• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.22 no.4 s.28
• /
• pp.506-517
• /
• 1989

Two hundred and fifty teachers of special school (for the disabled) and 414 elementary school teachers were selected for the targets in order to compare their degrees of fatigue symptoms and to find what kind of ralationship is between subjective symptoms of fatigue and pH is the saliva. It was 30 minutes before their closing hours on April 21th, 1989 that their physical, mental and neuro-sensory symptoms and salivary pH were examined. The test results are summarized as fallows : It is observed that an interrelation between subjective fatigue and pH in their saliva shows a significant relationship between physical and neuro-sensory symptoms in a sense of statistics. The rate of subjective fatigue complained by the special teachers is higher than that by the elementary teachers. In the case of salivary pH, the special teachers' is as a whole lower than the elementary teachers'. The complain rates in each item, checked, of special teachers are generally higher than those of the elementary teachers. It is in the mental symptom related item that there are many sub-items which show significant difference. According to the average of salivary pH based on the degrees of complained symptoms shown in the pH related items, the salivary pH of the group with complained symptoms is lower than that of the group without complained symptoms. In the rate of complaints, by sex, both sexes of the special teachers show high ones, but salivary pH is low. The complain rate of mental symptoms shown by female group from the special teacher Is significantly higher(p<0.05). By age, the group in their thirties from the special teachers show the higher complain rate of mental symptoms (29.3%) and the lower salivary pH (p<0.05) than that (15.1%) of the elementary teachers belonging to the same age catagory. However, the special teachers in their forties show the lower complain rate of physical symptoms that of the elementary teachers (p<0.05). From the viewpoint of their working years, the special teachers below 14 years and elementary teachers above 15 years in their career show high complain rates. Among those who belong to the catagory of 10-14 working years, the special teachers show the higher complain rate of mental symptoms than that of their counterparts. In the case of the salivary pH, the special teachers of all working-year catagories show the higher pH than that of the elementary teachers. But there is not significantly difference. From the viewpoint of sleeping hours in the previous night of the questionaire surveyed, among those who slept for over 7 hours, the special teachers show the higher complain rate of mental symptoms with a significant difference, but the lower salivary pH than that of their counterparts. From the viewpoint of their marital status, existence of disease history, the special teachers show the higher complain rate of subjective fatigue, but the lower salivary pH than that of the elementary teachers respectively. According to the above results, the special teachers generally show the higher complain rate of subjective fatigue, the lower salivary pH, and the higher complain rate of mental symptoms. To prevent the possible accumulation of mental fatigue of the special teachers, ways and means to make use of leisure time, recreational facilities are necessarily provided. Since the degree of fatigue and salivary pH have a correlation to some extent, it is necessary that further continuous studies on the correlation between the degrees of fatigue and salivary pH should be pursued.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.29 no.4 s.55
• /
• pp.785-799
• /
• 1996

We investigated the 1,004 workers who worked in a automobile factory to study the epidemiologic characterists of dermatoses due to cutting oils. Among the workers, 667(66.4%) answered the questionaire. They are belong to 5 departments of the factory-the Engine-Work(258 workers), Gasoline engine Assembly(210), Diesel engine Assembly(96), Power train Work(86), Power train Assembly(17). We measured the oil mist concentration in air of the departments and examined the workers who had dermatologic symptoms. The results were follows; 1) Oil mist concentration ; Of all measured points(52),9 points(17.2%) exeeded $5mg/m^3$- the time-weighed PEL-and one department had a upper confidence limit(95%) higher than $5mg/m^3$. 2) Dermatologists examined 213 workers. 172 of them complained any skin symptoms at that time - itching(32.5%), papule(21.6%), scale(15.7%), vesicle(12.5%) in order. The abnormal skin site found by dermatologist were palm(29.3%), finger & nail(24.6%), forearm(16.2%), back of hand(8.4%) in order. 