• Title/Summary/Keyword: compare and analyze

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Comparison of Heart Rate Variability Indices between Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome and Primary Insomnia (폐쇄성 수면무호흡 증후군과 일차성 불면증에서 심박동률 변이도 지수의 비교)

  • Nam, Ji-Won;Park, Doo-Heum;Yu, Jaehak;Ryu, Seung-Ho;Ha, Ji-Hyeon
    • Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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    • v.19 no.2
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    • pp.68-76
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    • 2012
  • Objectives: Sleep disorders cause changes of autonomic nervous system (ANS) which affect cardiovascular system. Primary insomnia (PI) makes acceleration of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) tone by sleep deficiency and arousal. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) sets off SNS by frequent arousals and hypoxemias during sleep. We aimed to compare the changes of heart rate variability (HRV) indices induced by insomnia or sleep apnea to analyze for ANS how much to be affected by PI or OSAS. Methods: Total 315 subjects carried out nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG) were categorized into 4 groups - PI, mild, moderate and severe OSAS. Severity of OSAS was determined by apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Then we selected 110 subjects considering age, sex and valance of each group's size [Group 1 : PI (mean age=$41.50{\pm}13.16$ yrs, AHI <5, n=20), Group 2 : mild OSAS (mean age=$43.67{\pm}12.11$ yrs, AHI 5-15, n=30), Group 3 : moderate OSAS (mean age $44.93{\pm}12.38$ yrs, AHI 16-30, n=30), Group 4 : severe OSAS (mean age=$45.87{\pm}12.44$ yrs, AHI >30, n=30)]. Comparison of HRV indices among the four groups was performed with ANCOVA (adjusted for age and body mass index) and Sidak post-hoc test. Results: We found statistically significant differences in HRV indices between severe OSAS group and the other groups (PI, mild OSAS and moderate OSAS). And there were no significant differences in HRV indices among PI, mild and moderate OSAS group. In HRV indices of PI and severe OSAS group showing the most prominent difference in the group comparisons, average RR interval were $991.1{\pm}27.1$ and $875.8{\pm}22.0$ ms (p=0.016), standard deviation of NN interval (SDNN) was $85.4{\pm}6.6$ and $112.8{\pm}5.4$ ms (p=0.022), SDNN index was $57.5{\pm}5.2$ and $87.6{\pm}4.2$ (p<0.001), total power was $11,893.5{\pm}1,359.9$ and $18,097.0{\pm}1,107.2ms^2$(p=0.008), very low frequency (VLF) was $7,534.8{\pm}1,120.1$ and $11,883.8{\pm}912.0ms^2$ (p=0.035), low frequency (LF) was $2,724.2{\pm}327.8$ and $4,351.6{\pm}266.9ms^2$(p=0.003). Conclusions: VLF and LF which were correlated with SNS tone showed more increased differences between severe OSAS group and PI group than other group comparisons. We could suggest that severe OSAS group was more influential to increased SNS activity than PI group.

Soil Surface Fixation by Direct Sowing of Zoysia japonica with Soil Improvement on the Dredged Soil Slope (해저준설토 사면에서 개량제 처리에 의한 한국들잔디 직파 지표고정 공법에 관한 연구)

