• Food Quality and Culture
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.82-88
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• 2009

This study developed learning content and web pages providing information on Health/Functional Food (HFF) for consumers who come across information indiscriminately from a variety of advertising media such as the Internet and TV. After coming to an understanding of the current situation through literature review and fact-finding, we collected information and commercials on HFF that are exposed to consumers. Focusing on advanced countries such as the U.S. and Japan, we examined the current status of consumer education programs, especially in terms of HFF industry. Further, we referred to the guidelines for consumer education provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and monitored the information from a web site that sells dietary supplementary products in the U.S. In addition, we surveyed consumer information on foods for special health use provided by the Japanese National Institute of Health & Nutrition, and investigated a DB of raw materials of function food (functionality/safety documents). Upon a literature review, the 13 functions of HFF were classified. As a result of conducting interviews with consumers, we developed content that was fit for consumers' perspectives. Through this research, we established a web page to enable people to search for information by function and then by raw material. After searching for information by raw materials, searching products by raw materials can be done in cooperation with E-marketplace. Subsequently developed content and education programs were offered on an HFF web page, which has been in operation since 2005. Therefore, it is expected that appropriate information on HFF will be available.

• Journal of the Korean Statistical Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.36-45
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• 1983

After every decennial census in the U.S., national surveys such as the Consumer Expenditures surveys are redesigned. The redesigned samples will be multi-stage systematic samples. Many sampling schemes have been proposed for comparison which requires the estimation and variance estiamtion formula. This paper deals with the surveys redesign research which concerns the sample design within the Primary Sampling Unit (PSU). In constructing the estimators it deals with the problem of which first stage inflation factor to use. The expected value of the proposed estimators is also derived.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.77
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• pp.43-67
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• 2018

Arbitration is one of alternative dispute resolution systems which settle a dispute by arbitrators(private persons) based on a contract between contracting parties without a judicial litigation system involved. As a valid arbitration agreement is an essential requirement for commencement of arbitration, the first thing to be determined is whether there is a valid arbitration agreement or not when a dispute is submitted. A consumer arbitration agreement usually exists as an arbitration clause in an adhesive contract between consumers and a seller. When consumers buy a product from a seller, they are requested to agree on a general terms and conditions which are unilaterally drafted by a seller in advance. These terms and conditions are not negotiable because it is an adhesive contract and consumers are placed in "take-it-or-leave-it" position. Therefore, even though there is an arbitration agreement between consumers and a seller, it has to be carefully considered whether it has a legal effect or not. In this respect, a court will examine if an arbitration agreement has procedural unconscionability and substantive unconscionability. Therefore, as U.S is a well-advanced and arbitration-friendly country, this paper analyzes four U.S cases to find out (i) what a court considers, (ii) how a court examines and interprets procedural and substantive unconscionability and (iii) if there has been a change in regard to a court's decision. By doing so, it will provide some suggestions and guidelines for a consumer arbitration in Korea.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.9 no.1 s.17
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• pp.81-94
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• 1991

The Purpose of this study is to determine how Korean and United Sates families manage resourcese. Further, socioeconomic and social psychological determinants of frequency of family resoures management will be investigated for each country. Comparision of results well be made to find similarities and differences between Korea and the U.S. Most studies of family resource management have used urban samples, so this study adds to understanding of another segment of the populations. Family resource management variables, as dependent variables, were measured by asking respondents how often they used a variety of wasys to handle finances and time. Independent variables were : (a) total household income, (b) respondents education, (c) respondents ages, (d) householder size, (e) family adaptability, (f) family cohesion, and (g) interpersonal communications. Data for the Korean sample were collected in rural areas of South Korea during summer 1989, U.S. data were collected in two counties of Illinois. The data used in this study include 473 Korean samples and 301 U.S. families. In both samples, the respondent was the financial manager, the person who usually handled the finances and paid the bills. The data were analyzed by frequencys, t-test, and multiple regression analysis methods. As a results, U.S. respondents tended to engage in family resource management more frequently than Korean respondents. This could be attributed to a longer history of consumer education and financial management education taught in the public schools and through the Cooperative Extension Service in the U.S. Social-psycological variables were significant predictors of frequency of family financial management in both samples. the differences in both samples are that, in Korea, frequency of family financial management increased as household size and educational years increased, however, in the United States, the relationships of these variables were not significant. Some similarities and differences were found in Korea and the U.S. families, and this results represents that interpersonal communications are important determinants, even in different cultures. One hadn, the difference of socio-cultural factors result as the difference of some statisical differences. Findings from this study have important implications for research and education, and can be applicated to study of family resource management in other rural areas.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.77
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• pp.69-89
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• 2018

The United States of America is one of the most favoring countries in which mandatory pre-arbitration clauses in the form of adhesion contract have been widely recognized and supported by courts and the Federal Arbitration Act. However, after the financial crisis in 2008 and the National Arbitration Forum scandal in 2009, in enacting the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ('Dodd-Frank Act'), Section 1028(a) of the Act requires the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to provide Congress with a report on "the use of agreements providing for arbitration of any future dispute between covered persons and consumers". Section 1028(b) also grants the CFPB the authority to "prohibit or impose conditions or limitations on the use of an agreement between a covered person and a consumer for a consumer financial product or service providing for arbitration of any future dispute between the parties, if the Bureau finds that such a prohibition or imposition of conditions or limitations is in the public interest and for the protection of consumers." Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB issued a report entitled "2015 Arbitration Study: Report to Congress 2015 (Report)" in March 2015. This paper examines some major legal issues of the Report and makes a few recommendations for Korean financial institutions which entered into the U.S. financial market or has a plan to do so in the near future.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.97-115
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• 2004