3) As the result of physical examination, we found that 160 workers had skin diseases. Contact dermatitis was the most common; 69 workers had contact dermatitis alone(43.1%), 11 had contact dermatitis with acne(6.9%), 10 had contact dermatitis with folliculitis(6.3%), 1 had contact dermatitis with acne & folliculitis, and 1 had contact dermatitis with abnormal pigmentation. Others were folliculitis(9 workers, 5.6%), acne(8, 5.0%), folliculitis & acne (2, 1.2%), keratosis(1, 0.6%), abnormal pigmentation (1, 0.6%), and non-specific hand eczema (47, 29.3%). 4) The prevalence of any skin diseases was 34.0 pet 100 in cutting oil users, and 13.3 per 100 in non- users. Especially, the prevalence of contact dermatitis was 23.0 per 100 in cutting oil users and 23.0 per 100 in non-users. 5) We tried patch test(standard serise, oil serise, organic solvents) on 49 patients to differentiate allergic contact dermatitis from irritant contact dermatitis and found 20 were positive. 6) In a multivariate analysis(independant=age, tenure, kinds of cutting oil), the risk of skin diseases was higher in the water-based cutting oil user and both oil user than non-user or neat oil user(odds ratio were 2.16 and 2.78, respectively). And the risk of contact dermatitis was much higher at the same groups(odds ratio were 5.16 and 6.82, respectively).

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.19-33
• /
• 2013

In this research, a proposed Dynamic Virtual Ontology using Tags (DyVOT) supports dynamic search of resources depending on user's requirements using tags from social web driven resources. It is general that the tags are defined by annotations of a series of described words by social users who usually tags social information resources such as web-page, images, u-tube, videos, etc. Therefore, tags are characterized and mirrored by information resources. Therefore, it is possible for tags as meta-data to match into some resources. Consequently, we can extract semantic relationships between tags owing to the dependency of relationships between tags as representatives of resources. However, to do this, there is limitation because there are allophonic synonym and homonym among tags that are usually marked by a series of words. Thus, research related to folksonomies using tags have been applied to classification of words by semantic-based allophonic synonym. In addition, some research are focusing on clustering and/or classification of resources by semantic-based relationships among tags. In spite of, there also is limitation of these research because these are focusing on semantic-based hyper/hypo relationships or clustering among tags without consideration of conceptual associative relationships between classified or clustered groups. It makes difficulty to effective searching resources depending on user requirements. In this research, the proposed DyVOT uses tags and constructs ontologyfor effective search. We assumed that tags are extracted from user requirements, which are used to construct multi sub-ontology as combinations of tags that are composed of a part of the tags or all. In addition, the proposed DyVOT constructs ontology which is based on hierarchical and associative relationships among tags for effective search of a solution. The ontology is composed of static- and dynamic-ontology. The static-ontology defines semantic-based hierarchical hyper/hypo relationships among tags as in (http://semanticcloud.sandra-siegel.de/) with a tree structure. From the static-ontology, the DyVOT extracts multi sub-ontology using multi sub-tag which are constructed by parts of tags. Finally, sub-ontology are constructed by hierarchy paths which contain the sub-tag. To create dynamic-ontology by the proposed DyVOT, it is necessary to define associative relationships among multi sub-ontology that are extracted from hierarchical relationships of static-ontology. The associative relationship is defined by shared resources between tags which are linked by multi sub-ontology. The association is measured by the degree of shared resources that are allocated into the tags of sub-ontology. If the value of association is larger than threshold value, then associative relationship among tags is newly created. The associative relationships are used to merge and construct new hierarchy the multi sub-ontology. To construct dynamic-ontology, it is essential to defined new class which is linked by two more sub-ontology, which is generated by merged tags which are highly associative by proving using shared resources. Thereby, the class is applied to generate new hierarchy with extracted multi sub-ontology to create a dynamic-ontology. The new class is settle down on the ontology. So, the newly created class needs to be belong to the dynamic-ontology. So, the class used to new hyper/hypo hierarchy relationship between the class and tags which are linked to multi sub-ontology. At last, DyVOT is developed by newly defined associative relationships which are extracted from hierarchical relationships among tags. Resources are matched into the DyVOT which narrows down search boundary and shrinks the search paths. Finally, we can create the DyVOT using the newly defined associative relationships. While static data catalog (Dean and Ghemawat, 2004; 2008) statically searches resources depending on user requirements, the proposed DyVOT dynamically searches resources using multi sub-ontology by parallel processing. In this light, the DyVOT supports improvement of correctness and agility of search and decreasing of search effort by reduction of search path.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.196-221
