• Title/Summary/Keyword: agency factor

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Characteristics of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials in Groundwater from Aquifers Composed of Different Geological Settings in Ganghwa Island (강화도의 지질별 지하수 중 자연방사성 물질의 특성)

  • Kim, Ikhyun;Kim, MoonSu;Hamm, Se-Yeong;Kim, Hyunkoo;Kim, Dongsoo;Jo, Seongjin;Lee, Heonmin;Hwang, Jongyeon;Jo, Hunje;Park, Sunhwa;Chung, Hyenmi
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.51 no.1
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    • pp.27-38
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    • 2018
  • Groundwaters in different rock types (Mesozoic granite, Precambrian gneiss, and schist) of Ganghwa island, Incheon City were characterized by using naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and hydrogeochemical constituents. For the study, groundwater samples from 69 wells had been collected over eight years. Statistical methods were applied to relate hydrogeochemical components and NORM in the groundwater samples. The groundwater samples belonged to $Ca(Na)-HCO_3$ types. The uranium concentrations in three groundwater samples exceeded 30 ug/L of United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) maximum contaminant level (MCL). The radon concentrations in 28 groundwater samples exceeded 4,000 pCi/L (picocuries per Liter) of US EPA alternative maximum contaminant level (AMCL). Gross-alpha in all the groundwater samples did not exceed 15 pCi/L of US EPA MCL. The average concentrations of uranium and radon in groundwater were the highest in granite area, and then gneiss, schist areas in order. In schist area, the correlation coefficient (R) between radon and $HCO_3$ is -0.40 and R between uranium and $SO_4$ is 0.54. In gneiss area, the R between radon and uranium is 0.55 and the R between uranium and $SO_4$ is 0.41. According to factor analysis, each geological area shows different chemical characteristics. The statistical analysis of whole groundwater resulted in nearly no significant relationship among uranium, radon and chemical constituents. Subsequently, more detailed studies on hydrogeological, geochemical, and geological characteristics related to NORM are required to better understand the behavior and fate of NORM.

Antioxidant capacity and Raw 264.7 macrophage anti-inflammatory effect of the Tenebrio Molitor (갈색거저리(Tenebrio Molitor)의 항산화능과 Raw 264.7 대식세포의 항염증 효과)

  • Yu, Jae-Myo;Jang, Jae-Yoon;Kim, Hyeon-Jeong;Cho, Yong-Hun;Kim, Dong-in;Kwon, O-jun;Cho, Yeong-Je;An, Bong-Jeun
    • Food Science and Preservation
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    • v.23 no.6
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    • pp.890-898
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    • 2016
  • The purpose of this paper is to investigate potential anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects of Tenebrio molitor. Macrophage cell response by outside stimulation leads expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ ($TNF-{\alpha}$), interleukin-6 (IL-6), $interleukin-1{\beta}$ ($IL-1{\beta}$), and trigger expression of genes which are affected by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), resulting in formation of inflammatory factors like nitric oxide (NO) and Prostaglandin $E_2$ (PGE2). Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. In order to investigate anti-inflammatory agents, the inhibitory effects on the production of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NO in RAW 264.7 cells were examined. T. Molitor significantly decreased the production of NO in a dose-dependent manner, and also reduced the expression of iNOS, a COX-2 protein. As a result, the levels of protein such as $PGE_2$, iNOS, COX-2 and MARKs were significantly reduced compared to non-treated group in T. Molitor water extract (TDW) treated group. Also, antioxidant effect of T. Molitor were investigated using DPPH, ABTS+ and superoxide anion radical scavenging activity tests in cell-free system. Antioxidant activity of T. molitor was found low in the DPPH radical scavenging test while high in the ABTS+ and superoxide anion radical scavenging activity tests. These results show that TDW could be an effective anti-pro-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agent.

Anti-inflammatory effect of Polygonum multiflorum extraction in activated RAW 264.7 cells with lipopolysaccharide (Lipopolysaccharide로 활성화된 RAW 264.7 세포에서 적하수오(Polygonum multiflorum) 추출물의 항염증 효과 검증)

  • Lee, Eunsu;Kim, Hyeongjeong;Yu, Jae-Myo;Cho, Yong-Hun;Kim, Dong-In;Shin, Yuhyeon;Cho, Yeongje;Kwon, O-Jun;An, Bongjeon
    • Food Science and Preservation
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    • v.21 no.5
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    • pp.740-746
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    • 2014
  • The anti-inflammatory effects of Polygonum multiflorum water extracts (PMWs) and Polygonum multiflorum 70 % ethanol extracts(PMEs) were investigated using lipopolysaccharide-induce by inflammatory response. The inhibitory effects of PMWs and PMEs on the production of nitric oxide (NO) and pro - inflammatory cytokines in LPS - activated Raw 264.7 cells were investigated. The effects were examined after reducing production of Nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$), interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$), nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein levels. RAW 264.7 cells were cultured with LPS ($1{\mu}g/mL$) in the presence or absence of PMWs and PMEs for 24 h to determine their NO, iNOS, COX-2 levels. During the entire experimental period 10, 25, 50 and $100{\mu}g/mL$ of PMWs and PMEs showed no cytotoxicity. At these concentrations, PMWs and PMEs concentration dependently reduced the production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin $E_2$ ($PGE_2$), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) and interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$). PMWs and PMEs were inhibited the activittion of iNOS, COX-2 by 89%, 54%, 91% and 57% respectively, at $100{\mu}g/mL$. These results indicate that PMWs and PMEs significantly reduces the effect of oxidative and inflammatory cytokines.