  • Jeong, Yong-Ho;Lee, Im-Kyun;Seo, Kyung-Won;Lim, Joo-Hoon;Kim, Jung-Ho;Shin, Moon-Hyun
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.1-10
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    • 2011
  • This study was conducted to compare the growth of Zoysia japonica depending on different soil treatments in Saemangeum sea dike, which is filled with dredged soil. Zoysia japonica was planted using sod-pitching method on the control plot. On plots which were treated with forest soil and soil improvement, Zoysia japonica seeds were sprayed mechanically. Sixteen months after planting, coverage rate, leaf length, leaf width, and root length were measured and analyzed. Also, three Zoysia japonica samples per plot were collected to analyze nutrient contents. Coverage rate was 100% in B treatment plot(dredged soil+$40kg/m^3$ soil improvement+forest soil), in C treatment plots (dredged soil+$60kg/m^3$ soil improvement+forest soil), and D treatment plots (dredged soil+$60kg/m^3$ soil improvement), while only 43% of the soil surface was covered with Zoysia japonica on control plots. The width of the leaf on C treatment plots (3.79mm) was the highest followed by D treatment (3.49mm), B treatment (2.40mm) and control plots (1.97mm). Leaf and root length of D treatment was 30.18cm and 13.18cm, which were highest among different treatments. The leaf length of D treatment was highest followed by C, B, and A treatments. The root length of D treatment was highest followed by C, A, and B treatments. The nitrogen and phosphate contents of the above ground part of Zoysia japonica were highest in C treatment, followed by D, B, and A treatments. The nitrogen and phosphate contents of the underground part of Zoysia japonica were highest in D treatment, followed by C, A, and B treatments. C and D treatments showed the best results in every aspect of grass growth. The results of this study could be used to identify the cost effective way to improve soil quality for soil surface fixation on reclaimed areas using grass species.

The Effect of PET/CT Images on SUV with the Correction of CT Image by Using Contrast Media (PET/CT 영상에서 조영제를 이용한 CT 영상의 보정(Correction)에 따른 표준화섭취계수(SUV)의 영향)

  • Ahn, Sha-Ron;Park, Hoon-Hee;Park, Min-Soo;Lee, Seung-Jae;Oh, Shin-Hyun;Lim, Han-Sang;Kim, Jae-Sam;Lee, Chang-Ho
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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    • v.13 no.1
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    • pp.77-81
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    • 2009
  • Purpose: The PET of the PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography) quantitatively shows the biological and chemical information of the body, but has limitation of presenting the clear anatomic structure. Thus combining the PET with CT, it is not only possible to offer the higher resolution but also effectively shorten the scanning time and reduce the noises by using CT data in attenuation correction. And because, at the CT scanning, the contrast media makes it easy to determine a exact range of the lesion and distinguish the normal organs, there is a certain increase in the use of it. However, in the case of using the contrast media, it affects semi-quantitative measures of the PET/CT images. In this study, therefore, we will be to establish the reliability of the SUV (Standardized Uptake Value) with CT data correction so that it can help more accurate diagnosis. Materials and Methods: In this experiment, a total of 30 people are targeted - age range: from 27 to 72, average age : 49.6 - and DSTe (General Electric Healthcare, Milwaukee, MI, USA) is used for equipment. $^{18}F$- FDG 370~555 MBq is injected into the subjects depending on their weight and, after about 60 minutes of their stable position, a whole-body scan is taken. The CT scan is set to 140 kV and 210 mA, and the injected amount of the contrast media is 2 cc per 1 kg of the patients' weight. With the raw data from the scan, we obtain a image showing the effect of the contrast media through the attenuation correction by both of the corrected and uncorrected CT data. Then we mark out ROI (Region of Interest) in each area to measure SUV and analyze the difference. Results: According to the analysis, the SUV is decreased in the liver and heart which have more bloodstream than the others, because of the contrast media correction. On the other hand, there is no difference in the lungs. Conclusions: Whereas the CT scan images with the contrast media from the PET/CT increase the contrast of the targeted region for the test so that it can improve efficiency of diagnosis, there occurred an increase of SUV, a semi-quantitative analytical method. In this research, we measure the variation of SUV through the correction of the influence of contrast media and compare the differences. As we revise the SUV which is increasing in the image with attenuation correction by using contrast media, we can expect anatomical images of high-resolution. Furthermore, it is considered that through this trusted semi-quantitative method, it will definitely enhance the diagnostic value.