• /
• 2011

The Royal Private Shrines or the Samyo(私廟), were dedicated to members of Choseon's royal family who could not be enshrined at the (official) Royal Ancestral Shrine, the Jongmyo(宗廟). The Samyo were constructed at the national level and were systematically managed as such. Because these private Shrines were dedicated to those who couldn't belong to the Jongmyo but were still very important, such as the ruling king's biological father or mother. The details of all royal constructions were included in the State Event Manuals, and with them, the two-dimensional layouts of the Samyo also. From the remaining "Hyunsa-gung Private Tomb Construction Layout Record(顯思宮別廟營建都監儀軌)" of 1824, which is the construction record of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine(景祐宮) dedicated to Subin, the mother of King Sunjo(純祖), it became possible to investigate the so far unknown "The Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine", in terms of the year produced, materials used and other situational contexts. The investigation revealed that the "The Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine" is actually the "Hyunsa-gung Private Tomb Layout" produced by the Royal Construction Bureau. The bureau painted this to build Hyunsa-gung Private Shrine in a separately prepared site outside the court in 1824, according to the royal verdict to close down and move the temporary shrine inside the courtyard dedicated to Subin who had passed away in 1822. As the Construction Bureau must have also produced the Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine Layout, the painter(s) of this layout should exist among the official artists listed in the State Event Manual, but sadly, as their paintings have not survived to this day, we cannot compare their painting styles. The biggest stylistic character of the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine is its perfect diagonal composition method and detailed and neat portrayalof the many palace buildings, just as seen in Donggwoldo(東闕圖, Painting of a panoramic view for Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung Palaces). A well-perceiving architectural painting employs a specific point of view chosen to fit the purpose of the painting, or it can opt to the multi-viewpoint. Korean traditional architectural paintings in early ages utilized the diagonal composition method, the bird-eye viewpoint, or the multi-viewpoint. By the 18th century, detailed but also artistic architectural paintings utilizing the diagonal method are observed. In the early 19th century, the peak of such techniques is exhibited in Donggwoldo(Painting of a panoramic view for Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung Palaces). From the perfect diagonal composition method employed and the details of the palace buildings numbering almost two hundreds, we can determine that the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine also belongs to the same category of the highly technical architectural paintings as Donggwoldo(Painting of a panoramic view for Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung Palaces). We can also confirm this hypothesis by comparing the painting techniques employed in these two paintings in detailthe way trees and houses are depicted, and the way ground texture is expressed, etc. The unique characteristic of the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine is, however, that the area surrounding the central shrine building(正堂), the most important area of the shrine, is drawn using not the diagonal method but the bird-eye viewpoint with the buildings lying flat on both the left and right sides, just as seen in the "Buildings Below the Central Shrine(正堂以下諸處)" in the State Event Manual's Painting Method section. The same viewpoint method is discovered in some other concurrent paintings of common residential buildings, so it is not certain that this particular viewpoint had been a distinctive feature for shrine paintings in general. On the other hand, when the diagonalmethod pointing to the left direction is chosen, the top-left and bottom-right sections of the painting become inevitably empty. This has been the case for the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine, but in contrast, Donggwoldo shows perfect screen composition with these empty margins filled up with different types of trees and other objects. Such difference is consistent with the different situational contexts of these two paintings: the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine is a simple single-sheet painting, while Donggwoldo is a perfected work of painting book given an official title. Therefore, if Donggwoldo was produced to fulfill the role of depiction and documentation as well as the aesthetic purpose, contrastingly, the Painting of Gyeongwoo-gung Shrine only served the purpose of copying the circumstances of the architecture and projecting them onto the painting.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