A Comparison Study of Aerosol Samplers for PM10 Mass Concentration Measurement (PM10 질량농도 측정을 위한 시료채취기의 비교 연구)

  • Park, Ju-Myon;Koo, Ja-Kon;Jeong, Tae-Young;Kwon, Dong-Myung;Yoo, Jong-Ik;Seo, Yong-Chil
    • Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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    • v.31 no.2
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    • pp.153-160
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    • 2009
  • A PM10 (aerodynamic diameter${\leq}$10 ${\mu}m$) sampler is used to quantify the potential human exposure to suspended particulate matter (PM) and to comply with the governmental regulation. This study was conducted to compare and evaluate the same PM10 cutpoint and different slopes between United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) PM10 sampling criterion and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists/$Comit\acute{e}$ $Europ\acute{e}en$ de Normalization/International Organization for Standardization thoracic PM10 sampling criterion through theory and experiment. Four PM10 samplers according to the USEPA criterion and one RespiCon sampler in accordance with the thoracic PM10 criterion were used in the present study. In addition, one DustTrak monitor was used to measure real time PM10 mass concentrations. All six aerosol samplers were tested in a PM generation chamber using polydisperse fly ash. Theoretical mass concentrations were calculated by applying the measured particle size distribution characteristics (geometric mean = 6.6 ${\mu}m$, geometric standard deviation = 1.9) of fly ash to each sampling criterion. The measured mass concentrations through a chamber experiment were consistent with theoretical mass concentrations in that a RespiCon sampler with the thoracic PM10 criterion collected less PM than a PM10 sampler with the USEPA criterion. The overall chamber experiment results indicated, when a PM10 sampler was used as a reference sampler, that (1) a RespiCon sampler had a normalizing factor of 1.6, meaning that this sampler underestimated an average 60% of PM10 mass sampled from a PM10 sampler, and (2) a DustTrak real-time monitor using a PM10 inlet had a calibration factor of 2.1.

Screening of Biological Activities of Extracts from Rhododendron mucronulatum Turcz. Flowers (진달래꽃(Rhododendron mucronulatum Turcz. Flower) 추출물의 생리활성 탐색)

  • Cho, Young-Je;Ju, In-Sik;Chun, Sung-Sook;An, Bong-Jeun;Kim, Jeung-Hoan;Kim, Myung-Uk;Kwon, Oh-Jun
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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    • v.37 no.3
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    • pp.276-281
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    • 2008
  • Extracts from Rododendron mucronulatum Turcz. flowers were tested for antioxidant and their inhibitory activities of ${\alpha}$-amylase, ${\alpha}$-glucosidase and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Total contents of phenolics were found as $30.6{\pm}0.14mg/g$ (60% EtOH extract) and $23.2{\pm}0.21mg/g$ (water extract). Electron donation ability (EDA), ABTS [2,2azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] radical decolorization, Antioxidant protection factor (PF) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARs) were measured for the antioxidative activity of the extracts from Rododendron mucronulatum Turcz. flowers. The water extract were determined as 97.5% at ethanol extract showed 83.2% and 60% EtOH extract were 89.7% in EDA. The water extract showed higher antioxidant activity than 60% EtOH extract when evaluated by ABTS radical decolorization and antioxidant PF. The TBARS of water extracts and 60% EtOH extracts were shown as $0.29{\times}10^2{\mu}M\;and\;0.28{\times}10^2{\mu}M$, respectively, and were lower than control. ACE inhibitory activity in water extract (67.6% inhibition) was higher than that of 60% EtOH extract (46.7% inhibition) at $200{\mu}g/mL$. Water extracts had higher inhibitory activities on ${\alpha}$-amylase and ${\alpha}$-glucosidase than 60% EtOH extracts. The result suggests that the water extract from Rododendron mucronulatum Turcz. flowers will be useful as natural antioxidants and functional foods.

