• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.5-15
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• 2015

A growing number of studies have examined the relevance and impact of social media in building organizational resilience, which the ability to recover from a crisis, in the field of emergency management. However, few studies have assessed how these emergency response organizations perceive their own use of social media in crisis situations. In attempting to fill this gap, this study conducted a structured survey with emergency-response organization representatives in Seoul, South Korea, to examine how such organizations evaluate their utilization of social media in an urban emergency situation and how their social media uses are related to promoting organizational resilience during adverse events such as a flood. Overall, the findings imply that organizations are not yet taking full advantage of social media. Respondent evaluations of their own social media use in all three assessment areas-information provision, information dissemination, and emotional messages-were not satisfactory. However, their perceptions of how well they utilize social media were positively related to how they view their organizational resilience. Therefore, it may be that these organizations realize the powerful role of social media in building organizational resilience but lack the knowledge and experience to make the best use of social media services.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2011

This study focuses on the knowledge-transfer activities of Korean universities at the organisational level. Considering the idiosyncratic characteristics of the Korean university system, as well as those of universities in other recently developed Asian countries experienced a rapid economic catch-up, this study is more interested in the relationship between the scientific capacity of universities and their knowledge-transfer activities, and between universities' funding sources and their knowledge-transfer activities. According to the results of the study, scientific capacity in a specific discipline, such as engineering, is important for universities in both other developed countries and in Korea, while scientific capacity (regardless of the discipline) is apparently not important for Korean universities, particularly in the area of domestic publication. Furthermore, this result supports the proposition suggested that strategically chosen industrial sectors in rapid catch-up countries are closely related to the scientific capacity of universities in specific disciplines. In terms of funding sources, the amount of funding from industry is strongly related to the knowledge-transfer activities of universities, whereas the proportion of funding from industry relative to the total amount of funding is not as significantly related to knowledge-transfer activities. The failure to identify a significant relationship between central government funding and knowledge-transfer activities may be due to less strict requirements for commercialisation in central government R&D programmes. Otherwise, central government funding fails to generate meaningful knowledge-transfer activities in universities.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.68-93
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• 2018

With the emergence of partnerships with private actors in public and cultural diplomacies, complexity in the relations among the various stakeholders involved has arisen, and yet the relevant research is insufficient to shed any beneficial light on such issues. By looking at public-private partnerships, the present study determined that resource dependence, trust, and risk are the main factors affecting the feasibility of partnerships, and inductively developed propositions on their effects. In an explorative case study, Germany (decentralized mode of governance) and South Korea (centralized mode of governance) were compared as exemplary contrasting system designs. The results revealed that risk and trust are likely to affect the feasibility of partnerships, whereas resource dependence is not. The following additional findings also were made: (1) there are cultural actors in a 'for profit, but with non-profit purposes' sector; (2) an interpersonal level of trust positively affects partnerships; (3) 'taking risks' brings about 'innovation'; (4) the existence of international commonalities between any two cases depending on the actors' shared role, whether public or private; (5) public actors' emphasis on mutual trust, program budget and execution, innovations coming from taking risks, commitment and ownership, and unexpected situations; (6) private actors' consideration of 'publicness' and grant-seeking or financial support as important incentives, and their desire that public actors to show more trust, professionalism, and ownership with less control over budget execution. With its qualitative approach and in-depth analysis, the present study yielded new insights, notwithstanding the relatively small sample data.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.5-26
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• 2018

Joseph S. Nye defined soft power as the power of attraction to affect the behavior of other states through the use of non-coercive instruments including culture, political values and foreign policy. Over the last two decades, environmental issues have grown in importance on the international agenda and become critical components of states' foreign policy-making. This paper aims to analyze environmental foreign policy as a soft power instrument focusing on two major rising powers: China and India. Traditionally, China and India had been reluctant to make any commitments in the field. However, they have shown greater willingness to act in global environmental governance in the past decade. They started playing more active roles in global climate change negotiations and supported a number of initiatives. Their current rise in global environmental governance has even been praised by the international community as the Paris agreement case demonstrated. This study evaluates China's and India's recent efforts in global environmental governance with a focus on climate change negotiations linking their constructive position to their soft power potential. It is argued that environmental issues are used by these two states as foreign policy strategy to gain more influence in international politics. This study finds out that China's climate-related environmental diplomacy has been more ambitious than that of India and thus has been closer to fulfill its potential as a soft power asset.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.94-111
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• 2018

This study examines Korea's international development volunteer program as a citizen diplomacy initiative. Informed by a cultural perspective of transmission and relational models of public diplomacy, I examine the ways in which volunteer training incorporates cultural-learning into its program. The study finds that volunteer training is largely based on an instrumentalist approach to culture that places emphasis on learning the "explicit" side of culture, such as Korean traditional dance, art, and food as a strategy to promote the country's national image. In contrast, much less covered in the training program is a relational approach to culture-learning that is guided by a reflexive understanding of the "implicit" side of culture, or the values and beliefs that guide the worldviews and behavior of both volunteers and host constituents. Whereas the value of the volunteer program as a citizen diplomacy initiative is in its potential to build relationships based on two-way engagement, its conception of culture is mostly guided by that of the transmission model of public diplomacy. Based on the findings, this study calls for an integrated approach to culture-learning in volunteer training program to move the citizen diplomacy initiative forward.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1995.04a
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• pp.80-80
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• 1995