• /
• no.69
• /
• pp.349-371
• /
• 2017

"Hajaeilgi(荷齋日記)" was written by Ji Gyu-sik, a gongin of Saongwon(司饔院)'s branch, almost everyday for 20 years and 7 months from January 1st, 1891 until the leap month of June 29th, 1911. It deals with many different areas including domestic and foreign circumstances, custom, rituals, all the affairs related to the branch, and also everyday life events he did see or hear about. Particularly, Ji Gyu-sik did not belong to the yangban class, and we can hardly find diaries written by such class' people. Here, what this author pays attention to among the things written in "Hajaeilgi" is the contents about folklore. Ji Gyu-sik wrote in his "Hajaeilgi" about things related to folklore, for example, seasonal customs, folk plays, rituals, or folk beliefs that were actually practiced then as a person not belonging to the yangban class. Such diaries are rare, and its value is highly appreciated as a material, and it is meaningful in the aspects of folklore as well. Therefore, as part of the work to look into folklore found in "Hajaeilgi", this author focuses on national rituals and folk beliefs in it. The things that have been discussed earlier can be summed up as follows: About national rituals, it is sorry that it only deals with the emperor's enthronement and emperor and crown prince's birthday in garye(嘉禮); however, it is meaningful to know that the people faithfully carried out national ceremonies and celebrations then. Particularly, it is noteworthy that during the national ceremonies or celebrations, students were asked to sing the national anthem. About hyungrye(凶禮), only it deals with the court funeral rite. Aside from Minbi's funeral rite, the court funeral rite was performed properly at the right time according to the procedure like before, and also, it seems that the people fulfilled it faithfully by order of the government. Also, it can be learned from it that Japanese killed Minbi, burned the body with oil, and left the ashes behind. About folk beliefs, the branch held a memorial service at the shrine of the town regularly. The town, too, performed Gocheongsinsa each year. The money needed for the memorial service was collected from the town people differently according to their financial situations, and they prepared for jesu for the ancestral rite altogether. The memorial service was carried out in Sansindang or Bugeundang, too, and it was common that they summoned a shaman to perform a gut. The diary is valuable as material. After being a Christian, Ji Gyu-sik once tried to abolish sinsa jesa held in hoesa and get rid of saesin(賽神), that is, a gut or pudakgeori, but he had no choice but to follow the precedent. Meanwhile, it is also noteworthy that when the town suffered from floor and infectious disease, Ji Gyu-sik installed an altar in front of his house for the town's wellbeing and health, prepared for jesu including offerings and drinks, and held a memorial service to Hwangcheonhuto(皇天后土; the gods of heaven and earth) accompanied with the town people. Also, when he had any hardships in his family, Ji Gyu-sik summoned a shaman for a gut or offered a devout prayer to the mountainous god. Such shamanism or the things like worshiping Gwanseongjegun(關聖帝君) mostly in the beginning of January and telling fortunes about the year were all folk beliefs. This was very popular among the people, and it seems that it was deeply rooted in his life as well. Also, Ji Gyu-sik supported Fengshui beliefs, and it seems that it is not different from the people's general tendencies, either. As described above, "Hajaeilgi" dealing with national rituals and folk beliefs in it is valuable as material and is meaningful for research on forklore, and moreover, it is also significant in the aspects of forklore as well.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.149-171
• /
• 2020

