect the latter indirectly by increasing communication extent. This study attempts to explain the organizational impact by considering smartwork app and the effects simultaneously. We proposed and empirically tested the extended work design theory including information technology and its environment. Based on the results, other theoretical and practical contributions are discussed at the end with limitations and further studies.

• The Korean Journal of Coaching Psychology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.81-107
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to identify psychological factors that influence psychological well-being in middle-aged adults(40-65 years old). In particular, we aimed to determine whether mentalization, the ability to clarify one's internal experiences, and adaptive cognitive emotional regulation have a dual mediating effect on the relationship between insecure adult attachment(anxious, avoidant) and psychological well-being in middle-aged adults. To address the research questions, structural equation modeling was conducted using Jamovi 2.2.5 statistical program to analyze survey responses from 317 middle-aged adults (117 males and 200 females) who voluntarily participated through mobile and offline surveys. The results of the study are as follows. First, in the structural equation model, the simple mediating effect of mentalization on the relationship between insecure adult attachment(anxious and avoidant) and psychological well-being in middle-aged adults was not significant. Second, the simple mediating effect of adaptive cognitive emotion regulation on the relationship between insecure adult attachment and psychological well-being was significant only for anxious attachment. Third, the relationship between insecure adult attachment and psychological well-being was fully mediated by mentalization and adaptive cognitive emotion regulation for anxious attachment, but partially mediated for avoidant attachment. These findings help provide a theoretical framework for developing programs to increase psychological well-being among middle-aged adults, a growing segment of society.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.77-101
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• 2023

Due to COVID-19, paid virtual live-stream concerts have emerged as an alternative format and a new revenue model for in-person live concerts. Despite the increasing scholarly and practical interest in how participants experience paid virtual live-stream concerts, few studies examined participants' consumption and participation experiences. Thus, this study aims to provide insights into consumers' virtual live-stream concert experience by employing social representations theory (SRT). We explore the features of paid virtual live-stream concerts based on the C-P-N-D (Content-Platform-Network-Device) framework and the consumers' cognitive and affective perception. To this end, an SRT-based core-periphery analysis was conducted based on 239 responses to the open-ended survey questions. The results show that network-and device-level features of virtual live concerts and participants' overall perception are presented as core elements of paid virtual live-stream concerts, whereas content- and platform-level features are peripheral elements. This finding provides an in-depth understanding of the emergence of paid virtual live-stream concerts as an alternative concert format, thereby providing an invaluable understanding of a virtual live concert experience and theoretical and practical insights.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.21-41
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• 2024

The global Industry has been shaped by start-ups that originated with knowledge-based innovative strategies or technologies in the 21st century. Specifically, laboratory start-ups that rely on research papers or patents for new technology development are recognized for their high survival rate and the creation of employment opportunities. Our study concentrated on 'I-Corps', which also introduced in Korea, standing for innovation corps is a laboratory startup program launched in 2011 by the NSF(National Research Foundation) to commercialize R&D results and foster entrepreneurship as part of the policy to build a start-up system at the national innovation level. In this study, we proposed and empirically tested a research model focusing on teams participating in the I-Corps program to determine how startup team diversity, among the team characteristics of laboratory startups, affected patent performance. As a result of the analysis, among the proposed variables, age diversity, educational background diversity, and value diversity had a significant impact on patent performance. The results of this study are expected to further strengthen the theoretical and practical foundations of researchers or practitioners of the I-Corps program, as well as related areas involving technology & laboratory startups, intellectual property and knowledge management fields in the future.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.531-550
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• 2023