T4 Endonuclease V (Mw 16,000) acts as a repair enzyme for UV induced pyrimidine dimers in DNA. Many researchers have studied the biochemical characteristics of the enzyme. However the precise action mechanism of T4 endo V has not fully elucidated yet. In our laboratory NMR spectroscopy technique is being used for the structural study of T4 endo V. Because of its low temperature stability and high content of ${\alpha}$-helix, the conventional $^1$H NMR technique was inapplicable. Therefore we utilized stable isotope labeling technique and so far prepared about 10 amino acid specific labeled proteins. The HSQC spectra of amino acid specific labeled proteins will help us to interpret the triple resonance 3D, 4D data which are under processing, We also studied the behaviors of specific amino acid residues whose roles might be critical. When the enzyme labeled by $\^$15/N-Thr was mixed with the substrate oligonucleotide (semispecific -TT- sequence), one crosspeak in its HSQC spectrum was completely desappeared, which means that one of seven Thr residues is in the binding site of the enzyme with DNA, This result is well consistent with previous report that implicated the Thr 2 residue in the activity of the enzyme. Similar studies were carried on the behaviors of Arg and Tyr residues.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.92-115
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• 2012

The problem Japanese universities face is exactly the same as that of German universities: no international recognition in world rankings of universities despite their high levels of postwar economic and technological developments. This was indeed one reason why world-class Japanese firms, such as Toyota and Sony, have avoided working closely with Japanese universities for R&D partnership and new technology commercialization. To resolve this problem, the Japanese government has continuously implemented aggressive policies of the internationalization, privatization, liberalization, and privatization of universities since the onset of the economic recession in 1989 in order to revitalize the Japanese economy through radical innovation projects between universities and firms. National projects of developing medical robots for Japan's ageing society are some of the ambitious examples that emphasize feed-forward learning in innovation. However, this paper argues that none of these programs of fostering university-firm alliances toward feed-forward learning has been successful in promoting the world ranking of Japanese universities, although they showed potentials of reinforcing their conventional strength of introducing $kaizen$ through feedback learning of tacit knowledge. It is therefore argued in this paper that Japanese universities and firms should focus on feedback learning as a way to motivate firm-university R&D alliances.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2005

In this paper uses Kaname Akamatsu's 'Flying Geese' model to analyse Japan's role in East Asian integration. Japan made the first attempt to lead Asian countries before the Second World War. At that time, the Japanese Government embarked on a brutally expansionist policy the result of which was creation of the first gaggle of 'flying geese' under the name of the 'Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.' During the 'flight' Japan was forcefully imposing its own ideals and values on the rest of the 'gaggle.' At the same time, the Japanese Government assumed hostile attitude toward Western countries. Japan's defeat in the Second World War signified the end of flight for the first 'flying geese' gaggle. After the war, Japan made another attempt at regional integration. This time it was done through establishing a production network in East Asia. Thus the second gaggle of 'flying geese' came into existence. During the flight of the 'second gaggle' of geese, Japan was fostering good ties with Western countries as well, especially the United States. However, some leaders of the 'second gaggle's' member-countries emboldened by their countries' economic success proclaimed that future belongs to Asia and put forward the 'Asian values' argument. The Asian economic crisis of 1997 interrupted the flight of the 'second gaggle' and effectively put an end to the 'Asian values' debate. It is interesting to note that some elements of the 'Asian values' argument resembled ultranationalist discourse that had been dominant in Japan before and during the Second World War. This paper compares historical patterns of East Asian regional integration and highlights future challenges for Japan's Asia policy.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.1-23
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• 2011

China's proposal of the CAFTA (China-ASEAN Free Trade Area) in 2001 prompted a great debate about whether China was a trade competitor of ASEAN, given their similarity in economic development levels and trade/export structures. That Beijing shifted its focus on economic cooperation from the international level to the regional level led to its proposal of the CAFTA. As the Framework Agreement (Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between China and ASEAN) showed, Beijing's careful consideration for four newer ASEAN members (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) intended not only to help all ASEAN members develop economically, but also to narrow the economic gap existing between them and the six old ASEAN members; in return, China was recognized as a full market economy, which it is not currently recognized within the framework of the WTO. The substantial rise in bilateral trade and the structural changes of the trade in goods between China and ASEAN member nations after 2001 proves that ASEAN benefited more from the CAFTA, particularly when the areas where ASEAN had the comparative advantages were designated as the priority cooperation areas between China and ASEAN. In sum, similarities existing in economic development levels and industrial structures between China and ASEAN made them natural economic competitors. However, closer studies of trade in goods of S1-7, S1-6 and S1-0 reveal that China acted as an increasingly complementary trade partner of ASEAN after 2001.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.27-43
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• 2009

A ban on political podcasting during the General Elections 2006 in Singapore was justified by the Singaporean government on the grounds that the new medium had a greater power to influence voters than traditional modes of political discourse. A between-subjects controlled experiment was conducted to test whether podcasts of political speeches had a greater power to influence voters' evaluations of political candidates and likelihood of voting for them than online text-based transcripts of the same speeches. The study also examined whether mere exposure to political speeches online, irrespective of the modality, had an effect on voters' more general political preferences, i.e. the likelihood of support and voting for the opposition. The findings suggest that political podcasts were no more persuasive than text-based websites and that the effects on political preferences, if any, were likely due the exposure to political content online, not because of the nature of the medium. The implications of the findings are discussed.