The period at university is to make decision about getting an actual job. As our society develops rapidly and highly, jobs are diversified, subdivided, and specialized, and students' job preparation period is also getting longer and longer. This study analyzed the log data of college students to see how the various activities that college students experience inside and outside of school might have influences on employment. For this experiment, students' various activities were systematically classified, recorded as an activity data and were divided into six core competencies (Job reinforcement competency, Leadership & teamwork competency, Globalization competency, Organizational commitment competency, Job exploration competency, and Autonomous implementation competency). The effect of the six competency levels on the employment status (employed group, unemployed group) was analyzed. As a result of the analysis, it was confirmed that the difference in level between the employed group and the unemployed group was significant for all of the six competencies, so it was possible to infer that the activities at the school are significant for employment. Next, in order to analyze the impact of the six competencies on the qualitative performance of employment, we had ANOVA analysis after dividing the each competency level into 2 groups (low and high group), and creating 6 groups by the range of first annual salary. Students with high levels of globalization capability, job search capability, and autonomous implementation capability were also found to belong to a higher annual salary group. The theoretical contributions of this study are as follows. First, it connects the competencies that can be extracted from the school experience with the competencies in the Human Resource Management field and adds job search competencies and autonomous implementation competencies which are required for university students to have their own successful career & life. Second, we have conducted this analysis with the competency data measured form actual activity and result data collected from the interview and research. Third, it analyzed not only quantitative performance (employment rate) but also qualitative performance (annual salary level). The practical use of this study is as follows. First, it can be a guide when establishing career development plans for college students. It is necessary to prepare for a job that can express one's strengths based on an analysis of the world of work and job, rather than having a no-strategy, unbalanced, or accumulating excessive specifications competition. Second, the person in charge of experience design for college students, at an organizations such as schools, businesses, local governments, and governments, can refer to the six competencies suggested in this study to for the user-useful experiences design that may motivate more participation. By doing so, one event may bring mutual benefits for both event designers and students. Third, in the era of digital transformation, the government's policy manager who envisions the balanced development of the country can make a policy in the direction of achieving the curiosity and energy of college students together with the balanced development of the country. A lot of manpower is required to start up novel platform services that have not existed before or to digitize existing analog products, services and corporate culture. The activities of current digital-generation-college-students are not only catalysts in all industries, but also for very benefit and necessary for college students by themselves for their own successful career development.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.43-47
• /
• 2022

Purpose Radioimmunoassay implement quality control by systematizing the internal quality control system for quality assurance of test results. This study aims to contribute to the quality assurance of radioimmunoassay results and to implement systematic quality control by measuring the average CV of internal quality control and external quality control by plenty of institutions for reference when setting the laboratory's own acceptable range. Materials and Methods We measured the average CV of internal quality control and the bounce rate of more than 10.0% for a total of 42 items from October 2020 to December 2021. According to the CV result, we classified and compared the upper group (5.0% or less), the middle group (5.0~10.0%) and the lower group (10.0% or more). The bounce rate of 10.0% or more was compared by classifying the item of five or more institutions into tumor markers, thyroid hormones and other hormones. The average CV was measured by the overall average and standard deviation of the external quality control results for 28 items from the first quarter to the fourth quarter of 2021. In addition, the average CV was measured by the overall average and standard deviation of the proficiency results between institutions for 13 items in the first half and the second half of 2021. The average CV of internal quality control and external quality control was compared by item so we compared and analyzed the items that implement well to quality control and the items that require attention