Purpose: The unique nature of life-and-death healthcare services sets them apart from other service industries. While many studies exist on the relationship between healthcare services and customer satisfaction, most of them focus on mildly ill patients, ignoring the differences between critically ill and non-seriously ill patients. This study discusses the actual quality of healthcare services for patients who are facing life-threatening illnesses and are on life support, as well as their right to protection and dignity. Methods: The survey conducted to 149 patients with the four major illnesses: cancer, heart disease, brain disease and rare and incurable disease, those who have experiences with senior general hospitals. Results: The basic statistics of this study are adequate to represent the four major critical illnesses, and the reliability and validity of this study's hypotheses, which were measured by multiple items, were analyzed, and the internal consistency was judged to be high. In addition, it was found that the convergent validity was good and the discriminant validity was also secured. When examining the goodness of fit of the hypotheses, the SRMR, which is the standardized root mean square of residuals that measures the difference between the covariance matrix of the data variables and the theoretical covariance matrix structure of the model, met the optimal criteria. Conclusion: The academic implications of this study are differentiated from other studies by moving away from evaluating the quality of healthcare services for mildly ill patients and focusing on the rights and dignity of patients with life-threatening illnesses in four senior general hospitals. In terms of academic implications, this study enriches the depth of related studies by demonstrating the right to protection and dignity as a factor of patient-centeredness based on physical environment quality, interaction quality, and outcome quality, which are presented as sub-factors of healthcare quality. We found that the three quality factors classified by Brady and Cronin (2001) are optimized for healthcare quality assessment and management, and that the results of patients' interaction quality assessment can be used to provide a comprehensive quality rating for hospitals. Health and human rights are inextricably linked, so assessing the degree to which rights and dignity are protected can be a superior and more comprehensive measurement tool than traditional health level measures for healthcare organizations. Practical implications: Improving the quality of the physical environment and the quality of outcomes is an important challenge for hospital managers who attract patients with life and death conditions, but given the scale and economics of time, money, and human inputs, improving the quality of interactions and defining them as performance indicators in hospital quality management is an efficient way to create maximum value in the short term.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.269-277
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• 2010

Previous studies have shown that the most important factor affecting customer loyalty in the service industry is service quality. However, on the subject of whether service quality has a direct or indirect effect on customer loyalty, scholars' views apparently vary. Some studies suggest that service quality has a direct and fundamental influence on customer loyalty (Bai and Liu, 2002). However, others have shown that service quality not only directly affects customer loyalty, it also has an indirect impact on customer loyalty by influencing customer satisfaction and perceived value (Cronin, Brady, and Hult, 2000). Currently, there are few domestic articles that specifically address the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty in the mobile communication industry. Moreover, research has studied customer loyalty as a whole variable, rather than breaking it down further into multiple dimensions. Based on this analysis, this paper summarizes previous study results, establishes an effect mechanism model among service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in the mobile communication industry, and presents a statistical test on model assumptions by using customer investigation data from Heilongjiang Mobile Company. It provides theoretical guidance for mobile service management based on the discussion of the hypothesis test results. For data collection, the sample comprised mobile users in Harbin city, and the survey was taken by random sampling. Out of a total of 300 questionnaires, 276 (92.9%) were recovered. After excluding invalid questionnaires, 249 remained, for an effective rate of 82.6 percent for the study. Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ coefficient was adapted to assess the scale reliability, and validity testing was conducted on the questionnaire from three aspects: content validity, construct validity. and convergent validity. The study tested for goodness of fit mainly from the absolute and relative fit indexes. From the hypothesis testing results, overall, four assumptions have not been supported. The ultimate affective relationship of service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty is demonstrated in Figure 2. On the whole, the service quality of the communication industry not only has a direct positive significant effect on customer loyalty, it also has an indirect positive significant effect on customer loyalty through service quality; the affective mechanism and extent of customer loyalty are different, and are influenced by each dimension of service quality. This study used the questionnaires of existing literature from home and abroad and tested them in empirical research, with all questions adapted to seven-point Likert scales. With the SERVQUAL scale of Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry (1988), or PZB, as a reference point, service quality was divided into five dimensions-tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy-and the questions were simplified down to nineteen. The measurement of customer satisfaction was based mainly on Fornell (1992) and Wang and Han (2003), ending up with four questions. Based on the study’s three indicators of price tolerance, first choice, and complaint reaction were used to measure attitudinal loyalty, while repurchase intention, recommendation, and reputation measured behavioral loyalty. The collection and collation of literature data produced a model of the relationship among service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty in mobile communications, and China Mobile in the city of Harbin in Heilongjiang province was used for conducting an empirical test of the model and obtaining some useful conclusions. First, service quality in mobile communication is formed by the five factors mentioned earlier: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. On the basis of PZB SERVQUAL, the study designed a measurement scale of service quality for the mobile communications industry, and obtained these five factors through exploratory factor analysis. The factors fit basically with the five elements, indicating the concept of five elements of service quality for the mobile communications industry. Second, service quality in mobile communications has both direct and indirect positive effects on attitudinal loyalty, with the indirect effect being produced through the intermediary variable, customer satisfaction. There are also both direct and indirect positive effects on behavioral loyalty, with the indirect effect produced through two intermediary variables: customer satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty. This shows that better service quality and higher customer satisfaction will activate the attitudinal to service providers more active and show loyalty to service providers much easier. In addition, the effect mechanism of all dimensions of service quality on all dimensions of customer loyalty is different. Third, customer satisfaction plays a significant intermediary role among service quality and attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, indicating that improving service quality can boost customer satisfaction and make it easier for satisfied customers to become loyal customers. Moreover, attitudinal loyalty plays a significant intermediary role between service quality and behavioral loyalty, indicating that only attitudinally and behaviorally loyal customers are truly loyal customers. The research conclusions have some indications for Chinese telecom operators and others to upgrade their service quality. Two limitations to the study are also mentioned. First, all data were collected in the Heilongjiang area, so there might be a common method bias that skews the results. Second, the discussion addresses the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty, setting customer satisfaction as mediator, but does not consider other factors, like customer value and consumer features, This research will be continued in the future.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.55-78
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• 2021