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A Study on the Application of Outlier Analysis for Fraud Detection: Focused on Transactions of Auction Exception Agricultural Products (부정 탐지를 위한 이상치 분석 활용방안 연구 : 농수산 상장예외품목 거래를 대상으로)

  • Kim, Dongsung;Kim, Kitae;Kim, Jongwoo;Park, Steve
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.93-108
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    • 2014
  • To support business decision making, interests and efforts to analyze and use transaction data in different perspectives are increasing. Such efforts are not only limited to customer management or marketing, but also used for monitoring and detecting fraud transactions. Fraud transactions are evolving into various patterns by taking advantage of information technology. To reflect the evolution of fraud transactions, there are many efforts on fraud detection methods and advanced application systems in order to improve the accuracy and ease of fraud detection. As a case of fraud detection, this study aims to provide effective fraud detection methods for auction exception agricultural products in the largest Korean agricultural wholesale market. Auction exception products policy exists to complement auction-based trades in agricultural wholesale market. That is, most trades on agricultural products are performed by auction; however, specific products are assigned as auction exception products when total volumes of products are relatively small, the number of wholesalers is small, or there are difficulties for wholesalers to purchase the products. However, auction exception products policy makes several problems on fairness and transparency of transaction, which requires help of fraud detection. In this study, to generate fraud detection rules, real huge agricultural products trade transaction data from 2008 to 2010 in the market are analyzed, which increase more than 1 million transactions and 1 billion US dollar in transaction volume. Agricultural transaction data has unique characteristics such as frequent changes in supply volumes and turbulent time-dependent changes in price. Since this was the first trial to identify fraud transactions in this domain, there was no training data set for supervised learning. So, fraud detection rules are generated using outlier detection approach. We assume that outlier transactions have more possibility of fraud transactions than normal transactions. The outlier transactions are identified to compare daily average unit price, weekly average unit price, and quarterly average unit price of product items. Also quarterly averages unit price of product items of the specific wholesalers are used to identify outlier transactions. The reliability of generated fraud detection rules are confirmed by domain experts. To determine whether a transaction is fraudulent or not, normal distribution and normalized Z-value concept are applied. That is, a unit price of a transaction is transformed to Z-value to calculate the occurrence probability when we approximate the distribution of unit prices to normal distribution. The modified Z-value of the unit price in the transaction is used rather than using the original Z-value of it. The reason is that in the case of auction exception agricultural products, Z-values are influenced by outlier fraud transactions themselves because the number of wholesalers is small. The modified Z-values are called Self-Eliminated Z-scores because they are calculated excluding the unit price of the specific transaction which is subject to check whether it is fraud transaction or not. To show the usefulness of the proposed approach, a prototype of fraud transaction detection system is developed using Delphi. The system consists of five main menus and related submenus. First functionalities of the system is to import transaction databases. Next important functions are to set up fraud detection parameters. By changing fraud detection parameters, system users can control the number of potential fraud transactions. Execution functions provide fraud detection results which are found based on fraud detection parameters. The potential fraud transactions can be viewed on screen or exported as files. The study is an initial trial to identify fraud transactions in Auction Exception Agricultural Products. There are still many remained research topics of the issue. First, the scope of analysis data was limited due to the availability of data. It is necessary to include more data on transactions, wholesalers, and producers to detect fraud transactions more accurately. Next, we need to extend the scope of fraud transaction detection to fishery products. Also there are many possibilities to apply different data mining techniques for fraud detection. For example, time series approach is a potential technique to apply the problem. Even though outlier transactions are detected based on unit prices of transactions, however it is possible to derive fraud detection rules based on transaction volumes.

The evaluation of the feasibility about prostate SBRT by analyzing interfraction errors of internal organs (분할치료간(Interfraction) 내부 장기 움직임 오류 분석을 통한 전립선암의 전신정위적방사선치료(SBRT) 가능성 평가)