to quality control. Results As a result of measuring the precision average of internal quality control for 42 items of six institutions, the top group (5.0% or less) are Ferritin, HGH, SHBG, and 25-OH-VitD, while the bottom group (≤10.0%) are cortisol, ATA, AMA, renin, and estradiol. When comparing more than 10.0% bounce rate of CV for tumor markers, CA-125 (6.7%), CA-19-9 (9.8%) implemented well, while SCC-Ag (24.3%), CA-15-3 (26.7%) were among the items that require attention to control. As a result of comparing the bounce rate of more than 10.0% of CV for thyroid hormones examination, free T4 (2.1%), T3 (9.3%) showed excellent performance and AMA (39.6%), ATA (51.6%) required attention to control. When comparing the bounce rate of 10.0% or more of CV for other hormones, IGF-1 (8.8%), FSH (9.1%), prolactin (9.2%) showed excellent performance, however estradiol (37.3%), testosterone (37.7%), cortisol (44.4%) required attention to control. As a result of measuring the average CV of the whole institutions participating at external quality control for 28 items, HGH and SCC-Ag were included in the top group (≤10.0%), however ATA, estradiol, TSI, and thyroglobulin included in bottom group (≥30.0%). Conclusion As a result of evaluating 42 items of six institutions, the average CV was 3.7~12.2% showing a 3.3 times difference between the upper group and the lower group. Cortisol, ATA, AMA, Renin and estradiol tests with high CV will require continuous improvement activities to improve precision. In addition, we measured and compared the overall average CV of the internal quality control, the external quality control and the proficiency between institutions participating of six institutions for 41 items excluding HBs-Ab. As a result, ATA, AMA, Renin and estradiol belong to the same subgroup so we require attention to control and consider setting a higher acceptable range. It is recommended to set and control the acceptable range standard of internal quality control CV in consideration of many things in the laboratory due to the different reagents and instruments, and the results vary depending on the test's proficiency and quality control materials. It is thought that the accuracy and reliability of radioimmunoassay results can be improved if systematic quality control is implemented based on the set acceptable range.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.29-40
• /
• 1977

The authors examined fresh-water gammarid materials which were collected from streams in 20 localities of South Korea during the period from 1965 to 1977. As the results of the observation, the authors have concluded as follows: 1. These fresh-water gammarids belong to Gammarus pulex-group and are distributed widely in mountain-streams of mainland and surrounding islands of South Korea. 2. The present specimens are different from the subspecies, G. pulex koreanus Ueno, 1940 which was described originally from North Korea. In the latter, the pulmose setae of third uropod are limited only to the outer margin of both rami. The peduncle and flagellum of second antenna are fringed with a few short setae and the flagellum is provided with calceoli. In the former, both margins of inner ramus and outer margin of outer ramus of third uropod are fringed with long pulmose setae. The peduncle and flagellum of second antenna have abundant relatively long setase and the flagellum is not provided with calceoli. 3. The present specimens are different from the subspecies, G. pulex sobaegensis Ueno, 1966 which was described originally from South Korea. The latter dwells in cave, while the former dwells in mountain-stream. In the former, the arrangements of pulmose setae of third uropod and the setation of second antenna are similar to those of the latter. But they are quite different from each other in several characters such as shape of upper lip, shape of fifth article of second gnathopod and numbers of incisions on front distal margins of coxal plates 1-3. The former has spines on surface of coxal plates 1-3, but the latter has not. In females, the former has four pairs of marsupial plates, while the latter has three pairs. 4. The present materials show local variations. Therefore, they could be divided into 3 local groups. The first group (specimens from Mt. Odae and Mt. Sogeumgang) has pulmose setae on the both margins of both rami of third uropod and second article of outer ramus is relatively long. In general, this group has setae sparsely on the both rami and especially a few setae on the outer margin of outer ramus. The second group, which are widely distributed in South Korea, has pulmose setae on the both margins of inner ramus and on the outer margin of outer ramus of third uropod. In the third group (specimens from Mt. Soyo), the pulmose setation of third uropod is similar to that of the first group, but the second article of outer ramus is very small.