This paper first introduces the U. S. pension system and its current trends. Then the following two sections discuss the research on worker behavior of defined contribution plans, a popular pension plan available for American workers in recent years, and the adequacy of retirement income among American people. The last section is a summary. This paper reviews the trend of the U. S. pension system, research on worker's behavior of defined contribution retirement plans, and studies on retirement income adequacy. These themes may have common or different features in other countries, such as Korea. This paper provides helpful information for private and public policy makers and researchers of these topics in Korea to advance their understanding of pension and retirement behavior and facilitate effective policy making of pensions and retirement.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.585-596
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• 1998

This report gathers data on current catalogue and online order market in the apparel products in order to: 1) identify the current status and critical issues in this area, and 2) identify the differences between the department store markets and the domestic markets on catalogue and online order. In addition, it collected the information on consumer shopping behaviors through surveys in both Korea and the U.S., in order to: 1) compare the consumer behaviors between both countries, and 2) identify any correlations with demographic factors such as sex, age, marriage status, income, education. This was discovered by means of the collected data that in Korea there were the problefls related to the apparel products and the apparel size specification, and related to the p.c.-network. Also in Korea the department store companies do not have properly worked out size specifications and are more likely to use 'freesize' categories, while in the U.S. and Europe the reverse was found and the size specification gave more detailed information. Results of the questionnaire suggested that the U.S. was superior in the almost part of questionnaires especially in terms of the user's experience and satisfaction with catalogue & online order in apparel. Additionally, the U.S. had 2.5 times more catalogues and online sites and those were more frequently used compared to those in Korea. The consumer shopping behaviors in Korea showed a correlation with sex, age, job, marriage status and income. And there were significant correlations with education, sex and income in the U.S.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.11-24
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• 2021

This study investigates the buying behavior pertaining to Japanese brands according to the degree of patriotism of consumers in their 20s. A survey of 235 university students was conducted; the survey questioned the basic purchasing attitudes of consumers in their 20s regarding outerwear and underwear and then surveyed the purchasing attitudes regarding U brand's (representative Japanese brand) outerwear and underwear. To detect the correlation between patriotism and U brand purchases, this study asked questions about patriotism and investigated basic personal information. The research results were as follows. First, there was a significant difference in consumer's purchasing attitude toward outerwear and underwear. When of consumers who are in their 20s purchase outerwear, its design was the most important factor, whereas when purchasing underwear, functionality was the most crucial factor. Second, it was confirmed that consumer's attitudes toward U brand's outerwear and underwear differed. Although the evaluation of U brand's outerwear design was not positive, the consumer tended to be satisfied with the price. U brand's score concerning the functionality of underwear products received a slightly positive response. Third, a total of 235 respondents were divided into a high- and low-patriotism-group based on questions about patriotism. There were significant differences in their attitudes toward clothing and consumer's purchasing behavior at U brand. Highly patriotic consumers thought negatively about U brand outerwear products in terms of price and product quality than low patriotic consumers; however, there was no significant difference only regarding design evaluation. For underwear products, low patriotic consumers were more positive about the price, design, and functionality of U brand products than high patriotic consumers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.1396-1405
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• 1997

This study investigated country-of-origin effects by comparatively analyzing consumer attitude toward country-of-origin of imported apparel according to apparel product attributes. Fishbein attitude model was used. The effects of consumer characteristics such as attitude of consumers toward general imported apparel and demorgraphic variables on consumer attitude toward country-of-origin were also identified. Italy, U.S.A, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea were used as country of origin. Data were obtained from male and female subjects(total 570) aged mostly 20's. Statistical analysis showed: 1) Apparel product attributes were classified into 3 factors, expressive, instrumental and brand, which are the order of importance for purchasing. 2) Consumer indicated more favorable attitude toward 'made in 'Italy' nd made in 'Korea' in each attribute factor. 'Made in Korea' roducts were evaluated highest in expressive attribute factor but less favored than 'made in Italy' n brand attribute factor. 'Made in U.S.A and made in Japan' were evaluated favorable in instrumental factor, whereas 'made in Hong Kong' had the least favorable attitude in every attribute factor. 3) The uniqueness and good quality of imported apparel appeared to be the most strong variable in predicting consumer attitude toward each country-of-origin. 4) The attitude toward country of origin was different according to sex and age.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.135-150
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• 2019

Under the Manufacturing Liability Act, consumers want to be protected from manufacturers by mitigating burden of proof as an important target to be protected. However, due to the complexity of the product, it is very difficult for consumers to prove defects from the manufacturing defect. This situation has led to a major revision of the Manufacturing Liability Act, which mitigates the burden of proof of consumers by applying fruitless liability. The Manufacturing Liability Act is comparable to the U.S., which has strong consumer rights and is protected by the Manufacturing Liability Act. The burden of proof can be regarded as the most necessary content for consumers within the manufacturing product liability law when responding to manufacturing defects. The U.S. intends to provide implications for achieving consumer protection in Korea's Manufacturing Liability Act by imitating the U.S. based on the burden of proof. Case comparison regarding burden of proof can be conducted based on various criteria, including criteria for each product and key features for determining the importance of the manufacturing product liability law. The Act on the Responsibility of Korean Manufacturing Products for the Protection of Consumers was developed based on the assessment criteria, and a remedy was proposed to protect consumers who suffered from manufacturing defects.