  • Hong, soon gi;Son, sang joon;Moon, joon gi;Kim, bo kyum;Lee, je hee
    • The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.179-186
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    • 2016
  • Purpose : To figure out if the treatment plan for rectum, bladder and prostate that have a lot of interfraction errors satisfies dosimetric limits without adaptive plan by analyzing MR image. Materials and Methods : This study was based on 5 prostate cancer patients who had IMRT(total dose: 70Gy) Using ViewRay MRIdian System(ViewRay, ViewRay Inc., Cleveland, OH, USA) The treatment plans were made on the same CT images to compare with the plan quality according to adaptive plan, and the Eclipse(Ver 10.0.42, Varian, USA) was used. After registrate the 5 treatment MR images to the CT images for treatment plan to analyze the interfraction changes of organ, we measured the dose volume histogram and the changes of the absolute volume for each organ by appling the first treatment plan to each image. Over 5 fractions, the total dose for PTV was $V_{36.25}$ Gy $${\geq_-}$$ 95%. To confirm that the prescription dose satisfies the SBRT dose limit for prostate, we measured $V_{100%}$, $V_{95%}$, $V_{90%}$ for CTV and $V_{100%}$, $V_{90%}$, $V_{80%}$ $V_{50%}$ of rectum and bladder. Results : All dose average value of CTV, rectum and bladder satisfied dose limit, but there was a case that exceeded dose limit more than one after analyzing the each image of treatment. After measuring the changes of absolute volume comparing the MR image of the first treatment plan with the one of the interfraction treatment, the difference values were maximum 1.72 times at rectum and maximum 2.0 times at bladder. In case of rectum, the expected values were planned under the dose limit, on average, $V_{100%}=0.32%$, $V_{90%}=3.33%$, $V_{80%}=7.71%$, $V_{50%}=23.55%$ in the first treatment plan. In case of rectum, the average of absolute volume in first plan was 117.9 cc. However, the average of really treated volume was 79.2 cc. In case of CTV, the 100% prescription dose area didn't satisfy even though the margin for PTV was 5 mm because of the variation of rectal and bladder volume. Conclusion : There was no case that the value from average of five fractions is over the dosimetric limits. However, dosimetric errors of rectum and bladder in each fraction was significant. Therefore, the precise delivery is needed in case of prostate SBRT. The real-time tracking and adaptive plan is necessary to meet the precision delivery.

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Incase of Same Region Treatment by using a Tomotherapy and a Linear Accelerator Absorbed Dose Evaluation of Normal Tissues and a Tumor (토모테라피와 선형가속기를 이용한 동일 부위의 치료 시 종양 및 정상조직의 흡수선량 평가)

  • Cheon, Geum-Seong;Kim, Chang-Uk;Kim, Hoi-Nam;Heo, Gyeong-Hun;Song, Jin-Ho;Hong, Joo-Yeong;Jeong, Jae-Yong
    • The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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    • v.22 no.2
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    • pp.97-103
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    • 2010
  • Purpose: Treating same region with different modalities there is a limit to evaluate the total absorbed dose of normal tissues. The reason is that it does not support to communication each modalities yet. In this article, it evaluates absorbed dose of the patients who had been treated same region by a tomotherapy and a linear accelerator. Materials and Methods: After reconstructing anatomic structure with a anthropomorphic phantom, administrate 45 Gy to a tumor in linac plan system as well as prescribe 15 Gy in tomotherapy plan system for make an ideal treatment plan. After the plan which made by tomoplan system transfers to the oncentra plan system for reproduce plan under the same condition and realize total treatment plan with summation 45 Gy linac treatment plan. To evaluate the absorbed dose of two different modalities, do a comparative study both a simple summation dose values and integration dose values. Then compare and analyze absorbed dose of normal tissues and a tumor with the patients who had been exposured radiation by above two differents modalities. Results: The result of compared data, in case of minimum dose, there are big different dose values in spleen (12.4%). On the other hand, in case of the maximum dose, it reports big different in a small bowel (10.2%) and a cord (5.8%) in head & neck cancer patients, there presents that oral (20.3%), right lens (7.7%) in minimum dose value. About maximum dose, it represents that spinal (22.5), brain stem (12%), optic chiasm (8.9%), Rt lens (11.5%), mandible (8.1%), pituitary gland (6.2%). In case of Rt abdominal cancer patients, there represents big different minimum dose as Lt kidney (20.3%), stomach (8.1%) about pelvic cancer patients, it reports there are big different in minimum dose as a bladder (15.2%) as well as big different value in maximum dose as a small bowel (5.6%), a bladder (5.5%) in addition, making treatment plan it is able us to get. Conclusion: In case of comparing both simple summation absorbed dose and integration absorbed dose, the minimum dose are represented higher as well as the maximum dose come out lower and the average dose are revealed similar with our expected values data. It is able to evaluate tumor & normal tissue absorbed dose which could had been not realized by treatment plan system. The DVH of interesting region are prescribed lower dose than expected. From now on, it needs to develop the new modality which are able to realize exact dose distribution as well as integration absorbed dose evaluation in same treatment region with different modalities.