• Asia Marketing Journal
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.111-133
• /
• 2010

Marketing financial services used to be easier. Today, the competition in financial services is fierce. Not only has the competition become more intense, financial services have also changed structurally. In an environment with various customer needs and severe competitions, the marketing in financial services industry is getting more difficult and more important than before. However, there are still not enough studies on financial services marketing in Korea whereas lots of research papers have been published frequently in some international journals. The purpose of this paper is (1)to review the literature on financial services marketing, (2)to investigate current marketing activities based on in-depth interview with financial marketing managers in Korea, and (3)to suggest some implications for future research on the financial services marketing. Financial products are not consumer products. In fact, they are not products at all in the way product marketing is usually described. Nor are they altogether like services. The financial industry operates in a unique way, and its marketing tasks are correspondingly complex. However, the literature review shows that there has been a lack of basic studies which dealt with inherent characteristics of financial services marketing compared to the research on marketing in other industries. Many studies in domestic marketing journals have so far focused only on the general customer behaviors and the special issues in some financial industries. However, for more effective financial services marketing, we have to answer following questions. Is there any difference between financial service marketing and consumer packaged goods marketing? What are the differences between the financial services marketing and other services marketing such as education and health services? Are there different ways of marketing among banks, securities firms, insurance firms, and credit card companies? In other words, we need more detailed research as well as basic studies about the financial services marketing. For example, we need concrete definitions of financial services marketing, bank marketing, securities firm marketing, and etc. It is also required to compare the characteristics of each marketing within the financial services industry. The products sold in each market have different characteristics such as duration and degree of risk-taking. It means that there are sub-categories in financial services marketing. We have to consider them in the future research on the financial services marketing. It is also necessary to study customer decision making process in the financial markets. There have been little research on how customers search and process information, compare alternatives, make final decision, and repeat their choices. Because financial services have some unique characteristics, we need different understandings in the customer behaviors compared to the behaviors in other service markets. And also considering the rapid growth in financial markets and upcoming severe competition between domestic and global financial companies, it is time to start more systematic and detailed research on financial services marketing in Korea. In the second part of this paper, I analyzed the results of in-depth interview with 20 marketing managers of financial services companies in Korea. As a result, I found that the role of marketing departments in Korean financial companies are mainly focused on the short-term activities such as sales support, promotion, and CRM data analysis although the size and history of marketing departments to some extent show a sign of maturity. Most companies established official marketing departments before 2001. Average number of employees in a marketing department is about 58. However, marketing managers in eight companies(40% of the sample) still think that the purpose of marketing is only to support and manage general sales activities. It shows that some companies have sales-oriented concept rather than marketing-oriented concept. I also found three key words which marketing managers think importantly in financial services markets. They are (1)Trust in customer relationship, (2)Brand differentiation, and (3)Rapid response to customer needs. 50% of the sample support that "Trust" is the most important key word in the financial services marketing. It is interesting that 80% of banks and securities companies think that "Trust" is the most important thing, whereas managers in credit card companies consider "Rapid response to customer needs" as the most important key word in their market. In addition, there are different problems recognition of marketing managers depending on the types of financial industries they belong to. For example, in the case of banks and insurance companies, marketing managers consider "a lack of communication with other departments" as the most serious problem. On the other hand, in the case of securities firms, "a lack of utilization of customer data" is the most serious problem. These results imply that there are different important factors for the customer satisfaction depending on the types of financial industries, and managers have to consider them when marketing financial products in more effective ways. For example, It will be necessary for marketing managers to study different important factors which affect customer satisfaction, repeat purchase, degree of risk-taking, and possibility of cross-selling according to the types of financial industries. I also suggested six hypothetical propositions for the future research.