Tosolve complex and diverse social problems and ensure the quality of life of individuals, social robots that can interact with humans are attracting attention. In the past, robots were recognized as beings that provide labor force as they put into industrial sites on behalf of humans. However, the concept of today's robot has been extended to social robots that coexist with humans and enable social interaction with the advent of Smart technology, which is considered an important driver in most industries. Specifically, there are service robots that respond to customers, the robots that have the purpose of edutainment, and the emotionalrobots that can interact with humans intimately. However, popularization of robots is not felt despite the current information environment in the modern ICT service environment and the 4th industrial revolution. Considering social interaction with users which is an important function of social robots, not only the technology of the robots but also other factors should be considered. The design elements of the robot are more important than other factors tomake consumers purchase essentially a social robot. In fact, existing studies on social robots are at the level of proposing "robot development methodology" or testing the effects provided by social robots to users in pieces. On the other hand, consumer emotions felt from the robot's appearance has an important influence in the process of forming user's perception, reasoning, evaluation and expectation. Furthermore, it can affect attitude toward robots and good feeling and performance reasoning, etc. Therefore, this study aims to verify the effect of appearance of social robot and consumer emotions on consumer's attitude toward social robot. At this time, a social robot design evaluation model is constructed by combining heterogeneous data from different sources. Specifically, the three quantitative indicator data for the appearance of social robots from the ABOT Database is included in the model. The consumer emotions of social robot design has been collected through (1) the existing design evaluation literature and (2) online buzzsuch as product reviews and blogs, (3) qualitative interviews for social robot design. Later, we collected the score of consumer emotions and attitudes toward various social robots through a large-scale consumer survey. First, we have derived the six major dimensions of consumer emotions for 23 pieces of detailed emotions through dimension reduction methodology. Then, statistical analysis was performed to verify the effect of derived consumer emotionson attitude toward social robots. Finally, the moderated regression analysis was performed to verify the effect of quantitatively collected indicators of social robot appearance on the relationship between consumer emotions and attitudes toward social robots. Interestingly, several significant moderation effects were identified, these effects are visualized with two-way interaction effect to interpret them from multidisciplinary perspectives. This study has theoretical contributions from the perspective of empirically verifying all stages from technical properties to consumer's emotion and attitudes toward social robots by linking the data from heterogeneous sources. It has practical significance that the result helps to develop the design guidelines based on consumer emotions in the design stage of social robot development.