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Peripheral Neutrophil Count and Respiratory Failure in Preterm Infant (조산아에서 말초혈액 중성구수와 호흡 부전증과의 연관성)

  • Lee, Kum Joo;Yun, Soo Young;Lee, Ran;Hean, Jae Ho;Jung, Ghee Young;Park, Jin Hee;Park, Young Sun
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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    • v.45 no.5
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    • pp.596-602
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    • 2002
  • Purpose : The purpose of this study was to analyze the association of peripheral neutrophil count with the development of respiratory failure in preterm infants. Methods : A retrospective study was conducted from January 1993 to December 1999 on 44 preterm infants, who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of St. Francisco hospital. Preterm infants(birth weight 500 to 1,350 gm) who had a complete blood count obtained within 2 hours after delivery. Patients in the lowest of neutrophil count(early neutropenia, < $1.0{\times}10^9/L$) were compared with patients in the remaining group. Results : Low neutrophil count were transient in early neutropenia group. The concentration the circulating neutrophil count rose from $0.85{\pm}0.11{\times}10^9/L$ at average of 2 hours after delivery to $5.3{\pm}2.7{\times}10^9/L$ at 24 hours after delivery in the early neutropenia group and from $3.6{\pm}1.6{\times}10^9/L$ to $5.8{\pm}3.2{\times}10^9/L$ in the non-neutropenia group during the same time period. Compare to the non-neutropenia group, the neutropenia group had a lower birth weight($1,046.50{\pm}180.76gm$ Vs $1,156.70{\pm}124.99gm$), a lower Apgar score(1 min : $3.41{\pm}1.18$ Vs $4.30{\pm}1.46$, 5 min : $5.41{\pm}0.87$ Vs $6.15{\pm}0.95$), and a higher incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia(27.27% Vs 7.0%). Patients who had early neutropenia were more likely to require mechanical ventilation, supplemental oxygen and hospital stay. Also, main effect factors for the two groups were birth weight(Odds ratio=5.457, 95% CI=1.551-27.525), initial peripheral blood white cells(odds ratio=8.308, 95% CI=2.054-52.699), and bronchopulmonary dysplasia(odds ratio=0.099, 95% CI=0.017-0.397). Conclusion : A low count of neutrophil in the systemic circulation of premature infants within 2 hours of birth is associated with more severe respiratory distress.

Evaluation of Combine IGRT using ExacTrac and CBCT In SBRT (정위적체부방사선치료시 ExacTrac과 CBCT를 이용한 Combine IGRT의 유용성 평가)