• Asia Marketing Journal
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.155-175
• /
• 2010

Most of the service industries including finance and telecommunications have become matured and saturated. The competitions have become severe while the differences among brands become smaller. Therefore maintaining good relationships with customers has been critical for the service providers. In case of credit card and debit card, the similar patterns are shown. It is important for them to maintain good relationships with customers, and therefore, they have used marketing program which provides customized services to customers and utilizes the membership programs. Not only do they build and maintain good relationships, but also highlight their brands from the emotional aspects. For example, KB Card or Hyundai Card uses well-known designers' works for their credit card design. As well, they differentiate the designs of credit cards to stress on their brand personalities. BC Card introduced the credit card with perfume that a customer would like. Even though the credit card is small and not shown to public easily, it becomes more important for those companies to touch the customers' feelings with the brand personalities and their images. This is partly because of changes in consumers' lifestyles. Y-generations becomes highly likely to express themselves in many different ways and more emotional than X-generations. For the Y-generations, therefore, even credit cards in the wallet should be personalized and well-designed. In line with it, credit cards with good design can be seen as an example of brand identity, where different design for each customer can be used to recognize the membership groups that customers want to belong. On the other hand, these credit card companies offer the special treatment benefits for those customers who are heavy users for the cards. For example, those customers who love sports will receive some special discounts when they use their credit cards for sports related products. Therefore this study attempted to explore the relationships between relational benefits, brand identification and loyalty. It has been well known that relational benefits and brand identification lead to loyalty independently from many other studies, but there has been few study to review all the three variables all together in a research model. Furthermore, as reviewed above, in the card industry, many companies attempt to associate the brand image with their products to fit their customers' lifestyles while relational benefits are still playing an important role for their business. Therefore in our research model, relational benefits, brand identification, and loyalty are all included. We focus on the mediating effect of brand identification. From the relational benefits perspective, only special treatment benefit and confidence benefit are included. Social benefit is not applicable for this credit card industry because not many cases of face-to-face interaction can be found. From the brand identification perspective, personal brand identity and social brand identity are reviewed and included in the model. Overall, the research model emphasizes that the relationships between relational benefits and loyalty will be mediated by the effect of brand identification. The effects of relational benefits which are confidence benefit and special treatment benefits on loyalty will be realized when they fit to the personal brand identity and social brand identity. In the research model, therefore, the relationships between confidence benefit and social brand identity, and between confidence benefit and personal identity are hypothesized while the effects of special treatment benefit on social brand identity and personal brand identity are hypothesized. Loyalty, then, is hypothesized to have positive relationships with personal brand identity and social brand identity. In addition, confidence benefit among the relational benefits is expected to have a direct, positive relationship with loyalty because confidence benefit has been recognized as a critical factor for good relationships and satisfaction. Data were collected from college students who have been using either credit cards or debit cards. College students were regarded good subjects because they are in Y-generation cohorts and have tendency to express themselves more. Total sample size was two hundred three at the beginning, but after deleting those data with many missing values, one hundred ninety-seven data points were remained and used for the model testing. Measurement items were brought from the previous literatures and modified for this research. To test the reliability, using SPSS 14, chronbach's α was examined and all the values were from .874 to .928 exceeding over .7. Using AMOS 7.0, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to investigate the measurement model. The measurement model was found good fit with χ²(67)=188.388 (p= .000), GFI=.886, AGFI=.821, CFI=.941, RMSEA=.096. Using AMOS 7.0, structural equation modeling has been used to analyze the research model. Overall, the research model fit were χ²(68)=188.670 (p= .000), GFI=.886, AGFI=,824 CFI=.942, RMSEA=.095 indicating good fit. In details, all the paths hypothesized in the research model were found significant except for the path from social brand identity to loyalty. Personal brand identity leads to loyalty while both confidence benefit and special treatment benefit have a positive relationships with personal and social identities. As well, confidence benefit has a direct positive effect on loyalty. The results indicates the followings. First, personal brand identity plays an important role for credit/debit card usage. Therefore even for the products which are not shown to public easy, design and emotional aspect can be important to fit the customers' lifestyles. Second, confidence benefit and special treatment benefit have a positive effects on personal brand identity. Therefore it will be needed for marketers to associate the special treatment and trust and confidence benefits with personal image, personality and personal identity. Third, this study found again the importance of confidence and trust. However interestingly enough, social brand identity was not found to be significantly related to loyalty. It can be explained that the main sample of this study consists of college students. Those strategies to facilitate social brand identity are focused on high social status groups while college students have not been established their status yet.