Inhibitory Effect against Helicobacter pylori and Biological Activity of Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) Extracts (Thyme(Thymus vulgaris L.) 추출물의 Helicobacter pylori 억제효과 및 생리활성)

  • Kim, Jeung-Hoan;Kwon, Jung-Hyo;Lee, Kyeong-Hwan;Chun, Sung-Sook;Kwon, Oh-Jun;Woo, Hi-Seob;Cho, Young-Je;Cha, Won-Seup
    • Applied Biological Chemistry
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    • v.49 no.3
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    • pp.243-247
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    • 2006
  • The biological activity of functional food source with thyme extracts were examined. Total phenol contents in the 60% ethanol extracts $(26.8{\pm}0.35\;mg/g)$ with thyme leaf was higher than water extracts $(25.7{\pm}0.20\;mg/g)$. This HPLC analysis is significant in that physiological activity is related with phenolic compound content such as rosemarinic acid, quercetin and chlorogenic acid. Electron donating ability was shown as 90.1% in the water extracts and 77.7% in the 60% ethanol extracts. Antioxidant protection factor of 60% ethanol extracts was higher than water extracts. Helicobacter pylori of the water extracts from thyme leaves did not have antimicrobial activity, but the 60% ethanol extracts revealed the high antimicrobial activity as 9 mm of clear zone in $50\;{\mu}g/ml$ of phenol content, 10 mm in $100\;{\mu}g/ml$, 13 mm in $150\;{\mu}g/ml$ and 16 mm in $200\;{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition activity showed no inhibition activity in 60% ethanol extracts but 39.9% inhibition activity in water extracts. Xanthine oxidase inhibition activity showed high inhibition activity at 73.5% in water extracts and 100% in 60% ethanol extracts. The result suggests the development of phenol compound in thyme as anti Helicobacter pylori, antioxidant and anti-gout agents.

The relationship between team cohesion and team performance of the transformative leadership of Taekwondo leaders at Chinese universities (중국 대학교 태권도 지도자의 변혁적 리더십이 팀응집력과 팀성과의 영향 관계)

  • Wu, Han;Kwak, Han-pyong;Son, Hanbin;Lee, Jaewoo
    • The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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    • v.8 no.4
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    • pp.253-261
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    • 2022
  • The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between transformative leadership, team cohesion, and team performance of Chinese university taekwondo leaders. Specifically, it is to investigate the effect of transformative leadership on team cohesion and team performance and to verify the mediating effect of team cohesion in the relationship between transformative leadership and team performance. In order to achieve the research purpose, a total of 350 people were sampled after setting taekwondo leaders at Chinese universities as a population. The measurement tool used in this study was a questionnaire consisting of 5 items on demographic characteristics, a total of 19 questions on transformational leadership, 10 questions on team cohesion, and 4 questions on team performance. The validity of the questionnaire was verified through exploratory factor analysis, and the reliability was verified through reliability analysis. The reliability Cronbach's α of the questionnaire was found to be α=0.755-0.799 for transformative leadership, α=0.848, and α=0.740 for team performance. As the data processing method, exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis, one-way analysis (one-way ANOVA), and multiple regression analysis were used using SPSS WIN. The conclusions derived through the above research methods and procedures are as follows. First, the transformative leadership of Taekwondo leaders at Chinese universities influenced team cohesion. Second, the transformative leadership of Taekwondo leaders at Chinese universities influenced team performance. Third, the team cohesiveness of Taekwondo leaders at Chinese universities influenced team performance. Fourth, the transformative leadership of Taekwondo leaders at Chinese universities not only directly affects team performance, but also indirectly affects team cohesion. Therefore, it is believed that Chinese Taekwondo players will help improve their performance by affecting team cohesion and team performance for the best games through the leader's variable leadership.

Characterization of typical Aeromonas salmonicida isolated from Sea-Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) (해수에 순치된 첨연어(Oncorhynchus keta)에서 분리된 정형 에로모나스 살모니시다(Aeromonas salmonicida)에 대한 특성 분석)

  • Jongwon Lim;Sungjae Ko;Youngjun Park;Do-il Ahn;Suhee Hong
    • Journal of fish pathology
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    • v.36 no.2
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    • pp.263-275
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    • 2023
  • Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) is a species which returns to Korea for spawning and was produced as seed production at the Fisheries Resources Agency located in Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do to preserve the species. However, farmed chum salmon showed symptoms of bacterial infection. Therefore, in this study, bacteria were isolated to identify the causative agent from chum salmon in October 2021. The isolated bacteria were identified based on the sequences of 16S rDNA, rpoD (RNA polymerase sigma factor σ70), and vapA (A-layer) genes. Also, salinity-growth curve, biochemical characterization, antibiotic susceptibility test, and pathogenicity analysis were performed in four strains. As a result, four isolated strains were identified as Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida. Additionally, the bacterial strains showed a decrease in growth as the salt concentration increased in the medium. All of the isolated strains exhibited γ-hemolysis, and the same biochemical properties. In the antimicrobial susceptibility test, all strains showed an inhibition zone of 40 to 44 mm for oxolinic acid, flumequine, and florfenicol. Pathogenic factors were assessed by RT-PCR at the mRNA level, and found that the four strains expresses the outer membrane ring of T3SS (ascV), inner membrane ring of T3SS (ascC), vapA, enterotoxin (act), and lipase (lip) genes which are well known to significantly contribute to the pathogenicity of A. salmonicida. The results of this study can be used as basic data to prevent A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida occurring in sea-chum salmon in the future.

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

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

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

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

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