  • Ahn, Min Woo;Kang, Hyo Seok;Choi, Byoung Joon;Park, Sang Jun;Jung, Da Ee;Lee, Geon Ho;Lee, Doo Sang;Jeon, Myeong Soo
    • The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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    • v.30 no.1_2
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    • pp.201-208
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    • 2018
  • Purpose : The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the set-up errors using the Combine IGRT with ExacTrac and CBCT phased in the treatment of Stereotatic Body Radiotherapy. Methods and materials : Patient who were treated Stereotatic Body Radiotherapy in the ulsan university hospital from May 2014 to november 2017 were classified as treatment area three brain, nine spine, three pelvis. First using ExacTrac Set-up error calibrated direction of Lateral(Lat), Longitudinal(Lng), Vertical(Vrt), Roll, Pitch, Yaw, after applied ExacTrac moving data in addition to use CBCT and set-up error calibrated direction of Lat, Lng, Vrt, Rotation(Rtn). Results : When using ExacTrac, the error in the brain region is Lat $0.18{\pm}0.25cm$, Lng $0.23{\pm}0.04cm$, Vrt $0.30{\pm}0.36cm$, Roll $0.36{\pm}0.21^{\circ}$, Pitch $1.72{\pm}0.62^{\circ}$, Yaw $1.80{\pm}1.21^{\circ}$, spine Lat $0.21{\pm}0.24cm$, Lng $0.27{\pm}0.36cm$, Vrt $0.26{\pm}0.42cm$, Roll $1.01{\pm}1.17^{\circ}$, Pitch $0.66{\pm}0.45^{\circ}$, Yaw $0.71{\pm}0.58^{\circ}$, pelvis Lat $0.20{\pm}0.16cm$, Lng $0.24{\pm}0.29cm$, Vrt $0.28{\pm}0.29cm$, Roll $0.83{\pm}0.21^{\circ}$, Pitch $0.57{\pm}0.45^{\circ}$, Yaw $0.52{\pm}0.27^{\circ}$ When CBCT is performed after the couch movement, the error in brain region is Lat $0.06{\pm}0.05cm$, Lng $0.07{\pm}0.06cm$, Vrt $0.00{\pm}0.00cm$, Rtn $0.0{\pm}0.0^{\circ}$, spine Lat $0.06{\pm}0.04cm$, Lng $0.16{\pm}0.30cm$, Vrt $0.08{\pm}0.08cm$, Rtn $0.00{\pm}0.00^{\circ}$, pelvis Lat $0.06{\pm}0.07cm$, Lng $0.04{\pm}0.05cm$, Vrt $0.06{\pm}0.04cm$, Rtn $0.0{\pm}0.0^{\circ}$. Conclusion : Combine IGRT with ExacTrac in addition to CBCT during Stereotatic Body Radiotherapy showed that it was possible to reduce the set-up error of patients compared to single ExacTrac. However, the application of Combine IGRT increases patient set-up verification time and absorption dose in the body for image acquisition. Therefore, depending on the patient's situation that using Combine IGRT to reduce the patient's set-up error can increase the radiation treatment effectiveness.

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State of Mind in the Flow 4-Channel Model and Play (플로우 4경로모형의 마음상태와 플레이(play))

  • Sohn, Jun-Sang
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.1-29
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    • 2007
  • The flow theory becomes one of the most important frameworks in the internet research arena. Hoffman and Novak proposed a hierarchical flow model showing the antecedents and outcomes of flow and the relationship among these variables in the hyper-media computer circumstances (Hoffman and Novak 1996). This model was further tested after their initial research (Novak, Hoffman, and Yung 2000). At their paper, Hoffman and Novak explained that the balance of challenge and skill leads to flow which means the positive optimal state of mind (Hoffman and Novak 1996). An imbalance between challenge and skill, leads to negative states of mind like anxiety, boredom, apathy (Csikszentmihalyi and Csikszentmihalyi 1988). Almost all research on the flow 4-channel model have been focusingon flow, the positive state of mind (Ellis, Voelkl, and Morris 1994 Mathwick and Rigdon 2004). However, it also needs to examine the formation of the negative states of minds and their outcomes. Flow researchers explain play or playfulness as antecedents or the early state of flow. However, play has been regarded as a distinct concept from flow in the flow literatures (Hoffman and Novak 1996; Novak, Hoffman, and Yung 2000). Mathwick and Rigdon discovered the influences of challenge and skill on play; they also observed the influence of play on web-loyalty and brand loyalty (Mathwick and Rigdon 2004). Unfortunately, they did not go so far as to test the influences of play on state of mind. This study focuses on the relationships between state of mind in the flow 4-channel model and play. Early research has attempted to hypothetically explain state of mind in flow theory, but has not been tested except flow until now. Also the importance of play has been emphasized in the flow theory, but has not been tested in the flow 4-channel model context. This researcher attempts to analyze the relationships among state of mind, skill of play, challenge, state of mind and web loyalty. For this objective, I developed a measure for state of mind and defined the concept of play as a trait. Then, the influences of challenge and skill on the state of mind and play under on-line shopping conditions were tested. Also the influences of play on state of mind were tested and those of flow and play on web loyalty were highlighted. 294 undergraduate students participated in this research survey. They were asked to respond about their perceptions of challenge, skill, state of mind, play, and web-loyalty to on-line shopping mall. Respondents were restricted to students who bought products on-line in a month. In case of buying products at two or more on-line shopping malls, they asked to respond about the shopping mall where they bought the most important one. Construct validity, discriminant validity, and convergent validity were used to check the measurement validations. Also, Cronbach's alpha was used to check scale reliability. A series of exploratory factor analyses was conducted. This researcher conducted confirmatory factor analyses to assess the validity of measurements. All items loaded significantly on their respective constructs. Also, all reliabilities were greater than.70. Chi-square difference tests and goodness of fit tests supported discriminant and convergent validity. The results of clustering and ANOVA showed that high challenge and high skill leaded to flow, low challenge and high skill leaded to boredom, and low challenge and low skill leaded to apathy. But, it was different from my expectation that high challenge and low skill didnot lead to anxiety but leaded to apathy. The results also showed that high challenge and high skill, and high challenge and low skill leaded to the highest play. Low challenge leaded to low play. 4 Structural Equation Models were built by flow, anxiety, boredom, apathy for analyzing not only the impact of play on state of mind and web-loyalty, but also that of state of mind on web-loyalty. According the analyses results of these models, play impacted flow and web-loyalty positively, but impacted anxiety, boredom, and apathy negatively. Results also showed that flow impacted web-loyalty positively, but anxiety, boredom, and apathy impacted web-loyalty negatively. The interpretations and implications of the test results of the hypotheses are as follows. First, respondents belonging to different clusters based on challenge and skill level experienced different states of mind such as flow, anxiety, boredom, apathy. The low challenge and low skill group felt the highest anxiety and apathy. It could be interpreted that this group feeling high anxiety or fear, then avoided attempts to shop on-line. Second, it was found that higher challenge leads to higher levels of play. Test results show that the play level of the high challenge and low skill group (anxiety group) was higher than that of the high challenge and high skill group (flow group). However, this was not significant. Third, play positively impacted flow and negatively impacted boredom. The negative impacts on anxiety and apathy were not significant. This means that the combination of challenge and skill creates different results. Forth, play and flow positively impacted web-loyalty, but anxiety, boredom, apathy had negative impacts. The effect of play on web-loyalty was stronger in case of anxiety, boredom, apathy group than fl ow group. These results show that challenge and skill influences state of mind and play. Results also demonstrate how play and flow influence web-loyalty. It implies that state of mind and play should be the core marketing variables in internet marketing. The flow theory has been focusing on flow and on the positive outcomes of flow experiences. But, this research shows that lots of consumers experience the negative state of mind rather than flow state in the internet shopping circumstance. Results show that the negative state of mind leads to low or negative web-loyalty. Play can have an important role with the web-loyalty when consumers have the negative state of mind. Results of structural equation model analyses show that play influences web-loyalty positively, even though consumers may be in the negative state of mind. This research found the impacts of challenge and skill on state of mind in the flow 4-channel model, not only flow but also anxiety, boredom, apathy. Also, it highlighted the role of play in the flow 4-channel model context and impacts on web-loyalty. However, tests show a few different results from hypothetical expectations such as the highest anxiety level of apathy group and insignificant impacts of play on anxiety and apathy. Further research needs to replicate this research and/or to compare 3-channel model with 4-channel model.

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